A Mountain I'm Willing to Die On: "If our goal is to be tolerant of people who are different than we are, Chase, then we really are aiming quite low. Traffic jams are to be tolerated. People are to be celebrated."

The hits just keep on coming from OkTrends, Gay Sex vs. Straight Sex. The data diving has been top notch all the way along, but the commentary is getting funnier. An example, in discussing a “gay curious” U.S. map:

Awesomely, the mountain West lives up to its Brokeback reputation, and Canada is orange nearly coast-to-coast. Even in the yellow and blue areas, you can see pockets of gay curiosity in interesting places: Austin, Madison, Asheville. Anywhere soy milk is served, basically.

The Onion: Gay Teen Worried He Might Be Christian.

Nate Silver points his big stats brain at gay marriage and ranks states by what year they would likely vote against a gay marriage ban (bit of a double-negative there). He’s got a full half of the US theoretically ready to jump on board by 2012.

Jon Stewart and Mike Huckabee discuss gay marriage. “We protect religion, and talk about a lifestyle choice!” Stewart wins.

The Onion rises to the occasion, as usual: Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress, Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job, and Kobe Bryant Scores 25 In Holy Shit We Elected A Black President, are all gems. Is that last one the first ever Onion piece that is more touching than funny?

Like in '04, Mark Newman's fantastic maps remind us that our country is purple, not red and blue.

Two cartoons: one from Patrick Moberg and the other from Toles.

Reactions From Around the World.

I'm definitely going to print out and read this seven-part saga from Newsweek once all the chapters are posted. An "in-depth look behind the scenes of the campaign, consisting of exclusive behind-the-scenes reporting from the McCain and Obama camps assembled by a special team of reporters who were granted year-long access on the condition that none of their findings appear until after Election Day."

If there's a wet blanket in all this, it's California, with its five million bigots. Discouraging. I think, as a MA resident, I'll drive over there and demand they hand over the "Most Progressive State" championship belt they've held for so long. Great post from Andrew Sullivan. Also, Toles again.

Update #1: Ze Frank's from 52 to 48 with love (about).

First up, Jon Stewart debates gay marriage with William Bennett:

Bennett: It's a debate about whether you think marriage is between a man and woman.

Stewart: I disagree. It's a debate about whether you think gay people are part of the human condition or just a random fetish.

Second, but not last, EepyBird answers the age-old question, "What happens when you combine 200 liters of Diet Coke and over 500 Mentos mints?"