Mike Huckabee stops by the Daily Show to let us know that being gay is a choice. And that he’s kind of a prick.

Stewart: Segregation used to be the law until the courts intervened.

Huckabee: There’s a big difference between a person being black and a person practicing a lifestyle and engaging in a marital relationship.

Stewart: Okay, actually this is helpful because it gets to the crux of it. … And I’ll tell you this: Religion is far more of a choice than homosexuality. And the protections that we have for religion — we protect religion. And talk about a lifestyle choice — that is absolutely a choice. Gay people don’t choose to be gay. At what age did you choose to not be gay?

Watch the whole interview.

Some things we learned about fashion this week.

A freshly dry-cleaned shirt can offset jeans purchased during Bush’s first term and last washed during the Democratic primaries, to the extent that your boss and co-workers will compliment you on your appearance instead of muttering about the hippy in sandals like they usually do.

Chaps, whether real, or of the faux-sewn-onto-your-jeans pattern are never, ever acceptable, especially if you have no horse nearby.

(just a note – This post contains blatant supposition, potentially harmful alliterations, and a bit of field reporting from our chief sports correspondent Brian J. Pinero, esquire).

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: College Station, and the cult of Texas A&M that it houses is a weird and mysterious place. I would challenge you to find another spot in this country with as many weird, archaic and potentially psychologically damaging traditions as my Alma Mater.

Ironically on the flip-side, there’s my love/hate relationship with College football. My bias for teams has nothing to do with athleticism or skill, it’s more about history and familial heritage. Much of my family went to the University of Oklahoma. My first dog was a giant yellow lab named Sooner. Guess who i pull for when OU plays Texas. Family events, like Thanksgiving dinner, have in the past taken a back-seat to important rivalry games such as Texas v Texas A&M. Hell, my great-grandfather used to teach my mom and my aunt the ref’s hand signals in the back seat on the way to the OU games.  God, apple pie, America and OU’s 47 game-winning-streak that begun in 1953.

So with that both these points in mind I carefully considered Brian’s late friday offer of tickets to the A&M vs Texas Tech Game. A game at Kyle Field is an impressive display of the acoustical influence, team spirit and the power of the Aggie-brainwashing apparatus at work. But Texas Tech is also ranked fifth in the nation, and it was perfect biking weather in Austin. I passed.

B on the other hand did not and, in addition to the game got the chance to return to the mother-womb of A&M, the all-father of our college experience, the TAMU Rec center rock wall. I guessing when he and Brian burst through the front door of the rec center, with the sun at their backs, the music immediately switched to the Rocky theme, life slowed to a quarter of its normal speed, and scantily clad gym-bound co-ed’s all stopped, stared and wondered aloud – are they back? Could LaRochelle be far behind? Then Badowski pulls out his Scarpa Lightnings, puts on a harness, says, “daddy’s home,” and proceeds to climb 5.13c off the couch. (FYI – for those confused, the last sentence there is all climber speak).

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The Olympics have been over for about a week and you know why you haven’t heard anything about the Men’s Olympic Cross Country Mountain Bike Race? Here’s a clue:

In the men’s race, both U.S. competitors – Adam Craig (Bend, Ore.) and Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.) – were pulled from the race after being lapped by the lead riders. Julien Absalon (FRA) successfully defended his Olympic title, while Jean-Cristophe Peraud (FRA) claimed the silver and Nino Schurter (SUI) took bronze.

The men’s race started a field of 50, but only 28 finished after enduring high late-afternoon temperatures.

A couple of points here. First I’m a little more obsessed with this than I should be because it’s the only sport I’ve ever participated in competitively. so color me be biased and file this whole post under hypercritical-Monday-morning-quarterback.

Secondly, lets focus on the last sentence there: “only 28 finished after enduring high late-afternoon temperatures.” Hrm. Where’s a hot place that people like to ride mountain bikes, even when it’s 110 heat index? Here’s a hint, starts with a ‘T’ and ends with an ‘exas.’ Hrm. Good thing we had a lot of Olympic riders ready for hot climates from southern states. Oh. Oregon and Colorado. Yeah, those aren’t really warm places. Hrmmmm…

Then there’s the qualifying system. For some stupid reason, because we invented this sport we’ve decided to make it ridiculously drawn-out and difficult for the best riders to get sorted out and to the Olympics. So much so, that by the time they get there, they’re completely smoked. Watch Offroad to Athens if you need clarification. Maybe we feel like, as the founder’s of the sport, we should be giving those other guys a chance. Either that or we like losing. Seriously, the way USAcycling runs its mountain biking division makes the BCS system look logical and and fair.

Regardless, this is one of the best cases for Texas succession from the union that I’ve seen in a long time. I’m confident that there’s at least half  a dozen riders just here in Austin that cold have braved the “high late-afternoon temperatures” and actually finished the damn race, and maybe even kicked some french ass. A Texan Olympic team could bring a lot to the table: high-heat tolerance, technical terrain abilities and of course guns (wussy euros would think twice about passing on the singletrack is they thought we were packing heat). And, as a nice personal bonus to this plan, since I ranked about 300th in the state last year, there’s a good chance that I could make it to London in 2012 in something besides the 50k run-walk.

Who’s coming with me?

Just a note: the women’s team actually did quite well – pulling 7th and 8th.