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The United States: All Town, No Country

The United States: All Town, No Country

Via Drudge, this is why coastal elites call it “flyover country.”

Jefferson hated cities.  He thought they spread disease and bad ideas, and believed the perfect republic was composed of educated farmers who by night read Homer in the original Greek.

In these disunited states, United Airlines’ main hub is Chicago.

 

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Comments

The red areas are “resources” to be exploited by and for the blue areas.

They stole the election. Look at this Boston election results. 99% of precints had >%100 voting. Some as many as %140. Disgraceful.

    William A. Jacobson in reply to tessa. | November 9, 2012 at 3:12 pm

    You would need more information, such as are the “registered voters” numbers current, and are results official.

    Jack The Ripper in reply to tessa. | November 9, 2012 at 3:20 pm

    Well, all I can say for sure is that someone really fell down on the job in Ward 1, Precinct 15 in the Presidential Election.

    That precinct captain will be swimming with the fishes soon, if not already.

This is what they learned from the Scott Brown election. They could not beat the red areas voting so they make it up.

Jack The Ripper | November 9, 2012 at 3:15 pm

And Jefferson hated banks and Alexander Hamilton. But, without capital formation, our country would have not achieved so many of the things that made it great.

I tried once to do a paper on the Southern Agrarians and there are books like Palmer’s “Man Over Money – The Southern Populist Critique of American Capitalism,” but those days are gone, except for some people kicking around Athens, Chapel Hill, etc., trying to be “rock-a-billy” cool. Uber liberals who would have “definitely” been on the right side of slavery and civil rights (political correctness with 50 to 150 years of 20/20 hindsight). Usually into the arts and music scenes (think REM and B-52s – which I both love). Basically, southern-fried, modern-day hippies. You know, jerk offs who won’t get a job and have their own coda of cool.

The fact of the matter is that there would be no Wall Street, no Hollywood, and no Washington DC without the rest of the country.

Is it time yet for a Tax Revolt or Tax Strike?

    Ragspierre in reply to Jack The Ripper. | November 9, 2012 at 3:27 pm

    If you look at the mechanics of civil disobedience, it is very, very difficult to imagine how a tax revolt would not work.

    People are buffaloed by the IRS. They needn’t be. It is a fairly crappy bureaucracy, it SURE cannot afford to prosecute many people. Indeed, it could NOT stand that kind of exposure.

      Jack The Ripper in reply to Ragspierre. | November 9, 2012 at 3:53 pm

      Of course, a Tax Revolt would not do anything but hurt the U.S.’s credit rating and borrowing costs because they can keep printing money until . . . . the U.S. Dollar is so abused that it is no longer the world’s de facto reserve currency, which would have sort of happened by now except for the Euro’s woes.

      Congress can’t stop spending. Entitlements have unfunded liabilities with a NET PRESENT VALUE that dwarfs the cumulative federal deficit. You could seize ALL of the wealth in this country, down to the last share of GE and the last pair of tube socks and there is not enough to cover the NET PRESENT VALUE of the entitlements. So, it is not possible to tax one’s way out of it, even with outright wealth confiscation. The only way out is with massive immigration (but see France and Germany), entitlement reform, a HUGE increase in productivity such as with the PC and the Internet, or a pandemic that strikes the elderly.

      In short, this country was screwed before 2008, when the noose tightened. Bush tried in 2005 to give people the option to privatize just a portion of their social security accounts, and look what happened.

      Go get a bottle of bourbon and read Roger Lowenstein’s While America Aged, Peter G. Peterson’s Grey Dawn, and Laurence Kotlikoff’s and Scott Burns’s The Coming Generational Storm.

      Then read The Dollar Crisis.

      Now, we could “round trip” some institutional grade real estate to the Chinese by getting them to buy high and then sell back to us at a loss a few years later, like the Japanese with the IBM Tower.

      By and large, we’s screwed!

        Ragspierre in reply to Jack The Ripper. | November 9, 2012 at 4:17 pm

        There is only one sovereign remedy, namely, non-violent non-cooperation. Whether we advertise the fact or not, the moment we cease to support the government it dies a nature death….

        iconotastic in reply to Jack The Ripper. | November 9, 2012 at 7:14 pm

        Exactly right. The insane charge at fiscal disaster will only be matched by the similar insane charges at foreign policy disaster and economic disaster. The progressives have won so let them pass their policies and appoint their collectivist cronies. The next four years will be considerably worse than the last four years and it will hurt the Democrat base the worst. I will be glad to see it happen.

        #letitburn

Jack The Ripper | November 9, 2012 at 3:24 pm

Oh, and Jefferson blockaded America in response to British and French piracy and the former impressing our sailors into their naval service.

Hurt New England so badly that it almost seceded, which, in retrospect would be just fine. Sorry Maine and New Hampshire, but you are now part of the United States of the Effete Elite. Have fun nursing your chicory tea while cuddled up watching whatever self-congratulatory pap that PBS is feeding you tonight, no doubt with your NPR tote bag in the corner.

    Maine is a gross welfare state, for every dollar they give the feds that get back over 1.45. Many here with 2-3 properties have all their adult children on food stamps. Some town in Maine with 80% on welfare, they won’t move to the jobs so teach their kids to be welfare scabs, too.

Silver Lining:

Yeah, we got creamed, but I think its worth noting that Arkansas voters flipped control of both their House and Senate to R control, though they kept their D governor. Many southern states flipped D to R with their national votes prior to changing their legislatures. This is the continuation of a long term trend in AR that will likely accelerate and make it a solid R state for nearly all elections. Their US House delegation went from 3R:1D to 4R:0D. Their State Senate flipped from 15R:20D to 21R:14D and their State House flipped from 46R:54D to 51R:49D.

WV, similar to AR but a bit slower coming along. They are solid R for Presidential elections, but for everything else are still D. Still, the electorate is like much of the south in having almost nothing in common with the Democrats national platform. So, its drifting R, but the old union habits of voting D are hard to break in a state that has LONG been completely controlled by D’s. The State Senate saw R’s gain 3 seats, from 6 to 9 of 34 total. The State House was more encouraging: from 35R:65D to 46R:54D. The governor’s election wasn’t as close as it could have been, but it won’t be long before R’s can hope to win statewide for Governor and Senator here. Again, long term, the trend in WV is strongly R and Obama’s second term, with its anticipated crippling of the coal industry, should accellerate that.

Other flips: WI Sen came back to R. This state was the birthplace of progressivism in the US and yet is controlled by R’s and continues to trend R. AZ also saw its Senate flip R, no doubt a result of Obama’s assault on their state’s immigration laws. AZ’s House results are still yet to be reported.

Dem flips: ME House, MN House and Senate (I don’t understand MN, wtf are you thinking up there? Your governor is an imbecile, and you reward him with both legislatures?), CO House and OR House (which went from a tie to D control). CO is really a true swing state now, and the trend could go either way.

The big news for state legislatures though, is the lack of big news. In 2010 R’s gained ~750 seats in state level House/Senate races and flipped control of a great many legislatures. In 2012, they main result was a consolidation of those gains.

Is this map supposed to sooth in some way, does it comfort wounded egos? The Right lost fair and square, the rural red is a delusion about conservatism’s popularity. The cities and their media are overwhelming in political influence. We better figure out how to be a lot more effective with a lot less access. It’s time to consult Billy Beane at the Oakland A’s. We also need to stop the whining, the contempt for the winners and the contempt for our losing candidates — it makes us seem pathetic and repulsive. Let’s take the lumps and soldier on as the honorable opposition.

    Spoken as only a concern troll can…

      Mark30339 in reply to VotingFemale. | November 9, 2012 at 5:57 pm

      Given just how bad this Potus has performed, you would think the Right could have nominated a ham sandwich and won the election — and it’s precisely that kind of self evident confidence that puts us on the 48 side of 50/48 (nothing is self-evident with this electorate). And the electorate is not attracted by our smug, indignant, superior tone.

