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Police Break Up Late Night 81-Person Orgy

(stock photo via Pexels/Maurício Mascaro )

French police were called last Friday after neighbors complained about noise that seemed to come from a late night party.

Around 9 pm, the officers arrived at a warehouse in Collegien, around 20 miles from the centre of Paris. They found about 11 people hanging out in the car park.

At 11 pm, after gaining legal entry into the warehouse, police officers discovered a rave/orgy with 81 participants complete with sound and lighting equipment.

The Independent reports the participants were each fined 135 Euros ($161 US) for being in breach of the current coronavirus curfew in effect. France currently restricts outside movement from 6 pm to 6 am.

Police reports also indicated there were “problems with masks and social distancing” as well. Some party-goers were also detained for questioning.

This is just the latest example of folks growing fatigued of COVID lockdown rules as the pandemic enters its second year.

Last December, Belgian police were called to a house party near a COVID clinic where a 52-person orgy was in full swing.

Anti-LGBTQ Hungarian lawmaker Jozsef Szajer was among those arrested and quickly resigned from his position.

While health concerns during a pandemic are definitely a serious issue, folks on the Twitterverse tried to find some humor in the moment.

Jokes aside, during the ongoing pandemic please remember to wear a face mask in public, wash your hands often, and practice social distancing.

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QAnon Rep. Greene Removed From Committee Assignments

In a bipartisan vote of 230-199, QAnon-related Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been removed from her committee assignments by the House of Representatives. Eleven Republicans voted for her removal. From the New York Times:

The House on Thursday took the extraordinary step of ousting a lawmaker from two congressional committees, exiling Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia for endorsing the executions of Democrats and spreading dangerous and bigoted misinformation even as her fellow Republicans rallied around her.

In a move without precedent in the modern Congress, the House voted 230 to 199— over near-unanimous Republican opposition — to remove Ms. Greene from the Education and Budget Committees.

The move effectively stripped Ms. Greene of her influence in Congress by banishing her from committees critical to advancing legislation and conducting oversight.

Greene’s past statements include saying the Parkland and Sandy Hook school shootings “false flag” staged events, calling 9/11 an inside job, claiming the California wildfires were started by Jewish lasers shot from space, and showing support for executing Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in social media posts. It’s worth noting that the Republican caucus met last night and could have chosen to handle the issue within their own party, but instead did nothing. That cowardice left the matter in the hands of the full House.

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Trump Resigns From Actors’ Union: ‘I’m Proud Of My Work On Home Alone 2’

Fifty-four percent of Americans believe Donald Trump should be impeached

Fifty-four percent of Americans believe Donald Trump should be impeached Facing being expelled from the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA for inciting the invasion of the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, former reality TV host Donald Trump has resigned from the organization. From USA Today:

“I write to you today regarding the so-called Disciplinary Committee hearing aimed at revoking my union membership. Who cares!” Trump begins his letter, alluding to the SAG-AFTRA board meeting to discuss revoking his membership card.

He continued: “While I’m not familiar with your work, I’m very proud of my work on movies such as Home Alone 2, Zoolander and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; and television shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Saturday Night Live, and of course, one of the most successful shows in television history, The Apprentice – to name just a few.”

On Jan. 19, the Screen Actors Guild said that the SAG-AFTRA board voted “overwhelmingly” that there is probable cause that Trump violated its guidelines for membership. The charges, the guild said, are for Trump’s role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, “and in sustaining a reckless campaign of misinformation aimed at discrediting and ultimately threatening the safety of journalists, many of whom are SAG-AFTRA members.”

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Biden Signals Support For Targeting Stimulus Checks To Low- & Middle-Income Families

President Joe Biden

President Joe Biden
President Joe Biden (image via Twitter/POTUS)
After meeting with Senate Republicans, President Biden’s signaled he’s considering targeting stimulus checks to Americans to only low- and middle-income families. From the Washington Post:

Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress argue a third round of stimulus checks is necessary to ensure people who have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut still have enough money to buy food, pay rent and get the medical care they need during a pandemic. But the White House has signaled the president is willing to narrow who gets them, sending checks only to low- and moderate-income families this time around.

Individuals with incomes up to $50,000 would get the full $1,400 payment. Heads of household earning up to $75,000 would also qualify, and married couples with earnings up to $100,000 would get a $2,800 payment. (Past stimulus checks were based off of “adjusted gross income,” and that is likely to be the same again).

Additionally, parents of children would receive an additional $1,400 per child. That means a family of four would receive $5,600. Read the full report at the Washington Post.

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TJ Osborne Exhales: ‘I Instantaneously Felt Like I Should Have Done This Long Ago’

TJ Osborne on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

TJ Osborne on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Country music star TJ Osborne on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (screen capture)
Following his public coming out on Wednesday, TJ Osborne of the country duo The Brothers Osborne beamed into The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about his decision, and how he feels in the afterglow of the love and support he’s received. Describing the experience as a “very emotional day,” Osborne explained he had really only come out to a very few family and friends before yesterday.

