Author: Randy Slovacek

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NY State senator Grisanti says “No” to marriage equality

From Capital Tonight:New York GOP state Sen. Mark Grisanti now says that he will definitely vote against same-sex marriage because of the word “marriage.”

There were hopes that Grisanti would be one of the Republicans in the state Senate who might be swayed to change his position.

Grisanti represents one of the most Democrat-dominated districts in the state. He ousted a “yes” voter on marriage, former Democratic Sen. Antoine Thompson, in last year’s elections.

Grisanti’s on-the-fence status drew him the attention of Lady Gaga, a major gay rights advocate, during a her concert in Buffalo back in March. But apparently, even the pressure of her Little Monsters hasn’t been enough to sway the senator.

UGH.

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Ben Cohen, LGBT ally, quits rugby to fight homophobia and bullying full-time

Ben Cohen

From The Independent: Ben Cohen, England’s World Cup winner, is quitting rugby. The 32-year-old wing has been released by Sale Sharks despite being their player of the season. Cohen has announced his retirement from the sport in order to devote his time to fighting homophobia and bullying through his foundation.

The Independent reports on the announcement from Cohen, 32, who was player of the year for the Sale Sharks this year.

“Cohen believes he could play for another two years but has turned down offers from clubs in England and France. Instead he will focus on heading up the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, which tackles bullying and homophobia,” reports The Independent.

“I have reached the top in my sport,” said Cohen in a statement on his website. “It has been an incredible journey and has put me in the privileged position I am in today to be able to work on these exciting new projects through the StandUp Brand. As athletes, it is not enough just to have strong bodies. We must have strong characters and use our voices to support those who need and deserve it.”

This week, Cohen will launch his 10-day Ben Cohen Acceptance Tour of U.S. cities to include talks, training sessions, and fund-raising events.

Clearly this man is beautiful inside and out.  Go to his website to learn more about this guy.

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Wisconsin Gov. says domestic partnership law unconstitutional

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker has decided to stop defending a new domestic partnership registry law that gives same-sex couples a handful of the rights granted to married couples, but that Walker and others believe violates the state constitution.

The Journal Sentinel reports on the motion from Walker against the law, which Democrats adopted in 2009 when they controlled the legislature. Opponents have challenged the law in Dane County circuit court as a violation of the state constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2006 that bans same-sex marriages and, they argue, any substantially similar arrangement.

When Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen refused to defend the domestic partnership registries, former Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat replaced by Walker in January, hired an attorney to defend the state.

“Governor Walker, in deference to the legal opinion of the attorney general that the domestic partner registry…is unconstitutional, does not believe the public interest requires a continued defense of this law,” says the brief.

The state supreme court refused to hear a lawsuit filed against the registries in 2009, which led opponents to the district court.

According to the Journal Sentinel, “Even if Walker is allowed to withdraw from the case, the law would still be defended in court because gay rights group Fair Wisconsin intervened in the case last year.”

Around 1,500 same-sex couples have signed up for the registries that, according to the Journal Sentinel, “allow same-sex couples to take family and medical leave to care for a seriously ill partner, make end-of-life decisions and have hospital visitation rights. But according to Fair Wisconsin, they still confer only about a quarter of the rights associated with marriage, lacking provisions to allow couples to file joint tax returns or adopt children together.”

This governor continues to make anti-social, mean spirited decisions that can only be viewed as pandering to a far-right crowd. Just sad. He fights to take away labor rights and now he fights to take away a handful of rights for the LGBT community.

Just sad.

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101 Abercrombie & Fitch shirtless men in Paris

Abercrombie & Fitch knows what its customers want. The clothing company, as well known for selling sex as it is for selling jeans, set 101 shirtless male models loose on the Champs Élysées last week to celebrate the opening of its Paris flagship store.

Abercrombie has become a fixture among gay men for its annual catalog featuring homoerotic images of male models. More than one hundred shirtless men arm in arm will surely go far in helping to establish a gay fan base in France.

