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Dating Out Athletes Celebrate Final High School Dance Together

Hunter Sigmund (L) and Jake Bain (R) in their requisite senior prom pic

For the students dancing the night away at St. Louis’ John Burroughs High School senior prom, openly gay couple Jake Bain and Hunter Sigmund were nothing new to see. This was the twosome’s fourth school dance together.

Sigmund, a swimmer and water polo player told Outsports, “It was my fourth school dance with Jake and I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend our last high school dance.”

As the school’s only openly gay couple, the students and faculty have treated the two athletes just like everyone else, says Bain.

More from Outsports:

“This is the second year he and I have gone together, as well as to our homecoming dance the past two years, so this wasn’t the first time,” Bain, the school’s high school football captain, said.

“We have been the only openly gay couple at Burroughs since I’ve been here, but it isn’t a problem at all at our school. People treat us the same. It is nice to be able to go to prom with whoever you want and not have to worry about what other people might think.”

When the hideously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church haters announced they would protest Jake for the national attention he garnered as an out star football player, the school, faculty and community rallied around him.

This fall will see Jake begin his college football career for Indiana State University while Hunter heads to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an honors student.

Could they be any cuter?
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Andy Borowitz: No Military Parade For Trump Due To Sudden Bone Spurs Outbreak

No military parade for Donald Trump as satirist Andy Borowitz imagines hundreds of thousands of military service members suddenly developing "bone spurs" as Trump did to evade the Vietnam draft

On a lighter note, The New Yorker’s brilliant satirist Andy Borowitz “reports” that Donald Trump’s big military parade will not be possible as hundreds of thousands of military service members have suddenly developed bone spurs making marching in a parade simply impossible.

The Pentagon has turned down Donald J. Trump’s request for a grand military parade in Washington, D.C., citing a sudden outbreak of bone spurs that would prevent men and women in uniform from participating.

Harland Dorrinson, a Pentagon spokesman, said that, within an hour of Trump’s request, more than a hundred thousand military personnel complained that they were suffering from acute cases of bone spurs that would make marching in such a parade a painful ordeal.

“In the history of the U.S. military, we have never experienced a bone-spur epidemic of this magnitude,” the spokesman said. “Regrettably, however, we have no choice but to issue thousands of deferments.”

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Starbucks To Close 8,000 Stores For “Racial-Bias Education”

The CEO of Starbucks announced today that all 8,000 stores in the company will close on May 29 to conduct “racial-bias education” seminars for its employees.

Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) today announced it will be closing its more than 8,000 company-owned stores in the United States on the afternoon of May 29 to conduct racial-bias education geared toward preventing discrimination in our stores. The training will be provided to nearly 175,000 partners (employees) across the country, and will become part of the onboarding process for new partners.

“I’ve spent the last few days in Philadelphia with my leadership team listening to the community, learning what we did wrong and the steps we need to take to fix it,” said Starbucks ceo Kevin Johnson. “While this is not limited to Starbucks, we’re committed to being a part of the solution. Closing our stores for racial bias training is just one step in a journey that requires dedication from every level of our company and partnerships in our local communities.”

This comes after two black men were arrested in Philadelphia just days ago for waiting for a friend in a Starbucks before ordering their drinks.

Just yesterday, I reported on another incident where a black man was refused the digital code to access the men’s room but a white man was allowed to use those same facilities. Neither man had made a purchase yet.

In the clip below from MSNBC, I think Jason Johnson has a point in wondering how an afternoon of Human Resources training will combat lifetimes of employees’ own beliefs and reactions about race relations.

As Johnson says, just about everyone knows the commonsense way to treat people fairly. Whether they do it or not is primarily a choice they make.

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The View: Stormy Daniels Reveals “Composite Sketch” Of Alleged Thug Who Threatened Her

In an appearance on ABC’s The View today, Stormy Daniels and her lawyer Michael Avenatti revealed a “composite sketch” of the man who Daniels alleges threatened her if she didn’t shut up about her alleged affair with Donald Trump a decade ago.

Avenatti also announced there is a $100,000 reward for information leading to the man’s identification. Folks with any information can send contact Avenatti at IDtheThug@gmail.com.

I want to say, regarding the clips below, Daniels handles herself with a lot of aplomb and confidence here.

Meghan McCain asks direct questions that easily could have elicited a more argumentative or defensive response from Daniels. But instead, she calmly let McCain make her statements and then answered with logic in a calm, reasonable demeanor.

Daniels did get a laugh when asked about Trump’s denial that he knew anything about the $130,000 payment made to her: “I work in the adult business and I’m a better actor than he is.”

The more I see of Daniels, the more and more I’m impressed.

Contrast her appearance on The View with Donald Trump’s histrionic public pronouncements with 4th grade language skills, and you get the picture.

Watch the clips below from today’s appearance.

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“Barack Obama” Warns Folks Not To Believe Everything They See On The Internet

Barack Obama (L) and Oscar winner Jordan Peele

From Buzzfeed:

Sitting before the Stars and Stripes, another flag pinned to his lapel, former president Barack Obama appears to be delivering an important message about fake news — but something seems slightly…off.

“We’re entering an era in which our enemies can make it look like anyone is saying anything at any point in time — even if they would never say those things,” says “Obama,” his lips moving in perfect sync with his words as they become increasingly bizarre. “So, for instance, they could have me say things like, I don’t know, [Black Panther’s] Killmonger was right! Or Ben Carson is in the sunken place! Or, how ’bout this: Simply, President Trump is a total and complete dipshit.”

As the video soon reveals, the man speaking is not the former commander-in-chief, but rather Oscar-winning filmmaker Jordan Peele with a warning for viewers about trusting material they encounter online.

