2007 says goodbye to us tonight. 2008 looks to be more of the same endless campaigning to gain elective office and continue the giant idealogical chasm that defines the United States today. I don't usually talk like this to people that I know, but friends visit rarely these days.
I'm still in Bakersfield, which exists unlike any other California city, and it remains a spot on the map to avoid if you can. All my long standing relationships are with people living in Northern California, and there these folks remain. They do not own oil or vast amounts of agricultural acreage, and so this dusty spot on the map has no pull.
My little group of friends read and are curious about things, which is another reason Bakersfield offers little appeal. In a recent study from Central Connecticut State University ranking the most literate cities in America, out of the top 69 most populous municipalities, Bakersfield ranks 64 on the scale. The major elements in determining literacy were newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment and Internet resources. The ranking says it all about Bakersfield, a bottom rung outpost of illiteracy and hostility toward education.
