Gentle Readers,

Dr. J. saw this article in the Washington Times, in which a movement is described proposing to have upstate New York* secede from greater NYC. This would be a partial secession as partitioned upstate and NYC would be one state for federal purposes (senate seats, congressional apportionment, etc…) True secession would require an act of congress, literally, not figuratively. It probably will never happen, but it is interesting to think about, as the mores and values of urban areas are in stark contrast to those of the suburban and rural tracts of most states.

An even better plan for New York!

Tennessee is a red state with two blue carbuncles in Memphis and Nashville. Northern and Southern California are essentially two different states. Weed and Straight Edge Colorado are similar in composition. Texas is quite red, except for Austin and Houston.

Indeed, Dr. Robert Vanderbei at Princeton has captured a nice electoral map on his web page that shows degree of redness and blueness of counties, but also captures population density as a relief map.

The point is that our urban clusters are very different than our rural tracts and have competing interests. Perhaps as we get larger as a population, breaking states into more manageable sizes coupled with a smaller Federal authority would lend itself to making America a freer and stronger land once again.

Dr. J.