Those Lofty Red State Values

From Editor & Publisher:

Much of the post-election analysis in the press has centered on so-called red state values and the alleged "values gap" in America. Perhaps with that in mind, The New York Times on Sunday presented a map and chart ranking states in what it called "random" categories. Many of the results gave lie to some of the post-election chatter concerning superior values in the red states.

For example, the states with the three highest divorce rates are all red (Nevada, Arkansas, Wyoming), while Massachusetts has the lowest rate.

Top three states for readership of Playboy magazine? Again, all red (Iowa, Wyoming, North Dakota), and they all top heathen New York by 2-1 margins.

Suicide rate? Once again, all red (New Mexico, Montana, Nevada), with the lowest rates all-blue (New Jersey, New York, Massaschusetts).

Murder rate? Again, reds in the lead (Mississippi, Maryland, Louisiana), with blues holding two of the three with lowest rates (New Hamphsire, Maine, South Dakota).

The top three states for abortions, however, were blue: New York, Delaware, Washington. Blues also topped the list of readers of The New Yorker and percentage of people holding bachelor's degrees or higher.