Category: News

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Trump Cancels Secret Plan To Host Taliban At Camp David

Donald Trump tweeted Saturday night that he had abruptly canceled a clandestine meeting at Camp David with the president of Afghanistan and Taliban leaders. The president also ‘called off peace negotiations’ that had appeared to be close to a final agreement. From the Washington Post:

President Trump said Saturday that he had canceled a previously undisclosed summit at Camp David with Taliban leadership and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after the Taliban took responsibility for an attack last week that killed a U.S. soldier.

Trump said the meetings had been set to take place Sunday.

On Twitter, the president appeared to cancel talks with the Taliban indefinitely, a significant blow to the peace process kicked off last year, which was nearing its conclusion. In tweets Saturday evening, Trump wrote that he has “called off peace negotiations” and accused the Taliban of perpetrating the attacks to strengthen their negotiating hand.

“What kind of people would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position?” Trump tweeted. “They didn’t, they only made it worse!”

The canceled meetings were scheduled to be held just days before the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which led to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. The Taliban. On U.S. soil. Three days before the 9/11 anniversary. Seriously.

And just to show you that the Donald is totes on his game, he followed those tweets with this:

(image via Flickr/White House – public domain)

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NOAA Backs Trump On Early Dorian Threat To Alabama

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the National Weather Service, has issued a statement backing up Donald Trump’s ongoing assertion that Alabama was, at one time, a possible target of Hurricane Dorian. From the Washington Post:

In a statement released Friday afternoon, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated Alabama was in fact threatened by the storm at the time Trump tweeted Alabama would “most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated.”

Referencing archived hurricane advisories, the NOAA statement said that information provided to the president and the public between Aug. 28 and Sept. 2 “demonstrated that tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama.”

The WaPo goes on to report that on August 29, when the president was briefed by acting NOAA administrator Neil Jacobs, any risk to Alabama had become highly unlikely. By the time Trump tweeted about the Alabama threat on Sunday morning, no credible computer model showed any risk to the state. NOAA also clapped back at its own National Weather Service office in Birmingham, Ala., which had contradicted Trump’s tweet (without naming Trump) writing, “Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian.”

“The Birmingham National Weather Service’s Sunday morning tweet spoke in absolute terms that were inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time,” wrote NOAA’s leadership. ‘Absolute terms’ and ‘probabilities’ aside, the Birmingham office ended up being correct, and Trump was wrong. Alabama was not ‘hit (much) harder than anticipated.’ Responding to the statement from NOAA, the organization’s former chief operating officer, David Titley, tweeted this:

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News Round-Up: September 6, 2019

Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Dan Tai is heading to America next on his travels – presumably to put in place a Randy Report restraining order. 🙂 • The Guardian: Vice President Mike Pence was greeted by several rainbow flag displays this week as he landed in Reykjavik to meet with President Guðni Jóhannesson of Iceland. • KIT212: Click here for a round-up of what’s making news in LGBTQ publications around the country. • CNN: Major retailers have announced this week that they will respectfully ask customers not to openly carry guns into their stores in states where open carry is legal. Walgreens, CVS, and Wegmans announced the new policy Thursday afternoon, following announcements from Walmart and Kroger on Wednesday.  

• Washington Post: State and federal health officials investigating mysterious lung illnesses, which have caused two deaths and over 200 serious illnesses, linked to vaping. A chemical derived from vitamin E was found in samples of marijuana products used by people sickened in different parts of the country. In short – stop vaping, people are dying. • Politico: Four states are poised to cancel their 2020 GOP presidential primaries and caucuses, a move that would cut off oxygen to Donald Trump’s long-shot primary challengers. Republican parties in South Carolina, Nevada, Arizona and Kansas are expected to finalize the cancellations in meetings this weekend. • Towleroad: After recording a video for the virulently anti-LGBTQ group Focus on the Family, New Orleans’ Saints quarterback Drew Brees became defensive when called out for working with the organization which has opposed marriage equality, called transgender people ‘mentally ill,’ and advocates legalizing discrimination against gays. Brees eventually apologized claiming ignorance of the group’s anti-LGBTQ lobbying efforts. • The Daily Beast: Influential progressive news site ThinkProgress, which rose to prominence during the Bush administration and helped define progressivism during the Obama years, is shutting down. #SadDay • New Music: Randy Report favorite Mika drops his latest single, “Sanremo,” from his upcoming album My Name Is Michael Holbrook due out October 4. The breezy, sunbaked groove is perfect for that chill, end of summer vibe. Smooth. Hit play below.

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130,000 Jobs Added In August, Prior Months Revised Down 20K

According to the latest jobs report released by the Labor Department Friday, 130,000 jobs were added to the economy in August, missing expectations. NPR reports experts had predicted job gains of nearly 158,000. The report could have been worse if the federal government hadn’t hired 25,000 temporary workers in anticipation for the 2020 Census. The numbers show the factory sector shrank last month for the first time in three years. CNBC notes that private sector hiring was up by only 96,000, the lowest pace since February. Additionally, job gains in June and July were adjusted downward by 20,000. The national unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%.

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Buttigieg On #SharpieGate: “I Feel Sorry For The President”

Democratic White House hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg was asked about Donald Trump’s #SharpieGate incident where he had appeared to have drawn a circle on a National Weather Services map to include the state of Alabama as a possible Hurrican Dorian target. “I feel sorry for the president, and that is not the way we should feel about the most powerful figure in this country,” said Buttigieg. “Somebody on whose wisdom and judgment our lives literally depend. I don’t know who felt it necessary to pull out a sharpie and change the map. “I don’t know if it was one of his aides believed they had to do that to protect his ego. No matter how you cut it, this is unbelievably sad state of affairs for our country. If our presidency is not in good shape, then our country is not in good shape. “On one level it’s laughable, on another it is exactly why we’ve got to do something different.”

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World’s Chillest Man Sips Beer During Armed Robbery

St. Louis resident Tony Tovar is being called the “World’s Chillest Man” after video footage of him calming sitting through a bar robbery went viral. According to NBC News, Tovar was having a beer at Behrmann’s Tavern on August 28 when an armed robber entered the establishment demanding the patrons get down on the ground and hand over their valuables. Tovar, however, sat on his barstool and calmly sipped his beer while the gunman moved around the watering hole. In surveillance footage, you can see the robber press his gun into Tovar’s arm. But the “World’s Chillest Man” just lits up a cigarette. Tovar later said, “I just had a really good feeling he wasn’t out to harm anybody.” Watch the Chill One in the report below.

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News Round-Up: September 4, 2019

Some news items you might have missed: • Instagram: That time you fly across the world and wind up (surprise!) at Bear Week in Sitges, Spain, by happy accident with old friends. #goodtimes • CNN: The Supreme Court of the Philippines dismissed a request to legalize same-sex marriage in the country. The high court said in a statement it booted the case due to plaintiffs’ “lack of standing” and for “failing to raise an actual, justiciable controversy.” The high court acknowledged that the 1987 Constitution “does not define or restrict marriage on the basis of sex, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity,” but urged Congress to address the recognition of same-sex unions. • Bloomberg: The Trump Energy Department has reversed an Obama-era regulation requiring that light bulbs commonly used in recessed lighting and track lighting meet the same energy efficiency standards that effectively phased out the traditional incandescent bulb. The Energy Department said the change “does not prevent consumers from buying the lamps they desire.” The standards would have applied to roughly half of the six billion light bulbs in use today and would have saved consumers billions in energy costs and avoid millions of tons in carbon dioxide emissions.

• Fox KTVU: Following the mass shooting in Gilroy, California, the city of San Francisco has formally adopted a resolution calling the National Rifle Association a domestic terrorist organization. The resolution calls on other cities and government entities to make similar declarations. The resolution itself has no legal weight. • Associated Press: Defense Secretary Mark Esper approved the use of $3.6 billion in funding from military construction projects to build 175 miles (282 kilometers) of Donald Trump’s wall along the Mexican border. Pentagon officials would not say which 127 projects will be affected. • Washington Post: Michigan has become the first state in the nation to ban flavored e-cigarettes, a step Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said was needed to protect young people from the potentially harmful effects of vaping. She complained that e-cigarette companies are using sweet flavors, such as bubble gum and “fruit loops,” to hook young people on nicotine, with potentially long-term harmful consequences. • Reuters: U.S. grocery giant Kroger has announced they are joining Walmart in “respectfully asking that customers no longer openly carry firearms into our stores, other than authorized law enforcement officers.” • Twitter: Twitter had a field day after homocon White House spokesman Judd Deere tweeted Vice President Pence couldn’t be “anti-gay” because he had lunch with the openly gay leader of Ireland. As we all know, the former governor of Indiana signed a religious freedom law that was criticized as a pathway to legal anti-LGBTQ discrimination. He also endorsed a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage. Deere’s tweet was ridiculed by thousands, including Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Democratic White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg, who criticized the suggestion that dining with Varadkar meant Pence was not anti-LGBT.

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Merrill Lynch: Fewer Trump Twitter Rants Means Better Economy For US

According to cable business network CNBC, data indicates Donald Trump would help his reelection chances by pulling back on the Twitter rants. Bank of America Merrill Lynch issued a statement on Tuesday based on analyzing Trump’s Twitter activity since 2016. Savita Subramanian, the brokerage’s chief equity strategist, wrote that “days with more than 35 tweets (90 percentile) by Trump have seen negative returns (-9bp), whereas days with less than 5 tweets (10 percentile) have seen positive returns (+5bp) — statistically significant.” A basis point is 0.01 percent. “Trade talk, political campaigning, and tweets have contributed to volatility, from China to Fed policy to tax policy,” Subramanian added. “And new tariffs announced in August indicate downside risk to our 2019/20 EPS growth forecasts of +2%/+7%, where indirect impacts from hits to corporate or consumer confidence could be significant.” Many inside Team Trump have said off the record that Trump is well aware his main calling card for reelection has been the relative strength of the stock market and low unemployment. It seems less Twitter storms = better economy.

