Category: Uncategorized

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Trump Denounces “Single Greatest Witch Hunt Of A Politician In American History”

Even as more information emerges about Trump’s associates contacting Russian officials during the 2016 election, President Trump continues to rant on Twitter that he is the victim of “the single greatest witch hunt” ever.

This from the man who led a year’s-long campaign to prove that Barack Obama was born in Kenya.

This morning via Trump Twitter:

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Jimmy Fallon Has “Regrets” About Donald Trump Interview

With The Late Show with Stephen Colbert often surpassing The Tonight Show in the late night ratings race, host Jimmy Fallon tells The New York Times his softball interview of Donald Trump during the 2016 election was a “setback.”

In the aftermath of the interview, many folks felt the segment helped to “humanize” Trump.

The resurgent interest in left-leaning programming hasn’t helped Mr. Fallon, a former star of “Saturday Night Live” who has built his brand on his all-around entertainer’s skills and down-the-middle tastes.

And as Mr. Fallon is well aware, viewers haven’t seen him in quite the same light since an interview he conducted with Mr. Trump in September, which was widely criticized for its fawning, forgiving tone. In a gesture that has come to haunt the host, he concluded the segment by playfully running his fingers through Mr. Trump’s hair.

Mr. Fallon acknowledges now that the Trump interview was a setback, if not quite a mistake, and he has absorbed at least a portion of the anger that was directed at him by critics and online detractors.

“They have a right to be mad,” a chastened Mr. Fallon said in an interview this month. “If I let anyone down, it hurt my feelings that they didn’t like it. I got it.”

Mr. Fallon’s questions, however, were mostly innocuous; he asked Mr. Trump why children should want to grow up to be president and if his business background had helped him in the campaign. Their conversation concluded with Mr. Fallon fulfilling his longstanding wish of ruffling Mr. Trump’s hair.

“I didn’t do it to humanize him,” Mr. Fallon said, explaining this moment to me. “I almost did it to minimize him. I didn’t think that would be a compliment: ‘He did the thing that we all wanted to do.’”

But when the backlash did not subside, even after a few days, Mr. Fallon never addressed the controversy on air. “I didn’t talk about it, and I should have talked about it,” he said. “I regret that.”

You can watch the now infamous moment below:

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House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy Caught On Audio: Putin Pays Trump

Rep. Kevin McCarthy


The Washington Post is reporting the discovery of a recording from last year which apparently captures Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy claiming Donald Trump was receiving payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation on Capitol Hill with his fellow GOP leaders: that Trump could be the beneficiary of payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016 exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) immediately interjected, stopping the conversation from further exploring McCarthy’s assertion, and swore the Republicans present to secrecy.

[snip]

When initially asked to comment on the exchange, Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Ryan, said: “That never happened,” and Matt Sparks, a spokesman for McCarthy, said: “The idea that McCarthy would assert this is absurd and false.”

After being told that The Post would cite a recording of the exchange, Buck, speaking for the GOP House leadership, said: “This entire year-old exchange was clearly an attempt at humor. No one believed the majority leader was seriously asserting that Donald Trump or any of our members were being paid by the Russians. What’s more, the speaker and leadership team have repeatedly spoken out against Russia’s interference in our election, and the House continues to investigate that activity.”

“This was a failed attempt at humor,” Sparks said.

Why would Brendan Buck initially respond “That never happened,” only to cop to the fact it did happen minutes later? Is lying his default?

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Today Is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia

From the Human Rights Campaign:

Today HRC recognizes the 13th annual International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) with the launch of a video series highlighting global innovators in the fight for LGBTQ equality.

In addition, the organization is shining a spotlight on the need for continued U.S. engagement on protecting the human rights of LGBTQ individuals around the world, especially in the ongoing crisis occurring in Chechnya.

“While the global LGBTQ community is filled with innovative advocates advancing equality around the world, we are still combatting horrendous violence in the U.S. and beyond — as we have seen most recently with the detention, torture and murder of gay men in Chechnya,” said HRC Global Director Ty Cobb. “It is disturbing that the White House is trying to build a wall around our country as LGBTQ people and others are trying to find refuge from extreme violence and persecution in places like Syria and Chechnya. Equally disturbing is the violence transgender women of color are experiencing in the United States. We call on world leaders to do more — not less — to protect the human rights of all people around the world. If we turn a blind eye when human rights are violated, we all the suffer consequences of living in a world of violence and instability.”

IDAHOT celebrates the anniversary of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) resolution to declassify same-sex attraction as a mental disorder. The move followed a similar decision by the American Psychiatric Association in 1973. The WHO’s monumental change created a shift in how many LGBTQ people were treated. In 2004, LGBTQ activists gathered for the first time to mark this date with rallies in support of equality. The anniversary is now marked by celebrations, governmental proclamations, and renewed efforts to end the discrimination and violence that LGBTQ people throughout the world still face.

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New Music: Ariana And The Rose With RKCB “Love You Lately”

Ariana and the Rose, fueled by polar opposites love and loss, and personal uncertainty, releases her new synth-pop EP ‘Retrograde’ out now.

Check out her recently-released single “Love You Lately” below.

According to Noisey, the collaboration with LA electro-R&B duo RKCB “[brings] out a more sultry, R&B-toned side to Ariana,” while the song “captures the sting of relationship disintegration” (Noisey)

“This EP marks the end of a period of my life that most literally felt like it was in retrograde,” says Ariana (real name Ariana DiLorenzo). “Each track encapsulates these moments over the last year or so where I was really defining myself personally and artistically and the music is a sonic exploration of that growth and ultimately personal transformation.”

With a background in theater performance, Ariana embraces an audio-visual approach to creativity, and has curated an interactive performance and music event called Light + Space, a performance that transcends the traditional boundaries of a concert.

The native New Yorker also finds her music reaches across the boundaries of sexuality and community.

As a longtime LGBT ally, Ariana told ChicagoPride in 2014:

Growing up in New York, the LGBT community never felt separate to me in anyway, they were just my friends, my best friends in most cases. I’ve witnessed, first hand, the trials and the triumphs of what it means to grow up in a society that is finally coming around to acceptance and I’m honored to get to stand by my friends while all of this is happening.

I’ve been so fortunate to be accepted as an artist by the LGBT community and am honored to get to perform at the celebrations. Honestly, it’s the best reason to put on a show. To celebrate anyone and everyone who is living their lives the way that makes them happy. I’m just trying to make that special day even better and hopefully get everyone dancing in the process!

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Department Of Justice Names Special Counsel To Oversee Russian Investigation

Politico is reporting the Department of Justice has named a special prosecutor to handle the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein named former FBI Director Robert Mueller to oversee the probe.

“Based upon the unique circumstances, the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command,” Rosenstein said in a statement. “A special counsel is necessary in order for the American people to have full confidence in the outcome. Our nation is grounded on the rule of law, and the Public must be assured that government officials administer the law fairly.”

UPDATE – President Trump issued this statement regarding the appointment of Robert Mueller as Special Counsel:

“As I have stated many times, a through investigation will confirm what we already know — that there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity. I look forward to this matter concluding quickly. In the meantime, I will never stop fighting for the people and the issues that matter most to the future of our country.”

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Congressional Committees Request Comey Memos And White House Recordings

Former FBI Director James Comey

From the AP:

Top members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are asking the FBI to provide memos from former director James Comey and for the White House to turn over any audio recordings that might exist of conversations with the now-fired director.

Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California sent the letter to the Justice Department and the White House on Wednesday. They called on the White House “to provide records of interactions with former Director Comey, including any audio recordings.”

The letter came after the Senate Intelligence Committee made a similar request for Comey’s memos. The Intelligence panel also sought his testimony in open or closed session.

Additionally, the House Oversight committee has requested the same documents.

Earlier today, Rep. Justin Amash became the first House Republican to say that impeachment would be appropriate if the allegations regarding Trump’s request that Comey end the Michael Flynn investigation were to be proven true.

Independent Sen. Angus King has told CNN that this latest debacle could bring Trump closer to impeachment proceedings.

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Chelsea Manning Released From Prison Today

Chelsea Manning

Chelsea Manning, who leaked hundreds of thousands of military and diplomatic documents via Wikileaks, has been released from prison today.

From The New York Times:

Sentenced to an unprecedented 35-year prison term for disclosing archives of secret files to WikiLeaks, Ms. Manning spent about seven years in prison — already double the second-longest sentence in any leak case. She was freed 28 years early because President Barack Obama, in one of his final acts, commuted the bulk of her remaining sentence.

Ms. Manning was known as Pvt. Bradley Manning in 2010 when she was arrested on suspicion of having copied hundreds of thousands of secret military and diplomatic files from a classified computer network, to which she had access as a low-level intelligence analyst at a forward operating base in Iraq. After her conviction, she announced that she was a transgender woman and changed her name to Chelsea.

Hoping to inspire “worldwide discussion, debates and reforms,” as she wrote at the time, Ms. Manning had uploaded the files to the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks. It published them in batches, working with traditional news organizations, including The New York Times.

Her leaks brought to light numerous hidden facts, including previously unknown civilian bystander killings in the Iraq war, back-room diplomatic dealings and discussion of local corruption around the world, and intelligence assessments about Guantánamo Bay detainees.

“For the first time, I can see a future for myself as Chelsea,” she said in a statement last week ahead of her release. “I can imagine surviving and living as the person who I am and can finally be in the outside world.”

Manning attempted suicide twice during her 7 years at Fort Leavenworth.

She will remain on unpaid active duty while her military court conviction is under appeal. During that time she will continue to receive health benefits from the Army.

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Nevada Becomes 9th State To Ban So-Called “Conversion Therapy” For Minors

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval

Today, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval signed into law Senate Bill 201, legislation which bans the dangerous and discredited practice of so-called “conversion therapy.”

Via the Human Rights Campaign:

“No child should be put through the dangerous and inhumane practice of conversion therapy,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Medical professionals agree this outdated and discredited practice not only doesn’t work, but can also have life-threatening consequences. It is nothing short of child abuse. We thank Governor Sandoval and the Nevada State Legislature for passing these crucially important protections for the state’s LGBTQ youth.”

Nevada becomes the tenth jurisdiction — and the third state so far this year — to enact these crucially important protections. Connecticut, California, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, and New Mexico all have laws or regulations protecting youth from this abusive practice. A growing number of municipalities have also enacted similar protections, including cities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

“I want to thank my colleagues in the Senate and the Assembly for their bipartisan support of Senate Bill 201,” said Nevada State Senator David Parks, who sponsored the bill. “Conversion therapy is a dangerous, discredited practice that has been shown to cause anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and suicide among LGBTQ youth. By enacting this ban, Nevada will join eight other states and the District of Columbia in taking a strong stand to protect young people from psychological and physical abuse.”

“Conversion therapy,” sometimes referred to as “sexual orientation change efforts” or “reparative therapy,” encompasses a range of practices that seek to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. These practices are based on the false premise that being LGBTQ is a mental illness that needs to be cured — a theory that has been rejected for decades by every major medical and mental health organization.

Nevada state Sen. David Parks