I just went to look at the results. David had posted the earlier ones. boy I am happy i woke up. Every single proposition failed. and although there is one I would have liked to have seen pass - i still think that every single propsition was 1) too complex for a yay/ nay vote and 2) a special election was not needed at this time.

for those that care

77% precincts reporting

PROP. 73

YES 48.9% NO 51.1%

Would require notification of parents before a girl under 18 could have

an abortion.

A17

PROP. 74

YES 46.6% NO 53.4%

Would extend the probationary period

for teachers.

A14

PROP. 75

YES 48.8% NO 51.2%

Would require public-

sector unions to get members' individual consent before using dues for political purposes.

A15

PROP. 76

YES 39.6% NO 60.4%

Would give governor new budget powers and limit growth in state spending.

A15

PROP. 77

YES 42.3% NO 57.7%

Would take legislative redistricting power away from state lawmakers

and give it to a panel of retired judges.

A14

PROP. 78

YES 41.9% NO 58.1%

Would set up discount prescription drug program for uninsured Californians (backed by the pharmaceutical industry).

A17

PROP. 79

YES 38.5% NO 61.5%

Would set up discount prescription drug program for the uninsured

(backed by consumer and labor groups).

A17

PROP. 80

YES 34% NO 66%

Would change regulation of electricity market and ban consumers in the future from contracting directly with energy providers.

A17

Just Say No apparently works for California.

Gronk.

I had to come into work at 7:00 am to log in the results for various ballot issues into our database (so the lawyers can write stories on the results before 10:00). This meant that I was up at 5:20 (I set the alarm for 5:45, but my body was freaked out about sleeping in, so it woke me up early instead), but since I was up, I brought in donuts for everyone. Now, everyone is asking me if it's my birthday, which it definitely is not--I just felt like bringing them in.

Good thing about this is that I'm taking off at 3:00--yay!

It's refreshing not to be a seething ball of rage or stuck in a fetal position on the couch after an election.

This. Ah, this. Though the rage will probably set in after a few hours, what with eventually having to think about the colossal waste of money the state can ill afford. Fuck you very much, Arnold.

Damn. There's that seething rageball again.

(I feel like such a Jewish mom when I'm posting things like that. I always want to open them with an "OK, I'm going to be a Jewish-mommy for a second here...". Only, in Israel, since most moms are Jewish, we call it "Polish mom". And then we have to explain how it shouldn't have anything to do with the question of where your mother lived before coming to Israel.)

She's come a long way, but I love the caption accompanying this article's picture.

I need to watch this on C-Span today. I wonder if it will be like when the tobacco executives sat in front of congress and said, "What? We didn't KNOW tobacco was dangerous and addictive!"

These guys may just say, "What? Hurricanes! We had to shut down refineries! It's not a crime to make a lot of money in this country!"

From Wired:

Crazy Curse of the Cats?
It's undeniably true that a scratched-up sofa can push a pet owner to the limits of sanity. But psychiatrist Dr. Fuller Torrey is investigating a possible link between cats and schizophrenia that's a bit more direct, The New York Daily News reports. Torrey says schizophrenics are more likely to have curled up with a feline friend during childhood, and theorizes that spores of the feline parasite Toxoplasma gondii -- present in cat droppings and swallowed or inhaled by pet owners -- could be the culprit. "My wife thinks I'm probably ultimately going to be assassinated by (cat lovers)," Torrey said, while pointing out that almost all animals carry "transmissible agents" that could affect humans. Bad kitty!

That's interesting, tommyrot. I'm a big fan of Dr. Fuller Torrey's work. He's really respected in the mental health community. Although cat lovers may hate his guts now.

I've been trying to resist posting something like "Good night, Perkins. Good post. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill block you in the morning". I failed.

Hee.

Like Beth and JZ, I am happy about the election results, though not the election and its costs.