Author: Randy Slovacek

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Trump Still Ranting On Mueller Report

Donald Trump

Donald Trump, who claims he was ‘totally exonerated’ (he wasn’t) by the report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller can’t stop ranting about it.

He took to Twitter yet again this morning to rail about it yet again mentioning “angry Democrats,” “conflicted Mueller,” and the always obligatory “”no collusion, no obstruction.”

What the Mueller report actually did was find 10 episodes of potential obstruction. He detailed them in the report and left it to the Attorney General William Barr and Congress to decide if they rose to the level of a crime that could be proven in court.

Political experts are also considering that Mueller didn’t attempt to charge Trump with a crime because of a long-standing position in the Justice Department that a sitting president can’t be charged.

For all those folks calling for “Impeachment!” – it’s not going to happen.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi knows it would be an act of futility because even if the House did vote of articles of impeachment, the Republican-led Senate would never convict Trump.

And he would look like a martyr for the 2020 election.

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News Round-Up: April 19, 2019

I hear MTV Jersey Shore star Vinny Guadagnino, who joins the Chippendales here in Las Vegas as Celebrity Guest Host April 26 through May 26, is selling a LOT of tickets. And yes, men are always welcome at Chippendales.

Some news items you might have missed:

• I hear MTV Jersey Shore star Vinny Guadagnino, who joins the Chippendales here in Las Vegas as Celebrity Guest Host April 26 through May 26, is selling a LOT of tickets. And yes, men are always welcome at Chippendales.

• A new Rasmussen Reports national survey finds that 59% of likely U.S. voters say they would personally be willing to vote for an openly gay president; 30% would not, 12% are not sure.

• It’s not just adults Donald Trump’s transgender military ban is affecting. This college student lost his 3-year ROTC scholarship because of the new policy.

• A 28-year-old man in Mississippi was beaten so severely – his jaw was shattered in two places – because his assailants thought he was gay.

• 1995 drag classic To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar is being re-released for Pride Month on Blu-Ray with special features including deleted scenes.

• Christian home schooling parents, David and Louise Turpin, who beat, starved and held 12 of their children captive inside their home, were sentenced Friday to life in prison.

• The music and the magic of Elton John’s incredible life comes to the big screen in upcoming musical fantasy biopic, Rocketman.

Watch as the team behind the film discusses Elton John’s journey from prodigy to icon in this special look at Rocketman, in theatres May 31.

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Charlize Theron Shares Her Eldest Child Is Trans

Academy Award winner Charlize Theron has shared in an interview with The Daily Mail that her eldest child, Jackson, is transgender.
Charlize Theron (image via Instagram)

Academy Award winner Charlize Theron has shared in an interview with The Daily Mail that her eldest child, Jackson, is transgender.

Theron adopted Jackson as a baby back in 2012. At the time, she believed the child was a boy.

“Yes, I thought she was a boy, too,” Theron tells the Daily Mail.“Until she looked at me when she was three years old and said: ‘I am not a boy!’”

“So there you go,” continued the South African actress. “I have two beautiful daughters who, just like any parent, I want to protect and I want to see thrive.”

It seems Jackson is very lucky to have a parent who can understand, adjust and continue with love.

“They were born who they are and exactly where in the world both of them get to find themselves as they grow up, and who they want to be, is not for me to decide,” she added. “My job as a parent is to celebrate them and to love them and to make sure that they have everything they need in order to be what they want to be.”

“And I will do everything in my power for my kids to have that right and to be protected within that,” said the 43-year-old actress.

Being open and embracing of the LGBTQ community is nothing new for Theron.

Back in 2009, she announced on The View that she wouldn’t marry her then-boyfriend, Stuart Townsend, until marriage equality was the law of the land in the U.S.

And during an appearance on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, host Andy Cohen asked her about playing a bisexual character in the film Atomic Blonde.

The response was perfect.

“It’s just so strange when we talk so much about it. It should be normalized by now,” she told Cohen. “It’s something I feel is not represented enough in cinema … I feel that when you make movies, if you’re going to hold that mirror up and reflect society, then you should reflect society.”

Folks in social media are applauding Theron’s announcement.

Transgender actress Jamie Clayton, of Netflix’s Sense8, tweeted, “@CharlizeAfrica Sending you so much love … Thank you beyond.”

And gender specialist Dr. Helen Webberley, of the online transgender medical clinic Gender GP, quoted Theron’s statement adding, “What a lucky little girl.”

Theron understands what parental love and acceptance means to children. She grew up with an abusive father who would reportedly beat her mother.

The domestic abuse continued until one day her mother had enough. One day, when Theron was 15-years-old, her father came home in a rage, carrying a gun and threatening to kill both mother and daughter.

Instead, Theron’s mother, Gerda, shot the father dead. The shooting was later ruled an act of self-defense.

So, Theron learned from a strong woman about standing up for her children and the truth.

“You can blame my mom for the fact I don’t know any better,” she shared with the Mail. “You know, I grew up in a country where people lived with half-truths and lies and whispers and nobody said anything outright, and I was raised very specifically not to be like that.”

“I was taught by my mom that you have to speak up,” she added. “You have to be able to know that, when this life is over, you’ll have lived the truth you’re comfortable with, and that nothing negative can come from that.”

What a lucky little girl, indeed.

(Source: Daily Mail)

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America’s First Superstar Fashion Designer Gets The Documentary Treatment ‘HALSTON’

Long before folks were getting their fashion fix discovering new design talent on Project Runway, Americans were gaga over the disco-chic glamour of Halston.

The new documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Frédéric Tcheng (Dior & I), titled Halston, chronicles the rise of America’s first superstar fashion designer.

From a Midwest childhood in conservative Des Moines, Iowa, to landing a job as a hatmaker at the famed Bergdorf Goodman department store, to putting that famous pill box hat on former First Lady Jackie Kennedy’s head, the film follows the life and times of Roy Halston Frowick as he became famous as simply ‘Halston.’

Using rare archival footage along with interviews with family, friends and famous clients like Liza Minnelli (“His clothes danced with you”), supermodel Iman, and Andy Warhol, Tcheng takes the audience behind-the-scenes as Halston struggles to find his artistic legacy amid the pressures of big business.

Halston’s meteoric rise during the celebrity disco culture of the 1970s was sadly followed by a just-as-quick fall from grace after the designer sold his brand to JC Penney for a rumored $1 billion. Apparently, the glam was gone when you could buy it at the local mall.

He would eventually pass away at the age of 57 in 1990 due to lung cancer related to HIV.

It is a fascinating story and the critics have raved about the film:

“A rollercoaster of fabulousness and folly” – The Hollywood Reporter

“Gripping…Thrilling stuff. A riveting ride.” – Variety

Halston gets the red carpet treatment at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on May 24 prior to a wider release.

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What Are The Gays Watching? Nielsen Has The Answer

The gays do love some ‘Game of Thrones’

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Nielsen has released its first-ever weekly ratings for same-gender partner households, and its numbers show HBO’s Game of Thrones as the most popular show among LGBTQ viewers.

Nielsen announced in the fall that it was expanding its reporting to include same-gender couples in an effort to better reflect LGBTQ inclusion in its national sample. Heads of households taking part in Nielsen’s TV ratings survey were given the option to state whether their spouse or partner is of the same gender.

For the week of April 8, the most-watched shows on cable and broadcast TV — the Game of Thrones premiere on HBO and the NCAA men’s basketball championship on CBS — also topped the rankings among same-gender partner homes. About 191,000 people in those homes watched Game of Thrones the night it aired, and nearly 177,000 tuned into CBS’ basketball game.

Here are the 10 most-watched primetime shows on broadcast and cable among same-gender partner homes for the week of April 8:

Broadcast
1. NCAA Men’s Championship (CBS), 176,934 (19.72 million)
2. Survivor (CBS), 120,921 (7.6 million)
3. NCIS (CBS), 116,498 (11.82 million)
4. 60 Minutes (CBS), 96,273 (8.72 million)
5. Modern Family (ABC), 95,180 (4.81 million)
6. The Voice (Monday) (NBC), 95,130 (7.62 million)
7. American Idol (Sunday) (ABC), 94,696 (7.26 million)
8. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), 84,223 (6.82 million)
9. The Voice (Tuesday) (NBC), 81,510 (7.32 million)
10. The Goldbergs (ABC), 79,655 (4.64 million)

Cable
1. Game of Thrones (HBO), 191,135 (11.76 million)
2. The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC), 66,071 (2.55 million)
3. Untucked (VH1), 65,782 (405,989)
4. RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1), 64,082 (402,516)
5. All In With Chris Hayes (MSNBC), 34,280 (1.57 million)
6. Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell (MSNBC), 33,344 (2.02 million)
7. Spring Baking Championship (Food Network), 27,858 (1.04 million)
8. The Curse of Oak Island (History), 26,502 (3.06 million)
9. Little People, Big World (TLC), 25,243 (1.34 million)
10. Gold Rush: Dave Turin’s Lost Mine (Discovery), 24,578 (1.33 million)

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Lizzo On A Mission: “Putting Big, Black, Femme, LGBTQ+ Bodies On Stages And Telling Our Stories”

Lizzo (L) and

With all the fun going on at Coachella this year – Ariana Grande reuniting *NSYNC, public sex on a Ferris wheel, former GOP Congressman Aaron Schock getting handsy with a guy– some have wondered why LGBTQ folks spend their money or take part in a festival whose owner, Philip Anchutz, makes sizable donations to anti-LGBTQ organizations. A fan of Lizzo’s posed that very question on her Instagram, and the diva came back with the best answer. User jacobthebeau asked, “I’m so confused why so many people are supporting this event that supports anti-lgbt organizations?!” And Lizzo responded writing, “Because Jacob, whether we like it or not most major organizations are run by bigoted millionaires that donate to bigoted organizations.” That said, Lizzo isn’t daunted by standing up to ‘bigoted millionaires.’ She knows what her job is, and it’s not to stand by and watch bad things happen. “I realize my activism is to disrupt those spaces and spread my message to thousands of ppl,” said the 30-year-old rapper. “Y’all may not agree w it and that’s ok. But know that I’m doing what I gotta do to make sure my big black ass voice is heard.” “Can’t wait to dismantle the hate that funds this country,” she added. “But until then, imma be putting big, black, femme, lgbtq+ bodies on stages and telling our stories.” Here’s the full post with Lizzo’s exchange with fans in the comments. Lizzo struggled with her own body image issues at a young age. So today, she advocates for body positivity and self-love, making diversity the focus of her music. Her songs have addressed body image, (“Juice”), sexuality (“Boys”), and race (“My Skin”). Her back-up dancers, known as the Big Grrrls, are all plus-size dancers. And – she loves herself some fierce drag queens. For instance, check out Lizzo’s latest music video, “Juice,” where she not only brings her own big and beautiful self to the small screen, but she’s got some friends from RPDR with her. The former Drag Race guest judge is joined by Mariah Balenciaga, Morgan McMichaels, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, A’keria C. Davenport, Detox, Asia O’Hara, Soju, Sonique and Mayhem Miller all lip-syncing to the body positive bop.

Miss Lizzo is everywhere these days because her new album, Cuz I Love You, drops on Friday, April 19. In addition to Coachella, Lizzo has a 25-date tour plus appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, covers on New York Magazine and Allure, and a feature spread in Playboy. You can follow the rising superstar on Instagram here.

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Nevada State Senate Approves Ban On ‘Gay Panic’ Legal Defense

Nevada could soon be the fourth state in the country to ban the use of so-called ‘gay panic’ or ‘transgender panic’ legal defenses.

Nevada could soon be the fourth state in the country to ban the use of so-called ‘gay panic’ or ‘transgender panic’ legal defenses.

The bill, SB 97, passed in the state Senate by a vote of 19 – 2. State Sens. Ira Hansen and Pete Goicoechea, both Republicans, were the only lawmakers to vote no.

The legislation now moves to the state Assembly where Democrats outnumber Republicans 29 – 13.

The new legislation would ban legal defenses that argue an alleged criminal’s violent actions were justified or provoked by the knowledge of a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The defense tactic asks juries to blame the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity for the defendant’s alleged violent crimes.

Language in SB 97 specifically states that “an alleged state of passion or provocation” in a defendant will not be considered a valid defense “if it resulted from… [the] sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of the victim.”

According to the Williams Institute, successful use of the defense can result in murder charges being reduced to manslaughter or other lesser offenses.

The Nevada Current reports that the legislation has the support of the Human Rights Campaign, the Transgender Allies Group, PLAN Votes, Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, as well as other LGBTQ organizations.

Only three states – California, Illinois and Rhode Island – have laws in place today that specifically prohibit the use of the defense.

There is similar legislation currently working its way through six states – New Jersey, Washington State, New York, Georgia, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania – as well as Washington, D.C.

