LGBTQ news and entertainment
With choreography by Al Blackstone, JT and Robert dance a magical “Mr. Bojangles” on Season 13 of So You Think You Can Dance.
Seriously, look at JT’s technique – the line of his leg, the stretch of his arms in a jump, his musicality – he’s really quite awesome. He’s going to be dangerous on the dance floor when he grows up 🙂
Donald Trump’s Communication’s guy, Jason Miller, shares the news that Sean Hannity’s show has, basically, become an unofficial arm of the Trump campaign.
“Today, Mr. Trump is in Texas for two large fundraisers and then he will be taping an important town hall on border security and crimes committed by illegal aliens that will air nationally over two nights on Fox News’ Hannity.”
“Over two nights on Fox News’ Hannity???”
Meanwhile, the Trumpster has cancelled other events scheduled for this week with no explanation.
#ManyPeopleAreSaying there’s a health issue involved. Not me, of course, but many people.
Many people…
A reminder that we live in a world that still has a way to go when it comes to LGBT acceptance.
Out soccer player Robbie Rogers wrote on his Facebook page last night about an opposing player – for the first time since he became the first openly gay professional athlete in the U.S. – calling him “queer,” and the impact it had on him.
From Robbie’s Facebook page:
“Shit Off My Chest: 4 years later.”
After being out injured for two months with an Achilles surgery I finally made my return last night.
In the heat of the last fifteen minutes of the game a player from the opposing team called me a “queer” repeatedly. To be honest my initial reaction was one of shock. This is my fourth season back in the MLS and I’ve yet to hear another player use that or any other gay slur during a game. I quickly became enraged, I spent the drive home wishing I had channeled my inner Zidane and punched or head-butted this player even though I knew punching this person wouldn’t have helped either of us, my team, or the greater cause of advancing equality in sports. I went to bed upset last night. Angry at this player and and his ignorance. Angry at myself for not doing more in the moment. Sad the we still live in a time where this kind of intolerance still exists in my sport and elsewhere. And if I’m being honest, I was even a bit ashamed that a single word could make me feel, even just for a moment, all the awful feelings I felt for so many years: small, less than, wrong, and unworthy of love and respect by my family or god forbid by my teammates.
But it was just for a moment.
Minutes later my head was back in the game. And this morning even most of the anger has faded and the predominant emotions left are just love and gratitude. I’m happy that I practiced restraint worthy of my sport. I’m thankful for the many players on my team and even the opposing one who apologized to me for one man’s actions. Today, I woke up grateful to work in organization filled with so many players and coaches who have worked hard to practice tolerance of everyone and to help change a culture.
But mostly I’m proud of myself. I am proud more than ever that I had the courage to come out as a queer man. I feel so fortunate to have gotten to share my story with others and to have gotten to play this sport I love so much as an openly gay person. I am, more than ever, thankful to have teammates and a family that love and support me for the son, brother, partner, father and queer player that I am.
I’m encouraging, as I did when I came out four years ago, all athletes to find the courage within themselves to come out. Listen, only you know when and how it’s best for you to live your truth and share your story, but each one of you that chooses to make this courageous step is not just vastly improving your own life but literally saving others.
xRR
Robbie continues to inspire.
I completely get Robbie’s thought that he was “ashamed that a single word” could affect him so strongly. I think most gay men still have that knee-jerk reaction when we hear the words that taunted us in the past in today’s social landscape.
I have to say thanks to Robbie for sharing the incident and how it processed through his heart and mind.
#Winner
A federal judge has blocked President Obama’s guidelines which would allow transgender students to use the bathrooms which align with their gender identity.
From Buzzfeed:
U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth issued the order sought by Texas and 10 other states on Sunday. The states sued the Obama administration in May over its guidelines regarding accommodating transgender students in restrooms and facilities at public schools.
The 11 states had asked O’Connor to suspend Obama’s policies — largely an interpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 — in a hearing held on Aug. 12.
In his 38-page order, O’Connor ruled that the states had standing to bring their lawsuit because the administration’s “Guidelines are clearly designed to target [their] conduct.”
The court found that the Obama administration’s actions likely violate the Administrative Procedure Act for failing to follow proper notice and comment procedures under the law because, the court found, the policies are “legislative and substantive.” Additionally, the court found that, under the text of the law, the Obama administration’s interpretation is incorrect — a ruling that contradicts an earlier decision from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in a related case challenging a Virginia school district’s policies.
In granting the states’ request, O’Connor issued a nationwide injunction of the guidance, writing that “while this injunction remains in place, [the Obama administration is] enjoined from initiating, continuing, or concluding any investigation based on [its] interpretation that the definition of sex includes gender identity in Title IX’s prohibition against discrimination on the basis of sex.”
The Human Rights Campaign issued this statement:
“Judge O’Connor’s decision to bar the Department of Justice from enforcing this important guidance puts thousands of transgender students at even greater risk of marginalization, harassment, and discrimination as they return to school this fall,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow.
“All students, regardless of their gender identity, deserve to be able to learn in an environment free from discrimination. Despite this judge’s decision, schools are not barred from following the federal guidance, and school administrators still have a responsibility to ensure that the civil rights of all students are respected and that transgender students have access to facilities consistent with their gender identity.
“As lawsuits on the scope of Title IX proceed, we believe that justice will prevail as courts continue to recognize that discrimination against transgender students is a form of sex discrimination.”
A look into the social media accounts of 50 present and former Donald Trump staffers by the Associated Press reveals numerous racist and anti-Muslim posts including Muslims being unfit to be U.S. citizens, mocking Mexican accents, black on white violence and more inflammatory content.
