I realize that this year is merely a mid-term election, but I am still glued to the results on CNN. The only beef I have so far with the coverage is the fact that the majority of pundits tonight are middle-aged white males. One African American Man and one White Woman sprinkled in do not a "melting pot" make. Unfortunately they have decided to have Bill Bennett as one of the main pundits, but James Carville balances him out so I'll keep my thoughts about Mr. Bennett to myself. Where is Janeane Garofalo when you need her? Hopefully the Democrats will move the House and Senate back into alignment and possibly push it into the blue zone. We really need to shift the balance of power in this country or the dread that many of us have felt over the past 6 years will just continue to get heavier on each of us. I am lucky enough to live in a blue state and sometimes feel guilty for the ease of our elections here in New York, but regardless, the politics of the country still effect us here. We still see the economy plummet and the national rights of women and minorities bottom out and the war continue. There is one seat in New York that has been Republican for a while that we will hopefully turn over this year, most likely due to the Mark Foley scandal and our Representatives involvement (or lack thereof) with the issue. Tom Reynolds (Republican Congressman) was one of the key players in the Foley scandal and we are hoping that our Democratic candidate, Jack Davis, unseats him. Our polls, in New York, have just closed and the word is that this is a record mid-term election. No matter what happens (although I would love the Senate and House to tip to blue) at least we can say that Americans are getting much more involved with elections now. Maybe enough crap has happened in the last 6 years to actually get people up off their butts and to the polls on the day. The big story of this mid-term election are the ballot initiatives in various states. Here are some of the key issues that have made it to the ballot this year. Arizona: Raise Minimum Wage Ban Same Sex Marriage California: Parental Notification Colorado: Domestic Partnership Raise Minimum Wage Ban Same Sex Marriage Legalize Marijuana Idaho: Ban Same Sex Marriage Michigan: Restrict Affirmative Action Missouri: Allow Stem Cell Research Raise Minimum Wage Montana: Raise Minimum Wage Nevada: Raise Minimum Wage Legalize Marijuana Ohio: Raise Minimum Wage Oregon: Parental Notification South Carolina: Ban Same Sex Marriage Ban on Abortion Allow Medical Marijuana Tennessee: Ban Same Sex Marriage Virginia: Ban Same Sex Marriage Wisconsin: Ban Same Sex Marriage These ballot initiatives are the type that could significantly effect the residents of the states they are proposed in and, in turn, effect the rest of the country. The most severe of these initiatives is the ban on abortion being voted on in South Dakota. The effect of this could be an eventual reverse of Roe V. Wade. This is HORRIBLE for the right to choose and hopefully it will not pass. This is all I can say right now. Don't want to call anything as a Yes or No at this point, but I'll be writing later in the week to speak on the election results and their future effect on all the citizens of this country. Thanks for reading along with me! Peace, Hippiegrrl