Perhaps the most well-known case that used a ‘gay panic’ defense was that of Matthew Shepard, who was beaten to death and left to die tied to a fence on a cold Wyoming night. The two men charged with his murder said ‘gay panic’ excused their actions.

In 2013, the American Bar Association overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for an end to the defense.

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Mueller Report Released – “Total Exoneration” Would Not Be Accurate

Lots of news this morning about the release of the report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Donald Trump

Lots of news this morning about the release of the report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Here’s just a few take-aways from the report.

First up, Mueller made clear in his report that he lacked confidence to clear Donald Trump of obstruction of justice but suggested Congress could take action on at least 10 instances where the president sought to interfere with the probe.

CNN is posting excerpts from the Mueller report.

“With respect to whether the President can be found to have obstructed justice by exercising his powers under Article II of the Constitution, we concluded that Congress has the authority to prohibit a President’s corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice.”

“The Russian contacts consisted of business connections, offers of assistance to the campaign, invitations for candidate Trump and Putin to meet in person, invitations for campaign officials and representatives of the Russian government to meet, and policy positions seeking improved US-Russian relations.”

“If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment. The evidence we obtained about the President’s actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

Additionally, the Washington Post reports on Trump’s reaction when he was told the Special Counsel had been appointed:

In May 2017, then Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Trump that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein had just appointed Mueller as special counsel.

Trump slumped back in his chair, according to notes from Jody Hunt, Sessions’s chief of staff. “Oh my God, this is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m f—ed,” Trump said. Trump further laid into Sessions for his recusal, saying Sessions had let him down.

“Everyone tells me if you get one of these independent counsels it ruins your presidency,” Trump said, according to Hunt’s notes. “It takes years and years and I won’t be able to do anything. This is the worst thing that ever happened to me.” The next morning, Trump tweeted, “This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!”

Plus, as Reuters reports Mueller did find that Russian operatives organized political rallies in support of Trump and opposing Hillary Clinton’s candidacy:

Special counsel Robert Mueller in his highly-anticipated report said his team identified “dozens” of U.S. political rallies organized on social media by the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a Russian troll farm that was later indicted for attempting to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.

According to Mueller’s report, which was released on Thursday, the IRA organized political rallies in the U.S. using social media starting in 2015 and continued to coordinate rallies after the 2016 election.

The IRA, a Russian troll farm with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian intelligence agencies, organized pro-Trump and anti-Clinton rallies on U.S. soil for years, including events in New York, Florida and Pennsylvania. The Trump campaign put a post on Facebook about one of the IRA-organized rallies in Miami, Fla. in 2016, Mueller noted.

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News Round-Up: April 17, 2019

InstaHunks Ben Zerbst and Donald Romain took each other to Disneyland for some Hump Day fun. #FutureDILFSofDisneyland
Ben Zerbst and Donald Romain

Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks Ben Zerbst and Donald Romain took each other to Disneyland for some Hump Day fun. #FutureDILFSofDisneyland • Brunei has defended its punishment of death by stoning for gay sex in a letter to the European Parliament. Under the country’s new law, not only are LGBTQs targeted but adultery garners the same punishment, and thieves and robbers risk amputations. • Prosecutors plan to seek a sentence of four to 10 months’ jail time for actress Felicity Huffman for her role in the college admissions scandal. • This year’s Time 100 – the 100 most influential people of 2019 – includes Lady Gaga, Indya Moore, Ryan Murphy, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwWtrG6gk-W/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== • Nevada could soon join the three other states – California, Illinois, and Rhode Island – that ban the ‘gay panic’ or ‘trans panic’ defense in cases of assault or murder. • Folks were wondering why queer rapper Lizzo performed at Coachella Music Festival this past weekend when it came to light owner Philip Anschutz has given his money to anti-LGBTQ organizations. Lizzo explained: “Whether we like it or not most major organizations are run by bigoted millionaires that donate to bigoted organizations. I realize my activism is to disrupt those spaces and spread my message to thousands of ppl.” “Y’all may not agree w it and that’s ok. But know that I’m doing what I gotta do to make sure my big black ass voice is heard. Can’t wait to dismantle the hate that funds this country… but until then, imma be putting big, black, femme, lgbtq+ bodies on stages and telling our stories.” Here’s Lizzo’s latest music video “Juice” featuring a whole bunch of RuPaul’s Drag Race queens for added fun. Her new album Cuz I Love You drops Friday.