Florida League of the South Conference January 2023

This past weekend, on January 7^th, I was privileged to attend and briefly participate in the Florida League of the South (FL LS) Conference, held just outside of Lake City. Whereas it was not my original intention to attend this event, and I am not a League member, this was the first weekend at which I had the opportunity to participate in a Southern Nationalist gathering in 2023. My attendance was an extension of a personal commitment to do more this year in terms of activism, content production, and building toward a more cohesive and resilient Southern Nationalist movement.

A Year of Action: 2023

Before I share my thoughts on the events, speakers, and speeches, I would like to take a step back and express my overall belief in the importance of 2023. In November 2024, no matter who the Republican nominee may be, he or she will lose the presidential election. This is not mere conjecture on my part. Simple mathematics no longer provide an electoral victory pathway for the Republican candidate now that Arizona is lost, and Georgia is teetering. It is important for Southern Nationalists to fully appreciate the political realities of the Union before I return to the topic of the FL LS Conference itself.

When Trump won his election in 2016, he not only won the usual Republican electoral votes (i.e., those from the South, the Rocky Mountains, and the agricultural Midwest), he won Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. That did not happen in 2020, and it cannot happen in 2024. Michigan and Pennsylvania are now firmly in Democrat legislative and executive hands – meaning the rules changes for 2024 will undoubtedly ensure those electoral votes go to whomever the Democrat candidate may be. As it currently stands, the loss of Arizona ensures the 2024 Democrat candidate a 281 to 257 advantage in the election based on current voting and electoral results. This assumes Georgia, Wisconsin, and North Carolina all stay “red” and Virginia stays “blue.” Flip Virginia and Wisconsin, and you get D 278 to R 260 – still a loss.

The greatest presidential candidate may provide a glimmer of hope for the Republicans, but it will not matter. Even if Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Arizona do not change their voting rules to favor the Democrat candidate in 2024, they can still cheat. The outrageous theft of the 2020 election and a repeat of the shenanigans in 2022, all of which were marginally protested, has only emboldened the leftist regime. They know that they can get away with it and you – the regular voter – is powerless to stop them.

There is no question that dedicated rightwing American voters will vote harder in 2024 to secure a presidential victory for whomever runs that year (I suspect DeSantis). Ignoring the fact that very few Republican politicians are worth anything and they conserve nothing, conservatives will dutifully believe they have a fighting chance right up to the moment in which the polls close on 5 November 2024. This is all good news for Southern Nationalists.

Southern Nationalist entities should do everything in their power to encourage national participation in voting. Why? Because the failure that will inevitably result will strike a deep blow to the zeitgeist of genuine conservative voters. The disdain they will feel in the weeks after November 5^th as countless new ballots put the Democrat candidate over the top will break their hearts. We need to make this a reality. The United States cannot endure as long as fifty percent of the electorate feels disenfranchised. During the election of 2020, seventy-six million Americans believe their vote was stolen by a corrupt cabal. Worse, the media and government officials not only mocked their disappointment, they openly admitted they stole the election in a Time Magazine article shortly after the election. When this happens again in 2024, we need to be there with a plan and the organizational capacity to redirect their energies when they finally realize the United States is dead and it cannot be revived.

Florida Secession is my most pressing desire. I seek her political, cultural, and economic removal from those United States. At present, I belong to a small minority of Floridians, but our numbers are growing as evidenced by recent polling. If Florida goes – and my beloved country has the means to do so – the other “red” states will have to take a hard look around and awaken to the reality that they are doomed without Florida’s twenty-nine electoral votes and twenty-eight Congressional seats, twenty of which are Republican. These United States are already run by California and New York. Florida and Texas have been the most persistent stumbling blocks to California supremacy. Without us, the true capital of those United States will be Sacramento, not Washington, D.C. In many ways, it already is.

Correspondingly, I sincerely believe those in power in Washington will eventually allow Florida and Texas to leave in an attempt to consolidate power and impose their will on the less powerful, intransigent states. No doubt, they believe they can come back and “correct” Florida and Texas after they are done with states such as South Carolina, Wyoming, and Oklahoma. That is what the European Union did when it allowed the Czech-Slovakian divorce and subsequent reconnection by means of extra-territorial governance through the European Parliament. They are doing the same now with Scotland and Northern Ireland. We need to be ready for all possible eventualities.

Thus, my participation at the Florida League Conference. Any misgivings that I may have held in the past are permanently set aside. We share the same secessionist motivations. I remain a Christian Absolutist as it pertains to governance of any kind. This means, whether it is an organization, a government, or any entity within which I may play a role – small as it may be – I cannot submit to non-Christian leadership. The League is not a Christian Absolutist entity, thus I am no longer a member. That stated, I have no doubt whatsoever that the League, its leadership, and its members are committed Southern Nationalists. Therefore, we need to work together across the spectrum of Southern Nationalist entities and actors to achieve common goals and advocate side-by-side where it makes sense to do so.

Identity Dixie (ID) is a communications platform of Southern Nationalism. It is not an in-person activist entity. We hold fellowship gatherings, but our mission is Southern Nationalist content production. You will find no such coordinated ID participation in the cultivation of protests – whether they be Charlottesville in 2017 or some yet to be determined protest in 2024. You may find ID writers among the crowds, but you will never find ID leadership at the helm or even in the drafting room of such events. The League, by contrast, is an activist entity by design. Coordinating with them to amplify Southern Nationalist messaging and political or cultural goals makes strategic sense. There are some great people in the League which is led by the unflappable Dr. J. Michael Hill. We are honored to find symmetry where it can be found.

The Conference

The venue was a beautiful location, idyllic in its setting. The room had a fireplace that was lit in the morning. The space itself could accommodate approximately 75 – 100 guests, depending on the seating arrangements, with a convenient kitchen for the sake of managing food and refreshments.

