Jack Lessenberry wrote yesterday:

By this time tomorrow, we should know who Michigan's next governor is. But one thing is clear. There will never be another Soapy Williams. He was a legend who was elected six consecutive times, evoked strong feelings, and seldom, if ever, took off his signature green polka-dotted bow ties. Michigan Radio's Jack Lessenberry spoke with Thomas Noer. He is the author of "Soapy: A Biography of G. Mennen Williams."

Listen to Interview: Thomas Noer - 11/7/06 by Jack Lessenberry's Essays and Interviews
Read or listen to the companion Essay: Remembering Soapy - 11/7/06 by Jack Lessenberry's Essays and Interviews
View the Wikipedia article on G. Memmen Williams
View the Sept. 15, 1952 cover of Time Magazine featuring "Soapy" with his trademark bow tie
View the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society entry for G. Mennen Williams, 84th Justice
View 'Soapy: A Biography of G. Mennen Williams' by Thomas Noer

Loosely based on the book of the same name by author Eric Schlosser, the movie Fast Food Nation is an inside look at the fast food industry from the meat packing plant to the low paid employees and everything in between. ypsi~dixit writes:

YPSIDIXIT is excited to learn that the movie Fast Food Nation is coming out Nov. 17. Check out the ominous trailer here, and scroll down on that page for a billion related links to reviews, blog entries by folks who've seen it, and so forth.

Be sure to visit the Fast Food Nation's downloads section for the screensaver, wallpapers and aim icons too.

In contrast, Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people's dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world. Click below to read more about this group.

The photo was posted in the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr.

Read about Fast Food Nation by ypsi~dixit
Visit the Fast Food Nation website
Watch the Fast Food Rockers on You Tube
Visit Slow Food

Jack Lessenberry wrote yesterday:

Tomorrow's election is shaping up to be one of the most intensely watched midterm elections since 1994.

He continues:

Everybody is concentrating on what key races to watch when the votes start coming in tomorrow night. But I'll bet you a donut that there will be some surprises somewhere in races that aren't on anybody's list.

And political careers will begin tonight in Michigan and across the nation in other races barely noticed by the media.

He concludes:

The mother of all upsets happened in 1948, when Harry Truman's overwhelming defeat was so certain the Detroit Free Press said in an editorial that he should appoint his rival as successor and resign immediately after the election to save time. But Truman won -- fairly easily. What happened?

Extensive studies found that newspapers and pollsters filtered out information indicating Truman was going to win, thinking it had to be flawed. After all, everybody just knew he was going to lose.

O Caritas writes about this photo on the Flickr Absolute Michigan Pool:

The statue is of Austin Blair: "He was a known as a strong opponent of slavery and secession and also [sic] championed human rights by leading the effort to ban capital punishment and supporting efforts to give women and black citizens the right to vote."

Listen to Interview: Chris Christoff - 11/6/06 by Jack Lessenberry's Essays and Interviews
Also read or listen to the companion Essay: Races to Watch - 11/6/06 by Jack Lessenberry's Essays and Interviews
View O Caritas' Local Landmarks set

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