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Funny Or Die: Pauly Shore Channels White House Adviser “Stephen Miller’

Pauly Shore as White House adviser “Stephen Miller”

Former 80s comedian Pauly Shore wants in on the current rash of White House personnel parodies, and it turns out he’s got a decent “Stephen Miller” in this clip from Funny Or Die.

Via Rolling Stone:

Pauly Shore plays Trump policy aide Stephen Miller in a Funny or Die sketch that mocks Miller’s White House briefing room showdown with a reporter over the Statue of Liberty and the poem “The New Colossus.”

In the sketch, which utilizes footage from that actual argument with CNN reporter Jim Acosta, Shore’s Miller presents other revisionist “facts” about the Statue of Liberty, including informing reporters that Lady Liberty is holding an iPad.

“Why don’t we talk a little history? In the year 2000, did you know a mutant known as Wolverine scaled the Statue of Liberty in a climatic showdown with Sabretooth,” “Miller” asked. “Or when the Ghostbusters brought the Lady Liberty to life with the power of Ectoplasm? Was that violating – in your opinion Jim Acosta – the Statue of Liberty law of the land?”

In related news, check out Fortune Feimster giving you a terrific White House Press Secretary “Sarah Huckabee Sanders” on Chelsea Handler’s Netflix show:

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Oakland A’s Matt Joyce Suspended For 2 Games After Yelling Anti-Gay Slur At Fan

Oakland A’s Matt Joyce

Matt Joyce of the Oakland A’s has been suspended for two games after shouting an anti-gay slur at a fan during the A’s 8-6 loss to the Angels this past Friday.

BleacherReport has the details:

Oakland Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce used an anti-gay slur Friday night during a verbal exchange with a fan while the A’s were playing the Los Angeles Angels on the road.

Associated Press photographer Mark J. Terrill provided details, though he admitted to not hearing the beginning of the conversation, per ESPN.com. The Oakland right fielder said following the game he felt “regret” about the situation.

“It’s just one of those things that fans kind of get into the game. Obviously, we’re pretty frustrated on our side, and I had just hit a ball hard and had Cron [first baseman C.J. Cron] make a good play,” he said.

“I was walking back to the dugout and just had a fan yell some vulgar and obscene words. For me, it just wasn’t the right time to say some stuff like that. I fired back, and obviously as soon as you fire back, you regret saying anything, because it’s just not worth it.”

The Oakland A’s issued a statement via Twitter denouncing the slur:

The 33-year-old has previously played for the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Suspended for two games for the incident, Joyce has issued an apology on his Twitter:

The A’s are reportedly donating Joyce’s lost salary of nearly $54,000 to PFLAG.

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Former Teen Pop Star Aaron Carter Comes Out As Bisexual

(image via Instagram)

Former teen pop star Aaron Carter came out as bisexual to his fans last night via social media.

“There’s something I’d like to say that I feel is important for myself and my identity that has been weighing on my chest for nearly half of my life,” shared the 29-year-old singer. “This doesn’t bring me shame, just a weight and burden I have held onto for a long time that I would like lifted off me.”

“I grew up in this entertainment industry at a very young age and when I was around 13-years-old I started to find boys and girls attractive,” Carter continues. “There were years that went by that I thought about, but it wasn’t until I was 17-years-old, after a few relationships with girls, I had an experience with a male that I had an attraction to who I also worked with and grew up with.”

Carter has publicly shared his personal battles with eating disorders and substance abuse in the past. He was arrested on July 15 on suspicion of DUI and marijuana possession. He also spent a month in rehab in 2011 for Xanax dependency.

Saying he never wants to be a “figure of disappointment,” Carter concluded his letter with a quote from Boy George: “I’ve never felt as though I didn’t belong, I just acted as though I did.”

Carter shared this at the end of last month:

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Sen. Jeff Flake: Republicans Should Have Stood Up Against The “Birther” Movement

GOP Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona

Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, out hawking his new book, appeared on NBC’s Meet The Press this morning demonstrating a new found sense of political courage.

Speaking to host Chuck Todd, Flake shared that he wished more GOP folks had opposed some of the uglier incidents in recent politics, like Donald Trump’s “birther” conspiracy which claimed President Obama was not born in the United States.

“Well, I do think that we’ve seen more people ready to stand up. And I wish that we, as a party, would have stood up, for example, when the birtherism thing was going along. A lot of people did stand up but not enough,” said Flake.

Flake also now denounces the calls of “lock her up”  regarding Hillary Clinton at Trump campaign rallies last year.

It’s nice to look reasonable now, but where was this sense of political ethics last year?

Watch Flake explain himself to Todd below.

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Australia: Liberal MPs Prepare To Vote On Marriage Equality

Openly gay West Australian Liberal senator Dean Smith has begun circulating a bill, a “private member’s bill,” that would legalize marriage between two people in Australia regardless of their gender.

The legislation would allow protections for those who perform weddings to refuse to participate in same-sex marriage celebrations based on religious beliefs. Additionally, wedding industry service providers like bakers, photographers, and florists would be able to legally opt-out based on religious beliefs IF they can prove the business is linked to a religious body.

The bill has been released in advance of a special party room meeting scheduled for Monday in Canberra.

Smith told ABC’s Insiders that the death of a gay 34-year-old Lindt cafe manager in Sydney during a 16-hour terror attack in December 2014 convinced him that marriage equality needs to become a reality. The manager’s partner was left behind in legal limbo even though they had been together for 14 years.

Marriage equality supporters have asked Parliament to approve same-sex marriage for years.

But Prime Minister Turnbull supports a public vote on the matter, a “plebiscite.” But opponents argue a plebiscite would be very costly and, in the end, not legally binding.

Nine News Australia has this report:

Seems like a good time to revisit this terrific video from GetUp! Australia back in 2011. Over 16 million views, and still powerful.

It is time, Australia. It’s time.

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Fox News Host Eric Bolling Suspended Pending Investigation Of Texted X-Rated Pics

Eric Bolling

UPDATE – The New York Times reports Fox News host Eric Bolling has been suspended while the network investigates the allegations.

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What is it about male Fox News folks?

This time the story involves blowhard Eric Bolling who co-hosts the Fox News show “Specialists” and hosts “Cashin’ In.”

Via Huffington Post:

Eric Bolling, a longtime Fox News host, sent an unsolicited photo of male genitalia via text message to at least two colleagues at Fox Business and one colleague at Fox News, a dozen sources told HuffPost.

Recipients of the photo confirmed its contents to HuffPost, which is not revealing their identities. The women, who are Bolling’s current and former Fox colleagues, concluded the message was from him because they recognized his number from previous work-related and informal interactions. The messages were sent several years ago, on separate occasions.

The women did not solicit the messages, which they told colleagues were deeply upsetting and offensive. One of the recipients said that when she replied to Bolling via text, telling him never to send her such photos again, he did not respond. Four people, outside of the recipients, confirmed to HuffPost they’d seen the photo, and eight others said the recipients had spoken to them about it.

Roger Ailes, the founder of Fox News, was ousted last year due to sexual harassment allegations.

Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly also left the network after several women reported being harassed by the host.

Additionally, Fox Business Network host Charles Payne was suspended in July after reports that he harassed a female political analyst.

Payne remains suspension while an investigation into the allegations continues.

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Lady Gaga Raises Rainbow Flag At Debut Of “Joanne World Tour”

On the launch of Lady Gaga’s ‘Joanne World Tour’ in Vancouver, a fan threw a rainbow flag to her onstage.

Gaga picked up the flag and held it high in a triumphant pose, receiving loud cheers and applause.

Sitting down to the piano with the flag draped across her piano bench, she addressed the audience:

“Needless to say, I have a lot to say about this issue.

“But the most important thing that I have to say about it is that everybody’s got to love each other.

“You got to stop throwing stones at your sisters and your brothers. Cause now, it wasn’t that long ago we were all just living in the jungle.

So, for any of you who don’t believe in equality, come to mama.”

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Irish Prime Minister At Belfast Pride: Marriage Equality Is “Only A Matter Of Time” In Northern Ireland

Newly-elected Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, told folks attending a Pride Breakfast in Belfast that marriage equality is “only a matter of time” in Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister, Ireland’s first openly gay leader, is taking part in Belfast Pride as “a gesture of solidarity.”

While the Republic of Ireland voted to legalize same-sex marriage in 2015, Northern Ireland remains the only place in the UK where a ban on same-sex marriage still exists.

Mr. Varadkar assured crowds in Belfast that he was not “here to unsettle anyone.”

“But I am here to state my support and my government’s support for equality before the law and individual freedom for all citizens wherever they may reside,” he said.

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White House Issues Guidance On Ousting Transgender Military Members

As Donald Trump begins his 17 day vacation at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, the Washington Blade reports that his White House Counsel has approved preliminary “guidance” for booting transgender service members out of the U.S. military.

Approved by Trump, the new policy is expected to be now delivered into the hands of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who has been quiet on the issue with approximately 15,000 trans service members under his command.

After his review, Mattis is expected to order a deliberate implementation by the Pentagon, which could take a period of time.

Though the policy—called “A Guidance Policy for Open Transgender Service Phase Out”—has not yet been made public, sources familiar with the planning said it would encourage early retirement, usher out any enlisted personnel after their contract is up, and would fire trans officers up for promotion. Basically, said a source, “the administration wants to get rid of transgender service members as fast as they can.”

No one yet knows what will happen to the service members currently fighting in combat. The new policy does allow trans service members to continue serving but apparently does not offer any protection from harassment or other efforts to get them to quit.

As previously reported, Trump tweeted a major shift in military policy regarding transgender troops on July 26, saying:

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”

Since Trump’s tweets on transgender service, multiple leaders in the U.S. military have signaled their opposition.

A statement issued by 56 retired generals and admirals read in part, “This proposed ban, if implemented, would cause significant disruptions, deprive the military of mission-critical talent, and compromise the integrity of transgender troops who would be forced to live a lie, as well as non-transgender peers who would be forced to choose between reporting their comrades or disobeying policy.”

And Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, commandant of the Coast Guard, told reporters he plans to continue support the transgender troops under his command despite the Trump tweets.

Eighteen countries allow transgender personnel to serve openly in the military, including Australia, Israel, Britain, Sweden and Canada.

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Politico: Day-To-Day Turmoil In A Twitter-Driven White House

Donald Trump

Politico has an article up describing the turmoil living inside a Twitter-driven White House:

President Donald Trump’s White House and Defense Department lawyers had warned him against the transgender military ban for days. They were concerned about the ramifications of the policy, how military officials would respond and what legal backlash it could cause, two West Wing officials familiar with last month’s discussions said. The lawyers thought there would be plenty of time for more discussions and were analyzing arguments.

Frustrated with being “slow-walked,” in the words of one White House official, the president took to Twitter last week — jarring many in the West Wing out of complacency and startling his lawyers, Defense Department officials and West Wing aides, who learned of the change in a series of tweets.

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump began.

The administration had no plan in place, but Trump told others they would have to “get in gear” if he announced the ban first, one White House adviser who spoke to Trump said. He also said the announcement would stop the lawyers from arguing with him anymore. There is still no plan in place, and Defense Department officials have said they won’t implement the ban until guidance is given.

[snip]

Advisors believed for days that Trump was likely to pick John Pistole as FBI director. Inside the administration, three officials said, there was little initial support for Christopher Wray, the former FBI official who was New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s attorney in the bridge-closing controversy. “No one really was pushing for Wray,” one senior administration official said.

After talking extensively with Christie, who sold Trump on the former FBI official’s bona fides as a lawyer, Trump decided to go with Wray without telling others on staff, advisers said. White House officials waking up to the tweet were startled, and hurriedly wrote a news release to correspond to it. Much of the president’s inner circle knew little about Wray. Trump was simply tired of the search, these people said.