Following are some of the blogosphere pre-elections ponderings:

Dave Dempsey quotes an article from the Houston Chronicle:

The Great Lakes states aren't just key battlegrounds in Tuesday's elections. Fixing their imperiled "Rust Belt" economies and hollowed-out cities may be key to America's 21st century fate.

That's the pointed message of a just-released Brookings Institution report on the mega-region of states and communities that rim the shores of the Great Lakes shores and line the Ohio and Mississippi River watersheds, prepared by John C. Austin, Brookings senior fellow and vice president of the Michigan State Board of Education.

The article continues:

Should we worry about this marketplace of 97 million people? Isn't it already the generator of 32 percent of America's gross state product, site of a rare constellation of distinguished state universities, birthplace of supercomputers, home base for famed corporations and close to a third of U.S. scientists and engineers?

In another post, Dave Dempsey writes:

Gary Wilson puts it very well:

You consider the environment when you vote, don’t you? If you said yes, congratulations. But you’re in a distinct minority.

A recent Duke University study of registered voters found that 79% favored “stronger national standards to protect our land, air, and water,” but only 22% said that environmental concerns have played a major role in determining how they voted.

Astonishing and somewhat depressing, hence Dave's title, vote your envirnmental values.

Finally, listen to a little "Rockin' in the Free World" featuring Neil Young and Pearl Jam from 1993, courtesy of The Mayor of Simpleton.

Read Great Lakes econ study gets national notice by Dave's Blog
Also read vote your environmental values by Dave's Blog
Then listen to And now for something completely different... by The Mayor of Simpleton