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Technically it would still be a United Kingdom, since it includes Wales and Northern Ireland.

In any case, I read that in exchange for staying in as part of the UK, legislative power is going to be even more decentralized and Scotland will have even more say in its own affairs...a deal that has and likely will upset the English, who have no such separate parliament or autonomy. The article I read then went on to suggest that this will divide the UK more and more, until it separates on its own accord.

Since Scotland is going to be granted more powers to govern itself, I'm actually curious as to how that is going to go over with Wales and Northern Ireland. If Scotland is granted more autonomy, you would think that they would want the same. Granted, I know very little about British politics, but still...

It would be more interesting if France started breaking apart...at one time it contained nearly a dozen different duchies and kingdoms, including Brittany, which resisted French integration and Burgundy, which at one time was a regional power on an equal scale to France and helped England nearly conquer France in the Hundred Years' Wars.

That would make things very interesting in Europe. I wasn't aware there were active separatist movements in those regions. I was aware of the Basque region in France and Spain.

There were a lot of separatist movements across the globe watching the Scottish referendum. Catalonia in Spain, Belgium, even the Chinese had reason to worry, what with Tibet, the separatists is Xinjiang, even ongoing issues they have with Taiwan and Hong Kong. Shit could have gotten real (and it's still not outside the realm of possibility), and fast.

There's all kinds of separatist movements, although they may not be large. In fact, 25% of all people recently surveyed in the US said they would be fine with their state declaring independence and leaving the Union...that number rose to 35% in the southwestern states, particularly Texas.

True enough. But there is a clear difference between actively wanting to secede, and just being OK with declaring independence. It also comes down to what a "legitimate" movement is. Is it some dude standing on a street corner in Dallas yelling at anyone who will listen that Obama is the devil and the only way to secure our freedom is to split from the United States? Or is it something like what we say in Scotland; a huge number of people truly concerned that union with Britain is not in their best interests? The reality is somewhere in between.

America fought two wars over independence: gaining our independence from Great Britain, and again when the Confederate States tried to secede from the union. Syrians are now fighting government forces for control of their country. Kurdistan were fighting Saddam Hussein long before the US thought it was cool, and still want independence from Iraq. Even what's going on in Ukraine right now.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is possible for things to get ugly Scotland was fortunate that government in London gave them the opportunity to determine their own fate. So was Quebec 20 years ago, when they sought to split from Canada. Unfortunately, the democratic method for gaining independence seems to be the exception, not the rule.

On the other hand, if enough people in Texas think that Obama is the devil, that one dude might just be enough. Remember, we came to view King George III as a tyrant, but he was actually a very popular king in Britain up to very nearly his death when he would become mentally unable to rule for periods of time. It's all subjective...and a warning in the powers of rhetoric and propaganda of the sort we see in politics today.

Besides...Texas has always had a small independence movement. It was a country for a time between it splitting from Mexico and officially joining the US, so there's a bit of nationalism involved there, too. In any case, it's interesting how 150 years after the Civil War succession is still thought about, even if it's in a causal since.

Yeah, the Republic of Texas navy was pretty cool

We were talking about the other day how in our state the Governor has been doing alot of things in opposition of the federal government and really trying to wrest back some of the powers of the state. We were discussing the pros and cons if he just one day woke up and declared independence.

India and Kashmir......

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I can get behind returning powers to the states. After all, the country was founded as a union of sovereign states. United for mutual protection, but separate for their individual pursuits and interests. Even today, what is good for California may not be good for West Virginia, and vice versa. The USA is a big place, and every state has their own interests and their own needs. It is unreasonable to think that Washington can balance the needs of all 50 states. That being said, I can not support outright secession from the union. It would take something quite extreme for me to even think about secession.

SCOTUS declared it illegal

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Honestly, I don't think I would mind a Confederate States of America if it wasn't for the slavery. It would certainly distinguish which country was referred to as 'America' and 'Murica'. And 'America' wouldn't be laughed at as much by everyone else in the world.

Pentatonix concert tonight! Got a ride from someone else. Got someone else to pay for me. And I'm so very pleased.

Ugh...why is it so hard to find good Minecraft mods. -.-