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News Round-Up: December 23, 2016

The sexy gay stars of Netflix’s Sense8

Some news items you may have missed:

• The special two hour Christmas episode of the acclaimed Netflix series Sense8 is now available! Go watch now! I understand the creators heard loud and clear how much we all loved the sensual spa scene in the first season’s episode 

 • The North Carolina NAACP will call for a national economic boycott after the Republican-led state legislature reneged on a deal to repeal it’s hate law, HB2.

• Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker has given her blessing for a third big screen installment of the popular HBO series.

• An appeals court has overturned former student-athlete Michael L. Johnson’s conviction for infecting a sexual partner with HIV.

• Expect Donald Trump to express his outrage over the United States abstaining from a vote on the United Nations resolution condemning Israeli settlement construction, which by the way has been the position of every president since Reagan.

• Do not miss the new film adaptation of the late August Wilson’s Pulitzer-winning play Fences, directed by and starring Denzel Washington. I hear Viola Davis’ portrayal of his steadfast wife, Rose, is practically a shoe-in for the Oscar. Washington and Davis are both nominated for Golden Globes. In wide release Christmas Day.

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Rockettes Now Told Performing At Trump Inauguration Is ‘Voluntary’

It’s been in the headlines now for several days that the Trump transition team is finding it difficult to secure world-class talent to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration.

But yesterday it was announced that the Radio City Rockettes have agreed to appear. Who doesn’t love the Rockets?

A snag appeared though as BroadwayWorld obtained an email sent from the American Guild of Variety Artists to Rockette members as a response to the announcement that some Rockettes did not want to participate in the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. The email read:

“We have received an email from a Rockette expressing concern about getting “involved in a dangerous political climate” but I must remind you that you are all employees, and as a company, Mr. Dolan obviously wants The Rockettes to be represented at our country’s Presidential inauguration, as they were in 2001 & 2005. Any talk of boycotting this event is invalid, I’m afraid.”

“We have been made aware of what is going on Facebook and other social media, however, this does not change anything unless Radio City has a change of heart. The ranting of the public is just that, ranting. Everyone has a right to an opinion, but this does not change your employment status for those who are full time.”

“This has nothing to do with anyone’s political leanings (including AGVA’s), it has to do with your best performance for your employer, period. I will reiterate that if Hillary Clinton was the President-elect, nothing would be different, and there would probably be those who would not want to be involved because of her. It is a job, and all of you should consider it an honor, no matter who is being sworn in. The election is over and this country will not survive if it remains divided.”

“Everyone is entitled to her own political beliefs, but there is no room for this in the workplace.”

The email concluded in bolded, underlined font: “If you are not full time, you do not have to sign up to do this work. If you are full time, you are obligated. Doing the best performance to reflect an American Institution which has been here for over 90 years is your job. I hope this pulls into focus the bottom line on this work.”

After what must have been a LOT of squabbling at Radio City, BroadwayWorld has updated it’s story to include this statement from Madison Square Garden:

“The Radio City Rockettes are proud to participate in the 58th Presidential Inaugural.”

“For a Rockette to be considered for an event, they must voluntarily sign up and are never told they have to perform at a particular event, including the inaugural. It is always their choice.”

“In fact, for the coming inauguration, we had more Rockettes request to participate than we have slots available. We eagerly await the inaugural celebrations.”

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Short Film: “Understanding”

Beautiful short film, Understanding, from director Terry Rayment, shot by cinematographer Kate Arizmendi, on the power of communication and acceptance.

From the YouTube description:

Director Terry Rayment’s 35mm film “Understanding” poignantly depicts the transformational power of love and happiness. Cinematographer Kate Arizmendi captured all of the emotions beautifully on KODAK VISION3 500T 5219.

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Trump On Nuclear Proliferation: “Let It Be An Arms Race”

President-elect Donald Trump

The world is completely abuzz about President-elect Donald Trump’s comments and tweets telling the world that 40 years of work to reduce nuclear weapons in the world is about to go out the window.

From Politico:

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday morning escalated his calls for a stronger U.S. nuclear arsenal, saying he was fine with an “arms race” if it puts the U.S. in a stronger position against foreign adversaries.

“Let it be an arms race … we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all,” Trump told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” during an off-air conversation on Friday.

The attempt at a clarification came after Trump alarmed some with a vague tweet on Thursday that said, “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.”

The tweet, which threatened to upend longstanding U.S. nonproliferation policy, followed comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who called on his country to “strengthen” its nuclear forces.

“We need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defense systems,” he said, according to multiple news reports.

