Where are the most liberal parts of California?

[bliss_eternal]

Weigh in, California DU'ers!

Where are you in California? Is it a 'liberal' area or 'Freeperville?' Do you feel comfortable where you are--or is there another part of California you spend a lot of your time because of the political climate?

Share your knowledge of liberal areas of our state!

:hi:

[GRLMGC]

1. I'm from Glendale

which is relatively conservative but its okay because L.A. is 8 minutes away. LA is nice and liberal. I'm going to school in Santa Barbara which, as far as I can tell, is sufficiently liberal.

[catzies]

3. Yes, Santa Barbara is liberal, but you go through "Bakersfield By the Sea"

to get there.

Ventura County was blue in 2000 but just went red. x(

Santa Barbara has a fantastic Democratic Congresswoman in Lois Capps too.

[GRLMGC]

5. Oh, I know

I live in Northridge so I have to pass by Simi Valley on the way back to school. I was under the impression that the coast was liberal and the inland areas like 'gag' Simi Valley were conservative

[bliss_eternal]

8. You are so brave--I won't go near Simi Valley

What about North Hollywood and Northridge? How are those areas?

[GRLMGC]

12. North Hollywood has its art district so

I'm guessing it's fairly liberal. Northridge has a high student population but I've seen Bush stickers around.

[catzies]

50. That is true, but remember some counties have both coast and valleys.

Simi Valley has a Bakersfield mindset, as they're inland, but they're too far south to be in Kern County, so they get lumped in with us
who are out here on the coastal plain. The next town south from me is Malibu.

And yes, as you noticed, maybe the old paradigm of "Northern" vs. "Southern" California doesn't seem to hold as true these days, and the new one is "coast" vs. "valleys/inland."

[GRLMGC]

62. That's very true

When you go inland, its like being in a different state.

[catzies]

65. I do have lots of nice things to say about where I live, really I do

One is that it's not LA, but close enought to get there. And then get home again.

Actually, everywhere is easy to get to from here. I could leave my house after breakfast, drive to Burbank Airport and be in Vegas before lunch. Or San Francisco. Or Mexico!

We can see the ocean and the islands. Our air is always nicer because of the coastal breeze. And when it's roasting hot inland, it's still mild here.

This is where a lot of produce comes from and we have great farmers' markets with delicious local stuff year round. It's country living up here!

[ronnykmarshall]

55. Lois rocks!

I feel bad that my step mom up north in SLO country now have that damn Bill Thomas as their rep. My mom and step-dad live in Bakersfield and hate his ass.

[catzies]

63. I'm stuck with that Congressional toadstool, Elton Gallegly.

He's a do-nothing toady who's been a willing pawn of the right for 20 years now and his seat is safe until he retires.

I wish Henry Waxman was my Congressman, but I can't afford a house in his district! :D

[bliss_eternal]

9. Hi GRLMGC! I guess it depends on the part of LA--

I'm in Torrance (part of LA County). Torrance had a blend of both from what I could see, though I have no stats on the specifics. Hermosa Beach is the only area near here that voted even close to 100% Democratically.

Redondo Beach is blended, as is Palos Verdes and Manhattan Beach. On the other side of the hill is San Pedro which seems pretty liberal. Gardena and Carson seem to be as well.

[BamaLefty]

2. I'm Not From CA

But isn't the San Francisco and LA areas very liberal? With the exception of Orange of course...

Alameda- Kerry 75%
Bush 25%

San Francisco- Kerry 83%
Bush 15%

Los Angeles- Kerry 63%
Bush 35%

[Peggy Day]

139. SF bay only area in ca that didn't vote for Schwarzenegger

overwhelmingly
frustration is that I can't call elected officials because it's like preaching to the choir. I do it anyway though.

[tubbacheez]

4. Berkeley, SF, and Palo Alto are pretty famous liberal cities. n/t

[ronnykmarshall]

51. The Bay Area is wonderful.

But sometimes people seem to enjoy looking down at us in the southland.

I loved every moment I lived in SF.

[tubbacheez]

73. that might be the rivalry between the 2 regions.

I've lived for years in both Nor Cal and So Cal. I've seen lots of attitude thrown both directions. It's silly to me.



(The only area I've seen where any N. vs. S. conflict seems founded on real issues is in water rights.)

[sakabatou]

83. Other than being the home of HP

how the hell is Palo Alto famous? Other than me living here, how?

[Menshevik]

6. I'm originally from CA

And though I love thinking of CA as a blue state, my area of CA is red. (The Coachella Valley - its most well known city being Palm Springs). The morons in PS elected Sonny Bono as mayor, and then decided to send him off to Congress. How his wife is our rep....UGH.

I went back there a month ago for winter break and saw a ton of H2s plastered with Bush/Cheney and W stickers :puke:

[mitchtv]

21. I live in Cathedral City, more liberal

mostly seniors, gays, Mexican/Chicano. PSP is more a battleground these days with a Gay Afro/american and thre gays on the city council. Mary Bonehead(Bono) is quite a liberal by GOP standards too, I think. changed her positon an the FMA. Palm Springs hosted the Log Cabin Republicans last year.What we need here to beat Bono is a couple of semi-celebrity, goodlooking, preferably a Latino,rich liberals to run Sorely lacking here is Charisma/ Leadership. Aloowing the Canadians to vote would help too. Palm Desert and R Mirage are Satan's Crossing, USA

[Menshevik]

34. LoL

I am originally from Rancho Mirage but my parents moved to Palm Desert a few years ago...it is indeed Satan's Crossing...oh, and Indian Wells belongs with them as well

[mitchtv]

35. Coachella, and Indio, DHS.- battleground

They are growing so fast. excellent opportunity for young hispanic Democrats/others to organize voter drives and stake out the D positions. Bush is very unpopular with Latinos. They see none of themselves on MSM tv, but they're all over the news when Iraq casualties are mentioned. The dem mayor of Coachella endorsed Bono.New blood is required in that leadership post. Indian Wells Is actually worse than the PD and RM. Scum of the earth. SORRY

[salinen]

7. Santa Cruz

Mendocino

[bliss_eternal]

10. Anyone in Long Beach, Santa Monica, Pasadena, San Diego,

Sacramento, Irvine, Newport, Pomona---anywhere else that hasn't already been spoken for here?

:)

[EVDebs]

11. It's the Coastal overpopulated counties...just as it is in the East

In fact look at the maps of population density for blue areas. Something like 52% of the US population lives within these coastal counties, most of which voted blue in 2000 and 2004:



and the 'space map' at night



and compare with the blue counties in CA at

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/vote2004/countymap.htm

or



The problems of coastal areas are pressing because the population densities are greater and growing like topsy.

Best map of intensity of the vote is Purple America at:

[NAO]

16. Utah appears to be the 'reddest', most backward state

am I correct, or is some other state more red?

[EVDebs]

19. ...and something in that Oglala aquifer water too ! n/t

[mojavekid]

112. "I don't think there is much of anything left in that!"

red or wet!

[bliss_eternal]

25. Thank you for the visuals! So, according to your maps

It doesn't seem that the west coast is blue by a very large degree. Looking at Oregon and Washington--wow! It seems like so little of it is actually blue... :(

[EVDebs]

32. Recheck the population nightsky density maps, it matters more

which of the counties have highest densities. Also, does Bush's policies cater to low density regions ? Blue states are more and more becoming 'donor' states funnelling money to low-density 'acceptor' states.

[AndyTiedye]

13. San Francisco Bay Area

Berkeley, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz are the bluest of all,
but not being much of a city person, I live kinda out in the sticks,
but that's really blue too.

[elepet]

15. Sonoma County

Lynn Woolsey is our Representative...up there with Boxer. I only saw 2 Bush bumper stickers during the campaign.

[AndyTiedye]

17. Mendo Too

A lot of old hippies moved north and took up, uh, agriculture.

Note that ALL of the coastal N. Cal counties are quite blue,
even the sparsely-populated ones,
until you get to Del Norte near the Oregon border.

[mitchtv]

36. I lived in Sonoma Valley Like Marin

Rich Liberals. I still regret moving. I love Lynn

[Sequoia]

114. Poor liberals too.

I sometimes regret moving, especially when it rains all the time. Hey, but now the sun is out...the Redwoods, the Russian River...! (Hello Santa Liberal Monica!)

[ronnykmarshall]

52. Lynn rocks!

I worked in Sen Boxer's SF office when I was in college. I took a call from her one time. I was so nervous I CUT HER OFF!!!

[Coastie for Truth]

33. Santa Clara County and San Jose

Where the county is Blue (even our GOPers - like Tom Campbell and Steve Poizner are "Blue GOPers" - if that is possible). But Palo Alto is the Bluest Enclave in Santa Clara County. San Jose is more "Lunch bucket and shower after work" blue.

[NAO]

14. Hollywood, of course...

...if the freepers are to be believed.

Hollywood, the mecca of liberals where our values are poisoned by the likes of Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, and Michael Moore...and also where Ronald Reagan and Arnold's movies were made.

[NuttyFluffers]

20. hollywood is fugly

a cesspool of sadness, decay, and tourists. so cal locals will tell you that you just want to see the hollywood tourist attractions and then get the hell out. it's a really depressing area when i visited, especially west hollywood -- and i didn't do the tourist thing. it was raining then too. imagine a grey, bleak wasteland of broken dreams and broken people and the parasites (like b-studios, motels with hourly rates, and the bazillion 'acting schools') that live off of it. outside the gated tourist attractions there's nothing to see. i seriously doubt that place votes, let alone know its politics. it's depressing.

i'm from alameda, living right at the gateway into freepland outpost in the bay area, the tri-valley area. blackhawk (ugly houses. big, but butt ugly), pleasanton (bye peoplesoft), dublin, and livermore. my unincorporated town (castro valley) holds host to the largest chapter house of kkk in the bay area and i think california, and several large chapters of neo nazis, aryan nations, and other bigots.if you check the hate watchdog groups all those marks near the bay area is the tri-valley and its gateway.

that said, it really is a mix here. when we had people standing on a popular corner waving kerry signs people would either honk in support or disgust, but when bush people responded in kind it was dead silence. and i see more kerry stickers here than bush. and i find most people are liberal here. we just have our unfair share of dipshits. thankfully hayward, oakland, and union city are just pouring with racial and cultural diversity, it acts as a bulwark from the taint of lily-white bigoted, wasp-y america just across them hills. i feel safer in oakland anyday than in livermore, and i'm white. sick fuckers are like sharks in the water waiting for the slightest deviation from blind patriotism there. thank god there's nothing worth doing there, no reason to go there.

[bliss_eternal]

24. NuttyFluffers--

I share your views of the Hollywood area. To me it is the armpit of America--so gross, dirty and disgusting. It's such a downtrodden and depressing area--really pervy too in parts. In that if you are a woman, you don't want to be walking around alone.

Yikes--to the kkk house and the white supremacists near your area. That sounds pretty scary. I wonder why they would choose to position themselves so close to an urban, diverse area?

[NuttyFluffers]

28. to pick up rich 'disenfranchised' whites wanting revenge.

the city is where the money is, so it's the best area to pick up rich, spoiled suburban youth, a la orange county. with money comes access and politics, and that's exactly what they are after. in rural areas they get the bodies to do the dirty work. just like it's always been, like war is now, and has been. go find the rich 'disenfranchised' (read: doesn't have everything along with everyone groveling) status quo raising spoiled children in the city to get access to politics and money, then whip up the rural bigotry spawned from the desperation of poverty to go fight and die for these wars. new boss, same as the old boss.

the KKK is actually quite old here though. there are old, almost hick, regions inside the bay area. you can literally hit a backroad and be flanked by several valleys lined with trees and not a human in sight. and then you can drive past into a clearing and be smack dab in metro density -- it's disturbing, but wonderfully refreshing. imagine taking off from your suburban (or urban) area, hop on a backroad, drive under groves of redwoods and be flanked by a babbling creek with people pulled over with a cooler of beer fishing, and then at the other end of the backroad 20 minutes later be dropped into the middle of berkeley mere blocks from telegraph (as urban hippie you can get). it's kinda magical.

hollywood really is depressing, almost as depressing and infuriating as riverside. to see all the prostitution and desperation and broken dreams right next to shrines to our false gods of celebrity can really leave someone bitter.

