I do love it when hateful, homophobic street preachers get drowned out by LGBTQ activists and allies. But last Friday, these two musicians took it to another level. It seems this bearded, blond homophobe was trying to inform the public passing through Union Square Park in New York City that “the homosexual community has the highest suicide rate of any group.” Two student musicians, Julian Roel and Augie Bello, were also in the park and were not having the hate. So they began to play their saxophones and made their way over to the street preacher. Pretty soon the scene turned into something of a circus as one of the musicians, Augie Bello, got on his bicycle and began circling the preacher while playing his sax with one hand. Filmmaker Nicolas Heller encountered the scene and whipped out his phone to film the wild scene. Heller posted the video to his Instagram with the caption, “This strapping young gent (who clearly gets laid regularly) is preaching that the LGBTQ community is going to burn in hell, so @augie_bello and @roel.julian offer some foreground instrumentals. (Guest appearance by @arnold_daniel).” Bello also shared the video on his Instagram account writing, “Today @Joel.julian and I were hanging and we stumbled upon some homophobic guy with a mic so we played over him. Shoutout to @newyorknico for capturing this moment.”
Queerty reached out to Bello who shared some more details about the encounter. “What the video doesn’t show is what he said before we took out our saxophones,” said Bello. “He was saying all gays will burn in hell and that they will be in a ring of fire. So I looked at Julian and he looked at me and we instantly had the exact same thought, to drown out the hate with our saxophones.” He added that he and Roel were amazed that the video went viral, but “it makes us extremely happy to see how much support there is for the LGBTQ+ community.” (h/t Queerty)
‘Coach Dave’ Daubenmire (screen capture) A religious fanatic on YouTube who goes by the handle “Coach Dave” recently went on a rant attacking openly gay Mayor Pete Buttigieg calling the rising Democratic presidential candidate “Mayor Pete Buttplug.” “Coach Dave,” whose real name is Dave Daubenmire, shifted his focus from being a high school football coach to online “ministry” after he was sued by the ACLU for forcing his players to pray. He recently posted a video on his “Pass the Salt” YouTube channel vomiting homophobic slurs at Mayor Pete complete with chyron which read “Pete Buttigieg for President or First Lady?” Daubenmire begins by telling his viewers that “Mayor Pete Buttplug would be just another mayor in America if he didn’t have a… a…husband?” How is it Daubenmire can’t comprehend a man having a husband, but he’s fluent in the parlance of butt plugs? “So he doesn’t even take the leadership role in his home, because he has a husband, he being the wife,” Daubenmire said. “If he’s the wife, does that mean he is the inserter or the insertee? Which role would Mayor Pete play?” No, Coach Dave, men are husbands and women are wives. Is this difficult to understand? “We’re living in a culture and a society where we are giving serious consideration to a man who performs oral sex on another man,” he added.“I’m sorry, we have to make this stuff unthinkable.” “He’s probably a great guy, probably a great neighbor,” Coach Dave offered. “But what he does in the privacy of his own home is, in fact, his own business until he wants to be president of the United States. And then when he wants to be president of the United States, I’d like to do some scrutiny on what type of moral character this guy has.” “And I’m just telling you this: If this guy’s moral character involves doing what I believe he does, has to do, in order to have an orgasm, I got a problem with it.” So, we all need to know and judge what a president does in the bedroom? Daubenmire ended his rambling discourse with the decree, “We need to make homosexuality unthinkable again, folks. It needs to go back in the closet.” Sorry, Coach. Not gonna happen.
Donald Trump attends game 5 of the World Series (screen capture) Donald Trump attended the 5th game of the World Series in Washington, D.C. but as Peter Baker of the New York Times writes, “For Trump, there was no joy in Mudville.”
In his first appearance at a Major League Baseball game since taking office, Mr. Trump was not invited to throw the first pitch when he showed up Sunday night at Game 5 between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros. Instead, when he was shown on the stadium’s large screen, the crowd booed robustly and began chanting, “Lock him up!” In the upper decks, fans held up a giant “Impeach Trump!” banner.
Mr. Trump entered the stadium to no fanfare around 8 p.m., just minutes before the opening pitch. Fans who happened to see him booed. He was not introduced to the crowd until after the third inning when he was shown on the screen during the portion of the game when the crowd is asked to cheer for military veterans.
Juxtaposing his introduction with that of the popular veterans did nothing to prevent the crowd from expressing its view of the president. Mr. Trump, who rarely exposes himself to hostile crowds, stood, smiled gamely and clapped as the fans booed loudly.
Needless to say, the Donald left before the game was over.
More from the Twitterverse:
Loud boos for President Trump when he was shown on big screen at Nationals Park during Game 5 of the World Series. Some fans in crowd chanted “lock him up” afterward. pic.twitter.com/5cYqQT4Itf
I guarantee you, when Trump committed to attending tonight’s World Series game:
1) He knew the Al Baghdadi raid was happening; and 2) He thought he’d be greeted as a hero He showed up for what he thought would be worshipful applause. Sorry, pal. — The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) October 28, 2019
p.s. Trump brought no good luck with him as the Nationals lost to the Houston Astros 7-1. Astros are now one game away from winning the World Series for the second time in three years.
Rep. Katie Hill (D-Santa Clarita) Rep. Katie Hill (D-Santa Clarita) of California, the only openly bisexual member of the House of Representatives, recently came under investigation due to “allegations she had an improper relationship with a congressional staffer.” Hill was accused of having a sexual relationship with her legislative director, Graham Kelly, and a female campaign staff member. Hill denies any relationship with Kelly, but in a letter to constituents on Wednesday admitted to becoming involved with the campaign staff member during “during the final tumultuous years of my abusive marriage.” Hill has been in divorce proceedings with her husband of nine years, Kenneth Heslep. “I know that even a consensual relationship with a subordinate is inappropriate, but I still allowed it to happen despite my better judgment,” Hill wrote to her constituents. “For that, I apologize.” “It is with a broken heart that today I announce my resignation from Congress,” Hill wrote in a letter shared on Twitter. “This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but I believe it is the best thing for my constituents, my community, and our country.” “This is what needs to happen so that the good people who supported me will no longer be subjected to the pain inflicted by my abusive husband and the brutality of hateful political operatives who seem to happily provide a platform to a monster who is driving a smear campaign built around cyber exploitation,” she added.
It is with a broken heart that today I announce my resignation from Congress. This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but I believe it is the best thing for my constituents, my community, and our country.
It was just last weekend when conservative website RedState reported that Hill and her husband had, until recently, been involved in a sexual relationship with a staffer in her 20s who worked on Hill’s campaign. RedState posted explicit images purporting to be of Hill and the staffer. Hill subsequently told The Hill, a political news outlet, that the U.S. Capitol Police were investigating how the photo was obtained and published by RedState.
“Intimate photos of me and another individual were published by Republican operatives on the internet without my consent,” Hill said at the time.
That was followed by RedState releasing text messages that appeared to be between Hill’s husband, Heslep, and the campaign staffer. In response to the #MeToo movement and high-profile sexual harassment accusations involving members of Congress, the House adopted rules last year that prohibited members from having sexual relationships with congressional staffers. Those rules do not, however, address any relationships that occurred prior to members taking office. Hill has been viewed as a ‘rising star’ in the Democratic Party having flipped her district to blue when she won her election in 2018. She is the vice-chair of the House Oversight Committee, and she is among a group of freshman Democrats who were nicknamed the “Big Six” after being selected for high-profile leadership posts. (source: Politico)
President Obama in the Situation Room during bin Laden kill, Trump with his team (photos via public domain) So, now this has become a “thing.” I’m certain Donald Trump is living for the photo above. He’s always wanted to look ‘tough.’ The interesting thing is it’s marked on the White House Flickr account as “President Trump Watches as U.S. Special Operations Forces Close in on ISIS Leader.” The raid was reported to have taken place at 3:30pm Washington time. But Pete Souza, a White House photographer under Presidents Reagan and Obama notes the camera’s IPTC data indicates the photo was taken at 17:05:24. That would be 5:05pm – over an hour and a half AFTER the raid occurred. Plus, White House reports show Trump was at his golf course at 3:30pm, not in the Situation Room…? So, was this photo staged after the fact? If so, why?
The raid, as reported, took place at 3:30PM Washington time. The photo, as shown in the camera IPTC data, was taken at “17:05:24”. https://t.co/XV0MFfFiTt
— Spooky Cat 🎃🐱 #Beto2020🇺🇸 Ⓜ️🍑🤡🇺🇸 (@ImpatientCatX1) October 27, 2019
The motorcade didn’t return back to the White House until 4:18 pm — nearly 50 minutes after the Baghdadi raid started. Trump was golfing. During the raid. https://t.co/7RZ2UYbP8V
A tale of two presidents: On May 1, 2011, at 4:05pm, President Barack Obama was in the White House Situation Room closely monitoring the raid on Osama Bin Laden. On October 26, 2019, at 3:30pm, President Donald Trump was golfing and had no idea about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. pic.twitter.com/zLgkQ5xwyi
It’s apparently hard to agree on which direction to look in a #staged war room photo (because the president was golfing when the actual Baghdadi raid happened). pic.twitter.com/ufJjVQHh2Z
Everything you need to know about Trump is in these two pics: The Osama bin Laden raid pic was taken in real-time, showing real decision-makers. The “Baghdadi raid” pics was staged, hours later. Trump was playing golf when it happened. pic.twitter.com/IpSuLnAi6M
(image via Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain) From the New York Times:
President Trump announced on Sunday that a commando raid in Syria this weekend had targeted and resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, claiming a significant victory even as American forces are pulling out of the area.
“Last night, the United States brought the world’s No. 1 terrorist leader to justice,” Mr. Trump said in an unusual nationally televised address from the White House. “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.”
Mr. Trump said Mr. al-Baghdadi was chased to the end of a tunnel, “whimpering and crying and screaming all the way” as he was pursued by American military dogs. Accompanied by three children, Mr. al-Baghdadi then detonated a suicide vest, blowing up himself and the children, Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump, who is under threat of impeachment for abuse of power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate his domestic political rivals, appeared eager to claim credit for the raid, engaging in a lengthy question-and-answer session with reporters after his statement as he personally walked them through the details, promoted his own role and compared himself favorably to past presidents.
Mr. Trump even seemed to suggest that killing Mr. al-Baghdadi was a bigger deal than killing Bin Laden.
I’m not sure why Trump continually feels the need to compare himself to President Obama. As the Times points out, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was definitely a bad guy. No doubt. But he never entered the psyche of the American public to the degree that Osama bin Laden, who committed terrorism on American soil, did. Plus, Trump’s appearing to ‘take credit’ here is unseemly especially when he was overly-critical of Obama regarding the takedown of bin Laden. Trump tweeted multiple times that Obama shouldn’t be ‘congratulated’ for the death of bin Laden because “all he did was say O.K.” Now that he’s in the Oval Office, does Trump believe that’s all HE did? “Say ok?” There’s always a tweet…
Stop congratulating Obama for killing Bin Laden. The Navy Seals killed Bin Laden. #debate
Trump again suggests this is bigger than bin Laden:
“This is the biggest there is. This is the worst ever. Osama bin Laden was big, but Osama bin Laden became big with the World Trade Center. This is a man who built a whole, as he would like to call it, a country.” — Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) October 27, 2019
Trump claiming killing Baghdadi was “bigger” than killing Bin Laden shows how petty and vile Trump is. He will use any moment he can to tell his base that he’s better than the dreaded black President they all hated.
Trump claiming killing Baghdadi was “bigger” than killing Bin Laden shows how petty and vile Trump is. He will use any moment he can to tell his base that he’s better than the dreaded black President they all hated.
Trump trying to make this seem bigger than the death of Osama. Trying to have his “Osama moment.” It’s not working. (Especially since Trump has done more for the future of ISIS this month than Baghdadi has done in a long time.)
Donald Trump promised economic growth would cover his tax cuts legislation So. Much. Winning. From CNBC:
The U.S. government’s red ink for fiscal 2019 swelled past the $1 trillion mark in August, the first time that level has been eclipsed in seven years, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.
The total shortfall rose to nearly $1.07 trillion, thanks to a difference between revenue and expenses of more than $214.1 billion in August. The government last saw that large of a fiscal deficit in 2012, when the gap was nearly $1.1 trillion.
During his presidential campaign, President Donald Trump promised economic growth that would easily take care of the tax cuts and new spending he planned. His 2017 tax break for corporations and individuals has helped contribute to a deficit that has grown from $584.6 billion in 2016.
The national debt now stands at $22.5 trillion, up 13% since Trump took office.
Terron Beckham (image via Instagram) Checking in with our favorite InstaHunks this weekend… First up, Terron Beckham (above) shares that he’s got to “really get in shape” for an upcoming strength competition. He looks in shape to me… Simon Dunn is looking forward to summer ‘down under:’ https://www.instagram.com/p/B4CYtdWh9DL/ Bruno Tarchetti is living large in Ipanema: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4F1HA-gncN/ Max Emerson went shopping at the beach: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4DQgm0gHCt/ Henry Cavill is getting all ‘sporty’ on us watching the Rugby World Cup: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4E2qMih-Bn/ Eliad Cohen is all ready for Halloween, getting his ‘Wolverine’ on: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4GDT41A1JJ/ Jim Newman takes his shirtless pics in the morning because his “stomach is flattest” right when he wakes up: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4C-T3wli9Z/ Max Souza went in search of a Saturday training partner: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4GAAHCA9V0/ Maluma got to the gym and preceded to throw down some footwork in the gym: https://www.instagram.com/p/B396KV9nwC_/ Luffypiece is celebrating Taiwan Pride this weekend: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4Ec2D4gJzE/ Derrick Gordon got comfortable ‘in his own skin:’ https://www.instagram.com/p/B374hk2JyA4/ Anthony Bowens has a big cup for wrestling: https://www.instagram.com/p/B32ndrbHv5l/ Andrew Serkin found his Halloween costume – he’s dressing up as a teenager: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4DXtKFp_ci/ And finally, yes, we did pause to take in the butt of Danny Amendola: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4Difofnykd/
Sgt. Keith Wildhaber (image via Wildhaber) I reported earlier this week on the discrimination lawsuit brought by St. Louis County police officer Sgt. Keith Wildhaber who says he was told to “tone down the gayness” if he ever wanted to be promoted to lieutenant. At the end of a weeklong trial, the jury deliberated only three hours before awarding the 22-year-veteran nearly $20 million, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Here’s the breakdown of the damages per the jury: • $1.9 million in actual damages • $10 million in punitive damages • $999,000 for actual damages for retaliation allegations • $7 million in punitive damages for retaliation allegations The jury foreman told reporters, “We wanted to send a message. If you discriminate you are going to pay a big price…You can’t defend the indefensible.” Several jurors shared with the press that an array of photos presented in court Friday became key evidence in coming to their decision. Earlier in the week, Donna Woodland, a widow of a former county police officer, testified that Capt. Guy Means called Wildhaber “fruity” while attending a police charity event in 2015. According to Woodland, Means added that Wildhaber would never be promoted because he was “way too out there with his gayness and had to tone it down.” Means later testified he didn’t remember attending the event and didn’t know Woodland saying he wouldn’t be able “to pick her out of the jury box if she was sitting there.” On Friday, Woodland returned with an array of photo booth pics from the event showing Means posing with her, including one instance where he was giving her a big hug. Hardly the kind of pose you do with someone you “don’t know.” In the opening of the trial, Wildhaber told the jury he was “sickened” when a former member of the St. Louis County Police Board of Commissioners, John Saracino, told him in 2014 to “tone down the gayness” if he wanted a promotion. Wildhaber’s lawsuit alleged he had been passed over for promotion 23 times despite high scores on promotions tests. On the opening day of the lawsuit, lawyers representing Wildhaber characterized Chief Jon Belmar as “having a penchant for promoting masculine men that dominates all promotional decisions and said that he will retaliate against anyone who questions them, as Wildhaber did by filing his lawsuit.” After filing his lawsuit, Wildhaber said he faced retaliation by being transferred to the Jennings precinct which nearly tripled his daily commute to work. And he was moved from afternoon shifts and put on midnights. Wildhaber told the court, “It’s what’s known as a ‘geography lesson’ in the department.” Chief Belmar later testified that Wildhaber’s lawsuit was a factor in denying the sergeant any promotions, which Wildhaber’s lawyers called “the best sound bite” for the case. According to the Post-Dispatch, a spokesperson for county officials said they “will be exploring all of our legal options this weekend and we are going to do what’s best for the county.” I fully expect the jury’s decision to be appealed and the amount of the damages to be reduced. But, a win is a win. As I previously reported, Missouri has no laws prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ people in the workplace. (source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
L-R Sen. Kamala Harris, Donald Trump Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) withdrew from a speaking appearance today at the 2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum at Benedict College, a historically black college, after the school honored Donald Trump on Friday. “As the only candidate who attended an [historically black college or university], I know the importance that these spaces hold for young Black Americans,” Harris said in a statement Friday per The Hill. “Today, when it became clear Donald Trump would receive an award after decades of celebrating mass incarceration, pushing the death penalty for innocent Black Americans, rolling back police accountability measures and racist behavior that puts people’s lives at risk … I cannot in good faith be complicit in papering over his record.” Instead, Harris announced she would host a criminal justice roundtable for students from around Columbia, South Carolina. Trump trolled Harris on Saturday called her a “badly failing presidential candidate” and took credit for “producing” and signing into law “major Criminal Justice Reform legislation.” He followed those tweets with a third containing just an ellipsis. #Ok Harris clapped back touting her long career in law and justice adding, “The only part of criminal justice you can claim credit for is the ‘criminal’ part.” Suh-nap!
Badly failing presidential candidate @KamalaHarris will not go to a very wonderful largely African American event today because yesterday I recieved a major award, at the same event, for being able to produce & sign into law major Criminal Justice Reform legislation, which will..
….greatly help the African American community (and all other communities), and which was unable to get done in past administrations despite a tremendous desire for it. This and best unemployment numbers EVER is more than Kamala will EVER be able to do for African Americans!
My whole life I’ve fought for justice and for the people — something you’d know nothing about. The only part of criminal justice you can claim credit for is the “criminal” part. https://t.co/ykIoNI3Y0D
In regards to all that Trump has “done” for the African-American community, let’s take a look, shall we? • He called for the death penalty for Central Park 5 and never apologized • He won’t endorse, or even say, Black Lives Matter • He defended white supremacists as “fine people” • He demonized black NFL players for taking a knee to bring attention to injustice
I do love it when hateful, homophobic street preachers get drowned out by LGBTQ activists and allies. But last Friday, these two musicians took it to another level. It seems this bearded, blond homophobe was trying to inform the public passing through Union Square Park in New York City that “the homosexual community has the highest suicide rate of any group.” Two student musicians, Julian Roel and Augie Bello, were also in the park and were not having the hate. So they began to play their saxophones and made their way over to the street preacher. Pretty soon the scene turned into something of a circus as one of the musicians, Augie Bello, got on his bicycle and began circling the preacher while playing his sax with one hand. Filmmaker Nicolas Heller encountered the scene and whipped out his phone to film the wild scene. 
Heller posted the video to his Instagram with the caption, “This strapping young gent (who clearly gets laid regularly) is preaching that the LGBTQ community is going to burn in hell, so @augie_bello and @roel.julian offer some foreground instrumentals. (Guest appearance by @arnold_daniel).” Bello also shared the video on his Instagram account writing, “Today @Joel.julian and I were hanging and we stumbled upon some homophobic guy with a mic so we played over him. Shoutout to @newyorknico for capturing this moment.” 
