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Hallmark Channel Drops Then Reinstates LGBTQ Inclusive Commercials

The Hallmark Channel is having a decidedly difficult December. The cable television channel announced on Thursday it would stop airing four ads from the wedding planning website Zola which included lesbian brides kissing in marriage ceremonies after virulently anti-LGBTQ organization One Million Moms complained about the spots. At the time, a spokesperson for the company told the New York Times it did not accept ads “that are deemed controversial.”  The spokesman said the women’s public displays of affection “violated the channel’s policies,” but didn’t elaborate as to why a nearly identical ad featuring a bride and groom kissing was not rejected.

Zola then announced it would pull all of its advertising from the channel. In a statement released on Sunday, president and CEO Mike Perry said the team at Hallmark Channel’s parent company, Crown Media Family Networks, had “been agonizing over this decision as we’ve seen the hurt it has unintentionally caused” and that “they believe this was the wrong decision.” “Our mission is rooted in helping all people connect, celebrate traditions and be inspired to capture meaningful moments in their lives,” he said. “Anything that detracts from this purpose is not who we are. We are truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused.” Perry added his company would work with national LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD “to better represent the LGBTQ community across our portfolio of brands,” and that it planned on contacting Zola to “re-establish our partnership and reinstate the commercials.”

“We were deeply troubled when Hallmark rejected our commercials for featuring a lesbian couple celebrating their marriage, and are relieved to see that decision was reversed,” said Mike Chi, the chief marketing officer of Zola. “We are humbled by everyone who showed support not only for Zola, but for all the LGBTQ couples and families who express their love on their wedding day, and every day.” Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and chief executive of GLAAD, said: “The Hallmark Channel’s decision to correct its mistake sends an important message to LGBTQ people and represents a major loss for fringe organizations, like One Million Moms, whose sole purpose is to hurt families like mine. LGBTQ people are, and will continue to be, a part of advertisements and family programming, and that will never change.” Amid all the flip-flopping by Hallmark, Freeform, formerly ABC Family which has created LGBTQ-friendly content like The Fosters, The Bold Type, and Good Trouble, tweeted that it would be happy to air Zola’s inclusive ads over the holidays. “This is what happens when you focus all your energy on exclusion instead of clever plotlines,” tweeted Freeform. “Call us, Zola. We celebrate the holidays with everyone.”

Earlier in December, the Hallmark Channel network was targeted by outraged conservatives after CEO Bill Abbott said he was “open” to creating LGBTQ-themed holiday movies last month. (image via screen capture)

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Fox News Poll: 54% Say Trump Should Be Impeached

Fifty-four percent of Americans believe Donald Trump should be impeached

Fifty-four percent of Americans believe Donald Trump should be impeached From Newsweek: A Fox News poll released Sunday morning found a majority of Americans, 54 percent, said President Donald Trump should be impeached, a vote the House is likely to pass this coming week. The latest Fox News poll conducted last week found a majority of U.S. adults of all political affiliations say Trump abused his power in office, with 50 percent of Americans saying he should be impeached and removed as president. An additional 4 percent say he should be impeached but not removed from office. Those surveyed rejected the claim touted by Trump and Republicans that U.S. presidents typically ask foreign governments for help in investigating political rivals, with only 22 percent of respondents saying that defense checks out. A similar majority, 52 percent, said the Trump administration has not cooperated enough with the House impeachment inquiry.

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Trump May Skip General Election Debates

Trump walks past reporters with no comment
Trump walks past reporters with no comment
Donald Trump (image via public domain/White House)

It looks like Donald Trump might skip debating his Democratic challenger come the 2020 general election.

From the New York Times:

President Trump is discussing with his advisers the possibility of sitting out the general election debates in 2020 because of his misgivings about the commission that oversees them, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

Mr. Trump has told advisers that he does not trust the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonprofit entity that sponsors the debates, the two people said.

Less of a concern for Mr. Trump than who will emerge as the Democratic nominee is which media personality will be chosen as the debate moderator, according to people in contact with him.

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Awesome Fun At ‘Meet N Grease’ Sing-A-Long

Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta at ‘Meet n Grease’ Sing a long event in West Palm Beach
Had an awesome time at the ‘Meet n Grease’ movie sing-a-long in West Palm Beach, Florida, last night as Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta reunited to host the event. As Travolta noted during the Q&A segment after the movie, it was the first time the duo had been in costume as “Danny” and “Sandy” since the film wrapped 42 years ago. The sing-a-long version of the mega-hit movie musical has been around for years and a staple of outdoor venues during the summer. What I didn’t know was the promoters hand out props for audience participation. During the pep rally sequence, every time you see the cheerleaders you wave a set of pompoms; there are bubbles to blow for “Beauty School Dropout;” and a racing flag to wave at the start of the penultimate drag race.
(photo: Caleb Petersen)
The promoters had one of the real Greased Lightning cars to take pics with, and Olivia & John (who wore a wig to look like his Danny Zuko character) posed for photos in a malt shop setting. The three film T-Birds (Michael Tucci, Barry Pearl, and Kelly Ward) were also there taking pics and entertaining the audience. The event moves to Tampa, Florida, tonight and then to Jacksonville on Sunday. I understand there are talks to do more in the future with ONJ and JT across the country since the initial run has been so successful 🙂 Here are a few photos from the event, and if you click over to TMZ you can watch Travolta and ONJ sing a bit of “Sandy” and “Hopelessly Devoted To You” and a little ‘Greased Lightning’ dance action with audience members (including a certain blogger you might know…)
In the malt shop with Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta and hubby Michael
Recreating that final shot from the movie in the actual Greased Lightning car!
The T-Birds: me with Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci, hubby Michael and Kelly Ward
One of the original ‘Greased Lightning’ cars!
The GREASE T-Birds reunite: Barry Pearl, John Travolta, Michael Tucci and Kelly Ward
Team ONJ at the end of the night 🙂

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Stocking Stuffer: 2020 #GaysAgainstTrump Calendar

From the 2020 #GaysAgainstTrump Calendar
Guest post by Lawrence Pfeil Jr. This Christmas, many Americans are getting what it asked for – the impeachment of Donald J. Trump. With 11 shopping days until Christmas, we have a last-minute suggestion that’s fabulous, practical, sexy, and politically active all in one: The 2020 #GaysAgainstTrump Calendar. All the calendar models are members of an online community of gay men opposing Donald Trump’s dark time in the White House. Based in northwest Georgia, “Gays Against Trump” quickly went global including men from as far away as Scotland, South Africa, and Brazil (which has its own homophobic dictatorial President). The 2020 calendar promotes body positive images of men featuring bears & cubs – certain to please their admirers on your list.  Proceeds from the calendar will be used to flip red seats blue in the upcoming 2020 Georgia elections. Order your Gays Against Trump 2020 Calendar HERE Gays Against Trump also offers anonymous postcards with a political message.  They’re perfect for those MAGA friends and family because throwing coal at them isn’t part of the Green New Deal. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell would just adore getting this as a reminder of their duty before the impeachment trial begins in the Senate! Office of Senator (Name) United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Order postcards HERE and find more info about GaysAgainstTrump HERE.

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News Round-Up: December 13, 2019

Three bearded police officers from Norfolk Police Dept

Three bearded police officers from Norfolk Police Dept
(image via Norfolk Police Department)
Some news items you might have missed: • WSET: The Norfolk Police Department has updated its uniform policy to allow officers to grow a beard and openly display tattoos while on-duty. So, if you see me speeding through Norfolk, you know why 🙂 • The Verge: YouTube announced an expansion of its anti-harassment policy that will ban video creators from insulting individuals or inciting violence against people on the basis of their race, gender expression, or sexual orientation. But will YouTube enforce the new rules? • Bloomberg News: The share of credit card borrowers who are at least 90 days past due on their accounts will probably tick up to 2.01% next year, the highest level since 2010. • KIT212: Kenneth has the low-down on the what’s what happening the gay rags across the country. • Gaily Grind: The Senate voted to confirm homophobic nominee Lawrence VanDyke to serve as a Ninth Circuit appeals court judge, despite being rated as “not qualified” by the American Bar Association (ABA) over concerns of anti-LGBTQ past. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was the only GOP ‘no’ in a 51-44 vote. • Washington Blade: The Screen Actors Guild has announced the nominees for its 2019 awards presentation, and like the Golden Globes nominations earlier this week, there are multiple nods for projects with LGBTQ-relevant content and performers. • ESPN: Marijuana will be removed from the list of drugs of abuse and will be treated the same as alcohol as part of changes announced Thursday to the joint drug agreement between MLB and the players’ association. • Tweet of the Day: After Donald Trump trolled 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg, saying she need to “work on her anger management” and should “chill,” former First Lady Michelle Obama tweeted her encouragement. #GodILoveHer

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Grindr Adds New Features For Increased User Safety

gay dating app Grindr

Popular gay dating app Grindr has announced new safety/security features to help protect users from identity theft and danger in locations where being gay is a crime. The new features include: • Being able to ‘unsend’ messages and photos from conversations with other users • ‘Expiring photos’ which will allow users to have their photos disappear from conversations • Screenshot blocking to protect content and photos of those in countries or locations unfriendly to LGBTQ people Grindr has also unveiled a “Holistic Security Guide.” The guide, released in six languages, provides advice for digital security, personal safety and emotional well-being while engaging others online. “We are so proud to introduce these new security features, along with the Holistic Security Guide, as we continue to promote safety and justice for our users around the globe,” said Jack Harrison-Quintana, the director of Grindr for Equality. “We are grateful for the feedback from users and the various organizations and activists around the world who have helped us to continue improving the quality of life for Grindr users.” The company says the new features are part of Grindr’s continuing efforts to encourage more awareness of personal safety after reports of crimes being committed against queer people using the app. The U.S. Justice Department announced today, for example, that two men in Dallas have pleaded guilty to using the dating app to lure unsuspecting gay men to a vacant apartment in order to rob them, force them at gunpoint to withdraw cash from ATMs, commit violent acts and other hate crimes.

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House Judiciary Committee Votes To Impeach Trump

Donald Trump
The House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach President Donald Trump on Friday, sending the articles of impeachment to the full House, where Trump could become the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. From NBC News:

“Today is a solemn and sad day,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said after the vote in brief remarks to reporters. “For the third time in a little over a century and a half, the House Judiciary Committee has voted articles of impeachment against the president for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The House will act expeditiously.”

The measures, which will likely be voted on by the full House on Wednesday, were passed by the committee after weeks of damaging testimony about Trump’s alleged conduct from past and present diplomats and other government officials, as well as legal scholars. They asserted the president had improperly withheld security aid to Ukraine for political reasons, including seeking an investigation of the Bidens.

The votes on Friday followed 14 hours on Thursday debating the articles and amendments offered by Republicans that sought to gut resolutions. There was no further discussion of the impeachment articles on Friday morning before the two quick roll call votes lasting only a few minutes.

While publicly mocking the impeachment proceedings, Trump is reportedly humiliated by the move, takes no responsibility for anything that led him to here, and rages against his perceived enemies in private.