Category: Uncategorized

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TMZ: Search Warrant Served On Prince’s Home

TMZ is reporting that a search warrant has been issued allowing police to search the home of recently deceased music icon Prince.

The warrant was issued Thursday in Carver County, Minnesota, allowing cops to search the home in Paisley Park Studios, where the singer lived and died. Our sources say authorities want to see if there’s evidence of drugs, correspondence, prescriptions and medical information that could help in the death investigation.

The sheriff’s office says in the request for a warrant … they want to keep the information in the warrant confidential because “premature disclosure of the details provided in the search warrant and its accompanying documents may compromise this law enforcement investigation by causing the search or related searches to be unsuccessful.”

Translation … we know authorities are interested in drugs that were prescribed by doctors and filled by pharmacies, and they don’t want evidence tampering.

The judge ordered that the sensitive documents be sealed for 6 months or until the commencement of any criminal case.

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Liberal Redneck On Haters’ Boycott Of TARGET

The “Liberal Redneck” – comedian Trae Crowder – is back with a new message for the folks signing on to boycott Target after the super store issued trans-inclusive bathroom policies for employees and customers.

I love that he calls out the so-called “American Family Association.”

To the haters: “Target would love for you to waddle your hateful ass over to Walmart. That’s where all the Duck Dynasty shit is anyway.”

I previously wrote about the Liberal Redneck here.

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Bernie Sanders Supporter George Takei Calls For Democrats To Unite Behind Hillary Clinton

TV icon and political activist George Takei posted a video to his Facebook page yesterday calling for all Democrats to unite behind Hillary Clinton as the presumptive presidential nominee after her huge primary wins on Tuesday night.

As a Bernie Sanders supporter, Takei points to the obvious delegate math saying Hillary Clinton will most likely be the nominee and we should all take a pledge to #VoteBlueNoMatterWho.

From Raw Story:

“Ultimately, we Democrats know that a bit of a tussle isn’t a bad thing — it makes us stronger. Keeps us sharp,” he said. “And really, it’s like a family squabble, where only family — those very close to us — can truly get under our skin. But remember this, too: it’s precisely because we like and respect each other that the words and criticisms sting as much as they do.”

In the video, he noted that both candidates agree on issues like womens’ reproductive health, LGBT rights advocacy, separation of church and state and supporting the Affordable Care Act. He also recalled Sanders’ statement last November that if Clinton won the general election, she would be “an infinitely better candidate and President than the Republican candidate on his best day.”

“If Bernie believes that, his supporters can, too,” Takei said.

One fan suggested Takei for veep, but he declined saying such duties wouldn’t leave him “as much time for cat memes.”

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Tennessee: Governor Signs First State Law Allowing Therapists To Turn Away LGBTs

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam today signed the first ever state law, hiding under the pretense of “religious freedom,” to allow therapists and counselors to refuse to treat clients based on “sincerely held religious principles.”

Read that – “turn away the gays.”

According to Buzzfeed‘s Dominic Holden, “House Bill 1840 provides counselors and therapists immunity from liability if they turn away a client whose goals, outcomes, or behaviors conflict with their beliefs. Counselors who decline clients would need to refer them to a provider who will see them.”

From AP reports:

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he signed the bill after talking to numerous counselors, including those who were in favor and those opposed.

The American Counseling Association called the legislation an “unprecedented attack” on the counseling profession and said Tennessee was the only state to ever pass such a law.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Jack Johnson, maintains the bill is “not anti-anybody, it’s not anti-anything; it’s just pro-religious liberty.”

Via press release, Art Terrazas, the Director of Government Relations at the American Counseling Association said, “We are extremely disappointed that Governor Haslam has ignored the lessons learned in North Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi and has elected to sign this dangerous bill into law. Plain and simple, this bill codifies discrimination.

“It not only disproportionately affects LGBTQ Tennesseans seeking counseling, but will also have unintended consequences that will reach Tennesseans in all walks of life—whether it’s a veteran suffering from PTSD, a woman suffering from spousal abuse, or a business owner simply trying to attract out of state clients.”

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Bernie Sanders Announces Huge Campaign Staff Cuts, Shifting Focus To Winning California

Just a day after losing four of five state primaries for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced he will be trimming campaign staffers by the hundreds, and shift his focus to winning the June 7th California contest.

Via the New York Times:

Despite the changes, Mr. Sanders said he would remain in the race through the party’s summer convention and stressed that he hoped to bring staff members back on board if his political fortunes improved.

“We want to win as many delegates as we can, so we do not need workers now in states around country,” Mr. Sanders said in the interview. “We don’t need people right now in Connecticut. That election is over. We don’t need them in Maryland. So what we are going to do is allocate our resources to the 14 contests that remain, and that means that we are going to be cutting back on staff.”

When asked how many people would be let go, Mr. Sanders didn’t give an exact number but did say many people would be affected.

“It will be hundreds of staff members,” Mr. Sanders said. “We have had a very large staff, which was designed to deal with 50 states in this country; 40 of the states are now behind us. So we have had a great staff, great people.”

At last count, Sanders trails former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by about 300 pledged delegates.

Super-stats guy Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight website predicts that Clinton currently has an 89% chance of winning California.

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Former GOP Speaker Of The House Dennis Hastert Admits To Sex Abuse, Sentenced to 15 Months In Prison

Former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in jail for bank fraud charges after admitting in court that he had sexually abused students during his tenure as a high school wrestling coach years ago.

From Huffington Post:

U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin sentenced Hastert to the jail time, followed by two years of supervised release, and issued him a $250,000 fine. The former speaker must also attend sex offender treatment and will not be allowed to contact his alleged victims, Durkin added.

The statute of limitations for the abuse allegations has lapsed, and the banking charges carry a maximum sentence of five years. The recommended sentence was zero to five months, and Hastert’s defense argued that the 74-year-old should be given probation due in part to his age and his failing health.

While looking into some large, unreported cash withdrawals Hastert had made, federal investigators learned the former speaker had been accused of abusing or having inappropriate sexual contact with at least five students while working as a high school teacher and wrestling coach some 40 years ago.

They determined that Hastert began structuring cash withdrawals to avoid bank reporting rules in 2010, and that he used the money to pay off an alleged victim known in court filings as “Individual A.”

Hastert said in court that he had “mistreated” his students and athletes.

“I’m deeply ashamed to be standing here today,” Hastert told the judge, adding that he is getting professional help.

An alleged victim previously known only as Individual D testified in court on Wednesday, and identified himself as 53-year-old Scott Cross.

“I respected and trusted Coach Hastert,” Cross said. “Coach Hastert sexually abused me in 1979, my senior year in high school.”

Cross described how Hastert offered to massage him after wrestling practice one day under the guise of helping him make weight. He said Hastert asked him to lie down, then removed his shorts and fondled his genitals.

“I always felt what Coach Hastert had done to me was my darkest secret,” said Cross, who was 17 when the alleged abuse took place.

Cross’ brother, Tom Cross, is one of Hastert’s longtime political allies.

As Speaker of the House, Hastert was second in line for the presidency.
Sadly ironic, before Hastert retired from politics, he ‘championed’ tough consequences for child molesters.

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Original Stars Of DREAMGIRLS To Reunite For One Night Only

Squeee!!!!

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of Dreamgirls!

Via BroadwayWorld:

Chris Isaacson Presents in association with Ronn Goswick has announced a Broadway Under the Stars special event, a one-night-only concert starring the original Dreamgirls – Independent Spirit Award-winner Sheryl Lee Ralph, Emmy Award-winner Loretta Devine, and Tony Award and two-time Grammy Award-winner Jennifer Holliday in conversation and song.

This Broadway Under the Stars special event will be at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Boulevard East, in Hollywood, for one performance only on Sunday, July 10 at 8pm. Ticket prices start at $65 and VIP packages are available. A portion of the evening’s proceeds will benefit The D.I.V.A. Foundation and The Actors Fund.

I was a music theatre major in college when the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls opened. During it’s run, I saw the show 14 times at the Imperial Theater. To this day it remains one of the most impactful productions I’ve ever experienced.

These three ladies – Ralph, Devine and Holliday – were the perfect balance of raw power, grace and emotion. The original Dreamgirls taught me that theatre could be THAT real and emotionally open.

If you’re in Los Angeles on July 10th, do not miss this.Ticket info here.