Author: Randy Slovacek

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Trump Breaks Silence, Defends Russia From Cyber Hacking, Lies About Election Loss (Again)

Donald Trump in the Oval Office (image: public domain)
After days of silence, while the U.S. continued to battle with daily COVID-19 deaths exceeding 3,000 per day and the news of a massive cyber spy campaign against the country, Donald Trump finally emerged from his solitude to downplay any role Russia might have had in the attack. The intrusions into federal agencies reportedly included the State Department, the Treasury, Homeland Security, Energy and Commerce Departments, as well the National Institutes of Health. Even though Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told conservative pundit Mark Levin on Friday that Moscow is responsible for the computer hacks – “This was a very significant effort, and I think it’s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity” – Trump continues to defend Russia and its leader, President Vladimir Putin. Trump tweeted this morning that he has been “fully briefed” on the incident (I’d hope so) and deflected responsibility from Russia by suggesting “it may be China.” Tagging Pompeo, Trump tamped down concerns writing, “The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control.” He then careened back to his baseless claims that he won the presidential election (he didn’t) by suggesting cyber hackers might have “hit on our ridiculous voting machines during the election.” Factcheck: Trump’s own cyber experts at the Department of Homeland Security have guaranteed no voting apparatus was infiltrated during the election.

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FDA Approves Moderna Vaccine For COVID-19

(photo: Daniel Schludi/Unsplash)
The FDA has approved the coronavirus vaccine from Moderna for emergency use. From CNBC:

The vaccine — the second approved for use in the U.S. behind Pfizer and BioNTech’s — bolsters the U.S. supply of doses. The potentially life-saving shots are desperately needed to fend off the pandemic that has taken more than 300,000 American lives and overwhelmed hospitals.

The FDA’s emergency use authorization Friday approves the federal government’s plan to distribute roughly 5.9 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine to 64 states, territories and major cities across the nation next week.

“We likely will see shots in the arm by the very early part of next week, I would hope Monday or Tuesday,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on the “Today” show on Friday morning.

At this writing, there have been 17,459,296 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. with 313,588 American deaths.

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News Round-Up: December 18, 2020

Bremen Menelli (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • Men’s Variety: With gyms closing in parts of the country due to COVID-19, here are 10 tips on how to exercise outside this winter during the pandemic – although InstaHunk Bremen Menelli (above) seems to have it figured out 😉 • Gay Star News: After a seven-year campaign, Switzerland’s parliament has passed the final vote on same-sex marriage, making the central European country the 29th country in the world to approve marriage equality. • KIT212: Kenneth round’s up the what’s what in LGBTQ publications each week like this issue of Dallas Voice. • LGBTQ Nation: A 17-year-old transgender girl died by suicide earlier this week, just days after she was humiliated by a school administrator for wearing a skirt. • OMG Blog: The brainless bombshell known as the bimbo is one of our most familiar tropes, but recently, a new brand of halfwit hottie has been gaining recognition. Enter the himbo. Like their bimbo counterparts, the requirements for a himbo are simple: They’re hot, kind… and not too bright.

• The Advocate: A gay couple in Eureka, California, woke up to find their Christmas decorations had been ripped down, torn, and smeared with feces. The local police chief has announced that, if found, the perpetrator will be charged with a hate crime. • Metro Weekly: A federal judge has ordered the state of Wisconsin to provide a transgender inmate with gender confirmation surgery to treat her gender dysphoria. Although she was permitted to receive hormone treatments, counseling, and even allowed to wear some women’s clothing, she was denied gender confirmation surgery after requesting it in 2013. • NBC News: A Republican committee in Virginia unanimously passed a resolution censuring Rep. Denver Riggleman, R-Va., saying he betrayed the party’s values when he officiated a same-sex wedding in 2019.

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Axios: Trump Could Issue ‘Wave Of Pardons’ Today

Donald Trump (photo: public domain)
Axios reports there could be a flurry of presidential pardons issued today by Donald Trump.

Trump has been considering pardons for friends and allies, as Axios reported, interrupting conversations with associates to spontaneously suggest he add them to his pardon list. He already pardoned his former national security advisor Michael Flynn.

Sen. Rand Paul called on Trump to pardon Edward Snowden in an article for The Federalist on Thursday. A source with direct knowledge of the planning said they did not expect Trump to follow through with a Snowden pardon.

Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are said to be in the mix for consideration.

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Early Voting In Georgia Runoff Breaking Records

A prosecutor in Georgia is reportedly in the early stages of investigating Donald Trump for attempting to overturn the election results in the state

According to The Hill, the folks in Georgia are fired up and showing up to vote in the upcoming runoff election for two U.S. Senators that will decide who controls the Senate in the next year.

Roughly 168,000 Georgians went to the polls on Monday, the first day to vote early in-person in the state’s two critical Senate runoff elections, according to numbers provided by the Georgia secretary of state’s office. By comparison, some 128,000 voted on the first day of early voting for the November general election.

Another 314,000 people cast absentee ballots on the first day of the early-voting period. 

The first-day early in-person turnout broke a record previously set in October when early in-person voting began for the 2020 general election.

