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Pete Buttigieg Continues To Surge In Iowa

Mayor Pete Buttigieg campaigns in Iowa
After taking lots of hits and attacks for his time working at global consultancy firm McKinsey, skepticism over his appeal to black voters, and the whole ‘wine cave’ thing, Democratic White House hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg is still surging in Iowa. From Iowa Starting Line:

Despite the new scrutiny, Buttigieg has seen his crowd sizes in Iowa swell this month, including five separate events with over 1,000 people each. Among those were a statement-making 2,000-person rally in Coralville, right in Iowa’s most liberal county, and a West Des Moines event this weekend that brought out 1,200.

Between those, he took a tour of rural counties and mid-size towns, often producing turnouts that local Democratic leaders say are the largest they’ve seen since Barack Obama’s 2008 caucus campaign. Around 500 showed up in Ottumwa and Fort Madison each for Buttigieg yesterday, and over 240 packed a theater in Centerville, a town of 5,500 near the Missouri border.

The Starting Line notes that many Iowans they spoke to have heard very little, or aren’t concerned about, issues with his time at McKinsey. Here’s what some of the town hall attendees had to say about the 37-year-old openly gay candidate: • Julie Gentz, 69, retired educator: “I just need some hope. I feel like this is a Kennedy moment … It’s a Kennedy moment in one respect, and it’s an Obama moment in the fact that he’s not just your run-of-the-mill politician.” • Laura Miller, 30: “He has his way of uniting all of us from different backgrounds and cultures, and just reminding us that we’re all human.” • Roger Mills, retiree: “I think he’s a person who has a great deal of spirituality in him, and I think he’s a person who can lead us into a different form of consciousness of peace and love. He quotes passages from the Bible. That intrigues me. It gives me hope.” • Tom Lucas, veteran: “He speaks from the heart because he is a veteran. It’s not a canned speech from some speechwriter. He’s worn the boots, he’s part of the brotherhood.” The most recent poll, from Iowa State University, shows Buttigieg with a three-point lead over his fellow Democrats. RealClearPolitics average of Iowa polls shows him up 2 points. Also, two of the other top tier candidates – Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT)  – may find themselves locked down in Washington as part of the jury in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. That could leave a wider opening for Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden to campaign across Iowa in the weeks leading up to the February 3 caucuses.

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Gay Man Robbed & Beaten To Death Christmas Day Over $1

A 60-year-old gay man was violently beaten to death on Christmas Eve defending his partner from a gang of robbers who left the scene of the crime having stolen a single dollar. Juan Fresnada and his 29-year-old partner Byron Caceres were leaving a McDonald’s restaurant in the Bronx near 1:30 a.m. when a man approached the couple demanding money. Friends of the couple told NBC New York, “The guys just told them ‘Give me the money, give me the money.’ He was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’” The couple reportedly tried to avoid the conflict by heading into a nearby deli, but the perpetrator followed them, and things quickly escalated. “My husband tried to defend me,” Caceres told the New York Daily News. “The guy had his fist ready like he was ready to attack me. My husband said, ‘Don’t you get close to him.’” Two other men joined the first and began to beat the couple. Defen defending his partner, Fresnada told Caceres to run to safety. According to Caceres, the assault lasted between 10 and 15 minutes as the robbers beat Fresnada relentlessly before smashing a steel trash can on his head leaving him in the middle of East 165th Street with severe injuries to his legs and head.

When Caceres returned, he doesn’t own a cell phone and couldn’t call the police, his partner was bleeding and breathing heavily. The younger man attempted CPR but a bystander said that might not be a good idea since Fresnada was breathing so heavily. According to NBC New York, throughout the ordeal, no one stopped to help the couple. Eventually, an ambulance arrived to take the older man to a nearby hospital where he was treated for a fractured skull which led to swelling in his brain and blood pooling in the back of his skull. The younger man refused treatment and is expected to fully recover. Fresnada remained hooked up to a ventilator and unresponsive until he died from his extensive injuries on Friday, December 27. Caceres says he doesn’t believe the attack was a hate crime as he doesn’t remember hearing any homophobic slurs during the assault. The two men met in 2015 through a program for low-income gay men and have been inseparable since. The police have released this montage of surveillance footage of the men. Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

(source: NBC New York, New York Daily News)

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Daily Dog: Jenga Ninja

When I first saw this video clip of a dog playing Jenga, I thought there were freezes in the clip. But it’s actually the dog slowing her roll, being careful to just pull out the one game piece. Sorry, but I’m just amazed. Watch below.

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Remembering The Genius Of Jerry Herman

L-R Leslie Uggams, Lee Roy Reams, George Hearn
Thinking of dear Jerry Herman this evening and fell into a YouTube wormhole of his awesome music. This is just a tiny sample of the depth, range, and power of Jerry’s music. All of these performers need no introduction. Just listen to them bring Tony Award winner Jerry Herman’s music to life in first-class form.

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Poll: 92% Of Canadians ‘Comfortable’ With LGBTQ People

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raises an LGBTQ Pride flag
From Global News in Canada:

The federal government measured how “comfortable” Canadians felt with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people playing significant roles in their lives, Global News has learned, part of what the government says was a preliminary assessment to better understand the challenges faced by Canada’s LGBTQ2 community.

And the answer, so far, is encouraging: 91.8 percent of those surveyed in a mid-summer poll commissioned by the Privy Council Office said they would be “comfortable” if a next-door neighbor was gay, lesbian or bisexual and that 87.6 percent said they would be “comfortable” if a neighbor was a transgender person.

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Civil Rights Icon Rep. John Lewis Diagnosed With Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer

Rep. John Lewis (image via House.gov)
CNN reports Rep. John Lewis (D-Atlanta), a longtime congressman and civil rights icon, has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Lewis, 79, said he was diagnosed following a routine medical visit with subsequent tests that reconfirmed the diagnosis. The long-time Georgia congressman will undergo treatment for the cancer.

“I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now,” Lewis, who in March 1965 joined forces with Martin Luther King Jr. to lead a voting rights march out out Selma, Alabama, said in a statement.

He continued later: “While I am clear-eyed about the prognosis, doctors have told me that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases, that treatment options are no longer as debilitating as they once were, and that I have a fighting chance.”

Pancreatic cancer was the third-leading cause of death from cancer in the United States in 2018, after lung and colorectal cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute.

John Lewis stood up for civil rights by taking part in sit-ins when he was just 20. He was beaten during the Freedom Rides when he was 21. He was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington at 23, and had his skull fractured in Selma during Bloody Sunday at the age of 25. John Lewis doesn’t back down from a fight. #fuckcancer

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Report: Most Dangerous Countries For LGBTQ Travelers

After studying the 150 countries that had the most international tourists, travel bloggers at Asher & Lyric ranked the worst countries for LGBTQ travelers. Among the factors considered were laws regarding same-sex relations, propaganda/morality laws, worker protections & protections against discrimination and more. Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and 7th most populous in the world, has the dubious distinction of taking the top spot on the list. Here are the top five most dangerous countries for LGBTQ travelers:

5. Tanzania – homosexuality can be punished by 30 years to life in prison; ‘indecent behavior’ in regard to homosexuality can result in 5 years in prison

4. Saudi Arabia – homosexual acts can be punished by the death penalty, 100 lashes or banishment for a year; gender expression is illegal

3. Yemen – homosexuality among men can result in 100 lashes, a year in prison if unmarried or stoning to death if married; women caught in same-sex relations can receive 100 lashes and/or 3 years in prison

2. Qatar – homosexual acts can result in 1-3 years in prison, flogging and/or the death penalty

1. Nigeria – homosexuality receives up to 14 years in prison or the death penalty; the mere discussion of LGBTQ rights is illegal

The bloggers note that “certain cities, tourist areas or resorts can sometimes be LGBTQ+ friendly even when the laws of the country as a whole are very anti-LGBTQ+. In all cases, do your research.” Check out the full list here.

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Anti-Semitic Intruder Stabs Five During Hanukkah Celebration

A stranger burst into a rabbi’s home in New York state and stabbed five people as they were celebrating Hanukkah. From the New York Times:

An intruder with a large knife burst into the home of a Hasidic rabbi in a New York suburb on Saturday night, stabbing and wounding five people just as they were gathering to light candles for Hanukkah, officials and a witness said.

It was a terrifying scene, the officials and witness reported, saying that the violence occurred at about 10 p.m. as numerous people were celebrating Hanukkah at the home of the rabbi, Chaim Rottenberg, in Monsey, which is in an area with a large population of ultra-Orthodox Jews.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, visiting the rabbi’s home on Sunday morning, called the attack an “act of domestic terrorism.”

The New York Police Department said a suspect had been arrested in Harlem and was turned over to the authorities in Rockland County, which is northwest of New York City and where the attack took place.

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Trump Tells NY & CA He’ll Help With Homelessness If They Ask “Politely”

Donald Trump

Donald Trump took to Twitter today to rant about the issue of homelessness in America. Well, not exactly. The Trumpster tweeted specifically about the homelessness problem in two very blue states: California and New York. Trump wrote, “California and New York must do something about their TREMENDOUS Homeless problems. They are setting records! If their Governors can’t handle the situation, which they should be able to do very easily, they must call and ‘politely’ ask for help. Would be so easy with competence!” It’s worth noting, however, that a Rockefeller Institute of Government study this year found that New York’s residents and businesses consistently send more revenue to the Federal government than any other state, and the state continues to contribute more in taxes than the state receives back in federal spending. And residents of California pay one of the highest rates of federal taxes per capita in the country. As president, states shouldn’t have to beg or “politely” ask for help. That’s what the federal government is there for, and what they pay taxes for. And in the case of these two states, a LOT of taxes. Trump forgets that he’s not a king whose ring should be kissed. He’s an employee of the people of the United States. The Donald’s real issue here isn’t worrying about the homeless (which he’d rather just not see), but the fact that California and New York have governors who won’t bow down to him. Later in the day, Trump took another swipe at New York tweeting, “So sad to see that New York City and State are falling apart. All they want to do is investigate to make me hate them even more than I should. Governor Cuomo has lost control, and lost his mind. Very bad for the homeless and all!”