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Georgia: Anti-LGBT Republican Karen Handel Bests Dem Jon Ossoff In Special Election 52% – 48%

After much hype, Democrat Jon Ossoff lost last night to anti-LGBT Republican Karen Handel in Georgia’s special election, 52.1% -47.9%.

Republicans are elated, Democrats – not so much.

Often, a win is a win; a loss is a loss. But a few things come to mind:

• Ossoff received the same 48% he got in the April primary. Handel consolidated her base moving from about 20% in April to 52% last night. It’s possible that 48% is about as high as Dems can get in the district. You can’t create voters out of thin air.

• The one sliver lining for Democrats is that these special elections for Congressional seats in traditionally red states are much, much tighter than just months ago.

For example, when Republican Tom Price won the Georgia seat back in November, it was by 24 points. Handel clinched the win last night by only 4 points. That’s a lot of lost margin.

There was also a special election in South Carolina last night that received less coverage, and was even tighter. Mick Mulvaney won the 5th District seat in SC last November by 20 points. Last night, Republican Ralph Norman won the special election by only 3 points.

Similarly, Mike Pompeo won his seat in Kansas’ 4th District last November by 31 points; Republican Ron Estes took the seat in a special election this spring by a margin of only 7 points.

As you can see, there is some clear movement happening here. Will it be enough to make a difference come the fall of 2018 and the midterm elections? We shall see.

• While a lot has been made of the fund raising and money spent by the Ossoff campaign on this race, national Republican groups spent far more (nearly $14 million the NRCC, RNC, and Congressional Leadership Fund Super PAC) than national Dems did (about $6 million). According to NBC News, the total GOP price tag (NRCC, CLF, RNC) for the four recent special elections (Kansas, Georgia, South Carolina, Montana) was around $19 million versus $7 million for Democrats (DCCC, House Majority PAC, Patriot Majority).

What does that say? That Dems viewed the prospects of winning the traditional red seats pretty realistically, while the Repubs were clearly nervous.

Predictably, President Trump boasted about the Democrats loss this morning:

The comment about Dems working with Republicans in Congress is interesting in that the Repubs have literally shut the Dems out of any policy-making process.

More from the Twitterverse on last night’s election.

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Former NFL Player Ryan O’Callaghan Comes Out

Ryan O’Callaghan

In an deeply personal interview with Outsports, five-season NFL veteran Ryan O’Callaghan (New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs) came out of the closet having conquered years of suicidal thoughts.

O’Callaghan learned very quickly that football was the best place in the world for a gay teenager to hide. The brute, physical nature of the sport went against every stereotype of gay men he knew. At his size, few people would suspect he was gay, and if he was a football player on top of that, he felt his secret would be buried.

“No one is going to assume the big football player is gay,” he said. “It’s why a football team is such a good place to hide.

So he dove into football and made a pact with himself: As long as he put on those pads, he was good to go. Once football was over, he’d take a gun to his head and end it all. That was the deal, and he would hold himself to it.

Watch the video interview below, but make sure you head over to the full article here.

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News Round-Up: June 20, 2017

Lony Pizzaro via Instagram

Some news items you may have missed:

• It’s 112 degrees here in Las Vegas – I can’t imagine grilling in my backyard. So, I’ll just look at fitness model Lony Pizarro tend to his grill 😉

• Virulently anti-LGBT activist Tony Perkins does NOT appreciate the irony that Rep. Steve Scalise, who has attended white nationalist events in the past, was saved at last week’s DC shooting by a married, black lesbian.

• Barbie’s boyfriend Ken got multiple makeovers including seven skin tones, three body types and even a man-bun. I wonder if Barbie knows all the Kens are attending Pride this year…?

Ken gets a makeover

• Ryan Phillippe reflects on playing the first openly gay teenager on TV: “There had never been a gay teenager represented on television up until that point: It’s before Will & Grace, it’s before Ellen came out, it’s before any of that stuff. I remember the fan mail that we would get, my mother and I would get, from gay teenagers or from parents of gay teenagers who found a way in to relate to or talk to their child through the show. Entertainment media can do those things, it can make people think differently or see a different side of something and I do remember and appreciating that — even back then when I was only a teenager myself. But in terms of like the larger view, I didn’t have a full understanding of how important it could have been, but I’m proud to have done it, I’m proud that that’s something I can say was a part of my career.”

• Asked why White House press briefings are becoming less frequent and off-camera, Trump advisor Steve Bannon replied to The Atlantic, “Sean (Spicer) got fatter.”

• The woofy Kilted Coaches show their support for Pride Month via this “rainbow-y” (kilt-less) video:

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New Music: Hercules & Love Affair – “Omnion” Feat. Sharon Van Etten

Hercules & Love Affair drop their new single release “Omnion” ft. Sharon Van Etten today, and the electronica collaboration is clearly the result of a mutual admiration society between the artists.

Balancing lithe and soothing vocals with a crackling rhythmic texture, “Omnion” is the title track of the act’s forthcoming fourth studio album, scheduled for release on September 1st via Big Beat Records.

Featuring vocals from New York singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten, the track is, according to Hercules front man Andy Butler, an ode to “a childlike dialogue with a higher entity voiced through the filter of a broken adult male.”

Speaking of Van Etten, Butler says, “I feel so blessed to have had Sharon Van Etten sing ‘Omnion.’ She is an artist of incredible depth and authenticity and her voice is so inviting yet truly has a mystery about it. Those qualities rendered a beautiful interpretation of a song that is ultimately an appeal to the divine for help and healing. With such a generous spirit and kindness about her, she was a joy to work with.”

Van Etten clearly shares the sentiment: “This song is so vulnerable, but strong. Coming to terms with identity and finding community… It’s a very important time to share in that sentiment. I really appreciate Andy reaching out to collaborate. His heart beats in his songs.”

Check out “Omnion” below.

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Trump’s Approval Rating Drops To Lowest Level In CBS News Poll

CBS News Poll this morning shows President Trump with a 36% approval rating, his lowest in a CBS News Poll since he took office.

His disapproval rating stands at 57%.

The drop in approval comes, in great part, in an 11 point drop in support from Republicans, from 83% in April to 72% approval now.

Almost two out of three Americans (63%) disapprove of Trump’s handing of the Russian investigation into interference in the 2016 election. Only 28% of those polled approve.

The poll also found 40 percent of Republicans now think it is at least somewhat likely the Trump campaign had improper contact with Russia, up from 25 percent in March.

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New York City To Host WorldPride 2019 To Coincide With 50th Anniversary Of Stonewall Riots

Via press release:

NYC & Company, New York City’s official destination marketing organization, today joined with Heritage of Pride, organizers of NYC Pride, to formally announce the two-year countdown to WorldPride 2019.

Set to take place in New York City in June 2019, the global celebration of Pride will coincide with the historic 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots—the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement—making it a year to underscore New York City’s progress and resilience as a global LGBTQ capital.

The announcement was made as New York City’s 2017 Pride celebrations are currently underway this week. A new invitational campaign, titled “One World, One Pride, One New York City – Unite in 2019” launched yesterday in New York City, with additional promotion and activations taking place in Madrid during the upcoming WorldPride celebrations there June 23–July 2.

“As a city with such a rich history of fighting inequality and an unwavering dedication to social progress, we are thrilled to host WorldPride 2019,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I can think of no better time to celebrate the LGBTQ community than on the 50th anniversary of Stonewall—a seminal moment in the struggle for inclusion and human rights that has reverberated across the country for decades.”

Click here for more info on WorldPride 2019 as well as NYC 2017 Pride.

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HBO’s Vice News Goes Inside Chechen Prison Where Gay Men Were Tortured & Killed

HBO’s Vice News goes inside the prison in Chechnya where gay men were allegedly held, tortured and killed as part of the country’s “anti-gay purge.”

VICE News obtained exclusive access to the now-abandoned buildings where the local prison warden and his officers reportedly beat and tortured men they suspected of being gay. Human Rights Watch has confirmed that this site is at the center of their investigation into homophobic abuse in Chechnya.

Ayub Kataev, prison warden and head of the ministry of internal affairs, initially stuck to the official Chechen response: absolute denial, not only about abuse but even the existence of gay people. “We don’t think these people exist among us,” he told VICE News, accusing those who reported the story of seeking to destabilize Chechnya.

“My officers would not even want to touch such people, if they exist, let alone beating or torturing them.” Kataev continued, accusing both the victims and Human Rights Watch of lying. Kataev suggested that the men making claims of torture were doing so in order “to get asylum, to leave the country and obtain free foreign citizenship.”

At one point, Kataev lines up his officers and asks them, for the cameras, “Was there a single case when I told you to arrest some kind of gays? Have you even heard about them?”

It will not surprise you to learn they all obediently answer, “No.”

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Laverne Cox Shares Summer Schedule For CBS Series DOUBT

While Laverne Cox’s nascent CBS series Doubt only ran for two episodes this past season, Cox shares the news that all remaining episodes will get airtime this summer on Saturday nights at 8PM beginning July 1.

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Out Film: “God’s Own Country”

One of the most talked about film’s at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was God’s Own Country, the debut feature film from director Francis Lee which chronicles the story of a rural romance set in the lonesome hills of West Yorkshire.

The film has been compared to Brokeback Mountain, but that’s neither a fair nor accurate oversimplification.

“I love Brokeback Mountain,” Lee tells Empire. “The comparison feels like an honour, but they are very different. Brokeback is of a particular time and place – its two central characters can’t be together because of society’s attitudes. In God’s Own Country, it’s all to do with the central character’s inability to open up.”

The film follows Johnny Saxby (Josh O’Connor), a young farmer who is joined on his West Yorkshire farm by a gentle Romanian migrant worker, Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu), when Johnny’s father suffers a stroke. Working the farmlands, the two men find a quiet intimacy.

Due for release September 1st.