As you know, yesterday was election day across the country. And so, this morning I was surveying the various results of mayorial races, local officials, referendums and propositions. Some interesting, most not. But for me, the most disappointing result I've come across is the constitutional amendment passed by Texas voters, by a frightening 3:1 margin, to formally ban gay marriage. Of course, Texas is one of the more conservative states in the Union and it shouldn't come as any surprise that they would pass such a proposition. But I am still finding this quite disturbing. As most of you probably know, I was raised in Austin, TX and I still think of myself as a Texan in many ways. I have serious intentions of moving back in the not-so-distant future. These facts likely explain my annoyance. But here's an interesting stat: Texas is now the 19th state in the U.S. to pass just such a ban on gay marriage. 19 states! Most amendments passed in the last year alone! Maybe I live in a naive (and liberal) bubble, but I did not realize how many states had gone this route. It speaks volumes of where we are in this country idealogically. And it pisses me off something fierce. Now, I am sincerely not interested in getting into a political debate with any readers out there, although I guess I am asking for it by this very posting. But suffice it to say that I feel very, very strongly that this type of legislation is immoral, discriminatory and a clear violation of the separation of church and state. It is contradictory to every value I possess, and simply disgusts me. That's just how I feel. So I guess that's it. Admittedly, this is a poor excuse of a protest. After this, I will drink a Coca-Cola Classic, smoke a Camel cigarette, watch an all-new episode of Lost, laugh at a Capital-One commerical, and ask my wife what color we should paint the guest room. Tomorrow I will surely go through a similar routine right after learning how many people died in Iraq that day. I am a model of political activism. So it goes.