It was a long and muddy night for same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, with determined protesters on both sides, including the intrepid Miss Kim! Now we are one step away from the first approval of a "compromise amendment," which would give new meaning to "mealymouthed" by simultaneously prohibiting gay "marriage" and establishing gay "civil unions" with the exact same benefits and rights. This is unquestionably better than some of the alternatives -- but the fact remains, there will then be no rational basis whatsoever for the state to carry out these two parallel systems other than plain old homophobia. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it -- meanwhile, someone had better start prodding the city clerks to change those "Bride" and "Groom" blanks on the marriage licenses to "Spouse 1" and "Spouse 2" -- only 66 days left...