Author: Randy Slovacek

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Christian Bale visits Aurora shooting victims in hospital

Christian Bale is meeting with victims of Friday’s mass shooting at an Aurora hospital Tuesday afternoon.

The pic above shows Christian Bale meeting with shooting victim Carey Rottman at Medical Center of Aurora in Colorado.

Bale plays Batman in the new movie ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ the film that was playing when a gunman killed 12 people and wounded almost 60 at an Aurora movie theater Friday.

When he got word of the shooting, Bale said his heart went out to the victims.

In a statement released Saturday, Bale says, “Words cannot express the horror that I feel. I cannot begin to truly understand the pain and grief of the victims and their loved ones, but my heart goes out to them.”

Despite the injury, Rottman seems to be in good humor writing, “I am definitely feeling nothing but love and am ready to get started on this recovery! By the way, first 30 minutes of the dark knight were SICK!!”

Rottman has also posted photos of himself with Gov. John Hickenlooper and several members of the Denver Broncos.

Sunday, Rottman wrote, “Just got off the phone with my boy Payton Manning. What a great great guy. Thank you for the warm wishes Payton, I’ll be rooting for you baller!!!”

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Mainers United for Marriage joined by Maine Republicans who support marriage equality

At a press conference, Mainers United for Marriage announced the launch of Republicans United for Marriage, a group of Republicans who have pledged their support for the freedom to marry, and have promised a “Yes” vote in November.

“Allowing all loving, committed couples to marry isn’t about political parties. Across Maine, Republicans, Democrats and Independents are working together to support the freedom to marry,” said Matt McTighe, campaign manager for Mainers United for Marriage. “Our campaign is about talking to one another, building bridges and finding common ground. We’re proud to welcome Republicans United for Marriage to our campaign.”

Recent polling shows broad support for allowing same-sex couples to receive a marriage license. Through more than 112,000 one-on-one conversations, Maine voters are telling the campaign that they are changing their minds.

Other prominent Republicans present included: Amy Abbott, Portland; Greg Boulos, Cape Elizabeth; Brenda Garrand, Portland; Jim Nicholson, Waterville; Ted O’Meara, South Portland; Rep. Dave Richardson, Carmel; James Shaffer, Cape Elizabeth; Gordon Smith, Winthrop; Betsy Tipper, Smithfield; and Karl Turner, Cumberland.

Read more at Mainers United for Marriage

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Happy 1st Anniversary of Marriage Equality New York!

During it’s first year in New York state, marriage equality added $259 million to New York City’s economy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn said today:

At least 8,200 gay-marriage licenses were issued, accounting for more than 10 percent of the 75,000 wedding licenses issued in New York City in the past year, Bloomberg and Quinn said in a statement today, citing a survey conducted by NYC & Co., the city’s marketing and tourism office, and the city clerk’s office.

Prior to the state’s enactment of same-sex marriage, a report from the State Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference predicted gay and lesbian marriages would rake in $391 million in economic activity for New York State during the first three years after going into effect.

So let’s look at all this: happy, shiny married people, more money for the economy, and no one got hurt.

Where’s the downside here?

Happy 1st New York! Celebrate! More wine!

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President Obama with the AIDS Quilt in the East Wing

Earlier this week a section of the Quilt was put on display in the East Wing, so that the hundreds of visitors that go through the halls of the building each day can stop and remember the human toll that this disease has taken, and how far we’ve come as a country in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

While much work remains to be done, we all look forward to the day when there are no more panels to add to the quilt. Thanks to our collective efforts, that day is closer than ever.

As President Obama said on World AIDS Day, together we can and we will win this fight.

Via the White House

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98 Degrees set to reunite on The Today Show

After more than 10 years apart, Nick Lachey, Drew Lachey, Justin Jeffre and Jeff Timmons of the boy band 98 Degrees are reuniting.

The multi-platinum selling group will perform live on the TODAY show as part of their Summer Concert Series on Friday, Aug. 17 in NYC.

The group is also set to perform at the first annual MixTape Festival in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Saturday, Aug. 18.

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Sherman Hemsley of THE JEFFERSONS dead at 74

TMZ is reporting that Sherman Hemsley of the 70s sitcom THE JEFFERSONS has passed away.

Sherman Hemsley, the actor who made the character George Jefferson famous in “The Jeffersons,” has died, El Paso cops tell TMZ has learned.

Hemsley died at his home in El Paso, Texas. 

Hemsley gained national attention when he joined the Norman Lear show All in the Family in 1973; after two seasons, he became the star of his own spin-off, The Jeffersons, in which he co-starred with Isabel Sanford. Over the course of 11 seasons as George Jefferson, Hemsley starred in 253 episodes.

Hemsley had no wife and no kids.

It’s unclear how he died.

Born in South Philadelphia, Hemsley performed with several local groups in Philadelphia before moving to New York to make his Broadway debut as “Gitlow” in Purlie.

While touring with the production, television writer and producer Norman Lear contacted Hemsley to play the role of Jefferson on his new sitcom, “All in the Family”. Hemsley hesitated to accept but Lear held the role open for him and two years later, Hemsley joined the cast.

Less than two years after Hemsley made his television debut, he and “All in the Family” costar Isabel Sanford were given their own spin-off in “The Jeffersons”. The series earned Hemsley Emmy and Golden Globe nominations in 1984 and 1985 respectively.  Isabel Sanford died in 2004 at age 86.

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Obama campaign: “The Choice”

The Obama campaign released a new ad yesterday which points out the choice voters must make, the NYT reports:

Rather than use flashy graphics, ominous-sounding narrators or clever editing, the ad shows Mr. Obama arguing that the election comes down to a choice.

“Not just between two political parties or even two people. It’s a choice between two very different plans for our country,” Mr. Obama says. “Sometimes politics can seem very small. But the choice you face, it couldn’t be bigger.”

Meanwhile, the President was back on the offensive on the campaign trail, Politico reports, discussing another kind of ‘choice’:

“Frankly, the other side can’t sell their ideas so what they’re going to do is distort my vision. Earlier today, Gov. Romney was at it again,” Obama said as the crowd booed. “Knowingly twisting my words to suggest I don’t value small business. In politics, we all tolerate a certain amount of spin. I understand those are the games that get played in political campaigns. Although, when folks like omit entire sentences of what you said, they start kind of splicing and dicing, you may have gone a little over the edge there. But there’s actually a real choice there.”