Donald Trump (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr – CC License)The New York Times spoke to several White House insiders regarding the whys and wherefores of Donald Trump’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The upshot seems to be practically every decision was predicated on: what would it mean for Trump? Between Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and not-an-infectious-expert Dr. Scott Atlas bending to Trump’s ego, scientists and doctors had a tough time getting solid health policy implemented. Trump thought wearing face masks wouldn’t appeal to his base, so he didn’t really encourage their use. And he really hated how the positivity rate of testing ‘made him look bad.’ Trump reportedly didn’t want folks tested for COVID until they were so sick they landed in an emergency room and were vomiting. From the New York Times:
It was a warm summer Wednesday, Election Day was looming and President Trump was even angrier than usual at the relentless focus on the coronavirus pandemic.
“You’re killing me! This whole thing is! We’ve got all the damn cases,” Mr. Trump yelled at Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser, during a gathering of top aides in the Oval Office on Aug. 19. “I want to do what Mexico does. They don’t give you a test till you get to the emergency room and you’re vomiting.”
Mexico’s record in fighting the virus was hardly one for the United States to emulate. But the president had long seen testing not as a vital way to track and contain the pandemic but as a mechanism for making him look bad by driving up the number of known cases.
“I’m going to lose,” Trump told Kushner during one exchange. “And it’s going to be your fault, because of the testing.” In another episode, Jared Kushner and Hope Hicks tried to get Trump to embrace face mask use but with Meadows and adviser Stephen Miller pushing back, the Donald refused. Read the full report at the New York Times.
Tony Award nominee Norm Lewis Some news items you might have missed: • News Observer: LGBTQ people in North Carolina can no longer be prevented from getting domestic violence protective orders, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. North Carolina had been the only state in the country to withhold emergency protections from people seeking protection from abuse by a same-sex partner. • Instinct Magazine: My editor at my other journalistic home, Adam Dupuis, shares this wild and wooly tale of a stalker who utilized 11 different email accounts and numerous Growlr accounts in order to cyberstalk him. #strangeness • 54Below: My fabulous friend (and Tony Award nominee) Norm Lewis has the perfect song for tonight – from his recent Feinstein’s/54 Below streaming concert NORM LEWIS: Christmastime Is Here!
• Facebook: Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) wrote a lengthy breakdown of efforts to undermine the election, concluding there was no evidence of voter fraud. Sasse adds that – in private chats – no Republicans in Congress think the election was stolen. • NBC News: Grafton Police have arrested the Aurora Health Care pharmacist who intentionally spoiled more than 500 doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine valued around $8,000 to $11,000. He has been arrested on charges of first degree recklessly endangering safety, adulterating a prescription drug, and criminal damage to property. • Washington Examiner: Donald Trump promised in the 2016 campaign to eliminate the federal debt over a two-term presidency. Instead, he will leave office having added massively to the debt. Since his inauguration, the total national debt has increased 30% from nearly $20 trillion to $27 trillion as of Monday.
.@realDonaldTrump promised in the 2016 campaign to eliminate the federal debt over a two-term presidency.
That pledge won’t come to fruition, and, in fact, he will leave office having added massively to the debt.https://t.co/sd7nPlQ3BC — Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 31, 2020
Internationally acclaimed tenor and vocal coach David RomanoDavid Romano, the internationally-acclaimed tenor who created the role of “Ubaldi Piangi” in the original Broadway cast of The Phantom of the Opera and was best known as the “vocal coach to the stars,” died on Saturday, December 26 at his home in Palm Springs, CA at the age of 69. David was also a close friend of mine since 1995. In addition to his own glorious voice, for more than 40 years David has been a much sought-after voice teacher and vocal coach. Over the years, his students/clients – including Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman – have gone on to illustrious careers of their own lighting up stages from the Metropolitan Opera, to La Scala, to Broadway stages and in feature films. “David Romano was an incredible force,” says 4-time Grammy Award nominee Josh Groban. “He was one of the smartest people I’ve ever met and his knowledge of the voice was pivotal to my understanding of singing and, the lessons he taught me, in music and in life, will carry on with me forever.” David Romano making his grand entrance in The Phantom of the Opera (photo: Joan Marcus) “I first got to know David in 1988 when we were performing in The Phantom of the Opera in NYC,” said international classical vocalist and original Phantom star Sarah Brightman. “At the time, being a young performer, English and new to the pressures of Broadway theatre, he took me under his wing, and we had been good friends ever since.” “Not only did he have a beautiful voice, but he was also an excellent vocal coach,” added Brightman. “He was a strong and ebullient character, a personality, lived life to the fullest, a lover of opera, a wonderful human being and will be missed by his friends and many in the arts and entertainment world. He will always be remembered and will never be forgotten as the vocal coach to the stars.” David Romano with Sarah Brightman backstage at Phantom of the Opera International opera star Angela Maria Blasi shared in a statement: “During our times in Evita, we would disappear into the basement during the break between shows and he would coach me on my opera audition material. He was so knowledgeable in everything opera that I don’t know what I would have done without his steadfast support and mentorship. Rest in peace dear friend.” As a performer, David toured the world as a concert soloist, singing over 100 concerts with Roger Wagner and, can be heard on more than 30 film soundtracks. David Romano chatting with Elizabeth Taylor after a performance of Phantom of the Opera One of David’s favorite highlights was when he sang a duet with opera legend Luciano Pavarotti in the MGM film Yes, Giorgio. During the recording session, Pavarotti announced, “Your voice is more beautiful than mine.” In 1998, David released his own critically acclaimed solo album, All the Things You Are, and over the years was featured on numerous musical theatre recordings. He also recorded the soundtrack and was featured in the ABC movie of the week “Infidelity.” Among his seemingly endless list of credits, David graced the stages of the San Francisco Spring Opera, Opera Colorado, and the Ojai Festival as well as appearing as a soloist with major symphony orchestras up and down the west coast. A shortlist of his many theater credits include featured roles in Evita (original Los Angeles company), Sammy Cahn’s Words and Music and appearances in L.A. Civic Light Opera’s Camelot, Kismet, Wonderful Town, and Bells Are Ringing. Additional film and TV credits are “Fernwood Tonight,” Twilight Zone,” “Alf,” “Lady Blue,” “Means and Ends” and “The Martin Short Show,” to name just a few. But on a personal note, I will remember David for his unending friendship. I met David as a longtime friend of my husband, Michael. Countless were the sitcom adventures I would find myself traipsing about with David. After a year or two, Michael would answer the phone only to turn to me to say, “Ethel, it’s Lucy.” With Michael and David escaping Oz Patience wasn’t always David’s strong point. One time, as he was driving his huge SUV after leaving a theater event in Los Angeles, he got tired of the slow-moving traffic from the 4th floor of the parking structure to the exit. So, he just announced, “Hold on!” And then drove down the left hand (wrong) lane of traffic all the way down to the street level. Once we were out, he calmly turned and said, “I didn’t buy this car to wait.” I also got to experience David’s incredible talent as a vocal coach for several years. Normally, his fee for a session would cost hundreds of dollars, but he would teach me for free out of his immense generosity. And I never sang better. He was very old school. As the student, he wasn’t interested in why I thought I sang this or that a certain way. He would just ask, “Who is the teacher?” His instinct in coaxing the best out of his students was unerring and never missed the mark. “Open your mouth, drop your jaw, say ‘ah’ not ‘aw’ and sing!” And out would come an effortless high B flat I was never able to conquer before. That was David’s talent, though. I just did as I was told. And if you didn’t ‘do as you were told,’ you were thrown out of the studio. Out. OUT. He was the teacher. Period. David and Michael in the 1990s David often assumed the role of my unofficial publicist as he was never slow to brag about my theater career informing any and every one of my resume (as important as it may or may not be) dropping every name he could along the way. David was generous to a fault, and I really mean that. Almost every meal he would pick up the check. Having managed apartment buildings early in his life, he would show up and confront contractors who were working on the first house Michael and I bought when we thought we were being taken advantage of. In one instance, the contractors became extremely defensive about something and the situation wound up with the builder yelling “F*ck you!” inches from David’s face. (pause, pause, pause…raise one eyebrow) “And…?” David asked in a calm, quiet, plaintive tone.
I could go on and on. As Josh Groban shared on his social media, “Anyone who knew him has a fun story. The guy lived 20 lives. He relished in making people part of new stories.” Josh closed his post with this comment which sums up David oh-so-well: “I would say rest with the angels but I know you’re busy teaching them better vowel placement.” Busy indeed. David was complicated, complex, exhilarating, exhausting, intelligent, and incorrigible. And he was my friend. Rest in peace, Lucy. Signed, Ethel. With Michael, David and Sabrina – Christmas 1998
President-elect Joe Biden (via campaign)The Washington Post reports there are some staff changes in the works in regard to the Secret Service agents who are assigned to protect the president due to concerns that some current members have shown some alignment with Donald Trump and his agenda. And so, the Secret Service is apparently bringing back a short-list of senior agents whom President-elect Joe Biden knows well from his time as vice president. More the Washington Post:
Staff changes are typical with the arrival of a new president and are designed to increase the trust and comfort the incoming president feels with his protective agents, who often stand by the president’s side during sensitive discussions and private moments.
But the shifts underway occur at a particularly contentious time, as Trump has blamed his reelection loss on unfounded allegations of voter fraud and has sought to block his administration from treating Biden as the president-elect. Some in the Secret Service also came under criticism during Trump’s tenure for appearing to embrace his political agenda.
For instance, some presidential detail members urged other agents and Secret Service officers not to wear masks on presidential trips this year — against the administration’s own public health guidance — as the president felt wearing masks projected weakness, The Washington Post has reported.The Secret Service also took the unprecedented step of allowing the former detail leader to temporarily leave his job to become a White House political adviser.
Pro rugby player Devin Ibañez with his boyfriend Fergus Some news items you might have missed: • Outsports: Devin Ibañez (above), who played professionally in Major League Rugby, has come out as gay in social media posts, saying he has “decided to embrace what I once felt embarrassed of and be proudly and shamelessly myself.” • PBS: Canada will soon require that air travelers test negative for COVID-19 before arrival, federal ministers said on Wednesday after social media images of maskless tourists prompted a call for stricter measures to curb the virus. • NewNowNext: Marcus D’Amico — who brought the beloved Tales of the City character Michael “Mouse” Tolliver to life in the original 1993 PBS miniseries — died from pneumonia on December 16 at the age of 55. Marcus D’Amico on the right (image via PBS) • The Hill: The United States on Tuesday broke its record for the most number of coronavirus-related deaths in a single day with 3,725 reported, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. As of Wednesday evening, the U.S. has now recorded a total of 342,312 deaths due to COVID-19. • Reuters: Donald Trump’s pardon of four American men convicted of killing Iraqi civilians while working as contractors in 2007 may have violated U.S. obligations under international law. The Geneva Conventions oblige states to hold war criminals accountable for their crimes, even when they act as private security contractors, the U.N. experts said. • Twitter: As the death toll from the coronavirus passes 341,000+ dead Americans, Donald Trump is back on the golf course today.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced there won’t be a vote for increasing stimulus checks to Americans to $2,000 because some might not need it. This was completely expected as McConnell has shown no interest in actually sending funds to Americans during the pandemic. Mind you, he had no problem handing out tax cuts for the wealthiest worth far, far more. From the New York Times:
Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, said on Wednesday that the chamber would not consider the issue of larger stimulus checks separately from two other demands issued by President Trump: the investigation of election security and the removal of legal protections for social media platforms. The decision all but dooms the effort to increase direct payments to $2,000.
“Here’s the deal: The Senate is not going to split apart the three issues that President Trump linked together just because Democrats are afraid to address two of them,” Mr. McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, said.
A stand-alone bill to increase the payments, he said, has “no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate.”
All of a sudden Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans are worried that someone in America might get a $2,000 check “who doesn’t need it.” Funny. They had no problem giving a $1.4 billion tax break to Charles Koch and his family with a net worth of $113 billion. What hypocrisy!
Bernie Sanders just stuffed Mitch McConnell in a locker. “Let me just make it clear for the majority leader — that 10 out of the poorest 25 counties in the US are located in Kentucky.” pic.twitter.com/EPm7jT5TSF
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a vote to increase the amount of stimulus checks to Americans to $2,000 after the House overwhelmingly approved the legislation yesterday. From the Washington Post:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday blocked consideration of a House bill that would deliver $2,000 stimulus payments to most Americans — spurning a request by President Trump even as more Senate Republicans voiced support for the dramatically larger checks.
McConnell’s move was just the beginning of a saga that is likely to engulf the Senate for the rest of the week. Democrats are pushing for an up-or-down vote on the House bill, while more Republicans acknowledge a need for larger stimulus checks.
Proponents include Georgia’s two embattled Republican senators — David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler — who find themselves in tough reelection battles that will decide the fate of the chamber next week.
The Donald was not pleased as he tweeted, “Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH!”
BREAKING: @SenSchumer just asked for unanimous consent for the Senate to pass the #CASHAct to increase direct payments from $600 to $2,000.
Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) just blocked a proposal from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for a vote on the House bill to increase direct payments to $2,000. pic.twitter.com/Ow5oC4vdhi
Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH! Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our Country, and don’t let the Democrats steal the Presidential Election. Get tough! https://t.co/GMotstu7OI
Walking Dead star Daniel Newman Some news items you might have missed: • Playbill: Billy Porter and Cyndi Lauper, who won Tony Awards for starring in and composing, respectively, the Tony-winning Kinky Boots, will reunite December 31 for a duet in Times Square on ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2021, which kicks off at 8 PM ET. • Gay City News: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation on December 23 making single-use restrooms statewide open to people of all genders. Under the “gender-neutral bathroom” law, all public spaces including restaurants, bars, and schools are required to remove sex-segregated signs like “male” and “female” from single-occupancy restrooms. • Apple TV+: After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake) returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam (Ryder Allen), an gender non-conforming boy from a troubled home who has trouble fitting in. Coming exclusively to Apple TV+ on January 29.
• Edge Media: Despite more than 1.3 million coronavirus cases throughout Mexico and upwards of 131,000 in the state of Jalisco — home to the bustling LGBTQ city of Puerto Vallarta — some gay party promoters intend to kick off 2021 with a bang that could potentially become the super spreader event of the season. White Party, we’re looking at you… • Reuters: Novavax Inc has begun a large late-stage study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, the drug developer said on Monday, after delaying the trial twice due to issues in scaling up the manufacturing process. Novavax lags behind other drugmakers in the global race for COVID-19 vaccine, with shots from Pfizer and Moderna authorized for emergency use in the United States. • OnlyFans: Openly bi Walking Dead star Daniel Newman (top image) has launched an OnlyFans account telling fans ” It will all be PG to maybe R-rated tho just warning you no X.” Click here to visit Newman’s OnlyFans account.
The House overwhelmingly approved $2,000 COVID relief checks for Americans today. From TIME:
The House voted overwhelmingly Monday to increase COVID-19 relief checks to $2,000, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger payments and sending the bill to the GOP-controlled Senate, where the outcome is highly uncertain.
Democrats led passage, 275-134, their majority favoring additional assistance, but dozens of Republicans suddenly joined in approval. While Democrats favored bigger checks, Congress had settled on smaller $600 payments in a compromise over the big year-end relief bill Trump reluctantly signed into law.
The president’s GOP allies opposed more spending and Trump’s push puts them in a difficult spot.
Over to you, Senate.
The $2,000 relief bill has passed the Democratic House, with 44 House Republicans also voting "yes."
This means there are surely enough votes for it to pass the Republican Senate, and it places great pressure on McConnell to allow a vote.
I will be joining @BernieSanders in blocking the defense bill until we get a vote on $2000 in direct cash relief. That relief passed in the House today with 44 Republicans voting for it. Senate Republicans must do the same and get the American people the help they need. https://t.co/gPbdiUZ4cf
A white woman assaulted a Black teen over a cellphone (screen capture) On Saturday, Grammy Award-winning jazz musician Keyon Harrold and his 14-year-old son were staying at the Arlo Soho in New York City when a woman (who had misplaced her cellphone) accused Harrold’s son of stealing her phone. Harrold shared a one-minute video on his Instagram account showing the woman becoming unhinged demanding that the hotel manager take the boy’s phone and give it to her. In the video, the hotel manager actually sides with the white woman and asked the teen to show his phone to the woman. As Harrold and his son were walking away from the ugly encounter, the woman tackled the 14-year-old in an effort to reach into his pockets. Minutes after the attack shown in the video an Uber driver dropped the woman’s phone off at the hotel. No, she did not apologize. Now, I ask you – imagine if a Black man tackled a white woman’s child over a cell phone? From Harrold’s Instagram post:
The lady in this video assaulted my 14-year-old son and me as we came down from our room in the @arlohotels Arlo Soho to get breakfast. This person quote on quote “lost” her iPhone, and apparently, my son magically acquired it, which merely ridiculous.
This incident went on for five more minutes, me protecting my son from this lunatic. She scratched me; she tackled and grabbed him. He is a child!!!
Now watch it again. This lady is not even a guest at the hotel. She checked out of the hotel on the 23rd of December; today is the 26th.
Now watch as the manager advocates for the lady who is not even a hotel guest, insisting and attempting to use his managerial authority to force my son to show his phone to this random lady. He actually empowered her!!! He didn’t even consider the fact we were actually the guests!
Now think about the trauma that my son now has to carry, only coming downstairs to have box day brunch with his dad.
Then… her phone was magically returned by an Uber driver a few minutes after this incident. No apology from her after this traumatic situation to my son, not me. No apologies from the establishment. This shit happens so often. It needs to stop!!!
Harrold told the New York Times on Sunday that it was clear his son had been racially profiled. “I wonder what would happen if it were different – if it were a Black woman and there was a white 14-year-old,” he said.
In Mr. Harrold’s video, the hotel manager can be seen identifying himself and asking the son to produce a cellphone, in an apparent attempt to verify the woman’s claim. But the manager had no reason to believe the woman, Mr. Harrold said.
“They assumed he was guilty,” Mr. Harrold said. “The management didn’t even question her as to why she would even think he had the phone.”
The woman has not been publicly identified. Both the police and the hotel declined to share a name, and Mr. Harrold said he did not know who she was or how to contact her.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan DA told NBC News that the office is “thoroughly investigating this incident.” I’d love to hear why – other than her apparent racism – she believed the teen had her phone.
Among his seemingly endless list of credits, David graced the stages of the San Francisco Spring Opera, Opera Colorado, and the Ojai Festival as well as appearing as a soloist with major symphony orchestras up and down the west coast. A shortlist of his many theater credits include featured roles in Evita (original Los Angeles company), Sammy Cahn’s Words and Music and appearances in L.A. Civic Light Opera’s Camelot, Kismet, Wonderful Town, and Bells Are Ringing. Additional film and TV credits are “Fernwood Tonight,” Twilight Zone,” “Alf,” “Lady Blue,” “Means and Ends” and “The Martin Short Show,” to name just a few. But on a personal note, I will remember David for his unending friendship. I met David as a longtime friend of my husband, Michael. Countless were the sitcom adventures I would find myself traipsing about with David. After a year or two, Michael would answer the phone only to turn to me to say, “Ethel, it’s Lucy.” 
