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[Frumple]

Lots of the agriculture heavy parts of the country. Particularly the parts that have the climate for significant corn crops. They tend to be poverty heavy and safety net light. It's corn hell because it's full of corn and kinda' hell to live in.

[Naturegirl1999]

Is Iowa part of Corn Hell? I don’t think it’s a hell

[Rolan7]

Flat plains far from the ocean can be a bit... daunting, as a coastal-state resident.  We're used to having our mountains and beaches reasonably close by, and hills between.  Sure I live in a relatively flat arable zone in NC we call the Piedmont, but it's a lot more urbanized than Midwestern plains.

That much empty space is somewhat unnerving.

[Lord Shonus]

Is Iowa part of Corn Hell? I don’t think it’s a hell

Most of Iowa would be the pinnacle of "Corn Hell". There's significant poverty in rural areas, and there is a great deal more institutionalized bigotry (caused as much by the tiny communities as anything else) in such places as well. I'd still find it a billion times more appealing than a place like New York City to live in.

[Naturegirl1999]

Is Iowa part of Corn Hell? I don’t think it’s a hell

Most of Iowa would be the pinnacle of "Corn Hell". There's significant poverty in rural areas, and there is a great deal more institutionalized bigotry (caused as much by the tiny communities as anything else) in such places as well. I'd still find it a billion times more appealing than a place like New York City to live in.

Iowa is the only place I know. I am lucky to be around people who are not bigots. I remember hearing houses in Iowa are cheaper than houses in lots of other states. I am just saying what I think, I am not trying to say that Iowa is better than other states. I am just saying that I don’t think it;s bad enough to warrant being called a hell. There are nice people here.

[delphonso]

In the context of west to east - as in driving - the flat states are certainly hellish. I would be happy to live out there, though. I'm fond of some seclusion.

[Frumple]

Generally when housing or land is cheap in the US, that means that, y'know, people don't want to live there. Usually for pretty good reason, heh.

Frankly, having lived in places being talked about (if rural florida hellswamp rather than corn hell), these places are just a persistent drain on everyone living in them. They're places people basically go to die, because there's not really much living to do for most folks there. Just a constant steady struggle to get to the next day, with few to none of the little perks you can find in some other areas. Easier to be left alone or get to nature-y places, but that's about all they got going for 'em.

[wierd]

The weather in flat-land is so variable that it will make your head spin.  That, and the endless wind.


Seriously, it can shift 40 degrees in an hour.  We routinely get 30-40mph gusty winds in the summers. On a normal day.


There's a reason why windfarm operators want to set up here, but of course, the WindmillMadness Morons have to screw everything up.

[bloop_bleep]

Seriously, it can shift 40 degrees in an hour.  We routinely get 30-40mph gusty winds in the summers. On a normal day.

[dust bowl intensifies]

[misko27]

I'd still find it a billion times more appealing than a place like New York City to live in.

Oy what's with NYC being the Acceptable Targets here? A little sympathy for the suffering would be appreciated!

In the context of west to east - as in driving - the flat states are certainly hellish. I would be happy to live out there, though. I'm fond of some seclusion.

This is the quintessential American problem: not everyone can be secluded. Everyone goes out in search of the "Great Outdoors" or some good old space to call their own, goes out farther than anywhere else in civilization, and set up shop; so now the next guy has to go even further to find that same seclusion. And there's a lot of those "next guys".

...Anyway, I've been struggling to find good places to check data for COVID by state, and I'll leave one here I like: Politico: not only showing you the positive results, but also how many people they've tested. Which is almost as important! And the ratio between those two. Alabama: 152 tested:124 cases, which is I think the worst in the country, very closely followed by New Jersey with a staggering 1,661/1,327. Ohio and Maryland are also doing pretty bad.

Louisiana's in a rough spot: they have 585 cases to Texas' 304 (and 16 deaths to 2), but they've tested just under half as many people as Texas has, 2,765 to 6,552. I think the word for that is "Ominous".

[wierd]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/democrats-sound-alarm-about-joe-biden-s-young-voter-problem-n1163296

Glad that they understand that they have a problem, too fucking bad they wont do what needs to be done to actually get those voters to join with them, because those voters have been shit on too many times by their policies.

Oh darn.

[Reelya]

Biden has sought to address the problem by rolling out two new policy planks last weekend that would benefit young people: Tuition-free public colleges and universities, and allowing Americans to clear out student debt in bankruptcy. At the debate last Sunday, he promised a female vice president.

These sound like sensible moves. VP Warren would be interesting.

[Max™]

In the context of west to east - as in driving - the flat states are certainly hellish. I would be happy to live out there, though. I'm fond of some seclusion.

I mean, I went from seeing the Atlantic on a monday through a bridge gap in Delaware to seeing the Pacific that Friday I think near San Jose. The only exciting part of the drive up to Denver was when the horizon forgot it's not supposed to be uphill and just kinda stayed that way until we found mountains like fucking whoa and went down through the desert states around to Bakersfield then back up across the rockies near Wyoming and back down through corn hell again.

Wait, on the way back we had to stop in Elko for a few days to get the truck repaired (was riding in a big rig with mom/her guy) so we stayed at a motel that didn't even have water in the pool but was literally the only option.

It's hard to remember what it was really like, it sucked so hard, such a vast painfully boring expanse of fuck and all in every direction.

I didn't mention it because it's such a uniquely awful place, and even though most of Nevada is pointless, I don't recall the rest of it being so completely featureless and bland... I swear the only reason it wasn't in black and white is because everything was fucking orange brown.

The salt flats were interesting by comparison, if only because of the ridiculous twist ending where you end up driving past all the goddamn water on one side and nothing on the other, then gorgeous mountains and a beautiful city full of nobody I'm interested in meeting.

Only place in the US I've ever seen without a speck of graffitti, it would be amazing if that wasn't such an unsettling thing when you really think about it.

Iowa is lovely compared to Elko, and really the corn fields were kinda amusing at first, like telling the same joke four times so everyone is sick of it, then the fifth time it's hilarious?

Iowa kept going like fifty times past that, which was dumb, but then you see Nebraska waiting there excited to tell you this hilarious ass joke it just heard and it's like, what the fuck even IS a Nebraska by the end of it.

The Rockies and chunks of the Appalachians are painfully beautiful, like you don't even care that you're technically in Wyoming or Utah, not to mention the lush valleys over in Tennessee and Kentucky where you feel like you're in a velvet painting or some shit, and those goddamn bizarre landscapes in New Mexico and Arizona are like whoa.

The fuck even is a Nebraska though?

[SalmonGod]

Biden has sought to address the problem by rolling out two new policy planks last weekend that would benefit young people: Tuition-free public colleges and universities, and allowing Americans to clear out student debt in bankruptcy. At the debate last Sunday, he promised a female vice president.

These sound like sensible moves. VP Warren would be interesting.

It won't matter.  He could 100% adopt every word of Bernie's platform, and I wouldn't care.  Because I know he doesn't believe in it, and thus he won't really fight for it.  He can't undo his history, or the investments he's received from corporate interests.  Period.  It's like an abusive spouse promising to do better to woo you back after your 10th break-up.

Sadly, the female VP thing will probably do a lot.  The last two cycles have shown me that there's a huge number of people out there who will be passionate about voting for literally any woman just because they're a woman.  Margaret Thatcher could claw her way out of the grave and run for president, and there's a disturbing number of people who will claim the only reason not to vote for her is sexism.

[wierd]

I consider it offensive pandering straight from the playbook.

Hard "NO" from me.