LGBTQ news and entertainment
In the aftermath of former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s guilty plea, Saturday Night Live delivered a Christmas Carol themed cold open.
Check out President Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) being visited by the spirits of “Jacob Marley” Michael Flynn (Mikey Day), “Christmas Past” Billy Bush (Alex Moffatt), “Christmas Present” Vladimir Putin (Beck Bennett) and “Christmas Future” Hillary Clinton (Kate McKinnon).
Today’s Christmas music comes from eclectic jazz band Pink Martini led by out frontman Thomas Lauderdale.
Pink Martini’s 2010 release, Joy To The World, stays pretty mainstream for the most part with smart, sexy, and artful renditions of holiday classics.
Take a listen to the elegant rhythm of the congas and smooth vocals of China Forbes on PM’s version of “Little Drummer Boy” below.
And then, you see folks doing this.
Photographer Josh Rossi used special photo shoots to reveal the super-heroes these kids with illnesses and disabilities truly are.
More of this, please.
This kind photographer turned kids with illnesses and disabilities into superheroes #SundayMorning pic.twitter.com/yOgJGK9FRw— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) December 3, 2017
Two days after former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI regarding conversation he had the Russian ambassador, Donald Trump took to Twitter (where else?) to attack the FBI.
Calling the former FBI director James Comey a liar, Trump tweeted, “After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters – worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness.”
I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn. Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2017
After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters – worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2017
Reactions from the Twitterverse:
You admitted on national TV that you fired him because he wouldn’t stop pursuing the investigation https://t.co/iQnLXHihx9— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) December 3, 2017
Be very afraid: #Trump just admitted he wants to politicize the FBI. #CreepingAutocracy. https://t.co/F3VPtdNCyu— EJ Dionne (@EJDionne) December 3, 2017
Nope. Not letting this go. The FBI’s reputation is not in “tatters”. It’s composed of the same dedicated men and women who have always worked there and who do a great, apolitical job. You’ll find integrity and honesty at FBI headquarters and not at 1600 Penn Ave right now— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) December 3, 2017
May 8: Trump tweets: “The Russia-Trump collusion story is a total hoax, when will this taxpayer funded charade end?”May 9: Trump fires Comey
May 11: Trump tells NBC News he fired Comey over “Russia thing”
Dec. 3: Trump tweets: “I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn” pic.twitter.com/HoFhKC9BJr
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) December 3, 2017
A new CBS News/YouGov poll shows 71% of Alabama Republicans believe the allegations of sexual misconduct by GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore are false.
In the last month of the special election, several women have come forward saying Moore made inappropriate sexual advances towards them when they were teenagers. The youngest was 14.
More stats from the survey:
• Among likely voters, Moore currently leads his Democratic challenger Doug Jones 49% to 43%
• Among all registered voters, the two candidates are tied indicating the winner will be decided by turnout
• 52% of Moore’s supporters say they are voting for him to ensure a conservative vote in the Senate
• Less than half of Moore’s supporters – 48% – say they are voting for him because they think he’s the best person for the job
• Among Moore supporters, Donald Trump has a 96% approval rating
• 56% of registered voters in Alabama believe same-sex marriage should not be legal
That said, it should not surprise you that Alabama currently ranks 47th in the U.S. in terms of education.
Some news items you might have missed:
• Woofy Alex Abramov (above) says, “Everyone should believe in something. I believe I should go to the beach this weekend.” You gotta admit, Alex wears the beach very, very well 🙂
• Analysis by Newsweek shows the current tax bill in the Senate would devastate support systems and services for LGBT Americans.
• Uri Kokia has come out as gay making him the first professional basketball player to come out as gay in Israel. In an interview, Kokia said, “I want to show you can make a long and glorious career as a gay man.”
• A father in Mills, Wyoming, is accused of attacking his 15-year-old gay son with a knife because the father disapproved of homosexuality.
• Republican Congressman Blake Farenthold of Texas, who prides himself as a “family values” politician used taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment case to the tune of $84,000. Farenthold had told his former communications director he had “sexual fantasies” and “wet dreams” about her.
• In related news, Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina reportedly used $150,000 in taxpayer money to settle a veteran-discrimination and retaliation claim with a former aide.
• Anthony Rapp has received a lot of social media attacks after telling his story of sexual misconduct by Kevin Spacey 30 years ago when Rapp was 14. Rather than fight back, Rapp decided to share them all with the world.
• Check out this touching holiday video featuring uber-cute pooch, Chobo.
Donald Trump is back down to the lowest point of his presidency today according to the Gallup Daily tracking poll: 33% approve, 62% disapprove
This is a lower rating than Reagan, Clinton, or Obama ever had in their presidencies.
Even as all of Washington, D.C. was agog at the news of former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleading guilty to lying to the FBI and that he will be “fully cooperating” with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation, the White House has tried to spin these events into “no news.”
This morning, speaking to reporters, Donald Trump made a point of repeating, “What has been shown is no collusion,” he said. “No collusion. There’s been absolutely no collusion so we’re very happy.”
But behind the scenes, Trump is not so confident. According to several sources close to Trump, he has been concerned for some time that “Flynn turned on me.”
From The Daily Beast:
For weeks, Trump has vented privately to advisers and confidants about his anxiety over signs that Flynn had flipped. He noted the possibility that Flynn had “turned on me,” three sources close to the president independently recall him saying. These sources had relayed details of these conversations to The Daily Beast over the course of the past week.
Trump’s fears came into sharp focus this past month, as several media outlets began to report that Flynn appeared to be cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
The president—an avid and voracious consumer of Twitter and cable news—began privately fuming, according to an administration official and two outside allies of Trump. Two of the three sources noted that it sounded at times as if Trump felt personally hurt by the prospect that someone whom he admired professionally and liked personally had potentially turned.
Trump later tweeted that Flynn’s “actions during the transition were lawful.”
Because, folks always lie about “lawful” actions, right?
Watch the Donald address reporters below.
President Trump says he is not concerned about what Michael Flynn might tell the special counsel, saying “there has been absolutely no collusion” https://t.co/pSEiZSEzoR— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) December 2, 2017
I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017
So the official story is that everyone in TrumpWorld was lying about Russia connections—including to the FBI!—even though there was “nothing to hide.” Got it. https://t.co/txxzgVDQpY— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) December 2, 2017
Some news items you might have missed:
• Andrew Christian begins a month-long celebration of Christmas with a candid photo of “Father Daddy Christmas” after trimming the tree.
• The Riveras reality star Johnny Lopez came out in a touching video after his boyfriend posted a photo of the two of them embracing.
• The New York City Council has banned so-called “conversion/ex-gay therapy” for minors.
• It appears that Republican Sen. Bob Corker will be the only “no” vote from the Repubs on the current (ever-evolving) tax reform bill. That would mean the vote will most likely be 51-49.
• On this World AIDS Day, a new poll in the UK shows 1 in 5 Brits would feel “uncomfortable” wearing a red ribbon in honor of those we’ve lost to HIV/AIDS.
• In case you missed it, check out my podcast for World AIDS Day 2017:
