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Pride Music: Tom Goss “Bears”

Pride Month includes all of our diverse communities, so I love sharing this music video.

Back in 2013, over 200 “bears” joined together to make guitar-toting Tom Goss’s super-fun music video for “Bears.”

Complete with lots of robust, hirsute men playing with Super Soakers, careening down a slip and slide, and dancing in a club (usually in slow motion), the video celebrates all the furry goodness.

Prominent figures in the “bear” and LGBTQ community star in the film including model and Bear World Magazine’s “Bear of the Month,” Miles Windsor (a.k.a. Lumberjack Bear), Charger Stone (DC Bear Crue), and well-known drag queen, B’Naka.

Aside from his personal tastes (his husband since 2010 is a self-professed Bear), Tom wanted to showcase the diversity of the gay community in a high caliber production.

“We are overrun with images of perfect men, in perfect clothes and perfect bodies, and as a result, many people doubt their self-image,” says Goss.  “This video showcases what it means to be beautiful and sexy, regardless of size,” he continues.

Even before it’s formal release, the buzz both online and through the production had already resulted in Goss receiving dozens of emails from men thanking him for boosting their self-image.

All things Tom Goss can be found at his official website here.

Listen to internet radio with CandiXRandy on BlogTalkRadio

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Sashay Away: Cracker Barrel Cancels Hate Pastor’s Reservation

(image via Flickr/JeepersMedia – CC License)

Tennessee hate pastor and Knox County Sheriff’s Detective Grayson Fritts has been told to ‘sashay away’ by popular southern restaurant Cracker Barrel.

Fritss, who recently made national headlines for a series of sermonshe gave calling for police to round up and kill LGBTQ people (whom he referred to as ‘filthy animals’), had planned to hold a meeting at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Cleveland, Tennessee, on June 29.

But the restaurant has turned the pastor and his church group away citing the company’s zero-tolerance policy for “discriminatory treatment or harassment of any sort.”

Grayson Fritts

In a statement posted to the company’s Twitter account, Cracker Barrel wrote, “We strongly disagree with their statements of hate and divisiveness” and added that Fritts and his group “will not be permitted on site.”

“We take pride in serving as a home away from home for all guests and in showing our communities and our country that the hospitality we practice is open to everyone,” continued the statement.

In closing, the company wrote, “We serve everyone who walks through our doors with genuine hospitality, not hate, and require all guests to do the same,” said in closing.

Local LGBTQ activist David Tierney had spoken to the restaurant and jumped into action organizing a phone campaign.

Speaking to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Tierney said, “It is a small victory for our community and it took a lot of work for us to even get this accomplished.”

“This is all started as an online campaign and action, organized by direct message (online), then grew into a real action, and then got picked up by the states Democratic Party,” Tierney told the News Sentinel. “It really just spread like wildfire over the course of 5 days.”

The community action helped spur the Tennessee Democratic Party to contact Cracker Barrel as well.

Party chair Mary Mancini penned a letter to Cracker Barrel CEO Sandra Cochran reminding the executive of the company’s own pledge to honor inclusivity and diversity.

As Fritts’ controversial sermons went public earlier this month, he was allowed to use paid sick days until a Voluntary Workforce Reduction Buy Out program kicks in July 19 when he will retire with benefits.

Fritts has used his ‘sick leave’ to travel this past weekend to Orlando, Florida, where he took part in the three-day “Death to Gays” rally celebrating the 3rd anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting which left 49 dead and more than 50 more injured.

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Chicago Cop Investigated For Demanding Sex From Trans Woman Or Face Jail Time

(image via Flickr/Paul Woolrich – CC license)

A transgender woman alleges a Chicago Police sargeant forced her to perform oral sex on him to avoid being arrested.

On March 5, the woman arrived at Rush University Medical Center and told the staff she had been sexually assaulted, reports the Chicago Tribune.

According to the unnamed woman, she was in an area on Fifth Avenue in the Lawndale neighborhood known for prostitution. She admitted she was with a man who she referred to as her boyfriend.

A Chicago police car pulled up and asked her what she was doing in the area. The woman says she explained she was “going home.”

According to her statement via police report, he allegedly told her that if she didn’t want to go to jail she would have to perform oral sex on him saying, “Because that’s what you do.”

She says she was ordered to get in the front seat of his car, and the sargeant drove off leaving her male companion there.

He allegedly stopped in an alley, exposed himself and ordered her to perform the sex act in the vehicle. At some point, the woman says she was able to preserve DNA evidence.

During the alleged sex act, the 39-year-old woman says the officer told her, “I can make you one of my regulars.”

At the hospital, she gave staffers the DNA evidence that she said would prove her story.

But she left the hospital before filing a police report saying she was fearful of “retaliation” by police officers.

Eventually, police detectives were able to discern the woman’s identity but found contacting her to be difficult. At the same time, detectives searched through surveillance video in the area she said the assault took place.

Weeks later, detectives became aware the woman was in police custody for a shoplifting charge and were able to interview her.

The Tribune reports that the Chicago Police Department “stripped the officer of his police powers on April 6 based on the findings of an internal investigation.

A week later, the sergeant was allowed to officially retire from CPD without being charged in connection with the alleged assault.

Police say they are still awaiting the results of DNA testing.

According to the Tribune, this isn’t the officer’s first brush with internal police charges.

In 1997, he was investigated after it was discovered he threatened to plant drugs on a suspect unless they handed over a gun. While Internal Affairs recommended he be fired, he was eventually given a 30-day suspension.

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I Woke Up Today To This Super-Cool Thing

Just me…

I do my thing here on The Randy Report because what I share here are things that are: 1. Important to me and I think folks should know, or… 2. Things that remind me I’m human, and we should never lose touch with that So, it was an extremely lovely surprise to see a tweet I was tagged in that led me to an article on PRNewswire.com by Rocky Parker listing me among LGBTQ+ bloggers who share “unique insights, advice, and great writing on a variety of topics including activism, news, parenting, travel, gaming, and more.”

And the list was full of heavy-hitters I read every day!

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising in 1969, widely considered to be the start of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement in the U.S. The first Pride marches in support of the LGBTQ+ community were organized one year later.

To mark the anniversary, this year’s NYC Pride will celebrate #WorldPride with events throughout the entire month of June and expects 3 million parade attendees.

Each year during Pride Month, we take time to recognize and celebrate those in the LGBTQ+ media that are bringing their unique voices and stories to the conversation.

In past years, we’ve recognized some of the top LGBTQ+ influencers and news sites.

This year, we’re shining a light on LGBTQ+ bloggers that are sharing their unique insights, advice, and great writing on a variety of topics including activism, news, parenting, travel, gaming, and more.

These are a few of our favorites, in no particular order.

Color me extremely humble and grateful.

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Mayor Pete: Being Gay Is “Not The Only Thing That Defines Me”

In a chat with the Des Moines Register, Mayor Pete Buttigieg shared that, while he's not shied away from being open about being gay and his marriage, "it's not the only thing that defines" him."
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (screen capture)

In a chat with the Des Moines Register, Mayor Pete Buttigieg shared that, while he’s not shied away from being open about being gay and his marriage, “it’s not the only thing that defines” him.”

“I am proud of who I am,” Buttigieg told the Des Moines Register. “I’m certainly very proud of my marriage and my husband. We don’t shy away from that. It’s also not the only thing that defines me.”

“I think some people have an image of what a gay person or an LGBTQ activist is supposed to look like. And I think if you’ve met one gay person, you’ve met one gay person,” he said. “We have different styles and different approaches. But what I try to do is just be who I am … I don’t know who else to be.”

Mayor Pete also addressed the topic of “healthy identity” politics in which “each identity [can] connect with every other one.”

And he drew a contrast between himself and how the current occupant of the Oval Office handles those who are ‘different’ saying, “This is a moment where anybody who can be marked down as different is in some way vulnerable because of the way this administration works.”

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Joe Biden Visits Historic Stonewall Inn In NYC

Former Vice President Joe Biden surprised folks today by visiting the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City.
Former Vice President Joe Biden

Former Vice President Joe Biden surprised folks today by visiting the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City.

NBC News reports that, following two fund-raisers, Biden strolled into the West Village bar and chatted up patrons while taking photos with supporters.

Philadelphia Gay News founder Mark Segal, who was present at the 1969 Stonewall uprising, was there during Biden’s visit.

“If you would have suggested something like this 50 years ago, the 18-year-old me would think you were an alien,” Segal told NBC News in an email.

“His staff hearing that there was a Stonewall pioneer in the room brought us together,” Segal added.

He said he and Biden shook hands and that Biden said, “Thank you for your service.”

Chauncey Dandrige, a queer DJ and activist, was also caught off guard when Biden entered the bar.

“Just handed two Stonewall t-shirts to Joe Biden for him and his wife! Just another day at the office,” Dandrige wrote on Twitter.

In that this is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which began the modern LGBTQ rights movement, the landmark has garnered several visits by high profile folks like Madonna, Taylor Swift and now Biden.

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New Florida Poll Shows Biden Would Beat Trump 9+

A new poll of Florida voters from Quinnipiac University shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by 9 points in a hypothetical head-to-head match up 50% - 41% respectively.
Donald Trump (L) Joe Biden (R)

I know, I know, it’s way early but I always find polls (from reputable firms) interesting to gauge the mood of voters.

A new poll of Florida voters from Quinnipiac University shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by 9 points in a hypothetical head-to-head match up 50% – 41% respectively.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would trump Trump by 6 points, 48% – 42% respectively.

Some Democrats did better than Trump but within the statistical margin of error:

• Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren 47% to Trump’s 43%

• California Sen. Kamala Harris 45% to Trump’s 44%

• Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke 45% to Trump’s 44%

• Mayor Pete Buttigieg 44% to Trump’s 43%

Also from the survey:

• Democrats back Joe Biden 91 – 3 percent versus Republicans backing Trump 90 – 7 percent.

• Florida voters are not hip on impeaching Trump 62 percent against versus 32 percent who support.

• 54 percent of Florida voters say they are better off today than they were in 2016; 23 percent say they are worse off.

• But Trump’s approval rating is still upside down: 44% approval versus disapproval at 51%.

On the Democrats side, Joe Biden has a huge lead among his fellow contenders garnering 41 percent.

It drops a lot to the second place with Sanders getting 14 percent, Warren 12 percent, Buttigieg 8 percent and Harris scoring 6 percent.

While Trump won Florida’s 29 electoral votes in 2016, he beat Hillary Clinton by only 1.2 points – 49 percent to 47.8 percent respectively. So anything along the lines of this poll is devastating for Trump.

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There’s A Town In Michigan Called ‘Gay Hell’

YouTube personality Elijah Daniel, in an act of rebellion against the Trump administration’s ban on U.S. embassies flying the rainbow flag during Pride Month, decided to buy a town known as Hell, Michigan and renamed it ’Gay Hell.’
YouTuber Elijah Daniel bought a Michigan town and renamed it ‘Gay Hell’

I’ve been told a few times in my life that as a gay man I’m going to hell.

Well, at least now, I have directions to the place.

YouTube personality Elijah Daniel, in an act of rebellion against the Trump administration’s ban on U.S. embassies flying the rainbow flag during Pride Month, decided to buy a town known as Hell, Michigan and renamed it ’Gay Hell.’

Daniel followed up in another tweet, “Y’all told me I was gonna go to hell for being gay my whole life so I bought it and made it fully gay. F*ck you homophobes.”

In Daniel’s Gay Hell, the ONLY kind of flags allowed to be flown are Pride flags.

And don’t worry about getting bored – there’s stuff to do in Gay Hell.

Like, visit the local library (funded by ‘Damnation University’), or if you’re feeling amorous, get married at the local wedding chapel.

Even the weather seems to be cooperating with the new owner’s theme:

Daniel has nearly 600,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel and became engaged to his boyfriend, Sam, this past January.

Back in 2017, the 25-year-old shared on Twitter, “If Donald Trump, a REALITY STAR can be our president there’s no reason why I can’t be a politician.”

And so, after calling 50 different towns, he paid $100 to become ‘mayor for a day’ in Hell and ‘outlawed’ heterosexuality in an effort to mock Donald Trump’s treatment of Muslims.

“When I found out it was for sale, I was like ’sh*t, I’ve gotta buy this now,’” he told Sky News.

One couple who visited Gay Hell snapped a pic next to the town’s “love locks’ and tweeted, “Our gay love and legal marriage is forever cemented on the gates of Hell. It’s what @s8n would want.”

Daniel says most of the reactions he’s seen have been positive, and that folks understand it’s “just a fun joke.”

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Turbulence Sends Flight Attendant & Service Cart Flying

Passengers flying from Kosovo to France got tossed like a salad as you can see in this quick video shot during a bout of turbulence so strong a flight attendant and her service cart went flying.

If you ever needed a reason to listen to your pilot when they tell you to buckle up, there’s turbulence on the way, remember this episode.

Passengers flying from Kosovo to France got tossed like a salad as you can see in this quick video shot during a bout of turbulence so strong a flight attendant and her service cart went flying.

In the screen capture above, that’s the upside down service cart in the upper left that landed on top of passengers.

In the end, 10 people had to be rushed to the hospital for injuries including serious burns from spilled hot water.

(h/t Towleroad)

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Podcast: Ricky Martin, Brazil, Music & Sexual Positions, Billy Porter’s New Pride Anthem

In this week’s podcast:

• Ricky Martin helps kill a religious freedom bill in Puerto Rico

• Brazil’s high court adds homophobic and transphobic crimes to the South American country’s racism laws

• We remember that bisexuals are part of Pride Month, too

• Do your music preferences reveal if you like the top or bottom bunk?

• Grammy Award winner Billy Porter drops a new LGBTQ Pride anthem

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast.