On the bright side, I'm not going to cost Missouri a congressional district!

Again, this post is rigged to go up at about the time my flight into KCI should be crossing the border into Missouri. Again, "should be" because of the risk of snow, and the TSA freaking out about posts timed to coincide with flights overhead.

This particular post (the second of two) is set to go up at this time because, from this point on barring a job opportunity out of state (or leaching off my younger brother at his pad in JoCo), The Missouri Expatriate is now officially a repatriate. And with two months to spare before the upcoming Decennial Census.

As early as 2005, when I spent hours plugging numbers into an Excel spreadsheet for a series of stories I wanted to set 40 years in the future, I came to a harrowing realization that Missouri, the great American bellwether (or weathervane), wasn't gaining enough population to retain their nine Congressional districts. Since then, stories have floated around about whether Missouri was on track to lose that ninth seat or not. In 2006, Census calculations showed that Missouri was projected to be four positions shy of retaining its ninth seat. That calculation was reaffirmed three years later. My concern about this was heightened to the point that when a bill granting the District of Columbia a voting representative and Utah an extra rep, I petitioned senators Bond and McCaskill to support it for the sole reason that it would increase the likelihood of Missouri keeping its nine seats.

Fortunately, the recent (as of one month ago) projections from the Census have Missouri retaining its ninth seat. Meaning that in spite of our state taking a strong stand against illegal immigration, same-sex unions, and overzealous property developers aiming to bypass county zoning ordinances with little to no regard for their neighbors, Missourians should still have nine reps to threaten with pitchforks if they don't vote a certain way.

Just remember that when the Census form arrives in your mailbox in March, fill it out accurately and send it back promptly.

Personal note: yes, I do acknowledge that it appears very disingenuous that 17 hours after saying goodbye to my (can't believe I'm calling her this) ex, I'm raving about my participating in the Census. Yes, I'm hurting, I'm wounded, my pocketbook isn't exactly in tip-top shape, but as Eric Idle once sang: "Always look on the bright side of life." (content advisory: language) So that's what I'm doing.