We never doubted for a second that Ellen Degeneres would do a bang-up job hosting the Oscars. She does, after all, have a bit of hosting experience.

Ms. D made history as the first lesbian to host the Oscars, an especially magnificent milestone considering all the homophobic dialogue as of late. With regard to those scandals and other discriminatory diatribes, Ellen had this to say:

If there were no blacks, Jews and gays, there'd be no Oscars.

NPR's got a bad rap. Too many people snub the national public radio station, claiming it's too stody, outdated or just plain boring. Of course, avid listeners know that's not the case (or you're just big nerds, like us.)

While we may not be able to entice you to tune in, perhaps we can encourage you to join their First Annual News Holiday Craft Contest? In an effort to gather as many menorah's and Christmas decorations as humanly possible, the station's asking listeners to send in crafts based on 2006's hottest news stories.

Above you see the Mel-norah. We're not sure what Mel Gibson would say, but we bet he'd use the word "kike". So, kiddies, head on over to NPR to get all the holiday-themed deets.

We're already working on our Ted Haggard Christmas angel with meth halo and all!

• Anti-Homo Pol Behind in Polls. [Minnesota Star Tribune]

• Gay Murder Mystery Continues... [Life Style Extra]

• Activist to Nepal: 'Don't Forget The Gays'! [Pink News UK]

• Joan Rivers Wants Mel Gibson's Head. (No, not his penis.) [Star Magazine]

• HIV Treatment Database? [The Advocate ]

• Artist Paints Cheaper Pictures. [Daily Telegraph]

• Mel Gibson on Good Morning America. (And something else?) [Gawker]

• Kirk on Foley. (And Hastert, too.) [365 Gay]

• "Borat" on faggotry. (And touches upon Kazakhstan.) [The Advocate]

• Harley-Davidson on beef jerky. (And...???) [Rocking Mountain News]

• Kim Ficera on gay rumors. (And with all the big names.) [AfterEllen]

• Kevin Aviance is on Tyra Banks Today! (And go!) [The Tyra Banks Show]

• Ireland on big changes. (And that's all folks!) [Ireland Online]

• The case of a California high schooler's anti-gay T-shirt falls flat (along with his claims of First Amendment infringement), with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal opting not to hear the case. Instead the justices issued an opinion citing case history, which prohibits students from causing "substantial disruption" of normal school activity or infringing on the rights of other students. [SPLC]

• The Mel Gibson fallout continues: New reports coming from a Reader's Digest interview include unpublished comments where Gibson calls the Holocaust a "numbers game." Meanwhile, Gibson's ICM publicist Ed Limato has gone on the record calling his client's remarks "inexcusable." [Fox 411, HWT]

• Jody Watley's was barred by producers from discussing her then upcoming performance at the Gay Games when she was a guest on Chicago’s V103. The radio station claims it's not homophobic — it just wanted to use all the time available to discuss her music. [WCMG]

• With plenty of right-wingers out there willing to sabotage the gays, why does the queer community opt to lambast its own? [After Elton]

• Via press release comes word that in August, Logo will launch the new reality series Jacob & Joshua: Nemesis Rising, which will chronicle the musical twin brothers' efforts to establish a music career — as out gay men.

Not only does Mel Gibson believe his wife is going to hell for not subscribing to the correct version of Christianity, Mel Gibson believes all the homos are headed to an eternity of tea with Lucifer. Good As You points us to this '93 quote from L.A.'s newest DUI club member:

... I do feel that gay people will burn in hell. Their way of life goes completely against God's plan for procreation.

And from a '92 interview with a Spanish magazine:

"They take it up the ass," Gibson told El Pais as he got out of his chair, bent over and pointed to his butt. "This is only for taking a shit," he said.

Reminded by the interviewer, Koro Castellano, that he worked with gays while studying at the School of Dramatic Arts, Gibson added: "They were good people, kind, I like them. But their thing is not my thing."

If we're going to have superagent Ari Emmanuel calling for Gibson's ousting from Hollywood for his anti-Semitic remarks, which gay figurehead is going to call him on offending half of Tinsletown?

Looking back at Gibson's 'mo-centric missteps [Good As You]

• Should some stereotypical images of black women in advertising still cause outrage if black women are represented in other ways too? (Hint: Substitute "homos" for "black women.") [NYT]

• Jai Rodriguez insists: Queer Eye made Bravo. Funny, 'cause Queer Eye made Jai Rodriguez. [After Elton]

• Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic drunken tirade joins his anti-homosexual ranting, which Christopher Hitchens suggest might have something to do with a lingering "'unaddressed' problem." [Slate]

• If there can be a calendar for hot priests, why not a calendar for hot undertakers? [Towleroad]

• Not as infuriating as the campaign to bring back Mischa Barton's character on The O.C., this campaign hopes to bring D.C. blogeratti VividBlurry back online. [Tiburos]

• What's more surprising: That a Beatles album tops a British magazine's "top gay albums of all time" list, or that they managed to get people to write about it? [Contact Music]

• Who, exactly, actually buys those Now That's What I Call Music CDs? [Slate]

• Mel Gibson's camp responds to his DUI behavior, which has been the source of an alleged police-led cover-up. Wait, what cover-up? [TMZ, Deadline Hollywood, AP]

• It's one thing for fellow Democrats to turn their backs on Joe Lieberman. It's another thing for the New York Times. [Salon]

• Shouldn't there be a law protecting bloggers who choose to air the sexcapades with public officials? [Slate]

• Prince's soon-to-be-ex-wife Manuela Testolini Nelson won't just walk away with a fat divorce settlement — she'll have a fragrance deal lined up, too. [Canada National Post]