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Anti-Gay Republican Rep. Tim Murphy Admits To Adultery

Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania

Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) – who voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, against the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage – admitted on Thursday to having an extramarital affair.

Because hypocrisy.

Via The Hill:

“Last year I became involved in an affair with a personal friend. This is nobody’s fault but my own, and I offer no excuses. To the extent that there should be any blame in this matter, it falls solely upon me,” Murphy said in a statement released by his lawyer.

Murphy confirmed the affair after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was granted a court order to unseal the divorce action of the other couple involved.

While Murphy is not a party in the divorce action, the husband of the woman with whom he was having an affair sought to depose him in July, according to the Post-Gazette.

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News Round-Up: September 7, 2017

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Woofy Eliad Cohen serves up some #ThrowBackThursday to his army days. Did you know that Cohen’s native Israel requires 32 months of compulsory military service for men? #MenInUniform

• The owner of High Times has acquired LGBTQ publications The Advocate, Out, Pride, Plus, and Out Traveler.

• Speaking of The Advocate, the cast of Will & Grace covers the venerable LGBT publication this month:

• Virulently anti-LGBTQ pastor Kevin Swanson announced on his radio program today that the Supreme Court must immediately reverse its Roe v. Wade and Obergefell decisions before the wrath of God is brought upon the U.S. in the form of Hurricane Irma. #SRSLY

• At this writing, 86 GOP members of Congress have signed an amicus brief in support of Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, who refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. Donald Trump’s Justice Department also filed a brief in support of the baker’s right to discriminate against LGBTs.

• Check out the latest from Maroon 5: the poppy, upbeat “What Lovers Do” featuring 2017 breakout R&B star, SZA.

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Don Trump Jr. Says He Attended Russian Trump Tower Meeting To Determine Hillary’s “Fitness” For Presidency

Don Trump Jr.

The eldest son of Donald Trump gave hours of testimony to Senate investigators today regarding his June 2016 meeting with a “Russian government attorney” regarding information about his father’s opponent, Hillary Clinton.

From the New York Times:

Donald Trump Jr. told Senate investigators on Thursday that he set up a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer because he was intrigued that she might have damaging information about Hillary Clinton, saying it was important to learn about Mrs. Clinton’s “fitness” to be president.

But nothing came of the Trump Tower meeting, he said, and he was adamant that he never colluded with the Russian government’s campaign to disrupt last year’s presidential election.

In a prepared statement during an interview with Senate Judiciary Committee investigators, the younger Mr. Trump said he was initially conflicted when he heard that the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, might have damaging information about Mrs. Clinton. Despite his interest, he said, he always intended to consult with his own lawyers about the propriety of using any information that Ms. Veselnitskaya, who has ties to the Kremlin, gave him at the meeting.

Don Jr. initially told the media that he attended the meeting to talk about Russian adoptions.

Shortly after Don Jr.’s testimony, Sen. Chris Coons send the media the specific statute that addresses lying to Congress.

I’m guessing that’s a not-so-subtle hint he didn’t believe Uday?

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National Theatre’s “Angels In America” Coming To Broadway February 2018

The celebrated National Theatre production of Angels In America is coming to Broadway this February starring Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man) and Nathan Lane (The Producers).

Via press release:

A quarter-century after stunning the theatre world, one of the greatest theatrical journeys of our time returns to Broadway in an acclaimed new production from the National Theatre.

Angels In America, Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic, won 7 Tony Awards®, The New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and The Evening Standard Award on its groundbreaking debut. Now Marianne Elliott (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, War Horse) directs a spectacular new production of this landmark play, starring Nathan Lane and Andrew Garfield, and featuring Susan Brown, Denise Gough, Amanda Lawrence, James McArdle and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett.

An instant sellout in London, Angels In America arrives at Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre in February 2018 for 18 weeks only.

The New York Times says the true star of the production is “the two-play drama itself, a staggeringly ambitious look at identity, illness and Americanness, set against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis and the Reagan administration.”

Sadly, hunky Russell Tovey (and his bare backside) will not be making the transfer 🙁

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New Music: Tove Lo “Disco Tits”

In advance of her upcoming album Blue Lips, Tove Lo releases her new single, “Disco Tits.”

You have to admit the name alone piques the curiosity 🙂

The new track “is about losing yourself with your new found love,” says Tove Lo. “Naive, excited, no consequences. The happiness in the haze I’m feelin right now.”

Tove Lo has been touring virtually non-stop since the release of her Lady Wood album last fall, including well-received festival appearances at Coachella, Governor’s Ball, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Osheaga, and Outside Lands.

The release of “Disco Tits” follows up the recent world premiere of the short film Fire Fade, which incorporates five songs from Lady Wood: “Don’t Talk About It,” “Imaginary Friend,” “Keep It Simple,” “Flashes,” and “WTF Love Is.”

Check the teaser below and the full track on Spotify here

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Paul Ryan: The President Wanted To Have A “Bipartisan Moment”

Donald Trump

Via the NY Times:

President Trump struck a deal with Democratic congressional leaders on Wednesday to increase the debt limit and finance the government until mid-December, blindsiding his own Republican allies as he reached across the aisle to resolve a major dispute for the first time since taking office.

The agreement would avert a fiscal showdown later this month without the bloody, partisan battle that many had anticipated by combining a debt ceiling increase and stopgap spending measure with relief aid to Texas and other areas devastated by Hurricane Harvey. But without addressing the fundamental underlying issues, it set up the prospect for an even bigger clash at the end of the year.

