Hat tip to Boy Culture for pointing up the handsome Eduardo Rodríguez shot by photographer Adrian C. Martin. Nice mid-day brain break for Hump Day. More of Mr. Rodríguez over at Boy Culture.
Happy Hump Day!
Ted Cruz: Donald Trump Threatened My Wife
Appearing on CNN’s “New Day,” GOP White House hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz slapped back at Donald Trump for threatening Cruz’s wife via Twitter after a Cruz Super-PAC used a nearly naked photo of Melania Trump in a Facebook ad.
From Politico:
“If Donald wants to get in a character fight he’s better off sticking with me, because Heidi is way out of his league,” Cruz said on CNN’s “New Day,” responding to a late-night tweet from Trump warning, “Be careful, Lyin’ Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!”
The attack reveals a lot about Trump’s character, Cruz said. “That should be beneath Donald,” he said. “The reason he’s doing that is because he had a very bad night last night. He got clobbered in Utah.”
Trump’s tweet — which began with “Lyin’ Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his ad” — is an apparent reference to an online ad by anti-Trump super PAC Make America Awesome, which used a photo of Trump’s wife Melania posing nude in British GQ in 2000 in an attempt to sway conservative Mormon voters.
Cruz responded via Twitter shortly after: “Pic of your wife not from us. Donald, if you try to attack Heidi, you’re more of a coward than I thought. #classless.”
“The tweet he was unhappy about was not even a super PAC supporting me. It is an independent group. I don’t know them,” Cruz said. “When Donald gets scared, when he gets angry, when he gets threatened … So last night Donald threatened my wife, he went directly after my wife.”
Super PAC Leader Says She’s Getting Death Threats Over Melania Trump Ad
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Donald Trump went after Sen. Ted Cruz last night thinking the Cruz campaign had authorized this ad featuring Melania Trump from her modeling days.
Today, it appears Liz Mair, who founded the super PAC, Make America Awesome, says she’s now getting death threats over the ad.
Cool… Trumpkins now calling my mother and leaving hateful, nasty voicemails on her phone. Very predictable.— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 23, 2016
For the record, Trumpkins, if you threaten me or my family, I WILL press criminal charges. And we WILL look at IP addresses/#s…— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 23, 2016
…and if there’s any coordination w Trump campaign, his SuperPAC(s) or the Trump Organization, we will file charges vs relevant personnel.— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 23, 2016
Excited to see so many Trump supporters now applauding the people threatening me and my family with violence. Hugely fucked up.— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 23, 2016
Jeb Bush To Endorse Sen. Ted Cruz For Antidote To Donald Trump’s ‘Divisiveness’
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As Sen. Ted Cruz slowly emerges as the Republican’s only possible “anti-Trump” candidate, word comes that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will endorse Cruz today citing the “divisiveness and vulgarity” of current front-runner Donald Trump.
Via Politico:
Cruz, in New York City on Wednesday, planned to celebrate with a victory lap of three network morning shows. The endorsement comes 32 days after a beaten Bush dropped out of the GOP presidential race, and eight days since Sen. Marco Rubio abandoned his own quest after being rebuffed by Bush, his fellow Floridian and one-time mentor.
Bush says in a statement to be released by the Cruz campaign: “Ted is a consistent, principled conservative who has demonstrated the ability to appeal to voters and win primary contests.”
“For the sake of our party and country, we must move to overcome the divisiveness and vulgarity Donald Trump has brought into the political arena, or we will certainly lose our chance to defeat the Democratic nominee and reverse President Obama’s failed policies,” the statement continues.
Marriage Equality Could Come To Colombia Soon
It appears marriage equality could be only two votes from reality in Colombia.
From The Perchy Bird:
Sources close to the Court say that the magistrates will vote against one conservative judge’s proposal to annul marriages registered by lower courts, keep civil unions as the only option for couples, and state that only Congress can change marriage laws. The expected vote is 6-3 to defeat this opinion.
Next would come the final vote on a counter-opinion to legalize same-sex marriage. The same 6 out of 9 judges are expected to extend the right to marry to gay couples.
The two pending votes may come on two different days. The media says that everyone will have to wait until after Holy Week for any final action.
Now It’s Personal – Attack Ad Includes Donald Trump’s Wife Naked
Drama in Republican-land tonight as a Super-PAC supporting Sen. Ted Cruz has launched an attack ad against Donald Trump using an often shared photo of Trump’s 3rd (current) wife Melania posed for during her years as a model.
The pic has been seen forever on the internet, but this is the first time (so predictable) it’s been used on the campaign trail.
Via the New York Times:
In what could be a last-ditch effort to derail Donald Trump’s march to the Republican presidential nomination, a super PAC has released an ad targeted at voters in Utah that slut-shames the frontrunner’s wife, Melania Trump.
The ad is specifically designed to persuade Mormons in Utah to not vote for Trump in the state’s caucus on what has been dubbed Western Tuesday.
But, in one of its ads, instead of attacking The Donald directly, Make America Awesome, the super PAC founded by Republican strategist Liz Mair, takes a shot at Melania, showing an old photo of her posing naked with the text “Meet Melania Trump. Your Next First Lady” printed across the top of the image.
At the bottom of the photo, in which Melania wears only sparkling jewelry and throws a provocative look at the camera, more text appears that reads, “Or, Your Could Support Ted Cruz On Tuesday.”
There are many, many more like this photo out in the world. The Donald needs to get used to this kind of game-play. It can’t be a surprise that this came up.
I don’t condone it, but I can say I’ve been waiting for exactly this kind of this to surface.
Needless to say, the Trumpster attacked on Twitter and Cruz came right back at him.
It does seem lost on the Trump that Super PACs do not coordinate with the campaigns. So Cruz should not to be blamed for the ad.
Lyin’ Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his ad. Be careful, Lyin’ Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2016
Pic of your wife not from us. Donald, if you try to attack Heidi, you’re more of a coward than I thought. #classless https://t.co/0QpKSnjgnE— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 23, 2016
Broadway Backwards Raises A Record $480,287
The sold-out audience at Broadway’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre was dazzled Monday, March 21, 2016, by this year’s stirring edition of Broadway Backwards.
The annual celebration, where men sing songs originally written for women and vice versa offering this audience the chance to see LGBT stories told through the great songs of musical theatre, set a new fundraising record.
The evening raised an incredible $480,287 to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City.
The evening included performances by Broadway legend Chita Rivera, Finding Neverland‘s Laura Michelle Kelly, Kinky Boot’s Wayne Brady, Wicked‘s Nick Adams, Len Cariou, Eddie Korbich, Treat Williams and many, many more.
Broadway Backwards began as a small, grassroots concert performed at The Center in 2006, quickly grew into an highly anticipated event presented in Broadway’s best theaters.
In its 11 editions, Broadway Backwards has raised more than $2.4 million for Broadway Cares and The Center.
Happy 86th Birthday Stephen Sondheim
Happy 86th birthday to Broadway legend (and I use that word accurately) Stephen Sondheim. No one in musical theater who understands the art form doesn’t worship at the altar of Sondheim. I was fortunate to appear in one of his masterpieces – Follies – on Broadway. The entire cast felt lucky just to be there. Here are just a couple of my favorite Sondheim favorites: “Not A Day Goes By” from Merrily We Roll Along and “Marry Me A Little” from Company. Enjoy the genius…
Science: Should You Shave Your Pubes?
The smart guys at AsapSCIENCE team up with the creatives at Thought Cafe to explore the ever present question: to shave or not to shave your pubic hair.
According to the science guys, 96% of females and 87% of males had either partially or completely removed public hair within the past month.
Find out the pros and cons to trimming “down under” by clicking play:
Legislation Targeting Trans Students Defeated In Tennessee House
Good news out of Tennessee where anti-transgender legislation HB2414, the so-called “Gender Inspection” bill, was sent to legislative purgatory
From Freedom For All Americans:
At a hearing this morning in the House Education Administration & Planning Committee, members of the committee voted unanimously to send HB 2414 to “summer study”—meaning it will not become law during this legislative session. The vote to not advance the bill came after numerous members of the committee had met face-to-face with transgender students from across the state, hearing their personal stories of why this legislation would put them at real risk.
If passed, this invasive “Gender Check Bill” would have required that students prove that their anatomy matches that of their birth certificate as a condition of using the restroom. As with similar measures seen around the country, HB 2414 did not describe how school officials are to determine if a student’s gender matches the sex on their original birth certificate. This means under this bill, schools could be required to collect DNA or perform physical examinations before a student is allowed to use the restroom.
HB 2414 would have meant real economic consequences for Tennessee, too. Just last week, Republican Governor Bill Haslam voiced concerns that the “Gender Check” bill could jeopardize hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal education funding and force school districts to undergo costly litigation on their own dime.
Today’s bipartisan victory in Tennessee marks the latest in a wave of defeats of anti-transgender legislation across the country, including Virginia, Wisconsin and most notably South Dakota, where Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard vetoed a nearly identical bill after hearing from businesses, faith leaders and transgender students who would have been personally impacted.
Anti-transgender bills have popped up across the nation as trans people are becoming the new target for anti-LGBT forces.
Last week, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed similar legislation after meeting with transgender students who would have felt the full force of the bill.