#ROA | The Republic of Awesome

18 November

Love It Or Leave It?

Written by Don Carr

For a country founded on rebellion, secession movements are an unsurprisingly popular American tradition. From the tongue-in-cheek variety of mock revolt practiced by Key West’s Conch Republic, to the bloody fighting of the Civil War, the urge to flip the bird to the powers that be is as old as these United States. There’s...

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19 October

America’s Gonna Need the Jaws of Life After this Train Wreck Election

Written by Don Carr

Nearly a quarter century later there are still political kernels of wisdom to be harvested from Bill Clinton’s improbable, history-making 1992 presidential campaign – wisdom Americans can consider after emerging from their bunkers to survey the smoking, salted ground on November 9th. A new documentary film, Crashing the Party, etches the biggest lesson of...

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01 August

Love it or Leave it News: The Republic of Kinney

Written by Don Carr

The ROA is feeling severe shame in not knowing until now that freedom-loving citizens in the neighboring state of Minnesota pulled off a “tongue in cheek” secession ala Key West’s Conch Republic. From Atlas Obscura: In the mid-1970s the officials of tiny Kinney, Minnesota were desperate to fix their crumbling water system. With no help...

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16 June

Love It or Leave It News: Boys State Brain Force

Written by Don Carr

In Texas, where misguided secession talk is as ubiquitous as barbecue, a recent move to seriously debate rebelling from the Republic was defeated at the state GOP convention. That didn’t stop the brightest young male minds in the state from doing the same. At the annual Texas Boys State convention in Austin, reports the...

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27 April

Love it Or Leave It News: Yee Haw for Texas

Written by Don Carr

It’s election season again, or as they call it in Texas, “time for faux revolt!” The Obama age has catapulted rural angst into a full-blown psychotic rage as evidenced by a string of secession efforts. From California’s State of Jefferson, to New Yorkers mad over a fracking ban, to a call for some Maryland...

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27 March

An Issue The Food Party Can Cotton To

Written by Don Carr

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack remains wisely unswayed by House Agriculture Committee pleas to reclassify cottonseeds. According to the cotton industry, low prices and loss of acreage have put American cotton farmers in a tough spot. They believe salvation lies with the reclassification, which would allow $1 billion more a year in...

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07 March

Food Party Dispatch: Talking With Wholesome Wave’s Nischan

Written by Don Carr

If the “good food” movement is going to unite into a formidable political force for change — something like a national Food Party — then it’s going to have to rely in part on existing groups and activists as a foundation. Chef Michel Nischan is a three-time James Beard Foundation award winner, restaurateur, and cookbook...

#ROA, Republicofawesome food movement, food stamps, politics 1 Comment

11 February

Fooling Ourselves With Polls

Written by Don Carr

The situation in Flint, Michigan has rightly has put a spotlight on the deplorable state of drinking water in America. Water pollution in the U.S. from agriculture is also a big problem getting bigger. From Toledo to Des Moines, municipal water systems are being overwhelmed trying to filter out farm pollutants. The residents of Adrian, Minnesota...

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08 February

Cruz Storms “King” Corn’s Castle

Written by Don Carr

Because of the outsized role they play in American politics, there will always be debate over the farm lobby’s power. The first in the nation Iowa presidential primary caucus has been a barometer of the corn and ethanol lobbies’ influence in particular due to the state’s huge output of both. This time around Texas...

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21 January

Iowa “Corn”servatives Backing Rubio Recieved $4.7 Million in Subsidies

Written by Don Carr

Marco Rubio’s campaign for the GOP presidential nomination is doing well enough in Iowa that he recently announced an agriculture leadership team to bolster his corn cred. Both Jeb! Bush and the failed Scott Walker campaigns announced ag teams this summer. Rubio’s ream of 24 agriculture leader endorsements comes after Iowa consternation regarding his...

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