Wild & Wacky Stats!

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Percentage uninsured by state:

30%: <9%
40%: 9.0-10.9%
50%: 11.0-12.9%
60%: 13.0-14.9%
70%: 15.0-16.9%
80%: 17.0-18.9%
90%: >19%

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Maine certainly has laxer gun laws than DC.

It's not the idea of allowing responsible, educated citizens to own guns that disgusts me... it's the idea that "if we just give guns to the teachers, there won't be school shootings" that really gets me.  

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Maine certainly has laxer gun laws than DC.

No, more like

Ending  is more important than

AND

Working to end  while investing in  will likely lead to less

Shallow and direct responses that seek to superficially solve deeply interconnected societal problems never work.  There is always an indirect, less obvious, but (in the longer term) more effective way to solve our problems.

 

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Percentage of Married Couples with Both Spouses in the Workforce:

I have no idea what to make of those numbers. None.

Try, "Glad to see the south is progressive in yet another area."

Err... the South does not appear to be doing too well on that map.

This map is not surprising at all.  Places in the upper midwest have long had a reputation of hard work ethics.  I'd say a combination of poverty and social conservatism tends to lead to lower workforce participation among married women.  They either can't find a job or they don't want one, citing "traditional values".

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"Opposition to homosexuality"?  Not...really.

Why not? Even you say that DOMA supporters are homophoic.

Oh, please.  I don't care, if you support something as retarded and ill-thought-out as Defense of Marriage, then you are homophobic.

If you aren't homophobic, then what is wrong with giving gays and lesbians equal access to the benefits that heterosexual couples enjoy?

There is no other reason except that you think homosexual couples deserve less, lest heterosexuals somehow spontaneously combust when two women tie the knot.

IF YOU DON'T LIKE GAY MARRIAGE, DON'T HAVE ONE.  End of story.

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The number of megawatts of wind energy produced per 1000 people by state.

Wyoming and Iowa lead with North Dakota, New Mexico, and Minnesota rounding out the top 5.  The red represents less than 0.01 megawatts per 1000 people.

The top 5 states for absolute wind power production are:

1)  Texas
2)  California
3)  Iowa
4)  Minnesota
5)  Washington

These numbers were as of 2007.  Minnesota is expected to surpass Iowa in absolute numbers as the industry is exploding in the state.

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This has all the looks of "bogus". Why the fock would anybody answer a question like that?

The data would not have been gathered by participant self-assessment, I would expect.

I doubt it's too accurate. The states with the most dry counties should have the lowest alcohol consumption rate.

Look, mommy!  It's the thought process of a 6 year old!

Alcohol consumption has always been high in the upper-midwest.  It is just more a part of our culture than it is in other areas of the country.  Having some wine with dinner or a few beers while you grill is not frowned upon.

What is surprising and alarming is the high rate of binge drinking in the upper-midwest.  I think it has a lot to do with the long winters.  But I don't think our rates are any higher than the rates of western Europe.  It's just that the rest of America is quite conservative.

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Sexual Orientation Motivated Hate Crimes Per Capita:

I was actually shocked to see that the states that have the most legislation in place for the LGBT community have the highest rate of violence against them. I also would have loved to seen data for the five states omitted.

As it's only crimes that were deemed to be motivated by sexual orientation by the court, it's unsurprising. There are likely plenty (I'll go out on a pretty sturdy limb and say a lot more) of such crimes in the intolerant states, but the courts don't deem them such. This might also be a factor in the race-related crimes statistics, although much less of one (and, in both cases, it depends heavily on state statutes defining hate crimes).

I agree.  The more accepted stance on homosexuality means that hate-crimes motivated by sexual orientation are more likely to be reported and tried in the more liberal states. 

That map says nothing about how tolerant the various states are, but instead really reflects on how confident gays and lesbians feel in pursuing charges against their aggressors.