Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) is responsible for this new ad which highlights the anxiety many LGBT couples may experience when engaging in the simple act of holding hands
The message from ANZ?
“Hold tight.”
I can admit that hubby Michael and I rarely hold hands having lived a lifetime of fear of being gay-bashed.
I’m not proud of that fact, but thanks to societal pressures it almost seems like a “forced” display of affection for us now. Maybe that will change…
This morning Donald Trump found another statistic for which to take credit.
In 2017, there were no commercial air travel-related deaths anywhere in the world.
The Trumpster immediately shouldered the credit tweeting, “Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news – it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!”
Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news – it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!
There were two crashes on New Year’s Eve but were not officially counted in the report as both aircraft weighed under 5,700kg — the threshold for the report from aviation consultancy firm To70.
In that the report was about world-wide air travel, I’m not sure how much influence Trump has over all that.
But as several smart folks noted, there hasn’t been a death related to commercial air flight in the U.S. since 2009.
On the last day of 2017, Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” crossed the $1 billion threshold in worldwide grosses becoming the best-selling movie of 2017.
The top five films in terms of U.S. box office gross for 2017:
Just before 9am this morning, Donald Trump arrived at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, for his 7th consecutive day playing golf.
This marks his 91st day at a golf course since taking offuce.
You may recall Trump tweeted to the world Christmas night he would be getting “back to work” the next morning.
I hope everyone is having a great Christmas, then tomorrow it’s back to work in order to Make America Great Again (which is happening faster than anyone anticipated)!
Before becoming president, Trump promised his followers there would be “no time” for golf if he won the election. In fact, he said he’d practically never leave the White House.
And he wonders why folks call him a liar…? Let’s go to the video tape.
TRUMP ON XMAS: Merry Christmas! Tomorrow it’s back to work!
• Best in LGBT Pop Culture – including the return of “Will & Grace,” “Star Trek’s” first same-sex kiss, the Disney Channel’s first gay storyline, RuPaul’s second Emmy win and the historic win at the Academy Awards by “Moonlight”
Plus – good news LGBT headlines in the U.S. and around the world
This is a fun show to look back and feel good about the best 2017 had to offer the LGBT community.
Donald Trump took to Twitter on the last day of 2017 to boast yet again about the economy:
If the Dems (Crooked Hillary) got elected, your stocks would be down 50% from values on Election Day. Now they have a great future – and just beginning!
Why would smart voters want to put Democrats in Congress in 2018 Election when their policies will totally kill the great wealth created during the months since the Election. People are much better off now not to mention ISIS, VA, Judges, Strong Border, 2nd A, Tax Cuts & more?
If the Dems (Crooked Hillary) got elected, your stocks would be down 50% from values on Election Day. Now they have a great future – and just beginning! https://t.co/9TzSC8F8vY
Why would smart voters want to put Democrats in Congress in 2018 Election when their policies will totally kill the great wealth created during the months since the Election. People are much better off now not to mention ISIS, VA, Judges, Strong Border, 2nd A, Tax Cuts & more?
A few facts are missing from the Trumpster’s perspective here.
Most importantly the fact that he inherited an already healthy economy with a 4.7% unemployment rate and a stock market that had more than doubled.
And then the smart kids chimed in:
2017 saw the fewest number of jobs created in 6 years. 3.5 million more are uninsured. Premiums are up. And Trump has taken only one step: a $1.5 trillion tax cut, mostly for the rich and corporations. I’ll take that fight. https://t.co/i4PKMX8KcE
I’ll attach the stock market again for about the 200’redthth time. What has the trend been for 8 years? A Chimpanzee could sit where you are and look good. If the Dems were elected, we wouldn’t be doing endless investigations and giving away cash to rich people and corporations. pic.twitter.com/v2lfUiJrAu
1) B/c you’re a liar, none of that is true; 2) you’re a racist, emboldened white supremacists; 3) you’re a sexual predator; 4) you’ve attacks rights of women, LGBT, minorities; 5) climate change; 6) many more reasons, GOP does nothing. That’s why smartvoters won’t vote GOP. https://t.co/DqagbSydMt
Australia rang in the new year with an estimated 1.5 million attending the awesome fireworks show over Sydney harbor.
This year’s show included a section with rainbow-colored fireworks in honor of the recently passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage.
Although a few couples received special permission to wed early, the official start date for marriage equality down under is January 8.
Australia rings in the New Year with a spectacular display of rainbow-coloured fireworks cascading from Sydney Harbour Bridge, as revellers mark the nation’s legalisation of gay marriage amid tight security. pic.twitter.com/Dw9IY5A7WF
Australia ushers in 2018 with fireworks display over Sydney Harbour Bridge; a rainbow-waterfall effect celebrated recently passed same-sex marriage legislation pic.twitter.com/IH6E4XlFIc— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) December 31, 2017
Australia's stunning New Year display celebrates gay marriage law with rainbow fireworks https://t.co/lQbd81Jab8— Evening Standard (@standardnews) December 31, 2017
The short version of the story: it was bragging by a Trump adviser – not the infamous “pee-pee” dossier – that launched the FBI investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with Russia.
During a night of heavy drinking at an upscale London bar in May 2016, George Papadopoulos, a young foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, made a startling revelation to Australia’s top diplomat in Britain: Russia had political dirt on Hillary Clinton.
About three weeks earlier, Mr. Papadopoulos had been told that Moscow had thousands of emails that would embarrass Mrs. Clinton, apparently stolen in an effort to try to damage her campaign.
Exactly how much Mr. Papadopoulos said that night at the Kensington Wine Rooms with the Australian, Alexander Downer, is unclear. But two months later, when leaked Democratic emails began appearing online, Australian officials passed the information about Mr. Papadopoulos to their American counterparts, according to four current and former American and foreign officials with direct knowledge of the Australians’ role.
The hacking and the revelation that a member of the Trump campaign may have had inside information about it were driving factors that led the F.B.I. to open an investigation in July 2016 into Russia’s attempts to disrupt the election and whether any of President Trump’s associates conspired.
Donald Trump and Republicans have doggedly tried to assert the investigation began because of a dossier compiled by a former UK intelligence agent paid for by a rival campaign.
Now we know it was the bragging of a Trump camp 28 year-old idiot who then lied to the FBI leading to a plea deal and his cooperation in the ongoing Mueller investigation.
Trump Land folks have tried to discredit Papadopolous as a low-level “coffee boy,” but it turns out Mr. P was much more than that. According to Axios, he “helped arrange a meeting between Trump and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and “continued for months” to set up a meeting with Russian representatives, ‘keeping senior campaign advisers abreast of his efforts.'”
News of the day: FBI’s Russia probe wasn’t prompted by the Dossier.
George Papadopolous got drunk & bragged to a diplomat saying Russian Gov’t had dirt on Clinton. That intel made it to the FBI. So the GOP’s been lying about the FBI opening the Russia probe based on the Dossier.
