While it remains my dream that problems with voter registration, pollworker training, and statewide voter databases be eliminated in every state, I must admit that I’d most prefer that they first be dealt with in swing states. I know, I know swing states get all the attention. The red state voter in Kansas and the blue state voter in California are no less important than the swing state voter in Ohio. And electoral reform should be done for its own sake, not just when it’s convenient for our candidate, right? Right.

Yet, the worst outcome of a troubled electoral process would be if the will of the people was subverted and the aforementioned problems thwarted voter intent. Which is why we ought to pay special attention to problems in the states where the vote will be close.

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American brewing icon Anheuser-Busch has agreed to a $50 Billion takeover by Belgian based brewer InBev in a deal set to create the world’s largest beer maker. What sealed the deal in the month long negotiations between the two brewing giants was InBev raising its offer to $70.00 per share, 27% higher than Anheuser-Busch’s all time high stock price from 2002, and $5.00 per share higher than InBev’s initial offer reported on TakePart last month.

Although many American politicians including Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama and Missouri Governor Matt Blunt have come out against the deal, personally I’m all for it. For one, as a matter of personal taste, Anheuser-Busch could use the help in crafting their brews from InBev, the same company that produces one of my favorite beers, Stella Artois. Secondly, the new company will be a truly international conglomerate. InBev itself was formed in a 2004 merger between Brazilian brewer AmBev and Belgian based Interbrew and although the company is based out of Leuven, Belgium, its management is made up of primarily Brazilian executives. So we’ll end up with America’s favorite beer, owned by a company operating out of Belgium and run by Brazilians - a perfect brew for a globalized, interdependent world.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Nicole Hughes:

U.S. Media Ignores Link Between Midwest Floods and Global Warming

Top 10 Houseplants for Removing Indoor Air Pollution

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Andy Kondrat:

Dubai to Build Rotating Positive Energy Tower

Bioethicist Peter Singer Tackles World Food Shortage

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Jon Popham:

Americacorps Workers Assist Flood Ravaged Town

Australians “Out-Fat” Americans

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Giulia Rozzi:

Progressive Book Club

Oprah Recommends “A New Earth”

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Gina Telaroli:

Human Rights Watch 2008 Film Festival Update

SilverDocs 2008 Update

Americorps disaster response workers are laboring hard to save the flood ravaged town of Clarksville, Missouri. An Americorps team led by Katie Rooney and Kyle Henning has been coordinating volunteer and community liaison efforts out of the City Hall of the small Mississippi River community, population 490.

“I think they are awesome,” Clarksville Alderman Mike Russell, who doubles as the town’s emergency services manager, told MSNBC. “I can literally tell you that if it was not for them running the City Hall end, we would be much worse off.”

Americorps is a Federal National Service program created by President Clinton in 1993. Members specialize in a wide array of domestic issues ranging from environmental programs to literacy initiatives. The Clarksville team was part of a disaster response unit based out of St. Louis, Missouri who had just finished assisting tornado victims in the Southwest portion of the state when they were called to help out with the disastrous Mississippi flooding in Clarksville. Americorps members receive healthcare, a few hundred dollars a month, a modest educational grant and numerous ready to eat meals for their invaluable service to pressing issues confronting the country.

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Budweiser parent corporation Anheuser-Busch has received an acquisition offer Belgian Brewer InBev, makers of Stella Artois and Beck’s. The proposed sale has American politicians in an uproar over the prospect of losing the King of Beers and his court of cronies including Michelob, Busch, Rolling Rock and King Cobra to European control.

The unsolicited share offer from InBev promises $65.00 per share of Anheuser-Busch, well above the stock’s closing price of $58.35 at the end of trading yesterday. Wall Street reacted favorably to the bid, driving the share price up to $62.80 in after hours trading last night. But politicians were not so pleased, particularly in Anheuser-Busch’s home state of Missouri. The Show-Me State’s Governor Matt Blunt had this to say, “I am strongly opposed to the sale of Anheuser-Busch, and today’s offer to purchase the company is deeply troubling to me.” Blunt has directed the Missouri Department of Economic Development to see if there is a way to stop the deal from going through.

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