Author: Randy Slovacek

Posted on

Podcast: Chatting With Journalist, Recording Artist & Red Carpet Ninja Corey Andrew

The Randy Report podcast delivers the week's top stories in a quick, convenient podcast - 'the 60 Minutes of gay news - only shorter'

Join me as I chat with my Instinct Magazine colleague, Corey Andrew. In addition to the terrific writing Corey contributes to Instinct, he also has an international music career as an accomplished singer/songwriter and producer with songs that have been streamed over a million times. Continue reading “Podcast: Chatting With Journalist, Recording Artist & Red Carpet Ninja Corey Andrew”

Posted on

InstaHunk Round-Up: Weekend Edition

Ignacio Pérez Rey

Checking in with the Hunks of InstaLand.

First up – a rare photo of hunky Ignacio Pérez Rey NOT on a beach (above).

Next, Matthew Camp shows off his buffed up biceps:

Fitness trainer Austin Martin flexed for the camera while zip-lining through the trees in St. Lucia:

Fitness buff and renaissance man Phillip Evelyn II (Modello9) proves not EVERY photo he takes is too serious:

America’s Got Talent alum Brian Justin Crum showed pride in his cactus:

A post shared by BrianJustinCrum (@brianjustincrum) on Aug 15, 2019 at 10:35am PDT

America’s Next Top Model / Dancing with the Stars champ and Deaf activist Nyle DiMarco deadpans that he “loves when the morning birds sing…”

A post shared by Nyle DiMarco (@nyledimarco) on Aug 18, 2019 at 9:21am PDT

‘Beef’-y Joel Buck was on the menu at Fire Island:

A post shared by Joel Buck (@joel_buck) on Aug 7, 2019 at 11:19am PDT

Handsome sax man Dave Koz is jazzed about headlining tonight’s Smooth Summer Jazz concert at the iconic Hollywood Bowl tonight:

Fitness guru Ramses Principe (looking snack AF) is waxing wise today: “Character cannot be develop in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthen, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

And a ‘cute but muddy’ Max Emerson took a break from biking in Inyo National Forest:

A post shared by Max Emerson (@maxisms) on Aug 18, 2019 at 12:38pm PDT

Posted on

Out NY Candidate Targeted With Fake Ad & Suggestive Innuendo

Opponents of an openly gay candidate for Town Justice in upstate New York apparently tried to smear him using a suggestive photo from more than a decade ago and included innuendo regarding his work with YMCA youth.
Justin Carroll (image via Facebook)

Opponents of an openly gay candidate for Town Justice in upstate New York apparently tried to smear him with a fake campaign ad using a suggestive photo from more than a decade ago and included innuendo regarding his work with YMCA youth.

Complete with rainbow letters spelling ‘Pride’ at the top of the page, the text of the ad stresses Justin Carroll’s sexuality, his husband, the possibility of being the first LGBTQ Town Justice in his town of Clinton, New York and more, according to Metro Weekly.

“Justin, a bankruptcy lawyer in NYC, recently relocated to Clinton with his husband Adam Lynch,” the flyer reads. “Among his accomplishments, Justin has been recognized as one of the country’s ‘Best LGBT Lawyers under 40.’ He sits on various boards and committees while working with youth at the YMCA.”

(click image to enlarge)

The text also mentions The Victory Fund, which helps openly LGBTQ candidates get elected to public office and has endorsed Carroll’s candidacy. The ad underscores TVF’s endorsement and Carroll’s sexual orientation: “Justin will be the first openly LGBTQ elected official for the Town of Clinton.”

The ad also used a photo of Carroll from 2005 when he was a 24-year-old ‘cover boy’ for Metro Weekly.

Carroll told Metro Weekly he learned of the flyer when it was forwarded to him after it was posted to the Facebook page of the Hudson Valley News.

The news outlet eventually posted a retraction after the editor realized the ad was submitted via a fake email address.

“At first I thought the ad was just kind of laughable how amateurish it was, given the sophisticated nature of my campaign,” Carroll told Metro Weekly. “Second, it was disheartening, to think about that coming from this community where I’ve moved with my husband.”

“We’ve been living here for almost five years. It’s our full-time residence, it’s our only residence,” says Carroll. “We moved up here to raise a family. It reminds us of the places where we grew up, in Connecticut and Oregon. We’ve had the most wonderful interactions with our neighbors over the past five years and are familiar with all the local establishments.”

The 37-year-old also noted that the ad seemed “to weaponize my coming out story and things that I’m proud of, but with these nefarious undertones of ‘these people are invading our town and maybe they shouldn’t be left around children.'”

“That’s a disgusting sentiment, and it has no place in our public discourse,” he says.

Posted on

Jeffrey Epstein Purchased Women’s Underwear While In Jail?

The Miami Herald continues its investigative reporting on now-deceased accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Today's odd reveal is that during his leisure lock-up time in jail a decade ago, he purchased two pairs of small women's panties from the jail's store?
Jeffrey Epstein (mug shot)

The Miami Herald continues its investigative reporting on now-deceased accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Today’s odd reveal is that during his leisure lock-up time in jail a decade ago, he purchased two pairs of small women’s panties from the jail’s store?

Umm…

It was just one of thousands of dollars of purchases made by the disgraced financier while in jail after pleading guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for sex, according to a purchase log. (His top purchase was single-serve cups of coffee, of which he bought more than 800 in 13 months.)

But the panties raise questions about why a childless male inmate, accused of sexually abusing girls as young as 14, would be allowed to buy female undergarments so small that they wouldn’t fit an average-sized adult woman.

The panties were certainly too small for Epstein, who also purchased his briefs in men’s medium and sweatshirts ranging from XL to 3XL, and size-12 shoes. So what, or who, were they for, and why wouldn’t the purchase raise eyebrows under the circumstances?

Posted on

Seaside Town To Install ‘Anti-Sex’ Public Bathrooms

The town of Porthcawl in Wales plans to spend around $200K (£170,000) to install 'anti-sex' public toilets.
(Credit: Porthcawl Town Council)

The town of Porthcawl in Wales plans to spend around $200K (£170,000) to install ‘anti-sex’ public toilets.

From The Guardian:

Violent movement sensors would automatically open the doors and sound high-pitched alarms, with fine water jets soaking the interior. Weight-sensitive floors would ensure only one user could be in a cubicle at a time, to safeguard against “inappropriate sexual activity and vandalism”.

Porthcawl town council is spending £170,000 on the futuristic toilets in Griffin Park, according to WalesOnline. The planning documents detail a range of security features to deter rough sleeping, including an audible warning, combined with lights and heating being switched off.

All toilets would be fitted with a full high-pressure floor and wall washer which could be operated after every use, or after a certain number of users per day. Each night the toilets would close for 10 minutes while the unit undertakes a deep clean.

As The Guardian notes, some folks wonder what the baseline weight would be before tripping the alarms and water jets…?

(image via Gerald England is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Posted on

‘Bachelorette’ Alum: Teaching LGBTQ History To Kids Is ‘Waste’ Of Tax Dollars

James McCoy Taylor (screen captures via Twitter)

A former reality-TV personality took to Twitter recently to explain why he opposes teaching the accomplishments of LGBTQ people in schools.

James McCoy Taylor, who apparently came in 5th in the 12th season of The Bachelorette (2016), recently told his Twitter followers that he finds the idea to be a “waste” of tax dollars.

This was apparently sparked by a new law in Illinois that will require public schools to include the accomplishments of LGBTQ people in history classes beginning with the 2020-21 school year. The legislation was supported by over 40 education and civil rights groups in the state.

Illinois joins California, New Jersey, and Colorado in adding LGBTQ accomplishments to U.S. history studies in public schools.

Contrast that with the six states – Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas – which have laws prohibiting the “promotion of homosexuality.” Often known as “no pro homo” laws, they prohibit schools from teaching LGBTQ topics in a positive light, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Taylor began with a tweet saying instead of history classes being taught about LGBTQ contributions, instructions in stock market investments would be a better use of tax-payer dollars.

And, of course, he prefaced it all by saying his comment wasn’t “from any kind of hate standpoint.”

I’m sure he has black friends, too…

Taylor clapped back at openly gay Walking Dead actor Daniel Newman trying to laugh off the whole thing saying the ‘love is love’ crowd turns into haters when they have a different viewpoint.