      I think Romney was better than expected as a candidate, it’s just that WE are not a great group to belong to — this is probably why we do better in the less populated rural areas. I hardly think the Left offers better companionship, it’s just that media tends to keep missteps by members of the Right in disproportionate and prominent over-display, and that contributes to our failure to reach independents more effectively.

      Plus, I find it remarkable that you do not address my claim that our group think on the Right tends to be delusional; self-proclaimed superiority in policy ideas is not translating into more votes. I don’t think the smaller government policies are so much the problem, the superiority complex is. And your response is to chicken-out on dialogue and just throw out “troll.” Since you are smart enough to post your own wordpress page, you were smart enough to google search Mark30339 before slandering me as insincere.

    I don’t lose well. Anyone who is a good loser was a loser to start. #WAR

    Sanddog in reply to Mark30339. | November 9, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    I can’t help BUT show contempt for the progressives and the idiots who voted for them. If by chance or accident they happen to do something, someday to earn my respect, they’ll have it. Until then, they can piss off.

BREAKING: CIA Director Petraeus resigns over sexual affair. Who will be his replacement? Chris Matthews?

Farmers could quit shipping them food?

Jack The Ripper | November 9, 2012 at 3:58 pm

ARK
TN
Cruze in Texas
Labor’s defeat in Michigan

These were all victories. The latter may even be profound.

California is gone. It is past the event horizon. I am not bailing them or their creditors out. Anyone who would keep feeding them money better have gotten a rate of return that compensates for the risk and maybe even helps them get out whole.

Businesses and people will be leaving the state faster than they have. Its tragic. World’s Eighth Largest Economy shows how to take everything (including good weather) and turn it into nothing. And don’t even get me started on the pension spiking by teachers, guards, and state employees, etc.

    Jack said: “I am not bailing them or their creditors out.”

    Oh honey, I think it’s cute how you’re still a little naive like that. You are going to pay whether you want to or not, whether you even know you are paying or not. I’m pretty sure we’re already paying big bucks for California.

    (Stole a line from Everybody Loves Raymond, but I’m sure you all saw that.)

      Jack The Ripper in reply to J Motes. | November 9, 2012 at 4:57 pm

      I dig your humor and your point, but

      screw that and Petreaus.

      Nothing good is gonna come from this headline:

      Who knew?

      http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/airport_screeners_ratify_first.html

      If you thought the DMV was bad . . . . All they were doing was processing paperwork, not really interacting with peoples’s bodies and personal effects.

      The irony is that I had just finished saying to a buddy:

      Can you imagine what air travel would be like if the TSA had been unionized? The screening machine does not work, but the people there are not allowed to do a quick fix unless a person with the proper job title is brought in from the terminal on the other side of the airport or runway. You get to the head of the line, and your team of screeners suddenly leave to take their mandated union break. How about work slow downs or strikes? That’s not a rant, but I will say, Fuck Tom Daschle, and sorry Max Cleland, you were on the wrong side of that one, buddy.

Jack The Ripper | November 9, 2012 at 4:05 pm

PETRAEUS:

You should see the comments at the NBC web page.

Everyone seems to be thinking the same thing (which is what I thought): He’s lying about having an affair just so he can get his dick out of the zipper that is the Obama Administration’s lies about the attack on our consulate and ambassador in Benghazi, Libya. Its not illegal and is the quickest and easiest scandal to manufacture for yourself if your wife is on board.

[Actually, I don’t doubt that he might have had an affair, but . . . ]

legalizehazing | November 9, 2012 at 4:09 pm

The blue looks vaguely like disease

2nd Ammendment Mother | November 9, 2012 at 4:33 pm

The problem is that those itty bitty blue spots are the ones that legislate unreasonable restrictions, limitations and regulations on how those of us in the great big red areas live. Those of us who chose flyover country do so because we want to be self reliant, know our neighbors and have some elbow space.

