Pete Buttigieg (via Facebook) Some news items you might have missed: • Deadline: Pete Buttigieg will appear at another Fox News town hall on January 26, a little more than a week before the Iowa caucuses, with Chris Wallace as moderator. This will be Buttigieg’s second Fox News town hall, having headlined a well-received event last May. He’s one of six Democratic candidates to appear at town halls on the network. • Instinct Magazine: A Canadian man has been busted for mailing an envelope filled with white powder – and a note with an indication that the powder was anthrax – to New York City East Village spot Nowhere Bar. • CBS News: A new CBS News poll ties Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden and Mayor Pete Buttigieg for the lead in Iowa. Sanders, Biden and Buttigieg are tied at 23%, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren comes fourth with 16% and Sen. Amy Klobuchar falls in fifth at 7%. • Washington Post: Rep. Duncan D. Hunter will resign from Congress effective January 13, more than one month after the California Republican pleaded guilty in federal court to misusing campaign funds. The six-term congressman is scheduled to be sentenced in March. He faces a maximum of five years in prison, although he is expected to serve less than one year. • Politico: Donald Trump’s reelection campaign will spend $10 million on 60 seconds of television ad time during the Super Bowl next month as the president ramps up his push for a second term. • New York Times: Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell informed Republicans on Tuesday that he planned to move forward with President Trump’s impeachment trial without committing to additional witnesses or admitting new evidence, over the objections of Democrats who are insisting on both.
“Whoever heard of a trial without witnesses and documents? It’s unprecedented.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “have very different visions about what it means to conduct a fair trial.” https://t.co/vTZuyr7OFtpic.twitter.com/yYlmHPU6b9 — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 7, 2020
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Al Asad airbase in Iraq, where U.S. troops are stationed, according to Iranian state TV.
Why it matters: It’s the first sign of direct retaliation against the U.S. for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, following three days of mourning. President Trump visited the airbase in December 2018 and said that the U.S. would keep a presence in Iraq in part to “watch over Iran.”
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps: “The brave soldiers of IRGC’s aerospace unit have launched a successful attack with tens of ballistic missiles on Al Assad military base in the name of martyr Gen. Qasem Soleimani. … We warn all allied countries of the U.S. that if attacks are launched from bases in their countries on Iran, they will be a target of military retaliation.”
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham: “We are aware of the reports of attacks on US facilities in Iraq. The President has been briefed and is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team.”
CNN reports at least 10 rockets hit the airbase.
SPECIAL REPORT: “There are reports tonight that Iran has launched multiple missiles at Iraq’s Al Asad Air Base…This attack is believed to be in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike in Baghdad last week that killed Iran’s top general.” pic.twitter.com/8yAv5vCHgI
L-R Nick Sandmann, Nathan Phillips (screen capture) CNN has reportedly agreed to settle a lawsuit by MAGA hat-wearing high school student Nick Sandmann, who became famous in January 2019 for staring down Native American Nathan Phillips at a Washington, D.C. event. The amount of the settlement was not made public during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Covington, Kentucky. Sandmann’s lawyer says the damages were sought due to “emotional distress Nicholas and his family suffered.” He also said the family had to move from their home temporarily and that Nicholas was not permitted to attend school directly after the trip to Washington. The initial lawsuit sought $800 million from CNN, the Washington Post and NBC Universal. No trial dates have been set for the NBC Universal and Washington Post portions of the lawsuit. Sandmann reportedly plans to sue Phillips as well. At the time of the incident, people became polarized over what had happened and what, exactly, they saw. To this day, having seen the full video footage, I’m still clear that the boy in the photo above is smirking at an elder. And now, he will be rich for doing so. #MAGA
Aaron Hernandez (image via screen capture/Netflix) Netflix drops its official trailer for the upcoming docuseries Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez. The three-part documentary series takes a deep dive into what led to the fall and shocking death of former NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez. Through interviews with longtime friends, teammates, and insiders, the series chronicles the tight end’s rise from early high school football years to becoming a 4th round draft choice for the New England Patriots and ultimately making it all the way to the Super Bowl. But it all came to an end in 2013 when he was arrested and charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-pro player who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancée. In 2015, he was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. During his trial, he was also indicted for a 2012 double homicide but was eventually acquitted of the charges in 2017.
Shortly after his acquittal, he was found dead in his prison cell and his death was ruled a suicide. An autopsy revealed he suffered from severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head injuries. Days after his passing, Newsweekpublished an article suggesting the athlete’s motive for killing Lloyd was to hide his sexual orientation. Since then, there’s been much speculation about his sexuality. Hernandez’s lawyer, Jose Baez, later penned a book, Unnecessary Roughness, claiming the footballer confessed he’d had homosexual relationships. Additionally, Hernandez reportedly left a suicide note for his alleged prison lover, Kyle Kennedy, who he had requested to be his cellmate before he died. Hernandez has already been the subject of a two-part Oxygen Network series, Aaron Hernandez Uncovered, in 2018, which explored his rumored bisexuality. Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez premieres January 15 on Netflix.
Sam Smith is living in the light (image via Instagram) It’s a new year and while lots of folks are heading to the gym to fulfill a ‘get in shape’ resolution, Grammy Award winner Sam Smith is taking just a minute to appreciate being exactly who they are. Smith recently posted a shirtless pic to their Instagram writing, “Feels so good to have my top off on holiday.” “Spent all my life hiding my body from the sun,” they continued. “The last year my skin has been soaking in that LIGHT.” Smith closed the post with a bit of self-love advice: “Don’t let anyone or anything stop you from feeling that kiss from above you beautiful humans.”
With over 1.1 million Likes, it seems Smith’s fans agree, including newly-minted Golden Globe winner Taron Egerton who commented, “You look gorgeous. X” The 27-year-old has had a big year on the issue of self-acceptance having come out as genderqueer and non-binary in 2019. Speaking to body positivity activist Jameela Jamil on the Instagram show I Weigh Interviews last March, Smith shared that their body image issues were “the basis of all my sadness.” They also revealed they had liposuction at the age of 12. “At the time, I think I was very happy about it,” said Smith. “It didn’t really change anything. I think I put the weight back on in two weeks because I haven’t figured out my relationship with food, so it didn’t really change anything. But being 12 years old and having liposuction on your chest is quite a big deal.”
The ‘Stay With Me’ singer is clearly feeling more comfortable about their body and spreading the message of body positivity with more shirtless photos on Instagram.
Iranian leaders attend funeral of Gen. Qassem Soleimani (screen capture)The Independent reports that Iran is considering “13 scenarios for revenge” against the US for the killing of top general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike last week, local media reported the country’s top security official as saying in comments later disavowed by senior officials.
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said “the mission to avenge our slain brother will not be limited to a single operation,” according to the hardline Fars news agency.
“Up until now, 13 scenarios for revenge have been proposed,” he reportedly said. “Even if there is a consensus on the weakest scenario, executing it can turn into a historic nightmare for the Americans.”
Reuters adds that Shamkhani would not reveal any specific details of the plans, he said all US forces in the Middle East are being considered for strikes. “Those who crawl into shelters and close the doors hoping to escape our revenge are unaware that the Islamic Republic will open the door to hell.” BUT – the Supreme National Security Council later disavowed the comments saying Shamkhani never gave the interview. The SNSC secretariat said: “A local paper yesterday committed a criminal act and attributed an interview to the SNSC’s secretary which had not taken place. Legal action is underway to understand how and and why the interview was produced and published.” The SNSC’s claims have not been proven.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (image via Instagram) While speaking at King Jesus International Ministry in Miami, Donald Trump claimed that Mayor Pete Buttigieg and other Democrats are trying to replace religion with socialism. The Donald then openly questioned if Mayor Pete was as religious as he claimed. “And I see Alfred E. Neuman comes out and he’s trying to pretend he’s very religious,” Trump said, referencing the former mayor as the MAD Magazine mascot. “Now all of a sudden, he’s become extremely religious, this happened about two weeks ago,” Trump continued. Buttigieg, a former Catholic who is openly Episcopalian, clapped back with 8 simple words: “God does not belong to a political party.”
