Thomas Jefferson played a major roll in the shape of western states. Today you made suggestions about reorganizing the state boundaries in states like California, Texas, Florida, & New York. After Lewis & Clark returned from their great adventure, Jefferson realized the inequality in size and representation of eastern states. Additionally, eastern state boundaries were not static. Rivers that represented state boundaries changed course. Jefferson dictated that all the new states should be equal in area and the boundaries should be well defined and immovable. That worked well until the US decided to take much Mexican property during the Mexican/American war. As a result states like Texas and California do not comply with Jefferson's rules.

I had the idea a while ago to require states to merge and split after every census (so long as the ratio in population of the biggest and smallest states is at least 3).

The current ratio of CA:WY = 68.6. Just after the first iteration (in which WY becomes part of MT, and CA splits), the ratio drops to 34.25, and after 11 iterations (when I stopped bothering) the ratio was 5.63.

I also checked the smallest percentage of the population that elects half the Senate. Right now, it's 16.33%. After 11 iterations, it's 33.86%, which is about as high as can be expected. You're never going to get it to 50% unless the states all have exactly the same population.

I watch Weather Channel and have noticed big change in format that started couple of weeks ago when "Al" brought over to WC morning show. All of a sudden began 6 commercials between weather spots. Last night around 8PM guy on WC said paraphrasing that a lot of prople think corporations are out to do them harm, followed by not so as almost all including CitiGroup doing all it can to tell folks what they need to do to get green, etc. Talk about propaganda in favor of corporations! It is clear to me that WC has been taken over by whoever moved "Al" around, and all the commercials, and pitch in favor of INCS. So much for WC. I hope only that FreeSpeech TV will someday come up with a good weather channel segment. I like CCTV and Aljazeera has a good weather segment on LINK TV, but the days of WC are numbered, same for ClearChannel, NBC, CBS, ABC, and all other main stream media in the USA. And by the way, take a look at http://www.dutchsinse.com/

YES Ditch nuclear power over time Invest in clean energy Vote the untra greedy power mad GOP out ASAP They have lost all reason- all common sense and decency & morals.

Profit for the few rules in America, over common sense and the good of all.. So the worst possible choice -nuclear power will continue here (worst possible choice for all but the very few who profit from it; but even they are poisoning the planet for their children).

Three cheers for Italy and Germany.... their governments, while FAR from perfect, actually react to public pressure, we, on the other hand, live under a dictatorship that maintains a fiction of democracy. The people of the USA are gutless, interested only in gaining another fifty pounds of gut burger, following the tweets of some silly show business moron, and being told what to do by the Reverend Billy Bob who has NO education, who in fact has no understanding of what Christ called the New Covenant, and supports Israel right or wrong 'cause GAWD says to.

It's over boys and girls, get ready for being "disappeared" in the middle of the night for being a TERRORIST because you believe in free elections, and never forget that what you write here is being added to your dossier every day, not because of Tom, but because Big Brother IS listening.

Walter Price III

The Rocky Mountain Institute is far from a credible source. I assisted Professor Kersting of NMSU some time ago in preparing testimony against them to the Public Utility Commission in New Mexico. After the professor's presentation, the commission dismissed all claims by the Rocky Mountain Institute due to the fraud they presented and approved the powerline that PNM had requested permission to build. As for the cost of nuclear power:

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/04/energy_reality_comes_to_german.html

However, the leftist theoreticians will have difficulty explaining this recent development in the real world, where the rest of us live and work:

Germany’s plan to accelerate its exit from nuclear power generation may raise electricity prices by as much as 30 percent.

If nuclear power isn’t economically viable, shouldn’t energy costs fall when it is eliminated? If government subsidies cover the true cost of nuclear power, why won’t the German taxpayers enjoy a windfall of cost savings when that spending is discontinued? Despite all the leftist magical thinking, reality shows that nuclear power actually costs much less than its “green” alternatives.

The Anti-Christ is FOR SALE!!!

http://www.opednews.com/articles/For-Sale-The-Desperate-St-by-Rania-Khalek-110530-675.html

Once this money is pissed away through incompetence, where will Chicago find the money for the parking meters that generate revenue for the city. It is over for our evil, vile, and wicked country. In 2008, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley auctioned off the city's 36,000 parking meters to a Morgan-Stanley lead partnership, for a lump sum of $1.15 billion.

We are now a third world country. Dr. Roberts prediction comes true.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Nobel-Economist-Says-Glo-by-paul-craig-roberts-110531-621.html

As the knife goes deeper into the belly of the beast, our country is damned more each day.

Louise, If America does reduce nuclear energy, it won't because Germany is reducing nuclear energy. We must find a way to reveal to the bottom liners that nuclear energy is not economical and profitable. Special interest groups will always win out in our country. America is embedded with a killing mentality. Our country is in hot pursuit to bring our planet's population to a sustainable level of 500 million people. We must exterminate 6.5 billion human beings!!! That is why health care, Medicare, and social security will become history. That is also why food and energy costs will only be affordable for the wealthy people.

I want to say that America is more of a caste system similarly to India. Once you are rich, you will always be rich. Our politicans and the rich will make it so!!!

The political economist Henry George spoke of social justice. In fact, besides his great work "Progress and Poverty", George published Justice the Object, Taxation the Means. United Committee for the Taxation of Land Values.

If you want to see how an economist can care about Justice, read Henrgy George. ... and, then, maybe weep because very few people today even know about Henry George since the American Economic Association removed him from our schools (see, The Corruption of Economics by Mason Gaffney.)

Here is what one bright person had to say about Henry George:

“Men like Henry George are rare unfortunately. One cannot imagine a more beautiful combination of intellectual keenness, artistic form, and fervent love of justice.”

~Albert Einstein

You would do well to nurture and protect it - because the alternative - Corporate Fascists - certainly would love to see it disappear!

And then who would protect you from the Corporate Fascists?

And please, do not come out with that time worn rejoinder that both are the same! Pleeeaaaasee!

Save that for the fox noise ditto-heads!