L-R Chris Wallace, Dr. Deborah Birx (screen capture) One of the medical experts on the White House Coronavirus Task Force told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace she finds crowds, like the ones that protested at the Michigan state capitol recently, “devastatingly worrisome” from a “public health standpoint.” From Fox News:
Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of President Trump’s coronavirus task force, warned that some activities that Americans are engaging in across the country are potentially putting lives in danger as the coronavirus pandemic continues to plague the nation.
In a “Fox News Sunday” interview, Birx weighed in on recent incidents ranging from crowds flocking to Califonia beaches to the reopening of salons and spas, but came down particularly hard on Michigan protesters who stormed the state capitol in large numbers without wearing masks.
“It’s devastatingly worrisome to me personally because if they go home and infect their grandmother or their grandfather who has a co-morbid condition and they have a serious or a very unfortunate outcome, they will feel guilty for the rest of our lives,” Birx said. “So we need to protect each other at the same time we’re voicing our discontent.”
Wallace also asked Birx if she was worried about the many states that have started reopening, and yet not one has met the guidelines of 2 weeks of decline in new coronavirus cases. Said Birx, “Federal guidelines are pretty firm policy of what we think is important from a public health standpoint.” Additionally, Birx restated that the projections for deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19 “have always been between 100,000 and 240,000.” The full interview segment is at the bottom of the post.
Watch: Dr. Birx says on Fox News Sunday that protesters gathering without face masks in Michigan is “devastatingly worrisome” pic.twitter.com/crUn4NRInM
WALLACE: More than half the states have started reopening, but not a single one has met the guidelines of 2 weeks of decline in new coronavirus cases. Are you worried?
BIRX: “Federal guidelines are pretty firm policy of what we think is important from a public health standpoint” pic.twitter.com/4O5lWQJZIE — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 3, 2020
Birx on Fox News Sunday today: “Our projections have always been between 100,000 and 240,000 [deaths] … and that’s with full mitigation.” Trump on April 20: “We’re going toward 50 or 60,000 people. … As you know, the low number was supposed to be 100,000 people.”
Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth (Sweet Charity, Chicago the Musical) retweeted this on Twitter and it’s my favorite thing today. Check out how this adorable little girl and “beast mode” daddy get in their stay-at-home workout. #ColorMeImpressed
“Beast-mode.” Check out this daddy and his baby girl during the lockdown. I’m here for this.🌎❤️pic.twitter.com/Pk1GXNx1sS
A scientist at Oxford University told “Meet The Press” host Chuck Todd this morning his team hopes to see a “signal” by June was to whether a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed there might work. “We are gradually reeling it in, bit by bit and as everyday goes by, the likelihood of success goes up,” said Sir Bell. From NBC News:
Sir John Bell, the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, where one of the leading efforts to develop a vaccine is underway, said that the prospects for its candidate are “pretty good” and that “as every day goes by, the likelihood of success goes up.”
The researchers hope to have enough data from their phase-two trials that “we would get evidence that the vaccine has efficacy by the beginning of June.”
The group at Oxford is one of the many racing toward finding an effective and safe vaccine for the coronavirus alongside efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic.
EXCLUSIVE: Professor Sir John Bell of Oxford University says “the prospects are pretty good” for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. #MTP#IfItsSunday
Sir Bell: “We are gradually reeling it in, bit by bit and as everyday goes by, the likelihood of success goes up.” pic.twitter.com/SSmKN9XVgT
Stepping away from the computer for a few minutes of pool time on this sunny, slow Saturday. Hard to believe Bruno the wonder dog (above) has been gone for over two years now, but every memory of him makes me smile. He enjoyed these days with me like no one. And he loved to cruise around the pool – even if his paws did rip up his float a bit. Thinking good thoughts for all of you this afternoon. #morewine
Former President George W. Bush strikes a beautiful balance and tone of what the word ‘united’ can mean to the nation. I especially was struck by his statement, “Let us remember that empathy and simple kindness are essential powerful tools of national recovery.” Empathy. Kindness. I don’t need to elaborate. You know what I would write next. I wasn’t a fan of George W. Bush. Not his politics or policy. I’m sure some readers will be surprised I post this. But despite my disagreements with much of his administration, I am able to recognize that in this message, I find comfort. Moments like this (or Barack Obama’s a capella rendition of “Amazing Grace” at a funeral service for victims of a mass shooting) remind me of an important, vital role our leaders can play at times of turmoil. Just watch. It’s not about GWB but having an uplifting minute or two to remind us who we are.