[tishaLA]

42. Gosh I live in Hollywood and

I couldn't have a more different experience than the one you describe. I see a great mix of people from all over--Anglos, Mexicans, Central Americans, Armenians, Russians, Koreans, Thais, Chinese, African Americans--who come from as many social classes as they do backgrounds. I'm a pretty happy graduate student who hopes to have a doctorate soon; my neighbor manages a restaurant; the man who lIves beneath me is a contractor and the person who lives beside him is a DJ. I see little bitterness, but I DO know we all work exceptionally hard and we get together a few times a year to share dinner and drinks and celebrate our commonalities and our differences.

[bliss_eternal]

58. Hi tishLA! Welcome to our discussion! Sorry if our comments

upset you. Not my intent at all. I am very happy to hear that you are having a positive Hollywood experience.

As a kid I had a relative that I was forced to stay with that lived in a really awful part of the city. Each corner near their home, had one of those porn/sex shoppes of the olden days and a bunch of shady guys hanging around constantly. It was really yucky and gross. It was also a time before vice was around a great deal, so some knew they could find prostitutes and such easily. You could not be female and walk the streets there (during that time) without some horn dog propositioning you.

I really hated it there then.

It's cool to hear that things have improved and there and nice, hard working people living there! Your neighbors sound lucky to have you! :)

[Nailzberg]

77. I live in Hollywood, too.

There is a big panhandling problem because of the tourists, but other than that, I find it a decent place to live. It's not my favorite place that I've ever lived, but it ain't that bad. And since I work in West Hollywood, I have probably the most stress free commute ever.

[David Zephyr]

115. I agree wtih you.

Lived there for years and loved every day.

[ronnykmarshall]

39. and thanks to you too.

Please be carefull when coming down off your ivory tower, it's a long way to fall.

I know it might come as a shock to you, but there are many people on DU that live in Hollywood and West Hollywood.

Your pompus attitude is very offensive.

[tishaLA]

43. I do hope you wear your white gloves when you visit.

I'd hate for you to get the dirt on your hands. And I know what you mean about the perviness of it. Damn those downtrodden people and their libidinal drives! I only hope they don't reproduce.

[ronnykmarshall]

45. You nailed it Tisha!

My, I hope that we Angelenos warsh up good before we travel to the Holy Land (SF). I'd hate for our vile germs to infect the o' so perfect residences of the Bay Area.

[hollywood926]

48. The armpit of America????

When was the last time you visited? It's actually in a rejuvenation stage right now. With the building of the Kodak Theater and shopping center, the place has improved and has been cleaned up quite a bit.

The armpit of America is Crawford, Texas.

[ronnykmarshall]

54. Yes, didn't you get the memo?

We are now considered sad souls wondering the streets of broken dreams. :eyes:

xoxoxo

RKM

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[GRLMGC]

40. West Hollywood is really nice

and Hollywood is cleaning up. Hollywood is not the depressing place others are making it out to be. It's one of the most interesting places in L.A. with all kinds of people. It may not be a tourist mecca but who cares? Many people live in Hollywood and love it.

[ronnykmarshall]

41. Thank you.

Hollywood & Highland is great. The whole area is really looking great.

I just love when people come in here and start slamming people's homes.

I'd except things like that from Freepers, but not here.

[Buddyblazon]

44. I lived at Yucca & Cahuenga in Hollywood for 2 years....

2000-02. Right across from Goldfingers.

Old Hollywood is a great area. The best seedy bars and clubs...and some not so seedy. The Frolic Room, The Beauty Bar, Boardners, Star Shoes, The Knitting Factory, The Lava Lounge.

You've got The Chinese, The Egyptian, Arclight, The El Capitan, The Pantages.

Then for food there's Tom Yum's. Not to mention a Roscoe's within walking distance. Great for a Sunday morning hangover. ("Church o' Chicken 'n Waffle").

The Hills are gorgeous. And she is correct. Hollywood has cleaned up dramatically. The first time I visited...was in '95. It was pretty bad...but even then they had started cleaning it up. They put in that substation on Cherokee just north of the Blvd. It's certainly had an impact. All the buildings have had face lifts. And now it's become a hip area again.

No...you must be talking about Hollywood, Florida. Because the Hollywood, California I know is a great city.

[ronnykmarshall]

46. Great sig line!

Ya know I was in the hall of my run down rat infested crack house building a minute ago, me and the broad down the hall (ya know how us Hollywood people don't care about anything politcally correct) ..... I wuz takin' out m' trash and then figured ..... ah fuck it .... let the rats eat it ...... we wuz talking and sharing a couple of hits of heroin and were a talkin' about ol' Johnny Carson. Well ol' whats her name (we shallow lost souls here in Hollywood don't bother wif names) were saying how sad we wuz about ol' John kickin' the bucket. Well, I was about to pass the crack pipe back to her when my favorite cockroach, little Cockie came scamperin' up. Well, I just dumped my greasy bag o' trash on the ground and let him have at it.

Dang! I love my blessed little hell hole.

Come on Cockie, lets go do some dumpster divin'!

[mitchtv]

56. I LUV Hollywood

some of my fondest memories on those sleazy downtrodden streets. Of course, I fit in.

[tishaLA]

57. You call your roach little Cockie?

I thought you saved that for yourself, Ronny! :P

But I know what ya mean. I almost couldn't take the needle out of my arm this morning when I heard Johnny died. Hell, I OD'd when I heard John Goodman's show was cancelled. I thought I'd get a walk-on out of that show because I know a girl who knows a guy who worked catering on that show. And there it was! Another broken Hollywood dream.

[ronnykmarshall]

59. LOL!

You go!

[NuttyFluffers]

70. hollywood i last saw was january 2000

has it really cleaned up so drastically? and the clubs i saw were total velvet rope boring sleaze fest. but then i was visiting for a san d ucsd rave at the time and was hangin' with an old roomie. no time to hit every joint, but the vibe was seriously a downer.

being a club hound myself and loving a good gritty place i thought it wouldn't be so bad as all my old college buds from so cal were saying. i dig soma, tenderloin, hunter's point, west oakland (actually oakland in general), etc. because they have actually good places to party, a fantastic vibe (serious partiers, who are usually friendly and always cool), and/or some of the most interesting movements in music and subculture going on. never got that from hollywood. but then there's that unfriendly vibe i got from l.a. i can see why a lot of the better intimates take it out to the desert.

unless i missed everything that hollywood had to offer (and it seems like we were there at the same time) it seems we have radically different tastes.

[David Zephyr]

116. I lived below the Magic Castle in Hollywood, in West Hollywood

and near LACC for years. I loved every day that I lived there.

[ronnykmarshall]

47. Oh dear, did I offend?

So sorry that my post from here in the "armpit of America" touched a nerve!

[cally]

60. Many of the areas you disparage have great areas

Livermore has an active, dedicated Dem group. Castro Valley has evolved into a great community. I grew up in Hayward, I know about the past but Castro Valley has changed. I enjoy Hollywood. When I first went there I was surprised that it wasn't about Hollywood stars. Instead it's a vibrant, interesting town.

[NuttyFluffers]

69. sure, i've found fun areas of the tenderloin and hunter's point, too.

but that doesn't negate the despair and poverty that pervades those areas. real problems need to be seen for what they are, not glossed over because there's a spot of silver somewhere.

i'd never put livermore or castro valley even remotely as welcoming as the other cities flanking the bay. it's all fun and good to see a glass as half full (and i don't think it's even half full), but you still need to see the half empty too. there's real problems out there.

[devilgrrl]

95. WEHO is bigtime liberal

Fairfax and Sunset here! :hi:

[doodadem]

18. Reddest of the red....

We are just barely in Fresno County (which is huge), all the way over on the eastern side of the state, up in the Sierra Nevadas. Imagine our shock in moving here from Ohio--we thought we were leaving redneck Republicans behind, to find out we had relocated to Really Red, Calif. Every once in awhile, I'll still run into a liberal here, but they're rare.

[kineneb]

23. remember where all the "okies" wound up in the 30s

And Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath"...they all pretty much stayed in the valleys. So the San Joaquin and Sacto valleys are much more "red" and have more fundies as well.

[NuttyFluffers]

29. yup, that is the reason.

bakersfield and fresno, huge settling area for conservative okies. modesto, surprisingly famous lil' city (and has traffic problems worse than LA, shit you not. all that country driving with urban levels of traffic density makes a LIVING HELL to drive there. imagine, over 3 times in a small 10 minutes drive people crossed on over into our oncoming lane, just because. not even to pass, just because. screaming for your life from a potential head-on collision, and then throwing several hundre more cars into the mix, makes me feel safe in LA or SF driving.... *shudder*)... where was i. yeah, modesto and surrounding area is mostly portuguese roman catholic. very conservative. though less slavishly republican than bakersfield.

funny thing though is by yuba city and sac (and a bit of fresno) is huge farming sikh population from around 1870s. it's so thoroughly established, especially with the native americans (who are left) in the area. the huge sikh presence has helped eased in a massive influx of south asians into fresno and those other cities that some of the largest bhangra (south asian techno... bend it like beckham bollywood music) undergrounds (secret parties, raves, etc) are held in the central valley. and then you'd get huge influx of the valley crowd when you'd go hang in the bhangra concerts here in the bay area.

country, salsa, powwows, festas (pageant feasts for saints), and bhangra... i just realized how beautifully weird my state is.

[ronnykmarshall]

53. Modesto has traffic issues?

Oh my god! That's a kick.

My parents live in Bakersfield (which by the was they are liberals and I'm proud to be an offspring of "Okies") and they crack me up when they talk about traffic!

They freak when they come down here to LA. I'd add an addtional smart ass remark about your LA/Hollywood bashing, but I think you've got my drift about what I think of your postings.

BRING IT ON MY FELLOW ANGELINOS!!!

[NuttyFluffers]

71. bakersfield doesn't have these types of traffic issues, been there.

modesto has traffic issues, serious ones. there's waaaay too many head on collisions on the highways and in the surrounding towns. is it ridiculous 4 hour commutes in traffic like la or sf? no, of course not, don't be ridiculous. but there's serious traffic issues in modesto now. i was totally surprised. the issue is not time-consumption (which should have been apparent in my message :eyes:), or even aggressive or rude drivers (i'm used to that. please, i'm a city driver). it's the mix. you'd have country roads coming in (with country drivers and FLYING 18 wheelers full of produce -- *shudder*) along intersecting into freeways and offramps and suburban hell, two very drastically different styles of driving. do YOU normally have 3 near head-on collisions when you go to work? please, i've seen l.a. the traffic is bad, and the offramps on the left are pretty psychotic, but near head-on collisions at 50mph+? from the relatives and co-workers i've had this is now a regular condition. visiting repeatedly to modesto and the surrounding towns and finding the same i'm gonna agree. scares the shit outta me. i have no interest playing chicken at 50 mph+ everytime i drive, do you?

as for your opinion about my posts, i couldn't give a flaming toss.

[eugeneliberal]

105. Modesto

I grew up in Modesto in the 60s when the population was around 53,000 (I moved to Eugene, Oregon in 1991). Back in 1983, when my job was transferred to the Bay Area, I knew how much cheaper it was to live in Modesto, so was one of the first commuters. It wasn't so bad then. Now, when I visit my parents, who live in Ripon, I'm just appalled at the traffic and how all the farmland is being chewed up. I'm also a bit of a liberal outcast within my own family as well as to people I grew up with there who are ultra conservative. They think I've been brainwashed.

[Xithras]

124. Ripon, the town that closes on Sunday

Well, I guess it isn't that bad anymore...you can actually buy gas there on Sunday now, and the grocery store stays open all weekend, but that has to be one of the most conservative small towns in the entire state. When my wife and I bought a house several years ago, she really wanted to buy in Ripon at first because it has that pretty, small town look to it. When we discovered that the entire town, from the mayor and council, to the police department, school board, and even the private business owners, was run exclusively by extreme-right fundies, we changed our minds and bought elsewhere (Salida).

[eugeneliberal]

125. Ripon

A wise choice Xithras. Unfortunately, I went to high school in Ripon. Suffice it to say, I hold no fond memories. Whenever I visit my parents (they live in the country) I bypass the town completely. It was bad then ('70s) and I'm certain it's even worse now.

[Xithras]

82. Hey, leave our Modesto driving habits out of this

It's not our fault that the city is too damned poor to paint lines on the freaking roads. Oh, and any pass that doesn't end up in a head-on collision is a GOOD pass :evilgrin:

But I have to agree that this is freeper central. Some of the smaller surrounding towns are practically run by their churches (Modesto is big enough and has enough BAT's to mellow their influence a bit).

[NuttyFluffers]

84. poor city grew too fast. and those passes! *shudder*

agri run-off ditches on either side of the road (on the outskirt roads, not the inner modesto proper roads -- unless i missed a few) just make it all the scarier. choose a 5'+ ditch on the side of the road or a head-on collision, both at 50 mph+. neither option thrills me.

it's all those working bay area people pushed out into modesto and surrounding area by housing prices. flooded your poor streets and made you engage in some of the most hellacious commutes i've ever witnessed. routine 4 hour commutes to work? i think i'd rather die... which might explain some of the dangerous passes.

are you familiar with the portuguese festas in the surrounding small towns? that 'church rule' thing sounds so familiar to me. it's a scary thing to witness. battlelines drawn by church it seems. thankfully it isn't as psychotic as the stuff i see when i visit relatives in the south... now that's scary.

[Xithras]

89. Four hours on a GOOD day

FWIW, I commuted to San Jose for a while. With the typical slowdowns, a wreck free commute typically burned off about 4 to 4.5 hours of my day. Wrecks are common though, and 5-6 hour commutes aren't unheard of. My longest ever day, and the one that finally inspired me to quit that rat race, had me stuck in my car for 13(!!!) hours (a number of minor accidents, two fatal accidents, and two major road construction projects teamed up that day). If I'd gone the other way I could have been nearly to Utah in the same amount of time it took me to commute the 80-odd mile home/work round trip.

My commute is much shorter today, and thankfully no longer includes any freeways that end in 80 :)

By the way, the two real road gems in Modesto are also two of the oldest. The Briggsmore Expressway crosses town and gets progressively wider, and faster as you travel east, and is a full 6 lane roadway by the time it reaches the eastern stretches of town. Then all of a sudden, just as it's reaching the new housing developments, the six lane divided road drops to two lanes, IN THE MIDDLE OF A CURVE, with only one warning sign a hundred or so feet before. The results are predictable, and it's been that way since the 70's!

The other is the stoplight on Highway 132, which sits right on one of the most abrupt urban/farmland transitions that I've ever seen. I can't tell you how often some big rig driver will be barreling down that highway at 70MPH on a misty day like this, thinking he's out in the middle of the countryside, only to be suddenly confronted by one of the cities busier intersections appearing out of the mist and trees a few hundred feet ahead. More than 80 people have lost their lives trying to pass on 132 in the last decade, and more than a few died in that intersection.

[NuttyFluffers]

97. sweet god! 13 hours!?!?

i don't remember that road over in the eastern part that dropped off from 6 to 2, on a curve (retired cal trans workers are still probably getting ulcers from knowing that one exists), but i know i'm glad i probably didn't experience it.

yeah, and the tulie fog, can't ever forget about the tulie fog and horrible intersections... i get nervous in s.f. and l.a. from bad drivers but modesto and surrounds scares the crap outta me. i don't know how you do it. far braver than me.

ps: i'm glad you quit that rat race, otherwise you might've felt like playing chicken on the way back -- i know i would after a few months of that! scary! :(

[marlakay]

137. I'm in Walnut Creek I'd say it was 50/50

This is a town with a lot of $$$ and that is why I saw some Bush people out a election time but also a lot of us. We are just renting here for a year till my step daughter finishes high school and then we move to WA to retire. This city is nice but I feel out of my league!!

[kineneb]

22. Lake Co. is pretty "blue"

Out here in the sticks, we seem to have the folks who couldn't afford Mendocino Co. Lots of seniors, aging hippy types. Also some dip-s*** Rs, but they seem to be a minority, so far.

[bluestateboomer]

26. Burbank fairly Liberal...

We have a Dem for congressman, but I still saw lawn signs for B**H & C****Y.

[jdots]

27. liberals are where you find them

since California is pretty damned expensive just about everywhere, the pockets of neocons will be in your fancy areas as the freepers who are the dupes of the ruling class will be living close to your poor liberals.It is hard to say where the most liberal parts of Ca. are, the bush sticker patrol is safe in thier feeling they are the majority (thats what they are told).Want neocons ? Carmel is very conservative even if the worker bees aren't. Tuff question i live in the Valley yup THE valley but there are some cool people everywhere in Ca.

[bliss_eternal]

66. Good point, jdot--which vally are you in

If I may ask--San Gabriel or San Fernando? Or another valley whose name escapes me at the moment? LOL!

It's kind of interesting to me where the little pockets end up and how they develop one way or the other (liberal or conservative).

Thanks for your response! :)

[PROUDNWLIBERAL]

30. Bishop and Mammoth

Very red and very bigoted!

[PROUDNWLIBERAL]

31. Nevada City and Grass Valley

Very red and bigoted. Don't spend money in these towns.

[shanti]

109. this is true

and beware of the pickups with their confederate flags in the back. the sierra foothills have lots of racists!

[yorkiemommie1]

37. I saw " Peace is Patriotic " bumpersticker

on Carson St. in Torrance the other day. Driver had another sticker too, but I forget. Still, STILL, see B/C and W stickers. Like they're gloating. Why is there no line at the recruiting station on Sepulveda, then?

I gave a driver at Target, and another at Petsmart the Hawaiian 'stink-eye' for their B/C crap all over their cars. Coincidentally, each driver was parked in front of the stores like they owned them.

We were on our way to the Magic Castle and saw a 'Radical Change Must Happen' freeway sign. I don't know which freeway we were on tho.

Torrance is still too red for me. Esp. since i'm married to a red.
Majority of my co-workers (school district) are Blue; blue and disgusted, sad, angry. So I like going to work!

I wear a peace sign pendant and a War is Not Healthy pendant on my purse. and when i get my car back, i have a whole lotta bumperstickers to try out.

[bliss_eternal]

67. Hi yorkiemommie! Good to see you, again!

It drives me crazy when I see the 'B/C' stickers on the back of SUV's, and they have the audacity to have a flag stuck on it somewhere too. It does seem like they are gloating.

And yes, I've noticed my share of them parked in front of the stores like they own them. I find this particularly bothersome the times I see some little elderly person struggling to get their bags to their car parked in back. Or a woman with several small children doing the same.

Your hubby must be a good guy despite being a Red, he had the good taste and sense to marry you! ;)

[yorkiemommie1]

80. lol

the south bay has had some nice MoveOn.org events. i went to one in San Pedro, one in RB.

i can't wait to get my blue bracelet; maybe i'll meet more blues!

i think my husb. knows way down deep inside that the blues are right, but like most bushies, can't admit it. it's a blind loyalty and cognitive dissonance, that determined to be stupid attitude, that i can. not. stand. he knows better than to try to censor me or our daughter, as he has in the past because we let him have it.

[pelagius]

75. I caught my neighbor putting a W '04 sticker...

...on his truck a few days _after_ the election. Being that he's a union firefighter I gave him some good-natured shit about it and he claimed -- I'm not making this up! -- that he was always a Bush man, but there were just no stickers to be had during the months proceeding the election.

I just laughed at him and told him not to come crying to me when the Bush crowd busts his union.

[GRLMGC]

85. What did he say? nt

[pelagius]

87. Well, it was a "friendly" conversation, so he just laughed

He is a good guy, but not overly bright. Very into his macho image and the type that would think "Bring it on!" is great foreign policy.

Hope I gave him something to think about.

[yorkiemommie1]

91. husb and i went to dinner one night

and when we came out i saw that he had put a B/C sticker on our car and i hadn't noticed it! i REFUSED to get in that car w/ him!! i was always nice enough to move my K/E stickers when he'd use my car! I would have walked home if he'd insisted! well, i yanked it off and never saw the d--- thing again.

now i remember what that other bumpersticker was...'jesus was a liberal'.

i also saw a union truck but they had a Kerry/Edwards sticker on it and that was just yesterday.

maybe your neighbor would like to use his firefighting skills in iraq or iran!? bet he has a million excuses why not! lol!

[ScottinSoCal]

119. Married to the red

yorkiemommie1 wrote:
>Torrance is still too red for me. Esp. since i'm married to a red.

Yorkie, huh? Got two of them. :)

My other half used to be a registered Republican. Thank the gods that he changed before this election and was as disgusted with the Schrub as I am. This election really threw me for a loop, and it hasn't gotten better in the months since. As much as I've loved him for the last 13 years, I'm not sure we'd still be together if he'd voted for Bush. Seriously.

[yorkiemommie1]

121. we have two also

big 'uns. the male ALmost got a Verizon commercial because they liked his look and size, but he can't do a 'sit/stay' w/ an actress running around the set. he's a daddy's boy but he's a democratic dog!
the girl dog is a democrat, too.

no matter what i tried in the way of shedding light on bushco my husband refused to listen. he relies on talkradio and drudge report and shuns the LA Times as if it were poison.

this election has thrown me also, i am depressed and scared and angry. it has also placed a permanent wedge in our relationship since every thing i stand for is being trashed by bushco and my husband sticks up for him every chance he gets.

what can i say? we've been married 31 years, he's 66.

he's really a good man in other ways and fusses about whether people waiting for the bus have shelter from the elements, things like that. It's odd; he is not religious at all, he's pro-choice, a staunch believer in evolution, but but but.... he will vote repub. until the day he dies, no matter how their policies affect me or our daughter. i have told him i will blame him until the day i die for every bush policy that hurts people. harsh words, but too bad.

Peace!

[ScottinSoCal]

123. Purple houses

Hehehe. Well, at least he's outnumbered. Our two are both females, one 5 lbs. and the other 7 lbs. and they're (naturally) spoiled rotten.

Our next door neighbors are wonderful people and we're always at each others' house for dinner or a glass of wine or whatever. They've grown a lot since we moved next to each other - they'd never have expected to find themselves next door to a gay couple. His wife calls him her "little redneck", but they were the ones that organized a neigborhood get-together for us when we got back from getting married in San Francisco this last February.

As much as they've grown, he's said he'll never vote for a Democrat. His own son (13) asked him "So, dad, if I was running for something and I was a Democrat...?". He answered "No, I wouldn't vote for you." He agrees that Bush has made bad choices, and he knows that just about everything that was said about Kerry was part of a smear campaign by Rove, but he voted for Bush because he's the Republican candidate. I don't understand that mindset. And since the election, I've had a hard time talking to them.

[ronnykmarshall]

49. I guess I'm comfortable

But after reading your post and NuttyFluffers' deep well thought insight of what piles of trash we are in Hollywood/West Hollywood, I guess I should just OD on heroin.

I guess we aren't "real" liberals as per your high standards set.

Oh, and to mods, I sure hope that I have not offended anyone by defending my home.

I see you deleted my one post. Oh well, you know how us shallow crack addicts in Hollywood are.

[Democrat Dragon]

61. Most of the coastal areas

Liberal:

San Fransisco, Oakland, Sausalito, Montery, Half Moon Bay, Salinas, Marin county, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Westwood, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, San Jose, Palo Alto, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Long Beach, Laguna Beach, Pasadena, South Pasadena, Inglewood, Anaheim, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, and those blue counties around Napa.

Repuke:

Ukaiah, Irvine(?), Fresno, Simi valley, San Jaquin, Bakersfeild, areas of central valley and precincts of Orange county not mentioned in the "Liberal" list.

I'm pretty sure there are a few innacuraccies on this list, because I barely go to the freeper areas.

As a Bay Area native, I can tell you that almost every highschool there is open campus, has a gay-straight alliance club, and allows flyers advertising local protests to be displayed on campus.

[Biased Liberal Media]

128. Monterey is NOT liberal

In fact it's quite conservative. Having grown up there, most of the people I know and have seen are the upper class who supported * throughout the 2004 election. I no longer live in Monterey, but I can tell you, it's quite conservative.

Take the Monterey Bay Sanctuary for example...they are now allowing cruiseliners in the bay, they have a clause stating they are not allowed to dump their waste into the bay, but that's bs because the cruiseliners are STILL affecting sea life...especially our sea otters (which are going into extinction). Not only that, but look at Monterey Peninsula Unified School district, completely corrupt with elementary schools shutting down (not sure if it's a Republican thing, but anyways). Take Seaside's former mayor (Jerry Smith) for example. He was a Dem and then switched to Republican. Granted YES he helped clean the gang and crime activity up, but he also pushed for new homes to be built on the former Fort Ord that were at first deemed "affordable". These houses go for no less than $800k. How is THAT "affordable"?

