Al could pull it off

With the Minnesota Senate recount underway, it is looking more and more like Franken could win this thing. As of today, he is down 136 votes (after being down by 270+ before the recount began.) The Democratic counties are Hennipin (Minneapolis), Ramsey, and St. Louis. So far Hennipin Co has only recounted 42% (Al has already gained 14 votes there), Ramsey 30% (Al's gained 39 votes there) and St. Louis 37% (Al's gained 18 votes there).

Without doing the exact math, if the proportions remain the same, that could give Al 150 or so votes in those counties alone and give us our 59th Senate seat with the Georgia race still remaining.

With ballots like the one pictured here, recounting could be a fun job. Remember the show "V"? The lizard people were supposed to win in 2008. Someone had a sense of humor.

I'm proud of my team

Reds to receive environmental award

As part of an initiative to "Go Green" in 2008, the Reds began or improved several programs that benefit the preservation of the environment. Working with Rumpke and Pepsi, it included a recycling program of plastic and paper generated from both game-day crowds and front-office business.

Waste cooking oils generated in the kitchens and concession areas were recycled for future use as bio-diesel fuel. Concrete, metals and cardboard materials are also recycled.

Other programs include reducing total hours of lighting use and using environmentally-friendly laundry detergents and cleaners. Fertilizers used on the playing field are organic, and grass clippings are moved to external green areas as a natural fertilizer.

The Reds also held "carbon neutral" games on Opening Day and Earth Day to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.

America sometimes seems to only wake up to sports. Well, here's an example of sports leading a community in an area vital to humanity. Cool.

Perhaps the Reds could get in on some of the train action Ohio and Amtrak are looking into...
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A thought on American health

Health care in this country is nearing a crisis state. More than forty million people in this country have no health insurance, and many Americans are foregoing health care because they cannot afford it. Why is this happening in this country, supposedly the richest country in the world?

It isn't just the greed of the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies. Yes, these two industries are disgusting and predatory, but the fact is, America has brought it upon itself. We are an unhealthy nation because of our lifestyles.

We are a nation addicted to pills, and doctors are addicted to the profits brought upon by these pills. Just because you are told to "ask your doctor" in a television ad doesn't mean you should do it. Newsflash: pills don't make the problems go away. We're now facing a health care crisis because profits rather than the well-being of human beings now dictate the path of health care.

How did we get here? Laziness? Why are people so sick, why do they feel the need to ask their doctors? Why do people not know how to take care of themselves? People never exercise, claim they don't have time, but they can't even bother getting out of their cars to go and get their pills. There are drive-thru pharmacies for that. (We're so lazy we can't be bothered to write "through" in drive through.)

However, there are some people in this country who are health conscious. They go to gyms, they run, they take sports supplements. They eat organic foods. They don't drive around for twenty minutes trying to get a closer parking spot. Maybe if more of us lived this kind of lifestyle, the health care industry wouldn't be so massive and would be less successful in earning profits at the expensive of human well-being.

It's up to us to change things. We can't keep relying on our government to fix our problems. We can look to government for help, but without some effort on our part, it just isn't enough.

Euphoria

It has yet to sink in. I've watched every news clip, heard every speech over and over again, read article after article of every amazing experience of our magical night. There are few moments in life when one experiences pure joy, when seemingly every negative emotion you've ever felt disippates into the realm of the divine and you touch nirvana. It is that moment right before something becomes history, the moment of now, the present, and we shared it across the globe. We live through so few moments in our lives when we will one day look back and say "where were you when...?" I've had two such moments in my life - the first an unmitigated tragedy that paved the way for the sort of despotic America. The occurance of the first event and the subsequent atrocities that followed added to the triumph of the second event that happened on November 4, 2008, the day when America once again became a shining beacon of hope to not only its citizens, but to the world.

Look, I know we as Americans did not physically suffer like oppressed people suffer. In that sense, it may seem like hyperbole when we say it feels like we've overthrown a dictator. Yet all of the suffering our country has caused others, all of the wars, the torture, the we'll do whatever the hell we want attitude, that was real, and tens of thousands of people have died as a result of the Bush regime. If other countries did it, we'd say it was tyranny, so let's call a spade a spade.

Our work has just begun...
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Get on the bus!