LGBTQ news and entertainment
Checking in on some of my favorite Instagram accounts this weekend starting with totally woofy Jeff Ferreira (above) who clearly finds the weather in Hollywood totes comfortable. Jim Newman is giving you all kinds of onesie goodness while trying to swindle folks out of Santa’s milk and cookies:
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunk: Paleontologist Dr. Francesc Gascó (above) is also a bit CrossFit fan. This totally says TGIF to me. • KIT212: Kenneth has the low-down on what’s what in gay rags across the country. • Agence France-Presse: Several government ministries in Indonesia are banning LGBT job hunters in favor of what one called “normal” applicants, the Ombudsman said Friday. Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of some 260 million, has seen a jump in discrimination against gay and transgender people in recent years. • ABC News: Florida officers encounter a strange scene – a car circling in reverse with the owner’s dog Max inside. The dog’s owner had made a wrong turn, pulled over and got out of the car leaving the dog inside, who somehow hit the gear shift putting the car in reverse.
DRIVING DOG: Florida officers encounter a strange scene: a car circling in reverse—with the owner’s dog Max inside.
Officers eventually manage to rescue Max by entering a code on the car door’s keypad to stop the vehicle. https://t.co/89Clt0UVoe pic.twitter.com/8YlsRKwgSB — ABC News (@ABC) November 22, 2019
From the Men of the Vet 2020 Calendar
Donny and Marie Osmond end their 11-year run at the Flamingo (photo: Denise Truscello)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: I’m sorry, but ‘suited up for work’ Steve_in_LA (above) is just ridiculously handsome and photogenic. #dang • GLSEN: Jordan Steffy, who went viral over the weekend when video of him standing up to a high school bully hit Twitter, said during an appearance on Tamron Hall’s talk show he’s leaving the public school since the administrators have done nothing about his reports of being bullied. A 2018 study by GLSEN found that 20% of LGBTQ youth have switched schools at least once to escape bullying. • NY Times Bestsellers: Donald Trump Jr. is bragging about his book, Triggered, landing at number one on the NY Times Bestsellers list, but there’s a catch – see that little dagger symbol next to his listing? That indicates there were bulk purchases of the book. You know, like someone ordering tons of copies so the book lands at number one…?
One can never say for sure who — there’s a lot of strategic bulk-buying in publishing, especially political books — but *someone* (or someones) is doing bulk purchases of the new #1 NYT bestseller “Triggered.” pic.twitter.com/fpghtc5Yef
— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) November 14, 2019
• Gaily Grind: A former Kentucky school principal who made national headlines for banning books with “homosexual content” from classrooms has been indicted on child pornography charges. Because of course… • OUT: There has never been a gay Black man in Congress, but Mondaire Jones is trying to change that. The lawyer, nonprofit leader, and activist announced his campaign to represent New York’s 17th Congressional District on Thursday. • Quisling Bootlicker: Gay conservative commentator and talk show host Dave Rubin invited Donald Trump Jr. to his show and told the president’s son that he’d be fine if Don Jr. called him a “fag.” Said Rubin, “All I ever wanted was exact equality under the law. That’s what we’ve got. Now we’re equal. You can call me whatever you want. You could call me a ‘fag’ right now and it wouldn’t mean anything to me.”
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Dan Tai (above) offers this Hump Day inspiration, “Nothing will work unless you do, so chalk up and get it done.” I offer this photo of Dan as Hump Day inspiration. #woof • Advocate: A New Orleans judge has rejected an arrest warrant for gay ex-radio host Seth Dunlap, who is accused of fabricating an antigay tweet from his former station. • Socialite Life: Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer was finally voted off Dancing with the Stars this week. In true Trump form, the Donald deleted his tweet of support for Spicer once the Spice man got the boot. 
• FBI: The FBI has released its annual Hate Crime Statistics report for 2018 which shows anti-LGBTQ hate crimes increased by almost 6 percent compared to 2017. • NY Daily News: Michael Troina, a former NYC firefighter who said he experienced hazing from colleagues including taunts to “have sex with a stripper” to prove he is straight, received an $80,000 settlement from the city after filing a lawsuit. • Funny: Michael Henry’s latest ‘funny but makes you think’ video confronts gay men’s obsession with parties, drinking, and sex. Eventually, all that sex-crazed fun stops being fun, and that just leaves a lot of loneliness in the gayborhood. “When’s the last time you tried to make any gay friends that didn’t involve parties, drinking, or sex?” Henry asks the lonely party bunny. “All you ‘sexys’ only have surface friendships because you’re stuck in this loop of connecting and validating each other through some sort of sexual activity. Wear some pants and take an improv class, nobody’s having sex there.” #wisdom
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Steve_in_LA and company (above) look totes relaxed for the holiday weekend. • Deadline: The fourth and final season of Kit Williamson’s Emmy-nominated LGBTQ series Eastsiders will be available on Netflix on December 1. • CBS News: House Republicans plan to announce Congressman Jim Jordan will move to the House Intelligence Committee, replacing Congressman Rick Crawford. The intent is to have Jordan, a staunch defender of Donald Trump, present during hearings to disrupt the ongoing impeachment inquiry. • World Rugby: If you’ve ever followed rugby, you may have noticed that occasionally a ‘wardrobe malfunction’ can occur on the field. Via Instagram with the caption, “Cheeky offload…” LOL
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: From the looks of woofy Jeff Ferreira’s photo (above) today, the high of 57 degrees in NYC must have felt preeeety warm 🙂 • Iowa Caucuses: The latest polling from Quinnipiac University shows Mayor Pete Buttigieg moving into the number two spot. Senator Elizabeth Warren receives 20% support among Iowa likely Democratic caucus-goers, with South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg getting 19%, Sen. Bernie Sanders at 17%, and former Vice President Joe Biden at 15%. • NY Times: The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against Gilead Sciences, which sells Truvada used as HIV-prevention medication for PrEP, accusing the company of earning billions from research funded by taxpayers without paying taxpayers back. • Advocate: Scientists say they have discovered a new strain of HIV for the first time in nearly two decades. • Watch What Happens Live: Queer Eye guy Karamo Brown initially told the press he and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer had become “friends” during his time on Dancing with the Stars. But on WWHL this week, Brown backpedaled on that saying there “was no friendship.” • Washington Blade: Two judges have now struck down a controversial Trump administration rule allowing health care providers to opt-out of procedures to which they have religious or moral objections, a policy that threatened care for LGBTQ people and others. • Christmas Music: Political satirist Randy Rainbow releases a 7-track EP titled, HEY GURL, IT’S CHRISTMAS! tomorrow featuring guests Kathy Griffin, Alan Cumming, Norm Lewis, and Lorna Luft.
Shut up! My Xmas album “HEY GURL, IT’S CHRISTMAS!” on @BwayRecords will be released digitally everywhere 11/8! Title track by @marcshaiman & ME!🎄Featuring @Alancumming @kathygriffin @normlewis777 @Lorna_Luft and Donald Trump..? Pre-order hard copies NOW: https://t.co/k90YFkMvQr pic.twitter.com/HptTiKngZj
— Randy Rainbow (@RandyRainbow) October 23, 2019
Tyler Valenzia (via Instagram)
Joe Blizzard (via Instagram)
• 2020 Battleground States: A new NY Times/Siena University poll shows voters across six important swing states support the House impeachment inquiry 52-44 percent. However, at this time, a majority of those voters (52-42) oppose removing Trump from office. • OUT: After the dismal failure that was the Boston ‘Straight Pride’ Parade, the folks behind that debacle now plan to head south to Dallas, Texas, to hold another bullsh*t anti-LGBTQ event there. • New York Times: A National Security Council aide, Timothy Morrison, testified on Thursday that a top diplomat close to Donald Trump told him that a package of military assistance for Ukraine would not be released until the country committed to investigating Trump’s political rivals, corroborating earlier impeachment inquiry testimony. • Global News: Global Calgary meteorologist Jordan Witzel showed up dressed as a mystical unicorn named Ferdinand for Halloween 2019, and no one on set could stop laughing as he tried to report the weather in his magical ensemble.