Would they alone, or the remaining states, choose to try to be the policeman of the world? Would US imperialism be reined it a bit?

And would it be best for the rest of us if they were left to deal with their own coming water problems, rather than rely upon the rest of us to solve it for them.

Might be worth it.

Besides, have you looked at the people you’re talking about? Hairy trolls who used to paint themselves blue before going into battle (Grampa!), Celtic hobbits, and fish-belly pale flabby Englishman? Are you blind?

It seems that the situation has changed rapidly in the last week or so. A successful independence vote had seemed unlikely, but there was a televised political debate in which the advocate of independence apparently made a very compelling case. It’s now considered too close to call.

Beyond the statistical cross-checking, there are several reasons to believe that a breakup of the United Kingdom has become a genuine possibility. For a start, the shift in public opinion had a clear catalyst: a televised debate last week that was clearly won by Salmond. More fundamentally, the assumption that the Scots would be mainly swayed by economic issues, which favor risk-averse voting for the status quo, has turned proved wrong. It now appears that many voters are focusing mostly on the political implications of independence. Many Scots see the referendum as an opportunity to turn their country into a Scandinavian-style social democracy, expressing a collectivist national spirit that has been suppressed by English conservatism, especially since Margaret Thatcher’s election in 1979. The fact that Scotland did not elect a single Conservative Member of Parliament in the last UK election provides clear evidence of this ideological divergence.

I am sooooo proud to be related to these people right now.

Funny how slavery could be an obstacle to the idea today. I realize that literal slavery is (probably) no longer economically viable (but perhaps emotionally attractive to a certain kind of [white] person), but it seems that the association between slavery and the Confederacy is strong enough to creep me out a bit nevertheless. I think that concerns like that could be handled with a Confederate Constitution that includes acceptable guarantees against such risks; and perhaps a general provision ensuring free emigration would prevent slavery from gaining a toehold.

Seems like a political winner to me. Southerners (and Southerners at heart, i.e. conservatives) could gloat that they’ve finally won their rebellion, after 150 years throwing a tantrum over losing the first time. And the rest of us could feel like we’re dumping America’s problem on newly-minted foreign shores.

Would you vote for that?