"Thanks to your help, we were able to get bottled water vending machines banned from school campuses across the nation!" This was the beginning line of an in-show commercial during "The Biggest Loser" last night, and completely startled me. We were then reminded how bad these plastic bottles are bad for the environment. I remember when I was in high school, there was an initiative to get soda machines out of schools, and replace them with bottled water. So, now that the bottled water machines are gone, are we going back to cans of coke, or just refraining from beverages as a whole?

(a continuation) #11. James Polk With the border region of Mexico and the United States in dispute, James Polk initially set out to achieve diplomatic reconciliation. But when Mexico declined his initial buy-out offer, Polk deemed Mexican presence in this disputed region enough to declare war. Over time, U.S. military strength caused Mexico to concede and accept financial terms less than originally offered. While this resulted in a substantial increase of American land, it also enraged a neighboring country where resentment of this action still lingers today.