I hate to break this to you guys, but . . .

[Imran Siddiqui]

When people think of the south, they think deep south plus Kentucky and Tennessee. And even by your reckoning, these areas are not gaining much.

Don't tell me they don't include Texas in that idea! And Virginia is many times included in the South as well. It happens when you were capital of the Confederacy .

So there has been no change to the culture, unlike in the South, were outsiders are bringing cultural pressure.

There has been as much change to the culture of NYC as there has been to the South. I'm not really sure where you've been, but I don't really see this 'cultural pressure' that is destroying what the South is. If anything the South is accepting these new cultures and integrating them with their own. At least that is what I see in Atlanta and Tennessee, etc.

It's not like you can't tell Atlanta is in the south anymore!

[MRT144]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

Imran, you represent politically your state that you were elected to, not the one you grew up in.

But your experiences are colored by the state you grew up in. Reagan definetly didn't lead as a Californian would. His policies definetly were colored by his MidWest upbringing.

Just like Wilson, who while Governor of New Jersey was colored by his Virginia upbringing.

And you have to admit, while economically powerful, California doesn't really lead the rest of the country politically in much.

the thing is though california is a melting pot of people, ideas, culture.

and its damn shame california is as crippled as it is when it comes to political power.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Don't tell me they don't include Texas in that idea! And Virginia is many times included in the South as well. It happens when you were capital of the Confederacy .

I include Texas in the SouthWest, becuase culturally it is much closer to it than to the South.

There has been as much change to the culture of NYC as there has been to the South. I'm not really sure where you've been, but I don't really see this 'cultural pressure' that is destroying what the South is. If anything the South is accepting these new cultures and integrating them with their own. At least that is what I see in Atlanta and Tennessee, etc.

It's not like you can't tell Atlanta is in the south anymore!

I can think how plenty of people might NOT think of Atlanta or Charlotte as good Southern towns anymore.
Of course the overall culture of NYC changes: that is the point of NYC culture, never rest, always change, with every new wave of immigrants. This city is a mishmash of past, present, and possible futures, with little regards for people's sentimentality. Very few things are sacred in this town.

[Imran Siddiqui]

the thing is though california is a melting pot of people, ideas, culture.

So? The same can be said of New York city (maybe even more so). Yet it has the same political power than Cali does.

Not saying they are unimportant, but that they aren't the most important places, because they don't dominate politics. Instead they have power in the economic realm.

-

GePap: a link

http://www.seacoastonline.com/2002news/9_11revala.htm

Apparently the greatest gains in population were in the SouthWest and Georgia. The second greatest gains were on the Pacific Coast AND Deep South states plus Virginia. Even Arkansas and Tennessee increased by by 13.2 percent to 24.9 percent.

The Midwest seemed to lose population, while the East Coast north of Virginia seemed to stay the same (except Maine).

[Imran Siddiqui]

I include Texas in the SouthWest, becuase culturally it is much closer to it than to the South.

You have to admit that many people do not though. Bush, for instance, is considered a Southerner... even though he was raised in WEST Texas.

[GePap]

Bush is considered a Texan, and Texans are a thing of their own, just like anyone from a state so huge it counts all by itself (like Florida, NY and Cali as well).

As for Pop. gains, The south will gain in importance, but so wil the far west. And while the midwest and upper plains are the biggest losers, along with the Northeast, the electoral college will keep giving it more power than its worth.

[Imran Siddiqui]

That's just the way the Midwest likes it .

You know what I found interesting on the US Census site? In terms of counties which had the most % growth, THREE of the Top 10 are Georgia counties... but most striking is that NONE of them are Atlanta counties (2 are fairly close though). It seems the whole state and not just Atlanta is growing (though Atlanta grew a lot as well).

[GePap]

It called the suburbs. You must love the traffic. (sucker!)

[The Templar]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

The President and a great number of the House and Senate leadership (more so than any other part of the country) are from the South. They run things. The brain runs the body and tells it what to do.

Nope. The US is in full on penis mode. All the blood had been pooled there since 9/11. The brain has been put on hold.

The NorthEast is the penis because it thinks it runs things and believes itself to be more important than it is.

I was including NY and NJ in the Northeast, but whatever. As for Boston and Cambridge, think biotech and computers. That's brains.

Meanwhile, our penis brethren in the South are among the sanctity of cytoplasm crowd that's putting a damper biotech. Boston has doers. The South has whiners and mouth-breathers.

The MidAtlantic, MidWest, and West are important organs, as I've said. It's where a majority of the stuff gets done. After all, I'd consider New York to be as important as all of the NorthEast put together.

The midwest grows food. That's important, but it doesn't exactly qualify it as the brain. It's the gut - producing energy for people in CA and NY to think.

As for Atlanta growing ... well, stuff tends to grow in armpits when, like the south, you lak hygiene.

[Imran Siddiqui]

As for Boston and Cambridge, think biotech and computers. That's brains.

They don't run anything. They have no political say. The brain runs things. I'm sorry if your penis runs you... though, I guess that would make sense, seeing as your posts seem to indicate a lack of brain power .

Btw, the South was running this country long before 9/11. Obviously Clinton wasn't in charge during it.

Obviously most of the country thinks the whiners and political nobodies of California and the NorthEast aren't worth their time. They told the South to go be the brains of the operation. The penis of Cali and New England gets to continue to fight for time.

[GePap]

I think Templar's interpretation is better than your Imran. Passions rule in the South, and passions are much more the province of sex than thinking.

[GePap]

Oh, notice how all them southeners study at big Northeastern schools, not Southern bastions. Yale, Harvard, there is whewre our presidents go. And Georgetown is run by catholic priests so it hardly counts with the rest of the South.

[Imran Siddiqui]

See that's your problem . You don't think passions play a part in thinking... in decision making. Of course it's an important part! The brain uses its passion and emotion in decision making! Hell, most of the far left on this site is based on passion, but I wouldn't say they didn't think!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Oh, notice how all them southeners study at big Northeastern schools, not Southern bastions. Yale, Harvard, there is whewre our presidents go.

When's the last time a Harvard or Yale professor ran the country . It's one thing to be a member of the intelligensia, quite another to actually rule and make the decisions for the country.

[The Templar]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

As for Boston and Cambridge, think biotech and computers. That's brains.

They don't run anything.

Irrelevant. They are doing the thinking. Brains do thinking as well as operating the rest of the body. But in a sense they do "run" the nation because they are creating the future. The south is merely running the present. Running it right into the ground.

Obviously most of the country thinks the whiners and political nobodies of California and the NorthEast aren't worth their time. They told the South to go be the brains of the operation.

Back in the 90s, people told NY to make their money grow. Today people tell NY to make their money grow. You know that saying "put your money where your mouth is"? I'll watch where people actually put their stuff at stake. Casting a vote is cheap. CA and the Pacific NW are where much of our tech and entertainment come from. Cultural products. In the long run, that's what matters.