New Music: Robyn “Missing U”

Robyn

Swedish popstar Robyn is pop music royalty when it comes to making contemporary electronic synth pop. And the princess of EMD  just dropped her first single, “Missing U,” from her upcoming album.

The upbeat, synth-heavy track explores the yearning for someone who’s gone.

The Swedish-born artist said of the new track: “‘Missing U’ is a song about this trippy thing that happens when people disappear, it’s like they become even more clear and you see them everywhere.”

Written and recorded in Paris and Stockholm, the track re-teams Robyn with collaborators Joseph Mount (Metronomy) Klas Åhlund (Charli XCX, Madonna).

Special Counsel Again Requests To Interview Trump On Obstruction Of Justice

Donald Trump

According to ABC News, Special Counsel Robert Mueller has requested to interview Donald Trump regarding issues pertaining to obstruction of justice.

ABC News reports:

According to sources, the president learned within the last day that the special counsel will limit the scope of questioning and would like to ask questions both orally and written for the President to respond to.

According to sources familiar with the President’s reaction Wednesday morning, that was the genesis for his early morning tweet storm. Negotiations over a potential presidential interview have gone on for months, through several different iterations of the Trump legal team.

You’ll note Trump now says Manafort “worked for me for a very short time.”

When he won the election, he hailed Manafort’s great work.

Here’s the Twitter rant referenced in the ABC News report.

Appeals Court Rules Against Trump’s Withholding of Federal Funds For Sanctuary Cities

Donald Trump

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled Donald Trump’s executive order to withhold funds from so-called ‘sanctuary cities’ to be unconstitutional.

The ruling notes that federal funds can only be withheld by Congressional authorization.

Via Politico:

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that federal funding could be withheld only with congressional authorization. The appeals court also noted that the U.S. District Court went too far by blocking the policy nationwide, and sent back the case for “reconsideration and further findings.”

“We conclude that, under the principle of Separation of Powers and in consideration of the Spending Clause, which vests exclusive power to Congress to impose conditions on federal grants, the Executive Branch may not refuse to disperse the federal grants in question without congressional authorization,” a three-member panel of the 9th Circuit said in its 2-to-1 ruling.

Trump signed an executive order in January 2017 that dealt with interior immigration enforcement. The 9th Circuit on Wednesday ruled against a provision that limited funding to jurisdictions that don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement — also known as sanctuary cities.

The executive order focused on a federal statute that prohibits federal, state and local officials from restricting the sharing of information related to an individual’s immigration or citizenship status. While the appeals court didn’t rule on that statute, U.S.C. 1373, a Chicago-based federal judge in late July found it unconstitutional in separate lawsuit over withholding of federal grants over immigration enforcement. That ruling was limited to the city of Chicago, the plaintiff in the case.

The Justice Department issued a statement Wednesday condemning the ruling as a “victory for criminal aliens in California” and said the department will continue to be committed to “keeping criminal aliens off the streets.”

UPDATED: Rejected By Parents, Homeless Gay Teen Becomes Co-Valedictorian

Seth Owen

UPDATE: Since the LGBTQ media covered Seth’s story, the GoFundMe campaign has raised over $111,000 to help Seth in his college journey at Georgetown University. #HappyDance!

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Just about everyone’s senior year of high school is fraught with stress, obstacles and challenges.

But its safe to say most teens don’t have the year Seth Owen just faced.

In the middle of his sophomore year in Jacksonville, Florida, his father decided to take an unapproved dive into his son’s cell phone, and in doing so realized Owen was gay.

His “Christian” parents gave him an ultimatum: submit to so-called “conversion therapy” counseling and attend their anti-LGBTQ church or leave the house.

Speaking to News4Jax, Owen explained, “They made it clear the intention was to make me straight.”

While he continued to live with his parents, Seth found reasons to stay away from home. From after-school programs to swimming, Owen says he felt like he was “doing something good with the struggle instead of doing something damaging.”

When he finally put his foot down about the anti-LGBTQ church, he was forced to move out this past February with no financial or emotional support from his parents.

“I was really, really upset,” Owen shares. “It was extremely hurtful to know that I was walking out that door not knowing what lay ahead and feeling I don’t know how to explain it, it was devastating, absolutely devastating.”

Sleeping on friends couches and holding down jobs to support himself, Owen did what seems almost impossible: he maintained a 4.16 GPA becoming the co-valedictorian of First Coast High School’s class of 2018.

Owen had already been accepted to Georgetown University receiving a $50,000 scholarship. But, the remaining $27,000 of the $77,000 annual tuition was to be covered by his parents.

With no support in sight from his parents, one of Owen’s teachers created a crowd funding campaign to help the 18-year old. (Please hit the link and donate even a small amount).

“I don’t think thank you is good enough,” Owen says. “Of course I am extremely grateful, but I think thank you doesn’t say it. Now it’s time to pay it forward.”

With an inspiring attitude, Owen says he plans to become a defense attorney for neglected teens who find themselves in situations like his.

Watch the report from News4Jax below.

UPDATE: A Georgetown University spokesperson reached out after I published this report with this statement:

“Georgetown University admits and enrolls students without regard to their financial circumstances and is committed to meeting the demonstrated financial need of eligible students through a combination of aid programs that include grants, scholarships, employment and loans from federal, state, private, and University resources. While we cannot comment on any individual case, we work closely with students whose financial circumstances change after admission to modify financial aid assistance and ensure they can still enroll regardless of their ability to pay.”

Joe Biden Leads Trump +7 In Hypothetical Match-Up

Former Vice President Joe Biden

According to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll, former Vice President Joe Biden leads Donald Trump, 44% over 37% respectively, in a hypothetical match-up for the 2020 presidential election.

