Category: Uncategorized

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Trump Congratulates Himself For Hurricane Harvey Rescue Effort “Going Well”

Donald Trump spent his morning on Twitter (for a change) hyping Hurricane Harvey as “the worst storm/hurricane,” and congratulating himself for “his” hurricane response.

But not once does he share info on how to get help if you are affected by Harvey. No empathy or humanity in his tweets.

And then there was this tweet reminding us what “presidential” looks like:

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Instahunk Round-Up

Checking in on how some Instahunks spent their week. Pietro Boselli (above) says it was all about “Heat.” He was right in more ways than one.

A post shared by Steve Raider (@steve_raider) on Aug 27, 2017 at 7:17am PDT
A post shared by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Aug 18, 2017 at 7:21pm PDT
A post shared by Nyle DiMarco (@nyledimarco) on Aug 15, 2017 at 11:10am PDT
A post shared by Jason (@jasonderulo) on Aug 24, 2017 at 12:45pm PDT

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Trump’s Pardon Of Sheriff Joe Arpaio Was Planned For Months


 The Washington Post reports that Donald Trump’s pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, convicted of illegally profiling if he suspected them to be undocumented immigrants, was apparently in the works for several months.

In fact, much like his now infamous request to former FBI Director James Comey to drop an investigation against former National Security Director Mike Flynn, Trump apparently asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions if there was a way to simply drop the case against Arpaio.

The president asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions whether it would be possible for the government to drop the criminal case against Arpaio, but was advised that would be inappropriate, according to three people with knowledge of the conversation.

After talking with Sessions, Trump decided to let the case go to trial, and if Arpaio was convicted, he could grant clemency.

So the president waited, all the while planning to issue a pardon if Arpaio was found in contempt of court for defying a federal judge’s order to stop detaining people merely because he suspected them of being undocumented immigrants. Trump was, in the words of one associate, “gung-ho about it.”

“We knew the president wanted to do this for some time now and had worked to prepare for whenever the moment may come,” said one White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the action.

Many pundits feel the pardon was also a warning from Trump to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s current investigation into last year’s election. Several in the political world say it is Trump’s hint that he will pardon anyone (Paul Manafort, Mike Flynn) who might be caught up in the investigation. That message could embolden those folks to just refuse to cooperate with Mueller since Trump could come to their rescue.

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Joe Biden: Americans Must Denounce Hate Groups Since Trump Won’t Do It

Former Vice President Joe Biden

In an essay for The Atlantic, former Vice President Joe Biden calls on Americans to do what the current president will not: uphold American values by clearly denouncing hate groups.

An excerpt:

We have fought this battle before—but today we have a special challenge.

Today we have an American president who has publicly proclaimed a moral equivalency between neo-Nazis and Klansmen and those who would oppose their venom and hate.

We have an American president who has emboldened white supremacists with messages of comfort and support.

This is a moment for this nation to declare what the president can’t with any clarity, consistency, or conviction: There is no place for these hate groups in America. Hatred of blacks, Jews, immigrants — all who are seen as “the other” — won’t be accepted or tolerated or given safe harbor anywhere in this nation.

[snip]

A week after Charlottesville, in Boston, we saw the truth of America: Those with the courage to oppose hate far outnumber those who promote it.

Then a week after Boston, we saw the truth of this president: He won’t stop. His contempt for the U.S. Constitution and willingness to divide this nation knows no bounds. Now he’s pardoned a law-enforcement official who terrorized the Latino community, violated its constitutional rights, defied a federal court order to stop, and ran a prison system so rife with torture and abuse he himself called it a “concentration camp.”

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“Nurse Jackie” Star Haaz Sleiman Comes Out As Gay

Haaz Sleiman

Haaz Sleiman, a Lebanese-American actor (Nurse Jackie, The State, Of Kings and Prophets) came out as gay this week via Twitter.

“I am a gay, Muslim, Arab-American man. And I’m going to take it even further: Not only am I gay, but I’m also a bottom. Not only am I a bottom, but I’m also a total bottom which means I like it up you know where.”

“And I say this to all the homophobes living in the United States of America and across the globe. If you ever come to me, to kill me just because I’m gay, I will destroy you. I might be gay and I might be a nice guy, but don’t get it twisted because I will fuck you up.”

The 41-year-old actor said he was responding to a recent study finding that more LGBT Americans were murdered so far this year than in all of 2016.

In an Instagram post, Sleiman brought up a 2009 interview with The Advocate where he said he was straight and had a girlfriend after being asked if he was gay.

Sleiman explained on social media that he spoke to the LGBT publication on the condition that he would not answer personal questions.

“At the end of the half hour interview over the phone the idiot interviewer, whom I think was gay, asked me if was gay or straight,” he writes. “I was so shocked. I froze. My body started shaking. And then I lied and said I was straight. Shame on gay people who are not kind to other gay people. He did that on purpose.”

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Just Because…

Spanish math teacher Juan Luis San Nicolás is uber-popular on Instagram, and it’s easy to see why. The avid swimmer/gym buff has inspired Latin American media outlets to call him “the sexiest teacher in the world.”

Check out more from his Instagram:

(h/t Queerty)

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Podcast: Interview With Pop Music Superstar & LGBT Ally Richard Marx

In this episode of The Randy Report podcast, I chat with Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter/producer – and LGBT ally – Richard Marx, who has made a gorgeous debut as a headliner on the Las Vegas Strip with his limited engagement residency, “Satisfied: Only The Hits,” at Flamingo Las Vegas now through Sept. 2, 2017.

