Matthew Shepard, who became a symbol of the LGBTQ rights movement in the 1990s, was finally laid to rest today at Washington National Cathedral 20 years after his death.
Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, presided over the service which was attended by over 2,000 people.
In his homily, Robinson shared an anecdote from the first police officer who arrived at the site of Shepard’s attack, a remote fence to which his battered body was lashed and had spent the cold night. When the officer arrived, he said, a deer was laying beside Shepard’s body. Upon her arrival, the animal looked straight into the officer’s eyes and ran away.
“What she said was: ‘That was the good Lord, no doubt in my mind.’ And there’s no doubt in my mind either. God has always loved Matt,” Robinson said.
Robinson urged the crowd to not just remember Shepard, but to continue to be vigilant regarding the ongoing discrimination against the LGBTQ community.
“I don’t want anyone to leave here without being reminded that you are loved by the god of all that is,” Robinson told the crowd. “You are loved beyond your wildest imagining.”
Robinson said more than once during his comments to “go vote.”
He closed with these words: “There are three things I’d say to Matt: ‘Gently rest in this place. You are safe now. And Matt, welcome home.’ Amen.”
Caitlyn Jenner, arguably one of the most famous transgender people in the world, has penned an op-ed for The Washington Post saying her “outlook has changed significantly” regarding her support for Donald Trump and his administration.
“These past two years under President Trump have given me the opportunity to reflect on a lot of topics that have come up in the LGBTQ community and in our nation,” writes Jenner. “As I’ve watched and pondered, my outlook has changed significantly from what it was during my highly publicized and glamorized early Caitlyn days, when my life as an out trans woman was just beginning.”
Admitting she’s been on a learning curve since coming out as transgender, the 68-year-old shares she has “reflected on what my unique position of privilege means and how I can best use it to make a positive difference.”
Pointing to Trump’s declaration at the Republican National Convention in 2016 where he promised he would do everything in his power to “protect LGBTQ citizens from violence and oppression,” Jenner says she “saw fertile ground for change within the Republican Party on LGBTQ issues.”
With American views on LGBTQ citizens were improving, even in the GOP voter base, Jenner felt “optimistic that this was how I could leverage my privilege for change.”
After “many trips to Washington” which produced what she described as “positive” and “encouraging” conversations, Jenner felt hopeful for “positive change.”
“Sadly, I was wrong,” admits the former Olympian. “The reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president. The leader of our nation has shown no regard for an already marginalized and struggling community.”
“He has ignored our humanity,” continued Jenner. “He has insulted our dignity. He has made trans people into political pawns as he whips up animus against us in an attempt to energize the most right-wing segment of his party, claiming his anti-transgender policies are meant to “protect the country.”
“This is politics at its worst. It is unacceptable, it is upsetting, and it has deeply, personally hurt me.”
Jenner now feels her belief that she could work with the Trump administration to improve transgender lives was “a mistake.”
She calls the recently leaked Department of Health and Human Services memo, that reveals a plan to redefine gender in a very narrow manner that could virtually erase 1.4 million trans people in the United States, “just one more example in a pattern of political attacks” on trans people.
“I do not support Trump,” she shares. “I must learn from my mistakes and move forward.”
“I need to listen more to the members of the LGBTQ community and to learn more. I need to better use my voice, my privilege and my foundation to advocate and support our community.”
Jenner concludes with the statement: “The world needs to hear us. The world needs to know us. We will not be erased.”
Of course, the Twitterverse chimed in:
First he came for the Blacks and I did not speak out because I was not Black
Then he came for the Mexicans and I did not speak out because I was not Mexican
Then he came for the Muslims I did not speak out because I was not Muslim
So it’s only now, after 21 months of Trump’s hatred, bigotry, misogyny, racism, corruption and treason that @Caitlyn_Jenner finally admits she was wrong about him? I’m sorry, but I’m LONG past the time I gave a flying fuck about what she thinks. https://t.co/7hmGzPgslo
C’mon, Caitlyn Jenner, you did not think Donald Trump would help trans people. He picked Mike Pence as his veep, for chrissakes. You thought he would help your bank account.
Earlier this morning, as the nation is gripped with fear over more package bombs being discovered and a nationwide manhunt for a serial bomber intensified, the President of the United States tweeted that “bomb stuff” is affecting vote momentum for Republicans.
Republicans are doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this “Bomb” stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows – news not talking politics. Very unfortunate, what is going on. Republicans, go out and vote!
The Trumpster also groused about how bots were being removed from his Twitter account (because ‘fake’) and it must be a ‘bias’ conspiracy.
Twitter has removed many people from my account and, more importantly, they have seemingly done something that makes it much harder to join – they have stifled growth to a point where it is obvious to all. A few weeks ago it was a Rocket Ship, now it is a Blimp! Total Bias?
When Trump let us know, at 10:19 AM, that he's annoyed the "bomb" stuff was interfering with his political message, he must have already been briefed that the arrest was imminent— Joe Sudbay (@JoeSudbay) October 26, 2018
The president is upset an attempted mass terrorist attack could hurt his party’s political standing https://t.co/BQxexAZfDs— Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) October 26, 2018
Honest to G-d, there have been 12 assassination attempts, let alone the postal workers and law enforcement put at risk by these acts of domestic terrorism, and this is what Trump is doing right now. pic.twitter.com/7wxPnqEKec— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) October 26, 2018
NBC News reports that 56-year-old Florida resident Cesar Sayoc, Jr. has been identified as the suspect who sent a dozen pipe bomb packages to prominent critics of President Donald Trump.
Sayoc’s white van, which had pictures of Trump and the presidential seal plastered to the windows, was seized by the officials and hauled off to a secure facility.
For those who will ask, according to records, Sayoc is a registered Republican.
Far-right Trump supporters like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have suggested in the past couple of days that the bombs might have been sent by Democrats as a ‘false flag.’
A man has been arrested in Plantation in connection with the bombs sent to a dozen critics of President Trump, investigators said.
A police source said the federal investigation tracked a suspect to Plantation, near Broward Boulevard and State Road 441. The U.S. Department of Justice said one man was in custody and a press conference will be held at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
FBI agents and other law enforcement officers were examining a white van in a commercial parking lot, covered with pro-Trump stickers. They covered the van with a blue tarp and were preparing to load it on to a truck.
The investigation had shifted to South Florida Thursday and Friday, as the number of bombs reached 12.
The latest bombs discovered were sent to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former National Intelligence Director James Clapper, both similar in appearance to pipe bomb devices sent to other prominent Democrats.
TMZ is reporting that TODAY show host Megyn Kelly, formerly of Fox News, has been let go after her remarks about blackface earlier this week.
“Megyn Kelly Today” aired a repeat on Thursday morning, 2 days after she uncorked the absurd comment that it’s okay to wear blackface at Halloween. Sources connected to the network tell us unless a Hail Mary is thrown and caught at some point today … Megyn is gone for good.
The split with NBC comes the day after Megyn’s emotional on-air apology where she insisted she’d learned a lesson due to the backlash.
The mea culpa was clearly a case of too little, too late for the Peacock … which, to be honest, had issues with Megyn’s show even before the blackface blowup. Translation: the ratings were terrible. They’d dropped more than 30 percent, year-to-year, in her time slot.
TMZ goes on to say that her co-workers apparently ‘hated’ being on-air with her.
During coverage of Dr. Christine Ford’s testimony, for example, Kelly was part of a panel with NBC veterans Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd.
Kelly’s blunt, overtly conservative style was so off-putting, Mitchell left the panel before the segment was over.
I can admit to watching her morning show several times, but it was painful. Morning ‘light fare’ doesn’t suit Kelly at all.
According to The Daily Mail, Kelly apparently has a “no-break” deal with NBC which means she will walk away with a payout of $69 million.
Kelly’s talent agency, CAA, has also dropped her as well.
Gaslighting minorities for years saying things like, “what’s wrong with dressing in blackface” and “Santa is white” and walking away with $69M (i.e., being paid NOT to work) is the white privilege-est thing ever.
Her Sunday night show was a boring debacle, punctuated by low ratings, a PR nightmare involving Alex Jones, and an early cancelation. The soft news was painful, the hard news didn’t break ground. It was a bad scene. https://t.co/vs5byKjO6t
Milan-born artist NIKO releases his latest track “The One”
Handsome out artist NIKO drops his latest single, a romantic mid-tempo synth-pop track titled, “The One.”
Fusing a European sensibility with a contemporary sound, NIKO brings a sensual touch to pop music as he explores both universal and personal themes, inspirations and emotions.
NIKO describes the new track as “a romantic, upbeat song inspired by the first moments with someone you’re attracted to.”
Written and recorded on a hot summer afternoon in Los Angeles, NIKO says the song touches on “the frustration of modern dating, and the exhilarating feeling of sexual attraction when meeting someone new.”
Born and raised in Milan, NIKO was naturally drawn to the city’s fashion and nightlife scene at an early age, where his earliest musical endeavors began as creative collaborations with underground DJs as a songwriter and vocalist.
During a stint in London and Manchester, he co-wrote and recorded tracks with several producers, nurtured his passion for music production, and decided to launch his career as a solo artist.
Now based in New York City, NIKO is prepping for the release of his debut EP in 2019.
I previously featured the sexy Italian on The Randy Report when he released his track “2 Hearts.”
• 1 governor • 7 members of Congress • 4 statewide elected officials • 37 mayors • 123 state lawmakers • 306 local officials • 95 judicial elected officials
That’s a total of 573 LGBTQ elected officials in the entire country which breaks down to 0.11% of all public offices.
Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon is the first openly LGBTQ person to be elected to governor in the country. After succeeding John Kitzhaber upon his resignation in 2015, Brown, who’s openly bisexual, was elected to the office in 2016.
Brown is currently running for reelection this year, as are three more LGBTQ leaders (which end up ticking all of the LGBT boxes):
• Lupe Valdez, a lesbian woman running for governor in Texas • Christine Hallquist, a transgender woman running for governor in Vermont • Jared Polis, a gay man running for governor in Colorado
Brown looks steady for reelection as she leads her opponent in Oregon by an average of 3.4 points.
And in Colorado, Polis could be poised to become the country’s first-ever gay man elected to a governor’s mansion. (In 2004, former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey was closeted when elected but came out during his resignation speech).
According to RealClearPolitics, Polis leads his race by an average of 7 points.
Polis is one of the wealthiest members of Congress having made several fortunes as a tech entrepreneur. After taking his family’s greeting card company online, he also founded and sold ProFlowers.com for hundreds of millions of dollars.
With an estimated $300 million in personal wealth, Polis is funding much of his own campaign telling NBC News, “I’m beholden to no one except voters.”
So, if you’re in Colorado, make sure you vote for Jared Polis for governor.
And if you live in any of the 49 others states, make sure you get out and vote for our candidates as well!
