I think I am a rainbow dot. Everyplace I go it seems like I am a stranger in a strange land. I guess maybe parts of San Francisco I feel most at home, but even there, I am confronted by an almost craven lust for diversion.

The US political landscape is nuts. I was pretty pissed off about Clinton and considered Canada. I looked around- lived in Barcelona for a while but settled on New Zealand- this was all before the business with stolen election of 2000. Maybe it is too much to ask of Nancy or Elizabeth to run in 2016, but if we don't get Biden or at least Dean in 2016, I'll probably pack up the tribe and move us all back.

Rick Perry said Laws are the bastion of secularists, and what we need to do about the gun situation is go to church more and pray. Theologically, he is full of bull pucky, because Law is the backbone of the Old Testament, taken to a higher level in the New Testament. If anything, paganism was based on lawlessness- of dieties who acted based on whim, not adherence to lawful principles.

That last paragraph may seem disjoint. Sorry I am going especially non linear after the onset yesterday of this heavy flu thing going around. Feel free to ignore me for the next few days- I feel like I am stumbling around in a cloud.... anyway, the Perry thing was an example of the alienation. I mean- this was the state of my mother's half of the family. Good people. But what Perry is saying is not even pre 19th century, it is medieval, and I don't think the guy is trolling. There is ample empirical evidence that he is sincere about these lunatic ideas he is wallowing in. Of course- Perry's ideas are almost unheard of in the deep blue state I am in (Hawaii), but the fact that sentient life forms in our country still consider them plausible makes me wonder whether this is the best place to expend efforts.

It seems to me the world needs a high shining example of what good governance- what a good and healthy society looks like. I often feel grim that the country of my birth will ever regain that status. Countries compete for the best and the brightest. Collectively, perhaps the US is no longer sufficiently interested in attaining the highest ideals our country was based on.

John Messerly,

I was wondering how you liked New Zealand. We have talked about that. A country that produced Dr. Helen Caldicott can't be all bad. (I hope I didn't spell her name wrong.) Oddly enough, we were so angry over the Clinton/Lewinsky business that that was when we discussed it.

The Isle of Man -- Freedom To Flourish.mp4 - YouTube

That is how I see a healthy country.

I am empathetic Alan. I live in AZ and everywhere I go, folks are packing heat and its just scary to leave the driveway anymore.

I'm visiting in AZ for the winter months. I'm from MA and, believe me, I would never want to live here in AZ. If I didn't live in MA, I'd move to Canada.

I should say that Clinton's "reforms"/ "third way" liberalism but that even that was not good enough for a reactionary Newt Gingrich kind of right wing. It was like the final straws, and I was looking for the eject lever. The weirdness started with Nixon, but when Reagan was elected, I just wondered about what kind of people most Americans were- not just to first elect him, but to regard him as some kind of great leader.

My experiences had to do with culture on the South Island. The north, especially around Auckland can be much more like OZ than a typical kiwi town. We lived in Christchurch, in a house constructed to look like the superstructure of an ocean liner. There are a lot of quirky eccentrics in the country. My first child is a kiwi, and my wife retains her citizenship. I am a legal permanent resident so we can go back anytime.

People found my American aggressiveness and propensity to violate norms a little off putting and endearing at the same time. Being married to a former Soviet citizen, they gave me the benefit of the doubt more than I deserved. I got the feeling they were projecting a lot- maybe looking at us as an example of hope for the world. That kind of thing.

It can seem claustrophobic to people accustomed to a highly diverse cosmopolitan city like New York or San Francisco. In Christchurch the contrasts were sometimes intense. You know about all the social policies they have so I won't go into that, and people are surprisingly open minded and tolerant about nearly anything, and the same time being extremely civil and sedate. Like we go out to a nice dinner place, and there is a gentleman in his business suit and across the table is his impeccably dressed date- someone almost out of a scene from My Fair Lady. Except his date was a TV. So you would think the waiters or other diners might be uptight but no second looks, it is treated with the mundanity it would in San Francisco. But on the other hand there are all these vestigial signs of a bygone era in this forgotten former outpost of the old British Empire. Like people mentioning they were taking a turn around the neighborhood the other day but excused themselves that they did not pay a call because it was tea time. Seriously. People do talk like that and drop in like that, as if it were some Jane Austen novel. Or picture little old ladies in quaint summer tied down bonnets (it gets windy there) outside manicuring their roses arranged in neat lines- typical garden from England with a low white picket fence and lots of posies. Or adults saying they not only had never left the country, they never ventured from the south island, and very infrequently left Canterbury (a county sized political unit around Christchurch). Or business- You open an account in the US, and maybe the teller might remember you after a few months. In NZ, I am assigned a banker I can call at any time, and make it clear they are well connected with local businessmen and would be happy to arrange any introductions. It was very odd. My banker was exceptionally cordial and introduced me around their main office. Nearly all of them were from Christchurch, and there was a huge contingent who came from the same boy's school. That kind of insularity scared the crap out of me. There was a crew working on my house and get my hands dirty a lot so I just treated them as equals except they were all formal all the time and it was always Mr. Messerly and so on. So I was looking at something they did and I said that in the states we would do it this way, and the foreman says, "Oh yeah we thought so too, but the plans called for that so we did it that way." "So I said, [heck], if you let me know I could have fixed it- why didn't you let me know.

So he said "It wasn't my place."

Then it dawned on me. This was 19th century england stuff. He saw me as being in a different class than him. Which was especially weird in a country known for its highly socialist and progressive social systems.

Those kind of experiences made me wonder if I had come to the right country.

But there is a basic decency there. My sister in law works in a hospital and overheard an interchange in the lobby. A lonely lady was sitting waiting for a taxi, and one of the nurses goes over to sit with her chatting. It comes out that she has checked herself out because the doctor said she could, but the nurse won't have any of it. She addresses the lady by name, and asks how far she is going and gently reminders her it will be cold in the house and will take hours to heat and she will at best have a late supper. So why won't she stay another night and get a good start in the morning after some warm porridge breakfast? And the old lady is like, no- it wouldn't be proper to impose... Oh no no no, we won't hear any more of it. You shall stay another night...

Even for my sister in law used to the sort of soviet feeling of caring for one another, the way people were treated with great dignity and empathy as if they were family- it just makes her proud to be doing the work she does in her adopted country.

I won't tell you about her impressions while she briefly lived in this country, but you can probably guess.

Well I'll tell ya. I am an American living in Vancouver BC Canada for the last lotta years. It is real hard watching from here but, much safer! Come on up. Not much to fear here. (well, except the government in "power". Lolol same everywhere, no one is ever happy.

Come to Iowa, for the most part we are a forward thinking group. Stick by Des Moines and you will be ok.

I left right wing teabagger FL after 30 yrs and headed NW. It took everything I had. Now I live in a liberal city, Seattle.

Best damn thing I EVER did!!

Unless you are a person of color, As an african american who grew up in Iowa , It was the thick under current of racism that gets you. If your a minority< as long as you know your place , you will love it

Really I grew up in Iowa in the 70's and early 80's and at the time minorities were kind of a novelty, I had several friends that were not white. I wouldn't say many because there weren't many. Maybe it's more of an issue now.

Iowa is still pretty pale, but it's getting more diverse. As for the red/blue make-up, you can draw a vertical line down the state just west of Des Moines. On the left is basically Nebraska (Steve King territory), and on the right is basically Illinois. I'm from Iowa City which is deep, deep blue. And we're enjoying that whole "first in the nation" thing while it lasts.

Alan Alexander, are you anywhere near Jackson? There is a "left leaners" group that meets periodically for lunch. I think they met today.

JohnMesserly: Thanks for the nice post re: NZ. I agree that decency and civility easily overcome such small things like quaint, old-fashioned social characteristics, even if they seem off-putting. If those that disagree politically just tried to be civil in their commentary, America would be a much nicer place to live. But no, we have Rush Limbaugh as the standard bearer of all that is cruel. Yes some Liberals engage in this too - but only to a rank amateur degree of name-calling.

John Messerly,#1.6

Couldn't get back sooner. Thank you for the very interesting comment and response to my question.

Yes, I can guess. Did you ever know of Dr. Helen while you were there? I always admired her so much, and listened to her speak whenever possible.

You gave me a very good picture of the South Island; very descriptive and I thank you so much! That meant a lot to me.

I am becoming afraid for this country and the President and the Vice President.

I really am afraid. I feel the violence from the gun nuts, Fox "news" and Limbaugh are inciting something vile that could get out of control. I don't like what I'm hearing, John. These people are dangerous. That's my opinion and I really hope I am wrong.

I pray that I am wrong.

John Messerly,

I hope, by the way, that you feel better soon. The flu is bad this year. I had the flu once, in 1997. You have my sympathy. Even though I've since always gotten the shot, I carry Purell around and wash my hands like Lady MacBeth. It is only offering 62% effectiveness, (the vaccine this year). That's actually good as vaccines for flu go, but I am careful. Take care.

@JohnMesserly,

Blue dot; Red dot, in most cases of local politics the color of the dot matters less than acclimating to the local cheiftain in an attempt to become one within your new locality.

One thing that helps me to get beyond, well almost, the local political imbroglio that most transplants will find themselves mired is the closing stanza poem from the Moody Blues, "Nights in White Satin". It goes like this:

Breathe deep the gathering gloom; Watch lights fade from every room; Bedsetter people look back and lament; Another days useless ENERGY spent.

Impassioned lovers wrestle as one lonely man cries foe love and has none;New mother picks up and suckles her son; senior citizens wish they were young.

Cold hearted orb That rules the night; removes the colors From our sight Red is gray and Yellow white, But we decide Which is right And Which is an Illusion

In as much as people believe the notion that "all politics is local". I fear for the future of this great nation as our state and local politicians continue their onslaught against voting rights for political purposes. Red, yellow, blue, or purple we're in this all together and must be pixels of the big picture without pixelating.

"Senior citizens wish they were young"? Only because it doesn't get any easier. You may hear the whole Moody Blues sone, "Nights in White Satin" by clicking the link.

I feel like a blue dot within a red dot within a blue state. I work among electrical engineers, many of whom seem proud of their redness. They whine about regulations (which DO have an impact on our industry, but were neither brought about by nor made worse by Obama). One of them fell hook, line, and sinker for the Romney lie about Obama eliminating the work requirement for welfare recipients. I just wanted to shake him into a higher level of consciousness, but of course I avoid talk of politics in this work environment. Fortunately the eastern half of Iowa is nice and blue, so I find comfort in that outside of work.

I'm a Blue dot out in rural red country...and I can sympathize with the FOX thing. Anywhere there is a public TV out here that's whats turned on (well that or ESPN). My problem is I am a born button pusher. I was working in and office and every morning my boss used to come in and put on Rush...She knew I hated it and I think took perverse joy in making me sit through his show...so one day I had had enough and just went and tuned it to NPR...I think I am probably the only person to have ever been fired for changing a radio station.

Oh, Dragoon, that's laugh-out-loud funny! I don't know how you could stand to listen to Rush to begin with, but changing to NPR was truly inspired. I'll bet they're still talking about it.

