Top Journalist Comes Out One Week Before Ireland's Marriage Vote
With seven days remaining before the big marriage refendum in Ireland, Ursula Halligan has come out in a public yet personal way.
Thom Senzee
Daily Archives: May 15, 2015
Homosexuality Was Probably “A Factor” In Deadly Amtrak Crash, Antigay Pundit Says
Homosexuality Was Probably “A Factor” In Deadly Amtrak Crash, Antigay Pundit Says
Get ready to read the most stupid thing you’ll hear all day…
On her radio program earlier this week, Sandy Rios, governmental affairs director for the American Family Association, talked about the deadly Amtrak crash that killed eight people and sent 200 more to the hospital in Philadelphia earlier this week.
While running her mouth, Rios (pictured) mentioned that the engineer of the train was gay, then suggested this was likely “a factor” in the crash.
“I’m not inferring that this accident happened because he was gay,” Rios said, “but I do think it’s an interesting part of the story and you can bet it would be edited out.”
(Ms. Rios, if you’re reading, perhaps it was “edited out” because… it’s doesn’t matter!)
Rios continued by suggesting that the engineer may have been “going through some confusion that has to do with the very core of who they are.” She then launched into the story of an airline pilot who she says “put his entire plane at risk because he had an emotional, angry outburst to something that happened” in regards to hormone therapy he was receiving.
“I don’t know,” she concluded, “but I think it is something to be discussed and I think it’s a factor and I doubt you will hear it anywhere else.”
h/t: Right Wing Watch
Graham Gremore
College Wrestler Michael Johnson Sentenced to 60 Years in Prison in Controversial HIV Case
College Wrestler Michael Johnson Sentenced to 60 Years in Prison in Controversial HIV Case
Michael Johnson, once a college wrestler at Lindenwood, University in Missouri, was expelled from his school and arrested in 2013 after a one-time sex partner reported to the police that Johnson had infected him with HIV. Johnson had recently informed the man of his newfound HIV status, but according to the man, he believed that Johnson knew of his status while they were sexually active. In the two years since Johnson was first arrested, five other men have come forward with similar allegations, one of whom is also now HIV positive. In their investigation, authorities found video recordings that Johnson had made of himself having sex with multiple men, evidence which the state used against him in its criminal suit.
Johnson’s court trial came to a swift close earlier this week where a jury found him guilty of two Class A felonies for infecting two men and four Class B felonies for exposing other men to the virus. Ultimately the trail boiled down to two opposing narratives. All throughout his trial Johnson insisted that he’d disclosed his status to each of his partners once he knew he’d become positive himself. Each of his accusers claimed that they had no idea that Johnson was poz.
Writing for Buzzfeed, Steven Thrasher describes the state’s case against Johnson as one shot through with dated, unreliable science from an era in which we did not fully understand HIV as well as high-strung emotions. During his days as a competitive athlete Johnson often used the stage name “Tiger Mandingo,” an identity that he would often use on the hookup apps that he used to meet men.
Today the jury handed down its final sentence–a total of 60 years in prison, that Johnson’s legal time is challenging for him to be able to serve concurrently, which would cut his sentence down to 30 years.
Wrote AIDS activist Peter Staley on Facebook:
Missouri, and Johnson’s sex partners, may well feel they got some sort of justice today, but at what cost? This verdict and sentence will make it much harder to slow the spread of HIV. Others will become infected because of today’s “justice.” This sentence practically screams “don’t get tested” to every citizen in the state, especially young black men.
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Rep. Jackie Speier Demands FTC Investigate ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapists
Rep. Jackie Speier Demands FTC Investigate ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapists
The congresswoman calls on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate mental health providers’ claims that they can change sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Dawn Ennis
When Police Are Outside Agitators
When Police Are Outside Agitators
Public safety officers should protect, not control.
During a talk radio interview last month, a caller identifying himself as a police officer strongly disputed my claim that police are supposed to “Protect and Serve,” a motto stenciled on many police cruisers. “Our job is to enforce the law,” he insisted. This in a nutshell is the problem at the heart of so many police departments: a clash of missions.
Those of us privileged enough not to be routinely treated as criminal suspects can have a hard time understanding the perspective of communities of color. Black friends for years have told me of police who act like occupiers, stopping and questioning them on the slightest pretext.
