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Prosecutors Have Filed Charges On 411 Capitol Invasion Suspects

Police officer crushed in doorway at U.S. Capitol

Police officer crushed in doorway at U.S. Capitol
(screen capture)
The Washington Post reports federal prosecutors have filed charges against 411 suspects in the January 6 invasion of the Capitol building including about 75 people charged with assaulting police officers. Nearly 70 are current or former U.S. military service members, law enforcement or government officials who swore to uphold the law. The Post also notes that  most of the defendants (181 of 411 or about 44 percent) won’t serve time at all because they are charged with low-level misdemeanors like trespassing or disorderly conduct. Read the full article.

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Love Found In Israel – The Queer-Themed Film ‘Sublet’

Check out the soon to be released queer themed film "Sublet"

Check out the soon to be released queer themed film "Sublet" Check out the trailer to the soon-to-be released queer themed film, Sublet.

Starring Tony Award-winning and Emmy-nominated John Benjamin Hickey and featuring the debut of Niv Nissim, Sublet focuses on a New York Times writer (Hickey) who visits Tel Aviv after suffering a tragedy. The city’s energy and his relationship with a younger man he meets there (Nissim) bring him back to life.

In theaters and Video On Demand on June 11.

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NYC Pride Bans Gay Police Officers From Marching In Uniform

LGBTQ police officers will not be allowed to participate as a group in the annual Pride march, and organizers said they will rely on private security for their events. I’m not quite down with this decision. I understand the politics, but I think when you want to to be the ‘good guys,’ you have to be the ‘good guys.’ From the New York Times:

New York City’s annual Pride celebration, which began 51 years ago as a defiant commemoration of an anti-police uprising and has evolved into a city-sanctioned equality jamboree, will take steps to reduce the presence of law enforcement at its events.

Starting this year, police and corrections officers will also not be allowed to participate as a group in the annual Pride march until at least 2025. The ban includes the Gay Officers Action League, an organization of L.G.B.T.Q. police, which announced the news in a statement on Friday night.

The New York Police Department will also be asked to stay a block away from the edge of all in-person events, including the march. Heritage of Pride, which organizes events, will instead turn to private companies for security and safety, calling police officers in emergencies only when necessary, they said.

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Saturday Showtune: Mandy Patinkin “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught/Children Will Listen”

I was recently reminded of this 1995 recording by Mandy Patinkin of “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught” paired with “Children Will Listen” from Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods. At the time of the album release, some folks decried what they felt were Mandy’s vocal “histrionics” in his take on the Rodgers & Hammerstein song. But I always liked it; I found his yelling the line, “You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late, before you are six or seven or eight, to hate all the people your relatives HATE!” compelling and evocative. Pairing the song with a very tender, sensitive rendition of “Children Will Listen” (from the brilliant Into the Woods) brought home the same lesson Hammerstein was going for but in Sondheimian manner.

Careful the things you say, children will listen… Careful the things you do, children will see – and learn…

Looking at the divisive political landscape today, I think it’s pretty spot on. Listen below.

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Proud Boys Leader Lashes Out At Trump

Ethan Nordean (circled) in a photo provided by the Justice Dept and Eddie Block Films

Ethan Nordean (circled) in a photo provided by the Justice Dept and Eddie Block Films
Ethan Nordean (circled) in a photo provided by the Justice Dept and Eddie Block Films
So, now they’re mad. Now that they’ve been made a fool of.

“Fuck Trump! Fuck him more than Biden. I’ve followed this guy for 4 years and given everything and lost it all. Yes he woke us up, but he led us to believe some great justice was upon us…and it never happened. Now I’ve got some of my good friends and myself facing jail time cuz we follow this guy’s lead and never questioned it.”

More from USA Today:

Proud Boys leader Ethan Nordean lashed out at President Donald Trump, accusing him of misleading his supporters and then deserting them despite their unwavering loyalty.

“We are now and always have been on our own. So glad he was able to pardon a bunch of degenerates as his last move and s— on us on the way out,” Nordean said in an expletive-laden message about the former president. “F— you trump you left us on [t]he battle field bloody and alone.”

Nordean is one of several members of the extremist group with ties to white supremacy whose members describe themselves as “Western Chauvinists.” He’s among the more than 400 people who have been charged for their alleged roles in the deadly assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Read the full article here.

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News Round-Up: May 14, 2021

'Map daddy' Steve Kornacki

'Map daddy' Steve Kornacki
‘Map daddy’ Steve Kornacki (screen capture)
Some news items you might have missed: • Deadline: NBC News and MSNBC correspondent Steve Kornacki, the data guru who became one of the breakout stars of election night coverage last year, will develop a game show for NBCUniversal’s television and streaming group, and will officially join NBC Sports with plans for appearances during Olympics coverage and Super Bowl LVI. • Pink News: Oregon will become the 14th state to ban the gay and trans panic defense in legal proceedings. State lawmakers have passed the legislation by a near unanimous vote. The bill would ban legal defenses that claim a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity was a justifiable trigger for a defendant’s violent or lethal reaction. • OUT: Out Olympian Adam Rippon is teaming with Twitter and NBC Olympics to host a live daily show on the social media platform covering this summer’s games in Tokyo. The new daily interactive program entitled Talking’ Tokyo will be broadcast live on Twitter.

• Attitude Magazine: John Barrowman has been cut from the upcoming Doctor Who: Time Fracture immersive theatrical production following allegations of inappropriate behavior on the sets of Doctor Who and Torchwood. • Gaycation Magazine: Each week on Fridays, Gaycation Travel Show will air episodes treating viewers to various experiences based around the people who live in the destinations, and will learn more about the Queer perspective in each city, the best places to stay, eat and explore, as well as what to pack for each location. The show’s season premiere kicks off today exploring Manhattan. Later episodes will feature Brighton, United Kingdom, Vancouver, Tulsa, Orlando, Mount Dora, Brooklyn, Cedar Rapids and Chicago.

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New Docu-Series From FX: ‘PRIDE’

Logo for the new LGBTQ docuseries PRIDE on FX Decades of struggle, revolution, and love. FX’s new six-part documentary, PRIDE, premieres May 14 at 8pm on FX, next day on FX on Hulu. From the official description:

Featuring little-known characters such as Madeleine Tress or 1980s videographer Nelson Sullivan who chronicled a vanishing downtown New York City during the AIDS epidemic, the series also features international figures such as Civil Rights pioneer Bayard Rustin, writer Audre Lorde and Senators Tammy Baldwin and Lester Hunt.

The evolution of trans rights and identities through the decades is charted through interviews and archival footage of pioneers including Christine Jorgensen, Flawless Sabrina, Ceyenne Doroshow, Susan Stryker, Kate Bornstein, Dean Spade and Raquel Willis.

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2020 Voter Fraud Found In Colorado

Barry Morphew cast a ballot in the 2020 election for his missing wife

Barry Morphew reportedly admitted to committing 2020 voter fraud
Barry Morphew (mugshot)
Another example of that 2020 voter fraud Donald Trump keeps talking about was apparently found in Colorado. From the Fox News affiliate KDVR in Denver:

Prosecutors have filed new charges against Barry Morphew, alleging the man accused of murdering his missing wife submitted a presidential ballot in her name. Morphew was recently arrested on charges of murdering his wife, Suzanne, after she disappeared a year ago. She still has yet to be found.

Court documents show he now faces one felony count for allegedly forging public documents and a misdemeanor mail in ballot offense. Bond has been set at $1,000 but he’s being held without bail on the murder charges.

According to the arrest affidavit, investigators responded to the Chaffee County Clerk and Recorder’s Office after the clerk made a report of alleged voter fraud in October of 2020. The clerk told investigators that they’d received a presidential ballot from Suzanne even though she was missing.

Morphew signed the ballot as the witness but didn’t include a signature for his missing wife. When asked why he submitted the fraudulent ballot, Morphew told investigators, “Just because I wanted Trump to win.”

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US Marine Corps Officer Arrested For Taking Part In Capitol Invasion

Christopher Warnagiris (image via Justice Dept)
A U.S. Marine Corps officer is about to go through some stuff after being arrested for taking part in the January 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol. From the Department of Justice:

An active duty U.S. Marine Corps commissioned officer stationed at the Marine Corps Base Quantico was arrested today in Virginia and charged with crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

Major Christopher Warnagiris, 40, of Woodbridge, is charged with federal offenses that include assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; and obstruction of justice, among other charges.

According to court documents and security camera footage, Warnagiris violently entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, after pushing through a line of police officers guarding the East Rotunda doors. Once inside, Warnagiris positioned himself in the corner of the doorway, using his body to keep the door open and pull others inside.

When a U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officer tried to pull the doors shut, Warnagiris refused and continued pushing it open. Warnagiris can be seen pushing the officer in an effort to maintain his position in the open door in security camera footage

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News Round-Up: May 13, 2021

David T. Hines fleeced the federal government out of $3.4 million

David T. Hines fleeced the federal government out of $3.4 million
David T. Hines (mug shot)
Some news items you might have missed: • Yahoo News: A Miami businessman, David T. Hines (above), was sentenced to more than six years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to fleecing $3.4 million from a federal COVID-19 relief program. The 29-year-old reported spent the money on luxury items including a $318,000 Lamborghini Huracán Evo. • New York Post: Randall Menges, convicted of consensual gay sex as a teen in the ’90s under so-called ‘sodomy laws,’ will not have to register as a sex offender in Montana, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. Menges did seven years in prison for the crime. In 2003, the Supreme Court struck down sodomy laws often used against gay men. • The Daily Beast: Multiple women paid by Rep. Matt Gaetz’s wingman and close associate Joel Greenberg claim they felt pressured to do drugs and have sex with him.

• Edge Media: The year 2021 has already set the record for the most anti-LGBTQ laws to be passed – and it’s only May. • Buzzfeed: Instagram now allows users to include their pronouns as part of their profile. • Morning Consult: Fifty-seven percent of unvaccinated adults said a big cash payment, such as a $1,000 savings bond, would sway them, while 43 percent said they’d probably or definitely get vaccinated if they were offered a smaller reward, such as a $50 bond.