Thomas Sibick reaching toward police officer’s badge and radio (image via Metropolitan Police) Thomas F. Sibick, of Buffalo, New York, faces serious charges in connection to assaulting a Metropolitan police officer and “forcibly” taking his badge and radio during January’s riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to NBC News, Sibick was charged with “knowingly entering a restricted building, violent entry or disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, obstruction of law enforcement, assaulting or impeding certain officers, and taking from a person anything of value by force.” Court documents state that FBI agents viewed Instagram footage that shows Sibick saying he had been tear-gassed but “we’re going, baby, we’re going.” He also shared photos on Facebook showing himself holding a shield belonging to a Capitol police officer. (image via US Court) Sibick’s story is he was actually trying to help an officer who was pulled into the crowd and then “beaten, tased, and robbed” of his badge, radio, and 17-round magazine. Uh huh… That’s it. According to the court documents, “Sibick stated that he attempted to reach the officer to pull him away but was unable to get to him and at that point he feared for his life and that of the officer. Sibick further stated that due to the violence, he decided to leave.” But then footage from the officer’s body cam, who blacked out during the attack and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment, showed Sibick reaching toward the officer and pulling off the officer’s radio and badge. In a follow-up interview with Sibick on February 23, investigators found Sibick’s story changed a bit. “Sibick stated that he had reached in to try to help the officer, and that he remembered the badge coming off as he reached for him,” reads the complaint. “Sibick said that he pressed the ’emergency orange button’ once he had possession of the radio to get help for the officer.” Sibick then told investigators that he dropped the badge and radio and left the Capitol. However, he later admitted to taking the items back to Buffalo where he threw away the radio and buried the badge in his yard. Sibick was arrested and then released to home confinement at his father’s house while he awaits trial. Sibick’s Instagram showed photos with the police shield as well as one photo captioned, “Wildest experience in my life!”
New York man accused of taking badge of officer beaten during Capitol riot. Thomas Sibick, of Buffalo, is accused of taking the officer's badge and radio and burying the badge in his backyard: @minyvonneb, @NBCNews.https://t.co/vUvodq1qAc
Landon Grier (mugshot) Meet Landon Grier, 24, who allegedly refused to wear a face mask on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Denver (as required by the FAA) on March 9 and then apparently urinated in the cabin. He’s now facing a possible 20 year prison sentence and $250,000 fine for the federal charge of interfering with a flight crew and attendants. From NBC DFW:
The affidavit by FBI Special Agent Martin Daniell III, who interviewed Grier and crew members, says Grier appeared to be trying to sleep but swatted at an attendant when she asked him repeatedly to put on his mask, as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
A passenger later summoned attendants because Grier was urinating in his seat area, Daniell wrote.
The agent said Grier told him he had several beers and “a couple of shots” before boarding the flight, fell asleep on the plane and “awoke to being yelled at by the flight attendants who told him he was peeing.”
Grier later admitted to having several beers and “a couple of shots” before the flight. Journalist Jeremy Jojola reports that Grier has several previous arrests including drunk driving and burglary.
A Colorado man accused of disrupting an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Denver by refusing to wear a mask and then standing up and urinating in the cabin faces a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew and attendants. https://t.co/Jspq7Sb8fy
Breonna Taylor It was exactly one year ago today that an innocent young Black woman lost her life in a late-night police raid gone wrong as police gunfire rained through her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky. From the New York Times:
For months, her death went largely unrecognized. Once more people took notice, though, the city was shaken to its core. Protests rocked the downtown area during the summer and fall as demonstrators demanded justice through tears and megaphones and erected a memorial in a prominent square. They prayed together and sang together, chanting, “Say her name!”
Breonna Taylor became a rallying cry, and when no officers were charged in connection with her death, which occurred during a botched drug raid, protesters returned to the streets. Activists are optimistic that the first anniversary of her death, on Saturday, will further fuel a promising surge of civic engagement, particularly from Black residents.
“What happened to Breonna Taylor has shaped every aspect of our lives,” said Charles Booker, a former state representative for Louisville. “Her door being kicked in was our door being kicked in. It really has transformed everything.”
