Author: Randy Slovacek

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Out Music: Sylas Dean ‘Shine’

Out recording artist Sylas Dean

Out recording artist Sylas Dean
Out recording artist Sylas Dean (photo: Brett Stanley)
Queer hyper pop artist Sylas Dean drops his debut EP American Dreeming, where he explores longing, love and heartbreak with a vintage glam rock influence. The lead single for the synth-pop collection, “Shine,” is a glossy, summer-ready romp with an irresistible beat and muscular vocals. Armed with a shimmering dance-driven sound and an eye for dreamy imagery, Dean looks and sounds ready to roll. Follow him on Instagram here.

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News Round-Up: May 8, 2021

For the second year in a row, Skittles is going colorless for June because "

For the second year in a row, Skittles is going colorless for June because 'only one rainbow matters during Pride' Some news items you might have missed: • OUT: For a second year in a row, Skittles is releasing limited-edition Pride Packs, which feature all gray packaging and all gray candies inside. “Only one rainbow matters during Pride,” reads the packaging. One dollar per pack purchased will then be donated (up to $100K) by Skittles to GLAAD. • Instinct Magazine: Caitlyn Jenner, who has declared she opposes transgender girls compete in sports with cisgender girls, was twisting in the wind again this week when footage of Jenner competing in a 2016 LPGA tournament surfaced. Yes, in the tournament Jenner competed against – you guessed it – cisgender women. • NewNowNext: Actor-comedian Rob McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) has teamed up with GLAAD to tell the world about his two moms: Helena McElhenney and her wife Mary Taylor.

• Washington Blade: A Puerto Rico Senate committee on Thursday killed a bill that would have banned so-called conversion therapy on the island. • Winston Salem Journal: A Forsyth County minister, T. Elliott Welch, has been arrested on a child-pornography charge, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office. An arrest warrant alleges that Welch copied material showing a nude girl, who appeared to be between the ages of 10 and 12, being raped by a man. Welch is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Stanleyville whose website is chockful of anti-LGBTQ pronouncements. • Newsweek: A Minnesota man, identified by his social media accounts as Thomas Humphrey, posted a video of himself that appeared to show him stealing a vial of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from CVS in order to “test it at a lab.” “I just want to read it. I just—you know, I’m taking the vaccine, I just want to read it,” he then reached across a counter and grabbed a white box. #theft

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New Music Video: P!nk ‘All I Know So Far’

The latest music video from P!nk includes cameos from gay icons Cher and Judith Light

The latest music video from P!nk includes cameos from gay icons Cher and Judith Light
International pop star P!nk
P!nk’s latest music video, “All I Know So Far,” not only features the pop star, but gay icons Cher (as a regal goddess) and Judith Light (as the singer’s mother). The video opens as P!nk begins a bedtime story for her daughter. Along the way, P!nk shares some of the life lessons she’s learned up to now. The music video prefaces P!nk’s upcoming documentary P!nk: All I Know So Far, which chronicles her life as a mom and a pop star on the road during her Beautiful Trauma tour. The doc film will launch globally on Friday, May 21 exclusively on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories. Since her debut in 2000, P!nk has released 8 studio albums, 1 greatest hits album, sold over 60 million albums equivalents worldwide, 15 singles in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (four at #1) and has sold out arenas all over the world. In addition, she is the recipient of three Grammy Awards (twenty nominations), one Daytime Emmy Award, seven MTV Video Music Awards (including the 2017 Vanguard Award recipient), two People’s Choice Awards, and was named Billboard’s Woman of the Year in 2013.

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Montana Gov. Signs 2 Anti-LGBTQ Bills Into Law

Highway sign which reads, "Greetings from Montana"

Highway sign which reads, "Greetings from Montana" Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) has signed not one but two anti-LGBTQ bills into law this week – Senate Bill 99 and House Bill 112. Senate Bill 99 calls for “a parent, guardian, or other person who is responsible for the care of a child” to be allowed to “refuse to allow the child to attend… a course of instruction, a class period, an assembly, an organized school function, or instruction provided by the district… regarding human sexuality instruction.” If any instruction is scheduled having to do with “human sexuality” – or even just sexually transmitted diseases – at least 48 hours notice must be given to parents. “Human sexuality education” is defined in the bill as anything related to “sexual orientation, gender identity, and abstinence.” House Bill 112 calls for “public school athletic teams to be designated based on biological sex.” Additionally, cisgender athletes will be able to seek damages from schools that allow transgender students to compete as their gender identity because of the “direct or indirect” harm that would be caused for the cisgender student. State Rep. John D. Fuller (R) introduced the bill in January. He told Montana Public Radio he “felt compelled to introduce the legislation because he’s coached women’s soccer and he thinks transgender women have a physical advantage if they compete in sports consistent with their gender identity. That is unfair to females and women’s sports — period.” Montana is now the 7th state to prohibit trans youth from participating in sports to some degree. Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia have adopted similar laws that shut the door on transgender girls playing sports as their gender identity.  

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News Round-Up: May 7, 2021

Sergio J. Matos and Jim Newman

Sergio J. Matos and Jim Newman
Sergio J. Matos and Jim Newman
Some news items you might have missed: • OUT: The Village People’s Jim Newman (above) moved to Brazil for love. The Broadway daddy would love a return to performing, but for now he’s happy hunkering down on the beach with his fiancé, Sergio J. Matos. • Instinct Magazine: Ryan Reynolds wants his anti-hero super-hero Deadpool to be pansexual (per the original source comics) in the upcoming Marvel Studios film Deadpool 3. • Kenneth-in-the-212: Check out Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in LGBTQ publications like the latest issue of WireMag (below) featuring body builder Steve Rogers. • NBC News: Middle school students in Texas have accused a teacher of defacing their chalk art of Pride flags by scrawling “heteros rule” over top of it. The school district is apparently dodging the issue by sending out a “vague” email implying there was a dustup (but didn’t explain what happened). • Axios: Oklahoma has secured a $2.6 million refund for a malaria drug purchase once touted by Donald Trump as a treatment for COVID-19. Trump repeatedly promoted hydroxychloroquine last year despite health officials warning that the drug should not be prescribed for treating COVID-19 outside of research or hospital settings due to serious side effects. • Twitter: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told a Trump supporter he “led the fight” to overturn the 2020 election (take that Josh Hawley). But as the cultist grows more fervent, Cruz (aware a camera is on him) has to pull away.

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Bar Owner Busted For Selling Fake Vaccination Cards

Bar owner arrested for selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards

Bar owner arrested for selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards A bar owner in California’s Central Valley has been arrested for selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards. From NBC News:

Charges against Todd Anderson, 59, include identity theft, forging government documents, and falsifying medical records, according to a statement from San Joaquin District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar.

An investigation was opened after California’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control received a complaint about fake cards being sold at the Old Corner Saloon in Clements, about 40 miles southeast of Sacramento.

Anderson was also found with a loaded unregistered firearm, a felony, during his arrest.

Charges included falsifying medical records and several counts of identity theft. Just get the shot, folks…

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4 Ex-Cops Indicted By Federal Grand Jury In George Floyd Case

George Floyd, handcuffed on the ground as Officer Derek Chauvin kneels on his neck
All four former Minneapolis police officers involved in the detaining and eventual death of George Floyd have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights. From the New York Times:

The indictment charges Mr. Chauvin, 45, and other former Minneapolis Police Department officers Tou Thao, 35, J. Alexander Kueng, 27, and Thomas Lane, 38, with willfully depriving Mr. Floyd of his constitutional civil rights during his arrest.

The indictment alleges that by holding his left knee across Mr. Floyd’s neck and his right knee on his back and arm as he lay on the ground, handcuffed and unresisting, Mr. Chauvin used unconstitutional, unreasonable force that resulted in Mr. Floyd’s death.

Mr. Thao and Mr. Kueng were charged with willfully failing to stop Mr. Chauvin from using unreasonable force. All four defendants saw Mr. Floyd lying on the ground in need of medical care and willfully failed to aid him, depriving him of his constitutional right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, which included Mr. Floyd’s right to be free from an officer’s deliberate indifference to serious medical needs, the indictment said.

Chauvin, who was found guilty on state charges of murder and manslaughter in regard to the incident, was also indicted for another incident involving a 14-year-old boy in 2017. Chauvin reportedly held the teen by the neck and beat him on the head with a flashlight before holding the teen down with his knee on his neck while handcuffed face down on the ground. Sound familiar? Thao, Kueng, and Lane still face state charges in the Floyd incident with the trial scheduled for August.

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News Round-Up: May 6, 2021

Disney rolls out brand new rainbow pride gear for Pride Month

Disney rolls out brand new rainbow pride gear for Pride Month
(image via Disney Parks)
Some news items you might have missed: • Disney Parks: Just in time for Pride Month 2021, fans around the world can showcase their LGBTQ pride with all-new bespoke products featuring Disney brands. To learn more, visit RainbowDisneyCollection.com. • Pink News: An anti-transgender bill in Texas that would ban trans students from playing sports on the team corresponding to their gender identity has failed to advance out of a House committee. It failed to get the requisite seven votes to move forward, instead receiving a 6-5 vote in favor. • Kenneth-in-the-212: This week’s installment of Wrestle Wednesdays was a truly worthy honoree (below). Click here for more of KIT212’s regular Hump Day feature.
Follow David Torres here
Make sure to follow David Torres here on Instagram
• OUT: A Republican state lawmaker in Kansas was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery charges for kneeing the groin of a teenaged boy who was in a class he was substitute teaching. • Edge Media: Olympic athlete Tom Daley is back in familiar form after winning two gold medals at the 2021 FINA World Cup in Tokyo. The event was the diver’s first competitive performance in 14 months, and the judges unanimously agreed that Daley didn’t miss a beat. • Twitter: Fox News talking head Tucker Carlson says thousands of Americans have died after they received a COVID-19 vaccine, pointing to CDC numbers. What he doesn’t say: “Reports to VAERS of death ‘following’ vaccination do not necessarily mean the vaccine ’caused’ the death.” VAERS is an open-access system. It’s designed so that anyone — parents, patients and health care professionals — can freely report any health effects that occur after a vaccination whether or not those effects are believed to be caused by the vaccine. People have died after watching Carlson’s TV show. It doesn’t mean they actually died from his show (although I guess that’s possible).

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Atlanta Police Report Series Of Robberies Initiated On Grindr

Officer Eric King, LGBT Liaison for Atlanta Police Department

Photo of the gay dating app Grindr
(image via Depositphotos)
Over the past four months, at least 8 gay men in Atlanta have been reported being robbed by men they met on the dating app Grindr. During a press conference Wednesday, Sergeant Rodney Jones of the Atlanta Police Department’s robbery unit told reporters, “From February to May, we have had eight instances where male victims were lured to remote locations by use of the Grindr app.” “After the date concludes, the suspect will rob the victim, often taking their wallets, keys, or even vehicles,” added Jones. Each of the victims told the police they met their assailants on Grindr. The robbers, using stolen photos for their profile, would strike up a conversation with the intended victims and then move the chat to text messages. Jones says most of the robberies occurred with the perpetrators wielding a handgun “at the end of the date.” One victim reported that he had picked up the Grindr ‘date’ and drove to a remote part of Atlanta. Once there, the robber pulled a gun demanding the victim “give me the car and everything you got.” Police say they’ve traced at least one Grindr profile to some of the robberies, and described the potential suspects as being six feet tall, slim but muscular build, late teens to early 20s, dark-skinned Black men with short dreads. The authorities believe one alleged robber is responsible for many of the crimes which have taken place in the northwest part of the city, while another man (or possibly two) have committed similar crimes in the southeastern area of Atlanta.
Officer Eric King, LGBT Liaison for Atlanta Police Department
Officer Eric King, LGBT Liaison for Atlanta Police Department
It’s possible even more Grindr-related robberies have occurred as police believe some men may be embarrassed to report the crimes. Also taking part in the press briefing was Officer Eric King, who serves as the LGBT liaison to the Atlanta Police Department. King offered some tips on how to improve safety when meeting someone new from Grindr. He advised having a video chat with the potential date before meeting up in person. And if you are driving to meet that person, look up the address to make sure it makes sense as opposed to showing up and finding it to be a remote location. “Find a partner or a friend that you trust that you can notify when you’re going to meet somebody,” added King. “Meet at a grocery store. Meet at a public place before you reconvene somewhere more intimate.” This isn’t the first time Grindr has been used to target victims. In January 2020, I reported on a Michigan man whose Grindr date went horribly wrong after being targeted via the dating app. And in 2017, four men pleaded guilty to violent home invasions set up on Grindr. Watch the press conference by the APD below.