In embracing the three-month deal, Mr. Trump accepted a Democratic proposal that had been rejected earlier in the day by Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin. Mr. Trump’s snap decision at a White House meeting caught Republican leaders off guard and reflected friction between the president and his party. After weeks of criticizing Republican leaders for failing to pass legislation, Mr. Trump signaled that he was willing to cross party lines to score some much-desired legislative victories.

Speaker Ryan told reporters today that Donald Trump’s surprise agreement with Democratic leaders was about having a “bipartisan moment” as the country faces down two massive hurricanes and more.

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Coach Hughes In The House!

It is with great personal pride that I share this video.

Rep. Marc Veasey of Texas honored Coach Robert Hughes Sr. from the floor of the House of Representatives today in advance of Coach Hughes’ induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend.

As many of my readers know, my birth mother passed away when I was very young, and as the saying goes, “it takes a village.”

My “village” was/is the Hughes family. My best friend, Carlye Hughes, and I faced our early years into adulthood together from Fort Worth, Texas, to chasing our dreams in New York City.

Along the way, I became an “honorary” Hughes and have been a member of the family for over 35 years. I called Carlye’s mother “Mother,” and her father, “Coach.”

Coach Hughes (in Texas being a coach is like being a doctor or clergy – it’s an official title), is THE winningest high school basketball coach in all the United States.

In addition to teaching the art and skills of basketball, Coach has spent decades as a leader in the community in Fort Worth. He kept the high school gym open during summers so kids would have a place to go (and stay out of trouble). He inspired countless young folks to become the best they could be. Including me.

I’m so proud to know Coach and to see this so-very-well-deserved honor happen in Springfield, Massachusetts, this weekend.

Watch below as Congressman Veasey speaks from the floor of the House this morning.

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Hillary Clinton Acknowledges Her Own Mistakes As Well As Outside Forces In 2016 Loss In WHAT HAPPENED

Hillary Clinton

CNN has obtained a copy of Hillary Clinton’s upcoming memoir, What Happened, and gives an advance look at how the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate views the race she lost last November.

Plenty of people have said Hillary needs to own the mistakes of her campaign. And according to CNN, she does.

From CNN:

“I think it’s fair to say that I didn’t realize how quickly the ground was shifting under all our feet,” she writes. “I was running a traditional presidential campaign with carefully thought-out policies and painstakingly built coalitions, while Trump was running a reality TV show that expertly and relentlessly stoked Americans’ anger and resentment.”

Clinton makes frank admissions about the places she fell short. She acknowledges it was bad “optics” to deliver paid speeches to Wall Street banks after the financial meltdown last decade. She says her comment during a CNN town hall about putting coal miners out of business was the misstep “I regret the most.” And, as she has before, Clinton calls her decision to use a private email server during her time at the State Department as “dumb.”

She also acknowledges forces outside her control which contributed to her loss including former FBI Director James Comey’s infamous letter to Congress about reopening the investigation into her emails only to find nothing new.

I think this is a fair and accurate description of what happened, and I look forward to reading the memoir.

I’ve already ordered my copy and you can too here. What Happened will be released September 12.

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Hillary Clinton Covers TIME Magazine

The latest issue of TIME Magazine features a cover story titled “Firsts – Women Who Are Changing The World.”

And, appropriately, the first woman to be nominated for president by a major political party, Hillary Clinton, is on the cover.

Here’s an excerpt:

I don’t want anyone to be discouraged by my defeat or say that they shouldn’t try or support others who will try. We can’t give up trying. This past election was unprecedented in so many ways. In my upcoming book I try to sort out what I could have done differently, what my campaign could have done differently. But you also have to recognize that you had the unprecedented intervention by an FBI director. You had a foreign adversary successfully influence the election. You had voter suppression aimed primarily at African Americans and young voters. And you had sexism, which was front and center. We have to prevent those things from ever happening again. And some of those are long-term challenges.

[snip]

I also want my presidential campaign to have helped pave the way for young women who come behind me. Because even though we didn’t win, we made the sight of a woman nominee more familiar, and we brought the possibility of a woman President closer. We brought into the mainstream the thought of a woman leader for our country—and that’s a big deal. Everyone who played a role in making that happen should be deeply proud. We ran into some big speed bumps right at the end, and I believe I would have won but for those, and that’s what I want people to believe. We have to get back up and get back out there.

Don’t be discouraged. Don’t give up. The fight was worth it.

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Facebook Sold $100K Of 2016 Election Ads To Russian “Troll Farm”

The folks at Facebook took a closer look at ads sold during the 2016 presidential election cycle and have realized $100K worth of ads can be traced back to Russia

From the Washington Post:

Representatives of Facebook told congressional investigators Wednesday that the social network has discovered that it sold ads during the U.S. presidential campaign to a shadowy Russian company seeking to target voters, according to several people familiar with the company’s findings.

Facebook officials reported that they traced the ad sales, totaling $100,000, to a Russian “troll farm” with a history of pushing pro-Kremlin propaganda, these people said.

A small portion of the ads, which began in the summer of 2015, directly named Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, the people said, although they declined to say which candidate the ads favored.

Most of the ads, according to a blog post published late Wednesday by Facebook’s chief security officer, Alex Stamos, “appeared to focus on amplifying divisive social and political messages across the ideological spectrum — touching on topics from LGBT matters to race issues to immigration to gun rights.”

The acknowledgment by Facebook comes as congressional investigators and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III are probing Russian interference in the U.S. election, including allegations that the Kremlin may have coordinated with the Trump campaign.

Watch the report from Washington Post below: