Coachella Owner Denies Homophobia as Festival Performer Vows LGBT Donation
The head of AEG — which runs the world’s most famous music festival — hits back at accusations of antigay animus, while a scheduled performer for the April event makes it clear he won’t abide discrimination.
Texas Proposes Its Own Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bill (Video)
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick called the “Privacy Protection Act” the top priority of the Republican-controlled legislature.
www.advocate.com/transgender/2017/1/05/texas-proposes-its-own-anti-transgender-bathroom-bill-video
Electoral Challenge, The Shins, Naomi Campbell, Princess Leia, Tim Kaine, Rehoboth: HOT LINKS
ELECTORAL CHALLENGE. Democratic lawmakers are considering challenge to Trump’s election at Congressional certification on Friday: “Perlmutter, Scott and other lawmakers were encouraged to file challenges by progressive groups who described three grounds to lodge a protest: foreign interference by Russia in the election, voter suppression and a more technical claim that dozens of electors of both parties were ineligible to serve.”
ILLEGALLY SEATED. At least 50 Donald Trump electors were ineligible to serve: “That stunning finding is among the conclusions of an extensive 1,000-plus page legal briefing prepared by a bipartisan nationwide legal team for members of Congress who are being urged to object to certifying the 2016 Electoral College results on Friday.”
OMAROSA. Apprentice loser leads Trump meeting with black leaders: “Manigault guided Trump’s transition team through a meeting with about 100 leaders from various African-American organizations in Washington, D.C., CNN said. Participants included leaders from the NAACP, churches, the education sector and fraternities and sororities.”
JUSTIN BIEBER. And the case of the unwanted Chow.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN. FOX News anchor headed to MSNBC.
CHARLOTTE. Inmate says he was harassed by jailers, brutally assaulted by inmate for being gay. “The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office failed to take very basic steps to adequately protect one of its inmates … and the result was that Mr. Blake suffered a brutal assault,” Blake’s attorney, Jake Sussman of Charlotte, said Wednesday. “Prior to this assault, Mr. Blake had been harassed and demeaned by certain employees of the Sheriff’s Office because Mr. Blake is gay. This is unacceptable, especially from public employees whose job is to serve and protect.”
CARRIE FISHER. Lucasfilm had big plans for Princess Leia (spoilers).
ACLU. We’ll fight back against anti-trans laws. “In Alabama, Texas, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington, and more, bills have been pre-filed or lawmakers have announced their plans to file bills that target transgender individuals for discrimination. Unconstitutional, unenforceable, and harmful, these bills send the message to trans people that our very existence is a problem for the lawmakers charged with protecting us.”
ANDERSON COOPER. Check out the person with a sense of “porpoise” who made his “Ridiculist”.
CENSORSHIP. China asks Apple to remove New York Times app, which it does: “China operates what is thought to be the largest internet censorship regime in the world, blocking thousands of foreign websites viewed as a threat by the ruling Communist party. Google, Twitter, Facebook Youtube and Instagram are all inaccessible. Apple removed the English and Chinese-language versions of the New York Times app on 23 December, although it was not immediately clear why.”
TIM KAINE. On Trump and Russian hacking: “Why does President-elect Trump again and again and again take it upon himself to be Vladimir Putin’s defense lawyer, rather than listening to and respecting the intelligence professionals of the United States?”
Tim Kaine: “If [Trump] went to his intelligence briefings, maybe he’d have a different conclusion” on Russian hacks. t.co/QZEZj8E2tN
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 5, 2017
FORT LAUDERDALE. Transgender ad campaign launched. “The new advertisements, covering a full-spectrum of destination lifestyle experiences, will appear in print, digital, television, radio and social media throughout South Florida, New York, Boston, Chicago, and in national outlets such as New York Times’ T Magazine, USA Today Travel Magazine, Passport, ManAboutWorld as well as on Spotify, Pandora, Hulu and in the destination’s collateral, website and e-blasts.”
LAMBDA LITERARY. We condemn the Milo Yiannopoulos book deal: “We at Lambda Literary stand with the diverse writers and readers who believe that for a publisher to give this writer money and a megaphone is an affront to the values we all share. Furthermore, if Yiannopolous’s forthcoming book, Dangerous, contains the same hateful rhetoric that got him banned from Twitter and earned him widespread condemnation—including from the LGBTQ community he claims to be part of—then Lambda Literary will have to condemn the work as hostile to our mission of advocacy for LGBTQ literature and affirmation of LGBTQ lives. – See more at: www.lambdaliterary.org/features/news/01/04/lambda-literary-condemns-milo-yiannopolous-book-deal/#sthash.N0H2Wkdm.dpuf”
SISTER WIVES. After daughter Mariah comes out, parents can now prove their stance on gay marriage is different from that of the Mormon church. “I know that the Mormon faith, from which your beliefs sort of were rooted in, is very anti-homosexual,” said the journalist. “So I don’t understand how you can accept this [polygamist] lifestyle, and yet many in your faith are very discriminatory against gays.”
538. Registered voters who stayed home probably cost Clinton the election: “Registered voters who didn’t vote on Election Day in November were more Democratic-leaning than the registered voters who turned out, according to a post-election poll from SurveyMonkey, shared with FiveThirtyEight. In fact, Donald Trump probably would have lost to Hillary Clinton had Republican- and Democratic-leaning registered voters cast ballots at equal rates.”
POLICE CHASE.The co-owner of the popular Rehoboth Beach gay bar Double L arrested for DUI: “According to the statement, Ocean City police chased the SUV northbound into Delaware before Ocean View, Del. police picked up the chase. They followed the vehicle westbound on Rt. 26 at Bethany Beach as it continued traveling in excess of 85 miles per hour, the statement says.”
FREEDOM 90. Naomi Campbell remembers George Michael.
SURPRISE. A mom nearly died at Christmas, thanks to her kids. “This is what happens when you surprise your inlaws who live across the pond! We traveled from the USA to England without my mother-in-law knowing a thing! As you can see…she was quite surprised and we pulled it off!!”
ED SHEERAN. 20 seconds of new music.
— Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) January 5, 2017
— Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) January 5, 2017
THE SHINS. First new music in more than 5 years.
THIRSTY THURSDAY. Spencer Phillips.
The post Electoral Challenge, The Shins, Naomi Campbell, Princess Leia, Tim Kaine, Rehoboth: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.
Electoral Challenge, The Shins, Naomi Campbell, Princess Leia, Tim Kaine, Rehoboth: HOT LINKS
Republicans Are Afraid of The Resistance
We can stop the GOP. We did it this week.
www.advocate.com/commentary/2017/1/05/republicans-are-afraid-resistance
Frank Ocean’s mom wants Kim Burrell cut from son’s album ‘Blonde’ after homophobic rant
Cover of Frank Ocean’s album “Blonde.”
Proving yet again that bigotry is bad for business, homophobic gospel singer Kim Burrell continues to take heat after video leaked and was posted to YouTube showing her delivering a sermon at her church wherein she calls gay people “perverted.”
She was dis-invited from “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which was addressed on the episode on which she would have appeared.
Burrell has also lost her radio and television shows as a result of her hateful views coming to light.
Now Frank Ocean‘s mother, Katonya Breaux, says she would like to see Burrell also disappear from her son’s album, “Blonde.” She appears on the track “Godspeed.”
Breaux sounded off in the following tweets:
Me: Son, can we crop Kim Burrells voice out of your song??
— katonya breaux (@katonya) January 1, 2017
I mean damn. Hypocrisy and the inciting of hate pisses me off. Opportunistic &?%#€!!
— katonya breaux (@katonya) January 1, 2017
Burrell has failed to apologize, claiming she is speaking God’s truth.
Writer Christopher Hooton, with The Independent, makes an interesting argument for leaving the track alone.
“There’s actually something pretty baller about repurposing the voice of a homophobe for a song about everlasting love between two men (‘This love will keep us through blinding of the eyes / Silence in the ears / Darkness of the mind’) and making a ton of money off of it,” he writes.
Listen to the track in question below, and tell us in the comments if you think Burrell should be scrubbed from the song.
Orlando City Soccer Club Unveils Permanent Seating Section Dedicated to Pulse Nightclub Victims: WATCH
Orlando City Soccer Club has unveiled a permanent memorial to the 49 people killed in the Pulse nightclub massacre last year.
The memorial is comprised of a permanent section of 59 rainbow colored seats. Each seat is adorned with the message #orlandounited.
Always a part of our new home. #OrlandoUnited pic.twitter.com/S28OQd8nmG
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) January 4, 2017
Speaking at the unveiling, club founder and life president Phil Rawlins said:
“We are here to commemorate and unveil the 49 rainbow-colored seats that will sit permanently in section 12 of our stadium as a constant reminder of the senseless acts of June 12.
“These are regular season-ticket holder seats. We put them in section 12 because obviously we felt that was pertinent. It was June 12th last year when the tragedy happened. They are right down by the benches and will certainly be seen by everyone in the stadium.”
@OrlandoCitySC As a future @ATLUTD fan, I tip my cap. Job well done. #Respect
— Matt Carlson (@mpcATL) January 5, 2017
According to MLSSoccer, the new stadium will hold its first regular season game when Orlando City host New York City FC on March 5.
While most people welcomed the memorial, some relentless arseholes took the opportunity to display their absolute inhumanity.
.@OrlandoCitySC pic.twitter.com/BMHykGGkLn
— Judson 🏳️🌈 (@TheSportsGay217) January 5, 2017
@OrlandoCitySC disgusting, not supporting this club anymore. Bye
— #IStandWithRamsey (@XBFIBE3) January 5, 2017
@pietrhoe @Sherlock_Scones @OrlandoCitySC Orlando? More like Faggotlando! Am I right?
— Bengie Nathans (@RainMan91794) January 5, 2017
Watch the unveiling video below.
The official unveil. #OrlandoUnited pic.twitter.com/YDAcmx9z5N
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) January 4, 2017
The post Orlando City Soccer Club Unveils Permanent Seating Section Dedicated to Pulse Nightclub Victims: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Stefano Gabbana Doesn't Want to Be Called 'Gay', Would Rather Dress Melania Trump
Gay designer Stefano Gabbana (pictured, left) praises Melania Trump on social media for wearing one of his dresses, and adds insult to injury for the LGBT community.
Super-troll Milo Yiannopoulos financed by Gofundme in direct violation of company’s terms of service
You might be tempted to think of Gofundme as the friendly happy face of helpful crowdfunding endeavors. Got an art project, a sick pet, or a charity fundraiser? Gofundme can help! But apparently Gofundme can also help spread hate and harassment on college campuses.
You might remember 13-year-old idiot Milo Yiannopoulos from his role in directing Twitter to attack Leslie Jones; or his speech at the University of Delaware where he said “Never feel bad for mocking a transgender person.”
Setting aside whether Milo ever feels bad or just claims to never feel bad, the fact remains that his campus tour is hurting people. And it’s being paid for, in part, by Gofundme donations.
According to Gofundme’s terms of service, you can’t use the crowdfunding platform for “the promotion of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, terrorism, or intolerance of any kind relating to race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender or gender identity, or serious disabilities or diseases.”
And yet various groups have raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $14,000 to bring Yiannopoulos to their campus. (At one recent event, he projected a student’s face on screen and invited attendees to mock her.) Republicans at the University of Washington, who previously used the crowdfunding site to raise money for a model anti-immigrant wall, are close to rounding up $7,000 for Milo’s visit.
The whole situation stinks — someone is running around the country assuring college students that it’s a sign of strength to be insensitive to the pain of others. Gofundme could certainly put a stop to it — if they wanted to. Then again, they’re probably enjoying their 5% cut of the fundraising.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to be Named to White House Job: REPORT
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who came under scrutiny during the campaign over a donation check she received from the Trump Foundation and cashed shortly before refusing to investigate Trump University for fraud, will be offered a White House job, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs.
Tweeted Jacobs: “Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi will be named to a post in the Trump White House, sources tell me. Trump aides finalizing her role.”
NEW: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi will be named to a post in the Trump White House, sources tell me. Trump aides finalizing her role.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) January 5, 2017
Asked about FL AG Pam Bondi, Trump’s Sean Spicer calls her “a very trusted confidante” of Trump’s, and “a very valued opinion” in his world.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) January 5, 2017
Pam Bondi, at Tampa appearance now, on Trump admin post: “I am very happy being attorney general. I’d never discuss anything confidential”
— Dennis Joyce (@DMPJoyce) January 5, 2017
Asked Thursday, the Trump transition provided no new information about whether Bondi was even still in consideration for an administration job.
“We have no additional announcements at this time,” said Sean Spicer, who will be Trump’s White House press secretary, on a conference call with reporters. “I don’t want to get ahead of any announcements that may or may not come.”
Bondi has been mum, too. Asked Thursday morning, she would not comment on whether she was being considered for a new job in the administration.
“I’d never discuss anything confidential,” she said, echoing previous statements.
The post Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to be Named to White House Job: REPORT appeared first on Towleroad.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to be Named to White House Job: REPORT
