LGBTQ news and entertainment
Perfect for Hump Day!
Out singer/songwriter Eli Lieb has just dropped his new music video, “Shangri La.”
Having recently relocated from Los Angeles to Iowa, the talented Mr. Lieb appears to be awash in the memory of intoxicating kisses, and a cocktail or two.
Romantic longing becomes naked, exposed emotion.
I’m definitely a fan, having previously featured Eli on The Randy Report here and here and here and here.
Rolling Stone opens it’s cover story on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (“Why Can’t He Be Our President?”) thusly:
It’s strange to witness: He speaks in a modulated, indoor voice. His dark hair is a color found in nature. At home, there is a glamorous wife and three photogenic children, still not old enough to warm his seat at next week’s G-20 summit or be involved in an espionage scandal.
When Trudeau moves on to his feminist bona fides (women and minorities make up more than half of his Cabinet), he pauses for a moment, but does not lose his train of thought. His words are coherent and will not need to be run through Google Translate when he is done (except if you want to translate his French into English).
He talks about steps taken to deal with the opioid crisis and mentions the country’s dropping unemployment rate. He uses the original Clintonian recipe on the crowd: “We’re focused on getting people into good careers and helping families get ahead and stay ahead,” he says. “But we know there’s more hard work in front of us than there is behind us.”
Then he gives the press corps a high-five. “The back and forth between the press and government is essential to any good democracy,” he says. “When you’re at your best, it reminds us and challenges us to be at ours. So thank you all for your tireless work.”
Where are we? Narnia? Coachella recovery tent? 2009? We are in Ottawa, Ontario, a mere 560 miles from Washington, D.C.
It’s another world up north.
Check out the entire article here.
Donald Trump announced this morning via Twitter that transgender Americans will not be able to “serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.”
In June 2016, the Pentagon lifted a ban on transgender men and women serving in the military. This is a huge U-turn for trans military personnel who have been serving openly for months.
No word on how Trump and his generals expect to proceed. Will those trans personnel be discharged?
Important to note that the Trump administration has also stepped back from protections for transgender students.
Remember – during the 2016 campaign, Trump declared he would be a better ally for the LGBTQ community than Hillary Clinton.
Stay tuned.
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. Thank you
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
….Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming…..— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
….victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
The Rand Corporation estimates the cost of gender transition–related health care coverage for transgender personnel to be between $2.4 million and $8.4 million annually, representing a tiny 0.04- to 0.13-percent increase in active-component health care expenditures.
Oh, and just a little reminder…
Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2016
UPDATE:
Axios‘ Jonathan Swan received this response from the White House on the newly announced policy:
“This forces Democrats in Rust Belt states like Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin, to take complete ownership of this issue. How will the blue collar voters in these states respond when senators up for re-election in 2018 like Debbie Stabenow are forced to make their opposition to this a key plank of their campaigns?”
So, Team Trump is making this a move for anti-trans votes in the Rust Belt.
How does this “make America great again?”
#Repost from @cnn . . . Donald Trump holds a rainbow flag that says "LGBTs for Trump" at an October 2016 campaign rally. On Wednesday, less than a year later, President Trump announced he would ban transgender people from serving in the US military, reversing a policy approved by President Barack Obama's defense department. 📸Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images #lgbtq #military #trump #news #pentagon #politics #cnnA post shared by CNN Politics (@cnnpolitics) on Jul 26, 2017 at 8:28am PDT
“Sometimes they say, ‘He doesn’t act presidential.’ And I say, with the exception of the late, great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that’s held this office. That I can tell you. It’s real easy.” – Donald Trump speaking in Youngstown, Ohio at an “I need attention” rally
.@POTUS: “With the exception of the late, great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that’s ever held this office” pic.twitter.com/jktSLBrGew— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 25, 2017
Some news items you may have missed:
• Let’s hear it for the bears! Furball in focus (above).
• According to a new USA Today poll, Americans are split 42% yes/42% no on whether President Trump should be impeached.
• The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army, or TQILA, is a newly-formed LGBT-centric unit of volunteers who have joined the fight against ISIS in Syria.
These Faggots Kill Fascists! We shoot back! The Black & Pink and Rainbow flag fly in Raqqa. #Queers smashing the Caliphate. #TQILA #YPJ #YPG pic.twitter.com/eBCssrbjMI— IRPGF (@IRPGF) July 24, 2017
• Trump says Attorney General Jeff Sessions only endorsed him for president because of his “massive numbers” at campaign rallies. #brutal
• Always on the lookout for new out music? Check out this list of summer tunes by LGBT artists.
• Mark Ruffalo shared this pic of Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston cuddling with Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi on a recent flight. #Grrrr
Gallup’s daily tracking poll shows Donald Trump’s Approval rating has dropped again to near his lowest point.
Sitting at 36% today, the only time he’s shown worse numbers was on March 28 when he hit a dismal 35% approval rating.
His disapproval numbers hit a high of 60% last month on June 12. He currently shows a 59% disapproval rating.
During a press conference with the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Donald Trump was asked whether he wants his Attorney General to resign.
He never got to a direct answer to that question, but he did say he was disappointed in Attorney General Jeff Sessions, wants him to be tougher, and wants him to be tougher on leaks coming out of the intelligence agencies.
Watch below.
Pres. Trump says AG Sessions recusing himself from Russia probe “is a bad thing, not for the president, but for the presidency.” pic.twitter.com/SkYWH87ei2— ABC News (@ABC) July 25, 2017
Trump says US intelligence agencies are “leaking like rarely have they ever leaked before” https://t.co/5j8eSlJjm3 https://t.co/MzQWOKa7o9— CNN (@CNN) July 25, 2017
And, of course, there’s this:
McConnell: Jeff Sessions “is doing a fine job and made the right decision to recuse himself from the Russia matter.” https://t.co/QQsehygVLo— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) July 25, 2017
|
| Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell |
As the U.S. Senate votes to proceed to some kind of movement regarding health care reform, it looks like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s plan is to get past the motion to proceed, then offer up the “repeal and replace” bill known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act.
No one really expects that to pass.
From reading sources I follow online, McConnell would then look to put together a handful of amendments that would repeal just certain parts of the Affordable Care Act, something being referred to as a “skinny repeal.”
Not a huge bill, but something that can perhaps pass in the Senate which would then head over to the House for a compromise bill.
If House and Senate Republicans can come to an agreement, it could be at least something Trump and Republicans could call a win.
I don’t think Trump cares what the eventual legislation looks like. He just wants a victory lap of any sort.
Stay tuned.
|
| Anthony Scaramucci |
The first head has rolled in the White House press office as assistant press secretary Michael Short has resigned in advance of being fired by White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.
From Politico:
Short’s ouster is Scaramucci’s first warning shot to White House aides who have been perceived as disloyal to the president. In an echo of Trump’s not-so-subtle warning to Jeff Sessions about his status as attorney general, Scaramucci’s vow to “fire everybody” is a warning to staffers perceived as leakers.
“I’m going to fire everybody, that’s how I’m going to do it,” Scaramucci said to reporters outside of the White House on Tuesday. “You’re either going to stop leaking or you’re going to be fired.”
He claimed to have the full authority of the president to clean out the communications shop and put his own stamp on the team. A source close to Scaramucci said that he’s planning to bring in people from the corporate communications world in addition to conservative broadcast stars.
Short was apparently not well-liked by his colleagues in the White House having quit Team Trump during the campaign but was hired for White House duty by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
Scaramucci told reporters it “really upsets me as a human being and as a Roman Catholic” that Short found out about his departure through the media.
He added he’s prepared to reduce the communications office to just himself and Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders if necessary.
