News: Brooklyn, Jim Carrey, Asteroid, Jodi Rell, Subway Drama

This is how an American soldier is made.

Brooklyn's oldest gay bar, The Starlite Lounge, in danger of closing: "The Starlite Lounge has been a Crown Heights fixture since the 1960s, serving gays and non-gays. In recent years, the venue has become a destination for neighborhood folks looking for a casual daytime hangout, as well as revelers who frequent the dance parties and karaoke nights, according to Leviticus."

WATCH: Drunk Boston woman almost gets run over by subway.

Jim Carrey's new website is pretty fantastic.

Gay man running for Toronto mayor.

Rhode Island domestic partners bill awaits anti-gay governor Carcieri's signature: "An opponent of gay marriage, Carcieri has not yet stated whether, he will sign, veto or allow to become law without his signature a bill to provide domestic partners with the right to make funeral arrangements for their partners."

How same-sex marriage has worked in The Netherlands.

Excellent chart on same-sex marriage and age.

Gays are not welcome at Vatican City, but what about all the gays who are already there?

Madonna is in Brazil to meet Jesus Luz's mother, who is 14 years her junior.

Andy Warhol's "jock" Polaroids are on display in NYC.

A previously-undiscovered asteroid came within 14,000 km of Earth last week and it was only noticed 15 hours before its closest approach: "This is the third-closest known non-impacting Earth approach on record for a cataloged (sic) asteroid."

David Beckham got a post-Halloween buzz.

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell says she's not running for reelection: "Rell choked up while listing her favorite memories while in office, including meeting those affected by the passage of public health insurance for the poor, updates to mass transit, and improvements to the state's education system. She cited a gay couple who hugged her at Stafford Motor Speedway after she signed the nation's first voluntarily passed civil union bill."

Westboro Baptist Church protests outside of Sasha and Malia Obama's school in D.C..

James Franco's General Hospital role: graffiti artist?

Paris Hilton threatening to sue for being made the spokesmodel for vacant space - literally.

New York Army specialist in Baghdad being discharged under 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': "Nathanael Bodon of Marlboro is a specialist in the Army Reserve stationed in Baghdad, Iraq. He has been in the reserves for about a year-and-a-half and in Iraq for some four months. The Army found out about Bodon when a fellow soldier found his blog with a picture of him kissing a former boyfriend and tipped off the Army brass."

Sally Kern's husband to join religious groups for Monday rally in D.C. against marriage equality.

Brazilian model Miro Moreira lowers his rate.

N.Y. Posts' Andrea Peyser defends cabbie who kicked out gays for hugging: " Mohamed faces the indignity of having his cab license yanked by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. He's already lost his job. But Medhat Mohamed is no bigot, and he's not a disgrace. He's also not a prude, a gay basher, a homophobe or the more colorful invective that's been lobbed in his direction by a chorus of yuppies with a large bone to pick."

Iraq Vet Darren Manzella Talks About Coming Out, Military Gay Ban

Darren Manzella talks about his tours of Iraq, coming out, and 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in this new video interview from CNN.

Says Manzella: "After returning from my first deployment in Iraq, after seeing death and violence, losing friends and comrades, it really made me look over my life...I looked at some issues I had always had trouble with. I had debated, 'Am I gay?'"

You may remember Manzella's interview with 60 Minutes, after which he was discharged under DADT.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Study: Support for 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Erodes Within Military

Researchers from the RAND corporation and the University of Florida have released the results of a new study which shows support for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has declined from within the military ranks:

The study found that just 40 percent of the military members surveyed expressed support for the policy, while 28 percent opposed it and 33 percent were neutral—less support than seen in previous surveys.

About 20 percent of those polled said they were aware of a gay or lesbian member in their unit, and about half of those said their presence was well known. In addition, three-quarters of those surveyed said they felt comfortable or very comfortable in the presence of gays or lesbians, according to the study...

...Researchers found no significant differences regarding attitudes toward gay and lesbian military members among members of the different services. Other findings from the study include:

* Compared to previous studies of military members, support for the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban continues to decline. The earliest polls in 1993 showed 75 percent agreed with the ban, 8 percent unsure and 16 percent were against it.

* The important factors for cohesion and readiness were officer/non-commissioned officer quality, training quality and equipment quality. Beyond these factors, knowing a gay or lesbian person in the unit was not associated significantly with ratings of unit cohesion or readiness.

* The most frequently endorsed arguments in support of integrating gays and lesbians were those that prioritized performance and qualifications over exclusionary practices.

Of course, Congress may be too busy this year or next to do anything about it.

Dick Durbin Sends Signal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Off Table for 2010

The Hill reports on next year's agenda in Congress:

"Reid, meanwhile, has pushed for the repeal of the military’s 'Don’t ask, don’t tell' policy, which prohibits gays from serving openly in the military. Gay-rights activists have put strong pressure on Obama and Democratic leaders to repeal the ban sooner rather than later. Reid sent a letter to Obama last month asking him to provide recommendations on gays serving in the military, noting that Congress is considering 'future legislative action.' Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he was not certain whether repealing 'Don’t ask, don’t tell' would be on next year’s agenda. It looks increasingly likely that healthcare reform will spill into next year, and Democrats have made it a high priority to overhaul the nation’s financial regulatory laws before next November. One Democratic senator facing reelection in a Republican-leaning state said he does not want to see the issue of gays in the military, immigration reform or even climate change on next year’s agenda."

If you recall, last month Durbin told Politico they were too busy right now to deal with it: "We have a very heavy, busy agenda and a few months left to do it. So it may not be now, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be soon."

Apparently that doesn't mean it will be, either.

So, according to Durbin, not now, not next year. Once again, they'll get to the gay stuff when it's convenient (or, of course, when we start withholding campaign contributions again).

News: H1N1, Banksy, Drew Gooden, Space Hotel, Justin Bourne

Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear appeal of lawsuit oever same-sex marriage referendum.

Dallas Mavericks Drew Gooden accused of calling fan a "faggot".

Lady Gaga found something else in her closet.

Census data: many similarities between straight married couples and gay married couples.

Gay candidate smeared as child molester in Annapolis election.

Anti-gay sign investigated as hate crime in Maine: "A hand-painted, plywood sign that had a threat directed at homosexuals was found nailed on a tree in the front yard of a Route 156 residence on Friday, police say."

Hypocrite: Rep. Joe Wilson blames Obama administration for vaccine shortage after voting no on funding bill to combat H1N1.

Space hotel to launch in 2012?

A look at Ultimate Fighting, its gay-friendly and not so gay-friendly fighters, and its gay fans: “Any guy involved in grappling is the furthest thing from homophobic in the world. I honestly think it would have no impact whatsoever with not only our fighters or our fan base. The guys in the UFC, everybody is so cool, it’s great sportsmanship, everybody has respect for each other. I honestly, it wouldn’t be a big deal to me and most of the guys I know in this sport, it wouldn’t be a big deal for them either.”

Circus: Kylie Minogue spent Halloween in NYC with Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone.

Miss Gay America crowned in St. Louis.

Minor league hockey player Justin Bourne: End the gay slurs. "In my days as a hockey player, I did nothing but contribute to hockey's culture of homophobia and prejudice against gays. I used gay slurs more times than I'd like to admit. Six months after I left my last professional locker room, I felt a twinge of regret, followed by a full-out, stomach punch of regret. And by the time I finished the first draft of this column, I was disgusted with myself."

Is Precious this year's Slumdog?

Listen: Silverton, Oregon's transgender mayor Stu Rasmussen profiled on WNYC's Radiolab.

Dancing with the Stars' Derek Hough: I'm not gay, but I almost played one on Cougar Town: "It would have been perfect. With all the rumors going around, I thought it would be really funny because it's just not true. But I was like, you know what? If that's what you want to see."

Rihanna discusses assault: "I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears."

Banksy commentary on graffiti vandalism covered in graffiti by vandals.

Minnesota pastor quits over Lutheran position on gay clergy.

Mariah Carey nearly takes spill on Jay Leno.

Twitter war erupts after user calls British actor Stephen Fry's Tweets "boring."

Conservative Washington Times highlights Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway's opposition to lifting ban on gays in the military: "But Gen. Conway has gone further than others in stating his opposition to a change in policy, according to the former official, who has been privy to private conversations on the matter. "He feels very strongly that [removing the ban] would be disruptive, and he opposes it," said the former official. Gen. Conway's private remarks stand in contrast to public utterances by other service chiefs, who have restricted themselves to repeating a well-rehearsed mantra: If Congress introduces a bill to repeal the ban, they will discuss it with the chain of command. If Congress changes the law, they will follow the law."

Senator Arlen Specter: Repeal DOMA, Pass ENDA, Rescind DADT

In a piece in the Huffington Post, Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) calls on Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA):

"Connecticut, Iowa, and Massachusetts have already passed laws recognizing same sex marriage and other states are moving in that direction. The states are the proper forum to address this divisive social and moral issue, not the Federal Government with a law that attempts to set one national standard for marriage. Prohibition showed just how difficult it is to enforce law establishing standards of personal behavior or morality. Coercion, whether civic or legal, in matters of this kind rarely works. It certainly won't halt public controversy surrounding the issue."

Specter also spells out his thoughts on hate crimes, ENDA, and Don't Ask, Don't Tell.