Get out the vote (if it’s not too much trouble): In trying to explain away their stunning loss at the polls last week, gay rights leaders pinned the blame for their lackluster campaign on the ice storm last month. Apparently, all was sunny on the anti’s victorious side of the street. An act of God? You decide.

Slippery slope: Gov. Angus King doesn’t want to reimburse folks for the thousands of generators they bought during the recent meteorologic mishap, saying it would set an unafforable precedent. Reps. Tom Allen and John Baldacci are critical, saying the state ought to buy the nearly new personal power plants at a discount and squirrel them away for the next storm of the century. Will they guarantee those puppies start on the first pull in 2098?

Until parole we do part: Moments after he sentenced a man and a woman to 15 years each for a robbery that ended in a shootout with police, an Ohio judge granted the perps a last request and joined the unhappy couple in unholy matrimony. Their accomplice, who got 25 years, sobbed uncontrollably. Weddings always make us cry, too.

Witch hunt bag limit: Citing the steady flow of partisan leaks to the media, Sen. Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, says independent counsel Kenneth Starr may be just a tad too biased for an impartial investigation of the president. What tipped him off, the Bill Clinton voodoo doll or the Hillary dart board?

English as a second language: Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern wants the IRA-allied Sinn Fein party booted out of the ongoing Northern Ireland peace talks for its involvement in two killings last week. Sinn Fein says the expulsion would be unwise, as it might lead to violence.

Perspective, please: Bangor is up to its backboard in fans this week for the Eastern Maine tournament. Have fun, root hard, be gracious in victory or defeat and remember — high school basketball is only slightly more important than life itself.