Oh look, another crazy group from a red state entertaining delusions of secession. When are these crazy, gun toting, bible thumping Republi-hold on! What?

It's a group of liberals trying to break away!

Not to form their own country, as the traditional Southern or Nation of Islam narrative goes, but from the state. Tuscon and Pima County, a blue island in a very red state, seeks to form it's own state, currently dubbed Baja Arizona.

Secessionists have until July 5th next year to collect 48,000 signatures in order to get their measure added to the 2012 November ballot. If the measure passes, it would then require a majority vote in the Congress to be granted statehood. (The vote at the state level is needed, as no new states may be formed from parts of existing states without that state's consent.)

If Baja Arizona is formed as its own state, it's 980,000 people would make it the 45th largest, just behind Wyoming.

[Yahoo]

The state of Arizona has started a new funding program to bolster its security along the border with Mexico: the state is asking for donations.

The state has set up a "Keep Arizona Safe" website, which has already received over $1.5 million in contributions from more than 33,000 individuals.

This may seem like just a kooky, one-off, political stunt, but if successful, it would raise serious questions about the way we fund our government, especially when it comes to controversial, non-essential programs.

Take the Hubble Space Telescope for example. Some people will argue it is one of the greatest investments our government has made, and point to the vast amount of information it has collected about space and the origin of the universe. It has provided a wealth of information that may help us understand mankind's purpose in the grand scheme of things. Opponents of the telescope will ask where in the Constitution Congress is empowered to spend money researching the great mysteries of the universe. Defense, and roads, and clean drinking water, that's Congress's job, leave these other things to private institutions.

So, what about a la carte government funding? If you really believe our government should build a Mars rover, let NASA set up a website and see if it can raise the funds, rather than impose a mandate on all citizens. Think we should fund "sculptures" that are barely distinguishable from actual rubbish? Then make a donation to the NEA (or directly to the sculptor, for that matter). Most big ticket items will have to be mandatory, but remove all the optional (and constitutionally questionable) programs from the budget, and let people fund what they will. Just think about the boom in the coffee mug and tote bag industries from the pledge drives by Planned Parenthood and Northwestern's Joke Machine (which got over $700k in stimulus funds).

[Keep AZ Safe]

The government of Haiti has passed an amendment to its constitution, doing away with the ban on dual citizenship.

This means that some 2 million Haitians living abroad (mainly in the United States and Canada) will be recognized as citizens, and will be able to able to vote in the nation's elections and run for lower government offices. In a country of just under 10 million, that addition could drastically change the face of the Haitian government.

The move is likely an attempt to get expatriated Haitians interested in investing in their struggling home country. The amendment will also allow non-resident Haitians to own land in the country.

[Washington Post]

How do you know you're perhaps a bit to old to be practicing law?

...I said how do you know YOU'RE A BIT TOO OLD TO BE PRACTICING LAW!

New from The Namby Pamby: The Long Tooth of the Law.