A Few Things on My Mind

Hello my dear friends. I have, thus far, resisted the urge to blog about how deeply and profoundly the Buffalo Bills suck this year. Let me just say that the captor is already in Stage 4 of the 5 Stages of Bills Football (disappointment). I'm quite certain that Stage 5 (anger) is a few short weeks away. Enough said about that mess. One of the things that caught my attention recently is a lawsuit, filed by the parents of a 14 year old Maryland girl, against the makers of Monster Energy Drink. The girl died of cardiac arrhythmia caused by caffeine toxicity. It's a technical term that basically means she overdosed on caffeine. Her parents say she drank two 24oz Monster Drinks in a 24 hour period and it killed her. Tragic. There's a couple problems with the lawsuit. First, the girl suffered from an inherited disorder that can weaken blood vessels. Second, Monster Energy Drinks clearly state on the can that they are "Not recommended for children or people sensitive to caffeine". There are 5 such claims that have been filed against the makers of Monster dating back to 2004. Monster, the #1 energy drink in the country, has 240 milligrams of caffeine in a 24oz can or 7-times the amount of caffeine in a 12oz can of cola. My problem with this whole thing is obvious. Why are you letting your 14 year old drink 48ozs of anything, other than water, on any given day, let alone a highly charged energy drink? The courts will decided the latest case of parental responsibility vs deep pockets.  Next on my radar is a move to designate cheerleading as a official sport so they can regulate it. Reported cheerleading injuries among young girls are growing, although they remain far behind gymnastics and soccer. I'm all for designating cheerleading as an official sport. Not so it can be regulated but because cheerleaders are usually the best athletes on the field. Don't agree? Take a football, throw it into the air and catch it. Not too hard, right? Now, take the person next to you, throw them into the air and catch them. A little trickier, right? 3.6 million kids, over the age of 6, participated in cheerleading activities last year. Cheerleading should be designated an official sport so cheerleaders can get funding like all other official sports. If the sport can be made safer, it should be, but lets make the changes for the right reasons.
Finally, I heard on the news yesterday that in the Presidential Election, democrats were leading in the early voting. Some 350,000 people have already cast their vote for President. My question is; How do they know who is leading? Aren't they supposed to be secret ballots that are opened after the polls close on election night? Maybe the rules have changed. Interesting though, don't you think?
Po