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Mississippi: Bigots Now Turning Away ‘Mixed-Race’ Marriages

Well, gee, no one saw this coming, did they? Now bigots in Mississippi feel empowered to turn away ‘mixed-race’ weddings. LaKambria Welch was doing research for her brother, who is black, and his fiancée, who is white, looking for locations to host their upcoming wedding. But after reaching out to Boone’s Camp Event Hall in Booneville, Miss., the couple was turned away based on the owner’s personal religious beliefs. After being turned away, Welch visited the property to get clarity on the refusal. She filmed her conversation with the employee she spoke with. The video, no surprise, quickly went viral. “We don’t do gay weddings or mixed race, because of our Christian race,” said the employee. Probably realizing she had shown her self by saying ‘Christian race’ – there’s no such thing – she quickly amended her statement saying, “I mean our Christian belief.” Uh-huh.

Folks, when people reveal themselves to you, believe them the first time. When Ms. Welch explained that she, too, is Christian but asked where in the Bible it’s taught that mixed-race marriages were forbidden, the employee replied, “I don’t want to argue my faith, we just don’t participate.” Shaken by the episode, Welch told the media, “It really broke my heart to actually hear her say those things.” According to reports, after the video launched hundreds of outraged social media posts, the owner of the event hall, Donna Russell, clearly sensing a lawsuit of epic size (federal law prohibits race-based discrimination in public accommodation), privately apologized to Welch and her family. The owners said in a statement that they had previously been taught (by who?) to believe that “interracial marriage was against the teachings of the Bible.” The owners say they consulted with their pastor and realized they were ‘wrong.’ More from the Washington Post:

In her apology, the event hall’s owner attempted to explain why she believed the Bible supported her views on interracial marriages, describing how she only recently discovered that wasn’t the case. She began by writing that as “a child growing up in Mississippi” it was an unspoken understanding that people stayed “with your own race.”

But then on Saturday, when her husband asked her to point to relevant sections of the Bible, she couldn’t. After spending hours scouring the text and sitting down with her pastor, the owner wrote that she finally concluded that the reasoning behind her decision to turn away Welch’s brother and his fiancee was “incorrect.”

“Boone’s Camp is sorry for the pain and inconvenience they have caused this couple and have invited them to use the facility,” the statement said. The United States Supreme Court overturned bans against interracial marriage in Loving v. Virginia in 1967.  In 2016, Mississippi passed a law that affords special protections to opponents of same-sex marriage, which the Supreme Court had ruled was a constitutional right the previous year. The law protects individuals and organizations who claim they act in accordance with their “sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions” from potential government actions. The law allows them sway in turning away possible customers in regards to hiring, real estate, wedding services, and foster care.  The 2016 law clearly does not mention race. The venue owners did not mention any change of position on same-sex marriages. Folks, first it’s the gays, now ‘mixed race’ marriages. Don’t think you’re not next. All they have to do is find you to be ‘different.’ #StandUp (source: New York Times)

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Another Former Leader Of ‘Ex-Gay’ Movement Comes Out, Apologizes For Harm Caused

Yet another former leader of the so-called ‘ex-gay movement’ has come out as gay, and issued a public apology for his part in advocating for the harmful practice of ‘conversion therapy.’ In a post on his Facebook page, McKrae Game apologized for his part in founding Hope for Wholeness, which promised to aid those who “struggle with homosexuality find the freedom to live in sexual and relational wholeness.” From OUT:

Game, who ran the organization for two decades, said its stance that LGBTQ+ people can be cured of their identities is “wrong.”

“I know that creating the organization … was in a large way causing harm,” he wrote. “Creating a catchy slogan that put out a very misleading idea of ‘Freedom from homosexuality through Jesus Christ’ was definitely harmful.”

Game also asked for forgiveness for telling LGBTQ+ that their feelings are “wrong, bad, sinful, [and] evil.”

“It’s all in my past, but way too many continue believing that there is something wrong with themselves and wrong with people that choose to live their lives honestly and open as gay, lesbian, trans, etc.,” he wrote. “Learn to love yourself and others.”

All of the nation’s major mental health and medical associations, including the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have denounced conversion therapy as not only ineffective but dangerous. The harmful practice has been linked to anxiety, depressions and suicide. To date, 18 states have banned the practice on LGBTQ youth. According to the Williams Institute, nearly 700,000 people in the U.S. are survivors of the treatment. Game, married to a woman before coming out as gay earlier this year, is just the latest in a long line of former conversion therapy advocates who have reversed their position on ‘ex-gay’ therapy. Nine ex-gay leaders who left the movement have called for the treatment to be banned. Game recently sat down with the Post & Courier regarding his newfound revelations: