Matt Baume On Marriage History

MAP: Largest Companies By Home State

See the full listing.

Popular Street Names By State

From the Washington Post:

For decades we have believed that the most popular name for a road was “2nd.” But by my analysis, that crown actually goes to “Park.” (Again, look to the methodology section for a discussion of this.) Out of over a million roads in the United States, 9,640 are named “Park.” Only 8,232 are named “2nd,” or “Second.” Still, both the Census and I agree that “2nd” is a more popular road name than “1st.” The most convincing explanation anyone has come up with so far is that in many towns the primary thoroughfare is “Main” street instead of “1st” street. Because those two names split the honor, so to speak, they tumble in the rankings. Trees, numbers, and presidents are the most popular names for streets, which is understandable.

Gallup: Church Attendance By State

Via Gallup:

Ten of the 12 states with the highest self-reported religious service attendance are in the South, along with Utah and Oklahoma. The strong religious culture in the South reflects a variety of factors, including history, cultural norms and the fact that these states have high Protestant and black populations -- both of which are above average in their self-reported religious service attendance. Utah's No. 1 position on the list is a direct result of that state's 59% Mormon population, as Mormons have the highest religious service attendance of any major religious group in the U.S.

Five of the six New England states rank among the bottom 10 states for church attendance. Of these, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts have the lowest average attendance rates in the nation, with Connecticut not far behind. All other states in the bottom 10 are in the West, including the nation's three states that are as far as one can go in the northwest corner of the country -- Alaska, Washington and Oregon. States with average religious service attendance tend to cluster in the middle of the country.

Even in Utah, only 51% say they attend church every week. The national average, obviously, is much lower. A breakdown of each state and its overall ranking is at the link.

Alabama Joins The Sapphire States

Alabama Turns From Red To Sapphire!

BREAKING: Supreme Court To Consider All Four Cases From Sixth Circuit Court

Via SCOTUSblog:

Taking on a historic constitutional challenge with wide cultural impact, the Supreme Court on Friday afternoon agreed to hear four new cases on same-sex marriage. The Court said it would rule on state power to ban gay and lesbian marriage and state power to refuse to recognize such marriages performed out of state. A total of one hour and ninety minutes was set for the hearings, likely in the April sitting. The Court fashioned the specific questions it is prepared to answer, but they closely tracked the two core constitutional issues that have led to a lengthy string of lower-court rulings striking down state bans. As of now, same-sex marriages are allowed in thirty-six states, with bans remaining in the other fourteen but under court challenge.

Read the order.

GRAPHIC: Immigrant Enterprise In USA

Source: Wall Street Journal.

Florida Joins The Sapphire States

Wikipedia is calling it a few hours early. (Tipped by JMG reader Daddy Ray)

This Includes Florida

NOTE: I've swapped out the earlier incorrect tweet.

MAP: Our Historic Year For Marriage

Embiggen the above map from Freedom To Marry and marvel at this year's progress. As seen in the graphic below, even more action is coming early in 2015.

Historic Thaw In US-Cuba Relations

Via the Associated Press:

The United States and Cuba will start talks on normalizing full diplomatic relations, marking the most significant shift in U.S. policy toward the communist island in decades, American officials said Wednesday. The announcement comes amid a series of new confidence-building measures between the longtime foes, including the release of American Alan Gross and the freeing of three Cubans jailed in the U.S. President Barack Obama was to announce the policy changes from the White House at noon Wednesday. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, said the U.S. and Cuba were moving toward normalized banking and trade ties. He also said the U.S. was poised to open an embassy in Havana in the coming months. "This is going to do absolutely nothing to further human rights and democracy in Cuba," Rubio said in an interview. "But it potentially goes a long way in providing the economic lift that the Castro regime needs to become permanent fixtures in Cuba for generations to come."

Happy Purple Marriage Map

JMG reader Jay Sheckley has sent us an alternative map to the Wikipedia version posted here several times a week in recent months. Embiggen for the details.

Kansas Joins The Sapphire States

Map legend.

South Carolina Turns Cerulean

Map legend.

The Marriage Map Just Got Redder

Map legend.

Alaska Rejoins The Sapphire States

Sapphire is much gayer than royal blue, doncha think?

UPDATED: Wikipedia Marriage Map

Marriages began in Idaho fifteen minutes ago and the Wikipedia map just got a little bluer.

UPDATED: Wikipedia Marriage Map

Tweet Of The Day - Nate Silver

(Tipped by JMG reader Shawn)