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Bloomberg Officially Enters Dem Race, Bernie Officially Not Happy About It

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg announces official entry into 2020 presidential race
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg officially declared his entry into the Democratic presidential race on Sunday with an announcement video that highlights his self-made success contrasting his personal story with that of Donald Trump.

Bloomberg has said he will spend what it takes to win, and considering he’s worth $54 billion, he’s definitely got the resources. According to CNN, Bloomberg has already bought TV ad space to the tune of $37 million over the next two weeks. As a late entry, Bloomberg’s team says they won’t even try to compete in early states like Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. Instead, he’ll focus on Super Tuesday locations hoping to pick up the necessary delegates. But Bloomberg has a complicated past as a politician. He’s switched political parties from Democrat to Republican to Independent depending on which best suited his chances for winning elections; he recently apologized for a “stop-and-frisk” police policy during his tenure as NYC mayor; and his connections to Wall Street are unavoidable. Top tier contender Sen. Bernie Sanders made it clear he’s not happy about the news. “We do not believe that billionaires have the right to buy elections, and that is why we are going to overturn Citizens United, that is why multi-billionaires like Mr. Bloomberg are not going to get very far in this election, that is why we are going to end voter suppression in America,” Sanders told supporters at a town hall event on Sunday.

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New Poll Indicates LGBTQ Voters Have A Double-Digit Favorite

Photo of Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Photo of Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Pete Buttigieg
L-R Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
A new poll conducted by YouGov/Out Magazine shows LGBTQ voters are definitely leaning towards a particular Democratic presidential candidate and it’s Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. I’ll say upfront any polling should be taken with a grain of salt, but this does provide a glimpse into what some folks may be thinking at this time. Announced as a ‘first of its kind’ survey of likely Democratic primary voters who identify as LGBTQ, the results show Warren easily outpaces her fellow Democrats garnering 31 percent of those polled. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) came in second with 18 percent, former Vice President Joe Biden pulled in 16 percent, and out South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg received 14 percent support. Everyone else in the field scored in the single-digit range. 31% – Elizabeth Warren 18% – Bernie Sanders 16% – Joe Biden 14% – Pete Buttigieg 6% – Kamala Harris 3% – Cory Booker 2% – Julián Castro 2% – Amy Klobuchar 2% – Andrew Yang 1% – Tulsi Gabbard 1% – Marianne Williamson All other candidates scored zero support. The data-crunchers at YouGov surmise Warren resonates so strongly with LGBTQ voters because LGBTQ voters tend to be more liberal than the average Democratic primary voter. According to Alissa Stollwerk, Vice President of YouGov Blue, “Seventy-seven percent of LGBTQ+ Democratic primary voters identified in our survey as very or somewhat liberal, approximately 20 percentage points higher than the percentage of Democratic primary voters overall who identify as very or somewhat liberal in our surveys.” For instance, respondents said they overwhelmingly prefer bold structural reforms (68%) versus incremental changes in policy (28%). Asked who could beat Donald Trump in the general election, 53 percent said Warren could win, 52 percent said Biden would trump Trump, 46 percent indicated Sanders could come out on top, 29 percent gave the nod to Buttigieg, and 26 percent said Harris could beat Trump. More from the survey: • 93% disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president; 89% strongly disapprove • 89% say Trump should be impeached and removed from office • 73% say the epidemic of violence against transgender women of color is the most critical issue facing the LGBTQ Community today; 60% said complete nondiscrimination protections; 59% indicated LGBTQ youth homelessness In a statement to Out, Stollwerk notes that such polling “is a snapshot of a group of people at a given time” and should be viewed as such. But the results do offer insight into “the viewpoints of these Democratic voters, what issues are important to them, and what they want to see in the next Democratic nominee for president. (source)

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‘Frozen 2’ Breaks Box Office Records Worldwide

Wow. Disney’s Frozen 2, like the original, broke all kinds of records at the box office during its first week in release including biggest worldwide opening for an animated film (37 markets), the top international opening of all time for an animated film ($350 million), and biggest domestic November opening for an animated film ($130 million). From Yahoo News:

The long-awaited Frozen 2 has landed in cinemas, a full six years after the first movie became the biggest animated film of all time. And thanks to a sterling turnout worldwide over the weekend, Frozen 2 has already nabbed some records of its own. Making just over $350 million worldwide overall, it makes it the biggest ever global opening for an animated movie, though its domestic US figure fell just behind that of Incredibles 2. This means that it’s putting Disney on track for six billion dollar movies this year, alongside Aladdin, Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel, Toy Story 4 and The Lion King. It’s the first studio to ever reach such a box office landmark.

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Pentagon Chief Fires Navy Secretary Over Discredited Navy SEAL

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

Commander in chief Donald Trump
Update: Well, that didn’t take long. Clearly, Donald Trump didn’t want to get his fingerprints on this, so he told his Defense Sec to handle it. From the Washington Post:

Esper asked for Spencer’s resignation after learning that he had privately proposed to White House officials that if they did not interfere with proceedings against Gallagher, then Spencer would ensure that Gallagher was able to retire as a Navy SEAL, with his Trident insignia.

Spencer’s private proposal to the White House — which he did not share with Esper over the course of several conversations about the matter — contradicted his public position on the Gallagher case, chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.

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After a Navy SEAL was accused of several war crimes and acquited of most but not all of them, the Navy demoted him. The commando was accused of shooting civilians, murdering a captive Islamic State fighter with a hunting knife in Iraq, and threatening to kill SEALs who reported him. He was ultimately found guilty of bringing discredit to the armed forces by posing for photos with the teenage captive’s dead body. But Donald Trump, after intense lobbying by the man’s family, reversed that decision as Commander in Chief. The Navy then announced plans to remove the man from his unit. Trump pushed back again. From the New York Times:

The secretary of the Navy and the admiral who leads the SEALs have threatened to resign or be fired if plans to expel a commando from the elite unit in a war crimes case are halted by President Trump, administration officials said Saturday.

The high-level pushback to Mr. Trump’s unambiguous assertion on Twitter this past week that the commando, Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, should remain in the unit was an extraordinary development in what was already an extraordinary case, one with few precedents in the history of presidential relations with the American military.

The Navy secretary, Richard V. Spencer, later denied that he had threatened to resign but said disciplinary plans against Chief Gallagher would proceed because he did not consider Mr. Trump’s statement on Twitter to be a formal order. Mr. Spencer added that the president, as commander in chief, had the authority to intervene and that it would stop “the process.”

Chief Gallagher, who counts Mr. Trump as one of his most vocal supporters, was accused of shooting civilians, murdering a captive Islamic State fighter with a hunting knife in Iraq, and threatening to kill SEALs who reported him, among other misconduct. His court-martial ended in acquittal on those charges.

Last Friday, Mr. Trump reversed that demotion, angering Navy officials, including the commander of the SEALs, Rear Adm. Collin Green, who had little choice but to accept the reversal. Nonetheless, they continued with their plans to eject Chief Gallagher from the unit.

The AP reports that the Navy has received word from the White House that Trump’s tweet “is not a formal order.”

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Twitter Claps Back At Trump Jr For HIV Stigma Comment

Donald Trump Jr.
Donald Trump Jr. got some serious pushback on Twitter after a snarky response to a tweet from an LGBTQ news site regarding dating people with HIV. Responding to a tweet that read, “What you stand to lose by not having sex with people with HIV,” the junior Donald wrote, “Well I can think of one thing.” Junior didn’t expound on his intention in his comment, although it is surprising he follows LGBTQ news outlets on Twitter. But many felt his tweet furthered the stigma associated with people living with HIV. Ironically, the article in question, by writer David Hudson, explored exactly that kind of discrimination and stigma that affects those who are living with HIV. “If someone is HIV positive, knows their status, is on effective medication and has consistently had an undetectable viral load, they cannot pass on the virus,” Hudson shared in the piece. “PrEP is also widely available in the US and several other countries to prevent people from acquiring HIV. And condoms are also, of course, widely available.” As I’ve written many times here, current research shows there is no risk of transmitting the HIV virus to others when properly using antiretroviral medications to bring the viral load down to zero, aka ‘undetectable.’ The Centers for Disease Control has publicly announced its support for the campaign that states Undetectable = Untransmittable. Additionally, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and condoms greatly reduce the possibility of HIV infection. The Twitterverse criticized Trump Jr. for reinforcing outdated HIV stigma:

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SNL ‘s Star-Studded Spoof Of This Week’s Dem Debate

Saturday Night Live offered up an all-star lineup for its take on the 2020 Democratic debate this week with Melissa Villaseñor’s Rachel Maddow moderating. Clip description: Presidential candidates Andrew Yang (Bowen Yang), Pete Buttigieg (Colin Jost), Cory Booker (Chris Redd), Elizabeth Warren (Kate McKinnon), Amy Klobuchar (Rachel Dratch), Tom Steyer (Will Ferrell), Michael Bloomberg (Fred Armisen), Tulsi Gabbard (Cecily Strong) Bernie Sanders (Larry David), Joe Biden (Woody Harrelson) and Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) speak at MSNBC’s 2020 Democratic Debate. Mayor Pete’s closing statement: “America, I know I can do this because my supporters are a diverse coalition. From young to old, gay to straight, from white to eggshell.” ‘Villian for the night’ Tulsi Gabbard’s closing statement: “I have no interest in those dalmatian puppies. Muhwahahahahahaha!”

