President Joe Biden (image via Twitter/POTUS) After meeting with Senate Republicans, President Biden’s signaled he’s considering targeting stimulus checks to Americans to only low- and middle-income families. From the Washington Post:
Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress argue a third round of stimulus checks is necessary to ensure people who have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut still have enough money to buy food, pay rent and get the medical care they need during a pandemic. But the White House has signaled the president is willing to narrow who gets them, sending checks only to low- and moderate-income families this time around.
Individuals with incomes up to $50,000 would get the full $1,400 payment. Heads of household earning up to $75,000 would also qualify, and married couples with earnings up to $100,000 would get a $2,800 payment. (Past stimulus checks were based off of “adjusted gross income,” and that is likely to be the same again).
Country music star TJ Osborne on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (screen capture) Following his public coming out on Wednesday, TJ Osborne of the country duo The Brothers Osborne beamed into The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about his decision, and how he feels in the afterglow of the love and support he’s received. Describing the experience as a “very emotional day,” Osborne explained he had really only come out to a very few family and friends before yesterday.
“I was asked ‘why do you have to do this?’ and I wish I didn’t have to. I kind of told myself for a long time ‘if everything is equal here and it’s not that big of a deal then why do I have to come out?’ And unfortunately it just isn’t that way.”
“And I got to this point where I knew there was never going to be a perfect time and honestly, now that I’m kind of behind it now – with coming out – it’s so wild to me to think that about the perfect time is always now.”
Like many folks who finally take the very personal step to share this very intimate part of their life, Osborne shared, “I instantaneously felt like I should have done this a long time ago.”
TJ, I hope you feel so supported today. It’s a brave thing to be wholly you in a world and industry that would rather you hide pieces of you behind a mask. #lgbtq#whollylovedhttps://t.co/KePZYq2gKB
Overcome with joy. He’s one of my best friends and one of the bravest people I know. Love you, TJ. Celebrating you today. https://t.co/5Wg5NKkObM // @brothersosborne
Pete Buttigieg sworn in as Transportation Secretary by Vice President Kamala Harris (photo: office of the Vice President) Some news items you might have missed: • Instagram: A day after his 86-13 confirmation vote in the Senate, Pete Buttigieg (above) was sworn in as Secretary of Transportation by Vice President Kamala Harris as husband Chasten Buttigieg held the bible. • Outsports: Josh Leafer was a high school athlete who threw parties and chased girls. But it was all a cover. So he started a TikTok account, @closeted_fratguy, asking, “Anyone else like totally straight but secretly gay?” Over the last year, Leafer has heard from hundreds of other secretly gay guys who were wondering the same thing. Oh – and he came out 🙂 • Out Music: British indie-pop band Pale Waves has released a deeply personal video for their latest single “She’s My Religion,” which features frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie and her life partner Kelsi Luck in a series of candid vignettes showing that even the most mundane moments can be transformative when paired with the right person.
“I wanted to give my fans a song to find themselves in,” Heather says of the intimate new video. “I wish I had a song like this when I was a young girl trying to find herself in the world.”
• Attitude Magazine: The new UK queer-centric drama series, It’s A Sin, has become one of Channel 4’s most successful shows ever since its launch last month. The series has already had 6.5 million views on All 4, making it the most-binged new series ever. Episode one has also become All 4’s most popular drama launch on record. • Quinnipiac Polls: Two weeks into the presidency of Joe Biden, a majority of Americans say, 61 – 34 percent, that they are generally optimistic about the next four years with Biden as president. • Politico: President Joe Biden traveled to the Capitol to pay tribute to Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick shortly after the ceremony began Tuesday night, briefly placing his hand on the urn in the center of the Capitol Rotunda, saying a prayer and sadly shaking his head as he observed a memorial wreath nearby.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to the Capitol last night to pay tribute to U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Sicknick died after defending the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. https://t.co/uXrihxNbK5
TJ Osborne (image via Brothers Osborne/Facebook) Since forming as a band in 2012, the Brothers Osborne have made a huge splash in the world of country music releasing seven country Top 40 singles and three studio albums. After scoring four CMA Awards and seven Grammy Award nominations, things have been going pretty great. But lead vocalist T.J. Osborne, 36, has grown weary of carrying a secret. So today, the country music star shared with his fans what his family and close friends have known for a long time. Today, TJ Osborne comes out as gay. From TIME Magazine:
In some respects, he says, coming out publicly is no big deal. “I’m very comfortable being gay,” he says later, in a quiet room at the office of his management company. “I find myself being guarded for not wanting to talk about something that I personally don’t have a problem with. That feels so strange.”
With this news, T.J. becomes the only openly gay artist signed to a major country label—a historic moment for the genre. He’s had predecessors, of course: Other openly queer artists, from Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile to masked cowboy Orville Peck to viral hitmaker Lil Nas X, have found success by integrating country influences into their genre-defying music, and country artists including Chely Wright and Billy Gilman have passionate fanbases.
But T.J. may be the first to come out with his feet so firmly planted in both the sound and machinery of mainstream country, in the full bloom of his career.
“People will ask, ‘Why does this even need to be talked about?’ and personally, I agree with that,” he says. “But for me to show up at an awards show with a man would be jaw-dropping to people. It wouldn’t be like, ‘Oh, cool!”
While I celebrate Osborne finally living as his authentic self, the article reveals painful parts of his life – “It was so lonely and isolating.” He also shares one of his favorite songs, “21 Summer,” was actually written about an early heartbreak that he couldn’t discuss with anyone. And he was reminded of that everytime he sang the tune in concert. “There are so many times I’ve sung that song and wanted to cry,” he says. “People love that song, but the emotion of it is deeper than they even realize.” Make sure you read the full piece at TIME. In addition to being an uplifting moment in someone’s life, the article itself is artfully written. And you can find more of my coverage of coming out stories on The Randy Report here.
Donald Trump may be gone from the White House, but political satirist Randy Rainbow is NOT hanging up his microphone. With his thumb on the political pulse of Washington, he offers up his timely take on Barbra Streisand’s timeless, “Evergreen,” from her 1976 film A Star Is Born. Streisand and co-creator Paul Williams took home that year’s Oscar for Best Original Song. Babs also scored the Song Of The Year trophy at the Grammy Awards for the track. But in this parody, Rainbow skewers QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. You can find my past coverage of Rainbow’s clever musical musings on The Randy Report here.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) House Democrats will hold a vote Thursday on whether to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from her committee assignments after Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) declined to do so. From the New York Times:
The House will vote on Thursday to strip Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments, a top Democrat announced, forcing congressional Republicans to take a public stand on the Georgia freshman who endorsed conspiracy theories and calls to execute Democratic politicians before she was elected.
House Democrats, incensed by a series of social media posts made by Ms. Greene before she won her seat in November, threatened earlier this week that they would take the unusual step of moving unilaterally to remove Ms. Greene from the education and budget committees if Republicans themselves did not take action. Party leaders generally have authority over who represents them on committees.
The resolution to remove Greene from her committee assignments only requires a simple majority vote. It’s worth noting that over in the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters the “loony lies and conspiracy theories” embraced by Greene represents a “cancer” on the Republican Party. For her part, Greene is digging in saying she has nothing to apologize for. In an interview with far-right loon Sebastian Gorka, Greene shrugged off responsibility for her statements.
“I was one of those Americans that was supposed to never get elected to Congress; the elites don’t want me here. I’ve never done drugs. I’ve never been arrested. The only thing bad I’ve done is probably gotten a speeding ticket.
“But you know what, just like every single other person, yeah, I have said things I shouldn’t say at some time or another, but I don’t think I have anything to apologize for.
“For refusing to believe Trump-Russian collusion conspiracy theories, and looking things up on the internet and asking questions about it on Facebook, big deal. Just because I posted things on Facebook back in 2018 doesn’t mean that I should be removed from my committees here in Congress.”
(image via The Golden Globe Awards) The nominations were announced Wednesday morning for the 78th Annual Golden Globes with a lot of trophy love for LGBTQ-themed entertainment. Following its sweep at the Emmy Awards, Schitt’s Creek was nominated for Best Musical/Comedy Series. The comedy’s four stars – including out actor/producer Dan Levy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and Annie Murphy – were also honored with nominations. Ryan Murphy’s The Prom scored a nod for Best Picture – Musical/Comedy. The Prom scored only one nomination in the acting categories – James Corden for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy. Corden received some backlash as a straight actor serving up an over-the-top performance as a gay man in the movie musical. I wasn’t a fan of the performance. Netflix’s Ratched was nominated for Best TV Series – Drama with queer leads Sarah Paulson and Cynthia Nixon garnering nominations as well, for the lead role as Mildred Ratchet for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama, the supporting role of Gwendolyn Briggs in Best Supporting Actress – Television, respectively. HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant, which has two major gay characters (one played by out actor T.R. Knight), was nominated for Best Musical/Comedy series. In the Best Supporting Actor – Television category, Jim Parsons was recognized for his work in Hollywood. Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama will see two heavy-hitting LGBTQ-centric performances competing against each other. Viola Davis for her star-turn as Ma Rainey in Netflix’s adaptation of playwright August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Andra Day’s richly-layered Billie Holiday in Hulu’s The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Both are worthy of the trophy. Onward, which featured Lena Waithe voicing a small queer role, was nominated for Best Picture – Animated. The Life Ahead and Two Of Us, both LGBTQ-themed movies, were nominated for Best Picture – Foreign Language. The Life Ahead, from Italy, features transgender actress Abril Zamora in a trans leading role. The French film Two of Us follows a love story between two older women. While not queer news, I applaud the history made in the Best Director — Motion Picture category. For the first time, three women have been nominated – Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), Chloé Zhao Nomadland) and Regina King (for One Night in Miami). #Applause Additionally, Norman Lear will be honored with the Carol Burnett Award, and Jane Fonda will be awarded this year’s Cecil B. DeMille Award. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will host the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards airing live on Sunday, Feb. 28 from 8-11 p.m. ET/5-8 p.m. PT on NBC. You can find the full list of nominations at GoldenGlobes.com.
Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: The Human Rights Campaign’s State Equality Index for 2020 measures the rights and protections each state has in place for LGBTQ+ individuals. Texas is ranked in the bottom category, and referred to as a “high priority to achieve basic equality.” • Dallas Voice: With more calls to expel QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from Congress for her wild conspiracy claims and more, here’s a break down of what it takes to expel a member of of the House or Senate plus some history of those who were expelled. • Twitter: If you’ve never watched the far-right leaning outlet Newsmax, all you need to know here is Dominion Voting Systems threatened to sue the online newser into oblivion if they continued airing baseless claims of ‘vote manipulation.’ Now hit the play button.
THIS is really something. If you’ve never watched Newsmax, here you go. Setup – all you need to know I’d Dominion Voting Systems threatened to sue Newsmax into oblivion if they aired baseless claims of vote manipulation. Now hit play. pic.twitter.com/pvSm65yemZ
• Raw Story: Moderate ‘Blue dog’ Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has told the media he will support President Biden’s coronavirus relief package even if Senate Democrats have to use ‘budget reconciliation’ (bypassing a 60-vote filibuster) to get there. Manchin’s vote is critical with the Senate’s current 50-50 makeup of Dems and Republicans. • AP News: Republicans in Georgia’s state Senate are moving to limit voting in future elections with bills that would restrict who can vote absentee by mail, require a photo ID for those who do vote absentee by mail, ban ballot drop boxes, block outside groups from sending out absentee ballot applications, end automatic voter registration when obtaining a driver’s license and ban new residents from voting in a runoff election. #votersuppression • CNBC: The Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday to lead the nation’s Department of Homeland Security, making him the first Latino to hold the role. The Senate voted 56 to 43.
