Posts

Posted on

House Committee ‘Likely’ To Subpoena John Bolton

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton (image via White House - public domain)

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton speaking to the press in May 2019 (image via White House – public domain)
Even as the Senate prepares to close up shop on the Donald Trump impeachment trial today, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that it is “likely” House Democrats will subpoena former national security adviser John Bolton regarding Trump’s hold on military aid to Ukraine. From Axios:

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.”

Posted on

Partial Iowa Results (It’s All We Got) Show Buttigieg With Slight Lead

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.

Posted on

A Trans Teen Hears His Name Called At Starbucks

A new ad captures the quiet triumph of a transgender teen hearing his name being called as he picks up his coffee at Starbucks. The spot, part of the “What’s your name?” campaign for Starbucks, will air in the U.K. and online. Partnering with the U.K. trans youth organization Mermaids, the coffee giant will also sell limited-edition mermaid cookies to raise up to £100,000 ($130,000) for the group. The ad follows James as people throughout his day dead name him. On his school ID card, by family members, even at his doctor’s office. But when he orders his coffee at a Starbucks, he’s asked his name. “It’s James,” we hear the teen reply. A moment later, the employee calls out the name “James,” and the brief smile says it all. From Starbucks UK: At Starbucks, writing your name on a cup and calling it out is a symbol of our warm welcome. It’s a small gesture, but it’s symbolic of what we believe in: Recognition and acceptance, whoever you are, or want to be. We welcome everyone. We’re proud to support Mermaids, a charity supporting young transgender and gender diverse people and their families. If you need to speak to someone, you can find their helpline here: http://mermaidsuk.org.uk Several folks expressed their support for the ad spot on Twitter along with some of their own stories:

 

 

 

 

Posted on

Bloomberg Trolls Trump: “Two Billionaires? Who’s The Second One?”

Talk about next-level trolling. During an interview with CBS News, Mike Bloomberg was asked about his feud with Donald Trump, and whether people want to see two billionaires fighting on Twitter. Bloomberg: “Two billionaires? Who’s the second one?” Bloomberg is a self-made billionaire worth an estimated $56 billion. Trump claims he’s a billionaire, but no one has ever seen any proof of that as he is the first president in over 40 years to refuse to release his tax returns.

Posted on

With No Results From Iowa (Still) Candidates Go For Positive Spin

Pete Buttigieg in Iowa (screen capture)
The day after the rather inauspicious ‘first in the nation’ Iowa caucuses, there’s still no results to point to. The app that was created for precincts to report their results failed to work, and so folks in charge attempted to phone-in results to the Democratic party powers-that-be. And the phone lines jammed. The party says the delay is due to “inconsistencies.” So, everyone is waiting…and waiting. As the candidates move on to New Hampshire, Iowa loses its chance to crown an emerging victor and candidates lose their moment in the sun. Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, according to several sources, did well but with no official tallies, they kind of got robbed of their moment. If anything, former Vice President Joe Biden (who we hear might not have had such a great night) lucks out with the waters being so muddied. And, folks took umbrage with Buttigieg telling his supporters “We are going on to New Hampshire victorious!” My take is: Iowa is about setting a narrative, and so since Iowa Dems couldn’t get it done, Mayor Pete was setting his own by putting a positive spin on the night. Let’s face it – a year ago, no one expected Pete to be ranked at the top of the competing Dems. So, if he ends up in first, second or third place in terms of Iowa, he’s certainly surprised a lot of people. Here’s his speech to supporters last night.

