Catholic integralism is the true seamless garment.
- From LRC:
- What a post-U.S. America might look like.
- What’s relevant – the only relevant thing – is, simply: Do you support use of government threats and violence to take other people’s property for your (or someone else’s) benefit for any reason? If you do, then you cannot object to other people’s advocacy of the same thing for their own reasons.
- Eric Margolis agrees: Stop baiting Russia.
- From RR:
- Car bombs ripped through Baghdad cafes and markets while blasts and shootings struck elsewhere Saturday, killing 61 people as Iraq marked the end of its deadliest Ramadan holy month in years. The attacks were the latest in spiralling violence which authorities have failed to stem, with the worst bloodshed in five years raising worries of a return to the all-out Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict that killed tens of thousands in past years. Sounds like the answer is a secular strongman to keep the sects in line. Like the one we stupidly overthrew, pretending he was threatening us or was a real threat.
- Pirate Bay ships PirateBrowser for censorship-free search.
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says President Obama's plans to make changes in National Security Agency surveillance programs stem from a single source: Edward Snowden. Obama 'validated Edward Snowden's role as a whistle-blower' with his proposals to revamp NSA programs, Assange said in a written statement Saturday. 'But rather than thank Edward Snowden, the president laughably attempted to criticize him while claiming that there was a plan all along, 'before Edward Snowden,'' Assange said.
- The auto industry continued its poor performance in an influential U.S. safety group's new crash test as half of the small cars tested did not fare well. Including foreign cars.
- Lebensraum watch: again doing unto the Palestinians what the Nazis did unto them. Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel gave final approval on Sunday to build 1,187 apartments in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
- From Cracked: The war on drugs doesn’t work. Scroll down on the second page: Drug use in the U.S. has been on a steady rise ever since criminalization began. Overdoses have become more common as laws were put into place, and arrests have been increasing for nearly 30 years. The war on drugs began in the '70s under President Nixon, but really kicked into gear in 1986 with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act -- and, coincidentally, these are also the times when the graphs start booking ass in the wrong direction.
- From the MCJ: The joy of retro TV vs. the raw sewage of today’s pop culture. THIS, MeTV, and Antenna TV are among my mainstays.
Pretty good map, though I actually think in such an event that Minnesota and Wisconsin would likely merge with Ontario in some fashion
ReplyDeleteOh noes! Would I have to move to South Carolina? I love where I am. Please don't call us Progressive. We did revert to Redness in 2012, 'member.
ReplyDeleteRe MeTV: Greatest marketing idea in years. While everyone else is busy chasing the millennials (who don't have jobs, fer cryin' out loud, which affects their ability to spend--duhh!), MeTV has figured out that there's gold in them-thar Boomer Hills. Good for them! It's win-win: We get great TV from the Golden Age; they prosper and laugh all the way to the bank.
What?? We are Not joining Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa. They don't want us, and we certainly don't want them.
ReplyDeleteI'd stay in the New England Socialist Union. No need to move to those so-called "conservative" areas in the South or West.
ReplyDeleteSorry...been there, done that. Boston born and bred. It's a lovely city in many ways (and a mess in others, like any large city), and I have many fond memories connected with the Boston-Cambridge orbit, but....thanks but no thanks. I'll take the sweet sunny South any day. Hey, all the Yankees are moving here anyway. ;) (1) It's affordable. We built a house on 18 gorgeous wooded acres for roughly the price of a shack in the Boston area. (2) You don't freeze your tush off in the winter. (3) You're not considered a freak if you're Christian. (4) The Catholic Church is thriving here. We are not closing and consolidating parishes; we are founding and building and expanding them. And our dioceses are traditional, too. We even had a regular Latin Mass in Mayberry! (a/k/a Mount Airy) (5) As one Facebook meme puts it: "Say what you will about the South; no one ever retires up North." Well, maybe a few lunatics do. But the point still stands. They don't call 'em snowbirds for nuthin'. (6) Bluegrass music is really cool once you get used to it. So is BBQ. Yeah, I still draw the line at NASCAR. But I'm learning to have an open mind. :)
DeleteY'all come down, y'hear!
To each his/her own, Diane.
DeleteI was born in the South, and I've lived in the South (Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana), and we love the South. I've also lived in Kansas, Colorado, Michigan, Northern California, and Ontario. We're staring retirement in the face, and we could buy a home to retire to just about anywhere in the country; and just about anywhere else would be cheap compared to where we live now.
But we just closed on a one-bedroom apartment in the Back Bay, because in our decade-and-a-half of living in New England we have fallen in love with New England in general and Boston in particular. The condominium cost us an arm and a leg but I can't honestly think of a better investment.
So I guess we are two of the "few lunatics," but yes, some people do "retire up North," even some who could retire elsewhere. And even some who love bluegrass.
Thankfully, I already live in the future Texas Republic! (Albuquerque in the "green" zone). Yeah! The only other place I can see to live is in Russia! LOL
ReplyDeleteRe: Russia
PrezBO apparently does not regard President Nixon's statement about the Soviet Union ("Russia" still applies.)as worthy of his reflection--"We will never be friends but we cannot afford to be enemies."
That map is ridiculous. Here's the real deal: http://www.decodedscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Election-results-by-county.png
ReplyDeleteThe 'real deal' map shows the breakdown of rural and urban voters. Things are more complicated. Among other things, Latinos don't 'show up' on your map, outside those blue areas in SW California and Texas, and they are the largest ethnic minority group in the country. Larger than blacks. The US is now a tripartite country: whites, blacks and Latinos. Tripartite structures are inherently unstable, as two of the sides are always motivated to triangulate against the other.
DeleteOne interesting thing that happened in 2012 was 7% less Republican voters showed up on election day. If they had, Obama would be one and done.
The next interesting thing was the Republican response to these results. Logically, they would target that 7% who are otherwise a lock for them, and would be all they need to win national elections. Instead, they're doubling down on Latinos, who are 70-80% likely to vote Democrat (when they vote).
The influx of Latino voters (or, at least, Latino constituents) is not slowing down. Many Republicans are working very hard to increase it. The numbers are what they are: the Republicans are finished as a national party.
Why the Republicans are participating in their own political execution rather than represent the people already inclined to vote for them is a mystery. But obviously there are further subdivisions of values and interests among whites that your map cannot show.
I detest the word 'Latino'
Delete