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Eric Trump Tries To Troll Kellyanne Conway’s Husband – It’s Doesn’t Go Very Well

Eric Trump

George Conway, also known as the husband of White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway, is a frequent critic of Donald Trump.

That must make for interesting chit chat at the dinner table in the Conway home.

That said, Eric Trump, in another attempt to prove his less-than-stellar intellect, criticized George on Twitter calling out what he perceives as “disrespecting” Kellyanne’s place of employment.

This little episode began when George Conway responded to a Trump tweet calling out the

The code Conway cites is in regard to laws prohibiting witness tampering. Under 18 USC 1512(b) it is illegal to “cause or induce any person to withhold testimony.”

That seemed to have triggered young Eric:

Folks had a little something to say about that. Not only did Twitter users clap back at Eric, but Conway retweeted the shade.

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Kelly Clarkson Totally Fan-Girls Out Meeting Cher

Cher and Kelly Clarkson at the Kennedy Center Honors

For everyone (including me) who has ever fan-boy/fan-girled out over an artist you really, really, really admire…

Kelly Clarkson found herself on the red carpet of the Kennedy Center Honors last night at the same time as honoree, Cher.

While Clarkson was there to sing in honor of country superstar Reba McEntire, Clarkson was adorable in her fan-moment speaking to Extra’s AJ Calloway.

“I’ve never met her,” she tells Calloway.

Calloway, surprised, asks, “Never?”

Clarkson: “No, never. And don’t do anything either – it’ll make me so nervous I’ll want to cry…”

You have to watch. I laugh because I’ve done the exact same thing in my life 🙂

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Gay Dating Apps Weigh In On Grindr CEO’s Marriage Equality Debacle

Last week, the blog INTO, which is owned by Grindr, wrote that Chen had shared an article on his Facebook regarding Cher Wang, the CEO of HTC, who apparently supported anti-LGBTQ organizations in the recent public referendum on same-sex marriage in Taiwan.

Responding to commenters on the post, Chen apparently wrote, in part, “There are people who believe that marriage is a holy matrimony between a man and a woman.”

Many folks took his comment that “marriage is a holy matrimony between a man and a woman” as being anti-marriage equality.

INTO updated its report when Chen later issued a statement saying, in part, “The words I chose related to marriage between a man and a woman were meant to express my personal feelings about my own marriage to my wife – not to suggest that I am opposed to marriage equality.”

He went on to say that he has long considered himself “an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.”

“ I support gay marriage and I am proud that I can work for Grindr,” he added. “I apologize that my words did not clearly convey these feelings.”

Now, other gay dating app companies are chiming in on the subject.

CEO and co-founder of SCRUFF, Eric Silverberg, posted a video message expressing his concern that comments from the leaders of gay-centric businesses can have the power to set LGBTQ progress back in terms of equal rights and representation.

He began his message by stating up front that he is “unequivocally in favor of gay marriage.”

“When leaders in the gay community say these things, they disrespect the decades long work of marriage equality activists and give credibility to far-right politicians who are trying to roll back these rights.”

Silverberg also urged tech leaders to understand and further the moral agenda of the communities they serve.

“Let’s move our swipes and ‘likes’ to online communities led by people who stand behind their beliefs and actions, and who have a moral intuition that reflects our community,” he said in closing.

And dating app Jack’d posted a short video response via Instagram which shows Grindr’s recently announced ‘Kindr’ campaign, but it’s quickly overwhelmed by screen shots of the Chen/Grindr story.

Jack’d ends the message with the words “Love is Love.” Watch below.

A post shared by Jack’d (@jackdapp) on Nov 30, 2018 at 12:22pm PST

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India: Transgender Man Makes History Coming In 2nd In Bodybuilding Competition

Aryan Pasha, an Indian transgender man, made history this weekend when he came in second at the Musclemania bodybuilding competition held in Delhi.
Aryan Pasha (image via Facebook)

Aryan Pasha, an Indian transgender man, made history this weekend when he came in second at the Musclemania bodybuilding competition held in Delhi.

