Texas' Secession Petition to Get White House Review

Will we soon be a nation of 49 states? Not a snowball's chance in hell. But the Houston Chronicle reports that residents of Texas who petitioned for the right to secede from the Union will indeed have their plea considered by the White House. That's not because the administration is taking the request seriously; rather, the petition met the threshold of 25,000 signatures needed to trigger a review, as per the White House website where it was filed.

A rep for Gov. Rick Perry released a statement to the Dallas Morning News pooh-poohing the secession drive while taking a dig at Washington: "Gov. Perry believes in the greatness of our Union and nothing should be done to change it. But he also shares the frustrations many Americans have with our federal government." Unhappy voters in 19 more states have similar petitions in the works. (More Texas stories.)