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Just Because…
Tennessee: State GOP Uses Gay Couple’s Wedding Photo In Attack Ad
A gay couple in Tennessee were surprised recently to find their wedding photo being used in a political attack ad by the Tennessee Republican Party.
The couple’s ceremony was officiated by the Democratic candidate for State Senate District 14, Gayle Jordan, and the state GOP party used the photo without permission.
The couple, Shane Morgan and his husband Landon, are private citizens and they feel the attack ad is using their wedding illegally.
After years in the Air Force and enduring the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” years, Morgan says wearing his wedding ring has deep personal meaning. “More than words can say,” Morgan said.
After nine years together, the couple married this past December.
The photo was taken from Jordan’s Facebook page where she had posted the pic with the joking caption, “Doing my part to destroy the fabric of American society.”
The attack ad features the picture with the text, “Liberal Gayle Jordan will ‘destroy the fabric of American society.’ Take her word for it.”
According to the Nashville NBC affiliate, the state GOP organization says the comment is very serious and the mailer has nothing to do with the couple.
Morgan and his husband have hired attorney Sunny Eaton of Eastside Legal, who asserts her clients’ privacy has been violated and they have been exploited for political purposes.
Daily Dog
So cute. “Don’t forget to water the dogs.” My canines would run from the water so fast…
Barack & Michelle Obama May Produce New Series For Netflix
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Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are reported to be in advanced talks with Netflix to produce a new series of high-profile shows that could explore the former president’s interest in the intersection of politics and media.
From The New York Times:
Under terms of a proposed deal, which is not yet final, Netflix would pay Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, for exclusive content that would be available only on the streaming service, which has nearly 118 million subscribers around the world. The number of episodes and the formats for the shows have not been decided.
Mr. Obama does not intend to use his Netflix shows to directly respond to President Trump or conservative critics, according to people familiar with discussions about the programming. They said the Obamas had talked about producing shows that highlight inspirational stories.
But the Netflix deal, while not a direct answer to Fox News or Breitbart.com, would give Mr. Obama an unfiltered method of communication with the public similar to the audiences he already reaches through social media, with 101 million Twitter followers and 55 million people who have liked his Facebook page.
The Obamas are a hot commodity. In addition Netflix, other media companies like Apple and Amazon have expressed interest in content creation with the former White House residents.
News Round-Up: March 9, 2018
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Some news stories you might have missed:
• This is what happens (above) when you actually work out. #ThenTheresMe
• Outsports will host its third annual Pride celebration in New York City, June 21-24, 2018. The event will bring together LGBTQ athletes, coaches, sports executives, members of the media and fans for a weekend of “the celebration of courage.”
• More and more gay men are using PrEP to prevent HIV infection but wide ethnic and racial disparities persist in its use.
• Republican senators have reintroduced the First Amendment Defense Act which would give the federal government’s blessing to discriminate against LGBT people and others in the name of religious beliefs.
• Fox News invited a comedian cowboy on air to proclaim “The worst thing you can be today in America is a white, heterosexual, Christian Male.” #OhReally
• Whitney, Kevin Macdonald’s documentary about the life and career of Whitney Houston, will be released July 6 in the United States.
• UK singer/songwriter Calum Scott’s debut album Only Human is out today and available to download/stream at all digital providers. You can check out my previous posts about the awesomely talented Mr. Scott here.
Trump Lawyer Used Trump Organization Email Account To Pay Stormy Daniels
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| Michael Cohen |
NBC News is reporting Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, used his Trump Organization email account to arrange payment of $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Now – why would he use his TrumpOrg.com account if the payment to Daniels had nothing to do with Trump?
The lawyer, Michael Cohen, also regularly used the same email account during 2016 negotiations with the actress — whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford — before she signed a nondisclosure agreement, a source familiar with the discussions told NBC News.
And Clifford’s attorney at the time addressed correspondence to Cohen in his capacity at the Trump Organization and as “Special Counsel to Donald J. Trump,” the source said.
Cohen has tried to put distance between the president and the payout, which has been the subject of campaign finance complaints.
In a statement last month, Cohen said he used his “personal funds to facilitate a payment” to Clifford, who says she had an intimate relationship with Trump a decade ago.
“Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly,” Cohen said in that statement.
But an email uncovered in the last 24 hours and provided to NBC News by Clifford’s current attorney, Michael Avenatti, shows First Republic Bank and Cohen communicated about the money using his Trump company email address, not his personal gmail account.
“I think this document seriously calls into question the prior representation of Mr. Cohen and the White House relating to the source of the monies paid to Ms. Clifford in an effort to silence her,” said Avenatti, who is representing Clifford in a lawsuit against Trump.
Daniels’ lawyer says the email suggests the money for Daniels came from a Trump account since Cohen used his TrumpOrg email account to facilitate the transfer.
