Category: News

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House GOP Leader Pulls Republicans From Jan. 6 Investigation

January 6 invasion of the Capitol building

(screen capture via YouTube)
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced his five Republican choices to participate in the select committee investigating the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol building today. And Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi promptly vetoed two of McCarthy’s picks saying Democrats in her caucus had raised specific objections to “the impact their appointments may have on the integrity of the investigation.” Via Politico:

Pelosi rejected Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), who was tapped to serve as ranking member, and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), both of whom voted to challenge certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral wins earlier this year. Her decision sent shock waves through the House and is likely to galvanize House Republicans against any participation in the investigation.

Another Republican, freshman Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), also voted not to certify Biden’s win, but Pelosi said she is “prepared to appoint” Nehls as well as Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) and Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), both of whom voted to certify the election.

McCarthy issued a scorching reply that made clear he would yank his other three picks if the speaker didn’t walk back her veto of Banks and Jordan, a move she’s highly unlikely to make.

You may recall Pelosi originally wanted to create an independent, bipartisan panel similar to the 9/11 commission. That measure was co-authored by Rep. John Katko (r-NY), and passed the House with the support of 35 GOP lawmakers. Republicans in the Senate, however, blocked that effort, which led to House Democrats creating the select committee in June. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who Pelosi has already chosen to be part of the committee, told reporters she agreed with Pelosi’s decision.

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Catholic Official Resigns After Phone Data Tracked Him On Grindr

(image via Mart Production/Pexels)

A high ranking official for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) resigned his position after the conference was approached by a Catholic media outlet purporting to have cellphone data indicating he regularly used Grindr, the gay dating app.

The Pillar, an online newsletter that reports on the Catholic Church, published its claims about Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill and the alleged Grindr use on Tuesday. The post also contends that Burrill “engaged in serial sexual misconduct” as well as frequented “gay bars and private residences.”

Burrill, a priest from the La Crosse, Wisconsin, diocese resigned from his position as general secretary from USCCB on the same day. As general secretary of the USCCB, Burrill was responsible for coordinating administrative work and planning for the conference, which is the country’s network for Catholic bishops.

USCCB spokeswoman Chieko Noguchi told the Washington Post it was Burrill’s decision to resign after being notified of The Pillar’s allegations of “improper behavior.”

The Pillar says an independent firm had authenticated “commercially available records” based on data Grindr collects from its users.

“A mobile device correlated to Burrill emitted app data signals from the location-based hookup app Grindr on a near-daily basis during parts of 2018, 2019, and 2020 — at both his USCCB office and his USCCB-owned residence, as well as during USCCB meetings and events in other cities,” reported The Pillar.

The “commercially available” signal data doesn’t include users’ names but instead correlates a specific numerical identifier assigned to each mobile device. Privacy experts say it’s possible to identify a specific cellphone by checking locations an individual may frequent like their home or workplace.

So, it would appear, someone searched through the “obtained and analyzed data” looking at Burrill’s residence and office space and noted the identifier.

The report went on to conflate homosexuality with pedophilia in an extremely heavy-handed manner even though there doesn’t appear to be any evidence Burrill was in contact with minors through his use of Grindr.

The Washington Post reports experts “have long raised concerns about ‘anonymized’ data collected by apps (like Grindr) and sold to or shared with aggregators and marketing companies.”

A spokesperson for Grindr described the report by The Pillar as “homophobic” and told the Post the data described in the story couldn’t be publicly accessed.

“The alleged activities listed in that unattributed blog post are infeasible from a technical standpoint and incredibly unlikely to occur,” said the representative in a statement. “There is absolutely no evidence supporting the allegations of improper data collection or usage related to the Grindr app as purported.”

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News Round-Up: July 20, 2021

International superstar Dolly Parton

International superstar Dolly Parton
International superstar Dolly Parton (via Twitter)
Some news items you might have missed: • NBC News: The federal government has announced that almost all health insurers must cover the HIV prevention pill, known as PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, with no cost sharing — including for the drug itself and, crucially, for clinic visits and lab tests. • Twitter: For the record, Dolly Parton is every kind of treasure we could want. Check out her little video about her birthday present for her husband.

• Atlanta Blackstar: A Black woman has filed a lawsuit against the Delaware Division of state police after she was blockaded, had her back window bashed in, and held at gunpoint by plainclothes officers last month until they realized she was not the suspect they were looking for. • CNBC: White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and Sen. Rand Paul got in a heated exchange at a Senate hearing Tuesday. “Sen. Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly, and I would like to say that officially. You do not know what you are talking about.”

• Washington Post: Fascinating read interviewing Capitol rioters and what they ‘thought’ they were doing on January 6. • Outsider: It was 30 years ago this week that Mark Wahlberg, then ‘Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch,’ dropped that iconic music video, “Good Vibrations.” And Calvin Klein underwear was never the same…

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18 Months In Prison For Man Who Phoned In Death Threat To Judge

(stock image via Depositphotos)
A man who phoned in a threat to assassinate a federal judge overseeing the criminal case of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. to leaving a threatening voicemail promising to put a “hot piece of lead” in the judge’s head. Law & Crime reports Frank Caporusso pleaded guilty this past April to leaving a threatening message in a voicemail with chambers for U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan on May 14, 2020. That was shortly after Judge Sullivan allowed legal experts and outside parties to oppose the Justice Department’s plan to dismiss Flynn’s case. The prosecutor read a transcript of the chilling message in court:

“We are professionals. We are trained military people. We will be on rooftops. You will not be safe. A hot piece of lead will cut through your skull. You bastard. You will be killed, and I don’t give a fuck who you are. Back out of this bullshit before it’s too late, or we’ll start cutting down your staff. This is not a threat. This is a promise.”

A tearful Caporusso reportedly told the courtroom on Tuesday: “I am not a man that would harm anyone. I asked myself, ‘How could I have done such a thing?’” And yet…he did. The one-and-a-half year sentence is the term recommended by the government.

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Newsmax CEO Praises Biden Vaccine Push, Urges Americans To Get Shot

Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy

Newsmax CEO praises Biden
Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy (screen capture via CNN)
In an op-ed posted on his network’s website, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy offered praise for the Biden administration’s rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines and urged Americans to get their shot. He wrote, in part:

Six months into his administration, President Joe Biden should be applauded for making a huge dent in the COVID pandemic.

He inherited an effective vaccine from President Donald Trump, took it into his arms, and ran with it.

The success of this approach has been obvious. Serious deaths and hospitalizations (the most important COVID data) have collapsed.

[snip]

The bottom line: The vaccines are safe and effective. More than 3.6 billion shots have been given worldwide, and some 338 million here in the U.S. alone.

Meanwhile, deaths caused by the coronavirus have fallen to record lows, with almost negligible side effects to those vaccinated.

At Newsmax, we have strongly advocated for the public to be vaccinated. The many medical experts who have appeared on our network have been near unanimous in support of the vaccine.

I myself have gotten the Pfizer vaccine. There’s no question in my mind, countless lives would have been saved if the vaccine was available earlier.

As I wrote earlier today about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Fox News host Sean Hannity, it seems the dive the stock market took yesterday really jolted these wealthy Republicans to get serious about the vaccination effort.

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Prosecutors Obtain Info Allegedly Connecting Trump To Charges Against His Company

Donald Trump reportedly took classified top secret documents from the White House when his administration came to an end.

Donald Trump
Donald Trump (screen capture)
The former daughter-in-law of Allen Weisselberg, indicted CFO of the Trump Organization, has reportedly handed prosecutors in his case some rather explosive evidence that allegedly connects Donald Trump to the charges against his company. From Vanity Fair:

According to reporter Jose Pagliery, during a Zoom call with investigators on June 25, Jennifer Weisselberg, who was previously married to Allen’s son Barry Weisselberg, told investigators that she was in Trump’s office at Trump Tower during a January 2012 meeting in which the real estate developer discussed compensation with Allen and Barry, explaining that while the latter would not be getting a raise, his children’s private school tuition, which clocked in at more than $50,000 a year per child, would be paid for.

According to Jennifer Weisselberg, Trump turned to her and allegedly said, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.” While that might sound like an instance of the ex-president being an uncharacteristically generous guy, prosecutors have claimed that Allen Weisselberg was awarded numerous fringe benefits over the years—like a free apartment, cars, and, yes, private school tuition—for the express purpose of avoiding paying taxes. Which, according to the indictment against him, he did, to the tune of $900,000.

Prosecutors are also pulling information from previous sworn statements for their investigation. In his 2018 divorce deposition, Barry Weisselberg said that “his salary had remained flat for years, while his father ensured other aspects of his lifestyle were covered, including an apartment on Central Park South and later one on the Upper East Side.” Read more at Vanity Fair.

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First Capitol Riot Felony Sentencing – 8 Months In Prison

January 6 invasion of the Capitol building

(screen capture via YouTube)
Paul Hodgkins, 38, is now the first insurrectionist convicted of a felony to be sentenced. After pleading guilty last month to obstructing congressional proceedings on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol building, the Florida man was sentenced to 8 months in prison. That falls well below the recommended sentencing guidelines of one to two years. Prosecutors had asked for 1.5 years. But District Judge Randolph Moss chose to ignore that recommendation. Moss noted that, while Hodgkins contributed to a grave offense against democracy, he deserved some leniency because he pleaded guilty “exceptionally early,” wasn’t involved in violence and issued a “sincere” apology. According to CNN, almost 550 rioters have been charged, and the Department of Justice says at least 230 of them have been charged with the same obstruction-of-Congress crime to which Hodgkins pleaded guilty. Read more at CNN.

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News Round-Up: July 19, 2021

Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro is mad NPR took a look at how he's using anger and political division to make millions.

Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro is mad NPR took a look at how he's using anger and political division to make millions.
Ben Shapiro (screen capture)
Some news items you might have missed: • NPR: Far-right pundit Ben Shapiro (above) is apparently mad that NPR did a deep dive into how he and his website, The Daily Wire, have found success in stoking outrage and political division via conservative clickbait. His site often generates more Facebook engagement on its articles than The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NBC News combined. But, but, but “cancel culture…” • The Advocate: Authorities have charged three adults for their part in shaving a 12-year-old boy’s head to read “gay” then posting a video of the verbal and physical assault on social media.

• The Hill: A new OH Predictive Insights poll shows 62% of Arizona Republicans believe the ongoing partisan election audit will eventually find Donald Trump won the state’s 11 Electoral College votes instead of President Biden. No evidence has emerged to suggest widespread voter fraud. Biden won the state by more than 10,000 votes in 2020. • Justice Dept: Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the leader of the white supremacist group Proud Boys, pleaded guilty today to charges in two cases, including one involving the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner stolen from a downtown Washington church. Each offense carries a maximum sentence of 180 days’ imprisonment and/or a $1,000 fine.

• New York Times: Wall Street saw its biggest daily decline in months today in a broad sell-off reflecting a range of concerns about economic growth and the potential for rising Covid-19 infections leading to the return of restrictions on travel and tourism. • Axios: With historically low inventory of preowned vehicles, the value of used cars is continuing to climb – even for vehicles with more than 100,000 miles. Car-shopping website Edmunds.com reports the average selling price for a used car with between 100,000 and 110,000 miles on it was $16,489 in June, up from $12,626 a year ago. • Instagram: Model Layna Bloom becomes the first transgender model to cover the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRgnPViH21z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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Luke Prokop Becomes 1st Out Player In National Hockey League

Luke Prokop, prospect for the Nashville Predators, came out as gay becoming the first out active hockey player in the NHL

Luke Prokop, prospect for the Nashville Predators, came out as gay becoming the first out active hockey player in the NHL
Luke Prokop (screen capture via ESPN)
Luke Prokop, a prospect for the Nashville Predators, came out as gay on Monday becoming the first active player under a National Hockey League contract to do so. “I am no longer scared to hide who I am,” the 19-year-old wrote on Instagram. “Today I am proud to publicly tell everyone that I am gay.” “It has been quite the journey to get to this point in my life, but I could not be happier with my decision to come out,” Prokop continued. “From a young age I have dreamed of being an NHL player, and believe that living my authentic life will allow me to bring my whole self to the rink and improve my chances of fulfilling my dreams.” The six-foot-four defenseman went on to say that while he is “new to the community,” he is “eager to learn about the strong and resilient people who came before me and paved the way so I could be more comfortable today.” Prior to Prokop, there has never been an NHL player, active or retired, who has publicly come out. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRgq7vCDgDq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Originally from Alberta, Canada, Prokop played for the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League last season, acting as an alternate captain. He was selected by the Predators in the third round of the 2020 NHL draft. In December, he signed a three-year contract with the team. https://www.instagram.com/p/CIlU0jFD8fo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Prokop told ESPN that personal struggles during his tenure with the Hitmen led him to the realization he needed to come out. “I was lying in bed one night, had just deleted a dating app for the fourth or fifth time, and I was extremely frustrated because I couldn’t be my true authentic self,” Prokop said. “In that moment I said, ‘Enough is enough. I’m accepting who I am. I want to live the way I want to, and I want to accept myself as a gay man.’”

Prokop shares that the first team exec he spoke to about coming out was Operations/General Manager Brian Poile. “He, in that moment, showed me a lot of support and told me the Predators are behind me 1,000 percent and want what’s best for me and that they’re proud of me during this,” Prokop told ESPN. “I remember getting off that phone call and tears just started coming from my eyes, I was so excited.” “And in that moment, I thought, this is what it’s going to feel like for the rest of my life. For them to show that support that they did in that moment, it felt like I can rule the world.” Prokop’s announcement follows that of Las Vegas Raiders player Carl Nassib, who became the first out active NFL player last month when he shared with the world that he is gay. Prokop told ESPN that, while Nassib’s recent news didn’t prompt his own coming out, he did find the NFL player’s words, and the reaction of the NFL, inspiring. The Predators’ Twitter account quickly posted messages of support for Prokop as well as the National Hockey League and the official accounts for other teams.

“The Nashville Predators organization is proud of Luke for the courage he is displaying in coming out today,” Henry wrote. “And we will support him unequivocally in the days, weeks, and years to come as he continues to develop as a prospect.” Henry added that, “A long-stated goal in our organization is equality for all, including the LGBTQ community, and it is important that Luke feels comfortable and part of an inclusive environment as he moves forward in his career.” “Our message as a team [is that] we’re obviously very supportive of him,” Predators team captain Roman Josi told NHL.com. “We just reached out and told him [we’ll help with] whatever he needs and that we’re proud of him. It’s a big step for him and we fully support him.”

The Predators Instagram account also shared interview clips of Prokop speaking to SportsNet’s podcast, ’31 Thoughts.’ https://www.instagram.com/p/CRg3PsKFh_D/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CRg2SCtDelf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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News Round-Up: July 16, 2021

Voters stand in line waiting to vote

Voters stand in line waiting to vote
Investigation by AP found few potential cases of voting irregularities in Arizona
Some news items you might have missed: • LGBTQ Nation: It seems Caitlyn Jenner is filming her ‘campaign’ for governor of California – any guesses why the reality TV celeb might be doing that? • OUT: Two gay men vacationing on the French island of Corsica were brutally attacked by group of up to 20 men while a large crowd gathered and watched but did nothing to stop the brutal assault. • It Gets Better: Regular readers of TRR know I’m not only a huge supporter of the Olympic Games but especially the Paralympic Games. Check out the journey of out lesbian Courtney journey who will be competing in wheelchair basketball for Team USA at this year’s Games.

• Instinct Magazine: Michael Henderson, the popular head coach of Murrieta Valley High School’s cheer and student program in southern California, was abruptly fired from his job last month. Henderson says he was fired for being gay and has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit alleging that the process leading to his dismissal was “flawed.” • Kenneth-in-the-212: Check out Kenneth’s round-up of the what’s what in LGBTQ publications including out swimmer Michael Gunning covering the latest from Attitude Magazine.

(image via Attitude Magazine)
• 4WWL: Alan Scott Lanoix tested positive for COVID-19 and spent 17 days in the hospital with several on a ventilator. His wife and 3 sons all tested positive too. Lanoix died June 9 at 54 years old. According to his sister, “He thought the vaccine was poison.” • AP: Investigation by the Associated Press finds fewer than 200 cases of potential voter fraud identified by Arizona’s local election officials out of 3.4 million ballots cast in last year’s presidential election.