Author: Randy Slovacek

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News Round-Up: July 8, 2020

Gustavo Naspolini (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Gustavo Naspolini (above) knows how to find his ‘post-beach/sunset light’ on the Rehoboth boardwalk. • Pink News: The Netherlands’ House of Representatives voted 124 to 26 in favor of a measure to amend the country’s constitution to add explicit protections based on sexual orientation. The measure now heads to the 75-seat upper chamber of the country’s Parliament. In 2001, the Netherlands was the first nation in the world to legalize marriage equality. • Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro, the virulently anti-LGBTQ leader of the South American country who recently tested positive for COVID-19, told aides and visitors to his office that “Wearing masks is a faggot thing.” • WHJL: Sonya Holt, the homophobic Tennessee resident who became a viral sensation after footage of her harassing a Black Lives Matter protester went viral, has lost her job over her hideous behavior. Among other things, video captured Holt telling a protester, “You’re a gay homosexual piece of crap who’s going to burn in hell.” • The Advocate: In a decision that has broad implications for LGBTQ+ workers, the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday ruled that federal anti-discrimination laws do not apply to teachers at church-sponsored schools if instruction in religion is part of their jobs. In recent years, there have been many teachers and other church employees fired for being LGBTQ+, often because they had married a same-sex partner. • Kenneth-in-the-212: Check out this deft parody of the now-infamous Corey Hannon, who took to the beaches of Fire Island this past weekend believing he had COVID-19. In a follow-up tweet, Chase shared that many of his followers on Twitter didn’t get the ‘parody’ part. LOL

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Shepard Smith Will Host One-Hour News Show On CNBC

Shepard Smith (screen capture)
Openly gay news anchor Shepard Smith, formerly of Fox News, has been announced to host a one-hour news telecast on CNBC at 7 pm ET beginning this fall. After 23 years at Fox News, Smith abruptly announced his departure from the conservative-leaning news outlet last October after being warned of criticizing both Donald Trump and his Fox News ally, Tucker Carlson. From CNBC:

The newscast, which will be called “The News with Shepard Smith,” is set to launch in the fall. Smith’s title will be chief general news anchor and chief breaking general news anchor.

Smith joins CNBC after spending 23 years at Fox News Channel, where he anchored “Shepard Smith Reporting,” “The Fox Report” and “Studio B.” He also served as chief news anchor of the network and managing editor of the breaking news division.

“I am honored to continue to pursue the truth, both for CNBC’s loyal viewers and for those who have been following my reporting for decades in good times and in bad,” Smith said in a press release.

CNBC Chairman Mark Hoffman said Smith has a track record of fact-driven storytelling.

“We aim to deliver a nightly program that, in some small way, looks for the signal in all the noise,” Hoffman said in the press release. “We’re thrilled that Shep, who’s built a career on an honest fight to find and report the facts, will continue his pursuit of the truth at CNBC.”

Dan Colarusso, CNBC’s senior vice president of business news, said Smith’s program aims to go beyond financial markets, “to tell rich, deeply reported stories across the entire landscape of global news.”

Smith casually came out during an interview with HuffPost in October 2016.

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Video: Black Woman Sits Under Tree, Church Suddenly Posts ‘No Trespassing’

(screen captures via TikTok)
A young woman sits down under a sheltering tree on the lawn of a church in North Hollywood, California. Because churches are welcoming and all that…right? Apparently not so much if you happen to be a young Black woman. TikTok user Thaddeus Shafer shared this video taken by his friend Alex, an actor and stunt woman in Los Angeles who’s appeared in films like Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. In the video, an elderly woman records the incident as a gentleman (who we’ll refer to as ‘Handyman Joe’ for this little post) is hanging a ‘No Trespassing’ sign on a tree. Please note he’s hanging it on the side of the tree NOT facing the street or sidewalk. “Did you go buy that just for me?” asks Alex. “Just for you,” replies Handyman Joe. “You know, we used to be real nice about it.” “You could still choose to be nice about it – you’re choosing not to be,” Alex points out. As he drills a hole in the side of the tree, Alex asks, “So, this is a precursor to you calling the cops?” “Yes,” says Handyman Joe. Just for clarity, Alex inquires, “So you’re willing to call the cops on someone sitting on the grass when there are clear crimes they could be taking care of?” “Yes, ma’am,” says Handyman Joe. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the issue of race comes up as Handyman Joe turns to declare, “All lives matter.” Even Joe’s assistant is a bit shook over the random remark.

@thaddeusshaferTomorrow I’ll try to hang out there as a white person minding my own business like Alex did and see what happens. Stay tuned.♬ Ride It – Regard

Out of respect for folks at the church who may not know this foolishness occurred, I won’t type the name here. However, I literally lived just down the street from this church when I first moved to Los Angeles. Over on reddit, folks found the situation to be pretty over-the-top ridiculous.

“Let’s drill a hole into our tree so we can install a no trespassing sign facing the building.”

“It was 100 percent targeting her specifically because it’s facing away from the street.”

“Unprompted, he blurted out ‘ALL lives matter!’ confirming that race was forefront in his mind. I’ll bet he’s been watching the demonstrations and riots and raging at his TV, and has been itching for an opportunity to confront one of those people.”

“One might think all Christians would embrace anyone chilling out on the church lawn and see it as chance to make a heart-felt connection to someone from the world community.”

In four hours, the post on Reddit has received over 25k upvotes and over 2.5k comments. What are your thoughts, readers? Was this a racist action? Do you think a white person would have been received in the same manner? Share your opinions in the comment section below. (source: reddit)  

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Another One: Tech CEO ‘Apologizes’ After Racist Rant Goes Viral

Michael Lofthouse (via screen capture)
Another crazy racist acts out with full knowledge of a camera recording his foolishness and ends up issuing an empty ‘apology.’ According to USA Today, Jordan Chan and her family were celebrating her aunt’s birthday Saturday when one patron, Michael Lofthouse, CEO of Solid8, LLC, a San Francisco cloud computing services company, began harassing the family from a nearby table.

Chan began recording Lofthouse as he continued harassing her family at Bernardus restaurant in Carmel Valley, California.

The video starts with Lofthouse flipping off Chan after she asked him to repeat what he’d said previously. People at the table can be heard saying “you need to leave.”

After getting up, Lofthouse then says, “You f—— need to leave! You f—— Asian piece of s—!”

A server, in frame, then immediately yells at him, “No, you do not talk to our guests like that. Get out of here.”

When confronted on social media after the incident, Lofthouse doubled down on his ugly behavior. And then, once busted by the news media, Lofthouse ‘apologized’ in a statement to ABC7:

My behavior in the video is appalling. This was clearly a moment where I lost control and made incredibly hurtful and divisive comments. I would like to deeply apologize to the Chan family. I can only imagine the stress and pain they feel. I was taught to respect people of all races, and I will take the time to reflect on my actions and work to better understand the inequality that so many of those around me face every day.

You have to wonder: Is Lofthouse mentally ill that he would have such enormous emotional mood swings? Or is this a case of the obvious – he got caught and wrote a hollow apology that ‘sounds like’ what he should say in order to save his butt?

 

View this post on Instagram

 

❗️❗️❗️SHARE THIS POST❗️❗️❗️ Trigger warning: Racism, Vulgar Language (FYI he had a LOT more to say after I stopped recording) This is the face of the man who relentlessly harassed my family and I completely UNPROVOKED, UNWARRANTED, and UNCONSCIONABLE. We were celebrating my tita’s birthday, literally just singing happy birthday to her and taking pictures, when this white supremacist starts yelling disgusting racist remarks at us. (“Fuck you Asians” “Go back to whatever fucking Asian country you’re from” “You don’t belong here”) It is no coincidence that this man has the audacity to showcase such blatant racism on the 4th of July. White supremacy has a notorious habit of masquerading as patriotism! The fact that Donald Trump is our president (i.e. THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD) gives racists a platform and amplifies voices of hate. The surfacing of racists is so prevalent right now, even in such an ethnically/culturally diverse and liberal state like California, because Trump HIMSELF uses his position to incite racial tension and to promote aggression towards POC, foreigners, and immigrants. We need change! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE VOTE THIS UPCOMING RE-ELECTION. PROTECT ALL PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF SKIN COLOR AND ETHNIC ORIGIN. ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

A post shared by @ jordanlizchan on

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News Round-Up: July 7, 2020

Craig Ramsay (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: New American citizen Craig Ramsay (above) has a message for his fellow citizens – “Wear a f**king mask, America🇺🇸” • Washington Post: A long-acting drug injected every two months is more effective at preventing HIV than the pills most commonly used by people at risk of acquiring the infection. The injectable drug cabotegravir (tested on more than 4,500 men and transgender women who have sex with men) proved to be even better than oral drug Truvada in blocking the virus. • Pink News: It only took around 240 mixed-sex couples across more than 16 years, but executives for the UK reality series Strictly Come Dancing are now allegedly considering not one, but two same-sex couples for the show’s upcoming season. • Boy Culture: Daniel Ryan Maples, a white insurance agent wearing a red ‘Running the World Since 1776′ shirt, lost his ever-lovin’ shit when asked by a fellow customer to wear a mask inside Costco. He approached the other customer aggressively, shouting the words that will follow him for the rest of his miserable life: ‘I Feel Threatened.’

• Indiana Lawyer: The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday former Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock and his campaign committee, Schock for Congress, are off the hook regarding the law firm’s unpaid legal bills totaling $159,946.37, plus interest. • Provincetown Reimagined: The gay mecca’s acclaimed international film celebration will present a modified festival with drive-in and virtual screenings running July 16-19, 2020. The Festival will kick off with two nights of screenings at the Wellfleet Drive-In including Mischa Richter’s documentary, I AM A TOWN, shot entirely in Provincetown; the 2020 Sundance hit, SAVE YOURSELVES!; and a special night hosted by John Waters with film titles announced soon. The Festival will also feature virtual screenings with selections curated to speak to this moment in time. • Twitter: Still no official word as to why RuPaul deleted his Twitter account and wiped his Instagram clean last week, but Twitter user @cheritaisrandom posits it might have something to do with several old photos of RuPaul dressed in Confederate flag attire, including a 2013 Instagram post that appears to be captioned, “The South will rise again!”.

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Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis, Megan Hilty & Cheyenne Jackson Join ‘Seth Concert Series’

Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis join Seth Rudetsky for virtual solo concert events
L-R Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis
Award-winning stars of the stage and screen Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis, Megan Hilty, and Cheyenne Jackson will join the line-up of talent slated to participate in The Seth Concert Series, the weekly virtual series based on Seth Rudetsky’s international Broadway series that began at The Art House in Provincetown. Each weekly show will premiere Sunday nights at 8PM EST with a second showing Mondays at 3PM EST for viewers in other time zones like the UK. Tickets are available at BroadwayWorld Events for $20.00 (early bird) and $25.00 each. Hosted by musical director and Sirius XM host Seth Rudetsky, the first virtual event took place on Sunday, May 31 and featured Tony Award-winning actress Kelli O’Hara. The series has since featured intimate conversations and incredible musical moments with Jeremy Jordan, Jessie Mueller, Lea Salonga, and Melissa Errico. Audra McDonald will be Seth’s guest this Sunday, July 12; Norm Lewis will appear on July 19, followed by Megan Hilty on July 26, and Cheyenne Jackson on August 2.

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Two Theaters Approved By Actors Equity To Resume Performances

Woman on stage in a play

Woman on stage in a play Theatermania reports that Actors Equity Association (AEA), the national labor union representing stage actors and stage managers, has approved two Massachusetts theaters to produce new productions in the very near future. Barrington Stage Company and Berkshire Theatre Group have both worked with AEA to move forward with their plans.

Barrington Stage Company is producing Harry Clarke, a one-man show that will employ two Equity members, a performer, and a stage manager. It begins performances in August.

Berkshire Theatre Group is mounting the musical Godspell, an outdoor production with a cast of about 10 and two stage managers.

Both theaters have agreed to safety features that include testing for Equity members and those who come in contact with them.

Other new measures to ensure the safety of workers and audiences: Berkshire Theatre Group, for example, will stage Godspell outdoors for 96 audience members.

Barrington Stage Company is using its indoor facilities but has removed seating, reducing its house capacity to 163 down from over 500. Patrons will be required to wear masks.

It also has committed to an isolated backstage area and regular electrostatic spraying to clean the facilities. Additional entrances and exits are also being built, and all performances will be intermissionless.

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Study Shows First HIV Patient ‘Cured’ Using Only Medications

For the first time, an HIV-positive patient has gone into long-term remission after being treated with a multi-drug cocktail raising hopes of a possible cure on the horizon. The patient, a 34-year-old Brazilian man diagnosed in 2012, was put on a three-drug regimen of antiretroviral therapy (ART) which was intensified with additional antiretrovirals plus  a skin cancer preventative called Nicotinamide, a water-soluble version of vitamin B3. Dr. Andrea Savarino, of the Instituto Superiore di Sanitá in Rome, Italy, explained the approach in a presentation to the UK organization AIDSmap prior to the 2020 International AIDS conference in San Francisco. The intensified treatment was stopped after 48 weeks and he returned to his normal three-drug regimen. In March 2019, he began a medically-supervised treatment interruption, stopping his antiretroviral therapy. His last tests (taken on June 22, 2020) show his viral load has remained undetectable, meaning he has maintained viral suppression for more than 65 weeks without antiretroviral medications. The patient’s HIV antibody tests also came back negative. “The virus did not rebound, the viral DNA was maintained negative,” Savarino said. “The antibody response decreased over time, if the antibody decreases, it is possible that the virus has stopped its repetition.”

(illustration of HIV cells)
While exciting news, Savarino cautions “the result is highly likely not to be reproducible,” describing these results as “preliminary.” He noted that four other patients were given the same regimen but HIV was not found to have been put in check in those individuals. The Brazilian patient is still being monitored to see if HIV has truly been eradicated from his system. Since the early 1980s, scientists have worked diligently to find a cure for HIV, which has infected more than 75 million people and killed almost 33 million since the AIDS epidemic began. Modern medications available today allow patients to control the virus and keep HIV in check, but Reuters reports there are an estimated 38 million people are currently living with HIV. There have been three prior reports of individuals apparently being ‘functionally cured’ (long-term remission) of HIV, but those cases were the result of complicated, invasive bone marrow transplants. All three received transplants from donors with a mutated gene for the CCR5 protein found on white blood cells. While HIV relies on the protein to enter the cells, the mutated version apparently blocks the virus from attaching to those cells. (source: Reuters, AIDSmap)

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Lincoln Project Ad ‘Whispers’ Trump’s Got A Loyalty Problem

The latest attack ad from the anti-Donald Trump conservative group, The Lincoln Project, puts the focus on the Donald's infamous insecurities.
(screen capture)
The latest campaign ad from the anti-Trump conservative group, The Lincoln Project, puts the focus on Donald Trump’s infamous insecurities believing a traitor is around every corner of the White House. Titled ‘Whispers’, it’s pretty clear The Lincoln Project’s psychological warfare game is on point. You could say this spot is aimed at an audience of one.

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Racist Warning: Keep Your Husband & Kids Well Behaved, No One Is Interested In Your ‘Struggles’

An interracial family in Raleigh, NC, received a threatening racist letter (screen capture)
  An interracial family living in a north Raleigh neighborhood shared with local news station WRAL an unsigned letter warning against posting any signs in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The note read:

“Before you think about putting any signage up in your yard, or if you had any idea about making a public statement on your property regarding George Floyd or racism, please remember that the rest of us live in an upscale neighborhood and have spent the extra money to stay out of mixed neighborhoods and/or the ghetto.

“No one wants trouble or any circumstance arising which could turn our neighborhood into a “semi-ghetto.” Please keep your husband and teenage kids well behaved and orderly because no one is interested in your or their “struggles.”

Keep matters inside your own house and do your best to keep this area upscale and free of that element. Most of us would not hesitate to call the police if your kids or husband gets unruly, so please be considerate of everyone else living amongst you.”

“Free of that element…” The letter was signed without a name but expressed “sincere gratitude.”

(screen capture via WRAL)
The family declined to appear on-camera but several neighbors spoke to WRAL regarding the ugliness of the missive. Kate Pirrung, a neighbor in the Wakefield Plantation neighborhood told WRAL, “I was horrified, appalled, disappointed…sad.” “I couldn’t believe that someone in my neighborhood – that close to me – would have written something so mean,” said neighbor Marianna Morin. Neighbor Armand Morin pointed to the implicit threat in the note. “In the end, underneath all the context, it was a threat: Don’t do this. We’ll report you. We’ll send people over to your house – the police in this particular incident,” said Armand. In response to the note, the family sent out copies to all of their neighbors along with a message of their own. “If you did not write this letter, we wanted you to be aware of what has happened in our neighborhood,” the family wrote. “If you are the person that wrote this letter, we will not be intimidated by your cowardly act and ignorance. We are happy to have a discussion regarding love, respect and racism if your have the courage.” “Something has to change,” Pirrung said. “We are all God’s children. What happened to love thy neighbor, treat each other with respect and kindness?” “It’s not just in the city,” said Marianna Morin of the explicit racism. “It’s not just in the streets. It’s in this neighborhood.” The family issued a public statement regarding the letter to WRAL. “We want to acknowledge that this letter does not compare to some of the more dire circumstances many people find themselves in on a regular basis due to bigotry,” wrote the family. “However, it was shocking and ignorant.” “The outrage, support and kind words expressed to us by so many in our community have overpowered the hate expressed from the one person who wrote the letter,” they continued. “Our hope is for this to inspire respectful conversations and courageous self-examination about bias and racism.” “To the person who wrote the letter, we pray for your heart to be released from bitterness and filled with understanding and compassion for others,” the family added. “Black lives do matter.” You can watch the report from WRAL below.