President Trump Appoints Lawyer Who Defended Discriminatory HB2 to Key Civil Rights Position

President Trump Appoints Lawyer Who Defended Discriminatory HB2 to Key Civil Rights Position

President Donald Trump has selected John Gore for a key role in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Gore is the lawyer who defended the University of North Carolina in a suit challenging the school’s enforcement of the discriminatory HB2.

“President Trump just appointed someone who defended one of the most discriminatory laws in the land to a key role in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. This is shameful,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. If these reports are true, anybody who cares about civil rights should be gravely concerned. Among other things, HB2 places transgender North Carolinians in harm’s way and bans cities from passing non-discrimination protections, which has cost the state more than $600 million. President Trump appears to be assembling an anti-LGBTQ team to lead the very agency charged with ensuring every American is protected from discrimination.”

Abovethelaw.com first broke the story, citing an internal memo from Gore’s law firm, Jones Day. The Talking Points Memo also filed a more detailed story on Gore.

www.hrc.org/blog/president-trump-appoints-lawyer-who-defended-discriminatory-hb2-to-key-civi?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Report: Trump closes down White House Office of AIDS Policy

Report: Trump closes down White House Office of AIDS Policy

Websites are one thing, but if a source speaking to reporter Kenneth Walsh is to be believed, Donald Trump has already taken action to shutter the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP).

As Walsh reports on his blog, Kenneth in the 212:

“…a source in the HIV/AIDS research community tells me Trump has already closed the Office of National AIDS Policy, whose page has also been disabled. Revisionist LGBT activists should note the office was formed in 1993 — during the Clinton administration at the height of the plague — to coordinate government efforts to reduce the number of HIV infections in the United States.”

Indeed, if you try to access the web address associated with ONAP, this page comes up:

Many have noted that the website issues might be chalked up to expected transition messiness, but that doesn’t explain why some pages have remained intact or are brand new, while others are gone completely.

The director of ONAP under President Obama, Amy Lansky, tweeted a series of final farewells from her whole staff on Jan. 4:

On behalf of 8 years of ONAP, thank you to everyone who supported us. Our accomplishments are because of you.t.co/ClQyf6HAuu

— Amy Lansky (NARA) (@Amy44) January 4, 2017

Today is ONAP staff’s last day in the office. As such, this twitter account will end. Please continue to follow @AIDSgov for updates.

— Amy Lansky (NARA) (@Amy44) January 4, 2017

It’s been the greatest honor to work with my remarkable colleagues for @POTUS and the American people. Thank you for your work. Onward!

— Amy Lansky (NARA) (@Amy44) January 4, 2017

When reached for comment, Lansky told Walsh, “I have no information on what the Trump administration may or may not do with regards to ONAP.”

Like countless other pressing issues associated with Trump’s ascent to power, we’ll have to wait to find out ONAP’s fate for certain.

But it’s not exactly looking good.

www.queerty.com/report-trump-closes-white-house-office-aids-policy-20170120?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

강남순: 그들은 '이슈'가 아니라 '인간'이다 | 안희정 충남지사의 인터뷰를 읽고

강남순: 그들은 '이슈'가 아니라 '인간'이다 | 안희정 충남지사의 인터뷰를 읽고
내가 한국을 방문할 때마다 종종 받는 질문 중의 하나는 ‘동성애를 옹호하는가 반대하는가’이다. 그런데 이 질문 자체의 방향을 조금만 돌려보아도, 이 질문이 근원적으로 잘못 구성된 것임을 알게 된다. 질문에 다시 질문을 해야 하는 이유이다. 누구도 ‘당신은 이성애를 옹호하는가 반대하는가’라는 질문을 하지는 않는다. ‘이성애’가 바로 자연적인 ‘규범적 성 정체성’이라고 대부분 생각하기 때문이다. 이러한 점에서, 반기문 전 UN 총장의 ‘동성애 옹호론자’라는 표현은 그 인식자체의 지독한 한계성을 드러낸다. 왜냐하면 현대의 다양한 연구결과들은 한 사람의 성정체성이 ‘선택(choice)’이 아닌 ‘지향(orientation)’이라는 것, 그렇기에 ‘옹호’ 또는 ‘반대’의 문제가 아니라는 것이 밝혀진 지 오래다.

기사 보기: 안희정, 사회, 강남순, 동성애, 인권, 성정체성, Korea News

www.huffingtonpost.kr/namsoon-kang/story_b_14279360.html

White House still has no LGBT page, but it does have one dedicated to Melania’s QVC jewelry line

White House still has no LGBT page, but it does have one dedicated to Melania’s QVC jewelry line

Immediately after Donald Trump was sworn into office this morning, the White House began scrubbing its official website. One of the very first pages to go was the LGBT page, followed by the Climate Change, Civil Rights, and Healthcare pages.

Perhaps Trump’s team is working on updating those pages for the new year. Or maybe they’ve already begun their erasure of any and all things tainted by reality. Who knows? In any event, one page that was set and ready to go at 12:01 on the dot was Melania Trump’s official White House bio. And it’s absolutely ridiculous.

Related: The White House’s LGBT rights page has been deleted already

Melania’s bio makes a point of noting that she is “only the second First Lady born outside of the United States. The first since Louisa Adams, wife to John Quincy Adams, the nation’s sixth president.”

(It fails to mention, however, that she’s also the first one who ever worked illegally in this country as an immigrant.)

It talks about her gig as a co-host on The View with Barbara Walters, all the high profile New York photographers she’s worth with, and the time she did a layout for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Vogue, and other glossy publications.

(It conveniently forgets to mention her now-infamous Mic magazine spread, which we happen to think is some of her best work.)

Related: 10 things Kellyanne Conway looked like other than a respectable politico at Trump’s inauguration

Then comes the really good stuff.

At the end of the bio, it mentions her brand of cheap QVC jewelry. “Melania is also a successful entrepreneur,” the bio reads. “In April 2010, Melania Trump launched her own jewelry collection, “Melania™ Timepieces & Jewelry”, on QVC.”

But the best part has to be the final line, which talks about her platform as the new First Lady:

Mrs. Trump cares deeply about issues impacting women and children, and she has focused her platform as First Lady on the problem of cyber bullying among our youth.

Emphasis on the words “among our youth” and no mention of “70-year-old man-childs.” Apparently Mrs. Trump has no plans to try and rein in her Twitter-happy husband’s online behavior.

Here’s looking at a long four years!

Related: Maya Rudolph’s ‘Melania Trump Eating Diamonds’ More Relevant Than Ever

www.queerty.com/white-house-still-no-lgbt-page-one-dedicated-melanias-qvc-jewelry-line-20170120?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

ACLU, Shia LaBeouf, Jack Mackenroth, Ellen Page, Sun Bears, Pluto, Ed Murray: HOT LINKS

ACLU, Shia LaBeouf, Jack Mackenroth, Ellen Page, Sun Bears, Pluto, Ed Murray: HOT LINKS

acluACLU. ACLU files first of many FOIA requests on Trump’s conflicts of interest: “That’s why we’re stepping in now, using FOIA — one of America’s most critical guarantors of government transparency and the central mechanism by which ordinary Americans can provide ongoing public checks and balances on elected officials in the political branches. We want to know how the Trump transition team and the government offices tasked with supervising ethics-related issues for the incoming administration have been thinking about and confronting these potential conflicts. In pursuit of that information, we’ve asked for a gamut of documents — legal opinions, policy advisories, communications, and more — that address them. And we aim to publish the responses so that the American public can do its job conducting broad-based democratic oversight of the new administration.”

NYT. Intercepted Russian communications under inquiry.

hacking_trumpTRUMP. The big con? “The methods of a skilled con artist have worked just barely well enough to deliver the presidency to Trump. But what happens when his grandiose promises fail to materialize? And when the aspects of his program that he never mentioned in his speech — tax cuts for the rich, stripping away health insurance from millions, massive graft — do take place? A con artist who always escaped his old victims and found new ones has reached the maximal limits of his strategy. What happens when the marks are demanding that the promises he made be redeemed, and there is nowhere for him to go, and he commands the powers of the state?”

INAUGURATION. Attendance way down from Obama’s inauguration in 2009.

Aerial images reveal a stark difference in crowd size at Trump’s #inauguration versus Obama’s in 2009. pic.twitter.com/asyPecPlvv

— Vox (@voxdotcom) January 20, 2017

Parade route empty shortly before 2 pm:

Parade route from Capital to WH. Entire stands empty. Crowd thin. pic.twitter.com/7AcpJkBO8O

— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) January 20, 2017

TWITTER. Trump’s new Twitter banner is a photo from Obama’s inauguration:

Donald Trump’s banner image is from Obama’s 2009 inauguration (h/t @4evrmalone) pic.twitter.com/TWMI1HryAh

— Freddie Campion (@FreddieCampion) January 20, 2017

MADE IN CHINA. Trump’s inauguration hats.

Trump Breaks First Presidential Promise In Record Time: Hats At Inaugural Were Made In China via @politicususa t.co/a0J1pdWFsX

— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) January 20, 2017

 

LABEOUFSHIA LABEOUF. The actor plans a four year anti-Trump protest at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, NY. “Commencing at 9am on January 20, 2017, the day of the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, the public is invited to deliver the words “HE WILL NOT DIVIDE US” into a camera mounted on a wall outside the Museum of the Moving Image, New York, repeating the phrase as many times, and for as long as they wish.”

mackenrothBANNED. Facebook bans Jack Mackenroth and David Drake for posting anti-Trump/pro ACA messages: “today Jack Mackenroth AIDS activist, model, and fashion designer and David Drake, American playwright, stage director, actor and author have both been banned from Facebook for up to 30 days. Mackenroth for posting an anti-Trump article and Drake for asking his followers to mail Paul Ryan and stop the attack on the Affordable Care Act. ”

MALIA OBAMA. She’ll intern with Harvey Weinstein after graduation.

ED MURRAY. Seattle’s mayor has a message for Trump.

Here’s @MayorEdMurray‘s message to @realDonaldTrump: “Stop demonizing us and work with us… Otherwise you will hurt this country.” pic.twitter.com/VsveSuvObC

— Heidi Groover (@heidigroover) January 19, 2017

tom daleyTOM DALEY. Diver told he could end up in a wheelchair: “My disc is literally degenerating – it’s impact, impact, impact, but it’s something you just have to learn to deal with. I’ve been told I could [end up in a wheelchair] but I wouldn’t say it scares me because I know what I need to do with my body to stay on top of it. The plan is to get to 2020, and beyond.”

A DOG’S PURPOSE. Film’s premiere canceled after outcry over animal cruelty. “It seems the move is largely to try to contain the damage done by keeping cast and crew as far from press and social media as possible, although many of those involved with the film have spoken up in outrage at what happened during the shoot. Although the premiere is being scrapped, the release date for the film on the 27th is still slated to continue on schedule.”

SUN BEARS. Chinese zoo defends bears begging for food: “Does being thin mean being unhealthy or not having enough food? On the other hand, looking fat does not mean an animal is healthy.”

ELLEN PAGE. The actress argued with a street preacher in D.C.

PLUTO. NASA releases stunning video of more than 100 images.

HOUSE OF CARDS. Netflix teased Season 5 during Trump’s inauguration.

FRIDAY FLASH. Raphaél LaVon Thompson

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The post ACLU, Shia LaBeouf, Jack Mackenroth, Ellen Page, Sun Bears, Pluto, Ed Murray: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.


ACLU, Shia LaBeouf, Jack Mackenroth, Ellen Page, Sun Bears, Pluto, Ed Murray: HOT LINKS

The GLAAD Wrap: 'Will & Grace' returns, new video from Troye Sivan and more!

The GLAAD Wrap: 'Will & Grace' returns, new video from Troye Sivan and more!

Photo Credit: NBC Universal

1) NBC has officially confirmed that they are bringing back Will & Grace for a ten-episode limited revival. The original stars will reunite in the new series as well as the two people responsible for creating the show – Max Mutchnick and David Kohan will return as co-showrunners and executive producers. The show was groundbreaking for LGBTQ representation, and received seven GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. Mutchnick says he and Kohan “are absolutely thrilled about the opportunity to write what Will, Grace, Jack and Karen are thinking about in 2017.”

2) Out producer Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl) has a new pilot at ABC, Deception. The show follows superstar magician Cameron Black who, after his career is ruined by a scandal, joins the FBI as the first consulting illusionist to “help solve crimes which defy explanation and trap criminals using deception.” In other television news, Jane Lynch will be returning to the small screen as Janet Reno in Discovery’s upcoming miniseries about the Unabomber.

3) The Sundance Institute and YouTube Creators Intensive teamed up to create a program for YouTubers to develop their own scripted series. Now at the end of the project’s first year, YouTube has struck deals with creators including comedy duo Allison Raskin and Gaby Dunn. Raskin and Dunn co-run the channel Just Between Us, a weekly advice show where they discuss love and relationships, including pansexuality and polyamory. Their new series, Everyone’s a Liar, follows a duo at a private agency that investigates “the morality of friends, business partners and significant others.” If the series is picked up, it will be part of the subscription service YouTube Red.

4) Out singer Troye Sivan released a music video for his song “Heaven” on Thursday. The video contains historical footage of activists, rallies, and same-sex weddings. In an accompanying message to his new release, Sivan wrote, “This video is dedicated to all who’ve come before me and fought for our cause and those who now continue the fight. In dark and light times, let’s love forever.”

 

January 20, 2017

www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-wrap-will-grace-returns-new-video-troye-sivan-and-more