The United 50 States of America Form

The United States can be broken up into 6 different geographic regions… I AM generalizing, of course ;-)New England (Northeast)Acela Corridor (Power Center)Southeast (Former Confederacy/ Bible Belt)Great Lakes (Rust Belt/ German Belt)Cowboy Country (Wild West States)West Coast (Cultural/ Technological Capitol)These 6 different regions are distinct in their history, culture, economy, politics and general personality differences. You can generally “stereotype” or “guess” where an American is from based on the below:New England (the Northeast) - WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) Country “Yankeedom”New England is home of the WASPs, the original Anglo Saxons that settled in the new world. New Englanders are the most educated (Harvard, Yale, MIT, Brown, Dartmouth, Boston College) and the wealthiest region per capita.Culturally, New England was associated with the Episcopalian Church, which is the American version of the Anglican Church. The Episcopalians however are the fastest declining Church population. In essence, New England is the closest to the UK in culture, as the UK too is experiencing a drastic decline in Church attendance. The drop in Church attendance is coupled with the lowest fertility levels in the country, similarly to the UK in general. New Englanders are essentially thought of as the closest thing to Europeans. Minus the accent, if someone from England came to New England, they’d almost be interchangeable, in that their politics, their culture, and their way of life are almost identical. New England is also the whitest part of the country, with the highest percentage of per capita whites is in New England. Vermont (96%), Maine (96%), and New Hampshire (93%) are all in the top 5 in the nation with percentage of whites.In general, New England WASPs are thought of as the people running the country and (since the end of World War II) the world. They care A LOT about what Europe thinks of them. This is because their “power” over the world is dependent on their relationship with the Europeans. As a result, New England wants to emulate whatever the Europeans are doing so that America could become “more European.” At the moment, New Englanders are obsessed with the Scandinavians, and always bring up how Denmark, Sweden and Norway are like paradises on earth.Overall, Americans around the country don’t really see New Englanders that much, except when New Englanders travel on their private jets to “audit” or “inspect” us peasant folk in Middle America. We believe they all have mansions in the Hamptons, a yacht or two, and vacation in Bretton Woods to reminisce on when they took over the world. Their children play polo and lacrosse, and then join the row team (crew). They tend to have “Boston” accents where they over-emphasize their vowels. Because of their close ties with the “civilized” Europeans, they go on and on and on about how Socialism actually works (ahem.. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren) and LOVE talking about Sweden and Denmark. Then once they’re done lecturing us peasants, they go back to their third home in the Hamptons and drink French wine and solve all the world’s problems.2. Acela Corridor (the Economic and Political Center)You see that dark bold red on the right side of the map? That’s the Acela Corridor, the nickname of the train system that goes through Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington, DC (and into Alexandria, Virginia). This is the center of the world in terms of political, economic, media and influential power. All the big banks, big businesses, and big politics is centered here. Wall Street, all the major news organizations (Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post), the UN Headquarters, the White House, the US Capitol, the Pentagon, the Federal Reserve, and pretty much every major power center of America is centered in this small section of the country.The Acela Corridor is the Cosmopolitan Center of America, where citizens from all over the country intermingle with foreign businessmen, tourists, diplomats and politicians. The Acela Corridor is an absolute rat race, where it is an eat or be eaten mentality. Hell, this is where Donald Trump is from, and hence his ultra-aggressive, no holds barred, form of politics. This region is also home to 64% of all Fortune 500 company headquarters. (Delaware has very favorable laws in place for company incorporations)Overall, the Acela Americans are thought of as “loud, obnoxious and blunt.” They are quick-witted, usually well educated, wear fancy clothing, and refer to the rest of America as “flyover country.” Acela Americans like to come into Middle America just to “study us” as if we are some zoo animals. They then go back to the Acela to report on our weird behaviors in their fancy news or university reports with fancy and big words. They probably have been to France more than they have been to Oklahoma.3. The Southeast (Former Confederate States)The Southeast is home to the former Confederate States of America, where just four generations ago they fought an all out blood bath against those snobby and aggressive northerners. Built on the foundation of agriculture of cotton and tobacco, the southeast Americans utilized sub-saharan African slave labor to increase productivity. The southeast was originally home to over 95% of America’s black population, but since the “Great Exodus” of blacks from the region during both World Wars (to fill factory work), about 55–60% of America’s black population lives in these states. As a consequence, the black-white divide in the South runs deep. It was just literally 52 years ago that racial laws such as Jim Crow were deemed illegal.Culturally, southerners are thought of as VERY religious. This region is also known as the Bible Belt and is predominantly Protestant. The Southern Baptist, Southern Methodist and the general Evangelical movement is very prevalent in southern culture. The Southeast is also home to the largest per capita military population. This is not because military recruits are disproportionately from the Southeast (as the Cowboy states like Texas and the Dakotas have the highest per capita of military recruits) but because the North built most US military installations in the southeast after the Civil War.The rest of the world LOVES to make fun of southern Americans, especially due to their very religious and conservative culture. The southeast is like the Russia of America, in that it is the thorn in the side of the utopic visions of the Acela Corridor (much like Russia is the thorn in the side of Brussels). The southeast tends to view the north as “the damned pagan occupiers.” The north sees them as the “zealous rebels.” They historically always vote in the exact opposite of one another. When the northeast votes Republican, the southeast votes Democrat… and vice versa (as it has been since the 1992 election of Bill Clinton).You know you’ve met someone from the Southeast by their accent, in general. They have a “twang” in their voice, which may have something to do with a generally larger Scottish descendant population than the rest of the country. They tend to be more soft spoken and less traveled than the northeast Americans. Generally a mix of very religious Scottish, English, Cuban and African descendants, the only way you’ll likely run into a southerner is if you go to the south yourself (or if the US military is stationed in your country).4. The Great Lakes States (Rust Belt/German Belt)Spanning from “Upstate New York” through Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, the Great Lakes States extend through what is known as the “Great Lakes,” or some of the world’s largest lakes. Americans from the Great Lakes are likely descendants of Germans, Scandinavians and Irish who only settled in the United States 1840 or after. Many foreigners mistaken them for Canadians, as their accents (especially Minnesota) are very similar to our Canadian neighbors. And since the Great Lakes states were settled after the 1840s, as the Industrial Revolution was in full steam, the Great Lakes are the most industrialized parts of the country.Many refer to these states also as the “German Belt,” as almost 50% of the population here spoke German until World War I. During World War I, many German Americans here were placed in “registries” and were ostracized as German sympathizers. As a result, many “Anglicized” their last names and forced their children to speak English exclusively. But because of their heavy reliance on industry, the culture of the Great Lakes states is heavily unionized. They are very socially conservative as a result, in that they promote hard-work, close family units, and strong community ties. On the alternative, while they are as socially conservative as the southeast, they tend to be much more fiscally liberal than the southeast. They favor good labor laws, favorable education pay for high skilled or technical work, and thus tend to vote for “Blue Dog Democrats” or socially conservative, yet fiscally liberal Democrats. However, ever since the Democratic Party’s leap to the socially liberal left, the Great Lakes States have become politically homeless, and why Donald Trump’s socially conservative, yet slightly fiscally liberal message resonated with them.You’ll know if you met someone from the Great Lakes states if they sound borderline Canadian. They also are very genuinely nice people, yet slightly more soft spoken than the northeast. And like the southeast, the only way you’re likely to meet someone from these states is if you go there directly, as many Great Lakes residents don’t necessarily travel abroad, unless to Canada. They LOOOOVE lakes, and many of them view lakes as paradise. Most have a “cabin” up north, where they store a boat, an ATV and a snowmobile. When they get a break from their Union job, they go up to their cabin where they love to hunt, fish, or take their ATV out on the wide open country of the area.5. Cowboy Country (Wild West States)Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, Kansas and Nebraska… this is home of the infamous WILD WEST! When Americans colonized the Atlantic coast, they forced the Natives across the Mississippi River. BUT, millions and millions of Europeans continued to pour in at American ports during the 1800s. The original Americans didn’t want all these new immigrants living with them, since their cities were already overpopulated passed their capacity to give them a proper job, home or good way of life. Instead, these new immigrants were handed a rifle and told to go out and fetch themselves a plot of land. The Spanish Empire had been fighting the Indians on the west of the Mississippi River for the prior 300 years. The preferred method of fighting them was on horseback with a rifle. These Spanish colonists were known as “Vaqueros,” or “Buckaroos” as the language challenged Americans referred to them. Eventually, Buckaroos simply became known as “Cowboys.”Cowboys became famous all throughout the world during the late 19th and early 20th century. The “Wild West” was an absolute blood bath, with gun battles and chaos around every plateau. Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday, Colonel Custer, just to name a few, were famous Cowboys or Soldiers that fought not only the Natives, but other Cowboys. The closest European or Asian comparison would be the Cossacks of Russia, who were soldiers loyal to the Tsar that fought the Siberians and Mongols to their east. Cowboys were loyal to the American Republic that fought Natives to their west. The Cowboys that settled on these lands eventually built elaborate farms that we now refer to as the “Wheat Belt” since it is home to the most food production than anywhere else in the world.Cowboys, Texans, Rodeos, Ranchers, Buckaroos… this part of the country is per capita the highest military service part of the country. More Texans join the US military than any other state, with the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana also providing substantial military recruits. Many in this part of the country have enough personal weapons to fuel an entire platoon of men, due to their origins as settlers that fought the Natives. And similar to the southeast and Great Lakes States, it’s very unlikely you’ll meet someone from this region, unless it’s a Texan oil businessman or an American soldier stationed overseas.Americans from these states tend to be VERY patriotic, much like the Cossacks of Russia are VERY patriotic. And like the Cossacks, they are also very religious and conservative. They have a viewpoint of the world of absolute self reliance and pure individualism. They overwhelmingly vote Republican historically, due to the general Republican mentality of self reliance and less government intervention. The last thing these Cowboys want is some Harvard educated New Yorker coming to their town and telling them how to do things better.6. West Coast (Northeast Transplants)After the Wild West was tamed by the Cowboys following a 50 year bloodbath, the wealthy and educated New Yorkers and New Englanders felt safe enough to buy property out west. They took their huge sums of money, their close ties with powerful Acela Americans, and built up the once Spanish Imperial outposts of Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco into elaborate and magnificent metropolitan areas. The West Coast, therefore, is considered more culturally similar to New York, Massachusetts and Washington, DC than it is Texas or Colorado.One of the reasons the WASP transplants moved out to the west coast was the desire of Washington, DC to build a Pacific Fleet in order to not only solidify its rule over the west, but also to build trade networks with the East Asians. California prospered as a consequence of trade with the Asians, and after preventing Japan from taking control of the Pacific, California is now the wealthiest state in the Union. California, in fact, would be the fourth largest economy in the world if it were on its own.West Coast Americans, like the Acela Americans, are very well educated, well traveled and very business and culturally savvy. Amazon, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood all are headquartered along the West Coast and produce the most widely available international perceptions the world have of the United States. Netflix, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Hollywood movies and television, Instagram, and the music industry shines bright all throughout the world from the West Coast. They have a very relaxed demeanor, open minded culture, and are very aesthetically adept. The West Coast understands public perception more than anywhere else in the world, and thus is home to the most plastic surgeries, cosmetic use and tattoos. The rest of America tends to view West Coast Americans as too “plastic” or “fake.” There’s a perception that West Coast Americans, while they live in beautiful cities, are too obsessed with the opinion of others, and have a sort of “aloofness” to them.The United States is a massive country. To travel from Seattle, Washington to New York City would be like traveling from Western Ireland to Armenia. To travel from El Paso to Montana would be like traveling from Tunis to Copenhagen. And like Europe, the United States has very different cultures and ways of life. While you’d be unable to identify the difference of where an American is from by their language unlike Europe, there are definitive cultural and religious differences like as it is in Europe.

Did you know that a million dollars in U.S. currency weighs just ten kilograms? It's true. A freshly-minted $100 bill weighs in at slightly over a gram, and 100 of them is ten thousand dollars. 100 of those stacks, and there's your million.It’s not often that 10 kilograms - 22 lbs of anything can change your life. But on February 25th, 2014, that’s exactly what happened.  Day 1: $1,000,000 As the man in the gray suit walks away, I shout after him “Hey, come back here. Who are you? What’s this all about?” He does not look back and quickens his pace. Between the choice of chasing down a stranger, or securing what appeared to be stacks of currency, I chose the currency. We can resolve the issue of his identity later, but a loose sack of cash is, well, a loose sack of cash. I look through the contents again. Bundles of US$100 bills, stacked a hundred bills deep, wrapped in standard $10,000 bank bands. A quick count revealed that there were precisely a hundred of those stacks in the bag, and spot-check riffle-counts of the $10k bands suggest that there are no short-stacks within. These were full bands of $10,000 apiece of non sequential USD$100 bills, and I was holding what appears to be a million even in cash. And it feels like just as many question are swirling in my head, as I feel my pulse pounding in my skull. Who was that guy? Why me? What is this all about? But the most urgent thoughts swim past the dizzying deluge of unanswerable questions. Fakes. It’s one thing to inadvertently be the recipient of counterfeit currency; as you’re reading this very sentence, a clerk at a retail store somewhere in your city just accepted a counterfeit bill and made change from the real money in the till.  But to be in possession of a life-changing amount of counterfeit currency of the United States of America? Well, that’s sort of thing that can bring the full might and wrath of their law enforcement apparatus on your head. My emotions swing wildly between the elation of instantaneous wealth, and sheer terror that I was minutes away from being snatched from my home and corralled into a Federal holding cell, where I will grow old within its walls. Terror was the stronger of the two emotions, and I quickly went to work. First things first: the bag had to go. If there is a GPS tracking device embedded in its seams, it would take too long for me to root it out. Better to incinerate it, and make sure that whatever trail it was laying stops at a dead-end for its pursuers. I pour the stacks of bills into an empty duffle back from my garage, and lock the bag in my condo. There’s an abandoned marina just a mile from my home and I get in my car and drive straight to the docks, at the top of the posted speed limit. After pouring enough Kerosene on the bag to see the shimmering mist of petroleum evaporate above it, I lit a book of matches and threw it in the middle of the mass. A satisfying “Whoomph” lights up the fire, and I watch the edges of the bag curl and burn - sizzling in the midmorning sun. As the remnants of the bag’s embers swirl around the scorched mark on the docks, I drive back to my condo, pulse still pounding in my skull.I still haven’t figured out if the bills are real or not, but if this morning’s bag-drop was an attempt to pin a piece of deeply incriminating evidence bearing a tracking device … well that plan has been thwarted. Or delayed, at the very least. What do I do? What should I do? Call the authorities? Consider how it would sound: “Hi, Police? Somebody dropped a million dollars in cash at my home. I don’t know if it’s fake or not. Please help.” Would you believe such a ridiculous story? I wouldn't. Any reasonable law enforcement dispatcher would consider the caller legally insane, and I'd be arrested on the spot and sent to psychiatric care. If the money was real, it’d be seized and I'll never see it or spend it. If it was fake, they’d find a way to stick “possession of counterfeit currency” charge on me, and I'll be shoved into a Federal concrete box, draining the best years of my life away, only to be released when I can’t chew solid food any more. No. The only recourse is to handle this myself. I call an old college friend practicing criminal defense law in New York City: “Hey Roger, it’s Kai. How’ve you been?” “I'm cool. It's been a while. What’s up man.” “We should catch up soon in person. But I’m calling because I need something.” “Ok, shoot.” I swallow hard - it’s difficult to even say the words: “Who’s the best CrimDef lawyer you know in California, who defends against Federal charges?” A moment. His voice lowers noticeably. “Shit, man. You in some kind of trouble?” “I’m not sure yet.” I said, truthfully. “But I need someone experienced and smart ... someone who you’d hire, if you’re facing serious attention from the Feds." He lets out a long exhale. “Vincent King. Former rockstar DOJ prosecutor in D.C. Had a change of heart halfway through his rotation in Maryland, when he was securing Life sentences for “interstate drug transportation” charges on young Black kids who were busted muling for the cartels. Was offered a fast-track promotion straight to the U.S. Attorney’s office but went rogue. He set up independent shop in San Francisco, fighting Fed cases. Heavy hitter clients, but makes a point of refusing to represent anyone accused of murder or human trafficking. Intimate knowledge of Federal prosecutorial procedures and evidence-collection protocol. Smart. Methodical. Very expensive.” “Perfect.” “I did mention ‘very expensive?’” “You did.” “I’ll send his contact information now.” =================================“I’m sorry - Mr. King is in court all day and won’t be back in the office. His earliest appointment is tomorrow morning after a client meeting. Shall I book him for 11am for you?” “Yes, thank you Marta.” “We’ll see you tomorrow at 11 then.” I look at the digital clock in my kitchen -  it reads 10:44am. Just me and a stack of bills which may or may not be fake, no formal legal representation for over 24 hours. It’s going to be a long day. Taking even a few of these bills to a bank to corroborate their authenticity is out of the question. If a bank officer confirms they are fraudulent, I’ll be arrested on the spot, and since I haven’t hired counsel, I’d be at the mercy of the Public Defender’s Office - the most overworked and underpaid division of the American Criminal Justice system. No, thank you. The next number I dial is an old friend, Robert Kendrick, sole proprietor of ‘Secher Nbiw - The Golden Path,’ a gold bullion dealer with a whimsical Dune reference in the name of his shop. I’ve known Robert for over a decade; his business deals in large amounts of (mostly) legal cash. By necessity, he has a high-end currency counter/ counterfeit detection device in his office, which can swiftly count and verify large sums of money with precision. “Bobby, it’s me.” “Hey, what’s up.” “Can I come to your office - like right now?” “Sure, what do you need?” “I, uh, came into some money. Long story, and I really don’t want to get too much into the details … but I’m wondering if you’d be willing to run the bills through your counter for me? I’m not 100% sure they’re real, and I’d like a discreet way of verifying them. If they are, I’m going to pick up some bullion as well.” “Sure man. Happy to help. How much money are we talking about?”“$60,000” I flinch at that - I hate lying to friends, but at this point, I have no idea who to trust. Though if you want to be technical about it, I did come across $60,000. I am just simply not telling Kendrick about the other $940,000 that accompanied the $60k in the satchel that dropped into my life just three hours ago. “Come on by.” I pull apart a few $10,000 currency bands and start plucking random $100 bills from the middle of every 10k stack to assemble a randomized sample of the entire million. 100 bills, wrap it up. 100 bills, wrap it up. 100 bills, wrap it up. Three bands, thirty thousand dollars, randomized and fully assembled to be tested for authenticity. “Half” of my alleged $60k windfall. The rest of the loose bills are refolded back so there remains 97 stacks of $10k racks, re-wrapped and properly sorted. In 30 minutes, I will figure out if I’m rich, or holding on to enough illicit contraband to send me to Federal Prison for the rest of my life. =============================The Golden Path, like most bullion dealers, work out of small, highly secured office covered by multiple layers of security. At any given moment, Robert may have several hundred thousand dollars in cash or gold, silver and platinum bullion on the premise, it pays to be careful. One of the few civilians in California with a Concealed Carry Weapons permit, Kendrick and I met on pistol gun range ten years ago; we bonded over shooting .45 ACP slugs down-range. He and I spent countless hours debating the relative merits of his preference for single-action 1911s, vs my bias toward double-action SIG-Sauer P220s. In the bullion business, you learn to know the boundaries of money-laundering laws, and know how to walk right up to the edge without triggering reporting thresholds. Drop US$10,000 in cash or more at a car dealership, bank or bullion dealer in a single day’s transaction, and the U.S. authorities gets very interested in the source of your funds. By law, these business that receive such sums of cash must fill out invasive forms to tie the transaction to you and your Social Security Number. Keep cash transactions below US$10,000, and you can avoid much of that intense scrutiny. “Welcome back man. I haven’t seen you in a while.” A discreet man, Kendrick does not inquire further about the source of the cash. In the business of buying and selling gold bullion, you learn to comply with the letter of the law, while avoiding conversational topics that can jeopardize one’s own plausible deniability. While his clientele is mostly legitimate, I’m certain the most lucrative of his customers are criminals - and he smart enough to know not to ask the sort of questions that open up a line of liability for him.  So long as the proper theatrics of anti-money-laundering protocols are observed, everyone is technically in the clear. I hand him the three $10k stacks and he pulls the bands off them and puts the entire block in his high-speed currency counter. After a second, the machine spools up and the digital counter swiftly runs from zero to three hundred. Thirty thousand dollars. “It’s real.” It’s real. His words hang in the air for a moment, and it takes a moment for them to sink in. One million dollars. Genuine currency of the United States of America, the most recognized and accepted form of money in the world - denominated in crisp, non-sequential bills. I hold my face as neutral as possible, but my excitement made me slightly dizzy, and I am glad I was sitting down. “What’s the spot price of Gold today?” Kendrick’s eyes drift to his laptop computer, where the current day’s commodities prices were fed to him via a live stream. “$1334 Ask, $1335 Bid.” I nodded my understanding.Precious metals bullion trade in troy ounces, and prices are quoted on a per troy oz basis; depending on the specific type of bullion (bars, coins, make), there are different markups from the quoted price. Depending on the specific form, Gold is typically marked up by USD$20 to $60 over the day’s quoted Bid price, and sells for $5~10 over the Ask. “What do you have in inventory right now for gold?” “The usual. South African Kugerrands. American Eagles. Canadian Maples. Oh, I do have a lovely Credit Suisse 5oz bar that somebody just sold to me, and I’m happy to let it go for $25/oz over spot.” I quickly did the mental math calculation. With the hard-cap spending limit of $10,000 before I trigger any mandatory anti-money-laundering paperwork, $1335/oz works out to about seven troy ounces of bullion I can buy, without forcing Robert to fill out invasive forms about me and my identity. “I’ll take the 5oz Credit Suisse bar, and two American Gold Eagles.” Kendrick pulls out a calculator and taps in the numbers, “So five troy ounces at 25 over spot plus Eagles at $50 over spot works out to nine thousand six hundred and -“ “Take ten grand and keep the change.” I interrupt. “I will be back for more.” He raises his eyebrow, but says nothing. “Thank you. I’ll be right back.” He counts back $20,000 and hands it to me, taking the $10,000 in the back room of his office and returning with the 5oz Swiss bar and two heavy 1oz American Eagles, along with a receipt for US$9675. I pause for a moment and hand him back one of the $10,000 stacks. “I know the limit is $10k in transactions per day. Consider this pre-payment for a purchase tomorrow. Your call, on a mix of anything up that totals up to $9500. Keep the rest for you and Katie.” A barely-perceptible smile flickers across his face, then his face was clear again. “Sure thing.” There’s nothing like the feeling of holding physical gold - the density, color and heft of the metal is like no other substance on earth, and it is no wonder that since its discovery, every culture on Earth treated gold with awe and respect. With 18 hours left before I can understand my legal options, there’s only two things I know for certain: 1. The money is real. 2. At least one person knows exactly where I live, and where the money was dropped off. I need to get mobile. I need to get mobile and off the grid ASAP.... to be continuedIf you'd like to be the first to get updates to this story, please add me kai chang 張敦楷 (kaichang) on Twitter. Part 2 (of 10) is being written right now, will be announced on Twitter. Please follow for updates on the saga of the Quora Millionaire! :D

The things I’m taking into consideration are the following: -Access to military hardware stationed within a state-Access to oil and oil refineries-Access to ports on defensible waterways for supplies coming from abroad (I’m assuming the lack of foreign intervention is limited to military action; trade is still constant, as in previous US domestic wars)-Domestic agriculture and water supplies-Natural barriers After all of this, a matter of prime importance I take from Alexander Hamilton is the ability to borrow money.  Credit is of prime importance to a war effort.  Fiat currency would collapse overnight, and the ability to establish new capital and monetary markets to get lending moving again would be of major importance. I’ll start from my own home state of WA.  The first thing to do would be for WA to hit AK. They're the only state in position to do so, and they would need to get a hold of the oil resources to remain standing. WA is home to three supercarriers, while CA only has one now. So taking Alaska would be fairly straight forward, especially given the reliance of Alaska on shipping to survive and the high proportion of the population near the coasts. This would put WA in position to quickly seize HI and its naval resources--an onslaught that HI could not resist--and thus put WA in position to gain control of all naval assets in the Pacific, including the supercarrier George Washington based in Japan. Controlling Oregon would only be valuable insofar as it was necessary to take control of the Columbia River, but Idaho is a second consideration after the short-term goal of domination of naval fleets. Idaho expands arable land, and covers a border with a major population center on it. California's biggest first concern would be controlling its water supply, so the bulk of its immediate effort in the outset should be directed to the Colorado river, with strategic interest in taking nuclear and petrochemical resources in NV, UT, and CO, with Arizona subdued to protect the Colorado River access. The big power that I feel is underestimated is Virginia. It has massive naval resources, including the best shipyards and the Pentagon with all of its resources. Their navy would very quickly subdue the massive coastal exposure of MD, and WV would be an obvious and relatively easy way to secure coal--those would both go quickly. It would then turn its attention to control of the Delaware river, where it would easily put the squeeze on Philly. Taking PA would be a good access of manpower, agriculture, industrial capacity, and natural gas. All would be important. Expansion to the south includes the tough nuts of NC and SC (with Fort Bragg, Camp Lejune, and the Naval Weapons Station). Fighting inland means trying to trek across the Appalachian Mtns. But most signNowly, no VA military would choose to fight southerners over shooting Yankees. So north it is. Meanwhile, NY, for all its strengths, is very, very vulnerable. NYC is a huge indefensible liability. Their interest would rapidly turn to two thinks: taking the low-hanging fruit of Vermont to secure the Hudson/Lake Champlain before Mass does, and getting the oil refineries of New Jersey. They may cross with MA a bit taking CT and RI to make sure Long Island is less exposed, but they'd win if Mass tried. MA may be better off taking the short-term gains of NH and ME (ME was once a part of MA, after all). But NY could not defend the shipping lanes to NJ very long. VA would move up the Delaware and perhaps the Susquehanna, and with PA secure, would put the squeeze on NJ by first striking the Capitol on the Delaware. NY would hit NJ from across the sound. NY would start sending children and seniors upstate out of NYC, and use its massive manpower for a land strike against VA by invading PA from the north. NY would also be able to use its massive gold deposits for collateral to get international financing. At about this point, VA would start sending its navy up the coast and begin a blockade of NY Harbor. NY would not last long. Further inland, Kentucky has two great resources (Ft Campbell and Ft Knox) but two huge liabilities (low population and landlocked). First they’d sucker-punch Tennessee to swell their ranks, then they’d go after Ohio to get access to shipping and lending from abroad. It would be brutal, but when Kentucky won, they’d be ready to start hammering at Indiana and Michigan immediately. Texas would consolidate by first hitting NOLA (as described by others). Succeeding there, they’d use their air force and conventional army forces in a grand march north to pick up all of those square states that always go red. With oil and oil refineries and both a solid harbor and international border, when the US currency collapsed under