“No,” Warren told the hosts of NBC’s “Today” show. “I am running in 2018 for senator from Massachusetts.”
But when host Matt Lauer mentioned that “a lot of people are already printing up those bumper stickers for 2020 that say ‘she was warned, she was given an explanation, nevertheless she persisted,’” Warren gave a coy, silent smile.
Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, issued this statement today in regard to the reports of torture and murder of gay men in Chechnya:
We continue to be disturbed by reports of kidnapping, torture, and murder of people in Chechnya based on their sexual orientation and those persecuted by association. If true, this violation of human rights cannot be ignored – Chechen authorities must immediately investigate these allegations, hold anyone involved accountable, and take steps to prevent future abuses.
We are against all forms of discrimination, including against people based on sexual orientation. When left unchecked, discrimination and human rights abuses can lead to destabilization and conflict.
Tomorrow, the United States will lead a first-ever meeting on human rights in international conflicts in the UN Security Council to underscore our commitment to addressing human rights abuses wherever they threaten international peace and security.
I’m not so sure about Chechen authorities “investigating these allegations,” but here’s hoping the United Nations has some pull to make something stop these horrific violations of human rights.
CBS Sunday Morning profiled out and proud pop star Ricky Martin yesterday as he opens his new residency at the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas.
Ricky was particularly poignant when discussing the coming out process for him, and what kept him in the closet.
From the segment:
“I was afraid of rejection, ’cause unfortunately, first of all, for many years everyone, a lot of people told me that my feelings were evil — ‘What you’re feeling is not godly.’ If I’m feeling this, I’m not a good person.
“No more of that. I’m a good person. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with me. No. No. Enough. Not more of that. And I’ve been the happiest man ever since!”
• If you like dogs, and if you like hot dudes, have I got the Instagram account for you… 🙂
• United Airlines’ bad press is catching up with the company’s reputation: a new survey by Morning Consult shows 44% of those polled would pay more and take a longer flight to avoid flying “the friendly skies.”
• Lady Gaga will star in a countrified remake of A Star Is Born along side Bradley Cooper, who will also direct the flick. The film is slated for release on September 28, 2018.
A post shared by xoxo, Gaga (@ladygaga) on Apr 17, 2017 at 8:29am PDT
• The Navy, citing regulations which govern outside employment by personnel as well as prohibitions on behavior that is discrediting to the service, is considering taking action against a decorated Navy SEAL for appearing in over 30 adult films. The 23 year veteran could lose his rank and pension depending on the Navy’s ruling.
• Televangelist and con-artist Jim Bakker says conservative groups never marched against President Obama. I’m guessing he never heard of the Tea Party folks? Watch Bakker’s claim below, as well as just one of hundreds of videos I can post that show the protests against Obama during his time in office.
More bad news for President Trump as Gallup Polling shows the opinion of American voters continues to slide downward on key characteristics of the Trumpster:
President Donald Trump’s image among Americans as someone who keeps his promises has faded in the first two months of his presidency, falling from 62% in February to 45%. The public is also less likely to see him as a “strong and decisive leader,” as someone who “can bring about the changes this country needs” or as “honest and trustworthy.”
With close to two-thirds of Americans saying in February that Trump “keeps his promises,” it was clearly a strength for the president. Given the sharp decline on that dimension this month, that is no longer the case. In February, a majority also said Trump can bring about the changes the country needs, but less than half hold that view now.
It’s notable that only 36% of those polled think Trump is “honest and trustworthy.”
The editorial board of the New York Times addresses the “L.G.B.T. Trump fallacy:”
It was a jarringly unorthodox moment even for Donald Trump. At a rally in Colorado last October, an audience member handed him a gay pride flag that bore a handwritten endorsement: “LGBTs for TRUMP.” The candidate smiled as he unfurled the flag, displaying it for a few seconds. A spokesman later said Mr. Trump was “proud to carry the ‘L.G.B.T. for Trump’ rainbow flag on stage,” since he was campaigning to be “president for all Americans.”
It didn’t take long for prominent gay Republicans to proclaim that the Republican Party had, at long last, turned a corner on gay rights under Mr. Trump. After he was elected, some gay rights activists held out hope that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the president’s daughter and son-in-law, would be staunch allies in the West Wing, considering that they had traveled in liberal circles in New York.
Yet, the nomination of several key officials, who have disparaged the L.G.B.T. community and sought to curtail the rights of its members, has exposed the narrative that Mr. Trump would be a champion of gay and transgender people as a fallacy. “It has been a catastrophe,” said Mara Keisling, the executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality and a leading strategist behind a string of legal and policy victories the community achieved during the Obama administration. “Every twitch we’ve seen from the administration has been anti-L.G.B.T.”
From there, the op-ed lists just some of the ways Trump has actually u-turned on LGBT issues by the personnel decisions he’s made like Attorney General Jeff Sessions reversing course on transgender protections; the shift from openly gay Army Secretary Eric Fanning to Trump’s choice, Mark Green, who has called being transgender “a disease;” and new Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who has been a vocal opponent of LGBT rights for years.
The leader of Chechnya has lashed out at international organizations that have strongly criticized the Russian region for reportedly persecuting and killing gays.
The respected newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported two weeks ago that gay men were being detained and beaten in Chechnya and said at least three had been killed.
Since then, international rights groups have denounced the claimed violence and asked Russia to intervene.
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said on his social media account Sunday that he had met with the region’s human rights council and proclaimed that rights have undergone a “grandiose” improvement in Muslim-majority Chechnya.
Kadyrov says international organizations are conducting a “massive information attack … using the most unworthy methods, reality is distorted, attempts are being made to blacken our society, lifestyle, traditions and customs.”
Kadyrov has also declared that the allegations can’t possibly be true because there really aren’t any gay people in Chechnya – “If such people existed in Chechnya, law enforcement would not have to worry about them since their own relatives would have sent them to where they could never return.”
Headlining the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this weekend, Lady Gaga (the first female headliner at the arts and music festival since Bjork in 2007) surprised the crowd by premiering a new single, “The Cure.”
If I can’t find the cure, I’ll fix you with my love No matter what you do, I’ll fix you with my love And if you say you’re okay, I’m going to heal you anyway Promise I’ll always be there, promise I’ll be the cure
As she closed her 18 song set, Gaga announced the song is her new single, now available on all digital download sites.
And the “little monsters” go wild!
It is, of course, the number one single on iTunes right now 🙂
