Woof.
Just Because…
Woof.
Updated: Democrats Caucus In Washington, Alaska & Hawaii
UPDATE:
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Three states will hold their presidential caucuses today – Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.
The caucus format has done very well for Sen. Bernie Sanders, so expectations are high that he could sweep all three contests. However, given that all delegates are awarded proportionally, I wouldn’t look for Sanders to close the delegate gap too much today, although I’m sure he will walk away with a net gain.
Clinton currently holds the lead in pledged delegates by about 303. Washington is the big prize today with 101 delegates; Alaska will award 16, and Hawaii 25.
In that these are caucuses, there has been little to no polling done for today.
Expectations are high in Hawaii for Sanders. One Clinton supporter told Politico regarding Clinton’s chances in Hawaii: “He’s going to crush us. He should win this thing 2-to-1 at least,” the aide said of Sanders prospects. “If we keep this below 65-35 I’d be shocked.”
Tuesday is Wisconsin’s turn to chime in on the presidential sweepstakes. The most recent poll shows former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leading there by 6 points.
Then, after a couple of weeks off, the Dems return to the ballot box with contests in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, California and New Jersey. Current polls show Clinton leading by sizeable numbers in all of those states.
But that can all change. We shall see.
Katherine McPhee Returns To American Idol – “Over The Rainbow”
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Katharine McPhee Performs “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
Katharine McPhee reprises her awe-inspiring version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”!
Posted by American Idol on Thursday, March 24, 2016
Back when American Idol was a huge juggernaut, the show introduced us to the very talented Katherine McPhee in Season 5.
McPhee may have come in second (to Taylor Hicks!) but she’s shown that living well is the best revenge 🙂
I remember when McPhee first sang “Over The Rainbow” on AI, and it was heartstoppingly gorgeous. I think she embellishes here, but clearly, she’s still a talented vocalist.
CNN’s Don Lemon Shuts Down Trump Surrogate Who Couldn’t Answer Direct Question
Wow. Things got testy last night on CNN when Donald Trump surrogate Omarosa Manigualt tried to avoid a direct answer to a question posed by anchor Don Lemon.
Lemon began the segment by asking asking former Apprentice star and Trump backer Omarosa Manigualt about the Trump campaign’s “over the top” attack on Heidi Cruz on Twitter.
Omarosa began by saying “I don’t think we should start there” and attempted to talk about the Super PAC that ran an ad featuring a cheesecake photo of Melania Trump, only to have the CNN host shut her down.
“No no no. I’m not gonna let you do that. Omarosa, stop! ” Lemon said.
“Omarosa, stop! Okay, let’s stop. Cut the mic” he continued as she tried to talk over him. “We’re not doing that. I want everyone on this panel to answer the question directly, and I will let you –”
“You can ask questions, but you can’t answer them, Don,” Omarosa interrupted, leading to Lemon to cut the segment short with “We’ll be right back” before going to commercial.
Personally, I support Lemon here. I’ve grown weary of candidates or their representatives ducking/avoiding answer direct questions. You can get to your “spin” but answer the questions posed to you.
Trump’s people will say Omarosa wasn’t giving the proper “anti-Trump” answer. But, seriously people, stop I’m showing up to news shows with only pre-packaged talking points, with the intention to only deflect to scripted sound bites.
Political Insiders Say Trump Needs 1,237 Delegates Or Bust
According to Politico, a majority of Republican insiders say Donald Trump should not get the GOP presidential nomination if he falls short of 1,237 delegates. That’s the magic number, according to Republican rules, that guarantee the nomination.
The POLITICO Caucus — a panel comprised of strategists, activists and operatives in seven key swing states – say 58% of Republicans want the party to nominate another candidate if Trump finishes with a less than the required 1,237-delegate majority necessary to claim the party nomination.
“Rules is rules. You have to get a majority,” said a Virginia Republican who, like all respondents, completed the survey anonymously.
The same political insiders say 9 in 10 Democrats feel former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would fare better in the general election.
“Let’s Get Animal, Animal…”
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Her Majesty Empress Cielo…Posted by Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation on Wednesday, March 23, 2016
This video of two very sexy beasts has gotten over 20 million views on Facebook.
Happy Saturday!
Pet Shop Boys Perform “The Pop Kids” On Graham Norton Show
The Pet Shop Boys dropped by the Graham Norton Show this week to perform their latest hit, “The Pop Kids,” from the new album Super.
Colorado: “We Kill Gays In Wyoming” Baseball Coach Apologizes To Gay Player
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| Coach Sean McKinney |
Last week, former Minor League Baseball player Tyler Dunnington spoke to Outsports to share his story of the homophobia he experienced while playing both in college and for the Gulf Coast League Cardinals, a team affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Even though he was closeted at the time, it was the language he heard from other players and coaches – yes, coaches – that wore heavily on his soul.
Dunnington recalled being on the field one day when a coach mentioned in passing, “We kill gay people in Wyoming.” Tyler never named the coach or any individuals. He eventually stepped away from the game that had given him so much joy.
After that report broke and investigation was done, and that coach – Sean McKinney of Colorado Mesa University – stepped up and took responsibility for the comment. McKinney says the comment, in the moment, was meant to be “humorous,” not fully understanding the impact of his language.
The university president and others at CMU are now collaborating with the school’s Gay/Straight Alliance and One Colorado, the state’s leading advocacy organization for lesbian gay bisexual and transgender people to improve the atmosphere for LGBT athletes at the school.
From Outsports:
“As the story spread and more stuff was revealed, it got really tough this week,” McKinney told Outsports in an exclusive interview. “I’m forever in debt to the people in this university and my friends and family. They know my true character. Some of that is in question, obviously, because of what’s gone on with Tyler’s story. But I would never harm anyone on our team. This week I’m sure this has been questions about how I feel about Tyler. I hope he’s OK. I called him this morning to apologize. I want him to have a good life.”
“I’ve made some off-the-cuff comments, and one in particular was not right. Tyler heard it, and I apologized for it. Through this process I’m learning everyone’s stories and what the impact of our language is.”
“This has been a tremendous learning experience. In meetings with our president and people across campus, I think this is going to go in a very positive direction. I’ll focus on my team and my guys to raise awareness. This is an experience we can use to move forward. I’ve talked to all of our players. We’ve had conversations, and they’ve gone great. And that will have a ripple affect across our campus.”
McKinney says this past week has been “life-changing” for him and he looks forward to the opportunity to turn this to a positive conversation.
You can watch the press conference at Colorado Mesa University here.
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| Out baseball player Tyler Dunnington during his Minor League Baseball days |
North Carolina Gov. McCrory Tries To Spin “Myths Vs Facts” On Anti-LGBT Law
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is trying desperately to crawl out of this huge mess of the newly passed HB2 law which strips any LGBT protections from local municipalities and forces transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms which don’t correspond to their gender identity.
McCrory has issued this list of “Myths Vs Facts” about HB2, but there’s a whole lot of side-stepping going on here:
Now, let’s breakdown the “spin” from the truth here:
• McCrory completely sidesteps the fact that transgender students cannot use restrooms or locker rooms that match their gender identity.
• Saying businesses can still adopt their own non-discrimination policies ignores the fact that those businesses were never the problem. It’s the businesses that DO discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity that needed to be policed.
• Saying transgender people can use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity as long as they’ve undergone sex reassignment surgery and change their birth certificates is highly unreasonable. Many trans people haven’t undergone such surgery, and often because they can’t afford to do so.
• Item #5 would seem to indicate that local municipalities can enact their own stricter anti-discrimination policies. EXCEPT – there can be no such policies regarding any group not protected by state law. LGBTs are not protected by state law, so there can be no local protections either.
What HB2 has done is wipe out the local ordinances passed in 8 cities in North Carolina that chose to protect it’s LGBT citizens just like over 200 cities and 19 states across the country had done.
The state legislature of North Carolina has legalized discrimination against LGBTs. Period.
As I’ve explained before here on The Randy Report, here’s an example of how this new law will work. This transgender man will now be required to use the ladies room. Let me know how this makes any sense…
NBA To North Carolina: We May Move 2017 All-Star Game Over Anti-LGBT Law
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| The NBA is just one of many major businesses concerned about anti-LGBT law HB2 |
In response to North Carolina’s new anti-LGBT law, HB2, which strips all protections for LGBTs off the books, the NBA has issued a statement hinting that Charlotte could lose the 2017 All-Star Game.
From The Bleacher Report:
“The NBA is dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for all who attend our games and events,” the statement read. “We are deeply concerned that this discriminatory law runs counter to our guiding principles of equality and mutual respect and do not know yet what impact it will have on our ability to successfully host the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte.”
On Wednesday, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed a bill that blocks its cities from allowing transgender individuals to use public restrooms of the gender they identify as, per Dave Philipps of the New York Times. Individuals will instead be forced to use the restrooms of their birth gender.
The law superseded an attempt by Charlotte’s city government to allow transgender individuals to pick their restroom based on the gender of their choosing. The city council approved the bill in February despite the Republican governor’s protestation.
North Carolina’s new law has been widely criticized in the LGBT community as being discriminatory not only toward transgender individuals but gays and lesbians as well.
The NBA awarded the 2017 All-Star Game last summer. It would be an unprecedented step to strip a city of the event based on legislation outside the citizens’ control, but it would also be a strong message in support of the LGBT community.