I think the race I found the most interesting Lance was the NY 23rd US Congressional District.  Some pointed out that the division of the Republican party to two candidates would probably cost the race.  And it did ... but is that necessarily a bad thing.  The conservative side made the point that the party is moving away from what the voters want ... if you take the combined votes of the conservative and republican candidates, the republican party wins.  Yet the conservative candidate got, I believe like 46% of the vote and the republican candidate got 6%.  So it should be a wake-up call to the republican party that you need to move back to the values and platforms that brung you.  And what the republican candidate did withdrawing at the last minute and endorsing the Democrat candidate was shameful and insightful ... I'm not sure if it had any impact on the party but it was shameful nonetheless as was then the repulican party's decision to then endorse Hoffman.  All simply one man's opinion ...

I think that the same-sex marriage debate should be put to a national vote so that it would be banned once and for all. People don't want it. I just hope there are some good Republican candidates who run for the 2010 election. There needs to be a better balance of power.

Right now, I feel @ moments like an alien observer. I vote, and do so conscientiously, but there is a side of me that sees history moving in sweeping strides that are fascinating, man-mediated, while still as God has foretold....I'm not always sure how each of the smaller pieces, moments, or turns fits into the whole.

BTW...your Common Descent or Common Design page was very good...thanks!

blessings, Lance

Jim

Gays arguing for same-sex marriage isn't the issue.  The issue is civil rights.  Calling a gay union a marriage will not automatically give it legitamacy in the eyes of the world's religions, and it won't make descrimination go away, because you can't make people believe something they don't want to believe.  So why argue whether we call it marriage or a civil union.  So long as the same civil rights are accorded to each, the argument is a waste of time and can serve no point other than to inflame an already volitile issue. 

Governor races - Nothing much to say, except I don't see how Obama can't take this as a vote against his policies. Knowing him, he'll blame it on Bush.

Congressional race in NY, just show the average voter is stupid. 6% goes to a candidate who dropped out. And folks say voting for a third party candidate is a waste. Voting for a candidate who quit isn't?

Gay marriage has failed in every state where it has been put to a vote. Not a big surprise. One the other hand, voters generally DO want to extend some kind of rights to Gays UNLESS it's called marriage. Can't really debate that, since I can't say I disagree with it.

@bwebbjr - 

No Guarantee that the 6% that went to the Republican would have gone to the Independent. Fact is considering how liberal the RINO was, it'd probably gone to the Democrat if a conservative Republican had been running.

@mccanarie - 

Marriage isn't a Constitutional issue, it's a States issue. Nothing in the Constitution gives the Federal government authority over what constitutes marriage. So handling it on a state by state manner is the Constitutional way.

@thereluctantsinger - 

Gay marriage isn't a Civil Rights issue. It's a regulatory one. Frankly, I'd almost love to see Gay marriage made legal just to have the amusing experience to see how they'd handle divorce. And to be honest, I think we're more likely to see hetero marriages handled on a contract basis, i.e. set out with specific time lengths than we are to see Gay marriage legalized any time soon.