Sometimes abusive police are white and sometimes black, but the relevant color is in the “thin blue line” police unite behind. The filing of murder and assault charges against six Baltimore officers by Maryland State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby in the death of Freddie Gray exposed a fault line that their prosecution by itself cannot repair. The police union denounced Mosby for a “rush to judgment,” oblivious to the fatal lack of due process afforded Mr. Gray.
The killing of Gray, apparently by a “rough ride” in a police van, is the latest in a long string of extra-judicial executions of African Americans, including Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, John Crawford, and Walter Scott. Many white people are sick of hearing it, but we cannot get at the problem without understanding its racist origins. Here is a bit of history seldom taught in civics class: American law enforcement may be traced to slave patrols. Victor E. Kappeler, Ph.D., claims, “Slave patrols and Night Watches, which later became modern police departments, were both designed to control the behaviors of minorities.”
This is not a liberal or conservative problem, but an American problem. The racially disparate War on Drugs, mortgage redlining, predatory banks, poor education and job training, mass incarceration — these contributors to urban neglect have bipartisan origins. When long-simmering despair inevitably explodes, the marginalized deserve more than a lecture not given to anarchist rancher Cliven Bundy. They need a stake in the greater good and a credible prospect that persons misusing authority will be held accountable.
When D.C.’s Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (of which I am president) worked with others including the NAACP and ACLU sixteen years ago to create the D.C. Office of Police Complaints, we did not get all the reforms we wanted, but we won a measure of independent review of charges of police wrongdoing. Civilian oversight is crucial to responsive policing.
Those who resist police accountability are not relenting. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, for example, wants to exempt police body cam footage from Freedom of Information Act requests. Max Blumenthal of AlterNet claims that many Baltimore police officers are from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and sometimes say before their shifts, “Time to go back to work in the zoo.” Who are the outside agitators?
The media are a big part of the problem. Last week, The Washington Post ran with a police leak claiming that Gray had injured himself, a howler that skeptics soon unraveled. Right-wing outlets from FOX to Breitbart ran their usual wildly politicized and distorted stories.
As an unevenly applied curfew ended May 3, it was evident that Baltimore police were misled by poor intelligence. On April 27, they inflamed a tense situation by shutting down public transportation near Mondawmin Mall and blockading streets, trapping students from Frederick Douglass High School. Meanwhile, the gangs they were worried about were cooperating to protect youth and prevent violence.
Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX) bizarrely blamed the Baltimore unrest on same-sex marriages, claiming they cause family breakdown. That aside, LGBT folk are part of every urban community. Flashpoints from our own past (the Stonewall uprising in 1969, the White Night riots in San Francisco in 1979) should give us pause before scorning others who respond violently to “a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations” (to quote the Declaration of Independence).
Police must change their perspective from enforcing to protecting. They must know and respect the communities they serve. They must not be above the law. Change will occur only if we push for it together. Let’s be about it.
This piece originally appeared in the Washington Blade and Bay Windows.
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European Union Leader Marries Same-Sex Partner; Makes History
European Union Leader Marries Same-Sex Partner; Makes History
Today, Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, became the first EU leader to wed a same-sex partner.
HRC.org
'Game of Thrones' Star Kit Harington Knows You Sexualize Him and He's Still Not Okay With It
'Game of Thrones' Star Kit Harington Knows You Sexualize Him and He's Still Not Okay With It
Though Kit Harington recognizes the homoeroticism running through the veins of the men of the Night’s Watch, the Game of Thrones actor still insists that he’s uncomfortable with being thought of as a sex symbol. Earlier this year Harington went public with the fact that he felt as if it was “demeaning” that people paid so much attention to his body, while not necessarily respecting his talent as an actor. The public, while somewhat sympathetic to his discomfort, swiftly turned the actor’s feelings into something of a mild internet joke.
“I found it unfair, really, some of the stuff I read,” he explained, doubling down on his assertion that the attention was problematic. “I was making a point, which was that I think young men do get objectified, do get sexualized unnecessarily.”
“As a person who is definitely in that category, as a young leading man in this world, I feel I have a unique voice to talk about that. I was making a point to sort of say, ‘It just needs to be highlighted.’ With every photo shoot I ever go to, I’m told to take off my shirt, and I don’t.”