“This is a dangerous time. Moving forward, we need to be more vigilant with what we trust from the internet,” says Peele as Obama.

The video, posted below, is pretty amazing in that it totally looks like Obama is saying what you hear.

It was apparently made with Adobe After Effects video software, and FakeApp, an artificial intelligence program.

The process included pasting Peele’s mouth over Obamas, then replacing Obama’s jawline and then final smoothing.

The result is pretty believable.

The point being – there actually can be “fake news” out there. Just because you see it on the internet, doesn’t make it real. Which we all knew, but this is a powerful example of how far technology has developed in the plight to fool folks on the interwebs.

(h/t JoeMyGod) 

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Ada Vox Wows American Idol In “Defying Gravity” Duet W/ GLEE Alum Lea Michele

Ada Vox and Lea Michele sing “Defying Gravity” on American Idol

I’ll admit I can get bored with a TV show after so many seasons. It’s not a negative thing – I just kinda get over the formula that keeps a show going once you get past three or four seasons.

So, after eating up the early years of American Idol, I stopped paying attention because, well, it started to feel very familiar.

But I am loving the new reboot of AI on ABC if only for the terrific journey of drag queen Ada Vox, the performance persona of Adam Sanders.

Not only is Ada living in the moment, she is bringing you voice. Real voice.

I’ve enjoyed her performances (shared here and here) and last night she brought it again in a duet with GLEE alum Lea Michele.

Check that note at the 1:11 mark 🙂

Michele and the judges were having Vox as well:

Michele: “This talent is out of control. Can you handle this? Getting to sing with someone of this vocal caliber was a real honor. It was so fun to get to sing together.”

Lionel Richie: “A star is born. No kidding. There’s no denying your presence, there’s no denying your voice. You are a statement.”

Katy Perry: “Your sound transcends words.”

Luke Bryan: “You figure out a way to bring the house down all the time.”

Watch the duo make magic below.

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UK Prime Minister “Deeply Regrets” History Of Anti-LGBT Laws

Wow.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May, speaking at a week-long summit meeting of the Commonwealth, a 53-country network of mostly former colonies, said she regrets the anti-LGBT laws enacted years ago and called for their reform.

“I am all too aware that these laws were often put in place by my own country. They were wrong then and they are wrong now,” May said.

“As the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister I deeply regret both the fact that such laws were introduced and the legacy of discrimination, violence and even death that persists today.”

Currently, 37 of the 53 member nations of the Commonwealth outlaw same-sex relations.

Last week, out UK diver Tom Daley addressed the issue at the Commonwealth Games in Australia after winning the 10K meter synchronized diving event with his partner Dan Goodfellow.

Watch May’s comments below.

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Podcast: Miami Beach Gay-Bashing; Matt Bomer In Upcoming “Anything;” Diver Tom Daley Speaks Out On LGBT Rights At Commonwealth Games

In this week’s podcast:

• Miami Beach Pride gay bashing

• Sen. Cory Booker calls out Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo on LGBT rights

• Newly-elected Alabama Sen. Doug Jones became the latest co-sponsor of The Equality Act citing his son Carson’s coming out as affecting his view on LGBTQ rights

• Out UK diverTom Daley speaks out against Commonwealth anti-gay laws

• Matt Bomer’s casting in upcoming film trans-oriented ANYTHING gets boos from transgender community

• And the latest political parody from Randy Rainbow – “You Can’t Stop His Tweets”

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report.

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American Idol’s Ada Vox Is “Feeling Good” After Last Night’s Scorching Performance

While there was a huge amount of attention being paid to former FBI Director James Comey’s interview on ABC last night, it should not be ignored that also on ABC, American Idol contestant Ada Vox delivered a scorching rendition of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.”

Ada Vox is the drag incarnation of Adam Sanders, who had previously auditioned for the reality talent show but been cut in early rounds.

Praising Ada’s performance last night, judge Katy Perry declared, “You’ve heard of the expression ‘wig snatched’? Wig flew!”

Lionel Richie agreed with Perry tweeting later, “You are on another level!”

Folks, come to grips with the reality that a drag queen just might win American Idol — or at least wind up in the Top 2.

Former American Idol contestant Melinda Doolittle (one of the greatest I might add) had more praise:

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Fox News’ Sean Hannity Hired Trump Lawyer To Investigate Left-Wing Groups Calling For Boycott Of His Show

Fox News personality Sean Hannity

Earlier today, a federal judge ordered Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen to reveal who his clients were in order to determine what materials seized from his office and home last week might be protected by attorney/client privilege.

In addition to Donald Trump and GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy (whom Cohen handled a $1.3 million “hush money” payout), Cohen’s legal team revealed the 3rd client was none other than Fox News host Sean Hannity.

From Media Matters:

Cohen’s lawyers had acknowledged that Cohen had three legal clients since 2017 in a filing in federal court related to legal issues surrounding documents the FBI obtained by raiding his office, home, and hotel room last week. Two clients — Trump and GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy — were publicly known. Attorneys for Cohen had argued that the identity of the third should remain secret. But Judge Kimba Wood rejected that argument, forcing Cohen’s lawyer to reveal his work for Hannity.

Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman reported on MSNBC soon after that Hannity hired Cohen “to help defend him against left-wing groups that were calling for boycotts,” an apparent reference to Media Matters’ well-publicized campaign to get advertisers to stop supporting Hannity’s program. Sherman added that Hannity may have hired “other lawyers and/or private investigators” as part of the effort.

During the many segments Hannity has devoted to defending Cohen on Fox News, not once has he ever divulged that he had paid Cohen for legal advice.