LGBTQ news and entertainment
(image via DC Comics)
It looks like Aqualad and Dreamer make the JLQ team
Welcome to #DCRoundRobin! One of these pitches will become a new comic book series…and it’s up to you to decide which! Vote for your favorites in the thread below👇 Visit #DCUniverseInfinite to learn more about each pitch: https://t.co/rECZhZyxd8 pic.twitter.com/AorfWXN0m1
— DC (@DCComics) March 31, 2021
— DC (@DCComics) March 31, 2021
In this week’s podcast: • President Biden issues first-ever presidential proclamation for Transgender Day of Visibility • Arkansas has passed a series of anti-LGBTQ laws in a week • The Pentagon erases Trump-era ban on trans military service members • Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the first legal same-sex weddings • Lil Nas X pens a touching letter to his 14-year-old self – Link to his new music video ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast.
Time to get outdoors and enjoy the warmer weather (stock image via Depositphotos)
Major League Baseball is making it known the organization is NOT having Georgia’s new voter suppression law. From the New York Times:
In a firm rebuke of Georgia’s new elections law, Major League Baseball said Friday that it had abandoned its plan to play this summer’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.
The decision by the baseball commissioner, Rob Manfred, came after days of pressure from civil rights groups and the Major League Baseball Players Association.
In a statement, Manfred said that after conversations with teams, players, former stars and players union officials he had concluded that “the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.”
MLB announces that 2021 All-Star Game will not be played in Atlanta: pic.twitter.com/tVxhCP3mbN
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) April 2, 2021
(screen capture)
The U.S. Capitol went into lockdown after two Capitol Police officers were reportedly struck by a vehicle near the north entrance to the U.S. Capitol building. From the New York Times:
The Capitol complex was locked down, as the agency instructed staff to remain indoors, away from doors and windows, as eyewitnesses posted videos of a large law enforcement response.
“A suspect is in custody,” the Capitol Police said on Twitter. “Both officers are injured. All three have been transported to the hospital.”
Images from the scene posted on social media appeared to show emergency workers treating someone on the driveway of the Capitol.
Film & TV star Richard Chamberlain (image via Boy Culture)
Dutch couples mark 20th anniversary of world’s first same-sex marriages https://t.co/S7trlMk2Nx pic.twitter.com/Cd7z8ofyN5
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 1, 2021
BREAKING: The Montana Legislature just passed a bill that grants a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people, people of faith, and women under the guise of religious freedom.
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) April 1, 2021
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia (image via Facebook)One of the so-called ‘moderate’ Democrats in the U.S. Senate – Joe Manchin of West Virginia – is quietly letting the powers that be know he may not be voting in favor of the Equality Act after being targeted by a massive call-in campaign by conservative groups.
While the legislation recently passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 221 to 206 (three Republicans voted in favor), the Senate is currently split 50/50 with Vice President Kamala Harris casting tie-breaking votes.
The rules of the Senate will require at least ten Republicans to vote with all Democrats (plus 2 Independents who caucus with the Dems) to overcome the filibuster. And presently, no one can name 10 GOP senators they believe will vote in favor of the bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing federal civil rights laws.
Without Republican support to overcome the 60-vote threshold, there’s no way to pass the Equality Act unless Democrats reform the filibuster. To do that, they would need Manchin to vote with them on the rules change which he has publicly opposed.
Even with recent polling showing an overwhelming 7 in 10 voters support the Equality Act, Manchin represents a hefty complication.
When the legislation was passed in 2019 by the House, Manchin publicly shared concerns he had saying the act didn’t provide “sufficient guidance to the local officials who will be responsible for implementing it, particularly with respect to students transitioning between genders in public schools.” It seems he still has those reservations today.
Plus, The Daily Beast reports Manchin has apparently received calls to his office by a ratio of “a thousand to one” opposing the Equality Act organized by conservative groups like the virulently anti-LGBTQ Heritage Foundation.
Without his support, it’s nearly impossible to see the Equality Act being passed in the Senate and heading to the desk of President Biden, who hoped to sign the bill in his first 100 days in office.
That could leave the widely popular legislation lost in neverland – the victim (again) of an outdated legislative process.
Remember when Donald Trump said the stock markets would crash if Joe Biden became president? From the New York Times:
A rally in big technology stocks, a tailwind of economic optimism following the latest big spending plan from the Biden administration and a jump in oil prices combined on Thursday to lift Wall Street to another record, this one punctuated by the S&P 500 index’s close above 4,000 for the first time.
The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.8 percent, bringing its gain over the past two days to more than 3 percent. The broader S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent, to 4,020.
“Round numbers can be big psychological barriers for markets, so breaking 4,000 could provide a confidence boost to stocks in the short term,” said Lule Demmissie, president of online banking and trading firm Ally Invest. “And we think the market has room to run longer term, too.”
All things considered, its worth noting that Biden doesn’t point to stock market moves and claim responsibility for them as Trump often did.
Wall Street continues to be very happy. For the first time ever, the S&P 500 closed above 4,000 (up 46 points to 4,019.) The Dow Jones Industrial Average also is way up — closing today up 171 points at 33,153.
— Wolf Blitzer (@wolfblitzer) April 1, 2021
The S&P 500 crossed the 4,000 threshold for the first time on Thursday as Wall Street built on a solid March following the rollout of President Biden’s infrastructure plan.
The Dow was up 0.52%.
The S&P 500 surged 1.18%.
The Nasdaq jumped 1.76%. https://t.co/z8EFnaHQXv pic.twitter.com/vilzVWAVsM— CNBC (@CNBC) April 1, 2021
*S&P 500 BREAKS ABOVE 4,000 MILESTONE AS BULL MARKET BARRELS ONhttps://t.co/CYinEy5NMl
— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) April 1, 2021
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg
“What’s abundantly clear is that this policy we’ve had in the past of short changing our infrastructure.. that’s catching up to us.” @PeteButtigieg @SecretaryPete discusses President Biden’s $2 Trillion spending bill unveiled on Wednesday @DanaPerino @BillHemmer pic.twitter.com/Bfio9teZ6I
— America’s Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) April 1, 2021
In the early morning hours on Thursday, the Texas Senate approved legislation that would “prohibit social media companies with at least 100 million monthly users from blocking, banning, demonetizing or discriminating against a user based on their viewpoint or their location within Texas.” More from the Texas Tribune:
The measure, which would apply to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, among others, would also require the companies to disclose their content moderation policies, publish regular reports about the content they remove and create an appeals process for user content that has been taken down.
The Texas attorney general would be allowed to file suit against any company that violates a provision of the bill. If upheld in court, the attorney general could recoup “reasonable” attorney’s fees and investigative costs.
Hughes repeatedly referred to social media companies as “common carriers” (like cable or phone companies) even though they’ve never been classified as such. The issue moves to the state House where two identical bills have yet to move out of committees. It goes without saying that legal experts have raised doubts about the legality of the measure. What’s interesting to me is: the same people who say a baker doesn’t have to bake a cake for a same-sex couple now say Twitter or Facebook can’t boot someone for violating their terms of service by spreading misinformation on their platforms.