LGBTQ news and entertainment
In a rare public statement since the presidential election, Hillary Clinton expressed her support for those opposed to President Trump’s ill-conceived executive order banning immigration from Muslim-majority nations.
“I stand with the people gathered across our country tonight defending our values & our Constitution. This is not who we are.”
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway caused a stir on Twitter today as she crowed about the response to President Trump’s executive order banning immigrants from 7 Muslim-majority nations.
“Get used to it. @POTUS is a man of action and impact. Promises made, promises kept. Shock to the system. And he’s just getting started.”
.@KellyannePolls: “I’m happy and I’m proud that we elected a president in @realDonaldTrump who actually made good on his promises.” pic.twitter.com/GgnaNvlw5R— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 28, 2017
Backlash to the executive order has already begun as the Iranian foreign ministry that says Iran will resort to “counteraction” to Trump’s executive order.
“Iran, to defend the dignity of the great Iranian nation, will implement the principle of reciprocity until the removal of the insulting restriction against Iranian nationals,” the statement reads. “It will apply corresponding legal, consular and political actions.”
Canadian Prime Minister welcomed refugees, including those now blocked from the US:
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017
And then, there’s the rest of the Twitterverse:
@KellyannePolls This is a death sentence for refugees who need our help. Shame on you. Shame on your boss. Shame on us as a nation.— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) January 28, 2017
@TRafaelCimino @KellyannePolls @POTUS if only we could have an alternate president to go with the alternate facts— leeann((( simons))) (@Nutritionprof1) January 28, 2017
@KellyannePolls @POTUS How do you sleep at night? It doesn’t bother you to glorify closing our borders to the people who need us most?— Dave Hogg 📎 (@Stareagle) January 28, 2017
@KellyannePolls When we send refugees back and they die, their blood will be on your hands. You will not be forgiven.— Steve Zorowitz (@szorowitz) January 28, 2017
Reuters has confirmed with the Trump administration that current green card holders (legal permanent U.S. residents) will be affected by President Trump’s newly signed executive order banning folks from seven Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and Africa:
People holding so-called green cards, making them legal permanent U.S. residents, are included in President Donald Trump’s executive action temporarily barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, a Department of Homeland security spokeswoman said on Saturday.
“It will bar green card holders,” Gillian Christensen, acting Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, said in an email.
UPDATE: Green card holders from seven countries in Trump’s ban have to be cleared in to U.S. on case-by-case basis – administration official— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) January 28, 2017
President Trump signed on Friday an executive order which bans citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East from entering the United States for 90 days, and puts in place an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees.
From the New York Times:
The executive order suspends the entry of refugees into the United States for 120 days and directs officials to determine additional screening ”to ensure that those approved for refugee admission do not pose a threat to the security and welfare of the United States.”
The order also stops the admission of refugees from Syria indefinitely, and bars entry into the United States for 90 days from seven predominantly Muslim countries linked to concerns about terrorism. Those countries are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
Announcing his “extreme vetting” plan, the president invoked the specter of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Most of the 19 hijackers on the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pa., were from Saudi Arabia. The rest were from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Lebanon. None of those countries are on Mr. Trump’s visa ban list.
Human rights activists roundly condemned Mr. Trump’s actions, describing them as officially sanctioned religious persecution dressed up to look like an effort to make the United States safer.
Just to recap:
Banned by Trump’s executive order: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia & Yemen
Hijackers on 9/11 were from: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE & Lebanon
So, while Trump invokes the history of 9/11, we aren’t banning folks from the countries our attackers came from…?
Hint: Bloomberg News notes that Donald Trump has business dealings in several of the non-banned countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and UAE.
Remind me again how Trump doesn’t have conflicts of interest.
It’s worth noting that a study of terrorist attacks on US soil between 1975 and 2015 conducted by the conservative-leaning Cato Institute concluded foreign nationals from the seven countries listed in the president’s executive order have killed zero Americans.
According to Reuters, even folks who have been granted “green cards,” making them permanent legal U.S. residents, will be affected by the ban if they are originally from one of the seven countries listed. If currently traveling outside the U.S., those folks from the banned countries – even with green cards – will not be able to get back home now.
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”Except you. Not you. #MuslimBan pic.twitter.com/UN4G7v1roG
— Greg Hogben (@MyDaughtersArmy) January 28, 2017
From super-smart guy Matt Baume (via Huffington Post):
If the ACA is repealed, as Republicans are trying to do, not only would 32 million people lose health care, according to the Congressional Budget Office, but LGBTs would be disproportionately affected. And “disproportionately affected” is a phrase which here means “get sick and die.”
For example, HIV treatment can cost thousands of dollars per month. Insurance companies that don’t want to pay for that treatment could just refuse to cover all gay people on the basis that gay men are more likely to be HIV positive. Or they could raise monthly premiums just for gays. Or they could create a lifetime cap, so you pay into their system and then as soon as you need expensive treatment, they drop you. All this was legal until the ACA banned it.
Last week, I reported on newly introduced legislation in Wyoming titled “The Government Non-discrimination Act” that would legalize the right to discriminate against LGBTs by anyone who declared a “deeply held religious belief.”
