LGBTQ news and entertainment
A sneak preview to whet your appetite for Broadway Bares XXI: Masterpiece, which takes the stage June 19, 2011.
Broadway Bares, conceived by Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell, is Broadway’s hottest night of the year, featuring more than 200 of the sexiest dancers in show business in an eye-popping spectacular revue of song, dance and burlesque.
Since 1992, the 20 editions have raised more than $7.4 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
On Monday’s “Colbert Report,” Stephen Colbert attempted to prove that it was possible to ride a horse while ringing a bell and firing and reloading a musket by jumping on his coin-operated kiddie horse and taking a very bumpy ride.
According to onenewsnow.com, parents in the Arkansas town of Russellville are outraged after a middle school yearbook published the names of former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney in a list of the “worst” people of all time.
It was a short list:
Adolph Hitler
Osama bin Laden
Charles Manson
President George W. Bush
Vice President Dick Cheney
The superintendent is trying to get to the bottom of things.
Jerry Cox, founder and president of the Arkansas Family Council, says the yearbook advisor is ultimately responsible. “Not to condemn [that] school teacher for what happened, but I think at some point that individual probably should step forward and say ‘It was my responsibility and I just failed to fulfill it,'” he suggests.
I’m not quite sure I understand what the fuss is about…
Today marks the 10th anniversary of former President George W. Bush signing into law his 2001 tax cuts (he passed a second round in 2003).
While doing so, Bush promised prosperity and growth, but the nation got neither.
The cost of these budget-busting 2001 and 2003 tax cuts was, as estimated by Citizens for Tax Justice, roughly $2.5 trillion through 2010. But America didn’t have to go down this route of cutting taxes and hoping for growth to miraculously appear.
ThinkProgress, using data on various social spending projects from the National Priorities Project — which does these calculations for the cost of the Iraq and Afghan wars — has estimated other possible policies we could’ve paid for at the same $2.5 trillion price of the Bush tax cuts. While not all of these policies are currently performed by the federal government, they do represent an accurate calculation of the monetary tradeoffs, and each one individually would cost the same as the Bush tax cuts. Here are alternatives we could’ve pursued instead:
– Provide 43.1 Million Students With Pell Grants Worth $5,500 Every Year For Ten Years
– Provide 31.5 Million Head Start Slots For Children Every Year For Ten Years
– Provide VA Care For 30.7 Million Military Veterans Every Year For Ten Years
– Provide 30.4 Million Scholarships For University Students Every Year For Ten Years
– Hire 4.19 Million Firefighters Every Year For Ten Years
– Hire 3.67 Million Elementary School Teachers Every Year For Ten Years
– Hire 3.6 Million Police Officers Every Year For Ten Years
– Retrofit 144.6 Million Households For Wind Power Every Year For Ten Years
– Retrofit 54.2 Million Households For Solar Photovoltaic Energy Every Year For Ten Years
But instead, Congress passed budget-breaking tax cuts, and then went on to pass even more in 2003.
Even millionaires – who we were promised would take the money from the tax cuts and create new jobs – admit they didn’t do any such thing.
Paul Egerman, founder of a medical transcription company called eScription says “I do not know how much I’ve saved over 10 years but I’m sure it was in excess of $10 million. I’ve kept it – I have not done anything with that money.”
“I probably traveled a little bit more than I otherwise would have,” said Frank Patitucci, CEO of NuCompass Mobility Services, a company that offers relocation management services.
“I got a bigger boat than I used to have,” said Dennis Mehiel, the founder and chairman of cardboard box manufacturer U.S. Corrugated, Inc. He lamented that the construction of his 150-foot sloop didn’t create any jobs for American workers. “The problem is, it was built in Italy.”
In 2010, Congress then went on to renew the Bush tax cuts for an additional two years, and the political will for the sort of public investments listed above appears to have dried up.
(more from ThinkProgress)
Apple today introduced iCloud, a set of free new cloud services that work seamlessly with applications on your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content and push it to all your devices.
iCloud services include new versions of Contact, Calendar, and Mail; iCloud Backup and Storage; Photo Stream; and iTunes in the Cloud.
And for $24.99 a year, iTunes Match will give you all of the benefits of iTunes in the Cloud for music you haven’t purchased from iTunes.
At first I didn’t really see the advantage to all this. But after reading more, a big plus is everything you download from iTunes to your computer (or iPhone or iPad) is automatically sent to your other computing devices, like your computer, iPad and/or iPhone. So you practically do nothing to keep all your devices synced.
Plus, everyone gets 5GB of storage FREE on the internet to store your stuff. AND your purchased music, apps, and books, as well as your “Photo Stream” don’t count against your free storage.
iCloud will be available this fall. A free beta version of iTunes in the Cloud is available today in the U.S. and requires iTunes 10.3 and iOS 4.3.3.
AARP has launched a new sub-website to address older gays and lesbians.
