CURRENT ISSUE 8/10/04 Front Page Weekly Features Ain't That America? Probe Interview McQuigly & Moss Moth's Diary Musing With Mitch Probe Poll Info Previous Issues Crap Shop Who's at Fault? Contact Us! Aye, mateys! Get you some Daily Probe booty!	C'mon, People, It's Time to Update the Red State/Blue State Model! A guest Probeatorial by Kaye Rensfield The red state/blue state model has for years been a popular graphic device to communicate election results. Choropleth maps are still being used to portray voting behavior. CNN's election-day tallies, for example, are demonstrated using this venerable model. But isn't it time we moved on? Hasn't technology advanced to the point where we can employ more appealing visuals? Something just a little less boring to look at, perhaps? Why is a change necessary? Well, a person not familiar with the US voting system might wrongly assume that the states in question are actually blue or red. Someone who favors red might be persuaded not to visit a wonderful vacation paradise such as California. Which brings me to my proposal: The Red Fish/Blue Fish Model. Based loosely on the classic children's book by Dr. Seuss, this methodology would put the fun back in politics and could even help to get our youth interested in the election process. As you can see, I used my new computer to generate a map of the United States, substituting red fish and blue fish for the traditional red or blue states. I believe I've got everything in its proper place. Although it's been years since my 6th-grade geography class, I have to say that it all came back to me once I got started. My only question was whether or not I got Lake Wyoming in the right spot, but I couldn't even find it on my neighbor's globe, so I'm just sort of guessing. Anyway, you get the idea. Hey, CNN people! Catch up with the rest of us here in the 21st century! Election results don't have to be so stodgy. (Transcribed by Tristan Fabriani)
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