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Pelosi On Impeachment: “I’m Not Trying To Run Out The Clock”

In the aftermath of Robert Mueller's testimony before Congress earlier this week, many Democrats in the House have critized Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for not beginning impeachment proceedings against President Trump saying she may be "running out the clock."

In the aftermath of Robert Mueller’s testimony before Congress earlier this week, many Democrats in the House have critized Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for not beginning impeachment proceedings against President Trump saying she may be “running out the clock.”

Today, Pelosi addressed the criticisms publicly, saying she and the Democratic caucus would move forward “when we have what we need to proceed, not one day sooner.”

“And everybody has the liberty and the luxury to espouse their own position and to criticize me for trying to go down the path in the most determined positive way,” she added.

From CNN:

More than 90 Democratic members — roughly 40% of the party’s caucus — have publicly stated that they support starting an impeachment inquiry, including a handful who made their decision following the hearings this week from former special counsel Robert Mueller.

CNN reported Thursday that House Democrats who are publicly and privately agitating to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump are growing worried that their time is running short — and that they are missing key opportunities to give them a clear opening to mount a formal probe.

“Their advocacy for impeachment only gives me leverage,” Pelosi said Friday of impeachment supporters. “I have no complaint with what they are doing.”

Pelosi said she’ll continue to stay the course, adding she’s “willing to take whatever heat there is.”

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Same-Sex Married Couples Could See Big Tax Refunds As U.S. House Unanimously Approves PRIDE Act

In a rare, wholly bipartisan move, the House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation that would allow same-sex couples eligible for tax refunds if they were married before the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was struck down in 2013.

In a rare, wholly bipartisan move, the House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation that would allow same-sex couples to apply for tax refunds going back years if they were married before the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was struck down in 2013.

The bill, known as The PRIDE Act (Promoting Respect for Individuals’ Dignity and Equality Act), passed on a voice vote with zero opposition. The legislation was introduced by Reps. Judy Chu (D-CA) and Andy Levin (D-MI).

Until the 2013 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court which struck down DOMA, which prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, married same-sex couples were not allowed to file federal tax returns jointly. As a result, those couples potentially lost out on considerable tax benefits.

After the SCOTUS ruling, the IRS allowed those couples to file amended tax returns for the three years before the decision – 2010, 2011 and 2012.

The PRIDE Act, if enacted, would allow same-sex married couples to refile tax returns for the entire period they were legally married if they lived in a state that recognized their marriage.

Before the DOMA ruling, those jurisdictions would include Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia.

Additionally, the legislation would remove gendered language (“husband,” “wife”) from the federal tax code.

The Washington Blade reports the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates those couples could stand to recoup up to $67 million in tax refunds.

Despite the unanimous approval in the House, the issue now moves to the Senate where its fate is uncertain.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has introduced similar legislation known as the Refund Equality Act.

However, there’s no guarantee that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will allow his chamber to even vote on the bill.

Stay tuned.

(source: Washington Blade)

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Trump Twitter Tantrum After Fox & Friends Reads Fox News Poll Showing Biden 10+

L-R Donald Trump, Joe Biden

Donald Trump is now raging at his beloved Fox & Friends morning show on Fox News.

The hosts made the grave error of reading the results of Fox’s own recent poll showing Trump would lose to former Vice President Joe Biden by 10 points.

Remember, this is from Fox News itself.

“FoxNews is at it again. So different from what they used to be during the 2016 Primaries, & before – Proud Warriors! Now new Fox Polls, which have always been terrible to me (they had me losing BIG to Crooked Hillary), have me down to Sleepy Joe. Even considering the fact that I have gone through a three year vicious Witch Hunt, perpetrated by the Lamestream Media in Collusion with Crooked and the Democrat Party, there can be NO WAY, with the greatest Economy in U.S. history, that I can be losing to the Sleepy One. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!”

Cue the sad trombone sound…

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House Judiciary Committee Files Lawsuit To Unseal Mueller Grand Jury Evidence

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler announced today his committee is filing suit to acquire the grand jury material underlying the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler announced today his committee is filing suit to acquire the grand jury material underlying the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

“It is clear that any other citizen of this country who behaved as the president has, would have been charged with multiple crimes,” said Nadler in his announcement. “No one can be above the law, not even President Trump.”

“Because Department of Justice policies will not allow prosecution of a sitting president, the United States House of Representatives is the only institution of the federal government that can now hold President Trump accountable for these actions.”

“To do so, the House must have access to all the relevant facts and consider whether to exercise all its full Article I powers, including a constitutional power of the utmost gravity — recommendation of articles of impeachment.”

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After $700K Fund-Raiser, Pence Skips Town Without Paying $24K Police Bill

As if it wasn't enough that gay quislings were allowing their business to be used by the anti-LGBTQ politician, it seems Pence skipped out of town without paying the local police for the added security to the tune of $24,000.
Vice President Mike Pence

I recently reported that Vice President Mike Pence was scheduled to attend a campaign fund-raiser at a gay-owned club in Colorado.

As if it wasn’t enough that gay quislings were allowing their business to be used by the anti-LGBTQ politician, it seems Pence skipped out of town without paying the local police for the added security to the tune of $24,000.

From the Aspen Daily News:

The host has yet to step forward to pay the roughly $24,000 bill for increased security provided by local authorities — and the effect on taxpayers goes beyond Pitkin County, Sheriff Joe DiSalvo noted.

“We had a SWAT team from Garfield County here that I want to see get reimbursed. We had Carbondale officers here that I want to see get reimbursed. They don’t have this kind of money — I don’t have this kind of money,” DiSalvo said.

He estimated that Pence was in Aspen for less than 24 hours. During that time, the vice president headlined Monday’s $35,000-per-couple fundraiser at the Caribou Club and addressed the Republican Governors Association at its closed-door quarterly meeting at the St. Regis Aspen Resort on Tuesday morning. Pence did not speak to the general public.

“We had 64 total police officers on that assignment in the 20 or so hours that he was here, totaling 519 person hours,” DiSalvo said. “Out of those 64, 14 were state troopers, and we don’t have a responsibility to pay them. But the 50 other cops that were here are all on the county dime.

“I guess the whole thing is generally just somewhat disappointing to me,” DiSalvo continued. “You raise $700,000 in an hour, you should be able to pitch in to support the community that made you feel welcome.”

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News Round-Up: July 25, 2019

• InstaHunks: Spanish model Fran Dullon (above) celebrated his birthday yesterday! And - be afraid - he's going to be on the same Atlantis Mediterranean cruise I'm doing in August. So, Ima gonna have to meet him, don't you know? :)
Someone had a birthday…

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunks: Spanish model Fran Dullon (above) celebrated his birthday yesterday! And – be afraid – he’s going to be on the same Atlantis Mediterranean cruise I’m doing in August. So, Ima gonna have to meet him, don’t you know? 🙂

• Gr8terDays: Rutger Hauer, the intense, blond actor who throughout his 50-year career was at his best playing the worst people, died last week following “a very short illness.” He was 75.

• The Independent: Four teenage boys have been charged with an aggravated hate crime over a homophobic attack against two women on a London night bus, the Metropolitan Police has said. Melania Geymonat, 28, and her girlfriend Chris were hospitalised with facial injuries and left covered with blood after the assault on 30 May.

• CNN: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says Americans should be ‘realistic’ about the fact that the only way Trump will be leaving office is by voting him out. Since Senate Republicans would NEVER find a guilty verdict in an impeachment proceeding, he’s right.

• NPR: For the first time ever, wind has surpassed coal as an energy source in Texas. Data released this month by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas shows wind created 22 percent of the electricity used in the first half of the year, edging out coal by 1%.

• CNN: Former Vice President Joe Biden claps back at Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker ahead of next week’s Democratic debate where they will stand side-by-side onstage.

• Out Music: Tegan & Sara drop the lyric video for their latest single, “I’ll Be Back Someday,” from the duo’s upcoming album Hey, I’m Just Like You, due out September 27.

The new collection is comprised of songs that the twins discovered on old cassette tapes that they wrote at the beginning of their career. The duo listened with fresh ears, rewrote and re-recorded the songs into today.

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House Passes Two-Year Budget Deal Increasing Spending With Trump’s Support

The House passed a sweeping two-year budget deal Thursday that increases spending for military and domestic programs and suspends the debt ceiling through mid-2021, sending the White House-backed legislation to the Senate.
Donald Trump used to hate raising the debt ceiling…

From the Washington Post:

The House passed a sweeping two-year budget deal Thursday that increases spending for military and domestic programs and suspends the debt ceiling through mid-2021, sending the White House-backed legislation to the Senate.

A large majority of Democrats voted for the legislation, while a majority of Republicans opposed it despite appeals from President Trump to support the bill.

The 284-149 vote was one of the last acts by the House before lawmakers leave Washington for a six-week summer recess. The Senate is expected to act on the bill next week and sent it to Trump for his signature before senators, too, abandon the Capitol for the summer.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters today, “After the House approves it today with bipartisan support, I expect the Senate to do the same next week.”

Trump is especially jazzed about the deal because it could help goose the economy in the short-term by borrowing tons more cash as we head into the 2020 election cycle. He tweeted his support in advance of the vote:

But, of course, when he was running for president, the Donald was very critical of raising the debt limit.

There’s always a tweet…

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‘Will & Grace’ To End After Season Three Of Revival

The stars of ‘Will & Grace’ (image via NBC)

The producers of the hit NBC sitcom Will & Grace have announced the upcoming third season of the reboot will be the show’s last.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the decison was made by the cast and creators of the Emmy Award winning series.

“We think of the Will and Grace reboot episodes the way Karen Walker thinks of martinis — 51 is not enough, 53 is too many. That is why, after consulting with the cast, we all have decided this will be the final season of Will and Grace,” read a statement from the show’s producers.

“In 2016, Bob Greenblatt came to us with the idea of doing a 10-episode reboot of Will and Grace. They say you can’t go home again, but we did. And now, three seasons and 52 episodes later, we’re even more proud of something we never thought we’d get a chance to do again.”

“We have had a once-in-a-lifetime experience twice. And for that, we owe a double debt of gratitude to NBC, this show’s supportive and caring home since day one.”

Originally, the four stars reunited for a short video in support of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. The buzz began about a possible reunion and NBC quickly took note.

Initially revived as as a limited series, it picked up steam and the network added more episodes and, eventually, more seasons.

The stars took to social media to share the news.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/will-grace-end-revivals-third-season-11th-nbc-1227006

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Dying Man’s Funeral Refused By Church Because His Son Is Gay

L-R Brandon Smitty, Jessie Goodman (image via WTVC)

For years now, the LGBTQ community has endured reports of being denied services – like trying to buy a wedding cake or wedding invitations, or enrolling children of same-sex parents at private schools – all because of ‘deeply held religious beliefs.’

But a church in Tennessee is now denying a dying man’s request to host his funeral because his son is gay.

Jessie Goodman’s father is 71-years-old, very ill and dying.

His father has two requests after he is gone: that Jessie sing “The Anchor Holds” at the funeral, and that the services be held at Lee’s Chapel Baptist Church in Sweetwater, Tennessee. It’s the church the father first attende

But when Jessie, who is engaged to Brandon Smitty, approached the church about the service, Pastor Jay Scruggs and several members of the church told him neither he nor his fiancé could be involved in the funeral because they are gay.

Goodman told local ABC affiliate WTVC News 9, “As long as I was going to take part in any way, he (Goodman’s father) could not have his service there.”

Goodman was reportedly told the funeral could be held at the church if Jessie would attend alone, and not be a part of the service at all.

And if his fiancé showed up, he would be asked to leave.

News 9 reached out to Scruggs, but the pastor refused to comment saying he would speak to the press “after Jessie’s father is in the grave.”

“They’re punishing my dad for a lifestyle choice I’ve made,” said Goodman. “It’s not me up there in a casket. It’s him.”

The father, whose name is being withheld at the family’s request, has been told that his services will not be held at his own church.

“He did know that his funeral wouldn’t happen there,” said Goodman. “And he had a very hurt look on his face when we told him that.”

The family has since found a different funeral venue in the area to host the services.

And Goodman will sing “The Anchor Holds” at his father’s funeral.

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Two Gay Dads Are Both American, But Daughter Is Denied Citizenship

(stock photo via Depositphotos)

Two gay men are married.

They are both U.S. citizens.

They have a child born from the sperm of one of the men using a donor egg.

They are the only parents listed on the child’s birth certificate.

But when they return home from Britain, where the child was born, to the U.S. and apply for the child’s American passport, they are denied.

A State Department policy, under the Trump administration, allows children to be treated as born “out of wedlock” if the egg and sperm don’t match married parents regarding transmitting citizenship.

“Out of wedlock” means a higher threshold comes into play for citizenship to transmit to the child.

One of the men, James Derek Mize, was born and raised in the United States.

The other, Jonathan Gregg, was born in the UK to an American mother making him a U.S. citizen as well.

The two married in 2015 and in 2017 Gregg moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to be with his husband.

In 2018, their daughter Simone was born via surrogate in London using a British friend’s donor egg and Gregg’s sperm.

But since the egg donor is not listed as a parent, under the “out of wedlock” clause, the Trump administration says Gregg – as the genetic father – needed to be a resident of the U.S. for five years.

He was not.

The couple is suing the State Department, with the help of Lambda Legal and Immigration Equality, for discrimination and violating their constitutional rights.

State officials say the policy is not discriminatory because it could apply to opposite-sex couples as well as same-sex couples.

Earlier this year, I reported for Instinct on a ruling by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter in a similar case of a married gay couple which said there is no federal law that requires a child’s biological parents to be married to transmit citizenship.

Mr. Mize and Mr. Gregg point out that when they went to the U.S. embassy to obtain a passport for Simone, they watched as some 20 opposite-sex couples presented the same documents as they had and were given passports for their children.

They note that none of the opposite-sex couples were questioned concerning how their children were conceived or to their biological relations.

Since Simone was born in London, the U.S. currently views her as a British citizen, and the only way her parents could bring her back home to the U.S. was through a tourist visa. But the visa expires soon, leaving Simone with no legal status to remain in Atlanta with her parents.

Mize recently told HuffPost that when the embassy applied a different standard to his marriage and child, “Every anxiety I’ve ever had in my life about being gay and different came into my body and I just wanted to cry.”

(source: HuffPost)