Posted on

JLo & Shakira Slay But Conservative Hypocrisy Rages

JLo at Super Bowl LIV
So, the world seems split on the much-talked-about J.Lo/Shakira performance during last night’s Super Bowl half-time show. As my Instinct colleague Corey Andrew noted there seems to be some hypocrisy in how Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl performance was viewed differently compared to last night’s Latin spectacular. Click over to Corey’s post to get his full take. There was also some disagreement on why it’s ok for a male rocker to parade around shirtless during his Super Bowl performance but 40+ Latina women being all sexy and empowered seemed to be “too much?” #morehypocrisy https://twitter.com/DaniMontez20/status/1224325624036114433 Conservative folks are apparently fine with their president paying porn stars for sex while his newborn child is at home with Melania, but strong Latinas in revealing stage costumes is a bridge too far…? From professional conservative hypocrite Franklin Graham: “I don’t expect the world to act like the church, but our country has had a sense of moral decency on prime time television in order to protect children. We see that disappearing before our eyes. It was demonstrated tonight in the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show—with millions of children watching. This exhibition was Pepsi showing young girls that sexual exploitation of women is okay. With the exploitation of women on the rise worldwide, instead of lowering the standard, we as a society should be raising it. I’m disappointed in Pepsi and the NFL.”
Shakira at Super Bowl LIV
USA Today wondered, Was it empowering to watch two women of color over 40 performing in an often-provocative way? Or had we reverted back to a pre-#MeToo moment of objectifying women?” Puh-leeze.  I think it was fabulous! In any case, what matters is: gay Twitter was living for the sports ball extravaganza. Take a look at some of the responses: https://twitter.com/gibsonoma/status/1224142709801308162 https://twitter.com/acidhunk/status/1224148498334932996 https://twitter.com/tomastiks/status/1224146705609908224 https://twitter.com/minnascule/status/1224140235023450114 https://twitter.com/karadykers/status/1224144099101548547 https://twitter.com/ylrac/status/1224141059472732160 https://twitter.com/spheven/status/1224152859375214595 https://twitter.com/froodsbag/status/1224142727304175618 https://twitter.com/Brotamins/status/1224146552756699136 https://twitter.com/Chookooloonks/status/1224330254342348800

Posted on

RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! Slays The Las Vegas Strip

Opening night cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! (all photos: Denise Truscello)
Some of the most famous drag queens in the world slayed the Las Vegas Strip last week as RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! debuted at Flamingo Las Vegas. The production, which will feature six drags queens each performance from a rotating cast, celebrated its opening night with Derrick Barry, Vanessa “Vanjie” Matteo, Kameron Michaels, Yvie Oddly, Asia O’Hara and Naomi Smalls onstage. Visually stunning sets, jaw-dropping costumes and over-the-top performances sent the audience to their feet several times throughout the premiere performance. The finale of the show pitted Kameron Michaels and Miss Vangie lip-syncing for their lives to “Bang Bang.” The score for the production features RuPaul’s hit songs from the past 11 seasons of Drag Race, plus original show-stopping numbers created especially for this residency. The atmosphere of the show is interactive and encourages audience members’ participation as if they were attending a live episode of the world-famous competition. Opening night attendees were greeted by a special welcome from RuPaul himself, who directed the show with award-winning choreographer and filmmaker Jamal Sims. And in this stage version of the long-running TV show, the Pit Crew boys do more than look pretty – they act as the back-up dancers for the queens. The Las Vegas Pit Crew includes Dallas Eli, AJ Watkins, Nick Lemer, Filip Lacina, Sebastian Gonzalez, and Michael Silas. RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! performs Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 9:30 p.m. Tickets starting at $49, plus applicable tax and fees, are available for purchase at ticketmaster.com/dragracevegas. 

Posted on

Final Iowa Poll Cancelled After Polling Mistake

L-R Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Bernie Sanders supporters, of course, believe it’s a conspiracy against a Bernie. From USA Today: A highly anticipated release of the Iowa Poll, one of the most respected political surveys in the nation, was canceled Saturday night  ahead of the Iowa caucuses after Pete Buttigieg’s campaign complained that his name had been omitted by a poll interviewer. “The Iowa Poll was founded in 1943,” Carol Hunter, executive editor of the Register, said in an interview Saturday. “It’s built its reputation over many decades for accuracy, and we feel the utmost responsibility to uphold that reputation.” CNN did an internal investigation and found that an operator had enlarged the font on their computer screen, cutting off Buttigieg’s name, which had been at the bottom.  

Posted on

Today’s Date Is Super-Extra Special

Today’s the day of the big J.Lo/Shakira concert! I hear in honor of the music, there will also be a big sports ball game. Plus, it’s Groundhog’s Day – and yep, Punxsutawney Phil predicts early spring. AND – today’s date is a rare eight-digit palindrome (reads same, forward and backward), 02/02/2020 — the only one of its kind this century: Aziz Inan, a University of Portland (Ore.) professor who has a website chronicling 500 years’ worth of palindromes, tells the Post about today’s rare configuration — where both MM/DD/YEAR and DD/MM/YEAR are palindromes. “The previous eight-digit palindrome like this was 11/11/1111, 909 years ago. We’ll only have to wait another 101 years for 12/12/2121.” P.S. Today is “the 33rd day of the year, which is followed by 333 more days.” (via Axios)