Category: Uncategorized

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Trump Administration To Launch Global Campaign To End Criminalization Of Homosexuality (Whaaat?)

LGBTQ advocates and activists were surprised (to say the least) today by the news that the Trump administration plans to launch a global campaign aimed at ending the criminalization of homosexuality in countries where it’s still illegal to be gay.
Donald Trump

LGBTQ advocates and activists were surprised (to say the least) today by the news that the Trump administration plans to launch a global campaign aimed at ending the criminalization of homosexuality in countries where it’s still illegal to be gay.

NBC News was first to report the effort, to be led by U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, which was apparently sparked by reports of a 31-year-old man being executed via hanging in Iran on allegations of same-sex activity.

Iran has long been seen as a high-priority opponent for the Trump administration.

Grennell, who is openly gay, will reportedly host a ‘strategy dinner’ tonight in Berlin with the U.S. embassy flying in LGBTQ activists from several European countries.

The focus of the campaign will be concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

An official involved in planning the event tonight told NBC News, “It is concerning that, in the 21st century, some 70 countries continue to have laws that criminalize LGBTI status or conduct.”

The initiative will not be a broad, LGBTQ civil rights campaign but a tightly focused message on criminalization.

It’s not apparent that the new initiative represents a change of heart towards the gay community by the Trump administration.

Grenell has been a longtime critic of Iran, and while the Trump White House has managed to implement increased penalties against Iran, European allies have been slow to join in. Some see shifting the conversation on Iran to issues of human rights violations as a way to encourage Europe to come to the table.

The ambassador penned an op-ed for German news outlet Bild last month, calling news of the hanging a “wake-up call for anyone who supports basic human rights.”

“This is not the first time the Iranian regime has put a gay man to death with the usual outrageous claims of prostitution, kidnapping, or even pedophilia,” wrote Grenell. “And it sadly won’t be the last time they do it either. Barbaric public executions are all too common in a country where consensual homosexual relationships are criminalized and punishable by flogging and death.”

It’s notable that a global message denouncing the criminalization of homosexuality will also put the White House on a collision course with several close allies of the United States. Countries like Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Oman all have a history of targeting the LGBTQ community.

Saudi Arabia, which Donald Trump has shown great deference, currently has laws that make being gay punishable by death.

According to LGBTQ rights website Equaldex, there are currently 73 countries – primarily in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia – where homosexuality is illegal.

Since taking office, Donald Trump and his administration have attacked the LGBTQ community numerous times from attempting to discharge HIV+ soldiers and ban transgender military service members, to supporting laws that would allow legal discrimination against LGBTQ people, to fighting trans rights to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

The Human Rights Campaign keeps an up-to-date list of the many ways Trump has worked to undermine LGBTQ rights here.

Advocacy group GLAAD expressed its skepticism at the seemingly sudden change of heart towards LGBTQ people by the Trump administration tweeting, “We’d believe that the Trump administration will work to protect LGBTQ people around the world if they had not attacked LGBTQ people in the U.S. over 90 times since taking office.”

And the Human Rights Campaign tweeted several examples of the kinds of attacks on the LGBTQ community by the Trump/Pence administration.

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Randy Rainbow Trolls Trump With Madonna Parody “Border Lies”

Political satirist Randy Rainbow brightens our Tuesday with his latest video, a parody of Madonna's 1983 hit, "Borderline."

Political satirist Randy Rainbow brightens our Tuesday with his latest video, a parody of Madonna’s 1983 hit, “Borderline.”

In this version, Rainbow calls out Donald Trump’s wild exaggerations of a national emergency as “Border Lies.”

As always, the clever word play by our intrepid Mr. Rainbow is on point. Hit the play button below and enjoy.

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Dolly Parton On Artists Coming Out Today “They’re Just Trying To Find Their Way”

Country music legend Dolly Parton

In a recent interview, country music legend Dolly Parton wondered aloud if some music artists’ declarations of broader sexual identities might be “to make people think they’re so free and all that.”

Chatting with showbiz columnist Dan Wootton for his podcast, The Dan Wootton Interview, Parton referred to herself as “an old timer” when asked about recent announcements by artists declaring themselves as gender fluid, bisexual or pansexual.

“I don’t want to criticize or judge anybody, but sometimes I think it’s just become kind of fashionable to speak out like that,” said the 73-year-old icon. “I think some of them even say more than who they really are.”

“I think they just want to be part of that whole movement to make people think that they’re so free and all that, but I don’t really know how they feel inside,” she added. “They’re just trying to find their way.”

Pointing to her gender fluid/pansexual godchild, Miley Cyrus, she noted, “She does a lot of stuff for effect, and I think a lot of them do.”

Currently in London for the opening of her musical, 9 To 5, the longtime LGBTQ ally does give a squeak when referred to as a gay icon (“I love that!”) and shares that if she’d been born male she would have “been a drag queen because I love all the flamboyant stuff.”

She also bats away longtime rumors about her own sexuality thanks to her lifelong friendship with bestie, Judy Ogle.

“So people say that – because you can’t really have a great relationship with a woman,” said the ‘Jolene’ legend. “I’m not gay, but I have so many gay friends and I accept everybody for who they are.”

The Country Music Hall of Famer, with 25 number one songs on the Billboard country charts, doesn’t worry about such chatter.

“People love to talk, but sometimes that’s your best publicity,” said Parton, who will celebrate her 53rd wedding anniversary with husband Carl Dean in May. “I don’t care what they say as long as they don’t hurt other people I love.”

Some in the media worried that Parton’s comments might have had a negative slant, but Parton’s status as an LGBTQ ally is long-cemented by actions and statements across the years in defense of the gay community.

From telling Billboard Magazine that those who judge gays are committing their own personal sin to apologizing to a theme park guest who was told to turn their marriage equality t-shirt inside out in order to get into the park, to writing the Oscar-nominated song “Travelin’ Thru” for transgender-themed film, Transamerica, Parton has been there (and more) for the LGBTQ community.

You can listen to Wootton’s chat with Dolly Parton via iTunes here or hit play below.

The discussion of sexuality begins around the 12:45 mark.

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Sixteen States File Joint Lawsuit To Block Trump’s ‘National Emergency’

Sixteen states have filed a joint lawsuit to stop Donald Trump from using 'national emergency' powers to get funding for his long-promised wall on the southern border of the United States.
Donald Trump

Sixteen states have filed a joint lawsuit to stop Donald Trump from using ‘national emergency’ powers to get funding for his long-promised wall on the southern border of the United States.

From The New York Times:

The lawsuit is part of a constitutional confrontation that Mr. Trump set off on Friday when he declared that he would spend billions of dollars more on border barriers than Congress had granted him. The clash raises questions over congressional control of spending, the scope of emergency powers granted to the president, and how far the courts are willing to go to settle such a dispute.

The suit, filed in Federal District Court in San Francisco, argues that the president does not have the power to divert funds for constructing a wall along the Mexican border because it is Congress that controls spending.

Xavier Becerra, the attorney general of California, said in an interview that the president himself had undercut his argument that there was an emergency on the border.

“Probably the best evidence is the president’s own words,” he said, referring to Mr. Trump’s speech on Feb. 15 announcing his plan: “I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster.”

Joining California and New York are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia.

You can read the full lawsuit here.

Since Congress enacted the National Emergencies Act of 1976, presidents have declared 59 national emergencies. Prior to Trump’s declaration, not one has been for funding of a political goal.

Throughout the 2016 campaign, Trump repeatedly told his followers he would ‘build the wall’ and Mexico would pay for it.

Using this emergency declaration, Trump will take funds previously allocated to law enforcement priorities and military construction.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders Announces Bid For 2020 Democratic Nomination For Prez

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the longest serving Independent in the history of Congress, has announced he will make a second run for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the longest serving Independent in the history of Congress, has announced he will make a second run for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.

Sanders announced via video this morning.

Axios reports Sanders raised $1.2 million from 42,000 donors in the first 3.5 hours after his official announcement on Tuesday morning.

For comparison, Sen. Kamala Harris, who had seen the biggest fundraising so far for the Democratic primary, reportedly raised $1.5 million in the first 24 hours following her announcement.

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Report: Police Believe Jussie Smollett Staged Attack After Racist Letter Didn’t Get “Bigger Reaction”

According to Chicago's CBS2, police now believe Empire actor Jussie Smollett staged the now-infamous homophobic attack in Chicago last month because a threatening racist letter didn't get a "bigger" reaction.
Jussie Smollett 

According to Chicago’s CBS2, police now believe Empire actor Jussie Smollett staged the now-infamous homophobic attack in Chicago last month because a threatening racist letter apparently didn’t get a “bigger” reaction from the show’s producers.

Via CBS2:

Sources told CBS 2 News that Smollett paid the two men $3,500 to stage the attack in Streeterville. The brothers, seen on surveillance video near the scene of the alleged attack, told investigators Smollett directed them to buy the rope used in the incident, and paid for the purchase at Crafty Beaver Hardware Store in Ravenswood days before the incident.

The brothers, who were questioned by police last week before being released, were paid $3,500 before leaving for Nigeria and were promised an additional $500 upon their return.

They left for Nigeria later in the day on Jan. 29, after the attack.

Sources said one of the brothers held the rope and poured bleach while the other wore a plain red hat and yelled slurs at Smollett.

The sources say the red hat was bought at an Uptown beauty supply store and that the attack was supposed to happen before Jan. 29. The brothers told detectives the three men rehearsed the attack days prior to it happening.

All three men rehearsed their plan just days before everything played out.

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Adam Lambert & Queen Announced To Perform At 2019 Oscars

Adam Lambert (image via Flickr/Tatianka1986)

The Oscars are promising a virtual homo-goulash of LGBTQ music artists and favorites when the 91st annual Academy Awards take place on Sunday, February 24.

This morning, the Academy announced that iconic rock band Queen, fronted by out singer Adam Lambert, will stage to the stage at the 2019 Oscars.

The Academy paired the lyric, “Is this real life? Is this just fantasy?,” with video footage of Lambert and Queen performing “We Will Rock You” in a post on Twitter Monday morning.

Lambert first met and performed with original Queen band members Roger Taylor and Brian May while competing on the talent competition American Idol in 2009. In 2012, the band invited Lambert to tour as frontman.

The appearance will clearly be a tribute to the Freddie Mercury musical biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, which is nominated in five categories on Sunday including Best Picture, Best Actor (front runner Rami Malek), Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing.

The rockers will join previously announced performers Bette Midler, Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Hudson, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, who will perform songs nominated for Best Original Song.

Midler , a two-time Oscar nominee (The Rose, For The Boys) tweeted her news this weekend, writing, “So, (drum roll) Ladies and Gentlemen, I will be chanteusing (that’s singing) on the Oscars on Feb 24…the nominated song from ‘Mary Poppins’…’The Place Where Lost Things Go’ …so excited!!”

Gaga and Cooper will reprise the Grammy and Golden Globe-winning duet, “Shallow” from A Star is Born (a pretty sure bet to win the trophy); Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) will perform “I’ll Fight” from the documentary RBG; and nominees Rawlings & Welch will sing “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

Tune in this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT for the 91st Academy Awards on ABC.

(h/t Hollywood Reporter)

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Trans Woman From El Salvador Murdered After Being Deported From U.S.

Camila was murdered after being deported back to El Salvador 
(image via Aspidh Arcoiris Trans)

A transgender woman, who came to the United States from El Salvador, has been murdered after she was deported from the U.S. back to her native country.

The woman, who went by the names Camila and Aurora, sought asylum in the U.S., but according to the Washington Blade, she was deported when immigration authorities didn’t believe she had received threats of violence in her home country.

A Salvadoran transgender advocacy group, Asociación Aspidh Arcoiris Trans, told the Blade that Camila/Aurora had gone missing near the end of January.

After a search of local hospitals, she was located in Rosales National Hospital in San Salvador with multiple injuries. She passed away on February 3.

Camila is now the second trans woman murdered in El Salvador this month.

On February 8, a trans woman named Lolita was murdered with a machete in Sonsonate.

Neither murders have been classified as a hate crime since both died in hospitals without mentioning being victims of violence.

In 2015, El Salvador amended its penal code to include enhanced punishment for crimes based on gender identity and/or sexual orientation. But local activists say the judicial system is slow to investigate such crimes.

“It is unfortunate that although we have articles in the penal code that (allow for the classification of) crimes committed against trans people as hate crimes, they are not put into practice,” Tatiana Molina, an LGBTI activist and Miss Trans El Salvador 2018, told the Blade. “Such is the case of all the crimes that have occurred in recent years and specifically the cases of Camila and Lolita. That is why we are demanding justice and the prompt investigation and prosecution of these cases.”

El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates per capita in the world. For transgender people, gang violence, as well as threats from police and family members, has spurred many to migrate from the Central American country to the U.S.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have confirmed to the Blade that 45 transgender women are being housed at a detention center in Texas, including several from El Salvador.

(h/t Washington Blade)

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Salt Lake City Gay Bashing Recorded By Victim

A victim of a homophobic attack recorded his own assault in an 8-second video that’s gone viral.
Suspected gay basher in Salt Lake City assault (screen capture)

A victim of a homophobic attack recorded his own assault in an 8-second video that’s gone viral.

The incident occurred in Salt Lake City, Utah, this weekend around 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

The video, shared by Sal Trejo on his Twitter account, begins with an unidentified man asking Trejo if he was gay.

“Are you gay, though?” the man asks on the video.

Trejo responded, “Oh, yes, I am.”

“Oh, then you’re gay,” the man replied.

According to Trejo, he started to reply, “Yeah, but you called me a [faggot],” but gets sucker punched before he could finish the sentence.

Watch the video below.

Trejo also posted a written statement which read:

My friends and I were assaulted by an intoxicated man last night as we left a bar in downtown SLC. It started with him approaching us out of the blue and making homophobic and misogynistic comments towards our group. We started recording him and asked him to leave, he wouldn’t, and then went on to hit me and shove one of our girlfriends. At this point we became verbally aggressive to protect ourselves. We called the police immediately. He then pulled out a knife and pointed it towards us while continuing to call us faggots. He eventually ran off, got into his car (in his intoxicated state) and drove on the light rail tracks until he sped off away from Main Street. This man is dangerous and needs to be held accountable for his actions. He drives what looked like a 2007 BMX X5. If you know who he is, please let me know so we may alert the police.

Trejo notes in his Twitter feed that Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski had contacted him on Sunday about the attack. Biskupski is the city’s first openly LGBT mayor.

State Sen. Derek Kitchen, Utah’s only openly gay legislator, also shared the video on Twitter and wrote, “It’s time for the UT Legislature to act on hate crimes legislation.”

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, state lawmakers have dragged their feet on enacting tougher hate crime laws.

Salt Lake City Police shared the video along with the request that anyone with pertinent information call 801-799-3000 and reference case 19-28822.

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Andrew McCabe: Trump Disputed US Intelligence Reports “I Don’t Care – I Believe Putin”

Former FBI director Andrew McCabe on CBS’ 60 Minutes

Speaking to 60 Minutes’ Scott Pelley, former FBI director Andrew McCabe shared an episode from a security briefing with Donald Trump in which the president told intelligence heads he didn’t believe their reports on North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities.

When the intel chiefs explained their sourcing and report, Trump reportedly fired back, “I don’t care. I believe Putin.”

“The president launched into several unrelated diatribes. One of those was commenting on the recent missile launches by the government of North Korea. And, essentially, the president said he did not believe that the North Koreans had the capability to hit us here with ballistic missiles in the United States. And he did not believe that because President Putin had told him they did not. President Putin had told him that the North Koreans don’t actually have those missiles. Intelligence officials in the briefing responded that that was not consistent with any of the intelligence our government possesses. To which the president replied, ‘I don’t care. I believe Putin’.”

After the airing of 60 Minutes, Trump took to Twitter to retweet his attacks on McCabe, and added this:

(h/t JoeMyGod)