At The Atlantic, Megan Garber writes—Which Is the Fastest-Talking State in the Union?
“Life is short. Talk fast,” Gilmore Girls advises. It may well be a good tip: There are some distinct advantages to being a motormouth, among them conversational efficiency and—some research suggests—a general perception that fast-talkers are smarter than their slower-speeched peers. So, sure, if you count yourself among the world’s fast-talkers, that could be a sign of your intelligence. Or of your impatience. Or of nothing at all.
Or! It could be a sign that you’re from Oregon.
Yes. Oregon. The Beaver State, according to a new analysis of consumer phone calls—placed to businesses across the country, and recorded anonymously—is home to theLorelai Gilmore-iest, Jackie Chiles-iest speakers in the nation. The second-fastest talkers? They’re in Minnesota. The third? In Massachusetts.
The slowest talkers, for their part, can be found in the South: in South Carolina, Louisiana, and—the most laconically languaged state of them all—Mississippi. [...]
Check the link above or here for the full ranking of states, plus some other talking traits. And here you can also discover in an older story how states measure up when it comes to cursing.
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At Daily Kos on this date in 2010—Today's "don't ask, don't tell" hearing:
In what Carl Levin (D-MI) described as a "profile in leadership," today Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen gave a stirring personal statement in support of repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
But as expected, during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Defense Secretary Gates and Mullen announced that the Pentagon would begin a yearlong study to determine how to end the military's discriminatory "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
And at the same time, several Republican opposition themes emerged: we can't do this while we're in the middle of two wars, they understand that the witnesses are just following orders from their Leftist-in-Chief, or that Gates and Mullen are biased and will exert undue influence on their subordinates to get the results they want. Take your pick.
So, why will it take a year of reviews, studies and surveys to decide that saying "none of your damned business" is the only policy they need?
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On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: It’s Groundhog Day. Again. And once again, Greg Dworkin & Armando are with us to discuss the Iowa caucuses. Yet another critical look at shareholder value theory; how workers get screwed, and; limitless data capacity and its effect on the surveillance state.
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