Girl Scouts Raise $100,000 in One Day After Dropping Transphobic Donor
When the Girl Scouts took a stand for trans girls, online support went viral.
Mitch Kellaway
Category Archives: NEWS
President Obama On White House Lit Up In Rainbow Colors: ‘That’s A Moment Worth Savoring’ – WATCH
President Obama On White House Lit Up In Rainbow Colors: ‘That’s A Moment Worth Savoring’ – WATCH
In a press conference Tuesday, President Obama reflected on last week’s ruling from the Supreme Court that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
The President told reporters that seeing The White House lit up in rainbow colors was a “moment worth savoring”:
“I had a chance to do the rose garden celebration of the court decision around same-sex marriage. I did not have a chance to comment on how good the White House looked in rainbow colors. That made it a really good week. To see people gathered in the evening outside on a beautiful summer night, to feel whole, to feel accepted, to feel that they had a right to love–that was pretty cool. That was a good thing. That was a good thing. The only bad part about it was I couldn’t go out and peak at it myself because then I would have had to go out and clear all the people or Secret Service would have. So I could only reflect on it from a television screen. That’s a moment worth savoring.”
Politico adds that the lighting moment had been planned for a long time:
SPOTTED, at 4 a.m. Sat. at the White House: Jeff Tiller, 32, the White House director of specialty media (includes LGBT outreach) and former press-advance marvel, who had the inspired idea of bathing the North Portico (“The President’s Front Door”) in rainbow lighting. The crowds were gone, sunrise was coming, and the lighting contractors who had installed the rainbow were long asleep. After spending the night at the White House in a lawn chair, Jeff climbed downstairs to the tradesman entrance to unplug the lights that he had conceived of months earlier.
Watch President Obama discuss his best week ever and the victory for equality below:
“To see people gathered in the evening…and to feel that they have the right to love—that was pretty cool.” —@POTUS t.co/tZA4PvPtQZ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 30, 2015
The post President Obama On White House Lit Up In Rainbow Colors: ‘That’s A Moment Worth Savoring’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Sean Mandell
President Obama On White House Lit Up In Rainbow Colors: ‘That’s A Moment Worth Savoring’ – WATCH
WATCH: This Dancing Cop Is Absolutely New York's Finest!
WATCH: This Dancing Cop Is Absolutely New York's Finest!
You’ll want to call 911 after you see one very hot police officer showing off his moves at NYC Pride.
Dawn Ennis
www.advocate.com/pride/2015/06/30/watch-dancing-cop-absolutely-new-yorks-finest
Gay Men's Chorus Of Los Angeles Covers Britney Spears 'Work Bitch'
Gay Men's Chorus Of Los Angeles Covers Britney Spears 'Work Bitch'
When you think of a performance of a gay men’s chorus, you probably don’t think of Britney Spears tunes.
But maybe you should… at least when you think of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.
The group recently performed the pop star’s 2013 hit “Work Bitch” at a concert in Los Angeles and it was everything (as you can see above).
“Work Bitch is just one song that was part of last week’s ‘Vegas Baby!’ concert featuring music by our favorite Vegas icons – from Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Wayne Newton, and Sammy Davis Jr. to Bette Midler, Celine Dionne, Shania Twain, and yes – Britney Spears,” Dr. Joe Nadeau, GMCLA Artistic Director and Conductor, told The Huffington Post in an email. Even more incredible, according to Nadeau, “Britney Spears joined us as an audience member for Saturday’s performance and loved it!”
“GMCLA always takes on a variety of musical styles, from moving choral pieces to elaborate dance numbers,” added Robert Hill, who is a musical arranger and a member of the group. “We wanted our take on ‘Work Bitch’ to be fun and unexpected. When we found out Britney was in the audience the energy level went through the roof, and I think that showed in our performance! We were thrilled to get such a positive reaction from the audience and from Britney, and happy that people are enjoying the video.”
And GMCLA isn’t just about having a good time. Currently celebrating its 36th season, Nadeau notes the group also has “an extensive youth outreach/anti-bullying program with our Alive Music Project (AMP) and “It Gets Better” tour that reaches thousands of young people with a message of acceptance and hope each year.”
Werk!
For more info on Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, head here.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
These 11 buildings are crucial to English LGBTI history – do you recognize them?
These 11 buildings are crucial to English LGBTI history – do you recognize them?
From the Royal Vauxhall Tavern to the prison of Oscar Wilde, these are the constructions you need to know about
jamiet
Jonathan Groff And Raul Castillo Reunite During Pride Weekend
Jonathan Groff And Raul Castillo Reunite During Pride Weekend
With the finale to HBO’s two-season series Looking still in the pipeline (Queerty hears it will be a two-hour film the network will broadcast early next year), the tight-knit cast have moved on to other projects but still find time to hang out, demonstrating their chemistry wasn’t just on camera. During New York’s boisterous Pride weekend, Raúl Castillo caught up with Jonathan Groff backstage at the City Center Theatre where the latter is headlining a production of A New Brain. Check out the warm smiles and the knowing gaze into one another’s eyes that comes only with loving familiarity. So what if Castillo is straight in real life? We’re founding members of Team Richie so let us have our fun.
A photo posted by Jonathan Groff Updates (@jonathandrewgroff) on Jun 29, 2015 at 9:52pm PDT
However, if you’re Team Kevin, last week Russell Tovey posted a pic taken during the filming of the original series that bore the caption “Soon to be reunited with my Jonathan Groff.” It seems debate over the torrid love triangle will soon rage again.
A photo posted by Russelltovey (@russelltovey) on Jun 25, 2015 at 4:10am PDT
Jeremy Kinser
NEW MUSIC: MAMMÚT, Bent Cousin, Kissing Party, Haerts, Robin Guthrie and Mark Gardener
NEW MUSIC: MAMMÚT, Bent Cousin, Kissing Party, Haerts, Robin Guthrie and Mark Gardener
New Music is brought to you by Deadly Music! which covers mostly indie, alternative, electro pop, post rock and ambient music, with a bit of everything else deadly thrown in for good measure.
Most songs reviewed here are available on a Spotify playlist which it embedded at the end of this post.
MAMMÚT – “Blood Burst”
Long hugely successful in their native Iceland, MAMMÚT (above) recently signed to Bella Union.
Their stunning new EP River’s End was released on June 1st.
Just out is the video for “Blood Burst” which “features the band in a tropical blood party in the snow.”
While previously track “Salt” had a touch of the Sugarcubes about it via almost-post rock Sigur Ros, “Blood Burst” is a more straightforward and cheerier indie pop effort.
Bent Cousin – “Solid”
Brighton, England-based brother-sister duo Bent Cousin have been quiet of late but are back with “Solid.”
Generally known for their 60s-influenced jangly guitar pop, “Solid” is another example of their tight, twee sound.
Get it while you can because they have a habit of deleting songs from Soundcloud within weeks of uploading.
RIYL Beautiful South, 60s pop, Velvet Underground, Nico, Belle and Sebastian.
Kissing Party – Looking back it was romantic but at the time i was suffocating
Kissing Party is a five-piece jangly indie pop act from Denver, Colorado.
Making delicious, twee pop via the likes of 80s/90s acts including The Shop Assistants and The Primitives, have a listen to “New Glue”, the second track from forthcoming album Looking back it was romantic but at the time i was suffocating.
HAERTS – “Everybody Here Wants You” (Jeff Buckley cover)
With the 80s electro sad pop revival continuing apace, Haerts are back with a cover of Jeff Buckley’s “Everybody Here Wants You.”
Having last year released Call My Name, one of the best songs in the genre, this cover song is as brave as it gets – nobody touches Buckley apart from This Mortal Coil on “Song To The Siren” and seemingly everybody on “Hallelujah” – this one shouldn’t work but is somehow perfect pop fodder.
Robin Guthrie & Mark Gardener – Universal Road
Yes, that Robin Guthrie and that Mark Gardener.
Guthrie is best known for creating an entire genre with Cocteau Twins while Gardener is with recently-reformed shoegaze act Ride.
While you might expect something Cocteau Twins-ey from a Guthrie / Gardener collaboration, Universal Road offers a collection of songs that retain the “ethereal” guitar-wash stylings of the former but blended with a poppier feel a lá Guthrie side project Violet Indiana.
The post NEW MUSIC: MAMMÚT, Bent Cousin, Kissing Party, Haerts, Robin Guthrie and Mark Gardener appeared first on Towleroad.
Michael Fitzgerald
NEW MUSIC: MAMMÚT, Bent Cousin, Kissing Party, Haerts, Robin Guthrie and Mark Gardener
Caitlyn Jenner Steps Out with Transgender Celebrities
Caitlyn Jenner Steps Out with Transgender Celebrities
Reality star Caitlyn Jenner didn’t just pop in to a pride party in New York on Sunday, she also went to dinner with several other transgender celebrities.
Bil Browning
www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2015/06/30/caitlyn-jenner-steps-out-transgender-celebrities
Religious Liberty
Religious Liberty
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision broadening the understanding of marriage, those who have fought same-gender marriage now express fears that they will be called upon to do things their consciences will not permit and are clamoring for “religious liberty.”
It’s ironic that those who denied religious liberty to LGBT people in terms of church membership and leadership, ordination to ministry, as well as marriage, are anxious that this uppity minority will demand something of them.
I can’t help but smile at their naïveté that, when my partner and I marry, we would want other than a tasteful gay caterer, a lesbian cake designer, a bisexual soloist, and a transgender minister. And I don’t think any same-gender couple is likely to risk a pastry chef who might spit in their wedding cake batter!
Clergy and congregations always have the right not to marry a couple. I have declined officiating at weddings of couples I thought were not ready or entering into marriage for the wrong reasons.
In my years as a pastor, I have been called upon to serve adulterers, criminals, evangelicals, Republicans, and straight couples–after all, it’s the nature of ministry to serve all kinds of people whose lifestyles I might not emulate. Are the Christians crying “religious liberty” of such delicate character that they cannot bring themselves to serve or work or worship alongside those different from themselves? Are they afraid we might “rub off” on them?
Jesus spoke to this very issue when he criticized the scribes and Pharisees for their obsessive-compulsive, over-the-top avoidance of ritual impurity, one that prevented them from dining even with each other lest they be rendered spiritually “unclean.”
Answering a lawyer’s question regarding the commandments and eternal life, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, contrasting his mercy with the priest and lay priest who passed by the roadside casualty, presumably to remain ritually pure, perhaps on their way to the temple at Jerusalem.
Jesus himself hung out with all the wrong people, allowed “unclean” women to touch him, and ventured into a cemetery, risking ritual impurity, to command Lazarus to “Come out!”
At Pentecost, the walls of the house where the disciples were meeting seem to disappear as the Spirit enables them to speak in the languages of the many foreign pilgrims on the streets of Jerusalem.
Later the Spirit falls upon disgusting and depraved Gentiles, prompting Peter to explain baptizing them to the earliest church council, “If God gave them the same gift given us who was I that I could withstand God?”
Christians, get a grip. In Jesus’ simple admonition to greet strangers is your clue to do the same. “For if you greet only those you know,” Jesus said, “What reward have you? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?”
Rev. Chris Glaser has published a dozen books and writes a free weekly blog, Progressive Christian Reflections.
Copyright © 2015 by Chris R. Glaser. Permission granted for non-profit use with attribution of author and blogsite. Other rights reserved.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Governor Chris Christie Vetoes Important Pro-LGBT Surrogacy Bill
Governor Chris Christie Vetoes Important Pro-LGBT Surrogacy Bill
Last night, Governor Chris Christie shamefully vetoed important bipartisan legislation passed by the New Jersey Legislature that would have modernized New Jersey law by giving legal parental rights of a child carried by a gestational surrogate to the intended parent at birth.
HRC.org
