LGBTQ news and entertainment
Did someone say, “National Puppy Day?”
How could I not post a pic of my handsome bestie – Bruno the wonder dog. I call this his “headshot.”
This was when the Brun was about one year old. We’re about to celebrate his 15th b-day this June.
Hope you all give a scratch and pet and treat to the puppy nearest to you.
With a full trailer promised for Saturday, Warner Brothers started sharing teases for the upcoming Justice League flick.
Via Deadline:
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is set for a November 17 release. In addition to Affleck and Momoa, the DC superhero mash-up stars Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg, with Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Amber Heard (Mera), Jeremy Irons (Alfred) and J.K. Simmons (Commissioner Gordon), with Willem Dafoe, among many others, also appearing. The script is by Chris Terrio.
Here’s the official logline: Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
So far, we’ve had quickies for Jason Momoa’s “Aquaman” and Ben Affleck’s “Batman.”
Watch below as I geek out 🙂
Hugh Jackman’s latest movie, Logan, is still raking in the cash at the box office having grossed $525 million worldwide thus far.
The film has the trilogy’s first R rating, but according to a 2009 Jackman interview with Howard Stern, X-Men Origins: Wolverine might have gotten there first if not for some digital blurring.
In the interview, Stern asks Jackman if he has any issues appearing nude on film. Jackman indicated “no” saying he was offered coverage, but the movie set was “just like college.”
Jackman went through shooting scenes fully naked which were eventually addressed by digital magic. Obviously, none of the full frontal footage made it into the film.
But, at the wrap party, Jackman got a surprise gift from the crew.
“When we finished the film, my wrap gift from the director [Gavin Hood] was a bag which had all the film cut off with my dick in it, ” Jackman said. “So, I got frames of film, and I am looking, going, ‘OK, hello!'”
Of course, Stern being Stern, he had to ask about hunky Hugh’s endowment. Said Jackman, “It’s pretty good, I think. I’m fine.”
|
| Speaker of the House Paul Ryan |
Lacking the necessary votes to pass the proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act, today’s vote on the American Health Care Act has been cancelled by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
Earlier today, White House press secretary Sean Spicer declared with confidence there was no need for a “Plan B” because the legislation would pass tonight.
Q: Is there a backup plan if the health bill doesn’t pass tonight?Spicer: “No. It’s gonna pass. So that’s it.” pic.twitter.com/fUo8BBnBPU
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 23, 2017
Pretty much anytime President Trump uses the phrase, “Most people don’t even know…,” you can bet it’s information he just found out.
While speaking about President Lincoln at a rally earlier this week, Trump said “Most people don’t even know he was a Republican, right? Does anyone know?…”
I think “most people” know the Republican party is called “the party of Lincoln.”
Watch below:
Trump on Abraham Lincoln: “Most people don’t even know he was a Republican, right? Does anyone know?”(GOP is “the party of Lincoln”) pic.twitter.com/YZaEq9YK71
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 22, 2017
|
| Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe |
Breaking the record for most vetoes by a Virginia governor, Gov. Terry McAuliffe has torpedoed two “religious freedom” bills passed by the Republican-led legislature.
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
McAuliffe, a Democrat in the last year of his four-year term, vetoed the bills during a live radio appearance on Washington’s WTOP, calling them “another attempt to “stigmatize” LGBT Virginians.
“You already have religious protection. Why would you push this bill out that does absolute nothing?,” McAuliffe said. “All you’re doing is trying to divide people. And I”m just not going to tolerate it.”
The vetoes of House Bill 2025 and Senate Bill 1324 are McAuliffe’s 90th and 91st, pushing McAliffe past the previous 90-veto record set by former Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore.
McAuliffe had already vetoed bills this year would legalize switchblades for some purposes, defund Planned Parenthood, allow homeschooled students to play on public-school sports teams, let military members under 21 apply for concealed handgun permits and add photo ID requirements for absentee ballots.
Democrats derided the two bills as anti-LGBT and discriminatory while Republicans framed the legislation as protecting “religious freedoms.”
Language in the bills allowed individuals the right to refuse to participate in a same-sex marriage based on “sincerely held religious belief” or “moral conviction.” This right already exists in the First Amendment.
