Today is a brand new world, and the power structure has changed. What proof do you have that 'it's just not in the cards'?
People were saying that about rumblings in the CCCP in the late 70's.
/johnny
Yes, certainly the power structure has changed, especially as regards the federal government vis-a-vis the states, but I'm not sure that that power differential has shifted in favor of the states since the 1860's. Beyond that, there isn't a state in this country in which a majority want to quit the United States.
I had never heard of these brave folks who went to Brazil. I have a lot of respect for them.