High Drama In Washington

[Jivermo]

Wow! Could have done a tune up and valve adjustment in the time of that response!

[Amskeptic]

Wow! Could have done a tune up and valve adjustment in the time of that response!

Which response? Whose response? What, too long to read?

So. Did you do a tune-up and valve adjustment?
Lawdy knows I need to, but I am in the middle of a shutdown, a Cold Rainy Day To Hell With It Shutdown.
Colin

[Jivermo]

Nah...felt like reading. Still too hot down here, and I got some time miles left before I need to. Got to get me some more Indian Head shellac, anyhow.

[pj]

Colin, I guess this district gets your approval for a proper gerrymandered district?

Here is a link to the Congressman's page that represents this well thought out district. Notice in the lower right of the page you can see a map of the district.

http://watt.house.gov/

District Profile: North Carolina -- 12th District
The I-85 Corridor -- Parts of Charlotte, Greensboro and Durham

The 12th is best described as the mother of all gerrymanders, a congressional district so notorious in its design that it sparked an editorial in The Wall Street Journal and drew criticism from 1992 GOP presidential candidate Patrick J. Buchanan during a campaign stop in North Carolina.

The scandal was in the shape. Known as the "I-85 District," the serpentine 12th winds across the Piedmont Plateau mostly along the Interstate 85 corridor, linking small parts of 10 counties and including all of none.

The district was the Democratic-controlled legislature's response to the 1992 Justice Department mandate that North Carolina have two majority- minority districts. In an effort to avoid significantly weakening white Democratic incumbents, the 12th was stretched to extremes. A federal panel upheld the district's lines in August 1994. However, the shape of the 12th remains uncertain due to an appeal that was filed at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Through the marvels of computer technology, mapmakers were able to pick and choose precincts to give the 12th a 57 percent black population and an overwhelming 4-to-1 Democratic registration advantage.

The predominantly black neighborhoods in Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Gastonia provide much of the vote.

Durham is the 12th's eastern frontier. Tobacco processing was once the big game in town here, but nowadays, Duke University is Durham County's largest single employer.

Durham has long been home to a black political and economic elite, whose rise was nurtured by an organization that used to be known as the Durham Committee for Negro Affairs. Now referred to simply as the Durham Committee, the group has been a locus of power in black politics since pre-World War II days.

Besides Duke, the district also takes in several of the state's historically black colleges and universities.

From Durham, the lines travel west, cutting into Burlington (Alamance County) and into the cities of the Piedmont Triad: Greensboro (Guilford County), Winston-Salem (Forsyth County) and High Point (Guilford County).

More than half the district's people live in either Guilford or Mecklenburg (Charlotte) counties. The 12th only covers part of Charlotte, but it is the population anchor of the district; it contains more black voters than any city in the 12th.

Any candidate for the 12th must be careful, though, not to couch his message in Charlotte-oriented terms, for voters in other cities along I-85 have expressed concern about a Charlotte-dominated district that would be less attuned to their local interests.

Economically, the 12th is widely diverse. Since it courses through six of the state's 10 largest cities, it relies on the fortunes of the state's traditional industries ­ tobacco, textiles and furniture. In Charlotte, banking and financial concerns dominate the local economy.
District Data
1990 Population: 552,387.
White 230,889 (42%), Black 312,791 (57%), Other 8,707 (2%). Hispanic origin 4,772 (1%).
18 and over 411,687 (75%), 62 and over 77,540 (14%). Median age: 32.

[Amskeptic]

Colin, I guess this district gets your approval for a proper gerrymandered district?

It is crazy. A crazy-looking district.

It is pathetic when a district is drawn up by a political party/committee to maintain its hold on power, like in Texas.

If an effort to balance the scales, such as a court-directed mandate to re-enfranchise people, looks as crazy, then you have to ask if you can distinguish between "good" faith and "bad" faith efforts.
Colin

[BellePlaine]

I'm all for balance, and fairness. Gerrymandering is unfair, like athletes taking steroids. It's not really winning.

[Bleyseng]

I'm all for balance, and fairness. Gerrymandering is unfair, like athletes taking steroids. It's not really winning.

"It's not really winning"
Ha, it's called "CHEATING"!!!! All the BS these guys spout is plain horses hit, as they know the true intentions of the voters and no one else. We all know now that big corporations and special interest groups are paying them off to screw this country.

[Amskeptic]

I'm all for balance, and fairness. Gerrymandering is unfair, like athletes taking steroids. It's not really winning.

"It's not really winning"
Ha, it's called "CHEATING"!!!! All the BS these guys spout is plain horses hit, as they know the true intentions of the voters and no one else. We all know now that big corporations and special interest groups are paying them off to screw this country.

We let them.

American history is "colorful" and very intense. What, did we think we'd only have to read about it in books?

A smattering of riots from Wikipedia:

1900 - Robert Charles Riots, New Orleans, Louisiana
1901 - Denver Riots, Denver, Colorado
1901 - New York Race Riots, New York City, New York
1901 - Pierce City Riots, Pierce City, Missouri
1902 - Liverpool Riots, Denver, Colorado
1903 - Colorado Labor Wars, 1903–1904
1903 - Anthracite Coal Strike, Eastern Pennsylvania
1903 - Bloomington Race Riot, Bloomington, Indiana
1903 - Motormen's Riot, Richmond, Virginia
1906 - Atlanta Riots, Atlanta, Georgia
1907 - Bellingham riots, Bellingham, Washington
1908 - Springfield Race Riot, Springfield, Illinois
1910 - Philadelphia general strike (1910), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1912 - Lawrence textile strike, Lawrence, Massachusetts
1913 - Wheatland Riot, August 3, Wheatland, California
1913 - Paterson silk strike, Paterson, New Jersey
1913 - Copper Country Strike of 1913–1914, Calumet, Michigan
1914 - Ludlow massacre, April 20, Ludlow, Colorado
1916 - Preparedness Day bombing, July 22, San Francisco, California
1916 - Everett massacre, November 5, Everett, Washington
1917 - East St. Louis Riot, July 2, St. Louis, Missouri & East St. Louis, Illinois
1917 - Springfield Vigilante Riot, Springfield, Missouri
1917 - Green Corn Rebellion, Aug. 3, A brief popular uprising advocating for the rural poor and against military conscription, Central Oklahoma
1917 - Houston Race riot, August 23, Houston, Texas
1918 - Detroit trolley riot, Detroit, Michigan {Source: Detroit Free Press' "The Detroit Almanac", 2001.}
1919 - Seattle General Strike, Feb. 6-11,
1919 - May Day Riots, May 1, Cleveland, Ohio, Boston, Massachusetts, New York City, New York
1919 - Red Summer, USA
1919 - Boston Police Strike, Boston, Massachusetts
1919 - Steel Strike of 1919, Pennsylvania
1919 - Charleston Race riot, May 10, Charleston, South Carolina
1919 - Washington, DC Riot 1919, July 19, Washington, D.C.
1919 - Chicago Race Riot, July 27 – Aug.2, Chicago, Illinois
1919 - Knoxville Race riot, August 30, Knoxville, Tennessee
1919 - Longview Race Riot, Longview, Texas
1919 - Omaha Race riot, September 28, Omaha, Nebraska
1919 - Elaine Race Riot, October 1, Elaine, Arkansas
1919 - Centralia Massacre, November 11, Centralia, Washington
1920 – Battle of Matewan, May 20, 1920, Matewan, West Virginia

How many riots have we had since 2008?
Colin