Dawn Wells, who starred as “good girl” Mary Ann in the popular 1960s sitcom “Gilligan’s Island,” died Wednesday of causes related to COVID-19 in Los Angeles. She was 82.
Pig-tailed and attired in her ubiquitous dungarees or gingham dress, which is on display at the Hollywood Museum, the Mary Ann character was the girl-next-door to Tina Louise’s suggestive evening dress-clad Ginger, who was often subjected to leering comments from the male stars they were shipwrecked with on a tropical island after becoming stranded during a “three-hour tour.”
Louise, the last remaining member of the crew, said in a statement, “I was sad to learn of Dawn’s passing, I will always remember her kindness to me. We shared in creating a cultural landmark that has continued to bring comfort and smiles to people during this difficult time. I hope that people will remember her the way that I do – always with a smile on her face.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced there won’t be a vote for increasing stimulus checks to Americans to $2,000 because some might not need it. This was completely expected as McConnell has shown no interest in actually sending funds to Americans during the pandemic. Mind you, he had no problem handing out tax cuts for the wealthiest worth far, far more. From the New York Times:
Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, said on Wednesday that the chamber would not consider the issue of larger stimulus checks separately from two other demands issued by President Trump: the investigation of election security and the removal of legal protections for social media platforms. The decision all but dooms the effort to increase direct payments to $2,000.
“Here’s the deal: The Senate is not going to split apart the three issues that President Trump linked together just because Democrats are afraid to address two of them,” Mr. McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, said.
A stand-alone bill to increase the payments, he said, has “no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate.”
All of a sudden Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans are worried that someone in America might get a $2,000 check “who doesn’t need it.” Funny. They had no problem giving a $1.4 billion tax break to Charles Koch and his family with a net worth of $113 billion. What hypocrisy!
Bernie Sanders just stuffed Mitch McConnell in a locker. “Let me just make it clear for the majority leader — that 10 out of the poorest 25 counties in the US are located in Kentucky.” pic.twitter.com/EPm7jT5TSF
(screen capture via Instagram) Circuit gays from all over the world found themselves party-free on Tuesday night when officials in Rio de Janeiro shut down the Festa Revolution event due to violations regarding health guidelines regarding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Globo News reports that approximately 2,000 attendees were ejected from the Faro Beach Club when the fire department determined the event had not been approved. While the organizer’s website communicated that health protocols would be followed photos and videos shared on social media clearly showed hardly any face masks to be seen. And social distancing? Forget about it… The Instagram account GaysOverCovid, which shares posts of gay men ignoring COVID restrictions, posted video of the event in full swing followed by officials shutting the party down. The caption on Instagram read, “Revolution: ‘A sudden, complete, or marked change.’ The @revolutionparty in Rio got a revolution of their own tonight. Brazil ain’t playing. They Shut 👏🏻 It 👏🏻 Down. Now go home queens, and quarantine.”
GaysOverCovid also shared photos in their Instagram stories from the event posted throughout the day. As you can see in the pics, there’s hardly a face mask to be found and folks are seriously not social distancing. (screen capture) Folks on Twitter also had some opinions about the possible super-spreader event. One Twitter user shared video from a beach event with barely a face mask in sight. The clip was accompanied by the caption, “MY GOD! Look at CoronaFest that is happening THIS INSTANT in Rio !!! Revolution by Rosane Amaral. CARALEO, NO ONE WILL DO NADAAAAAAA ????”
