Tennessee's Rich Hillbillies

Forbes Magazine says Loudon County, Virginia is the richest county in the nation. It's located near Washington, D.C. Definitely not hillbilly country. Do you think some of our tax dollars are ending up there by mistake? 

The magazine also says Williamson County, TN is 17th richest in the nation. This wealthy county is about 20 miles south of Nashville, but those of us in Middle Tennessee already knew about those rich hillbillies down there, didn't we? Well, okay, most of them aren't exactly hillbillies.

Forbes says,

Nashville, Tenn., suburb Williamson County and Atlanta, Ga., suburb Forsyth County are the South's only representatives--but just like the other counties on our list, they have big-city growth industries to thank for their prosperity. Nashville may be best known for country music, but it's the heavy-hitting health care giants like Hospital Corporation of America headquartered there that account for locals' wealth. Many workers in that booming industry take their paychecks home to Williamson, which has a median income of $88,316.

From Wikipedia...

Williamson County is ranked among the wealthiest counties in the country. In 2006 it was the 11th wealthiest county in the country according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but the Council for Community and Economic Research ranked Williamson County as America's wealthiest county (1st) when the local cost of living was factored into the equation with median household income....By 2006 Williamson County had a population of 160,781 representing 27.0% population growth since 2000. The census bureau lists Williamson as one of the 100 fastest growing counties in the United States for the period 2000-2005....In 2008, John McCain took the county with 69% to Barack Obama's 30%.

Here's a pic of the county seat, historic and picturesque Franklin, Tennessee, recently voted the best small town in the state.

And here's another pic of some Williamson County farmland...

And finally, a recent real estate listing from the county. This six bedroom home, on ten acres with a three stall barn, listed for $1,982,000.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

With this issue, The Weekly Standard becomes the first magazine to put their centerfold on the cover. Notice the polar bears in the background laughing. What a great piece of political lampoonery.

A Little Something for the Somali Pirates

The Associated Press reports...

Signaling a new offensive mindset, international military officials vowed Friday to fight the pirates as swarms of Somalis moved into the waters off East Africa.

I'm not sure what these "international military officials" have in mind, but here at The Cumberland Post we've assembled our own heavily armed team. Bring it on...

India-Pakistan Border Closing Ceremony: Political High Theater

The tensions between the people in what is now the Muslim nation of Pakistan and Hindus who comprise 95% of the population in India probably precede Great Britain's granting of India's independence in 1947 and their creation of Pakistan by drawing some new lines on a map of the region. Wikipedia notes, "There have been three major wars, one minor war and numerous armed skirmishes between the two countries."

 
Those tensions continue uabated today. And they play out daily in a highly theatrical fashion in a small border village called Wagah. The Grand Trunk Road runs between the cities of Amritsar, India and Lahore, Pakistan and passes through Wagah. You can see the location of Amritsar on the map above, north of New Delhi; Lahore is just across the border in Pakistan.

When Indian independence came along with the creation of Pakistan, the village Wagah was itself divided. Today, the eastern half of the village remains in India whilst the western half is in Pakistan.

And every night, the border in Wagah is closed with a most unusual ceremony. This is a highly organized and theatrical production that embodies and expresses the continuing hostilities between the two countries. Thanks to my friend Jeanne for sharing this video.

Conservatives are Happier--They Love Cars!

George Will in the Washington Post comments on a Pew Research Center survey which shows...

that conservatives are happier than liberals -- in all income groups. While 34 percent of all Americans call themselves "very happy," only 28 percent of liberal Democrats (and 31 percent of moderate or conservative Democrats) do, compared with 47 percent of conservative Republicans. This finding is niftily self-reinforcing: It depresses liberals.

Will says it's not winning or losing elections that explains this happiness inequality.

Republicans have been happier than Democrats every year since the survey began in 1972. Married people and religious people are especially disposed to happiness, and both cohorts vote more conservatively than does the nation as a whole.

As an example of liberal malaise, Will points out that liberals can't even enjoy their automobiles...

But, then, conscientious liberals cannot enjoy automobiles because there is global warming to worry about, and the perils of corporate-driven consumerism, which is the handmaiden of bourgeoisie materialism. And high-powered cars (how many liberals drive Corvettes?) are metaphors (for America's reckless foreign policy, for machismo rampant, etc.). And then there is -- was -- all that rustic beauty paved over for highways.

Now that's sad. Really sad. I've been a lover of cars since I was a child, and I still enjoy driving cars, looking at them, admiring their beauty. I'm going to do a post sometime about my membership and competition in the General Motors Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild (as a teen I designed and built model cars out of wood for entry in this competition) and how that changed me.

It's maybe a little crazy and is by no means the primary factor, but my love for automobiles may be another reason why I became a conservative.

I always felt conflicted about this passion when I was a liberal for the very reasons Will mentions. I don't feel that way anymore. Although I've never owned a Corvette (I've lusted in my heart for them though), in the late 60's I did own a 400 cubic inch 1968 Pontiac GTO with a four speed manual transmission. This beautiful beast was a metallic dark turquoise in color with a black vinyl top, black leather interior, and redline tires. Sweet Car. The GTO in the first pic is a '68 like mine except for its color (green) and its lack of a vinyl top. The second pic is of course a Corvette. Now that I'm a conservative instead of a grumpy old maternalistic liberal I can fully enjoy cars again. That makes me very happy.

