Did someone declare July ‘Pick on the States Month’? Plus: Brits assess Washington’s economic prospects; Bremerton’s prek-3rd strategy sees success; and Health care costs in context

Did Someone Declare July ‘Pick on the States’ Month? James Surowiecki and Neil Pierce take the states – all 50 of them – to task for failing to take on critical social, economic and educational challenges.

Not by Aircraft Alone: The Economist offers a more or less upbeat look at Washington’s prospects for emerging from recession.

Signs of Success from PreK-3rd Strategy in Bremerton: Early Ed Watch notes that an initiative to help children prepare for school, quietly underway over the past several years in Bremerton, shows promising results.

Putting the Cost of the Democrats’ Plans for Reform in Context: Health Beat writes: “the estimated gross costs of health reform are less than 1 percent of the GDP over ten years” — and even that estimate doesn’t account for automatic reductions in other government spending due to the planned reforms.