Mississippi transplant Lee Habeeb reflects on the "Great Migration":
According to the latest Census figures, and stories in USA Today, the Associated Press, and elsewhere, the South was the fastest growing region in America over the last decade, up 14 percent. “The center of population has moved south in the most extreme way we’ve even seen in history,” Robert Groves, director of the Census Bureau, said a few months ago. … It’s quite a story, actually. Americans, black and white alike, are moving in record numbers to a part of the country where taxes are low, unions are irrelevant, and people love their guns and their faith.
In light of his sister Ruthie's death, Dreher's family is moving home to St. Francisville, LA:
This morning, I received e-mailed congratulations on our planned return from an old friend who is also a Louisiana expatriate, and with whom I have commiserated for many years over the woebegone condition of our home state. I told him, "She might be a whore, but she’s still our Mama." I mean, I know about all of Louisiana’s problems. I grew up thanking the good Lord for Mississippi so we could be 49th in everything, not 50th. … I remember the story about the New Orleans journalist who, upon resigning, explained that he could no longer raise his kids in a city that valued parades more than libraries. I get that.
But you know, life is short, and it needs more parades.
(Photo by Flickr user Gary Bridgman.)
The Dish 