Category: Uncategorized

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Declared Cancer-Free

The ‘notorious’ Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been declared cancer-free by her doctors and is recovering well from her recent surgery, according to a Supreme Court spokesman.

From The New York Times:

“Her recovery from surgery is on track,” the spokeswoman, Kathleen Arberg, said in a statement. “Post-surgery evaluation indicates no evidence of remaining disease, and no further treatment is required.”

Justice Ginsburg, 85, underwent surgery in late December to remove two nodules from her left lung. She missed this week’s arguments, and will be absent from the bench next week, too, Ms. Arberg said.

“Justice Ginsburg will continue to work from home next week and will participate in the consideration and decision of the cases on the basis of the briefs and the transcripts of oral arguments,” Ms. Arberg said.

Earlier this week, Politico reported aides to Donald Trump were “reaching out to political allies and conservative activist groups to prepare for an ailing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s possible death or departure from the Supreme Court.”

But our girl is just fine, folks. No worries.

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#TrumpShutdown Has Already Cost US Economy Over $3.6 Billion

MSNBC’s Craig Melvin

According to S&P Global Ratings, in just two more weeks the Trump shutdown will cost the U.S. economy more than $6 billion.

That’s more than the $5.7 billion Donald Trump is demanding for his infamous border wall.

As of today, S&P estimates the economy has lost over $3.6 billion.

The 2013 shutdown was estimated to have cost the U.S. economy in the neighborhood of $20 billion.

MSNBC’s Craig Melvin breaks down how the ongoing shutdown affects many aspects of daily life in America including air travel, food safety, food stamps, and business deals requiring federal approval as well as 800,000 federal employees who won’t be paid today.

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Only One State Won’t Issue Restraining Order In Cases Of Same-Sex Dating Abuse

(stock photo via Depositphotos)

In the entire United States, there’s only one state that doesn’t allow people in same-sex dating relationships to get a restraining order should the romance turn violent.

Anyone who becomes a victim of domestic violence can go to the police and file criminal charges in North Carolina.

But criminal cases can take time, and when there’s a greater sense of urgency, many opt for a restraining order – also known as a 50(B) protective order.

A restraining order can prohibit the alleged abuser from coming near the victim, force them to give up their guns or lose custody of their children.

Married people, straight or gay, can file for a restraining order. Divorced couples, as well as parents and children, have the legal option as well.

But in the Tar Heel state, when it comes to folks who are living together or just dating, the state law on restraining orders only applies to “persons of the opposite sex.”

According to the NewsObserver, the loophole became news after a Wake County woman attempted to get a protective order against her ex-girlfriend last May.

At the time, the judge denied her request. The woman filed again a month later, and was rebuffed again thanks to the language of the law.

Now, the state Attorney General, Josh Stein, is working through the courts to have the law overturned.

Stein, a Democrat, filed a legal brief earlier this week saying the law is unconstitutional because it singles out LGBTQ people and denies them equal protection and due process under the law.

Gov. Roy Cooper, also a Democrat, agrees and has asked to join Stein’s efforts.

Additionally, LGBTQ advocacy group Equality NC has also filed a brief in support of Stein’s efforts.

In their ‘friend of the court’ filing, Equality NC writes that since “the threat of intimate partner violence does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, neither should the State in protecting individuals from such violence.”

“Otherwise, there is no constitutionally guaranteed ‘equal dignity in the eyes of the law’ for same-sex relationships,” the brief continues.

Stein has support from the ACLU of North Carolina as well as the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police.

The NewsObserver notes there are other legal options available to same-sex victims of abuse.

The woman who originally filed her request in May was eventually granted a 50(C) no-contact order. However, that kind of restraining order doesn’t give a judge the authority to revoke an alleged abuser’s right to own guns.

The woman’s primary concern for protection was predicated on threats of physical violence from her former girlfriend as well as her access to guns.

(h/t The NewsObserver)

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Ocasio-Cortez Tweets Epic Burn After Lieberman Criticism: “New Party, Who Dis?”

On a recent appearance with Fox Business News, former U.S. Senator and 2000 Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman criticized rising-star, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, saying her progressive positions are not where the heart of the Democratic Party lie today.
Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

On a recent appearance with Fox Business News, former U.S. Senator and 2000 Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman criticized rising-star, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, saying her progressive positions are not where the heart of the Democratic Party lie today.

“With all respect, I certainly hope she’s not the future and I don’t believe she is,” said the perennially grumpy Lieberman.

“She’s gotten a lot of attention because she’s different. She’s controversial,” Lieberman continued. “But if you look at the majority of new Democrats in the House, they tend to be, I say, center-left, if they are not left-left. And that is because they had to be center-left to win some of those competitive swing districts that they took from Republicans.”

The 29-year-old social media-savvy congresswoman (the youngest woman ever elected to Congress) fired back via Twitter with an epic burn asking, “New party, who dis?”

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News Round-Up: January 10, 2019

Some news items you might have missed:

• Ok, I can hear you already, “Randy, that hot pic of Gus Kenworthy is just click bait! Why do you do this to us?” But it’s not – see that phone grip that says ‘Be True?’ Proceeds from sales will help Gus raise $1 million for his AIDSLifeCycle campaign. Click here to buy. See? I’m here to help 😉

 • Josh Hutcherson revealed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that he and Hunger Games co-star Liam Hemsworth once stripped naked together at Berlin fetish club. Pics or it didn’t happen…

• Manchester Pride has announced they’ve added a black and brown stripe to their Pride flag to represent Black, Asian and ethnic LGBTQ people. What do you think – do we need a new version of the iconic rainbow flag? I think the original flag already represented everyone…

• Fox and New Regency have announced that they’ll release a karaoke version of box office juggernaut Bohemian Rhapsody in 750 theaters across the US and Canada starting this Friday, January 11.

• Seniors and ‘ultra conservatives’ shared about seven times more ‘fake news’ on social media than younger adults, moderates and super liberals during the 2016 election season.

• It may be the middle of winter, but Aussie singer Troye Sivan has his head in summer sunshine with his new music video for “Lucky Strike.”

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Daily Dance: The Incredible Andrew On UK’s ‘The Greatest Dancer’

I post videos under the ‘Daily Dance’ banner here on The Randy Report because dance has been a huge part of my life for over 40 years.

Early on, dance – the physical expression of every possible human emotion – found a connection deep within me.

As it does for young Andrew here.

The world can be a frustrating, angry place at times. But, not in these few minutes that we get to share with Andrew.

Please – stop and watch.

You have to go to the well, sometimes, to refresh your soul. Thank you, Andrew.

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Florida’s New Governor Excludes LGBTs From New Non-Discrimination Directive

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
(photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr – CC license)

As new governors take office across the nation, many begin their tenures by issuing executive orders banning discrimination in terms of state government.

Both Michigan and Wisconsin saw their respective new governors, both Democrats, issue anti-discrimination orders quickly after being sworn in.

Those orders prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, age, race, color, national origin, religion disability, marital status, sexual orientation and gender identity in regard to state employment and state contracting.

But in Florida, it’s a very different situation.

Newly-seated Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis did sign a non-discrimination executive order this week, but the omission of LGBT protections in his directive is glaring.

Equality Florida’s senior political director, Joe Saunders, was quick to call out DeSantis for excluding LGBT Floridian’s in his executive order.

“Equality Florida is deeply disappointed to see that LGBTQ employees and contractors have been left out of the governor’s executive order,” Saunders said.

The lack of LGBT-inclusive protections is a sad continuation of Florida’s previous governor, Republican Rick Scott, who refused to issue an anti-LGBT discrimination executive order, even following the devastating mass-shooting at Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016, that left 49 LGBTQ people dead.

“As governors across the country establish these critical protections for LGBTQ families, this order draws a stark contrast,” said Saunders.

“We look forward to a dialogue with Gov. DeSantis about why LGBTQ employees have been omitted from this critical policy and how he plans to make sure that all Floridians, regardless of who they are or who they love, can be protected from discrimination,” he added.

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Anti-LGBTQ Law Costs North Carolina New $60 Million Netflix Series

North Carolina just can’t get its act together regarding anti-LGBTQ laws.

And now, according to StarNewsOnline, the state may have just lost $60 million in revenue thanks to the inaction of state lawmakers to repeal those laws.

Streaming giant, Netflix, was looking to shoot a new series, OBX, in the Tar Heel state but balked thanks to HB 142.

The law, enacted in 2017 was meant to be a ‘fix’ on previous legislation HB 2, which marginalized transgender people by requiring them to use public bathrooms that align with the gender on their birth certificates.

HB 142 partially repealed HB 2, but left in place bans on local communities passing their own anti-discrimination laws through 2020.

Ten episodes of the new project have been ordered by Netflix, and Jonas Pate, who created the show, wanted to shoot in his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina. But the ban on local municipalities enacting their own legislation is a sticking point for Netflix.

“This tiny law is costing this town 70 good, clean, pension-paying jobs and also sending a message to those people who can bring these jobs and more that North Carolina still doesn’t get it,” Pate said.

Pate added that the production is projected to spend in the neighborhood of $60 million in whatever state the series shoots.

Pate, and his brother Josh, have previously created the NBC series Surface, which was shot in Wilmington.

But this past weekend, Pate found himself scouting sections of Charleston, South Carolina, for the new production.

Freshman state Sen. Harper Peterson, a Democrat from Hanover, hopes to see the issue addressed this week as the state Assembly is in session.

“That is a decision the legislature has to make and realize that it is one more opportunity we are losing if we don’t,” Peterson told StarNewsOnline. “We have to get back and be competitive with other states. It just hurts to see a production about North Carolina go to South Carolina.”

OBX is described as a coming-of-age story that follows four teens in the Outer Banks whose lives are changed when a hurricane cuts off all power to the islands.

“When these lifelines for teens like phones and Snapchat are gone, it really reorients the generational divisions,” says Pate.

(h/t StarNewsOnline)

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Donald Trump Once To Students: ‘Go Through A Concrete Wall’ And ‘Never Give Up’
The Daily Show found video footage of Donald Trump telling graduates back in 2004 to ‘never give up,’ even if there’s a ‘concrete wall in front of you.’

“Never, ever give up. Don’t give up. Don’t allow it to happen. If there’s a concrete wall in front of you, go through it, go over it, go around it. But get to the other side of that wall.”

Hmmm…