​It is that time of the year when everyone is supposed to be filled with joy, and candy canes and ornament-covered evergreen trees are found in stores and in people’s homes. Throughout the season, the aim is to focus on Jesus’ birth, family, and the little things in life without the stress (tell this to shoppers scrambling around looking for gifts for loved ones). With music and bells filling the air, Upstate New York (New Amsterdam) has a much different situation, as the political environment is much colder and snowier than a five-foot storm in Buffalo. Albany may be the de jure capital of the state, but do the people outside of New York City really have a say in what happens within the borders?
For years, high taxes and burdensome regulations have destroyed the economy of New Amsterdam and created ghost towns in once-thriving industrial cities. From the Mohawk Valley and across the Erie Canal to Central and Western New York to the Capital Region to the Southern Tier to the Adirondacks and the Tug Hill Plateau to the Hudson Valley, many places have become depressed and a shadow of their former glory (so much so that even The Simpsons joked about it). Yet, with New York City sucking out the wealth of Upstate citizens because of its superior numbers that contribute to domination over the governorship and state legislature (making us a one-party state), there is no realistic political future for those of us who remain.
Therefore, what is needed at this point is a revolution, digital or otherwise, where we the people take back power from the imperial usurpers who have stolen our land, values, and less-urban culture and given us the aptly-named Empire State that we see now. However, if we sit on our couches, never touch a keyboard, do not attend rallies and meetings, and quietly accept the living conditions in which we have been subjected to, things will never change. Find ways to participate, even if it is to share content online. Rise up and pressure politicians to alter the landscape, and take up the pen and start uniting people to the cause. Get them fired up and ready to take action.
People often complain about how they have no power and are governed by New York City, but they do nothing in response (just empty words). When things get too bad, they flee the state and move on to greener and less snowy pastures, leaving behind the chance at making a better future in the land that they were given. Do not let the evil one-party government win, as we need to fight back and take what is rightfully ours. If you must write a letter to Santa Claus asking for separation from New York City, so be it. Though we do not have reindeer (caribou) here, the elves could harness up the white-tailed deer to deliver this gift, as these beasts seem unafraid to dart across roads in front of cars (if you know, you know).
Never give up hope, and with your help we can put an end to this madness and bring some cheer back to our great land. Please consider stopping by our website, and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thank you for reading,
Craig Peterson, Jr.
Divide NYS Treasurer

​There is a lot to be thankful for living in New Amsterdam (Upstate New York). We have plentiful nature, forests, mountains, lakes, and wildlife. There are many pastures with cows and horses and fields and orchards. We have small towns and villages mixed with larger urban and suburban centers. There are baseball, football, basketball, soccer, and hockey fields and stadiums, while ski resorts, hiking trails, and boat launches dot the rural landscape. New York ranks top ten in producing several agricultural items, including: apples, cheese, milk, grapes and wine, tart cherries, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, snap and green peas, maple syrup, beans, squash, and cabbage.
With plentiful harvests and wild and domesticated turkeys running around, and the ability to create our own Thanksgiving meal each year from produce grown and manufactured in New York, why are the people still feeling isolated and conquered within the political system? Could it be because there is one dictator in Albany who controls where the money goes and what individuals and businesses can do? Farmers must fork over their hard-earned dollars to the governor who will then determine where they should be used, and we the people do not get to choose where this money is sucked away to. Rather, it is a single leader, aided by a bureaucracy, who makes all of the major decisions.
The retort may be: the farmer gets to vote for his or her legislators and for the governor, right? Well, farmers may get to fill in a circle on a piece of paper to feel good about “democracy” in that moment, but when you tally up the numbers at the end of the day, the real power comes from New York City and the surrounding areas. Both the New York State Senate and Assembly are distributed out based on population alone, so if two-thirds of the population is concentrated in the New York City metropolitan area, two-thirds of both the Senate and Assembly will automatically consist of the will of that one small area. There is absolutely no chance for that rural farmer to have a real voice because there are no checks and balances on the majority party’s rule. Therefore, the governor and a supermajority of both chambers of the legislature will always be made up of Democrats, and there is no Republican check. The people have no way to challenge this besides to wait every twenty years for the Constitutional Convention to roll around and hope that people take an interest enough to demand change.
Since New York State is a one-party state with no real representation for anywhere outside of the New York City metropolitan area, Upstaters often feel a sense of hopelessness that cannot be cured through the republican process of electing representatives. “Just vote harder,” is what Democrats will tell you, as they yield complete power over the state and will not agree to any type of balance within politics (New York Democrats even stripped the Green and Libertarian Parties from ballot access).
There are very few options for Upstaters to take within the system itself, and perhaps the only real choice is to take up non-political opportunities (if you know what I mean). Demand that Governor Kathy Hochul and her Democratic friends join us at the Thanksgiving table so that we can discuss the best course of action for all New Yorkers.
Divide New York State is an organization that is attempting to give autonomy to Upstate so that we do not spoil before it is time for dinner. This Thanksgiving, at least try to bring up this idea to those seated at the table, especially if there is someone who is unfamiliar with it. Get people excited about it and spreading the ideas of liberty across the state.
Thank you for reading, and please visit our website for more information.
Regards,
Craig Peterson, Jr.
Divide NYS Treasurer

