Saying that he felt "used and abused" by the political rally that was supposed to be a memorial for Sen. Paul Wellstone, Gov. Jesse Ventura has announced that he will not appoint a Democrat to be Wellstone's interim successor.

This means that the Democrats will have 49 Senators, the Republicans will have at least 49 Senators, and there will be 1 or 2 Independants.

Should the interim successor be a Republican, the Republicans will take control of the Senate until Jan 20. Should he/she be an Independant, the Senate will be evenly split between the two parties, chaimanships and committees will be equally split, and the deciding vote to break deadlocks will be in the hands of Vice President Dick Cheney.

The long dark night of the Democratic obstructionist Senate is over, if only until Jan 20.

God Bless America.