Screen capture from Cadbury’s new commercial Some news items you might have missed: • LGBTQ Nation: Rising star wrestler Mr. Grim came out as pansexual on New Year’s Day. After he “struggled” with his identity for years, the imposing figure known as the “Hitman For Hire” thanked a trans woman athlete for being his “inspiration.” • Instinct Magazine: Cadbury has taken their annual advertising in an egg-citing direction, and are featuring a stunning gay couple as they creatively dive into a seasonal favorite, the Cadbury egg.
• Pink News: Alexandria Winchester, a 24-year-old Latina transgender woman, was shot dead on Boxing Day in the Bronx making 2020 the deadliest year for trans people on record. • Kenneth-in-the-212: Check out the weekly round-up of LGBTQ publications by KIT212 like South Florida’s Hot Spots Health issue (below). (image via South Florida’s Hot Spots) • Washington Post: Dominion Voting Systems on Friday filed a defamation lawsuit against lawyer Sidney Powell, demanding more than $1.3 billion in damages for havoc it says Powell has caused by spreading “wild” and “demonstrably false” allegations, including that Dominion played a central role in a fantastical scheme to steal the 2020 election from President Trump. • The Advocate: Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican senator who was an ardent critic of Donald Trump until the latter was elected president, was rushed away from an angry pro-Trump mob Friday. Trump supporters heckled and screamed at Graham, who is not visible in the video. “Traitor!” and “Liar!” are screamed by the increasingly angry mob.
JUST IN – Lindsey Graham approached by an angry crowd at the airport in DC, ranting “You traitor.”pic.twitter.com/usNJMMpt8B
A case of ‘a little too late,’ but Twitter just announced it has permanently suspended Donald Trump’s Twitter account.
After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.
In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action. Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open.
However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules entirely and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things. We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement.Twitter locked Trump’s account for 12 hours over inflammatory tweets on Wednesday evening, but gave him back the keys. Earlier today, Axios reported that Twitter had suspended the accounts of former national security adviser Michael Flynn and President Trump’s lawyer Sidney Powell on Friday for breaking the platform’s “Coordinated Harmful Activity” policy.
Miya Ponsetto gives Gayle King ‘the hand’ (screen captures)
Miya Ponsetto, dubbed ‘Soho Karen’ in the press after accusing a Black teen of stealing her cell phone, was ‘forcibly arrested’ in California Thursday night.
NBC News reports the 22-year-old woman refused to stop her car when the police first contacted her. Upon reaching her home, she resisted arrest and had to be forcibly removed from her car.
During the incident, she tried to slam a car door on one of the officers which earned her an additional charge of resisting arrest.
Miya Ponsetto (mugshot via Ventura County Sheriff’s Office)
You may recall Ponsetto garnering national attention when she accused (and eventually assaulted) the 14-year-old son of jazz musician Keyon Harrold of stealing her cell phone in the lobby of the Arlo Hotel in SoHo in New York City.
On social media, Harrold shared video footage of Ponsetto growing hysterical during the altercation that ended with her tackling the teen as he tried to exit the scene.
p.s. turned out she’d left the phone in an Uber and the driver had already returned the phone to the front desk of the hotel.
Prior to her arrest, Ponsetto recorded an interview with CBS This Morning’s Gayle King that aired on Friday morning.
Sitting next to her attorney and wearing a black ‘Daddy’ hat, Ponsetto did herself no favors by deflecting and/or denying practically any wrongdoing in the December 26 incident.
Speaking with King, Ponsetto admitted she could have “maybe not yelled at him like that and made him feel some sort of inferior way and making him feel as if I was like hurting his feelings.”
But describing herself as “super sweet,” she told King she “never, ever meant for it to hurt him or his father.”
And yet, she tackled the teen, so, there’s that…
She also seemed confused as to how assaulting a teenage boy could be seen as criminal.
“I don’t feel like this one mistake defines me,” she added.
When King tried to put Ponsetto’s actions into context – that she’d physically attacked a teenaged boy, she responded, “How is one girl accusing a guy about a phone a crime? Where’s the context in that? What is the deeper story here?”
You’l note that the 22-year-old suddenly refers to herself as a “girl” but the 14-year-old she assaulted is “a guy.” Talk about coded language…
King again attempted to help Ponsetto own up to her actions saying, “You’re 22-years-old, you’re old enough to know better.”
“Alright, Gayle, enough,” replied Ponsetto complete with a ‘shut it’ hand motion.
Oh no she didn’t…
It was at that point that the attorney finally chimed in whispering, “Ok, ok, stop, stop…”
Just to add perspective, Ponsetto was charged with public intoxication and battery at a Beverly Hills hotel last year in February, and also arrested for driving while intoxicated in Van Nuys, California, on May 28. Miss Thing can get a bit messy it seems. Ponsetto’s lawyer, Sharon Ghatan, told NBC News her client “suffers from a lot of anxiety attacks” and has concerns that she may be “emotionally and mentally unwell.” Gayle King shared at the end of her segment this morning that a second part of the interview will air on Monday. Twitter was not impressed by Miss Miya:
She showed up to that interview with a mid drift tank top, a leather jacket, a dingy hat that says “daddy” and audacity.
A DUI, public intoxication charge and assaulting a child all in one year? Get this her off the streets. — Social distancing is my jam! (@OFL_ATLGA) January 8, 2021
Props to Gayle for keeping her cool as best she could because you can see it in her face that she wanted to rip that little girl a new asshole. I’m wondering what her parents are like having raised a child that shows up to an interview lookin and acting that way… pic.twitter.com/jC2NUGM853
“I sincerely apologize if I made the son feels as if I assaulted him…”
Bish, you jumped on him. On camera. There are no *feelings* here. You actually assaulted a stranger. There is nothing subjective about this. — James Baldwin was a genius. (@incogneglo) January 8, 2021
Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick (image via 6ABC Philly) From the New York Times:
A United States Capitol Police officer died Thursday night from injuries sustained when he engaged with a pro-Trump mob that descended on the U.S. Capitol the day before.
Officer Brian D. Sicknick died at about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, the Capitol Police said in a statement. He had been with the agency since 2008.
Mr. Sicknick was responding to the riots on Wednesday and “was injured while physically engaging with protesters,” the agency’s statement said, although officials didn’t immediately elaborate on the nature of his injuries or how he interacted with the crowd. After sustaining the injuries, Mr. Sicknick returned to his division office, collapsed, and was taken to the hospital.
In another article, the New York Times reports that Sicknick was struck by a fire extinguisher during the bedlam at the Capitol. Officer Sicknick is the 5th person to die amid the hideous events that took place on Wednesday. He is the 4th Capitol Police officer to be killed in the history of the force.
Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund tendered his resignation on Thursday after several congressional leaders demanded answers to the epic failure to protect the Capitol building.
Stunning >> MULTITUDE of officers line the front of the Capitol in silence, honoring fallen US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick… Rest In Peace#breaking@WUSA9@CBSNewspic.twitter.com/swKVbSKcQe
The death of Brian D. Sicknick, the US Capitol Police Officer reportedly bludgeoned with a fire extinguisher during the siege of the Capitol, will be investigated as a homicide. https://t.co/0N7vWkThbd
Donald Trump (image via public domain/White House) Via Twitter this morning we get the news that Donald Trump will NOT attend the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Trump is the first president to ghost his successor in 152 years. The announcement represents just one more Trumpian break with the traditions of U.S. democracy which has always embraced a peaceful transfer of power. The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise in that he took 61 days to barely concede he lost the election. Vice President Mike Pence has indicated he will attend the swearing-in ceremony but an administration official told theNew York Times he hasn’t received an official invitation yet. The Times also notes that only 3 presidents have declined to attend their successor’s inauguration: “John Adams in 1801, his son John Quincy Adams in 1829 and Andrew Johnson, a Democrat who sat out the 1869 inauguration after he was replaced in favor of fellow Republican Ulysses S. Grant.”
Russell Todd (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: My buddy, the ever-handsome Russell Todd (above), has been sharing photos lately and I couldn’t be happier. Sometimes, we just want to look at nice things, no? p.s. Russell is totally the nice guy you’d hope he’d be… • Politico: Vice President Mike Pence is expected to attend Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration later this month. But Donald Trump has declined to say whether he plans to attend the swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol. Trump reportedly told staff he doesn’t expect to be there, according to a former Trump aide who remains close to the White House. • AP: The top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia said Thursday that “all options are on the table” for charging members of the violent pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol — including sedition charges. More than 90 people have been arrested by police in Washington and more arrests are likely.
“The top federal prosecutor in Washington D.C. said Thursday that President Trump was not off limits in his investigation of the events surrounding Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol” https://t.co/WcDhspCHvo
• Washington Post: U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund announced his resignation effective Jan. 16, a decision that came hours after Pelosi publicly called on him to step down over the department’s handling of the violent pro-Trump siege of the Capitol. Sund confided to colleagues he felt responsible for letting down his troops. • NY Times: Donald Trump has suggested to aides he wants to pardon himself in the final days of his presidency, a move that would mark one of the most extraordinary and untested uses of presidential power in American history. No president has ever pardoned himself. • NPR: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he plans to fire the Senate sergeant-at-arms, Michael Stenger, the highest-ranked law enforcement officer in the Senate, once Democrats regain control of the upper chamber. • Twitter: The rats are jumping ship as Donald Trump’s presidency burns to the ground. In the past 24 hours, numerous high-level officials in the Trump administration – from Cabinet members to the White House social secretary – have resigned (profiles in courage, I tell you) after Trump incited violence on the U.S. Capitol.
JUST IN: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has submitted her resignation, making her the second Cabinet member to resign over President Trump’s response to the riot https://t.co/lej7h81xkN
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao became the first cabinet member in the White House to resign, a day after President Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol building https://t.co/bGi9sBpjtmpic.twitter.com/WVx5e5oSbH
Ryan Tully, the top European and Russian official on the National Security Council, has resigned. Tully’s resignation marks the latest in a string of Trump administration officials leaving their posts in the wake of the violent clash at the Capitol. https://t.co/BDEO8AWBZ9
.@WhiteHouse Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews resigns from the Trump Administration in response to today’s events. I have always known her to be a good person who has the best interests of the nation at heart. pic.twitter.com/4ZMfmM2Zl3
Elaine Chao and Betsy DeVos aren’t taking some brave moral stand by resigning now. They knew how terrible he was. By getting out now, they avoid the 25th Amendment debate. They’re enabling Trump, not standing up to him.
Donald Trump (screen capture) Amid calls for a second impeachment proceeding and his Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment, Donald Trump has issued his fifth response to the invasion of the U.S. Capitol yesterday and asked his cultists to stand down. Trump released a two-minute video today calling for his cultists to stand down and accept the results of the 2020 election. In a speech that could not ever have been written by the Donald, this represents two things in my mind: 1. This is the closest thing Trump will ever come to conceding the election. 2. He is clearly scared by the wide-ranging calls for his removal from office either via the 25th Amendment or a second impeachment. All of the language used here is carefully scripted with the idea of a future legal proceeding in mind. Yesterday, Trump told his followers he “loved them” and that they “are special.” p.s. Trump lies in the video saying he “immediately” ordered the National Guard to go into the fray. He did not.
This is Trump’s “please don’t impeach me (again)” speech! Obviously he didn’t write it and doesn’t believe anything that he just said, but at least he said this election is OVER and that he will be leaving office. Thanks to whoever wrote the speech!
Trump in new WH produced video calls for “healing” and offers to help with transition to next admin, adding “tempers must be cooled.” (Trump had weeks to send this message but instead incited a riot Wednesday. He doesn’t take responsibility or apologize for his action in video)
L-R Mayor Marty Walsh, Gov. Gina Raimondo (images via Twitter) President-elect Joe Biden has announced more Cabinet picks today. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, a former top union leader, has been tapped to serve as Labor secretary. According to Politico, “Biden was widely expected to choose a Labor Department head who enjoyed the support of unions, given the president-elect’s long-standing ties with labor leaders, his support for the right to organize and the key role the agency will play in implementing the sweeping pro-worker agenda he campaigned on.” Walsh and Biden already have close ties as Biden spoke at Walsh’s 2017 inaugural event.
Fantastic news. As a union leader, @marty_walsh will bring the commitment to workers and working families that is desperately needed right now. His tremendous leadership in Boston on climate action, health care, and social justice make him ready on day 1. https://t.co/e30V75aCYg
And Rhode Island’s Gov. Gina M. Raimondo will be announced as Biden’s Commerce secretary. “Ms. Raimondo, a moderate Democrat with a background in the financial industry, has served as governor since 2015,” writes the New York Times. “She is seen as a relatively traditional choice for commerce secretary, a post that oversees relations with the business community but also technology regulation, weather monitoring and the gathering of economic data, among other duties.”
Joe Biden has picked Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo to be his Commerce Secretary. https://t.co/AJ3qrv9Lt4
On a Throwback Thursday note, I was recently reminded of the so-called Hanky code used predominately by gay men in the 1970s and 1980s as a method of sexual signaling.
Before we had dating apps like Scruff and Grindr to pretty much ‘lay it all out there’ in terms of what sexual practice, fetish or role one preferred, there was the hanky code. The practice was also referred to as the ‘bandana code’ or flagging.
Basically, men would stuff a colored bandana in their back pocket – left position meant you liked to take the top bunk or dominant role while right pocket wearers were letting the world know they preferred being on the receiving/passive side of the spectrum.
And there was a whole rainbow of interests to express interest in.
Stores that catered to gay men would sell a variety of bandanas along with free decoder lists so guys could make sure they were sending the appropriate signal.
A red hanky indicated an interest in fisting; light blue meant someone might be on the hunt for oral sex; a yellow bandana was a pretty obvious signal for watersports; and green would act as an advertisement for hustlers.
Of course, there was always the chance that a newbie gay might think the hanky thing was just a cool fashion choice. Inevitably, though, a friend would let them know what that brown bandana hanging from their right belt loop really meant.
Eventually, the hanky code became quite an extensive list of hues and shades differentiating to such a degree as to separate light blue, robin’s egg blue, teal blue and navy blue. It practically became its own language.
Some credit a journalist for the Village Voice in early 1971 for coming up with the system while others say Alan Selby, founder of Mr. S Leather in San Francisco, created the first hanky code as a way to sell an accidental over-shipment of bandanas he received.
According to The History Project, the hanky code was predominately used early on by gay men interested in the BDSM movement or the leather subculture. But it soon started to spread into the queer mainstream by the 1970s.
But the nonverbal shorthand began to fall out of favor in the 1980s as anonymous sex habits grew to be frowned upon thanks to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its devastating effects on our community.
Most trends tend to evolve over time, though, and by the 1990s a black and white checked bandana became a way to flag someone as embracing safe sex practices and HIV awareness.
As we moved into the digital age, with increased embracing of the internet, use of the hanky code eventually faded as more overt fashion choices regarding sexual predilections emerged in the gay community like leather harnesses, collars, and more. But the hanky code is important to remember as a part of LGBTQ history beginning in the 1970s as we grew more confident about signaling not only our identity and visibility in public but also reflecting the queer zeitgeist through the years. (photo: Muzzlesf, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)(h/t BosGuy)
As Americans watched the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, the COVID-19 pandemic continued its own ‘invasion’ of the nation as the U.S. reported a new single-day record for deaths due to the coronavirus. From the New York Times:
Officials reported at least 3,964 new coronavirus deaths in the United States on Wednesday, a new single-day record, though delayed recording because of the holidays might have played a role. The daily death toll in New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania also set records.
Some states also reported single-day case records, while Illinois became one of five states that have now recorded their millionth case since the pandemic began.
In Arizona, which is beginning the new year with a higher rate of new cases than any other state, hospitalizations and deaths set records in the past few days. Over the past week, the state has averaged more than 8,000 cases a day, more than double the summer peak.
Read more regarding the COVID-19 pandemic at the New York Times.
While Americans watched as pro-Trump extremists stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, the coronavirus continued to sweep across the country. Officials reported at least 3,963 new Covid-19 deaths, a new single-day record. https://t.co/HMfDwcTl13
The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise in that he 
