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Do you like having a high speed internet? Before they were known for the second largest accounting scandal, MCI was known for being one of the biggest backbones for the Internet. Even though they've gotten a bad name due to their users, AOL is another big player in the online world.
Perhaps you like the concept of DNS (Domain Name Service), which allows you to type www.salon.com instead of 206.80.4.40 to read these articles? Check out Wikipedia on "DNS" or more importantly "Root nameserver". Do you see the location of Server A? That would be in Virginia.
Is the state conservative? Yes. Are there parts of the state that have nut job conservatives? Unfortunately, Lynchburg is probably the definition of that. Is the entire state this way? Absolutely not.
Take a look at this picture:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9d/Virginia_population_map.png
That big red blob at the top is NoVa, well-to-do, liberal suburbs of DC. Due south of that blob is the liberal, blue collar city of Richmond. That's right, vaporland, the former capital of the Confederacy is reliably Democratic. The big red section to the southeast of the state is the Virginia Beach/Tidewater area. A military district first and foremost, they generally are conservative but as you saw this past election, they vote on what is best for the military, not social issues.
Due west of Richmond are two smaller but concentrated blobs. The western one is Roanoke, the eastern one is Lynchburg. As much as it pains me to admit it, you are not going to find larger conservative bastions than those two in Virginia.
Those are your five most populous spots in the state. Guess which ones are grown, and which ones aren't?
Oh yeah, Virginia is responsible for giving Democrats control of the Senate. :rolls his eyes:
