Ok this is getting ridiculous now. As anyone from California knows, if you travel to the other end of the state you are not in the same state anymore. You're not even in the same country. Dare I say not even the same planet. To be honest, I'm more than surprised we don't have two different accents. There's northern California, southern California, and 400 miles of dirt separating the two. I think its about time we stopped ignoring the issue. California is too big and too diverse. Its like a bad marriage, and we need a divorce.
Can someone explain to me why we can't do this? I mean sure it'll make the country flag a little weird with 51 stars, but can't we just combine two of those stupidly small states on the east coast? Consider this, when you travel and meet someone how often do you just say "California"? It's about always followed with Northern, Southern, Bay Area, San Diego, or some modifier like that. I say Bay Area because I don't want people thinking I may be from LA. Its hard to get more different than SF and LA. I'm also convinced that Prop 8 passed because of the "other" half. If Northern Cali was its own state from the beginning I wouldn't doubt that we could have a gay governor. Which I'm saying is a GOOD thing. Not because gays are inherently better at being governor, but because it would reflect our acceptance of people beyond their race or sexual orientation.
Also, we should move the capitol. I mean really, Sacremento?
So the only real question is what to name the new states.
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"Stupidly small states on the east coast." I love it.
as for separating CA, it's been brought up before and was even an issue in the state congress if I'm not mistaken, but I am not sure I am for it.
I think one thing that makes CA so great is it's diversity. People can go to CA and do anything they want because there is so much. Also, we're fucking California, one the biggest states in the US. There is a lot of influence CA has on the rest of the country, and even the world. Our industries, businesses, importing and exporting, are among the largest operations in the world. I like saying I am a part of that. California is like it's own country because of its size and all that is in it. I even use Californian as a qualifier before I do American. None of this would be possible though if the state got broken up into two.
I would rather CA just secede from the US before it broke up into two states. Now that's something I could get behind.
As for your prop 8 statement. You would be surprised as to who voted for what. As soon as I found out 8 was likely to pass, I went and looked at a county by county breakdown to see who fucked up and to my surprise, it was state wide. Have a look, http://vote.sos.ca.gov/Returns/props/map190000000008.htm, you'll notice a lot of counties in the south did vote to pass it, moreso than the north. But before you critique this have a look at who voted for the president. http://vote.sos.ca.gov/Returns/pres/map010000000000.htm. That's a lot of yellow in the North. That is so much yellow that if the state was divided into two, Northern California might have voted for McCain. Think about it, that is a good number of electoral votes going to that old bastard. California, as a whole, has so much political power with the magnitude of electoral votes. That would all be gone if the state were split. Who would then battle those crazy Texans? Fucking Texas would have the most political sway in the country. That would just be crazy.
Yeah I see that Cali is very diverse. But so would Alaska and Hawaii if they were the same state. I don't think states should be this big.
As for the graphs, most of that is in the middle of Cali, and we all know no one like them. If you don't live an hour from the beach or Tahoe, you don't count.
so you would rather say, I'm from a state that voted for McCain?
California is different from other states, and that includes it's size. We are unconventional and I think that's what I love the most. We control shit. Why conform?
Why do we have states again?
I love that California is so big and diverse and still works (or at least we did). PRE PROP 8 we were an awesome state that despite our differences and distances was a fuckin kick ass place. There is something for everyone- not anymore. :(
so that everyone, whose interests will probably vary, are not directly controlled by one federal gov.
divide the power, i guess. but i dont think there is a clear cut enough difference in interest between hi-cal and lo-cal to separate the states. hollywood for example, I hate to use hollywood in any political argument but they are actually pretty liberal when it comes things. they may have a more consumerist view on things, but socially they are very similar to norcal.
WHY DO You SAY HI-CAL and LOW-CAL. You sound like one of my east coast friends who have no idea what they are talking about. Your from the fucking golden state, james. GET IT RIGHT. NOR AND SO
So I guess then California will never be the shining example of acceptance and rational thought that I want it to be. Sigh. Alright, guess I'd better get back to work on my spaceship.
in response to camille, CA still works. you cant divide the state into two because there are plenty of counties on both sides that voted to pass it.
this is a shitty amendment, but so was prohibition and that was later fixed.
this is just how people voted to pass it. it is democracy. the majority is all that matters. unfortunately they got it wrong, but going and changing the rules is just a bitch move that undermines the political foundation of this country (yes i know banning gay marriage undermines even more, but that's not the point here).
i hate when politicians do that. fucking redistricting so they can't lose, i am so glad that prop failed.
you cannot say CA will never be the shining example of tolerance and acceptance. policy gets changed. look at how many people are pissed off about this. it will get changed. it will be on the ballot again, and it will be even more strongly fought for than it was this time. look at the equal rights amendment, or women's right to vote more specifically. that was shot down plenty of time over a long period of time (1860's - 1960's) and women can vote now. things will change. CA will still and forever be that example of tolerance and freedom that sets us apart from the rest
Andy's back! Okay, first I wanna say that let's not forget to celebrate that history was made and an African-american man, not only that, but an intelligent man, was elected into the presidency. That is friggin sweet. I haven't felt this proud to be an American in a long time.
Read this article by Michael Moore, entitled: What Wil it be like to have a smart president? Michael Moore: What Will It Be Like to Have a Smart President?
http://www.alternet.org/election08/106154
This also represents great change. For the moment, let's use it as a starting point. It's time we as young people step up and make some serious choices, become leaders in our communities, and get stuff done. (Stuff besides war and spending on it).
Yes, Prop 8's results were surprising and disappointing. I even heard they might be trying to pass another which prevents gay couples from adopting. I'm sorry...but who does that help?
When I introduce myself, I constantly have to use modifiers like (near SF, Northern California), etc. Also followed with..."No, it's not always sunny." On the plus side, we're from a state that people know. How many Americans know Canadian provinces? How many people in the world know where the United Arab Emirates are?
I also love that California can be a place where change, where progression can happen. In some areas, Canada is "ahead" I feel, but our west-coastness unites us in many ways. And not to make our heads any bigger, but many countries do rely on the USA, and with this economy we really need to do some lifestyle changes while the government does some re-working of the budget.
PS: I'm a public transit kinda guy so I'm happy about the train. We've been trying to pass that for years, but snobs in Marin kept bringing it down. But compared to much of the world, California feels inconvenient to me regarding transportation. Shoveling out that $ will make California comparable to smaller countries, which is cool in my opinion. Plus, there's just too many cars with 1 person in them.
If Northern California became a separate state, would we be confused with North Korea? I don't want friends saying..."wait, isn't your home part of the axis of evil?" And then I have to say, no no, that's Hollywood.
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