Category: Uncategorized

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US Women’s National Soccer Team Wins World Cup Over Netherlands 2-0

The US Women’s National Soccer team has won the World Cup beating the Netherlands 2-0.

From CNN:

Competing in its first World Cup final, few gave the Dutch hope. The reigning European champion it may be, but it had not yet come up against the best team in the world, the dominant force of its generation.

The Netherlands held on for over an hour but two goals within eight minutes sealed the underdog’s fate. In a tournament where she has transcended her sport, Megan Rapinoe coolly drilled home a penalty before a Rose Lavelle thunderbolt made sure of a second successive title for the US.

This win makes for back-to-back titles and the fourth championship in total for the US women’s team.

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Rep. Justin Amash: High-Level Republicans Thanked Me For Supporting Impeachment

Rep. Justin Amash

During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union this morning, Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) told Jake Tapper that many “high-level” Republican officials have privately thanked him for his support for impeaching Donald Trump.

“When I was discussing impeachment I had fellow colleagues and other Republicans, high-level officials, contacting me and saying thank you for what you’re doing,” said Amash. “So, there are lots of Republicans out there saying these things privately, but they’re not saying it publicly, and I think that’s a problem for our country.”

Amash announced last week that he was leaving the GOP to become an Independent in the House.

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New Poll Shows Only Biden With Decisive Margin Beating Trump

Donald Trump

Even though most Americans don’t approve of Donald Trump’s performance in most areas (except the economy) and see him as ‘unpresidential,’ new polling by a Washington Post/ABC News shows Trump does have a path to a second term thanks to a healthy economy.

The recent survey found Trump at his highest approval rating in the poll since he took office at 44 percent, with 53 percent disapproving.

The economy is the one topic where Trump edges out positive territory approval with 51 percent approving of his handling of the economy, with 42 percent disapproving.

According to the Washington Post, when asked how much credit Trump deserves for the state of the economy, 47 percent say a “great deal” or a “good amount,” while 48 percent say he deserves “only some” or “hardly any.”

A lopsided 65 percent feel Trump is “unpresidential” while only 28 percent say he is “fitting and proper.”

The recent poll asked respondents about head-to-head matchups between Trump and five possible Democratic nominees: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Biden had the only decisive margin with the former Vice President beating Trump 53 percent to 43 percent, respectively.

Sen. Harris edged Trump by 2 points, 48 percent to Trump’s 46 percent.

Sen. Sanders barely beat Trump by one point, 49 percent/48 percent, Warren tied Trump at 48 percent, and Buttigieg tied the Trumpster at 47 percent.

There is still a big gender divide among voters with men favoring Trump over four of the Democrats (it’s pretty much a tie between Trump and Biden), and women choosing all five Dems over the president.

I know some folks don’t see how Trump could be re-elected – this is how.

Check out the article at the WaPo here. 

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Pete Buttigieg Campaign Expands After Huge 2nd Quarter Donations

Mayor Pete Buttigieg on CNN

Earlier this week, the presidential campaign for Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced an eye-popping $24 million in campaign donations.

According to Politico, those funds are now being utilized to expand the size and scope of the Pete For America campaign.

For months, the South Bend, Ind., mayor has run one of the more frugal 2020 campaigns, eschewing on-the-ground organizers in early caucus and primary states and instead focusing on fundraising, media appearances and the candidate’s travel. But Buttigieg is now rapidly expanding his campaign’s footprint to try and build on his gains in the first half of the year.

In Iowa, Buttigieg’s campaign added 30 organizers at the end of June, filling out what had previously been a four-person skeleton crew. A dozen staffers are now on board in New Hampshire. And by the end of the summer, there will be many more: The campaign plans to swell its staff to 300 people by Labor Day, according to multiple people briefed on its plans.

“As we go into the summer toward the fall, we really need to make sure we’ve got the right kind of ground game. And part of that is how we use my time, and part of that is in between [events] making sure we’ve got folks day in and day out on the ground,” Buttigieg said during a recent campaign stop in Sioux City, Iowa. “So you’ll see the numbers of organizers and volunteers that we have really growing.”

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The Randy Report Podcast Is Growing!

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their support and listenership of The Randy Report podcast as it continues, thankfully, to expand its reach.
Cheers to all of you!

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their support and listenership of The Randy Report podcast as it continues, thankfully, to expand its reach.

I launched the podcast in the fall of 2015 on BlogTalkRadio, having hosted an online radio show there, titled The Candi & Randy Show from 2012 through 2014, with the fabulous Candi Fox.

Instead of a live show, however, I wanted to create a kind of ‘companion piece’ to The Randy Report blog. I felt like there was space for a ‘LGBTQ news magazine’ in the podcasting universe.

Like the blog, I wanted the podcast to reflect my tastes in how I want to access news: brief, easy to understand reports across the LGBTQ political, pop culture and entertainment spectrum.

I moved TRR podcast to Soundcloud as the sound quality was much better, and the ‘back office’ options for following statistics were much more robust.

For instance, in the past twelve months, aside from the United States, my biggest block of listeners come from Germany and the UK, followed closely by Australia.

In the past year, I’m thrilled to see folks approach me to syndicate the podcast making my ’60 Minutes of gay news – only shorter’ that much more available.

Currently, you can listen and/or subscribe to The Randy Report podcast (for free!):

• On Soundcloud here

• On iTunes here

• On Spotify here

• On iHeartRadio here

• On Stitcher here

For portability, its useful to know all of those outlets have apps you can install on your phone – for free!

Additionally, my friend Scott Fullerton has added my episodes to his Wednesday three-hour block of LGBTQ programming on his Left Of Str8 online radio channel.

Thanks again for listening, everyone. It’s always much more fun doing this with you all taking the ride with me.

Happy Saturday!

p.s. since I’m talking podcast, here’s a player with the most recent episodes 🙂

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Man Found Dead In Fire Island Pool

(stock photo: Bárbara Montavon/Unsplash)

From the New York Post:

A Manhattan man was found dead in a Fire Island swimming pool in an apparent drowning, Suffolk County police said Friday.

Officers were called to the Canteen eatery at Fire Island Pines around 7 p.m. Thursday, authorities said. That’s where emergency responders found Carlos Medina, 32, unconscious and unresponsive in the restaurant’s pool.

Medina was taken by boat to the Marine Bureau Headquarters at Timber Point and then moved to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

The medical examiner will determine the cause of death. The Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad is investigating the incident, although police said it does not appear to be criminal.

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Short Film: ‘First They Came’

(from the award-winning short film ‘First They Came’)

Check out this moving short film that interweaves images of mass shootings with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and the Martin Niemöller poem, “First They Came.”

The film earned 16-year-old filmmaker Odessa Shlain Goldberg the top honor in this year’s OUR PRIDE Video Fest competition.

The competition asks student filmmakers in schools and colleges to create and share digital stories about significant LGBTQ+ people, places and events that have shaped our world and are impacting the future.

Goldberg was inspired by Niemöller’s poem which addresses complicity and passivity during the Holocaust. It reads:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Goldberg’s film updated the text to meditate on the victims of deadly mass shootings in recent U.S. history, including the massacre at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which left 49 dead and 50+ wounded.

“The film illustrates how passivity in the face of injustice is complicity during World War II, but instead reframes and rewrites the 1946 poem to focus on the prolific, devastating shootings in schools and public institutions,” said Odessa, a Tamalpais High School student in Mill Valley, California.

“One of the horrific shootings commemorated is the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016 targeting the LGBTQ+ community,” added the young filmmaker. “The final call to action of the video reminds the viewer to take action against gun violence by voting.”

Watch the 3 minute film below.

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News Round-Up: July 5, 2019

David Harbour in Netflix’s Stranger Things (screen cap)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Dad Bod alert: Who’s a fan of the Netflix’s Stranger Things? Season four was released last night and folks think series star David Harbour (above screen cap) is the new poster guy for ‘dad bods.’ #woof

• CNN: Adding homophobia to racism, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents made a migrant hold an “I Like Men” sign as an anti-gay punishment.

• Washington Post: Congressman Justin Amash, who represents Michigan’s 3rd congressional district, has been one of the few Republicans to publicly criticize Donald Trump, and actually side with Democrats in calls for impeachment proceedings. In an op-ed yesterday, he quit the GOP and announced he now identifies as an Independent.

• NY Times: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) surprisingly raised less than $12 million for her presidential campaign in the past three months; very disappointing considering her very strong debate performance last week. The figure pales in comparison to her primary rivals: Mayor Pete Buttigieg pulled in $24.8 million in the second quarter, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. reports $21.5 million in campaign donations, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) took in $18 million.

• Gay Star News: Out musician Aaron Porter says his latest single, “Sorry,” comes from a very personal place for him. And, like life, it slowly evolved until coming to fruition.

“I was in a place of frustration and the track we created was a slow piano-led ballad, he told GSN. “I feel like the song has grown as I have dealt with my situation, and now it’s a fierce pop banger and I feel alive when I sing it.”

Check out the new R&B/pop bop below.