Category: News

Posted on

Giuliani’s Loopy Witness Announces Run For Office

Melissa Carone (screen capture)
Oh, wait – she’s not done yet! Via Deadline Detroit:

Mellissa Carone, who rose to memedom last month during a Michigan legislative hearing on election fraud, hopes to parlay her infamy into a state House seat.

The former contractor for Dominion Voting Systems confirmed Friday that she’s running for Michigan’s 46th house district in Oakland County on a platform of election integrity after claiming, without evidence, that she witnessed rampant fraud at TCF Center in Detroit in November.

“My ultimate goal is to get our ballots hand-counted and clean out Lansing just like draining the swamp in D.C. because that’s what we need,” she said.

After her statements at that infamous legislative hearing, Dominion sent her a cease-and-desist notice about her misinformation campaign. Lawyers for Dominion also noted that Carone is NOT a technology or elections expert. She was reportedly hired through a staffing agency “for one day to clean glass on machines and complete other menial tasks.”

Posted on

San Francisco Drops 80s-Era Bathhouse Ban

After nearly 4 decades, gay bathhouses are now able to apply for permits to open in San Francisco. In the mid-1980s, the city’s health department put in place tight regulations in order to try and curb the burgeoning AIDS epidemic. At the time, the restrictions prohibited private locked rooms and required employees monitoring any possibly ‘dangerous’ behaviors. Basically, those rules amounted to a ban on bathhouses in the city. Currently, there’s one bathhouse operating in the area – Steamworks in Berkeley. That venue is currently closed due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions. There is one private sex club, Eros, located in the Castro district, which has operated along the 1980s era rules. According to the Bay Area Reporter, District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman has been working for a year to overturn the restrictions. He found out last week the city’s health officials had updated the regulations for adult sex venues. “It is symbolically significant right now,” Mandelman told the Reporter. “Whether it is significant on the ground depends on if entrepreneurs with the vision and financial capacities and the savvy to open can and operate one of these.” Mandelman sent a copy of the revised rules in advance of them being published. Titled, “Minimum Standards for Operation of Sex Clubs, Commercial Sex Venues and Parties,” the 3-page document lists sexual activities that could open the door to exposure to HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. Those activities, including anal and vaginal intercourse without a condom and fisting without a latex glove, must be posted at entrances of the venues in English, Spanish, Chinese and Tagalog. Patrons, 18 years or older, will also be required to sign in writing they understand the posted regulations. Additionally, there can be no consumption of alcohol nor any sex-for-pay on the premises. The venues must also provide hot and cold running water, soap, towels, plus free lube and condoms. No word on if/when a business owner will apply for a permit especially in the middle of the COVID-19 health threat. Also, it remains to be seen how much of a market there may be for such businesses. Back in the day, gay bathhouses were popular for men looking for other like-minded men for sex. But with dating apps like Grindr and Scruff, we’ll have to see how popular a new bathhouse might be today when you can basically ‘order in’ for free. Mandelman, though, is hopeful a new bathhouse operator will step up. He told the Reporter, “It is a good development and sets the stage for bathhouses to be part of our economic recovery.” (source: Bay Area Reporter)

Posted on

Democrats Try Again For Washington DC Statehood

Democrats have introduced legislation that would give Washington DC statehood
Washington D.C. (photo: Maria Oswalt/Unsplash)
NBC News reports House and Senate Democrats introduced legislation Wednesday that would give Washington DC statehood. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who represents the District of Columbia, reintroduced the bill in the House and says she has 200+ co-sponsors in the chamber. The bill passed in the House last summer. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) introduced the legislation in the Senate. But don’t look for the bill to pass in the upper chamber where the Democrats have the barest of majorities. Currently, the Senate is divided 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris able to cast tie-breaking votes. But the Senate Dems would need to overcome a filibuster which requires 60 votes. Finding 10 Republicans to vote with them could be a steep climb. Republicans have long opposed statehood for D.C. (and Puerto Rico as well) because the new states would create two new Senate seats and at least one House seat. That congressional representation would most likely end up Democratic. So, the Senate Republicans will block the effort and deny the more than 700,000+ residents of the District full representation and local self-government. It’s worth noting that the District’s population is greater than that of Vermont or Wyoming. Puerto Rico has a population of over 3 million.