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Minneapolis City Council Bans So-Called ‘Conversion Therapy’

(stock photo via Depositphotos)

Minneapolis will become the first city in the state of Minnesota to ban so-called ‘conversion therapy’ which claims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

The new ordinance, authored by Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins and Council Member Phillipe Cunningham, was passed unanimously by the Minneapolis City Council.

According to the Star Tribune, the only step left is for Mayor Jacob Frey to sign the ordinance into law.

The ban will prohibit any licensed mental health professional from providing or attempting conversion therapy on minors. Violations will be subject to fines of up to $1,000.

Members of the clergy who are “acting in their roles as clergy or pastoral counselors” will be exempt from the regulation.

Cunningham, the first transgender man of color to be elected to public office in the U.S., called the harmful practice “tantamount to torture.”

And he speaks from personal experience having been subjected to conversion therapy as a child in his church.

Speaking to the local NBC News affiliate, Cunningham said succinctly, “It tries to convince people that they are not who they are.”

Conversion therapy, also known as ‘ex-gay therapy,’ has been widely denounced as discredited pseudoscience by leading professional medical associations including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association.

Studies have shown that the controversial practice can lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide. According to the Human Rights Campaign, 18 states – California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington – plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico all have laws or regulations protecting youth from this harmful practice.

This week the American Medical Association announced its support for a federal ban on the dangerous practice.

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Instagram Round-Up: Weekend Edition

Checking in on some of my favorite Instagram accounts this weekend starting with totally woofy Jeff Ferreira (above) who clearly finds the weather in Hollywood totes comfortable. Jim Newman is giving you all kinds of onesie goodness while trying to swindle folks out of Santa’s milk and cookies:

Jason Derulo is serving the thirsty in his tiny black shorts:

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Good Mornin’ 💦

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Andy Cohen shows off some pretty thicc muscle thighs as he’s totally dressed to get physical:

Marco, accountant/InstaHunk, was just happy to get to the end of the week:

The folks in Hamburg, Germany, might have had the best time of all this weekend with the Chippendales:

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Having the time of our lives in #Germany! 😘🇩🇪 Thank you so much for all the love! ⠀ 🇺🇸 U.S. TOUR ON SALE NOW! Get ready to GET NAUGHTY! Voted Vegas’ #1 male revue and best bachelorette party destination, the world-famous #Chippendales are bringing their sexy from #LasVegas to YOUR hometown in 2020! ⠀ ⠀ 💋 #GetNaughtyTour 💋 2.07 • Reno, NV • @harrahsreno 2.08 • Reno, NV • @harrahsreno 2.12 • Houston, TX • @hobhouston 2.13 • NOLA • @hobnola 2.15 • Dallas, TX • @hobdallas 2.16 • San Antonio, TX • @theaztectheatre 2.19 • Atlanta, GA • @buckheadtheatre 2.20 • Charleston, SC • @music_farm 2.21 • Raleigh, NC • @ritzraleigh 2.22 • Myrtle Beach, SC • @hobmyrtlebeach 2.23 • Charlotte, NC • @fillmorenc 2.26 • Pittsburgh, PA • @roxiantheatrepgh 2.27 • Philadelphia, PA • @tlaphilly 2.28 • Wilmington, DE • @queenwilmington 2.29 • Silver Spring, MD • @fillmoresilverspring 3.05 • Huntington, NY • @theparamountny 3.06 • Montclair, NJ • @thewellmonttheater 3.07 • New York, NY • @gramercytheatre 3.08 • Boston, MA • @hobboston 3.11 • Cleveland, OH • @hobcleveland 3.12 • Indianapolis, IN • @oldnationalcentre 3.13 • Cincinnati, OH • @bogartsshows 3.14 • Louisville, KY • @mercuryballroom 3.15 • Huntsville, AL • @vonbrauncenter 3.18 • Milwaukee, WI • @pabsttheater 3.19 • Minneapolis, MN • @varsitytheater 3.20 • Chicago, IL • @hobchicago 3.21 • Detroit, MI • @fillmoredetroit 3.22 • Grand Rapids, MI • @20monroelive 3.26 • Riverside, CA • @riversidelive 3.27 • Phoenix, AZ • @thevanburenphx 3.28 • San Diego, CA • @hobsandiego 3.29 • Anaheim, CA • @hobanaheim . . 🎟 Chippendales.com (link in bio: @chippendales)

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Grease 2 star Maxwell Caulfield:

Over in Paris, Antoine Morieult is giving fairy tale prince vibes as he begins, “Once upon a time…”

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Once upon a time

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Rick and the Griffopotamus were – surprise! – shirtless showing off their buff stuff in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park:

Spanish actor/model Mario Hervas wonders if people would stop to talk with him in the subway…? I’d stop to talk with him anywhere!

And finally, Tony Award winner and Broadway icon Betty Buckley took in some department store Christmas displays (a favorite pass time of mine during the holidays) in between rehearsals for her upcoming concerts with composer Jason Robert Brown: