--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/python/states.py	Thu Oct 15 11:41:26 2009 -0400
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+states =  {			
+    "AL": "Alabama",
+    "AK": "Alaska",
+    "AS": "American Samoa",
+    "AZ": "Arizona",
+    "AR": "Arkansas",
+    "AE": "Army P.O. Box",
+    "AP": "Army Post Office",
+    "CA": "California",
+    "CO": "Colorado",
+    "CT": "Connecticut",
+    "DE": "Delaware",
+    "DC": "District of Columbia",
+    "FL": "Florida",
+    "GA": "Georgia",
+    "GU": "Guam",
+    "HI": "Hawaii",
+    "ID": "Idaho",
+    "IL": "Illinois",
+    "IN": "Indiana",
+    "IA": "Iowa",
+    "KS": "Kansas",
+    "KY": "Kentucky",
+    "LA": "Louisiana",
+    "ME": "Maine",
+    "MD": "Maryland",
+    "MA": "Massachusetts",
+    "MI": "Michigan",
+    "MN": "Minnesota",
+    "MS": "Mississippi",
+    "MO": "Missouri",
+    "MT": "Montana",
+    "NE": "Nebraska",
+    "NV": "Nevada",
+    "NH": "New Hampshire",
+    "NJ": "New Jersey",
+    "NM": "New Mexico",
+    "NY": "New York",
+    "NC": "North Carolina",
+    "ND": "North Dakota",
+    "OH": "Ohio",
+    "OK": "Oklahoma",
+    "OR": "Oregon",
+    "OT": "Other",
+    "PA": "Pennsylvania",
+    "PR": "Puerto Rico",
+    "RI": "Rhode Island",
+    "SC": "South Carolina",
+    "SD": "South Dakota",
+    "TN": "Tennessee",
+    "TX": "Texas",
+    "US": "United States",
+    "UT": "Utah",
+    "VT": "Vermont",
+    "VI": "Virgin Islands",
+    "VA": "Virginia",
+    "WA": "Washington",
+    "WV": "West Virginia",
+    "WI": "Wisconsin",
+    "WY": "Wyoming",
+}
+
+def getstate(query):
+    """ 
+    return the state name of the query,
+    or None if its not in the list
+    """
+    
+    if query in states.keys():
+        return states[query]
+
+    if query in states.values():
+        return query
+
+    return None