Republican Intern Caught on Tape Using Antigay Slur
The intern for Sen. Tom Cotton is now without a job.
www.advocate.com/politics/2017/6/21/republican-intern-caught-tape-proudly-calling-himself-bigot
Daily Archives: June 21, 2017
Piel
Ways to Celebrate Pride Across Social Media
Ways to Celebrate Pride Across Social Media
Post submitted with contributions from HRC Digital Media Intern Grace Smith
With only ten days left of National LGBTQ Pride Month, it’s not too celebrate #Pride2017 on social media. In honor of pride, several social media platforms have released new ways to participate in the celebration through various hashtags, effects and more. Check out HRC’s guide on some of the best ways to get involved and show your support.
Filters and Frames
Facebook and Instagram have added new rainbow frames as well as stickers, effects and rainbow paint brushes to liven up your photos with various rainbow accessories. Snapchat has a new rainbow brush as well as many stickers and filters. In the Facebook camera, you can try even try on different masks.
Additionally, HRC has a special Facebook profile frame that is a limited-time offer for our Summer of Action.
Hashtags
Use the hashtags #PrideIsHappening, #Pride2017 and #LoveIsLove in one of fifteen languages to unlock special Pride emojis on Twitter. When you use those hashtags within your broadcast title, you can unlock a custom Periscope heart. Tumblr launched its #TumblrPride campaign and is encouraging users to share their stories and participate in 30 days of learning and growth.
It is June and that means it is #LGBTQ Pride Month! Celebrate this year using the hashtags #Pride2017 #LoveIsLove #PrideIsHappening t.co/UX9roaMfeT
— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) June 1, 2017
Monuments
Follow the #KindComments Movement on Instagram updates to check out walls in major cities across America turning rainbow for Pride month.
Action
By liking the LGBTQ Facebook page, you can use the new rainbow reaction on Facebook to show pride in your posts and responses.
Search “Pride” on Pinterest to unlock rainbow searches. special guides to Pride this month, and Pride collections.
www.hrc.org/blog/ways-to-celebrate-pride-across-social-media?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Janet Mock: Caitlyn Jenner Doesn’t Speak for Trans Community
Janet Mock: Caitlyn Jenner Doesn’t Speak for Trans Community
Mock made that clear when Chelsea Handler asked her about Jenner’s recent tasteless joke.
www.advocate.com/transgender/2017/6/21/janet-mock-caitlyn-jenner-doesnt-speak-trans-community
‘ACS: Versace’ photos confirm Ricky Martin looks damn good in a speedo
‘ACS: Versace’ photos confirm Ricky Martin looks damn good in a speedo
The Assassination of Gianni Versace will air in early 2018.
109 Photos of an Outrageously Hot Folsom Street East
109 Photos of an Outrageously Hot Folsom Street East
www.advocate.com/photography/2017/6/21/109-photos-outrageously-hot-folsom-street-east-0
What’s Mr. Long Beach Leather’s ideal Pride outfit? A jockstrap and harness, of course!
What’s Mr. Long Beach Leather’s ideal Pride outfit? A jockstrap and harness, of course!
“I’m comfortable in a jockstrap and harness because I’m proud to be a gay Muslim who is into leather,” Ali Mushtaq says.
As Healthcare Debate Heats Up in Congress, Here Are Four Terms You Need to Know
As Healthcare Debate Heats Up in Congress, Here Are Four Terms You Need to Know
Republican Senators are working behind closed doors to fulfill a years-long promise to repeal the landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA), which has extended essential, life-saving healthcare coverage to millions of Americans. So it is truly alarming to witness the unprecedented speed and level of secrecy surrounding the GOP’s efforts to remake a system that comprises nearly a sixth of the U.S. economy.
Here’s what’s at stake: 23 million Americans would lose their healthcare by 2026, with 14 million losing coverage as soon as next year if the AHCA becomes law. If Republicans make good on their promise to end the ACA, millions of our nation’s most vulnerable — including low-income people, children, elderly, women and LGBTQ people — would lose the coverage they need to survive.
As the debate heats up in the Senate, here are several issues at the center of congressional deliberations.
Medicaid expansion:
The ACA’s success in covering an additional 22 million Americans was due in large part to the law’s expansion of Medicaid. Medicaid was first created to provide health care to low-income families, pregnant women and those with disabilities. The ACA widened the reach of this program by expanding the eligibility to include those making 133 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL).
For example: This means that a family of 3 making up to $27,000 a year can qualify for healthcare under Medicaid. In many states without Medicaid expansion adults without a disability or dependent children are not eligible at all regardless of income. In states like Mississippi that have not adopted Medicaid expansion, families with children are only eligible if their household income doesn’t exceed 22 percent of the FPL — or $4,000 a year for a family of three.
Since it’s creation in 1965, Medicaid has provided millions of Americans, including those who are LGBTQ, with vital access to affordable healthcare, including HIV medication and cancer treatments. Yet, Senate Republicans are discussing how to phase out the crucial program.
Ending Medicaid will not only cause millions to lose access to vital healthcare services, it would also mark the first time ever that the U.S. government rescinded a benefit that is saving millions of lives.
Pre-existing conditions & high risk pools:
Before the ACA was implemented, insurance companies could legally charge higher rates or deny coverage outright to people with pre-existing conditions, including cancer, HIV, asthma, diabetes — even victims of sexual assault. Today, insurance companies can no longer raise rates or deny coverage for people with these types of conditions.
In May, House Republicans passed their own health care bill — known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA) — which would give states waivers allowing insurers to charge people with pre-existing conditions more in the private market. To try to mitigate the severe harm of that change, the AHCA would also create federally-funded high-risk pools for those who are unable to purchase insurance due to pre-existing conditions. Unfortunately, reports show that high-risk pools have failed unless funded at much, much higher levels than in the AHCA, leaving millions across the nation vulnerable running out of coverage.
Historically, people living with HIV have had a difficult time obtaining private health insurance and been particularly vulnerable to insurance industry abuses. Stripping these ACA protections would directly result in tens of thousands of LGBTQ people losing access to life-saving treatment.
Health care exchanges & subsidies:
Another pillar of the ACA are the Health Insurance Marketplace — or the marketplace “exchanges” — which is a service available in every state that helps individuals, families, and small businesses shop for and enroll in affordable coverage. The vast majority of enrollees have been able to afford insurance due to subsidies allocated by the federal government. These subsidies are now in the direct crosshairs of Republicans looking to end them.
The subsidies reduce the cost of monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs. They are, currently based on a person’s income and have been critical for people accessing insurance through their state programs, especially those not enrolled in an employer provided plan or Medicaid. The GOP plan would drastically change the way these subsidies work — placing them out of reach for so many who have come to rely on them. Republicans want to turn the subsidies into refundable tax credits based mainly on a person’s age.
For example, a person in their 20s would receive a $2,000 tax credit while older enrollees in their 60’s, for example, would get a $4,000 tax credit. Additionally, individuals making less than $30,000 and above $75,000 annually wouldn’t receive any assistance — greatly affecting lower-income people who are the main recipients of the ACA subsidies.
Annual & lifetime caps:
Before President Obama signed the ACA into law, millions of Americans were enrolled in plans that had annual or lifetime coverage caps. Plans generally limited benefits to around $1 million. The AHCA passed by House Republicans — and what could possibly be in the Senate version — would once again bring back those lifetime and annual limits.
This provision would have a devastating impact on millions of people, mainly those living with severe or chronic conditions, including HIV and cancer, who typically exceed lifetime and annual limits due to the astronomical cost of receiving treatment.
HRC joined more than 60 organizations to oppose the AHCA and called on Senators to reject this dangerous attempt to undermine the very real gains the LGBTQ community has made under the ACA. Join HRC as we call on Senators to reject this dangerous attempt to undermine healthcare access and preserve the incredible gains the LGBTQ community has made under the Affordable Care Act. All you need to do is text “SAVE ACA” to 30644 and we’ll get you connected.
11 LGBTQ podcasts to subscribe to this Pride Month
11 LGBTQ podcasts to subscribe to this Pride Month
In honor the beginning of summer and, most importantly, in celebration of Pride Month, GLAAD has put together a list of some of the top LGBTQ-themed and LGBTQ-hosted podcasts on the internet. While this is not an exhaustive list of all the incredible work queer content creators are making in podcast form, here are a few that GLAAD staff and interns love to listen to or have even hosted, co-hosted, and guest starred! We are always looking for more fresh, nuanced, and creative podcasts to tune in to, so leave a comment with your favorites below!
1) Pod Save the People
You might know the host of this podcast, DeRay McKesson, from his iconic blue puffy vest, his groundbreaking work with Black Lives Matter, or his popular Twitter account where he addresses issues of race, class, sexuality, and social inequity. A well-known community organizer, McKesson emerged as a nationally recognized rallying voice in 2014 following the widespread media coverage after the killing of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson. Since his work in Ferguson, he has appeared at the forefront of conversations concerning race in America. In “Pod Save the People,” McKesson sits down with culture-shaping celebrities, politicians, and activists to host conversations on social change and justice. Most recently, he invited Katy Perry to speak candidly about her treatment of race and history of cultural appropriation. His other guests have run the gamut from Edward Snowden to Keith Ellison to Carolyn DeWitt and others, and it’s still just the show’s first season. McKesson dedicated a recent episode to the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, stating, “As a gay black man in this country, I know what it’s like to be in a world that doesn’t always support my identity– that doesn’t always make peace with my identity. I also know that we can’t let hate win, that this will take all of us to push this world forward.”
2) The Read
Hosted by hilarious pop culture experts Kid Fury and Crissle, this podcast is a window into their world of hip-hop, celebrity gossip, life in New York City, and Black queer kinship. After almost 4 years of working together, Kid Fury and Crissle have built a strong following and have maintained their spot in iTunes’ Top 40 Comedy Podcasts. On their SoundCloud, Crissle and Fury describe “The Read” as an “on-air therapy session for two friends trying to adjust to life (and rats) in the big city.” Some guests of “The Read” include Kelly Rowland, Shaun Ross, and internet star Chescaleigh, who join in to “read” (Black queer slang for bluntly and, at times, harshly telling someone about themself) a celebrity or a topic. During the course of their nearly two hour weekly show, they discuss everything from video games, to Beyoncé, to Drag Race, to how their identities as queer people of color affect their opinions on the hottest celebrity stories of the week. A perfect blend of comedy, politics, pop culture, and life advice, “The Read” never disappoints.
3) Never Before
Trans activist, author, and all-around icon Janet Mock hosts this newly-released podcast series. With a standout lineup of guests including mother to Beyoncé, Ms.Tina Knowles-Lawson; queer actress and activist Rowan Blanchard; and superhero congresswoman Maxine Waters, this podcast is certainly bound for greatness. In the first episode of the podcast, Mock explains that her goal is to “combine her love of conversation and culture, famous-folk and feminism” to push her favorite figures to say more than typical soundbytes, share new stories, and participate in new conversations. Though she has only released three episodes so far, it seems clear that Janet Mock is committed to centering queer people, people of color, and other marginalized voices who have been waiting for the chance to share their stories.
4) Nancy
This short but thoughtful podcast wastes no time letting you know what they’re all about— their tagline is “Because everyone’s a little bit gay.” Hosted by two best friends, Kathy Tu and Tobin Low, this show focuses on issues affecting the LGBTQ community and specifically addresses the struggles of being queer and Asian. In the very first episode, Tu and Low share their coming out stories and interview their parents on what the experience was like from their point of view. They are unapologetic in the way they share their personal experiences and, in turn, encourage their guests and listeners to share in a similar way. Guests on the show include “Master of None” star Lena Waithe, musician Rufus Wainright, and non-binary actor and friend of GLAAD Asia Kate Dillon. Though the show has only been out for three months, it has already gained a loyal listener base and is sure to continue growing in the future.
5) The BiCast
The aptly named “BiCast” podcast fills an important gap in LGBTQ programming and is brought ot us by BiNet USA, a national organization advocating for bisexual, pansexual, fluid, queer-identified and unlabeled people. Geared towards providing a platform for and amplifying bi voices, “The BiCast” offers news, information, and most importantly, community for bi+ people. The show is hosted by Lynnette McFadzen (President of BiNet USA), Becca Tsarna, and Mick Collins– self-described “regular people” who make up a fun and dedicated cast of characters. In each episode, one of the hosts meets with notable authors, artists, and activists to discuss issues of inclusion, health, representation, and creativity. Last October, Lynnette sat down with GLAAD’s very own Alexandra Bolles to chat about Spirit Day, GLAAD’s anti-bullying campaign. In the conversation, Alexandra and Lynnette discussed the ways in which the BiCast, BiNet, and GLAAD have worked to increase bi-specific programming, especially through GLAAD’s guide on Reporting on the Bisexual Community and Bi Week. Be sure to listen and check out all the ways GLAAD is collaborating in the community!
6) LGBTQ&A
This podcast, hosted by HuffPo writer Jeffrey Masters, focuses on the importance of recording oral histories and appreciating the singularity of every individual’s story. The show highlights that “some of the most important people in LGBTQ history are alive today,” and through this understanding, the goal of “LGBTQ&A” is “[to document] their lives, while also highlighting the diversity in our community.” In each episode, Masters picks the brain of active and inspiring members of the LGBTQ community to hear the stories that shaped their journey. Among Masters’ notable guests are translatina activist Bamby Salcedo, drag queen Trixie Mattel, and non-binary advocate Jacob Tobia. You can listen to “LGBTQ&A” online at AfterBuzz.com or on YouTube as filmed interviews.
7) Black Girl Dangerous Podcast
Created by the geniuses who started Black Girl Dangerous, a popular online blog and news source that seeks to amplify the voices of queer and trans people of color, the “Black Girl Dangerous Podcast” offers a “much needed dose of intersectional analysis on your favorite moments and current events.” Hosted by Raquel Willis, a media savvy Black queer transgender activist, this podcast discusses everything from Amber Rose, to Congressman John Lewis, to the Black Church. Willis is a strong believer in the power of digital media as a tool of resistance and liberation and has succeeded in her endeavor to create an inclusive and intersectional space for conversations and learning. From having a conversation about Colin Kaepernick with feminist blogger Cate Young to discussing Get Out with Black queer Muslim activist Blair Imani, Willis’ podcast is full of nuanced conversation and funny banter.
8) Come Thru Queen
This fun and sassy show is co-hosted by Dan and GLAAD’s Senior Manager of Digital Communications Brendan Davis. Every week, the two sit down to give a queer take on all the reality shows that *really* matter: Real Housewives (the Atlanta, Beverly Hills, New York, Orange County, and New Jersey varieties to be exact), RuPaul’s Drag Race, along with an assortment of Bravo programs. Dan and Brendan’s show is your one-stop-shop for all the most important pop culture, reality TV, and celebrity gossip news you need. It also has the catchiest theme song around. And if you love their show, you can keep up with them on all forms of social media including CTQ’s Tumblr and Twitter.
9) Umbrella
This panel-style podcast brings together diverse members of the LGBTQ community to discuss internal and exteral issues that impact the community. With only a few full panel episodes released so far, GLAAD has already found its way into the great community of collaborators behind this project. In the most recent episode, hosts Glynn M. and Dawson Schacter sat down with the director of GLAAD’s digital team, Taylor Behnke, to discuss intersectionality within the LGBTQ community and her own experiences as a bisexual woman of color. Though the project has only just begun, the discussions the Umbrella podcast has generated are worth a listen.
10) Food 4 Thot
This raunchy podcast is a free-for-all gathering of queer multiracial writers who love to talk about “sex, identity, culture, what we like to read and who we like to read.” The “Food 4 Thot” team is made up of Tommy “Teebs” Pico, who describes himself as an “indigenous American poet, serial truth-teller, Myers-Briggs: IDGAF;” Fran Tirado, a “writer, editor, 3rd-tier Gay Mafia card-carrying member;” Dennis Norris II, an “author, ex-figure skater, purveyor of metallic clothing;” and Joe Osmundson, a “scientist, memoirist, professional troll to his racist cousins on Facebook.” Together, these four hosts are not ones to hold back on the rosé, critical literature analysis, suburban soccer mom clap-backs, or resistance strategies.
11) Café con Chisme
This podcast is hosted by friends Yasmin Ferrada and Sebastián and focuses on “all things Latinx, race, pop culture, y más!” In every episode, Yasmin and Sebastián discuss issues like cultural appropriation, immigration, food, and police brutality, offering their opinions and thoughts through vibrant and pointed banter. Never ones to shy away from calling out white nonsense, this podcast is perfect for anyone looking for an escape from the drama of politics and the 24 hour news cycle. With a strong and dedicated following, “Café con Chisme” has created a supportive and inclusive community on their Facebook page and through their interactions with listeners.
June 22, 2017
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12 Ways to Make Your Pride Part of the Resistance
12 Ways to Make Your Pride Part of the Resistance
www.advocate.com/pride/2017/6/21/12-ways-make-your-pride-part-resistance