The New Hampshire state Senate, by a 14-10 vote margin, has approved a bill that will add gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination law.
New Hampshire is the only state in the New England area without transgender protections in its non-discrimination law.
Notable – both chambers of the state legislature are controlled by Republicans.
Openly gay state Rep. Ed Butler (D) introduced the measure in the House as HB 1319, which was approved in March by a vote of 195-129, with 51 Republican votes.
Gov. Chris Sununu (R) has indicated he will sign the bill into law.
Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Obie Award winner Laura Esterman as “Katherine Luder” in 217 Boxes of Dr. Henry Anonymous
Three-time Obie award-winning playwright Ain Gordon has written and directed a new play,217 Boxes of Dr. Henry Anonymous, that chronicles the successful efforts of Dr. John Fyer to declassify homosexuality as a mental illness.
Fryer’s testimony at the 1972 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting is considered one of the most significant moments in the history of the gay-rights movement.
As an openly gay psychiatrist who could have lost his medical license, Fryer used a pseudonym, mask and voice modulator to address his colleagues.
The cast includes Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Obie Award winner Laura Esterman (Marvin’s Room), Derek Lucci, and Broadway veteran Ken Marks (Mamma Mia!, Dear Evan Hansen, Dancing at Lughnasa, Hairspray).
Performances begin May 3 at Baryshnikov Arts Center’s Jerome Robbins Theater in New York City (450 West 37th Street).
Mat Staver of the anti-LGBTQ law group Liberty Counsel
Mat Staver, founder of the virulently anti-LGBTQ legal outfit Liberty Counsel, told radio host Jim Schneider of VCY America this week that “we are a few months away” from overturning Supreme Court rulings like the Obergefell decision which made marriage equality the law of the land.
“The nice thing about what President Trump has done, different from other Republican presidents, is that he is appointing, he’s nominating, so far, judges who are what I would call constitutionalists, originalists, dedicated to the original understanding and interpretation of the Constitution and the statutes,” he said. “On the other hand, Republican presidents in the past, they’ve been hit or miss. President Trump so far has been hitting this on the nail.”
Staver added that social conservatives are “one midterm election away from eventually overturning the Roe v. Wade decision” because “there will be at least one, maybe two more” Supreme Court vacancies during Trump’s first term in office.
But in order for that to happen, he said, Republicans must maintain control of the Senate or Trump will be forced to nominate “somebody who’s palatable to the judicial activist crowd in the Senate.”
If Trump is able to replace any liberal or moderate justice “with someone like Gorsuch,” he said, “that means the abortion decision, the same-sex marriage decision, all of those things that went the wrong way will ultimately be in the balance to be reversed. So literally we are a few months away.”
Listen to Staver boast about overturning our marriage rights below.
Featuring a virtual ‘who’s who’ from the world of dance including Chita Rivera, Graciela Danielle, Andy Blankenbuehler, Warren Carlyle, Susan Stroman and more, the dance documentary Transmission: Roots To Branches does a deep dive into the history, lineage and future progressions of Jazz Dance.
“Don’t you feel wonderful when your spirit finally meets your body, and it turns into dance?”
“It’s not easy. But anything that’s good is not easy.”
– Broadway icon Chita Rivera
Featuring interviews and choreography from some of the worlds leading dance voices, Transmission aims to shine a light on Jazz Dance.
The film is still being shot and the creators are looking to raise funds for the next block of filming.
“I couldn’t be more excited to join the DNC at their LGBTQ Gala this Pride season. Over the last year, the Trump-Pence administration has pushed our community to the sidelines, attacking us for who we are and who we love,” Kenworthy wrote to ABC News in a statement.
“It’s time we take a stand against this administration by electing representatives this upcoming November who actively support and believe in equality for everyone,” he said.
The seven-time world champ quite publicly skipped the White House reception for 2018 Winter Olympians last Friday along with fellow high-profile athletes Lindsey Vonn, Erin Hamlin, Adam Rippon and Chloe Kim.
At the reception, Donald Trump told attendees that watching the Paralympics was “tough to watch.” Gus was among the Olympians who clapped back at the insult.
All US Olympians and Paralympians are invited to visit the White House and meet the President after the Games. Today is this year’s visit and USOC spokesperson says he’s never seen so many athletes turn down their invites. The resistance is real. https://t.co/6mKJGicWDS
I miss the days when the Team USA White House visit didn’t include a part where the President made fun of our Paralympic team… pic.twitter.com/4QJ5B7kQ58
UPDATE – The Justice Department has officially said “no” to the Freedom Caucus’ request for the unredacted version of the DOJ memo to Robert Mueller.
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Donald Trump began the day with yet another meltdown on Twitter with cries of “Witch Hunt!” and “Rigged System.”
His rant was centered on the dispute between conservative members of Congress and a memo from the Department of Justice that outlines the topics for investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
The House Republican duo targeting senior leaders at the Justice Department have a new demand for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein: They want to see an unredacted copy of the memo he sent to whom detailing the scope of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
The same lawmakers are also demanding a new disclosure from Attorney General Jeff Sessions: They want to know whether he was involved in the decision to raid the personal attorney of President Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, according to a letter sent last week.
