The Northeast US has lost 40% of its members from the US House of Representatives since 1950

In 1950, the Northeast (from Pennsylvania to Maine) had 141 seats in the House of Representatives. Now, the same region of the country only has 85 seats.

That's quite a loss of power. When you think of how politically powerful the Northeast has been over the history of our country, it's quite astounding to see the shift. You can blame tax rates, weather, culture, or other factors, but whatever the reason, it's clear that fewer people than ever before are living in the Northeast, relative to the rest of the country.

As a South Carolinian, I say that's fine with me.

I like to tell people who move to South Carolina from other places: It's ok if you weren't born a Southerner, as long as you got here as fast as you could.

"Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors..."

...not out of strength, but out of weakness," Obama said.

Excuse me, but Russia isn't simply a "regional power". They have a whole bunch of ICBMs. Also, if you've ever looked at a map, you might have noticed that Russia stretches across many different regions.

Sen. (Lt. Gov.) Glen McConnell Makes Us Proud

Too often, people see the decisions before them and take the easy way out because doing the right thing is too damn hard. They know what the right choice is, but they just can't bring themselves to make the sacrifice that it requires.

In accepting the Lt. Governor spot (which is about as useful as a crocheted condom) Senator McConnell leaves a position of true power. He's not happy about it, but it's the right thing to do. Take a good long look folks...a politician doesn't voluntarily give up power very often.

McConnell knows what the right thing decision is. He's not trying to come up with some clever scheme to dodge this bullet. He's not saying it depends on what the meaning of "is" is. He's being a stand up guy. I'm proud of him, and you should be, too.

Nikki Haley Calls for SC DOT Overhaul

Haley says the DOT's governing commission is "wheeling and dealing," rather than prioritizing the limited cash the state has for construction and maintenance. Maybe they are, and maybe they aren't, but it did seem a little strange that they ran out of money this summer. Haley's criticism?

Haley said now is the time for the Legislature to build on a 2007 overhaul of the agency that shifted partial control to the governor's office. Haley said she can only do so much to change the agency's internal management and continuing money problems. "We don't need a political body handling infrastructure," Haley said.

Haley said the difference between the commission and the governor's office having control is that she will take a statewide approach to managing highway dollars with an eye toward economic development.

So let's see....Haley says the seven member committee at the DOT is too "political" and is "wheeling and dealing", but she want the Governor's office to have the control because she would do it "with an eye toward economic development". Maybe. But isn't the Governor's office even more political than a seven member committee? You know, the Governor is...elected...by the political process. It's pretty much the definition of "political".

Maybe the committee isn't doing a great job, but to say they need to give the Governor all the power to take politics out of the equation doesn't compute. In any event, I'm pretty happy with the roads here in SC. Nothing has collapsed (that I know of) and I can pretty much drive to everywhere I need to get to. So, there you go. It's not totally a broken system in my opinion.