With about 39 hours left to play in the electoral college challenge, we’ve got a heavy tilt toward Kerry. There are still a few (plausible) combinations remaining in a Kerry win, but not many. If you think Bush is going to win, though, there’s a lot of leeway. So get your votes in now!

The prize: a copy of Jon Stewart’s America (the Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction, paid for by me, mailed to you.

The game: Predict the number of electors George Bush and John Kerry will win.

The rules:
1.) You must identify the exact total. I’m generous in a cheapskate kind of way. If no one wins, you can try to lobby me if you’re the closest. Flattery a plus, but you never know.

2.) You must not be too paranoid to send me your address, otherwise I can’t send you the book.

3.) You cannot select a total already selected (which is an incentive to reserve your number today!).

How to play: Go to this handy electoral calculator and click on the states you think the candidates will win. Note the tally, listed below, and dart back here to record your entry. I’ll accept the first entry in case of duplicates. All selections valid until 8am (Eastern time) November 2.

Good Luck!

The Final Tally [Updated 9:02 am PDT, Nov 2]

Kerry Victory
370-158 (the very optimistic Thehim)
352-186 (CJ)
346-192 (Ploeg)
342-196 (Mark G.)
341-197 (Jarrett)
337-201 (Spanky)
336-202 (Alex)
331-207 (Thane, making me do the math)
330-208 (Donna)
328-201 (eRobin, betting on the Colorado split)
326-212 (Stellans)
325-213 (Fred V.)
322-216 (Russ B.)
321-217 (Folkbum)
320-218 (Sasha)
319-219 (Cat)
316-222 (D Stein)
315-223 (Flory)
313-224 (Josh, predicting a loose WV vote)
312-226 (Larry, not fooling)
312-225 (Mark, fooling with WV and ME)
311-227 (me)
309-229 (Karen)
308-230 (Alabama Yankee)
307-231 (Richard K)
306-232 (Carli)
305-233 (Deborah B.)
304-234 (Tom S.)
303-235 (Amberglow)
302 -236 (Reba)
300-238 (Dave, another Colorado splitter)
298-240 (Space)
297-241 (Rainey)
289-249 (Kenneth C.)
287-251 (Andy)
288-250 (Kevin H.)
286-252 (Barbara O.)
285-255 (Iocaste)
284-253-1 (Yami, winning on creativity)
283-255 (D. Knezek)
280-258 (Adam D.)
279-259 (Karim)
279-258-1 (Shari)
278-260 (Goat Boy)
277-261 (Henry)
274-264 (Chuck)
271-267 (Rodger, going with a squeaker)

Bush victory
311-227 (Iggi, via email)
279-259 (Jim)
278-260 (PW, hoping to be wrong)
277-261 (General Glut)

Doom
269-269 (Mark)

The polls are flying fast and furious as the campaign draws to a close. Every conceivable subpopulation has been broken down again and again, including cell phone users, who have been famously excluded from telephone polling so far. Zogby just released results of a cell phone text messaging poll that gave Kerry a 55-40 lead in that subgroup, which also reported very high intentions to vote. But one group keeps getting missed: Indian astrologers.

Surveys in the United States may be showing the race for president as too close to call but top Indian astrologers say the planets have clearly made up their mind: John Kerry will win. Planets governing President Bush are eclipsed and in an uncomfortable position, making his tenure controversial and his re-election bid unsuccessful, the soothsayers said on Friday, four days before the vote. On the other hand, the planets of Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry were in the ascendant, ensuring him success in competitions.

“Saturn, which is the lord of health and fortune for President Bush, has been eclipsed by the Sun, which is unfortunate and gives him a clear defeat,” Lachhman Das Madan, editor of a popular astrology magazine, told Reuters.

“Kerry will win,” said Madan, who is also known as “the emperor of astrologers.” “It is cosmic writ that George W. Bush cannot become president of United States again.”

Ajai Bhambi, a senior astrologer and author of several books on the science of predictions, agreed. “Kerry is likely to beat Bush in the final verdict,” he told the New Indian Express newspaper. Bejan Daruwalla, another top astrologer, told Reuters he had yet to calculate who would win Tuesday’s election. But Bush, even if he won, would not be allowed by his planets to complete a full term, he said.

Who am I to argue with the lord of health and fortune?

Our declining healthcare system has added 6 million to the uninsured and left us vulnerable to the flu this year for the first time in decades, because our government failed to respond quickly enough.

And it could get worse:

Flu pandemics — global epidemics of new strains of disease that kill an unusually high number of people — come on average every 27 years. The last one was in 1968.

“We are 36 years out. We believe that we are closer to the next pandemic than we ever were,” Stohr told a news conference.

“There is this new subtype in Asia circulating in poultry. It appears it is only a question of time until this subtype moves into humans.”

FROM POULTRY TO PEOPLE

So far the H5N1 flu has infected 44 people and killed 32 of them, Stohr said. Other studies presented to the conference show the virus has not yet acquired the ability to move from human to human.

Once it does, experts agree, it could spread quickly and kill millions.

This also demonstrates how unprepared we are for a bioterror attack. We’ve actually grown WORSE since 9-11 on that front. And we’ve never caught the anthrax mailer who killed several Americans with several mailings.

About these issues, it seems our government only yawns in the face of disaster.