When I say I love America, Im not talking about just an idea orideal or a form of government. Im talking about the actual land withinthe U.S. borders the contours, the vegetation, the critters, the roads,the streams, the towns, the communities, the local cultures and . . . .. THE PEOPLE. Im talking about 3,141 counties where all of Americatakes place. It is with great joy that I announce today that NumbersUSAis rolling out its QUALITY-OF-LIFE MAPS project on our website so that all Americans can track the overall health of our 3,141 counties and all inhabitants thereof.

Wewill be mapping all the places I have seen and hope to see. Those whoknow me say I am a workaholic. But I DO play. I have had a life-longpassionate hobby of seeing as many by-ways as possible of our nation.Shirley and I just returned from several days on the back roads ofIndiana. Im working in Atlanta today, and Ill be in northeast Georgiaand southern North Carolina later today.

As I slow down throughevery town and crossroads or through every urban neighborhood -- Ialways think to myself, This is where people live their lives, pursuetheir dreams, know what it is to be an American.

And I want to know how life in many variables compares here to everywhere else.

COMPARING YOUR COUNTY WITH OTHERS

How does your county compare with those around you? Our maps will colorfully make it clear.

Howdoes your county compare with the major media centers that tend todominate our view of what America is? The maps will reveal somesurprising results.

Watching and reading the mass media, onemight conclude that the United States of America is exemplifiedprimarily by New York, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco and maybea few other major cities. But Americans live out their day-to-dayadventures in another 3,100 counties sprawled across this continent.

Ona frequent basis, we will be introducing new maps that provideadditional ways to gauge the quality of life for those who live withina county or state. Because of limitations of available data, we willsometimes not be able to provide comparisons for the smallest counties,but we will usually be able to provide insight for where the vastmajority of Americans live.

TODAY, WE FEATURE POPULATION GROWTH SINCE 1980

Rampant,biggest-ever U.S. population growth is one of our gravest concerns atNumbersUSA. One of the most important reasons we advocate reducedimmigration is because federal immigration policies are the cause ofmost U.S. population growth.

Our population maps today will helpyou see at a glance where immigration is driving the most populationgrowth and radical change across the country. Nearly every county thatis colored for high growth either (a) has had a lot of immigration, or(b) has had a lot of migration of Americans fleeing other parts of thestate or country that have themselves had very high immigration.

Besure to click on states to get a closer view of the counties. And youcan click on the metro areas on a state map to obtain zoomed-in maps.

IMPREGNATED SMART CURSORS

NumbersUSAstech team has worked long and hard to create a map that can familiarizeAmericans quickly and deeply with their country.

I hope that themaps can play a small role in helping Americans feel more connected asthe national community that so many of our politicians no longerbelieve exists or matters.

One thing I asked of my tech team wasto create impregnated smart cursors. I like to get to informationquickly. So my tech team has impregnated the cursor on the maps with anincredible array of statistics and rankings. All you have to do is rollyour cursor over a part of the map and the information about thatcounty, state or metro will pop up in a balloon for your view. Thenjust click to get a close-up or to fill the text box on the left withthe information so you can print it.

SEND US YOUR COMMENTS & SUGGESTIONS

Underneaththe map is an email form for you to send us any comments and especiallyto report any errors you find in information or navigation.

Wehave worked diligently to provide error-free maps. But mistakes arealways possible. Our pledge to you is that we will act on every problemthat you report so you can be about as sure as one can be that theinformation you are getting is the best available.