Among his many achievements, Marx is distinguished for having written a #1 song in four different decades across various charts.

Having sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and notching an amazing 14 #1 singles (his latest – Keith Urban’s #1 smash “Long Hot Summer”) both as a performer and songwriter/producer including “Hold on to the Nights,” “Satisfied” and “Now and Forever,” fans get to experience the pop/rock artist up close in an intimate Las Vegas showroom as Marx performs acoustic versions of his greatest hits backed by a gorgeous string quartet. The evening also includes the true, personal stories behind his hits.

We chat about one of his favorite music collaborations, his Las Vegas gig at the Flamingo, his terrific podcast “Song Talks with Richard Marx,” plus as a staunch LGBT ally, he shares how and why he speaks out for LGBTs.

After I quoted a few of his social media posts made in support of the LGBT community (“Anybody gay, bi or transgender out there I hope you have someone who loves you exactly as you are. Especially your parents. G’night.”), Marx had this to say:

I’m lucky in that I was born to two parents who when it came to gay rights, when it came to civil rights, when it came to race relations, from the time I was old enough to comprehend it, I had two parents that taught me what was right. And that any kind of judgment or prejudice or hatred or anybody who’s different than you is so fucked up.

And so I was raised in an atmosphere where the idea of that was just anathema. It moved me that you quoted that, because I’ve had friends, gay or bisexual friends, who I’ve witnessed them be hurt. Especially by their family. I’ve been friends with gay men whose fathers never talked to them again. And I’ve seen that pain. And it just kills me.

Along the way, I also share a couple of snippets of his live performance on stage at the Flamingo Las Vegas 🙂

Hit play and listen below.

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What To Watch This Weekend

What to watch this weekend:

• Beach Rats – According to Rolling Stone, writer/director Eliza Hittman has created “a film of erotic heat and piercing delicacy.” The acclaimed film tells the story of Frankie, a Brooklyn teen in the midst of a sexual-identity crisis. He spends his nights cruising for encounters with older men online, but his daytime beach bros are not in on his secret. Adding to his list of conflicts, a tough, street-wise girl and a father dying of cancer. The flick won honors at several film festivals including Sundance and OutFest LA. In select theaters this weekend.

• Whitney. Can I Be Me – Never before seen video, candid interviews and behind the scenes performance footage highlight this raw and uncensored portrait of Whitney Houston, who died suddenly at age 48 after years of struggling with addiction. The documentary explores, in part, Houston’s relationship with her childhood friend, Robyn Crawford, that fueled much speculation about her sexuality. Premieres on Showtime Saturday, Aug 26 at 6:15 PM ET/PT.

• Always one of the most wildly creative awards shows, Katy Perry hosts the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards set to kick off this Sunday at 8 PM ET. The awards will feature a new category, “Best Fight Against the System,” celebrating socially conscious music that may not get as much attention in the mainstream. Among the nominees is “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)” off the Hamilton Mixtape.

• And, Sunday night at 9 PM is the season finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones. What more do I have to say?

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Trump Pardons Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Convicted Of Contempt Of Court

As the world is focused on Hurricane Harvey bearing down on the Texas coast, Donald Trump pardoned former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio who was convicted of criminal contempt of court for continuing his harsh treatment of suspected illegal immigrants.

From the New York Times:

In a two-paragraph statement, the White House said that Mr. Arpaio gave “years of admirable service to our nation” and called him a “worthy candidate for a presidential pardon.”

Mr. Trump, who made cracking down on illegal immigration a signature campaign issue and had pressed for local officials to do more to assist federal authorities in rounding up undocumented people, had been openly flirting with the idea of pardoning Mr. Arpaio.

“I won’t do it tonight because I don’t want to cause any controversy,” the president said Tuesday night at a campaign-style rally in Phoenix, after asking, “Was Sheriff Joe convicted for doing his job?”

Mr. Arpaio, 85, served for 24 years as sheriff of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, building a national reputation for harsh conditions in his county jail, and for his campaign against undocumented immigrants.

The criminal conviction grew out of a lawsuit filed a decade ago charging that the sheriff’s office regularly violated the rights of Latinos, stopping people based on racial profiling, detaining them based solely on the suspicion that they were in the country illegally, and turning them over to the immigration authorities.

A federal district judge hearing the case ordered Mr. Arpaio in 2011 to stop detaining people based solely on suspicion of their immigration status, when there was no evidence that a state law had been broken. But the sheriff insisted that his tactics were legal and that he would continue employing them.

He was convicted last month of criminal contempt of court for defying the order, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.

UPDATE – Arizona Sen. John McCain responded this evening with this statement:

“No one is above the law and the individuals entrusted with the privilege of being sworn law officers should always seek to be beyond reproach in their commitment to fairly enforcing the laws they swore to uphold. Mr. Arpaio was found guilty of criminal contempt for continuing to illegally profile Latinos living in Arizona based on their perceived immigration status in violation of a judge’s orders. The President has the authority to make this pardon, but doing so at this time undermines his claim for the respect of rule of law as Mr. Arpaio has shown no remorse for his actions.”

The other Arizona Senator, Jeff Flake, dispatched this lame missive via Twitter: