I hear ya on that one Deadstick. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area which so many people love to disparage as the ******/liberal/weirdo capital of the world. Truth is, we also have the brightest, most educated population in the U.S., if not the world. Yes, we tend to vote Demo, but so what? The truth of the matter is, neither the Republicans or the Democrats are the same parties that our fathers believed in, or brainwashed us to believe in. The pendulum swings back and forth, doesn't it?

People who assume the thoughts and beliefs about people who vote different from them are foolish in their assumptions. I can't tell you how many times I've heard Silicon Valley employees here, who were raised Republican, rant about how outsourcing is hurting the U.S., and believe it or not, many of them are from other countries, like India! I also can't tell you how many times, I've heard many of my homosexual co-workers complain about illegal aliens getting a free ride in the U.S.

Yes, we in California pay more taxes than a lot of the U.S., but we also absorb the most immigrants, the ones who pick all the fruit and vegetables that the rest of the U.S. consumes at affordable prices.The taxes to pay for their health care, education, crime, and other issues, comes out of my California state taxes, my paycheck. I'm quite frankly tired of people in other states bashing California, when this state and it's economical strength subsidizes the rest of the US. I'm not from here, I'm from conservative Cincinnati, Ohio, but I still love it here. It's far from perfect, but please tell me where is "perfect?"...let the flaming begin...I know it's forthcoming with this group.