Indiana GOP Reaffirms Commitment To “Man/Woman” Marriage

The Indiana Republican Party reaffirmed its commitment to "traditional" marriage and will continue to oppose marriage equality despite a 2015 Supreme Court ruling

Choosing to remain stuck in the Dark Ages, the Indiana Republican Party voted overwhelmingly to reaffirm its commitment to marriage being “between a man and a woman” despite the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which made marriage equality the law of the land.

According to NWI.com, Gov. Eric Holdcomb had proposed a revised party plank regarding families that expressed support for all adults raising children.

Instead the 1,494 GOP delegates attending the biennial convention in Evansville reaffirmed the opposite-sex marriage plank first adopted in 2014.

Proposed by Porter County Republican Chairman Michael Simpson, the new language would have declared: “We support traditional families with a mother and father, blended families, grandparents, guardians, single parents and all loving adults who successfully raise and nurture children to reach their full potential every day.”

Speaking to delegates from the floor of the convention, Simpson said a broader understanding of family “is the best platform for our party and the best way for us to grow.”

But Morgan County GOP chairman Daniel Elliott, pushing the issue to the forefront of the convention, told attendees that man-woman marriage “is an important part of who we are as Hoosier Republicans.”

“This language … recognizes the reality on the ground that most families are headed by married couples,” Elliot said.

Former Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort Ordered To Jail

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort ordered to jail
Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort ordered to jail for witness tampering

A federal judge has ordered Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chair to jail amid new charges he had attempted to tamper with government witnesses for his upcoming trial.

According to CNN’s Marshall Cohen, prosecutors said Manafort used a method called “foldering” to covertly communicate people in an attempt to evade detection.

Manafort created an email account and shared the password with others. He would write messages then save them as drafts, never sending the actual emails. Other folks would open the draft, read it, and delete.

#shady

From The New York Times:

Mr. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, had posted a $10 million bond and was under house arrest while awaiting his September trial on a host of charges, including money laundering and false statements.

But Judge Amy Berman Jackson of United States District Court for the District of Columbia said Mr. Manafort could not remain free, even under stricter conditions, in the face of new felony charges that he had engaged in witness tampering while out on bail. “This is not middle school,” she said during a 90-minute court hearing. “I can’t take away his cellphone.”

Mr. Trump, in a tweet on Friday, defended Mr. Manafort and criticized Judge Jackson’s action against him, though he seemed to misunderstand what the judge had done.

“Wow, what a tough sentence for Paul Manafort, who has represented Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other top political people and campaigns,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Didn’t know Manafort was the head of the Mob. What about Comey and Crooked Hillary and all of the others? Very unfair!”

In a superseding indictment filed last week, the prosecutors working for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, claimed that Mr. Manafort and a close associate, Konstantin V. Kilimnik, had contacted two witnesses earlier this year, hoping to persuade them to testify that Mr. Manafort had never lobbied in the United States for Viktor F. Yanukovych, the pro-Russia president of Ukraine.

The Twitterverse reacts:

New Music: Martin Garrix & Khalid Team On ‘Ocean’

DJ Martin Garrix teams up with Grammy nominated singer Khalid for new track 'Ocean'
DJ/producer Martin Garrix

Super-talented (and way easy-on-the-eyes) DJ/producer Martin Garrix drops his latest track today, “Ocean,” teaming up with five-time Grammy nominated vocalist Khalid.

Both powerhouses in mainstream music today, the collaboration is poised to hit the top of the charts.

Ranked #1 on DJ Mag‘s Top 100 DJs list for 2016 and 2017, Garrix has been a busy boy scoring huge, viral hits like ‘Scared To Be Lonely‘ with Dua Lipa which notched 551 million streams on Spotify, ‘So Far Away‘ with David Guetta, Jamie Scott and Romy Dya (169 million streams), and ‘There For You‘ with Troye Sivan (354 million streams).

Khalid’s ‘Silence’ with Marshmello last year popped an amazing 565 million Spotify streams. And his smash hit ‘American Teen‘ album was packed with 15 singles, each garnering millions of streams.

Khalid and Martin Garrix on the set of their new music video, 'Ocean'
Khalid and Martin Garrix on the set of their new music video, ‘Ocean’

Instead of a high-octane, house burner, the mid-tempo ballad sits right in the sweet spot for Khalid’s rich alto and falsetto.

And Garrix takes his time utilizing live strings with an orchestra putting the beats on slow burn until they kick in for the chorus.

The chill-out track is partnered with a music video featuring both artists in a cool, kaleidoscopic world of light and shadow.

This is definitely going on the poolside playlist. I’ve previously written about Garrix on The Randy Report here.

Check out the new track below.

Ellen DeGeneres Announces First Stand-Up Shows In 15 Years

Ellen DeGeneres announces three city standup comedy tour in August 2018

Even though we have her in our living rooms every weekday, it’s still hard to believe that it’s been 15 years since Ellen DeGeneres has stepped out to do standup comedy.

But that drought is about to end as the comedian/talk-show host has announced a three city comedy tour for August before her Netflix comedy special airs.

Get ready to buy your tickets because comedian, talk-show host, and philanthropist extraordinaire Ellen DeGeneres is hitting the road for a three-city comedy tour in August before her Netflix special airs.

An Evening with Ellen DeGeneres will be presented by Live Nation and will hit Seattle, San Francisco, and San Diego.

The Emmy Award-winner’s last special, Here and Now, aired in 2003 on HBO.

Tickets for Ellen’s tour go on sale Tuesday, June 19th.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, DeGeneres will tape her Netflix special during the final shows in Seattle.

Here’s the full list of tour dates:

August 10 – San Diego, CA / Balboa Theatre
August 11 – San Diego, CA / Balboa Theatre
August 12 – San Diego, CA / Balboa Theatre
August 15 – San Francisco, CA / Davies Symphony Hall
August 16 – San Francisco, CA / Davies Symphony Hall
August 17 – San Francisco, CA / Davies Symphony Hall
August 22 – Seattle, WA / Benaroya Hall
August 23 – Seattle, WA / Benaroya Hall

Click here for ticket info.

Check out her last HBO comedy special, Here and Now, below:

Best Rated LGBTQ Films & TV Since 2010

From the film God’s Own Country

One of the top movie and television review sites, Rotten Tomotoes, has compiled lists of the ten best reviewed LGBTQ films and television shows since 2010 (so no Brokeback Mountain).

The list crosses genres from Academy Award and Emmy Award-winners to foreign language projects.

I’m going to preface the list by saying I can think of some excellent films that didn’t make the Top 10 list, but this is based on Rotten Tomatoes reviews, not mine.

Here are the lists – how many of these have you seen?

Top 10 LGBTQ Movies of the 2010’s:

  1. God’s Own Country (2017) – Certified Fresh at 99%
  2. Moonlight (2016) – Certified Fresh at 98%
  3. BPM (2017) – Certified Fresh at 98%
  4. Tangerine (2015) – Certified Fresh at 97%
  5. Tomboy (2011) – Certified Fresh at 97%
  6. Call Me By Your Name (2016) – Certified Fresh at 95%
  7. Behind The Candelabra (2013) – Certified Fresh at 95%
  8. Carol (2015) – Certified Fresh at 95%
  9. Pariah (2011) – Certified Fresh at 94%
  10. A Fantastic Woman (Una mujer fantástica) (2018) – Certified Fresh at 94%

The cast of Banana

Top 10 LGBTQ TV Shows of TtheE 2000’s:

  1. Banana (2015) – Fresh at 100%
  2. The Fosters (2013 – 2018) Fresh at 97%
  3. Queer Eye (2018 – TBD) Certified Fresh at 96%
  4. Pose (2018 – TBD) Certified Fresh at 96%
  5. Orange is the New Black (2013 – TBD) Fresh at 91%
  6. Cucumber (2015) Fresh at 91%
  7. Looking (2014 – 2015) Fresh at 90%
  8. Will & Grace (2017 – TBD) Certified Fresh at 86%
  9. The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) – Certified Fresh at 86%
  10. Sense8 (2015 – 2018) Fresh at 86%

(h/t Instinct)

Propaganda Video: Donald Trump Salutes North Korean General

Donald Trump salutes North Korean general

Remember when the Obama detractors lost their shit when President Obama bowed to foreign dignitaries?

The outrage!

Now this from Daily Kos:

You’d think it would be a no-brainer not to salute a general from a foreign military, one that has been threatening nuclear war with the United States for decades. But, not Trump.

And now North Korean state-run television is running this video on repeat. Donald Trump saluting their general, giving him the ultimate legitimacy. What kind of message does that send to the North Koreans who’ve been living under the threat of starvation and firing squads at the hands of this very same general?

This comes at almost the same time that Trump defended Kim Jong Un in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier:

“He’s a tough guy. Hey, when you take over a country, tough country, tough people, and you take it over from your father … if you could do that at 27-years old, I mean, that’s 1 in 10,000 that could do that.”

‘Pose’ Star Dominque Jackson Speaks Out Against Companies Exploiting Pride Month

(photo: Pari Dukovic)

In an Instagram video, Pose star Dominique Jackson told her fans she is not down with corporate America exploiting Pride and the LGBTQ community in lame attempts to appear “inclusive.”

She had been invited by brand Coach to speak at their Pride Ball — but in communicating with her, the actress was misgendered by the company.

Jackson took her story to Instagram speaking out against the company and their misrepresentation of support for the LGBTQ+ community.

“So, happy Pride, everyone, I hope you guys have been watching and enjoying Pose.

“But, you know, as we’re doing something like this, a lot of stuff comes by, and that is that a lot of companies join in on the Pride celebration to show they’re all-inclusive when they’re really not. They don’t research us. They don’t understand us. They don’t attempt to comprehend us.

“So, Coach, contacted me and asked me to come in and tell my life story. You’re gonna be a part of this, it’s gonna be great, it’s for Coach.

“They offered nothing. Not a car ride. Nothing. Not a pocketbook. Nothing. Then one of their representatives contacts me to invite me to something called their ’Pride Ball’ and misgendered me! Like–you didn’t do your research. You’re not following the true stories of the LGBTQ community, ’cause you would know that a woman like myself should never be misgendered.

“It’s so insulting. And, I don’t even think I want to ever use your products or buy your products ever again! I’m going to Louis (Vuitton).”

Here’s the video:

Coach attempted to apologize on Twitter:

Rumors Fly Sarah Huckabee Sanders Planning Early Departure From White House

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders

According to CBS News, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and deputy press secretary Raj Shah could be planning their departures from the Trump administration in the coming weeks.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders and principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah are both heading for the exits, according to sources inside the White House and close to the administration. Sanders, who has become a confidante of President Trump since the departure of former communications director Hope Hicks, has told friends that she plans to leave the administration at the end of the year.

Shah is also considering his exit, but he has not yet settled on an exact date. Neither Sanders nor Shah responded to repeated requests for comment before this story was published. When reached Wednesday evening, both declined to comment on the record, and Sanders tweeted that she is “honored to work for @POTUS.”

Sanders took to Twitter last night to address the issue without denying an impending exit.

As has been noted by several outlets, the turnover for the Trump White House has been unusually high for so early in an administration, particularly in the communications shop.

Former communications director Hope Hicks, a close confidante of Trump, left her post earlier this year.

Poll: Guess Who In The LGBTQ Community Is Having More Sex

Pride Month is the perfect time to raise our voices.

With that in mind, Buzzfeed News thought this would be a good time to ask some questions about the LGBTQ community.

And so, they did.

From the survey of 880 LGBTQ folks:

• 55% of the respondents were women, 41% were men, and 4-5% identified as queer/nonbinary

• Twice as many identify as gay than lesbian – 32% to 16%

• Here’s news – almost half (46%) identified as bisexual

• Only 51 of the 880 respondents identified as transgender

• Correlating with recent reports, most who say they are LGBTQ are under 40 with 57% being between 18-39 as younger people are coming out more and more these days

• When it comes to sex, bisexual folks are leading the pack with 29% saying they have sex once or twice a week and 15% reporting even more. (Insert funny about having twice as many chances here)

That compares to 18% of gay people having sex once a week and 14% several times.

Lesbians indicated the least sex with 35% abstaining last year, 19% several times a year, 25% once or twice a month, and 4% several times a week.

The survey also shows that LGBTQ voters overwhelmingly identify as Democrats and ideologically center-left with the partisan gap at an astounding 53%:

Party Affiliation:
• 65% identify as Democrats
• 21% identify as Independents
• 12% identify as Republicans
Partisan Gap: 53%

Ideology:
• 59% identify as somewhat or very liberal
• 25% identify as moderate
• 11% identify as somewhat or very conservative
Ideological Gap: 48%

Political Engagement:
• 88% are registered to vote
• 67% vote in state and federal elections

Lucas Acosta, DNC LGBTQ Media Director, responded to those numbers saying, “LGBTQ voters know that Democrats have stood by their side in the fight for equal rights and equal opportunity.”

“The Republican strategy of ignoring the LGBTQ community and erasing us from mentions on websites, all while trying to strip us of access to quality and affordable health care–has long lasting impacts on our community.”

“With more LGBTQ Democratic candidates running up and down the ticket than ever before, LGBTQ voters will be an integral part of sending Democrats to victory this November,” Acosta added.

Head over to Buzzfeed for more results.