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A lot of interesting items have caught my eye recently. First, El Cabrero's beloved state of West Virginia is, according to a Gallup poll, officially the most stressed state. Hawaii was the least. Maybe they ought to send us to Hawaii for a while and see how that works.

ONE POSSIBLY STRESSED WEST VIRGINIAN is a Republican legislator who suggested elementary kids should have to work for their meals, the poor ones anyway. Stories about the debate on the Feed to Achieve Act, when the comments took place have shown up on the Huffington Post and a Washington Post blog.


Here's what he said during the debate: "If they miss a lunch or they miss a meal they might not, in that class that afternoon, learn to add, they may not learn to diagram a sentence, but they'll learn a more important lesson."

I'm not sure what that lesson might be. 

AT LEAST OUR LEGISLATURE DIDN'T DO THIS. According to the Post's Wonkblog, Montana may have blown its chance to expand Medicaid because one confused legislator cast an unintentional vote. Doh!

HAIRY THUNDERER OR COSMIC MUFFIN? Another study suggests that people who believe in a punitive God are more likely to have emotional problems. And, I would surmise, to kill people in the name of that God.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED