Author: Randy Slovacek

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Mayor Pete To Lil Nas X: “Welcome To The Family”

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (L), Lil Nas X (R)

Democratic White House contender Pete Buttigieg gave Lil Nas X props for “standing in his truth” after the country-rap artist came out on the last day of Pride month.

“@LilNasX has gone from viral sensation to groundbreaking musician. As a fan, I’m thrilled and inspired to see him standing in his truth as a member of the LGBTQ community. Welcome to the family,” tweeted Mayor Pete.

It’s been a great week for the 20-year-old as his hit, “Old Town Road,” became only the 12th song in the history of Billboard’s Hot 100 to stay at number one for 13 weeks or longer.

And more celebs praised the artist on social media as well:

There were some haters as well, it seems, but Lil Nas X had no problem handling the trolls on social media.

A post shared by Lil Nas X (@lilnasx) on Jul 2, 2019 at 6:18am PDT

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Podcast: Jake Owen ‘Believes’ In His LGBTQ Fans, World Pride, Trump’s Gay Spokesman & More

In this week's podcast: • World Pride comes home to New York City • Donald Trump’s gay spokesman says the president’s anti-LGBTQ policies “just don’t matter” to him • South Florida LGBTQ organization accidentally honors men accused of gay-bashing • A new survey of LGBTQ Americans shows 83% believe sex work between consenting adults should be legal • Country star Jake Owen gives us one more reason to 'Believe' he loves his LGBTQ fans All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

In this week’s podcast:

• World Pride comes home to New York City

• Donald Trump’s gay spokesman says the president’s anti-LGBTQ policies “just don’t matter” to him

• South Florida LGBTQ organization accidentally honors men accused of gay-bashing

• A new survey of LGBTQ Americans shows 83% believe sex work between consenting adults should be legal

• Country star Jake Owen gives us one more reason to ‘Believe’ he loves his LGBTQ fans

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

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News Round-Up: July 2, 2019

• Yesterday's Round-Up hottie got a great reaction, but even better, Twitter user The Scruff Post discovered the hottie is fashion designer, Daniel Sheehan (above). #BookmarkThatInstagram #Woof
InstaHunk and fashion designer Daniel Sheehan

Some news items you might have missed:

• Yesterday’s Round-Up hottie got a great reaction, but even better, Twitter user The Scruff Post discovered the hottie is fashion designer, Daniel Sheehan (above). #BookmarkThatInstagram #Woof

• New York Times: A group of LGBT-supportive Republicans have filed a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in favor of LGBT workplace protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The brief is reportedly tailored to resonate with the five conservative justices on the high court.

• AdAge: Advertising company FCB announced that it will not renew its contract with Nivea after reports that the skin care brand rejected a pitch showing two men’s hands touching. An executive allegedly told the ad company, “We don’t do gay at Nivea.”

• Washington Post: After haters used a social media campaign to force the cancellation of a Story Book Pride Prom in Jacksonville, Florida, a local church stepped in and held the prom Friday. The decision to host the prom was unanimously supported by the church’s board, and the event culminated in “happy teens, grateful parents, and a lot of community support.”

• Woofy Matthew Camp shares this colorful tease of his sex-positive docs-series, Camp Chaos:

• CNBC: The House Ways and Means Committee is suing the Treasury Department to get President Donald Trump’s tax returns.

• The Hill: The Trump administration has relented on its attempt to put a citizenship question on the upcoming 2020 census.

• The United States Women’s National Soccer team is heading to the World Cup finals after beating England today 2-1. Tea anyone?

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Gay Quisling In White House Sees No Problem With Trump’s LGBTQ Policies

Deputy White House press secretary Judd Deere (images via Instagram)

Openly gay Judd Deere lives in Washington, D.C. He has a boyfriend, attended DC Pride, and currently serves in the Trump White House as Deputy Press Secretary.

Tasked with touting Donald Trump’s policies – including those that erode LGBTQ progress – Deere recently told Buzzfeed News he doesn’t care what the LGBTQ community thinks of him. He says his rise in the Trump administration is proof Trump isn’t homophobic.

