If the 1994 mid-term election represented the start of the right-wing chill in the US, we can only hope that the 2006 election represents its end. The Democrats have taken control of the House of Reps. Maybe, just maybe, they may yet grab control of the Senate.

Bush 43's response at a Wednesday afternoon presser will be interesting. Is Rumsfeld's sword ready to be fallen upon?

Special mention to the squirrel in Oklahoma that ate through some cables and blacked out polling booths for a couple of hours. Honourable mention also to those thousands of fine, upstanding, computer-illiterate volunteers who muddled through manning the booths in the World's Greatest Democracy.

Seattle residents are voting today on, among other things, "City of Seattle Referendum No.1: Adult Entertainment". It aims to define regulatory standards for the city's strip clubs.

There's stringent lighting standards, elevation standards for railings around stages, and, biggest shock horror, lap dancers will not be allowed within four feet of the patrons. (One wonders how the legislators arrived at that dimension.)

The Seattle Times and the Washington Post take up the story. The complete (and at times explicit) text of the ordinance being put forward at today's election is here.