The two new requests are the latest in a series of asks from Republican Reps. Mark Meadows of North Carolina and Jim Jordan of Ohio, the conservative Freedom Caucus lawmakers who say the Justice Department is stonewalling Congress and have suggested the department leaders could be on the “path to impeachment” if they won’t cooperate.
In a private meeting last month, Jordan and Meadows laid out their concerns to Rosenstein about what they believe has been a lackluster response by the Justice Department to the GOP’s request for documents. And one document request appeared to catch Rosenstein by surprise: the demand for the August memo laying out the scope of the Mueller probe, a document that was heavily redacted in recently unveiled court filings.
Rosenstein resisted the request by the GOP lawmakers to review an unredacted, or less redacted, version of the memo, according to Jordan.
Apparently, according to folks with knowledge of the document, the full memo includes which Trump associates are under investigation and for what.
At an event last night, Rosenstein told reporters “the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted.”
The Washington Post has reported that Meadows and the House Freedom Caucus have drafted articles of impeachment against Rosenstein as a “last resort.”
There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap). What there is is Negotiations going on with North Korea over Nuclear War, Negotiations going on with China over Trade Deficits, Negotiations on NAFTA, and much more. Witch Hunt!
A Rigged System – They don’t want to turn over Documents to Congress. What are they afraid of? Why so much redacting? Why such unequal “justice?” At some point I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to the Presidency and get involved!
Mr. President, the powers of the Presidency do not give you the right to interfere with or shut down the Russia investigation. Firing the Deputy AG or Director Mueller would create a constitutional crisis. Do not go down this road. https://t.co/rqhxKFYYQC
Trump’s most direct threat yet to Rosenstein’s job. Also his most direct threat to fire the entire leadership of @TheJusticeDept
Still, no real signs here that POTUS knows of any “powers granted to the Presidency” that might permit him to “get involved.” Odds of bluffing high. https://t.co/SooQ0soIMU
In a recent interview with The Economist, Sen. Marco Rubio admitted the much-ballyhooed 2017 GOP tax cuts haven’t helped lower and middle class Americans:
“There is still a lot of thinking on the right that if big corporations are happy, they’re going to take the money they’re saving and reinvest it in American workers. In fact they bought back shares, a few gave out bonuses; there’s no evidence whatsoever that the money’s been massively poured back into the American worker.”
As Donald Trump’s personal physician of many years, Dr. Harold Bornstein, told CNN today that Trump personally dictated the 2015 letter that pronounced the future president’s health as “astonishingly excellent.”
“He dictated that whole letter. I didn’t write that letter,” Bornstein told CNN on Tuesday. “I just made it up as I went along.”
The admission is an about face from his answer more than two years when the letter was released and answers one of the lingering questions about the last presidential election. The letter thrust the eccentric Bornstein, with his shoulder-length hair and round eyeglasses, into public view.
“That’s black humor, that letter. That’s my sense of humor,” he said. “It’s like the movie ‘Fargo’: It takes the truth and moves it in a different direction.”
He said Trump read out the language as Bornstein and his wife were driving across Central Park.
“(Trump) dictated the letter and I would tell him what he couldn’t put in there,” he said. “They came to pick up their letter at 4 o’clock or something.”
Just another con job by a con man.
As a presidential candidate, I have instructed my long-time doctor to issue, within two weeks, a full medical report-it will show perfection— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2015
For real, the public does have some right to know the health of their presidential candidates before voting on them. It’s no small matter. And Trump deprived voters of that right. It’s pretty astonishing
So, Bornstein is saying these were Trump’s words about… himself >>
“His physical strength and stamina are extraordinary. If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
After comedian Michelle Wolf’s stint at the White House Correspondents Dinner this weekend, tons of Trump supporters wailed about how “inappropriate” her jokes were and how she “crossed a line.”
But just to put it all into perspective, let’s take a trip in the way-back machine to remember Trumpers’ own proudly public statements.
Olympic bronze medalist Adam Rippon and partner Jenna Johnson debut on DWTS
Out Olympian Adam Rippon killed it last night on the new season of Dancing With The Stars as he and his pro dance partner Jenna Johnsona cha-cha’d to RuPaul’s “Sissy That Walk.”
Both Rippon and Johnson have acknowledged their personal chemistry in working together for the abbreviated “athletes-only” season of DWTS.
“I’m not a scientist, but we’ve got chemistry,” Rippon told Billboard Magazine.
The 28-year-old bronze medalist clearly came to slay, and the judges agreed giving the performance all 8s across the board. That score of 24 tied for the top spot along with pro football player Josh Norman.
As someone who’s been a professional dancer and choreographer for over 35 years, I have to say I’m way impressed: the lines, the body positions, the energy extending all the way out to his finger-tips. This is a very strong performance.
