Reading the Far Right: Hate for Paul Ryan, Immigrants, and LGBTs
As we read these sites so you don’t have to, we look at the daggers suddenly pointed at the House Speaker.
www.advocate.com/media/2017/3/27/reading-far-right-hate-paul-ryan-immigrants-and-lgbts
Petition to force Melania out of NYC garners 50,000 signatures and counting
American taxpayers are sick of footing the bill for Melania Trump to live 200 miles away from her husband in a gilded penthouse palace atop Trump Tower, so a change.org petition has been created demanding the first lady either move to Washington, D.C. immediately or start paying for her own security details.
The petition reads:
The U.S. taxpayer is paying an exorbitant amount of money to protect the First Lady in Trump Tower, located in New York City. As to help relieve the national debt, this expense yields no positive results for the nation and should be cut from being funded. Make Melania Trump stay in the White House or pay for the expenses herself!
It was started by Doug Caruana and has garnered over 50,000 signatures in just a few days, with nearly 15,000 of them coming over the past 24 hours.
Related: Thanks to millennials, Trump’s approval ratings are worse than any president in over 70 years
Original reports said security for the first lady and 10-year-old Barron would cost taxpayers as much as $1 million a day; however, the true cost is about $136,000 a day, according to the NYPD. That’s a far cry from $1 million, but it’s still an insane amount of money. Roughly $4 million a month, to be exact. Which is $1 million more than the federal government currently spends on the Meals-on-Wheels program, which Trump says he wants to cut.
Of course, Melania’s $136,000 daily security tab is a drop in the bucket when it comes to the amount of taxpayer money the Trumps are wasting on personal security.
Trump himself cost taxpayers over $13 million last month on his weekend trips to Mar-a-Lago alone. And just last week, the Secret Service requested an additional $60 million to account for “the unusually complicated lifestyle of the Trump family.” To complicate matters even more, the request for additional funding was actually rejected by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Caruana hopes to collect 75,000 signatures with his change.org petition before delivering it to Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. We don’t think he’ll have any problem doing this.
Related: Price tag to protect “unusually complicated” Trumps just got even more insane
Sean Spicer Gives First Press Briefing Since Failure of Health Care Bill: WATCH LIVE
The post Sean Spicer Gives First Press Briefing Since Failure of Health Care Bill: WATCH LIVE appeared first on Towleroad.
Sean Spicer Gives First Press Briefing Since Failure of Health Care Bill: WATCH LIVE
GLAAD stands with Texas A&M Student Bobby Brooks and calls for action from Secretary Rick Perry
Brooks Requests Meeting via Petition and Letter after Scathing Op-Ed and Personal Attack from Secretary of Energy Rick Perry
NEW YORK – GLAAD, the world’s LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today announced support for Texas A&M University student Bobby Brooks, the first openly LGBTQ person to be elected student body president for the university, following a scathing op-ed written by Secretary Rick Perry and published in the Houston Chronicle in which Perry called Brooks’ election a “mockery” and said “this quest for ‘diversity’ is the real reason the election outcome was overturned.”
On Friday, March 24, Brooks released a letter requesting a meeting with Secretary Perry. In the letter, Brooks requested an in-person meeting with the secretary and said he would like to “discuss how we can work together to achieve our common vision.”
In support of Bobby, GLAAD launched a petition for community members and allies to add their name to Brooks’ letter at www.glaad.org/bobby.
According to Brooks, since Rick Perry wrote his op-ed, he has experienced harassment and even physical threats from opposing campaigns – specifically an incident on March 17. The harassment is what compelled Brooks to write a letter to Secretary Perry inviting him to meet with Brooks one-on-one in either College Station, Texas or Washington, D.C.
“Young people like Bobby Brooks are the future, and should be encouraged, not harassed,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “I hope Secretary Perry takes this opportunity to meet with Bobby and learn what this student already knows – that diversity and inclusion are among our greatest strengths.”
Screenshot of GLAAD petition for Bobby Brooks
Ahead of GLAAD’s official announcement, more than 3,100 signatures have been collected. Brooks will also be a featured guest at the 28th Annual GLAAD Media Awards on April 1 in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton and at GLAAD’s Inaugural Rising Stars Luncheon where other LGBTQ college students will receive grants for LGBTQ advocacy projects.
###
About GLAAD: GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQs acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org or connect with GLAAD on Facebook and Twitter.
www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-stands-texas-am-student-bobby-brooks-and-calls-action-secretary-rick-perry
Magenta & Black
jessicajane9 posted a photo:
Magenta top and heels with black sleeveless duster and black wet look leggings ♥
Shocker: Ivanka Trump’s D.C. neighbors absolutely cannot stand living next to her
Ivanka Trump’s new neighbors say she has completely “ruined” their friendly, quaint D.C. neighborhood. And they’re not happy about it.
“It has been a three-ring circus from the day that they’ve moved in,” Marietta Robinson, who lives across the street from Ivanka and Jared’s $5.5 million compound, tells the AP. “They’ve completely ruined the neighborhood!”
In addition to the general sense of chaos the Trumps bring, one of the biggest complaints seems to be parking. Neighbors say it was already a problem before they came along, and it has only gotten worse over the past two months. They can no longer park in front of their own homes because the fleet of Secret Service vehicles is constantly blocking everything. And as for having guests over, forget it.
“Sometimes there are 10 cars out there,” Robinson says. “They’ve completely taken over the whole street–as if they have the authority!”
Of course, in typical Trump fashion, Ivanka and Jared installed four “No Parking” signs outside their house to ensure they always have a convenient place to park. Everyone else, however, can eat cake. Because when other neighbors tried doing the same thing outside their homes, the city had their signs promptly removed.
“I started screaming,” Rhona Friedman, who has the misfortune of living directly next door to the Trumps, tells the Washington Post.
Parking has become such an issue, Friedman says, that “if you happen to miss that moment before the spaces get filled, you’re dead.”
On top of that, metal barricades have been put up along the streets making it impossible for pedestrians to use the sidewalks, and members of the Secret Service are constantly trolling around the street 24-7, talking in loud voices, and even changing their shirts in public view.
“There are more of them than I have ever seen,” Robinson says. “Frequently several of them are milling outside of the house at all hours having conversations and staring meanly at anyone in view.”
To add insult to injury, Ivanka and Jared don’t follow the neighborhood’s trash schedule and just throw bags of trash on the curb whenever they want, sometimes leaving it sitting out there for days, stinking up the street.
“Are you kidding me?” Friedman gripes. “This is the adult child of the president.”
Robinson says the Trumps have “truly ruined my peaceful enjoyment of my house.”
“It is every bit as disruptive as if a very active business was allowed to come into this residential neighborhood,” she says.
When asked for comment about the issue, an aide for Ivanka told the AP everything is hunky dory, relaying a message from Ivanka that said, “We love the neighborhood and our family has received an incredibly gracious welcome from our neighbors.”
Related: Ivanka Trump’s husband Jared Kushner has a serious problem wearing pants
Elton John Turned 70 and Got a ‘Happy Birthday’ Serenade from Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder: WATCH
Happy birthday to Elton John. The icon and activist turned 70 years old on Saturday and celebrated with a star-studded fundraiser benefiting the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Hammer Museum at UCLA.
Taking place in Los Angeles on Saturday, the bash saw Gaga and Wonder team up for a rendition of his classic single ‘Happy Birthday’ from ‘Hotter Than July’ – but changing the lyrics to “Happy birthday Elton”.
The party also saw Gaga perform a piano-only mini-set featuring the likes of ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Born This Way’, while the guestlist including Katy Perry, Jon Hamm, James Corden, Rob Lowe, Roseanne Cash, Chris Cornell and many more also enjoyed Sir Elton’s friend and collaborator Ryan Adams covering his seminal single ‘Rocket Man’ – which the pair have performed together many times in the past.
Discussing his birthday on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 Radio show, Sir Elton said: “Some people don’t like birthdays, they don’t like celebrating, they don’t want to know about them, and I’ve always enjoyed my birthday… Seventy sounds so archaic, doesn’t it? When I was growing up, 70 sounded like the end of the world. But things have changed — you’re only as old as you feel inside.”
The post Elton John Turned 70 and Got a ‘Happy Birthday’ Serenade from Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Elton John Turned 70 and Got a ‘Happy Birthday’ Serenade from Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder: WATCH
Three Reasons Why Language is Important in Media Coverage of HIV
Post submitted by Diego Mora Bello, HRC Global Fellow
“HIV in the Media” is part of a project Diego Mora Bello is working on as an HRC Global Fellow and a Next Generation Leader with The McCain Institute. HRC’s Global Fellows program seeks to identify outstanding established and emerging LGBTQ leaders from around the world and bring them to Washington, D.C. to work alongside HRC staff.
Stigma and discrimination continue to be common barriers for people living with HIV. Fortunately, the media can play an important role in helping to remove these and other barriers. In my own survey of Latin American news articles mentioning HIV and AIDS, and in meeting with media professionals and advocates, I found that Latin American Media has room to improve its use of correct and destigmatizing language when talking about people living with HIV. Covering HIV both correctly and responsibly is important, because doing so is an essential part of raising awareness, debunking common myths, and giving voice to an already marginalized group of people.
The importance of using correct and responsible language in journalistic coverage of HIV inspired me to research this topic and share my findings. The ultimate goal of HIV in the Media is to report on this subject in a scientifically accurate and responsible way that inspires others to follow suit.
Based on my research, here are the top three reasons why language is important when covering HIV and AIDS in the media.
1. Incorrect medical language can be misleading.
Latin American media continues to refer to HIV as a disease, when it should be described as an infection. Media in the region also erroneously use the terms “HIV” and “AIDS” interchangeably even though the two are not one and the same. Consider, for example, that all people who’ve been diagnosed with AIDS are necessarily living with HIV, but that not all people living with HIV have been diagnosed with AIDS.
“The incorrect treatment of the issue distances people from health services, in particular the diagnosis of HIV, and it can affect their social relationships and quality of life,” said Miguel Angel Barriga, director of the Corporación Red Somos of Colombia.
2. Inaccurate reporting can perpetuate stigma and foster discrimination.
Latin American media falsely characterize people living with HIV as “infecting others” when a more neutral, far less stigmatizing term would be to say one “transmits HIV”. When reporters and bloggers use words such as “sick,” “contagious” or “carrier,” which are not appropriate by many standards, they legitimate the use of such words in everyday life. In so doing, reporters help create and maintain the status quo, where in many people avoid getting tested or treated for HIV out of fear of violence, mistreatment, or harassment.
“In the case of HIV, the inappropriate use of language conspires against the goal to eliminate stigma and discrimination,” said Leandro Cahn, director of communication and institutional development at the Fundación Huésped in Argentina.
3. Celebrity coverage can overshadow stories about people living with HIV.
Latin American media tends to focus its reporting on stories of celebrities who support, donate to or participate in HIV-related events or on celebrities who talk openly and honestly about their HIV status. These stories, while important, do not encapsulate the full range of topics that need to be discussed. The media would do well to include a diversity of stories about the current realities of HIV since the media represents one of the few places where everyday people in Latin America may hear about HIV. Other story ideas include HIV criminalization, the advent of treatment as prevention and PrEP.
“Talking about prevention and treatment can raise awareness among the population”, said Alonso Castilla, a Telemundo Washington journalist.
Read more about this study here. For more about HRC’s work to end the HIV and AIDS epidemic, click here.
GLAAD stands with Texas A&M Student Body President-Elect Bobby Brooks and calls for action from Secretary Rick Perry
Brooks Requests Meeting via Petition and Letter after Scathing Op-Ed and Personal Attack from Secretary of Energy Rick Perry
NEW YORK – GLAAD, the world’s LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today announced support for Texas A&M University student Bobby Brooks, the first openly LGBTQ person to be elected student body president for the university, following a scathing op-ed written by Secretary Rick Perry and published in the Houston Chronicle in which Perry called Brooks’ election a “mockery” and said “this quest for ‘diversity’ is the real reason the election outcome was overturned.”
On Friday, March 24, Brooks released a letter requesting a meeting with Secretary Perry. In the letter, Brooks requested an in-person meeting with the secretary and said he would like to “discuss how we can work together to achieve our common vision.”
In support of Bobby, GLAAD launched a petition for community members and allies to add their name to Brooks’ letter at www.glaad.org/bobby.
According to Brooks, since Rick Perry wrote his op-ed, he has experienced harassment and even physical threats from opposing campaigns – specifically an incident on March 17. The harassment is what compelled Brooks to write a letter to Secretary Perry inviting him to meet with Brooks one-on-one in either College Station, Texas or Washington, D.C.
“Young people like Bobby Brooks are the future, and should be encouraged, not harassed,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “I hope Secretary Perry takes this opportunity to meet with Bobby and learn what this student already knows – that diversity and inclusion are among our greatest strengths.”
Screenshot of GLAAD petition for Bobby Brooks
Ahead of GLAAD’s official announcement, more than 3,100 signatures have been collected. Brooks will also be a featured guest at the 28th Annual GLAAD Media Awards on April 1 in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton and at GLAAD’s Inaugural Rising Stars Luncheon where other LGBTQ college students will receive grants for LGBTQ advocacy projects.
###
About GLAAD: GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQs acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org or connect with GLAAD on Facebook and Twitter.
GSN Reacts: RuPaul's Drag Race Season 9 Episode 1
Gay Star News brings you a new video series: GSN Reacts.
In this week’s episode video editor Lewis watches the season 9 opener of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Follow Gay Star News on Twitter: twitter.com/gaystarnews
Follow Lewis on Twitter: twitter.com/lewispetersedit
Follow Drag Race on Twitter: twitter.com/RuPaulsDragRace
Gay Star News do not own the rights to any of the footage used, all rights belong to VH1 and World of Wonder.
