Category: News

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Congress Designates Pulse Nightclub A National Monument

Photo from the front of Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida

Photo from the front of Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida Days before the fifth anniversary of the horrific Pulse nightclub shooting, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved designating the site of the former nightclub as a national memorial. The House version of the bill, HR 49, passed on a voice vote on May 12. From the Orlando Sentinel:

Forty-nine people were killed and dozens more injured in the June 12 LGBTQ+ nightclub shooting, which is among the deadliest mass shootings in American history.

A similar bill passed the U.S. House last year but stalled in the Senate. This year’s bill still has to be signed into law by President Joe Biden before the designation becomes official.

The national designation does not incorporate the memorial into the National Park system and it does not require the monument to receive federal funds.

The onePULSE Foundation, a nonprofit founded in the wake of the shooting, plans to build the National Pulse Memorial & Museum in Orlando over the next few years. Preliminary designs for the memorial and museum incorporate the remains of the club into a garden with a reflecting pool and 49 trees, with the open-air museum planned for construction a half-mile away.

Scott Bowman, a spokesman for onePULSE Foundation, issued a statement Wednesday that onePULSE was “thrilled” about the memorial’s national designation. “The unanimous consent is such welcome news as we are set to mark the five-year remembrance of the Pulse tragedy,” said Bowman. “This recognition from both the House and Senate means so much to the LGBTQ+ community.” https://www.instagram.com/p/CP7AK9MLhv4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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Poll: Trust In U.S. President Soars Under Biden In Global Survey

L-R Donald Trump, President Joe Biden
As Joe Biden takes his first trip abroad as president, he has told the world “America is back.” And according to a new global survey by Pew Research Center, the world agrees. From the Washington Post:

Trust in the U.S. president fell to historic lows in most countries surveyed during Donald Trump’s presidency, according to Pew.

Under Biden, it has soared. In the 12 countries surveyed both this year and last, a median of 75 percent of respondents expressed confidence in Biden to “do the right thing regarding world affairs,” Pew found, compared with 17 percent for Trump last year. Sixty-two percent of respondents now have a favorable view of the United States vs. 34 percent at the end of Trump’s presidency.

“The election of Joe Biden as president has led to a dramatic shift in America’s international image,” the Pew report reads.

Additionally, the survey shows the favorability rating for the U.S. grew 23 percentage points from last year in France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

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News Round-Up: June 9, 2021

Trump supporters Joshua Hall is charged with scamming Trump supporters

Trump supporters Joshua Hall is charged with scamming Trump supporters
Joshua Hall (image via Edge Media)
Some news items you might have missed: • Edge Media: A 22-year-old DoorDash delivery man from Pennsylvania reportedly used a social media scam, which included creating the fake organization called “Gay Voices for Trump,” to solicit donations from Trump supporters. Joshua Hall (above) is a “big Trump supporter,” but that didn’t stop him from defrauding his fellow supporters out of thousands of dollars. • Riding for Pride: Trek Bicycle will be celebrating Pride Month by hosting individual Pride Ride events on June 27 in support of their local communities and will be donating a total of $75,000 across local LGBTQIA+ organizations. • Associated Press: Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and other top department officials took part in the Pentagon’s 10th annual LGBT Pride Month celebration on Wednesday morning. In his comments, Austin commemorated the progress the military had come in standing up for LGBTQ+ rights but recognized that there was still work to come.

• The Advocate: A gay man in Florianópolis, Brazil, was gang-raped last week, one of the latest examples of horrific violence against LGBTQ+ people in the country — violence that activists say is spurred on by the nation’s homophobic president. • Page Six: The Bachelor host Chris Harrison demanded a $25 million payout after being booted from the show — and threatened to spill all the franchise’s dirty secrets if he didn’t get it, sources told Page Six. “He has nearly 20 years of dirt,” an ABC source said Tuesday. • New York Post: Jeff Bezos is getting shafted online over the shape of his big rocket. “Is it me, or does Jeff Bezos’ rocket look like a giant penis?” one person tweeted alongside a photo of Blue Origin, the craft the 57-year-old world’s richest man will fly into space next month. “I thought ‘penis’ as soon as I saw that image,” another person agreed.

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Justice Department Condemned For Defending Anti-LGBTQ Colleges

Judge Merrick Garland

Judge Merrick Garland
Attorney General Merrick Garland (photo: Public Domain)
Folks are getting angry about a court filing by the Department of Justice where it appears the DOJ could be defending religious schools against LGBTQ students who say they are being discriminated against. From the Washington Post:

The Justice Department in a court filing Tuesday said it can “vigorously” defend a religious exemption from federal civil rights law that allows federally funded religious schools to discriminate against LGBTQ students, a move that surprised some LGBTQ advocates who said the wording went further than just an obligation to defend an existing law.

In the filing, the Biden administration said it “shares the same ultimate objective” as the conservative Christian schools named in the case.

“What this means is that the government is now aligning itself with anti-LGBTQ hate in order to vigorously defend an exemption that everyone knows causes severe harm to LGBTQ students using taxpayer money,” said Paul Carlos Southwick, director of the Religious Exemption Accountability Project, which filed the case in March on behalf of dozens of current and past students at conservative religious colleges and universities. “It will make our case harder if the federal government plans to vigorously defend it like they have indicated.”

The case at hand, Hunter v. the U.S. Department of Education, involves 40 LGBTQ students from religious colleges and universities who have filed suit against the government for providing funding to schools with discriminatory policies. The schools, however, are playing the First Amendment rights card saying they have a right to discriminate against queer students via their traditional religious beliefs about sexuality and gender. While it sounds like the Justice Department has thrown us under the bus, over on Michelangelo Signorile’s website LGBTQ civil rights lawyer Jillian Weiss took a look and says this may not be as bleak as it seems:

“As I read the brief, DOJ is trying to prevent religious colleges from taking over the case. They would certainly argue outlier positions that a newly conservative Supreme Court would love to scoop us.

“Sure, 28 USC 1681(a)(3) is bogus: “this section shall not apply to an educational institution which is controlled by a religious organization if the application of this subsection would not be consistent with the religious tenets of such organization.”

“But I would prefer Garland’s DOJ to handle this any day of the week rather than the proposed religious intervenors.”

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‘Lost Spaces’ Podcast Remembers The Pulse Nightclub Massacre

Lost Spaces seeks to explore what is lost when queer spaces no longer exist, recognizing their importance in helping people to explore their own identity and develop relationships and a sense of community. The LGBTQ-themed podcast Lost Spaces, hosted by K Anderson, speaks to a different person each week about a lost queer space from their past, what they got up to there, and how it helped to shape the person they’ve become. Launched in 2019, Lost Spaces seeks to explore what is lost when queer spaces no longer exist, recognizing their importance in helping people to explore their own identity and develop relationships and a sense of community. This week Anderson remembers the horrific Pulse Nightclub massacre, the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. in over a decade.

Today we are talking about Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which on June 12, 2016, became the site of the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since the September 11 attacks of 2001. And, the repercussions were felt worldwide – I remember how shocking and terrifying it was to hear about this happening in a country like America.

But, before it was the sight of this tragedy Pulse was a place where people came to meet likeminded queer folks, dance, be messy and forget their regular lives.

I caught up with leukemia warrior and makeup artist Jared Lipscomb, who grew up in Orlando to talk about body image, first times and why that space will always have a special place in his heart. In lots of ways this is a very serious episode because we’re talking about a horrific incident, but in other ways it’s very joyous as we talk about what made the place special.

Hit the play button below. Click over to LostSpacesPodcast.com for more.

 

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Twitter Demanded Superpowers After Anti-Vaxxer’s “Magnetize” Theory Went Viral

(image via Twitter/GeorgeHahn)
Twitter went wild yesterday when video of an anti-vaxxer physician went viral after she claimed COVID-19 vaccines ‘magnetize’ people. Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, Doctor of Osteopathy, testified on Tuesday at an Ohio state House Health committee hearing in favor of a bill that would prohibit Ohio schools or businesses from requiring vaccines. “I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures all over the internet of people who have had these shots and now they’re magnetized,” Tenpenny told the Ohio House Health Committee. “They can put a key on their forehead. It sticks. They can put spoons and forks all over them and they can stick, because now we think that there’s a metal piece to that.” She added that there are “people” who believe the vaccines have an “interface – yet to be defined” with 5G cell phone towers before quickly adding, “not proven yet but…” So, first of all, there’s no metal in COVID vaccines. Second, the good doctor offers no ideas as to HOW mRNA interfaces with a cell phone tower. Does she think it requires an app like Scruff or something…?

To give you an idea of how ‘accurate’ her claims are, Tenpenny tried to bolster her bona fides by saying she’s spent up to 10,000 hours studying vaccines since the pandemic began. The only problem with that is there have only been something like 11,000 hours since the beginning of the pandemic in the U.S. So, she would have been “studying” vaccines 22 hours a day, every day, since March 2020. By the way, experts have already debunked the hilarious “COVID-19 contains magnets” myth: https://www.tiktok.com/@drgigiosler/video/6963458278600772870?sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6969720433135683078&is_from_webapp=v1&is_copy_url=0

But this woman, who followed Tenpenny, really put the nail in it when she tried to ‘prove’ the magnetic theory – #epicfail:

In any case, Twitter thought Tenpenny’s thoughts were about nine pennies short of having any good sense. After ‘Magneto’ began trending on Twitter, we took a look to see what folks thought of the theory:

Many people got excited thinking the Marvel villain ‘Magneto’ was trending because the new series ‘Loki’ debuted on the same day. Folks were pretty bummed that wasn’t the case.

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News Round-Up: June 8, 2021

(screen capture from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
Some news items you might have missed: • Gallup Polling: U.S. support for legal same-sex marriage continues to trend upward, now at 70% – a new high in Gallup’s trend since 1996. This latest figure marks an increase of 10 percentage points since 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all states must recognize same-sex marriages. • Gothamist: Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today that the vast majority of New York’s coronavirus restrictions and safety measures will be lifted once 70% of adults have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine—which he estimated could happen within the next two weeks. • Washington Blade: An East Texas bakery shared a photo of rainbow Pride cookies on Facebook and immediately got slammed with homophobic hate including customers cancelling huge orders. But by the next morning, the owners were deluged with orders offering to buy the cancelled cookies and a line of customers down the block buying out the entire bakery in a show of support.

• NBC4i: An anti-vaccine physician told Ohio lawmakers Tuesday that COVID-19 vaccines can magnetize people. “I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures all over the internet of people who have had these shots and now they’re magnetized. They can put a key on their forehead. It sticks.” • NBC News: Wisconsin pharmacist Steven Brandenburg has been sentenced to 3 years in prison after pleading guilty to destroying 500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in January. Brandenburg admitted he removed doses of Moderna vaccine from refrigeration storage overnight knowing it would render them ineffective. • Buzzfeed: Check out this list of 33 great LGBTQ-themed shows to watch on Hulu for Pride Month like Love, Victor or that awesome coming out dance sequence on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (top image).

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Trump Calls On Countries To Ban Twitter And Facebook

Donald Trump

Donald Trump issued a statement today praising the nation of Nigeria (which he once called a ‘shit hole’) for banning Twitter after the social media company banned the country’s president. In the same breath he called on more countries to ban both Twitter and Facebook because he’s still butt hurt over being banned from the platforms. His current bans are a result of his being held accountable for the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol building on January 6. Apparently still inhabiting Earth 2, Trump ponders if he should have banned the two social media platforms while in the White House – except, of course, he didn’t have that power.

Congratulations to the country of Nigeria, who just banned Twitter because they banned their President. More COUNTRIES should ban Twitter and Facebook for not allowing free and open speech—all voices should be heard.

In the meantime, competitors will emerge and take hold. Who are they to dictate good and evil if they themselves are evil?

Perhaps I should have done it while I was President. But Zuckerberg kept calling me and coming to the White House for dinner telling me how great I was. 2024?

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What’ll You Have: ‘Joints For Jabs’ Or ‘Shot & A Chaser?’

(photo: Unsplash/Elsa Olofsson)

States are getting more and more creative in coming up with new incentives for folks to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The Washington state Liquor and Cannabis Board has its new promotion, “Joints for Jabs,” which will allow state-licensed cannabis retailers to give one free pre-rolled joint to customers 21 or older when they receive either a first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. ABC News reports the promotion will run through July 12.

Talk about going gangsta…

The board had previously authorized businesses with liquor licenses to offer a free wine, beer or cocktail to customers who could prove they’d been vaccinated through June 30.

But Washington isn’t the only state offering ‘puffs for pokes.’

An Arizona cannabis dispensary recently announced a similar program where you could get your free shot and receive a free pre-rolled joint and an edible cannabis gummy. The dispensary calls the program “Snax for Vaxx.”

Many states and businesses began incentivizing vaccinations when the demand began to slow in April.

That was when Krispy Kreme started giving out free donuts to those who got their shot.

Los Angeles County offered free Lakers season tickets, and the Hustler Club in Las Vegas ‘put some skin in the game’ by serving up free lap dances and bottle service.

West Virginia’s governor announced young folks between the ages of 16 to 35 would receive a $100 savings bond if they got vaccinated.

Ohio really upped the stakes when Gov. Mike DeWine announced a new lottery giving away $1 million each week for five weeks for those who received at least one dose of COVID vaccine. For winners under 18, the prize is a four year scholarship to an Ohio public university.

Colorado is doing a similar program called “Colorado Comeback Cash” where one vaccinated resident will be chosen to win $1 million each week for five weeks.

Between May 25 and July 3, Maryland is giving away $2 million in daily $40,000 drawings.

In May, New York State launched the “Vax & Scratch” lottery program which offered $20 scratch-off lottery tickets with a chance to win a $5 million prize if they received a COVID vaccination.

Lottery officials in Kentucky gave away 225,000 free lottery tickets in May to residents who stepped up to get vaccinated.

On June 28 Oregon will give away $1 million to one lucky vaccinated winner plus one person from each of the state’s 36 counties will win $10,000.

California is giving 10 lucky winners $1.5 million each on June 15, plus 30 more Californians could score $50,000 prizes.

Previously mentioned Washington state also has a $2 million lottery going on throughout June.

And don’t worry if you got your shot early. In most states, vaccinated residents are being entered automatically from states’ immunization databases.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 64% of adults in the U.S. have received at least one dose of an approved vaccine. President Biden set a goal in early May to reach 70% by July 4.

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Get Your Pride On With The Bombas Pride 2021 Collection

(All images via Bombas)
I’m not the kind of consumer who’s generally married to a certain brand. Cost and quality usually drive my buying choices. One of the few items in our house we do practice brand loyalty to is Bombas socks. As I’m sure you know from their ad spots, not only are the socks better quality than the average sock (and they really are!) but for every pair of socks purchased, the company donates a pair to homeless shelters. So, when I was perusing my emails regarding Pride Month merchandise, trust and believe I stopped to read about the 2021 Bombas Pride Collection. Made in partnership with LGBTQ+ artists Ohni Lisle (she/her) and Daniel Quasar (xe/they), and the Bombas design team, the collection is a vibrant assortment of socks, t-shirts, underwear, and a limited-edition Pride tote bag, marking the first Bombas Pride collection that expands beyond socks. For the first time, “Bee Proud” is stitched into each Pride item in place of the brand’s “Bee Better” mantra. Plus, all Bombas.com orders will be shipped in a snazzy new custom Pride polybag packaging through June. The polybag packaging was created in partnership with artist Daniel Quasar featuring the Progress Pride flag design. Bombas worked with Ohni Lisle (she/her) to create a screen-printed design featured on select Bombas Pride t-shirts. She was inspired by squiggly type humanoid forms that are similar to gestures of people — people meet shapes. Customers can shop the full Pride collection exclusively on Bombas.com. By the way, just like Pride isn’t out and loud for just one month each year, the Pride collection will be available throughout 2021. Staying true to the Bombas mission (One Purchased=One Donated), for every Pride item purchased, a specially-designed item will be donated to someone in need within the LGBTQ+ community through three Bombas Giving Partners including:

• Casa Ruby (Washington, DC) • Mozaic (Columbus, OH) • Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM)

I don’t endorse a lot of products, but Bombas is a grand slam home run. Check out the 2021 Pride Collection here.