Elections mixed

Sad to hear that the bigots in Maine repealed their same-sex marriage law, but at least they didn't go so far as to ban domestic violence charges except for straight, married couples like they accidentally did here in Ohio. Sucks to live in Virginia, too, but then again the Democrat running was a complete idiot and in a way I'm glad he didn't get elected. The dude was more right-wing than the Republican. Also laughing my ass off that the Palin pick in NY-23 got beat after screwing over the Republican candidate. It's funny, the GOP could have held onto that seat with ease, but the lunatics on the far right keep trying to purge the party of mainstream Republicans, and as a result they keep shedding seats to the Democrats. Keep up the good work.

Locally I'm glad to see that most of the issues I voted for went my way. All of the local library levies were passed after the Governor slashed their budgets by over 50% this year. I was worried about that, because there are a lot of people in this area who won't even vote for a school levy to educate the kids who are going to take care of them when they get old. But as I watched the returns come in last night, I slept a little easier knowing that the one public resource I use more than any other is going to be able to operate for at least a few more years.

The casino bill passed also, which in my mind is a good thing. Religious wackos have managed to defeat casino bills for almost 20 years, but finally we got one passed, and it allows more casinos than any bill I can remember. I don't gamble, don't even play the lottery, but I'm tired of people telling me I can't do something just because the Bible supposedly says it's a sin.

The only issue I wish had failed but didn't was the farm bill, that let's corporate mega-farms hand-select a board of regulators that has complete control over farming regulations in Ohio, over and above the Department of Agriculture. Not only that, but the board shields the mega-farms from lawsuits over animal abuse and pollution violations. So now these huge corporate farms can basically treat animals however they want and dump whatever nasty chemicals into the ground they desire. I'm not anti-farm, but I am against animal abuse and the massive pollution these huge farms can create if left unchecked.