The US population is getting more calcified. I, certainly, hold on to the old traditions. Having gone to 16 different elementary and junior high schools, I consider my “hometown” to be where I went to high school - Simi Valley, CA. “Home” is wherever my suitcase is at any given moment.
I did consider St. Petersburg, Russia to be my home for 2.5 years, and in a far deeper meaning than just the place where I currently reside.
Once celebrated for their ability to pack up and move around the country on a whim, Americans are increasingly opting to stay put, according to a report published by the Pew Research Center.
Using polling data and government statistics, Pew found only 13 percent of Americans moved house between 2006-2007, the lowest rate since records began in the 1940s.
A fellow McCain campaigner has started a political blog. He’s in Delaware, and hopefully he’ll get a chance to write about both national and Delaware issues. Welcome to the blogosphere:
The Flying Scotsman
The strongest argument for staying in Iraq has always been the need to create a stable society so that it doesn’t turn into another safe-haven for terrorists, a la Afghanistan. Iraq has become the central battleground in the war on terrorism, as attested to by Al Qaeda themselves. If we leave it to disintegrate, it will turn into Afghanistan Plus. “Plus” because of the amount of energy and organization already put in by terrorists. You can train people a lot better when you have a place to do it. There are a handful of regions on Earth where they can do that now (Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, etc.), and Iraq would become the grand-daddy of them all. The fruits of that safe space are clear, as evidenced by the terror attacks in Mumbai:
After the battle, one member of India’s National Security Guard, who led one of the assault groups against the terrorists occupying the Taj Mahal hotel, said they were the “best fighters” he had ever encountered.
He said: “They were obviously trained by professionals in urban guerrilla fighting. They used their environment and situation brilliantly, leading us (the NSG) on a dangerous chase through various tiers of the hotel which they obviously knew well. Their fire discipline too was excellent and they used their ammunition judiciously, mostly to draw us out.
