Kentucky man proclaims his property a sovereign nation

[Unidyne]

I run a website about sovereignty movements and model nation projects (http://www.microfreedom.com). Every once in a while, I find out about someone who is convinced he can secceed from the USA by filing the proper paperwork.

Today is one of those "once in a while"s.

Meet Keith Livingway of Todds Point, KY, where his 1.4 acre plot of land is called the "Yisra’el Nation". This past April, he was busted for driving with a suspended license, as well having "his own" license, issued by his own government which he insists is recognized by the Orgainzation of American States (apparently, he never got a notice rejecting his membership application).

http://www.theunitedcountiesofamerica.org/

[Thule]

Meet Keith Livingway of Todds Point, KY, where his 1.4 acre plot of land is called the "Yisra’el Nation". This past April, he was busted for driving with a suspended license, as well having "his own" license, issued by his own government which he insists is recognized by the Orgainzation of American States (apparently, he never got a notice rejecting his membership application).

So he's invading U.S soil? Send in the Army!

(edit:spelling)

[Gregg]

Build a border around him and charge $1,000 in tariffs every time he enters the USA. Cut off his utilities etc..

[Cathulhu]

Send in the army, capture him and send him off to Guantanamo Bay as a hostile POW.

[Pottapaug1938]

I'm reminded of the time, 40 years or so ago, that some businessmen decided to put some landfill on a coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean, raise the level of the land permanently above sea level, and create their own tax paradise by the name of the Republic of Minerva. In coin collectors' magazines, the promoters flogged their coins (with a thin layer of gold on the obverse portrait, and the rest of the coin being made of silver); and in the text they whined that the Republic was under military occupation by the Kingdom of Tonga -- which had always claimed the atoll upon which they had chosen to build.

[Brandybuck]

His driver's license is perfectly valid... within his 1.4 acre nation. To drive on Kentucky roads you still need a Kentucky driver's license. If a Canadian needs a Kentacky driver's license, then so does a Ysra'eleanite.

[ArthurWankspittle]

His driver's license is perfectly valid... within his 1.4 acre nation. To drive on Kentucky roads you still need a Kentucky driver's license. If a Canadian needs a Kentacky driver's license, then so does a Ysra'eleanite.

Surely a Canadian would have a Canadian driving license. The problem here is that the "Y'sraele" driver's license isn't recognised by the state of Kentucky.
Personally, I'd have him arrested by Homeland Security or Immigration pending his production of proof of citizenship of a country listed at the UN and the requisite visa to enter the USA. Then, following incarceration for illegally entering the US, he could be put on a plane to any country willing to take him or be dropped outside US territorial waters.

[Unidyne]

I'm reminded of the time, 40 years or so ago, that some businessmen decided to put some landfill on a coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean, raise the level of the land permanently above sea level, and create their own tax paradise by the name of the Republic of Minerva. In coin collectors' magazines, the promoters flogged their coins (with a thin layer of gold on the obverse portrait, and the rest of the coin being made of silver); and in the text they whined that the Republic was under military occupation by the Kingdom of Tonga -- which had always claimed the atoll upon which they had chosen to build.

That was the pet project of Michael Oliver, a Las Vegas real estate developer, coin collector and a staunch Libertarian. The name "Republic of Minerva" was chosen since the landfill project was at the Minerva Atoll. The 1973 Republic of Minerva $35 coins had a bust of the goddess Minerva in gold (10 grains, 24 karat) that was sintered onto the silver coin (24 grams). They now fetch for about $150 on the collector's market.

Tonga had claimed the reef (and other that it being a navigation hazard, no one bothered about it) but never enforced the claim until Oliver and his like-minded John Galt wanna-be's showed up.

You can see the coin here: http://www.imperial-collection.net/minerva.html

You can read some discussion on the whole fiasco here: http://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Talk:Republic_of_Minerva

[Arthur Rubin]

Then, following incarceration for illegally entering the US, he could be put on a plane to any country willing to take him or be dropped outside US territorial waters.

With or without a lifeboat?

[notorial dissent]

What is the weird fascination with the Post Office with this bunch?

The mythology with this crowd is a odd as some of the others I've seen, with a fixation on the Post Office, and like the rest of them they seem to make it up as they go along.