Jack The Ripper | November 9, 2012 at 4:59 pm

Actually, for a little humor about the first TSA Union contract, here is a link to some Amazon reviews a friend had sent me:

http://www.amazon.com/Playmobil-3172-Security-Check-Point/product-reviews/B0002CYTL2/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

OK, maybe it’s time to change the electoral college to reflect county votes rather than states. That way the “providers” could more evenly balance the “takers.”

Just a wild idea from my failing imagination…

    Jack The Ripper in reply to GrumpyOne. | November 9, 2012 at 5:28 pm

    Here is how I have it worked out, thus far, so that everybody (except non-high school graduates) gets at least one vote with others getting more depending upon various factors:

    Everybody gets one vote for completing high school, one more each for every associates, bachelor, masters, professional, or doctoral degree.

    One more vote for each professional license.

    A certain number of additional votes for military service, combat, etc.

    In Federal Elections: One more vote for every $5,000 paid in Federal Income taxes.

    In State Elections: One more vote for every $1,000 paid in property, ad valorem, sales, and state income taxes.

    Now, we could make it that people who work for the federal government lose one or more of their votes in federal elections and that people who work for state or local government lose one of more of their votes in all state and local elections.

    Of course, vote fraud would be a big concern. Difficult enough just to verify everyone who is casting only one vote. Throw on the idea of the number of votes each person gets being tinkered with.

    AFSarge in reply to GrumpyOne. | November 9, 2012 at 11:10 pm

    I was actually thinking along the same lines, but not necessarily counties, but congressional districts. That would put every state in the “battleground” catagory. I’m in WA, and pretty much 3 districts out of 12 decide our state’s fate.

    My thinking was that would be the only true way to reflect the electorial college, by congressional districts, reflecting the will of the people.

    Sarge

Anyone remember the Canada v. Jesusland map? Anyway the map pictured above appears like a Red America that is being infected slowly with a blue virus or disease. The blue southern portion of Texas doesn’t surprise me. Immigration is fine, the problem is attracting people who like America as it is and who want to be Americans. The millions of impoverished south American immigrants do not view America as home, my old neighborhood looks like Mexico.

This is how Dems win elections: massive centralization and control, where fraud is easy and anything goes.

With all that red, could we not just kick some states out instead of all those pretty red states seceeding? Nahh, we want to seceed so they get to keep their debt! Noncompliance. http://offthefbwall.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/living-as-an-american-in-amerika-coming-to-a-store-near-you/

Before the 1960’s most state legislatures were like the United States: a chamber based on equal populations, and a chamber based on regions. The United States Supreme Court found this unconstitutional and supported the “one-man, one-vote” thing. Since city populations can dominate both chambers, they can bring in taxes which tax the hinterlands and support the cities. Should we ever return to state legislatures electing United States Senators, this is a problem which needs to be corrected.

In 2010 Governor Quinn of Illinois needed to carry just 3 of the 102 counties in Illinois. No wonder Chicago is a basket case. They can force the rest of the state to support them.

Notice that 23 of the 24 longest serving Senators were all elected after we had direct election of Senators. Making the Senators beholden to the state legislature was a more effective way of protecting the state’s rights.

    iconotastic in reply to Milwaukee. | November 9, 2012 at 7:19 pm

    And the immediate corollary of the observation that the US is becoming more of a direct democracy through such actions is that the mob is realizing that they can just vote themselves more goodies at someone else’s expense.

    TrooperJohnSmith in reply to Milwaukee. | November 9, 2012 at 8:20 pm

    We need to Repeal 17. Period.

    Jack The Ripper in reply to Milwaukee. | November 10, 2012 at 12:37 am

    Baker v. Carr, 362 U.S. 186 (1962) and Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964).

    I like my idea above about people getting more votes based on education, professional licensing, military service, and taxes paid.

    Voter ID and reforming government unions grip on pay checks for dues seem to be making some progress.

TrooperJohnSmith | November 9, 2012 at 8:19 pm

Well, as I recall, it was a nation of farmers that threw off the last yoke of tyranny around our necks.

I saw a new map where if only the male vote was counted from Tuesday Romney would have won.