Category: News

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Early Biden Administration Picks Show Diversity & Experience

Former Vice President Joe Biden (via campaign)
President-elect Joe Biden told voters during the 2020 campaign that his cabinet and staff would reflect the diversity of the American people. And early in the transition, he appears to be keeping those promises. So far, he’s announced the following picks for high profile positions in his administration: • Janet Yellen, expected to be nominated as Treasury Secretary, would be the first woman to ever hold the position. • Linda Thomas-Greenfield, to be nominated as ambassador to the United Nations, would be the first Black woman to serve in that capacity. • Cuban American Alejandro Mayorkas, nominated for homeland security secretary, would be the first Latino to hold the cabinet position. • Avril Haines, a former CIA deputy director, could be the first woman to be the director of national intelligence if confirmed • Carlos Elizondo, an openly gay event planner who lives in Washington with his partner, has been tapped to be the social secretary in the Biden White House. Elizondo is the first LGBTQ person to be named to a prominent position in the incoming administration. Karine Jean-Pierre, a Black lesbian, is reported to be a top contender for White House press secretary. Other experienced names previewed include former Senator/Secretary of State/Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry as Biden’s ‘Climate Czar,’ and former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken as Secretary of State. As many in the media have noted, many of those we’re hearing about hold deep experience in their respective niches. While Donald Trump liked to surprise and entertain with unexpected and disjointed choices in key roles, you can almost hear a sigh of relief in the ‘mundane-ness’ of Biden’s picks. Brendan Buck, ex-counselor to former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, wrote on Twitter, “These Biden nominations and appointments are so delightfully boring.”

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Dow Passes 30,000 As Biden Transition Begins

Following the certification of key states’ Election Day results plus the announcement of former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen to be the next Treasury secretary, stock markets are heading for record territory this morning. From the New York Times:

The S&P 500 rose about 1.4 percent, and by late morning was trading above its most recent closing record of 3,626.91, reached on Nov. 16. The Dow Jones industrial average rose to a new high, crossing above the 30,000 mark for the first time.

The gains on Tuesday seemed to reflect optimism about the economy, with shares of economically sensitive companies among the best performers. Oil prices also jumped to levels not seen since early March.

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News Round-Up: November 23, 2020

L-R Ben Lewis, Blake Lee in ‘The Christmas Setup’ (screen capture)
Some news items you might have missed: • OUT: A new poll from GLAAD shows only 14% of LGBTQ voters cast their ballot for Trump, while 81% voted for the projected president-elect Joe Biden. • The Hill: Sixty-six percent of Republican voters support President Trump running for president again in 2024, according to a new survey.  Also in the poll: 86% would support Trump calling for national unity, 38% would support Trump refusing to give up power and remain in the White House, and 46% would support Trump starting his own TV network. • Lifetime Channel: Check out the first trailer for Lifetime’s The Christmas Setup (lead photo above) – the cable network’s first-ever holiday movie centered on an LGBTQ romance. The film stars real-life couple Blake Lee and Ben Lewis, and The Nanny star Fran Drescher. Looks super-cute! Premieres December 12 at 8 pm ET.

• New York Times: More than one million people were screened by the TSA on Sunday – more than on any day since the pandemic took hold in March. That number is about half of what it was in 2019, but experts are concerned that people flying to visit their families for Thanksgiving could increase the spread of the coronavirus. • Mediaite: Far-right nutjob Dan Bongino floated on his podcast Monday that he would consider running for president of the United States in 2024. Bongo has previously run for Congress three times – in Maryland and Florida – and failed each time. • Twitter: Donald Trump Jr., currently quarantining in a private cabin somewhere due to testing positive for the coronavirus, is becoming more and more erratic on social media. In this recent tweet, he asks about burning down the house for Thanksgiving…? #NotFunny

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Carl Bernstein Names 21 GOP Senators Who Despise Trump

L-R Donald Trump, Carl Bernstein
Legendary Washington, D.C. journalist Carl Bernstein has publicly named 21 Republican Senators who he says have expressed their ‘extreme contempt for [Donald] Trump and his fitness to be POTUS.’ Bernstein, who was one of the two reporters who broke the Nixon Watergate scandal, declares in his tweets he’s ‘not violating any pledge of journalistic confidentially’ in sharing the names.

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Misdemeanor Charges For Trumper Breathing On Protester

The New York Daily News reports a Trump supporter, Raymond Deskins, 61, who got in the face of a protester and ‘forcefully exhaled’ without a face mask has been arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault after a private citizen obtained a warrant through a county magistrate. The incident occurred near the entrance to Trump National Golf Club in Virginia on Saturday. As the alleged assault wasn’t witnessed by law enforcement, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office told the victim they’d have to apply for a warrant through a county magistrate. And they did. Why do Trumpers have to act like this? It’s just childish.

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News Round-Up: November 22, 2020

Chris Hemsworth (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Avengers/Thor star Chris Hemsworth (above) helped himself to an ‘extra large donut’ prompting his Marvel co-star Chris Pratt to implore him to “stop working out” because Pratt’s trainer said, “Since we’re gonna be in the same movie and everything, he doesn’t want me to stand next to you if you look like that…” LOL • Gay Star News: The Czech Republic’s new coronavirus rules allow ‘traditional’ weddings with up to 15 guests. However registered partnerships – which have been legal for same-sex couples since 2006 – can only go ahead if they are ‘urgent.’ • NY Times: Donald Trump’s campaign on Sunday disavowed Sidney Powell, one of his lawyers, after she made wild accusations of Republican governors being involved in a payoff scheme to manipulate voting machines. In an interview with NewsMax, she said, “Georgia’s probably going to be the first state I’m going to blow up.” • CNN: A Nevada district judge on Friday denied a request brought by a conservative activist to halt the certification next week of the state’s election results that show President-elect Joe Biden leading in Nevada by more than 33,000 votes. The case was filed by conservative activist Sharron Angle and her organization, the Election Integrity Project, against Nevada’s Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske — the only Republican statewide officeholder. • Fox5Vegas: Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak implemented a “statewide pause” in order to help mitigation efforts against the spread of COVID-19, a move that will not shutdown the economy, but will tighten mask requirements and reduce capacity limits. New regulations include required masks for Nevadans “at all times” (indoor and outdoor) and 25% capacity for public gatherings. • NY Post: Actor Ricky Schroder helped get Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse out of jail on a $2 million bond Friday in exchange for securing the rights to a movie about the teen shooter. Rittenhouse is charged with shooting and killing Anthony Huber, 26, and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and wounding a third man while with a militia group during protests of the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

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Fort Worth’s Joel Burns Revisits Viral ‘It Gets Better’ Moment

Joel Burns today and in 2010 as he gave his ‘It Gets Better’ speech (screen captures)
Taking part in the ’10 Years Better’ series from the It Gets Better Project, former Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns revisits the viral video of his city council meeting speech in October 2010 where he shared aspects of his young gay life and spoke out about LGBTQ bullying. The new series features celebrities and everyday people who recorded It Gets Better videos early on, rewatching and reacting to their video. Host Emile Ennis Jr. speaks with guests about their life since — how it’s gotten better/evolved, and their message today for LGBTQ+ youth. After video footage of his 2010 city council speech went viral, Burns found himself in the national spotlight regarding LGBTQ bullying and teen suicide. Burns says he’s “still wowed that these few minutes have had this lasting impact some ten years later.” As someone who grew up in Fort Worth, watching the speech – by the first man who had run for office as an openly gay man – had a powerful and very personal impact on me.

The morning of the city council meeting Burns read of 19-year-old Zach Harrington taking his own life in nearby Norman, Oklahoma, due to homophobic bullying. Burns used his announcement time during that meeting to share some of his own coming out story (including being bullied in high school) and then segued to the growing epidemic of suicides by young LGBTQ people. The 4-term city councilman’s prepared remarks originally included his own history with having had suicidal thoughts, but as he shares with Ennis Jr. in the video below, he stopped himself. “I realized, oh my god, my parents are probably watching this right now and I never told them I thought about committing suicide.” While Burns was still in that council meeting, news outlets began reporting on his story.

Former Fort Worth city councilman Joel Burns (screen capture)
In the following days, he remembers thinking maybe 300 people might see the video. Then, the numbers climbed to 3,000, then 30,000, then 300,000 and eventually garnered over 3.1 million views on YouTube. Burns says he received over 20,000 emails regarding the speech and countless letters. One letter was addressed simply to ‘Joel Burns, Fort Worth. Inside was a note on a torn piece of paper. “This is what remains of the letter I wrote for my roommate to find with my body,” remembers Burns. “I happened upon your speech and I decided to burn the rest of it.” “It’s a reminder that there’s a lot of pain experienced by people all over the world. And they need reminders like the It Gets Better Project gives them that things will, indeed, get a lot better.” The It Gets Better Project began as a viral social media movement in 2010 and has grown to an organization with global affiliates across 17 countries and 4 continents.

You can watch Burns’ powerful 2010 speech below.

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Brian Williams Throws Deadpan Shade Geraldo’s Way

MSNBC’s Brian Williams (screen capture)
MSNBC’s Brian Williams threw down some masterful deadpan shade last night at the end of his 11th Hour program after former newsman Geraldo Rivera suggested on Fox News that the upcoming coronavirus vaccines should be named after Donald Trump. Giving props to Trump as the ‘prime architect of Operation WarpSpeed,’ Rivera seems to think Trump the humanitarian scientist created the vaccine all by his little self. “You know, for my money, Geraldo raises a good point there,” begins Williams. “You know it’s possible we just don’t give the president enough credit for his FDR-like devotion to tackling this virus. His laser-like focus, his daily devotion, the sympathy he’s forever expressing to the families of the quarter-million dead.” Williams says all of this and more during a montage of Trump out on a golf course. Hit the play button.

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News Round-Up: November 20, 2020

Jim Newman (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Let’s hear it for Broadway’s Jim Newman (above) who definitely knows how to find his light. Follow him on Instagram here. • CNN: Donald Trump told an ally that he knows he lost, but that he is delaying the transition process and is aggressively trying to sow doubt about the election results in order to get back at Democrats for questioning the legitimacy of his own election in 2016, especially with the Russia investigation. • HBO Max: The original series EQUAL pays tribute to the epic origin stories of the LGBTQ+ movement. The four-part docu-series captures the true backstories of the leaders and unsung heroes, pre-Stonewall, who changed the course of American history through their tireless activism. Each hour-long episode in the series plays like a thriller, bringing to life the high stakes and hard deadlines of historical events that have not yet been given their due. In honor of Transgender Day of Awareness, I want to highlight Episode 2 which focuses on the courageous pioneers of the trans movement. Check out the trailer for the series below.

• Out: Two Trump-appointed judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit today overturned a lower court ruling and struck down local ordinances prohibiting licensed therapists from practicing the debunked “conversion therapy” on minors. • Bloomberg: Donald Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week and is isolating. Junior recently downplayed the extent of the coronavirus outbreak that deaths are “almost nothing.” I guess this makes Junior “almost nothing.” • AP: Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger certified results reported by the state’s 159 counties that show Biden won the state by a margin of 12,670 votes.

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Transgender Day Of Remembrance 2020

Transgender Day of Remembrance is observed every year on November 20

Today we observe Transgender Day of Remembrance, which began in 1999 as a way to honor Rita Hester, a trans woman murdered inside her Boston apartment in 1998. A vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester’s death and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. Observed every November 20, the day is meant to honor the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

(graphic via NBC Out)
The Human Rights Campaign reports that in 2020, at least 37 transgender and gender non-conforming people were victims of violent homicides — more than the HRC has recorded in any other year. Last year, the American Medical Association categorized these losses as an “epidemic” – and it is one that has only continued to spread. While each case is unique in its circumstances, what is clear is the epidemic disproportionately impacts Black transgender women, who comprise 66% of all victims of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people. President-elect Joe Biden issued a statement today recognizing Transgender Day of Remembrance, which reads, in part, “2020 has been a year of tremendous suffering and loss” for the transgender community. Biden describes the rising death toll of transgender and gender-nonconforming people “intolerable.” “Transgender rights are human rights,” affirms Biden. “To transgender and gender-nonconforming people across America and around the world: from the moment I am sworn in as president of the United States, know that my administration will see you, listen to you, and fight for not only your safety but also the dignity and justice you have been denied.”

Honoring the Transgender Day of Remembrance, NMAC (formerly known as the National Minority AIDS Council) has released a powerful tribute – “But…I Survived” – directed and choreographed by John Alix and dedicated to transgender women of color. Peppermint, Mila Jam, and Deja “The Lady Deja Davenport” Smith are featured in the new video set to Sia’s song “Alive.”