Former Vice President Joe Biden on MSNBC (screen capture) Former Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, in a statement from his campaign, explicitly denied accusations that he sexually assaulted a former aide during his time in the Senate.
I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago. They aren’t true. This never happened.
While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated.
One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny.
Responsible news organizations should examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both small and big ways.
Biden echoed his denial on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” shortly after the statement was released. He also called on the National Archives to release any record of a complaint that the former aide, Tara Reade, says she filed. “If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there,” said Biden.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, the National Archives said that “any records of Senate personnel complaints from 1993 would have remained under the control of the Senate.”
“Accordingly, inquiries related to these records should be directed to the Senate,” the statement added.
Reade has said that she filed a complaint with a congressional human resources or personnel office but did not remember the exact name. Her complaint dealt only with the alleged harassment, not the alleged assault, she said. The Post could find no record of the complaint, and Reade said she didn’t have a copy.
In an MSNBC interview with host Mika Brzezinski, Biden appeared from his makeshift home television studio in Delaware. It was the first time he faced questions on the allegations in a public setting.
“I don’t remember any type of complaint she may have made,” Biden said in the interview, when asked if he remembered Reade or the complaint. “It was 27 years ago, and I don’t remember. Nor does anyone else that I’m aware of.”
Joe Biden, asked on @Morning_Joe if he sexually assaulted Tara Reade:
“No, it is not true. I’m saying unequivocally it never, never happened. And it didn’t. It never happened.” pic.twitter.com/nXIAdGloG5
Reade made her initial accusation last year to several news outlets: that Biden had put his hands on her shoulders and neck when she was working in his Senate office and it made her ‘uncomfortable.’ She says that she brought up the incident to senior aides in the office, but when interviewed those aides told the Washington Post that they had no memory of her allegations. Reade also says she filed a report about the incident, which she’s characterized as changing ‘the trajectory’ of her life, but says she didn’t keep a copy. No one seems to know anything about the alleged report. Then during a podcast interview last month, her allegations escalated to claiming Biden sexually assaulted her somewhere on Capitol Hill. She said he pushed her up against a wall, moved his hands up under her skirt and penetrated her. In a detailed examination of her account two weeks ago, the Washington Post wrote that one of her friends confirmed that Reade had told her of an incident shortly after she said it had occurred. In that same report, the Post wrote that Reade’s brother, Collin Moulton, acknowledged that she had told him in 1993 that Biden had touched her neck and shoulders. But there was no mention of the actual sexual assault – clearly the most important aspect of the alleged incident. Interestingly, days after the interview, he sent messages via texts adding that he “recalled her telling him that Biden had put his hand under her clothes.'” At this point in this post, I want to state clearly: I have personally been the target of sexual misconduct in the workplace in the past. Additionally, I was sexually assaulted during a first “date” in the early 1990s. I firmly believe anyone who raises such allegations should be taken seriously and the accusations should be properly vetted. That said, I don’t think every single accusation should be blindly taken as truth. While Biden has been accused of over-hugging in the past, which has often been attributed to his age and how men acted in the past, he’s since acknowledged times have changed and he plans to be more aware of touching people. Michael J. Stern, a 28-year federal and state prosecutor who handled numerous sexual assault cases, penned an op-ed for USA Today explaining his skepticism regarding Reade’s allegations. I encourage you to read it in full, but some of the issues he raises are: • Reade waiting 27 years to make her accusations public. • She spoke with a newspaper last year and accused Biden of touching her in a way that made her uncomfortable — but neglected to mention her claim that he forcibly penetrated her with his fingers. She later said she felt uncomfortable with the reporter, but as Stern points out, why would it take a year to find a qualified journalist to tell her story to? • The New York Times and the Washington Post have cumulatively interviewed dozens of people in the past month about Reade’s accusation and no other allegations of sexual assault by Biden arose. As Stern writes, “In my experience, men who commit a sexual assault are accused more than once … like Donald Trump, who has had more than a dozen allegations of sexual assault leveled against him and who was recorded bragging about grabbing women’s genitalia.” • Biden campaigned and went on to become Vice President of the United States for 8 years, but Reade never said anything during that time. • In 2017, on multiple occasions, Reade retweeted or “liked” praise for Biden and his work combating sexual assault. It is bizarre that Reade would publicly laud Biden for combating the very thing she would later accuse him of doing to her. • By January of 2020, though, Reade had become a supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders and penned an essay on Medium saying the Democratic party was trying to “shove” Biden down Democrats throats. She also wrote approvingly of Russian President Vladimir Putin. • Speaking of timing, Stern notes that Reade’s allegations didn’t escalate to full-on sexual assault until Biden began to win in the Democratic primaries in March. There’s much more in Stern’s USA Today op-ed and I encourage you to read it. One more thing I’ll add here. On the same day Reade accused Joe Biden of sexual assault in March, she apparently edited her previous statements posted to her Medium account to better match the new allegations. At that link, a journalist has compared and highlighted the numerous additions and deletions made on March 24, 2020. Why would she alter her original words without mentioning the amendment on her post…on the DAY she accused him of sexual assault? As I earlier stated, I believe allegations of sexual assault should be taken seriously. But believing ALL accusations blindly doesn’t serve women, the #MeToo movement or truth as a whole.
Michael Brown (screen capture via YouTube) Anti-LGBTQ activist Michael Brown scolds Anderson Cooper for having a child in an op-ed on CharismaNews.
Dear Anderson,
Isn’t it an amazing feeling to be a father? To know that the precious little baby that you hold in your arms is, in a real sense, your own flesh and blood? That in a unique way, he carries part of you in his very life and soul? Yet when I saw the announcement of his birth, I felt sadness more than happiness. Sadness for him and for you.
Anderson, a boy deserves his mother, yet if I understand your plan correctly, your son will not be raised together by her and by you. That’s what saddens me the most.
To be clear, I don’t believe that you simply chose to be gay one day. I don’t believe that any more than I “chose” to be straight.
And I don’t mean that you won’t try to be an amazing dad. And a devoted dad. And a caring dad.
[snip]
In many ways, you are a private person, and I’m not trying to intrude in your life. And you may simply write me off as a hateful gay basher.
But it is love that compels me to write. What is best for Wyatt Morgan Cooper?
Brown has a longtime antagonistic history with the LGBTQ community. From railing at Netflix because the streaming company wouldn’t let a so-called ‘straight pride’ organization use their logo for advertising, to calming evangelicals that Donald Trump still hates gays even though he tweeted about Pride Month, to leading a hate march during Charlotte, North Carolina’s Pride Parade. So, yeah, I’m definitely writing him off as “a hateful gay basher.” Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck… (h/t JoeMyGod)
DJ/producer David Nazar (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: DJ/producer David Nazar (above) sends regards from his “balcony vacation” in Miami, Florida. Follow him on Instagram here. • Human Rights Campaign: May is officially recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month, and now more than ever, it’s crucial to shine a light on mental health in the LGBTQ community. Click the link for information about how LGBTQ people are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, lowered self-esteem, and even suicidal thoughts compared to their straight and cisgender peers. • Broadway Bares: The 30th-anniversary performance of the annual striptease spectacular, featuring the sexist dancers on Broadway, is being postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the June spectacle has been postponed, plans are in the works to still celebrate Broadway Bares online this summer. Check out this clip from last year’s “Game Night” edition.
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution: An internal poll conducted for the Georgia House GOP Caucus held bad news for U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the former financial executive who dumped millions in stocks after receiving coronavirus briefings in January. Loeffler only received 11% support in the survey regarding her upcoming race this fall, and essentially tied with two Democratic candidates. U.S. Rep. Doug Collins leads the field with 29% of the vote and outpaces Loeffler among Republicans by a 62-18 margin. • KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s weekly look at what’s making news in LGBTQ magazines like South Florida’s Hot Spots! (below). • Gay Star News: Magistrates in Israel have ruled the ironically named Rainbow Color print shop must compensate an LGBT+ association after it refused to print posters for the Ben Gurion University LGBT group three years ago. The Beersheba Magistrates Court said the duty to serve customers comes before religious beliefs. • Instagram: In the middle of Madonna’s ‘Madame X’ themed post on Thursday, the pop-star revealed she’d “taken a test” and found out she “had the antibodies.” Madge didn’t elaborate as to when she was tested. She added, “So tomorrow, I’m just going to go for a long drive in a car, and I’m going to roll down the window, and I’m going to breathe in, I’m going to breathe in the COVID-19 air. Yup. I hope the sun is shining.” Note – scientists have not determined if having the coronavirus makes one immune going forward.
Bright Light Bright Light aka Rod Thomas (photo: Warren Giddarie)Bright Light Bright Light has joined forces with Jake Shears (Scissors Sisters founder and global LGBTQ+ music trailblazer) on his high-octane new song “Sensation.” Written initially about the euphoria of meeting someone (friend, lover, etc.) you instantly connect with while in a fractured and divided world, the song’s meaning feels amplified when viewed through the lens of the current health crisis. The track is a sublime, upbeat bop with a disco-tastic beat and synthy horns that dare you not to bounce. “For a song about connection and celebrating who you are, Jake was totally my top choice,” said BLBL (aka Rod Thomas) to FLOOD about the collaboration. “It was so much fun to do a proper duet and have a voice that reminded me to be myself on a song about celebrating your community.” Shears echoed the enthusiasm: “Rod’s songwriting always blows me away, and getting to record with him is an absolute joy. ‘Sensation’ was just one of those songs, the first time I heard it, I was like— I flipping love this.”
“Sensation” is a cut from the forthcoming album Fun City, scheduled for release September 18, which will offer not only ’80s-inspired dance-pop, but will serve as a musical love letter to the LGBTQ+ community. The album title is a clever reference to a quote said by NYC mayor John V. Lindsay who, on his first day in office in 1966 amidst a crippling transit strike, said: “I still think it’s a fun city.” I recently wrote about the acclaimed first single from the upcoming collection, “This Was My House,” which was penned as a tribute to LGBTQ safe spaces. The evocative music video takes an unforgettable journey through NYC nightlife. Paper Magazine wrote, “It’s not every day that we get a perfect disco song” while Rolling Stone praised its “buoyant beat to dance through pain and trouble.” The vocals for Fun City were recorded on the empty dancefloor of East Village gay club Bedlam, a choice Bright Light Bright Light made as a way to channel the energy of the queer trailblazers that influenced him like Sylvester, Erasure, Scissor Sisters and Hercules & Love Affair.
Donald Trump during a White House press briefing (public domain) Donald Trump has seen his approval rating in six battleground states crucial to his reelection drop a precipitous 15 percentage points in the last month. As Trump faces an expanding economic collapse amid the ongoing COVID-19 health threat, nonpartisan polling group PRRI found Trump’s approval rating in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina plummet from 53% in March to a 38% approval rating. In terms of the entire nation, Trump fell from 49% approval to 43% approval. PRRI notes “Trump benefited from a brief ‘rally around the flag’ effect as the coronavirus pandemic began to spread in the U.S.” But with the number of confirmed U.S. cases of the coronavirus increasing exponentially from around 33,000 cases at the beginning of March to more than 1,000,000 cases and 63,000+ deaths today, that boost has quickly evaporated.
Why would she 
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