The site has tips on travel, estate planning and even dating for the 50+ crowd. On the home page, AARP writes:
“Welcome to AARP’s online home for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. This page is designed to spotlight articles on news, personal finance, relationships, travel and other topics of concern to older gay Americans, and their family and friends. It also provides information about AARP’s positions and advocacy efforts in this arena. Please share your suggestions with AARP’s Prism Network on how we can make www.aarp.org/pride more relevant to your life.”
Go to www.aarp.org/pride to check it out.
I think Chris Matthews is one of the best at what he does. He’s been on the inside of politics for years and he knows what he’s talking about. He calls out Democrats and Republicans alike when they mess up. Here’s his wrap up for “Hardball” today. I think it’s smart and pretty intriguing.
Let me finish tonight with June 6th, D-Day. The Republican campaign has hit the beach. A week from now the candidates – six of them – face off in the first real debate of 2012. Here’s what I thinks going on in the inside.
Sarah Palin – What’s she doing? Instead of running for president she’s playing Tammany Hall political boss. Her agenda? Knock off Mitt Romney. She’s got real problems with him. One, she doesn’t want him to win, not Mitt Romney, not him running the country for eight years. I can give you several reasons. You can list them yourself. Look at his background. Look at hers. Do you really think he’s her kind of Republican?
She showed a bit of this attitude last week going to New Hampshire and big-footing Mitt on his press coverage –knocked him right out of the ballpark. That bus of hers rolled right over his chili fest.
Second on her agenda – knock off Michele Bachmann. The Congresswoman from Minnesota is getting in the race, showing up for next Monday’s first big debate. She’s a real-life candidate and Sarah wants her on the scope. This is roller-rink politics. Palin is out to knock both Mitt and Bachman off the course.
Here’s how she does it –she backs the alternative to Romney in the regular Republican Party – Tim Pawlenty, the ex-governor of Minnesota – who happens to be the active alternative to Bachman among the religious right-tea party factions.
This is where it gets intriguing, even fascinating. Can someone with Palin’s chops go out there and work this thing for Pawlenty, someone so obviously without those chops? Can she put a tiger in this guy’s tank? Better yet, can she “be” that tiger?
This is wild. If Palin pulls it off, Pawlenty of Minnesota can win the caucuses in its southern neighbor Iowa. He can go on and win among her fellow evangelists in South Carolina, starting a long, hard campaign against the deep-pocketed Romney right across the country. It would be Romney-Pawlenty or Pawlently-Romney onward to the national convention in Tampa.
If Palin fails to light up Pawlenty in Iowa and Bachmann wins out there, then Bachmann goes to New Hampshire good enough to make a decent showing then head down to South Carolina and wins there, setting up a Romney vs. Bachmann race all the way to Tampa.
This is how it looks on the Republican side right now as we approach the first debate. I’m counting on the debate to make the difference. If Bachman can do well, if she can be a star in the big candidate nights like next Monday, she will be the one to watch. If not, bet on Palin working her magic and knocking off, first Bachmann, and then Romney.
I don’t think the Republican Party can nominate anyone to the left of Pawlenty. That leaves it to him or Bachmann, another way of saying Palin or Bachmann.
Five months ago Bank of America filed foreclosure papers on the home of a couple who didn’t owe a dime on their home. In fact, the owners had paid CASH for their home. No mortgage owed to anyone – ever.
The case went to court and the homeowners were able to prove they didn’t owe Bank of America anything on the house.
A Collier County Judge agreed and after the hearing, Bank of America was ordered, by the court to pay the legal fees of the homeowners’, Maurenn Nyergers and her husband.
The Judge said the bank wrongfully tried to foreclose on the Nyergers’ house.
After more than 5 months of the judge’s ruling, the bank still hadn’t paid the legal fees, and the homeowner’s attorney did exactly what the bank tried to do to the homeowners. He seized the bank’s assets.
“They’ve ignored our calls, ignored our letters, legally this is the next step to get my clients compensated, ” said the home owners’ attorney Todd Allen.
Sheriff’s deputies, movers, and the Nyergers’ attorney went to the bank and foreclosed on it. The attorney gave instructions to to remove desks, computers, copiers, filing cabinets and any cash in the teller’s drawers.
After about an hour of being locked out of the bank, the bank manager handed the attorney a check for the legal fees.
“As a foreclosure defense attorney this is sweet justice” says Allen.
As a Realtor, I can tell you that many home owners have been the victim of banks who missed important details or just didn’t respond in a timely manner to legal matters.
I’m dancing the happy dance for these folks. Good for the Nyergers.
Michael is a HUGE fan of the show. I’m intrigued by the story lines, but the blood and stuff make me watch from behind my fingers…
In any case it’s a very cool series. I know a LOT of folks are excited for the return on June 26th.
And any time I have a reason to post this picture I’m happy…
Rep. Anthony Weiner confessed today that he had sent inappropriate pictures of himself to about six women over the past several years. He said he has not had any physical relationships with any of the women.
Congressman Weiner is smarter than this. While we all makes mistakes, in this day and age this is simply stupid behavior.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Steve Israel, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, are calling for an investigation into Rep. Weiner’s behavior and to determine whether any official resources were used or any other violation of House rules occurred.