You know the five here represents, I’d wager. My understanding is that six might happen very soon as well.

That said, I think this is the time and place for supporters of same-sex marriage to remember that they’d not be smart in assuming there’s now runaway momentum for their side of things. First, without minimizing the achievements to date, New England is easy, the rest of the US is going to be hard. Second, what’s given can be taken away. California is certainly an example of this, and in Maine, there’s almost certainly going to be a referendum fight about the law that just passed, just as there was a constitutional amendment in California. California isn’t Maine, nor Maine California, but anyone who doesn’t believe this is going to be a huge fight regardless isn’t paying attention.

I strongly believe we are moving toward nationwide same-sex marriage rights. I also believe the people who are against it are going to fight like hell all the way to the end. The easy part, such as it is, is pretty much over. It’s one thing to convince Maine, or even Iowa. Convincing Ohio (much less Mississippi) is whole other ball of wax.

Here’s a link to an LA Times piece in which a class of high school students tried going unplugged — no cell phones, no computers, no TV — for a week, and in the process made certain discoveries:

Daniel Romero read a book for the first time this year.

[Andres] Lopez actually communicated with an uncle during a rare conversation about swine flu, politics and history.

Jenny Corona connected with her autistic brother, and, to her utter amazement, read an entire Harry Potter book in four days.

Without her headphones blocking out the real world, Flor Salvador heard strange chirping sounds.

“I didn’t know we had birds!” she wrote in her journal.

Don’t think I’m mocking these kids. I know exactly where they are coming from.