For those who aren’t aware, the police got a tip Taylor’s apartment was being used to traffic drugs. They got the address wrong. According to reports, the police burst through the door in the middle of the night under the use of what’s known as a ‘no-knock warrant’ which means they didn’t announce who they were before entering. Taylor was shot dead in her bed. Over the course of a year, none of the officers who fired into the apartment that night has been charged for the death of Taylor. Read the full article.
Breonna Taylor’s death was a tragedy, a blow to her family, her community, and America. As we continue to mourn her, we must press ahead to pass meaningful police reform in Congress. I remain committed to signing a landmark reform bill into law.
Today, I #SayHerName. Breonna Taylor. Her life and her dreams were needlessly cut short. @POTUS and I will continue to push for police reform. We’re committed to working with Congress to get it done.
Saying her name is about honor. Saying her name is about respect. Saying her name is about accountability. Saying her name is about equal protection. Saying her name is about demanding action. Saying her name is about justice. Breonna Taylor. Breonna Taylor. Breonna Taylor.
One year after she was murdered by police officers, it is a disgrace that we are still waiting on justice for Breonna Taylor. Yes, her life mattered. The time is long overdue for us to combat systemic racism and a broken criminal justice system.
Brody was fascinated by seeing himself on TV Checking in from Brody Land… The other night, Michael put a video of the Brody-O playing with Mama Scarlett on the TV in the master bedroom via Air Play. Brody heard the sounds of dogs playing, and when he turned to look he became fascinated by the image of two dogs on the screen. He stared so intently, and at one point you’ll see him almost lean into what he sees. It was like he was watching the ‘dailies’ of his life movie. He clearly knows star quality when he sees it.
You’ll recall Eric Trump, second son to ‘the former guy,’ was discovered to have funneled money to the Trump Organization by holding his cancer charity’s annual event at the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, New York. Eric told folks it was “efficient” to use the Trump Golf Club because it was “free.” But then an investigation revealed the golf club was actually charging for its use and making money in the process. Well, they’re still at it only now it’s a dog charity down in Florida which has spent as much as $1.9 million at Trump’s Mar-a-lago country club. Yahoo News reports:
A dog rescue charity with links to Lara Trump has spent as much as $1.9 million at former President Donald Trump’s properties over the last seven years and will drop an additional quarter-million at his Mar-a-Lago country club this weekend.
According to a permit filed with the town of Palm Beach, Florida, Big Dog Ranch Rescue estimates it will spend $225,000 at the club where Donald Trump has taken up full-time residence since leaving the White House. All the profit from that spending winds up in his pocket.
Internal Revenue Service filings show that the group has spent as much as $1,883,160 on fundraising costs at Mar-a-Lago and Trump’s golf course 18 miles north in Jupiter starting in 2014.
Read the full article here. And yes, the Donald made a “surprise” appearance at the event. The local NBC News affiliate reports he told attendees he wasn’t “prepared” for the event but happened to be walking by and wondered what was going on.
Fitness guru Marc Burgum (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: It’s Friday night and fitness guru Marc Burgum (above, proving clothes are sexy) asks, “If you could be doing anything right now, what would it be?” Follow him on Instagram here. • Washington Blade: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), whose support for the Equality Act is seen as crucial to winning Republican votes for the LGBTQ non-discrimination bill, has laid out the proposed revisions she’s demanding in exchange for her support. • Stonewall Gazette: Check out the short film Sauna the Dead where two men must overcome prejudice during a night at the sauna by joining forces in taking down a horde of towel-wearing zombies. Who will live to see the dawn?
• Andrew Christian Blog: The underwear and swimwear designer offers five reasons why he believes bulges are sexier than seeing naked peen. • WLTX: South Carolina’s hate crime bill got its first round of approval Thursday, but with an amendment that may exclude the LGBTQ community??? • Instinct Magazine: DC Comics will celebrate this year’s Pride Month with the release of an anthology series titled DC Pride which will include “LGBTQIA+ characters from all corners of DC’s ever-expanding Universe, including cameos by fan favorites Batwoman, Renee Montoya, Alan Scott, Midnighter, Apollo, Extraño, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Constantine, and more.” ‘Superman’ #32 Pride variant cover (Credit: David Talaski via DC Comics) • Pink News: Following the enormous success of his new series “It’s A Sin,” creator Russell T. Davies is looking at a reboot of his 1990s series “Queer As Folk.” • Twitter: The hashtag #CancelFox was trending at number one this afternoon as the Twitterverse noted the irony that Fox News is all upset about ‘cancel culture’ while professing to love the ‘free market.’
Fox News is obsessed with cancel culture, the idea that cartoons have first amendment rights. The irony is, Fox is all up in everyone’s sh*t over what they profess to love: the free market. RT if you agree it’s time to #CancelFox
Joshua Sade James (photo via Instagram) It’s love in the time of quarantine for Canadian artist Joshua Sade James and his yearning new single, “I’ll Wait For You.” “I originally wrote this song about four months into quarantine,” James shares. “It took me less than two hours; all of those feelings were incredibly raw at the time, so I wasn’t surprised at how quickly it flowed. “I’m in a long-distance relationship,” he explains, “and once the borders closed, it became virtually impossible for us to meet — the only way was with the power of FaceTime. “In a way, ‘I’ll Wait For You’ was written almost as a ‘swan song’ to my relationship since we didn’t — and still don’t — know when we will be able to see each other again,” he adds. “I’ll Wait For You” was penned with his grandfather’s acoustic guitar on-hand, but ultimately James knew the background vocals and overall vibe needed to level-up their impact, one way or another. “I just knew I wanted a grand experience to match the feelings I put into the song. Once I started revisiting it, I knew I wanted a choir background which… Checked out. If you ask any of my producers, I am one who is prone to wanting grand embellishments on my tracks!” “Since we were under lockdown, however, I had to improvise. My producer, Mike Tompa, turned my voice into an army of 30!! I cried the first time I heard the song in its full form, and had an ‘a-ha’ moment: when I perform this song live, it’s gonna be epic.” Between shifting rhythms and a romantic rap thrown in for good measure, it all comes together with James’s smooth-as-silk vocals shimmering above the gorgeous pensive production. Wanting to capture “the essence” of his life and the song, James admits there is a duality at play in the music video. “We wanted to capture the two sides of me: the one who is JSJ, who wears extravagant outfits and SLAYYYYYS, and the Joshua who loves being lazy and hanging out in his velour tracksuit. We also wanted to capture the essence of the song: being in love, and separated by factors outside of your control.” “So, naturally, I chose to wear a fancy outfit and sing while lost in the wintry woods, while also in my sweats in a studio on FaceTime. It represents the before and after, the behind the scenes vs the final product, and the stage performance vs the crushing reality.” James kept busy during the pandemic releasing his previous singles and videos, “All Fall Down” and “Closer” in 2020 and early 2021 respectively, as well as a six-track EP, Mirrors And Smoke. He’s also putting the finishing touches on his upcoming EP, JSJ, (Joshua Sade James). In addition to his extensive performing and recording work, James is an active advocate for mental health rights and proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Check out the new song, “I’ll Wait For You,” below. You can follow Joshua on Instagram here.
The latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, which surveyed 1,227 American adults, shows 49% of Republican men say they don’t plan on getting vaccinated against the coronavirus compared with just 6% of men who identify as Democrats. Overall, 67% say they either plan to get their shot or already have, while 30% say they will not be getting the vaccine. More from NPR:
Among those who responded to the survey, 73% of Black people and 70% of White people said that they either planned to get a coronavirus vaccine or had done so already; 25% of Black respondents and 28% of white respondents said they did not plan to get a shot.
Latino respondents were slightly more likely to say they would not get vaccinated at 37%, compared with 63% who either had or intended to get a vaccine.
European Parliament in Brussels (screen capture via France 24) In a lop-sided vote, the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Wednesday announcing the 27-member European Union is a “freedom zone” for LGBTQ people. The declaration came about after two years of rising homophobic animus in Poland and other member countries. From AP News:
The parliament announced Thursday that there were 492 ballots in favor of the resolution and 141 against in a vote that came after a debate in a session of parliament in Brussels on Wednesday.
