Category: Uncategorized

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ABC Cancels Roseanne Barr’s Sitcom After Ugly, Racist Twitter Rant

Roseanne Barr

Roseanne Barr lost her mind today tweeting a vicious, racist rant that eventually led to her renewed sitcom being canceled by ABC.

From Variety:

ABC has pulled the plug on the revival “Roseanne.”

The move comes after series star Roseanne Barr made a comment on Twitter Tuesday morning referring to former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett as looking like the offspring of the “Muslim Brotherhood & Planet of the Apes.” Jarrett, an African-American, was born in Iran to American parents.

“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said in a statement.

Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger voiced his support for the cancellation, tweeting “There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing.”

Barr deleted her tweet about Jarrett not long after posting it. She followed it up with an apology which read, “I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste. I am now leaving Twitter.”

Out lesbian Wanda Sykes resigned her position as a consulting producer before ABC could cancel the show:

Also, out Roseanne star Sara Gilbert spoke out against the ugly rant:

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New Tourism Ad Promotes Las Vegas As Same-Sex Wedding Hotspot

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has released a new ad promoting Sin City as “the place” for LGBTs to get married.

The spot is one of four videos encouraging folks to “find your Vegas moment.”

“In Vegas, the improbable doesn’t just exist in your imagination – it flourishes around every corner. You just have to keep your eyes (and your mind) open, as a young couple in love is about to find out. When you’re free to be yourself, anything can happen.”

Visit Las Vegas wants travelers to know, “You have permission to be whoever you want to be in Las Vegas.”

John Tanzella, CEO and president of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association, praised the ad as “a perfect example of the inclusive environment that awaits all travelers in the destination.”

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Nevada has issued more marriage licenses to same-sex couples than any other state.

In addition to a welcoming environment for weddings, Nevada is one of only 20 states that have comprehensive LGBT protections in place statewide.

Watch the spot below.

(h/t NewNowNext)

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Denver: Gay Couple Attacked & Stabbed In Late Night Hate Crime

Christopher Huizar visits his boyfriend Gabriel Roman in the hospital after being attacked and stabbed for holding hands in public
Image via GoFundMe

A gay couple was attacked and stabbed apparently for holding hands in public in a hate crime on Saturday night in Denver, Colorado.

Christopher Giovanni Huizar, 19, and Gabriel Enrique Roman, 23, were walking to their downtown home after spending the evening at the Church Nightclub when a man screamed “fucking faggots” at the men.

Huizar says he felt a “punch” only to discover he’d been stabbed in the neck. Roman jumped in to protect his boyfriend and was stabbed in his hand.

The couple began to run from the attacker, but Roman was stabbed again, this time in the back.

After escaping the attacker, the two men collapsed against the side of a building crying and bleeding.

“I was just worried about my boyfriend because he bled so much,” said Huizar.

Eventually a pair of passersby found the couple and called for emergency services.

At the hospital, Roman’s injuries required 30 internal stitches and 52 stitches on his hand.

The men told the local NBC affiliate that the attack will only strengthen their relationship. “We are not letting his define us. We love each other and wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone else,” said Huizar.

According to Denver Police, a man has been arrested for the crime and is being held on charges of aggravated assault. Police say the attack is being investigated as a hate crime.

The couple, who will celebrate their first year together on Wednesday, have set up a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for their extensive medical bills and lost wages work.

Watch the report from NBC 9News below.

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Trump’s On-Again, Off-Again North Korean Summit

A high-ranking official from North Korea is traveling to the United States to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in an effort to revive Donald Trump’s on-again-off-again summit meeting with the nation’s “supreme leader,” Kim Jong-Un.

The summit meeting was originally scheduled to take place in Singapore on June 12 but was unexpectedly cancelled by Trump. Some say he shelved the meeting before North Korea could do the same, thus, embarrassing Trump.

From The New York Times:

Mr. Trump said on Twitter that Kim Yong-chol, one of the most trusted aides to the North’s leader and a former intelligence chief, was “heading now to New York.” In a reference to the moves made since he canceled the on-again-off-again summit meeting, the president added, “Solid response to my letter, thank you!”

The former intelligence chief, who is 72, has been at the side of the North Korean leader, 34, during a recent whirl of diplomacy, meeting with South Koreans in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula and with the Chinese.

Mr. Kim’s trip to the United States starts the most important negotiating track leading up to the summit meeting. Over the weekend, a team of American diplomats met with North Korean officials in the Demilitarized Zone, and White House logistics experts have been talking with North Koreans in Singapore about arrangements for the leaders’ meeting there.

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Donald Trump Observes Memorial Day By Celebrating Himself

Donald Trump

On this Memorial Day, as millions of Americans remember those military service members who’ve fallen to defend our freedoms, Donald Trump took to Twitter to celebrate… himself!

“Happy Memorial Day! Those who died for our great country would be very happy and proud at how well our country is doing today. Best economy in decades, lowest unemployment numbers for Blacks and Hispanics EVER (& women in 18years), rebuilding our Military and so much more. Nice!”

Economy? Do you really think a WWII veteran would rise from the grave to day and ask “How’s the Dow doing?”

#smh

The Twitterverse took note:

And, in case you were wondering, this is how a president addresses Memorial Day properly:

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Trump Lies (Again) Regarding Separating Children From Immigrant Parents

Donald Trump

Donald Trump lies in the tweet below in saying that Democrats need to end the “horrible law” that’s separating children from parents once they cross the border from Mexico.

In truth, the “horrible law” is not a law.

It’s Trump administration policy that didn’t happen under Obama or Bush. Trump has the power to reverse it at any time and Democrats have urged him to do so.

Rating the claim “False,” FactCheck.org explains:

In early May, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen directed her department to refer all unauthorized immigrants who cross the U.S. border to federal prosecutors. It’s in accordance with the Department of Justice’s new “zero tolerance” policy on illegal immigration at the Southwest border.

Parents would be sent to federal court under the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and then placed in a detention center, according to a DHS spokesperson. Their children, minors who cannot be housed in a detention center for adults, would be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services for placement in a juvenile facility or foster care if they have no other adult relative in the U.S. who can take them in.

“It is the government’s choice whether to criminally prosecute someone for illegal entry or reentry,” Theresa Cardinal Brown, director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., told us.

So, yet again, Trump lies.

What he does understand, though, is that lying over and over again to his followers eventually becomes “truth” for them.

But, it’s not true.

In a similar vein, Trump’s lies about “millions of illegal votes” in the 2016 election has now become “truth” for his tribe.

A new HuffPost/YouGov poll shows 48% of Republicans believe as many as 5 million illegal votes were cast in 2016.

If you repeat something often enough, they believe it. Especially if they WANT to believe it.

One more example – speaking at the graduation ceremonies for the U.S. Naval Academy, Trump lied about getting our military its first pay raise in ten years, and getting “a couple hundred more ships” in the latest defense budget.

Both lies.

The Associated Press reports:

TRUMP: “Going to have new equipment and well-deserved pay raises. We just got you a big pay raise. First time in 10 years. We got you a big pay increase. First time in over 10 years. I fought for you. That was the hardest one to get, but you never had a chance of losing.”

THE FACTS: That’s not right. U.S. military members have gotten a pay raise every year for the past 10 years and several have been larger than this year’s 2.6 percent increase. Pay increases in 2008, 2009 and 2010, for example, were all 3.4 percent or more.

TRUMP: “We have now the lowest number of ships that we’ve had since World War I, and very soon you’re going to get to 355 beautiful ships. 355. That’s almost a couple of hundred more ships.”

THE FACTS: No it isn’t. The Navy now has 283 ships.

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Gus Kenworthy Heartbroken As His South Korean Rescue Pup Beemo Passes Away

Gus Kenworthy's South Korean rescue pup, Beemo, passed away this week due to an unforeseen lung/heart issue
Gus Kenworthy and Beemo

Very sad news from out Olympian Gus Kenworthy who famously saved his new pup, Beemo, from a dog farm in South Korea from being killed.

Beemo apparently became less and less interested in her food this past week and when Gus and boyfriend Matt Wilkas took her to the veterinarian, it was discovered that “her lungs were deteriorated and that her heart was too big for her body – a birth defect we had no way of knowing about.”

According to the silver medalist, vets said there was no way to know about the condition and she had been living on “borrowed time.”

See Gus and Matt’s heartbreaking notes below.

