Here's the story:

http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_13707394?source=most_viewed

Basically, two county parks have become hot spots for gay men making surreptitious hook-ups. County rangers have busted 81 of them in recent months, but it continues unabated.

He hadn't.

Kim Bracey, the Democratic candidate, is virtually assured of a win. Independent Steven Young is running as a write-in, which is always a long shot under the best of circumstances. And Republican Wendell Banks, frankly, isn't a viable candidate. His big campaign platform is bringing an NFL team to York. And he's been making himself scarce in recent months, when a serious candidate would have been campaigning hard.

Well, there's one more incentive to vote every time: the knowledge that someone will be aware of it if I don't. That's OK. I always vote anyway. I actually get a kick out of it -- the feeling that I'm part of this big, important procedure.

And I take a certain pride in showing up during off-year elections. From interviewing people at the polls, I get the feeling I'm not the only one who feels that way.

It's the pride of a baseball fan who sticks with a team even through the losing seasons, or a music fan who was into a band before they got popular.

Voting for president? Hey, anyone can do that! We show up to vote for judges and school board members! We're hardcore, baby!

But I have to mention something that genuinely angers me about Halloween these days. It's the prevalence of "pimp and ho" costumes. As in pimp and whore, filtered through tongue-in-cheek ebonics.

It's a popular choice for couples. She dresses like a prostitute and he dresses like her pimp. Isn't that adorable?

From what I understand, "pimp and ho parties" are really popular as theme parties at fraternities these days.

But I simply can't remain silent on one issue. And since this is my last workday before Halloween, I must write about it.

Animal abuse.

For the love of God, people! Think about the poor, defenseless creatures of this planet and the things we subject them to!

What does this have to do with Halloween? Well ...

I haven't read it yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it also contains something about Obama being a Satan worshipper.

I hope the publisher was considerate enough not to include any big words that might confuse and frighten readers. And if you're buying hard-cover editions for people who are prepared to believe every word, you might want to sand down the corners so they don't accidentally injure themselves.

Here's the press release.

The 150 or so people seemed to still be nursing a collective endorphin buzz left over from last November. Not only did they see their party win the presidency and both houses of Congress, but the local party also picked up thousands of new registrations.

The keynote speaker was Joe Sestak, the congressman and former admiral from the Philly burbs who plans to take on Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary next year. I couldn't help but reflect on the irony of seeing him get pretty much the same reception that Pat Toomey always got at Republican gatherings.

I got an e-mail from the campaign of Jim Gerlach, congressman from Chester County, who is taking on Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett for the right to run as next year's Republican gubernatorial candidate.

Gerlach's campaign seems to be implying that Corbett is hypocritical for not stepping down as attorney general while he's running for governor, despite stating in a 1996 interview that he believes state attorney general should be an appointed office to eliminate any appearance of impropriety.

I have no problem with attack ads, as long as they're relevant and accurate. If your opponent's done something wrong and the electorate ought to know it, hey, go nuts.

But frankly, I think this particular criticism is kind of a reach. Absent any indications that Corbett has demonstrated conflict of interest, I'm not too worried about him keeping his job for now.

That bieng said, I was pretty impressed with Gerlach when he spoke at the York County Republican Victory Dinner at the Holiday Inn in West Manchester the Thursday before last.

Gerlach's not a flashy speaker. After a rather lame joke and the obligatory reference to his difficult upbringing, much of his discussion involved minute detailing of his policy proposals.

And that's exactly what impressed me. When it comes to political candidates, I tend to gravitate toward the one who'd look more at home in a back office going over reports and accounting sheets than in front of a podium, stirring up the crowd with his lofty rhetoric.

"Hey, if you elect me, here's what I want to do ..." Now that's my kind of campaign speech!

Anyway, here's the press release:

Yeah, I like the convenience of listening to music that way, but what I really enjoy are the podcasts. One of my recent discoveries is a podcast that plays great old radio shows from the 1920s through the 1940s.

I was listening to one this morning that featured a detective with a tough female sidekick. It got me thinking about the recession, and what it might mean for women.

Then again, maybe the sheer volume of Internet soundboard pranks using clips from Schwarzenegger movies are starting to have an effect.