LGBTQ news and entertainment
Trae Crowder is back with his southern perspective on why President Trump is getting all “Wag the Dog-y” about North Korea and Afghanistan.
“Trump tryin to start like 8 wars at once, because why the hell not? I mean, it ain’t like they’s anything else goin on.”
And then there’s the metaphorical tale of “Bobby” and “Randy.” Hit play, and it’ll all make sense.
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| Attorney General Jeff Sessions |
CNN is reporting on Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ frustrations with a federal judge in Hawaii who blocked President Trump’s travel ban from Muslim-majority countries.
Sessions shared his thoughts during an appearance on “The Mark Levin Show” Tuesday night.
“We’ve got cases moving in the very, very liberal Ninth Circuit, who, they’ve been hostile to the order,” Sessions said. “We won a case in Virginia recently that was a nicely-written order that just demolished, I thought, all the arguments that some of the other people have been making. We are confident that the President will prevail on appeal and particularly in the Supreme Court, if not the Ninth Circuit. So this is a huge matter. I really am amazed that a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the President of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and Constitutional power.”
Last month, a federal judge in Hawaii, Judge Derrick Watson, issued an order that blocked Trump’s ban on travelers from several Muslim-majority countries. The Department of Justice is currently appealing the decision.
The two U.S. Senators from Hawaii didn’t take kindly to the characterization of “an island in the Pacific” by Sessions:
Hey Jeff Sessions, this #IslandinthePacific has been the 50th state for going on 58 years. And we won’t succumb to your dog whistle politics— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) April 20, 2017
Mr. Attorney General: You voted for that judge. And that island is called Oahu. It’s my home. Have some respect. https://t.co/sW9z3vqBqG— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) April 20, 2017
Some news items you may have missed:
• Jerry Herman’s classic Broadway musical Hello, Dolly! returns to the Great White Way tonight at the Shubert Theatre in a brand new revival starring a reportedly delicious Bette Midler. I made my Broadway debut in the last revival back in 1995 (I’m on the far left above) when Carol Channing made a spectacular return to the role of “Dolly Levi.” Wishing this new cast all the best for a fantastic run!
• TIME Magazine names Gavin Grimm, Sarah Paulson and RuPaul to this year’s “100 Most Influential People” list.
• Adam Medrano, the council member who chairs City Hall’s LGBT Task Force, has made LGBT youth homelessness a top priority. His leadership has led to the creation of Outlast Youth, a collaborative effort intent on finding beds, counseling, health care and job training for homeless LGBT youth.
• On the other end of the spectrum in Texas news, Governor Abbott says he wants to sign a transgender “bathroom bill.”
• Turning this year’s Pride Parade in Los Angeles into an anti-Trump march is making it tough to attract the event’s usual sponsors.
• CNN spoke to to two men who describe being detained, beaten and tortured in Chechnya as part of the country’s violent crackdown on homosexuality. Watch below:
Aw, this looks fun.
Back in February 2016, dating app Daddyhunt created a mini-web series, Daddyhunt the Serial, that told the romantical story of young pup, BJ Gruber and hunky daddy, Jim Newman.
It was pretty much a promotional bit for the dating app, but quite fun and flirty.
Daddyhunt has announced they will revisit the woofy couple in a soon to debut second season.
From the Daddyhunt Facebook page:
Their story continues on April 24th. Follow us and be the first to see it!
Watch the teaser below, and click here to watch the original seven minute serial.
When Gilbert Baker, the creator of the iconic rainbow flag, passed away on March 31, 2017, NewFest and NYC Pride partnered with Ogilvy & Mather’s design team to create a rainbow flag inspired font to honor the LGBT activist.
They named the font “Gilbert.”
Via press release:
“We wanted to create something special that would not just honor Gilbert and his iconic Rainbow Flag but also give the LGBTQ community a fantastic tool to help them create their own banners, posters and signs. People can now raise the Rainbow Flag with every letter they type. By literally embedding the Rainbow Flag into the font we made it possible for everyone around the world to type with pride.”
Ogilvy & Mather partnered with Fontself to leverage cutting-edge color font technologies and produce both a traditional font as well a colorful typeface. “We are all driven by the same passion for self-expression and creativity. Today, we are releasing a preview version of the font and we will iterate based on the feedback of the community. We will also share behind-the-scenes updates so anyone interested in using the font or creating their own version can learn more about color fonts“.
You can download the font here.
Watch the announcement video below.
From the official website:
Give OUT Day is the ONLY national day of giving for the LGBTQ community – a 24-hour online fundraising event that unites the LGBTQ community from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and D.C. to raise critically needed funds.
Throughout the day-long event, thousands of people make gifts to support a vast array of LGBTQ nonprofits across the country, ranging from the arts to social services agencies, advocacy groups to sports leagues, community centers to health care nonprofits.
Since its inception in 2013, over 23,000 individual donors have contributed more than $3 million and supported more than 500 different organizations in every part of the country. With changes and investments being made by Horizons, Give OUT Day’s potential is even greater.
Here’s the link to a page with several national organizations you will probably know such as It Gets Better Project, National Center for Transgender Equality, PFLAG, Athlete Ally, and the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
Or you can search from the full list of charities taking part here.
From Broadway Cares:
#BroadwayBares heads to campus for this year’s theme: Strip U. The wildly popular, modern-day burlesque benefit will explore collegiate life on Sunday, June 18.
Check out this behind the scenes footage from our photo shoot featuring 13 Broadway dancers stripping down for the campaign.
Broadway Bares: Strip U will feature more than 150 of the hottest male and female dancers in New York City sharing their hearts – and bodies – with an eager crowd of thousands. The 90-minute show features Broadway’s most talented movers and shakers in a highly choreographed, highly produced spectacular.
Using the collegiate theme as a jumping off point, Broadway Bares: Strip U combines the winking humor of classic burlesque with audience-favorite pop music to create a truly unparalleled show. Imagine the Broadway Bares take on a science lab exploding with sizzling chemistry or sculpted studs exhibiting model behavior in art class. You could wait to watch highlights online, but there’s nothing like experiencing the live show where anything can happen.
The 27th annual edition of Broadway Bares will take place at New York City’s Manhattan Center Events – Hammerstein Ballroom & Grand Ballroom (311 West 34th Street, NYC) at 9:30 pm and midnight on Sunday, June 18. Broadway Bares is produced by and benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Ticket details are at broadwaycares.org. For other information and merchandise, visit broadwaybares.com.
Just one more. Just one more video before we let the Bill O’Reilly thing go, ok?
Just a reminder of what a standup, charming guy The Bill Man was to work with. If you haven’t seen this before, hit play. It’s quite the performance.
Stephen Colbert of The Late Show has some parting words for now-fired Bill O’Reilly.
Along the way, Colbert shares part of the statement issued from Fox News lauding Bill as they kicked him out the door.
The statement read, “By ratings standards, Bill O’Reilly is one of the most accomplished TV personalities in the history of cable news.”
Colbert amended the statement adding, “By rating stands, he is. By moral standards, he was a self-righteous landfill of angry garbage.”
Btw – it’s being reported today that O’Reilly will walk away with a golden parachute of “tens of millions of dollars.”
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| Roy Moore |
Former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Roy Moore lost yet again in court today.
You’ll recall Moore, who is virulently anti-LGBT, was ousted for instructing state officials to ignore the landmark Obergefell ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 that made marriage equality the law of the land.
He was suspended last September for the remainder of his term as chief justice after he was found guilty of six charges of violation of the canons of judicial ethics.
Today, the Alabama Supreme Court upheld that decision that stripped him of his power as Chief Justice.
This is the second time Moore has been removed as Chief Justice. In 2003, he refused to remove a monument bearing the Ten Commandments.
Some people never learn, you know?
Moore has been feeding rumors that he might attempt a U.S. Senate run next year for the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions to become U.S. Attorney General. That seat is currently held by former Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange.