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Independence for South Carolina

Federal government cannot be saved;

We will work for peaceful secession



By James E. Layden

The League of the South (LoS) and various state organizations such as the South Carolina League of the South (SCLoS) are dedicated to defending and enhancing the cultural and political interest of the Southern people. Members of the League are drawn from all levels of society. They include distinguished professors, authors, businessmen, doctors, attorneys, and workingmen and women from all walks of life. We believe in the same principles of government that motivated our Founding Fathers: local self-government (as is articulated in the 10th Amendment); the preservation of historic local cultures and communities; and the idea of the �consent of the governed.� We have embraced the best of the American tradition of ordered liberty.

We do know that sentiment for self-determination and government by the consent of the governed is a powerful force and is on the rise throughout the world and in the United States. For the past 12 years the Odum Institute in Chapel Hill, N. C., has taken a yearly Southern Focus Poll about Southern identity. Over this 12-year period, an average 12 percent of Southerners have favored independence if we can achieve it by peaceful means. Another 7 percent are not sure. If only one half of the not sure decides for freedom, we would have nearly one in six or about 16 percent of Southerners who favor our cause. This figure becomes significant when compared to the 15 percent to 20 percent of American colonist in 1776 who favored secession from England, and we know how that came out.

The SCLoS is working to regain 10th amendment rights under the Constitution and failing that, we will work for peaceful secession through the ballot box. Secession, or self-determination, is the ultimate right of free men; and in the spirit of our Founding and Confederate forefathers, we shall, if necessary, invoke that principle once again. Devolution is a worldwide trend-taking place in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Quebec and Scotland. Credible independence movements have formed in the South, Southwest, Alaska and Hawaii.

The SCLoS seeks to advance the cultural, economic, political well being and independence of all South Carolinians by all honorable means. We will secure a free and prosperous Republic of South Carolina in the 21st century and a government by the consent of the governed. Our own nation founded on private property, free association, fair trade, sound money, low taxes, equal justice before the law, and armed and vigilant neutrality. It will be a self-governing State and local communities invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, with a bold, self-confident civilization based on European roots.

Why secession?

This action is deemed necessary because the federal government of the United States continues its attack against families, Christian values and symbols. The forced removal of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Supreme Court building is but another in a long train of attacks, including the forced acceptance of abortion, kicking prayer out of public schools and high school football game, and recently, the U. S. Supreme Court decision that homosexuality is acceptable, as long as it�s kept behind closed doors. The newest attacks on Christians and families are sodomite illegitimate unions and the ban on praying in Jesus name.

The U. S. government separates itself in every way possible from God, and especially, from Christianity. In some ways, it even puts itself in God�s place. That is, the government god is a jealous god and will have no other gods before it. Add to the moral decay promoted by government, a multitude of intrusive laws, confiscatory taxation, perpetual war for perpetual peace and we have an intolerant situation that will only get worse. This trend will not change unless enough Christians stand up and say �NO�. We do get the government we deserve, but we can make a difference.

Economic and political change will occur through personal commitment and political action.

The goals of the SCLoS are:

1. Implement God's laws as the acceptable standard of behavior adopting a Biblical world view.

2. Eliminate all federal government control and influence in South Carolina.

3. Reduce the size and scope of all levels of government from state, county, and town to the absolute minimum needed to maintain law and order.

4.Promote and institute Southern culture relying on Biblical truth.

Our ideas and solutions will be presented to the citizens of South Carolina for consideration. They will make the final decision and will determine our future. We have the ability to make our case, as some eighty percent of members are college graduates and about ten percent of these are PhD's

The enemies of freedom are trying to distort our message by making wild charges unrelated to our agenda. The LoS and the SCLoS has been the subject of false information provided by Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) of Montgomery Alabama since autumn 2000. The misinformation consists of claims that our views represent hate that we are haters, and so on - mere emotional labels and innuendoes. These charges are scurrilous, misleading, and inaccurate.

Liberal media

The liberal news media has seized upon this opportunity to call the LoS and SCLoS hate groups and extremist groups by quoting the SPLC as an infallible source of information. This gives them some semblance of honesty when someone else is quoted with the information they want to convey to the public. The Greenville News and The State newspapers are the worst offenders in South Carolina, but the T & D has learned from them and is now following their lead.

Officers of the SCLoS met with the editors of The State and the Greenville News and provided documentation to them such as The Church of Morris Dees by Ken Silverstein, Harpers Magazine, November 2000. This and the other documents provided would make any honest person suspect when quoting such a source. In addition, they were reminded when they quote a source known to be untrue they are in fact lying and in a court of law would be guilty of perjury. This revelation has had no affect on The State and Greenville News as they continue there lies. In defense of both papers, it can be said they are not discriminatory as they also print lies about the Sons of Confederate Veterans, United Daughters of the Confederacy and even the Boy Scouts of America. They don�t like God�s Laws either as the SPLC was the moving force behind the removal of the ten Commandments from the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court building.

We live in perilous times and freedom for the citizens of sister Southern states and South Carolinians is a serious matter that must be considered on an individual basis with prayerful thought. I want to invite everyone interested in freedom to read The Grey Book - Blueprint for Southern Independence. It is a scholarly work published by the LoS to convince you that the U. S. government is indeed beyond reform, and to spark serious thought and discussion as to what good government should be like. In addition, please review the LoS and SCLoS websites at www.dixienet.org and www.sclos.org respectively. The Grey Book may be purchased on Dixienet and other appropriate literature and Southern symbols are available on www.leaguebuilding.com. In addition, you are welcome to visit our Southern Patriot Shops at 107 E. Main St, Abbeville, SC and soon to open 3018 Charleston Hwy, Cayce.

Our meetings are open to the public and everyone is invited to attend. Many book reviews and speeches at state and national conferences are recorded and offered to the public. Other individuals are presented to the community via talk show appearances and locally advertised events. We ask only that South Carolinians �Give truth a Chance.�



For a free South Carolina,

James E. Layden of Bamberg is chairman of the board of the S. C. League of the South
http://www.sclos.org/ITN-05.htm