=== News – 1 new result for [chat room] === Top 5 Shows Fort Worth Weekly (satire) (press release) (registration) (blog) If you’re going out on Friday night, you’re probably going to the Chat Room instead of driving all the way to Dallas to see PUJOL, because the Chat …
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Michigan Education Board Approves LGBTQ Guidance for Schools
Michigan Education Board Approves LGBTQ Guidance for Schools
Yesterday, the Michigan Education Board approved new guidelines encouraging schools to create a more inclusive environment for their LGBTQ students, with emphasis on allowing transgender students use facilities consistent with their gender identity.
The guidelines came after an extensive public comment period, where more than 230 Michiganders gave input. The guidelines affirm that when a student’s gender identity is respected, they are more likely to learn and thrive.
The Michigan Board of Education proposed these guidelines earlier this year, triggering criticism from Republican lawmakers. At a board meeting in May, more than 100 people turned out to comment on the guidelines.
On May 13, the U.S. Department of Education offered guidance to schools clarifying that transgender students have the right to be free from discrimination in schools, including the ability to use gender-separated facilities (such as restrooms and locker rooms) that match their gender identity. This guidance follows similar policies in states and school districts across the country, including many that have been treating transgender students with dignity and respect for more than a decade.
In August, a federal judge issued an injunction against the guidance. In Texas v. United States, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor blocked the Department of Justice from enforcing the guidance. In March of 2015, Judge O’Connor also sought to block Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rights for legally married same-sex couples despite the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in United States v. Windsor (2013).
To learn more about the guidance, click here.
For more information on supporting and caring for transgender and gender-expansive children and youth, visit hrc.org/trans-youth.
HRC Welcoming Schools is a comprehensive approach to creating respectful and supportive elementary schools with resources and professional development to embrace family diversity, create LGBTQ-inclusive schools, prevent bias-based bullying and gender stereotyping, and support transgender and gender-expansive students. To learn more, click here.
GLAAD launches countdown to Spirit Day 2016!
GLAAD launches countdown to Spirit Day 2016!
GLAAD
Today GLAAD launched the official countdown to Spirit Day, the largest and most visible campaign in the world working to advance acceptance of LGBTQ youth. Spirit Day takes place on October 20th and inspires millions around the world to wear purple or ‘go purple’ on their social media accounts, creating a united stand against bullying and in support of LGBTQ youth.
“Since its inception, Spirit Day has brought unparalleled attention to one of the most painful issues that disproportionately affects LGBTQ youth – bullying,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. According to GLSEN’s most recent National School Climate Survey, 85% of LGBT students report they have been verbally harassed with 65% percent reporting that they have heard homophobic remarks frequently or often in school. GLSEN also reported that 30% of students missed at least one day of school in a given month because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable in their school environment. Ellis adds, “Young people are our future, and it’s imperative that we empower them to be the leaders of tomorrow. With updated anti-bullying resources in multiple languages, Spirit Day 2016 is sure to reach more youth than ever with messages of acceptance and support.” 
Every year, Spirit Day draws the participation and suport of celebrities, corporations, media outlets, sports leagues, schools, faith institutions, national landmarks, and individuals. This year, Spirit Day is made possible by the generous support of its presenting partners Target and Wells Fargo, official partners, Dow, Google, NBA and WNBA, NFL, and WWE, and supporting partners, American Eagle Outfitters, Barilla, Chobani, Comcast NBCUniversal, Kellogg’s, Kirkland & Ellis, Toyota Financial Services, and ZipCar.
“LGBTQ youth deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential. To be comfortable with and proud of who they are. To be free to be exactly who they were born to be, “said Laysha Ward, Executive Vice President & Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, Target. “Target is excited to be a Spirit Day presenting partner, working with GLAAD to raise awareness around the issue of bullying in the LGBTQ youth community.”
“A child’s true potential should never be diminished by fear,” said John Lake, Wells Fargo’s LGBT segment leader. “We see Spirit Day as a powerful tool to raise awareness of the challenges faced by kids who identify as LGBTQ and to show our solidarity as an ally. We are committed to working alongside GLAAD to help combat bullying and protect LGBTQ youth – an effort that remains at the core of our decades-long commitment to the LGBTQ community.”
To celebrate the countdown to Spirit Day, GLAAD also released crucial anti-bullying resources for educators, parents, and students. GLAAD’s Anti-Bullying Resource Kit provides tools and information teachers the aide in keeping bullying out of the classroom and help both teachers and parents support LGBTQ youth. Additionally, GLAAD released the Spirit Day Kit, which helps people of all ages bring Spirit Day directly to their community, including schools and local media outlets.