What’s funny here is, after saying teaching students about the contributions of LGBTQ people is a “waste of tax dollars” and getting push back, he posted an ‘aw shucks’ video saying, “Twitter, you cannot take my smile…”

Is this where I should mention Taylor is a big Trump supporter? Quel surprise…

Mr. Taylor – if you’re going to put your opinions out in the public square, man up and be open to possibly learning something. Disagreement doesn’t make someone a ‘troll.’

But, Taylor wasn’t done with the stupid just yet. He had to come back a few days later with this:

By this flawed logic, with the Jewish population of the U.S. being estimated at between 1.4-1.8%, does that mean we shouldn’t teach kids about the Holocaust?

But put that aside.

As TONS of people pointed on on Twitter, the LGBTQ community intersects with all these demographics: women, African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans. Race and sex are not sexual orientation. #duh

Also – Taylor says he’s ‘in Texas.’ I don’t know if he lives there or visiting…but here’s the thing.

I was born and raised in Texas. I graduated from the public school system there in 1981.

In high school, I learned about the fight for women’s rights, suffragettes, Seneca Falls, and the 19th Amendment.

I learned about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Civil War, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Jim Crow laws.

I learned how Latinos helped Texas win independence, who Sylvia Mendez was, and how Puerto Rico became part of the U.S.

I learned about Japanese internment camps during WWII.

So, when Taylor talks about “waiting in line,” does he not know this history has been a part of public schools for decades? I wasn’t only taught about what men contributed to society.

And what exactly is this “line” he talks about? Can we not teach about women’s, African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American and LGBTQ American contributions at the same time?

In Illinois, there are 176 days in a given school year. Even if you went by Taylor’s ill-thought ‘5 percent’ math of the LGBTQ population, is it unthinkable to imagine spending less than 9 history classes out of 176 on LGBTQ history?

As a nascent gay growing up in Texas, I’ll tell you what I did NOT learn about in school: how a brave group of LGBTQ people stood up for themselves at the Stonewall riots.

I did not learn that an openly gay man named Harvey Milk was elected to public office in 1977.

Nor did I learn about the persecution of gays by the Nazis during World War II.

There’s a LOT that could have been included in my history curriculum back then.

In any case, I’m not the only one who found Taylor to be out of his depth.

I’ll note that, until these recent LGBTQ-themed tweets, a quick scan of Taylor’s posts on Twitter (when not chiming in on ‘Bachelor/Bachelorette’ episodes) have averaged about 5-10 responses. These tweets received thousands of comments.

I think the hashtag #DeleteYourAccount was created for just this kind of moment.

Just a sample from the Twitterverse:

And then there’s my favorite response:

Posted on

Billy Porter On Shooting POSE: “I Was Set Free”

Speaking with POSE creator/producer Ryan Murphy at an event in support of the Emmy-nominated series, Billy Porter says he felt "set free" shooting the acclaimed FX series.

Speaking with POSE creator/producer Ryan Murphy at an event in support of the Emmy-nominated series, Billy Porter says he felt “set free” shooting the acclaimed FX series.

Via Deadline:

For Porter, who spent decades struggling as an openly gay black artist, shooting Pose was cathartic.

“The first ball day sticks out really clearly to me because I was doing what I thought my television performance should be. I was trying to play Pray Tell and be smaller, be still, don’t be so crazy.

“[Murphy] walks in and is like, ‘Are you going to give me the sh*t? I need the sh*t. I need you. I need whatever you do,’” he recalled. “I had never said anything to him about it, but he knew instinctively. I was set free on that day, and I never turned back.”

Later in the chat, Porter added he made a conscious decision years ago to choose himself – his “sanity” and “authenticity” – over fame.

“20 years ago, I looked at the landscape, I looked at my life, I looked at what my choices were, and I made the choice to choose myself, choose my sanity over my fame, choose my authenticity over all else, and took every hit that comes with that,” Porter said. “Never did I imagine that I could and would be a first.”

Posted on

House Committee To Consider 3 Gun Control Measures

(stock image via Unsplash)

Members of the House Judiciary Committee plan to return from their summer break early to consider three gun control bills in response to the latest rash of mass shootings.

Via Roll Call:

The committee announced Friday it will mark up a bill to outlaw large capacity magazines and other ammunition feeding devices, along with a bill that would prevent people who have been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime from owning a weapon.

