Hasta La Gadget!

This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St.

How well run is your state? Assessing a state’s management quality is hardly easy. The current economic climate and standard of living in any given state are not only the results of policy choices and developments that occurred in the last few years, but can also be affected by decisions made decades ago, and by forces outside a state’s control.

Each year, 24/7 Wall St. attempts to answer this question by surveying various aspects of each state. To determine how well states are managed, we examine key financial ratios, as well as social and economic outcomes. This year, North Dakota is the best-run state in the country for the third consecutive year, while Illinois replaced California as the worst-run state.

Selecting appropriate criteria to compare the 50 states is difficult because there is so much variation among the states. As a result, policy decisions that may work in one state might not work in another. Some states are rich in natural resources, while others rely on high-skilled sectors such as technology and business services. Some depend disproportionately on one industry, while others’ economies are more balanced. Further, some states are more rural, while others are highly urbanized and densely populated.

This year, a number of the best-run states again benefit from an abundance of natural resources. North Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, and Texas are among the top 10 best-run states, and in all four, the mining industry — which includes fossil fuel extraction — is a major contributor to state GDP. Due in large part to the mining sector, North Dakota and Wyoming led the nation in real GDP growth in 2013. And Alaska has utilized its oil wealth to build massive state reserves and to pay its residents an annual dividend.

Although less than in years past, the lingering effects of the housing crisis still have a negative impact on several of the worst-run states. In five of the 10 worst-run states — Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island — home values declined by 10% or more between 2009 and 2013. Worse still, in states such as Arizona and Rhode Island, the housing market remains well below its peak, reached just before the start of the recent recession.

While some states’ economic fortunes are closely tied to the rise and fall of individual industries, which are often outside their control, each state must make the best of its own situation. Governments, as stewards of their own economies, need to prepare for the worst, including the collapse of a vital industry. Good governance is about balancing tax collection and state expenditure in a way that provides essential services to residents without sacrificing a state’s long-term fiscal health. Many of the best-run states in the country set money aside each year for emergencies. Should the Alaskan economy run into trouble, the state has enough money in reserve to match more than 21 months of general fund spending.

The scale and complexity of state institutions often make addressing problems at the state level extremely difficult. As a result, our list of the best- and worst-run states tends to remain largely unchanged from one year to the next.

There were a few states that made remarkable improvements, however. California, Colorado, Florida, and Hawaii all moved up by at least 10 positions on our ranking. Improvements in important factors, such as GDP growth and home value increases, contributed to improved rankings in a number of these states.

Read: The Best and Worst Run States in America

Some of the changes in rankings can be attributed to states’ GDP per capita levels and labor force growth, both of which were incorporated in our analysis for the first time this year. For example, California’s GDP per capita of $53,497 in 2013, 12th highest in the nation, helped it move up on this list. Also, Florida’s ranking was bolstered by a 3.8% increase in the labor force between 2009 and 2013, the fourth highest.

To determine how well each state is run, 24/7 Wall St. examined data from numerous sources. From the U.S. Census Bureau, we looked at each state’s finances for the 2012 fiscal year, including revenue, tax collection, pension funding, debt, and expenditure. In order to identify how each state’s economy was performing, we reviewed data on unemployment rates, exports, and GDP. We looked at poverty, educational attainment, violent crime rates, and foreclosures to assess social outcomes and residents’ well-being.

While each state is different, states at both ends of the list share certain characteristics. For example, people living in the worst-run states were apt to have lower standards of living. Violent crime rates were typically higher in these states, and the share of the population in poverty or with at least a high school diploma was lower than the national rate.

The worst-run states also tended to have weak fiscal management, reflected by low pension funding, sparsely padded coffers, and poor credit ratings from Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s (S&P). Illinois, the worst-run state in America, received lower ratings than any other state from both agencies. By contrast, the majority of the 10 best-run states had perfect ratings from both agencies.

Unemployment rates were also relatively low in the nation’s best-run states. North Dakota, the top-ranked state, had an unemployment rate of 2.9% last year, the best in the U.S. In all, eight of the 10 best-run states were among the 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates. Meanwhile, unemployment was much more prevalent in the worst-run states. Illinois and Rhode Island, both among the lowest-rated states, also had the nation’s second- and third-worst unemployment rates in 2013, at 9.2% and 9.5%.

These are the best- and worst-run states in America.

Though tooch toppled booch on “America’s Next Top Model”‘s 20th cycle—the first season when creator and host Tyra Banks invited guys into the competition—cycle 21 saw some serious contenders among the male models. In fact, only one beautiful lady stood before Banks as “ANTM” entered its two-episode finale.

WASHINGTON (AP) — CBS Corp. and TV provider Dish Network Corp. have reached an agreement that ends a contract dispute that led to a short programming blackout in local markets around the country, the companies announced Saturday.

CBS had blocked Dish from carrying the local channels of CBS-owned TV stations for about 12 hours starting around 7 p.m. Eastern time Friday. The 18 markets affected included New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston and Miami. In a joint statement Saturday, the companies said they had reached a multiyear deal that will allow Dish to carry CBS-owned TV stations nationwide as well as various cable channels, including the CBS Sports Network, the Smithsonian Channel and Showtime. Dish has about 14 million subscribers.

The brief blackout was the latest skirmish between television companies that are seeking higher payments for their programming and the cable and satellite companies that distribute the programming and say the higher programming costs will lead to higher bills for their customers.

Under the agreement, Dish will get the rights to deliver Showtime programming on mobile devices. The companies said the agreement will result in the dismissal of pending litigation between them, including disputes over such services as PrimeTime Anytime and AutoHop, a Dish service that allows viewers to skip commercials. Under the agreement, viewers will not be able to skip commercials for the first seven days after a program is broadcast on a CBS-owned station.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but executives from both companies expressed satisfaction with the deal.

“We are pleased to continue delivering CBS programming to our customers while expanding their digital access to Showtime content through Showtime Anytime,” Warren Schlichting, a Dish senior vice president, said in the statement.

Ray Hopkins, president of television networks distribution for CBS, said the deal met the company’s economic and strategic objectives.

“We look forward to having Dish as a valued partner for many years to come,” he said.

The programming returned ahead of a weekend of football games televised by CBS including the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday between Alabama and Missouri.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, the Congressional Anti-Terrorism and Proliferation Financing Task Force conducted a briefing on Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) financing. Co-chaired by Congressmen Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA) and Peter King (R-NY), this bi-partisan task force sought to examine how looted antiquities from conflict zones – or “blood antiquities” – are being used to fund terrorist groups, including ISIS. In doing so, days before America celebrated its own cultural heritage with the “Pilgrim Fathers,” the U.S. Congress effectively paid homage to our collective cultural heritage, and the international efforts to protect antiquities currently being looted from the “cradle of civilization.”

According to the task force presenters – professors from Shawnee State University and Georgetown University (one of the authors) – ISIS is not only looting antiquities from ancient Mesopotamia to fund their terrorist activities, but it is also effectively licensing the plunder. According to reports, ISIS takes a 20% “tithe” or tax on the proceeds of what locals are now unearthing; an operation that may have industrial-scale proportions. What started as opportunistic theft by some has, in many ways, turned into an organized transnational business.

Fortunately, this pre-Thanksgiving briefing is just part of the increasing bipartisan congressional attention to issues related to cultural diplomacy, blood antiquities and terrorist financing. As highlighted in Foreign Policy, Congressman William Keating (D-MA) is taking-on the issue, and just weeks ago, Congressmen Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) introduced the Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act, which aims to “deny terrorists and criminals the ability to profit from instability by looting the world of its greatest treasures.”

The new bill targets the trade of antiquities stolen from Iraq and Syria and notes that “protecting international cultural property is a vital part of United States cultural diplomacy, showing the respect of the United States for other cultures and the common heritage of humanity.” It is important to highlight that ISIS is not just stealing and destroying antiquities in Iraq and Syria, but it is also attacking the “common heritage of humanity.”

ISIS is grabbing headlines and filling its coffers by destroying religious sites important to Islam, Judaism and Christianity alike – such as the Tomb of Jonah (also known as the Mosque of the Prophet Younis) in present-day Iraq – and looting artifacts that pre-date such faith groups. Such destruction facilitates ISIS’ goal to create a sterile and one-dimensional society that is intolerant to the rich cultural heritage we should celebrate.

By stripping society of its nuances and history, ISIS is attempting to erase elements of the region’s cultural heritage, in favor of their myopic worldview. This is destructive to Syria and Iraq’s past, and to their future. History has shown that the preservation of cultural heritage is an important aspect of national reconciliation and peace-building. Looking back at a rich past often fosters feelings of unity within a society, and strengthens a nation.

Highlighting the urgency of the issue, Secretary of State John Kerry co-hosted an event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where he declared that ISIS “is tearing at the fabric of whole civilizations.” Referring to the destruction of Iraq and Syria’s cultural heritage, he noted that extremists “want to rob future generations of any connection to this past.” Kerry concluded that ISIS “is stealing lives, yes, but it’s also stealing the soul of millions.”

In many ways, Secretary Kerry’s concern for the “soul of millions” is a continuation of an American tradition to help preserve historical sites and antiquities in conflict zones. Indeed, it was General Dwight D. Eisenhower, then supreme allied commander in Europe, who recognized the need to protect, preserve and repatriate cultural property in the wake of Second World War. It is because of American interest in far-away cultural heritage that the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section of the Allied militaries was established, thus recovering thousands of stolen artworks between 1943 and 1951, including works by Johannes Vermeer, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo.

The efforts of Monuments Men (featured in George Clooney’s motion picture with the same title) to protect and preserve Europe’s cultural history – now on display in the great museums of Europe – are a living legacy to America’s concern for our collective cultural heritage.

This concern has continued, with U.S. support for the publication of the Emergency Red List of Syrian Cultural Objects (which seeks to prevent the transport and trade of Syria’s invaluable cultural goods), and recent State Department funding to help monitor and preserve antiquities in the region. Meanwhile, the U.S. Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and State have provided critical support to other countries’ in their efforts to recover looted antiquities, such as ancient statues from Cambodia and India, and dinosaurs from Mongolia, thereby contributing to our important bilateral relationships around the world.

These efforts matter for three main reasons. First, the U.S. can identify possible ways to limit terrorist financing to ISIS and their affiliates. Second, it can preserve our collective cultural history and heritage. Finally, it can help provide some basis for national reconciliation efforts in the future. Thus, our legislative branch is in an important position to enable additional goodwill beyond our “water’s edge.”

Sophocles once cautioned that, “whoever neglects the arts… has lost the past and is dead to the future.” The question for the incoming Congress is whether it – and parliaments everywhere – will take a leadership position to help save the past, and enable the future in the “cradle of civilization,” thus ensuring the legacy of our Monuments Men.

About the authors: Dr. Helga Turku, who previously served with the International Organization for Migration and for USAID-funded justice sector programs, works at Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky Wotkyns LLP in San Francisco. Mark Vlasic, a senior fellow and adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, served as a White House Fellow/special assistant to the U.S. secretary of defense and was the head of operations of the joint World Bank-U.N. Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative. A former prosecution attorney at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, he now leads the international practice at Madison Law & Strategy Group and serves as counselor to the Antiquities Coalition.

Two months ago, my wife and I sat in the Marcus Autism Center’s exam room and heard the doctors tell us our son, Langston, had Autism Spectrum Disorder. I can’t articulate how I felt then because now, even weeks removed, I can barely articulate how I’m feeling now as I type these words.