LGBTQ news and entertainment
Pete Buttigieg on The View
.@PeteButtigieg reacts to video of Iowa caucus-goer who tried to pull her vote for him after learning he’s gay, saying “I’m running to be her president, too.”
“I wish she was able to see that my love is the same as her love for those that she cares about.” https://t.co/f8u2wbJuik pic.twitter.com/zezmeYk8c5— The View (@TheView) February 6, 2020
In a recent Twitter thread, gay dad James Moed shared a disturbing incident where an Uber driver apparently called the police after telling Moed and his husband their crying baby “needed his mother.” Moed and his husband were staying at the Marriott Marina while traveling in San Diego last week. The couple, who live in the UK, was awakened by a knock at their hotel room door at 1:30 a.m. At the door were police officers who demanded to see the men’s identification. According to the Twitter thread, Moed shared “It turns out the @Uber driver who had taken us back to the hotel had called the cops – accusing us of…child trafficking? Endangerment?” Apparently, during their Uber ride to the hotel, their driver told the couple their crying infant “needed his mother.” Even though the men explained the child has two dads, the driver “didn’t back down.” The police departed peacefully after the couple showed their identification including their son’s passport to prove they weren’t ‘child trafficking.’ But even after the officers left the hotel, the men were shaken. “Stayed awake freaking out,” wrote Moed. “What if we hadn’t had his passport? The cops had been less agreeable? Where can my #queerfamily travel safely?” The father shared that he had contacted Uber about their driver’s behavior and the app’s algorithm replied with a form letter and a refund. Insisting he didn’t want a refund, he says he pressed on asking for “proof that you keep #LGBTQ riders safe from homophobic drivers.” A few hours later, Moed added that he had spoken to Uber support requesting an “apology from the driver (not his dismissal)” as well as evidence of LGBTQ sensitivity training. So far, the couple hasn’t indicated if they’d heard back from Uber. https://twitter.com/jamesmoed/status/1224911775608594432 https://twitter.com/jamesmoed/status/1224911777139392522 https://twitter.com/jamesmoed/status/1225151863105957888 We’d like to hear from you, readers – have any of you had a homophobic experience while using Uber? Let us know in the comments below. (Image by why kei on Unsplash)
Donald Trump used this morning’s bipartisan National Prayer Breakfast to attack “dishonest and corrupt” individuals who opposed him in his impeachment trial singling out Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) who voted against Trump, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. NBC News reports:
Entering the stage, Trump lifted up a copies of USA Today and The Washington Post with headlines reading “ACQUITTED” and “Trump Acquitted” splashed across the front pages, displaying them to the crowd.
“I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say, ‘I pray for you,’ when they know that that’s not so. So many people have been hurt and we can’t let that go on. And I’ll be discussing that a little bit later at the White House.”
At prayer breakfast, Trump unloads: "As everybody knows, my family, our great country and your president have been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people they have done everything possible to destroy us and by so doing very badly hurt our nation."
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) February 6, 2020
It's fitting that @realDonaldTrump would use a prayer breakfast to complain about what's been done to him. He still has no sense of what he's done to the country. And he has no sense of what a prayer breakfast is about. To him its only about him. As Godless as it gets.
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) February 6, 2020
Pres Trump only shook hands with those on his side of the Dais. @SpeakerPelosi was seated on the other side of the Dais – and @POTUS didn't walk down to greet those dignitaries. He sat quietly as Pelosi delivered a prayer for the poor and persecuted. pic.twitter.com/h2am3CYQGV
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) February 6, 2020
Trump just walked into the National Prayer Breakfast & didn’t bow in submission to God, but held up papers saying acquital & flaunted his supposed glory & victory. What’s worse, preachers & many other attendees applauded him. pic.twitter.com/MWPH63EjXy
— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@RevDrBarber) February 6, 2020
Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg holds on to a tiny lead as the remaining results of the Iowa caucuses continue to trickle in. According to CNN, Buttigieg is currently looking to receive 26.2% of state delegates with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) right behind him with 26.1 percent. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has 18.2 percent, former Vice President Joe Biden has 15.8 percent (a result he’s called ‘a gut punch’), and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) sits at 12.2 percent. Regarding the popular vote, Sanders leads with 44,753 while Buttigieg lands in second place with 42,235 votes. Warren received 34,312 votes, Biden scored 23,051 and Klobuchar remained in fifth with 20,525. 
This reflects 97 percent of the votes thus far. Several media outlets have reported the long delay in finalizing the count is due, in part, to results being snail-mailed to the state Democratic party. In light of the counting debacle in Iowa, Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez is calling for a recanvass of the Monday night caucuses.
Yet another update from Iowa: With 97% in, Buttigieg's lead narrows to a tenth of a percentage point or 3 SDEs.
Buttigieg – 26.2%
Sanders – 26.1%
Warren – 18.2%
Biden – 15.8%
Klobuchar – 12.2%All results here: https://t.co/SRDiMiPSXo
— Dan Merica (@merica) February 6, 2020
Enough is enough. In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.
— Tom Perez (@TomPerez) February 6, 2020
(image via Instagram)
• The Wrap: The ratings for Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night were not boffo, down 26% from his first two SOTU addresses. • Instinct Magazine: The man behind the March on Washington, who helped organized multiple bus boycotts, and served as a mentor/advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. has been posthumously pardoned of his anti-gay arrest charge. • ABC News: Iowa caucus update – with 86% of precincts reporting, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg had 27% of the vote and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had 25%. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren had 18%, former Vice President Joe Biden had 16% and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar had 12% of the vote. 
(graphic via ABC News)
Corey Tut (center)
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The Randy Report: You’ve worked with Gerald McCullouch on three films now – two documentaries (All Male All Nude, All Male All Nude: Johnsons) and a narrative film, DADDY. Do you find you develop a ’shorthand’ in discussing the projects and what Gerald wants after a while? Corey Tut: Gerald and I have been friends for decades and have been working on film projects together for almost as long so we definitely have worked out a shorthand over time. Our first film was actually a short he wrote and directed called The Morning After. Then we did Daddy and the two dick docs. He has always been super supportive of my music and open to what I bring to the table so that helps the process. TRR: I understand you used some music from your catalog as well as new compositions for the new documentary? CT: Gerald was shooting the Johnsons movie while I was writing for my album Into The Light. I knew we would be needing songs for the film, so I kept writing with strippers in mind. It was really fun to just write sexy stripper songs from a gay point of view. 
We had a definite tone set with the first movie, so I just kept writing in that vein. I had written songs specifically for the first AMAN, but for the second one, I just handed Gerald a stack of tunes and then worked with him and Jimmy the sound designer to kinda shape them to the picture as we edited. TRR: Is there a difference in how you approach the music for a narrative film versus a documentary? CT: Not really. I think the music should serve the film and help serve the director’s vision in telling the story, be it narrative or doc. TRR: Do personal attitudes or tastes come into play when you decide to work on a project? CT: Yes and no. Of course, I always want to be excited about whatever I am working on but more than that I want to work with people I respect and enjoy. It also kinda varies from job to job. If I am producing a record for an artist and they are wanting something that I personally don’t care for, it’s my job to help them execute their vision so that they are happy with the record they are putting out because ultimately it’s their name on the record, not mine. The same goes for film work or any hired gun jobs. Now, when I am working on music that is just for myself as an artist, it’s a different story, obviously. Then I get to just follow my own muse.
TRR: Did you write ‘Hey There Superman’ for the documentary? It’s such a perfect fit for the mood and the groove of the film. CT: Surprisingly I did not. I wrote it when I was writing all the other sexy stripper songs so I knew it was in that milieu, but when Gerald found that he had shot footage of the boys at the club stripping in the Superman underwear, it became an obvious choice as one of the anthems of the movie. TRR: Can you share a film score that you think nailed it in terms of bringing what a film score should as a contribution to the film? CT: I have been a huge Trent Reznor fan since the first time I heard Pretty Hate Machine back in the late ’80s and I think his transition into film and television scoring has been very interesting and incredibly successful. His songwriting has such an epic cinematic quality that I have always admired and I think it works brilliantly for the film. I will gladly watch anything he has worked on just to hear how he uses sound and music to further the film. As far as upcoming projects, I am finishing up production on Peppermint’s new album, as well as working on songs for Kyle Mottsinger’s forthcoming album, and looking forward to starting work on my new album the beginning of the year.
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Check out the sexy, chill music video for “Hey There, Superman” above. You can follow Corey Tut on Instagram here, and you can check out my exclusive interview with All Male All Nude: Johnsons director Gerald McCullouch (CSI, Bear City, DADDY) here.
The U.S. Senate voted to acquit Donald Trump today on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) was the only Republican to cross party lines and vote to remove Trump from office. Two notable red-state Democratic Senators – Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona cast ‘guilty’ votes. This becomes the first bipartisan vote to remove a sitting president via impeachment. From the New York Times:
The tally for conviction fell far below the 67-vote threshold necessary for removal and neither article of impeachment garnered even a simple majority.
The first article, abuse of power, was rejected 48 to 52, and the second, obstruction of Congress, was defeated 47 to 53. Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, was the only member to break with his party, voting to remove Mr. Trump from office.
The votes, ending the third presidential impeachment trial in American history, were a resounding victory for Mr. Trump after five months of blaring scandal over Ukraine that embroiled Washington and threatened his presidency. But both sides agreed that the final judgment on Mr. Trump will be rendered by voters when they cast ballots in just nine months.
Historical note: @MittRomney's vote to remove President Trump from office will make this the first bipartisan vote to remove a president from office in US history.
It will fail, as with Johnson and Clinton, but no Democrats voted to remove those two Democratic presidents.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 5, 2020
Doug Jones is up for re-election this year in a deep-red state. He’s in a much tougher spot than either Manchin or Sinema, who aren’t up until 2024. They could learn a little something from the backbone he’s showing in his decision to convict.
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) February 5, 2020
Mitt Romney will be the first senator in American history to vote to convict a president of the same party in an impeachment trial.
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) February 5, 2020
The clinical trial of a possible HIV vaccine has been abandoned after an interim review of the vaccine showed no effective protection from HIV. The HVTN 702 study, begun in 2016, was being led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Over 5,400 HIV-negative individuals whose ages ranged from 18-35 took part in the study across 15 sites in Africa. After showing modest levels of protection in an earlier trial in Thailand, the testing proceeded with a modified version of the vaccine meant to target the strains of HIV most prevalent in South Africa. For the study, 2,694 individuals received the investigational vaccine regimen while 2,689 volunteers received a placebo. An interim review of the study by an independent data and safety monitoring board in January showed 129 HIV infections occurred among the vaccine recipients, and 123 HIV infections occurred among the placebo recipients. “An HIV vaccine is essential to end the global pandemic, and we hoped this vaccine candidate would work. Regrettably, it does not,” said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci in a statement. “Research continues on other approaches to a safe and effective HIV vaccine, which I still believe can be achieved.” While the HVTN 702 study will be halted, there are two other HIV vaccines – Imbokodo and Mosaico – currently in late-stage trials. Launched in 2017 in South Africa, human trials of Imbokodo (like Mosaico) attempt to invoke an immune response to a variety of HIV strains using a “mosaic” of immunogens via six injections over four sessions. Mosaico began trials in November of 2019 in South Africa as well but also across 57 sites in the United States, Latin America, and Europe. (source: NIAID)
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton speaking to the press in May 2019 (image via White House – public domain)
The state of play: Trump is set to be acquitted on articles of impeachment centered on the Ukraine saga, and Republican senators voted last week against calling new witnesses, including Bolton, in the impeachment trial.
Bolton alleges in the manuscript of his forthcoming book that Trump explicitly tied the Ukraine aid to political investigations of his opponents, including former Vice President Joe Biden and his family, and asked in early May to ensure that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would meet with Rudy Giuliani.
What they’re saying: Nadler said he was not worried about the potential political backlash from continuing the investigations, saying, “I think when you have a lawless president, you have to bring that to the fore and you have to spotlight that.”
Partial results from the Iowa caucuses show former Mayor Pete Buttigieg leading the pack with 26.9% of the vote followed very closely by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) with 25.1%. From CNN:
Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, held a narrow lead in the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday night, according to a partial release of a majority of the results by the state Democratic party a day after an embarrassing organizational breakdown that marred the biggest night of the election year so far. Buttigieg was trailed closely by the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren with former vice-president Joe Biden in a distant fourth place, based on a tally of 62% of the precincts reporting. Iowa awards only 41 delegates, who eventually nominate the Democratic presidential candidate at the party’s national convention in July, which represents around just 1% of the national total.