Yep I'm a blue dot in what used to be the solid south.We have been overwhelmed by repubs moving in and totally changing everything.They talk about how bad it was where they came from then want to change everything here like it was "back home".They all HATE Obama (their words,not mine) and love the NRA.

My husband and I are not able to talk to anyone about politics...it starts a rant. The only thing we can do is vote a straight Blue ticket or Independent if no Dem. is running. Very tired of hearing about how terrible we Democrats are and all the "sins" that have been committed under our watch. My tongue is barely a nub I have bitten it so many times.

I'd never last in your company. I might not say anything but there would be plenty of eye rolls to clue them in.

Dragoon - good for you!!! -- making you listen to Rush was cruel and unusual punishment. But for her to fire you for that was probably actionable! On the other hand, I'm sure your mental health is in much better shape being away from that place (I do hope you landed a new job?) --

I live in Iowa, mostly a blue state right? Except I live in SteveKingLand. He gets elected regularly by the Dutch Reformed Farmers. If he didn't have Sioux County, he wouldn't last a week. Sioux County farmers all actually believe the same way that Steve King does! I'd love to move away (preferably to Vermont), but I have grandchildren here. And thanks to me, they are Progressive Democrats!

I don't know if it's my neighborhood, or if I just got super lucky with neighbors, but in my red state of AZ, my next-door neighbors have always been as calm and kind as possible, running to the grocery store for us or helping me carry things up and down the stairs when my husband was first placed on home oxygen. We freely discussed the political gruesomeness that was this last election process, and discovered that we are on opposite ends of the pole. And yet, we have similar basic values and moral codes, and tolerance for others, so we don't feel persecuted for our political stance, and I hope I have not made them feel that way. Now, if we lived next door to my parents, that's another story. My mother is an ex-hippie who is just right of center, I'd guess, and my dad makes Glenn Beck look progressive. Dad, though, has his weakness in the form of my two children who call him Poppa and tell him not to be so mean to the President and his friends. He will deny the (not so) little monkeys nothing, and so our weekly visits have been mostly conspiracy-free.
Ok, I went off on a little tangent, there, but my point is, even if I could afford to move, I wouldn't, just because I feel that my area is not a place I feel politically persecuted. Tucson tends to be more progressive in its voting than Maricopa County, anyway, and I don't invite trouble by running down the street yelling "Jeff Flake SUCKS and anyone who voted for him is a moron!" I just don't see the point, and I don't feel that way, at least about the voters.

It's kinda of fun writing letters to the editor in the SunHerald. I used to feel I was the only liberal in Gulfport. Now, there are more more letters to the editor with a liberal slant appearing in the SunHerald. I think all of us blue dots need to make more noise.

Bless you both! And blessings to all blue dots living in red states/counties! Frankly, I've done it before and couldn't do it again! I do not suffer fools lightly or quietly so I'll stay right where I am in a blue state.

It is a tricky decision to make, but in the history of various nations there has come a time when sensible, realistic people should have left if they were able to do so. Sometimes it is necessary to realize that nothing constructive can be accomplished within a nation and the proper course is to leave and do what you can to prevent the nation you left from harming other nations. As far as I am concerned, one's obligations to be a decent human being take precedence over nationalistic considerations.

Chalk up another blue dot here (ex-NYC) in Biloxi. I actually got kicked off a new bowling team I joined back in '09 right in the midst of the health care debate, when one of my new teammates the very first night of the league asked me what I thought of "that Obama". Needless to say the conversation went downhill when he started quoting patently-false FNC stories about the President as fact, and I retorted that it was clear that McCain lost the election because "Sarah Palin is a f%$%#ing idiot". I've since learned just to never talk politics with anyone around here, because life is otherwise pleasant. Now it HAS been refreshing seeing Palazzo get his ass handed to him lately after his Sandy gaffe, including by locals - no one will forget this in '14 and hopefully the sorely-missed Gene Taylor will run again and we can get him back in there for us.

More of a purple dot in a red state myself. What we need in this country right now is to remember that we are all americans, trying our best to create, not 'automatically have' a more just, fair, and functional country than the world has ever known before. The political 'divide' is a joke, a manufacture of corporations who know how to sell products, plain and simple. I have a lot of 'republican' friends in this state, and most of the things we agree on outside of the ridiculous debates on tv, we pretty much agree on what the problems are and how to deal with them. The issue becomes trying to be realistic versus being a pawn of political and corporate warfare. Obama isn't the problem, republicans aren't the problem. People who make money off of our fear to change the way we do business (and thus cut out all these sycophantic middle men) is what is keeping us from moving forward.

Good for you! I'm surprised at how few people are saying they'd stay and change things.

Burke Williamson,

I see your point about running away, but, Phil Bryant aside, how do you survive a Mississippi Summer?????????? OMG, I think I'd die. I prefer it around 70 degrees year round! I even like snow.

It sounds so nice to say you'll stay to change things, but what happens when it becomes evident that positive change is not possible? Does one stay anyway, to demonstrate one's Personal Virtue?

I, too, am from Jackson. I am a blue dot and our Governor is a nut. He's worse than the last one. I have stayed for family, but that is changing. There is a lot of help needed here and I feel that I contribute to improving the lives of people in the area. (I teach high school dropouts) I hate to say it, but my job is not ever going away. There will always be people that need help. Sometimes it doesn't feel like I make much of a dent, but for that one person, it can be a world of difference. However, I do fantasize about moving to the Seattle area...

Wow- you took the words right out of my mouth. I also live in Boise. While I have plenty of Republican family and friends, they don't seem to be as radical - maybe they are moderated by living with all of the "blue dots" in the Treasure Valley.

No matter the politics, I love Idaho. Especially, the beautiful outdoors. Things would have to get really bad for me to want to leave. And even then, I think it is important to have a progressive voice in the reddest of states.