What is one of the best things about living in New York State? Well, you get to live Halloween all year around, of course. From the spooktacular taxes, to the frightening business regulations, to the chills you get when you think about the state intervening in your daily life and restricting almost every aspect of what you do, to the terrifying screeches from the state’s unfunded mandates; New Yorkers are left horrified and wanting to scream into the void. As Upstate New York is gutted and carved out of life, the cities and towns abandoned from loss of manufacturing, the tax burden, and overregulation look sleepier and hollower than an empty pumpkin on the doorstep waiting to be finished off by passing squirrels and deer.
As citizens ride around headless feeling as if they are ghosts of their former selves, they act like zombies just trying to get by in their costly lives. Meanwhile, Governor Kathy Hochul and her squad of vampires continue to suck the life out of the good people, but worry not, because she sent us a $200 inflation check so that we can save it for when tax season comes back around. How can such a wonderful place as Upstate New York have such werewolves forcing their will upon on it? Why does one city get to turn the rest of the state into a hellscape and enforce its imperialistic ways on everyone?
Majority rules and land does not vote, they say, but what about the majority in the counties outside of the boroughs (and the larger metropolitan area)? Do our voices not count? Do we not matter? Do we not have the right to determine our own political future? Should we not determine our own tax policies and decide what regulations we want to apply to businesses and our personal lives? Should we not be free to experience a life full of meaning where we do not have to constantly worry about how we will be able to pay for our groceries or appliances that fail? We the people deserve to break up the one-party system that has hijacked the government and empowered itself to be able to resist any opposition. When will we be able to wake up from this nightmare and seize the power back for ourselves?
The fact of the matter is that remaining silent will keep this world run by ghouls going indefinitely, but if you begin to act toward the goal of separation, there is an increased chance that success will come. Contact your state representatives, spread the message, and do your part to raise awareness to the idea of dividing the state to match the will of the people. Find reasonable ways to not comply and to challenge the authority of the status quo. Haunt the politicians before they can do it to you, and assemble the people and put a trick-or-treat ultimatum in front of the capitol or the governor’s mansion. Only the people coming together to demand change can bring about a brighter future for all New Yorkers.
Thank you for reading, and please visit our website for more information.
Regards,
​Craig Peterson, Jr.
Divide NYS Treasurer

Sample email for NYS Assembly
Dear Hon (Assemblymember’s name)
The views of people who live in the upstate, suburbs and NYC areas of New York State are very different and really should be divided into separate states, but completely autonomous regions are much easier to accomplish. Please co-sponsor the divide amendment in 2023 to the NYS constitution
A03778 Please reply to this email.
Sincerely,
(your name)

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