BOOM! Remember how Michael Cohen denied that Trump / Trump Organization had nothing to do with the $130K payment to Stormy Daniels? Well now we learn that Cohen actually used a Trump Organization email for the transfer of the funds. https://t.co/IF2itYbCAr— Ed Krassenstein 💎 (@EdKrassen) March 9, 2018
Sometimes my personal lawyer will just pay my mortgage off. Without asking. Such a good guy. I'm lucky.— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) March 9, 2018
Poetic justice demands Trump be taken down by emails. #KKKarma— Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) March 9, 2018
Michael Cohen is basically a character from a Coen Brothers movie https://t.co/ZbBz8ea1Hg— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) March 9, 2018
NBC’s “The Voice” Introduces First Transgender Contestant
NBC’s The Voice made history this week by introducing the series’ first transgender contestant, Angel Bonilla.
After wowing the judges with her performance of Sam Smith’s “Lay Me Down,” Bonilla explained that she was from the Philippines where she was born as “Carlos.”
“As early as 5 years old, I already knew that I am a girl trapped in a boy’s body,” Bonilla says. “Growing up in a very conservative family, it was very difficult for my father. When my dad saw me as a girl for the first time, he was puzzled. He’s not sure if I am his son, but he embraced me. I promised him that I will do great things. I wanted my father to be proud of me, and I’m doing this to honor him.”
Bonilla was thrilled to accept Adam Levine as her mentor. Looking forward to the next round on The Voice.
Watch Angel’s intro package below.
Sobbing “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli Sentenced To 7 Years In Prison
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| “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli |
Total asshole “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli was sentenced to 7 years in prison today for defrauding investors.
Shkreli reportedly sobbed as U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto announced the prison sentence saying he knew he’d made mistakes and apologized to his investors.
Prosecutors had called for a 15 years in prison while Shkreli’s lawyers argued for 18 months or less because his investors in two failed hedge funds got their money back, and their client shouldn’t be punished for being outspoken.
Judge Matsumoto assured the defense team did not take Shkreli’s outside actions into account in the sentencing.
The “Pharma Bro” became infamous for jacking up the price of a life-saving AIDS drug by 5,000% from $13 to $750 overnight. That was followed by trolling his many critics on Twitter with his snarky personality.
‘Pharma bro’ Martin Shkreli was just sentenced to 7 years in prison for committing fraud pic.twitter.com/JdA1bGuqvf— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 9, 2018
Martin Shkreli once smirked at members of Congress when they pleaded for him to realize sick people were dying.Today’s sentencing went differently, as Shkreli sobbed and begged the court for mercy. He deserved no mercy and that’s what he got.
Karma is a bitch.
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) March 9, 2018
Martin Shkreli cried as he was sentenced to prison today.I’ll give you a tissue, Martin.
Only $500 each.— Chad R. MacDonald (@ChadMac19) March 9, 2018
The lesson of Shkreli is you can extort HIV patients all you want, but when you start messing with hedge fund investors, shit gets real.— Schooley (@Rschooley) March 9, 2018
VICE Explores How Folks Are Monetizing Their Social Media Accounts
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VICE has done a deep dive exploring how some folks are learning to monetize their social media following.
Meet Rick Twombley and Griff King.
After the gay husbands saw a Facebook video of Griff lip-syncing to The Little Mermaid blow up to over 500,000 views, the Atlanta-based muscle men decided to explore how they could make money from their following.
With over 186,000 Instagram followers, the men are now using an OnlyFans account to share “exclusive content” with folks willing to plunk down $9.99 a month.
That content includes workout tips, cooking segments, nude photo shoots and more from their private lives.
I’d heard of OnlyFans in the past several months as folks I’ve met from the porn industry are using it to augment their income with content they shoot specifically for their OnlyFans followers. The site allows full nudity and sexual content to be posted for paying “fans.”
As far as I can ascertain, the folks who post their content on OnlyFans get 80% of income generated while the website takes 20% for running the site, processing payments, etc.
One adult performer I know of (no, not Stormy Daniels) has over 5K paying fans on the site and he charges $9.99 a month as well (it must be a popular price).
So, that would mean he is raking in about $40,000 a month…?
I’m in the wrong business, LOL.
Rick and Griff make a point to say they don’t post actual porn. Artful nude photo shoots and semi-naked cooking segments aside, they say they want to inspire folks by sharing their fit and active lives as a couple.
Watch the report from VICE below.
Gus Kenworthy Named Grand Marshal For Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade
Miami Beach Gay Pride has announced woofy out Olympian Gus Kenworthy will serve as Grand Marshal for the event on April 10.
According to a press release from the pride committee, the Olympic silver medalist is “thrilled to lead the parade at Miami Beach Gay Pride.”
NBC6 weekend anchor Roxanne Vargas will join Kenworthy for the parade as this year’s ally grand marshal.
For its 10-year anniversary, Miami Beach Gay Pride 2018 will feature a week’s worth of events, April 2-8, which include highlights such as Pride Lights the Night, a tribute to the PULSE nightclub victims; the Miss Pride drag pageant; a Friday night VIP Gala; Saturday beach party and festival; and Sunday parade and festival.
Disco legend Thelma Houston (“Don’t Leave Me This Way”) will perform at 8PM on the pride mainstage.