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[craft_6]

BTW Zx I like that Declaration of Independence idea you had and I see Wyo does also.  I'm going to post a copy of the original in my next post, maybe we can start working on something modeled after it.

Here are a couple of modern versions of the Declaration of Independence you might consider for inspiration:

http://www.greaterthings.com/parallels/other-chi/libertariandec.htm

[freedomroad]

Spoken like a true politician. That may work over in Jackson, on the "left" border of the state, but not overall. (See prior comments on business).

The capital of Wyoming is working hard to attract out-of-state companies and it is working.  So, make that Jackson and that town right next to CO.

All of the states, including Wyoming have tons of 'management' type jobs.  Please Wyoming has a tight labor market and low unemployment, some of these manager types are not very good (just like all states.)  So, there is plenty of room for FSP members to get some of these jobs.

 Also, hispanics are being recruited in parts of Wyoming (like Pinedale) because there is no one else to do the jobs.  Certainly, the FSP members could also get these jobs or better jobs in those areas.

 As the areas near Wyoming continue to grow in population, tourism will continue to grow in Wyoming.

Bruce, I am with you.  I do not know what some of the people in this forum are talking about and I do not trust people that use lots of big words.

 I want to see it, touch it, or eat it.  Do not tell me to close my eyes and imagine something.

[Kelton Baker]

. . .
I do not know what some of the people in this forum are talking about and I do not trust people that use lots of big words.
. . .

Infrequently have I been accused of being a sesquipedalian orator, though I do confess, I frequently use hippopotomonstrosesquipidelian words.  Speaking contraneoantidisestablishmentarianalistically, I'm actually in favor of simplicity  

I can see one other thing, FreedomRoad, from what you point-out.  Once we select our state, we'll need to learn how to fit-in better with locals,  no matter whichever part of the universe we may come from.

₁₆₅

[WyoRancher]

BTW Zx I like that Declaration of Independence idea you had and I see Wyo does also.  I'm going to post a copy of the original in my next post, maybe we can start working on something modeled after it.

You might want to take a look at:

http://www.americansovereign.com/documents/html/declare.htm

Which is Brent Johnson's updated version of the Declaration.

[WyoRancher]

In a news brief from a Laramie radio station, this year Wyoming is expecting the largest tourism season in history. They attribute it to the fear of flying and further terrorist acts... rather than airplanes, families are getting into their cars and heading out West, avoiding overseas resorts or the coastal beaches, and Wyoming is the #1 choice of destination (they mentioned that Wyoming is the "center of the West", where you can get to Colorado, Montana, Idaho, and Utah).

This could open up a unique opportunity over the next couple years for the FSP, should they pick Wyoming, because we will have a high demand for new tourism-related business, supporting industry, and workers for existing businesses. Quite the "open door."

Bruce P.

[RidleyReport]

As promised, here's the updated version of my Booster Plan brainstorm/essay.


The Booster Plan: One way to make a good first impression in the chosen state.

If current projections are accurate, we should hit the 5,000 member mark around summer or autumn of 2003. Free State selection is close at hand.

Much of our energy is going into this selection process. But the minute we make the choice an even greater challenge will be loosed upon us, that of earning support within the chosen state. The first days, even the first hours after FS selection may be critical. They will mark the moment when many FS residents first hear of us, and we won't get a second chance to make that first impression.

We need a plan to help ensure the impression is a decent one...a plan *and* the means to carry it out.

For the sake of discussion, let's assume that it's July 15 and we've just picked current front runner Wyoming.  Here's what we could do during that first week to maximize the number of Wyoming residents who see this as good news.

1) Announce and carry out a "made-in-Wyoming" campaign.  

Its purpose would be to get Porcupines to buy Wyoming-made goods and services as much as practical.  This can be done long before any of us move.  But we must make it as easy as possible.

One option might be to set up a sort of low-budget, Amazon.com-type site that sells only goods from Wyoming.  Another option would be to support an existing site inside the state that already directs folks to Wyoming-made products. For now I haven't found such a site, but if you know of one please post the link to our forum (see below).
 
2) Initiate - or support - some kind of effort to help recruit businesses to Wyoming.  

WyoRancher, an FSP participant from Wyoming, has suggested it would be even better if Free Staters and their supporters purchased for-sale business that are already there.

3) Initiate or join some kind of effort to support Wyoming in her current squabbles with the Feds.

These steps would benefit from consultation with the state's current residents and liberty-friendly institutions. In fact, it might be best to defer to them. Let them be the ones who guide us toward the realization of each step.  Let them keep us more or less in harmony with the interests of folks who are already lucky enough to live there.

In theory, at least, taking the actions above might allow us to turn our temporary distance from Wyoming into an advantage both for us and for current residents. We might be able to boost the state's economy a bit, creating jobs without initially taking up any ourselves. We could spot business recruitment possibilities that might go unnoticed by those inside the state. And, unlike current WY residents, we would be in physical proximity to any power-grabbing out-of-state politicos who are messing with the freedoms of her residents. Long as we're stuck "outside" maybe we could raise a ruckus at the local offices of Wyoming's favorite villains!

But I use the words "in theory" for a reason. Taking this from plan to execution is the hard part, and we are not yet up to the challenge. We need a better-mobilized, better-organized volunteer base, both to make it happen and to make sure the state's residents *know* it happened.

So how do we do that? I don't have half the answers. But I've done one thing I hope will help, not just with the Booster idea but with other FSP projects. I've set up a message board thread at http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?board=3;action=display;threadid=1471 where folks like *you* can let us know you are a potential volunteer and what kinds of bite-sized projects you might enjoy volunteering for.

With dedication and humility we can prove ourselves to be what we are:

A loyal community of future Wyomingites
  Eager to embrace the state's traditions and values
     Fiercely dedicated to the culture of freedom she personifies

--------------------

If you would like to discuss this article with its author or with other Porcupines, drop by the Booster thread on our web forum at http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=1473;start=0

[patriot32]

This might be getting a little ahead of things but here is one website I found that sells Wyoming products.


http://www.mallwyoming.com/

[RidleyReport]

Yep...that's what I was looking for.  I clicked through several businesses there, and all were in Wyoming, so it's not just a name.  If we pick Wyoming, that site would probably do just fine for a start.

Thanks much, patriot!   Welcome to the forum, BTW.

Any other sites out there any of you have spotted like this?  Not only for WY but for other candidate states.

[Magoo]

  Websites that sell Wyoming products:
www.wyomingproducts.net
www.wyominggear.com
allwyoming.uwyo.edu
www.wyomingnetwork.com
www.shopwyoming.com

[Free Thinker]

Ideally, the selected Free State could accomodate a migration of 20,000 in a few years, then welcome a second wave of 100,000+ seeking liberty and economic opportunity.  Perhaps Wyoming could handle this, perhaps not.  Perhaps New Hampshire and Idaho are already too populous for the Free State to succeed, perhaps not.  

Perhaps the best state for the FSP is not the least populous, or the one that is the most free already, but the one that would attract the most liberty-seeking immigrants in the shortest time, and welcome the economic growth they would bring.  

I live in Minnesota, and there is a gargantuan talk radio ad campaign by Sioux Falls, SD Development Foundation (hope I got the name right) to get Minnesota businesses to migrate to a place where they treasure liberty, have a strong work force (i.e., they need businesses more than employees - possibly negative?), and very low taxes with no state income tax.  It seems to me that South Dakota has been trying to usher in a movement such as FSP for years now.  My only question is: How in the world did Tom Daschle manage to get elected???

[craft_6]

It seems to me that South Dakota has been trying to usher in a movement such as FSP for years now.  My only question is: How in the world did Tom Daschle manage to get elected???

South Dakota may be a good compromise state, and one that would welcome the economic and population growth the FSP would bring.

I'm not from there, but I would guess that Tom Daschle was elected by promising to bring home the federal bacon (i.e. taxes you and I pay), although he probably phrased it as "fighting to save the family farm, and the South Dakota way of life."  Once in power, he did just that, regardless of the cost to taxpayers in other states.  

Now that he has risen to prominence in the Senate, even voters who disagree with him philosophically have to think twice about voting against him, since power in Congress depends on seniority (whose bad idea was that?), and South Dakota would lose out on the federal gravy train if they elected a freshman Senator who favored limited government.

I've heard that incumbents in the US Congress have a higher re-election rate than incumbents in the old Soviet Politburo.  The odds are really against removing an incumbent Senator from office, especially once he or she has reached a position of power.

It would be better to assign committee chairs and leadership positions randomly each year, or cycle them through the 50 states each year.  

[RidleyReport]

Arright...gettting back to the original subject of the Booster Plan....

Here is an idea:

Assuming we use the Booster Plan model for handling the first weeks after FS selection....

How about we set aside items 2 and 3 for now (#2 is recruiting businesses, 3 is joining the chosen state's struggles with the Feds).  

And....just concentrate on #1?   #1 is the "made in the free state" campaign.

If that was the only thing we did during the first week after FS selection:  Announce that the chosen state now has thousands of new boosters who will go out of their way to buy her products, roll out a web page dedicated to pointing our members toward FS goods....

That might be better than anything else we could do.   People will only remember one thing anyway.

What do we have now in the way of one-stop-shopping web pageswe can go to for purchasing stuff/services made in Wyoming?  New Hampshire?  Montana?  Other candidate states?

[patriot32]

Here are some websites I found for buying New Hampshire products:

http://www.newhampshiremall.com/
http://www.localmall.org/home.htm
http://www.nh.com/main.asp?SectionID=88

[RidleyReport]

Good start, Patriot!

I'm soon setting up a preliminary web page that lists links for buying products in Wyoming, the apparent front runner.  I hope others will do the same for other top contending candidate states.

If Wyoming does get picked I want to be ready immediately to roll out the page and, if the chiefs approve, drive traffic to it through a link on the fsp index page.

I could use some help finding better links and improving my page.  Would anyone like to pitch in?

Here is what I have so far:

100% Wyoming - allwyoming.uwyo.edu  -  The best searchable database I could find for WY businesses

www.mallwyoming.com - decent site, but its site search did not work as of 7/4/03

www.wyomingnetwork.com - searchable but forces you to select a city where the business is located

www.wyomingproducts.net - viable but apparently not searchable


Indirectly related links:

WY Chambers of Commerce  http://www.wyomingchambers.com/local_chambers.html


All things considered I'd have to say these sites are viable but a bit limited...sure would be nice if we could set up some kind of wyamizon.com lol
 

[RidleyReport]

bump.  looking for more Declaration of Independence type ideas.