Extent of Travels

Later this month, I'll travel through Oklahoma for first time and increase my number of US states visited to 35. The number of countries I've visited is only 2. My travels are quite limited compared to those of my siblings or my coworkers, yet mine still span some fraction of the globe.

Extent of my travels:
Northernmost: 47.658 (Seattle, Washington)
Southernmost: 24.554 (Key West, Florida)

Easternmost: -75.736 (Newark, Delaware)
Westernmost: -123.011 (Centralia, Washington)

Other stats:
Mean residence: 37.759, -86.222 (Vine Grove, Kentucky)
Longest solo road trip: 2113 km

Right-to-Instrument State

Was AFSCME the largest contributor in the 2010 election cycle because it anticipated the Republicans' aggressive stance? Or are Republican efforts to dismantle public employee unions retribution for the ten of millions of dollars worth of attack ads run against them? This is a case for instrumental variables. Can anyone think of a valid one?

Unexpected Hyperbole

I avoid polemics, and so I miss most of the inflammatory rhetoric and hyperbole I'm told circulates. Yet sometimes hyperbole comes from unexpected sources, and sometimes the examples are too entertaining to not share. From my recent reading:

[John Quincy Adams] recommended U.S. conversion to the metric system of weights and measures on the ground that it implemented "the trembling hope of the Christian" for the unity of humanity, the binding of Satan in chains, and the promised thousand years of peace. [1]

(Or should that read "the binding of Satan in decameters"?)

Elsewhere, from the usually tame trade journal Automotive News:

The cheapness of the [Chevrolet] Lumina's interior and ragged seams fairly shouted to its owner: Sorry your life didn't turn out better. [2]

[1] Howe, Daniel. What Hath God Wrought. Oxford Unv. Press, 2007. Page 287.
[2] Brown, Peter. "Ooooh, Malibu: At last, a competitor to... you know." Automotive News. 19 Nov 2007. Page 14.