h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You might get Census data from a search engine. (Census 2000)
You might mention the Gerald Ford Museum or the West Michigan Whitecaps. You might tell what freeways run through GR and where your favorite restarants are located in relation to them. If you are using h2g2's Guide ML formnat you can include hyperlinks to points of interest in Grand Rapids or to it's City government or airport.

Thanks. I'm working on it.

The political climate in GR is somewhat polarized towards the conservative, if I've heard correctly. Perhaps an interesting note in a state that tends to vote Democratic in Federal elections.

This may also be changing, with the decline of union jobs.

I think Ford's towel may be somewhat misled by the Vote from SE Michigan. Most of the state is somewhat Conservative, but this is outweighed by the Detroit-Ann Arbor corridor population.

Could be, could be. But, since it is one-person one-vote, it amounts to pretty much the same thing, doesn't it?

No matter how the population is distributed, it follows the trends of the demographics I've seen for the whole of the country. The liberals tend to reside in the densely populated and well-educated city areas (they probably have to be more diversity sensitive just to get along), and the rural areas tend to be the conservative and religious blocks (probably because they aren't exposed to the dense populations of more comlpex diversity).

Now, whether these population factors naturally makes one Liberal or Conservative - or whether the Liberals and Conservatives tend to move to areas of like population - would make an interesting study, eh?

If you think this country uses one man one vote, then you haven't read my article on the Electoral College.
Both U.S. Senators from Michigan are Democrat as is the Governor
but if you look at the legislative districts for the House you will find many of them are Republican.

Correct me then, if I am wrong. I thought that the Electoral College was only used for the office of President. If so, it doesn't really have a bearing on the political left or right of Grand Rapids vs. the overall slant of that State of Michigan as a whole.

I don't think it comes as any surprise that Gerald R. Ford was a conservative. No liberal has ever run for President from Grand Rapids.

That's pretty much true. Grand Rapids and, especially, the affluent suburbs around it are right-leaning. Stikes me as passing odd.


And before Granholm, the prior governor was Republican named Engler. I think Granholm is rather moderate, though.

True, Shag, True. In fact, the only presidential candidate ever to come from Grand Rapids lost.

Plus you mentioned Federal Elections
Just looking at the Western half of Michigan
here is who was sent to Washington for the U.S. House
Bart Stupak-D
Peter Hoekstra-R
Vernon J.Ehlers-R
Dave Camp-R
Fred Upton-R
Joe Swartz-R
that's five republicans to one Democrat.
So you see Grand Rapids is not that unique in leaning right.

And then, ... the East of Michigan and Northern Michigan??? Or are you just supporting what I said as statistically sound, that more populated, higher educated, city areas tend to be more left?

I guess the point was that SE Michigan goes Democratic while the side of the state where you find Grand Rapids goes Republican. So unionized areas such as Flint or Detroit tend to give the state a reputation as a Democratic State. I think kyron would agree that there are a lot of well educated people in Grand Rapids but this doesn't make them liberal. In fact Once someone gets West of Ann Arbor "liberal" is kind of a dirty word in this state. Nobody wants to be labelled as such.

Hiya Shag. I presume you are most likely right. And, I don't believe that education makes you either liberal or Democrat. It's all just demographics that make things look that way.

There are also theories that modern educating facilities lean toward the liberal and pass those views on to their students.

It does seem, however, that by definition the liberals are more accepting and tolerant. If it shows nothing else, it shows a higher enlightenment about the equality of people in more than just the constitutional sense.

I don't know. I have met some very conservative people in West Michigan, but my own clan is mostly working class and intellectually gifted, although under-educated, and liberal almost to the point of being subversive.

Khyron, Thanks for speaking up for the under-educated. Although intelligent enough, I was rather late to the collegiate world; mostly for reasons of finance and time.

I have to wonder if there isn't an IQ bias toward liberalism at the high end, conservatism at the a different point, and apathy at a third. Certainly a lot of people gauge their liberalism-conservatism based on there parentally learned predilictions, and many flip to the other side as a form of rebellion; but there may still be a bias that can change the mix.

If there is a bias based on intelligence or viewpoint upbringing, I wonder if it isn't also evidence of Darwin's evolutionary pressures. The more staunchly conservative families seem to be the more outwardly patriotic-flagwaving types, which may lead to the loss of more young, child-bearing age offspring to military arms where they are at increased risk of death and injury.

If it exists, this would perhaps bias a society toward ultimate liberalism, and it could be that the mere creating of better armour and longer range weapons have disturbed this natural balance and created a new bias for conservatism.

I don't have a pre-defined idea of how the study would turn out, but I'd love to see the results of a full-blown study of the whole mix!

It's to late at night to be thinking that deeply.

I could make the part on East Town a bit longer. Seeings as I live there.

The flea market is usually where an article sits that is looking for another person to finish it. Kyron 1144 started this article on Grand Rapids.
Does Zerath plan to take on this project?
do either of you plan to go the the h2g2 presidential meet in st Louis? I ca't afford to go myself.

I'll take on the Project if they'll let me.