Verily, 72 Virgins Await You At the Cheesequake Rest Stop (Mile 123) on the Garden State Parkway…

More signs that New Jersey is absolutely the greatest state in the nation, and not simply because it was the stamping grounds at some point of virtually all great past, present, and future libertarians (well, at least Milton Friedman, Virginia Postrel, Tyler Cowen, Peter Boettke, Karol Boudreaux, English Tim Cavanaugh, Gene Healy, and others too numerous to mention, including one who proudly [read: ashamedly] called Garden State Parkway exit 114 something close to home):

In a television interview [aired yesterday] on the CBS show 60 Minutes, [kidnapped] reporter Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-Canadian, recounts the Revolutionary Guard's obsession with the Garden State.

[His] guard seemed to believe sex and alcohol can be enjoyed easily in New Jersey.

"I think the words 'New Jersey' sounded to him like the most American place that you can be in your life," said Bahari, who was held captive for 118 days in an Iranian prison.

"He hated me and he was jealous of me at the same time because I had been to New Jersey."

More, including video, here. Move over, "NJ & You, Perfect Together," the Garden State has a new tourism slogan: "He hated me and he was jealous of me at the same time because I had been to New Jersey."

Headline allusions explained here and here.

Hat tip: Chris Ruzich.