“I was asked ‘why do you have to do this?’ and I wish I didn’t have to. I kind of told myself for a long time ‘if everything is equal here and it’s not that big of a deal then why do I have to come out?’ And unfortunately it just isn’t that way.”

“And I got to this point where I knew there was never going to be a perfect time and honestly, now that I’m kind of behind it now – with coming out – it’s so wild to me to think that about the perfect time is always now.”

Like many folks who finally take the very personal step to share this very intimate part of their life, Osborne shared, “I instantaneously felt like I should have done this a long time ago.”

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News Round-Up: February 3, 2021

Pete Buttigieg sworn in as Secretary of Transportation by Vice President Kamala Harris with husband Chasten at his side

Pete Buttigieg sworn in as Secretary of Transportation by Vice President Kamala Harris with husband Chasten at his side
Pete Buttigieg sworn in as Transportation Secretary by Vice President Kamala Harris (photo: office of the Vice President)
Some news items you might have missed: • Instagram: A day after his 86-13 confirmation vote in the Senate, Pete Buttigieg (above) was sworn in as Secretary of Transportation by Vice President Kamala Harris as husband Chasten Buttigieg held the bible. • Outsports: Josh Leafer was a high school athlete who threw parties and chased girls. But it was all a cover. So he started a TikTok account, @closeted_fratguy, asking, “Anyone else like totally straight but secretly gay?” Over the last year, Leafer has heard from hundreds of other secretly gay guys who were wondering the same thing. Oh – and he came out 🙂 • Out Music: British indie-pop band Pale Waves has released a deeply personal video for their latest single “She’s My Religion,” which features frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie and her life partner Kelsi Luck in a series of candid vignettes showing that even the most mundane moments can be transformative when paired with the right person.

“I wanted to give my fans a song to find themselves in,” Heather says of the intimate new video. “I wish I had a song like this when I was a young girl trying to find herself in the world.”

• Attitude Magazine: The new UK queer-centric drama series, It’s A Sin, has become one of Channel 4’s most successful shows ever since its launch last month. The series has already had 6.5 million views on All 4, making it the most-binged new series ever. Episode one has also become All 4’s most popular drama launch on record. • Quinnipiac Polls: Two weeks into the presidency of Joe Biden, a majority of Americans say, 61 – 34 percent, that they are generally optimistic about the next four years with Biden as president. • Politico: President Joe Biden traveled to the Capitol to pay tribute to Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick shortly after the ceremony began Tuesday night, briefly placing his hand on the urn in the center of the Capitol Rotunda, saying a prayer and sadly shaking his head as he observed a memorial wreath nearby.

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Country Music Star TJ Osborne Comes Out

Country music star TJ Osborne comes out as gay

Country music star TJ Osborne comes out as gay
TJ Osborne (image via Brothers Osborne/Facebook)
Since forming as a band in 2012, the Brothers Osborne have made a huge splash in the world of country music releasing seven country Top 40 singles and three studio albums. After scoring four CMA Awards and seven Grammy Award nominations, things have been going pretty great. But lead vocalist T.J. Osborne, 36, has grown weary of carrying a secret. So today, the country music star shared with his fans what his family and close friends have known for a long time. Today, TJ Osborne comes out as gay. From TIME Magazine:

In some respects, he says, coming out publicly is no big deal. “I’m very comfortable being gay,” he says later, in a quiet room at the office of his management company. “I find myself being guarded for not wanting to talk about something that I personally don’t have a problem with. That feels so strange.”

With this news, T.J. becomes the only openly gay artist signed to a major country label—a historic moment for the genre. He’s had predecessors, of course: Other openly queer artists, from Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile to masked cowboy Orville Peck to viral hitmaker Lil Nas X, have found success by integrating country influences into their genre-defying music, and country artists including Chely Wright and Billy Gilman have passionate fanbases.

But T.J. may be the first to come out with his feet so firmly planted in both the sound and machinery of mainstream country, in the full bloom of his career.

“People will ask, ‘Why does this even need to be talked about?’ and personally, I agree with that,” he says. “But for me to show up at an awards show with a man would be jaw-dropping to people. It wouldn’t be like, ‘Oh, cool!”

While I celebrate Osborne finally living as his authentic self, the article reveals painful parts of his life – “It was so lonely and isolating.” He also shares one of his favorite songs, “21 Summer,” was actually written about an early heartbreak that he couldn’t discuss with anyone. And he was reminded of that everytime he sang the tune in concert. “There are so many times I’ve sung that song and wanted to cry,” he says. “People love that song, but the emotion of it is deeper than they even realize.” Make sure you read the full piece at TIME. In addition to being an uplifting moment in someone’s life, the article itself is artfully written. And you can find more of my coverage of coming out stories on The Randy Report here.

 

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Randy Rainbow Skewers QAnon Rep Via Streisand’s ‘Evergreen’

Randy Rainbow skewers QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in his latest parody song

Randy Rainbow skewers QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in his latest parody song Donald Trump may be gone from the White House, but political satirist Randy Rainbow is NOT hanging up his microphone. With his thumb on the political pulse of Washington, he offers up his timely take on Barbra Streisand’s timeless, “Evergreen,” from her 1976 film A Star Is Born. Streisand and co-creator Paul Williams took home that year’s Oscar for Best Original Song. Babs also scored the Song Of The Year trophy at the Grammy Awards for the track. But in this parody, Rainbow skewers QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. You can find my past coverage of Rainbow’s clever musical musings on The Randy Report here.

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House To Vote On Removing QAnon Rep From Committee Assignments

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)
House Democrats will hold a vote Thursday on whether to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from her committee assignments after Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) declined to do so. From the New York Times:

The House will vote on Thursday to strip Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments, a top Democrat announced, forcing congressional Republicans to take a public stand on the Georgia freshman who endorsed conspiracy theories and calls to execute Democratic politicians before she was elected.

House Democrats, incensed by a series of social media posts made by Ms. Greene before she won her seat in November, threatened earlier this week that they would take the unusual step of moving unilaterally to remove Ms. Greene from the education and budget committees if Republicans themselves did not take action. Party leaders generally have authority over who represents them on committees.

The resolution to remove Greene from her committee assignments only requires a simple majority vote. It’s worth noting that over in the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters the “loony lies and conspiracy theories” embraced by Greene represents a “cancer” on the Republican Party. For her part, Greene is digging in saying she has nothing to apologize for. In an interview with far-right loon Sebastian Gorka, Greene shrugged off responsibility for her statements.

“I was one of those Americans that was supposed to never get elected to Congress; the elites don’t want me here. I’ve never done drugs. I’ve never been arrested. The only thing bad I’ve done is probably gotten a speeding ticket.

“But you know what, just like every single other person, yeah, I have said things I shouldn’t say at some time or another, but I don’t think I have anything to apologize for.

“For refusing to believe Trump-Russian collusion conspiracy theories, and looking things up on the internet and asking questions about it on Facebook, big deal. Just because I posted things on Facebook back in 2018 doesn’t mean that I should be removed from my committees here in Congress.”

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LGBTQ Projects Honored As 78th Golden Globe Nominations Announced

The Golden Globe Awards

The Golden Globe nominations were announced today
(image via The Golden Globe Awards)
The nominations were announced Wednesday morning for the 78th Annual Golden Globes with a lot of trophy love for LGBTQ-themed entertainment. Following its sweep at the Emmy Awards, Schitt’s Creek was nominated for Best Musical/Comedy Series. The comedy’s four stars – including out actor/producer Dan Levy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and Annie Murphy – were also honored with nominations. Ryan Murphy’s The Prom scored a nod for Best Picture – Musical/Comedy. The Prom scored only one nomination in the acting categories – James Corden for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy. Corden received some backlash as a straight actor serving up an over-the-top performance as a gay man in the movie musical. I wasn’t a fan of the performance. Netflix’s Ratched was nominated for Best TV Series – Drama with queer leads Sarah Paulson and Cynthia Nixon garnering nominations as well, for the lead role as Mildred Ratchet for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama, the supporting role of Gwendolyn Briggs in Best Supporting Actress – Television, respectively. HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant, which has two major gay characters (one played by out actor T.R. Knight), was nominated for Best Musical/Comedy series. In the Best Supporting Actor – Television category, Jim Parsons was recognized for his work in Hollywood. Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama will see two heavy-hitting LGBTQ-centric performances competing against each other. Viola Davis for her star-turn as Ma Rainey in Netflix’s adaptation of playwright August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Andra Day’s richly-layered Billie Holiday in Hulu’s The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Both are worthy of the trophy. Onward, which featured Lena Waithe voicing a small queer role, was nominated for Best Picture – Animated. The Life Ahead and Two Of Us, both LGBTQ-themed movies, were nominated for Best Picture – Foreign Language. The Life Ahead, from Italy, features transgender actress Abril Zamora in a trans leading role. The French film Two of Us follows a love story between two older women. While not queer news, I applaud the history made in the Best Director — Motion Picture category.  For the first time, three women have been nominated – Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), Chloé Zhao  Nomadland) and Regina King (for One Night in Miami). #Applause Additionally, Norman Lear will be honored with the Carol Burnett Award, and Jane Fonda will be awarded this year’s Cecil B. DeMille Award. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will host the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards airing live on Sunday, Feb. 28 from 8-11 p.m. ET/5-8 p.m. PT on NBC. You can find the full list of nominations at GoldenGlobes.com.