The Left has always been very good at corrupting the language—changing the meaning of words or coming up with entirely new ones. It’s somewhat formulaic: one or more left-leaning academics coin a word or phrase so it sounds smart; promote it to left-leaning political and advocacy groups; have it metastasize to a compliant media starting with TV networks and the Associated Press, and POOF!—"abortion" becomes "reproductive health," by way of example.

Now, the Left is expanding its corruption machine to include criteria for defining what is good and what is bad. The cable news channel CNBC on Saturday announced the findings of its annual ranking of quality of life among the states, and it raised a lot of eyebrows. According to CNBC, Tennessee is the worst state to live in, and Texas is the second worst. These rankings must really confuse the millions of people who moved to these states, not to mention the corporations that have relocated to them.

The key to this confounding report lies in the criteria CNBC used to rank the states. Absent from the channel’s criteria is any mention of unemployment rates, home affordability, or taxes. If that sounds odd, it may be because a lot of people think getting a job, buying a home, and keeping more of what they earn........

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