Red State, Blue State, State, State, State

Great James Wolcott piece in the November Vanity Fair picks apart the Red State mythology and gives us Blue Staters some really fun giggly moments. For instance:

10 states with the highest incarceration rates in 2003
9 - 1 (LA, MS, TX, OK, AL, SC, GA, MO, AZ, DE)

10 states with the highest female incarceration rates in 2003
10 - 0 (MS, OK, LA, TX, MT, ID, AZ, AL, NV, CO)

15 states with the highest rates of death by firearms in 2003
15 - 0 (AK, LA, NM, WY, NV, AL, MS, MT, AZ, AR, SC, TN, WV, GA, KY)


15 states with the highest reates of suicide in 2003
14 - 1 (WY, AK, NV, MT, NM, ID, OR, CO, UT, AX, WV, OK, AR, SD, KY)

15 states with the highest percentage of obesity
14 - 1 (MS, AL, WV, TN, LA, AR, KY, TX, IN, MI, OH, SC, MO, OK, GA)

Here are two of my favorites: (tee hee)

10 states with the highest divorce rates in 2004
10 - 0 (NV, AR, WY, ID, WV, AL, KY, OK, TN, FL)

10 states with the highest illegitimacy rates in 2003
9 - 1 (NM, LA, MS, DE, AZ, SC, FL, NV, GA, AR)

And of course, the one every blue stater knows:

10 "Smartest States" 2004-2005 (based on 21 factors from the reference book Education State Rankings)

2 - 8 (VT, CT, MA, NJ, ME, MN, VA, WI, MT, NY)

Go forth and be smug, my Blue State friends.