Bart, please do think Oakland and the attitudes of the 60's in any way reflect how most of California is today. Of all the fucking places they could have discharged you, Oakland was the worst. Berkeley is right next door to Oakland that that is the birthplace of the anti war movement during Viet Nam. Berkeley is still a bastion of progressive hippy douche bags, but if you get away from the cities you'll find right leaning people that are just like anybody you would find in the heartland of the US. There is a guy that's trying to introduce a bill that would break California up into 6 separate states. It's been tried before and it will be tried again, but it goes to show you how many people who live here can't stand the way the state is being run.
Like I said, I can put up with a lot of shit for nice weather. Add deep sea fishing at my back door, and hunting and skiing in the Sierra Nevada mountains, I can't imagine living anywhere else.