Seattle's a liberal city...so what? (Vancouver, Kent: buying, school, organic)

[victorianpunk]

Originally Posted by W & C

No, not exactly. You know lots of Americans who are rugby fanatics ? Does Liverpool have an NFL team ?

How much fanaticism does Rodeo and Bull riding whip up in the Puget Sound compared to Texas? How about Nascar? For that matter, how big is soccer in the South compared to in the home of America's most beloved soccer team, the Sounders?

So, do we really have the same sports?

Who amongst the Brits knows what Labor Day is ? Thanksgiving ?

We have Christmas, Easter and Halloween in common.

...and how does that apply to what we're talking about here and now

Just as England and America are different countries, the Confederacy and Cascadia are different countries.

Actually, having said all that, I'd say I wouldn't be all that opposed if we were to "merge" with the Brits. Might get us way closer to Universal Healthcare, that's for sure.

We could have universal healthcare if it wasn't for a couple of million deep south and heart land folks holding us back.

Except I've seen zero evidence that we "can't work it out". Political discourse today is not even on the same page as what went on during Vietnam War, or so I'm told. And we're by far not the only country who's this divided. Even the progressive France sees its share of political divison and bickering.

At least in France Corsica is allowed to talk about succession. Here, all hell breaks loose when the governor of Texas mentions it. So much for the "home of the free..."

A US without Texas, i.e., no Bush running my government? I'll take it!

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by victorianpunk

Actually, I spent the first 28 years of my life 2,000 miles away from Seattle. I was born and raised in Elizabeth, NJ. I had family in Georgia (they escaped) and visited there a number of times.

Anyone who says that the culture of the deep south and the culture of the Puget Sound is the same has no idea what the hell they're talking about.




I've spent summers in Georgia (very hot summers, I might add) and visited most of the south west. I have nothing against them, as long as they stay in their country.

Again, I have a lot more in common with Canadians than I do with Southerners, as I am sure majority of people in Seattle do as well....are you REALLY going to embarrass yourself by claiming that a small town outside of Savannah Georgia has more in common with Seattle than does Vancouver BC? Or that your average resident of Victoria has less in common than the average Seattle than does the average citizen of Kentucky?

Your strawman arguments are a tired tactic; the fact is I never made such comparisons. Your broad generalizations about other countries are amusing, though wildly incorrect.

Apparently, you do not realize that the American Southwest (and Georgia USA, for that matter) are part of the SAME country. Any third grader could help with that.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by seattlenextyear

I dunno. I'm liberal, but I think living in an area with a mix of political beliefs is healthy. It would be better for the entire country if both red and blue states were less extremely split. More liberals in the red areas, more conservatives in the blue areas. They balance things out.

The worst part about Red America is the restaurant choices. Omaha is decidedly lacking in gastropubs with duck confit sliders. And I'm not sure how people even survive there without single origin coffee beans.

I'd have repped you if they'd let me. One of the funniest things I've read here in while. I know they're popular and all, but do you know anyone who's actually eaten a duck confit slider?
Can't get good BBQ around here, or a really good pastrami sandwich, but if your mouth is watering for a duck confit slider, you've come to the right place.

[victorianpunk]

Originally Posted by AlohaHuey

Your strawman arguments are a tired tactic; the fact is I never made such comparisons. Your broad generalizations about other countries are amusing, though wildly incorrect.

When in doubt, attack the messenger and ignore the message

Apparently, you do not realize that the American Southwest (and Georgia USA, for that matter) are part of the SAME country. Any third grader could help with that.

Anyone with half a brain would understand that I'm commenting on the nature of America being a cohesive country in the political and geographic sense only.

Tibet and Shanghai are in the same country, but in reality they are different countries who should be independent of one another, just like Washington state and Kentucky.

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by victorianpunk

When in doubt, attack the messenger and ignore the message




Anyone with half a brain would understand that I'm commenting on the nature of America being a cohesive country in the political and geographic sense only.

Tibet and Shanghai are in the same country, but in reality they are different countries who should be independent of one another, just like Washington state and Kentucky.

You also made wildly ignorant generalizations about other countries, as well as incorrect ones about THIS country. I wasn't the only one who noticed. Why further embarrass yourself like this?

Your "messages" are ill-informed, incoherent and at times, the result of the fiction in your own mind.

[Capo]

Originally Posted by victorianpunk

When in doubt, attack the messenger and ignore the message




Anyone with half a brain would understand that I'm commenting on the nature of America being a cohesive country in the political and geographic sense only.

Tibet and Shanghai are in the same country, but in reality they are different countries who should be independent of one another, just like Washington state and Kentucky.

You are making straw-man arguments and assumptions about the rest of the world which are incorrect. No one is arguing that there are cultural differences between different parts of the country, we're just rejecting your premise that those differences should warrant dissolving the union.

You base your argument on "other countries" which you claim all share the same culture and as such, we should do the same. This is again simply untrue. All of the countries you cited, despite their smaller geography, still have differences in different parts of the country. This holds true for politicals, life-style, religion, etc.

You are spewing out the same trash that racists in the south (mind you, the VAST majority of southerners are not racists) call for. You don't want tolerance, you don't want diversity, you simply want to live in a place where everyone is like you so you're never outside of your comfort zone.

What you're asserting, even most liberals would strongly disagree with.

[phlinak]

"Human life is human life, but a pile a goo in a placenta is NOT a life...that man on death row pleading to be given a chance, who's probably innocent anyway? Now that's a life."

VictorianPunk,

If this is your true belief regarding abortion and the death penalty, then I truly pity you.

How do you not see the difference between an adult human being of their own free will making conscious choices that lead to the deliberate murder of another human being and a developing fetus who is conceived through no choice of their own being systematically slaughtered because its mother decided that she is not ready for motherhood? (gee, didn't she consider that before doing the deed?)

If you are really as sincerely concerned with the loss of innocent life as you profess, then why don't you advocate for sparing the life of both the fetus and the convict?

As least then your argument would be consistent and not contrarian and selfish.

[W & C]

Suppose the country did split up in two, somewhere along Mason-Dixie line. Would hostility and division within the newly formed countries disappear ?

I'm reminded of a South Park episode where somehow all religion disappeared in the future and there's a great war going on between three rival Atheist denominations.

As long as we are unable to let go of our collective egos, conflict will be a part of our existence and no amount of redrawing of geographic borders will change that.

[eskercurve]

Originally Posted by W & C

No, not exactly. You know lots of Americans who are rugby fanatics ? Does Liverpool have an NFL team ?

Who amongst the Brits knows what Labor Day is ? Thanksgiving ?

I sure do know a lot of people who are rugby fanatics. The Catholic League in the South Side of Chicago has over a hundred players from all over, and compete against suburban leagues. My old high school now has a team! And it's slowly gaining popularity versus hand-egg because there's fewer injuries.

And, as a matter of fact, there IS a European American football league. They call it "grid-iron" there. Sure, most people consider it a joke, but it just proves there are fans of the sport there. Even in the YOU-KAY.

That I can agree with but it has to do with the structure of the Senate as set up by our founders. It seems unfair that Wyoming, which has the population of oh, roughly 5 city blocks of Brooklyn, has the same number of senators as New York state. The argument for the status quo is that ours is a republic which consists of a union of states, and there ought to be one chamber of legislature where each state has an equal voice. If I had done it my way, I'd get rid of the Senate altogether.

There is tons of wisdom setting up the government the way it is. There's the House, which IS representative, and then there's the Senate.

Could you imagine the state of the union if there was just the House? We wouldn't be one nation. The nation would have broken up long ago, or in the unlikely event it stayed together, people would simply not populate smaller population states because they'd always be railroaded.

The Senate allows those who hold different opinions to voice them.

Just because I consider abortion killing a human in every meaning of the term, doesn't mean that I will foist my belief on others unless the majority agreed. Just because I think it is absurd to REDUCE traffic capacity on Seattle roads to make way for more bikes (you think most people will ride 5 miles to work? Nuh uh. This is going to backfire, I promise you that) doesn't mean that I will speak out about it (mainly because I don't live in Seattle, you guys can have all the fun you want getting pneumonia riding your bike into work in 40 deg cold with misty rain). I save it for the ballot box.

And I'm willing to be told I'm wrong. I listen and look at the data and take my personal experience to square with it then determine if it is right. A few folks here seem to be the opposite. I feel very sorry for them.

[Gentoo]

I'm personally keen on the idea of Washington, Oregon and Northern California breaking off and forming our own damn republic (Cascadia)

Nope, can't have part of California. It's ours