Ah....Elections!

So as I'm typing, the Dems have (supposedly) taken the House and the Senate is still up for grabs. At this moment, the Dems need two seats for a "majority" and the races are too close to call. Even if they "win" 2 seats does not a mandate make, it would, however, completely lame duck the President for the remainder of his term and might, just might, inspire the Congress to get back to work...instead of acting as rubber stamps for the current Admin.

Eight states had bans on Same-Sex marriage amendments on their ballots and as of this post, 5 are projected as passing; Idaho, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. It's likely that the remaining 3 will pass as well--seeing that amendments to that effect have passed in all 20 states that have thrown one onto their ballots. These "protect marriage" amendments just stick in my craw! I'm really wishing one of the groups there would band together to REALLY stick a marriage "protection" amendment on the ballot--one that bans divorce. How about that you hypocrites?! You really want to save marriage? Well, make it impossible to divorce! That would keep marriage rates high, it would allow children to be raised by both of their parents, it would make communities more family friendly, and it would stay true to the word of the bible (or at least the teachings of the church...I mean, if Marriage is a sacred covenant, it shouldn't be a allowed to be broken by man...right?). Of course a measure or amendment to that effect would NEVER pass--why? Because it's crazy! If two people decide that their Marriage doesn't work for them any longer, or is a danger to them, they should be allowed out of it. At the same time, if two people love each other and want to make a commitment only to one another, then they should be allowed to do it! If straight folks can destroy a marriage, then gay ones should be allowed to create one.

Now, not all the election news is bad; Wages got a vote boost in several states (and Dems are saying they'll push for a Fed increase when they get back to work--but, we'll see if they stick to it)

Missouri passed it's amendment to allow stem-cell research (Yay! Michael J. Fox is a hero! I love that guy!). And some pundits are crediting McCaskill's victory (projected by CNN) to her support of that amendment.

The big kahuna was the law that South Dakota rejected (THANK YOU SOUTH DAKOTA VOTERS!!). This was the toughest possible ban on abortion to date. It would have made most abortions illegal in SD...except when the Mother's life was endangered. Yikes. Luckily, it was handily defeated. As was the parental notification law proposed in California.

So, like I said, it wasn't all bad. Still it was a hoot to watch the Election coverage...where much was talked about but, nothing was said (why even cover Elections on the day they are held? It's all speculation until the final tally...why not START the coverage on the following day? Or the following week? Most of the projections are exit polls and how accurate can they be? Uh..not very (Florida, anyone?).

More on specific measures can be found on CNN.com