Basically the Revolution party in Rio (gay pride) got shut down by the police. The organizers are upset because they are using covid as an excuse. Police Claim limited masks and no social distancing. https://t.co/auP7vJ507D
A notice on Festa Revolution’s Facebook page posted today shared with followers the organizers had been evaluating and studying COVID-19 statistics since March, and in October the rate of infections appeared to be heading downward (according to the statement). In light of that, at the time, the organizers hoped to hold their annual party. “However, due to the municipal decree published by the official city daily of the City of Rio de Janeiro on December 28, 2020 nº 48.322 in article 10, which provides that any license that was still pending authorization could no longer be issued, we have come to inform that the Revolution Party and The Original Brazilian Pool Party are temporarily DELAYED,” read the statement via Google Translate. Continuing, the organizers cited Law No. 14.046/2020, “which states that organizers are dismissed from immediately refunding the values paid by consumers for reservations or events, shows and shows not held, we will make available the value of the ticket purchased in the form of a CREDIT for use in event future to be booked up to 24 months after the end of public calamity state.” In related news, yesterday I reported about a similar event, White Party Puerto Vallarta, set to begin today. No word on if any changes in schedule have been made According to Globo News, Brazil has recorded 7,577,890 cases of coronavirus and 192,716 deaths from COVID-19. In the past 24 hours alone, 1,075 deaths were added to the mounting death toll. (source: Instagram)
Donald Trump called for the Republican governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, to resign from office today because Kemp wouldn’t attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. After counting the ballots three times in the Peach State, the results show President-elect Joe Biden won the state by 12,000 votes. Trump also tried to allege that some kind of conspiracy theory that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s brother works for China and somehow figures into the mix. By the way, did I mention Brad Raffensperger doesn’t have a brother? In related news, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports an audit of over 15,000 voter signatures from the election didn’t find a single fraudulent absentee ballot as Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed. The report by the Georgia secretary of state’s office released Tuesday. From the AJC: “There were 10 absentee ballots that had been accepted but voter signatures didn’t match or signatures were missing, according to the report. But agents from the GBI and investigators with the secretary of state’s office contacted those voters and confirmed they had submitted those ballots.”
Hearings from Atlanta on the Georgia Election overturn now being broadcast. Check it out. @OANN@newsmax and many more. @BrianKempGA should resign from office. He is an obstructionist who refuses to admit that we won Georgia, BIG! Also won the other Swing States.
…The consent decree signed by the “Secretary”, with the consent of Kemp, is perhaps even more poorly negotiated than the deal that John Kerry made with Iran. Now it turns out that Brad R’s brother works for China, and they definitely don’t want “Trump”. So disgusting! #MAGA
Read the Georgia Secretary of State’s report on the Cobb County signature audit that found one missing signature and one mistaken signature out of 15k. #gapol
Highlight: “no fraudulent absentee ballots were identified.” Story in the morning.
(image via jeffreysanker.com) As we come to the end of the deadliest month of the coronavirus pandemic, circuit party impresario Jeffrey Sanker is prepping White Party Puerto Vallarta to begin a week of New Year’s celebrations super spreader events nicknamed WPPV20/21. This might be a bad time to get infected with COVID-19. Vallarta Daily Newsreported on Christmas Day the Puerto Vallarta Regional Hospital is at 100% occupancy with COVID-19 patients. Additionally, the state of Jalisco has reached a 65% positivity rate in testing. Sanker’s official website states health and safety guidelines will be practiced including limited event capacity, temperature checks, and masks required for entry (bolding is mine). Does anyone have a feeling the masks will come off after entering the events? The promotional materials also read: “All state guidelines will be enforced for all guests.” (image via jeffreysanker.com) Speaking of guidelines, VisitPuertoVallarta.com recently announced that NEW guidelines are being implemented from December 25 – January 10, 2021 that include: • Suspension of bars and clubs in Puerto Vallarta at 19:00 hours (7 pm) • New Year’s parties and events will be suspended That last bit of information might come as a surprise to Sanker and company as his 10 pm event at Industry Nightclub (which Sanker apparently owns) on January 1 is already sold out. The other three events are being held at Mantamar Beach Club, which is at least outdoors. However, the December 30 event is announced to begin at 6 pm, so…an hour of party time? Some folks chimed in on Sanker’s Facebook page regarding the possibility of the events spreading the virus even more. (screen capture via Facebook) Sanker canceled the 2020 edition of his White Party Palm Springs earlier this year. I reached out to Sanker for any updates or changes being considered for White Party Puerto Vallarta in light of the new guidelines. No word back at this time.
(image via Depositphotos)The Washington Post reports the first known case in the United States of a person infected with the coronavirus variant has that has been circulating rapidly across much of the United Kingdom has been discovered in Colorado. Officials in the state believe the individual hasn’t had any close contacts but health authorities are conducting contact tracing interviews just in case.
Researchers have now detected the more transmissible variant in viral samples in at least 17 countries outside the United Kingdom, including as far away as Australia and South Korea, as of Tuesday afternoon. Officials in Canada had previously said they identified two cases, the first in North America.
In almost all instances. these cases have been in people who traveled from the United Kingdom, and there is no sign so far that the variant is spreading rapidly in these other countries, including the United States.
While the variant appears to spread more easily, it does not make people sicker or more likely to die, scientists in the United Kingdom reported late Monday.
The patient is a male in his 20s who is currently in isolation in Elbert County. He reportedly has no travel history, according to the tweet Gov. Jared Polis below.
Today we discovered Colorado’s first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, the same variant discovered in the UK. The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority and we will monitor this case, as well as all COVID-19 indicators, very closely. pic.twitter.com/fjyq7QhzBi
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a vote to increase the amount of stimulus checks to Americans to $2,000 after the House overwhelmingly approved the legislation yesterday. From the Washington Post:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday blocked consideration of a House bill that would deliver $2,000 stimulus payments to most Americans — spurning a request by President Trump even as more Senate Republicans voiced support for the dramatically larger checks.
McConnell’s move was just the beginning of a saga that is likely to engulf the Senate for the rest of the week. Democrats are pushing for an up-or-down vote on the House bill, while more Republicans acknowledge a need for larger stimulus checks.
Proponents include Georgia’s two embattled Republican senators — David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler — who find themselves in tough reelection battles that will decide the fate of the chamber next week.
The Donald was not pleased as he tweeted, “Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH!”
BREAKING: @SenSchumer just asked for unanimous consent for the Senate to pass the #CASHAct to increase direct payments from $600 to $2,000.
Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) just blocked a proposal from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for a vote on the House bill to increase direct payments to $2,000. pic.twitter.com/Ow5oC4vdhi
Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH! Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our Country, and don’t let the Democrats steal the Presidential Election. Get tough! https://t.co/GMotstu7OI
Walking Dead star Daniel Newman Some news items you might have missed: • Playbill: Billy Porter and Cyndi Lauper, who won Tony Awards for starring in and composing, respectively, the Tony-winning Kinky Boots, will reunite December 31 for a duet in Times Square on ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2021, which kicks off at 8 PM ET. • Gay City News: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation on December 23 making single-use restrooms statewide open to people of all genders. Under the “gender-neutral bathroom” law, all public spaces including restaurants, bars, and schools are required to remove sex-segregated signs like “male” and “female” from single-occupancy restrooms. • Apple TV+: After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake) returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam (Ryder Allen), an gender non-conforming boy from a troubled home who has trouble fitting in. Coming exclusively to Apple TV+ on January 29.
• Edge Media: Despite more than 1.3 million coronavirus cases throughout Mexico and upwards of 131,000 in the state of Jalisco — home to the bustling LGBTQ city of Puerto Vallarta — some gay party promoters intend to kick off 2021 with a bang that could potentially become the super spreader event of the season. White Party, we’re looking at you… • Reuters: Novavax Inc has begun a large late-stage study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, the drug developer said on Monday, after delaying the trial twice due to issues in scaling up the manufacturing process. Novavax lags behind other drugmakers in the global race for COVID-19 vaccine, with shots from Pfizer and Moderna authorized for emergency use in the United States. • OnlyFans: Openly bi Walking Dead star Daniel Newman (top image) has launched an OnlyFans account telling fans ” It will all be PG to maybe R-rated tho just warning you no X.” Click here to visit Newman’s OnlyFans account.
The House overwhelmingly approved $2,000 COVID relief checks for Americans today. From TIME:
The House voted overwhelmingly Monday to increase COVID-19 relief checks to $2,000, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger payments and sending the bill to the GOP-controlled Senate, where the outcome is highly uncertain.
Democrats led passage, 275-134, their majority favoring additional assistance, but dozens of Republicans suddenly joined in approval. While Democrats favored bigger checks, Congress had settled on smaller $600 payments in a compromise over the big year-end relief bill Trump reluctantly signed into law.
The president’s GOP allies opposed more spending and Trump’s push puts them in a difficult spot.
Over to you, Senate.
The $2,000 relief bill has passed the Democratic House, with 44 House Republicans also voting "yes."
This means there are surely enough votes for it to pass the Republican Senate, and it places great pressure on McConnell to allow a vote.
I will be joining @BernieSanders in blocking the defense bill until we get a vote on $2000 in direct cash relief. That relief passed in the House today with 44 Republicans voting for it. Senate Republicans must do the same and get the American people the help they need. https://t.co/gPbdiUZ4cf
A white woman assaulted a Black teen over a cellphone (screen capture) On Saturday, Grammy Award-winning jazz musician Keyon Harrold and his 14-year-old son were staying at the Arlo Soho in New York City when a woman (who had misplaced her cellphone) accused Harrold’s son of stealing her phone. Harrold shared a one-minute video on his Instagram account showing the woman becoming unhinged demanding that the hotel manager take the boy’s phone and give it to her. In the video, the hotel manager actually sides with the white woman and asked the teen to show his phone to the woman. As Harrold and his son were walking away from the ugly encounter, the woman tackled the 14-year-old in an effort to reach into his pockets. Minutes after the attack shown in the video an Uber driver dropped the woman’s phone off at the hotel. No, she did not apologize. Now, I ask you – imagine if a Black man tackled a white woman’s child over a cell phone? From Harrold’s Instagram post:
The lady in this video assaulted my 14-year-old son and me as we came down from our room in the @arlohotels Arlo Soho to get breakfast. This person quote on quote “lost” her iPhone, and apparently, my son magically acquired it, which merely ridiculous.
This incident went on for five more minutes, me protecting my son from this lunatic. She scratched me; she tackled and grabbed him. He is a child!!!
Now watch it again. This lady is not even a guest at the hotel. She checked out of the hotel on the 23rd of December; today is the 26th.
Now watch as the manager advocates for the lady who is not even a hotel guest, insisting and attempting to use his managerial authority to force my son to show his phone to this random lady. He actually empowered her!!! He didn’t even consider the fact we were actually the guests!
Now think about the trauma that my son now has to carry, only coming downstairs to have box day brunch with his dad.
Then… her phone was magically returned by an Uber driver a few minutes after this incident. No apology from her after this traumatic situation to my son, not me. No apologies from the establishment. This shit happens so often. It needs to stop!!!
Harrold told the New York Times on Sunday that it was clear his son had been racially profiled. “I wonder what would happen if it were different – if it were a Black woman and there was a white 14-year-old,” he said.
In Mr. Harrold’s video, the hotel manager can be seen identifying himself and asking the son to produce a cellphone, in an apparent attempt to verify the woman’s claim. But the manager had no reason to believe the woman, Mr. Harrold said.
“They assumed he was guilty,” Mr. Harrold said. “The management didn’t even question her as to why she would even think he had the phone.”
The woman has not been publicly identified. Both the police and the hotel declined to share a name, and Mr. Harrold said he did not know who she was or how to contact her.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan DA told NBC News that the office is “thoroughly investigating this incident.” I’d love to hear why – other than her apparent racism – she believed the teen had her phone.
Folks on Twitter also had some opinions about the possible super-spreader event. One Twitter user shared video from a beach event with barely a face mask in sight. The clip was accompanied by the caption, “MY GOD! Look at CoronaFest that is happening THIS INSTANT in Rio !!! Revolution by Rosane Amaral. CARALEO, NO ONE WILL DO NADAAAAAAA ????” 
