POLL: Who do you think will win ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ season 3?
And may the best woman… win!

www.queerty.com/poll-think-will-win-rupauls-drag-race-stars-season-3-20171024?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Cate Blanchett Deliciously Slams Predatory Men While Accepting Style Award

Blanchett said that just because women dress sexy it doesn’t mean they want to have sex (paraphrased) with you. 

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2017/10/24/cate-blanchett-deliciously-slams-predatory-men-while-accepting-style-award

You won’t believe what Kathy Griffin just called Anderson Cooper
She says the insult came directly “from my gays.”

www.queerty.com/wont-believe-kathy-griffin-just-called-anderson-cooper-20171024?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Arizona GOP Senator Jeff Flake Delivers Blistering Rebuke of Trump, Says He Won’t Seek Reelection: WATCH

In a riveting 16-minute speech, Arizona GOP Senator Jeff Flake announced he is not going to seek re-election and delivered a sharp rebuke of Donald Trump. Flake, the establishment candidate, was seen as highly vulnerable to a Trump-allied challenger.

RELATED: GOP Senator Bob Corker Unleashes on Trump: ‘He Debases Our Nation’ and Can’t Tell the Truth – WATCH

Flake, a frequent Trump critic, today chose to go out blazing.

Said Flake, in part:

Reckless, outrageous, and undignified behavior has become excused and countenanced as “telling it like it is,” when it is actually just reckless, outrageous, and undignified.

And when such behavior emanates from the top of our government, it is something else: It is dangerous to a democracy. Such behavior does not project strength – because our strength comes from our values. It instead projects a corruption of the spirit, and weakness.

It is often said that children are watching. Well, they are. And what are we going to do about that? When the next generation asks us, Why didn’t you do something? Why didn’t you speak up? — what are we going to say?

Mr. President, I rise today to say: Enough.

Watch:

Transcript:

Mr. President, I rise today to address a matter that has been much on my mind, at a moment when it seems that our democracy is more defined by our discord and our dysfunction than it is by our values and our principles.  Let me begin by noting a somewhat obvious point that these offices that we hold are not ours to hold indefinitely.  We are not here simply to mark time. Sustained incumbency is certainly not the point of seeking office. And there are times when we must risk our careers in favor of our principles.

Now is such a time.

It must also be said that I rise today with no small measure of regret. Regret, because of the state of our disunion, regret because of the disrepair and destructiveness of our politics, regret because of the indecency of our discourse, regret because of the coarseness of our leadership, regret for the compromise of our moral authority, and by our – all of our – complicity in this alarming and dangerous state of affairs. It is time for our complicity and our accommodation of the unacceptable to end.

In this century, a new phrase has entered the language to describe the accommodation of a new and undesirable order – that phrase being “the new normal.” But we must never adjust to the present coarseness of our national dialogue – with the tone set at the top.

We must never regard as “normal” the regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms and ideals. We must never meekly accept the daily sundering of our country – the personal attacks, the threats against principles, freedoms, and institutions, the flagrant disregard for truth or decency, the reckless provocations, most often for the pettiest and most personal reasons, reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with the fortunes of the people that we have all been elected to serve.

None of these appalling features of our current politics should ever be regarded as normal. We must never allow ourselves to lapse into thinking that this is just the way things are now. If we simply become inured to this condition, thinking that this is just politics as usual, then heaven help us. Without fear of the consequences, and without consideration of the rules of what is politically safe or palatable, we must stop pretending that the degradation of our politics and the conduct of some in our executive branch are normal. They are not normal.

Reckless, outrageous, and undignified behavior has become excused and countenanced as “telling it like it is,” when it is actually just reckless, outrageous, and undignified.

And when such behavior emanates from the top of our government, it is something else: It is dangerous to a democracy. Such behavior does not project strength – because our strength comes from our values. It instead projects a corruption of the spirit, and weakness.

It is often said that children are watching. Well, they are. And what are we going to do about that? When the next generation asks us, Why didn’t you do something? Why didn’t you speak up? — what are we going to say?

