I Love the South

I grew up in New York. Not "the city" (thank God). Upstate New York. In the country, really. Still, we were subject to the stupidity spewing from "the city".
New York state is one of the most liberal, and therefore, most Nanny-restricted, states in the union.
It got me thinking of the differences between there and GA.
My mother lives in a house that would almost fit in my living room. She pays FOUR TIMES what I pay in property taxes, and there's a huge hole in her kitchen ceiling. Oh, and her yard is 1/4 the size of mine. Four fucking times as much.
Or she would pay that if there was any way that she could. But you see, the way big government works is that they take all of your money, then if you can beg and plead to the right departments, they'll let you have enough of your money back to survive; much the way tapeworms don't kill their hosts.

She's a senior citizen: Here's some money back.
She makes below the poverty line: Here's some money back.
She's the widow of a veteran: here's some money back.

It goes to that fundamental mindset of government. Sure, Georgia's not perfect, but it has less of a Nanny state mentality than the northeast. It's weird. You can own a shotgun without a hassle, but if you want to own a handgun, you have to ask permission from the state, and you need a good reason. You can't just say, "To protect my family". You need something like, "I make cash deposits at night for my work". I've known people who made up that claim. You can be turned down for no reason. Unless you are a celebrity or otherwise well connected; then it's fine. You're one of the privileged class.
Oh, and even if you get permission from the Nanny to get that first handgun, you have to go through the whole process for EVERY handgun you want to own.
Georgia is a "right to carry" state, meaning that you don't need a permit to own a handgun, and if you want to carry concealed, the burden is on the state to provide a reason why they deny it.
A few other things have recently come to light.
Switchblades are legal in GA, not in NY. Really, why not?
I just read that Mass makes you license your dog every year and they are upping the fee to $20/year in some areas. How about fuck off and leave me alone? It's not NY, but it's the Northeast.
There are a million other little licenses, permissions, and fees that you find in the NE, that are ridiculous.

Oh yeah, it's also overcast or raining 300 days/year. And there's acid rain. And it snows in October and April.

If only the South would get over its problem with alcohol.