(h/t Out)
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Greg Louganis:<em>Back on Board</em> and on the Red Carpet
Greg Louganis:<em>Back on Board</em> and on the Red Carpet
An official Back on Board publicity image
Back on Board: Greg Louganis is an intimate portrait of the public triumphs and private struggles of trailblazing openly gay athlete Greg Louganis. In this episode, I am honored to present my coverage of Greg at the 2015 Palm Springs International Film Festival, and to present an encore presentation of a previous red carpet interview with the Olympian.
Check Out Movies Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with NicholasSnowLive on BlogTalkRadio
Listen to this episode on the BlogTalkRadio Network.
A refreshingly candid documentary film about this four-time Olympic champion, “Back on Board” follows Greg Louganis over the past three years as he struggles with financial security and reunites with the sport he once dominated but not welcomed in. The threat of losing his house during the recent financial crisis forces Louganis to re-evaluate the choices, relationships, and missed opportunities of his career.
Listen to this episode to learn on which famous dating website Greg met his now-husband Johnny Chaillot-Louganis, as photographed above by Nicholas Snow at the 2015 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
With unprecedented access, the film reveals the complicated life of an athlete whose grace, beauty, and courage sparked a worldwide fascination with diving. It chronicles Louganis’ rise from a difficult upbringing to nearly universal acclaim as the greatest diver ever, and from pioneering openly gay athlete with HIV to an overlooked sports icon. “Back on Board” is the engrossing story of an American legend as he re-emerges on the world stage to combat prejudice, promote tolerance, and return to the diving world after a long period of absence to act as a mentor to the next generation.
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What the 2016 Candidates are Saying about SCOTUS and Marriage Equality
What the 2016 Candidates are Saying about SCOTUS and Marriage Equality
With oral arguments at the Supreme Court concluded in Obergefell v. Hodges, 2016 candidates are starting to weigh in on how they would handle a potential Supreme Court ruling that leads to nationwide marriage equality.
HRC.org
News: Spider-Man, Rick Perry, Bill Cosby, Antarctica, Madonna
News: Spider-Man, Rick Perry, Bill Cosby, Antarctica, Madonna
Martin O’Malley preps his 2016 campaign. “In a series of conference calls on Thursday night, he rallied his supporters and reiterated what has long been a message for the candidate-in-waiting: that the country needs new, forward-looking leadership with progressive values.“
Hugo and Ender’s Game actor Asa Butterfield in talks to play Marvel’s new Spider-Man.
Bill Cosby sits down with ABC News for a confusing interview about his sexual assault allegations.
Labor union claims Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian was likely tired due to the company’s cost-driven schedule change.
Hillary Clinton pens letter to the lesbian couple featured in her campaign announcement video.
A Scottish mother has been found guilty of duping her former partner into thinking she had an abortion in order to give his child to her gay friend.
Will Jake Gyllenhaal receive a Best Actor nomination for his upcoming role in Southpaw?
Brittney Griner and wife Glory Johnson have been suspended for seven WNBA games for last month’s domestic violence incident.
Meet the opah, the first warm-blooded fish.
Investors eyeing Netflix deal in China.
NASA scientists warn Antarctic ice shelf “is likely to disintegrate completely before the end of the decade.”
Anti-LGBT groups claim Girl Scouts are running a “dangerous” “social engineering experiment on children.”
Howard Dean zings Chris Christie with his signature scream.
Zachary Quinto and boyfriend Miles McMillan are two NYC peas in a pod.
Rick Perry will announce his presidential plans on June 4.
What’s going on at Silver Lake’s shuttered gay bar MJ’s?
Gaelic footballer Ger Brennan pens explanation on why he’s voting “No” in the upcoming marriage referendum. “I very nearly decided not to write this piece. I know I’ll be targeted for it and labeled for it. It would have been easier to keep my mouth shut and not rock the boat. But I’m sick of the accusations being flung around that if you vote ‘No’ you are homophobic. I know I’m not homophobic; my gay friends and family can attest to that. I am voting “No” because I don’t want our Constitution to deny that it is a good thing for a child to have a mother and a father.”
Husband and wife face off in city council race in Bremerton, Washington.
Madonna makes Billboard history with 45th #1 song “Ghosttown”
Mad Max: Fury Road stars Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult bring the beauty to Cannes Film Festival.
Denver zoo penguins go “extinct” for Endangered Species Day.
Kyler Geoffroy