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#NationalWalkoutDay Students Send A Message To Lawmakers “If Any Elected Official Gets In Our Way, We Will Vote Them Out”

High school students across the entire country are sending a clear and powerful message to the nation’s lawmakers and the National Rifle Association that we need more than “thoughts and prayers” to solve our gun violence problem in the U.S.

These kids are woke.

From The New York Times:

Thousands of students, emboldened by a growing protest movement over gun violence, stood up in their classrooms on Wednesday and walked out of their schools in a nationwide demonstration, one month after a gunman killed 17 people at a high school in Florida.

The 17-minute protests unfolding at hundreds of schools are intended to pressure Congress to approve gun control legislation after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and come 10 days before major protests in Washington and elsewhere.

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Dog Dies On United Airlines Flight After Being Put In Overhead Bin

Flight attendants on a United Airlines flight insisted a family put their dog in the overhead compartment instead of under the seat in front of them for a three hour flight.

The result was devastating.

A passenger on the plane shared her account of the fateful flight.

Today, I boarded my first United Airlines flight.

On my way, I saw a Frenchie that looked identical to my own precious Winston. He was with his family – a young girl, no older than 8, her toddler sibling and their mother. He was meant to grow, learn, cry, play with those young children and be their furry friend. He was meant to live a long life filling that family’s days with that special joy that only a dog can bring.

I sat behind the family of three and thought myself lucky – who doesn’t when they get to sit near a puppy? However, the flight attendants of flight UA1284 felt that the innocent animal was better off crammed inside the overhead container without air and water. They INSISTED that the puppy be locked up for three hours without any kind of airflow. They assured the safety of the family’s pet so wearily, the mother agreed.

There was no sound as we landed and opened his kennel. There was no movement as his family called his name. I held her baby as the mother attempted to resuscitate their 10 month old puppy. I cried with them three minutes later as she sobbed over his lifeless body. My heart broke with theirs as I realized he was gone.

The Humane Society of the U.S. says air travel can be risky for pets and especially dangerous for brachycephalic breeds — such as pugs or bulldogs, whose short nasal passages make them vulnerable to oxygen deprivation and heat stroke. This little guy fought hard for his life, filling our flight with his cries until he finally ran out of breath.

United Airlines does not care about the safety of their furry travelers. This poor family paid $125 for their pet to be murdered in front of them. There is no excuse for the pain this family is suffering.

Today, I boarded my last United Airlines flight.

After the dog was discovered to have passed away, the flight attendant told the passengers she thought it was just a bag and didn’t know the dog was inside.

The family says the flight attendant is lying.

The dog was traveling in a TSA-compliant travel kennel that was designed to fit under a seat.

According to Fox News, United Airlines spokeswoman Maggie Schmerin has issued this statement:

“This was a tragic accident that should never have occurred, as pets should never be placed in the overhead bin. We assume full responsibility for this tragedy and express our deepest condolences to the family and are committed to supporting them. We are thoroughly investigating what occurred to prevent this from ever happening again.”

According to a US Department of Transportation report issued in February, 18 animals died in United’s care last year compared with six killed among all other U.S. airlines.

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Trump Silenced By The Lamb As Democrat Wins Deep Red District In Pennsylvania

NBC News has declared Democrat Conor Lamb the apparent winner of Tuesday’s special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District.

With 99% of the votes counted Lamb leads Republican Rick Saccone by 641 votes.

CNBC is reporting the only outstanding votes are the approximately 200 absentee votes in Greene County and the provisional ballots that the district will count within the next seven days. But those don’t add up to 641 votes.

Lamb, a former Marine and federal prosecutor, declared victory shortly before 1AM as he was introduced at his election night party as “congressman-elect.”

Republicans are quietly wringing their hands in light of the fact that the deep red district (Trump won the 18th in 2016 by 20 point, Romney won in 2012 by 17) has swung 20 points to the Dems in less than two years.

On the day before the election, Republican Rick Saccone made an appearance with Donald Trump Jr. where he declared Democrats hate America and God.

Now, that doesn’t sound like an uplifting message, does it?

Trump backed Judge Roy Moore in Alabama in a special election for the U.S. Senate seat there and Moore lost to a Democrat. Trump backed Saccone in Pennsylvania, and Saccone lost.

See a pattern there?

Donald Trump has tweeted four times this morning. Nothing about the race in Pennsylvania.

#SilencedByTheLamb

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Legendary Scientist Stephen Hawking Dies At Age 76

Stephen Hawking, one of the brightest stars in the firmament of science, who survived 50 years of ALS and whose insights shaped modern cosmology, has died aged 76.

From HuffPost:

The world-renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist was best known for his work on black holes. Hawking theorized that, contrary to the prevailing scientific belief that black holes were inescapable for all forms of matter and energy, they actually emitted a form of radiation ― now known as Hawking radiation. He also played a key role in the mathematical effort to unify Einstein’s general theory of relativity with the emergent field of quantum physics.

Hawking used his position as one of the world’s most famous scientists as a platform to discuss a wide range of issues, from the existence of extraterrestrial life to the nature of philosophy. He skyrocketed to public prominence in 1988, when he published his first general-audience book, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes. The cosmology treatise has sold approximately 10 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling science books of all time.

In 1963, when he was just 21 years old, Hawking was famously diagnosed with the debilitating motor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Though 80 percent of those with ALS die within five years of diagnosis, and Hawking’s own doctors gave him roughly two years to live, he survived for decades, perhaps longer than any other patient with the disease in medical history. Hawking used a wheelchair to move around and a sophisticated computer system to speak for much of his time as a public figure.

