Ten things to like about Oregon

1) Strongest freedom-of-speech law in the US (even stronger than the First Amendment)

2) Otherwise-insufferable Multnomah county commissioners' pioneering gay-marriage initiative

3) Only state whose tallest building is pink (bet you thought that would be California)

4) 3,399,999 people who aren’t Teh Deb

5) No sales tax

6) Cheaper than California, with milder weather than most places that are cheaper than California

7) Large Slavic immigrant population gives Portland unusual cultural mix (I hear Russian almost as much as Spanish on the bus)

8) Home of Powell's, America’s biggest independent bookstore

9) Home of Video Madness, America’s biggest and weirdest video-rental place — must be seen to be believed

10) Small but stalwart contingent of gerbils right in Teh Deb's backyard