This weekend's McLaughlin Group offered another doozy, courtesy of who else than Lawrence O'Donnell, political contributor to MSNBC.

MR. O'DONNELL: The big problem the country now has, which is going to produce a serious discussion of secession over the next 20 years, is that the segment of the country that pays for the federal government is now being governed by the people who don't pay for the federal government.

MR. BLANKLEY: Did you say secession?

MR. BUCHANAN: (Laughs.)

MR. O'DONNELL: Yes, yes.

MR. BLANKLEY: Are you calling for civil war?

MR. O'DONNELL: Ninety -- not war; you can secede without firing a shot.

MR. BLANKLEY: Not if you have a Lincoln in the White House.

Source: mclaughlin.com

A war predicated on racial equality is a just war. I have stated in the past (out of disgust for the bigoted south) that the Civil War was not worth it. The Civil War was not fought over racial equality and slavery, but primarily states' rights (e.g., a states' right to own a person as property). The Confederacy split this nation literally, but the Civil War divided this nation emotionally. The ramifications of the War Between the States (or the American Civil War) has created a rift in this nation that has lasted generations and nearly 150 years. The war has had great influence in the political landscape, from governorships in the deep south to presidential elections and the formation of a major political party. (Hint: G.O.P.)

Lincoln, remember, declared war on the Confederacy in order to preserve the Union. Lincoln thought that United States were better off if it included the likes of Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi. I hesitantly but decisively disagree.

I do not think the South was worth it. (So, we would need a passport to go to Disney or Fort Lauderdale, or Dodger spring training in Vero Beach. We would get over it. It would be like going to Mexico.)

The Civil War preserved the Union; the war did not free a people or create equality. Civil rights were not granted until the 1960s, a hundred years after the last shots were fired in the war. Civil rights are still not a reality for all. Racism and hate divide not only the country but cities as well.

A war predicated on racial equality is just. What sickens me is that Tony Blankley still believes that Lincoln should not have declared war on the south for that it would have preserved the southern way of life of the beloved Confederacy. Mostly everyone, including myself, has come to terms with the great war that ravaged through cities and the countryside, and the long-lasting impacts it has had on our country. Mostly everyone; except for those in the south. And Tony Blankley.

I will delve into the subject of a modern-day secession by the blue states in a post later this week.