A map showing which U.S. states have a higher Human Development Index than Germany.

 

"HDI combines life expectancy, education, and income into a single measure of human development. It is usually used to compare countries, so applying the same framework to individual U.S. states creates a much more unusual comparison. 

Germany scores about 0.959, placing it among the world’s highest-development countries. Massachusetts and New Hampshire both come in slightly higher at 0.961, while Minnesota reaches 0.960. Hawaii essentially matches Germany at 0.959. 

What makes the map interesting is how narrow the gap is at the top. These states are separated from Germany by only thousandths of a point, meaning relatively small differences in health, education, or income can shift the ranking. The comparison also shows why economic size alone does not determine development. A wealthy state can still rank lower if life expectancy or education outcomes lag, while another state with slightly less economic output can perform better because its overall human-development indicators are stronger. 

The figures come from Global Data Lab’s Subnational Human Development Index, which applies a framework designed to make regions within countries broadly comparable with national HDI scores. 

The bigger story is the variation inside the United States itself. A small number of states sit at or above the level of one of the world’s highest-HDI countries, while many others fall noticeably below the same benchmark. 

 So this map is less about “beating” Germany and more about showing how unevenly health, education, and living standards are distributed across a single country." 

 Source: Global Data Lab, Subnational HDI v10.2, 2023 data; released May 2026.

I'm not going to state the obvious about the states in this study. 

But I will point out that Conservatives/MAGA habitually trash Blue States as "socialists, Communists, WOKE, etc.  But according to this map, Liberal blue states deliver a better quality of life for their citizens than do Conservative red states, even large wealthy states like Texas!

The cost of living in Massachusetts is high. But you get what you pay for in health care, education, safety, and overall quality of life.

The MAGA POTUS is a raving lunatic!

 

Washington Post:

Trump suggests renaming New Mexico amid torrent of online memes and taunts 

The suggestion came as the president unleashed dozens of social media posts. He lacks authority to rename New Mexico or any other state. 

 President Donald Trump on Sunday suggested renaming New Mexico as “New America,” an idea he floated amid dozens of other social media posts that included memes of the president, insults for his rivals and messages that Democrats said were distasteful. 

 “Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA,” Trump wrote in one Truth Social post, accompanied by an AI-crafted video of him changing a roadside billboard and dancing. 

“So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!”

Happy Labor Day

"On the first Monday in September, many Americans celebrate Labor Day with parties or barbecues. Others mark Labor Day weekend, often considered the last weekend of summer, with a vacation or a trip to the beach. These modern-day activities echo the revelry at the first observance of Labor Day nearly 150 years ago.

The earliest documented Labor Day parade was held in New York City in 1882. Two years later, the largest workers’ association in the United States, Knights of Labor, adopted a resolution for the holiday to occur on the first Monday in September. By 1894, Congress and President Grover Cleveland had made Labor Day into a federal holiday paying tribute to American workers.

The idea for the holiday came from an East Coast laborer, but two men—Peter McGuire and Matthew Maguire—can be credited for suggesting the holiday. Exactly who founded Labor Day remains contested.”

YOUR SUNDAY MOMENT OF ZEN

 

SATURDAY NIGHT MUSIC

 

THIS IS MAGA:

 

They really don't get the fact that they're a distinct minority in this country. More Americans are against Trump and his policies than are for them. She, like most MAGA, doesn't understand the visceral disgust a huge majority of Americans (and most of the world) have for what Trump and his supporters and enablers have done and are doing to this country.

They refer to the majority of Americans as "barbarians." Recent national polls show that public disapproval of Trump reaches roughly 63% to 64%, while his approval rating hovers around 32% to 33%. This means nearly two-thirds of the public views his performance negatively.

But MAGA will not internalize this information because it would be too painful for a Trump supporter to admit they were bamboozled by a conman and his lies and stupidity. What would that say about them??

He is correct, of course……..Will the RIGHT VOTE?

Posted on September 3, 2026 by geeez2014

IF we do lose the Midterms (Republicans are not good at bringing out voters in Midterms), which is quite possible, and barbarians take over Congress, will Iran have won as they waited us out till a liberal congress calls off the war in late November, 2026?  I thought, about 20 years ago when I wrote about this here at Geeez, that Socialists would have waited till about 2030 to make absolutely sure the voting public is mostly young, university-indoctrinated, in most judicial appointments, and in charge of the leftwing, anti-Christian themes of movies and TV before they started their SOCIALIST PUSH….but they’re here NOW and WE NEED REPUBLICAN VOTERS IN THE MIDTERMS.   PLEASE REMIND YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY!