Category: Uncategorized

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California Governor Will Sign Legislation Requiring Tax Returns For Presidential & Gubernatorial Candidates

Donald Trump

Journalist Yashar Ali reports that Gov. Gavin Newsom of California will sign a recently passed bill that will require presidential and gubernatorial candidates to submit five years of tax returns in order to be on a primary ballot.

The bill, known as SB-27, passed the California Assembly and Senate earlier this month. The law would require candidates for U.S. president and California governor to submit their five most recent years of tax returns, with sensitive information like Social Security numbers redacted. The state would then publish those returns for the public to review. If a candidate for either of those offices refused to submit their returns, they would not be listed on the primary ballot.

This is unquestionably a bill directed toward and inspired by President Donald Trump’s refusal to release copies of his tax returns. When Newsom signs the bill today, California will become the first state to require such a disclosure by law.

All of the major Democratic presidential candidates have released years’ worth of tax returns, and when Newsom ran for governor in 2018, he allowed reporters to review six years of his tax returns.

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Poll: Slight Majority Of Americans Believe Trump Is Racist

According to a new poll by Quinnipiac University, a slight majority of Americans believe Donald Trump is racist (51 percent) versus 45 percent who say he is not racist.

Think how incredible it is that we are even having such a conversation – is the president of the United States racist?

Of those polled, 80 percent of black respondents say Trump is racist, 11 percent disagree.

Among Hispanic voters, 55 percent say Trump is racist, 44 percent disagree.

There’s a gender divide on the issue as well. While 55 percent of men do not feel Trump is racist, 59 percent of women do believe the Commander in Chief is racist.

When it comes to impeachment proceedings, 60 percent say Congress should not begin impeachment proceedings, 32 percent support moving forward with articles of impeachment.

Regarding the recent Mueller investigation, 52 percent of respondents said they believe Trump attempted to “derail or obstruct” the investigation, 40 percent disagreed.

And 71 percent of those polled are “concerned” or “very concerned” a foreign government will try to interfere in the upcoming 2020 elections.

A huge majority – 87 percent – disagree with the president and believe political campaigns should be required to contact the FBI if contacted by a foreign government with dirt on their political opponent.

And 59 percent support additional laws to protect U.S. elections versus 31 percent who do not. Of those, 54 percent of Republicans (surprise) think current laws are enough.

More details at Quinnipiac University site here.

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LGBTQ News Site Gay Star News To Shutter

Online LGBTQ news site Gay Star News is reportedly going to cease operations on July 30.

BBC News correspondent Ben Hunte tweeted the news saying that staff had been informed of GSN’s closure via meetings before pay day.

As someone who writes in the LGBTQ news space every day, Gay Star News will be missed. It’s one of my ‘go-to’ sites I check every morning over coffee.

PinkNews CEO Benjamin Cohen tweeted, “Sorry to read this – good luck to staff for the future.”

Darren Styles, owner of Attitude Magazine, shared his sadness and asked Gay Star News employees to check in with him as he had some job openings saying, “Can save some jobs at least.”

The news site began in January 2012. By 2015, GSN reported that the site was attracting five million unique users per month, and was listed in the top five LGBTQ news sites worldwide.

Directors of the site said when they launched that the goal for GSN was to become the first global 24/7 LGBTQ news website.

In a GSN article, they wrote, “The gap in the market was most glaring with global reporting, particularly online. Gay, bi and trans people worldwide are connecting more than ever, but there was no shared place they could go for quality news, information and entertainment.”

Gay Star News will most definitely be missed. Best thoughts to the staff.

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News Round-Up: July 29, 2019

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunks: Broadway hottie Jim Newman (above) finds he has his Fire Island pool all to himself with no one to play with his beach ball. I’m sure he’d have no problem finding company… 🙂

• NewNowNext: A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of Russian LGBTQ activist Elena Grigoryeva. Officials do not intend to pursue hate crime charges, claiming the murder was not motivated by her activist work, nor her bisexual identity.

• Instinct: In its series finale, Andi Mack served up Disney’s first gay couple.

• Gr8erDays: If you love entertainment/pop culture info from days gone by, follow this Instagram account for daily infograms about celebrity birthdays and more from TV, movies and more.

• Politico: Kamala Harris on Monday unveiled a plan to achieve universal health care coverage by growing Medicare with the help of private insurers, an effort that splits the difference with her chief Democratic presidential rivals and equips the California senator with her own signature health care proposal ahead of this week’s debates.

• Roanoke Times: A small number of Republicans tried to have Rep. Denver Riggleman censured for having the nerve to officiate a same-sex wedding for two of his supporters. p.s. The attempt failed…

• Out Music: Kelechi drops his latest bop, “Forever Tonight,” with an upbeat 1980s vibe complete with fat beats and pop/soul roots. I’m hearing a little Human League groove in there perhaps…?

“I make romance pop music,” Kelechi recently told Out.com. “I want people to fall in love with the feeling they get when they listen.”

I have to say I like the simple approach to the video. Lately, I find overly-complicated music videos can get in the way of listening/enjoying the music.

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New Poll: Biden Holds 19 Point Lead Among Democratic White House Hopefuls

New polling by Quinnipiac University shows former Vice President Joe Biden still holds a commanding 19-point lead among Democratic presidential contenders.

New polling by Quinnipiac University shows former Vice President Joe Biden still holds a commanding 19-point lead among Democratic presidential contenders.

Biden garnered 34 percent support from respondents with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) a distant second at 15 percent.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) comes in third with 12 percent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) moved down to 4th position with 11 percent, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg is in single digits with 6 percent.
The polling also showed Biden gets a thumbs-up from 53 percent of black Democrats, with 8 percent for Sanders, 7 percent for Harris and 4 percent for Warren. 

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Russian Authorities Remove Adopted Children From Gay Dads

(stock photo of two dads and son via Depositphotos)

After two dads in Russia took one of their adopted children to a Moscow hospital for treatment, doctors notified Russian authorities and the children have now been taken from the couple.

Gay Star News reports that the men took the child to the emergency room on June 19 for a suspected case of appendicitis.

But when hospital staff realized the boy had two dads, they were reported to the Investigative Committee of Russia.

Adoption by gay couples isn’t allowed in Russia. One of the men legally adopted the two boys, now aged 12 and 14, back in 2010 as a single parent.

The committee ruled the adoption violated the country’s 2013 ‘gay propaganda’ law which prohibits any positive portrayal of LGBTQ people in the media. The government says the law is necessary to protect children from ‘unconventional’ identities.

“A man has been raising two young adopted boys since 2010 in living conditions with another man,” read the committee’s report. “At the same time, he promotes unconventional relations, forming distorted ideas about family values in children, harming their health, moral, and spiritual development.”

In making its determination, the committee ordered authorities to remove the children from their home of nine years.

After multiple attempts to search the family’s home, investigators broke down the doors of the men’s apartment. One of the fathers was interrogated for more than three hours.

The committee also sued the social workers who approved the adoption charging them with negligence.

The social workers were accused of not taking “appropriate measures to protect minors from information harmful to their health and development.”

But, according to the men’s lawyers, the adoption agency had made regular visits over the years to check on the boys’ welfare. The reports filed following visits indicated the children were well and under excellent care.

Gay Star News quotes an LGBTQ activist named Polina who shared that a psychologist who assessed the family found no evidence of abuse, reporting “a healthy and close emotional connection between parents and children.”

Polina notes that this is the first time the ‘gay propaganda’ law has been used to remove children from a family home.

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Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ Breaks The Record For Most Weeks At #1 On Billboard Hot 100

Billboard announced Monday that “Old Town Road” — the country/rap smash hit single by opnely gay 20-year-old Lil Nas X — has officially broken the record for most week's at number one - 17 - on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Lil Nas X

Billboard announced Monday that “Old Town Road” — the country/rap smash hit single by openly gay 20-year-old Lil Nas X — has officially broken the record for most week’s at number one – 17 – on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In doing so, “Old Town Road” bumps the two songs that had previously held the record: Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day,” from 1995, and “Despacito,” the Latin-pop juggernaut by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber.

The rapper kept his momentum going the past several weeks by releasing new remixes of the song. The remixes helped garner streams online as Billboard counts streams, along with downloads and radio play, in tabulating the singles chart.

Last week, Lil Nas X dropped a “Seoul Town Road” version featuring popular K-pop group, BTS.

During his run, he’s fended off challenges for the top spot from music stars like Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes and Ed Sheeran.

The rapper made a social media splash when he came out via Twitter during Pride Month in June.

The music video for the song has garnered over 239 million views.

Joe Jervis at JoeMyGod points up this super-creative cover of the song by Walk off the Earth. This YouTube video alone has over 6 million views.

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Trump (Again) Claims He Helped At 9/11 Attack Site

At a signing ceremony to permanently authorize the 9/11 victims compensation fund, Donald Trump once again claimed he somehow ‘helped’ at the World Trade Center site in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

“I was down there also. I don’t consider myself a first responder, but I was down there. I spent a lot of time down there with you.”

The Washington Post has already debunked this myth: “While Trump did visit the site a couple of days after the attack and did some interviews, there is no evidence that he got down to help clear rubble, which people would certainly have remembered.”

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Amazon Rainforest Deforestation Accelerates Under Brazil’s New President

(image via rosinakaiser/pixabay)

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro is making good on campaign promises to allow increased deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest, according to the New York Times.

While campaigning for president last year, Mr. Bolsonaro declared that Brazil’s vast protected lands were an obstacle to economic growth and promised to open them up to commercial exploitation.

Seven months into his term, that is already happening.

Brazil’s part of the Amazon has lost more than 1,330 square miles of forest cover since Mr. Bolsonaro took office in January, a 39 percent increase over the same period last year, according to the government agency that tracks deforestation.

In June alone, when the cooler, drier season began and cutting trees became easier, the deforestation rate rose drastically, with roughly 80 percent more forest cover lost than in June of last year.

The deforestation of the Amazon is spiking as Mr. Bolsonaro’s government pulls back on enforcement measures like fines, warnings and the seizure or destruction of illegal equipment in protected areas.

The Amazon Rainforest makes up so much of South America that, if it were its own country by mass, it would rank 7th in the world.

The Amazon Rainforest has been called the lungs of the planet helping to create a huge portion of the oxygen needed to sustain the world population. So, imagine losing that much oxygen-producing plantlife.

Plus, when deforestation happens in the Rainforest, it’s not just cutting down tree. The process often uses techniques like torching vast areas of vegetation, which also destroys valuable nutrients and shortens the lifespan of the land.

(h/t JoeMyGod)