Vladimir Putin, Roy Moore, Tony Perkins, Ivanka Trump, Henry Cavill, Sarah Palin: HOT LINKS

RUSSIA. Putin personally involved in election hacking: “What began as retribution and a personal vendetta against Hillary Clinton “morphed into” an operation to have Clinton lose the race, and to discredit America among foreign governments as an untrustworthy entity. “Putin’s role was directing the use of the hacked material,” NBC News’s senior investigative and legal correspondent Cynthia McFadden reports.”

TRUMP TOWER. Anna Wintour also met with the president-elect on Tuesday.

ALABAMA. Anti-gay state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore appeals suspension: “Liberty Counsel filed an appeal brief on Moore’s behalf on Tuesday night. Today was the deadline to file it. In September, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary suspended Moore without pay for the remainder of his term, finding that he violated judicial ethics.”

JOE ARPAIO. Sheriff makes good on promise to re-open bogus investigation into Obama’s’ birth certificate: “According to a Wednesday statement, Arpaio said he and a chief investigator will be “presenting their newest revelations to the years long investigation of the birth certificate presented by the White House in 2011 of President Obama.”

FAMILY VALUES. FRC President Tony Perkins still railing against Trump State Dept. pick Rex Tillerson: “Now, after two terms of exporting radical social policy, Americans could finally see the light at the end of the Obama administration tunnel. To hear that Donald Trump may be appointing a man who not only led the charge to open the Boy Scouts to gay troop leaders but whose company directly gives to Planned Parenthood is upsetting at best.”

CASTING. SNL alum Taran Killam joins the cast of Hamilton to play King George III. Time for him to join the Order of the Garter. 

CELEBRITY INSTAGRAM. Adam Lambert smolders, Jared Leto rides a lion, Henry Cavill gets sweaty and shows off some chest hair, plus more.

EW. Ivanka Trump to get office in the East Wing usually reserved for First Ladies: “Titles for Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, have not been determined. But Kushner, a publisher and businessman, is expected to have his own role outside of the family office — the latest indication that he could be bound for the West Wing.”

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE. Pat Robertson worries about Sarah Palin getting a job in Trump’s cabinet: “Heaven help us from that,” Robertson said. “That would be a terrible thing. Terrible. Terrible.”

WELP. Hillary spent money running up the popular vote but forgot about Michigan: “Michigan was the only presidential battleground that didn’t have an active Senate race, and that cost the state money from Brooklyn. Waving off complaints during a visit to Michigan a few weeks out, Marshall explained to the room that Clinton was going to clobber Trump in the final debate and they were talking about moving money into Senate seats. And by the time they arrived in Las Vegas for that third debate, Clinton’s top aides were boasting about how they were about to expand the lead and pull marginal Senate candidates over the line to give her a governing majority.”

HUMP DAY HOTTIE. Adrian Loh.

The post Vladimir Putin, Roy Moore, Tony Perkins, Ivanka Trump, Henry Cavill, Sarah Palin: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.

Vladimir Putin, Roy Moore, Tony Perkins, Ivanka Trump, Henry Cavill, Sarah Palin: HOT LINKS

HIV 101: How Do I Tell My Kids I Have HIV?

Everyone has questions when they find out they are positive. In this series of posts, here are several of the most common, plus straightforward answers to help you navigate this new life of yours.

www.advocate.com/together-we-know/2016/12/14/hiv-101-how-do-i-tell-my-kids-i-have-hiv

Katya opens up about her addiction to meth

Drug addiction can be one of the most challenging things to talk about publicly, but true to Katya’s fear-be-damned attitude, the RuPaul‘s Drag Race all star is helping to shed light on a vital topic.

Chatting it up on RuPaul’s podcast What’s the Tee? With Michele Visage, Katya didn’t hold back on the truth, from family life to drugs to how she really felt when she saw Alaska in the work room on day one of Drag Race All Stars season 2.

The drag fan favorite opened up about a difficult time in her life — a nervous breakdown while in her sophomore year at Massachusetts College of Art and Design — and how it led to falling down a drug-fueled rabbit hole to cope with the depression that accompanied it.

“I’m thinking of suicide everyday because I can’t imagine at losing at life,” Katya recalls feeling. “I started stealing speed from my roommate. I wanted to do drugs to do more, to live, to cope, to be happy.”

That’s when meth entered the equation.

“I’ve been through hell on meth, but I’ve also been up in the clouds, and thats why you do it,” she told Ru and Michele.

Katya’s success, professionally and personally, is a testament to getting through tough times and coming out the other side.

Fans have clearly latched onto her ever-developing confidence, wanting to see her succeed in every way possible. It’s no surprise, then, that her one woman show’s Kickstarter more than doubled its fundraising goal, blasting past $33k for a total of $74,580 raised.

On a lighter note, Katya gave some behind-the-scenes commentary on her exceptional run during All Stars season two:

“When Alaska walked in there the first thing I thought was ’f*ck, I cant win,’” she said. “The second thing was: ’oh, thank God’ because I felt free, the pressure was off. I cant have to win but I need to be able to do this well. And I did that and I was proud of myself.”

You can find the full podcast here.

h/t NNN

www.queerty.com/katya-opens-addiction-meth-20161214?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Russia Blocks Mention of LGBT Rights in Tribute to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Russia demanded that a statement praising outgoing U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon remove mention of Ban’s achievements in the area of LGBT rights.

Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin, Russia’s Ambassador to the UN

The statement was adopted by the U.N. Security Council, one of the U.N.’s most influential bodies and one in which Russia is has veto power.

The AP reports:

The original statement, obtained by The Associated Press, said it was thanks to Ban “that women, young people, and the LGBT community have been heard and assisted, and today their voices sound louder and stronger in (U.N.) headquarters and around the world.”

But the statement read at Wednesday’s council tribute to Ban made no reference to the LGBT community, instead saying it was thanks to the secretary-general “that the most vulnerable or marginalized have been increasingly heard and assisted by the United Nations.”

Ban Ki-moon has served as Secretary General for the past 10 years. Antonio Guterres will take over the office on January 1.

RELATED: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon: Governments Have a Duty to Uphold the Rights of LGBT People — VIDEO

Russia’s opposition to the mention of Ban’s work on LGBT rights is not surprising given the country’s anti-gay propaganda law and its vehement opposition to LGBT equality.

Russia recently attempted, but failed, to block spouses of gay U.N. staffers from receiving marriage benefits.

The post Russia Blocks Mention of LGBT Rights in Tribute to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appeared first on Towleroad.

Russia Blocks Mention of LGBT Rights in Tribute to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

'Moonlight' and 'Loving' honored with NAACP Image Award noms

www.glaad.org/blog/moonlight-and-loving-honored-naacp-image-award-noms

Growing Pains, Opportunity for Nation's Most Influential Queer Gathering

The National LGBTQ Task Force has been bringing thinkers together at the Creating Change conference since 1988. This year’s event may be the most important one yet.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/12/14/growing-pains-opportunity-nations-most-influential-queer-gathering

Does something seem off about this picture of Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry?

The summer of 2016 was a conveyor belt of skin. It was hot out — remember warmth? Also the election was starting to drive people to actual madness, so can you really blame folks for ripping off their clothes and running into the light? We know we sure can’t

But there were two moments that will go down as the apex of seasonal male celebrity disrobement: the Biebs getting down in Hawaii, and Orlando Bloom with Katy Perry paddle boarding into glory.

Related: Andy Cohen on all those nude pics he has floating around plus sleeping with Justin Bieber

Let’s take a moment to relive that second moment, for a moment:

OK, either Katy Perry is hotter than we remember, or something weird is going on here.

Enter cheeky British comedians Alan Carr and David Williams, paddling in from stage right.

Related: This ‘Hunger Games’ actor is the latest to let it all hang out

The pair recreated the iconic shot in all its glory (you can see the full version here), and it’s giving us major ‘summer of skin’ nostalgia. If we close our eyes really tight, we can almost imagine the heat coming off the radiator is the sun shining down. Almost.

Now we’ll just get back to piling all the wool we can find on our heads and call it a day.

www.queerty.com/something-seem-off-picture-orlando-bloom-katy-perry-20161214?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

San Diego Jury Says Police Didn’t Discriminate in Arresting Scantily Clad Pride Attendee

A San Diego jury says police did not discriminate against a gay man who was arrested for wearing a revealing gladiator costume at the city’s gay pride parade.

Will Walters was arrested in 2011 for violating a public nudity ordinance which police say they fairly enforce at other local events such as Comic-Con. Walters, however, insists he was singled out and that his black Calvin Klein thong and custom-made leather kilt covered up enough of his body to be within the city’s laws.

Walters and his lawyer also argued that women’s thong bathing suits commonly seen at San Diego’s beaches display more human anatomy than Walters’s costume did.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports: 

“The jury confirmed what we’ve always known, which is that San Diego does not discriminate in its enforcement of nudity laws,” City Attorney’s Office spokesman Gerry Braun said in a statement. “Our office would not tolerate discrimination against the LGBT community or any other group.” […]

The five-day trial in downtown San Diego included some PG-13 moments. Jurors were repeatedly shown photos of women in thong bikinis, and police officers on the witness stand were asked to determine if the women would be considered in violation of the public nudity law. There was a pair of black Calvin Klein thong underwear held up to jurors, depicting what Walters wore underneath his costume. And there were multiple discussions about the definition of “buttocks.”

The ordinance requires an opaque covering over certain body parts, including the buttocks. […]

PREVIOUSLY – San Diego Pride Attendee Arrested for ‘Lewd’ Gladiator Kilt Speaks Out About Lawsuit: VIDEO

According to city records, “Of the 104 public nudity citations issued by the city from 2007 to 2012, none except for Walters’ was for someone in a thong.”

You can view Walters’ apparently illegal outfit that he wore to Pride, here and here.

The post San Diego Jury Says Police Didn’t Discriminate in Arresting Scantily Clad Pride Attendee appeared first on Towleroad.

San Diego Jury Says Police Didn’t Discriminate in Arresting Scantily Clad Pride Attendee

HRC Slams Disgraced Roy Moore’s Desperate Attempt to Undo His Suspension from Alabama Supreme Court

HRC today slammed suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore for his last-ditch appeal to the Alabama Court of the Judiciary to restore his salary and ability to participate in legal decisions.

“This is the desperate final act of Roy Moore’s failed campaign to restore his position on the Alabama Supreme Court after flagrantly and willfully attempting to block marriage equality at every turn,” said Eva Kendrick, state manager for the Human Rights Campaign, Alabama. “Roy Moore is wasting the court’s time and Alabama taxpayer money, and we urge members of the Court of the Judiciary to stand by their decision.”

In September, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary suspended Moore from the bench for the remainder of his term, due to his unethical and extralegal actions surrounding marriage equality. The decision allowed Moore to remain on the bench, but stripped him of his salary and ability to participate in the court’s legal decisions. Moore’s term is up in 2018, and he will be unable to run for the office of Supreme Court justice again in Alabama as he will be past the office’s age restriction. The nine-member Court of the Judiciary found Moore unanimously guilty of all six charges brought against him.

Earlier this year, HRC Alabama initiated the #NoMoore campaign to remove Moore from the Alabama Supreme Court for his blatant legal and ethical failings. HRC Alabama called out Moore’s discriminatory behavior with a billboard in downtown Montgomery, and held rallies and press conferences outside each of Moore’s ethics hearings. This marks the second time Moore has faced negative consequences for pushing his personal agenda from the state’s highest court.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-slams-disgraced-roy-moores-desperate-attempt-to-undo-his-suspension-fro?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed