Author: Randy Slovacek

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Actor & Broadway producer Kevin Spirtas on The Candi & Randy Show

Listen to internet radio with CandiXRandy on Blog Talk Radio

For 7 1/2 years, Kevin Spirtas played the dashing and frolicking Dr. Craig Wesley on NBC’s “Days of Our Lives”.

This was followed by his return to Broadway as the standby for Hugh Jackman as the title role in the musical “The Boy From Oz,” having previously appeared on the Great White Way in “A Chorus Line” and “Meet Me in St. Louis.”

Kevin has now moved into the role of Broadway producer as part of the producing team for the current hit show “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” – his second stint as a Broadway producer following the acclaimed 2009 revival of “Finian’s Rainbow.”

Kevin also tours with his acclaimed one man show “Night and Days” – which features his singing, dancing & story telling talents as he tells tales of his adventures as a successful TV and stage actor.

Listen in wtih Candi and Randy as we talk with Kevin about the entertainment industry from both sides of the producing table. Plus we share songs from his CD based on his one man show – “Night and Days” plus music from his Broadway production of “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.”

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NC: The numbers tell an interesting tale – Amendment One

There are folks on the anti-gay conservative side touting “61 percent of North Carolinians” voted for Amendment One.

But that’s an inaccurate statement. Check this out:

Voter turnout was only 34% of registered voters (6,296,759 total voters participated). Sixty-six percent of registered voters did not participate.

The number of “yes” votes for the amendment only comes to 20.7% of all registered voters. This did account for 61% of those voting, but not 61% of all North Carolinians.

Repeat – only 20% of all registered voters in North Carolina were able to act as a “majority” yesterday in North Carolina.

The next time you think about voting, consider that fact.

See the full set of numbers here.

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President Obama announces support for marriage equality

President Obama today announced that he now supports same-sex marriage, reversing his longstanding opposition amid growing pressure from the Democratic base and even his own vice president.

In an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, the president described his thought process as an “evolution” that led him to this place, based on conversations with his own staff members, openly gay and lesbian service members, and conversations with his wife and own daughters.

OBAMA: I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.

His endorsement comes less than a week after Vice President Joe Biden embraced the issue during an appearance on Meet The Press and a day after North Carolina banned marriage equality and civil unions in its state constitution.

Obama’s remarks today bring him full circle to his position in 1996, when he was running for the Illinois state Senate. In response to a questionnaire from Chicago’s Outlines gay newspaper, he proclaimed, “I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages.”
(via ThinkProgress)

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President Bartlet on “cherry-picking” from the Bible

On this day after North Carolina voted to write discrimination into their state constitution based, in great part, on “cherry-picking” from the Bible, I felt a need to clear my palate.

Thanks to Martin Sheen’s brilliant delivery, and to Aaron Sorkin for the always “direct to the heart of the matter” language.

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Time Magazine’s Mark Halperin: President Obama will complete his “evolution” today

On MSNBC today, in reference to the President’s upcoming interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, Mark Halperin of TIME Magazine said he expects the President to complete his “evolution” on gay marriage today.

“Every expectation that we will, within the next hour, be in a different world, where we will have a President of the United States who supports the legalization of gay marriage,” Mark Halperin said this afternoon during an appearance on MSNBC. “The Vice President, I think, forced his hand. But even before the Vice President spoke on Meet The Press in favor of gay marriage, the President was headed in this direction,” he added.

Halperin also dissected the many ways – obvious and not so obvious – this political course could help the President in the upcoming election: “If Republicans go after this hard — now, they’ll do it in a micro targeting way if the president changes his position. If Mitt Romney tries to make this a big issue, it takes them off the economy. If this election is fought not on the economy, that’s better for the President, and I think Republicans will see that. I don’t think this will be a huge issue in the election.”

Stay tuned to hear exactly what the President has to say..

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May I ask a favor of you beautiful people?

Hello Randy Report reader,

May I say you are looking very attractive today?

I would like to ask a favor of you, and I hope you don’t mind.

In an effort to help grow my readership, should you find something you like or moves you or makes you laugh on The Randy Report, would you please do me the favor of hitting SHARE on or to Facebook?  Or hitting the Twitter link should you do the Twitter thing?

I find through out the day that many people see my posts on Facebook and instead of hitting SHARE, they hit Like.  Or sometimes, when a YouTube video is involved, folks go to the trouble of heading back over to YouTube, getting the link and then going back to Facebook to post. 

Instead, just hit the handy dandy SHARE link on Facebook!  Voila!  Less fuss and trouble, AND it helps spread the word about The Randy Report.

This morning, I actually had a Facebook friend send me a link to a YouTube video suggesting I post it.  Only the thing is: I had already posted it 24 hours earlier.  Someone clearly isn’t reading The Randy Report regularly 🙂

I hope you all wonderful people will read this in the spirit with which it’s written.  Just trying to broaden the readership here.

Sending you rainbows and smiles from my sassy soapbox,

Randy

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Colorado GOP state senators filibuster to kill civil unions bill

Last night after the North Carolina vote to write discrimination into law, I followed the mind numbing debacle in Colorado where civil unions was within ONE vote to being made law.

GOP state senators filibustered and effectively killed the civil unions bill – and in doing so also killed about 30 other bills in line for debate and vote – by stopping the work of the people for hours.

To add insult to injury, the GOP law makers tried to spin the story that Dems were the problem.

UPDATE: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said he’ll call lawmakers into a special legislative session Wednesday to resolve a bill supporting civil unions for same-sex couples, along with several other bills.

Hickenlooper’s announcement on the final day of the 2012 regular session was sparked by what he called an “overwhelming need” to discuss the civil unions measure. It died late Tuesday on legislative maneuvering from the GOP.

Hickenlooper said he’d announce the details of the special session Thursday.

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North Carolina passes Amendment One, writes discrimination into state constitution

North Carolina has voted to constitutionally prohibit any domestic union other than a marriage between a man and a woman, the AP reports.

In doing so, voters have also banned civil unions and stripped same-sex couples of domestic partnership benefits. Voters have eliminated health care, prescription drug coverage and other benefits for public employees and children receiving benefits through domestic partnerships.

ABC News:

With a little over 43 percent of precincts reporting, support for the amendment was strong- with about 61 percent of North Carolina voters casting their ballots in favor of the amendment, and roughly 39 percent voting against it.

North Carolina is now the 30th state with a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

(source)