Camille Paglia Feeds the Right What It Wants to Hear About Hillary Clinton

The contrarian, “feminist,” and academic assails Clinton even as Trump’s White House falls apart.

www.advocate.com/politics/2017/5/16/camille-paglia-feeds-right-what-it-wants-hear-about-hillary-clinton

Comey Memo Suggests Obstruction of Justice: Trump Asked Me to End Investigation into Michael Flynn

Memos written by former FBI Director James Comey that were “part of a paper trail Mr. Comey created documenting what he perceived as the president’s improper efforts to influence a continuing investigation” reveal that Donald Trump asked Comey to end an FBI investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s links to Russia.

The NYT reports:

Mr. Comey shared the existence of the memo with senior F.B.I. officials and close associates. The New York Times has not viewed a copy of the memo, which is unclassified, but one of Mr. Comey’s associates read parts of the memo to a Times reporter.

“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Comey, according to the memo. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”

Mr. Trump told Mr. Comey that Mr. Flynn had done nothing wrong, according to the memo.

Mr. Comey did not say anything to Mr. Trump about curtailing the investigation, only replying: “I agree he is a good guy.”

The White House denied that Trump asked Comey to end any investigation and said that the report was “not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the president and Mr. Comey.”

CNN adds:

The memo is the clearest sign yet of potential interference by Trump with the investigation into whether members of his campaign team colluded with Russian officials.

“Three words: obstruction of justice,” said CNN’s senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on Tuesday. “Telling the FBI director to close down an investigation of your senior campaign adviser for his activities during your campaign for president, if that’s true, that is obstruction of justice.”

” ‘Close it down’ is an instruction to stop investigating President Trump’s campaign. Richard Nixon was impeached in 1974 for telling the FBI to stop an investigation of his campaign. That’s what Watergate was,” Toobin added. “If (Comey’s) telling the truth, I don’t know how anyone can see this comment as anything but obstruction of justice.”

Watch:

Rep. Adam Schiff called the developments “disturbing” and said Comey should testify:

Senator Angus King called the allegations impeachable:

The post Comey Memo Suggests Obstruction of Justice: Trump Asked Me to End Investigation into Michael Flynn appeared first on Towleroad.

Comey Memo Suggests Obstruction of Justice: Trump Asked Me to End Investigation into Michael Flynn

45 Photos of Leather Weekend in D.C.

www.advocate.com/photography/2017/5/16/45-photos-leather-weekend-dc

Kentucky Appeals Court Upholds Printer’s Right To Refuse To Make Pro-Gay T-Shirts

A Kentucky appeals court last week upheld the free speech rights of a Lexington print shop owner who refused to make gay pride t-shirts because the message conflicted with his Christian beliefs. The ruling “is a victory for printers and other creative professionals who serve all people but cannot promote all messages,” said senior counsel Jim…

The post Kentucky Appeals Court Upholds Printer’s Right To Refuse To Make Pro-Gay T-Shirts appeared first on Towleroad.

Kentucky Appeals Court Upholds Printer’s Right To Refuse To Make Pro-Gay T-Shirts

Highlighting Behavioral Health Disparities of Gender Expansive Youth

Post submitted by Alison Gill, Esq.

We have long known that youth whose gender expression does not fit traditional roles based on their sex assigned at birth – who are often referred to as gender non-conforming or gender expansive youth — are at increased risk for a variety of negative health issues. They are more likely to be victimized by bullying, abuse, and sexual harassment, and to experience negative behavioral health outcomes including drug use, depression and suicide.

However, there has been little population-based research to provide us with data quantifying the sobering issues facing gender expansive youth –until now. It’s appropriate that as we mark Mental Health Month, we have a new report to highlight. For the first time we have data on the behavioral health of gender-expansive students..

The report, Health Risk Behaviors among Gender Expansive Students, was published recently by Advocates for Youth and the All Students Count Coalition, a group of organizations — including the Human Rights Campaign — that promotes better data collection for LGBTQ youth. Using federal data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), the report shows that gender nonconformity is associated with a wide variety of health disparities and risk behaviors. It also indicates that gender expression is associated with risk behaviors independent of sexual orientation.

Just a few of the findings relating to behavioral health include:

Compared to males who describe themselves as masculine, feminine males are:

• Three times more likely to miss school because they feel unsafe
• Three times more likely to attempt suicide
• Four times more likely to have used amphetamines

Compared to females who describe themselves as feminine, masculine females are:

• Four times more likely to have used heroin
• Four times more likely to have smoked at school
• Two times more likely to make a plan about how they would attempt suicide

Compared to females who describe themselves as feminine, androgynous females are:

• One-and-a-half times more likely to seriously consider attempting suicide
• One-and-a-half times more likely to engage in self harm
• Two times more likely to be cyber bullied

These findings make clear that a young person’s gender expression—in addition to their gender identity or sexual orientation—is an important factor in their health and safety. Because the YRBSS does not offer a CDC-approved question that identifies transgender participants, it is unknown whether any of these gender expansive students identify as transgender. As researchers and advocates call for improved data on gender minority youth, this research demonstrates that there is need for data collection pertaining to both gender identity and gender expression.  

The new data about gender expansive youth will help educators, policymakers, advocates, and public health practitioners develop a greater understanding of gender expression and gender nonconformity and how they relate to mental health risks among youth. This will allow them to create or modify programs and policies to meet gender expansive students’ particular needs, and to improve their behavioral health outcomes and academic success.

This Mental Health Month, please help spread awareness of this new report and data on the behavioral health disparities facing gender expansive youth. Learn more about how you can support LGBTQ youth here.

www.hrc.org/blog/highlighting-behavioral-health-disparities-of-gender-expansive-youth?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Sessions Condemns Killings of Trans People (Yes, You Read That Right)

The attorney general — often hostile to LGBT rights — makes a shocking statement in defense of transgender people.

www.advocate.com/crime/2017/5/16/sessions-condemns-killings-trans-people-yes-you-read-right