I could go on but I won't. People in Monterey are too self-involved and too invested in their own money. Particularly those in Carmel and Pebble Beach.

[savistocate]

136. Yet Monterey did not help elect Schfart--& maj was K&E

last election.

[Biased Liberal Media]

138. So did my county but you see * supporters everywhere

my county in WA state (whatcom) has a lot of *, Pro-life, and yellow ribbon/flag wavers, but yet we went to Kerry and our gubernatorial race went to Gregoire and not Rossi (republican who is trying to get WA state to do a revote). Anyhow, my point?? There are a lot more conservatives on the Monterey peninsula than anyone thinks- and they are slowing trying to take over.

That's what is happening throughout our country too.

[bliss_eternal]

64. To those that took offense to the Hollywood comments--

I do hope you are still following this thread.

The comment I made was about THE AREA not about any of YOU. For you to take comments that I made out of context so personally is taking me by surprise.

I came back to all this a bit late and am frankly kind of stunned by the turn they took. I responded to Tish's comment prior to seeing the other comments you made about my pervy comment.

It IS pervy for grown men to approach a young girl on the street and ask her very inappropriate questions. This happened to me, among other things in Hollywood. If you had taken the time to ask me why I said what I did BEFFORE you decided to be so nasty, I would have told you and apologized for hurting your feelings.

Before you make such comments (about white gloves and the like) maybe you should take into consideration the fact that maybe there is some background to the comment that you may not be aware of.

When I realized some of you were upset by what a couple of us casually said in conversation I made an effort to explain it and make apologies to you that seemed upset.

No one from Hollywood had weighed in here when I said what I did. So some of your assumptions of my intent are presumptive on your part.

Thanks so much for making light of my feelings when you don't know me or the situation I referred to. Really nice.

[alexisfree]

68. Sacramento is RED

except for downtown area...x(

[Silver Gaia]

106. Depends on where you are....

All the "yuppieville" areas are RED, but Midtown is great. So is a lot of Land Park. And just across the river in Yolo County, we're BLUE. :P

[Conservativesux]

111. Davis is Blue. The rest of the county is mostly Red :(

[davidinalameda]

72. I live in Alameda

mostly blue but I did see a couple cars this weekend with W 04 stickers

I'm so proud of myself that I didn't rear end them

[bliss_eternal]

74. I'm proud of you too, dwickham--

though I had to laugh when I read this. It is SOOOOOO tempting isn't it?

[davidinalameda]

94. yes it is

damn is it tempting

LOL

[SnowBack]

90. Alameda is a great place...

During the last election, all the people running for Council even held a forum for the GLBT community... and almost all the people running were progressive.

My next door neighbour is one of the people on the island with a W04 sticker... But living next to (and getting to know) two Gay men is really screwing with his mind... He's having to re-evaluate alot of what he used to think about Gay people....

So even though he's got that sticker, there's hope for him yet....

:evilgrin:

[davidinalameda]

93. hey Snow!

how are you

:hi:

[SnowBack]

99. What should I be calling you?

Dwick? Wickie? Dwicky? :hug:

Hope you're enjoying Alameda... We need to set up a DU get-together here in "Pleasantville" some time

[davidinalameda]

108. call me

anytime but don't tell the hubby

you can call me David

and NEVER call me Wickie--old nickname from school-hate it with a passion:evilgrin:

[Maat]

76. Tragically, I live in the red pocket of Temecula/Murrieta.

Our local assemblyman, Haynes, is supposedly supported financially by Ahmanson (Christian Reconstructionist, at least at one time, otherwise known as a Dominionist/TheoCon). He is going to attempt to attack our domestic partnership law soon (Haynes) by introducing a state constitutional amendment.

Feel sorry for me (although we have a huge DFA going on here; there is a healthy progressive base upon which to build). Moreover, if one looks at the county (Riverside) statistics, I believe that area is growing more Democratic by the second.

[bliss_eternal]

79. Hi Maat! I don't mean to make light of your situation or

your pain at all. But that IS great news--that the Riverside progressive stats are growing! Yay!

It's also wonderful that you guys have such a large DFA group! Way to go!

[Maat]

88. Thanks ... if every one of us would get a good one going in ..

every county ... just think of the possibilities! But I also still believe in Santa Claus.

[MisterP]

78. agggh! I'm in Bircher Central, Southern OC!

home to Schuller, Jan Crouch, Bob Dornan, and Irv Rubin, neighbors of Jack Chick, purveyors of "Amend for Arnold" bumper stickers!

[Doomsayer13]

81. Santa Cruz, San Fransisco, and Marin County

I live in Santa Barbara - coastally liberal but very conservative once you go over the hills.

[SemperEadem]

101. Santa Cruz, Aptos, San Francisco

I was up that way in September and totally fell in love with northern California... I love the people there!!! If I had a gazillion dollars, I would move there in a heartbeat!!!!

[sophie996]

86. Arcata, CA

Hyper-liberal North Coast community, home of Humboldt State University, once the home of the logging industry, now a hippie haven.

http://arcata.com/

[yorkiemommie1]

92. if i could move there

i would!!!

[bliss_eternal]

100. Me too, me too!

(Bliss jumping up and down, waving hand wildly in the air!)

:bounce:

[ourbluenation]

96. Mendocino County oddly enough

is somewhat divided now I think. We were the "measure G" county and the first in the nation to ban gmo's. However, we do have our pockets of red...In Ukiah, which is inland, there is definatly a red sea brewing I'm afraid.

[sea dee]

98. the bay area

either SF or Santa Cruz.

+ there is that county in the NW part that banned GMO's

+Hollywood.

[Kerrytravelers]

130. GMO? WHat is that (sorry for my ignorance...)

but I'm still smarter than *.

[Bitter Betty]

135. Genetically Modified Organism

Marin County checking in. The anti-war/Kerry stickers out-number the Chimpster/yellow ribbons stickers. By that measure we're pretty liberal. And we don't have a Walmart, yay!

The opensecrets.com web site is pretty interesting. In the southern part of Marin the 2004 election contributions were over $2Million; in the northern part (where I live) it was almost $81K. Average contribution was $44,731/zip.

[Califooyah Operative]

102. santa cruz

[OnionPatch]

103. Unfortunately, I'm in Freeperville

Or as I like to call it, the Onion Patch. It's the area along the 10 between Redlands/San Bernardino and Palm Springs. The nearest towns are Beaumont and Banning. They call it "The Pass." Jerry Lewis is our rep and the Dems don't even bother to run against him. I wrote in Elmer Fudd on Nov. 2. The people here have Jesus but I'm pretty sure it's not the Jesus I know. Couldn't be the same person.

The good thing is that I'm very close to two beautiful mountain ranges where I spend a good deal of my recreation time and the Pass has a Dem club full of a bunch of spunky old liberal Democrats and I love every one of them. :loveya: We always have hope that someday our area will turn blue.

We would move to Mendocino or Arcata in a heartbeat if there were any jobs or business opportunities there for us.

[EFerrari]

104. Ocean Beach, SF. No doubt. Doug & I had all kinds of people

out at our Christmas antiwar vigil. And it was COLD on Xmas eve :)

[LWolf]

107. Freeperville.

The Antelope Valley:

Home of Pete Knight, Sharon and George Runner, and "Buck" McKeon.

Favorite beverage in the high desert is koolaid.

[yorkiemommie1]

110. i'm glad i never have to go there again

since MIL died, no need to go up there.

[mojavekid]

113. Venice Beach checking in!

Lived here for twenty years, my mother grew up here and went to Venice High in the Forties. I have had my business here for the last twelve. We are not our own city, but sure act like it:7

Recently we have been overrun by the pseudo hipster Brentwood and Palisades crowd (if I offend, I don't mean YOU!), while still blue, they have no appreciation for the Old Beach community, the real estate became just too expensive, so rents went thru the roof, the Bungalows were torn down, and the beautiful balance of low, medium and high income individuals and families was wiped out.

For the first time I have seen pro Bush bumper stickers around, though only a few and likely brought out because of this last election.

Still and all, a beautiful place to live if it has to be LA. - and I love LA!

[David Zephyr]

117. San Francisco is the most liberal.

and has always been so.

[podunk411]

140. ha.... you know Berkeley rules them all

seriously, san francisco is like the rich conservative cousin of berkeley. ;)

[beltanefauve]

118. Follow the Money:

Check out http://www.opensecrets.org . This will tell you what states, individuals and zip codes gave money to which politicians and races.

According to Open Secrets,the total giving of my zip code in Oakland was $1,801,377 versus the national average of $41,876.

The bulk of that money overwhelmingly went to John Kerry, but also Howard Dean, Barbara Lee, Carol Moseley-Brown, John Edwards,Wesley Clark, Dennis Kucinich, etc. A few retired Chevron execs in the area gave to *.(no surprise there.)

Makes me so proud!

[GRLMGC]

120. Of course Glendale gave the most money to W

How gross! I'm glad to be outta there.

[Daphne08]

122. I'm new to conservative Orange County

but we're planning on moving away from here as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, I feel quite isolated in this wealthy, conservative area.

[Kerrytravelers]

126. Pasadena

Mayor is a Dem, several council members are Dems. They wrote a decleration against the patroit Act, saying it won't be recognized (certain parts) in the City of Pasadena in regards to violating civil rights. There are a TON of Dem groups. You will also see anti-war demonstrations by these groups throughout the week. Friday afternoons on South Lake by the Starbucks and Friday evenings on Colorado in Old Twon by the Cheesecake Factory.

But, with the big mansions and all the private schools, there are rethugs... but we outnumber them by FAR.

We'll never leave here!

[bliss_eternal]

129. Wow--I had NO idea! Dh and I will be spending more time

in Pasadena! As a multiracial (interracial) couple, we feel quite comfortable with the diversity when we've visited Pasadena, but didn't know all that you've just shared. I'll make a point to spend some of our entertainment dollars in your city!

Thanks for weighing in!
:hi:

[cire4]

127. Davis, CA...a progressive enclave in a sea of red..

It's great living in a liberal college town, but if you venture out of the city with a Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker, be prepared to met with dirty looks!

[Inte11ectual]

131. DO NOT come to the Santa Maria Valley

Repubs everywhere!!!!!!

[EMAN51]

132. Blue state, blue county, red valley

I live in Castaic in the Santa Clarita Valley just north of Magic Mountain. I am probably the most despised individual at the local TGIF during political bar discussions. I enjoy really pissing those folks off!

[The Minus World]

133. McBeanz

The Santa Clarita/Valencia area seems pretty pro-Republican. The highly manicured plazas near Magic Mountain are spawning grounds for the Aryan youth movement. It's your typical sampling of secular right-wing suburbanites who could care less about anything but personal gain. Castaic is just north of there, so I wouldn't expect much of a difference in the political climate there.

[The Minus World]

134. South Pasadena, La Crescenta & Culver City.

Checking in from Southern California. Here's a transmission from my limited bubble of existence:

South Pasadena seems relatively open-minded, but I would hardly consider it a bastion of progressive thinking. More like, a slight majority of the residents don't have an aversion to opening up a newspaper every once in a while. Driving down the street, pre-election, I was surprised by the barrage of pro-Kerry lawn signs. I'll call it Blue for now.

La Crescenta, just on the outskirts of Glendale, and about 15 minutes west of Pasadena on the 210, seems rather right-wing. "W" stickers not only on SUVs, but, strangely, on Mini Coops and VW Bugs as well. Before the election, a mysterious store-front named "Republican Headquarters" opened up on Foothill Boulevard in a location which had been abandoned for quite a while; it closed shortly afterwards. In neighboring La Canada, a "pro-'our troops', and therefore somehow pro-Republican" rally was held, which my niece attended with the proper right-wing zeal expected of her by her mother. Blood Red, all the way.

Culver City - which is just a couple of miles from LAX - is another city I spend quite a bit of time in, but I can't quite get a feeling on its political pulse. The lines for the Fahrenheit 9/11 opening were tremendous, stretching behind the building. I've seen a smattering of "W'04" stickers here and there, but this was also the only city in which I've ever been accosted by Democratic donation collectors. Were I forced to make a snap decision on this matter, I'd have to label it blue.