Here, today, I stand to say that we would better serve the country and better fulfill our obligations under the constitution by adhering to our Article 1 “old normal” – Mr. Madison’s doctrine of the separation of powers. This genius innovation which affirms Madison’s status as a true visionary and for which Madison argued in Federalist 51 – held that the equal branches of our government would balance and counteract each other when necessary. “Ambition counteracts ambition,” he wrote.

But what happens if ambition fails to counteract ambition? What happens if stability fails to assert itself in the face of chaos and instability? If decency fails to call out indecency? Were the shoe on the other foot, would we Republicans meekly accept such behavior on display from dominant Democrats? Of course not, and we would be wrong if we did.

When we remain silent and fail to act when we know that that silence and inaction is the wrong thing to do – because of political considerations, because we might make enemies, because we might alienate the base, because we might provoke a primary challenge, because ad infinitum, ad nauseum – when we succumb to those considerations in spite of what should be greater considerations and imperatives in defense of the institutions of our liberty, then we dishonor our principles and forsake our obligations. Those things are far more important than politics.

Now, I am aware that more politically savvy people than I caution against such talk. I am aware that a segment of my party believes that anything short of complete and unquestioning loyalty to a president who belongs to my party is unacceptable and suspect.

If I have been critical, it not because I relish criticizing the behavior of the president of the United States.  If I have been critical, it is because I believe that it is my obligation to do so, as a matter of duty and conscience. The notion that one should stay silent as the norms and values that keep America strong are undermined and as the alliances and agreements that ensure the stability of the entire world are routinely threatened by the level of thought that goes into 140 characters – the notion that one should say and do nothing in the face of such mercurial behavior is ahistoric and, I believe, profoundly misguided.

A Republican president named Roosevelt had this to say about the president and a citizen’s relationship to the office:

“The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants.He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the nation as a whole. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly as necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile.”  President Roosevelt continued. “To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

Acting on conscience and principle is the manner in which we express our moral selves, and as such, loyalty to conscience and principle should supersede loyalty to any man or party. We can all be forgiven for failing in that measure from time to time. I certainly put myself at the top of the list of those who fall short in that regard. I am holier-than-none. But too often, we rush not to salvage principle but to forgive and excuse our failures so that we might accommodate them and go right on failing—until the accommodation itself becomes our principle.

In that way and over time, we can justify almost any behavior and sacrifice almost any principle. I’m afraid that is where we now find ourselves.

When a leader correctly identifies real hurt and insecurity in our country and instead of addressing it goes looking for somebody to blame, there is perhaps nothing more devastating to a pluralistic society. Leadership knows that most often a good place to start in assigning blame is to first look somewhat closer to home. Leadership knows where the buck stops. Humility helps. Character counts. Leadership does not knowingly encourage or feed ugly and debased appetites in us.

Leadership lives by the American creed: E Pluribus Unum. From many, one. American leadership looks to the world, and just as Lincoln did, sees the family of man. Humanity is not a zero-sum game. When we have been at our most prosperous, we have also been at our most principled. And when we do well, the rest of the world also does well.

These articles of civic faith have been central to the American identity for as long as we have all been alive. They are our birthright and our obligation. We must guard them jealously, and pass them on for as long as the calendar has days. To betray them, or to be unserious in their defense is a betrayal of the fundamental obligations of American leadership.  And to behave as if they don’t matter is simply not who we are.

Now, the efficacy of American leadership around the globe has come into question. When the United States emerged from World War II we contributed about half of the world’s economic activity.  It would have been easy to secure our dominance, keeping the countries that had been defeated or greatly weakened during the war in their place.  We didn’t do that.  It would have been easy to focus inward.  We resisted those impulses.  Instead, we financed reconstruction of shattered countries and created international organizations and institutions that have helped provide security and foster prosperity around the world for more than 70 years.

Now, it seems that we, the architects of this visionary rules-based world order that has brought so much freedom and prosperity, are the ones most eager to abandon it.

The implications of this abandonment are profound. And the beneficiaries of this rather radical departure in the American approach to the world are the ideological enemies of our values. Despotism loves a vacuum.  And our allies are now looking elsewhere for leadership. Why are they doing this? None of this is normal. And what do we as United States Senators have to say about it?