Georgia doesn’t break down early voting by political party, so not sure if these are Democrats or Republicans, or both showing up. The U.S. Elections Project reports 24,000 voters who did not take part in the general election have cast ballots in the runoff election so far.

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News Round-Up: December 17, 2020

Austin Wolf scored at the 3rd annual PornHub Awards (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • OUT: Adult entertainment giant Pornhub held its third annual awards last night. The winners are decided by real data (based on what users searched, viewed, and sought after the most this year) from PornHub.com, which according to its website brings in over 140 million daily visitors and over 55 billion searches. Among the winners was Austin Wolf (above) who scored as ‘Top Daddy Performer’ of the year. • Boy Culture: Patti LaBelle’s gay Trumper nephew made headlines when he became involved in a deeply weird online mystery, in which he was apparently tweeting on behalf of a white Republican. Miss Patti had some words with her nephew. • LGBTQ Nation: Federal judge slaps down an Ohio law that bans transgender people from correcting birth certificates. Score one for the good guys! • Instinct Magazine: Josh Brolin is breaking the internet with his birthday suit photo. • TMZ: Atlantic City is auctioning off the opportunity of demolishing the long-closed, decaying Trump Casino. • The Advocate: Legendary gay actor Sir Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings, X-Men movies) is among the latest to get the new vaccine for the COVID-19 virus. The 81-year-old star said he’s feeling “euphoric” after getting his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. “I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone.”

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FDA Advisers Give Thumbs Up To Moderna Vaccine

New York state is about to drop its face mask mandate as COVID-19 cases continue to drop in the Empire State.

Excellent news! An FDA advisory committee has recommended approving the coronavirus from Moderna for use in the fight against COVID-19. From the Washington Post:

Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine got the greenlight from a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee Thursday, paving the way for authorization of a second shot aimed at slowing a pandemic that has killed nearly 310,000 people in the United States.

The panel voted that the benefits of the highly effective vaccine outweighed its risks for people individuals 18 years of age and older.

The FDA plans to authorize the vaccine Friday, according to knowledgeable individuals who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the schedule.

Gen. Gustave F. Perna, who is leading the federal effort in getting vaccine shipments out to states, has already prepped his team to ship nearly 6 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to 3,285 locations in the first week upon approval.

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Christmas Music: Billy Porter “O Holy Night”

A little Throwback Thursday action here as Tony/Emmy/Grammy Award-winner Billy Porter (Kinky Boots, Pose) delivers a powerhouse performance of “O Holy Night” for the holiday CD, A Rosie Christmas.

This clip is from a TV special Rosie O’Donnell hosted December 5, 1999, at Broadway’s Longacre Theater which also included Trisha Yearwood, Celine Dion, ‘NSYNC and Gloria Estefan. Porter’s holiday season is certainly merry and bright as he’s currently shooting season 3 of his hit series Pose, and will be co-hosting Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest on December 31. Watch him wail below. Merry merry, folks.

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Trump Supporting Baby Gay Malfunctioning, Needs To Be Returned

Christian Walker says he not a "gay conservative." He's just "conservative."

Christian Walker (screen captures via Twitter)
Comedian Kathy Griffin clapped back at little Christian Walker, son of former NFL player Herschel Walker, for his rather deranged rant on Twitter telling people to chill because “this isn’t over yet” and the Donald will somehow continue to be president after Congress meets on January 6. Walker, who’s biggest claim to fame is apparently having been a ‘Spirit of Texas Royalty’ cheerleader (???), seems to find some consolation that a handful of states that Joe Biden flipped to blue have some crazed loons who ‘elected’ their own slate of Trump-supporting electors. Said loons hope that Congress might count their electoral votes instead of the official electors, or at least muddy the waters for Congress.

Here’s the official deal – Section 4 of the Electoral Count Act of 1887 dictates that the votes counted and certified during the meeting of the Electoral College stand. They cannot be changed between now and January 6. IF there are two sets of electors, both houses of Congress decide separately which is the legal ‘will of the people’ slate of electors. If the (GOP-controlled) Senate and the (Democratic-controlled) House cannot agree, “the votes of the electors whose appointment has been certified by the executive of the State, under the seal thereof, shall be counted.” Those would be the electors who have been signed off by the governor of each state. Those electors total 306 for Joe Biden. Done. After the young gay’s misguided remarks, Griffin intoned fellow gay icons Bette Midler, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé wondering, “Ladies, how could we let this happen? HOW?”

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Trump Threatens To Not Leave White House On Inauguration Day

Donald Trump

Donald Trump (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr – CC License)
With the Electoral College affirming the results of the 2020 presidential election this week, followed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recognizing President-elect Joe Biden as the winner, one might think Donald Trump would begin to accept the reality that his time in the White House is coming to an end. But…no. From CNN:

Yet even amid the intractable movement of the transition and the hurried lame-duck activity — some of which he is participating in himself — Trump is steadfastly refusing to acknowledge that he lost.

In his moments of deepest denial, Trump has told some advisers that he will refuse to leave the White House on Inauguration Day, only to be walked down from that ledge. The possibility has alarmed some aides, but few believe Trump will actually follow through.

“He’s throwing a f***ing temper tantrum,” an adviser said. “He’s going to leave. He’s just lashing out.”

The White House declined to comment for this report.