We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.
Driving across our wonderful country is one of my biggest pleasures.
I negotiated the Red States without incident (in spite of my "Got Impeachment?" bumper sticker).
I slipped by that 190 foot cross (somewhere on the Texas Panhandle) without it falling on me or being sent straight to hell for my sins. http://crossministries.net/
I survived two hours of I-5 from San Diego to Laguna Hills (eight lanes of maniacs in each direction) at Rush hour (no kidding, he's on every other station).
Now I'm tucked away in the most conservative county in California, if not the world. That's Orange County California.
Actually I'm staying in the liberal island of Laguna Woods in the conservative Orange County. Not too bad. There are liberal cells for me to seek Refuge. Best is the "Conserned Citizens", formerly "Conserned Citizens for Peace" who sponsored John Dean to come and speak about his new book about broken government. He is most alarmed about the possibilities of getting another "fundamentalist judge" in the Supreme Court, which would completely erase the disappeariong line between Church and State.
I'm not shocked by the conservative attitudes here in Orange County as much as I am shocked at the conspicuous wealth. If I didn't know better, I'd think everyone in California is very very rich. When I left here last year the average cost of a house was $790,000. From what I see on the streets the top of the line SUVs seem to be the soccer mom car of choice. I'm talking BMW, Mercedes, Lincoln and Lexus. The supermarket parking lots are full of them. Big suckers and all the soccer moms are blond and petite, with lots of cleavage on display. Lots of Hummers around too. Keeping up with the Joneses seems to be alive and well in S. California. I think most citizens in Jefferson County would be embarrassed to participate in the outrageous consumerism and waste that I see around me here in S. CA.
I wonder where all the minimum wage hamburger flippers, gardeners, babysitters, retail clerks, and Disneyland ticket takers live. I'll look around and see. I suspect many of them are camping in the canyons between the housing developments.
A good read that looks at the other side of Lou Dobbs border issue is "Tortilla Curtain" (1995) a novel by T.C. Boyle.
