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Trump Doubles Down On Ending Birthright Citizenship

Donald Trump went on a Twitter rant today defending his plan to repeal birthright citizenship saying it "costs our Country billions of dollars and is very unfair to our citizens."
Donald Trump

Donald Trump went on a Twitter rant today defending his plan to repeal birthright citizenship saying it “costs our Country billions of dollars and is very unfair to our citizens.”

He added that the practice “will be ended one way or the other.”

The Trumpster concluded the screed with a statement I might just agree with in part:

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Trump Attacks Paul Ryan Over Birthright Citizenship

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

President Donald Trump aimed his Twitter account at Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on today, saying Ryan “knows nothing” about birthright citizenship.

This comes after Trump shared in an interview with Axios that he plans to sign an executive order eliminating the right to citizenship for children born in the United States.

Doing so would obviously clash with the 14th Amendment.

In an interview with radio station WVLK on Tuesday, Ryan responded to Trump’s announcement, saying he “obviously cannot do that.”

“Well, you obviously cannot do that,” Ryan said. “You cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order. We didn’t like it when Obama tried changing immigration laws via executive action, and obviously as conservatives, we believe in the Constitution.”

The Trumpster clapped back on Twitter.

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Trump Reverses Regulation Regarding Mentally Disabled Folks Having Access To Guns

Donald Trump

Now, seriously, this makes NO kind of sense.

From USA Today:

President Trump killed a regulation that would have tightened gun background checks Tuesday, signing a bill to undo one of his predecessor’s executive actions following the San Bernardino shootings in 2015.

The Obama administration rule required the Social Security Administration to submit records of mentally disabled people to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the FBI database used to determine whether someone can buy a firearm under the 1993 Brady Bill.

The rule would have applied to about 75,000 people who were “adjudicated as a mental defective” and who had applied for Social Security benefits, and had a mechanism to notify those affected so they could appeal. But congressional Republicans said the rule could ensnare people who had mental health issues but otherwise were competent to own a gun.

The Social Security Administration finalized the rule last Dec. 19. But under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has 60 legislative days to disapprove of any new regulation on straight majority votes. The vote was 57-43 in the Senate and 235-180 in the House.

It won’t surprise you to learn that Trump did NOT sign the bill in a public setting, but did so privately, away from cameras.

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Oprah To Campaign With Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate Stacey Abrams

Oprah Winfrey

Media superstar Oprah Winfrey is diving into Georgia politics this week as she will join Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on the campaign trail.

From NBC News:

Winfrey is set to join Abrams Thursday at a pair of town hall events in the state, and will accompany the Georgia Democrat in knocking on voters’ doors in one of the state’s final days of early voting and just five days prior to Election Day.

“Oprah Winfrey has inspired so many of us though the years with her unparalleled ability to form real connections and strengthen the bonds of family and community,” Abrams told NBC News in a statement. “I am honored to have Oprah join me for uplifting and honest conversations with voters about the clear choice before us in this election and the boundless potential of Georgians.”

Abrams is going toe-to-toe with Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp in one of the nation’s most hotly contested races. Last week, an NBC News/Marist poll found that the race is essentially tied, with likely voters favoring Kemp by a 49 percent to 47 percent spread, a number within the poll’s margin of error. Among registered voters, the two candidates are tied at 47 percent.

The race has been roiled by allegations that Kemp has purged voter rolls in an attempt to help his own candidacy. Kemp calls the charges “a farce.”

According to reports, Kemp’s office has been purging tens of thousands of voters, most of whom are black, from voter rolls ahead of next week’s election. Kemp says that he is simply following the law.

RealClearPolitics shows the race is a statistical tie.

If Abrams were to win, she will be the first black woman to become governor of any state in the U.S.

Abrams was recently a guest on The View where Meghan McCain thought she was going to embarrass Abrams on the topic of gun control. It didn’t quite pan out the way McCain expected.

Watch Abrams school McCain in the most graceful way below.

