Will Jardell and James Wallington on The Amazing Race (image via CBS) Not only did James Wallington and Will Jardell dominate this season of The Amazing Race, but the gay couple was first to cross the finish line and win the $1 million prize. Known as ‘the boyfriends’ in this season, the guys were able to beat brothers Riley and Maddison McKibbin, and married couple Hung Nguyen and Chee Lee to the winner’s platform located in the Superdome in New Orleans. And then…there might have been an emotional proposal.
In the clip, Will breaks down as he shares how his grandmother used to take him to Mardi Gras, James explains why he was surprised by Will’s marriage proposal, and they talk about wanting to adopt children. Hung and Chee arrived at the finish line second, with the McKibbin brothers coming in third. Congrats to James and Will!
(image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Fitness trainer Dominik Scherl (above) wants to know who’s been naughty and who’s been nice? 😉 • NY Times: Congressional leaders are on the verge of cementing a roughly $900 billion stimulus deal that is expected to provide a new round of direct payments to millions of Americans as well as additional unemployment benefits, food assistance and rental aid. • Twitter: After President-elect Joe Biden formally announced Pete Buttigieg today to be his pick for Transportation Secretary, Buttigieg shared his thoughts of a time when gay people had a much more difficult time making progress in Washington, D.C. With this nomination, Buttigieg could become the first LGBTQ cabinet appointee confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
I’m mindful of the history of this appointment, knowing this is the first time an American president has ever sent an openly LGBTQ cabinet appointee to the Senate for confirmation. pic.twitter.com/txVuqO4o59
• Washington Blade: As the Trump administration is nearing its end, federal agencies are hurriedly finalizing regulations granting leeway to religious institutions that are federal grantees and contractors, which critics say would enable anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Because these regulations went through a rule-making process, the Biden administration won’t be able to easily undo them. • KIT212: Kenneth takes a look at the popular podcast, Gayest Episode Ever, which looks at LGBTQ+ themed episodes from shows past, back when LGBTQ+ characters and storylines were rare and (often) done terribly. The podcast is not only touching, funny and smart, but it also provides insightful commentary on the evolution of queer representation, gay rights and how culture can both affect, and be affected by, what we see on TV. • The Advocate: The venerable queer magazine offers its list of the ‘Top 15 Best LGBTQ+ TV Shows of 2020.’ Hit the link to see if your favorite made their list. • Texas Tribune: A former Houston police captain was arrested after allegedly running an air conditioner technician off the road and threatening him at gunpoint on October 19 in an attempt to ‘prove’ the man had over 700K fake ballots. “There were no ballots in the truck,” according to a Harris County district attorney’s office press release. “It was filled with air conditioning parts and tools.” • InstaHunks II: One more from furry Santa man Dominik Sherl…
The men of Atlanta’s world-famous Swinging Richards want you to get your ‘pole to the polls’ and help ‘swing the Senate.’ As the guys spell out so vividly, Georgia will decide on January 5 which political party will control the U.S. Senate. So, if you live in the Peach State, make sure you vote in the runoff elections. Blah, blah, blah… On to the video and the guys 🙂
Tyler Oakley, one of the most well-known YouTube stars in the world, has shared with his millions of fans that he is taking a break from producing weekly videos for his channel. “I am just going to cut right to the chase,” Oakley said in a vlog post. “I have been making videos and uploading them every single Tuesday at noon for years and years and years. If you have been watching since I have been in college, I was 18 when I started, and I’m now 31.”
“I’ve never really taken a break and it’s now time for me to take a break,” Oakley added. “I’m going to be focusing on some other stuff that I’m really excited about, and I’m really ready to develop out and make into some fun new little things. I haven’t felt a fun, new little thing in a long long time.” Over the 13 years Oakley has been on the video platform he’s amassed over 7 million subscribers who have faithfully shown up for the young LGBTQ advocate as he shared various aspects of his life. In the video (titled ‘See Ya Later’), Oakley says he’ll definitely be back, but doesn’t name a specific date.
Tom Goss (image via screen capture) Out singer/songwriter Tom Goss shares this haunting new synth-pop single, “Irreplaceable.” Set in a frozen, bare landscape, Goss sings of tender devotion to the listener:
I know you fear, I know you doubt Your place, our love, tomorrow’s lightYou are irreplaceableYou are irreplaceable
Throughout, Goss trades places with a diverse set of friends and even his husband, Michael, in an exercise underscoring all of our individuality and uniqueness. Lovely.