And why am I posting this? Because I can. Whoo-hoo! Good morning!
(via Advocate)

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CNN anchor Don Lemon on coming out

This is a very brave interview by CNN primetime anchor Don Lemon, who came out via a New York Times article that profiles the journalist and his upcoming memoir.

In his upcoming book he publicly discusses his homosexuality, what it’s like to come out gay as a black man and growing up as a child of abuse.

His dedication of the book is to the New Jersey teen who succumbed to suicide, Tyler Clementi. This is his first on-​air interview since the Times article.

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Sneak peek: Olivia Newton-John’s new “Magic”

From Dan Murphy: Our new remix of Olivia Newton-John’s “MAGIC” is going to premiere on Dancing With The Stars! https://youtu.be/CEIvxZfQah4 WHEN: Sunday May 22 TIME: 6:30pm Channel 7, Australia WACCI (The Australian Creative Collective) have raised over $60,000 for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre through a variety of initiatives. The latest project is a charity single. Olivia’s classic “Magic” has been remixed by DJ Dan Murphy & Steve Peach to create a brand-new dance version of the song. Everyone has volunteered their time & talent which means *ALL* proceeds from sales of this new remix will be going to Olivia’s charity. Register with WACCI now to find out when you can get your own copy of the song & help raise funds for the charity: http://www.wacci.com.au/ Want to be in the music video? Click this link to join in: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125429414198992

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Delta Goodrem trending in the news today

So I’m seeing stories today that my friend Delta Goodrem is trending a lot on news websites.

Apparently the news is she’s dating Nick Jonas. Good for her if it’s true. She’s an amazing person and a great singer.

I met Delta through Olivia Newton-John a few years ago, and found her to be lovely, talented and extremely gracious.

For US folks, you may not know her but she’s one of the very biggest recording artists in Australia. She and Olivia are friends, and they’ve performed together a few times.

More recently she and Olivia wrote a song – “Right Here With You” – to help raise funds for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in Australia that Olivia has been instrumental in building. My husband was in the studio when Olivia and Delta wrote it, and he was so moved by the song the first time they sang it for him.

You can hear the song here – Right Here With You

I really like Delta and hope for her happiness. She’s a terrific person.

By the way – did I mention yet that she’s gorgeous???

With Delta and my friend Sean at a party

Olivia and Delta with Michael, my husband

Australia’s favorite recording artists – Olivia and Delta after performing together at L.A. Pride
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Trump: Not running for president

Donald Trump says he will not run for president.

“After considerable deliberation and reflection, I have decided not to pursue the office of the Presidency,” Trump said in a statement released by his political director, Michael Cohen.

“This decision does not come easily or without regret; especially when my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country.”

What a surprise.  You mean he doesn’t want to show the world his financial statements?  You mean he just wanted exposure for his reality TV show?

I’m shocked…

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More facts about the economy & the Bush Tax Cuts

Very informative charts (from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities) that shows the massive debt to the country that the Bush Tax Cuts have added.

– In light blue – the large, but temporary, expenditures for TARP and other measures proposed by both the Bush and Obama administrations to avoid a second Great Depression, plus Obama stimulus spending. Notice how the TARP and Fannie/Freddie bailouts drop off quickly since they ended.

– In gold and yellow – the very large, but permanent and worsening, budgetary impact of the “Bush tax cuts” — which when first proposed back in the pre-9/11 era, were supposed to end in 2010 and were in response to what back then seemed to be the “problem” of a burgeoning surplus in federal accounts!

And, notice on the chart how budget problems would be on the path to self-correction, if the Bush cuts had lapsed as originally planned.

So when folks (like the Tea Partiers) talk about who’s policies got us to where…  well, print this out and show them some facts.

In this second chart, notice the blue line.  That shows how debt would level off if the Bush Tax Cuts – that favor the wealthy – were to expire.