JD - You're right - we're the product of our local education systems. But these are far from equal. To back up my statment about southern states being less educated - look at this: State Literacy Rates. There is an obvious north/south divide in those figures.
Majestic - I thought Sinn Féin was on top in Northern Ireland now. Hopefully they'll be re-joining the republic soon. For the record - unfortunatly I'm a product of the American public education system. My kids are getting a much better education here in Ireland. It's funny 25% don't believe in god here, but 95% of schools are Catholic.