News: Dear Abby, Kirsten Gillibrand, Bette Midler, 'Guy Code'

GQ magazine, Andy Cohen discusses why straight guys love his show: "I show a bunch of boobs and asses and good-looking women. I get your wives and girlfriends playing drinking games. I get 'em wound up, I get 'em drunk, and just when they're at the point where.... [then] I'm off the air.'"

MTV2's testosterone-laden show Guy Code will be addressing the gay spectrum next week, and most of the gents agree there is such a spectrum.

They don't illustrate like this anymore.

On gun control and gay marriage: "...The long-term trend on gun control, unlike gay marriage, has been a rise in opposition. As recently as April, the Pew Research Center put out a report noting the divergent trends on the two issues, noting that 'on gun control, Americans have become more conservative; on gay marriage, Americans have become more liberal.'"

  Michael Triplett, president of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalist Association, has died at the age of 48 after a battle with cancer. From the group's website: "His quiet demeanor masked a steely resolve and an uncanny ability to push our organization forward. Michael quickly became someone who could be relied on both to provide sage advice as well as the time and energy to help us accomplish our goals…. Michael was truly a joy for all of us to work with, and his loss will be felt among our organization for years to come. Our thoughts and prayers are with his partner, Jack and his family in Alabama."

An unknown number of hostages are dead during a state-run raid to end a siege in Algeria.

This camera can capture 3D images of falling snow.

Chris Christie calls the NRA ad attacking the President for using Secret Service for his children "reprehensible."

Sorry, conservatives, but Bette Midler is right about Ronald Reagan and the mentally ill.

Hateful Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins is wrong about It Gets Better, which he calls a "deceptive lie."

Pauline Friedman Phillips, the woman who wrote the Dr. Abby column as Abigail Van Buren, died at the age of 94.

A Toronto man accused of murdering his husband is now asking for the victim's $2 million life insurance and is also demanding his mourning family never see a dime.

Nicholous Hoult looked refreshingly hot at the Rome premiere of Warm Bodies.

You will be forgiven for taking some time to watch Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj hate one another.

Heads up, Australia - Robert Pattinson brought his guitar.

Matt Bomer is designing men's apparel inspired by his show, White Collar.

There's a new support group for GBT men in Atlanta who have been victims of hate crimes.

Retired Baptist Rev. Howard Bess stands with gay students at evangelical Wheaton College: "I am one of those supporters though I am not gay. Wheaton College is my alma mater and I am proud to be a Wheaton graduate. I found Wheaton to be a home for a rigorous academic education, and Wheaton’s student body and faculty comprised the greatest group of people I have ever known. They were dedicated, hard-working and highly principled. To them, Christ was Lord; nothing else was so important."

British Evangelical leader Steve Chalke comes out for recognition of same-sex relationships: "When we refuse to make room for gay people to live in loving, stable relationships, we consign them to lives of loneness, secrecy and fear."

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is again leading the call for Homeland Security and the Justice Department to guarantee that married bi-national same-sex couples not be deported or separated before the Supreme Court rules on marriage equality. "By taking these interim steps, vulnerable families affected by DOMA can remain together until the Supreme Court issues its decision," Gillibrand and other senators wrote. "Preserving family unity is a fundamental American value and is the cornerstone of our nation’s immigration law."

"No more wedding jokes, please," says Kim Kardashian.

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1276

'NEW YEAR': New video from Beach House.

SMARTER THAN A CONGRESSMAN?: Barney Frank on House's collective IQ.

NOT FOR A SIZE QUEEN: The world's shortest escalator.

SLAM!: NJ Gov. Chris Christie takes on House GOP, especially embattled Speaker John Boehner.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

Cory Booker Planning 2014 Senate Campaign, Say Sources

Cory Booker, the equality-minded hero mayor of Newark, won't be running against Chris Christie for the Garden State's gubernatorial seat. Instead, sources say he plans on making a go at the U.S. Senate in 2014.

New York's local NBC affiliate reports:

Booker will seek the U.S. Senate seat held by fellow Democrat Frank Lautenberg when his term is up in 2014, political sources tell NBC 4 New York. Lautenberg, 88, is the oldest current senator...

Booker's decision not to challenge Christie comes as the Republican incumbent enjoys record-high approval ratings in polls taken since Sandy hit the Garden State.

Many Democrats considered Booker, the two-term mayor of Newark, to be their best chance to take on the popular Christie.

LGBT equality groups were among those hoping to see Booker versus Christie.

NJ Assemblyman Reed Gusciora Introduces Bill to Allow Voters to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer) announced a bill in New Jersey that would allow voters to bring marriage equality to the state, the Star-Ledger reports:

Gusciora said he has been opposed to putting a civil rights question like marriage equality up to a popular vote. But the Assemblyman — New Jersey's first openly gay legislator — said his constituents asked him to change his mind in light of last month's election results.

"I am the last person who believes civil rights should be on the ballot, but civil rights delayed is civil rights denied," Gusciora said. "The timing is right. There is broader acceptance."

Modeled after the Maine ballot question, the bill, (A3611) would need support in both houses of the Legislature and Gov. Chris Christie's signature to become law. The measure would then be added to the following election-year ballot.

Gusciora said he expects the governor would sign his bill. Christie does not personally support gay marriage but has said he would sign a bill giving voters the right to decide the issue. "This is exactly what the Governor wants," he added.

Said Christie in January: "Let's put the question of same sex marriage on the ballot. It shouldn't be decided by 121 people in Trenton."

In November, NJ Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg disagreed with a ballot strategy, saying: I still don’t believe we should put civil rights onto a referendum."

Polls have shown that voters both support same-sex marriage, and would like to vote on it.

Gay Groups Hoping For Cory Booker Versus Chris Christie In 2013

With the New Jersey gubernatorial race around the corner, the state's LGBT activists are both publicly and privately encouraging Democratic Newark mayor Cory Booker to run against GOP incumbent Chris Christie.

"Do I think Cory Booker is the only Democrat who can beat Gov. Christie? No," Garden State Equality executive director Steven Goldstein said of the popular, heroic and gay friendly mayor. "Do I believe that he has a much better shot than anyone else? Absolutely."

And Fred Sainz from Human Rights Campaign agrees that Booker is in a unique position, both for his national visibility and the LGBT community's devotion. "Like few others, Cory Booker manages to capture the imagination of the LGBT community from all over the country, and from all walks of life," he said. "I would suspect a wide diversity of Americans would support his campaign and help get him the resources he needs to win." And then there's the obvious difference in LGBT politics: Booker endorses marriage equality, while Christie vetoed an equality law for political gain.

No official word on whether Booker will run, but two sources told the Star-Ledger that Booker will decide before Christmas. If he does, the NJ governor's race, with two such boisterous, charismatic figures, could easily become the main attraction in an otherwise sleepy off-year election season.

Romney Campaign, GOP Sore Over Chris Christie's Obama Embrace

The NYT reports on how furious various members of the GOP and the Romney campaign are at NJ Governor Chris Christie for putting his state ahead of his party in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy:

Inside the Romney campaign, there is little doubt that Mr. Christie’s expressions of admiration for the president, coupled with ubiquitous news coverage of the hurricane’s aftermath, raised Mr. Obama’s standing at a crucial moment.

During a lengthy autopsy of their campaign, Mr. Romney’s political advisers pored over data showing that an unusually large number of voters who remained undecided until the end of the campaign backed Mr. Obama. Many of them cited the storm as a major factor in their decision, according to a person involved in the discussion.

“Christie,” a Romney adviser said, “allowed Obama to be president, not a politician.”

In a sign of residual frustration, a banner headline popped up on Sunday on a Romney-friendly Web site, The Drudge Report, going after Mr. Christie for appearing on “Saturday Night Live” this past weekend “as residents suffer.”

Then of course, there are all the other reasons Romney lost:

Mr. Christie is, of course, a convenient scapegoat for a candidacy that fell short for many reasons — demographic, ideological and personal — and Mr. Romney’s campaign manager, Matt Rhoades, emphasized that Mr. Christie did “exactly what a governor should do” in a crisis.