the scenario (a guarantee), few would be able to get financing from abroad. Texas would be an early favorite and have solid credit. So they’d push all the way up, seeking to secure both grain and the grand prize of the northern plains: the Bakken formation of oil in the MT/ND region. Bakken would also be Colorado’s goal. With NORAD, air force strength, and mountain seclusion, oil would be one of its biggest concerns. TX wouldn’t strike straight into the Rockies, because it would be a waste of resource. So as Colorado succeeds in taking WY and UT (also having petroleum plus cattle and copper and coal), they’d try to hit MT and ND before TX could. That’d be hard, because TX would be surging up the plains. WA would hit California in its Achilles Heel, with control of the sea making an inability for CA to draw credit or protect its shipping lanes. Though they’d take NV and AZ fairly easily, and though they have some oil and many refineries, if WA took AK and HI, WA would be in the cat bird seat to secure US military resources in Japan and S. Korea, much of which they’d bring home. By putting pressure on CA, their oil would run dry and their military would come to a grinding halt. Knowing that trying to wait out a siege would waste valuable time while Texas was growing stronger and stronger, their resolve would wane. For the sake of avoiding a fall to Texas, CA would instead fall to WA. NM would be the no-man’s-land that everyone wouldn’t bother to touch. All liability, not much advantage. Given that we’re assuming a conventional war, the nuke resources wouldn’t be worth all that much. Illinois would strike first at Wisconsin and then at Indiana. They’d be at a point of fighting the Kentucky forces in the middle of Indiana when Texas would take them by storm—first securing MN, then taking WI from IL, and then moving low draft boats to Lake Michigan to start shelling Chicago. It wouldn’t take long for them to fall. Not yet mentioned is Florida, which is also far stronger than is properly appreciated: air force, lots of navy, open supply lines, ability to drill in the Gulf. They’d be the only ones in a position to try to strangle TX at NOLA, but there’d be no point in the early rounds. First they’d bypass Georgia and hit the Carolinas for their military capacities, then hit the boggy Mississippi and Alabama (more difficult for Texas than its worth this early), and Georgia would be crushed easily by encirclement. So consolidating: WA takes basically everything west of the Rockies, Texas takes the full plains and Mississippi river, CO has the northern Rockies with WY and UT with skirmishes against TX in MT and ND, KY takes OH, TN, IN, and MI, FL takes MI, AL, GE, NC, and SC, and Virginia subdues NY to take everything else. Texas now loses its main advantage by having borders exposed to all major players except VA. They fight WA for CO, WY, and MT, with WA quickly taking UT from CO once they begin to press inland. Texas also fights KY for control of the Ohio River Valley, and they’ve been drained by their first major fight in subduing IL. KY and FL strike a détente (because FL has all the strength and knows VA will take care of KY for them), and while KY puts pressure on IL (now controlled by TX), FL strikes at MO to cut the Mississippi and disrupt the flow of control, all while finally launching its blockade of NOLA. Now VA is ready to press inland, and they start in OH. KY is overextended already, and VA’s northern block presses east, quickly consuming the remnants of KY. TX briefly makes headway in Indiana, but can’t consolidate—FL and WA are increasing the pressure. At about the time that TX makes a major victory and secures most of CO, they lose NOLA to FL, and MO falls shortly afterward. It’s a devastating blow. But it isn’t long before VA antagonizes FL and draws them into a full naval confrontation. TX rapidly regains what it had, and starts the long overland push through the Deep South. WA has good consolidation, but can’t make inroads past the Rockies. TX makes headway in WY and MT, while dog fighting occurs over NM between the rival air forces of CA (controlled by WA) and TX. As VA manages supremacy over FL (the battle to take Florida becomes among the bloodiest and most devastating of any in the war), the remainder of the South quickly falls under its control. It now has the full eastern seaboard. Final result: VA. Both WA and VA hammer TX, and once weakened, only VA has the clear route to subdue TX completely and regain the states. After that, the WA Pacific theater is doomed. The East has control of more money, more forces, more oil, more everything. It’s a long and bitter war of attrition, but the peaceniks on the West Coast don’t have the fight in them. VA wins. And so ironically we see that the battle was won when Jefferson sat Hamilton and Madison down to dinner to negotiate an agreement to help resolve the impasse in Hamilton’s move to have the Federal government assume all Revolutionary War debt held by the states, with Hamilton agreeing to bargain the nation’s capital for the sake of the funding scheme.  It was agreed that night that the capital should have a temporary home in Philadelphia for 10 years, then move to a permanent site on the Potomac.  Madison would free up some votes to pass the assumption initiative. The Virginians had the goal that the southern sensibilities of the region should dominate the Federal government and shape its character—a stark reversal of what the nation seemed to be developing into under Hamilton’s vigorous administration in which he essentially assumed the role of a Prime Minister under the generally aloof Washington.  And for the next half century and some change, the Federal Government did fall under the sway of the South.  The Bank that Hamilton had founded did not see its charter renewed, and the Jackson Democrats became the major drivers of the early 19th century.  But in time, the direction of influence reversed. Today, rather than VA imparting a Southern perspective on DC, DC asserts a Federal character and national sensibilities to the Old Dominion.  It is now the natural seat of power for the nation.

Many of the answers here seem to be from the American point of view, so I thought I might contribute a few words as a Canadian.The United States and Canada are fairly close allies, enjoy close ties economically, and are very similar in social and cultural terms. Many Canadians visit and find work in the United States, and the reverse is also true. Several of my friends and coworkers are from the United States, and some chose to stay after visiting or finding work here. Many of my classmates from the University of British Columbia were from across Canada, Europe, Asia, and yes, the United States, particularly Seattle, which is only a few hours across the border. Most Canadians appreciate both the similarities and differences between our two countries.However, very few Canadians would ever want to merge with the United States, and many would consider the possibility of losing our independence as distressing as many Americans would consider losing their say in how their own country is run. We value our rights and freedoms as Canadians, and take pride in our country in a slightly more nuanced way than do many Americans.You won't find many Canadians claiming the superiority of Canada over other nations, and those who do so publicly do no favour to themselves. We recognize that there are other countries in the world, with world class health care, education, and economies, and that while we are doing well in many regards, we can certainly learn from others. Canadians take great pleasure in criticizing our own government, however, we recognize the parts of our country that we will fiercely defend.Universal health care, free speech and the right to a fair trial are taken as a given, and policies that tread on of these privileges are anathema to most Canadians. The last few years of developments regarding the NSA have been watched closely in Canada as we grapple with our own debates on security vs privacy of individuals.In domestic policy we are closer than most countries, but have our own styles of governance and law. Some posters have tried to compare our political parties to those of the United States, which doesn't work too well primarily because our political landscape doesn't really conform to that of the US. The Conservative Party is far closer to the Democratics than to the Republicans, and Obama was much more popular than the Republican leader in Canada when he came into office. The New Democratics, the Liberals and the Conservatives are all close to center on the political spectrum, with the Liberals and Conservatives traditionally slightly to the right and the New Democrats slightly towards the left. Canada doesn't tend to support many far right-wing politicians, although everyone's free to campaign.In foreign policy we perhaps differ the most, and this is an area that you'll likely hear the most disagreement in between Americans and Canadians. Canada has often taken a different road than the US, staying out of the Vietnam War and limiting involvement in Bush's Iraq War. Diplomatic solutions and humanitarian aid have always been preferred over military intervention, however, when there is a necessity Canada will assist as it is able, most notably in the Korean War, the Afghanistan conflicts, and the ongoing war against ISIS. The often heavy-handed approach taken by presidents of the United States has turned off a lot of Canadians, especially when it has seemed to have been prompted by reasons other than necessity or long-term benefit to the countries involved. However, we recognize the signNow committment the US has made to many conflicts across the globe, and respect that. Historically our reservedness has been aided by necessity, as we do not have equivalent military power and do not wish to take that route.Canada and the United States continue to be closely tied, and we share the majority of our social and cultural norms, with variations between the two countries. We are closely linked through trade and interdependencies developed over time, with natural resources and other goods flowing between our borders, though external markets in Europe and Asia, particularly China, have increased their shares in both of our economies. Canada is a separate nation with its own government, policies and identity, but is certainly influenced by the United States and is impacted by its economic landscape.Others have made the argument for why it makes sense for the US government if the US and Canada remain independent. I suggest that the majority of Canadians would not want or need to be molded into the United States, and there isn't a driver for the two countries to combine. We can continue being close partners and allies, and both of the countries value their own systems and national identities too much to give that up. We can continue to learn from one another instead, and help our countries develop into the best that they can possibly be.

1. The British expelled the entire population of the island nation of Diego Garcia, sending them to live in Mauritian slums in 1971, so that the US could build a military base on the Island. – Source2. The US military has a secret, nearly silent type of Velcro, which reduces the ripping noise by over 95%. – Source3. Stores on US military bases around the world don’t accept pennies as currency because they are “too heavy and are not cost-effective to ship.” – Source4. On February 24, 1942, the US Military ordered a total blackout of Los Angeles and fired 1,400 anti-air artillery and thousands of .50 caliber shots at a hovering object for 1 hour. – Source5. In the 60s, the US military secretly sprayed (possibly radioactive) experimental chemicals, like zinc cadmium, on thousands of residents of poor neighborhoods in St. Louis, without their knowledge or consent, to see what would happen. – Source6. The Department of Defense uses 4,600,000,000 US gallons of fuel annually, an average of 12,600,000 US gallons of fuel per day. If it were a country, the DoD would rank 34th in the world in average daily oil use, coming in just behind Iraq and just ahead of Sweden. – Source7. The US and the USSR’s only direct military confrontation happened in October 1944, over the Serbian town of Niš. It is considered top secret by both governments, and the exact number of casualties is unknown. –Source8. The most powerful gangs in the United States have a presence in the US military. Gangster Disciples, Crips, Bloods, 18th Street, Nortenos, Black Disciples, Surenos, Latin Kings, Vice Lords, African Nations, Aryan Nations, Aryan Brotherhood and Ku Klux Klan graffiti has been documented in Iraq. –Source9. After WWII, the Department of War was renamed Department of Defense. – Source10. In 2010, the U.S. government used 1,760 PlayStation 3’s to build a supercomputer for the Department of Defense. Their reason was that it was more cost efficient and “green.” –Source11. Soldiers in the U.S. military’s psychological warfare department (PSYOPS) used loudspeakers to tempt enemy fighters in Afghanistan into battles they couldn’t win by calling them,”lady men” and “cowardly dogs”. – Source12. The ‘Department of Defense Excess Property Program’, hands out over $500 million worth of free surplus military-grade weaponry to state and local law enforcement each year, militarizing hundreds of jurisdictions a year. – Source13. The United States Department of Defense is the largest employer in the world at 3.2 million people. Walmart is number 3. –Source14. Non-lubricated condoms are distributed among the armed forces not just for safe sex, but as an emergency water canteen. A non-lubricated condom is part of the United States Military Standard Issue Parachute Pack Survival Kit (SRU-16) and can carry a liter of water. – Source15. U.S. and Russian Military use depleted uranium bullets that can pierce vehicle armor. Once the bullet pierces the armor, it gets sharper and automatically catches on fire, igniting fuel and causing the vehicle to explode. – Source16. The U. S. Army secretly dumped 64 million pounds of nerve and mustard agents into the ocean, in at least 26 locations off both coasts. The Army can’t say exactly where all the weapons were dumped because records are sketchy, missing or were destroyed. – Source17. The United States hasn’t formally “declared war” since World War II. Since then, the U.S. has used the term “authorization to use military force.” – Source18. The United States Army has not had a 5 Star General since Sept 22 1950. – Source19. The U.S. Army created a giant four-legged robot in 1969 called the “walking truck.” It could lift a jeep and walk 5 MPH, but it never saw field use because the operator, who controlled each limb with one of his own, would become exhausted after just 15 minutes. – Source20. The reason many U.S army helicopters are named after native-American tribes is because the first U.S Air Force bases were located on native reserves. – Source

Colorado, though it’s far from the only state I like.In terms of scenery and natural attractions, it can go head to head with any other state. Its climate is pleasant, with low humidity that makes our summers and winters relatively mild. Denver is a very livable capitol city with great beer, restaurants, museums, a nice library, a performing arts center, bike trails, parks, sports teams and so forth. There’s no shortage of stuff to do. It’s getting a bit too crowded and expensive, but the city is not ruined, at least not yet.The people here remain relatively nice. Though the less-populated parts of the states are often very conservative, Denver, Boulder and many of the mountain towns are liberal, with some similarities to places like San Francisco and Portland.If you want to get away from the city, it’s pretty easy to get out into some very beautiful places. There are 44 14,000-foot peaks, all of which are open for climbing, I believe. You can even drive to the top of two of them. Even within the city, you can see some pretty nice wildlife. I took these two pictures at Rocky Mountain Arsenal Nature Refuge, which is about 10 minutes from my house.up to the top of Mount Evans or park part way up and hike the rest of the way. There are many other things within a few hours’ drive. Rocky Mountain State Park is not much farther. Royal Gorge, the highest suspension bridge in the world, is only a couple hours away. Glenwood Springs, with its hot springs and caverns are maybe 4 hours up I-70 from Denver. Mesa Verde, the Black Hills and Yellowstone are all only 7 or 8 hours drive by car.The state is big enough that you can get to many places that have not been ruined by development. There are still bona fide ghost towns around like this one. (It’s called Keota and it’s in NE Colorado.) I realize this image probably doesn’t appeal to everyone, but I think it’s a cool part of the state.

The US had a grand plan. The plan was to lay a gas pipeline from Qatat to Europe via Syria.However, Assad opposed this as Syria is an ally of Russia and a pipeline from Qatar to Europe was detrimental to Russian interests as it would have reduced Europe's dependency on Russia for gas.The US threatened Assad that if he doesn't allow a pipeline through Syria, his government would be overthrown. The biggest beneficiaries of the pipeline would have been Saudi and the US. (The pipeline was to be laid by US companies.)With the use of Social Media, and by arming insurgents and militants, the west was partially successful in weakening Assad. It was the US who trained the rebels and the Saudis funded them.But in the process the insurgents/rebels rebranded themselves as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), declaring a caliphate and capturing large territories (an area as large as Great Britain). These terrorists start beheading journalists, carry out atrocities in the areas controlled by them. They also capture oil fields and sell oil at a very cheap cost by smuggling oil into Turkey (a member of NATO).The West decides that ISIS must be controlled and guided to overthrow the government regime. That was the whole purpose of arming and training the rebels in the first place.The West starts aerial attacks, but doesn't engage ground troops. While the West has been bombing ISIS since 13 months, they are still funding the "moderate" rebels, providing them training and ammunition.But there are no moderate rebels; to this day the west can't name a single moderate rebel leader. The term "moderate rebel" is a myth. These rebels would then again fight alongside the ISIS against Syrian Army.Enter Russians, they carry out a large number of strikes against all the forces fighting against the Syrian Army. ISIS loses 40% of its troops; Nusra front too is crippled, other rebels too are killed in large numbers. The Free Syrian Army has now decided to support the Syrian Army, they would discuss the political situation later.So, in a nutshell, the entry of Russians has spoiled the US and Saudi grand plan.Further, the growing Russian clout in the middle-east is detrimental to US interests.Russia's success would mean a major embarrassment for the west and their hypocrisy would be nailed.

Mark Stein's book "How the States Got Their Shapes" will answer every question you could possibly have. Amazon.com: How the States Got Their Shapes eBook: Mark Stein: Kindle Store Generally, states to the east of the Mississippi were determined by terrain, and those to the West by size (specifically, three degrees by four degrees).  There were tons of exceptions of course, mostly for political expediency.One interesting thing you will notice, especially along the Mississippi, is that tiny and strangly-shaped patches of states from one side of the river are found on the other side -- the reason being that the rivers are not fixed!  They meander over the course of years, cutting off parts that once used to be contiguous with the rest of a state.  The borders still match where the river used to be.Many states and territories started out simply enormous and were divided as time went on -- this is why Virginia does not also include Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana, and also why there are South and North Dakotas and Carolinas.  The Dakotas were divided due to the policy of having roughly equally sized states.  New Jersey, on the other hand, was once divided into East and West Jersey.