The AP examined the social media feeds of more than 50 current and former campaign employees who helped propel Trump through the primary elections. The campaign has employed a mix of veteran political operatives and outsiders. Most come across as dedicated, enthusiastic partisans, but at least seven expressed views that were overtly racially charged, supportive of violent actions or broadly hostile to Muslims.
A graphic designer for Trump’s advance team approvingly posted video of a black man eating fried chicken and criticizing fellow blacks for ignorance, irresponsibility and having too many children. A Trump field organizer in Virginia declared that Muslims were seeking to impose Sharia law in America and that “those who understand Islam for what it is are gearing up for the fight.”
The AP’s findings come at a time when Trump is showing new interest in appealing to minority voters, insisting he will be fair in dealing with the 11 million people in the U.S. illegally and explicitly pitching himself to African-Americans, saying “what do you have to lose?”
The AP also reviewed the public social media accounts of more than three dozen employees of Hillary Clinton’s far larger campaign staff and found nothing as inflammatory. One staffer said Trump’s style of speaking reminded him of a roommate who had taken too many hallucinogenic mushrooms. AP also reviewed images attached to more than 19,000 stolen internal emails from the Democratic National Committee for racially or religiously inflammatory memes, finding nothing of note.
While the AP has sent several requests for comment on the social media posts over the past month, no response has been forthcoming.
Donald Trump’s newly installed campaign manager caught folks off-guard last week when she proclaimed that he “doesn’t hurl personal insults.”
As Think Progress reports, though, it only took hours for the Trumpster to fire off a few new attacks on choice targets in the media.
Just a few hours after Conway’s comments, however, Trump took to Twitter to call television personality Donny Deutsch a “big failure.” And on Monday morning, Trump implied that MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski were having a relationship, calling Brzezinski “neurotic” and unintelligent, and referred to former Rep. Anthony Weiner as a “pervert sleaze.”
Twitter was quick to notice:
The difference between Sunday mornings and Monday mornings pic.twitter.com/Huuu1Gc6Qf— Rebecca Sinderbrand (@sinderbrand) August 22, 2016
Trump, who doesn’t hurl personal insults, calls Anthony Weiner a “pervert sleaze” on @foxandfriends . pic.twitter.com/8wwGiD1Bpa— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) August 22, 2016
NPR’s Domenico Montanaro tweeted this completely plausible electoral college map showing Republican winning Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and still losing to Democrat Hillary Clinton.
In reality, I think Hillary will probably win those three states, but this example shows how far back Trump is in the electoral college count.
Politico reporter Marc Caputo was following a story via Twitter where Congressional candidate and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino had attacked the Naples Daily News for what he called “propaganda” in a story the paper had published about him.
Caputo atempted to clarify, via Twitter, exactly what Bongino felt was “propaganda” in the article.
From Politico:
The newspaper had reported Sunday that Bongino was “lacking” financial backing from the district, noting that only 6 percent of itemized donations came from Collier and Lee counties. Citing Federal Election Commission records, it also reported that he raised “a disproportionate amount of his money from donations of less than $200.”
Bongino asked Caputo to call him and, after a long back and forth of exchanges on Twitter, he gave his telephone number after being told the conversation would be recorded. Bongino later hung up after losing his temper and shouting “shut the fuck up! … Go fuck yourself, you piece of shit!”
The full, recorded conversation is below. While the 17 minute length might seem long for casual web surfing, I found it highly enlightening that a candidate for Congress would act out in this manner speaking to the press, especially when Caputo had expressly communicated that he was going to be recording the conversation.
Some of Bongino’s comments are captured for closed-captioning. I’ve included a few screen captures of the actual recording.
Two major sponsors for U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte have announced they will no longer be associated with Lochte in the aftermath of his “overexaggerated” version of events regarding a late night drunken spree in Rio during the recent games.
While Speedo announces they are terminating his contract, Ralph Lauren says his endorsement was only through the Rio Olympics and they will not be renewing his contract.
From ABC News:
“Speedo USA today announces the decision to end its sponsorship of Ryan Lochte. As part of this decision, Speedo USA will donate a $50,000 portion of Lochte’s fee to Save the Children, a global charity partner of Speedo USA’s parent company, for children in Brazil,” the company said in a statement.
“While we have enjoyed a winning relationship with Ryan for over a decade and he has been an important member of the Speedo team, we cannot condone behavior that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for. We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience,” the company added.
Ralph Lauren noted in its statement that it “continues to proudly sponsor the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic team and the values that its athletes embody.”
“Ralph Lauren’s endorsement agreement with Ryan Lochte was specifically in support of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and the company will not be renewing his contract,” Ryan J. Lally, the vice president of global corporate communications for the company, said in a statement.
Lochte gave a tearful apology while speaking in-depth to NBC’s Matt Lauer yesterday wherein he repeatedly stated he was taking full responsibility for his actions.
Gay or straight, these are the kinds of people that can drive me crazy.
And they actually exist – the folks who no matter what you say drop some buzz word or catch phrase that’s completely off-topic proving they are incapable of even semi-serious conversation.
My buddy Matt Rettenmund at Boy Culture made a comment on the YouTube page I agree with: that the context of the “unfunny gays” being over the top fem vs. the “normal” gay guys seems to be a kind of “fem-shaming” that I’m not a fan of.
Unfunny is one thing, stereotyping “less than masc” gay men is another.
There’s a joke here, but a point to be made as well.