At long last, this Tuesday we get to vote and put the country out of its misery. No more droning political ads, no more fake interviews with softball questions, and no more stupid Republicans claiming that if gays get married their own marriages will crumble away. Oh wait, I guess we won't be rid of that last one for awhile.

It's probably no secret who I'll be voting for in the presidential election, but the more interesting race in these parts is who will win the congressional seat between Emmanuel "I Live on a Street Named After Him" Cleaver III and Jeanne "Her Husband is the CEO of my Company" Patterson. Cleaver is the heavy favorite, the one with political experience, and the one endorsed by the newspaper, but don't underestimate the fact that Patterson has plowed $3 million of her own money into attack ads and her campaign.

Normally I like to pick a few non-Democrats to vote for, so that I'm not one of those "straight-ticket baby!" nutjobs. I also believe that our goal should be a government that is split 50-50 between Dems and Republicans so that both parties have to compromise and can't just pass whatever crazy legislation they want. Do any of you fellow Missourians have any suggestions for palatable Republicans?

On to the NFL Picks:

JAX at HOU: I expect a letdown this week for the Jags, and the Texans are well rested off a bye and at home. The Jaguars have become the new Titans though, completely impossible to pick. HOU

DET at DAL: Another tough one to gauge. The Cowboys looked dreadful last week, but are the Lions really a 5-2 team? DET

AZ at BUF: What is it this week with evenly-matched teams playing each other? In this case, both teams suck. BUF

BAL at PHI: Everyone is saying that the Eagles will lose this week because of Ray Lewis, but they're forgetting that Ray cannot play running back or quarterback. PHI

GB at WAS: Normally I would pick against the Packers, but in a tribute to Brett Favre's mother and her fight against breast cancer, I will give her son the nod. GB

CIN at TEN: The Titans may have Billy Volek and Antowain Smith in the starting lineup, but I just don't trust the Bengals to win back to back games. TEN

NYG at MIN: Kurt Warner returns to a dome, where he had much of his past successes. Unfortunately the guy putting up gaudy numbers is now on the other sideline. MIN

IND at KC: The Chiefs already showed last year that they couldn't beat the Colts at home. Indy can be beaten by a good defense, but the Chiefs don't quality. IND

CAR at SEA: The Seahawks are in a tailspin, but the Panthers are starting Brad Hoover at running back. Ouch. SEA

ATL at DEN: The Falcons got thoroughly dismantled last week by a good running team, and the same thing will probably happen this week. DEN

OAK at SD: I guess it's time to hop on the Chargers bandwagon against a team that lost to the Saints last week. Maybe the coach wasn't the problem in Oakland last year. SD

NE at PIT: The Pats first loss will be a) on the road b) against a good team c) with a good defense. The Steelers almost quality, but not with a rookie quarterback. NE

SF at CHI: When your starting quarterback wasn't a good passer even in college, it's not a good sign. The Bears won't get my pick for a long while. How did ESPN get stuck with this game? SF

MIA at NYJ: Congratulations to the Dolphins for getting their first win last week, in predictable fashion, against Mike Martz. NYJ