Category: News

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Donald Trump Signs Stimulus Bill, Wins Nothing With Delay

Donald Trump (screen capture)

Donald Trump signed the new stimulus package approved by a bipartisan Congress after days of delays
Donald Trump during ABC News Town Hall (screen capture)
UPDATE: After waiting days to sign the stimulus package passed in Congress by overwhelming margins and negotiated with Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary as his stand-in, Trump finally signed off on the package. His delay may have cost Americans on unemployment $300 each in enhanced federal benefits, thank you very much. Politico rightfully ripped Trump a new one:

THAT’S IT? President DONALD TRUMP made all this noise about the Covid relief and government funding bill only to sign it and get nothing in return?

TRUMP got taken to the cleaners.

WHAT A BIZARRE, embarrassing episode for the president. He opposed a bill his administration negotiated. He had no discernible strategy and no hand to play — and it showed. He folded, and got nothing besides a few days of attention and chaos. People waiting for aid got a few days of frightening uncertainty.

ZIP. ZERO. ZILCH. If he was going to give up this easy, he should’ve just kept quiet and signed the bill. It would’ve been less embarrassing.

The Washington Post reports Donald Trump has signaled to aides he will sign the stimulus and spending bills passed by Congress potentially avoiding a crisis.

President Trump has indicated that he will sign the stimulus bill into law before Monday night’s deadline and avert a government shutdown, two people familiar with his plans said Sunday evening, a move that would release $900 billion in stimulus funds as soon as possible.

Trump’s new decision to sign the bill came less than a week after he demanded changes to it and had suggested he would refuse to sign it into law. On Tuesday, he referred to the bill as a “disgrace” but he signaled on Sunday he would sign it after all.

The government was set to shut down on Tuesday if Trump did not sign the bill into law. The spending package also included a new round of stimulus checks, unemployment aid, and small business assistance, among other things.

Folks close to Trump say it’s still not a done deal as the Donald has apparently changed his mind on signing the bill several times. The bipartisan bill that was negotiated with Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, was overwhelmingly passed in both chambers of Congress. Trump threw an unexpected wrench into the deal when he suddenly demanded $2,000 checks (instead of $600) to be sent to all eligible Americans.

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News Round-Up: December 27, 2020

Scarlett sleeps on my head
Me and my sleeping companion, Scarlett
Some news items you might have missed: • Life: In an attempt to escape Brody’s over-the-top puppy energy last night, this (above) was where Scarlett decided she wanted to sleep. #doglife You can check out more photos of the pups first Christmas with us here. • Gr8erDays: The Santa and Rudolph puppets used in the 1964 stop-motion classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (the only known survivors), were appraised and sold in 2006 for $10,000. Last month, the pair sold at auction for $368,000, and are now on loan to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. • KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in LGBTQ publications like Eric Guilmette covering the latest from Wire Magazine.
Eric Guilmette covers Wire Magazine
Eric Guilmette covers the latest issue of Wire Magazine
• Deadline: I was excited for, but somewhat disappointed by, the recently released Wonder Woman 1984. Most of the smart folks I follow on social media felt the same way. And yet, the film did well enough ($85 million worldwide so far) that Wonder Woman 3 has been fast-tracked. • Mediaite: During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir said Sunday he’s encouraged by the timeline of the vaccine rollout and expects that “any American who wants a vaccine can be vaccinated by June.”

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Dems Outpacing Repubs In Fundraising For Georgia Senate Runoff

A prosecutor in Georgia is reportedly in the early stages of investigating Donald Trump for attempting to overturn the election results in the state

A highway sign reading Georgia where Democrats are leading in fundraising ahead of the upcoming Senate runoff elections The two Democratic candidates in the Georgia Senate runoff races for U.S. Senate are far outpacing their Republican opponents in fundraising. From Fox News:

Democrat Jon Ossoff, who is taking on Republican Sen. David Perdue, took in more than $106 million from Oct. 15 through Dec. 16, according to his latest campaign finance report.

The Rev. Raphael Warnock, the Democrat trying to unseat Sen. Kelly Loeffler, was close behind with a little over $103 million.

Perdue reported $68 million over the same two-month span, with Loeffler collecting just under $64 million. Three of the campaigns reported their financial data on Thursday. Loeffler submitted hers a day earlier.

The two races will determine which party will control the Senate in 2021. If the Democrats win both seats, there will be 50 Dems and 50 Republicans in the chamber, but with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris – who serves as president of the Senate – control would swing to the Democrats.

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News Round-Up: December 25, 2020

International superstar Dolly Parton is writing a Broadway m

International superstar Dolly Parton (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • Pink News: Dolly Parton wants Christian homophobes to quit shaming gays – “Judging is God’s job.” • Instinct Magazine: President-elect Joe Biden has tapped openly gay Gautam Raghavan, who previously served as a White House staffer in the Obama administration, to serve as Deputy Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel. Raghavan will be tasked with identifying, recruiting, and vetting more than 4,000 political appointments across the federal government. • Page Six: ‘Sex and the City’ will return to the small screen, with a limited series reboot coming to HBO Max, and would include all the original stars — except Kim Cattrall, who has repeatedly said she is not interested in returning. • KIT212: Racist uses the n-word and pays for it. I agree with Kenneth – the guy stopped punching too soon.

• AP News: The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits last week – 803,000 – is somber evidence that the job market remains under stress nine months after the coronavirus outbreak sent the U.S. economy into recession and caused millions of layoffs. Before the virus struck, jobless claims typically numbered around 225,000 a week before shooting up to 6.9 million in early spring when the virus — and efforts to contain it — flattened the economy. • Washington Post: Donald Trump’s latest pardons are just the final steps taken to complete the coverup of the Russia scandal. Included are GOP lawmakers who admitted to breaking the law, and convicted Blackwater contractors who killed unarmed civilians in a 2007 massacre. • Law and Crime: Tiger King star Joe Exotic, is hoping to join the ranks of Paul Manafort and Roger Stone by landing himself a presidential pardon before Donald Trump leaves office next month. The self-described “gay, gun-toting redneck” and former Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate has dropped his lawsuit against the DOJ, telling a federal judge that he believes the president has personally received his pardon petition. • Twitter: President-elect Joe Biden and soon-to-be First Lady Jill Biden wish everyone glad tidings on this festive holiday.

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Trump Twitter Rant: Christmas Edition

Donald Trump

Donald Trump continued his barrage against Twitter on Christmas Eve, tweeting that the social media company is “going wild with their flags” and “trying hard to suppress even the truth,” which seems to be alluding to his continued baseless claims that there was rampant voter fraud (there wasn’t). Trump repeated his call for terminating Section 230, a legal clause in the Communications Decency Act which shields social media companies from being liable for content posted on their platforms by third parties. Trump opposes the protections, basically, because he wants to sue Twitter (from whence his power comes) for flagging his posts as ‘misinformation.’

Trump also went after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for acknowledging President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Trump railed at his own fellow Republicans as they “sit back and watch” Trump try and overturn the fairly won election.

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News Round-Up: December 24, 2020

Sexy Santa adorned with holiday lights
Merry merry and happy Christmas Eve!
Some news items you might have missed: • The Hill: A USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll released Thursday indicates 96% of Democrats say President-elect Joe Biden was elected fairly in the November presidential election, while 78% of Republicans think Biden was not legitimately elected president. • InstaHunks: Woofy Fran Dullon is wrapping your presents…have you been naughty or nice?

 

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• American Independent: Donald Trump has Trump chosen Michele Bachmann’s husband, Marcus, to be a member of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, an advisory body to the president and the Department of Health and Human Services. Note – the ‘Lady Marcus’ runs a clinic which that specializes in the debunked and dangerous practice of conversion therapy. #Boo • NY Times: The brilliant 3-time Tony Award nominee (and dear friend to everyone in the Broadway community), Rebecca Luker, whose gorgeous soprano voice led to a 3 decades-long career on Broadway, died on Wednesday after a year-long battle with ALS. RIP dear, beautiful Rebecca.

• Politico: The U.S. has struck a deal with Pfizer to purchase another 100 million doses of the company’s COVID vaccine. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech said they can supply 70 million doses by June 30, 2021, with the remaining 30 million doses delivered by the end of July. • Talking Points Memo: The White House went out of its way to declare Donald Trump was in meetings and working today.

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Kevin Spacey Is Back With His (Now) Annual Christmas Eve Video

Kevin Spacey

Academy Award-winner Kevin Spacey
Academy Award-winner (and accused sexual assaulter) Kevin Spacey posted his third-holiday video on his YouTube channel today. I guess it’s a tradition now? Titled “1-800 XMAS,” this year’s installment takes on a more somber tone than past years. Spacey chooses not to take on his ‘Frank Underwood’persona from House of Cards and instead speaks as himself to people struggling over the holiday season. “If you’re standing in a place that you can no longer remain standing, if you’re suffering, if you need help, if you feel guilt or shame, if you’re struggling with your identity, if your back’s up against the wall, or if you feel that there is no path for you, whatever your situation, I promise you there is a path,” said Spacey. “At this time during this holiday and beyond, even if you don’t feel it, there are people out there who understand and who can help, because you are not alone.” In essence, the video takes on an odd sort of ‘It Gets Better’ messaging. Spacey shared his first ‘holiday’ video in 2018 in the aftermath of being accused of sexual misconduct with a young man in Massachusetts as well as allegations from actor Anthony Rapp. Recorded as what seemed to be his House of Cards character, the message appeared to be a veiled denial of the mounting accusations against him. The Massachusetts man eventually invoked his 5th Amendment rights which led to the charges being dropped. And another accuser, a massage therapist, died before the case could go to court. That man’s estate decided to drop the allegations as well. Last year’s video offered a message to folks that when people do something you don’t like, you should ‘kill them with kindness.‘

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Melania Dragged For Maskless White House Christmas Tour

First Lady Melania Trump with children wearing face masks at the White House
First Lady Melania Trump is probably very happy to be done with her last Christmas in the White House. Yesterday, her official Twitter account shared a short video showing her showing the White House decorations to young children (all wearing face masks) while she didn’t bother to wear a mask even though that’s the official position of the CDC. That, plus the leaked audio of a conversation with a former aide where she complained about having to oversee the holiday decor of the White House (“Who gives a f*ck about Christmas stuff and decoration…?”), is probably the most transparent perspective we’ll have of the soon-to-be-former First Lady. Twitter wasn’t amused.

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News Round-Up: December 22, 2020

Dan Levy accepting his trophy at the 2020 Emmy Awards (screen capture)
Some news items you might have missed: • Instinct Magazine: Emmy Award-winner Dan Levy (above) is working on a number of new projects including a new romantic comedy that he may star in. • WeHoVille: West Hollywood’s City Council unanimously approved creating a crosswalk painted in the colors of the transgender flag on Monday night and also updating the rainbow crosswalks to add the colors brown and black to symbolize greater inclusivity. • Out Music: Out Norwegian musician Marie Ulven (aka girl in red) drops this lovely melancholy pop bop, “two queens in a king-sized bed.” Since being discovered on Soundcloud five years ago, Ulven has impressed music fans with her ethereal sound as well as her choosing to lean into her queerness.

• CNN: Donald Trump has begun issuing presidential pardons and among the recipients are former Reps. Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter. Both are Republicans, and both were the first in Congress to endorse Trump for president. • Philly Inquirer: Looks like we found that ‘voter fraud’ folks have been talking about. A man in Delaware county registered his dead mother and mother-in-law to vote using their IDs, and he then cast a mail-in ballot…..for Donald Trump. The 70-year-old admitted to casting the illegal ballot to “further the campaign of Donald Trump.” • The Herald: A wedding venue in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, – the Warehouse on Ivy – denied a same-sex couple the opportunity to hold their wedding there citing its ‘Christian values.’ North Carolina is one of 27 states with no statewide laws offering protection from discrimination against the LGBTQ community.

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Video: Boston Cop Brags About Driving Into Protesters

NowThis News shares this report of vehicles being used to attack protesters across the country. In the first clip, a Boston police officer boasts about driving his car through a crowd of protesters. At the 30 second mark, the officer he’s bragging to turns away once he realizes his buddy has just confessed on an active body cam. ‘I’m f*cking hittin’ people with the car,’ says the police officer. The short video goes on to note other violent attacks on protesters with vehicles. Note – I’m definitely not anti-cop. I am anti-bad cop. These jokers make life much harder for the good guys.