Coinciding with National Bullying Prevention Month, Spirit Day began in 2010 after a high school student posted the idea to her Tumblr page following the suicide deaths of several LGBTQ and LGBTQ-perceived young people. Previous Spirit Day participants include The White House, The Empire State Building, Britney Spears, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Cher, Shaquille O’Neal, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The View, The Talk, The Tonight Show, the NBA, the NFL, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, WWE, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, the Las Vegas Strip, and more.
September 15, 2016
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Google Alert – webcams
=== News – 3 new results for [webcams] === Cover your webcams, says FBI chief RT US spy agencies have had the ability to hack into webcams for years, … John Carlin and discussed things such as webcam security and Twitter.
Gay Dads Won't Be Covered by Trump's Maternity Leave Plan
Gay Dads Won't Be Covered by Trump's Maternity Leave Plan
During an interview with Cosmopolitan, Ivanka Trump explained that the policy is just for women.
www.advocate.com/families/2016/9/15/gay-dads-wont-be-covered-trumps-maternity-leave-plan
Danger Mouse & The Flash
The Bitchiest Roommate Email Ever Written, Hands Down
The Bitchiest Roommate Email Ever Written, Hands Down
File under “Hallucinogenically Bitchy E-Mails”:
A certain Winnie Chen, gearing up for her freshman year at UCLA, has shared an email that she received from one of two future roommates, and the Internet has taken notice.
Related: Guy Realizes His Roommate Is Actually His Boyfriend In Most Adorable Way Possible
Even since Chen posted a screen-grab of the hyper-demanding screed, it’s gone viral. Which means that what is certain to be an awkward living situation has now been turning into an extremely awkward living situation.
Here’s the email she received:
Okay so I’m not sure why neither of you responded back to my emails, but I don’t really care just as long as you both know this and understand that I’m not gonna settle for anything less than what I’m gonna tell you that I’m gonna get once I arrive in the dorm. I’ll take the top bunk of the bunk bed that has a bottom and top bunk. I DO NOT want the single bunk where it has a desk underneath the top bunk so don’t try to leave me that. I’m also taking one of the white closets. There should be two white closets and I’m taking one of them. I don’t care for which one it is, just know I’m taking one of them.
I want the desk that’s near the window. Plain and simple. I don’t care about who gets the bottom bunk but just know what I stated above is what I’m expecting once I arrive at the dorm and I won’t be in the mood for any arguing or other nonsense because of you two decided to deliberately disregard this email. If needed be I’ll turn it into a bigger situation so don’t try me.
Sorry but not that sorry for the attitude. I don’t like being ignored because that’s just rude but that’s what you both decided to do so I decided to make it clear now the kind of person I am and what I will and will not take.
Related: Man Attacks Sleeping Gay Roommate With Hammer Because He “Can’t Live With” Gays
Once digesting what she’d just read, the other roommate, a certain Guistinna Tun, decided to write back and say that her requests were completely unreasonable.
The Unnamed Third Roommate From Hell then quickly changed her tune, responding:
So yeah, I don’t mind starting over considering the fact that I don’t get along with people right off the bat because I’m not that much of a people person. So I’m not looking to find other roommates either.
I’m also really chill too. But as you can see from my previous email, I am like a ticking time bomb that sets off when certain things I don’t like happen to me. LOL
It’s going to be a long, extraordinarily tense freshman year for three students at UCLA.
feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/W8_x_adnk08/bitchiest-roommate-email-ever-written-hands-20160915
Is Peter Thiel Angling For Donald Trump Supreme Court Nomination?
Is Peter Thiel Angling For Donald Trump Supreme Court Nomination?
Here’s a frightening thought: Proud gay Republican/anti-government tech billionaire Peter Thiel as your next Supreme Court Justice. According to the Huffington Post, this may not be outside the realm of possibility under a President Donald J. Trump.
A source close to the Trump campaign says the Republican nominee for President “deeply loves Peter Thiel” and thinks that he would make an excellent Supreme Court justice. So much so that he may have already offered him a spot, should he be elected to the oval office.
Related: Peter Thiel Believes Injecting Himself With The Blood Of The Young Will Help Him Live Forever
Thiel acquired a J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1992. He briefly clerked for Judge J. L. Edmondson of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit the year after he graduated, and worked a whopping seven months at a New York law firm. But that’s about the extent of his legal experience. (Aside from the whole hiring a team of lawyers to sue Gawker out of existence thing.)
Huffington Post adds:
It’s not clear whether Trump has indeed offered to nominate Thiel ? only that Thiel has said Trump would nominate him and that Trump’s team has discussed Thiel as a possible nominee. Both sources requested anonymity, given that Trump and Thiel have each demonstrated a willingness to seek revenge against parties they feel have wronged them. In Thiel’s case, he secretly financed lawsuits against Gawker.com with the intention of destroying the publication. He succeeded, and his role in the assault was only revealed in the final stages.
Trump’s press secretary said there is “absolutely no truth” to rumors that Trump had offered Thiel a seat on the Supreme Court. Thiel’s rep also denied the claims, saying he “hasn’t had any conversations about a Supreme Court nomination and has no interest in the job.”
Of course, being nominated for a seat on the Supreme Court and actually getting the job are two different things. Thiel would still need to be confirmed by the Senate, which we’re pretty sure would never happen. But it’s still a terrifying thought nonetheless.
Related: Five Reasons To Explain Mystery Of Why Peter Thiel Supports Donald Trump
Ivanka Trump Suggests Gay Male Couples Are Out of Luck in Donald Trump’s Family Leave Plan
Ivanka Trump Suggests Gay Male Couples Are Out of Luck in Donald Trump’s Family Leave Plan
In a tense phone interview with Cosmopolitan magazine, Ivanka Trump suggested that when it comes to her father’s plan for paid family leave, gay men are not in the picture.
Ms. Trump has been credited as being the chief architect behind her father’s plan, which she has said makes him a pro-woman candidate. And while Donald Trump has claimed to be a friend of ‘the gays’, his family leave plan makes no mention of paid paternity leave, something that would obviously benefit gay couples.
Yet in addressing the absence of paternity leave in her father’s plan, Ms. Trump went out of her way to invoke the plan’s benefits for same-sex couples.
“This is a giant leap from where we are today, which is sadly, nothing,” Ms. Trump said. “Both sides of the aisle have been unable to agree on this issue, so I think this takes huge advancement and obviously, for same-sex couples as well*, there’s tremendous benefit here to enabling the mother to recover after childbirth. It’s critical for the health of the mother. It’s critical for bonding with the child, and that was a top focus of this plan.”
She added, “So it’s meant to benefit, whether it’s in same-sex marriages as well*, to benefit the mother who has given birth to the child if they have legal married status under the tax code.”
But when asked about why the policy excludes family leave for gay couples, “where both partners are men”, Ms. Trump replied, “The policy is fleshed out online, so you can go see all the elements of it. But the original intention of the plan is to help mothers in recovery in the immediate aftermath of childbirth.”
The exchange got even more tense when the Cosmopolitan interviewer attempted to clarify the issue. “So I just want to be clear that, for same-sex adoption, where the two parents are both men, they would not be receiving special leave for that because they don’t need to recover or anything?”, Cosmopolitan asked.
Ms. Trump came back with, “Well, those are your words, not mine. [Laughs.] Those are your words. The plan, right now, is focusing on mothers, whether they be in same-sex marriages or not.”
The interview was ultimately cut short after additional tense exchanges.
[*emphasis added]
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Keith Olbermann: Clinton Was Wrong, ALL of Trump’s Supporters are Deplorable – WATCH
Keith Olbermann: Clinton Was Wrong, ALL of Trump’s Supporters are Deplorable – WATCH
Keith Olbermann issued his third takedown of Donald Trump and his supporters in three days with a new video posted on Thursday.
The latest episode of Olbermann’s web series for GQ, titled The Closer, focuses on Hillary Clinton’s remarks made over the weekend that half of Trump’s supporters are what she calls “a basket of deplorables.”
While Clinton has received a lot of flack for her remarks, Olbermann suggests that yes, Clinton was wrong to call half of Trump supporters deplorable. Because all of his supporters are deplorable.
PREVIOUSLY – Hillary-Hating Hypocrite Rudy Giuliani is Next on Keith Olbermann’s Expose and Destroy Mission: WATCH
Olbermann went on to expose high profile surrogates and campaign staffers working for Trump who have said deplorable, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, sexist, and Islamophobic remarks.
“If they’re not talking to a basket of deplorables who are they talking to? Why would you have them there?”, Olbermann wondered.
“You say stuff like that at work you get fired. You say it at school you get suspended. But happily Trump is there to say, ‘No it’s okay to hate!’ Better than that, ‘You can hate out loud.’ We’ll just call it ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘make America great again.’”
RELATED: Keith Olbermann Channels Edward R. Murrow in Blistering Takedown of Donald Trump – WATCH
Where Hillary screwed up, Olbermann says is in her calculation about Trump supporters.
He explains,
“If you support Trump, if you think he should be president regardless of how much he and his advocates hate, and mock and punch old women with portable oxygen canisters, if you’re not condemning this madness and repudiating these deplorable people and you are not racist, not sexist, not homophobic, not xenophobic, or not Islamophobic, if you’re supporting him not for those things but in spite of them, you are even more deplorable. The correct number, Secretary Clinton, is not 50%, it’s 100.”
Watch, below.
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