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The Latest In Donald Trump / Ukraine Debacle

Trump walks past reporters with no comment

The latest news regarding the newly-announced official impeachment inquiry investigating allegations that Donald Trump used the presidency to encourage Ukraine to help dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden: • The whistle-blower’s complaint has been released to the public. You can, and should, read the full document here. The whistle-blower states that he had “received information from multiple U.S. Government officials that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.” The complaint also asserts that several in the White House were “deeply disturbed by what happened on that phone call” and there was an attempt to cover it up. • The New York Times also reports the whistle-blower who filed the initial complaint is a C.I.A. agent who was detailed to work at the White House for a period of time. According to the Times, the complaint seems to suggest “he was an analyst by training and made clear he was steeped in details of American foreign policy toward Europe, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of Ukrainian politics and at least some knowledge of the law.” • Law & Crime shares that Trump spoke about the unnamed whistle-blower today to a group of staffers from the United States Mission to the United Nations. A recording of Trump’s remarks show he wanted to know who the Ukraine whistleblower’s source or sources were “because that’s close to a spy.” The Donald also said in the “old days when we were smart” spies and traitors were treated “a little differently.” Many interpreted those words as a threat which could be seen as witness tampering and/or obstruction of justice.

• A new Morning Consult poll conducted over the last two days shows Americans split over whether they want to see Congress begin impeachment proceedings to remove Donald Trump from office. According to the survey of over 1,600 registered voters, 43 percent support impeachment, and 43 percent oppose it. What’s noteworthy here is that constitutes a 13 point net swing in favor of impeachment from another poll conducted over the weekend. The figure for support rose 7 points, while opposition dropped 6 points. (image via Flickr/White House – public domain)

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First Pro Transgender Boxer Is The New Face Of Everlast

Transgender professional boxer Patricio Manuel is the new face of Everlast's Be First campaign

Transgender professional boxer Patricio Manuel is the new face of Everlast's Be First campaign What do you do when you’ve already made history at the age of 34? You do it again. On December 8, 2018, Patricio Manuel became the first male transgender boxer to have a professional fight. When the 12-minute match was over, Manuel was named the winner over Mexican boxer Hugo Aguilar in a unanimous ruling from the judges. “I wouldn’t trade any of it,” Manuel told the Los Angeles Times after the win. “It was worth everything I went through to get to this point,” Today, Manuel makes history again as he has been chosen by Everlast (THE brand in boxing equipment since 1910) as one of the faces of the fitness brand’s global Be First campaign. Be First encourages people from all walks of life to carve out their own path to success. Previous world-class athletes who have been associated with Everlast include boxing icons like Sugar Ray Robinson, Jack Dempsey, and Canelo Álvarez. The campaign derives its title from the well-known boxing term ‘be first,’ which encourages boxers to set the pace of a boxing match forcing your opponent to follow your lead. Manuel certainly embodies that concept as part of Everlast’s “new crop of trailblazers.” Beginning his boxing career in the early 2000s as a female competitor prior to transitioning, Manuel was already a force in the boxing ring winning five national amateur championships. In 2012, Manuel took part in the Olympic trials but suffered a shoulder injury resulting in being eliminated from contention. During the recovery period, Manuel experienced depression as well which led to some soul searching and an epiphany. He realized that he was living a lie. “Once I realized that I was trans, I knew that I needed to live my life being seen as a man,” Manuel told CBNC. It would be a year, though, before he would begin to transition. Manuel had to wrap his head around the idea that in living his full, authentic life he might lose the sport he loved so much. Some of those fears were realized during his transition as he lost his coach, his gym, jobs and some friends. But the pushback just served to empower him that much more. His advice to people today is to know yourself, what it is you want in life, and how far you’ll go (or what you’ll give up) to achieve your dreams. “Regardless of what your goals are, whether you are trans, whether you are an athlete or not, our dreams have big costs to it, and it all requires risk for us to find that reward,” he told CNBC. “We only have one life to live,” explains Manuel. “As cliché as that sounds, I really try to live my life having the least amount of regrets as possible.” Watch Manuel share his journey in the video below from Everlast.

(all images courtesy of Everlast)

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Top 10 Songs Played At 2019 Same-Sex Weddings

The folks at Eventopedia, an online events platform that helps events professionals connect with venues, crunched the numbers and have come up with the Top 10 Songs played at same-sex weddings. The intrepid researchers searched playlists on Spotify that included terms like ‘LGBT wedding’ and ‘gay wedding 2019’ in order to discover the most popular songs being played at LGBT nuptials. It may not surprise you that Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” topped the list. The song, originally released in 1987, has been streamed more than 371 million times on Spotify and showed up on more LGBTQ wedding playlists than any other song.

And Miss Whitney isn’t the only diva being played at same-sex weddings. Lady Gaga (“Born This Way”), Diana Ross (“I’m Coming Out”) and Shania Twain (“Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”) also made the gay celebration list. Of course, there are those evergreen songs you just can’t imagine not being included at a wedding like ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” the Weather Girls “It’s Raining Men,” and the Bruno Mars/Mark Ronson collaboration, “Uptown Funk.” “Weddings are often the most significant event of people’s lives,” Toby Heelis, founder of Eventopedia, told The Gay U.K. “And having the right music to accompany it is just as important.” Eventopedia noted that the average release date of the Top 10 was 1988, and the average song length is four minutes and six seconds. Here’s the list of the Top 10 Songs played at same-sex weddings in 2019:

  1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) – Whitney Houston
  2. Dancing Queen – ABBA
  3. It’s Raining Men – The Weather Girls
  4. Uptown Funk – Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson
  5. Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
  6. September – Earth, Wind & Fire
  7. Best Of My Love – The Emotions
  8. Born This Way – Lady Gaga
  9. I’m Coming Out – Diana Ross
  10. Man! I Feel Like A Woman! – Shania Twain

Listen to the full playlist on Spotify here. (source: Eventopedia)

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Whistleblower Complaint: Trump Used Presidency For Personal Gain, White House Tried To Cover It Up

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire From the Washington Post:

The whistleblower complaint at the heart of the burgeoning controversy over President Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president claims not only that Trump misused his office for personal gain and endangered national security but that unidentified White House officials tried to hide that conduct.

“In the course of my official duties, I have received information from multiple U.S. government officials that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election,” the whistleblower wrote in the complaint dated Aug. 12.

The House Intelligence Committee released the seven-page document, which was directed to the heads of the House and Senate intelligence committees, Thursday morning. It also released a two-page appendix that was once classified and portions of which remain redacted.

“This interference includes, among other things, pressuring a foreign country to investigate one of the President’s main domestic political rivals. The President’s personal lawyer, Mr. Rudolph W. Giuliani, is a central figure in this effort. Attorney General [William P.] Barr appears to be involved as well,” the whistleblower wrote.

Part of what concerned the whistleblower was that the record of the Ukraine phone call was removed from the computer system where such records are normally stored. More from NBC News:

The whistleblower says White House officials told them the conversation on July 25 between Trump and Zelenskiy was removed from the computer system that is typically used for such records of calls with foreign leaders.

Instead, the whistleblower writes, the transcript was loaded into a separate electronic system that is used only for information that is of an “especially sensitive nature.” One White House official described that as an abuse of the secure system because there was nothing “remotely sensitive” on the phone call from a national security perspective, the whistleblower said.

In his testimony today, Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire told the House Intelligence Committee the whistleblower alleging President Trump abused the power of the presidency has “acted in good faith throughout” and that “I have every reason to believe” both the whistleblower and the inspector general “have done everything by the book and followed the law.”  

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Warren Passes Biden In New National Poll

Sen. Elizabeth Warren surges past former Vice President Joe Biden in latest Iowa poll

Sen. Elizabeth Warren surges past former Vice President Joe Biden in latest Iowa poll A new national poll by Quinnipiac shows Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the number one spot among Democratic White House contenders. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters, Warren garnered 27 percent support with former Vice President Joe Biden at 25 percent. Sen. Bernie Sanders came in a distant 3rd at 16 percent support. Mayor Pete Buttigieg received 7 percent, and Sen. Kamala Harris just 3 percent. RealClearPolitics average of polls shows Biden around 28.4 percent and Warren at 21.7 percent support.

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Baby Alba Was Rejected By 20 Families, And Then Along Came The Perfect Dad

Single dad Luca Trapanese and daughter Alba (image via Instagram)
Luca Trapanese has always wanted to be a father. But as a gay single man living in Italy, the laws regarding adoption are very stringent. Married heterosexual couples between the ages of 18 – 45 are the primary candidates to adopt, although single parents may apply under certain circumstances. Luca shared with the BBC, “They told me that they would only give me children with illnesses, severe disabilities, or behavioral problems.” And along came Alba. Alba was only 30 days old and had been rejected by 20 families, including her biological mother because she had Down syndrome. But Luca, who has volunteered and worked with disabled people since he was a teen, didn’t hesitate. After receiving a call about the infant, he rushed to the hospital to sign the adoption documents. “When I held her in my arms, I was filled with joy,” said Luca. “I felt that she was my daughter straight away. I knew I was ready to be her father.”

Being gay, single and Catholic, Luca feels he’s challenging the stereotypes regarding fatherhood and traditional families. Today, Alba is 18 months old and thriving. Like all children, she loves to play and dance around the house, explore new places like parks and museums, and go to work with her dad. Luca shares that she can be a bit stubborn at times, but that’s life with a toddler. “She’s brought me happiness and a sense of fulfillment,” says the 41-year-old dad. “I’m proud to be her father.” “I’ll spend the rest of my life with a child that I love, and we’ll do so many amazing things together.” Fortunately, Luca likes to share his life with Alba on Instagram. Check out some photos of this awesome dad and daughter duo.

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Music Video: Tom Goss Explores Domestic Violence In ‘La Bufadora’

Tom Goss and Daniel Franzese in “La Bufadora”
Out singer/songwriter Tom Goss’s new video, “La Bufadora,” features Goss and actor Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls, Looking), as a couple in crisis in Mexico. La Bufadora is a blowhole just south of Ensenada, Mexico. Goss shares that the song was written “after a tension-filled weekend in Mexico with my husband.” “I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between La Bufadora (exploding in the middle of the serene ocean) and our emotions (constantly bubbling and ready to explode, just under the surface),” says Goss. In the video, Goss and Franzese are vacationing in Mexico, but tensions build to physical conflict. “As humans, we can be so volatile or wounded at the drop of a hat,” Goss told HuffPost. “Sometimes it is a choice we make, sometimes it is the deep-seated triggers that live within our bodies and minds. Just like La Bufadora, we ebb and flow, rest and explode.”

HuffPost notes that recent research by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control found that 26% of gay men and 37% of bisexual men have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. For lesbian and bisexual women, those rates are 43.8% and 61%, respectively. Proceeds from the video will be donated to help support The National Domestic Violence Hotline and the LA LGBT Center’s Intimate Partner / Domestic Violence Outreach.

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Trump Asked Pelosi If They “Could Work Something Out”

According to CNN, Donald Trump apparently asked Nancy Pelosi if “we could work something out” regarding the ongoing whistleblower scandal.

President Donald Trump was incredulous Tuesday as he sat in Trump Tower and watched House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announce she was launching a formal impeachment inquiry against him, sources familiar with the moment say. Sitting in the same building where he launched his long shot presidential campaign four years ago, Trump said he couldn’t believe it, he later told people. He had felt confident after phoning Pelosi earlier that morning. The drive for impeachment in her caucus had ramped up amid reports he pushed the Ukrainian President to investigate Joe Biden, and Trump was hoping to head off a clash. He figured he could de-escalate tensions by speaking with her directly.

NBC News correspondent Heidi Przybyla shared on MSNBC that she was briefed by Pelosi on a phone call she received from Trump where the president attempted to diffuse the situation through negotiations. “The president actually said to Nancy Pelosi, ‘Hey, can we do something about this whistleblower complaint? Can we work something out?’” “And [Pelosi] said, ‘Yes, you can tell your people to obey the law.'”

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Podcast: Billy Porter At The Emmys, Mayor Pete’s ‘Grumpy’ Moment, Queer Eye Star’s New Memoir

Billy Porter wins at the Emmy Awards, Mayor Pete Buttigieg had a 'grumpy' moment with the LGBT media In this week’s podcast: • Billy Porter makes history at the Emmy Awards • Arizona’s Supreme Court rules it’s fine for businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ people • Democratic White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg got grumpy with the LGBTQ media • A conservative lawmaker (who opposed LGBTQ rights because Jesus) charged with possessing child pornography • Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness comes out as HIV positive All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

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LGBTQs Get Two-Sentence Mention In Trump’s UN Address

Donald Trump gives passing mention of LGBTQ rights during his 2019 address of the United Nations

Donald Trump gives passing mention of LGBTQ rights during his 2019 address of the United Nations During his speech before the United Nations today, Donald Trump included a mention of his administration’s previously announced plans to encourage more than 70 countries worldwide to decriminalize homosexuality. “My administration is working with other nations to stop criminalizing of homosexuality,” Trump said in a halting cadence. “And we stand in solidarity with (pause) LGBTQ people who live in countries that punish, jail and execute people based upon sexual orientation.” Gregory T. Angelo, who served as president of the Log Cabin Republicans for six years, quickly tweeted a video of Trump’s inclusion of the initiative.

The global initiative, which is reportedly being led by U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, was announced in February. This is the first time Trump has mentioned the initiative in a public speech. Angelo and his conservative LGBTQ bunch may be fawning over today’s two-sentence mention, but it’s worth noting that Trump is not the first president to mention LGBTQ issues while addressing the United Nations. That would be President Barack Obama. During an address of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2011, President Obama said, “No country should deny people their rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but also no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere.” Later that same year, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a full 30-minute speech regarding LGBTQ rights before the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. It was there that she famously told the United Nations delegates, “Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” While Trump may TALK about standing in ‘solidarity’ with LGBTQ people, GLAAD’s ‘Trump Accountability Project’ just noted his administration’s 125th attack on the LGBTQ community since taking office. Just a few of those attacks are: • Filing an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule against workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans • Trump’s misguided ban on transgender military service members • Efforts to use ‘religious freedoms’ as a basis for legalizing LGBTQ discrimination • Announcing plans for a new policy which would allow adoption agencies to deny LGBTQ couples the ability to adopt children based on so-called “religious exemptions” So, let’s not get all cray-cray that the Donald is suddenly our full-throated advocate, ok?