Free California! How you can help!

According to the LA Times

Election officials announced Thursday that a proposal has been submitted to the Secretary of State's Office that would ask voters to repeal part of the state constitution that declares California an inseparable part of the United States.
If the proposal qualifies for the ballot and is approved by voters, it could be a step to a future vote on whether California should break away from the U.S.

If successful there would be a vote in 2019 to ask voters,

"Should California become a free, sovereign and independent country?"

The group behind this is a Political Action Comitee PAC named Yes California
In order to accomplish this feat the campaign must submit 600,000 valid voter signatures by July 25, 2017 to qualify for the November 2018 ballot.

Who are these people? According to their website

Yes California is the nonviolent campaign to establish the country of California using any and all legal and constitutional means to do so. We advocate for peaceful secession from the United States by use of an independence referendum to establish a mandate, followed by a nationwide campaign to advocate in support of a constitutional exit from the Union. By joining this campaign, signing up as a member, donating, volunteering, or otherwise supporting this important cause, you agree to these nonviolent principles.
While Yes California supports and encourages Californians to stand up and take direct action, to be bold, and to unapologetically demand the liberation of the people of California from its captors, we explicitly reject conduct or speech inciting open rebellion against the American government.

The primary force behind this PAC is a man by the name of Louis Marinelli,

He teaches English at Alliant International University in San Diego and was a candidate for California's 80th Assembly District.

Also behind this movement is noted author and speaker Marcus Ruiz Evans

Mr Evans has recently posted a very compelling oped where he gives some very good reasons for a so called #calexit
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/01/21/opinion-california-independence-yes-we-can/

To summarize...

1. Size. California is the 6th largest economy in the world; we can govern ourselves. With Silicon Valley, Hollywood, the video game industry and aerospace, California is an economic powerhouse possessing a highly skilled, educated workforce.

2. Taxes. California is a Maker state, contributing more to the federal government than we receive. (In contrast, South Carolina takes in more than $7 in federal funds for every $1 they contribute, according to the independent analysis of Wallet Hub.) Our taxes shouldn’t support an agenda and a voting system that doesn’t support our interests while we subsidize other states.

3. Culture: California is more liberal, more educated and wealthier than most every other state. Our views on education, science, immigration, taxation and healthcare are different.

4. Self Determination ... In today’s interconnected world, no one tells the top economies what to do. If the banks are too big to fail, then a top 10 economy is too. No one is going to pull money out of California if it secedes, no one is going to invade, no one is going to stop trading – there is too much money invested here, too many deals already going on. The world will not let the California economy be disrupted.

5. Lack of representation... If California is excluded, Trump won the popular vote by 1.4 million people.

So at this point you're probably asking yourself "Why the hell is William Banks taking time out of his day to bring this issue to the forefront?"

Here's why...

I look around and I can see plainly that the representative democracy form of government as practiced in the USA has reached a scaling limit. No matter which state you reside in, when it comes to the federal level, you no longer have a voice. I believe every person should have a say in their government, but the federal government has been overreaching it's very limited constitutional authority more and more each year.

Our relationship with the federal government is sick, it is toxic and it is abusive. This is nothing new, it's been this way for some time and it's only going to get worse. When you're in a toxic relationship the best solution is to end the relationship.

This is what Yes California and few other similar movements are trying to accomplish. By reestablishing sovereignty at the state level and dissolving the federal government, either all together or at the very least returning it to the original intent of the founders, i.e. limiting it's role to solely being a body that deals with issues BETWEEN the individual states, you return power to the people.

Yet whether you agree with me or not, the fact remains that Yes California is currently the subject of a massive disinformation campaign from the powers that be.

A simple google search shows articles from supposedly reputably news outlets, that make it sound as though Yes California is Russian propaganda. https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/12/13/from-his-home-in-russia-calexit-leader-plots-california-secession/

This is a disinformation campaign initiated by media outlets who are acting as the voice of propaganda for the US Federal Government in order to discredit the entire movement to cement control over what could be an explosive situation.

In fact the article I linked is extremely biased and while there are some facts in it, the way it is spun could not be further from the truth. Yes some people involved have familial ties in Russia, but then again so do 15% of all Americans. In this case Mr Evans is being called out because he married a Russian woman and was there (at the time the linked article was written), resolving her immigration status. This was the most egregious example, but there are plenty more where that came from.

The other thing to keep in mind that #calexit is much bigger than Yes California. Yes California, is just the most prominent and well known group backing the movement. Today I learned that there is an entire political party running on the same platform and also backing this effort.

Why then do we see this disinformation campaign coming from Washington DC?

The simple fact is that California succeeding from the union would seriously threaten the survival of those that thrive in the swamps of Washington DC. California's contribution to the US Military budget and the military industrial complex is larger than Russia's ENTIRE military budget. The loss of this income presents a clear and present danger to likes of Booz Allen Hamilton, Blackwater etc. So it's little wonder they would (ab)use their positions as contractors for the DoD to spin this movement in the worst possible light. It's not even a conspiracy at this point. In fact it's just a logical survival strategy.

But here is the truth. Even if Russia or some other country were to throw full backing into the effort, it would not change the fact that this is just a damned good idea for California and the rest of the USA. These articles you see now and will see in the future are highly unbalanced and I believe that letting you know what's coming, up front is the best way to counter that.

So I promised in the title that I would explain how you can help and here it is.

Together we are stronger than any government, because together we are the real force behind the government.

If you live in California, give this initiative some serious thought, and at least sign the petition to get the initiative on the ballot so voters can decide come election time, or better yet sign up to be part of the action to help collect signatures. If possible consider contributing financially to these efforts.

Also, reach out on social media and invite them here to steemit!
I've signed up on the Yes California website and have invited them to come here and be part of steemit, you should too!

If you live in any other state, think about what is happening in California and consider replicating this in your own state.
At this stage each state is more than capable of standing on it's own feet, free from the shackles of a federal government that no longer believes it owes any allegiance to the people who grant it power.

Perhaps most important of all. Be on the lookout for news reports that try to spin these secession movements as fringe or the result of foreign "meddling". When you see that happen, make sure to call the authors out. It's one thing to present both sides of the story, but to simply try to discredit a movement, smacks of propaganda all by itself.

Keep in mind there is nothing fringe about this. People are just beginning to wake up and realize that one by one we can take back our lives, our livelihoods, our resources, our destiny from those who would seek to exploit us for their own personal gain. Together we can break the back of the fascist state that is quickly growing up in place of the government our forefathers sacrificed so much to create. We owe our children and our grandchildren no less than this.

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