The principles that underlie our politics, the values of our founding, are too vital to our identity and to our survival to allow them to be compromised by the requirements of politics. Because politics can make us silent when we should speak, and silence can equal complicity.

I have children and grandchildren to answer to, and so, Mr. President, I will not be complicit.

I have decided that I will be better able to represent the people of Arizona and to better serve my country and my conscience by freeing myself from the political considerations that consume far too much bandwidth and would cause me to compromise far too many principles.

To that end, I am announcing today that my service in the Senate will conclude at the end of my term in early January 2019.

It is clear at this moment that a traditional conservative who believes in limited government and free markets, who is devoted to free trade, and who is pro-immigration, has a narrower and narrower path to nomination in the Republican party – the party that for so long has defined itself by belief in those things.  It is also clear to me for the moment we have given in or given up on those core principles in favor of the more viscerally satisfying anger and resentment.  To be clear, the anger and resentment that the people feel at the royal mess we have created are justified.  But anger and resentment are not a governing philosophy.

There is an undeniable potency to a populist appeal – but mischaracterizing or misunderstanding our problems and giving in to the impulse to scapegoat and belittle threatens to turn us into a fearful, backward-looking people. In the case of the Republican party, those things also threaten to turn us into a fearful, backward-looking minority party.

We were not made great as a country by indulging or even exalting our worst impulses, turning against ourselves, glorying in the things which divide us, and calling fake things true and true things fake. And we did not become the beacon of freedom in the darkest corners of the world by flouting our institutions and failing to understand just how hard-won and vulnerable they are.

This spell will eventually break. That is my belief. We will return to ourselves once more, and I say the sooner the better. Because to have a heathy government we must have healthy and functioning parties. We must respect each other again in an atmosphere of shared facts and shared values, comity and good faith. We must argue our positions fervently, and never be afraid to compromise. We must assume the best of our fellow man, and always look for the good. Until that days comes, we must be unafraid to stand up and speak out as if our country depends on it. Because it does.

I plan to spend the remaining fourteen months of my senate term doing just that.

Mr. President, the graveyard is full of indispensable men and women — none of us here is indispensable. Nor were even the great figures from history who toiled at these very desks in this very chamber to shape this country that we have inherited. What is indispensable are the values that they consecrated in Philadelphia and in this place, values which have endured and will endure for so long as men and women wish to remain free. What is indispensable is what we do here in defense of those values. A political career doesn’t mean much if we are complicit in undermining those values.

I thank my colleagues for indulging me here today, and will close by borrowing the words of President Lincoln, who knew more about healing enmity and preserving our founding values than any other American who has ever lived. His words from his first inaugural were a prayer in his time, and are no less so in ours:

“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

The post Arizona GOP Senator Jeff Flake Delivers Blistering Rebuke of Trump, Says He Won’t Seek Reelection: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Arizona GOP Senator Jeff Flake Delivers Blistering Rebuke of Trump, Says He Won’t Seek Reelection: WATCH

Crisp Making Hit By Brexit Labour Shortage, Reveals UK Food Federation Chief
Crisp production is being hit by a Brexit-induced labour shortage, the chief of the UK’s food federation has said during his starkest warning yet over a drop in migrant workers.

In an interview with HuffPost UK, Food and Drink Federation boss Ian Wright called on the Government to do more to reassure EU migrants they are welcome in the country as companies across the sector experience staff shortages.

Wright said an owner of a medium-sized crisp manufacturer told him his factory is having to operate with a 10% drop in the work force – meaning a loss in productivity – as fewer migrants are traveling to the UK for work.

The food and drink industry is the UK’s biggest manufacturing sector and contributes £28.2billion to the economy, meaning any slow-down in productivity could have implications for the country’s finances.

Speaking from his office in central London just hours after Theresa May published an open letter telling EU migrants she wanted them to stay in the UK, Wright called for the Government to go further.

“I think the Government has moved a long way from where it was the day after Brexit,” he said. But when asked if he felt recent announcements had reassured EU migrants working in the food and drink industry, Wright replied: “The ones who didn’t feel confident still don’t feel confident, and the ones who were confident are still confident.

“There’s a still a significant drain of European workers leaving and there are fewer coming.”

The latest official statistics show the number of EU citizens who came to the UK fell by 19,000 in the year to March 2017 compared to a year earlier, with the number of EU citizens leaving the country up by 33,000 over the same period.

In June, the National Farmers Union revealed the number of seasonal workers coming to work the harvest dropped by 17% in the first five months of 2017.

Even more worryingly for the industry, the number of returnees – who require little if any training because of their experience – fell by 50%.

According to Wright, what started with labour reductions for the harvest is now sweeping across the entire food and drink industry.

“Everyone I talk to is losing people and cannot replace them,” he said. “A guy I was with last week – he’s a medium-size crisp manufacturer. He runs three shifts, 24/6, they don’t work on Sundays, they clean the machines.

“Every shift he’s four or five down because he can’t replace them. It’s a big impact on productivity and a big impact on the capacity to produce stuff.

“He’s now limited, not very, but more limited than he would choose to be in his ability to fulfill orders by a labour shortage. And he’s in the north of England.”

When asked what ongoing impact of labour shortages would be, Wright said: “It’s tightening, it might be a little bit of drift in price, it might be a little bit of drift on availability, it might be a little bit of a drift on choice. It’s just the slight tightening of the circumstances.”

As for the reasons for the drop in overseas workers, Wright believes cultural and economic factors are to blame.

“One is lack of certainty and a general feeling of unease about whether you should come – but clearly others did come,” he said.

“The other is the currency,” Wright said, referring to the fall in the value of sterling against the euro since the Brexit.

He went on: “If you’re a seasonal worker and you go off and do the harvest somewhere and you get 16% less for your money for your work here and you’ve got the opportunity to go to Germany or France or Spain or Italy you’ll go there.”

The drop in sterling might be bad for recruitment, but it has helped food and drink exports.

In the first half of 2017, exports of all food and drink reached £10.2billion – up 8.5% on the previous year.

Increased exports to the EU helped fuel this rise, with a 9% growth in products sent to the bloc totalling £6.3billion.

While the Brexit negotiations are well underway – albeit stuck in phase one of the process – Wright is still unclear as to what immigration system the Government wants to adopt once the UK is out of the Single Market and Customs Union.

He said: “We are no closer to resolving the question of how you replace the flow of free movement of people, and that’s been kicked into the migration advisory committee.

“We won’t hear anything on that for some weeks.”

While frustrated with the Government’s overall lack of direction on key elements of Brexit, Wright is full of praise for Defra Secretary Michael Gove.

“I’m a fan, I think he’s a big beast, he’s a very, very thoughtful and able man. I think his record at Education and Justice demonstrates that he’s someone whose decisions are for the long term.

“I don’t mind there are things that you disagree with him about. I think that’s important and good. He’s extremely courteous.

“He’s the most powerful Secretary of State in Defra and the most impactful for arguably a generation – certainly since Hilary Benn in the 1997 to 2010 Government, and probably before that.

“He’s really taken the trouble to understand, think and I hope for us that he’s there for the long term.”

Want to know what’s really going on with Brexit? Sign up for HuffPost UK’s Brexit Briefing – sent straight to your inbox every Thursday.
Wright might be a fan of Gove, but he has far less time for Brexiteers who advocate pursuing trade arrangements on World Trade Organisation terms.

“They seem to think the WTO is some sort of nirvana of free trade – well, it isn’t,” he said.

Even when the UK strikes free trade deals with countries including New Zealand, Argentina, and Australia, that could cause some serious problems for the UK’s agricultural sector and the complicated issue of the Northern Ireland/Ireland border.

Wright said: “If you bring in beef and lamb, that is in effect like dumping, and that’s one of the barriers to an Irish border issue, as what the Europeans are terrified about is what they call backdooring.

“If we do what Owen Paterson wants us to do and get access to cheap lamb, cheap beef, cheap whatever, it comes into our market, there’s a bad effect on British beef and British lamb producers.

“But there’s a potential of an even worse effect on Northern Ireland which is an agricultural economy, and the Republic of Ireland which is also an agricultural economy.

“That’s one of the reasons why the border issue is so difficult, because you are dealing with an integrated agrarian economy and the prospect of an entry of that kind is hugely disruptive to both the economics of the countries and also the social cohesion.”

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/brexit-food-crisps-gove-drink_uk_59ef6c1ae4b04917c5938930

11 highlights from GLAAD’s #SpiritDay 2017

Spirit Day is the largest and most visible anti-bullying campaign in the world accelerating acceptance of LGBTQ youth. Each year, GLAAD organizes hundreds of celebrities, media outlets, brands, landmarks, sports leagues, tech leaders, influencers, faith groups, school districts, organizations, colleges and universities in what has become the largest unified show of support for LGBTQ youth.

Here are just some of GLAAD’s favorite moments from the unprecidented amount of participation and support by celebrities, athletes, elected officials, brands, landmarks, schools, and organizations this Spirit Day.

#SpiritDay trended on Twitter and Instagram

Times Square lit up in purple for Spirit Day

In Times Square, American Eagle Outfitters, MTV, and Thomson Reuters showed their spirit. Other landmarks around the country, including the Wells Fargo Duke Energy Center, LaGuardia Airport, the New York Stock Exchange, and both Target’s corporate headquarters and the Target Plaza South, also went purple. 

GLAAD

Celine Dion shared a powerful performance of “Purple Rain” in honor of Spirit Day

Kellogg’s launched a Spirit Day video

The video featured its beloved characters Tony the Tiger, Julius Pringles (“Mr. P”), Ernie Keebler, Toucan Sam, Snap, Crackle & Pop, and Cornelius (“Corny”) the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes mascot. Each character plays a role in “speaking out” against bullying in support of Spirit Day. Many of Kellogg’s social media channels will also support Spirit Day, turning their handles purple for the day to stand up to bullying.

Justin Tranter kicked off Spirit Day with “Believer” Spirit Day concert celebrating LGBTQ youth

GLAAD Board of Directors member and musical hitmaker Justin Tranter helped organize the private event to celebrate LGBTQ youth in Los Angeles featuring Courtney Love, Hailee Steinfeld, Adam Lambert, JoJo, Troye Sivan, Parson James, Carly Rae Jepsen, Tinashe, August Getty, Gigi Gorgeous, Sofia Carson, and Chris Colfer.

.@justtranter and @Courtney kicked off #SpiritDay with a  version of “Hands to Myself” t.co/NXKEjpzDqv

— GLAAD (@glaad) October 20, 2017

Dylan Marron spoke with two young LGBTQ people about bullying in a GLAAD video

GLAAD released a video of LGBTQ advocate and renowned content creator Dylan Marron speaking with two young LGBTQ people about how bullying has impacted them as students and what advice they would give to their younger selves. This video was filmed at Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk High School, founded to create safer spaces and a bully-free zone for LGBTQ youth.

Major League Baseball and all 30 MLB teams went purple to celebrate Spirit Day

Twitter also designed a custom #SpiritDay emoji in partnership with MLB. Check out some of the other ways sports teams, advocates, and athletes went purple this year.

Welcome to #SpiritDay.

Team up with baseball as we stand for inclusion, and against bullying. pic.twitter.com/iYvEiOL6r6

— MLB (@MLB) October 19, 2017

Brian, Jean, & everyone at the Yankees are proud to support @MLB‘s #SpiritDay and encourage all to take a stand against bullying. #MLBPride pic.twitter.com/nSaOduJuJI

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 19, 2017

YouTube star Gigi Gorgeous took over GLAAD’s Instagram

Gigi Gorgeous promoted Spirit Day and talked about the importance of going purple to support LGBTQ youth. 

Come find me on @glaad’s Instagram Story rn to get ready for tomorrow’s #SpiritDay  pic.twitter.com/B5K1oMbY2T

— Gigi (@TheGigiGorgeous) October 19, 2017

NBC Universal came together again to show its spirit for LGBTQ youth

Ted Danson and Kristen Bell from ‘The Good Place,’ the TODAY Show, MSNBC, CNBC, ‘Access Hollywood,’ ‘Law & Order: SVU,’ ‘This is Us’ stars Sterling K. Brown and Chrissy Metz, ‘Watch What Happens Live’ host Andy Cohen, Auli’I Cravalho, Damon Gillespie, and Grace Aki from the upcoming ‘Rise,’ ‘Superstore’ stars Ben Feldman and Nico Santos, Torrey DeVitto from ‘Chicago Med,’ and NBC OUT, all went purple for Spirit Day! ‘Will & Grace’ stars Debra Messing and Megan Mullally also shared a special Spirit Day message of support.

Join us & stand up to bullying. Wear purple to support LGBTQ youth for @GLAAD‘s #SpiritDay tomorrow. #prideNBCUt.co/O5wyXD7Ped pic.twitter.com/xrbZLtQPDy

— Will & Grace (@WillAndGrace) October 18, 2017

Freeform stars shared in the stand for LGBTQ youth

This included the cast of ‘Shadowhunters,’ Aisha Dee and Meghann Fahy from ‘The Bold Type,’ the cast of ‘Beyond,’ the cast of ‘Cloak and Dagger,’ Georgie Flores from ‘ Famous In Love,’ the cast of ‘Grown-ish,’ the cast of ‘Siren,’ and the cast of ‘Alone Together.’

We are proud to stand with @GLAAD and support LGBTQ youth. Show us your purple using #SpiritDay & #ChooseKindness. pic.twitter.com/sK3Uk2EgK3

— Shadowhunters (@ShadowhuntersTV) October 19, 2017

Join @MeghannFeghann and take a stand against bullying. #ChooseKindness #SpiritDay t.co/XRJI3L0tEH pic.twitter.com/b0W8Rh6xAt

— The Bold Type (@TheBoldTypeTV) October 19, 2017

ABC/Disney shows and talent also went purple for Spirit Day

The cast of ‘Fresh Off The Boat,’ Kerry Washington, Bellamy Young, and Katie Lowes from ‘Scandal,’ Minnie Driver from ‘Speechless,’ Tracee Ellis Ross from ‘ Black-ish,’ Jessica Capshaw from ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ the cast of ‘Walk the Prank,’ Lana Parilla from ‘Once Upon A Time,’ Jason Ritter from ‘Kevin (Probably) Saves the World,’ Conrad Ricamora from ‘How to Get Away With Murder,’ and hosts from Entertainment Tonight all took part.

I’m wearing purple 2day 2 take a stand against bullying 4 #SpiritDay! Stand up 4 LGBT youth & #ChooseKindness. t.co/Pko22lG46E pic.twitter.com/tX3S2ajdZW

— Tracee Ellis Ross (@TraceeEllisRoss) October 19, 2017

Spirit Day is made possible by the generous support of its presenting partners Target, and Wells Fargo, as well official partners Johnson & Johnson, Liberty Mutual Insurance, NBA/WNBA, and Toyota Financial Services; supporting partners Barilla, Kellogg’s, Kirkland & Ellis, and NFL.

This Spirit Day, GLAAD counted more celebrities, landmarks, athletes, brands, media outlets, elected officials and overall participants than ever before. To view a detailed list, click here.

About Spirit Day

Each year, millions go purple for GLAAD’s Spirit Day to support LGBTQ youth in a united stand against bullying. Started in 2010 by high school student Brittany McMillan in response to numerous young LGBTQ lives lost to suicide, Spirit Day now draws the participation of celebrities, schools, faith institutions, national landmarks, corporations, media outlets, sports leagues, and advocates around the world, all joining together to stand against bullying and support LGBTQ youth.

As anti-LGBTQ policies, hate crimes, and harassment are on the rise, it is now especially important to let all marginalized youth know they are supported.

This year, Spirit Day is on October 19, 2017. Take the Spirit Day pledge to show LGBTQ youth you’ve got their backs at glaad.org/spiritday. Follow @GLAAD on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up to date with #SpiritDay news.

www.glaad.org/blog/11-highlights-glaads-spiritday-2017

Chef John Besh Steps Down After 25 Women Claim Sexual Harassment

The celeb chef reportedly repeatedly sexually harassed women and allowed male employees to do the same. 

www.advocate.com/people/2017/10/24/chef-john-besh-steps-down-after-25-women-claim-sexual-harassment

Roy Moore, Mark Wahlberg, Kid Rock, Kathy Griffin, Trump Halloween Caps, Bathhouses, Maxine Waters: HOT LINKS

WASHINGTON BLADE. We’re getting frozen out of White House press briefings. “Many times during the briefings, I see Sanders look directly at me as I raise my hand for a question, but she nonetheless skips me for another reporter, usually from a conservative, Trump-friendly outlet like Breitbart or Newsmax.”

