Category: Uncategorized

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Donald Trump Covers TIME Magazine

Donald Trump covers the latest issue of TIME Magazine as the Trumpster “weathers the storm” that is the Stormy Daniels debacle.

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Secy Of State Nominee Mike Pompeo, Who Has Called Being Gay A “Perversion,” Does Not Approve Of Same-Sex Marriage

Mike Pompeo

During Mike Pompeo’s confirmation hearing today for Secretary of State embarrassingly hemmed and hawed when asked by New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker on whether Pompeo still believes, as he had previously stated in a speech, that being gay is a “perversion” and same-sex marriage should not be legal.

Booker: So, you do not believe it’s appropriate for two gay people to marry?

 Pompeo: Sir, I continue to hold that view.

The response by Pompeo, a sputtering word salad of halted speech, made it clear that Pompeo was not happy to have to admit that he finds homosexuality a “perversion,” a word he chose to use in public speeches as a politician.

Just one aspect of the role of U.S. Secretary of State is to stand up for the human rights of people around the world.

How does one do that when they view an entire slice of humanity as “perverse?”

THIS is how a real Secretary of State handles the topic of LGBT rights:

p.s. Pompeo also stated he can’t recall whether President Trump pressured him to interfere in the Russia investigation. Sounds like something you’d remember, no?

Watch the exchange below.

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Trinidad’s High Court Strikes Down “Buggery” Laws

Trinidad’s High Court has struck down the country’s “buggery” laws which criminalize consensual intimate acts between adults as unconstitutional.

Justice Devindra Rampersad, who is presiding over the case, stated in his ruling: “The court declares that sections 13 and 16 of the [Sexual Offences Act] are unconstitutional, illegal, null, void, invalid and of no effect to the extent that these laws criminalise any acts constituting consensual sexual conduct between adults.”

Sections 13 and 16 of that law criminalize buggery and indecency between adults. Trinidad inherited that law from its days as a British colony.

There have been rallies recently by Christian protesters who, of course, offered dire warnings that overturning the law would lead to same-sex marriage.

A sovereign state consisting of twin islands with a population of 1.3 million near Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1962.

The UK repealed their buggery laws in 1967.

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Parkland Teacher Leaves Loaded Gun In Public Bathroom, Found & Fired By Drunk Homeless Man

Sean Simpson (via screencapture)

Donald Trump’s solution to school shootings is to arm teachers in the class room.

Because, what could possibly go wrong?

Other than a gung-ho teacher leaving his gun in a bathroom for a stranger to find…?

The Miami Herald has the details:

Not the most normal sight: a gun left in the bathroom stall. But that’s exactly what went down on Sunday in a men’s room at the Deerfield Beach Pier.

The circumstances of how the Glock 9mm got there are unusual.

According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the weapon was left by Sean Simpson. If his name sounds familiar, he’s the teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas who said he’d be willing to arm himself while on duty.

According to the sheriff’s office report, Simpson told deputies he’d left his gun by accident. By the time the chemistry teacher realized his mistake, the Glock was already in the hands of a drunk homeless man who had picked it up and fired. The bullet hit a wall.

Simpson was able to grab the gun away from the vagrant, Joseph Spataro, who was charged with firing a weapon while intoxicated and trespassing. As for the MSD teacher, he was arrested and charged with failing to safely store a firearm, a second-degree misdemeanor.

Simpson got slapped with a second degree misdemeanor for failing to properly store a firearm.

The Broward School Board, which includes Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, unanimously rejected the state’s new program to arm school staff this week. The funds will be used for more resource officers instead.

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News Round-Up: April 11, 2018

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Since its Hump Day I’m starting this round with two – count’em two – InstaHunks as there’s a birthday in the house as Alex Abramov celebrates #31 with bf Brett Miles (above).

•  Illinois lawmakers have advanced a bill that would require public schools to include teaching the accomplishments of LGBT folks in history classes much like current laws that require students learn about other groups such as African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans.

• John Sherman at Buzzfeed has penned an interesting essay wondering if gay media is still focusing on gay acceptance (i.e. Love, Simon) instead of celebrating queer difference? Sherman brings up some points I hadn’t considered. Def worth the read.

• The raid on Donald Trump’s personal lawyer’s office and home specifically looked for documents regarding the now infamous “Grab’em by the pussy” Trump video from Access Hollywood. Political experts posit the investigation may be looking into payments to silence women who might have affected Trump’s electoral chances in 2016.

• A federal judge in Texas ruled last week that Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 which bans sex discrimination, also bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

• This week we got our first look at Anything, a story about love and acceptance that follows widower Early (John Caroll Lynch) after his move to LA in the aftermath of the death of his wife. Early finds an unlikely friend in his neighbor, Freda, who is a transgender sex worker.

While the film’s premise is welcome, folks have raised concerns about the casting of Matt Bomer, a cisgender man, as the trans character Freda.

Watch the trailer below.

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Everyday Is #NationalPetDay In Our House

Hubby Michael and the kids from a few years ago

Today is National Pet Day and to celebrate I’m looking back at when there were more dogs living in our house than people.

Basically, everyday is National Pet Day in our house, although I’ve never been a fan of the word “pet.” I feel like I belong to the furry family members in our home.

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Hypocrisy: Alabama Evangelical Youth Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

Paul Edward Acton Bowen

Yet another evangelical hypocrite has been arrested on child sex charges. This time its an Alabama youth pastor.

From AL.com:

Paul Edward Acton Bowen, a 37-year-old Gadsden native who now lives in Etowah County’s Southside community, was taken into custody by Hoover police about 12:35 p.m.

The founder of Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries is charged with second-degree sodomy, enticing a child to enter a vehicle or house for immoral purposes, and second-degree sex abuse.

The victim was a young male, but police did not release his age except to say he is over 12 and under 16.

Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector said the department’s Special Victim’s Unit first launched an investigation three weeks ago. The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office issued the warrants on Monday.

“This is certainly one of the more disturbing cases that we’ve investigated in quite some time,” Rector said. “Mr. Bowen is in a highly-respected position of influence and he is trusted by many. We believe he betrayed that trust in the worst kind of way.”

Bowen was taken into custody in Pelham and transported to the Hoover City Jail. He was moved to the Jefferson County Jail where he was released early Wednesday on $90,300 bond.

Watch the local NBC affiliate’s report below.

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Louisiana: 10 GOP Lawmakers Vote To Keep Bestiality Legal But Outlaw Gay Sex

(image via Flickr – Photographer Tila Monto)

Oh dear.

During voting yesterday in the Louisiana state Senate, 10 Republican lawmakers voted against a measure that would strip out the crime of bestiality from Louisiana’s outdated and unconstitutional sodomy law and make the act illegal as a separate law.

But the inclusion of one line in the legislation –  “Anal sexual intercourse between two human beings shall not be deemed as a crime” – was too much for 10 Republican lawmakers.

So, they voted for bestiality in order to keep oral and anal sex (known as “crimes against nature”) illegal.

As New Orleans state Sen. JP Morrell, who sponsored the bill, said at the time, “God forbid you vote against this bill, good luck explaining it.”

Since the sodomy portion of current law has been deemed unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable, Morrell’s bill would strip out the bestiality aspect to make the crime of sex with an animal illegal and allow authorities to prosecute the crime.

The bill passed by a vote of 25-10.

Whew.

The measure now heads to the state House.

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Miami Beach Gay Bashers Charged With Aggravated Felony Battery

Four men accused of a violent gay bashing after Miami Beach Pride this past Sunday have been released on bond after being arrested and charged with felony aggravated battery.

Miami’s local ABC affiliate WSVN reports that the young men accused of a violent gay bashing after Miami Beach Pride this past Sunday have been released on bond after being arrested and charged with felony aggravated battery.

The four men — who police identified as 20-year-old Luis Alonso, 21-year-old Adonis Diaz, 21-year-old Juan C. Lopez and 21-year-old Pablo Reinaldo Romo — bonded out of jail on Wednesday. According to a Miami Beach Police spokesperson, all four men are facing aggravated battery felony charges.

Each of the four men were being held on $7,500 bond.

Surveillance cameras outside the Miami Beach bathroom, located near the beach along Ocean Drive and Sixth Street, recorded the assault on Sunday night.

Investigators said the subjects yelled an anti-gay slur in Spanish before the brawl ensued.

The State Attorney’s Office is still deciding whether the suspects will be charged with a hate crime.

You can find my original reports on the attack here and here.

Florida State Attorney Kathy Rundle promises all hate crime aspects of the attack will be evaluated throughly.

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Speaker Of The House Paul Ryan Announces He Will Not Run For Re-Election

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

Confirming months of rumors, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced this morning that he will not run for re-election in the November mid-term elections.

From The New York Times:

Mr. Ryan said he will serve until the end of this Congress in January, which will mark 20 years in Congress. He insisted he will be “leaving this majority in good hands with what I believe is a very bright future.”

But his retirement, at the age of 48, is sure to kick off a succession battle for the leadership of the House Republican Conference, likely between the House majority leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, and the House majority whip, Steve Scalise of Louisiana. And it could also trigger another wave of retirements among Republicans not eager to face angry voters in the fall and taking their cue from Mr. Ryan.

The announcement from Ryan marked the 40th House Republican to signal retirement ahead of what looks like a tough mid-term election cycle for the GOP. Only 19 Democrats have announced they won’t seek re-election.

Coming just an hour after Ryan, GOP Rep. Dennis Ross of Florida also declared his time in Congress would come to an end after the mid-terms.

Many political experts posit that after finally achieving his lifelong dream of tax reform, Ryan had no appetite to return to the minority should the Democrats retake control of the House this fall.

The front-runner for the GOP nomination for Ryan’s seat is apparently an anti-Semitic, white supremacist named Paul Nehlen. According to ThinkProgress.com he’s been kicked off Twitter and Breitbart for his offensive chatter.