Lacking veto-proof majorities, Republicans have not been able to override any of McAuliffe’s 91 vetoes.
Equality Virginia Executive Director James Parrish issued a statement of support for the veto:
“Equality Virginia applauds Governor McAuliffe for fulfilling his promise to veto this discriminatory and destructive bill. We recognize that religion is a vital part of many Virginians’ daily lives, but HB 2025 does not protect religious liberty. Instead, it provides a license to discriminate against loving LGBTQ families; furthermore, its broad and vague definition of ‘person’ would set a dangerous precedent for discriminatory individuals and groups to be protected by our religious freedom laws.”
As President Trump claims he is “somewhat vindicated” in his claims that President Obama ordered a wire tap on the phones at Trump Tower, Rep. Adam Schiff (ranking member of the House Intelligence committee) got a bit sassy today trolling the prez with the above tweet.
FTW!
According to The New York Post, a theater patron fell ill during the first act of the already-blockbuster Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler.
But the theater-goer refused to leave. Check this out 🙂
At the Bette Midler show — which has instantly become Broadway’s hottest ticket, raking in $1.4 million in its first five performances — a source told us, “Around halfway through the first act,” an audience member visiting from LA “started to feel dizzy and made his way to the aisle. But he lost consciousness and collapsed before the end of his row.”
The show was halted, and paramedics were called and took him to the lobby. “When he regained consciousness, they checked his vitals and insisted he should go straight to the hospital,” the source said. The guy refused, exclaiming, “I’d sooner die than miss Act 2!” Producer Scott Rudin even invited him to come see the show again.
I’ve had several friends who have seen the show and raved. The production already has a $40 million advance sale.
Assuming Bette doesn’t do more than a year – and that the show is going to be a smash hit – who could possibly replace with equal star power?
In response to reports from major networks that the FBI has found credible information connecting Trump associates with Russian operatives who may have leaked stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee last summer, President Trump took to Twitter to lambast the “totally biased and fake news:”
Just watched the totally biased and fake news reports of the so-called Russia story on NBC and ABC. Such dishonesty!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2017
While Trump singles out NBC and ABC, I’ve seen the same story on several other networks including CNN and MSNBC.
|
| Former Gov. Mike Huckabee |
Here’s an unexpected Republican plea to President Trump on behalf of saving the National Endowment for the Arts, which Trump has proposed eliminating entirely.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is an amateur musician himself, pens this op-ed for the Washington Post in support of the arts program that makes up .004 percent of the federal budget.
Huckabee doesn’t miss his chance along the way to take a swipe at “high-dollar Hollywood stars,” though.
An excerpt:
Donald Trump wasn’t my first choice for president. I was. But he was my second choice, and I’m proud that I supported him. In tackling the federal budget, he faces a debt that has doubled to $20 trillion in the past eight years. No doubt a chainsaw seems more appropriate to the task at hand than a carving knife, but I would urge my president and friend to hold back from one tiny area of the budget whose elimination would cost far more than it would save.
Funding for the National Endowment for the Arts might seem expendable — especially given how often celebrity artists insult and even threaten the president. But such hateful high-dollar Hollywood and music-industry stars don’t receive anything from the NEA, and they shouldn’t. Not because of their insufferable political whining, but because they get rich selling their talents to the highest bidder in the private sector. I have zero interest in spending a dime of tax money to prop up those who hate the president and the tens of millions who elected him.
I do care greatly about the real recipients of endowment funds: the kids in poverty for whom NEA programs may be their only chance to learn to play an instrument, test-drive their God-given creativity and develop a passion for those things that civilize and humanize us all. They’re the reason we should stop and recognize that this line item accounting for just 0.004 percent of the federal budget is not what’s breaking the bank.
Participation in the arts leads to higher grade-point averages and SAT scores, as well as improvements in math skills and spatial reasoning. Do we want students who are less likely to drop out of school and more likely to have academic success, particularly in math and science? Music and art deliver, especially for students likely to get lost in an education assembly line that can be more Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” than about creative thinking and problem solving. Creativity finds cures for diseases, creates companies such as Apple and Microsoft and, above all, makes our culture more livable.
Huckabee closes with the admission that, while he’s all for saving federal dollars and cutting government waste, “I’m not for cutting and killing the hope and help that come from creativity.”