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Neil Patrick Harris & Family Win Halloween With Awesome Family Photo

(image via Instagram)

Neil Patrick Harris and husband David Burtka really love Halloween.

I mean, they really, really love Halloween.

And like a lot of gays, they go full-on dress-up for the annual fright-fest.

Over the years, the spooky holiday has become a family affair as the couple’s young twins have joined in on the fun taking awesome family portraits.

“We’re very excited,” said Harris in an Instagram live video prior to the reveal. “We have taken our Halloween family photo this year – I’m excited by it.”

Mr. Burtka was given the privilege of posting the family’s spook-tacular family photo, and it’s the most adorable yet.

Set in a foggy cemetery, young Harper is in the foreground dressed as a turn of the century bride holding a small, bloodied axe. And behind her, brother Gideon joins Harris and Burtka as a trio of ghosts looking for a ride.

Summoning the spirit of the famous “Hitchhiking Ghosts” from Disney’s Haunted Mansion, Burtka shared the pic with the caption, “Welcome, foolish mortals. We hope your Halloween is happily haunted, but heed this warning: beware of Hitchhiking Ghosts!”

Harris posted a link to the portrait on his Instagram writing simply, “Our Family Halloween Picture is live – well, relatively speaking…”

And in case you missed it, here’s a few “family fright-fest photos” from recent years.

Last year’s theme was inspired by American Horror Story: Freak Show, and the year prior was a homage to Hollywood legends.

Here’s wishing everyone a happy and safe Halloween!

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News Round-Up: October 30, 2018

This guy definitely gets my Halloween treats 😉

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunk Thiago Oliveira offers a sneak peek at his Halloween costume. I think it’s a dragon, but who really cares – I’d give him all my Halloween candy if he showed up at my door looking like that.

• A new survey by Bespoke shows millennials are coming out an average of 4-5 years earlier than Gen Xers or Baby Boomers.

• Speaking of Halloween, this dad was surprised people had a negative reaction to his and his son’s Halloween costumes. Imagine that. Hmmm…

• The lower House of Czech Republic’s Parliament is considering legislation that would make the country the first former Eastern Bloc nation to embrace marriage equality. A recent poll shows 67% support for same-sex marriage in the Czech Republic.

• The daughter of a Missouri Republican running for Congress is begging voters to reject her own racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic father.

• Thanks to Larry at TheOUTfront for pointing up “Enough” – a new music video featuring Australian pop star Sia’s song “I’m Still Here” along with 130 students of the National Dance Institute.

From the video description: It’s unacceptable that firearms are the second leading cause of death for American children and teens.

If you’re a student, get involved in the movement to end gun violence by texting STUDENTS to 644-33. Watch “Enough” below.

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Plot To Embarrass Special Counsel Robert Mueller Goes South In A Big Way

Special Counsel Robert Mueller

Trump supporters looking to embarrass Special Counsel Robert Mueller have really stepped in some deep doo-doo.

From Axios:

Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team have asked the FBI to investigate a scheme that was offering payouts to women who agreed to accuse Mueller of sexual misconduct and workplace harassment, The Atlantic reports.

Context: Journalists alerted the office of the Special Counsel of the scheme when a woman told them a GOP lobbyist named Jack Burkman had offered her about $20,000 and enough to payoff her credit card debt if she accused Mueller.

Some of the woman’s story has gone uncorroborated, per The Atlantic. Burkman has gotten involved in conspiracy theories before — he previously began his own private investigation into the murder of the Democratic National Committee staffer, Seth Rich.

What’s next: Burkman posted a video on his Facebook page Tuesday claiming without evidence that Mueller has a history of harassing women. He tweeted a similar allegation and says he will reveal “Mueller’s sex assault victims” in an announcement this Thursday.

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Brazil Elects Far-Right Homophobe As President

Jair Bolsonaro (image via Flickr/Agência Brasil Fotografias – CC License)

While LGBTQ people in the United States continue to cope with the ongoing assault by the Trump administration on our community’s rights and protections, Brazil has just elected its own homophobic president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro, who has been called ‘the Trump of the Tropics,’ is a 30-year veteran of Brazil’s congress as well as a retired Army captain.

