Missouri

[jim]

When I said "2 lane" I meant the 2 lanes you could occupy in either direction...sorry if that was the wrong way of describing it.

We understood what you meant.

[Freed Roger]

I took a trip down near the Bootheel for the first time this weekend....didn't realize Hwy. 67 was a 2-lane highway. Easy access to get down there, but what a dump Southeast Missouri is. Shanty after shanty right along the highway. Burned out, deteriorating buildings that look like they haven't been occupied for decades. Mobile homes clustered in pockets that have massive amounts of junk on the property. That area is an embarrassment.

that's not junk, it's rusty gold!


.....Nah, I know what you mean. down on the Ozark Trail, a couple times took the roads back instead of trail -junk along the road in Natl Forest areas is unreal. There's a mobile home with junk all around near the Berryman, so bad that I thought it was uninhabited until little barking dogs came out. I guess they can't afford trash pickup.

There's a useful Eagle Scout project - coordinate a roadside trash haul in the NF

It's a conundrum down there. most the land isn't very fertile for crops or grazing. The economy has been based a lot on mining. There still is natural beauty - but not necessarily pretty enough compared to other places, to make it an economic driver-type tourist destination - float trips just don't cut it. There are some genteel countrymen -The Crown dude puts a lot of money in St. Gen area -but even then, the money doesn't spread far past their boundaries.

Weirdly, this all makes for a unique place. It probably requires backcountry skills that rival, though different than what you need to go out west -even though it's not as extreme weather, altitude etc. Because you aren't going to see many other people, and if you do, they aren't like-minded REI-clad folk. Trails don't get maintained. Water sources - likely polluted by mining.

But I like it still. It's home.

[jim]

When I said "2 lane" I meant the 2 lanes you could occupy in either direction...sorry if that was the wrong way of describing it.

I was born & raised along 44 between STL and Springfield so I am unfortunately familiar with the trashy, poor areas going each way. St. Clair (located about 45 mi. west of STL) is particularly bad for this. It was just eye opening to see all the deteriorating buildings that are typically tucked away on deep backroads in my area so exposed on 67.

It's something everyone should see. I think there are still a huge number of people that don't understand what true poverty in America looks like.

i agree but poverty in america and poverty in the rest of the world are 2 completely different things. we do have a problem here but if you are going to be poor this is the place to be poor

Pew research says you are in the top 16% of everyone:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall ... d052e46760

[Cheddar Tom]

Missouri senator says Illinois woes tied to gay rights

“We look at states that have a lot of aggressive gay rights laws -- Illinois comes to mind, Chicago -- and they are some of our economic basket cases,” Onder said. “I really think that these businesses should leave well enough alone and let Missouri voters decide whether to protect religious freedom.”

“I am disappointed in the reaction of some of those business groups,” Onder said. “I believe if we look at states that have religious freedom (laws) -- states like Texas, Utah, Oklahoma, Nebraska -- we see some of our states that are growing the fastest.”

“I believe it is good business to support religious liberty,” Onder said. “Defending religious freedom is not bad for business. In fact, it is quite good for business.”

[Jocephus]

he's saying that a lot so he knows its bs and is just doing the "keep saying it until it becomes true" routine.

[Freed Roger]

Stricter gun laws? MO answer is the opposite. Universal stand your ground!
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt ... e1e2b.html

[GeddyWrox]

JFC. They won't be happy until we're the wild wild west again.

[tlombard]

Missouri senator says Illinois woes tied to gay rights

“We look at states that have a lot of aggressive gay rights laws -- Illinois comes to mind, Chicago -- and they are some of our economic basket cases,” Onder said. “I really think that these businesses should leave well enough alone and let Missouri voters decide whether to protect religious freedom.”

“I am disappointed in the reaction of some of those business groups,” Onder said. “I believe if we look at states that have religious freedom (laws) -- states like Texas, Utah, Oklahoma, Nebraska -- we see some of our states that are growing the fastest.”

“I believe it is good business to support religious liberty,” Onder said. “Defending religious freedom is not bad for business. In fact, it is quite good for business.”

Ah, religious freedom. AKA hiding behind religion to justify being a dick.

[tlombard]

And I just saw that two men were arrested for throwing eggs and shouting racial slurs at black people waiting at bus stops along South Grand the other night. Of course they worked for a program run by a church.

[Freed Roger]

Bad enough already, but if GOP gets the governor, MO might as well merge with Brownbackistan. [expletive], just eliminate the state government, and say same as Kansas/WI.

With the guns, chipping away at permuts and ownership requirements are troubling, but the expansive "Stand your Ground Law" is really bad with the gun climate now.
Kill someone with a gun and you can claim that defense.