Once the election results are in, you might find yourself very happy or very disappointed, depending on the outcome.

It may be difficult to mask how you are feeling when you are around your co-workers or people with whom you’d rather not talk politics.

Dr. Linda Reiss, a psychologist in Minneapolis, said there will likely be some people who will experience a bit of post-election depression. In some cases, it extends beyond disappointment over the election results.

Anger over a candidate or an issue winning or losing can subconsciously trigger other emotions that have been buried, some deep disappointment that occurred when we were much younger or even when we were children. The day after the election can remind us of how we felt at other times in our lives when we felt those close to us where not making rational decisions.

**********************************************

From illegal immigrants to defense contractors and millionaires to Medicaid patients, Americans had plenty riding on Tuesday’s outcome — but few were expecting the election to provide answers to the gridlock that has prevented Washington from tackling the big issues

The agenda is extensive and seemingly growing longer every week: Another trillion-dollar deficit is looming in 2013, debt has topped $16 trillion, the immigration system is broken, the tax code needs an overhaul, gas prices and unemployment remain stubbornly high, a final decision on the Keystone pipeline lingers, Iran ’s nuclear program looms ever larger, and al Qaeda may be resurgent in parts of the Middle East.

Some problems won’t even wait for Inauguration Day , Jan. 20.

The new year will usher in higher income taxes across the board as the George W. Bush-era tax cuts are due to expire Jan. 1.

One day later, the $110 billion in automatic spending "sequesters" set in motion by last year’s debt deal take effect, slashing equally from defense and domestic spending.

But an angry electorate begging for change did little to upset the balance of power in Washington, where gridlock has reigned and shows no signs of letting up.

*************************************

A suspect in a double homicide took callousness to a new level yesterday: While on the witness stand, Nathan Burris snapped his fingers at the jury and told them to hurry up and convict him so he could get back to his cell in time for Monday Night Football, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . While the victims' families watched silently, the Contra Costa Times adds that Burris giggled and cursed during his testimony, and at one point, speaking to the prosecutor, said of the jury, "This isn't Sesame Street. They get it, bro."

"I did it. So what?" Burris said of the 2009 killings, adding, "No remorse, no regrets, no mercy ... You want me to draw it out in crayon?" He faces life in prison without parole or the death penalty for the murder of his longtime girlfriend and her friend at a toll plaza in San Francisco. He's apparently not afraid to die either—before changing his mind several times about whether to appeal, he told the court he was ready to spend the rest of his life behind bars, on Death Row or not.

****************************************

A former female Minnesota police officer will receive more than $1million in multiple lawsuit settlements after learning that dozens of her former co-workers illegally accessed her driver’s licence record just to gawk at her picture.

The Minneapolis City Council has agreed last week to pay Anne Marie Rasmusson $392,000, on top of a $280,000 settlement she reached with several other cities whose officers violated the law by accessing her record for personal reasons.

Rasmusson will also be awarded $385,000 from the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, for a total of $1,057,000 that taxpayers will have to pay. That figure could be even higher if the retired officer wins her suit against the state.

The case marks one of the largest data breaches committed by law enforcement officials in history, according to the Minneapolis independent paper City Pages <http://www.citypages.com/2012-02-22/news/is-anne-marie-rasmusson-too-hot-to-have-a-driver-s-license/>.

An investigation into Minnesota’s Dakota County Sheriff’s office, as well as state troopers and Bloomington police show that more than 100 officers - from chiefs on down - were using the database as their personal Facebook.

Rasmusson, who was known by colleagues as Bubbles because of her cheerful personality, first became aware that other officers were looking up her photo when a former police academy colleague mentioned to her in 2009 that she looked great and that he and his partner had used their squad car computer to view her driver’s license image.

She became suspicious when a former academy friend said she looked great in her driver’s licence photo. Then unsolicited texts from other officers trickled in, requesting her company on boating excursions.

Tired of the texts, she insisted on an audit, and the results were shocking.

Her personal data – including her address, phone number, and driver’s licence information – had been accessed repeatedly by officers since 2007.

If federal privacy laws swing in her favour, all 104 officers who viewed her profile could lose their jobs.