“I’m completely open about who I am,” Deere told Buzzfeed. “These individuals that I work with in this building don’t treat me any differently because I’m gay.”

But, there is a caveat to that statement as Deere admits he doesn’t “walk into the White House every day and say, ‘I’m Judd Deere; I’m gay.’”

Adding that the president “doesn’t treat me any different” because he’s gay, Deere cops to not knowing if Trump even knows he identifies as gay.

Like former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Deere is originally from Arkansas.

He previously worked for the state’s Attorney General which fought against listing both same-sex parents on a child’s birth certificate. Striking down Fayetteville’s LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinance was also on the menu during his time there.

“I focused on hiring the very best people, and that’s why I hired Judd,” wrote Sanders, in an email to Buzzfeed. “I am proud to have him on our team to help on LGBT issues as well as the many others in his portfolio.”

(image via Instagram/JuddPDeere)

Speaking of ‘helping on LGBT issues,’ Deere says he has no problem with the Trump administration’s policies regarding the community.

His position is that none of the controversial, news-making policies are really discriminatory.

On whether a baker can turn away a same-sex couple looking for a wedding cake?

“Yeah, that’s fine,” says Deere. “I’ll just go find another cake shop that will.”

Trump’s ban on transgender military service members, Deere says trans soldiers “erode military readiness,” and adds that the ban was “developed through extensive studies within the military by senior military officials.”

Not true – Trump’s own generals have publicly shared they were surprised by the July 2017 tweets announcing the ban.

When it comes to allowing healthcare providers to deny treatment to LGBTQ people based on ‘sincerely held religious beliefs,’ Deere (towing the administration line) says Trump is protecting ‘conscience rights.’

Buzzfeed’s Dominic Holden asked Deere what Trump has done for LGBTQ Americans, and Deere points to the president’s promise to end the HIV epidemic by 2030, as well as launching a “global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality.”

Across the board, though, Deere maintains that any notion the Trump administration is anti-LGBTQ is “just a smear campaign.”

And when it comes to how he himself might be perceived after agreeing to the Buzzfeedinterview, the deputy press secretary is unfazed.

“I don’t go into a dark depression because somebody hates the person I work for, or wants to get upset at me because they think I’m crazy for working here, because it just doesn’t matter to me,” said Deere.

(source: Buzzfeed News)

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200+ Companies Sign Brief Asking SCOTUS To Rule Title VII Prohibits LGBTQ Discrimination

The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for October 8 on whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies in banning LGBTQ discrimination.

The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for October 8 on whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies in banning LGBTQ discrimination.

There will be three cases regarding Title VII heard that day. The crux of the cases concerns whether anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination.

LGBTQ advocates say discrimination against gay people is sex discrimination because anti-gay bias is borne out of opposition to people who love others of the same sex.

A brief filed by the ACLU last week read, in part, “Firing a man because he is attracted to other men is like refusing to hire a woman because she has school-age children, failing to promote a woman because she is too ‘macho,’ or countenancing the sexual harassment of a man who is perceived by his coworkers to be vulnerable.”

Some court watchers say they are not overly-hopeful for a pro-LGBTQ ruling in light of Donald Trump’s choices for far-right leaning justices on the high court.

But Chief Justice John Roberts has, at times, surprised the LGBTQ community.

During arguments for the Obergefell decision in 2015, which made marriage equality the law of the land, Roberts made comments wondering if banning same-sex marriage would constitute a kind of sex discrimination.

In advance of the oral arguments, 206 companies have signed on to a ‘friend of the court’ brief asking SCOTUS to rule in favor of Title VII prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQs.

The list of companies includes big tech like Facebook, Apple and Adobe; food giants like Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Domino’s Pizza; also Uber, Zillow, MGM Resorts, Hilton, HSBC Bank and more.

The Human Rights Campaign reports the amicus brief has the largest number of business signers than any other brief filed in an LGBTQ discrimination case.

The brief reads, in part, “Even where companies voluntarily implement policies to prohibit sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination, such policies are not a substitute for the force of law.”

“Only a uniform federal rule can enable businesses to recruit and retain, and employees to perform, at their highest levels,” says the brief.

The brief was organized by several LGBTQ advocacy groups including the Human Rights Campaign, Out & Equal, Freedom for All Americans and Lambda Legal.

(h/t Washington Blade)

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‘Straight Pride Parade’ Organizers: We Were ‘Terrorized’ By Glitter

(stock photo: Vinicius Vilela via Pexels)

The organizers of Boston’s so-called “Straight Pride Parade” say that they were targeted with “suspicious packages in the mail” that ended up containing… Glitter!

In early June, an organization called Super Happy Fun America, which says it is “committed to creating spaces for people of all identities to embrace the vibrancy of the straight community,” announced their event.

Their mission statement declares, “We believe that true diversity is only possible when people of all sexual orientations are free to celebrate their lifestyles.”

The city of Boston approved the group’s ‘Straight Pride’ event application after Super Happy Fun America threatened to sue.

One of the main organizers, Samson Racioppi, told CNN he found an envelope in his mailbox on Monday.

“I went out to my mailbox and there was an envelope in there with my name and address, no return address, the back was very heavily taped up and when I shook it I heard stuff shaking around inside,” Racioppi told CNN.

After calling authorities, a hazmat team evacuated his neighbors homes and closed traffic down his street.

Racioppi reached out to his co-organizers, including Mark Sahady, Vice President of Super Happy Fun America.

Sahady found a similar package at his home. He described the contents as a “sand-like substance.”

But when the envelope was examined by experts, the contents were revealed to be glitter and a hand-written note.

Glitter, folks. Glitter.

Kristen Setera, a spokesman for the FBI, told CNN the bureau does not believe the packages (of glitter) “pose a threat to public safety” but the investigation is ongoing.

Folks in the LGBTQ media have called the idea of the parade, tentatively scheduled for August 31, homophobic.

Super Happy Fun America’s president, John Hugo, dismisses the criticism saying the event is “not anti-gay but pro-straight.”

“Straight people are an oppressed majority,” states on the group’s official website. “We will fight for the right of straights everywhere to express pride in themselves without fear of judgement and hate.”

Because the 4.5 percent of the U.S. population that is estimated to be LGBTQ are ‘oppressing’ the other 95 percent. Uh-huh.

 Controversial homocon Milo Yiannopolous is scheduled to be the grand marshal for the event that’s predicted to draw 2,000 participants.

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Trump On Homelessness: “A Phenomenon That Started Two Years Ago”

During a sit-down with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump told the viewing audience that the issue of “filth” in major U.S. cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City “started two years ago.”

During a sit-down with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump told the viewing audience that the issue of “filth” in major U.S. cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City “started two years ago.”

The topic came up with Carlson mentioned traveling abroad to cities like Tokyo and Osaka, where graffiti and homeless people going to the bathroom in the streets aren’t issues abundantly seen. Carlson asked why American cities seem to have this problem.

According to Trump, “it’s a phenomenon that started two years ago” and he described it as “disgraceful.”

But Trump’s issue with the “filth” and the homeless weren’t borne out of concern for those living on the streets.

His first thought was that police officers are “getting sick just walking the beat.”

Trump did reference the homeless, however, when he hypothesized that “perhaps they like living that way.”

Seriously???

The Trumpster also expressed dismay that people working in office building have to “walk through a scene that nobody would have believed possible.”

Somehow, this is all the fault of ‘the Liberal establishment.’

Trump explained that when he first arrived in Washington D.C. two years ago, he saw a similar problem and shares, “I ended it very quickly.”

At no time does the president ever express any humanitarian concern for those living in the streets.

Watch below.

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World Pride Closing: At The Crossroads Of The World

World Pride Closing
Melissa Etheridge kicked off the festivities (photos: Lawrence Pfeil Jr)

By Lawrence Pfeil, Jr.

There could not have been a more ideal setting for World Pride Closing Ceremonies than Times Square at the “crossroads of the world.”
As twilight fell across New York City and Pride marched on down in the Village, thousands gathered for a star-studded finale to Pride Month for one last official celebration of the LGBT+ Community where it all began.
 It was electric, fabulous, fierce, funny, emotional, and PROUD.
Grammy Award winner, Melissa Etheridge took to the stage opening the evening with her brand of ferocious acoustic music which has inspired both the LGBT+ community as well as cancer survivors for decades.

Melissa Etheridge

Comedian Margret Cho brilliantly hosted the evening with hilarious observations on gay men.

Cho said she “prefers being a ‘Bear Hag’ because she knows there’s going to be food, with “twinks there’s no regularly scheduled meals.” She also pointed out that “twinks are having so much work done, they look like a “queer caught in headlights.”
Later, Cho did a full discussion of her “fat pussy” with surprisingly detailed descriptions of different kinds, ie Keto, sandwich, etc. Watching the muscle-stud ASL interpreter sign her graphic descriptions was hilariously horrifying.

Hunky sign language guy

 

More of hunky sign language guy I think Lawrence was trying to tell me something 😉

Broadway’s The Prom stopped by strutting their stuff in a celebration of Love is Love with the entire cast thrilling the audience with the show’s finale, “It’s Time to Dance.”

Mel C – ‘Sporty Spice’ – of the Spice Girls

Big electrifying numbers from MNEK, Spice Girl Melanie C with Sink the Pink, and Jake Shears wowed the capacity audience, but it was an unexpected small moment that spoke to the occasion.

Accompanied only by a guitar closing out his set, Shears sang:

Why are there so many

 

Songs about rainbows
And what’s on the other side
Rainbows are visions
They’re only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we’ve been told and some chose to
Believe it
But I know they’re wrong wait and see
Someday we’ll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

 

Jake Shears

Those who came together last night as a global community united in pride were not prepared for what happened next.

In a flowing white gown, Deborah Cox took the stage like a twister hitting Dorothy’s farmhouse with “Absolutely Not,” and from her Broadway debut in Aida at the Palace Theatre across the street, “Easy as Life.”

Cox talked about spending 18 months touring in The Bodyguard the Musical in Whitney Houston’s iconic role. On the giant video screen, a rainbow ribbon could be seen on her dress.

She explained, it wasn’t just a rainbow ribbon but an “Orlando Ribbon,” given to her by a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub massacre. Dedicated to their memory she sang, “I Will Always Love You” as tears streamed our cheeks.

I don’t know if at Pride Island they could hear what was happening in Times Square; but if they did, what they heard was, “Madonna, go home and try again.” Deborah “Nobody’s Supposed to be Here” Cox Threw. It. Down. and blew it up! Taking a crowd from emotional heartbreak to ecstatic joyous dance party like it’s nothin but a thing takes a fierce dancefloor diva. It was a feat not many performers could pull off. Deborah Cox didn’t just drop the mic, she dropped it, buried it, never to be seen again.

 

Empire State Building lit up in rainbow for Pride

 

Special thanks to Lawrence Pfeil Jr. for his awesome work this weekend as special World Pride correspondent for The Randy Report!
 
Make sure you click over to his own site, theOUTfront.com, for more of his uplifting pride and prose.

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News Round-Up: July 1, 2019

“And what your name is…?”

Some news items you might have missed:

• Don’t know who today’s hottie (above) is, but sure wish I did… #woof #DaddyDefined

• NewNowNext: A survey of Pride Month media coverage shows LGBTQ reports don’t even come close to making up at least the 4.5% that we do in the population.

• NY Daily News: City Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced $19M in new LGBT programs for his city.

• The Hill: The prediction model that accurately predicted Democratic gains in the House four months before the 2018 midterm elections says President Trump will lose Electoral College 278-197 in 2020.

• Gallup Polling: U.S. adults greatly overestimate the American gay population – most guess 23.6% of Americans are gay or lesbian when most reliable reports say 4.5% of Americans are LGBT.

• Donald Trump boasted about having “new Sherman tanks” for his upcoming commandeering of the July 4th celebration in Washington, D.C.

Btw – the last Sherman tank was made in 1945, and haven’t been in service since 1957.