Day 3719: Molossia and stowaways.

 

   

"Trespassing": digital collage

Want music?

Click here: Hall & Oates, Sara Smile.

then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?

 

 

2GN2S ... 

Meet President Baugh, the self-proclaimed 'dictator' of a micronation in Nevada you've probably never heard of

'President' Kevin Baugh of Molossia stands by the micronation's flag.8

   • Kevin Baugh is the "benevolent dictator" of the Republic    of Molossia — a one-acre micronation in Nevada.

  • It has a currency pegged to the value of cookie    dough and a navy consisting of two kayaks. 

  • A micronation is a self-proclaimed independent state whose sovereignty is not recognized by the international community.

The micronation was born at a suburban house in Portland, Oregon, in 1977. It was originally known as the Grand Republic of Vuldstein. Baugh appointed himself Prime Minister, and Spielman was made King. Baugh conceded that, back then, it was a little more than childish reverie. "It was more fictional. I guess you could say," he said. "There was no internet back then, so we made it up as we went along." Spielman eventually abandoned the project, but Baugh continued working on it sporadically while he served in the US Army. He left the army in the 1990s and settled in Nevada with his family. Around this time, he said, he started taking the micronation more seriously. "The internet came along, and I was able to see that other people had created their own countries," Baugh explained. "So I took Molossia from just being on paper to having our own website."  Baugh continued researching micronations online, finding information on how he could fully realize one of his own.

A micronation is a self-proclaimed independent state whose sovereignty is not recognized by the international community. For example, world governments and the UN do not recognize them as legitimate. They're often small, the outgrowth of a single individual, and viewed as trivial enough to be ignored by the established nation their land sits within. The US knows Molossia exists, Baugh said, but "basically ignores" it. There are at least 67 separate micronations in the world, Insider previously reported.

Citizens of Molossia, who are all members of Kevin Baugh's family, celebrate Christmas together in 2019.

 Baugh learned that micronations are usually formed by claiming the land they live on as their own territory. So, in 1998, he bought a small plot in Nevada and claimed it as "the homeland for our country,' which was then called the Kingdom of Molossia. For a short period afterward, it was ruled as a communist dictatorship. Baugh said the communist iconography the micronation used riled up locals, so he decided to turn Molossia into a capitalist military dictatorship. Baugh is the self-proclaimed "benevolent dictator" of what is now called the Republic of Molossia. "I mean, not the kind of dictator that makes people disappear in the night or anything like that," he said. "We're a family nation. That would really irritate the family if someone just suddenly disappears."

'President' Kevin Baugh and his family participate in the 2016 Nevada Day Parade. 

There are 35 citizens, all of whom are related to Baugh. This number, he said, also includes the family's three dogs. The human citizens all have "dual citizenship" with the US. "It helps to still have that US citizenship," Baugh said. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to go to Walmart or something like that, and we'd all starve to death." Citizens vote in US elections and pay US taxes, which Baugh jokingly refers to as "foreign aid."  Baugh said Molossians have "very positive relations" with local communities over the border. They make regular "appearances" in the nearby town of Dayton, Nevada, and participate in the annual Nevada Day Parade in Carson City.

Molossia's 'navy,' which consists of two kayaks, at Lake Tahoe.

A micronation is a self-proclaimed independent state whose sovereignty is not recognized by the international community. For example, world governments and the UN do not recognize them as legitimate. They're often small, the outgrowth of a single individual, and viewed as trivial enough to be ignored by the established nation their land sits within. The US knows Molossia exists, Baugh said, but "basically ignores" it. There are at least 67 separate micronations in the world, Insider previously reported.

The customs office at Molossia's border

 

"We like doing things a little differently here in our own country," Baugh said. "We also have our own measurement system and time zone, stuff like that." The time zone is 39 minutes ahead of Pacific Standard Time and 21 minutes behind Mountain Standard Time. Using the unique and non-sensical Kokintz system, measurements base lengths on the size of Baugh's hand and volume relative to the size of Diet Pepsi cans. Molossia also has a navy, despite being landlocked. "Our entire Navy is composed of inflatable kayaks," Baugh said, adding that there are often training exercises at Lake Tahoe.

The economy is tourism-based; approximately 200 people visit Molossia a year. Tourists get their passports stamped upon arrival and are free to explore the sites of the tiny country. "It takes about an hour and a half to see literally every site," he said.

 

Baugh conceded that running Molossia is a "bit of fun" and "a chuckle" but said that, at its core, it is a serious exploration of what constitutes a nation and what a world of micronations would look like.

  

 

 

 

 

A 14+minute video, an artist van, here.

 

Just because ...

 

Mom and two stowaways

 

 

Smiles for Tuesday ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                             Thanks for coming by today