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News Round-Up: July 23, 2021

Josue de la Vegas

Some news items you might have missed: • Instinct Magazine: RuPaul’s Drag Race is returning to Las Vegas, bringing six sexy Pit Crew members with it. And for the most part, it’ll be a totally new cast of sexy men (above). Check them out at the link. • Out Music: Belgian pop superstar Max Colombie, (aka Oscar and the Wolf) unveils his brand-new single and music video “Oliver.” The sultry single serves up a tropical beat and shimmering synths as Colombie’s sensual voice draws us further into his poolside dreamworld.

• Washington Blade:  Louisiana lawmakers failed to override Gov. John Bel Edwards’ (D) veto last month of a bill that would have barred trans girls and women from participating on athletic teams or in sporting events designated for girls or women at elementary, secondary and postsecondary schools. • Family Equality: This short two-minute video, released in advance of Parents Day on Sunday, offers a lighthearted but thorough explanation of the discrimination, bias, and disproportionate financial outlays same-sex couples can face on their journey to parenthood.

• Outsports: The Olympics always drive huge LGBTQ viewership. Here are 8 events at the Tokyo Olympics likely to be popular with LGBTQ viewers. • Deadline: Billy Porter’s directorial debut for Orion Pictures – What If? – will star Black transgender actress Eva Reign in the upcoming high school rom-com. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRhoOsyH2vf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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Lawmakers In Ghana Propose 10 Year Prison Sentences For LGBTQ People & Allies

New anti-LGBTQ legislation proposed in Ghana has been described as “one of the most draconian and sweeping anti-gay laws proposed around the world.” A draft of the legislation proposes up to 10 years in prison for LGBTQ+ people in the West African nation. Continue reading “Lawmakers In Ghana Propose 10 Year Prison Sentences For LGBTQ People & Allies”

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‘QAnon Shaman’ Could Cut A Plea Deal On Capitol Riot Charges

Jacob Chansley, aka the QAnon Shaman, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the Jan 6 Capitol Building invasion

Jake Angeli, aka the 'QAnon Shaman'
Jake Angeli aka ‘QAnon Shaman’ (screen capture)
The infamous “QAnon Shaman,” probably the most recognizable figure to take part in the violent riots at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, is apparently in negotiations for a plea deal after psychologists diagnosed him with multiple mental illnesses. From KFGO:

In an interview, defense lawyer Albert Watkins said that officials at the federal Bureau of Prisons, or BOP, have diagnosed his client Jacob Chansley with transient schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety.

The BOP’s findings, which have not yet been made public, suggest Chansley’s mental condition deteriorated due to the stress of being held in solitary confinement at a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, Watkins said.

“As he spent more time in solitary confinement … the decline in his acuity was noticeable, even to an untrained eye,” Watkins said in an interview on Thursday.

Chansley, of Arizona, was photographed inside the Capitol wearing a horned headdress, shirtless and heavily tattooed. He is a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory that casts Trump as a savior figure and elite Democrats as a cabal of Satanist pedophiles and cannibals.

Jake Angeli - the QAnon Shaman Chansley currently faces charges of civil disorder and obstructing an official proceeding. He’s garnered headlines since he was arrested for demanding an organic diet while in prison. He’s also said he is now “deeply disappointed” in Donald Trump.

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Shirtless Tongan Pita Taufatofua Is Back At The Olympic Games

Pita

Pita
3-time Olympic athlete Pita Taufatofua of Tonga (screen capture)
Pita Taufatofua, the shirtless Olympic athlete from Tonga, is back at the Olympic Games. You’ll recall he became an overnight sensation at the 2016 Rio Games when he appeared in the opening ceremony’s Parade of Nations in a traditional (shirtless) Tongan costume. Even though he lost his first taekwondo match, he was one of the most memorable athletes to emerge from the games. Two years later, he competed at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. He was the only member of Team Tonga at the event where he competed in cross-country skiing. He is only the second Tongan to ever compete in a Winter Olympics. Luger Bruno Banani was the first in 2014. Taufatofua will compete in his original sport of taekwondo at his 3rd Olympic Games in Tokyo. His worldwide acclaim has led him to become a motivational speaker and a UNICEF ambassador working with homeless charities. The Twitterverse was thrilled to see the handsome athlete return.

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Lil Nas X Turns Out The Pink Jumpsuit (Or Not) In ‘Industry Baby’

Lil Nas X in 'Industry Baby'

Lil Nas X in 'Industry Baby'
Lil Nas X in ‘Industry Baby’ (screen capture)
Lil Nas X serves up more of his artistic, uncensored self as he drops his latest music video, “Industry Baby.” Set in the fictional “Montero State Prison,” Lil Nas X presents a gay jailhouse fantasy of pink jumpsuits, shower room twerking, and prison yard workouts. Out Arrow star Colton Haynes drops in a cameo as a prison guard grooving on Lil Nas X’s previous video, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” Nas has no time for Haynes though because he’s got an escape on his mind. By the way, Nas gave folks a hint days ago that the video would not be G-rated. While hip-hop and rap aren’t my usual music genres, I totally appreciate the art, the vision, and the expression.  The provocative video is just the latest in a string of home runs for the Grammy Award winner proving he’s totally not a ‘one-hit-wonder.’ The video also serves as a fundraiser for The Bail Project, a “national nonprofit organization on a mission to end cash bail, one of the key drivers of mass incarceration and structural racism in the U.S. criminal legal system.”  

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Alabama Governor: ‘Time To Start Blaming The Unvaccinated Folks’

Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL)

Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey expressed her frustration with the low level of COVID-19 vaccinations in her state even as cases are surging. From NBC News:

“Folks are supposed to have common sense,” Ivey told a reporter in response to a question about what it’s going to take for people to get vaccinated.

“But it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down,” she continued.

Alabama has the lowest vaccination rate in the country with only 38 percent of the state’s population receiving at least one vaccine dose. According to state statistics, 31 percent were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday. Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new coronavirus cases in the state was up by 694 or 573 percent.

“Almost 100 percent of the new hospitalizations are with unvaccinated folks,” Ivey said. “And the deaths are certainly occurring with the unvaccinated folks. These folks are choosing a horrible lifestyle of self-inflicted pain.”

She told reporters that she’s done her best to fight the virus but “can’t make you take care of yourself.”

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News Round-Up: July 22, 2021

(image via Provincetown Bears)
Some news items you might have missed: • WCVB: Massachusetts health officials now say 256 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been linked to a Fourth of July holiday cluster in Provincetown. Many of those who tested positive had been vaccinated, but the good news is…(see next item) • The Hill: Two doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are 88 percent effective against the delta variant, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday. • OUT: Just ahead of the release of his latest single “Industry Baby,” Lil Nas X took to social media to post an emotional letter he wrote to his young, 20-year-old self, and his words of love and affirmation really hit home to anyone who has ever felt stuck in their lives.

• Edge Media: Federal judges have temporarily blocked an Arkansas law banning gender confirming treatments for transgender youth and a West Virginia ban on trans athletes in women’s sports, two major victories for LGBTQ advocates against a wave of restrictions approved by Republican legislators. • Washington Blade: The U.S. Senate has confirmed two Biden nominees — one lesbian, another transgender — for high-profile positions at the Defense Department by unanimous consent. Gina Ortiz Jones, a lesbian former Air Force pilot, was confirmed as under secretary of the Air Force, and Shawn Skelly, a transgender 20-year U.S. Navy veteran, was confirmed as assistant secretary of defense for readiness. • HuffPost: Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) on Thursday tried to shame Democrats for not saying whether they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 ― except every Democratic lawmaker is vaccinated and has confirmed as much, unlike a huge portion of Republicans who either aren’t vaccinated or won’t say.

