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Secession - Rant #1
Comes news today that various rural counties in California and Colorado want to create their own state. A slightly sarcastic overview of these proposals can be found here. These counties are rural, extremely lightly populated and in one case (Siskiyou County, CA, population 44,000) have long-standing issues with the state.
What these counties don't seem to understand is that they receive more money from the state then they send to it. They are, in fact, being subsidized by the very states they want to leave. What they do understand is that the states they currently are in are either liberal or trending that way, and since we are a majority-rule nation, these counties will have laws imposed on them that they don't like. Secession looks like a way to prevent that, although it's really just a way to delay the inevitable.
The Right to Not Be Criticized - Rant #2
There are many cranks on the Internet, and of course my friends at Simberg's Flying Circus. These folks all wish to express their disapproval of various social and political phenomenon. However, should one express disapproval of their opinion, one quickly hears the cry of "silencing them." If one, say, bans them from a comment thread, then you are "censoring them."
No, you are expressing your opinion of their opinion. This is a valid thing to do, and what the cranks want is the right to not be criticized. They want to express their opinion free of any counter-opinion or consequence. Alas and alack, the world does not work that way.
Comes news today that various rural counties in California and Colorado want to create their own state. A slightly sarcastic overview of these proposals can be found here. These counties are rural, extremely lightly populated and in one case (Siskiyou County, CA, population 44,000) have long-standing issues with the state.
What these counties don't seem to understand is that they receive more money from the state then they send to it. They are, in fact, being subsidized by the very states they want to leave. What they do understand is that the states they currently are in are either liberal or trending that way, and since we are a majority-rule nation, these counties will have laws imposed on them that they don't like. Secession looks like a way to prevent that, although it's really just a way to delay the inevitable.
The Right to Not Be Criticized - Rant #2
There are many cranks on the Internet, and of course my friends at Simberg's Flying Circus. These folks all wish to express their disapproval of various social and political phenomenon. However, should one express disapproval of their opinion, one quickly hears the cry of "silencing them." If one, say, bans them from a comment thread, then you are "censoring them."
No, you are expressing your opinion of their opinion. This is a valid thing to do, and what the cranks want is the right to not be criticized. They want to express their opinion free of any counter-opinion or consequence. Alas and alack, the world does not work that way.