CNBC adds:

Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said in several television interviews on Friday that there would not be an arms race because the president-elect would ensure that other countries trying to step up their nuclear capabilities, such as Russia and China, would decide not to do so.

“He’s going to ensure that other countries get the message that he’s not going to sit back and allow that,” Spicer told NBC. “And what’s going to happen is they will come to their senses, and we will all be just fine.”

Asked about the tweet, Trump spokesman Jason Miller later said Trump was “referring to the threat of nuclear proliferation and the critical need to prevent it — particularly to and among terrorist organizations and unstable and rogue regimes.”

If Trump and Putin both want to expand nuclear weapons, that would effectively end arms control efforts underway since the Nixon administration, said Joe Cirincione, president of Ploughshares Fund, a foundation that works to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons.

“This is how arms races begin — with a battle of words,” Cirincione said, urging Trump, a real estate mogul, to “make the biggest deal of his life” and negotiate cuts to the nuclear arsenal with Russia.

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Trump Names Kellyanne Conway ‘Counselor To The President,’ Sean Spicer Tapped For Press Secretary

Kellyanne Conway

Via The Hollywood Reporter:

President-elect Donald Trump picked his trusted adviser Kellyanne Conway to serve as counselor to the president and named Sean Spicer as press secretary on Thursday.

Conway, who is described as “the Trump whisperer,” has been serving as a senior member of Trump’s transition team after successfully running his presidential campaign as campaign manager. She became Trump’s third campaign manager after Trump won the Republican nomination and is the first female campaign manager of either major party to win a presidential general election.

Conway will be the highest-ranking female in Trump’s White House. In her position, she will continue her role as a close adviser to the president and will work with senior leadership to effectively communicate and execute the administration’s legislative priorities and actions, according to the statement.

Later on Thursday, Trump also announced the senior members of his communications team, naming Spicer press secretary, Hope Hicks, who has served as his spokeswoman, as director of strategic communications, Jason Miller as director of communications and Dan Scavino as director of social media.

“Sean, Hope, Jason and Dan have been key members of my team during the campaign and transition,” said Trump in a statement. “I am excited they will be leading the team that will communicate my agenda that will Make America Great Again.”

Spicer has served as chief strategist and communications director for the Republican National Committee since 2011.

According to reports, Scavino was formerly a golf caddie that Trump met on one of his golf courses.

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Tom Arnold Says He Has Tape Of Trump Using “N-Word” And “C-Word”

Comedian Tom Arnold recently revealed that he has a video of “outtakes” from The Apprentice that shows Donald Trump casually using extremely offensive language.

In a radio interview on Monday, Arnold said, “I have the outtakes to The Apprentice where he says every bad thing ever, every offensive, racist thing ever. It was him sitting in that chair saying the N-word, saying the C-word, calling his son a retard, just being so mean to his own children.”

Arnold says hundreds of people received the “outtakes” that was edited by two editors and an associate producer from the show and shared as a holiday gag reel. He didn’t release the tape because he felt the three employees livelihoods would be threatened.

From Raw Story:

On Twitter Wednesday, Arnold claimed to have received a voicemail from someone in Trump’s camp threatening him with a defamation suit over his claims that he has tapes of Trump spewing racial slurs and calling his own son a “retard.”

Rather than being intimidated by this threat, however, Arnold welcomed it as an opportunity for the entire country to see how Trump has treated people over the years.

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North Carolina State Republicans Renege On Deal To Repeal Hate Law HB2

The North Carolina Republican-controlled legislature promised to repeal the state’s hate law, HB2, IF the city council of Charlotte would first repeal their local LGBT protections ordinance. But after the city of Charlotte went first in this game of chicken, the GOP lawmakers reneged on the deal.

H.B. 2 bans transgender people from accessing restrooms and public facilities that align with their gender identity, and prevents local municipalities from passing nondiscrimination protections to LGBT people.

A special session was called Wednesday to close the deal on repealing HB2 which has had an enormous economic backlash on the state as businesses have pulled out of the state costing over $600 million in lost revenue.

Talking Points Memo details how it all went down:

The compromise touted by both Cooper and outgoing GOP Gov. Pat McCrory called for Charlotte to do away with its ordinance. In exchange, lawmakers would undo the LGBT law.

But many conservatives never wanted to repeal the law and GOP lawmakers cried foul when Charlotte leaders initially left part of the city’s ordinance in place. When the Senate bill called for a months-long ban on cities passing similar ordinances, Democrats said Republicans were going back on their promise.

Senate leader Phil Berger, a Republican, blamed Cooper and the Democratic-controlled Charlotte City Council for sinking the repeal effort.

Berger said Charlotte officials misled lawmakers into thinking they had fully repealed their ordinance Monday. The council met again Wednesday morning to scrap the rest of local law.

“I’m sorry folks, I don’t trust them, and our folks don’t trust them. There’s no reason to trust them,” Berger said after his chamber adjourned.

The Human Rights Campaign issued this statement:

“Today, the public trust has been betrayed once again. Lawmakers sent a clear message: North Carolina remains closed for business,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “It’s been 273 days since Republican state lawmakers passed the hateful HB2 law, and they have resisted fixing the mess they created every step of the way. Even after Charlotte responded to the GOP leadership’s loathsome demand to repeal common sense protections that exist in more than 100 cities, Senator Berger and Speaker Moore failed to make good on the ‘deal’ they brokered with Governor-elect Cooper to fully repeal HB2. Their shameful actions and broken promises subject LGBTQ North Carolinians to state-mandated discrimination, contribute to a heightened environment of harassment and violence, and will continue the significant harm done to the state’s reputation and economy. It’s clear today that the GOP leadership’s cruelty towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and particularly transgender North Carolinians knows no bounds. For our part, we will continue to fight to defeat all of HB2 and protect North Carolinians no matter what it takes.”

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Repeal of North Carolina Hate Law Unsure At This Time

(image via WRAL)

Although GOP state lawmakers had promised to repeal their divisive hate law HB2 if the city of Charlotte would first repeal their local ordinance giving LGBTs protections, it’s not sure how things will shake out.

Charlotte fulfilled their side of the bargain, but Republican lawmakers, now in a special session, are foot dragging.

From the Charlotte Observer:

Minutes into the House session, Rep. Jeff Collins of Nash County rose to declare the session unconstitutional and decried the “extraordinary hubris” of Charlotte City Council in prompting it. Two other members joined him.

Rep. Michael Speciale of New Bern moved that the session be immediately adjourned. He was ruled out of order. Sen. Tommy Tucker, a Republican from Waxhaw, filed a resolution to adjourn the session.

By 11 a.m., the House had gone into a recess that was later extended to 1 p.m. without taking up HB2. House Republicans gathered in caucus. A growing group of protesters gathered outside the chamber.

The Charlotte Chamber, apparently alarmed by the turn of events, sent out a urgent call to action for the public to call legislators.

“This morning the Charlotte City Council approved a full and clean repeal of their non-discrimination ordinance that led to the state’s approval of HB2, a bill that has caused serious economic damage to our economy and to the perception of our state,” the chamber said. “The legislature is in special session at this moment. It is not known if there are enough votes to repeal.”

As House Republicans mulled their next move, Sen. Jeff Jackson, a Charlotte Democrat, filed his own HB2 repeal bill. Sen. Mike Woodard, a Republican from Durham, and Sen. Terry Van Duyn, a Democrat from Asheville, signed on as co-sponsors.

Stay tuned.

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Trump Sons Offer Access To President Trump For $1 Million “Donation”

Remember when Donald Trump accused Hillary Clinton of “selling access” to the government via donations to the Clinton Foundation? Which by the way never happened…

Check out the Trump situation:

First, Ivanka Trump tried to market her $10K bracelet thanks to her wearing it on 60 Minutes.

Now, the Trump boys, Eric and Don Jr., are literally selling access to soon-to-be President Trump.

Via Mediaite:

Donald Trump‘s adult sons are apparently behind a new nonprofit organization that’s offering access to the president elect – if you’re willing to pay up. The Center for Public Integrity reports that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are board members for the Texas-based Opening Day Foundation, which will be holding an event in D.C. on the day after Trump’s inauguration ceremony.

In the meantime, Opening Day is accepting donations that will go to unnamed “conservation” charities, and big donors will be rewarded with some high-value prizes.

According to a brochure published by TMZ, the organization’s biggest donors will be able to snag rewards like inauguration tickets, autographed guitars, and hunting trips with the president-elect’s children. The package offers go up to $1 million and the high-level perks include access to a “private reception and photo opportunity” with Trump.

Click image to enlarge

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Cry Baby Watch: Donald Trump Still Butt Hurt Over Popular Vote Loss

Without a doubt, this man’s ego will be his downfall.

He just can’t stop being defensive. Apparently, he’s still stung by the fact that he lost the popular vote by almost 3 million.

And the fact that his win is now tainted by the fact that the Russian government intervened to help him.

Please note the “if that is possible” about his win. Yeah, it’s possible to much better than his 306 electoral college win. Take a look at both of President Obama’s two victories for the White House, for example.