College Football

The 2011 College Football season is under way, and the front-runners already look in fine form.  Every year I rank all 120 FBS football schools in my own ranking system.  There isn't some formula like the BCS and there is only a slight bias toward the SEC (let's face it, the last 5 champions are from the SEC and they consistently get the best recruits, it's hard not to be biased).  Having said that, I try to rank them on the basis of who would win on a neutral field.  Heading into this weekend, I present my top 5.

5.  Stanford - Stanford has the most professional ready quarterback in all of college football in Andrew Luck.  His size, arm strength, and brain make him the unanimous number 1 selection by all draft analysts.  Stanford has had an easy schedule so far, but they have handled it just as easily.  And, with their schedule slated to pick up soon, don't expect them to slow down any.

4.  Oklahoma - Most polls have the Sooners ranked number 1, but in my opinion, they have yet to prove themselves.  Like Stanford, Oklahoma have played some patsies for opponents, which has hurt them in my rankings.  That isn't to say they won't surpass the top 3 by the end.  With tough games against Oklahoma State and Texas A&M in conference, look for Landry Jones to take advantage of that opportunity to lead Oklahoma to potential glory.

3.  Alabama - Alabama played an easy first game, but their schedule challenged them when it sent them to Penn State.  This, in my opinion launched them ahead of Oklahoma.  Even more impressive is how easily they handled the Nittany Lions. They physically dominated them on both sides of the ball, in a way that only SEC teams can do it.  Look for Alabama to be a contender, but playing in the brutal SEC West isn't going to help their chances.

2.  Boise State - The Broncos are the perennial BCS buster darlings.  Year after year and through coach after coach, the Broncos have been able to consistently crash the "big school" party called the BCS.  Yes they play in a weaker conference.  Yes week in and week out they play weaker competition.  Does this make them any worse a team?  Boise State also had an impressive early season win over Georgia IN ATLANTA!  That is no small task.  Look for them to remain high as long as they keep winning games.

1.  LSU - They challenged themselves the first week, right out of the shoot, with a neutral site game against the defending National runner-ups Oregon.  They manhandled Oregon, and launched themselves to number 1 in my rankings.  Despite missing their starting quarterback (possibly for the year) because of legal troubles, it hasn't slowed Mike the Tiger down.  LSU will face a vicious schedule playing Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Arkansas.  LSU will be in the title game if they go undefeated, but even if they don't they still might have a shot based on their strength of schedule.

Tonight:  #1 LSU vs. #20 Mississippi State - The bulldogs will be looking for a win at home against a big team.  After losing on the road to Auburn last week by failing to come up with one yard on the final play, the Bulldogs will be hungry for blood.  LSU had an easy game last week and should be well rested and ready to play.  Starkville will be raging tonight, but look for the upset minded Bulldogs to lose to a potential team of destiny in a nail-biter.  LSU 34  Mississippi State 31

Fun Fact:  Just discovered baseball's fastest man ever Cool Papa Bell is from Starkville, MS.  May be a sign of a Bulldog victory.  What are the odds!

Долгосрочной службы Лев Троцкий!

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Do you ever wonder if something, anything dangerous might be in your drinking water?  Ever noticed any suspicious "no trespassing" signs?  Well, prepare to be shocked by what goes on all around the country, each and every day of the year. 

Toxic waste from any number of different places is or has not been properly disposed of in many places across the country.  That's where Superfund comes into play.  Superfund is a branch of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and its purpose is to clean up and dispose of toxic and hazardous waste sites across the United States.  Fortunately for us (and maybe unfortunately for others), South Dakota does not have many Superfund sites, but other places are less fortunate than us.  For a look at hazardous waste sites across the United States, click on the link below.

Hazardous Waste Sites

This issue of hazardous waste and its effects has and will remain a heated issue.  With the Federal deficit at its current unprecedented level, politicians are looking to cut funding to anything not deemed a dire need.  The EPA is one of the Federal programs that could potentially face Congresses ax.  How protecting Americans from potentially hazardous toxic waste is not a major concern for our country is beyond me, but people are much more motivated by making and saving money than in doing what is right.  When Union Carbide's industrial plant had a leak in Bhopal, India in 1984, nearly 10,000 people lost their lives instantly.  Several hundred thousand more suffered and continue to suffer because of the toxic radiation in the groundwater.  Cancer rates, miscarriages, and deformities have skyrocketed since the incident.  And what happened to Union Carbide?  A slap on the wrist.  Sure, they had to pay around 300 million dollars in compensation, but this was far less than the original amount of 5 billion dollars they should have paid.  Years later, when Dow bought out Union Carbide, they did nothing to help and reaped the benefits of a successful corporation.  Because of this, the United States passed legislation saying that companies have to warn residents if something like a leakage or a meltdown occurs.  The passage of the Community-Right-To-Know-Act was great, but shouldn't companies have had to tell people something was wrong anyway?  At least there was some vindication.  "The Yes Men Fix the World" was a documentary done by two men, Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum, who go out and try to right all the wrongs that companies have done and continue to do.  They addressed the Bhopal incident in their documentary.  For the full length movie documentary, click here, but if you just want to watch their bit on the Bhopal incident click here.  Unfortunately, this was only a hoax, but oh how wonderful the could be.

In closing, I just want to reiterate that even though something may be deemed as unimportant by somebody with authority, doesn't mean that it isn't worth fighting for.  The EPA needs to remain, and we need to be aware of the implications of what might happen if it ceases to exist and there are fewer regulations on these unscrupulous companies. 

History: A Matter of Perspectives

I have learned a lot about history in my time at Northern State University:  important events, cause and effects of actions, and great historical figures.  I also had some misconceptions about history, as with so many students who come out of high school.  History is not just names and dates!  Too often history is memorized not learned in schools, and it is our job in the future to change the way students view history in high school.  Many people also want to learn history to prevent it from repeating itself.  I was one of these people.  However, Professor Steven Usitalo set me straight.  He says that history continues to repeat itself over and over again, just that the names and dates have changed.  I think this is true.  History can show us what might happen, but there is no way of knowing with certainty what will happen...and that is the future.  Instead, history is often a matter of perspective, a matter of looking at an issue, or a time period, or a scene from multiple angles, multiple perspectives.  As I said, Steven Usitalo instilled this in me, and he also showed me a fantastic film that emphasizes this point:  Rashomon.  Enjoy.

http://www.archive.org/details/dom-24164-rashomon