Election-Eve Musings

Tomorrow is the big day. I'll be leaving early to work in Concord, NH; Grant may come with me if we can set up child care, as both kids have the day off. (What's up with that? Hey, parents, want to canvass or volunteer at the polls on Election Day? Fuggedaboutit.) Herewith a few random thoughts as the moment of truth approaches.

• It will not surprise you to learn that I plan to vote the straight Democratic ticket here in MA. I'll be voting no on Question 1 (repeal the state income tax), yes on Questions 2 and 3 (decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and ban dog racing, respectively). The only one I'm wavering on at all is Question 3: the argument on the no side seems mainly to be that the allegations of dog mistreatment are sensationalized and the ban would put a lot of people out of work. It seems pretty clear that in at least some cases the dogs are mistreated, and while I don't wish unemployment on anyone, that argument by itself doesn't seem to me valid: I wouldn't vote to legalize murder for hire on the ground that it would provide lucrative work for skilled assassins.
  
• California's Prop 8 was trailing in the polls last I looked. That's good news in my book. Religious questions aside (I'm not going there right now), the arguments in favor seem to boil down to 1) but we've never done that before 2) yuck. Let me assure you that not only has the sky over Massachusetts remained firmly in place since 2004, but Grant and I seem to be holding together too. Of course you never know: if he starts bringing home catalogs of men's swimwear I may have to rethink this.
  
• I broke the news to Fluffy that she's unlikely to win tomorrow. She's taken it in stride, as far as we can tell. Her failure to purchase a $150,000 wardrobe, or indeed any wardrobe at all, may have done her in.
  
• Yesterday I heard a promo on one of my favorite oldies stations for Christmas music, with the strong implication that they don't plan to wait much longer to switch over to an all-Santa-all-the-time format. Can we pass a law against playing Christmas music on the radio before, say, December 15? Now there's an initiative I could get behind.
  
• Michele "Joe McCarthy is my hero" Bachmann seems to be hanging on in MN-06. It's a shame, because, apart from the fact that the woman is a flaming wacko, I feel that the chance to be represented in Congress by a man named Elwyn Tinklenberg is not to be sneezed at.

Happy election, everyone! Don't forget to vote.