Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: The Human Rights Campaign’s State Equality Index for 2020 measures the rights and protections each state has in place for LGBTQ+ individuals. Texas is ranked in the bottom category, and referred to as a “high priority to achieve basic equality.” • Dallas Voice: With more calls to expel QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from Congress for her wild conspiracy claims and more, here’s a break down of what it takes to expel a member of of the House or Senate plus some history of those who were expelled. • Twitter: If you’ve never watched the far-right leaning outlet Newsmax, all you need to know here is Dominion Voting Systems threatened to sue the online newser into oblivion if they continued airing baseless claims of ‘vote manipulation.’ Now hit the play button.
THIS is really something. If you’ve never watched Newsmax, here you go. Setup – all you need to know I’d Dominion Voting Systems threatened to sue Newsmax into oblivion if they aired baseless claims of vote manipulation. Now hit play. pic.twitter.com/pvSm65yemZ
• Raw Story: Moderate ‘Blue dog’ Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has told the media he will support President Biden’s coronavirus relief package even if Senate Democrats have to use ‘budget reconciliation’ (bypassing a 60-vote filibuster) to get there. Manchin’s vote is critical with the Senate’s current 50-50 makeup of Dems and Republicans. • AP News: Republicans in Georgia’s state Senate are moving to limit voting in future elections with bills that would restrict who can vote absentee by mail, require a photo ID for those who do vote absentee by mail, ban ballot drop boxes, block outside groups from sending out absentee ballot applications, end automatic voter registration when obtaining a driver’s license and ban new residents from voting in a runoff election. #votersuppression • CNBC: The Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday to lead the nation’s Department of Homeland Security, making him the first Latino to hold the role. The Senate voted 56 to 43.
Just now: Alejandro Mayorkas has been confirmed to serve as Biden’s secretary of Homeland Security in a 56-43 vote.
Lots of firsts here: – First Latino to lead DHS – First immigrant to lead DHS – First Senate-confirmed DHS secretary since April 2019 — Sabrina Rodríguez (@sabrod123) February 2, 2021
Former Hamilton police chief Gene Allmond (screen capture via WTVM) They thought the patrolman’s body cam was broken. It wasn’t.
A police chief and a patrolman from the town of Hamilton, Georgia, were fired after body cam footage showed the men making racist comments regarding slavery and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Police Chief Gene Allmond and patrolman John Brooks are seen on the body cam footage (captured last June) discussing a range of topics. At the time, they believed the body cam was defective.
Later, the camera was examined and found that the camera had merely run out of storage because it was full.
At one point, the recording shows Allmond and Brooks discussing then-candidate Joe Biden’s considering Mayor Bottoms and Stacey Abrams for his running mate. Officer Brooks says during the conversation, “If I had to f*ck a [n-word], I’d rather f*ck the mayor [Keisha Lance Bottoms] than Stacey Abrams.”
As the two began to prepare for patrolling a Black Lives Matter rally, the conversation shifted to slavery. Chief Allmond offers his thoughts on the subject: “They furnished them a house to live in, they furnished them clothes to put on their back, they furnished them food to put on their table, and all they had to do” was work.
At another point in the video, Mr. Brooks is discussing a recent police shooting and complains, “How come when you tase a f*cking [n-word] it’s like you done killed them 27 times?” Note – the six minute footage has been posted by local ABC News affiliate WTVM.
According to the New York Times, a city employee discovered the conversation while reviewing the footage. The employee contacted Buddy Walker, an assistant to Mayor Julie Brown, and eventually watched the footage with Ransom Farley, the mayor pro tempore.
Hamilton Mayor Pro-Tem Ransom Farley (screen capture)
In viewing the footage with Mr. Farley, who is Black, Mr. Walker, who is white, said, “To look at the video with him, to listen to someone he’s known for many years – my reaction was incredibly bad. You can imagine his reaction.”
Mr. Farley told the New York Times, “It hurts when you think you know somebody and you don’t.”
The mayor and City Council met on Monday, January 25, and everyone agreed they “knew what had to be done.”
Informed he had the option to resign or be fired, Mr. Brooks asked to see the video recording.
Mr. Walker told the New York Times, “He watched the entire video and then came in and told the mayor pro temp that he was sorry — that that was really not the way he was.”
“I’m not accepting your apology, because you’re sorry that you got caught,” Farley told Brooks. “You’re not sorry because of what you said.”
But Mr. Farley wasn’t done.
“I own the fact that I am Black and I am gay,” Mr. Farley continued. “If you’re a bigot, if you’re a racist, own it.”
#MicDrop
Both men agreed to resign, but when Mr. Brooks didn’t return his police department equipment on time, he was fired.
Speaking to the Times, Mr. Farley made a point to note that the two men weren’t done in because someone tried to entrap them.
“Nobody told on them,” said Mr. Farley. “They told on themselves.”
(screen capture) Several of the insurrectionists that stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6 are now using, as a legal defense, that they were just doing what Donald Trump told them to do Ruh-roh From The Hill:
Emanuel Jackson, 20, of D.C., who prosecutors say was seen on video punching a police officer and hitting others with a metal bat, is one of at least six people charged in the raid who are pinning at least some blame on Trump in their defense, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Brandi Harden, who is representing Jackson as he faces federal assault charges, wrote in a Jan. 22 court filing that “the nature and circumstances of this offense must be viewed through the lens of an event inspired by the President of the United States.”
The raid on the Capitol, she said, “appears to have been spontaneous and sparked by the statements made during the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally” held by Trump and his supporters earlier on Jan. 6.
Several more stories at the link including the so-called QAnon Shaman now claiming he was ‘duped’ by Trump. Read the full article here.
Donald Trump speaking to Axios (screen capture) Donald Trump balked at paying the legal bill proposed by the legal team that was set to defend him in his second impeachment trial. According to many, Trump wanted the lawyers to continue his line of baseless claims that the election was ‘stolen’ from him, which has no basis in reality. The attorneys said the best course of action would be to argue against the constitutionality of the impeachment proceeding saying the Constitution doesn’t provide for impeaching a president out of office. In any case, the legal eagles flew the coup coop. But now, Axios reports that Trump balked at paying the legal fees the lawyers were requesting. Mind you – this is after Trump had already grifted over $170 million from his cultists to be used for legal defense.
The notoriously stingy former president and his lead lawyer, Butch Bowers, wrangled over compensation during a series of tense phone calls, sources familiar with their conversations said. The argument came even though Trump has raised over $170 million from the public that could be used on his legal defenses.
The two initially agreed Bowers would be paid $250,000 for his individual services, a figure that “delighted” Trump, one of the sources said.
However, Trump didn’t realize Bowers hadn’t included additional expenses — including more lawyers, researchers and other legal fees that would be accrued on the job.
He was said to be livid when Bowers came back to him with a total budget of $3 million. Trump called the South Carolina attorney and eventually negotiated him down to $1 million.
Scrambling, Trump announced on Sunday he had found new attorneys to represent him: David Schoen and Bruce L. Castor Jr. Trump is probably not worried about being found guilty anyway after a preliminary vote showed 45 Republican Senators are not in favor of the impeachment proceeding.
Rick Grenell served as “acting” director of national intelligence for three months but was neither nominated nor confirmed by the Senate.
In addition to being one of the highest ranking LGBTQ public officials in the country, Buttigieg is also the first millennial to be confirmed to a White House Cabinet position.
The Army veteran is the 19th Transportation Secretary and the 5th member of President Biden’s Cabinet to be confirmed. Buttigieg and Vice President Kamala Harris are the only two 2020 presidential contenders to join the Biden Cabinet. https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg/status/1356672112015081472
LGBTQ advocacy groups were quick to celebrate the news.
The Human Rights Campaign noted the history-making moment writing, “Another barrier broken for our community.” https://twitter.com/HRC/status/1356654155889324032 “Pete shattered a centuries-old political barrier with overwhelming bipartisan support and that paves the way for more LGBTQ Americans to pursue high-profile appointments,” said Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Institute. “Pete testifying at his confirmation hearing, with his husband looking on, will be among the powerful images that define this unprecedented political moment and will be remembered as a milestone in America’s move toward social justice.” https://twitter.com/VictoryFund/status/1356654085039095809
“The role of Secretary of Transportation requires an innovative thought leader, someone who understands all Americans’ needs and has the courage to create and form the road ahead,” read a statement by GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “Secretary Buttigieg’s vision will improve all Americans’ lives and navigate toward needed change to serve communities on the margins. We know he will continue to lead our country’s drive for LGBTQ acceptance. Congratulations, Secretary Buttigieg.”
“Buttigieg is a true example of what it means to have all voices — including LGBTQ Americans — at the table, and he’ll be an inspiration for so many who until this moment may have believed certain dreams were not possible,” read a statement from the Indiana Democratic Party.
https://twitter.com/INDems/status/1356653019274821635 For those wondering, the thirteen ‘no’ votes (all Republicans) were Sens. Cruz (Texas), Cotton (Ark.), Marshall (Kansas), Scott (Fla.), Tuberville (Ala.), Shelby (Ala.), Hawley (Mo.), Blackburn (Tenn.), Rubio (Fla.), Scott (S.C.), Lankford (Okla.), Hagerty (Tenn.), and Cassidy (La.). Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania did not vote. Expect many of those to run for president in 2024.
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett (image via Depositphotos) Legendary recording artist Tony Bennett has re-teamed with Lady Gaga for a second album of standards as a follow-up to the massive 2014 hit album, Cheek to Cheek. The album, recorded between 2018 and early 2020, is set for a spring release. In announcing the upcoming release, however, Bennett’s family has also shared a secret: that Bennett, now 94, was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease four years ago. From AARP:
Tony Bennett has Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of age-related dementia. Alzheimer’s is characterized by a progressive memory loss that robs its sufferers of many of the gifts that we all take for granted — speech, understanding, treasured memories, recognition of loved ones — and leaves them utterly dependent on caregivers.
Bennett, first diagnosed in 2016, has so far been spared the disorientation that can prompt patients to wander from home, as well as the episodes of terror, rage or depression that can accompany Alzheimer’s frightening detachment from reality; and, indeed, he might never develop these symptoms. But there was little doubt that the disease had progressed.
Early in the article, writer John Colapinto shares this brief moment from the recording sessions with Bennett and Lady Gaga:
The pain and sadness in Gaga’s face is clear at such moments — but never more so than in an extraordinarily moving sequence in which Tony (a man she calls “an incredible mentor, and friend, and father figure”) sings a solo passage of a love song. Gaga looks on, from behind her mic, her smile breaking into a quiver, her eyes brimming, before she puts her hands over her face and sobs.
AARP adds this ‘disclaimer’ in the article:
Eager for as many ears as possible to hear and enjoy what may very well be the last Tony Bennett record, they have jointly decided to break the silence around his condition, a decision they have, necessarily, had to make without Tony’s input, since he is, Susan said, incapable of understanding the disease, let alone making momentous decisions about whether to publicly disclose it.
Gayatri Devi, M.D., who diagnosed Bennett, said the singer has some “cognitive issues, but multiple other areas of his brain are still resilient and functioning well.” Read the full article at AARP.
Life is a gift – even with Alzheimer’s. Thank you to Susan and my family for their support, and @AARP The Magazine for telling my story.
Donovan Crowl (mugshot) We all recall the chaos and mayhem caused by the hundreds of Trump supporters who invaded the U.S. Capitol building on January 6. You know, the ones who felt so DEEPLY that the presidential election they held SO DEAR had been stolen from them? CNN did a deep dive into the voting histories of some 80+ people who have already been arrested for taking part in the insurrection and found many of the insurrectionists didn’t even vote. Just one story:
Federal authorities later identified Crowl, 50, as a member of a self-styled militia organization in his home state of Ohio and affiliated with the extremist group the Oath Keepers. His mother told CNN that he previously told her “they were going to overtake the government if they…tried to take Trump’s presidency from him.”
Despite these apparent pro-Trump views, a county election official in Ohio told CNN that he registered in 2013 but “never voted nor responded to any of our confirmation notices to keep him registered,” so he was removed from the voter rolls at the end of 2020 and the state said he was not registered in Ohio.
Crowl was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of destruction of government property and conspiracy for allegedly coordinating with others to plan their attack.
There’s much more at the click. CNN notes that some of the voting records of those who have been charged in the Capitol riots were not available to the public. So there may be even more hypocritical ‘patriots’ out there who couldn’t bother to cast a ballot.
They stormed the Capitol to overturn the results of an election they didn’t vote in:
Some of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol did not vote in the very election they were protesting.https://t.co/aiAIKuVSRD — Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) February 1, 2021
OK. Why would you protest if you didn’t care enough to vote?
Screen capture of the Top 10 LGBTQ podcasts on SpotifyWarning – just a little humble brag coming… Clicking through Spotify this morning I happen to do a search for LGBTQ podcasts, and guess what I found? It looks like The Randy Reportpodcast is the #1 LGBTQ podcast on the streaming platform! #happydance I appreciate all of you who tune in to catch up on politics, pop culture and entertainment news. p.s. no ads… I know folks listen from a lot of outlets, so make sure you look for me on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. If you missed any episodes, you can check them here on the blog, at the links above or on Spotify below.
Beginning Tuesday, February 2, the TSA will require folks to wear a face mask through airport security checkpoints and all the way through commercial and public transport systems. TSA agents have been authorized to fine anti-maskers at airports if the rules aren’t followed. From the Transportation Security Administration:
The federal face mask requirement extends to the nation’s domestic network of airports; passengers and crewmembers flying aboard airplanes operated by domestic and foreign air carriers with inbound flights to U.S. ports of entry; and surface transportation modes, such as passenger rail, bus systems, and over-the-road bus companies.
Passengers without a mask may be denied entry, boarding, or continued transport. Failure to comply with the mask requirement can result in civil penalties.
Whether beginning the security screening process at the airport Travel Document Checker (TDC) or submitting checked baggage for screening, all passengers who appear to be over the age of 2 must properly wear a face mask throughout the security screening process. The officer at the TDC will request that travelers temporarily lower the mask to verify their identity.
Those who approach the TDC without a mask will be asked to wear or obtain one to proceed. Passengers who refuse to wear a mask will not be permitted to enter the secure area of the airport, which includes the terminal and gate area.
Depending on the circumstance, those who refuse to wear a mask may be subject to a civil penalty for attempting to circumvent screening requirements, interfering with screening personnel, or a combination of those offenses.
Back in June I reported on homocon Brandon Straka who was removed from a flight for refusing to wear a mask. For all you anti-maskers at airports, the new rules will stay in effect through May 11, 2021.
NEWS: Masks are required in all airports across the United States. While wearing your mask through security, be prepared to adjust it so the TSA Officer can visually confirm your identity. Read more at: https://t.co/1xXldTCgw1pic.twitter.com/vMUbehkEFp
BREAKING: Starting Feb. 2, air travelers without a mask may be denied entry through the @TSA checkpoint, boarding the aircraft or continued transport. Failure to comply with the mask requirement can also result in civil penalties.
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) February 1, 2021
A gay couple living on Staten Island, New York, were terrorized by a drunk homophobe who yelled anti-gay slurs outside their home, kicked their front door, and promised to “get you wherever you go.”
Joe Canale and Raymond Gamarra were home on Saturday, January 23, when they heard loud noises coming from a neighbor’s late night house party.
According to Gay City News, they went to the neighbors to ask to them to keep the noise down, but a man attending the party became enraged.
The next thing the couple knew, a man identified as Clifford Hammel walked over to their front yard and began harassing them.
In the video obtained by Gay City News, Hammel can clearly be heard shouting, “I see you, f*cking fa**ot. You little b*tch. F*ck you. You fucking fa**ot.”
At one point, Hammel qualified his language as he repeated the slurs, yelling, “You f*cking fa**ot — and that’s not a homosexual. I don’t give a f*ck if you suck d*ck.”
Along the way, Hammel reportedly named the gym the couple go to as well as the school where Canale is the principal.
After attempting to kick the couple’s front door in, Hammel added, “Wherever you go, I will get to you.”
The moment when a man harassed a gay couple with anti-LGBTQ slurs, threatened them, and kicked the door of their home in Staten Island. pic.twitter.com/S58jKx0ooX
Canale called the police but were told officers were already on their way to the location as someone attending the party apparently needed medical attention having passed out.The couple say the police officers who arrived, Lieutenant Rosago and Officer Vincent of the NYPD, seemed “dismissive” of their situation after explaining the disturbing visits from Hammel. Canale said the officers were “reluctant” to even view the video footage of the man threatening them
The officers explained they thought Hammel was the man being taken to the hospital, so they “don’t have to worry or be afraid.”
But when Canale followed up with police at the 121st Precinct, it seems the officers had written Hammel’s name down incorrectly. AND, Hammel wasn’t the partygoer transported to the hospital.
L-R Raymond Gamarra and Joe Canale (photo via Canale)
Disturbed by the nonchalant handling of the incident, the couple reached out to Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon.
In a statement, McMahon said, “Any time a serious allegation is brought to our attention, we work in tandem to thoroughly investigate and bring criminal charges when appropriate under the law.”
He added, “We are committed to securing the right of every person to live their lives free from bias and hate on Staten Island.”
But Gamarra and Canale are unconvinced as to how seriously their concerns were treated.
“Staten Island is not a bastion of tolerance,” Canale told GCN. “There are so many things that are disturbing about this that I don’t even know where to begin.”
“I understand there’s COVID, but justice delayed is justice denied as far as I’m concerned.”
Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: The Human Rights Campaign’s State Equality Index for 2020 measures the rights and protections each state has in place for LGBTQ+ individuals. Texas is ranked in the bottom category, and referred to as a “high priority to achieve basic equality.” • Dallas Voice: With more calls to expel QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from Congress for her wild conspiracy claims and more, here’s a break down of what it takes to expel a member of of the House or Senate plus some history of those who were expelled. • Twitter: If you’ve never watched the far-right leaning outlet Newsmax, all you need to know here is Dominion Voting Systems threatened to sue the online newser into oblivion if they continued airing baseless claims of ‘vote manipulation.’ Now hit the play button. 
