Again, great to see so many of you on this forum voting. Hopefully those of you who are casting write-in votes are helping to get some of your newer favorites on the "Top 100" list for your respective regions for next year. In our region at least, any cultivar that gets at least 2-3 votes has a good chance of being listed in the top 100 for the following year. Sometimes there are 1000 or more cultivars in each region that only get 1 vote each. Any of you who are AHS members, please take a minute to vote before Sept. 1st! Maybe the percentages will be up from the tiny minority who usually votes. That is why you don't see so many new ones on the list - because so many people don't bother to vote! Several of you have made good comments and suggestions for changes you would like to see in future Pop Polls. If anyone (who is an AHS member) sincerely wants to suggest a change or make a comment about the Pop Poll to the person who can actually do something about it, the person to make the comment to is the AHS Director( Board Member) for your region. These folks are all listed on the AHS website and all have e-mail addresses. The Fall Board meeting is the last weekend in October, so if you have comments or suggestions, please send them to your regional directors before then so that the subject can be brought up at the meeting. The AHS Directors are the folks who have a vote and can make changes to existing policies and procedures!

The issue is complex and very interesting. Just on the immigrant aspect alone, there is a lot to consider. And discussing it, exploring these issues can be treading on hairtrigger ground. If politicians were not so readily pounced upon, there might be substantive discussion. It's good that here we can allow one another some latitude. As for immigration, I've read that the US takes in few refugees and displaced persons in comparison to the UK and Europe. The policies and military endeavors of the US have resulted in huge populations of refugees and otherwise displace people over the decades. For US residents complaining about immigrants, I hope they reflect on how some of this came to be. Something to consider the next time some political leaders and there cronies want to lead us into war. There are people who helped the US in Afghanistan and Iraq -- risked their lives and those of their families -- and who were not provided a safe exit by a slow moving congress afraid of being seen as sympathetic to potential terrorists. We go into Iraq with a rationale to save its citizenry from evil Saddam (among other proffered justifications). Somehow, Muslims become painted with a broad brush of fear and disdain. Remember the footage of the reporters and others being gunned down (Chelsea /Bradley, thank you). The fog of war can always be counted on. Things get very complicated when you take people's from hugely disparate cultures and don't make or have the resources to pave the way towards their becoming connected, educated and involved citizens of their new country. Can any country take so many political and economic refugees and not see conflict down the road? In the US, we can't even seem to care for our war veterans properly. We continue to repeat, the society forgets. Different generations -- it's not like its the same citizens who witness something like our Vietnam disaster and its aftermath. It's a new crop of voters, believers, enlistees. The other evening on the network news, a pundit was discussing the Democratic congressional sit-down and referenced John Lewis's comment about the Woolworth's counter (historically important civil rights demonstration during the 1960s). The talking ("elitist"?) head said this as if the whole of his audience was going to appreciate that bit of American history. Well, okay, maybe I was watching my local PBS current events show; but even so, ask any man on the street if they know who John Lewis is. What's Woolworth's? Society is fluid. Reading history is a good thing. In the US there are plenty of unemployed people who have solid college degrees and training. Good schools (not Trump U). I don't have any answers. The issues are complicated and therefore lend themselves to exploitation by those seeking political office and its benefits. Also to those who want to sell us something. A frequent letter writer to one of our local rags rants on about "illegal" (apparently Spanish speaking) immigrants (she sees or hears doing this or that). Maybe they are very legal. Maybe from a US territory. Now she works for the municipality in a position I would think she would not be particularly well-suited for (interacting with people in need or services).

"So, after they come back from Idol Island, are they not allowed to tell the group they have met Rob and Sandra?" It's up to the player to decide what to reveal. This is discussed in one of the articles that last week's recap links to. It's interesting, to me, that both women who have been to Idol Island have told a story about there being urns. Those women are from different tribes, so they certainly haven't had a chance to discuss and agree that the second woman would say the same thing the first woman had said. I'm curious as to what will happen next week when whomever goes to Idol Island returns to their tribe. Since the next person to go will be from the same tribe as Elizabeth (the first one to go), they may get together and discuss. Then again, though, they probably won't have a chance. But, obviously, the more folks that go, the more everyone will know the truth about meeting with Sandra and Rob.

Heather is kind of useless, definitely not a threat. Tiffany is a conniver. I want her to go. So if she smashes the hour glass, the one groupmwill love her but the other will hate her. Either way she ends up with possible allies and definite enemies. I guess Im missing something.