The resolution came largely in reaction to developments over the past two years in Poland, where many local communities have adopted largely symbolic resolutions declaring themselves free of what conservative authorities have been calling “LGBT ideology.”
These towns say they are seeking to protect traditional families based on unions of men and women, but LGBT rights activists say the designations are discriminatory and make gays and lesbians feel unwelcome. The areas have come to be colloquially known as “LGBT-free zones.”
The government of Poland clapped back saying they have a right to protect their ‘traditional family values.’ The Polish government also claimed to have lower hate crime statistics than other Western European countries. But, since there’s no mention of LGBTQ people in that country’s penal code, the authorities don’t keep track of homophobic attacks. So, there’s no telling how many anti-LGBTQ crimes are committed. The president of Poland, Andrzej Duda, won reelection last year embracing anti-LGBTQ policies. During the campaign, he remarked that LGBTQ “ideology” is more dangerous than communism. Read the full article.
Tucker Carlson is worried women are feminizing the US military Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a military veteran herself who lost both legs while serving in Iraq, has no civility left for Fox News personality Tucker Carlson after he criticized our female military service members. Here’s what Tucker, who never served a day in military uniform, had to say that set her off:
Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It’s a mockery of the U.S. Military.
While China’s military becomes more masculine as it’s assembled the world’s largest navy, our military needs to become — as Joe Biden says — more feminine, whatever feminine means anymore since men and women no longer exist…
Again, this is a mockery of the U.S. military and its core mission which is winning wars.
And here’s what Sen. Duckworth, along with several veterans and military leaders had to say. Her tweet included a gif from Carlson’s time on Dancing With the Stars, with Senator Duckworth adding “While he was practicing his two-step, America’s female warriors were hunting down Al Qaeda and proving the strength of America’s women.”
F*ck Tucker Carlson. While he was practicing his two-step, America’s female warriors were hunting down Al Qaeda and proving the strength of America’s women. Happy belated International Women’s Day to everyone but Tucker, who even I can dance better than. pic.twitter.com/E4wchht9lA
Women have laid down their lives for our military since before we were a nation. They have fought, bled, and died for @TuckerCarlson’s pathetic prep school ass to sit in that chair and mock them. We’re not gonna stand for it, and neither should you.#TraitorCarlsonpic.twitter.com/0qeYpjkwir
Tucker Carlson hasn’t served a day in our military but has the audacity to belittle the women of our Armed Forces. Powerful video @votevets. PS: I served with many honorable women in the Marines. Fox can also honor them by finally firing Tucker Carlson…pic.twitter.com/NwyPitdG5h
Women lead our most lethal units with character. They will dominate ANY future battlefield we’re called to fight on. @TuckerCarlson’s words are divisive, don’t reflect our values. We have THE MOST professional, educated, agile, and strongest NCO Corps in the world. https://t.co/WeqWk6IWDq
— U.S. Space Command, Command Senior Enlisted Leader (@US_SpaceComCSEL) March 11, 2021
This is me, yesterday, conducting a re-enlistment for one of the tens of thousands of women who serve in our Army. Just a reminder that @TuckerCarlson couldnt be more wrong. https://t.co/M1MHe5zHrf
Contrary to what you may be hearing this 🇺🇸WOMAN & 1000’s of 🇺🇸WOMEN like her are NOT “making a mockery of our military”. You WISH your daughter was as AWESOME as MINE! so BACK OFF. #ARMY#Navy#USMC#USAF@16thSMApic.twitter.com/h98tpKXPJn
Wanting to capture “the essence” of his life and the song, James admits there is a duality at play in the music video. “We wanted to capture the two sides of me: the one who is JSJ, who wears extravagant outfits and SLAYYYYYS, and the Joshua who loves being lazy and hanging out in his velour tracksuit. We also wanted to capture the essence of the song: being in love, and separated by factors outside of your control.” “So, naturally, I chose to wear a fancy outfit and sing while lost in the wintry woods, while also in my sweats in a studio on FaceTime. It represents the before and after, the behind the scenes vs the final product, and the stage performance vs the crushing reality.” James kept busy during the pandemic releasing his previous singles and videos, “
