The South

[© tweed]

see, we can't fight wars against hurricanes, and we can't run political campaigns in opposition to hurricanes, so we're going to be taught that terrorism is "worse" because it meets those qualifications.  if there were a War on Tropical Disturbances, Fezzy, I'm sure that you'd think they were pretty damn bad.

[memphis]

Does everything have to be a contest? Can't we just agree that Katrina and 9/11 were both horrible in their unique ways?

[© tweed]

Does everything have to be a contest? Can't we just agree that Katrina and 9/11 were both horrible in their unique ways?

what has happened the past seven years as a result of 9/11 has been far more tragic than what happened on the day itself.  if you were at Shea Stadium on June 28th, 2008, you would know what I mean.  it looked like a cross between the entrance to a Nazi concentration camp and the Bataan Death March.

hell, more people die of a common cold every month than died on 9/11 (well, maybe not, but you get the point)

OMG I JUST DISRESPECTED THE VICTIMS STRING ME UP!!!  INVADE IRAN!!



no, just think for a moment.

[© tweed]

I'm not really going to respond because it won't entertain me...

you accuse me of "holier than thou" and then proceed to basically warn me about how flawed my life path is... well, thanks, but that doesn't quite logically work


my 'attack' on you was more to make a point than it is to do anything else...  I'm not quite sure if I believe it or if I don't, I was indirectly attempting to show you that such things aren't useful, but apparently you derive utility from lecturing people, so my allusion may have been misplaced.

happy holidays brother

[Kaine for Senate '18]

LOL. Straha calls someone a troll.

He's less of a troll than you are.

True that.

I've never really seen Straha as a troll.

Because he's on your side now.

I didn't think he was a troll when he and I were arguing about Israel, either.

[Matt Damon™]

I'm shocked.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I'm shocked.

Why?

[Matt Damon™]

My... strong views on that matter.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

My... strong views on that matter.

Oh, I absolutely hate your views, but I don't think you're a troll because of them.

[Matt Damon™]

Ah, fair enough.

[opebo]

Here's my map of the South.. but really the light blue parts are not all that southern:

Of course Southern Indiana and Illinois are more 'southern' than northern Missouri, but going by states, this is my map.

[Holmes]

If northern Missouri is not very Southern, why is Maryland and Deleware then? They're more northern or the same as northern Missouri...

[opebo]

If northern Missouri is not very Southern, why is Maryland and Deleware then? They're more northern or the same as northern Missouri...

Yeah my map includes all of Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware as light blue - marginally southern.

[Beet]

The authors of the Lecompton constitution would be aghast at this discussion.

[justfollowingtheelections]

I think we have to come up with a definition for Southern culture.
So what makes a state Southern?

People with a southern accent?
High percentage of african americans?
Whites and blacks with extremely different voting habits?
Large % of Christians?

What?

[Kaine for Senate '18]

[Josh/Devilman88]

[justfollowingtheelections]

Don't mean to take sides but these are the regions of the United States according to the Census Bureau:


Edit: It's the same map as the one posted above

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The same Census that considers oil extraction to be a "Mining" occupation.

[Хahar 🤔]

No. Northern Missouri is not Southern. Neither are Wheeling and El Paso.

[Neinrein]

No. Northern Missouri is not Southern. Neither are Wheeling and El Paso.

Just because it's Hispanic doesn't mean it's not Southern. They are alot of Mexicans in Texas who act like rednecks especially in San Antonio. Now I can't comment on Wheeling or Missouri, but the average white person in El Paso is going to listen to George Strait, have a Texas accent, etc, you have to consider it Southern.
Now, as for the comments people have made in relation to Katrina vs the World Trade center. You know, I have empathy for the victims of 9/11, but what happened then cannot compare to the fact that when you drove around town after the storm, there was no town, there was simply block after block after block of rubble on either side, no street signals, no signs, no nothing except for rubble and the paths cleared by the various agencies. You can say they were equally devastating, but it is intellectually dishonest that 9/11 was worse than Katrina. For the nation, it probably was, in terms of political impact, absolutely. In terms of actual on the ground impact and human suffering, 9/11 simply cannot comnpare to the loss of hundreds of thousands of units of housing stock, the displacement of several hundreds of thousands of people, and a death toll that we can never know but that certain approached 9/11 levels

[Democratic Hawk]

Just a mere glance at that map shows that its pretty obvious that a majority of southern counties saw swings, on 2004, to the Democratic presidential nominee

Obama is the first non-Southern Democratic presidential nominee to carry any Confederate states since Hubert Humphrey, who, forty years ago, carried Texas - and for him to win Virginia, Florida and North Carolina was quite an achievement netting him 55 electoral college votes

Democrats' have made significant congressional gains in the South these past two election cycles. The 112th Congress will have seven Democratic senators and 59 Democratic representatives from the 'Old Confederacy'

Taking the US as a whole, this is how the parties stand in terms of federal government [changes from 2004 in paranthesis]:

Presidency

Central: Obama (D) 15 electoral votes [+15] / McCain (R) 29 [-15]
Midwest: Obama (D) 96 electoral votes [+38] / McCain (R) 19 [-38]
Northeast: Obama (D) 117 electoral votes / McCain (R) 5
South: Obama (D) 55 elecoral votes [+55] / McCain (R) 98 [-55]
West: Obama (D) 82 electoral votes [+5] / McCain (R) 22 [-5]
Total: Obama (D) 365 electoral votes [+113] / McCain (R) 173

Senate

Central: Democratic 10 [+3] / Republican 8 [-3]
Midwest: Democratic 11 [+2] / Republican 6 [-2] / Undecided 1
Northeast*: Democratic 20 [+3] / Republican 4 [-3]
South: Democratic 7 [+3] / Republican 15 [-3]
West: Democratic 10 [+2] / Republican 8 [-2]
Total*: Democratic 58 [+ 13] / Republican 41 [-13] / Undecided 1

* Democratic total include two Independents who caucus with the Democrats

House

Central: Democratic 12 [+4] / Republican 14 [-4]
Midwest: Democratic 54 [+16] / Republican 43 [-16]
Northeast: Democratic 77 [+18] / Republican 18 [-18]
South: Democratic 59 [+10] / Republican 72 [-10]
West: Democratic 55 [+6] / Republican 31 [-6]
Total: Democratic 257 [+54] / Republican 178 [-54]

Dave

[NOVA Green]

I think we have to come up with a definition for Southern culture.
So what makes a state Southern?

People with a southern accent?
High percentage of african americans?
Whites and blacks with extremely different voting habits?
Large % of Christians?

What?

Excellent question unempprof... This is most likely the best question of the entire thread.

OK---- I suck at making maps, but how about this model for the "Ten distinct American Political Regions"?

http://massinc.typepad.com/beyondredandblue/2007/09/beyond-red-blue.html

The advantage of using this model is that it essentially divides the South into four major regions that heavily overlap with socio-demographic models that help explain more than they stereotype. Although granted many of the recent South haters on this thread might find holes in the model.

OMG!!!! I forgot Obama lost in WV because of racist White Democrats!!!!!

[Matt Damon™]

How would elections look if we took the 10 big regions and divided them all each into 5 states?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I think we have to come up with a definition for Southern culture.
So what makes a state Southern?

People with a southern accent?
High percentage of african americans?
Whites and blacks with extremely different voting habits?
Large % of Christians?

What?

Southern accent. Something benconstine admittedly doesn't have, and I bet no one else in Arlington has either unless they are a transplant from the actual South.