Category: News

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Virginia Gov Restores Voting Rights For Those Who Serve Their Prison Sentences

Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia

Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia
Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia
From the office of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam:

Governor Ralph Northam today restored the civil rights of more than 69,000 Virginians using new eligibility criteria that mirror a proposed change to the Constitution of Virginia that would automatically restore voting rights to individuals upon completion of their sentence of incarceration.

With today’s announcement, Governor Northam has restored civil rights to more than 111,000 people since he took office.

Under current law, anyone convicted of a felony in Virginia loses their civil rights, including the right to vote, serve on a jury, run for office, become a public notary, and carry a firearm. Virginia remains one of the three states in the nation whose constitution permanently disenfranchises citizens with past felony convictions, but gives the governor the sole discretion to restore civil rights, excluding firearm rights.

I personally believe if you are found guilty of a crime, go to prison and serve your sentence, by definition you have paid your debt to society as determined by the justice system. And so, yes – you should have your right to vote restored. Read the full public statement here.

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News Round-Up: March 15, 2021

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • LGBTQ Nation: Lady Gaga (above) and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow were among the LGBTQ folks who scored Grammy Awards Sunday night. Check out the list of artists honored at the intimate (but live) event last night. • The Advocate: A group of local merchants have proposed changing the name of Montreal’s historic Gay Village to simply “The Village” or “Montreal’s Village” in an effort to be more inclusive of the entire 2SLGBTQ community. The 2S stands for two spirit. Not all residents are on board with the proposed change, however. • The Gaily Grind: A disgruntled Trump supporter, Michael Challans, is playing the victim after he was caught on tape shouting homophobic slurs at his gay neighbor for flying a flag on his front porch celebrating Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss. After yelling phrases like “faggot ass flag,” “f*cking fag” and “mother f*cking queer,” Challans told police he “has no problems with gay people.”

• HuffPost: Amazon announced plans last week to stop selling all books that frame transgender and other sexual identities as mental illness, a decision it reached after four Republican senators complained to CEO Jeff Bezos last month when the company pulled a single book on the subject from its virtual shelves. • Mediaite: A new poll shows 57% of Republicans believe the COVID-19 pandemic is “exaggerated.” Plus, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows 49% of Republican men have no plans to get vaccinated. • Outsports: Conor McDermott-Mostowy just won 2 US Championships in speed skating. Now he’s coming out as gay.

 

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Pope Says Church Cannot Bless Same-Sex Marriages Because God ‘Doesn’t Bless Sin’

Pope Francis (image via public domain)

Pope Francis (image via public domain)
Although Pope Francis has made “welcoming” comments regarding LGBTQ people and the Catholic Church in the past, a new statement from the Vatican makes clear the Church will not bless same-sex unions because God “cannot bless sin.” From AP News:

The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response to a question about whether Catholic clergy have the authority to bless gay unions. The answer, contained in a two-page explanation published in seven languages and approved by Pope Francis, was “negative.”

The note distinguished between the church’s welcoming and blessing of gay people, which it upheld, but not their unions.

It argued that such unions are not part of God’s plan and that any sacramental recognition of them could be confused with marriage.

The Catholic Church maintains that “marriage is a lifelong union between a man and woman, is part of God’s plan and is intended for the sake of creating new life.” In a documentary released last October,  the Pope said in an interview that he endorses the idea of same-sex unions in the form of civil unions but not “marriage.” “Homosexual people have the right to be in a family,” Pope Francis said at the time. “They are children of God.”

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Podcast: Leslie Jordan, Joshua Sade James, Gunnar Montana, EU, Queer As Folk Reboot

The Randy Report podcast

The Randy Report podcast delivers the week's top stories in a quick, convenient podcast - 'the 60 Minutes of gay news - only shorter' In this week’s podcast: • The European Union’s Parliament overwhelmingly approves a resolution declaring all 27 member countries an LGBT ‘Freedom Zone’ • GLAAD has launched the Biden Equality Accountability Tracker which will monitor the Biden administration’s executive orders, legislative support, speeches and nominations that affect LGBTQ people and rights • After the success of It’s A Sin, could a Queer As Folk reboot could be in the works? • Philadelphia performance artist and dancer Gunnar Montana celebrated National Barbie Day in a ‘Super Gay’ way • Love in quarantine – Joshua Sade James‘ new song “I’ll Wait For You” sings out for separated couples during the pandemic • And Leslie Jordan wants the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, to know ‘The gays have your back’ All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

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Madison Cawthorn Doesn’t Understand The 1st Amendment

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) had the audacity to call someone else a liar after fabricating or "rewriting" much of his own resume/bio.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC)
Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC)
Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) told Newsmax viewers that he plans to sponsor a bill in Congress that would reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act which protects publishers from being sued over what users post on their sites. Congressman Howdy Doody has somehow conflated users being kicked off Twitter or Facebook for violating the terms of service as violating folks’ First Amendment rights. “Greg Steube and I are leading a charge to reform that terrible Section 230 that gives them basically this full-on immunity where the American people are unable to go after Big Tech when they assault out First Amendment rights,” said Cawthorn. “If our bill passes, and we know the Democrats are not going to allow us to do that because this is one of their greatest weapons, but when our bill passes in the next Congress, you’re going to start seeing Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, all these big tech companies start answering for their crimes,” he added. Ahem, the 1st Amendment says, “CONGRESS shall make no law…” It doesn’t say anything about Facebook, Twitter, or big tech companies. There is NO constitutional right to be on Twitter or Facebook. Conservatives (and others) get kicked off Twitter when they blatantly LIE and spread disinformation.

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Rioter Charged With Stealing Officer’s Badge And Burying It In Backyard

Thomas Sibick at the January 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol building

Thomas Sibick at the January 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol building
Thomas Sibick reaching toward police officer’s badge and radio (image via Metropolitan Police)
Thomas F. Sibick, of Buffalo, New York, faces serious charges in connection to assaulting a Metropolitan police officer and “forcibly” taking his badge and radio during January’s riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to NBC News, Sibick was charged with “knowingly entering a restricted building, violent entry or disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, obstruction of law enforcement, assaulting or impeding certain officers, and taking from a person anything of value by force.” Court documents state that FBI agents viewed Instagram footage that shows Sibick saying he had been tear-gassed but “we’re going, baby, we’re going.” He also shared photos on Facebook showing himself holding a shield belonging to a Capitol police officer.
(image via US Court)
Sibick’s story is he was actually trying to help an officer who was pulled into the crowd and then “beaten, tased, and robbed” of his badge, radio, and 17-round magazine. Uh huh… That’s it. According to the court documents, “Sibick stated that he attempted to reach the officer to pull him away but was unable to get to him and at that point he feared for his life and that of the officer. Sibick further stated that due to the violence, he decided to leave.” But then footage from the officer’s body cam, who blacked out during the attack and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment, showed Sibick reaching toward the officer and pulling off the officer’s radio and badge. In a follow-up interview with Sibick on February 23, investigators found Sibick’s story changed a bit. “Sibick stated that he had reached in to try to help the officer, and that he remembered the badge coming off as he reached for him,” reads the complaint. “Sibick said that he pressed the ’emergency orange button’ once he had possession of the radio to get help for the officer.” Sibick then told investigators that he dropped the badge and radio and left the Capitol. However, he later admitted to taking the items back to Buffalo where he threw away the radio and buried the badge in his yard. Sibick was arrested and then released to home confinement at his father’s house while he awaits trial. Sibick’s Instagram showed photos with the police shield as well as one photo captioned, “Wildest experience in my life!”

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Covidiot Refuses To Wear Mask On Flight, Then Pees Himself

Grier mugshot

Grier mugshot
Landon Grier (mugshot)
Meet Landon Grier, 24, who allegedly refused to wear a face mask on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Denver (as required by the FAA) on March 9 and then apparently urinated in the cabin. He’s now facing a possible 20 year prison sentence and $250,000 fine for the federal charge of interfering with a flight crew and attendants. From NBC DFW:

The affidavit by FBI Special Agent Martin Daniell III, who interviewed Grier and crew members, says Grier appeared to be trying to sleep but swatted at an attendant when she asked him repeatedly to put on his mask, as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.

A passenger later summoned attendants because Grier was urinating in his seat area, Daniell wrote.

The agent said Grier told him he had several beers and “a couple of shots” before boarding the flight, fell asleep on the plane and “awoke to being yelled at by the flight attendants who told him he was peeing.”

Grier later admitted to having several beers and “a couple of shots” before the flight. Journalist Jeremy Jojola reports that Grier has several previous arrests including drunk driving and burglary.

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On The Anniversary Of The Shooting Death Of Breonna Taylor

Breonna Taylor

Breonna Taylor
Breonna Taylor
It was exactly one year ago today that an innocent young Black woman lost her life in a late-night police raid gone wrong as police gunfire rained through her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky. From the New York Times:

For months, her death went largely unrecognized. Once more people took notice, though, the city was shaken to its core. Protests rocked the downtown area during the summer and fall as demonstrators demanded justice through tears and megaphones and erected a memorial in a prominent square. They prayed together and sang together, chanting, “Say her name!”

Breonna Taylor became a rallying cry, and when no officers were charged in connection with her death, which occurred during a botched drug raid, protesters returned to the streets. Activists are optimistic that the first anniversary of her death, on Saturday, will further fuel a promising surge of civic engagement, particularly from Black residents.

“What happened to Breonna Taylor has shaped every aspect of our lives,” said Charles Booker, a former state representative for Louisville. “Her door being kicked in was our door being kicked in. It really has transformed everything.”

For those who aren’t aware, the police got a tip Taylor’s apartment was being used to traffic drugs. They got the address wrong. According to reports, the police burst through the door in the middle of the night under the use of what’s known as a ‘no-knock warrant’ which means they didn’t announce who they were before entering. Taylor was shot dead in her bed. Over the course of a year, none of the officers who fired into the apartment that night has been charged for the death of Taylor. Read the full article.

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Dog Rescue Spends $1.9 Million At Trump Country Club

Fifty-four percent of Americans believe Donald Trump should be impeached

Fifty-four percent of Americans believe Donald Trump should be impeached You’ll recall Eric Trump, second son to ‘the former guy,’ was discovered to have funneled money to the Trump Organization by holding his cancer charity’s annual event at the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, New York. Eric told folks it was “efficient” to use the Trump Golf Club because it was “free.” But then an investigation revealed the golf club was actually charging for its use and making money in the process. Well, they’re still at it only now it’s a dog charity down in Florida which has spent as much as $1.9 million at Trump’s Mar-a-lago country club. Yahoo News reports:

A dog rescue charity with links to Lara Trump has spent as much as $1.9 million at former President Donald Trump’s properties over the last seven years and will drop an additional quarter-million at his Mar-a-Lago country club this weekend.

According to a permit filed with the town of Palm Beach, Florida, Big Dog Ranch Rescue estimates it will spend $225,000 at the club where Donald Trump has taken up full-time residence since leaving the White House. All the profit from that spending winds up in his pocket.

Internal Revenue Service filings show that the group has spent as much as $1,883,160 on fundraising costs at Mar-a-Lago and Trump’s golf course 18 miles north in Jupiter starting in 2014.

Read the full article here. And yes, the Donald made a “surprise” appearance at the event. The local NBC News affiliate reports he told attendees he wasn’t “prepared” for the event but happened to be walking by and wondered what was going on.

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News Round-Up: March 12, 2021

Fitness trainer Marc Burgum

Fitness trainer Marc Burgum
Fitness guru Marc Burgum (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: It’s Friday night and fitness guru Marc Burgum (above, proving clothes are sexy) asks, “If you could be doing anything right now, what would it be?” Follow him on Instagram here. • Washington Blade: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), whose support for the Equality Act is seen as crucial to winning Republican votes for the LGBTQ non-discrimination bill, has laid out the proposed revisions she’s demanding in exchange for her support. • Stonewall Gazette: Check out the short film Sauna the Dead where two men must overcome prejudice during a night at the sauna by joining forces in taking down a horde of towel-wearing zombies. Who will live to see the dawn?

• Andrew Christian Blog: The underwear and swimwear designer offers five reasons why he believes bulges are sexier than seeing naked peen. • WLTX: South Carolina’s hate crime bill got its first round of approval Thursday, but with an amendment that may exclude the LGBTQ community??? • Instinct Magazine: DC Comics will celebrate this year’s Pride Month with the release of an anthology series titled DC Pride which will include “LGBTQIA+ characters from all corners of DC’s ever-expanding Universe, including cameos by fan favorites Batwoman, Renee Montoya, Alan Scott, Midnighter, Apollo, Extraño, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Constantine, and more.”

‘Superman’ #32 Pride variant cover (Credit: David Talaski via DC Comics)
• Pink News: Following the enormous success of his new series “It’s A Sin,” creator Russell T. Davies is looking at a reboot of his 1990s series “Queer As Folk.” • Twitter: The hashtag #CancelFox was trending at number one this afternoon as the Twitterverse noted the irony that Fox News is all upset about ‘cancel culture’ while professing to love the ‘free market.’