Musclemania is one of the world’s largest natural bodybuilding organizations with several categories (fitness, sports model, physique and natural bodybuilding).

After training for a year, Pasha competed in the Men’s Physique (Short) category.

Pasha, who transitioned at 18-years-old, tells Gaylaxy Mag that he’s had an interest in bodybuilding since a young age. And when he discovered a bodybuilding competition for transgender men held in the United States, he began training for it.

But he was unfortunately denied a visa to travel to the U.S.

Undeterred, he decided to enter the Musclemania event in India in the men’s category.

Buoyed by the full support of his family and members of his gym, Pasha competed this past Saturday in a field of 125 contestants.

“It was my dream to participate in Men’s category,” Pasha told Gaylaxy. “Till now I have won medals in female category but this is what I actually wanted in my life – to complete with other men.”

“I enjoyed every second when I was on stage because this is what I dreamt of,” he added. “I was not nervous at all and just wanted to complete poses like a champion.”

Pasha, who works as a lawyer, says he will next take part in the the International Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (IBFF) event to be held in February.

That competition features categories for “men” and “transmen.” Pasha intends on competing in both categories.

He says his ultimate goal is to compete at the world level.

(h/t GaylaxyMag)

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Tumblr Announces Permanent Ban Of Porn

Tumblr, the micro-blogging platform, has announced it will soon implement a permanent ban on adult content.

Tumblr, the micro-blogging platform, has announced it will soon implement a permanent ban on adult content.

Read that “no more pornography.”

A statement posted to the social media’s blog says, “Starting Dec 17, adult content will not be allowed on Tumblr, regardless how old you are.”

The ban comes after Tumblr was recently removed from Apple’s App Store over concerns about child pornography.

The announcement goes on to list exactly what will be considered adult content: “Photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content—including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations—that depicts sex acts.”

That said, there are some exceptions like photos of classical statues, breastfeeding or depictions of nudity for the purpose of political protest.

Literary erotica will be allowed.

The blog post says the company is reaching out to Tumblr users whose content might be suspect per new algorithms that will detect the offending material.

After December 17, that content will be set to ‘private’ preventing other folks from seeing it and from be shared.

Tumblr is urging users to export their content before the new policies take place.

“There are no shortage of sites on the internet that feature adult content,” said CEO Jeff D’Onofrio in a statement. “We will leave it to them and focus our efforts on creating the most welcoming environment possible for our community.”

This announcement comes not long after another policy change, announced in August, which banned hate speech, revenge porn and posts that appear to be the “glorification of violence.”

Tumblr is owned by a subsidiary of Verizon that also owns Yahoo, AOL, MapQuest, and the Huffington Post.

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Did Donald Trump Just Pull A Fast One On LGBTQ Protections In USMCA?

Leaders of Mexico, United States and Canada sign new USMCA trade deal

Last Friday, while attending the G20 economic summit in Argentina, Donald Trump sat down alongside Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to sign the newly-minted United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The trade deal is meant to serve as a replacement for NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).

At the time, anti-LGBTQ House Republicans wailed about a provision that calls on the three countries to support “policies that protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of sex, including with regard to pregnancy, sexual harassment, sexual orientation, gender identity.”

According to Politico, the LGBTQ provisions were a Canadian priority championed by Trudeau.

That sounds great for the gay community, right? Not so fast.

Forty-five House Republicans signed a letter to Trump urging him to have the language removed.

And now, Canada’s Global News is reporting the clause may be rendered useless in terms of LGBTQ Americans due to a foot note.

The Global News reports, “The final agreement has a change in language that various analyses suggest will water down its reach: The new wording calls on each country to implement policies each ‘considers appropriate to protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of sex.'”

A footnote in the agreement reads:

The United States’ existing federal agency policies regarding the hiring of federal workers are sufficient to fulfill the obligations set forth in this Article. The Article thus requires no additional action on the part of the United States, including any amendments to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in order for the United States to be in compliance with the obligations set forth in this Article.

See that part? “Existing federal agency policies regarding the hiring of federal workers are sufficient to fulfill the obligations…”

So, no new LGBTQ protections for Americans.

Geoffrey Gertz of the Brookings Institute called the footnote “ridiculous” and “the kind of thing that will make progressives even more suspicious of engaging with trade liberalization.”

It’s not all a done deal, though. Lawmakers in all three countries will have to pass legislation that actually ratifies the agreement in order for it to take effect.

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Daily Dance: Ken Berry For Kinney Shoe Store

Ken Berry(credit: ABC Television/WikiMedia Commons)

Over the weekend I learned that actor Ken Berry, star of such TV series as F Troop (1965-1967), The Andy Griffith Show (1968), and its spin-off, Mayberry, R.F.D. (1968-1971), had died at the age of 85.

He also appeared 19 times on The Carol Burnett Show (1968-1978), creating the character “Vinton Harper” on Mama’s Family (1983-1990), which was a spin-off of the show’s “The Family” sketches.

But what most folks don’t know is he was a highly trained singer and dancer having performed on Broadway (The Billy Barnes Revue) and toured extensively in a national company of the hit musical, George M!

I had several friends who worked with Berry in several musical productions, and everyone said he was a prince of a guy.

Check out Berry’s tap-dancing skills below.

(h/t Kenneth-in-the-212)

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Trump Disses Argentine President “Get Me Out Of Here”

I had seen this clip over the weekend of Donald Trump onstage in a photo opp with Argentine President Mauricio Macri at the G20 summit. Argentina played host for the economic event.

At the time, most thought Trump was just wandering off, as he is want to do.

Turns out, he just wanted to leave. CBS News now has audio of Trump off-stage telling someone to “get me out of here” as the Argentine president was just left standing there.

From McClatchy News:

Buenos Aires hosted the G20 economic summit this past weekend, focusing international attention on Argentina and Macri. It gave Macri, who is running for reelection next year, the chance to rub elbows and pose for photos with leaders of the most powerful countries.

But also high up on people’s mind was someone not even there, the newly elected President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, the exciting and controversial far-right leader who is expected to shake up geopolitical order in the hemisphere.

Some anxiety about Bolsonaro is seeping into Argentine political and diplomatic circles, which have watched Trump and his administration fawn over the “like-minded” Bolsonaro in ways it once fawned over Macri.

“I think they’re going to be best friends,” said Julio Burdman, a Buenos Aires-based political consultant and pollster. “Now, they’re going to skip Argentina because, for Trump, maybe Bolsonaro is an attractive partner.”

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Podcast: HIV Diagnoses Drop In 2017, VP Mike Pence’s World AIDS Day Speech, Levi Kreis’ New Christmas Album

In this week’s Randy Report podcast:

• New HIV diagnoses in New York City drop to a record low for the second year in a row

• Vice President Mike Pence gave a speech for World AIDS Day without mentioning LGBTQ people while offering wildly misleading information

• As George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States has died at the age of 94, I discuss his legacy on the AIDS epidemic

• A Virginia fireman lost his job because he married his husband

• Polish couple propose in public more than 100 times to fight homophobia (video)

• And new Christmas music from Tony Award-winner, Levi Kreis

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report


Special request – if you enjoy catching up on LGBTQ news via my podcast, I’d really appreciate it if you would share with your friends on social media 🙂

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James Comey Drops Challenge To Congressional Subpoena In Exchange For Full-Transcript Release

NBC News reports that former FBI Director James Comey has dropped his legal challenge to a Republican congressional subpoena and will agree to closed-door deposition.
Former FBI Director James Comey

NBC News reports that former FBI Director James Comey has dropped his legal challenge to a Republican congressional subpoena and will agree to closed-door deposition.

However, lawmakers agreed to release a full transcript of his testimony within 24 hours, and he will be free to make all or part of it available to the public.

Comey had been subpoenaed by House Republicans to discuss Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server (again) as well as Russian interference in the 2016 election behind closed doors. Comey opposed the private setting in an effort to make sure the American people would be able to know exactly what was discussed.

Comey’s attorneys argued in their challenge to the subpoena that Republicans had “abused their powers with selective leaks” in the past.