vermont_prof_says

Naylor is soft-spoken and polite. A former university professor, he exhibits obvious intelligence. He's also kind, a proud father and, well, rather likable.

But Naylor insists he's serious when he says Vermont should secede from the United States and become a republic. He's founded a political movement, the Second Vermont Republic, to do just that, and now he's published his book on the subject: "The Vermont Manifesto."

In it, Naylor lays out the state's attributes - its beauty, lack of commercialization, independence. And he proposes Vermont not only retain those characteristics through secession, but that the tiny northern state be an example to the rest of a nation caught up in money, power, greed and fears of terrorism.

While Naylor in his book also fantasizes about joining New Hampshire and Maine as a nation, the Second Vermont Republic's primary agenda is splitting with the United States.

Naylor argues Vermont should rise up, albeit peacefully, "reclaim its soul" and return to the independent republic it was between 1777 and 1791.

"The U.S. is not a sustainable economy. Do you want to go down with the Titanic? No empire has survived the test of time."

The United States' "death spiral" began with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and got a push from President Bush when he ordered a preemptive strike on Iraq, Naylor says. Eventually, as happened with the Soviet Union, he says, states will break away.

"The United States is not going to survive as an empire. It's just fundamentally unmanageable. It's just totally out of control."

And it will get worse before it gets better, he says. Naylor predicts Bush will order a nuclear bomb dropped on North Korea, Iran, Syria or all three by November 2004 to position himself for re-election - a campaign that Naylor expects Bush to win.

Naylor knows most will dismiss his predictions and his drive for secession as ridiculous. But the 67-year-old does have some credentials to back up his positions.

After making trips to the Soviet Union in the 1980s, he says, he publicly predicted the changes ahead there. He's written books on "The Cold War Legacy" and "The Gorbachev Strategy," and he certainly understands economies.

Naylor - make that Dr. Naylor, since he has a doctorate in the field - was an economics professor at Duke University for 30 years. In Vermont, the Mississippi native taught economics for a year at Middlebury College and a few courses at the University of Vermont's business school.

A reprinting of one of Naylor's textbooks in Russian led to an invitation to visit the country and eventually to a new specialty: political and social analysis. In the 1980s, Naylor left behind mathematics and corporate planning models, not to mention a 50-person computer firm that sold software at $70,000 a pop to Fortune 500 companies, to write "The Search for Meaning," "Affluenza," "Downsizing the U.S.A." and others.

The chapters are written out on yellow legal pads. Naylor says he hasn't touched a computer since he sold his software company to German investors in 1980.

He came to Vermont, specifically Charlotte, in 1993 with his wife, Magdalena Naylor, and their son, Alexander, now 16, in search of community after the couple wrote about the topic in "The Search for Meaning. She is a psychologist at Fletcher Allen Health Care and associate professor at the University of Vermont.

As Naylor started drafting "The Vermont Manifesto" two years ago and formed the Second Vermont Republic, "Some people laughed at me. Most just ignored it."

Naylor also hopes the national media will take note and contrast the Second Vermont Republic's efforts to leave the nation with Vermonter Howard Dean's efforts to run it.

So far, about 30 "Vermonters or sympathetic flatlanders" have paid the $25 dues (students are $10; organizations are $100) to join the Second Vermont Republic, and an additional 70 have expressed interest, says Naylor. Besides his book, a 112-page paperback with green covers, he is selling T-shirts and giving away bumper stickers.

In June, the group, with the aid of Bread and Puppet Theater of Glover, will issue a declaration of independence on the State House steps in Montpelier. Naylor's already been speaking on the topic of secession at public lectures on college campuses.

He's begun stepping up the public relations efforts, sending out press releases on his book and the Second Vermont Republic's stance and getting opinion pieces published in regional newspapers, such as The Providence (R.I.) Journal. A daylong "independence workshop" was held last month in Glover, and other meetings are planned to get the word out. Even a man who has turned away from computers needs a Web site for his movement (www.vermontsovereignty.com), and the Second Vermont Republic is investigating creating a Vermont currency.

Naylor is also armed with answers to arguments he commonly hears, including that the state would be unable to sustain itself financially and militarily.

For every dollar Vermonters send "the feds," he says, the state gets $1.12 back. Secession would cost Vermont "a few hundred million dollars."

"It's for sure not a big loss," he says. Naylor also envisions Vermont continuing to trade with other countries.

"Why would anyone in their right mind want to attack Vermont?" he asked from his relaxed position in an overstuffed chair, views of farm fields and mountains stretching out behind his home.



	The Barre - Montpelier TIMES ARGUS Monday, December 15, 2003 Former professor argues it's time to leave the Union November 16, 2003 By ROBIN PALMER Staff Writer CHARLOTTE - Nothing about Thomas Naylor seems radical - except, of course, his politics. Naylor is soft-spoken and polite. A former university professor, he exhibits obvious intelligence. He's also kind, a proud father and, well, rather likable. But Naylor insists he's serious when he says Vermont should secede from the United States and become a republic. He's founded a political movement, the Second Vermont Republic, to do just that, and now he's published his book on the subject: "The Vermont Manifesto." In it, Naylor lays out the state's attributes - its beauty, lack of commercialization, independence. And he proposes Vermont not only retain those characteristics through secession, but that the tiny northern state be an example to the rest of a nation caught up in money, power, greed and fears of terrorism. "The United States needs a different metaphor," he says, "and we're offering ourselves as that metaphor." While Naylor in his book also fantasizes about joining New Hampshire and Maine as a nation, the Second Vermont Republic's primary agenda is splitting with the United States. Naylor argues Vermont should rise up, albeit peacefully, "reclaim its soul" and return to the independent republic it was between 1777 and 1791. Becoming a republic again could be the state's salvation - literally, he believes. "The U.S. is not a sustainable economy. Do you want to go down with the Titanic? No empire has survived the test of time." -- The United States' "death spiral" began with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and got a push from President Bush when he ordered a preemptive strike on Iraq, Naylor says. Eventually, as happened with the Soviet Union, he says, states will break away. "The United States is not going to survive as an empire. It's just fundamentally unmanageable. It's just totally out of control." And it will get worse before it gets better, he says. Naylor predicts Bush will order a nuclear bomb dropped on North Korea, Iran, Syria or all three by November 2004 to position himself for re-election - a campaign that Naylor expects Bush to win. Naylor knows most will dismiss his predictions and his drive for secession as ridiculous. But the 67-year-old does have some credentials to back up his positions. After making trips to the Soviet Union in the 1980s, he says, he publicly predicted the changes ahead there. He's written books on "The Cold War Legacy" and "The Gorbachev Strategy," and he certainly understands economies. Naylor - make that Dr. Naylor, since he has a doctorate in the field - was an economics professor at Duke University for 30 years. In Vermont, the Mississippi native taught economics for a year at Middlebury College and a few courses at the University of Vermont's business school. He's also written or co-written 30 books over the past 40 years, focusing first on computers. A reprinting of one of Naylor's textbooks in Russian led to an invitation to visit the country and eventually to a new specialty: political and social analysis. In the 1980s, Naylor left behind mathematics and corporate planning models, not to mention a 50-person computer firm that sold software at $70,000 a pop to Fortune 500 companies, to write "The Search for Meaning," "Affluenza," "Downsizing the U.S.A." and others. The chapters are written out on yellow legal pads. Naylor says he hasn't touched a computer since he sold his software company to German investors in 1980. -- He came to Vermont, specifically Charlotte, in 1993 with his wife, Magdalena Naylor, and their son, Alexander, now 16, in search of community after the couple wrote about the topic in "The Search for Meaning. She is a psychologist at Fletcher Allen Health Care and associate professor at the University of Vermont. As Naylor started drafting "The Vermont Manifesto" two years ago and formed the Second Vermont Republic, "Some people laughed at me. Most just ignored it." While he certainly still has his critics, he says his ideas are gaining attention. "Every time Bush opens his mouth, it gets a little easier." Naylor also hopes the national media will take note and contrast the Second Vermont Republic's efforts to leave the nation with Vermonter Howard Dean's efforts to run it. So far, about 30 "Vermonters or sympathetic flatlanders" have paid the $25 dues (students are $10; organizations are $100) to join the Second Vermont Republic, and an additional 70 have expressed interest, says Naylor. Besides his book, a 112-page paperback with green covers, he is selling T-shirts and giving away bumper stickers. In June, the group, with the aid of Bread and Puppet Theater of Glover, will issue a declaration of independence on the State House steps in Montpelier. Naylor's already been speaking on the topic of secession at public lectures on college campuses. He's begun stepping up the public relations efforts, sending out press releases on his book and the Second Vermont Republic's stance and getting opinion pieces published in regional newspapers, such as The Providence (R.I.) Journal. A daylong "independence workshop" was held last month in Glover, and other meetings are planned to get the word out. Even a man who has turned away from computers needs a Web site for his movement (www.vermontsovereignty.com), and the Second Vermont Republic is investigating creating a Vermont currency. Naylor is also armed with answers to arguments he commonly hears, including that the state would be unable to sustain itself financially and militarily. For every dollar Vermonters send "the feds," he says, the state gets $1.12 back. Secession would cost Vermont "a few hundred million dollars." "It's for sure not a big loss," he says. Naylor also envisions Vermont continuing to trade with other countries. He does not believe leaving the United States would make the state vulnerable to military attack. "Why would anyone in their right mind want to attack Vermont?" he asked from his relaxed position in an overstuffed chair, views of farm fields and mountains stretching out behind his home. "It's laughable," he says. "Kill black and white Holsteins? Burn off the sugar maples?" With that in mind, Naylor tells Vermonters to "rebel." It's the title of his next book. One of the book's heroes? None other than Jesus Christ. Rebelling, says Naylor, is "ultimately the only way to live." Contact Robin Palmer at robin.palmer@timesargus.com or 479-0191, ext. 1171. http://timesargus.com/Regional_News/Story/74657.html