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Merrick again…

My man X-Ray Cat sent in this look at SHOOT ‘EM UP, the forthcoming project from Michael Davis.

He LOVES this movie, which will undoubtedly make some folks scream “plant!”. He’s no a plant…not even vaguely vegetative as far as I can tell. Many of his past reviews have been harsh to say the least. Which means, simply, he really loved this movie – maybe enough to marry it.

Which doesn’t surprise me. Since this screening, we’ve had a gaggle of giddy SHOOT ‘EM UP reviews, and only one that wasn’t so enthusiastic (if I recall correctly).

Hoping to protect Ryan Howard in the middle of their lineup, the Phillies are expected to make a strong push for Alfonso Soriano.

Penn State practice is a little quieter this week with coach Joe Paterno recovering from leg surgery.

Lynn Swann, the Hall of Fame receiver whose football career was one long string of successes, was beaten Tuesday in his bid to become Pennsylvania’s governor.

An anonymous reader writes, “Sun is about to announce its plans for open-sourcing Java SE and ME, according to CRN — and they’re going to use the GPL, not their own CDDL or another less-restrictive license.”

From Chris Bowers:

Don't know if these are accurate, but I just heard these.

Democrats leading in [Senate races]:

• VA: 52-47
• RI: 53-46
• PA: 57-42
• OH: 57-43
• NJ: 52-45
• MT: 53-46
• MO: 50-48
• MD: 53-46

Republicans leading:

• TN: 51-48
• AZ: 50-46
Corrected.

UPDATE - Still inaccurate, but also what the GOPers are sayng. The Corner has the exact same numbers.

Update: Judge Rappaport denied the injunction claiming that she does not have the authority to extend voting hours in Denver County. More at Colorado Confidential.

It's been bedlam in Denver.

The Colorado Democratic Party has asked a Denver District Court judge to extend voting this evening by two hours due to problems at Denver election centers.

Parties are gathered in a courtroom at the Denver City and County Building awaiting a ruling on the request.

CNN: 16 precincts in Cuyahoga County Ohio (near Cleveland) were ordered to stay open till 10pm due to voting problems.

Bumped - These results will start to roll in the next few minures.

I'll steal this from TNR on Indiana, where polls close at 6:00 p.m., or 2+ hours from now:

IN-8, John Hostettler ® vs. Brad Ellsworth (D): Incumbent Hostettler has been doomed by double-digits most of the season, so if he manages a low-single-digit loss (or, unbelievably, a win), that bodes ill.

IN-2, Chris Chocola ® vs. Joe Donnelly (D): Incumbent Chocola is a poster boy for the more policy-oriented sins of his party, being a loyal Republican whoÂ's supported tax cuts and big oil and so on; his district is relatively conservative. He's lagged slightly in the polls, but if he loses big, that may be a harbinger of an anti-Republican sweep.

IN-9, Michael Sodrel ® vs. Baron Hill (D): Sodrel has polled the closest to his challenger of these three endangered Republican incumbents, and this is the real bellwether race in Indiana. If he pulls off a comfortable win, scale back your optimism for other toss-ups.

IN-3, Mark Souder ® vs. Tom Hayhurst (D): Nobody really thinks Souder will lose, so if he topples, that looks real real good.

I'll see where I can steal some Kentucky info from, polls close at 6 there too.

UPDATE From commenter Tilthouse:

KY-02: This is the last minute long shot. If we win here, the wave is VERY big and we are taking the Senate too.

KY-04: This one has been on the radar for a long time. Rematch between Davis ® and former Congressman Lucas (D), who is well liked (and VERY conservative — well, it's a VERY conservative district). The PVI is R+11 (!). The polls have gone back and forth but mostly have the R ahead recently.

KY-03: A perennial race to watch, since this district is notionally Democratic. But incumbent Anne Northrup ® has a reputation for being a good politician and has does her contituency work well. However, challenger Yarmuth (D) is polling ahead now in tight single digits.

My analysis of KY-04 & KY-03 is that the conventional wisdom (that KY-04 is more vulnerable than KY-03) is wrong. If we win both, we have a solid wave (30+ seats). If we win one, it's still looking good. If we get KY-03 but not KY-04, the races were successfully nationalized. If we get KY-04, the pundits are basically on target.

Diebold is a prominent source of voter anger, but it isn't the only company that screws up our elections. Election Systems & Software claims to be “the world's most experienced election management company.” If that's true, the company's performance has become a compelling argument against the privatization of election management.

From Imboden, Arkansas:

ES&S has struck again, causing more frustrations at the polls. “It was hectic because we were backed up all the way double line to the door and couldn't get them out,” said Imboden poll worker Iva Jean Smith.

Around 7:00 a.m., most of the precincts in Lawrence County began experiencing problems with the electronic voting machines as they were preparing to open up the polls. The cause of the problem… ES&S, the company that runs the state's voting machine, supplied the county with the incorrect device that pulls up voter ballots.

The county clerk says she's “very dissatisfied” with ES&S. She certainly should be, given the company's poor performance during the county's primary and again today. And she isn't alone in her frustration. The list (pdf) of problems that ES&S or its voting machines have caused in other elections over the years is lengthy.

There are surely voting procedures that improve upon the slow but reliable X in a box on a paper ballot, but paper ballots are better than machines that can't be trusted. Acts or omissions that deprive citizens of their right to vote, whether intentional or negligent, undermine democracy. It's no wonder that nearly half the country, even in the most desperate of times, doesn't bother to vote.

Poll workers in Lawrence County said there were a couple of voters so skeptical of the electronic voting machines that they refused to vote all together.

As Big Tent wrote here, this election might be the one in which the demand for easy and verifiable voting reaches critical mass. Don't be shy about voicing those demands to any or all of the candidates who win tonight.

here. The highlight:

IN-08

Dem Ellsworth 41,145 62%
Rep Hostetler 25,539 38%

32% percent reported.

ELLSWORTH declared the winner by CNN. Donnelly and Baron Hill leading their GOP opponents. 3 Dem pickups in Indiana look likely.

here The highlight:

Kentucky 03

Dem Yarmuth 94,401 50%
Rep Northup 90,691 49%
81% of precincts reporting.

UPDATE: Yarmouth leads 117,000 to 110,000 with 4% left to count. It has not been called for Yarmouth. I do not know why. I am calling it. Yarmouth wins.