I was actually just reading a bunch of articles/posts theorizing about the "What's Wrong With Kansas" idea- that people will vote against their immediate interests as far as health care and economic issues in favor of "strong moral values."

A theory goes like this:

We're forever taught the American "by their bootstraps" myth. And people connect that with "personal responsibility." In addition, many of the red states, particularly the rural areas are depressed economically and suffer from a sort of social low self-esteem.

Being "morally superior" people is a way of regaining pride, and in fact, accepting government help is not taking responsibility for the situation you are in.

Thanks, Laura, but I really don't have any more kitchen storage space to add something I have lived this long without. And it's not like I make a lot of salad. It just seems like such a fun thing to have!

With the cheap gardner's glove I use to remove cathair, I just wash it. It's covered with sticky rubber nubbies.

My thing is fabric-ish. Hm.

Damn, I live in MO/KS and I STILL don't know what's up. I know a lot of really sensible people, but then there are some people who are simply...dumb, dumb as dirt and twice as old-fashioned. And conservative Xian values have a LOT to do with it. Kansas is mostly small town that have been small town for a long time. No one goes to Kansas to escape, like maybe Montana or Wyoming; people stay or come here to dig roots. Which sounds like "ruts" ya know?

ita, colin is much better looking in person. i should rep him.

I reserve the right to talk shit about your country.

Yeah, me too. Of course, I lived there for four years. I've been Taxed By America. I claim my right!

I will, however, also defend America (parts of it at least) when someone else disses it. Usually by pointing out the diversity. (One of my favourites is that far more Americans than Australians can't stand Bush.)

"Bush: 'I don't see how you can be president without a relationship with the Lord'..."

Coming late to the discussion because of an abortive attempt to do actual work, I'd like to point out that North America west of the Mississippi would probably be speaking either French or Spanish without Thomas Jefferson, a president who definitely had no relationship with the Lord.

I think Canadians in particular have a free pass to criticize the U.S. because, for good or bad, our fates are necessarily entertwined.

Oh, in other domestic news, how do you clean one of those anti-lint glove thingy-doos? I can't get the lint off without getting it on to something else.

I have a brush rather than a glove and I just hold the thing over a gargage can and rub my hand over it perpendicular to the direction you remove lint in and it all comes off. I have no idea how similar the glove thingies are.

At my last company, I flew to Dallas and removed a small rodent from inside a dell computer that was jamming a blower fan. The property manager reported it to me as a pink "wire" hanging from the fan, it was in fact the rat's tail.

Ick. I have thankfully not had the displeasure of removing anything currently or formerly living from the inside of a computer and hope that I never have to do so.

I think Canadians in particularly have a free pass to criticize the U.S. because, for good or bad, our fates are necessarily entertwined.

You may be discounting the degree to which entire countries can live or die by the actions of the US, countries which have far less leverage (being third world) than Canada may have.

i should rep him.

Where's that fan site, huh?

I don't think the Democrats have much of a message lately on how they are going to make your life better. The Republicans are going to lower your taxes, keep icky gay people from getting married, perserve your right to have a gun, and protect life.

Coming late to the discussion because of an abortive attempt to do actual work

See, that right there is your problem.