On the other end of the emotional spectrum, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Tom has announced his 2021 calendar is now available. If the cover is any indication, you can check out Tom every day in the new year (roller skates, 70s shorts and all).
Trevor Wilkinson (screen capture) Texas high school senior Trevor Wilkinson was placed on in-school suspension (ISS) on November 30 after he showed up to school wearing nail polish. Nail polish, it turns out, violates his school’s dress code – but only if you’re male. According to Wilkinson, who attends Clyde High School in West Texas, he was told he would remain in suspension until he removed the nail polish. Wilkinson took to Twitter that day to protest writing, “Imagine your school not allowing boys to paint their nails and giving boys iss for it. And the whole administration being okay with it, homophobic and sexist? Welcome to west Texas.”
imagine your school not allowing boys to paint their nails and giving boys iss for it. and the whole administration being okay with it, homophobic and sexist? welcome to west texas🤠
Wilkinson’s story went national after he refused to remove the nail polish and instead launched a Change.org petition demanding that the school policy be changed. At this writing, over 336,000 people have signed the petition. “It is a complete double standard because girls are allowed to have any form of nails they want, and honestly they can express themselves in any way they want,” Wilkinson wrote on Change.org. “I am a gay male and I’m beyond proud. This is unjust and not okay.” Monday night, Wilkinson addressed the school board again asking them to amend the dress code. And yes, he was wearing his nail polish. He began by noting that the ACLU had sent letters to nearly 400 schools in September about school rules that might be discriminatory. Clyde High School was among those who received a letter. (image via Trevor Wilkinson) “With all due respect, there have been two times this issue could have been resolved,” he told the board. “Although frustrating, I know everything is not going to go my way. But this isn’t about me anymore – it’s about a discriminatory, sexist policy that needs to be changed.” “I got my education taken away from me for something as minor as painting my nails because it’s against the dress code,” he continued. “The question is why? Why is it against dress code for a man to be comfortable with his masculinity and defy the gender norms society has imposed on us?” “If it’s not harmful for girls to wear it, why is it harmful for males?” he added. Wilkinson also pointed out that making a rule about nail polish only applicable to male students was sexist. “Having a double standard like this only shows that Clyde doesn’t accept kids for who they are.” He also threw down some equality speak saying, “I understand that you guys have traditional values and I respect that, but to get respect you also have to give it.” “There’s a certain beauty in uniqueness and nobody should have that taken away. Diversity is what makes this country so beautiful.” He closed his remarks asking the school board to be “open-minded enough to accept and respect others for who they are.” Wilkinson addresses the school board at the 2:45 mark in the video footage from local ABC News affiliate KTXS. https://www.facebook.com/KTXSTelevision/videos/297445305014979 But it appears the school district will not be changing its dress code any time soon. Superintendent Kenny Berry issued a statement which read, in part, “The District will conduct a thorough review of its dress code when it performs its annual review of the Student Handbook.” There was no mention of when that annual review might take place. Berry went on to note that, until that time, “the District will assure that no student is treated in a discriminatory or inequitable manner.”
Donald Trump on 60 Minutes (screen capture) With basically no options to exploit further in regard to his failed reelection campaign, Donald Trump is now raging at his former media ally, Fox News Channel. “Can’t believe how badly @FoxNews is doing in the ratings,” wrote the Trumpster on Twitter. “They played right into the hands of the Radical Left Democrats, & now are floating in limboland. Hiring fired @donnabraziIe, and far worse, allowing endless negative and unedited commercials. @FoxNews is dead. Really Sad!”
Can’t believe how badly @FoxNews is doing in the ratings. They played right into the hands of the Radical Left Democrats, & now are floating in limboland. Hiring fired @donnabraziIe, and far worse, allowing endless negative and unedited commercials. @FoxNews is dead. Really Sad!
Perhaps the biggest difference between 2016 and 2020 is @FoxNews, despite the fact that I went from 63,000,000 Votes to 75,000,000 Votes, a record 12,000,000 Vote increase. Obama went down 3,000,000 Votes, and won. Rigged Election!!!
Riotron releases surprise holiday single, ‘Silent Night Angel’ (promo photo) Some news items you might have missed: • Instinct Magazine: Hungary’s parliament has voted to amend the country’s constitution defining families as ‘the mother is a woman, the father is a man.’ This effectively bans LGBTQ people from adopting since queer people cannot marry in the conservative nation. • NY Times: A day after the U.S. surpassed 300,000 deaths due to the coronavirus, the FDA has confirmed Moderna’s assessment that its vaccine had an efficacy rate of 94.1 percent in a trial of 30,000 people. With expected approval on Friday, six million doses could begin shipping across the country. • Christmas Music: Canadian retrowave pop artist Riotron (above photo) returns with a surprise holiday single titled “Silent Night Angel.” Riotron’s Jeff Fettes says, “For me, the holiday season is magical, but also intense and full of surprises. This is my version of a carol.”
• Ipsos Polling: New polling shows more than one in four Americans (27%) say they plan to get the vaccine as soon as it’s available, more than double the number that said the same in mid-September (13%). Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) trust the FDA to look out for the best interests of their family. • USA Today: A judge in Phoenix jettisoned a lawsuit claiming widespread election fraud in Arizona, saying the plaintiff had no standing to challenge the state’s election results because she was not registered to vote. • The Advocate: Mike Pence is being mocked for his exuberant entrance to a campaign event where he “prance-clapped” across a tarmac in order to stump for Georgia Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. It’s like he was just called down on The Price Is Right.
L-R Joe Biden, Pete ButtigiegReuters reports President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate Pete Buttigieg to serve as Secretary of Transportation in the upcoming administration. In choosing Buttigieg, Biden would be nominating the first openly gay man to a Cabinet position. If confirmed, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, would become the first LGBTQ Cabinet secretary to be approved by the U.S. Senate.
Mayor @PeteButtigieg is a leader, patriot, and problem-solver. He speaks to the best of who we are as a nation.
I am nominating him for Secretary of Transportation because he's equipped to take on the challenges at the intersection of jobs, infrastructure, equity, and climate.
A rising star in the Democratic Party, in 2020 Buttigieg won the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses becoming the first openly gay candidate of a major political party to win delegates in a White House bid. But when he saw no path to winning the Democratic nomination, Buttigieg ended his campaign and became a vociferous campaigner for Biden. During a March campaign event, Biden spoke warmly of Mayor Pete and compared him to his late son, Beau Biden. “I know that may not mean much to most people, but to me it’s the highest compliment I can give any man or woman,” said Biden at the time.
Before the 2020 election cycle, Buttigieg served two terms as the mayor of South Bend since 2012. While in office, Buttigieg deployed to Afghanistan as an intelligence officer in 2014. Earlier reports indicated the 38-year-old had been under consideration for several prominent posts in the Biden administration including U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Commerce Secretary and U.S. ambassador to China. The transportation job, though, would seem to be a good fit for the Rhodes Scholar who displayed a strong knack forwonkish facts and figures during the 2020 campaign. If confirmed, Buttigieg would oversee nearly 55,000 employees and a $90 billion budget for a department that oversees the funding of highways, transit systems, air traffic control and more.
Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement regarding Buttigieg’s nomination, “His voice as a champion for the LGBTQ community in the Cabinet room will help President-elect Biden build back our nation better, stronger and more equal than before.”
Biden campaigned on promises of new infrastructure projects like building new highways and bridges as good for the country and a way to create good paying jobs while balancing the impact on the environment.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (screen capture) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Tuesday finally acknowledged President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris on their White House win, one day after the electoral college affirmed the result in state capitals across the country. “As of this morning our country has officially a president-elect and a vice president-elect,” McConnell said Tuesday speaking on the Senate floor. “Many of us hoped that the presidential election would yield a different result, but our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in January 20.” “The electoral college has spoken. So today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.” “I also want to congratulate the vice president-elect, our colleague from California, Senator Harris,” added McConnell. “Beyond our differences, all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice president-elect for the very first time.” While Republicans are slowly nodding ‘Yes, there will be a new president in January,’ Donald Trump continues to deny the outcome. Early Tuesday, he tweeted, “This Fake Election can no longer stand.”
BREAKING: Senate Majority Leader McConnell: "The Electoral College has spoken … Today, I want to congratulate President-elect Biden." pic.twitter.com/lsAdel7rgd
Thank you Kevin. Many Trump votes were routed to Biden. The highly respected Michigan Judge released this epic report. True all over the Country. This Fake Election can no longer stand. Get moving Republicans. Big Swing State Win! 75,000,000 VOTES. https://t.co/0sodJFr80k
