Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Mike Huckabee’s Tenure With Country Music Association Lasts One Day Due To LGBT Animus

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee

Just one day after joining the board of the Country Music Association, Mike Huckabee resigned as his multitude of hateful anti-LGBT comments came back to bite him in the butt.

From the Arkansas Times:

Huckabee’s critics included Jason Owen, who manages Little Big Town, Kacey Musgraves and Faith Hill. Owen, who is gay, married and a father, said “Huckabee speaks of the sort of things that would suggest my family is morally beneath his, and uses language that has a profoundly negative impact upon young people all across this country. Not to mention how harmful and damaging his deep involvement with the NRA is.” He said is companies would “no longer support the CMA Foundation”.

Huckabee has compared homosexuality with bestiality and regularly denounced same-sex marriage.

More from Variety:

Steve Schnur, a former CMA board member, said the town’s phones were lit up all night and into this morning after Wednesday’s announcement. “I got calls in shock from multiple CMA members, asking if I knew about it, some threatening to leave,” says Schnur, who is the worldwide executive of music for EA, the blockbuster video game producer that has moved most of its efforts to Nashville, and who sits on the Recording Academy’s Nashville board. “I’ve had numerous conversations since the second I woke up with chairmen of labels and major managers, all collectively agreeing that this move, which fortunately now has been resolved, really would have put Nashville back 20 years.

No doubt the former governor of Arkansas will use this incident to gin up some paid speeches somewhere…

Posted on

Donald Trump Doubles Down On Steel/Aluminum Tariffs

Donald Trump

Less than 24 hours after announcing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Donald Trump triumphantly tweeted, “Trade wars are good, and easy to win.”

From The New York Times:

Mr. Trump appeared eager to defend his decision to levy sweeping tariffs on all imports of those metals, issuing a series of morning tweets explaining the need for tariffs. “Our steel industry is in bad shape. IF YOU DON’T HAVE STEEL, YOU DON’T HAVE A COUNTRY!” he said in one tweet.

Markets fell in response to Mr. Trump’s announcement on Thursday that he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, effectively placing a tax on every foreign shipment of those metals into the United States. Mr. Trump, at a hastily arranged meeting with industry executives on Thursday, said he would formally sign the trade measures next week and promised they would be in effect “for a long period of time.”

On Friday, he wrote that the measures would help to reduce the trade deficit, which is the gap between what the United States exports to other countries and what it imports. Mr. Trump has long lambasted the trade deficit as a sign of United States weakness.

“When a country Taxes our products coming in at, say, 50%, and we Tax the same product coming into our country at ZERO, not fair or smart. We will soon be starting RECIPROCAL TAXES so that we will charge the same thing as they charge us. $800 Billion Trade Deficit-have no choice,” he wrote.

The stock market did not enjoy the tariff announcement.

CNBC reported:

Stocks fell on Thursday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. will implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports next week. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 431 points lower after rising more than 150 points earlier in the day. The 30-stock index fell as much as 586 points.

The S&P 500 declined 1.4 percent — erasing its year-to-date gains — with industrials as the worst-performing sector. It also briefly broke below its 100-day moving average, a key technical level. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.3 percent and dipped below its 50-day moving average.

And speaking of the stock market, in related news longtime Trump confidant (and billionaire investor) Carl Icahn just happened to sell $31.3 million of stock in a company heavily dependent on steel just seven days before Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on foreign steel.

Now, if I were cynical (Who? Me?) my mind might wander into the insidious world of insider trading…?

Icahn sold off nearly 1 million shares of Manitowoc Company which is “a leading global manufacturer of cranes and lifting solutions” and, therefore, heavily dependent on steel to make its products.

Industries ranging from autos to oil to construction equipment all saw declines in their stock in the aftermath of the announcement.

Posted on

Out Music: Calum Scott “What I Miss Most”

U.K. singer and songwriter Calum Scott releases his new track, “What I Miss Most” today.

The track is from the breakout British artist’s debut album, Only Human, due out March 9.

According to press materials, the song unfolds as a triumphant homage to Calum’s hometown of Kingston upon Hull, located in Northern England.

Lyrically, the song dismisses the trappings of “steel and stones,” and the earthbound vessels of “skin and bone.” Instead, Scott’s memories are planted in adventures “under the sun, up on the waves, under three climbs” that took him away.

Sonically, the track takes full advantage of Scott’s obvious gifts trading off bare, sparse moments of exposed emotion to surging like an incoming tide as if to wash the scene clean.

The lead single for the album, “You Are The Reason,” has already surpassed 100 million streams worldwide while views of the official video topped 20 million in the first two weeks and are fast approaching 60 million.

Recorded with a dream team of producers whose resumes include projects with Adele, Ellie Goulding, Imagine Dragons, Taylor Swift and Britney Spears, Only Human showcases Calum’s soulful vocals and heartfelt lyrics.

Many of the tracks showcase Scott’s delicate approach to unrequited longing like the aching piano ballad, “Hotel Room.”

Or the deeply personal “Only You” celebrates a friend who helped the him during times when he was bullied and isolated from other kids during childhood.

“To me, Only Human means being okay with how you feel,” says Scott. “My hope is that these songs encourage people to embrace who they are, so that there’s a little less fear in the world and a lot more love.”

Watch Calum perform “What I Miss Most” below and check out more from the upcoming album Only Human by clicking here.

Posted on

Updated: Adam Rippon’s Gold Medal Appearance On ELLEN

Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon sat down with Ellen DeGeneres today to talk on a multitude of topics including his not winning the gold medal in his event.

Adam countered the question by saying just by appearing on ELLEN – which he’s wanted to do for at least 27 of his 28 years on the planet – he feels like he’s having a gold medal moment.

Ellen did inquire as to Adam’s current “celebrity crushes,” and Adam’s first response was Jake Gyllenhaal is a “solid choice.”

I think we can all agree there.

He added that he’s recently shifted from Harry Styles to singer Shawn Mendes who he’s been “sleeping on” (but not with).

Ellen’s advice was to possibly look in the “gay men” category and he might find more success there.

Adam’s take? “Love is a funny thing, isn’t it?”

In the second clip, Adam shares why he didn’t take a chance to talk with Vice President Mike Pence about his positions on so-called “conversion therapy.”

Mainly, Adam was busy getting ready for the Olympics. But he added that he feels that conversation is one that should be had by those who have been affected by Pence’s harmful policies.

He also announces his fund raising efforts in conjunction with GLAAD to help empower LGBTQ youth because, “I want people to be accepted exactly as they are.”

From his fundraising page:

This year, I attended the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang as an openly LGBTQ American athlete. I’m proud to have represented my country authentically as exactly who I am. I want others to be able to show up to life exactly as they are. This is why I’ve started a fundraiser for GLAAD – because they are fighting for a world where every LGBTQ young person can be accepted and loved exactly as they are.

I want to give back to GLAAD by raising money to support their LGBTQ youth programing. GLAAD’s research uncovered that 20% of young people ages 18-34 identify as LGBTQ, and because of this they’ve created several programs that empower LGBTQ youth to tell their stories, produce dynamic web content and events, and receive high-level advocacy and media training. GLAAD’s youth programs foster courage, confidence and acceptance.

Will you join me to advance equality and accelerate acceptance for LGBTQ youth? Donate now and help make a difference. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Posted on

Baby Elephant Finds Love & Empathy With Other Orphan Elephants

Thanks to reporter Yashar Ali for pointing up this story.

Elephants are imminently watchable. Intelligent, empathetic and extremely communicative.

But many baby elephants can die from loneliness. They need the love of a herd to live.

Ndotto, born prematurely, was rescued by Sheldrick Wildlife when he was just 2 days old .

He became attached to his keepers and didn’t want to play with other orphans, until Mbegu, an older orphan, came along.

Watch this beautiful story below.

Posted on

Trump: “Take The Guns First, Go Through Due Process Second”

During a meeting with Democratic and Republican lawmakers, Donald Trump surprised many when he suggested taking people’s guns away – whether or not it was legal.

From HuffPost:

For years, the National Rifle Association has been warning gun-loving Americans of a president who will take away their firearms, no matter what the Second Amendment says.

On Wednesday, that conservative nightmare became a reality when the current Republican U.S. president, Donald Trump, proposed taking away people’s guns, even without the legal right to do so.

“Take the guns first. Go through due process second,” Trump said at a meeting with Democratic and Republican lawmakers at the White House. “I like taking the guns early.”

Trump said law enforcement officers should specifically have taken the firearms possessed by Nikolas Cruz, the suspected gunman in the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

“I think they should have taken them away, whether they had the right or not,” he said.

Imagine if President Obama had said out loud, “Take the guns.”

So, umm, Trumpers – how do you feel about the Trumpeter wanting to “take guns first; do due diligence second?”

Trump surprisingly shamed lawmakers on the age of buying an assault weapon at 18 but not having legal rights to a hand gun until 21 years-old.

“You don’t address it… you know why? Because you’re afraid of the NRA, right?” Trump said today.

Posted on

Orlando: Pulse Nightclub Survivors Greet Parkland Shooting Survivors

After spending several days in Tallahassee, Florida, lobbying state lawmakers to take steps that could stop violent gun massacres in the future, students who survived the gun massacre at a Parkland high school two weeks ago made a stop in Orlando to meet with survivors of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016.

Standing together, the survivors read the names of the 49 Pulse shooting victims and place a rose in a wire fence in tribute. They then added the names of the 17 killed in the Parkland shooting.

Neema Bahrami, who was an event manager at Pulse at the time of the attack, told the press, “We’re all family.”

Watch the local news report below.

Posted on

Music Video: Juliana Hatfield Covers Olivia Newton-John “Physical”

Juliana Hatfield

Alt-rocker Juliana Hatfield announced a few months ago her next album would be a full-on tribute to her favorite singer, pop icon Olivia Newton-John.

Today, Hatfield drops the music video for her take on ONJ’s “Physical” which debuted in 1981 and camped out at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 10 weeks.

“I have never not loved Olivia Newton-John,” Hatfield shared in the announcement for the project. “Her music has brought me so much pure joy throughout my whole entire life. I loved her when I was a child and I love her still.”

Hatfield prefaced the new music video with this statement:

Olivia Newton-John’s lusty “Physical” is a groovy, bouncy song, but my take on it is darker, more aggro, because I don’t think of lust as fun or funny; I think it’s dangerous and disruptive and mostly unwelcome. So that is my interpretation of “Physical”: the human condition is a bummer, and desire a frustrating impediment to serenity.

My visual take on the song is not as conceptual as Olivia’s 1981 colorful workout video. Mine is more of an impressionistic exploration of my own awkward and self-conscious physicality (especially self-conscious in front of the camera/other people).

I completely appreciate that Hatfield brings her own vibrant intensity to this fresh look at the 80s pop confection.

“Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John” debuts April 13th on American Laundromat Records. Pre-order available now: https://www.alr-music.com/

Watch Hatfield’s take on the 80s classic below, plus Olivia’s iconic music video which won a Grammy Award for “Video of the Year.”

Posted on

YouTube Offers To Help Clean Up Gus Kenworthy’s “Hater” Issue

Gus Kenworthy

Yesterday I reported on Olympic freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy sharing some of the hateful comments he’s received on his YouTube channel.

Well, it turns out YouTube was listening and plans to do something about it.

YouTube tweeted the Gus man saying, “This is unacceptable, we’re so sorry these comments and notifications came through to you. We’re actively working to fix this so you won’t see or be notified of abusive comments and exploring more ways to protect people from abusive comments overall.”

And Kenworthy was ready with a solution: “Thank you YouTube! Maybe consider filtering out keywords and phrases like “faggot” and “kill yourself” so that they just never show up in anyone’s comments? I’m confident enough to brush it off but a younger me would have had a harder time.”

Bonus Gus: Kenworthy also shared that he and several other U.S. Olympians will be at the NYC Ralph Lauren store this evening for a meet & greet with fans! Bring him dipping dots and you may catch his eye!

Posted on

News Round-Up: March 1, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• Awesome illustrator Silverjow (above) reminds us that this is the lunar year of the dog! Make sure you check out his totally woofilicious art on Instagram.

• Washington state will be next to ban so-called “conversion therapy.”

• Donald Trump says we need more teachers with guns in schools. And then yesterday, an actual teacher with an actual gun went nuts at a North Georgia high school. I guess that answers the question, “What could possibly go wrong?”

• Four-time married Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis has laughably penned a book about her “courage” to stand up for “traditional marriage.” You’ll recall she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples due to her “deeply held religious beliefs” about marriage. #SanctityOfMarriageMyAss #ROTFL

• Out Olympian Adam Rippon has been invited to the Oscars!

• Actor Lee Pace, who plays “Joe Pitt” in the Broadway revival of Angels In America, kinda-sorta comes out in an interview with W Magazine.

•  A new Suffolk University/USA Today poll shows 47% of Americans would vote for a Democrat today versus 32% who would vote Republican. This is the third recent poll to show Dems with double-digit lead in upcoming 2018 mid-terms.

• Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts $6.8 billion from the US Housing department budget. But they’ve still got enough scratch hanging around to buy HUD Secretary Ben Carson a $31,000 dining table for his office.

• The new “Fab 5” from Netflix’s Queer Eye offer their advice on how to throw a – what else? – FAB Oscar party.

The cast of Queer Eye