Thanks to a campaign initiated by The Boston Globe, over 350 newspapers across the country issued op-ed pieces in a coordinated defense of the media from Donald Trump’s calls of “fake news.”
The Trumpster, in predictable fashion took to Twitter to rant: “THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS THE OPPOSITION PARTY. It is very bad for our Great Country….BUT WE ARE WINNING!”
THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS THE OPPOSITION PARTY. It is very bad for our Great Country….BUT WE ARE WINNING!
The Boston Globe, which was sold to the the Failing New York Times for 1.3 BILLION DOLLARS (plus 800 million dollars in losses & investment), or 2.1 BILLION DOLLARS, was then sold by the Times for 1 DOLLAR. Now the Globe is in COLLUSION with other papers on free press. PROVE IT!
There is nothing that I would want more for our Country than true FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. The fact is that the Press is FREE to write and say anything it wants, but much of what it says is FAKE NEWS, pushing a political agenda or just plain trying to hurt people. HONESTY WINS!
At the age of 76, legendary soul/R&B singer Aretha Franklin passed away early Thursday due to advanced pancreatic cancer.
Earning an astonishing 20 Grammy Awards, the Detroit-based Franklin indelibly shared her singular vocal style and power with an adoring audience with hit songs like “Respect,” “Chain of Fools,” “Think” and “Spanish Harlem.”
Kevin Phinney wrote for Metrosource, “For any gay, lesbian or marginalized person of any stripe, ‘Respect’ was much more than a sturdy slice of soul that could crowd a dance floor: It was an act of defiance, a declaration of pride, and a promise to the world and the person in the mirror to never settle for second-class treatment ever again.”
Franklin’s last performance was at Elton John’s annual AIDS Foundation gala in November 2017.
Aretha Franklin, the sensational songbird whose voice was sweeter than honey to millions, making her an inspirational American icon and one of the most admired vocalists of all time, died on Thursday at her home in Detroit after battling advanced pancreatic cancer, her publicist confirmed to the Associated Press. She was 76.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, but raised in the Motor City, Franklin was firmly rooted in gospel but also excelled in the worlds of jazz, R&B and pop. She collected 20 Grammys — including a lifetime achievement award — covering a span of four decades; was the first woman enshrined into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in 1987); and, befitting a queen, was named No. 1 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
She sold more than 75 million records worldwide, according to one estimate, and had 10 Top Ten hits in a roughly 18-month stretch beginning in early 1967. A tireless road warrior, Franklin also sold millions of concert tickets, almost always arriving to shows in her custom bus (she had a fear of flying).
Franklin’s signature song, the 1967 smash “Respect” for her first album for Atlantic Records, became a battle cry for the feminist and civil rights movements. Recorded two years earlier by Otis Redding from a man’s point of view, her righteous reworking pushed “Groovin’ ” by The Young Rascals from the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
It’s worth noting that in 1987, Franklin was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And deservedly so.
Let’s celebrate just a few of my Aretha favorites throughout the years.
• Hot men took over the Red Dress Run this year and it was New Orleans fab!
• If you ever want to see a Fox News host yell at a Trump supporter, this may be your chance. Fox’s Ed Henry called Katrina Pierson out for lying on-air the day before about Omarosa’s allegations that Trump used the N-word.
• Twitter finally suspendedInfoWars‘ Alex Jones for inciting violence. But just for a week…
• The latest Omarosa bombshell – Trump covets his daughter, Ivanka. #Oy…
• As an effeminate gay actor, Corey Camperchioli was once teased for his feminine traits. Then he made a film project about it as he wears his femininity as a badge of honor.
Ruminating on the news that the “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin is gravely ill, Marianne Williamson shared this thoughtful and delicate essay on the music of our lives and the joy it brings.
This has turned out to be a sacred night, as millions of souls are saying to others, “Did you hear that Aretha is dying?” There’s the quiet hush of a collective deathwatch, as we throw our prayers to God that they might be roses on her path.
I once read that no matter how old you are, the music of your youth is the music of your soul. To say Aretha Franklin’s is the music of my soul is to vastly understate her effect upon my life. Hers was more than the music of my soul; she was in many ways the opener of my soul, a light on my path, a goddess who chanted what I could not chant and cooed what I could not coo and howled from the depths that I had not yet reached.
How I remember, as a woman in my 20s, the sacred rite of opening a new Aretha album, putting it on the turntable and sitting for hours just listening.
To this day, I know her phrases and notes, I have lived inside them, I remember the tears of both joy and sorrow for which they have been the soundtrack of my life. She opened me and guided me, she uplifted me and soothed me, she accompanied me and spoke for me.
While I never met her, she was one of the loves of my life. To have even lived at a time when she was singing to us – for what more could anyone ask?
And while I cry as I write this, it is not for her. Such preparations must be happening now, such trumpets and harps must be tuning up, such angels even now must be singing her home.
How does one say thank you to such a soul as she?
Dear God, please bless your phenomenal daughter. And thank you for lending her genius to us.
May she know the joy of a million smiles, for such joy she gave to us. Amen.
Journalist, historian and all-around smart-gay Matt Baume devotes this installment of his popular Culture Cruise web series on an episode of the iconic1970s sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
The year was 1973. Homosexuality was considered a mental illness, you could be arrested for being gay in most of the country, no openly gay or lesbian person had ever been elected to public office. And Mary Tyler Moore, America’s sweetheart, put a gay man in front of viewers for an entire episode without anyone noticing until the last minute — and then acted like it was no big deal. When it was, in fact, a very, very, very big deal.
The episode, titled “My Brother’s Keeper,” aired on January 13, 1973. In the episode, “Phyllis” (played by Cloris Leachman) set out to set up “Mary” (Mary Tyler Moore) with her brother, “Ben.”
It turns out there’s no chemistry there, but Mary’s best friend “Rhoda” (Valerie Harper) ends up finding a connection with Ben. The problem is – Phyllis hates Rhoda, and can’t stand the idea of her brother with Rhoda.
Of course, in the end, Ben it’s revealed that Ben is gay.
What’s important here, though, is how the writers of TMTMS handled the moment. As you may remember, television (or most of America, for that fact) was not welcoming or warm-hearted when it came to ‘the gays.’
As Baume points out, if a gay person was on TV, they were usually portrayed as murderers or perverts. Note the infamous “The Homosexuals” documentary that aired in 1967 that declared “the average homosexual, if there is one, is promiscuous.”
What Baume does so well here is put what could be viewed as just another ‘gay punchline’ into perspective and gives us context on the whys and hows this was actually an important moment.
At the time the episode aired, Minneapolis (where TMTMS took place) outlawed homosexuality even though that same year saw the debut of Minneapolis first Pride event. And 1973 was the year homosexuality was removed from the list of mental illnesses.
I won’t spoil it for you, so watch the video.
Follow Matt Baume’s Culture Cruiseon YouTube here, where he regularly takes a deep dive on LGBTQ themes in TV, movies, books, games and more.
A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Aug 6, 2018 at 8:06am PDT
Haynes shared his take on the pic to his huge Instagram followers as he mimicked not only her body position and caption, but went further with a bit of Photoshop fun.
Christine Hallquist (image via Hallquist campaign)
As the 2018 midterm primary season marches on, more and more LGBTQ candidates are not only running for public office but winning their initial contests.
In last night’s primary for the Democratic nomination for governor in Vermont, transgender businesswoman Christine Hallquist made history as the first transgender candidate to win the nomination of a major political party for governor.
She will now face incumbent Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who is running for his second term. While Vermont tends to lean progressive, Hallquist still faces an uphill climb as no candidate has defeated an incumbent governor in the Green Mountain state since 1962.
Should she win this fall, she would become only the second LGBTQ person to become governor in the United States following openly bisexual Gov. Kate Brown, the incumbent governor of Oregon who’s running for reelection this year as well.
Hallquist, who came out as transgender three years ago, told The Advocate last month that her priorities include addressing poverty, promoting renewable energy and fighting climate change, spotlighting economic development in the state’s rural areas, raising the minimum wage, working toward single-payer health care, and reworking the school funding structure, as well as empowering LGBTQ Vermonters.
Hallquist’s historic win last night means, as noted by Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade, that “all 4 letters in [the] LGBT acronym” are represented in Dem gubernatorial nominees this year.”
All 4 letters in LGBT acronym have won Democratic nomination to run for governor this year:
L — Lupe Valdez, lesbian candidate in Texas G — Jared Polis, gay candidate in Colorado B — Kate Brown, bisexual incumbent in Oregon T — Christine Hallquist, trans candidate in Vermont
In addition to Hallquist, the LGBT Democratic candidates who have won their primaries for governor include Oregon’s Brown; Lupe Valdez, a lesbian woman running in Texas; and Jared Polis, a gay man running in Colorado.
According to a study by the LGBTQ organization, The Victory Institute, 2018 has seen over 400 LGBTQ political candidates running for office in America.
Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of The Victory Fund, released a statement about Hallquist’s historic win, which read in part:
“Christine’s victory is a defining moment in the movement for trans equality and is especially remarkable given how few out trans elected officials there are at any level of government. Many thought it unthinkable a viable trans gubernatorial candidate like Christine would emerge so soon. Yet Vermont voters chose Christine not because of her gender identity, but because she is an open and authentic candidate with a long history of service to the state, and who speaks to the issues most important to voters.”
Tom Perez of the Democratic National Committee issued this statement:
“The DNC is proud to congratulate Christine Hallquist, Vermont’s Democratic nominee for governor and the country’s first-ever openly transgender nominee for governor, along with all of tonight’s Democratic nominees in the Green Mountain State.
“Christine’s historic victory tonight is an inspiration to LGBTQ people everywhere, and we are excited to stand behind her and the entire slate of fantastic Democratic nominees in Vermont.
“There’s no doubt that Christine and her fellow nominees will join a strong ticket this November that will fight for our values and serve as dedicated advocates for Vermont’s working families. Vermont voters know that Democrats have their backs and share their values, and they’re ready to organize to turn more seats blue this November.”
Watch Hallquist’s campaign video below. The general election takes place on November 6, 2018.
During a White House press briefing today, Donald Trump’s press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters she can’t “guarantee” Trump has never used the N-word when asked about former White House aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman’s allegations about Trump using the racial slur.
“I’ve never heard him use that term or anything similar” but “I can’t guarantee” that President Trump hasn’t used the n-word, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says pic.twitter.com/nyBWLCeCgj
I’m not sure what’s more damning – that there seems to be more evidence that a tape exists with Donald Trump using the N-word, or that his supplicants publicly denied a conversation took place (that you can now hear with your own ears) where they discuss how to ‘spin’ the incident.
Listen below.
POTUS says former White House staffer @Omarosa lied when she called him a racist who has said the N-word on tape. But a new recording, obtained by @CBSNews overnight, seems to back up Omarosa’s story that several Trump advisers discussed an alleged tape during the 2016 campaign. pic.twitter.com/tV3R6P2TvE