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Audio: Trump Claims Police Were ‘Hugging And Kissing’ Capitol Rioters

Donald Trump has asked a federal court to force Twitter to reinstate his account

Donald Trump (image public domain/White House)
Take a listen to this audio recording of Donald Trump rambling in an interview with reporters Carol Leonnig and Phil Rucker – the two authors of the new book, I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year. Anderson Cooper played a full uninterrupted five minutes of the recording on his CNN show. At one point, Leonig asked ‘the former guy’ what it was he expected when he urged his followers to march up to the U.S. Capitol building on January 6 which became an unruly, violent riot. From Alternet:

“We want to understand what did you want when you said ‘go up there’?” Leonnig says in the recording, referring to Trump saying that he was going to march with the crowd to the Capitol.

“I would have said that you will show — not to go in, although they were ushered in by the police. I mean, in all fairness, the Capitol Police were ushering people in. The Capitol Police were very friendly, hugging and kissing — you don’t see that, but there’s plenty of tape on that too, the Capitol Police, that’s the way it is. I wanted — personally, what I wanted is what they wanted. They showed up. Just to show support. Because I happen to believe the election was rigged. At a level like nothing has ever been rigged before. There’s tremendous proof. There’s tremendous proof. Statistically, it wasn’t even possible that he won. I mean, things such as in Ohio, Iowa, there’s never been a loss.”

“Did you need better lawyers because they took it to court—?” asked Rucker.

“I needed better judges. The Supreme Court was afraid to take it, don’t forget,” said Trump.

Read more at Alternet.

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Music Video: Majestic X Boney M ‘Rasputin’

As we hope to head back out to clubs this summer, the official music video for the smash remix of “Rasputin” by Majestic and Boney M serves up an invigorating dose of nighttime debauchery. The original disco confection by Boney M was released in 1978 but has enjoyed a resurgence thanks to the remix with Majestic and a TikTok dance challenge that has gone viral. Shot at the Soho nightclub The Box, the video features a star-studded cast including Ru Paul’s Drag Race finalist Bimini Bon Boulash, Pete from grime duo Pete & Bas and an array of the venue’s entertainers. The track has already racked up over 154 million global Spotify streams to date and is charting on Spotify in the UK, the Netherlands, France, Australia, Ireland and more. Stream/download “Rasputin” here.

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COVID Patient Would Still Refuse Vaccine: ‘Don’t Shove It Down My Throat’

In his report for CBS This Morning, national correspondent David Begnaud recently spoke to a Louisiana man, Scott Roe, who is currently recovering from COVID-19 but remains adamant he will not be getting any of the vaccines available to the public.

Roughly one in three Louisianans are fully vaccinated. This week, the state’s health department reported the highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations since late February. Scott Roe is one of them. “Here I am recovering, getting out of here finally tomorrow. Am I going to get a vaccine? No,” Roe said. “Because there’s too many issues with these vaccines.” This father, former baseball coach, small business owner and hunter caught COVID and then developed pneumonia.

“Before you got sick,” Begnaud asked Roe, “if you would have had a chance to get the vaccine and prevent this, would you have taken the vaccine?” “No,” Roe said. “I would have gone through this, yes sir… Don’t shove it down my throat. That’s what local, state, federal administration is trying to do – shove it down your throat.” “What are they shoving,” Begnaud asked, “the science?” “No they’re shoving the fact that that’s their agenda,” Roe said, “their agenda is to get you vaccinated.”

GOP Rep. Steve Scalise, Roe’s representative in Congress, announced this week he just received his first Pfizer shot, and urged his constituents to follow suit saying the shots are “safe and effective.” Roe’s response? “Not proven.”

My question of late has been: “What would constitute ‘proof’ that the vaccines are safe and effective to these folks? Is it a matter of time? Are they saying they would take the shot in a year? Two years? Ten years? Or have the vaccines become such a politicalized topic that those folks will never cross that divide? Here’s the full report from CBS This Morning.

(h/t JoeMyGod)