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Viral Video: Drag Queen Dressed As “Elsa” Frees A Stuck Police Wagon In The Snow

No. No. Wait – you need to see this.

Don’t tell me that my tribe isn’t fierce.

Check out this video of a drag queen dressed as “Elsa” from Frozen freeing a stuck police wagon in a blizzard.

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Is GLEE Star Kevin McHale Flirting With Coming Out Or Just Flirting With The Inter-Webs?

Kevin McHale (image via Instagram)

GLEE star Kevin McHale has the folks on the inter-webs wondering if he just came out?

Or he’s simply being mysterious?

Yesterday, he shared a photo on Instagram of two male hands captioned by the American Sign Language symbol for “I love you.”

Many fans have speculated the other hand belongs to McHale’s When We Rise co-star Austin McKenzie, who starred in the Deaf West Theater production of Spring Awakening which featured ASL extensively.

Was McHale trying to come out?

A post shared by Kevin McHale (@kevinmchale) on Mar 12, 2018 at 12:19am PDT

Today, McHale shared a shirtless pic of him reading a book with another guy facing away from the camera in the background captioned: “My favorite way to be anti social #tb“.

I remember in my college days when folks were confused they would jokingly say, “It’s meaning is the same.”

I don’t know what the meaning is here, but McHale has certainly has folks attention.

A post shared by Kevin McHale (@kevinmchale) on Mar 12, 2018 at 10:08pm PDT

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CNN: Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin Is Next To Be Fired From Trump Administration

Donald Trump may like being in Apprentice-mode these days.

Right on the heels of firing his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, CNN is reporting that President Trump is looking to dismiss embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and replace him with Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

Shulkin has butted heads in recent months with conservative White House officials over the expansion of government-subsidized private health care for veterans, outside the government-run V.A. health system.

Additionally, Shulkin drew negative attention for a trip to Britain and Denmark last year where it appears he spent much of the time sight-seeing with his wife.

Rick Perry reportedly had lunch at the White House yesterday but no confirmation if the subject of moving to the VA came up.

Watch the report from CNN below.

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News Round-Up: March 13, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• How could I pass up sharing a pic of uber-sexy model Stuart Reardon and wine???

• A federal judge in Maryland has ruled that transgender students have the right to use the rest rooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity.

• Hundreds turn out in support of an out high school football player who was targeted by the hate group Westboro Baptist Church.

• A hospital refused the tissue donation from a deceased 24-year-old because he was gay.

• A Republican candidate for office in Maine viciously attacked one of the surviving students of the Parkland gun massacre as “a skinhead lesbian.”

• With the new coming-out/coming-of-age gay dramedy Love, Simon opening this week, out director Greg Berlanti spoke candidly to NewNowNext about his own teen years as a closeted young gay:

“I can only imagine what I would be feeling right now if I was a 16-year-old watching people like Adam Rippon and Gus Kenworthy on TV.

“I wasn’t ready to come out in college or high school. I think the fear was similar, and putting on a brave face so people saw me as a happy kid next door. I had family that was close-knit, but that didn’t make me less terrified. I came out in my early 20s, around the dawn of the Internet exploding, which I think made people feel less isolated or alone.”


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Federal Judge: Former Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort Faces “Real Possibility” Of Life In Prison

Paul Manafort

A federal judge in Virginia says former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort poses not only a “substantial risk of flight” but also faces “the very real possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.”

From Politico:

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who is based in Alexandria, Virginia, and is assigned to a newly filed indictment against Manafort dealing with bank fraud and tax evasion, said the veteran lobbyist and political consultant posed “a substantial risk of flight” because of his assets and the gravity of his legal predicament.

“The defendant is a person of great wealth who has the financial means and international connections to flee and remain at large, as well as every incentive to do so,” Ellis wrote in an order setting the terms of what the judge called “home incarceration” for Manafort, 68, who lives in Alexandria but also has homes in Florida and on Long Island.

“Given the nature of the charges against the defendant and the apparent weight of the evidence against him, defendant faces the very real possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison,” wrote Ellis, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan.

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Oklahoma State Senate Approves Bill That Would Allow Adoption Agencies To Discriminate Against Same-Sex Couples

A bill working its way through the Oklahoma legislature would allow religious-based adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples, single people and non-Christians.

The Oklahoma state Senate just passed Senate Bill 1140 by a vote of 35-9.

According to the Associated Press, SB1140 would “cover child-placing agencies that block adoptive parents who do not meet the agencies’ religious or moral standards.”

Check that last part – “moral standards.”

The bill now heads to the state House where the Republicans hold a huge majority of 73-28.

Clearly, the effect of the legislation will be to keep children from loving homes.

The Human Rights Campaign issued a statement which read in part:

“Bills such as SB 1140 are a clear attempt to solve a ‘problem’ that simply doesn’t exist while enshrining anti-LGBTQ discrimination into law,” said Marty Rouse, national field director for HRC. “If lawmakers in Oklahoma truly wanted to help find permanent homes for the children in the child welfare system, they wouldn’t be focusing on narrowing the pool of potential parents, which only hurts those kids. HRC calls on the Oklahoma House to reject this needless, harmful bill.”

Research consistently shows that LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in the foster care system, as many have been rejected by their families of origin because of their LGBTQ status, and are especially vulnerable to discrimination and mistreatment while in foster care. SB 1140 will only exacerbate the challenges faced by LGBTQ young people.

This bill is similar to SB 375, which passed in the Georgia State Senate last month.

Since Donald Trump’s election, several states including Alabama, South Dakota and Texas have passed similar laws.