The Conference organizers, all volunteers, did a great job at ensuring the space looked professional, inviting, and provided ample space for the speakers and guests. The location was well hidden, requiring advanced security protocols to ensure leftwing violence was avoided. In many ways, this was a throwback to earlier League events. The emphasis on the Florida state flag and the Bonnie Blue (the flag of the independent Republic of West Florida) was a nice touch, framing those who took the podium. There was a marked deemphasis on any ancillary causes. This was a Southern Nationalist event for Florida Secessionists – period.

The event started approximately forty-five minutes late. The tardiness was due to no fault of any of the organizers. There was a massive accident on nearby I-75 that blocked participants from arriving on time. Additionally, the seclusion of the event challenged some GPS units. Once the event started, it went smoothly.

Michael Tubbs, Chairman of the Florida League of the South, initiated the meeting, with his opening remarks. Consistent with the professionalism and businesslike orientation of the meeting, Tubbs began with a prayer and laid out an agenda. Again, the theme of Florida Secession was reemphasized.

Summary of Speakers

Luis Miguel, Candidate for the Florida House of Representatives, Federal Intrusion Upon the Florida Political System: Mr. Miguel, a Cuban-American, began with a well-articulated indictment of the current United States regime. Specifically, he explained various attempts or actions taken by the federal government to undermine Florida sovereignty and the Florida government’s response or lack thereof. He further highlighted the differences between the destructive Left and the moral superiority of conservative Southern culture. From that foundation, Mr. Miguel made a logical argument for secession. His speech was thorough, sincere, and touched every argument for a Free and Independent Dixie – especially, a Free Florida.

Marshall Clayton Rawson, Chairman of the Greater Melrose Republican Liberty Caucus, The Environmental Damage Caused by Immigration: Mr. Rawson, a very active member of local politics within Northeastern and Northcentral Florida, an agricultural business owner, and soon-to-be attorney, presented on the deleterious impact of migration on Florida’s environment. This was not constricted to illegal immigration. Rather, Mr. Rawson spoke on the impacts of land and climate as it pertained to an increasingly overpopulated and over-commercialized Florida. This included a well-reasoned rebuke of Yankee migration into the state, causing massive downstream impacts on the environmental sustainability of Florida’s ecosystem, especially upon its agricultural geography.

Dr. Marshall DeRosa, Professor at Florida Atlantic University and Author, The Confederate Principles: The Phoenix Rising: Dr. DeRosa’s presentation focused on the political, social, and legal distinctions of the Confederacy contrasted against those of the Union, pre-and-post-war. He showed a significant number of examples that highlighted the constitutional differences between the parties, including the inclusion of God and the rights of the citizenry. An interesting facet of Dr. DeRosa’s presentation was the rights of blacks and slaves in the South versus those in the North. The actual legal status of slavery in the South, to include the fact that human ownership was never a legal condition in the Confederacy and was well on its way out before the war started. Dr. DeRosa’s primary point, however, was that many of the current calls for legal reforms or interpretations of the American Constitution are really a rehash of the ideals of the Confederacy itself. Whether they realize it or not, American “conservatives” are essentially asking for the same things the South sought in 1860.

Padraig Martin, Author of “A Walk in the Park: My Charlottesville Story,” A Call to Action: I was humbled to be invited by the Chairman, Michael Tubbs, to give a speech at this event. It was an unplanned but wholly appreciated honor. I made a simple, short speech regarding the importance of 2023 as a year to act.

Mark Thomey, Professional Engineer and Executive Officer, The League of the South, The Alternative to the Empire: What Freedom Really Looks Like: Mr. Thomey presented how a Free and Independent Dixie would be governed both politically and socially. He cut the regime no slack, as he sliced through its treacherous and immoral acts one at a time. With every certifiable charge against the Empire, Mr. Thomey provided a Southern alternative to the political or social rot that festers from Washington, D.C. He covered a broad range of ground, from the regime’s promotion of sodomy to its feckless foreign policy to its insolvent monetary schemes. Mr. Thomey laid out a vision for a South whereby Christian compassion and community interaction are the foundation of an independent country led by moral leaders and laws enshrined to hold them accountable to the Southern people.

Dr. Michael Hill, President of the League of the South, The Modern Authors of Secession: The Agenda for 2023: Dr. Hill’s speech largely captured and summarized all of the speeches of the day with a more poignant recognition that 2023 is a critical year for the League and the secessionist movement in general. Referencing Fifth Generation Warfare – also known as “Non-Kinetic Activity” – Dr. Hill made a broader argument for engaging on a level that “attacks the margins” of the battlespace to redirect social engineering and information/disinformation campaigns toward the South in a way that encourages secession. Appreciating that strategic mistakes were made in the past by essentially trying to fight on the enemy’s chosen battleground (e.g., direct action confrontations), Dr. Hill made a cogent argument that the time to redirect toward a more comprehensive communications strategy would be more effective as the U.S. prepares for an inevitable political collapse in 2024. This was one of Dr. Hill’s most somber yet most important speeches that I have personally ever heard, because it offered a framework for a more attainable goal. In addition to that critical component of his speech, Dr. Hill rightfully stated that the movement has had its ebbs and flows, but those still committed to the cause of Southern freedom – despite how tough the fight has been – are true warriors for their people.

It is my understanding that the majority of the conference was filmed and will be made available to the general public. When it is, Identity Dixie will share the video. The summary I presented does not do justice to the hard work and passions of the speakers themselves.

It is with sincere appreciation to the Florida League of the South that I received both an invitation to attend and speak. The time to work is now. We share the same goal: a Free and Independent Dixie – preferably beginning with my beloved country, Florida.

Deo Vindice!