What Caught My Eye Today

Did You Know - Fred's Note: I saw this fascinating comparison of U.S. states to other countries on a variety of different metrics. See if you can guess which rated higher. Check out the answers at the end of today's posting.

• Higher per capita income: Italy or Mississippi?
• Higher infant mortality rate: Sri Lanka or Washington D.C.?
• Higher number of physicians per 10,000 people: Kuwait or Idaho?
• Higher birth rate: Jamaica or Utah?
• Higher number of students per teacher: South Korea or Oregon?
• Higher Hispanic population: Guatemala or California?
• Higher Gross Domestic Product: Nepal or North Dakota?
• Higher unemployment rate: Croatia or Michigan?

Sarah Palin - It was bound to happen. At some point Sarah Palin was going to become an "-ism". Full disclosure: I'm stealing from an editorial written by an author who probably leans a bit left on center on the political spectrum...but, then so do I. Sarah Palin's celebrity is so powerful that it has reduced a large part of the Republican Party to irrationality and civic incoherence. That's laying it on a bit thick, don't you think? She couldn't possibly be that influential. According to a recent poll, Republicans are more likely to say they would seriously consider voting for Palin for President (65%) than to say she is qualified for the job (58%). But wait, there's more. Apparently, some dudes in the White House with way too much time on their hands have coined a phrase for this disturbing phenomenon. What Obama advisers privately refer to as "Palinism" has created a climate of ideological purity inside the GOP. To deviate from the anti-Obama line at all--that is, to acknowledge that politics is the art of compromise--risks the censure of the party. The editorial goes into more detail, but you get the idea. Apparently, ideology trump rational thought. Seriously, how could you possibly explain voting for someone that you don't this is qualified to be the leader of the free world. I appreciate the fact that being able to see Russia from your house, counts for a lot, but still...what could you possibly be thinking?

Word of the Year - I guess it all depends on who you ask. "Admonish", a verb dating to the 14th century meaning "to express warning or disapproval in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner," generated enough curiosity to crown it Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2009. It beat out several other finalists that emerged the "intersection of news and vocabulary." Runners-up included inaugurate, pandemic, furlough and rogue — the latter tied to Sarah Palin and the sole carryover from the 2008 list. Other dictionary makers and groups also announce Words of the Year, using different methodology. The New Oxford American Dictionary chose "unfriend," the act of removing someone as a friend on Facebook or other social networking site. Oxford uses a committee of lexicographers and other experts to select a word that is not currently in the dictionary but will be added. Merriam-Webster, on the other hand, selects among existing entries based on Web site traffic. And for those of you who don't trust those shady dictionary publishers, there is the American Dialect Society. Though, these guys need a few more weeks to weigh in on their Word of the Year--though rumor has it that they will go with "unfriend". I did some checking--because, I too clearly have too much time on my hands--and it turns out that this American Dialect Society is pretty hardcore about its words. They also came up with the "Word of the 1990s" (web), "Word of the 20th Century" (jazz), and "Word of the Past Millennium" (she). Seems to me they, too, need to find more productive uses of their time.

Did You Know - Okay, let's see how well you did. The common thread among all these comparisons was to highlight how closely the conditions in some U.S. states mirror those of other countries...at least from a statistical perspective.

• Higher per capita income: Italy ($30,250) or Mississippi ($30,399)
• Higher infant mortality rate: Sri Lanka (11/1,000 births) or Washington D.C. (11.26)
• Higher number of physicians per 10,000 people: Kuwait (18) or Idaho (17.9)
• Higher birth rate: Jamaica (20.8/1,000 people) or Utah (21)
• Higher number of students per teacher: South Korea (21.1) or Oregon (21.3)
• Higher Hispanic population: Guatemala (13 million) or California (13.5 million)
• Higher Gross Domestic Product: Nepal ($31.1 billion) or North Dakota ($31.2 billion)
• Higher unemployment rate: Croatia (14.2%) or Michigan (14.7%)