And the committee also will consider a bill that would establish a grant program to encourage states to adopt laws that allow courts to take firearms away from people suspected of being a danger to the public, so-called red flag laws. That bill also would incorporate provisions from a similar bill that would allow federal courts to issue such protective orders.

Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., announced the panel also would hold a hearing on “military-style assault weapons” on September 25.

Even if the gun bills make it out of the House, don’t expect Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring any of the measures to the floor of the Senate any time soon without Trump’s clear support.

Although the Donald has indicated he might get behind “red flag” laws in the aftermath of recent gun violence.

Posted on

Warren Surges Past Sanders In Latest Fox News Poll

(Images via Fox News)

The results of the latest Fox News poll shows Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has surged to the number two spot behind former Vice President Joe Biden.

The new poll shows Biden still leads the pack of Democratic hopefuls with the support of 31 percent of Democratic primary voters.

Warren comes in at 20 percent, and Sanders at 10 percent.

California Sen. Kamala Harris garnered 8 percent.

All of the other candidates received 3 percent or less.

More from Fox News:

Warren’s gains come at Sanders’ expense, as she’s now the favorite among primary voters under age 45 as well as those who identify as “very” liberal. Since last month, Warren is up 12 points among the under 45 crowd, while Sanders lost 10. And her support increased 18 points among very liberal voters, as backing for Sanders dropped 16.

Biden leads Warren among both men (+11 points) and women (+11), and has a 22-point advantage among voters over age 45. Plus, among non-whites, Biden is up by 17 points over Sanders and by 19 over Warren.

By a wide 60-36 percent margin, Democratic primary voters prefer a nominee who will “restore the country and get American politics back to normalcy” over one who will “fundamentally change” how Washington works.

Overall, the survey indicates Biden would beat Trump by the widest margin if the election were held today, 50% – 38%.

Sanders would win by 9 points over Trump, while Warren would take the race by 7 points.

And the election is 14 months away…

Posted on

Trump Administration Argues Firing People For Being Transgender Is Legal

The Trump administration has filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a Michigan funeral home that fired a longtime employee for coming out as transgender and beginning her transition.

The Trump administration has filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a Michigan funeral home that fired a longtime employee for coming out as transgender and beginning her transition.

Aimee Stephens worked for Harris Funeral Homes for five years before she began to transition in 2012.

Saying she was “violating God’s commands,” fired Stephens two weeks later.

Stephens is suing the funeral home saying she experienced sex discrimination the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

It is the Trump administration’s position that transgender people can be fired just for being trans.

More from Dominic Holden at Buzzfeed News:

The Justice Department’s brief on Friday contends the word refers to a person’s “biological sex” and, further, that transgender discrimination isn’t addressed by a 1989 Supreme Court ruling that found Title VII bans sex stereotyping.

“Title VII does not prohibit discrimination against transgender persons based on their transgender status,” says a filing by the Justice Department, adding, “It simply does not speak to discrimination because of an individual’s gender identity or a disconnect between an individual’s gender identity and the individual’s sex.”

The counterargument from LGBTQ advocates and several lower courts, however, is that the intent of lawmakers does not limit a law’s reach, but rather its meaning is defined by the statute’s plain text. They say anti-transgender discrimination can result from a person defying traditional sex stereotypes or because the person transitioned from one sex to another — and thus, it is inherently a type of sex discrimination.

The case at issue is one of three currently before the court about the rights of LGBTQ workers under Title VII — and the only one concerning a transgender worker.

The Trump administration maintains that when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was authored, the idea of transgender people wasn’t present in the “ordinary public meaning of ‘sex'” as biological sex.

But here’s the double-standard: if you can only apply laws as what people knew or understood at the time the were written, that would mean military assault-style weapons would not be protected under the 2nd Amendment because the Founding Fathers didn’t know such weapons would ever exist. And that’s just the beginning.

Stephens’ legal team maintains the plain text of Title VII addresses “sex” discrimination. And it’s impossible to consider her being transgender without taking into account the concept of her sex.

SCOTUS will hear oral arguments in the case on Oct. 8, along with two additional cases that address whether sexual orientation discrimination is protected by Title VII.