The day after

My ears are still red-hot and painful, from listening to an elderly lady's reaction to the election. In the last 24 hours, I've heard every response imaginable - rage, disbelief, heartbreak, satisfaction, gloating, utter apathy and lack of concern...

It's fascinating. (If anyone out there is upset, vent at this screen if you like, but there can be no therapy here.)

This just in - tort reform failed in Oregon. We were trying for a $500,000 cap on awards for pain and suffering. We missed by less than one percentage point. (Now I want to vent at this screen.) Already it's hard to find a neurosurgeon around here. Looks like it will become harder.

Other results: Oregon declined to approve free medical marijuana for the indigent. (I'd rather give them free food, shelter, and conventional medical care.) The gay marriage ban was approved. (How was marriage "under attack?" Has anyone figured that out?) We're puzzling through this. We are from ultra-liberal Eugene. Some of us have never met a Bush voter.


Here's an esteemed colleague: "Republicans are brilliant at giving people a reason to vote. Look, Mississippi voted on gay marriage. Why would anyone put gay marriage on the ballot in Mississippi? Is it a burning issue there? It's only to mobilize the evangelical vote. It worked, it got everyone to the polls. Plus, they had the churches. People do what their churches tell them to do... How often do non-church-goers let anyone tell them what to do? They're just as likely to do the opposite, or do nothing at all..."

Afterthought - Oregon went for Kerry, but still voted down gay marriage, so something different must be going on here. Also, the last time I checked, people were doing lots of things that their church frowned on...again, the analysis doesn't really work...