At the time, the ACLU of Wyoming protested, issuing a statement which read in part, “The Government Discrimination Act’s effects would be significant and immediate. Laramie’s Non-Discrimination Ordinance would be unenforceable, and potentially even illegal. No other city would be allowed to enact non-discrimination protections. County clerks would be allowed to deny same-sex couples a marriage license, and would be able to do so without consequence.”
Today, House Bill 135 was recalled by the bill’s sponsors.
From The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle:
The action was in order to “give Wyoming citizens time for more thorough consideration,” the bill’s sponsors said in a statement emailed to media members Thursday afternoon. Supporters of House Bill 135 said it would protect the “free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions,” while critics said it would let people use those beliefs to discriminate against LGBT people.
“The intention of this bill has always been to hold Wyoming to the highest standard in terms of equal protection under the law,” Rep. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle [photo], said in a news release. “The religious freedoms guaranteed to each and every one of us are the bedrock on which our Constitution is founded. When these unalienable rights are threatened, so too is every other constitutional right we enjoy.”
“I’m overjoyed,” said Sara Burlingame of Wyoming Equality, a group that advocates for LGBT people. “The vast majority of folks saw this bill for what it was and rejected it outright.” Burlingame said the bill would have allowed people, including government officials, to refuse service to LGBT people based on religious beliefs. She said the bill would have also been an “economic disaster” for Wyoming.
Swedish alt-pop band Urban Cone, recently signed to Interscope Records, drops their new single “Old School” today.
Via press release:
Lyrically “Old School,” calls out the lack of romance among young people in today’s society, says vocalist/bassist Emil Gustafsson.
“There are a lot of dating apps and it’s all about hooking up as quickly as possible. We wanted to make a song that said, ‘Let’s do it old school, like the old days.’
When you meet a girl you’re interested in, call her on the phone. Ask her for a date. Give her flowers. Take her on a drive; something more than just swiping on a screen. Technology makes it so simple that it cuts out the romantic feeling of getting to know someone.”
The single, flavored with body bouncing hip-hop beats and funky guitars, is now available for streaming and download via all digital outlets.
More info on Urban Cone at their official website. You check out “Old School” below:
During an appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show last night, Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota announced all of the Democrats on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will vote against confirming Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary, billionaire Betsy DeVos.
From ThinkProgress:
Unlike [Dr. Ben] Carson, who avoided disagreeing with senators during [his] confirmation, DeVos played it less safe and showed her lack of knowledge on education policy in a variety of areas. DeVos was not aware of a federal law protecting the rights of students with disabilities, did not appear to understand a question about measuring school quality, and suggested that schools needed guns to protect students from grizzly bears.
Her grizzly bear comment received the most attention, but DeVos also refused to say she would enforce 2011 guidance that uses a preponderance of evidence standard in investigations of campus sexual assault. This standard allows a disciplinary panel to make a decision based on which party’s evidence has greater weight rather than requiring clear and convincing evidence. Advocates for campus sexual assault survivors have long supported the guidance.
DeVos also avoided making detailed remarks about LGBTQ rights during the hearing. This week, DeVos said she supports same-sex marriage. In 1999, DeVos and her husband gave $275,000 to Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian non-profit organization which believes in gay conversion therapy, a harmful practice, but haven’t given money to the organization since. DeVos’ refusal to say she would support the 2011 guidance on campus rape — as well as her donations to a group that opposes the guidance— would seriously affect LGBTQ people. LGBTQ students are disproportionately the victims of campus sexual violence and harassment.
DeVos’ confirmation process is also different from Carson’s in the respect that well-organized national teachers unions fiercely oppose her. DeVos’ support of vouchers for private schools and for the expansion of charter schools has incensed public school teachers, who don’t want to see schools lose federal funding. During her hearing, DeVos dodged a question to vow that she wouldn’t take a cent from public schools. Last week, teachers and their allies protested against her nomination by gathering in front of schools in over 200 cities.
Check out the new Super Bowl commercial for bald and buff “Mr. Clean,” in a white tee and tight jeans. Clearly MC never skips squat day at the gym.
This should brighten your Friday 🙂
The award winning LGBT documentary, The Freedom To Marry, gets a limited release in theaters with screenings in New York (March 3rd at the Village East) and in Los Angeles March 10th (at the Laemmle Monica).
The film follows the decades long work of true LGBT heroes Evan Wolfson (Founder/President, Freedom to Marry), Mary Bonauto (Civil Rights Attorney, GLAD) and Marc Solomon (National Campaign Director, Freedom to Marry).
Via press release:
One of the most surprising things about the same sex marriage movement is that it was carefully planned and orchestrated over decades. THE FREEDOM TO MARRY is an intimate and epic documentary that goes behind-the-scenes to reveal the inner workings and key players of this historic civil rights battle. This is a riveting ride alongside Evan Wolfson, the man known as architect of the movement, civil rights attorney Mary Bonauto, and their colleagues as they wage their climactic battle before the United States Supreme Court.
THE FREEDOM TO MARRY offers perspective not just on one movement’s history – but on how regular people can only fight back, even against incredible odds. This is a unique and timely story of how beleaguered underdogs actually can win.
More info about the film at the official website here, and you can watch the trailer below: