Author: Randy Slovacek

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GLAAD Announces Livestream Event ‘Together In Pride: You Are Not Alone’

GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, today announced that it will host “Together in Pride: You are Not Alone,” a livestream event on Sunday, April 26 at 8pm ET on GLAAD’s YouTube channel and Facebook Live. The event will highlight the LGBTQ response to COVID-19 and amplify messages of acceptance and affirmation to the LGBTQ community and people living with HIV during this unprecedented time. The livestream will raise funds for LGBTQ community centers that are members of CenterLink. GLAAD announced that Kesha and Melissa Etheridge will perform during the event, with special guests including Billy Eichner, Matt Bomer, Lilly Singh, Adam Lambert, Bebe Rexha, Dan Levy, Mj Rodriguez, Wilson Cruz, Kathy Griffin, Gigi Gorgeous, Nats Getty, Michelle Visage, Javier Muñoz, Sean Hayes, Sharon Stone, and Tatiana Maslany. The livestream event will feature performances, interviews, and video messages. More guests will be announced soon. Actor and producer Erich Bergen is creating the event with GLAAD. The “Together in Pride: You are Not Alone” livestream will also raise critical funds for CenterLink, a coalition of more than 250 LGBTQ community centers from 45 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, as well as Canada, China, Mexico, and Australia. CenterLink strengthens, supports, and connects LGBTQ community centers, which serve over 2 million people each year. Participating community centers will also share the livestream on their social platforms. Follow GLAAD on Twitter and Facebook for links to watch the event. (via press release)

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New York City’s Nightly 7PM Cheer In Tribute To Healthcare Workers, Essential Workers

(photo via Twitter user @forrest1175)
Since March 27, New Yorkers have taken part in a ritual of banging pots, applauding, screaming and making all kinds of noise in tribute to the healthcare workers, first responders and essential workers who put their lives on the line to save lives during the coronavirus health threat. Each night the “7PM Cheer” gets louder and more creative. God, I love NYers.

This past Sunday night, as the 7PM Cheer began to die down, a rainbow appeared over the city. At the same time, a man who apparently goes by the handle ‘John the Baptist’ ripped a tribute to Jimi Hendrix’s national anthem.

Via Gothamist (filmed by Rainer Turim and shared with Gothamist):

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2-Time Tony Award Winner Brian Dennehy Dead At 81

Brian Dennehy (photo: Justin Hoch)

Physically imposing, powerhouse actor Brian Dennehy has passed away at the age of 81 from natural causes.

From Variety:

Brian Dennehy, the winner of two Tonys in a career that also spanned films including “Tommy Boy,” “First Blood” and “Cocoon,” and television, died on Wednesday night in New Haven, Conn. He was 81.

“It is with heavy hearts we announce that our father, Brian passed away last night from natural causes, not Covid-related. Larger than life, generous to a fault, a proud and devoted father and grandfather, he will be missed by his wife Jennifer, family and many friends,” his daughter, actress Elizabeth Dennehy, tweeted on Thursday.

The imposingly tall, barrel-chested Dennehy won his first Tony for his performance as Willy Loman in a revival of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” in 1999 and his second Tony for his turn as James Tyrone in a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” in 2003.

Dennehy had a decades-long association with the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, where most of his explorations of O’Neill originated.

The production of “Death of a Salesman” that won Dennehy his first Tony originated at the Goodman, later went to the West End and was brought to the small screen on Showtime in 2000, resulting in an Emmy nomination for Dennehy as well as a SAG Award and a Golden Globe. The New York Times called it “the performance of his career.”

He is survived by second wife Jennifer Arnott, a costume designer, whom he married in 1988; three daughters by Scheff, actresses Elizabeth and Kathleen, and Deirdre; as well as son Cormac and daughter Sarah with Arnott.

I was captivated by Dennehy’s incredible performance in “Death of a Salesman” in 1999. I remember I walked out of the theater feeling like I’d been wrung out emotionally.

Rest in peace Brian Dennehy.

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News Round-Up: April 15, 2020

Daniel Newman (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Walking Dead star Daniel Newman (above) asks that you please forgive his “messy room.” • NPR: Despite pleas from cities across the state, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) has held out on issuing a statewide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But an outbreak of COVID-19 at Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls, S.D., has infected nearly 450 workers and caused the number of cases in the city to grow so quickly that the mayor, Paul TenHaken, calls it an explosion. • KIT212: Kenneth’s ‘Wrestle Wednesdays’ (below) certainly help brighten Hump Day. Find all of his WW posts here.
(via kenneth-in-the-212)
• Axios: Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said Wednesday he will be issuing an executive order requiring all New Yorkers to wear masks or face coverings in public situations in which social distancing is not possible. • Vox: Kentucky’s heavily Republican legislature voted Tuesday to require voters to show a government-issued photo ID, overriding Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto in the process. Meanwhile, all of the state’s offices that issue such IDs are….wait for it…closed. • NewNowNext: In the new film, Sublet, Michael (played John Benjamin Hickey), a New York Times travel writer, journeys to Tel Aviv after suffering a tragedy. The energy of the city, and his relationship with a younger man (played by Niv Nissim) who becomes his tour guide, brings him back to life. Director Eytan Fox shares a scene from the movie where Michael and Tomer meet on the beach in Tel Aviv after spending a few days together. “This sensual setting sparks real intimacy between them for the first time,” says Fox. “As these two men sit there, they open up to each other about matters of the heart—and soul.” The film was to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this year which, clearly, was canceled. No word on when the movie will be officially released but the scene below certainly sparks my interest.

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NY Times: Trump Accuses WHO ‘Of Making All The Mistakes He’s Made’

In an effort to diffuse the critiques of his slow and ineffective response to the COVID-19 threat, Donald Trump informed his administration he plans to stop U.S. funding for the World Health Organization saying the off-shoot of the United Nations was at fault for “severely mismanaging and covering up” the spread of the virus worldwide. From the New York Times:

“So much death has been caused by their mistakes,” the president told reporters during a White House briefing.

In effect, Mr. Trump was accusing the world’s leading health organization of making all of the mistakes that he has made since the virus first emerged in China and then spread rapidly. As of Tuesday, there had been about two million cases of the virus worldwide, and nearly 125,000 deaths. In the United States, there have been over 600,000 cases and 25,000 deaths from the virus.

The basis for the president’s anger at the W.H.O. was his contention that it was too quick to believe information about the virus coming from the Chinese government at a time when it should have been more critical. He said the W.H.O. “willingly took China’s assurances to face value” and “pushed China’s misinformation.”

But it was Mr. Trump himself who went out of his way to publicly and repeatedly praise the Chinese government for its handling of the virus at a time at the beginning of the year that his administration was negotiating a trade deal with China.

In March, Trump famously declared, “I don’t take any responsibility at all” for the coronavirus threat. Defending the decision on Fox News, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway embarrassingly declared, “This is COVID-19, not COVID-1 folks, and so you would think the people in charge of the World Health Organization, facts and figures, would be on top of that.” Apparently, no one told Kellyanne the “19” refers to the year 2019, the year the virus appeared. This isn’t the 19th version of the coronavirus. #smh

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Elizabeth Warren “I’m Proud To Endorse Joe Biden As President Of The US”

L-R Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (images via campaign sites)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president today via a video message. Noting that she hasn’t agreed 100% of the time with any lawmaker during her tenure in public life, Warren says she appreciates that when she and Biden haven’t seen eye-to-eye it’s evident he listens and hears other viewpoints. She also points out Biden’s ability to empathize with others in times of crisis, something many have noted Donald Trump severely lacks. “Empathy matters,” says Warren. “And, in this moment of crisis, it’s more important than ever that the next president restores Americans’ faith in good, effective government.” “Joe Biden has spent nearly his entire life in public service. He knows that a government run with integrity, competence, and heart will save lives and save livelihoods. And we can’t afford to let Donald Trump continue to endanger the lives and livelihoods of every American. That’s why I’m proud to endorse Joe Biden as president of the United States.”

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Arizona: Democrats Lead In Presidential & Senate Races By 9 Points

Mark Kelly (image via campaign website)
Good news from Arizona as a new survey by the Phoenix-based nonpartisan polling firm OH Predictive Insights shows retired astronaut Mark Kelly leading Sen. Martha McSally (R) by a 51 percent to 42 percent margin. In Maricopa County, the largest population center in the state, Kelly leads by 10 points. Additionally, more than two-thirds of Independent voters indicate they would support Kelly in the fall election. The same firm’s polling in March saw Kelly leading by a 7-point margin, 49 percent to 42 percent. McSally lost her Senate race in 2018 but was later appointed to serve the last two years of John McCain’s term after his passing. Arizona is probably the Democrats’ best bet to flipping a seat in the Senate to blue. The polling also portends good things for former Vice President Joe Biden. The survey found Biden leading Donald Trump among Arizona voters by a 52 percent to 43 percent margin. Should Biden win Arizona in November, he would be the first Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton to score Arizona’s electoral votes.

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Treasury Orders Trump’s Signature Printed On Stimulus Checks

Because nothing says “Vote for me” like a $1,200 check designed to look like it came from the Trumpster himself… From the Washington Post:

The Treasury Department has ordered President Trump’s name printed on stimulus checks the Internal Revenue Service is rushing to send to tens of millions of Americans, a process that could slow their delivery by a few days, senior IRS officials said.

The unprecedented decision, finalized late Monday, means that when recipients open the $1,200 paper checks the IRS is scheduled to begin sending to 70 million Americans in coming days, “President Donald J. Trump” will appear on the left side of the payment.

It will be the first time a president’s name appears on an IRS disbursement, whether a routine refund or one of the handful of checks the government has issued to taxpayers in recent decades either to stimulate a down economy or share the dividends of a strong one.

The Post goes on to note that standard practice is to have a civil servant sign checks from the federal government in order to avoid any appearance of partisanship.