Two days ago my beautiful baby Beemo passed away. It was completely unexpected and Matt and I are beside ourselves trying to cope with her loss. For a week or so we’d been worrying because she was showing less and less interest in her food. There were several trips to the vet and on our final visit this past Thursday I asked them do a full body scan in case there was an underlying issue they had missed. Beemo went into a panic attack during the x-rays and her breathing became rapid and shallow. The scan revealed that her lungs were deteriorated and that her heart was too big for her body – a birth defect we had no way of knowing about. Unable to treat her there, I rushed her to the emergency vet where a breathing tube was put down her throat. They hoped that with a respirator breathing for her they could get her vitals back to a normal level so she could be treated but they were never able to do so. The past two days have been a blur. It all happened so fast that it’s still hard to believe it. The ER doc told us that even if we’d somehow spotted the issue earlier it wouldn’t have made a difference in the end. He said that she’d been living on “borrowed time” from the get go. Beemo was truly the best thing that ever happened to me and I feel so fortunate for our borrowed time together. I’ve never loved anything or anyone in the way that I loved that dog and she is and will always be deeply missed. She was so smart and playful. She brought so much happiness to so many people every single day. I’ll always remember being out on a walk with her and every other second she would get stopped by someone wanting to pet her, kneel down and kiss her, hold her in their arms or take a photo and on many occasions a crowd of people would have formed around her. That was her power: she made people smile. She was the kindest, most gentle soul I’ve ever known. She loved people. She loved birds and the snow. She loved me and Matt. But most of all she loved meeting other dogs. If any of you have pets up in doggy heaven please tell them to go find Bee because she could really use a good play date right now. RIP sweet creature – your daddy loves you more than you could ever even know!
A post shared by gus kenworthy (@guskenworthy) on May 26, 2018 at 6:32pm PDT

This is an incredibly sad post, I’m sorry… On Thursday @beemopup passed away. She had gotten sick about a week prior, stopped eating… the vets thought it was worms or possibly fussiness. When she wasn’t getting better we brought her to the vet again and they took x-rays that revealed her heart was too big. She was born with a heart defect we weren’t aware of. It was effecting all of her functions. We rushed her to the emergency room in an attempt to save her but there was nothing that could be done. The ER vets brought us down to be with her as she died. I can’t say I’ve ever experienced anything so heartbreaking. We pet her, we kissed her, we said our goodbyes and watched her take her last breaths. Many people who have never owned a dog might think to themselves “it’s just a dog”. But she wasn’t just a dog. She was our friend, she was our family, she was there in the morning when we woke up, she was so happy to see us every time we came home, and she loved us unconditionally. From the moment we met her on a dog meat farm in South Korea we knew how special she was. She made a hundred people smile every day. Every walk we took her on was interrupted again and again by people wanting to meet her, pet her, kiss her. (If you are reading this and you met her, then you know what i mean). She loved people. She loved playing with other dogs. She loved birds. Even on her last walks, when she was at her most tired and weakest, she really just wanted to be a puppy and play. She changed peoples lives. She changed my life. She changed Gus’s life. And she brought attention to an important cause (PLEASE RESCUE A DOG! PLEASE DONATE TO @hsiglobal THEY ARE, IN ADDITION TO DOING SO MANY OTHER THINGS, SHUTTING DOWN THE MEAT FARM INDUSTRY IN SOUTH KOREA!) I feel so grateful and lucky to have known her even for a brief moment. And I don’t regret giving her a happy love-filled life only to be so heartbroken now. It was worth it. Goodbye Bee. 🐝A post shared by Matthew Wilkas (@mwilkas) on May 26, 2018 at 6:36pm PDT

Beemo had become something of a social media phenom herself as Gus opened an Instagram account “for her” and she quickly gained over 100K followers.

Gus posted the pic below with the quote, “The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long. RIP Beemo – you were and always will be very loved!”

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Sunday Swingalong: Nancy Wilson “On The Street Where You Live”

Man, do I love me some Nancy Wilson. My playlists are full of not only her hits but also lesser known recordings.

This Sunday morning, I’m loving this swinging cover of “On The Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady.

The full-throated, aggressive, forward tone is a big departure from traditional takes on the classic Broadway tune.

If you like, check out some of the suggestions from YouTube that pop up at the end.

She’s delicious.