Author: Randy Slovacek

Posted on

Democrats Celebrate Pride: We Won’t Back Down, We Continue To Stand With LGBTQ Community

The Democratic National Committee issued a firm statement of support for the LGBTQ community on the first day of Pride Month 2019

While Donald Trump did finally grace Pride Month with a pair of tweets (basically telling us to be grateful we aren’t being executed like in Saudi Arabia), there was no official proclamation from the White House as was the case during the Obama era.

Today, on the first day of Pride Month 2019, the Democratic National Committee issued this statement:

“As we begin LGBTQ Pride Month and prepare to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, when brave members of New York’s LGBTQ community said enough to brutal discrimination, Democrats across the country are celebrating our nation’s progress and rededicating ourselves to the fight for equality. No one should face violence, bullying, or discrimination because of who they are or who they love. And every American should enjoy the same rights and protections under our Constitution.

“But we cannot take anything for granted. The legal protections that so many LGBTQ Americans and their allies have fought for are under threat. For two and a half years, President Trump has used the power of his office to drag our nation backwards, emboldening bigots and breaking his promise to support the LGBTQ community. From banning transgender troops from serving in our nation’s armed forces to undermining workplace discrimination protections, his administration has rolled back our progress time and time again.

“Democrats will never back down. In the last election cycle, LGBTQ Democrats ran for office and won in record numbers, tearing down old barriers and transforming our democracy. As we head toward Election Day in 2019 and 2020, we’re going to continue to stand with the LGBTQ community and carry on this fight with the courage and pride of the countless activists and organizers who came before us.”

Posted on

Twitter Celebrates The Beginning Of Pride Month

Today is the first day of Pride Month 2019, and folks from practically every stripe, corner and faction of the Twitterverse were sending up their salutations.

Posted on

Colorado Becomes 18th State To Ban Conversion Therapy

Governor Jared Polis - the country’s first openly gay governor - has signed two pieces of legislation into law that are vital to the health and safety of LGBTQ youth in Colorado.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis

Governor Jared Polis – the country’s first openly gay governor – has signed two pieces of legislation into law that are vital to the health and safety of LGBTQ youth in Colorado.

HB19-1039 will allow transgender Coloradans to more easily update the gender on their birth certificate, enabling them to have the identification documents that match who they are. Coloradans will be able to update their gender on their birth certificate to M, F, or X — without a surgery, a doctor’s note, or court order.

Removing both the surgery requirement and court order requirement allows transgender people the ability to self-identify on their ID document. Colorado is the third state in the country (following California and Oregon) to have non-binary gender options for both driver’s licenses and birth certificates.

HB19-1129 will ban a state-licensed mental health care provider from engaging in the discredited, harmful practice of conversion therapy on a patient under 18 years of age. 

Conversion therapy is the discredited and dangerous practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. 
A physician or mental health care provider who violates this provision engages in unprofessional conduct under the applicable professional licensing board. Colorado will be the 18th state in the country to protect minors from conversion therapy.
The harmful practice is widely opposed by prominent professional medical associations including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
A 2018 study found that the rate of attempted suicide by LGBTQ youth whose parents tried to change their sexual orientation was more than double the rate of LGBTQ youth who reported no such attempts. 
“The Trevor Project is proud to stand with One Colorado and all of the amazing lawmakers and advocates in the Centennial State as they become the 18th state in the country to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangers of conversion therapy,” said Sam Brinton, Head of Advocacy and Government Affairs for The Trevor Project. 
“Watching the first openly LGBTQ governor in the nation sign this legislation is an especially humbling moment,” he added. “Trevor will continue working across the nation until this horrible practice is relegated to the dustbin of history.”

Posted on

Trump Finally Recognizes Pride Month In Two Tweets

After campaigning on a promise to protect LGBTQ Americans, then ignoring Pride Month for his first two years in office, Donald Trump has finally acknowledged the annual celebration.

After campaigning on a promise to protect LGBTQ Americans, then ignoring Pride Month for his first two years in office, Donald Trump has finally acknowledged the annual celebration.

In two tweets, Trump wrote about ‘the outstanding contributions of LGBT people’ and standing in ‘solidarity’ with those who live in countries that execute us.

“As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation,” Trump tweeted.

I guess he really is moving into campaign mode.

Can you imagine the tantrum Mike Pence threw when he heard the news?

In his tweets, he references his administration’s proposed ‘global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality’ around the world, which is to be led by openly gay U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell.

But shortly after the announcement of that plan in February, Trump was asked about the campaign and he seemed unaware of the effort saying, “I don’t know, uh, which report you’re talking about. We have many reports.”

Quick fact check: Trump’s administration has been the most anti-LGBTQ in recent times. He’s rolled back many Obama-era protections and has been particularly hideous to transgender Americans.

A quick search of the WhiteHouse.gov website did not find a proclamation acknowledging Pride Month as was normal practice during all 8 years of the Obama administration.

Although, in 2018, Trump did take time to recognize Great Outdoors Month, National Ocean Month, National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, African-American Music Appreciation Month, and National Homeownership Month.

But, in these wild times, some acknowledgement is better than none…?

To be fair, in terms of history, this does make the Trumpster the first Republican occupant of the Oval Office to even recognize Pride Month.

The Twitterverse was underwhelmed by the tweets. Here’s just some of the reactions beginning with House co-sponsor of The Equality Act, Rep. David Cicilline:

Posted on

Audio: Lawmaker Laughs About Legislation To Execute Gays

Florida state Rep. Mike Hill (R) with Donald Trump (L)

A Florida lawmaker is being called unfit for office after a recording revealed him joking about executing gay Floridians.

An op-ed in the Pensacola News Journal shares an audio clip of Florida Rep. Mike Hill in a recent meeting with a group called Women for Responsible Legislation.

In the recording, a citizen comments, “In 1 Corinthians, it says that a man who has an affair with another man will be put to death.”

Hill can be heard responding, “It says that in the Old Testament, too.”

Another attendee inquires, “Can you introduce legislation?”

Laughter is heard in the background as Hill joins in the chuckles before saying, “I wonder how that would go over?”

It probably won’t surprise you to know that Hill’s Twitter account describes the 60-year-old as “Pro Life! Pro Guns! Pro Jesus!”

Andy Marlette, who penned the op-ed, writes that with that comment, “Hill proved why he is both an unfit legislator and an unfit Christian.”

Remember folks, this is the same state that lived through 49 people shot to death and 53 more injured at a gay bar, Pulse Nightclub, in June 2016.

Hill went on to share in the same meeting that he believes being gay is “a behavior, and it’s a choice” and that LGBTQ people don’t need legal protections.

In a longer audio clip obtained by The New Civil Rights Movement, Hill can be heard saying, “You can say, ‘But I was born that way.’ OK, well, fine, but nobody’s forcing you to engage in that relationship, even if you were born that way.”

In his essay, Marlette wonders why Hill, who clearly considers himself a Christian, didn’t just say, “No sir, stop right there, that’s wrong, that’s not what Jesus would do.”

But, he didn’t.

The op-ed calls for the Florida House to weigh in as well as Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson.

“It’s not enough to groan, roll our eyes and privately lament Mike Hill,” writes Marlette. “When public officials espouse cruel and immoral ideas, we are morally obligated to shout them down in the public square.”

As news of the recording has gone public, State Rep. Carlos Gulliermo Smith, who is the first openly gay Latino legislator in the state, has called on Hill to either apologize or resign.

(source: Pensacola News Journal)

Posted on

Poll: Joe Biden Leads Dem Hopefuls By 19+

Sen. Bernie Sanders (L), former VP Joe Biden (C) and Sen. Kamala Harris (R)
A new national survey by Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden has an impressive 19 point lead over his nearest competitor for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The Hill reports that Biden pulled 36 percent support in the new poll while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders garnered 17 percent.
California Sen. Kamala Harris came in third with 8 percent, and tying for fourth place were Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 5 percent.
Posted on

Pelosi: Trump “Wants Us To Impeach Him” So He Can Be Exonerated By GOP-Senate

“I think the president wants us to impeach him,” Pelosi told Kimmel. “He knows it’s not a good idea to be impeached, but the silver lining for him is then, he believes, that he would be exonerated by the United States Senate.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

As more and more Democrats feel the need to push for impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has shown restraint regarding rushing into things.

On one hand, the more info we get about 10+ episodes of obstruction detailed in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, the more it makes sense that Trump did indeed attempt to obstruct the investigation and he should be held accountable.

But the danger lies in the fact that Trump would not be found guilty by a Republican-led Senate. And a ‘not guilty’ verdict in the Senate would embolden his supporters.

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, Pelosi explained her thinking as well as what she believes Trump wants to see happen.

“I think the president wants us to impeach him,” Pelosi told Kimmel. “He knows it’s not a good idea to be impeached, but the silver lining for him is then, he believes, that he would be exonerated by the United States Senate.

“And,” she added, “there is a school of thought that says, ‘If the Senate acquits you, why bring charges against him in the private sector when he’s no longer president?’ So when we go through with our case, it’s got to be ironclad. Ironclad.”

I completely agree. Watch below.

Posted on

Filipino President Claims He Was Once Gay But ‘Cured’ Himself

Rodrigo Duterte, the controversial president of the Philippines, joked during a trip to Japan that he had once been gay but ‘cured’ himself upon meeting his ex-wife.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte (screen capture via newscast)
Rodrigo Duterte, the controversial president of the Philippines, joked during a trip to Japan that he had once been gay but ‘cured’ himself upon meeting his ex-wife.

Duterte was in Tokyo for bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and during a public appearance he mocked a political opponent, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, for moving like a gay person.

Rappler, a Filipino newspaper, reports that Duterte was asked about Trillanes sexuality and he replied, “Ask any gay man and see that moving, they say that’s gay.”

“Good thing Trillanes and I are similar, but I cured myself,” he added. “When I began a relationship with Zimmerman, I said, this is it. I became a man again.”

Elizabeth Zimmerman was married to the Filipino leader for 25 years before filing for an annulment in 1998. She told the courts at the time that Duterte was a “womanizer.”

Admitting he once believed he was gay is an odd confession coming from Duterte who has had wildly inconsistent positions when it comes to the LGBTQ community.

Before being elected president in 2016, he expressed support for same-sex marriage.

During an appearance on the Vice Ganda talk show in 2015, he said, “Same-sex marriage is good. Everyone deserves to be happy.”

But he later flip-flopped on the issue saying he preferred same-sex unions instead.

He once asked the head of the country’s Commission on Human Rights if he was a gay pedophile because he was concerned about young boys being killed in the war on drugs.

More recently, before the recent elections in the Philippines, the 74-year-old president called out former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay who was running to be a Senator.

During a campaign rally, Duterte told the crowd, “Hilbay’s girlfriend is Agot Isidro. Her boyfriend is gay.”

He continued mocking Hilbay saying that as Solicitor General he had “filled his office with homosexuals.”

In 2017, the Filipino president mocked the idea of transgender people in the U.S. saying during a speech, “There is no gender because you can be a he or she.”

“That’s their culture,” he added according to the BBC. “It does not apply to us.”

Duterte is most well known for not only encouraging but overseeing the killing of thousands in his brutally violent war on drugs.

Posted on

Kim Jong Un Ordered Nuclear Envoy Executed After Failed Summit With Trump

Kim Jong Un (L) and Donald Trump (R)

According to USA Today, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un ordered his special nuclear envoy to the United States executed in March after the failed summit between his country and the U.S.

North Korean newspaper Chosen Ilbo reported the news on Friday.

Kim Hyok Chol was executed by firing squad in March along with four other foreign ministry officials, the paper reported, citing an unidentified North Korean source.

North Korea neither confirmed nor denied the report. South Korea’s government was not able to confirm the claim. Previous media reports about the fate of North Korean officials who have fallen afoul of Pyongyang’s leader have proven to be false.

Chosun Ilbo reported Kim Hyok Chol and the other senior officials were shot after being accused of spying for the United States.

The paper reported Kim Jong Un ordered the purge amid mounting dissatisfaction with the summit in Hanoi – the second time Kim and Trump met for face-to-face talks. In Vietnam, they failed to reach a deal because of conflicts over the White House’s call for complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and North Korean demands for sanctions relief.

Chol led working-level negotiations for the March nuclear summit.

Donald Trump has repeatedly acknowledged his respect and admiration for the North Korean leader.

Posted on

Movie Review: ‘Rocketman Soars’

Taron Egerton as Elton John in ‘Rocketman’

My buddy over at theOUTfront.com, Lawrence Pfeil, Jr., shares his review of the new Elton John ‘musical fantasy biopic,’ Rocketman, which opens in theaters nationwide today.

**************************************

Elton John entering rehab as a winged demon is more than intentional, so are the heart shaped glasses through which his life has been spent looking to “be loved, properly.” If those images aren’t symbolic enough, the next one raises goosebumps and that’s only the first two minutes of the enthusiastically anticipated, Reginald Dwight, musical biopic, ROCKETMAN.

With a flamboyant and heightened sense of reality equal to Elton John himself, it’s difficult to imagine his life being told any other way than a movie musical. What’s difficult to achieve is repurposing his songs in a successful way that tell the story, not merely are the story. In Rocketman, both genre and material are stunningly reimagined into the life of a man adored by millions the world over, but never so alone.

It is rapturous and heartbreaking.

As the iconic Captain Fantastic, Taron Egerton delivers a sparkling and faceted performance to rival Sir Elton’s diamond stud earring. Every note sung, is Egerton possessing a vocal quality most like the mega-star mid-career. While embodying every chameleon change demanded by Elton John’s fans, he never loses Reggie’s human need for love. When success transforms the musician into a monster, Egerton finds the pain feeding it and the pathos giving it breath.

Traced the trajectory of Rocketman is a singular partnership in the music industry between the musician and equally brilliant lyricist, Bernie Taupin, played with unconditional compassion by Jaime Bell. Millions of record sales and countless awards and accolades aside, the flamboyant extrovert composer and notoriously private lyricist’s greatest claim to fame is never having had a fight, ever.

John and Taupin have an innate chemistry and understanding of one another, personally and professionally, which Egerton and Bell instinctively capture on screen. When their first hit “Your Song” comes to life, it’s like witnessing the wonder of creative genius in person. And those moments of revelation keep coming throughout the film.

Directed by Dexter Fletcher, whose prior film credits are surprisingly short (but include finishing Bohemian Rhapsody), Rocketman is stunning visual poetry start to finish. With brilliant attention to detail ala Baz Luhrmann, Fletcher makes Elton John’s most personal, private, and iconic moments vibrant and visceral. Musical production numbers leap off the screen to grab the audience and pull them into the rawest, heart wrenching moments of Reggie’s life.

Every choice made in telling this story was a risk, any one of which could have easily caused Rocketman to be a catastrophic disaster upon liftoff. But fortune favors the bold, and if Elton John is anything, it’s bold.

 Most people tell their story from the top, so it takes a kind of courage, acceptance, and self-deprecation to tell Rocketman from the rock bottom of rehab. But, as anyone who’s been their knows, hitting rock bottom is necessary to relaunch. A constellation of superb performances, super nova production numbers, and unexpected moments like meteors out the darkness of space make Rocketman stellar.

ROCKETMAN

Starring Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, and Bryce Dallas Howard

121 minutes

Directed by Dexter Fletcher

Screenplay by Lee Hall

New Republic Pictures and Paramount Pictures

Lawrence Pfeil, Jr., is a freelance writer/playwright and has reviewed film and theatre, both on and off Broadway, for media outlets including the New York Blade and Edge Publications.