The vote was rocked

Well it looks like the Democrats successfully overturned the power ratio in the House, and possibly in the Senate. It's still a little early so I'm not sure if that's 100% yet. So the people wanted a change, and the people got a change. Now we'll see if the change is for the better. Only time will tell.

In other election news, I'm super happy to report that issue 4, the Ohio Constitutional amendment to force-allow smoking in many public places has FAILED, and issue 5, the law proposed to ban smoking in most public places has PASSED!!! WOO HOO!!! You can find more about it here: SmokeFreeOhio. One of my favorite 'dissenting arguments' against issue 5 was that gov't shouldn't control people's behavior. First of all, issue 5 wasn't banning smoking entirely. You still have your car, your house, and certain outdoor locations. Most enclosed, public spaces will now be smoke free. Second of all, the government does control other behaviors that are considered dangerous to other people, not just the person partaking in the activity. Speeding, anyone? Driving drunk? Shooting a gun off in a public place? If you want to get into the debate, those DO control your behavior. It just so happens that all those other behaviors have a DIRECT effect on the health and well-being of anybody you're around. Since the general public tends to be too stupid to protect themselves, it falls to the government to protect them. Understand that I don't believe this argument to extremes. I wish people were smart enough to not smoke, or not drive drunk. But they do, despite knowing the dangers.

Anyway, now we won't have to say "party of 3, non-smoking" anymore! Woo!