Posted on

Pete Buttigieg Nomination Advances To Full Senate Vote

Pete Buttigieg

Pete Buttigieg
Pete Buttigieg during his Senate confirmation hearing
The Senate Commerce Committee today approved the nomination of Pete Buttigieg for Transportation Secretary by a vote of 21-3. The three no votes were Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Rick Scott (R-FL). The nomination now goes to a vote by the full Senate. As I wrote last week, his 2.5 hour confirmation hearing went VERY well. It’s a pretty sure bet Pete will be on Transportation duty very soon. If confirmed, Buttigieg will be the first openly gay man confirmed by the Senate to a Cabinet post. He’ll also be the youngest person to lead the Transportation Department.

Posted on

QAnon/GOP Rep Publicly Supported Violence On Dem Politicians

QAnon/GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (screen capture)
A review of hundreds of Facebook posts by freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) reveals repeated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians in 2018 and 2019 before being elected to Congress. From CNN:

In one post, from January 2019, Greene liked a comment that said “a bullet to the head would be quicker” to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In other posts, Greene liked comments about executing FBI agents who, in her eyes, were part of the “deep state” working against Trump.

In one Facebook post from April 2018, Greene wrote conspiratorially about the Iran Deal, one of former President Barack Obama’s signature foreign policy achievements. A commenter asked Greene, “Now do we get to hang them ?? Meaning H & O ???,” referring to Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Greene replied, “Stage is being set. Players are being put in place. We must be patient. This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off.”

There’s much more at the link. I encourage you to read the full article. When asked about the comments, Greene posted a statement to her Twitter account that read, in part, “Over the years I’ve had teams of people manage my pages. Many posts have been liked. Many posts have been shared. Some did not represent my views.” Oh, I see…it’s not her fault. She’s not to be held responsible for what occurs on her own social media accounts. It’s ‘other people’ to blame.

CNN also found footage of Greene harassing David Hogg, one of the survivors of the deadly Parkland shooting. Greene reportedly spread a conspiracy theory that Hogg was a “bought and paid little pawn” in calling for commonsense gun control measures. She also called the mass shooting a ‘false flag’ event. This is from before her time in Congress, but is this what she did with her time? Follow and harass a high school student? This video was recorded just weeks after the shooting incident.

Posted on

News Round-Up: January 26, 2021

(image via Depositphotos)
Some news items you might have missed: • Right Wing Watch: Religious anti-gay loon Scott Lively told his radio audience that God removed Donald Trump from the White House because he was too pro-gay. #srsly • NewNowNext: Montana’s House of Representatives has voted in favor of two vehemently anti-transgender bills. The first is House Bill 112, which would bar trans student athletes from playing on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity. The second is House Bill 113, which would block medical professionals from providing potentially life-saving gender-affirming health care to trans or nonbinary youth. • The Frontier: Last April, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt ordered $2 million worth of hydroxychloroquine based, in part, on Donald Trump’s promotion of the malaria drug for use against the coronavirus. Now, the state is trying to unload nearly the entire shipment.

• Instinct Magazine: Nearly two months after coming out as a transgender male, Elliot Page and wife Emma Portner have filed for divorce. • NBC News: A gay New York City couple say they were harassed and asked to leave a restaurant this month because of their sexuality. Because the incident happened in New York, the men may have legal recourse, but in nearly half the states, they would not. • New York Times: Grindr has been fined 100 million Norwegian kroner, or about $11.7 million, for illegally disclosing private details about its users to advertising companies.

• Justice Department: The Wisconsin pharmacist who intentionally intended to render hundreds of doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine ineffective pleaded guilty to two charges filed today in federal court. Steven R. Brandenburg, an admitted skeptic of vaccines in general, now faces up to 10 years for each charge against him. • Reuters: The good news – By a vote of 55-45 the U.S. Senate on Tuesday rejected a Republican effort to stop former President Donald Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial on a charge that he incited the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. The bad news – Democrats need more than 5 GOP Senators to vote to convict Trump.

Posted on

D.C. National Guard To Remain Deployed Through March

D.C. National Guard to remain deployed due to possible civil unrest
National Guard members laying down in parking garage (image via Twitter)
Politico is reporting the deployment for the entire D.C. National Guard has been extended until March 31. With the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump scheduled to begin soon, officials worry about possible civil disturbances in the nation’s capital over the next several weeks.