Boise is one of the few places in the state where you can be on the left and find people of like minds. I was raised 20 miles west in Nampa. I still can't talk to those who stayed. They've swallowed the Tea Party Kool-Aid and licked the glass. To them Obama is a commie/muslim/atheist/nazi ... all contradictory ideas held as gospel nonetheless. I left for the "big city" of Boise as soon as I could when I was 18. Others who left the area to make new lives are the few with whom I can maintain a reasonable relationship. The remaining zombies I can barely exchange a few sentences without tension immediately showing on both sides of the conversation.

I think of leaving, but I'm not sure the situation is any better anywhere else. It's not so much a red/blue division as it is a rural/urban division. You can live in Portlandia and just a few miles south you'll meet people as irritatingly conservative as anywhere in Idaho or Mississippi.

Here in the beautiful Lower Clark Fork Valley in NW Montana, the scenery's great but the community is, well, the caricature of the guns-and-religion meme. I seem to be about as diametrically opposed to these people as one can get, but I'm trying to get along. The one thing I value is that there's so little money here that people are just who they are--no pretensions. And as I said, the place is gorgeous.

Like you people in Idaho and Utah, I survive with my Internet radio (love KQED and, to a lesser extent, our local NPR), Netflix for a little entertainment and the online community in general. I try to catch TRMS when it's posted most evenings.

I'm new in this community, having moved last summer from a town on Flathead Lake about 60 miles away, so I sort of expected that it would take time to develop a network of friends here. I'm sure there are enough like-minded folks, who are also keeping their heads down. Just need to find a few. And the rest I take with a grain of salt.

What I wouldn't give to be blue dot in Boise! I live in the red-ist part of the state, Southern Idaho. I do think of leaving, often. My feeling has be eased lately by the discovery of a few fellow blue dots in my peer group. My co-workers know that I am not one to talk politics (or nutrition/food or organic farming) with. It can make work days long... It's nice when I travel up to Boise to go to the co-op once a month, to see more Obama '12 bumper stickers that match mine! I think I've seen one other here in Twin Falls.

The biggest Blue Dot in Idaho has to be Blaine County (Sun Valley for those not familiar). I lived up there for many years in my ski bum days. When I relocated to Twin Falls, I learned how blood red the state truly is. 19 years in Ketchum; one year in Twin... I couldn't take it anymore and bailed out to Florida.

If you dig deep enough in Idaho you will find a lot of southern roots. It's the same in Eastern OR and WA.

afairhope: when I moved to the South Puget Sound area--Pierce county, I thought just because it was Washington, a blue state--life would be so unemcumbered and fear would not be found. However, I am in a rural area, and after each election I check to see which direction the county went--to my surprise, pretty red. Most recently, I have seen a beat up old pick-up truck parked every week near our post office with Obama's 'Hitler-mustached' face and words scrawled below it saying "stop here to help impeach Obama'. The first time I saw it, I was a bit shocked. Then this past summer, I went into our local convenience store--the only gas and groceries for 15 miles--to find the petition to ban same sex marriage sitting on the counter. These people know me--the owners just don't know I am a lesbian in a long term committed relationship. I am angry that I didn't have the guts to say why I didn't frequent the store until after the election. They seemed to wonder where I had been, but again, fear--both of alienating my neighbors and of the words that might come out of my mouth, prevented me from telling them why. Previously I had no fear of my neighbors, but my partner and I are both very cautious and careful these days about how we appear to others and I really hate that. So, I guess even in a definite blue state, there's always someone to keep an eye out for--which is a real shame.

i remember Idaho and Boise as a lovely place. there were moderates there in Boise.

I lived in Idaho 30 years ago. I still have family there. If things have changed at all, I can't see it. It's still the state of my nightmares. It even makes rural Nevada look good. Almost.

I left Utah after 25 years and am so much happier! I now live in Portland, OR and feel accepted, loved, and appreciated for my political work, views, and involvement. Every time I visit family and friends in Utah I am reminded of how glad I am that I left. All the beautiful scenery in the world can't make up for the death grip the Mormon church has over business and the legislature. Anyone who thinks there is separation of church and state in Utah is fooling themselves.

There has not been a single politician from Texas that I can stand.

Molly Ivins is sorely missed.

As Molly Ivans once said, "You have to have idiots in the state legislature, or it wouldn't be a representative body." Texas' congressional delegation is similarly representative.

I'm a very blue native-born Texan and, along with my better half (also born here), have thought of moving to another state or another country for the last 15 years...probably longer than that - ever since Shrub had been elected guv. The people in the county we live in are so red that I had to quit the neighborhood book club to keep my sanity and head from exploding! Our elderly set of parents are currently keeping us here. That said, we both love the Texas of Ann Richards, Molly Ivins, John Tower (thank goodness he's still alive) and hope to be here when the demographics finally swing our way. We probably will be long dead but we are still going to fight the progressive fight while we can.

I was also born and raised in one of the most conservative parts of TX and gradually made my way to Austin as an adult. I thought that the difference between living in west TX and Austin would be enough for me to finally feel comfortable in my home state as a liberal and (gasp!) a gay person. But a few years ago my partner and I got the chance to move to MA. And now I mostly wonder why the hell I stayed there as long as I did. I am now surrounded by complete strangers who (for the most part) have the crazy notion that I deserve to have the same rights as everyone else. In TX, you get to live with the knowledge that most of your family, friends, neighbors, etc. believe that you are somehow or another damaged or inferior, even if they're smiling at you the whole time. TX is the friendly state, you know.

The friendly state! I love when my aunt (in Amarillo) says something very insulting to my liberal ears about someone and immediately follows up with "Bless his/her heart," and smiles, feeling good that their insult has been washed away by the blessing.

Oh, yes. Bless her heart is the quintessential southern insult. Well, now, you've gone and cut off all your hair, girl! Bless your heart.

I though the best Southern insult was, "My my." lol

No, for me, the best response I get from my red dot relies is after saying something deeply homophobic is 'not that I'm judging, God judges.' Somehow they seem to think by saying it isn't judgemental it isn't...

And as one of your future neighbors in Maryland, may I say you are making an excellent choice. Welcome to Blue Maryland!

Thank you! We absolutely loved your state when we were out there. We can't wait to call it our own!

To Ambassoon...as a former Hoosier(born in Muncie), may I say your making an excellent choice! When you go back in 5 years you'll wonder why you didn't leave earlier!

Indiana is a nice place to visit, but I as a bluest dot could never live there. I LOVE NY, however, I am a bluest dot in Upstate NY which is mostly Republican'ts. So very disturbing.

Maryland is a great and very diverse state! Welcome!

Make sure you stay in the Baltimore-Annapolis-Washington triangle; the rest of the State is either pink or solid red.

You might only think of Iowa as a fly-over state with lots of corn and cows, but we do recognize your marriage and in the Iowa City - Cedar Rapids corridor we have very low unemployment and very blue attitudes (locally Iowa City is said to lie in the "People's Republic of Johnson County.") Iowa is not all blue, and the reds are annoying, but eastern Iowa is pretty nice and Iowa City is downright civilized.

Hmmm. As a Marylander intolerant of the heat, I've often wondered whether I might do better in Vermont. You state is one of the few left with apparently reasonable politics, after all.

And once we flushed much of the corruption out of state government, MD has been a pretty reasonable place, too -- as long as one avoids the denser and pricier circa-DC suburbs. Sadly, my optimal ambient temp is ~60F.

I live in a northern Atlanta suburb, and as a result of recent redistricting, the infamous Phil Gingrey (i.e., Mr. "Todd Akin was right!") is now my representative in Congress.

Like many in my community, my parents and siblings (and older nieces and nephews) rely exclusively on Fox News and talk radio for their information (my Dad had even hired Neil Boortz to be a radio spokesperson for Dad's small business).

We stay here for a few reasons. First, despite their right-wing tendencies, I love my family and enjoy having them close by. As a result, I never miss a birthday party, a baptism, a graduation, a Christmas, and so on. Of course, they're also here for us and our newborn baby girl.

Also there's the weather, the low cost of living, the relatively secure jobs that both my wife and I are both happy in, and a lifelong support network of family and friends (friends who also have a Fox News-directed political outlook).

Yes, we suffer. My brother would become eligible for Medicaid expansion arising out of ObamaCare, but for the Georgia Governor's refusal to implement it. As a result, my parents will continue to pay for his health insurance. We have among the highest unemployment rates in the country, making our jobs less secure, and keeping our home values relatively depressed. Our public schools are hit or miss, meaning that people either pay out the wazoo for private education (sometimes unknowingly inferior private education) or move to more expensive and distant (primarily white) neighborhoods specifically so that their kids can attend the more well-financed schools.

I replied to this comment because I always thought that if I could pick a place to move to, then I would explore moving to Vermont. I've never visited there (hope to one day), but I imagine it to be a progressive Utopia (notwithstanding the really cold weather). A guy can dream.

I've lived in the south since 1960, currently in Georgia since 1993, and I have had it. I hate the cold, but I'm thinking about moving to Vermont because I figure anyplace that elects Bernie Sanders is probably someplace I would fit in.

About as far south as I'll go in the U.S. to live is the southern tip of Manhattan thank you.

that just made me spit out my drink!

After 20 years in the deep south I traveled northwest -- to Seattle. And you want nice people? Try Vancouver. Canada is looking better every day. I just need to figure out how to get a work permit.

Seattle IS the absolute best city in the US! And yeah, Vancouver rocks too!

I like the old joke "When I moved to the South my neighbors brought me cakes and pies. And when the found out I was gay they tried to shoot. me. So I moved to Massachusetts and my neighbors ignored me, and when they found out I was gay they continued to ignore me." As a native Bay Stater I'm glad to hear the natives are friendlier these days. I always thought they were myself but being a tribe member helps..

The blue dot idea speaks to me. I'm a Democrat in Jacksonville, Florida, and I feel like a friggin' unicorn.

with you there Dave! i lv in SV.

and dont forget that moron, jon kyle. And dont we have the gawdawfullest governors!

A few years ago( after 9-11) I drove from Tucson to AJO, I thought I was in a war zone there were so many cops and border patrol. I saw one Hispanic in a car being hassled by four cars of cops and BP. I spent a few days in Ajo and there more people in Camo with huge guns than I saw in Vietnam. On the Hwy it seemed that every other vehicle I met was a cop or Migra. Az wasn't going to honor the MLK Jr. holiday until the NFL threatened to move the Super Bowl.

( Jan Brewer's cold heartedness curdles my blood, and as I woman I find to my surprise-not usual for me-that I'm embarrassed for my gender when I see her. This is a person who bumped people who were awaiting life saving transplants off of Medicaid ?2 yrs ago. Some were to surely have died (never heard follow up). I won't forget it even though she's not my Governor and far away from me. i also won't forget how disrespectful she was to President Obama around her book? on purpose to gain attention and also points with the Tea Party)

Ironically, I have to blame Obama for Jan Brewer. He took away our Janet Napolitano.

Ivan Ivanovich,

Conservative southerners in all states need to form one big country, and stay away from the rest of us who don't share their racism. Take the T-party with them. I have a name for that country, but I can't print it here.

Iowa here , my step brother looked into moving there , met with a realitor , the 1st thing she said was they keep the colored folks out of this and that area , they said NO THANKS to the whole state then and there , of course anyone who travels to places like that gets the vibe pretty quick , while there are ass holes every where , some states make it their whole reason for existance ..... no thanx...and god bless america any way

"I have a name for that country, but I can't print it here."

Does it rhyme with "Numbcluckistan"? ;-)

Uh Huh! How'd you know? Are you...related to me?

Oh, it's a term that is fairly common on the internet. You were most likely joking, but we would have to be very distantly related. My family is completely Protestant going back into the 19th century, even the French part of the family.

I have a step son who uses that term and I thought you were he. We laugh about calling it that unprintable name. I don't know his avatar. It could be entropy rules. He'd like that, as do I.

My family were all WASPS too. I am a convert.

My girls and I lived in Nashville around 1987 through 88 it (at the time) was refreshing to me because coming from MO where the bigotry was subtle, I kinda like having people own who they are! I lived near the downtown area.

I had to come home to go to the service, but I liked it. I do not think I would like it now though or any State where the people are upset that there is a -you know Black in the White House - I know they say that isn't the reason, but I've been in my high yellow black skin for many a moon now & I can spot them a mile away and their lil LIES TOO! Can you believe WE are living in the 21st century - SHOCKING!

My mother heard various things from her father's side of the family that made her strongly suspect that there was a Native American in the family. Since her father's family came from the Carolinas (and before that, France), we concluded that he or she must have been Cherokee.

India, I love your suggestion, lol maybe then I would not have to explain why I teach my children no one is better then you and you are not better then them. However when I tell them why, "because I hope one day my children are in a postion in life to be something where they will have to deal with people from all walks of life" people tend to just stare at me with some sort of " I didnt think of that look"

If I were Black or raising a Black child I think I'd be afraid of the South as well. When I was down there--MA Yankee--in White company (this was 20 yrs ago though) the N word was commonly bandied about and casual racism was considered norm enough that they thought nothing of speaking it in front of a White stranger. This was in central rural Florida, in AL and in Mississippi. I happen to be Jewish and "don't look it" I'm told I look Irish or German. I got to hear some choice phrases about my ethnicity/religion as well. I pass...my status is only on the inside. It was an unforgetable experience. I cannot speak to how it is now but no way I'd want to raise a child in that atmosphere where the majority and the majority of those in power secretly have that attitude. (maybe they don't now). perhaps if' I'd been born there and born to it I'd be able to teach my child to cope with equanimity as I had...but not now. (I was a temporary foster parent for Black children).

Laurali,

They are no different today. I spent time in the south, and couldn't wait to get back to the north. Racism is the nemesis of this country. I was so thrilled when Obama was elected; I was actually naive enough to think it would change things for the better.

Wrong.

Now, since Sandy Hook, and the President trying to legislate gun safety, common sense laws for a safer America, I am seeing the ramping up of the hatred from the extreme right, I am afraid for this country. I am afraid for President Obama and his family, as well as VP Biden.

We are, I feel this, on a collision course with something....

India -- if you keep changing your avatar picture, I'll start to lose you!

P.S. Do you have a tried-and-true scone recipe?

helena,

I've changed it back to my map, but it hasn't kicked in yet! I did it about fifteen minutes ago. You won't lose me then! I do have a scone recipe, but probably can't print it here. Maybe you could e-mail me?

I am not computer savvy. If you know how to reach me, do so. Happy to share recipe.

Oh, yes, the map is back! You didn't have to change it just because I complained, though. When I try, I can <ctrl>F you, in any case.

I'll e-mail you later today with a request for that recipe. TX!

India -- click on my avatar, and from the resulting profile page for me click "contact the author". It should work.

--hv

Helena, Done, and hope I did it right!

No, I had changed it before you said that! I liked the map better.

Yes tea partying is an acquired skill if done correctly. London isn't a bad place to live, Scotland is pretty awesome, Isle of Mann, no opinion.

I can't believe what Republicans are doing in PA, and I can't believe the Democrats will let them do any more gerrymandering and stupid stuff. The Lottery makes money, why sell it? Cuz they're stupid! If anything is successful, it seems that the people in State government want to destroy it. I'm bitter. I'm not even originally from PA, but from VA, which certainly has its own problems. I'd love to move south, but only to a liberal city - are either Charleston, SC or Savannah, GA liberal at all, at all?

I'd think you'd made yourself hungry! i'm salivating as I type...ever think of becoming a food writer?

Seriously I am beside myself about this Republican red gerrymandering...not just because of the House of Rep but (brace yourself if you don't know this) they are moving to try to make allocation of PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORAL COLLEGE votes by the districts. So not winner take all. Obama won Pennsylvania he got all their electoral votes. The Reps in states like yours with RED Congress and Goveneorship are preparing for 2016 and beyond now. If they succeed Romney likely would have won MORE electoral votes from your state than Obama even though Obama won the popular vote...because with the gerrymandering Romney would have won the Republican gerrymandered districts and there are MORE of them by design.

This will be a coup d'etat if they succeed. I am sorry if this i new news. You have to know living there. Everyone has to know so you can create an UPROAR. SPread it far and wide, at the least. See Rachel Maddow's show (available on MSNBC online with segments of video) from last night or night before about this.

I am so sorry for you your state our country. Sometimes taking small actions can relieve our angst anxiety upset sadness...better for us than all that clotted cream as well! ((hug))

Loreli, #17.8,

I am aware of the GOP's newest brain child and it is highly under reported. Rachel brought it up, thank heavens, but Democrats need to be aware of what they are doing. If successful, a Democrat literally could lose even if elected by the popular vote.

