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Calling All Libertarians

Have you heard of Free the State Project? It's a group that wants to create a Libertarian utopia in one state.
A movement called the Free State Project has registered some 3,100 people who would help choose a "candidate" state and move there in hopes of canceling laws against drugs, prostitution, guns and other individual liberties, while privatizing current state functions such as schools. "Rather than change the whole nation it makes sense for all of us to gather in one place," said Elizabeth McKinstry, 33, of Hillsdale, Mich., the project's vice president.
Ten states are under consideration, all with under 1.5 million residents. Their goal is to get 20,000 people to sign up and move to that state. That's the number they say is needed to be in a politically influential position.

States under consideration are: Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware and Vermont. The project is the brainchild of Jason Sorens, 26, a doctoral candidate in political science at Yale University. 3,100 people have signed up so far. When they get 5,000 members, which they expect to happen by the end of the year, the group will vote on the state and members will have five years to move there.

Is this a new take on Woodstock Nation? We can remember an idea circulating shortly after that event that if 500,000 of the nation's hippies moved to Wyoming, they could take over the state. (Back then, word was that Wyoming only had 500,000 residents.) Idealistic and improbable? Sure. But it was also fun to contemplate.

Then there was the movie "Wild in the Streets," about a movement to stop anyone over 30 from holding office. We suspect these ideas come and go, but in these days of the internet, word spreads so fast and among so many that Free the State likely will entice enough people to sign up. Check out their website, it's quite well done and they obviously mean business. We wish them good luck.

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