Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Flynn, Wheel of Fortune, Tim Cook, Billie Lourd, Hanson: HOT LINKS

MICHAEL FLYNN. Former national security adviser “does not appear” to have disclosed trip to Middle East during renewal of security clearance: “In a Monday letter addressed to multiple parties, including the Flynn Intel Group, Democratic Reps. Eliot Engel (N.Y.) and Elijah Cummings (Md.) ask for documents related to Flynn’s work with Russia and Saudi Arabia. Engel and Cummings in the letter say that Flynn, who was fired after he misled Vice President Pence about his conversations with Russian officials, failed to report one trip to the Middle East and “omitted significant details” about a second trip.”

BIJAN KIAN. Flynn business partner now under investigation: “Investigators are also looking at whether payments from foreign clients to Flynn and his company, the now-inactive Flynn Intel Group, were lawful, according to two separate sources with knowledge of the broad inquiry into Flynn’s business activities. That includes payments by three Russian companies and a Netherlands-based company, Inovo, controlled by Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin, they said.”

CHLAMYDIA OF THE EAR. Hanson comes for Justin Bieber.

LOVE IS MAGIC. Neil Patrick Harris’s t-shirt supports the Elton John AIDS Foundation for Pride month!

TIM COOK. Apple CEO urged Trump to show compassion on immigration at White House meeting.

ISTANBUL. Ultranationalist group threatens to block LGBT March.

BILLIE LOURD. How my mom, Carrie Fisher, died of drug addiction: “My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life. She ultimately died of it.  She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases. She talked about the shame that torments people and their families confronted by these diseases. I know my Mom, she’d want her death to encourage people to be open about their struggles. Seek help, fight for government funding for mental health programs. Shame and those social stigmas are the enemies of progress to solutions and ultimately a cure. Love you Momby.”

RECORDING AGAIN. Sam Smith is in the studio in London.

MARTYN HETT. The public is invited to the Manchester bombing victim’s funeral: “The funeral of Martyn Hett will take place at the end of this month and his family have invited ‘anyone who would like to celebrate his life’.”

BLADE RUNNER 2049. The promotion has begun for Ryan Gosling.

WHEEL OF FORTUNE. Game show under fire for featuring background photo with “slaves”. “A person with knowledge of the situation told EW the image was taken from footage shot on location in 2005 for a New Orleans episode of Wheel. It was filmed at the Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana, and the women in the image were working as tour guides.”

Someone please tell me why @WheelofFortune has slaves in their “Southern Charm Week” images? pic.twitter.com/IPCFo9wh1b

— Joshua Itiola (@joshitiola) June 16, 2017

TOO HOT TUESDAY. Sachin Bhatt.

The post Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Flynn, Wheel of Fortune, Tim Cook, Billie Lourd, Hanson: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.

Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Flynn, Wheel of Fortune, Tim Cook, Billie Lourd, Hanson: HOT LINKS

Now is the Time to Stop the Repeal of the Affordable Care Act

According to the Huffington Post, “Senate Republicans are closer than ever to repealing Obamacare.” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is trying to repeal it by the end of the month – and he’s closing in on the 50 votes needed to get it done! If he can get Senators Murkowski, Flake, Gardner, Cassidy, Collins, Heller, Capito and/or Portman to vote yes, it could pass. Trump will then sign the repeal and LGBTQ healthcare will be forever changed.

HRC is fighting back against this effort to throw millions of LGBTQ Americans off their health insurance, but we need you to join us in convincing your senator to oppose this effort. We really need to move quickly here – text “SAVE ACA” to 30644 to be connected to your senator’s office and tell them to reject this repeal bill.

The bill has been crafted behind closed doors without hearings, debates or public drafts. They’ve even refused to release the text – keeping it from senators like Tammy Baldwin who fear it will drastically hurt the health and wellbeing of the LGBTQ community. Here’s what we do know about the repeal effort that passed the House:

• It would result in at least 14 million Americans losing insurance by 2018 and 23 million being uninsured by 2026 – including skyrocketing the uninsured rate of kids by 50 percent.
• It would allow companies to once again deny health insurance to someone living with a pre-existing condition including people living with HIV.
• It would dramatically alter Medicaid, causing millions of women, children, the disabled and people living with HIV to lose health coverage.
• It would threaten the funding of Planned Parenthood and their clinics, which often serve as the only quality-affordable LGBTQ friendly health provider in communities.

Will you 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.

www.hrc.org/blog/now-is-the-time-to-stop-the-repeal-of-the-affordable-care-act?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Models Isis King, Laith Ashley, Arisce Wanzer Go Bold and Celebrate Pride Month

www.glaad.org/blog/models-isis-king-laith-ashley-arisce-wanzer-go-bold-and-celebrate-pride-month

The Most Captivating Films of Frameline

From queer British history to repressed Brooklyn sexuality to Whitney’s tortured life, the San Francisco LGBT film festival covers it all.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2017/6/20/most-captivating-films-frameline

Steve Grand strips down for San Francisco’s Broadway Bares. Curious?
This might pique your interest.

www.queerty.com/steve-grand-strips-san-franciscos-broadway-bares-curious-20170620?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Steve Bannon on Why White House Press Briefings are Now Frequently Off-Camera: ‘Sean Got Fatter’

Amid growing concern from members of the media that the White House is shutting itself off from the press comes this report from The Atlantic about the situation as well as the shrinking role of Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

Perhaps the oddest item in the article is this quote from Steve Bannon on Spicer’s diminished role:

Neither Spicer nor deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders responded to queries about the changes to the briefings. Asked why the briefings are now routinely held off-camera, White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said in a text message “Sean got fatter,” and did not respond to a follow-up.

The post Steve Bannon on Why White House Press Briefings are Now Frequently Off-Camera: ‘Sean Got Fatter’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Steve Bannon on Why White House Press Briefings are Now Frequently Off-Camera: ‘Sean Got Fatter’

HRC Mobilizes to Elect Pro-Equality Candidate Jon Ossoff to Congress

Today’s pivotal congressional election will demonstrate the power of our resistance against the Trump administration. HRC has been organizing to send pro-equality candidate Jon Ossoff to represent Georgia’s sixth district in Congress.

Nearly 6,000 HRC members and supporters in Georgia’s sixth congressional district are working to get out the vote and win a Republican district that voted for President Trump.

.@HRC is working to help #FlipThe6th! If you live in #GA06, remember to vote for pro-equality Jon @Ossoff tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/5VsnXjqlFT

— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) June 20, 2017

HRC, alongside hundreds of volunteers, has been making calls at phone banks, sending action alerts and canvassing across the district to send a clear message that we strongly condemn Trump’s discriminatory policies.

In the Trump era, conservative states are emboldened to codify discrimination into law introducing a number of License-To-Discriminate bills. The issue was brought up during a debate between Ossoff and his opponent, Karen Handel, earlier this month.

.@Ossoff pledged to stand up to #LicenseToDiscriminate laws. If you live in #GA06, #FlipThe6th June 20! pic.twitter.com/x4PL49Wqny

— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) June 19, 2017

Handel is not only a Trump supporter, but also a staunch anti-LGBTQ extremist who opposes marriage equality and the right for same-sex couples to adopt. In a 2010 interview with WXIA, she said that same-sex relationships “are not what God intended,” and implied that same-sex parents were not as qualified as different-sex parents.

Caught on camera: Jon Ossoff’s opponent says #LGBTQ parents aren’t legitimate. If you live in #GA06, #VoteYourOssoff on Tuesday, June 20. pic.twitter.com/fm6bwD48aZ

— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) June 16, 2017

An Ossoff victory would be a game-changer and would send a signal to the Trump administration and other representatives who endorse discriminatory policies.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-mobilizes-to-elect-pro-equality-candidate-jon-ossoff-to-congress?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Brian Brown’s Annual NOM ‘March for Marriage’ Attracts Less Than 50 Protesters: VIDEO

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) annual “March for Marriage” has once again failed to resonate, with this year’s event attracting less than 50 people. According to Twitter user Beth Ethier, the exact number was 47 “including babies.”

Attendance at the event has plummeted since the inaugural March in 2013. That year, somewhere in the region of 10,000 attended although estimates ranged from 2,000 to 15,000 depending on who was doing the counting. In 2014, around 2,000 people attended while 6,000 are thought to have taken part in 2015 as the event took place the weekend before oral arguments in Obergfell. However, last year that number dropped to 250.

Brian Brown addressing a crowd of around 30 people at this year’s anti-gay March for Marriage #equality pic.twitter.com/mKEMY5TcK2

— Beth Ethier (@missdeutsch) June 17, 2017

NOM head Brian Brown said that the low turnout was caused by scheduling and permit problems.

Right Wing Watch reports:

Fifteen minutes before the event was scheduled to begin, about 20 adults were milling around an empty stage while several children worked to unfurl large red and blue banners to carry during the march. One passerby wondered whether they were going to a kite festival. Gradually, a few more participants arrived, including five men wearing the signature capes of the group Tradition, Family and Property and carrying a “Honk for Traditional Marriage” sign.

While in previous years, the March for Marriage’s numbers have been increased by various church-sponsored buses and a large contingent bused in by New York state Sen. Ruben Diaz, this year there appeared to be no large groups.

Brown told the crowd not to be discouraged by their small numbers, comparing their cause to that of abolitionists in the 18th and early 19th century.

RELATED: NOM’s Brian Brown is Tumescent Over Ted Cruz Win, Sees Gay Marriage Repeal on the Horizon

“We are on the side of truth,” he said. “We are on the side of true human rights, we are on the side of true civil rights. And in every fight for civil rights, it took a creative minority who were willing to stand up and speak truth to power no matter what the cost. And you know what? There may not be thousands of us here today. It doesn’t matter. There were only a few that stood with William Wilberforce when he stood up and said ‘no’ to the slave trade in England. He was mocked, he was derided, he was laughed at. We remember him as a hero now, because ultimately his life’s work was successful, but it wasn’t successful in his own lifetime.”

“Every year, we’re going to be here whether there’s thousands or hundreds or tens” of people, he said.

Brown told the crowd that he would continue working to ban same-sex marriage and would be ready to advance a state same-sex marriage ban to get a case before the Supreme Court at the right time.

Brian Brown surveying the thin turnout for his anti-gay March for Marriage, which a few years ago drew 2-3,000 to DC pic.twitter.com/PXUfmrf9Qn

— Beth Ethier (@missdeutsch) June 17, 2017

“The court has been wrong and wrong time and time again,” he said. “And guess what? The court has overturned its own rulings that were wrong. It’s going to take another justice, maybe two. It may take 20 years, maybe more.”

Brown also noted that he has had far more success in recent years spreading his homophobic message outside of the U.S. He spoke about the recent World Congress of Families conference in Hungary and travels to Romania and Taiwan, where he met with activists working to overturn a court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

Watch NOM’s rallying call for the march below.

The post Brian Brown’s Annual NOM ‘March for Marriage’ Attracts Less Than 50 Protesters: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

Brian Brown’s Annual NOM ‘March for Marriage’ Attracts Less Than 50 People: VIDEO