Regarding party support, the survey shows Biden currently enjoys 80% support from Democrats versus a slightly less strenuous 78% of Republicans for the Donald.

Biden has told the press regrets not running in 2016 but didn’t after the passing of his son, Beau. He has indicated he’s considering 2020 bid.

While many in the Democratic party say they want a younger, new face to be the party standard-bearer, I saw whatever gets it done as long as the candidate is qualified.

And Biden is definitely qualified.

Trump Followers Troll CNN’s Jim Acosta At Trump Rally

God bless poor Jim Acosta.

Trying to do his job last night at a Trump rally, the Donald’s followers stood behind the CNN journalist chanting “CNN sucks!” and giving rude gestures.

Childish and idiotic.

And one of these Trumper fools is going to hurt a journalist soon, mark my words.

Acosta, who is an absolute pro by the way, responded to the attacks via Twitter writing, “Just a sample of the sad scene we faced at the Trump rally in Tampa. I’m very worried that the hostility whipped up by Trump and some in conservative media will result in somebody getting hurt. We should not treat our fellow Americans this way. The press is not the enemy.”

Mind you, these are the same people who cheered when Donald Trump erroneously told the crowd you have to have an ID to buy groceries (you don’t) in an attempt to justify voter ID laws that target minorities disproportionately.

Trump Doubles Down On Government Shutdown

Alrighty then.

I’m sure this is the last thing Congressional Republicans want right before the mid-term elections – their leader threatening a dogvernment shutdown.

Donald Trump tweeted, “I don’t care what the political ramifications are, our immigration laws and border security have been a complete and total disaster for decades, and there is no way that the Democrats will allow it to be fixed without a Government Shutdown…Border Security is National Security, and National Security is the long-term viability of our Country. A Government Shutdown is a very small price to pay for a safe and Prosperous America!”

Popular, you’re gonna me pop-u-u-lar.

Brazil: Gay Kiss At Popular Tourist Attraction Gets Push Back

“The Kiss”

Readers – special thanks to my Instinct Magazine colleague, David Lopez, for this guest post.

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High about the land in lush greenery of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are the Sugarloaf cable cars, an attraction that takes visitors to the popular destination through a picturesque viewing of Brazil and possibly one of the most iconic figures in the world, Christ the Redeemer.

The attraction moves between Praia Vermelha and the Sugarloaf Mountain, reaching a summit of 1,299 feet.

Visitors who take the cable cars, can have their photos taken in the waiting area’s Fotográfica to commemorate their trip to Rio.

Sample photos of people from around the world adorn the photo area, but recently one particular photo has been the topic of controversy as it includes a gay couple kissing at the attraction.

The Intercept reports that the photo exists because of 29-year-old manager Pedro Lotti, who asked the couple if it were okay to display it for all to see.

Lotti, who is not gay, is inclusive of everyone who visits the attraction and often asks people if they are a couple. If they responds “yes” he encourages them to kiss or embrace, inviting them to be themselves. When the couple in the photo in question decided to kiss, Lotti asked them for permission to display it—and he chose to put it front and center for all visitors to see.

Lotti shared with The Intercept:

“I did it specifically because roughly 70 percent of our employees here are gay, and they experience serious problems here because of this. It actually took a while to be able to have a photo of a gay couples kissing because most are afraid to do it. Always, at the entrance, I noticed that same-sex couples were cautious or scared to touch, hold hands, or kiss for their photos and they would walk to the photo area, and then walk away, and return various times, obviously afraid of how people would react.”

Pedro Lotti

Lotti shares that since the photo has been on display, there have been floods of complaints as to why it is there.

“Unfortunately, the large majority of people who react to the photo do so quite poorly,” said Lotti. “We get complaints every day. They typically complain, specifically, that the photo is in the line of vision for children, and are angry that their kids specifically have seen the photo.”

Lotti refuses to remove the photo despite public opposition. Instead, he sees the photo as a teachable moment among parents and their children. He takes great satisfaction in the moments when parents use the photo to describe that love comes in all different forms.

Most of the complaints that come from parents use children as the excuse for wanting to censor, but according to Lotti, the children never demonstrate a negative reaction. It is the parents who bring up the issue because of their intolerance.

In a densely-Catholic country like Brazil, which has conservative ideologies, Lotti’s stance on the issue is making strides toward the inclusion and acceptance of the LGBTQ community.

(h/t: The Intercept)

Read more by David Lopez at InstinctMagazine.com.

First New Music From Culture Club In Nearly 20 Years – “Let Somebody Love You”

Culture Club

Grammy Award-winning Culture Club has dropped its first new single in nearly 20 years in advance of a new album, Life, due for release October 26. Boy George announced the news via Facebook this morning.

The new track, “Let Somebody Love You,” written by singer Boy George, guitarist Roy Hay, bassist Mikey Craig and drummer Jon Moss, has been popular at the band’s recent live concerts. This is the first time its available as a studio track. The song continues the band’s tradition of embracing a classic reggae-infused sound.

“Love is revolution / War and famine too / If you’ve the hunger in your heart / Let somebody love you”

The last single released by the band was all the way back in 1999 with “Cold Shoulder.”

Boy George

Culture Club had planned to release new music in 2015, but the album was eventually shelved with no explanation.

Known for huge hits in the 1980s like “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” and “Karma Chameleon,” Culture Club has racked up sales of over 150 million albums worldwide despite having released only 5 albums.

The band’s frontman, Boy George, gained worldwide attention for his asexual/androgynous appearance coupled with his gift with a quick quip. In addition to a successful solo career, George has also released successful albums as a DJ.

Listen to the new single, “Let Somebody Love You,” below.