New Rasmussen Poll: What a Difference a Year Made

According to the latest Rasmussen Poll, the GOP leads Democrats in the latest Congressional Ballot.

The new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 36% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent....The latest numbers continue to highlight a remarkable change in the political environment over the past year. This time last year, Democrats led Republicans 41% to 39%.

In politics a year can sometimes seem like an eon. And what a difference the past year made!

I like this video of Dinah Washington singing What a Difference a Day Made" and "Making Whoopee" at the Apollo Theater. I like it because of her singing and the MC who introduces her. Just some guy named "Ronnie" bantering with the bandleader Louie Jordan. And we all know what a difference this particular Ronnie's eight years made. Sure people made a lot of "whoopee" during his years, but they also prospered. Prospered mightly!
 

The Two Kinds of Freedom

Sometimes you read an essay or an article that so sharply delineates an issue that it's like seeing it clearly for the first time. That's exactly the kind of epiphany I experienced as I read Frank J. Fleming's "The Freedom to Be an Adult" at Pajamas Media.

By describing childhood freedom and adult freedom, Fleming identifies the key difference between liberals and conservatives.

Fleming notes that children have an enviable kind of freedom. He says, "There are few real worries when the necessities of survival are guaranteed by your parents, who allow you to be content and carefree."

Adults, however, have another kind of freedom. "As an adult, you always have other options. You can make your own decisions, and if something doesn’t work out, you can try something else. Your options are unlimited, and no other person can hold you down and tell you what to do." 

Fleming says that's the big difference between liberal and conservative conceptions of freedom.  Certainly most liberals don't

see themselves as children in need of the government’s guidance. Instead they see themselves as the parents who know how to properly guide everyone else. People don’t pass laws against trans fats because they’re afraid they themselves will eat unhealthily otherwise; those types of laws are for everyone else the liberals feel they need to forcefully parent for their own good. While the adult freedoms are freedoms we want for ourselves, the child freedoms are mainly inflicted on others we imagine need our control for their own betterment.

I strongly urge you to click on the link above and read this essay in its entirety now. It is a significant argument, one that I believe can even possibly change a liberal's mindset.

Miss Me Yet?

Another one from my old friend Montana George up in the Big Sky state...

Raul Malo: A Fool Such as I

Who says Country Music is all whining rednecks all the time? Raul Malo was born in Miami to Cuban parents and for many years was the lead singer of the Mavericks, a CMA award winning band. He's definitely not a redneck and there's no whining. No whining whatsoever. Excuse me while I dance a little.

U. S. Olympic Skier Stripped of Medals!

In an unprecedented move, the International Olympic Committee has taken away US Skier Lindsey Vonn's medals!

The Committee announced early today that the downhill skier's medals will be given to President Obama, since he obviously is going downhill faster than Vonn...

(Stolen unashamedly from my old buddy Montana George)

Royalties Pouring In

I wrote and self published a satirical novel back in 2006 entitled Liberalstein. It was both a comedy and a warning book about what could happen in the country if the wrong person (an extreme liberal) were elected.

The book tells the story of how liberal Democrats hijack the 2008 election by creating a crafty, articulate, mixed race clone who poses as a middle of the road candidate, and who, after the winning the presidency, reveals himself to be a true liberal monster. But that couldn't really happen, could it?

Anyway, thanks to the book, my retirement is now secure. Today, I received a royalty payment for all of 2009 for $8.40.

Okay, so I exaggerated a little. Writers, however, are compensated in other ways as well. The writing process itself is fun. And, as my Mother used to say, it keeps me off the streets. And one more reward-- if you're doing a bit of prognostication there's at least a chance you'll be right. But this is a bittersweet compensation. In the case of Liberalstein, I get to say I was right about what would happen if a certain kind of candidate ran for President and won. But while I'm patting myself on the back, our country is suffering. I have a strong feeling, however, that this fall's congressional elections and the 2012 presidential election will alleviate that suffering somewhat.

BTW, click the link and you can still buy Liberalstein from the publisher, iUniverse. Dear reader, if you buy a copy, maybe next year I'll break the $10 barrier.

Rep. Lynn's HJR 722 "Free Enterprise" Constitutional Amendment

In an earlier post, I wrote about State Rep. Susan Lynn ("Tennessee's Palin?"). She's currently working on an amendment to Tennessee's constitution protecting free enterprise. From the article "Free Enterprise Constitutional Amendment" on her blog...

Seeking to hold-on to the vestiges of the system that has made our country great, I recently drafted and passed model legislation at the American Legislative Exchange Council’s winter meeting to create a Constitutional Amendment on free enterprise; [the bill states:] "It is the policy of the state of Tennessee that a free enterprise system shall govern trade and commerce in this state to promote the dispersion of economic and political power and the general welfare of all the people." To date, only Utah has such a reassuring clause in their state Constitution....By definition, a free enterprise economy is an economic system controlled chiefly by individuals and private companies; not the government.

Read her whole article. Such an amendment is a strong way to fight back against those social statists who in her words, desire "to control the salaries of those employed by private business, to change the provisions of private contracts, to nationalize banks, insurers and auto manufacturers, and to effectually eliminate any free market that may have still existed in healthcare."