Culture, Globalization, & America: Folkways, Streams, Family Values

I came across some new information that relates to some information I’m already familiar with to some degree. I’d like to look more into it, but for now I just wanted to offer a few links to orient my thinking. It was in researching about the North/South in some earlier posts that I came across the folkways [...]

We’re Number 1! Economic Statistics USA

US Peace Index (state comparison)

More fascinating data about the US. This is further data which confirms my analysis in a recent blog post: America’s North/South Divide (& other regional data) I’m, of course, not surprised. It makes sense why such patterns exist once you understand some of the underlying factors. We might not normally think about their influence, but [...]

Political Labels – Meaningless? Divisive?

I keep coming across the problem with political labels. I’m actually a fan of labels when they are used to accurately represent fundamental differences, but too often that isn’t how they are used. I probably don’t have much hope to disentangle that which has been intentionally tangled. Still, I can at least explain my own [...]

America’s North/South Divide (& other regional data)

I’ve observed in the US certain regional patterns of culture and demographics, the North/South divide being the focus of my present analysis. The basic pattern of a North/South divide originated with the first colonies and was emblazoned upon the national psyche through the trauma of the Civil War. And, despite the change that has happened [...]

The US States as Countries (GDP)

Looking at each of the US states if they were their own countries – as The Economist recently did – reveals just how staggeringly big the US economy is. These are the ten biggest states in America (by population) and their equivalent countries (by GDP). 10. North Carolina = Sweden 9. Georgia = Austria 8. [...]

Wikileaks & Transparency, Afghanistan & Cold War History

America’s Political Confusion

I’ve been reading some books lately which have got me thinking about politics and society. The books in question include: The Eliminationists by David Neiwert, The Authoritarians by Bob Altemeyer, Conservativs Without Conscience by John W. Dean, Bite the Hand That Feeds You by Henry Fairlie, several books by Richard Hofstadter (in particular, The Paranoid Style in American Politics), and several books [...]

Afghanistan Occupation: Creating Terrorists

Here is further proof of a view with which I concur. Afghanis don’t want us or any other military force to occupy their country and their tribal lands. The longer we remain there the more we actively turn them against us. Instead of decreasing the terrorist threat, we are polarizing them to allign with terrorists. [...]

Imagine If All Atheists Left America

ConversationWithA — January 01, 2009 — Highlighting what would happen if all atheists were to leave America. Details of who would leave, what would change, and a look at other countries with virtually no Atheism. SOURCES: Over 10% of American population are atheist: http://www.atheistempire.com/referenc… Less than 0.25% of prisoners are atheist: http://holysmoke.org/icr-pri.htm Majority of Nobel [...]