Buttigieg elaborated further on Trump’s remarks during a campaign stop in New Hampshire. “I’m not sure why the president’s taken an interest in my faith journey, but certainly I would be happy to discuss it with him,” he said. “I just don’t know where that’s coming from, you know. Certainly, it has been a complex journey for me, as it is for a lot of people, but I’m pretty sure I’ve been a believer longer than he’s been a Republican.”
Pete responds to Trumps attack on his faith…just now on MSNBC.
"Pretty sure I've been a believer longer than he's been a Republican."
Michael J. Reynolds (mugshot via Metro Nashville Police) Some news items you might have missed: • NBC News: New York City Police officer Michael J. Reynolds (above), who broke into a black woman’s home in Tennessee and threatened her and her sons with a racist slur has resigned from the force. Last month, Reynolds was sentenced to 15 days in jail and three years’ probation after pleading no contest to one count of aggravated criminal trespassing and three counts of assault. • The Advocate: Hate preacher Steven Anderson, the Arizona minister whose death wishes for LGBTQ people have gotten him banned from more than 30 countries, says Australia is being devastated by wildfires because he was banned from the country. • Twitter: Singer Lizzo says she’s done with Twitter for now – “Too many trolls…”
Yeah I can’t do this Twitter shit no more.. too many trolls… ✌🏾 I’ll be back when I feel like it.
• JoeMyGod: American Family Association radio host Bryan Fischer told his listeners gay men founded the Nazi party: “Let’s not forget that the Nazi Party started in a gay bar. The Nazi Party started in a gay bar in Munich, Germany, and the Stormtroopers were Hitler’s enforcers in the early days of the Nazi regime — the S.A., the Stormtroopers. Without exception, the officers in Hitler’s private army were homosexuals. You had no chance of advancing through the ranks unless you were a hardcore homosexual.” • NewNowNext: Brokeback Mountain star Jake Gyllenhaal has secured the rights to produce and star in the film adaptation of the award-winning Broadway musical, Fun Home. He will play troubled gay patriarch Bruce Bechdel, who runs the family funeral home. • Delaware News Journal: A Republican County Chairman in Pennsylvania, Chris Rowe, has announced he will resign for using the word “faggots” in a comment on a recent Facebook post. “Faggots cannot handle reality. Bad guy loses FB pisses themselves,” wrote Rowe. He later added on Facebook that he feels he has nothing to apologize for as the comment was “locker room talk” between him and a lifelong friend. #LockerroomTalk • Apple TV: Check out this first look at the five-part series Visible: Out on Television debuting on Apple TV+ on February 14. Apple TV’s The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon was thrilling to watch. Just saying…
Kate McKinnon at the 77th Golden Globe Awards (screen capture) I enjoyed watching the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s 77th annual Golden Globe Awards last night, even though I had hopes that more LGBTQ artists’ work would be recognized. First up – the good news. SNL’s Kate McKinnon paying tribute to Ellen DeGeneres in advance of Ellen accepting the Carol Burnett Excellence in Television Award was easily the most touching LGBTQ moment of the night. “In 1997, when Ellen’s sitcom was in the height of its popularity, I was in my mother’s basement lifting weights in front of the mirror and thinking, ‘Am I gay?’ And I was, and I still am,” McKinnon said. “But that’s a very scary thing to suddenly know about yourself. It’s sort of like doing 23andMe and discovering that you have alien DNA. And the only thing that made it less scary was seeing Ellen on TV.” “She risked her entire life and her entire career in order to tell the truth, and she suffered greatly for it,” continued McKinnon. “Of course, attitudes change, but only because brave people like Ellen jump into the fire to make them change.” “And if I hadn’t seen her on TV, I would have thought, ‘I could never be on TV. They don’t let LGBTQ people on TV.’ And more than that, I would have gone on thinking that I was an alien and that I maybe didn’t even have a right to be here. So thank you, Ellen, for giving me a shot. A shot at a good life, and thank you also for the sweater with a picture of the baby goat on it.”
Elton John and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin picked up the prize for Best Original Song (Motion Picture) with “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” from the musical fantasy biopic of John’s early life, Rocketman. “It’s the first time I won an award with him. Ever,” said the pop music legend while accepting the award. “We never won a Grammy, we never did anything together except for this and I’m so happy, thank you very much.” Taupin added, “This isn’t just a song we wrote for a movie – this is a song we wrote for a movie that deals with our relationship.” And hunky Taron Egerton’s star turn as “Elton John” in the film won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy). But the movie lost out in the top category of Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood.
Out actors Billy Porter (FX’s Pose) and Ben Platt (Netflix’s The Politician) were nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series in the Drama and Comedy categories, respectively. But the two Tony Award winners went home empty-handed as Porter watched Brian Cox accept the trophy in his category for HBO’s Succession, and writer/actor Ramy Youssef scored over Platt for his turn in Hulu’s Ramy. Porter may not have won during the awards ceremony, but he certainly scored on the red carpet with his ‘vision in white’ feather-adorned tuxedo by Alex Vinash in collaboration with stylist Sam Ratelle. Embellished with 4,000 Swarovski crystals and a six-foot train paired with a $2 million, 40-carat Tiffany & Co. diamond necklace, Porter was easily one of the fashion highlights of the evening. Standing on the red carpet, Porter announced, “This is not a sitting outfit, this is a standing outfit!”
Out actor Andrew Scott was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series (Comedy) for his performance as ‘Hot Priest’ in Amazon’s Fleabag, but saw the trophy go to Russell Crowe for his performance as Roger Ailes in Showtime’s The Loudest Voice. Out actress Beanie Feldstein received a nod for her high school overachiever in the lauded comedy Booksmart, but the moment would go to Awkwafina in The Farewell, making history as the first Asian-American performer to win a Golden Globe in any lead actress film category. I thought Antonio Banderas would score with his nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) in Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory, but Joaquin Phoenix walked away with the Golden Globe for his terrific performance in The Joker. Some might have been surprised by Renée Zellweger’s win for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) in the Judy Garland biopic, Judy. But it’s a worthy, powerhouse performance in a moving film about the legendary gay icon. Lesbian-centric Killing Eve lost in the Best Television Series (Drama) category to Succession. And Netflix’s gay-themed The Politician was nominated for Best Comedy Series, but the honor went to the Amazon hit, Fleabag. Two queer films – Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory – were nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, but the award went to the widely-acclaimed South Korean thriller, Parasite. While not LGBTQ in regards to the actors or content, I was thrilled that Michelle Williams’ incredible turn as legendary Broadway leading lady Gwen Verdon in the miniseries Fosse/Verdon scored. Months after viewing the series, I think it’s the best thing I saw on television all year.
In case you missed Michelle Williams' Golden Globes speech last night, here it is. I will also say Women-we are the largest demographic in America and if we vote in our self interest, like men do, the country will look like us.
A new poll by HuffPost/YouGov shows a slight plurality of Americans approve of the airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani (43%) versus those who disapprove (38%). Those views fall pretty much along partisan lines with stronger support among Republicans (84%) as opposed to 71% of Democrats who disapprove. More from the poll: • A clear majority (57%) believe the airstrike will lead to further military conflict between the U.S. and Iran • 43% of those polled feel Donald Trump did not think through the repercussions of his ordered attack compared to 35% who think he planned carefully • The public is evenly split – 40% vs 39% – on the decision to send 3,500 U.S. troops to the Middle East • 44% believe Trump should have informed Congress before launching the attack versus 34% who do not
• Washington Post: Rep. Duncan D. Hunter will resign from Congress effective January 13, more than one month after the California Republican pleaded guilty in federal court to misusing campaign funds. The six-term congressman is scheduled to be sentenced in March. He faces a maximum of five years in prison, although he is expected to serve less than one year. • Politico: Donald Trump’s reelection campaign will spend $10 million on 60 seconds of television ad time during the Super Bowl next month as the president ramps up his push for a second term. • New York Times: Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell informed Republicans on Tuesday that he planned to move forward with President Trump’s impeachment trial without committing to additional witnesses or admitting new evidence, over the objections of Democrats who are insisting on both. 
The 27-year-old has had a big year on 
