Posted on 08/21/2008 6:30:46 AM PDT by libstripper
Aug. 21, 2008 | When I moved into my apartment, in May, the first thing I did was tear out the air conditioners. I don't need air conditioning: My front window is 50 yards from Lake Michigan, and, as any Chicago weatherperson will tell you, "It's cooler by the lake." I can't afford it, either: Three window units can add serious dollars to one's monthly electric bill. But those aren't the real reasons I got rid of the A/C.
Air conditioning offends my sense of Northern pride. They have a saying in Maine: "If you can't stand the winters, you don't deserve the summers." But the air conditioner allows Arizonans to enjoy a cool, lakelike breeze in the comfort of their living rooms, without ever having to buy snow tires. As one who has seen firsthand how the Sun Belt created a poor Yankee cousin called the Rust Belt, I blame the air conditioner for the decay of Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo, N.Y. I blame it for the decline of the American labor movement. And I blame it for the election of George W. Bush, as well as the fact that we haven't elected a Yankee president in nearly 50 years. Honestly, I don't want something like that in my house. Especially if I have to pay for it.
(Excerpt) Read more at salon.com ...
Just as I suspected. All liberals are luddites.............
“...we haven’t elected a Yankee president in nearly 50 years. Honestly, I don’t want something like that in my house. Especially if I have to pay for it.”
Froma grammatical standpoint, I can’t determine whether it is air conditioners or Yankee Presidents which he does not want in his house. Can someone help me out here?
;^)
It was all done for the bragging rights of being purer than others. I can just see them now, sitting in a steaming hot house with sweat pouring down their faces, instructing their children that air conditioning is for Republicans.
I suppose that conversely, then, we could argue that in-home heating produced northern liberals?
It sounds like he longs to live in Europe.
I tell all my liberal friends that if they want to reduce their carbon footprint just turn off the AC and hang their clothes on the clothesline outside.
They never seem to want to do that.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
I think the desire to continue having AC makes *smart* people vote Republican.
susie
ROFLMAO!
The last time I visited Greece back in the mid-1990s, it seemed the only place you could find AC was inside a newer car. How primitive... and hot.
Back to the article. The writer is an idiot. It gets plenty hot and humid up north too.
Sounds like a good way to turn the kids into Republicans. "Well if we have to vote GOP to keep from getting heatstroke IN the house...", or "Those dang liberals [like Dad] are IDIOTS!"
Sounds like AC should be credited for saving what remaining, competitive manufacturing base we have in this country.
He knows this. The point is that liberals are too stupid to fix things, and he aparently likes that. ;-)
I did use a clothes line for years (and cloth diapers—I really should win an award!) I kinda miss the way clothes dried on the line smell, but I admit, I really don’t want to spend that much time on laundry these days (plus my HOA would likely have a fit if I put up a clothes line!).
susie
Paging AARP....
Climate control in general is a HUGE productivity booster in modern economies.
Yes, libs are luddites. Some, however, want to keep the luxuries for themselves, and just don’t want everyone else to have them.
In some cases, it’s because of their “fixed pie” mentality,
but in others, it’s just a matter of
“I’m an elite, I should have stuff that others don’t, and if they can get it, I’ll do my best to put a stop to it.”
Yes, the outgassing of the upholstery stuffing at the elevated temperatures killed a lot of their brain cells.
No, common sense does.
The most destructive legacy of air conditioning is that it’s use has inflicted us with year-round Congress. BAC, Congress used to escape the confines of Washington during the oppressively hot summers. Curse you Willis Carrier.
Damn straight. In Maine, it gets both hot and humid in the summer months.
Don’t know if air conditioners make people vote Republican but government checks sure make the vote DemocRat.
Is it catty to point out that almost everyone in Maine has a heater? And that they use it during the winter?
I used to ride German trains around just to cool off.
Don’t forget leaving your elderly parents in the house w/o air conditioning while you are taking that 2000 mile vacation. Merde!
Try that and the homeowner's association will be all over you.
It’s the Air Conditioner.
It is not the constant leftward drift of the Democrat Party and the fact that the party core has been siezed by radical activists of every conceivable stripe. It is not that your average voter feels no connection to a party leadership that spends more time reading Saul Alinsky than Mark Twain. It is not that the Democrat Party actively works for the defeat of the country and the destruction of our entire way of life. It is not that the Democrat Party spits on our soldiers and refuses to salute the flag.
No, it’s the Air Conditioner.
How hot does it get in Maine?(not a joke setup)
“(plus my HOA would likely have a fit if I put up a clothes line!).”
Reason enough for doing it, in my opinion...
I grew up in Maine, and I've never heard that. Pretty much, we just complained when it was cold in the winter, and complained when it was hot in the summer.
I'll take a wild guess and assume that this "journalist" spent a few weeks in Maine one summer, and now calls himself a "Mainer". Whatta Dip.
LOL,
My goodness Edward, how long did it take for you to type up this silly accumulation of words?
It must be nice to know that no matter how ridiculous the topic, or how poorly written the hit piece, there will always be a silly little Leftist site like Salon.com who will pay you some greenbacks for it.
I think that your mama “spared the rod and spoiled the child” Edward.
Edward, put a sign on your ceiling and all your walls that says “Edward, go get a real job and become a benefit to society!”
It’s real important that you follow the advice on that sign Edward, because all that hate and bile roiling around inside you is gonna kill you sooner than later.
Generally, you can count on a week or two in the 80s and 90s. I've seen 100, but it's rare. AC in homes is rare, too. :-)
85 is hot, when there's no AC, and you're used to 60s and 70s.
“Pretty much, we just complained when it was cold in the winter, and complained when it was hot in the summer.”
So then, folks from Maine are just like everyone else, every where else... Who’d a thunk it?
;^)
This is actually a pretty entertaining story if you read the whole thing. Reminds me of the joke about how “cool” Austin used to be ...
Q) How many Austinites does it take to change a light bulb?
A) 10. 1 to change the bulb and 9 to tell you how cool the old one was.
Thanks for posting libstripper. ;o)
Arizonans might say "If you can't stand the summers you don't deserve the winters." You see with heating oil or wood burning stoves, citizens of Maine can enjoy those warm Arizonan winter days in the comfort of their homes.
See how that works dipshit? (not you, the writer of course.)
Ayuh. Unless you're a Massachusetts Liberal that summers over in Maine. Then you say that you're "From Maine", and that you're better than everyone else because of it. :-)
Thanks. Hawaiians don parkas when it drops to 70.
It really does depend on what you're used to.
If I were to visit one place in Maine, where would you recommend?
absent the political tripe, i love articles like this. the advent of AC and how it led to a migration to the south is fascinating and something we rarely think about.
Thank you for noting this. GHWB popped right up in my mind when I read the Yankee president line
KosmicKitty <- Connecticut Yankee
Depends on what you're looking for. Regardless of where you go, I'd recommend going in September. The summer people have cleared out, mostly, and the leaf-lookers haven't arrived yet. Weather is generally good, or as good as can be expected in Maine.
If you want to be a tourist, then just land in Maine, start at Kittery (southernmost point on the coast) and work your way up Route 1 to Acadia National Park. Hit the Old Port in Portland, LL Bean in Freeport, and just about any "folksy coastal town" along the way. You'll see everything that everyone else talks about and will have a good time. You'll also deal with mobs of tourists, and pay through the nose for everything.
If the outdoors is your forte, Moosehead Lake + Baxter State Park (central northern part of the state) are great, and a little more off the beaten path. The Appalachain Trail starts in Baxter. If you REALLY want to get lost, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway (far northern part of the state) is a good week or two in the woods. I would only recommend this if you're pretty experienced, woods-wise, though.
If you want to tour around Maine, see some great stuff, and NOT be a tourist.... I recommend the Western part of the state (where my family is....) There's plenty of state parks, hiking, fishing, and gorgeous scenery. Not a whole lot of folks from away, particularly if you go in September. Rangeley and the surrounding area, in particular, is beautiful. Don't expect a lot of nightlife, restaurants, and clubs to go to though. The streets roll up pretty early. A wild night out may consist of sandwiches picked up at the local general store, eaten on a picnic bench overlooking the lake. Maybe icecream from the dairy bar, and a good book before going to bed.
No kidding. I left my lawn mower out for a few hours once, because I couldn’t get it started and was waiting for my husband. I got an HOA letter complaining that I was “storing” my lawnmower in front of my house.
I used to compromise on that, I lived in an apartment and the aircon condenser unit sat on the balcony, when I did a wash I simply put all the laundry out on a clothes horse in front of the unit while I sat inside in my nice cool room; all the clothes would be dry within thirty minutes at no extra cost to me.
Well said, & very helpful. Thanks. You represent Maine well.
No problem. Enjoy your trip.
The thing that is never asked is why where the widget factories of 1880-1920 built around the Great Lakes instead of the South. Were there no men in Alabama or Mississippi in 1896 to work in a factory? They only appeared in 1966?
Damn straight. In Maine, it gets both hot and humid in the summer months.
Thanks to global warming. < /sarcasm>
George H. W. Bush is a Texan who happened to be born in Connecticut.
He moved here after honorable service in WWII, and except when serving his country, has lived in Texas ever since.
He made his fortune in Texas.
He raised his family in Texas.
He buried a child in Texas.
He ran for every political office he held as a Texas resident.
He set up his Presidential library in Texas.
He moved back to Texas after serving as President.
He has lived in Texas longer than Sam Houston. He has lived in Texas longer than Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and Buck Travis, combined.
We can argue the man’s politics, whether he was a good President, and whether or not he is conservative enough, but if Sam Houston is from Texas, then so is G. H W. Bush.
He may have been born a yankee, but he got to God’s Country as soon as he could and has been here ever since. Texas has always been less about where you were born, than about what you did afterwards.
DC used to be considered a hardship posting for diplomats before air conditioning made it livable.
I couldn't imagine living here in the summers without AC, though we're having an unusually cool summer this year.
I think the explanation would be that before ac, you’d have too many workers shuffling along—if not outright keeling over—in the summer heat. Working in the fields was probably not as bad as an afternoon cooped up in a steamy factory!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.