The memo, signed by D.C. National Guard chief Maj. Gen. William Walker and dated Jan. 25, orders troops to remain on duty at least through the end of March “in continued support of District and Federal civil authorities during anticipated First Amendment demonstrations and Civil Disturbance in the District of Columbia.”

The new orders suggest that law enforcement agencies in the nation’s capital are preparing for potential unrest in the coming days and weeks, as former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial kicks off and his supporters issue threats to lawmakers.

In addition to the D.C. Guard, troops from Maryland have been ordered to remain on duty through at least March 15. The National Guard Bureau initially said the orders will become voluntary after 31 days, but Guard sources said Tuesday that was not the case.

Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic is wrecking havoc with the D.C. National Guard troops as hundreds have tested positive for the virus or are currently quarantining due to exposure. Many of the troops, who have had to sleep on the floor of the Capitol building or an underground parking lot, say the deployment is becoming its own super-spreader event.

Posted on

Guess Which State Has The Most Capitol Riot Arrests?

Jacob Chansley, aka the QAnon Shaman, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the Jan 6 Capitol Building invasion

Jake Angeli took part in the Capitol invasion (screen capture)
After receiving over 100,000 photo and video tips, the FBI has opened about 200 case files in tracking down and arresting the perpetrators of the January 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol building. The Soufan Center has been tracking the arrests to determine how far the insurrectionists traveled for the incident. From Statista:

Up to January 22, arrests had been made in 35 out of 50 states with one person apprehended as far away as Hawaii. That individual was Nick Ochs who describes himself as “a Proud Boy Elder from Hawaii” who was arrested at Honolulu Airport upon his return from Washington.

So far, Texas has the highest arrest count out of all U.S. states with 14 apprehensions with New York and Florida following with 11 and 10, respectively.

(graphic via Statista)
Posted on

Podcast: Biden Goes To Work On LGBTQ Issues, Once-a-Month HIV Drug Approved

The Randy Report podcast

Biden goes to work on LGBTQ issues In this week’s podcast: • President Joe Biden goes to work on LGBTQ issues on Day One including reversing the transgender military ban, expanding workplace protections and more • Pete Buttigieg introduced his husband Chasten at his Senate confirmation hearing for Transportation Secretary • Dr. Rachel Levine could become the highest ranking transgender official in the U.S. government • The FDA approved a new once-a-month injectable HIV medication • The new queer mini-series ‘It’s A Sin’ premieres to rave reviews • Out singer/songwriter Kisos releases his gorgeous new music video ‘He Didn’t Want Me’ All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report As mentioned in the episode, you can email me your suggestions at randyslovacek (at) gmail.com

Posted on

News Round-Up: January 25, 2021

Matthew Camp speaks out about the recent arson attack that destroyed his home
Matthew Camp (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • NewNowNext: Porn star Matthew Camp speaks out about the recent early morning arson attack that destroyed his home. “I don’t have any enemies that I know of,” Camp says gently. “But I’m a gay sex worker who bought a house that used to be owned by a Satanist. I don’t know who did it, but it’s not hard to guess why they would.” • The Advocate: A group of eight U.S. Catholic Bishops released a statement in support of LGBTQ+ people, saying that, “God created you, God loves you and God is on your side.” A ninth Bishop later signed on as well. • Out Music: Openly gay artist J.R. Price has released a duet featuring his childhood hero, out singer/songwriter Tom Goss titled “Dance with Me”, a bluesy love song about the power dance has to bring a couple together before the world breaks them apart.

“The song chronicles that moment when a couple is fighting, and it doesn’t even make sense for them to stay together a second longer, but with a simple dance, they realize they can’t part because the attachment is too powerful,” explains Price. The track is available now.

• Gothamist: The co-owner of a pub who refused to follow COVID-19 health restrictions has avoided a felony charge of second degree assault on an officer. On December 6, 2020, he drove into a sheriff’s deputy who tried to detain him breaking both the officer’s legs. • NBC News: The Kissimmee Police Department says it verified 30 screenshots of Facebook posts made by Officer Andrew Johnson in support of the Capitol riots, and disparaging the Black Lives Matter movement. And then the department fired him. • CNBC: Funny how ashamed these folks are after getting arrested. Garrett Miller (above) has been charged with invading the Capitol on January 6 and calling for the assassination of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He’s very sorry now and he adds he was just following then-President Donald Trump’s orders.