ROY MOORE. SCOTUS gay marriage ruling worse than court’s 1857 ruling that upheld slavery: “In 1857 the United States Supreme Court did rule that black people were property. Of course that contradicted the Constitution, and it took a civil war to overturn it. But this ruling in Obergefell is even worse in a sense because it forces not only people to recognize marriage other than the institution ordained of God and recognized by nearly every state in the union, it says that you now must do away with the definition of marriage and make it between two persons of the same gender or leading on, as one of the dissenting justices said, to polygamy, to multi-partner marriages.”

UNFIT TO SERVE. Washington Post editorial rips Roy Moore: “It is cliche to say that Mr. Moore’s strange rise has been fueled by anti-Washington anger. Yet electing Mr. Moore would be a sure way to worsen Washington’s problems. His unapologetic extremism would pour gasoline on the already raging fire of partisanship and dysfunction.”

MARK WAHLBERG. I pray that God forgives me for Boogie Nights: “I just always hope that God is a movie fan and also forgiving, because I’ve made some poor choices in my past.”

NEWT GINGRICH. Donald Trump would “knock down” Rep. Maxine Waters if the two were in a boxing match. “First of all, let me just say — you’d never get it to happen, but the idea of a round between her and Donald Trump is pretty interesting.”

KID ROCK. “Of course I’m not running for Senate.”

SPINELESS HEIRESS. Kathy Griffin attacks Anderson Cooper.

STEVE BANNON. Milo Yiannopoulos is “dead to me.”

MASTERPIECE CAKESHOP. Gay couple in SCOTUS anti-gay baker case file first brief arguing their case: “Whether wedding cakes are artistic expression is not the issue here,” the couple’s lawyers wrote in a brief filed Monday. “The question, rather, is whether the Constitution grants businesses open to the public the right to violate laws against discrimination in the commercial marketplace if the business happens to sell an artistic product. Under this Court’s precedent, the answer to that question is no.”

TRICK. Trump ruins Halloween.

#MakeHalloweenGreatAgain and order your pumpkin #MAGA hat today! t.co/uqw5keCSoU pic.twitter.com/N1QsK1PsFW

— Lara Trump (@LaraLeaTrump) October 23, 2017

MALIBU. David Beckham romps on the beach.

MINNEAPOLIS. Push to reopen gay bathhouses: “About 50 people gathered at Lush bar Monday night to hear OutFront Minnesota and the Red Door Clinic make the case for reexamining Minneapolis’ ban on bathhouses, the predominant hookup scene for gay men prior to the 1980s AIDS epidemic. Audience members made it clear that congregate sex is thriving in Minneapolis and St. Paul as innovative medications like PrEP, a once-a-day pill that virtually eliminates the risk of transmitting HIV, are freeing people to live full sexual lives without fear of contagion. Now they’re hoping for a centralized, sanitary, controlled place for everyone to go, where shame-free testing is offered on a regular basis.”

NORTH CAROLINA. LGBT rights group revokes endorsement of Democratic candidate for Raleigh mayor: ‘Equality NC said it decided to endorse McFarlane after finding that Francis, a local attorney, previously campaigned for “an anti-LGBTQ candidate, former Senator and gubernatorial candidate Fred Smith,” the statement says.’

SELFIE FAIL OF THE DAY. This guy.

TOO HOT TUESDAY. Austin.

The post Roy Moore, Mark Wahlberg, Kid Rock, Kathy Griffin, Trump Halloween Caps, Bathhouses, Maxine Waters: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.

Roy Moore, Mark Wahlberg, Kid Rock, Kathy Griffin, Trump Halloween Caps, Bathhouses, Maxine Waters: HOT LINKS