Don’t Kick, Don’t Tell: An oft-repeated joke among some married, straight supporters of gay marriage basically boils down to, “Why shouldn’t they get to suffer like us, too?” Now apparently the same theory applies to kickball; a gay-friendly offshoot of the local fratty pastime has launched its own gay league, complete with wintertime flip cup sessions. (For the record, we think being married is a lot more fun than playing kickball.) +2

Good Enough for Government Work: Between Jan. 2, when Kwame Brown takes over as D.C. Council chairman, and the special election, sometime in April, to fill Brown’s at-large council seat, some lucky Washingtonian will get to serve as a bona fide elected appointed official. The D.C. Democratic State Committee, which will pick the appointee, released guidelines today. The bio applicants submit must be 150 words or less. Government by Twitter! -1

Silver Line to Security: Extending Metro to Dulles Airport was already expected to cost more than $4 billion. Now the people in charge are saying they need additional money—any amount it takes—to add in security features to fight terrorism and other scary things. The security equipment is, apparently, so important that cost is no object; actually putting the Dulles station somewhere near the terminal and running the line underground near Tysons Corner, however, could only be done if it fit the budget. Maybe Metro is aiming for a counterintuitive security plan: Make the line so inconvenient that no one uses it, thus deterring terrorists from blowing it up. -3

Bus Bucks: Thinking of moving to Montgomery County so you can send your kids to public magnet schools? Save up for the bus fare before you leave the District. County officials want to charge kids for riding the bus to out-of-boundary magnet and immersion programs. No such thing as a free lunch or a free school bus, apparently. -1

Friday’s Needle rating: 36 Today’s score: -3 Today’s Needle rating: 33