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Obama, Bush & Clinton Come Together For Message Of Unity

Three previous presidents came together for a message of unity as Joe Biden became the 46th president
L-R Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama (screen capture)
Three past presidents – Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush – came together to celebrate the inauguration of Joe Biden and delivered a message of unity. Via CNN:

“We have got to not just listen to folks we agree with, but listen to folks we don’t,” said Obama. “One of my fondest memories of the inauguration, was the grace and generosity that President Bush showed me, and Laura Bush showed Michelle.”

“I’m glad you’re there. And I wish you well,” Clinton said in his message to Biden. “You have spoken for us today. Now you will lead for us. And we’re ready to march with you. Good luck, God bless you.”

“I think the fact that the three of us are standing here talking about a peaceful transfer of power, speaks to the institutional integrity of our country,” Bush said during the taped message. “America’s a generous country, people of great hearts. All three of us were lucky to be the president of this country.”

Bush added: “Mr. President, I’m pulling for your success. Your success is our country’s success. God bless you.”

Sad to know that Donald Trump couldn’t bring himself to part of this message of unity. At several turns he could have chosen to take a high road. But he did not. For years we’ve heard how Trump grew up in Queens wanting desperately to be accepted by the folks in Manhattan. Then he wanted to be accepted by Hollywood. Had he accepted the true results of the election and honored tradition, he could have been a part of this very exclusive presidents club. Now? It will never happen.

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News Round-Up: January 20, 2021

lawn boy with no Donald Trump yelling

A photo of the meme lawn boy with no Donald Trump yelling (but the Proud Boys are turning on Trump) Some news items you might have missed: • New Day: I thought a lot about the right image to lead this news round-up today. After years of the popular meme of the lawn boy being yelled at by Donald Trump, today – no yelling. #AndExhale #PoofHesGone • LGBTQ Nation: Antony J. Blinken, Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of State, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in his confirmation hearing that he will enact policies that will allow American embassies to support and protect LGBTQ rights around the world by flying the rainbow flag. • LA Times: The FBI raided the Huntington Beach apartment of openly-gay far-right extremist Kristopher Dreww, who boasted on social media about attending the invasion of the U.S. Capitol. No arrest took place but undisclosed items were removed from the residence. • Meidas Touch: Bette Midler has a message for Donald Trump. I’m so happy to wave ‘so long dearie’ to the Trump years in the White House, but how could I not post this?

• Washington Post: Donald Trump had imagined a showy military send-off, however only a modest crowd of a few hundred loyalists showed up at Joint Base Andrews to see him off. The event had more of a feel of a county fair than a big-budget extravaganza. In a Trumpian twist, the music that played as he ended his remarks was the Village People’s “YMCA,” a singalong staple from his boisterous political rallies. • New York Times: The Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group who were staunch supporters of Donald Trump, have begun to turn on the Trumpster calling him “weak” and “a total failure.” • The Daily Beast: As it became clear that Trump was not, in fact, going to suddenly appear and order the arrest of all the Democrats, QAnon believers – like the Proud Boys – also began to wonder if they had been tricked.

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Hump Day: Meet The Latest Royal Hottie

Royal hottie Arthur Chatto

Royal hottie Arthur Chatto
The latest royal hottie, Arthur Chatto (image via Instagram)
Step aside, Prince Harry – there’s a new royal hottie on the scene. The interwebs are crushing big time on Queen Elizabeth’s grand nephew, Arthur Chatto, and it’s easy to see why. The grandson of Princess Margaret, the Queen’s younger sister, Chatto is 26th in line to the British throne. In his Instagram bio, the 21-year-old notes he holds two World Record titles – one as part of the youngest team to row around Great Britain and a second as the youngest person to do so. Chatto, along with his rowing team, is currently raising money in support of the British Red Cross and COVID-19 frontline workers. The buff heartthrob studies geography at University of Edinburgh and works as a personal trainer.
Royal hottie Arthur Chatto
(image via Instagram)
EOnline notes that in addition to all those activities, young Arthur (Art to his mates) is also “a burgeoning fashion expert and influencer, as an official ambassador for Elliot Brown Watches and the mountaineering apparel brand Jöttnar.” As you can see, the young royal keeps busy. Since it IS Hump Day, let’s get to know the hottie a bit better by perusing his Instagram which is basically packed with impressive physical feats. https://www.instagram.com/p/CHJQSUpBdbZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CHJQxNUBvfT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CHJWuXPBx1i/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CLkTbxbLf9w/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CNMxKw3I7_L/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CS8q_omNJqu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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Chris Wallace On Fox News: ‘The Best Inaugural Address I Ever Heard’

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace calls Biden speech the best inaugural address
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace
Following President Biden’s inaugural speech, I’m sure it shook the Fox News audience to hear anchor Chris Wallace declare, “I thought it was a great speech. I have been listening to these inaugural addresses since 1961. John F. Kennedy’s ‘ask not’. I thought this was the best inaugural address I ever heard.” I don’t know about “the best,” as Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are all excellent orators. But I thought Biden’s speech was perfect in tone and balance. Many on Twitter think his comments today could foreshadow Wallace’s departure from Fox News. Wallace also noted a passage in Biden’s speech that seemed to address the power of truth and lies in the media. “He said that there is truth and there are lies, lies that are told for power and lies that are told for profit. And I think it was a call to all of us, whether it’s us on the air, on cable or broadcast, whether it’s us in social media, on our Twitter accounts, understanding that we have to deal from facts, from the truth, to hear each other out, as he said.”

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A New Day Dawns – Highlights From The 2021 Inauguration

Joe Biden is now the 46th President of the United States

At the 2021 Inauguration, Joe Biden was sworn into office as the 46th President of the United States And a new day has dawned. At noon Eastern Standard time, the United States celebrated the 2021 Inauguration as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn into office. Our four year national nightmare is over, the 2020 election is behind us, and the great work begins. Vice President Kamala Harris I’m sure many of you were watching the full ceremony today, but just in case, here are some highlights from the 2021 Inauguration: In addition to Biden and Harris’s swearing in moments, Lady Gaga sang the national anthem; a luminous Amanda Gorman, the nation’s first youth poet laurete called for Americans to “leave behind a country better than the one we were left;” and I smiled to see that Capitol Police hero Eugene Goodman, who led rioters away from the Senate during the Capitol building invasion, has been given a promotion and was given the honor of escorting Kamala Harris as she made her entrance.

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News Round-Up: January 19, 2021

L-R Actor/model Nyle DiMarco and President-elect Joe Biden (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • Out: Model, actor, and activist Nyle DiMarco (above) has something in common with President-elect Joe Biden – they both have new gigs. The America’s Next Top Model champ is one of a group of stars to appear in V Magazine’s 2021 calendar. • Mediaite: Turner Classic Movies has scheduled an “All Joe” Inauguration Day lineup of films to celebrate incoming President Joe Biden, while not-so-subtly trolling Trump. The lineup includes: Ode to Billy Joe (1976), Polo Joe (1936), The Fabulous Joe (1947), The Story of G.I. Joe (1945), Joe Smith, American (1942), A Guy Named Joe (1943), Pal Joey (1957) and Mighty Joe Young (1949). • CBS News: Signaling a continued break with President Trump the day before he leaves office, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blamed Mr. Trump in part for the assault on the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, saying the pro-Trump mob that overran the building was “provoked by the president and other powerful people.”

• CNN: Donald Trump has reportedly been talked out of issuing presidential pardons for himself and his family as well as certain Republican lawmakers said to be nervous about their legal vulnerability for their part in the U.S. Capitol insurrection. • The Hill: From Trump’s inauguration day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose from 19,827 to 30,930 on Tuesday, a 56 percent increase. That increase is below the 73.2 percent rise the Dow saw in Obama’s first term, or the 105.8 percent increase under Clinton’s first term. A similar trend was true for the S&P 500, which gained 67.8 percent under Trump. It gained 84.5 percent in Obama’s first term, and 79.2 percent in Clinton’s first term. • LA Times: The 232-bed Vignes Street development has shattered the axiom that homeless housing takes years to build and is exorbitantly expensive. From start to finish in under five months and at a cost of about $200,000 per bed, it has shaved years and hundreds of thousands of dollars off a traditional homeless housing project. • White House: Donald Trump issued a pre-recorded farewell address today. #ByeGurl

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Randy Rainbow Counts Down The Seasons Of Trump

Randy Rainbow serves up a satirical sendoff for the 'Seasons of Trump'

Randy Rainbow serves up a satirical sendoff for the Seasons of Trump
(image via YouTube)
Like many of us, political satirist Randy Rainbow has been counting down the days (even the minutes) until Donald Trump leaves the White House. The day before the Donald’s departure, Rainbow has reassembled some of his most popular characters from over 100 videos to perform this musical sendoff, a parody of the iconic “Seasons of Love” from the Broadway musical RENT. Throughout Trump’s time in the political spotlight, Rainbow has provided dozens of spot-on, uber-clever music video parodies skewering the Trumpster. Taking the melodies from Broadway and pop culture and meshing them with sharp-as-a-tack lyrics, Rainbow has served up hilarious helpings of biting commentary on Trump and his orange misdeeds. Today, Rainbow and company remember the “Seasons of Trump” the country has had to endure for the past 2,102,400 minutes.

Two million a hundred two thousand four hundred minutes With just one president so unhinged and unfit Two million a hundred two thousand four hundred minutes How do you measure four years of this sh*t?

In scandals, impeachments, in porn stars, in Scaramuccis In rallies, in insurrections, in flies In two million a hundred two thousand four hundred minutes How do you measure four years of the lies?

Along the way, we’re reminded of some of the outrageousness that was the Trump administration. That includes Trump’s declaration as ‘a very stable genius,’ plus a rogues gallery of characters like Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kelly McEnany. Rainbow also manages to mention pee tapes, fake news, COVID, covfefes, and ‘alternative facts.’ It all culminates in a Mariah-inspired high note and a whispered ‘bye gurl.’ His most recent musical missive took aim at the insurrectionists who invaded the U.S. Capitol building. Co-opting the tune of ‘Tradition’ from Fiddler on the Roof, Rainbow’s ‘Sedition!’ garnered over 2 million views in less than a week. As Saturday Night Live has found, there’s always something in politics to lampoon, so here’s hoping Rainbow continues to entertain us even without the Orange one in office. You can find my many posts covering Rainbow’s past parodies by clicking here.

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Biden To Announce Major Overhaul Of Immigration Laws

Joe Biden will introduce a massive overhaul of immigration laws on the first day of his administration
President-elect Joe Biden (screen capture)
On Day One of his administration, President-elect Joe Biden will announce an ambitious, extensive overhaul of immigration laws that will aim to provide a path to citizenship for nearly 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status. From HuffPost:

Under the legislation, those living in the U.S. as of Jan. 1, 2021, without legal status would have a five-year path to temporary legal status, or a green card, if they pass background checks, pay taxes and fulfill other basic requirements. From there, it’s a three-year path to naturalization, if they decide to pursue citizenship.

For some immigrants, the process would be quicker. So-called Dreamers, the young people who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children, as well as agricultural workers and people under temporary protective status could qualify more immediately for green cards if they are working, are in school or meet other requirements.

Under Donald Trump, immigration laws have been curtailed to be harsh and restrictive and included massive deportations.

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Rachel Levine Could Be 1st Senate-Confirmed Transgender Federal Official

Dr. Rachel Levine could become the first transgender federal official confirmed by the Senate.

Dr. Rachel Levine could become the first transgender federal official confirmed by the Senate.
Dr. Rachel Levine (image via Twitter)
CNN reports President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Dr. Rachel Levine to serve as assistant health secretary. Levine would make history as the first transgender federal official to be confirmed by the United States Senate.

Levine is currently the Pennsylvania health secretary and a pediatrics and psychiatry professor at Penn State College of Medicine. She served as the state’s physician general in 2015 and assistant health secretary in 2017. Levine was confirmed as the state’s health secretary in 2018 under Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration.

Throughout her career, Levine has written about the opioid crisis, LGBTQ medicine, medicinal marijuana, eating disorders and adolescent medicine.

She graduated from Harvard College and the Tulane University School of Medicine and completed her training in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

Biden previously announced California attorney general , Xavier Becerra, as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Becerra, like Levine, would make history as the first Latino in the role. Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Institute, released the following statement about the nomination of Dr. Levine:

“Our nation is fortunate to have Dr. Rachel Levine nominated for a position so important to ending this pandemic and her experience on the frontlines in Pennsylvania will prove invaluable as Assistant Secretary. Her nomination is groundbreaking and shows the Biden administration will choose the most qualified individuals to lead our nation regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Dr. Levine is making history and will transform Americans’ perceptions of trans people when she takes office and begins to work on their behalf.”

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News Round-Up: January 18, 2021

Today's Monday Mancrush is fitness guru Joel Green
InstaHunk Joel Green (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • Monday Mancrush: Ok, so, Joel Green (above) definitely had a more relaxed Monday than I did 🙂 Follow him on Instagram here. • CBS: Queen Latifah’s new drama, The Equalizer, is set to premiere at a date and time with no equal – immediately following the Super Bowl! In the reboot of the classic series, Latifah stars as Robyn McCall, an enigmatic woman with a mysterious background who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn.

• Out: A new study showed a rise in familiarity and favorable opinion of PrEP, medicine that can prevent contracting HIV, among men at risk in the LGBTQ+ community. But – the study also shows less than one-in-ten eligible men are taking the drug. • Axios: “No one gives me any fucking support,” Trump yelled. He got up and stormed out of the Oval Office…leaving Attorney General Bill Barr and the others behind. Barr glanced over at a red-faced White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and joked, “Well that went well.” • kenneth-in-the-212: Heck of a job, Orangie – Trump leaves office in disgrace, nation divided; ends presidency under criminal probe from numerous jurisdictions awaiting second impeachment trial with lowest approval rating yet and almost 400K dead from Covid-19.

(image via kenneth-in-the-212)
• AL.com: Newly-minted U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama suggested in a TV interview that President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration should be delayed. Umm, the January 20 date is set in the U.S. Constitution. • HuffPost: Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has not recused herself from a climate case against Big Oil even though her father has worked for one of the defendants for 29 years. Justice Samuel Alito, who owns stock in several oil and gas companies, has already recused himself. • Twitter: Not only does California have the honor of providing the country’s first Black Vice President (Kamala Harris), AND the state’s first Latino U.S. Senator (Alex Padillo), but the opportunity also gives Gov. Gavin Newsom the chance to appoint California’s first African American Secretary of State (Shirley Weber). #ThreeFer