Yesterday, the Washington Post published a story by Monica Hesse on election night hookups as pursued through Craigslist personals ads. But soft! Was it not mere hours before yesterday that I reported on election night hookups as pursued through Craigslist personal ads?

I smell blog item!

Hesse’s name is very similar to mine, which is Hess. But look further, and you will discover several subtle differences between Hesse’s piece and my own.

First, Hesse relies on the more romantic end of the Craigslist hook-up spectrum (”Missed Connections”), while mine (Hess’s) focuses on the Web site’s tawdrier offerings (”Casual Encounters”). This is no accident. Hesse’s choice belies her newspaper of record’s standards of decency, standards which are not shared by my alternative news-weekly. So while Hesse’s piece employs expressions of sexuality suitable for the reader of delicate sensibilities (”Awwww yeah”), my piece instead chooses to call a “clusterfuck” a “clusterfuck.” (”Clusterfuck” being a term that Washington Post standards prevent Monica Hesse from printing without repercussion).

But though Hesse’s piece adheres to Washington Post standards of decency, it does endeavor to break free of her newspaper’s more traditional standards of style. Hesse employs italics in order to convey the thoughts of election night participants (”Never felt that kind of euphoria . . . Out of body . . .”), ALL CAPS and irregular punctuation to express surprise (”They were drinking, chatting, hanging out, when suddenly she spotted . . . CORDUROY JACKET!!”), and italics coupled with repetition in order to build suspense (”For Obama! For Obama!”). My piece, on the other hand, has been vigorously edited to purge it of non-standard formatting, save for several carefully placed sarcastic asides.

In conclusion, people will make any excuse to convince other humans to have sex with them, then speak candidly about it to local newspapers.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Attorney Gloria Allred and her clients, a lesbian couple, who won right to marry in the California Supreme Court will hold a news conference to announce a new lawsuit against Prop. 8. . . . Ms. Allred and her law firm represented the couple in their victory before the California Supreme Court. Her clients became the first to marry in Los Angeles County in June.

Ms. Allred will file the new lawsuit today with the California Supreme Court on behalf of the couple. The new lawsuit will contain a new and controversial legal argument as to why Prop. 8 is unconstitutional. Copies of the lawsuit will be provided to the press at the news conference.

* Feministing has a comprehensive round-up of ballot measures of interest to both women and gays. Overall, the results are “pro-choice, anti-gay,” with three anti-choice measures failing across America. (Feministing also throws in the anti-immigrant and anti-equal opportunity initiatives for good measure). The most ridiculous, Colorado’s Amendment 48, was shut down by 73% of voters who spoke out “against granting fertilized eggs full rights.” Whew, because you never know when you’re gonna get one of those, am I right ladies?

* Jezebel’s Megan (and former Jezebel Moe) discuss the morning after, reflect on grown men crying. Says Megan:

I think most people had pretty good parties, from the looks of things. I was actually sort of fascinated last night, flipping channels, Juan Williams, Eugene Robinson and Roland Martin (Fox, MSNBC, and CNN, respectively) were all crying. I mean, these are men who, while not anchors, are literally quite close to the tops of their professions, and yet it took this to make them feel actually accepted, was the sense that I got. It was kind of amazing.

* And the folks at The Onion put a damper on all our celebration with their funnies:

As we enter a new era of equality for all people, the election of Barack Obama will decidedly be a milestone in U.S. history, undeniable proof that Americans, when pushed to the very brink, are willing to look past outward appearances and judge a person by the quality of his character and strength of his record. So as long as that person is not a woman.

* Shakesville offers “words of hope from an old queer.”

* Meanwhile, Meghan McCain, who has done a great job documenting the campaign, blogs her father’s concession speech. Here’s to hopping Meghan sets off on her own now and starts her own blog.

Last night, president-elect Barack Obama included gay Americans in his message of unity between all citizens, “rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight.” But Obama and VP-elect Joe Biden don’t support gay marriage—and success of several anti-gay ballot initiatives around the country mirror that distinction.

* Prop 8, the initiative that would rescind existing marriage rights from gay Californians, is set to pass.

* A similar measure in Arizona, Prop 102, is a preemptive strike against gay marriage in the state. Arizona voters passed it yesterday.

* Florida’s Amendment 2 passed with 62% voter support, banning gay marriage and also preventing gay couples from claiming many of the same civil union benefits as straight couples.

* In the most backwards initiative of the night, Arkansas voted against the right of gay couples to adopt.

Photo of San Francisco’s Castro Theater by davitydave shows Californians celebrating Obama’s victory . . . even as many lamented the poll numbers showing support for Prop 8.