I responded to one of your comments above, also. I got busy tonight and am on so late. My Manx cat is poking me, wanting me to go to bed! But I saw this and wanted to tell you thanks, and we need to keep people aware of what the Republicans are trying to do to skew the election.

Luckily for my waistline, I cannot get clotted cream here! LOL I should write a food column, I make everything from scratch. We have an organic garden and my husband bakes our bread. It's great fun! Today I made a cranberry-orange loaf.........but no clotted cream, just cream cheese!

And..........it tastes good, too!!

Perhaps you don't want to know this, but you can order clotted cream from the King Arthur Flour Catalog (based in Vermont).

vetdocp,

Thanks, I may check that out.

Right now, I'm so fed up that I would happily smother myself in a vat of clotted cream.

Another Tennesseean here. Up until about 2008, I was a pretty hard-line libertarian...but even then, the GOP's social issues were a deal-breaker for me. Now that the GOP's gone completely over the edge on fiscal issues as well, I have no problem whatsoever voting Democratic - except for that Tea Party guy who got onto the Senate ballot as a Democrat in 2012.

Over the past couple of years, I've just gotten madder and madder at how all the locals swallow the Fox News and GOP crap whole. Some of these are people I used to respect, until I saw just how insane they've gotten since Obama got elected. They don't just live in a bubble; they live in an impenetrable bunker with a big stash of high-powered guns and sharp pointy things. The same lies get passed around over and over, regardless of how many times they get corrected.

Occasionally, I get tempted just to cut my ties and leave 'em alone in their ignorance...except that come election time, their ignorance interferes in my life. That's a pretty strong motivation to either keep speaking up or move somewhere else.

New to the thread....but, I, too, am a blue dot in a blue county smack in the middle of a red state! Lived in LA,CA for many years. But, due to unforseeable circumstances, returning home was our best bet. Saddened to see that, for all the "progress" that was made, so much was still the same. Quite happy to reunite with old friends and family, so finding friendly and enthusiastic discourse was easy. However, certain attitudes and misperceptions are still rampant. So glad my son is now of the age where he can determine for himself where he wishes to land. He is a college student, so he is on the lookout.

My husband and I are fairly settled here, not that this is our dream, but, circumstances dictate. He has a harder time here than I. This is where
I was born and raised. He is a transplant. Even though where we are is pretty blue, this is still the Deep South and certain provincial conventions continue to be the lay of the land. Oft times, I feel as though we have stepped back in time! But, I was raised with the conviction that, if you see an injustice, you address it. Being a child of the 60's, I can't really keep my mouth shut. So, when confronted with ignorance and bigotry, I have to find some way to deal with it in as positive a manner as possible. Raised by activist parents, it runs very deep in my blood. I refuse to be run from my home by someone else's ignorance, so, our motivation to stay is also pretty strong. I have no illusions of converting any of these "fervent believers", but, if I can help enlighten even a couple of folks, then, I'm more optimistic about change.

Can't abide by faux news or any of their collaborators. However, I will check them out and see what claptrap they are spewing just to be armed for any encounter. There is no arguing on my part, as they are NEVER open to any real discussion. And since Pres. Obama's election, certain people I once held in some esteem have gone completely rabid.

I, too, have experienced the maddening effect of the "bubble" and trying to correct any misinformation is laughable. But, hey! I did say I was optimistic!

I'm late to the party, but another blue dot, amid a few other blue dots in red Tennessee. I live outside of Memphis and I'm very happy to have Steve Cohen as our US Rep. However, we have Corker and Alexander in the Senate, a Rethuglican governor and a GOTP legislature.

My wife (a reformed Republican, I'm proud to say) and I are biding our time until we can get out of here. This is not the place for us. Churches are huge monstrosities and schools are falling apart. Sunday morning tv is full of bible thumpers and the news definitely has a certain slant to it. While Memphis does actually have some good things going for it (I'm a huge fan of and raised money for St. Jude Children's Hospital). It has a beautiful park that I make use of almost every weekend, a great zoo, some good night life, etc. But, it's a short ride to teaparty land - Gadsden and Confederate flags prevail. I even saw one moron with a folding chair on his lawn during the election a la Clint Eastwood and a sign telling people to watch Fox News.

Even people that you would think would have a reason to vote for Dems don't - old people telling you to keep the government out of their Medicare or minorities whose rights are being trampled on. Many of the local elections don't even have a Democrat running (I wrote my own name in on those lines).

We're hoping to move to either the Pacific Northwest or Vermont. Just need to find jobs and sell our house.

Washington State is a step ahead of NY.

Rochester - I live on Long Island. The property taxes are crazy. OTOH, the vast majority of schools are top notch, the beaches and parks are lovely and well maintained, and generally, town and county services are accessible and appropriate. Health care services are great, and it is just a bit of a ride to NYC and the best health care in the world. My town values art and provides tons of services to the elderly, disabled and less affluent residents. Our public library is amazing.
I attend a UCC church where we have a great diversity of members committed to social justice, peace, etc. My town has the largest GLBT parade/celebration in NY outside of NYC. You do not have to hide your sexuality here. The schools have pride clubs. There is a zero tolerance policy for bullying in our schools.Bloomberg is the best mayor ever, and our governor Cuomo has shaken up the state government so that it actually functions now.

Long Island is VERY racially segregated, and that stinks. And housing, taxes, and general life expenses are not for the faint of heart nor pocketbook. But living in a blue area in a blue state is a wonderful thing.

I'd like to move somewhere warmer to retire. I have heard that Carrboro, NC is a haven for liberals. Is this true?

I live in an area that prides itself on low taxes. Nobody wants to talk about laid off policemen, firefighters and teachers, not to mention the dubious distinction of being a state with one of the highest rates of people whose only income is food stamps. But, hey, we're very business friendly. That's why we also have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.

I'm just being ungrateful to think I would rather there were jobs, libraries that haven't lost 2/3 of their staff, schools that weren't on a race to the bottom, and parks that weren't full of weeds and dead plants. I'd rather there weren't politicians who think that funding academics at the university is a waste of money so they transfer the money to the football team, and want to spend a million dollars a year on an expensive stadium to house a 3rd rate baseball team with very little public support. Did I mention the 89 million dollar tax break for Apple to get a project that is supposed to provide about 70 jobs?

Did I mention that we are very business friendly?

Hi CH & now Sam (Brownback) has gone and done it again!

I love going to the store in KS & A) having them stand so close to you it's like you are not in line or B) act like you are standing to close to them for comfort (I love to observe a safe distance of comfort zone from people)

All the things you mention go on in other States! Since 2010, obstruction & the cat getting out of the Koch infested bag - WE know in secession (pun intended!) I moved back to MO & I will not live in KS again - don't even want to go there or visit. Friend has been run off the road several times - once slapped the person who called her "n" in traffic! MO is not much better, yet I prefer it to the snobby BS-akins (again pun intended!) of KS (Overland Park is the worst!)

It's to bad none of these Mayor's & Gov.'s fought for the people of their States when the financial bill came due in 2009 - before they decided to shift it to those who didn't make it - as the States now seek to do as the Fed did make the poor responsible for the meanderings/RESPONSIBLITIES of the RICH!

Oregon? Washington? If you're referring to either, I think you're overstating a bit.

Would you please enlighten us and disclose the state in which you live? Thanks.

That sounds like my state. I live in a giant blue blob called the "Seattle Area"... most people around the nation have not heard of it... well until we legalized Marijuana, and then suddenly everybody cares... for all of two weeks. And I have to agree, the eastern part of the state is constantly getting funding... while my University suffers and keeps having to raise tuition... My tuition has gone up $10 grand since I've been going here...
Anyways... heres my problem. My family is split. Half my family is blue as I am, only slightly brainwashed (they don't use logic just follow what the dems tell them to), and the other have is redder blood exposed to oxygen, insanely loyal Fox News watcher (and also don't follow logic). I can't talk politics anywhere with family without ticking people off. So I don't, because frankly nobody seems to agree with my beliefs.

So a word of warning, just because I live in a blue state does not mean that a vast majority of my state is blue... we actually have more red districts, but because of the 5 districts we have that are blue, our gov. and our senators (national) are dems.
Don't get me started about state politics though...

Could be Virginia. She might be in Stafford County, which is in the northern blue-blob of the state. Ocean, mountain, coast line. The bit about the Eastern part of the state sucking tax dollars doesn't quite fit, but Virginia's my guess.

Must be Washington state. Hello from the East side. I am definitely a blue dot in this blood red county. Can't wait to get out of here.

Washington state? Yeah...there is definitely the great divide at peak altitude on the passes that separate the east part of the state from the west.

LOVE the guesses...sorry I should have made myself clear. I live in Washington State. Born in Oregon (Portland area) and moved while in school. I've been here ever since. I have traveled alot and truly, there's no place like home. We have a cabin in Vermont (my husband's from there) and generally spend summers there. It's another blue/red state that Burlington rules. Our cabin is rural though so they call me 'that hippie librul from the LEFT Coast' but they let me stay because I'm married to a native.

I agree, I sometimes have to remind myself that they aren't talking about me, when they dog the bible belt, just the "crazys" as I like to think, you know the "they wont get my guns unless its from my cold dead hands" I like to think one day I will be free to hunt and not have to hear why I need a Ak-47 also.

Axn - I read a story yesterday about a young man Zack Kopplin who has been fighting the creationism crowd in Louisiana for a while and is trying (19 now & from college) to repel the law and stop LA from using voucher system to keep creationism in & science out of schools! I was stunned to hear that such crazy is going on there. I agree that most if not all people are as liberal as they are conservative in their views - I think politically it is more of an ideology of democracy vs. republic only view points (as they tend to account for the extremist madness, the use of southern strategy & the many Bigots coming out of their hidey holes), yet for people who say they are all about the "freedom" of this and that they certainly seem to want to curtail the "freedom" of others & that is why one needs to be understanding but firm - PERIOD!

A while ago a man went around in dark places talking about taking away the freedom of others and it took many countries & years to get him out of the seat of power he wrought for himself & the same could be said for a mentality/economy & Confederacy! So A by all means speak soft, but do not forget to (metaphorically) carry a big stick!

Thank you for this! As a happily transplanted Yankee, (in Decatur, GA) I get really ticked off by the way anything Southern is automatically used as a metaphor for uneducated, racist, etc etc. Those of us that live here, and have lived elsewhere, know there are plenty of great folks here (including the ones we disagree with) and plenty of very unpleasant folks elsewhere (including ones we AGREE with).

So let's stop with the absurd stereotypes, and deal with people. Shall we? ;)

I'm from Chicago, but I've lived in the Florida panhandle, Alabama and North Carolina (along with NY & OR). I hear all the Southern jibes. For years I've been saying that prejudice against Southerners is the last acceptable liberal bigotry. It's funny when you call people on it, and get the "Oh, I was just kidding," "I know this Southern guy who is ok," replies. They just don't get what they're doing.

@Laura Grace Bordeaux: I'm born and bred Deep South, a blue dot in a hugely RED state--the one most often ridiculed/labeled as racist--Mississippi. And I say those things about people from here.

Not all are ignorant, hateful, uneducated, etc. but there is a very high percentageof them here.