Just now: Alejandro Mayorkas has been confirmed to serve as Biden’s secretary of Homeland Security in a 56-43 vote.
Lots of firsts here: – First Latino to lead DHS – First immigrant to lead DHS – First Senate-confirmed DHS secretary since April 2019 — Sabrina Rodríguez (@sabrod123) February 2, 2021
Former Hamilton police chief Gene Allmond (screen capture via WTVM) They thought the patrolman’s body cam was broken. It wasn’t.
A police chief and a patrolman from the town of Hamilton, Georgia, were fired after body cam footage showed the men making racist comments regarding slavery and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Police Chief Gene Allmond and patrolman John Brooks are seen on the body cam footage (captured last June) discussing a range of topics. At the time, they believed the body cam was defective.
Later, the camera was examined and found that the camera had merely run out of storage because it was full.
At one point, the recording shows Allmond and Brooks discussing then-candidate Joe Biden’s considering Mayor Bottoms and Stacey Abrams for his running mate. Officer Brooks says during the conversation, “If I had to f*ck a [n-word], I’d rather f*ck the mayor [Keisha Lance Bottoms] than Stacey Abrams.”
As the two began to prepare for patrolling a Black Lives Matter rally, the conversation shifted to slavery. Chief Allmond offers his thoughts on the subject: “They furnished them a house to live in, they furnished them clothes to put on their back, they furnished them food to put on their table, and all they had to do” was work.
At another point in the video, Mr. Brooks is discussing a recent police shooting and complains, “How come when you tase a f*cking [n-word] it’s like you done killed them 27 times?” Note – the six minute footage has been posted by local ABC News affiliate WTVM.
According to the New York Times, a city employee discovered the conversation while reviewing the footage. The employee contacted Buddy Walker, an assistant to Mayor Julie Brown, and eventually watched the footage with Ransom Farley, the mayor pro tempore.
Hamilton Mayor Pro-Tem Ransom Farley (screen capture)
In viewing the footage with Mr. Farley, who is Black, Mr. Walker, who is white, said, “To look at the video with him, to listen to someone he’s known for many years – my reaction was incredibly bad. You can imagine his reaction.”
Mr. Farley told the New York Times, “It hurts when you think you know somebody and you don’t.”
The mayor and City Council met on Monday, January 25, and everyone agreed they “knew what had to be done.”
Informed he had the option to resign or be fired, Mr. Brooks asked to see the video recording.
Mr. Walker told the New York Times, “He watched the entire video and then came in and told the mayor pro temp that he was sorry — that that was really not the way he was.”
“I’m not accepting your apology, because you’re sorry that you got caught,” Farley told Brooks. “You’re not sorry because of what you said.”
But Mr. Farley wasn’t done.
“I own the fact that I am Black and I am gay,” Mr. Farley continued. “If you’re a bigot, if you’re a racist, own it.”
#MicDrop
Both men agreed to resign, but when Mr. Brooks didn’t return his police department equipment on time, he was fired.
Speaking to the Times, Mr. Farley made a point to note that the two men weren’t done in because someone tried to entrap them.
“Nobody told on them,” said Mr. Farley. “They told on themselves.”
(screen capture) Several of the insurrectionists that stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6 are now using, as a legal defense, that they were just doing what Donald Trump told them to do Ruh-roh From The Hill:
Emanuel Jackson, 20, of D.C., who prosecutors say was seen on video punching a police officer and hitting others with a metal bat, is one of at least six people charged in the raid who are pinning at least some blame on Trump in their defense, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Brandi Harden, who is representing Jackson as he faces federal assault charges, wrote in a Jan. 22 court filing that “the nature and circumstances of this offense must be viewed through the lens of an event inspired by the President of the United States.”
The raid on the Capitol, she said, “appears to have been spontaneous and sparked by the statements made during the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally” held by Trump and his supporters earlier on Jan. 6.
Several more stories at the link including the so-called QAnon Shaman now claiming he was ‘duped’ by Trump. Read the full article here.
