Thoughts Triggered by this Whole Sarah Palin Thing, Volume I

* 17 cities have larger populations than Alaska. If Alaska were a city, it would be fall between Memphis and Baltimore on the population list.
Sources: Infoplease.com; and U.S. Census Bureau

* Alaska is the 4th least populated state in the U.S., ahead of only North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming
Source: Wikipedia

* Wasilla, Alaska had a population of 5,469 in 2000; in 2007 the Census estimated Wasilla's population at 9,780, which would make it the 4th biggest city in Alaska
Source: Wikipedia

* Only three cities in Alaska have populations greater than 10,000

* The 2000 Census reports a population of 62,198 for the Edgewater neighborhood in Chicago
Source: Wikipedia

* My 2.7 square mile neighborhood (Edgewater) is 11.4 times more populous than Wasilla, Alaska

* My 2.7 square mile neighborhood has roughly 10% the population of Alaska

* If you divided my 2.7 square mile neighborhood into 6 evenly populated subsections (or lil' "cities") and took them to Alaska, they would become 6 of the top 9 most populous cities in Alaska

* 27.6% of the current U.S. population is Black or Hispanic
Source: U.S. Census

* U.S. Census forecasts that 30% of the U.S. population will be Black or Hispanic in 2015
Source: U.S. Census

* 9.3% of Alaska's current population is Black or Hispanic
Source: U.S. Census

* You are 3 times less likely to encounter a Black or Hispanic person in Alaska than you are in the general U.S. population