The 63-year-old clinched the presidency with 55% of the vote in a run-off against Fernando Haddad from the left-wing Workers Party.

He won the election with campaign promises to fight crime and corruption, but it’s his homophobic statements that have LGBTQ Brazilians more than a little concerned.

“Yes, I’m homophobic – and very proud of it,” he once proclaimed.

In 2011, he told Playboy that he would be “incapable of loving a homosexual child.”

“I’m not going to act like a hypocrite here,” he added. “I’d rather have my son die in an accident than show up with some mustachioed guy.”

Bolsonaro admits he wouldn’t even live near gay people. In that same interview he said, “If a homosexual couple comes to live next to me it will devalue my home.”

“If they walk around holding hands and kissing, that devalues it,” he added.

In 2010, he offered this advice on how to raise a gay son on the television program Participaçăo Popular: “If your son starts acting a little gay, hit him with some leather, and he’ll change his behavior.”

In 2002, he told Folha de Săo Paulo, “I will not fight nor discriminate, but if I see two men kissing in the street, I’ll hit them.”

In a 2013 interview with Stephen Fry, he told the UK reporter “Brazilians don’t like homosexuals.” Fry called it one of the ‘most chilling confrontations’ he’s ever had with a human being.

Doesn’t he sound lovely?

It’s a deadly time for LGBTQ Brazilians as violence against the community has continued to rise.

According to Gay Star News, there have been more than 300 murders of LBGTQ people in 2018 already. That’s an increase from 220 at this same time in 2017.

Additionally, there have been 713 hate crimes committed against LGBTQ individuals in 2018.

(h/t Gay Star News)

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“Toothless Racist” Apologizes For Traffic Rant Claiming Bi-Polar Condition

Charles Geier

Janet Sabriu was driving to her polling station in Houston last week when an angry, middle-aged gay Trump supporter pulled alongside her at a traffic light and began spewing racist, misogynistic slurs.

“You’re driving in two lanes, you stupid b*tch!” the man screams. “That’s not how we drive in America. Trump’s deporting your stupid cousins today, b*tch!”

Somehow, Sabriu, an American citizen, remained calm and asked the man if he had voted yet.

“B*tch – learn English, b*tch,” the man continued. “It’s my country, b*tch, get out!”

“You’re ugly, you need a gay friend to help you with makeup and clothes,” he continued as Sabriu’s young daughter sat in the backseat listening to his tirade. “Ugly b*tch – ugly tacky stinky skanky b*tch!”

Throughout the incident the racist laughed with a cackle that you would expect to hear coming from the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.

Watch below.

This being 2018, the hideous man (dubbed the “toothless racist” on Twitter) was quickly identified by social media users as Charles Geier, a 58-year-old gay man.

Sabriu told local news station KHOU that she has filed a police report against Geier.

“We have to stop all of this hate,” Sabriu told the station. “Speak up. Don’t be afraid. That’s the only way that we can stop all this hate is just showing and exposing the people because I think the majority [are] good people that don’t want this to continue.”

According to a new study released by Pew Research Center last week, nearly four-in-ten Latinos have experienced harassing incidents since the Trump administration launched a tougher stance on immigration enforcement.

On Saturday, Geier spoke to local ABC News affiliate KTRK using the name “Kevin” saying he’s ‘received death threats.’

Geier apologized saying, “All I want to say to her is ‘Miss, I’m so sorry, I hope you can understand more and I wish you nothing more than love and happiness for your family.”

Geier told KTRK that he takes full responsibility, “I reacted in a poor manner, I said things that were offensive that I shouldn’t have said, but what I want people to know is that I suffer from bi-polar disorder. It’s very real, it’s not a joke, it’s not an excuse.”

And speaking of excuses, Twitter had no patience for Geier and his hate.