Tag: statehood

I look at the various movements to break off parts of states…

…and while I don’t exactly expect any of them to succeed any time soon (particularly the one that’s in Western Maryland) I do wonder: what is the optimal size for a US state, anyway? We have 314 million people in this country; our primary political divisions have populations that range from just under 600 thousand to 30 million.  It’s not actually ridiculous to contemplate the idea that maybe we need more states, or more proportional states, or both.

And yes, I’m committing a mild political heresy, here.  Seeing as I’m imagining a scenario where we have about 100 states at slightly over 3 million apiece, maybe it isn’t even a mild political heresy.  At any rate, I am not exactly in a position where my opinion on this matter.

Moe Lane

PS: No, I don’t know what a map of that would look like.  This is why we have computers, yes?

Puerto Rican voters call for statehood! …Mostly. Sort of. Not really at all, actually.

Amidst the ballyhoo of the Presidential election came this bit of contradiction:

Puerto Rico wants to become the 51st state of the US

Voters in Puerto Rico have supported a non-binding referendum to become a full US state.

…and this:

…Tuesday’s vote comes with an asterisk and an imposing political reality: The island remains bitterly divided over its relationship to the United States and many question the validity of this week’s referendum.

Nearly a half million voters chose to leave a portion of the ballot blank. And voters also ousted the pro-statehood governor, eliminating one of the main advocates for a cause that would need the approval of the U.S. Congress.

Continue reading Puerto Rican voters call for statehood! …Mostly. Sort of. Not really at all, actually.