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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Visits Gay Bar In Advance Of Vancouver Pride

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (image via Twitter/JustinTrudeau)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made headlines yesterday when he stopped in at the Fountainhead Pub in Vancouver’s West End in advance of the city’s Pride celebration this weekend.

Many believe this may have been the first time a sitting Prime Minister dropped by a gay bar.

According to Taran Parmar, reporter for City News 1130, Trudeau walked around the pub shaking hands and posing for photos for about fifteen minutes.

Parmar described the scene as, “Lots of cheering, lots of excitement, a lot of people that tried to rush him and take a picture as well as take his hand.”

“Vancouver is gearing up for #Pride weekend right now, but the spirit of pride and inclusivity is strong here all year long!” wrote Trudeau from his own Twitter account. “Thanks to the folks at @fountainheadVAN for the warm welcome today.”

The prime minister has a strong history of supporting the LGBTQ community.

In 2016, Trudeau became the first sitting prime minister to take part in Toronto’s Pride Parade, the largest LGBTQ pride celebration in Canada.

In 2017, he issued a public apology to gay Canadians who were fired from jobs and dismissed from the military from the 1950s through the 1990s. “It is our collective shame that you were so mistreated,” said Trudeau speaking at the House of Commons.

Additionally, he introduced the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act, which erased the records of Canadians who were previously convicted of “consensual homosexual activity.” That legislation was passed last June.

Social media celebrated the visit by Trudeau posting selfies with the Prime Minister.

One Instagrammer wrote, “When the Canadian Prime Minister comes into a gay bar in Vancouver and asks your name,” adding the hashtag #LivingMyBestLife.

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PayPal Shuts Down ‘Straight Pride Parade’ Account

Super Happy Fun America VP Mark Sahady (image via Facebook)

More bad news for the organizers of the so-called ‘Straight Pride Parade’ scheduled to happen in Boston on August 31.

In an entry on the group’s website, Super Happy Fun America (SHFA), organizer Mark Sahady shares that PayPal has “permanently limited” their account. This apparently means the group can’t collect any more donations via the popular online money transfer service.

Sahady shares a letter from PayPal which says the SHFA website violates PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy.

The letter goes on to say SHFA can still withdraw whatever funds are in their account, but the organizers are to “remove all references to PayPal” from their site.

Sahady spins this as – you guessed it – intolerant ’heterophobia.’

As I’ve previously reported, numerous corporations have refused to do business or be associated with the group.

Netflix, TripAdvisor, Bank of America and many more have sent cease-and-desist letters to SHFA for using their logos on the ‘Straight Pride Parade’ website.

In his blog post, Sahady tries to take credit for a recent drop in Netflix’s stock saying, “Thanks to all our fans who canceled their accounts in protest at the intolerance for our Straight Pride movement.”

In reality, the drop in stock price at Netflix occurred after reporting second-quarter earnings which missed target numbers. It was the first-ever drop in global growth.

All of that took place between April and June – before Netflix sent its cease and desist letter.

In other words – liars.

Several observers, including Fox News pundit Jesse Watters, have questioned the intentions of the group asking if they are just “trying to be provocative” as a response to LGBTQ Pride Month.

In fact, the organizers of the Boston march have been shown to have ties to violent extremist groups like the Proud Boys, whose chairman is scheduled to speak at the event.

NowThis has compiled this report exposing the wild, exaggerated claims by the organizers.

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California Governor Will Sign Legislation Requiring Tax Returns For Presidential & Gubernatorial Candidates

Donald Trump

Journalist Yashar Ali reports that Gov. Gavin Newsom of California will sign a recently passed bill that will require presidential and gubernatorial candidates to submit five years of tax returns in order to be on a primary ballot.

The bill, known as SB-27, passed the California Assembly and Senate earlier this month. The law would require candidates for U.S. president and California governor to submit their five most recent years of tax returns, with sensitive information like Social Security numbers redacted. The state would then publish those returns for the public to review. If a candidate for either of those offices refused to submit their returns, they would not be listed on the primary ballot.

This is unquestionably a bill directed toward and inspired by President Donald Trump’s refusal to release copies of his tax returns. When Newsom signs the bill today, California will become the first state to require such a disclosure by law.

All of the major Democratic presidential candidates have released years’ worth of tax returns, and when Newsom ran for governor in 2018, he allowed reporters to review six years of his tax returns.

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Poll: Slight Majority Of Americans Believe Trump Is Racist

According to a new poll by Quinnipiac University, a slight majority of Americans believe Donald Trump is racist (51 percent) versus 45 percent who say he is not racist.

Think how incredible it is that we are even having such a conversation – is the president of the United States racist?

Of those polled, 80 percent of black respondents say Trump is racist, 11 percent disagree.

Among Hispanic voters, 55 percent say Trump is racist, 44 percent disagree.

There’s a gender divide on the issue as well. While 55 percent of men do not feel Trump is racist, 59 percent of women do believe the Commander in Chief is racist.

When it comes to impeachment proceedings, 60 percent say Congress should not begin impeachment proceedings, 32 percent support moving forward with articles of impeachment.

Regarding the recent Mueller investigation, 52 percent of respondents said they believe Trump attempted to “derail or obstruct” the investigation, 40 percent disagreed.

And 71 percent of those polled are “concerned” or “very concerned” a foreign government will try to interfere in the upcoming 2020 elections.

A huge majority – 87 percent – disagree with the president and believe political campaigns should be required to contact the FBI if contacted by a foreign government with dirt on their political opponent.

And 59 percent support additional laws to protect U.S. elections versus 31 percent who do not. Of those, 54 percent of Republicans (surprise) think current laws are enough.

More details at Quinnipiac University site here.

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LGBTQ News Site Gay Star News To Shutter

Online LGBTQ news site Gay Star News is reportedly going to cease operations on July 30.

BBC News correspondent Ben Hunte tweeted the news saying that staff had been informed of GSN’s closure via meetings before pay day.

As someone who writes in the LGBTQ news space every day, Gay Star News will be missed. It’s one of my ‘go-to’ sites I check every morning over coffee.

PinkNews CEO Benjamin Cohen tweeted, “Sorry to read this – good luck to staff for the future.”

Darren Styles, owner of Attitude Magazine, shared his sadness and asked Gay Star News employees to check in with him as he had some job openings saying, “Can save some jobs at least.”

The news site began in January 2012. By 2015, GSN reported that the site was attracting five million unique users per month, and was listed in the top five LGBTQ news sites worldwide.

Directors of the site said when they launched that the goal for GSN was to become the first global 24/7 LGBTQ news website.

In a GSN article, they wrote, “The gap in the market was most glaring with global reporting, particularly online. Gay, bi and trans people worldwide are connecting more than ever, but there was no shared place they could go for quality news, information and entertainment.”

Gay Star News will most definitely be missed. Best thoughts to the staff.

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News Round-Up: July 29, 2019

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunks: Broadway hottie Jim Newman (above) finds he has his Fire Island pool all to himself with no one to play with his beach ball. I’m sure he’d have no problem finding company… 🙂

• NewNowNext: A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of Russian LGBTQ activist Elena Grigoryeva. Officials do not intend to pursue hate crime charges, claiming the murder was not motivated by her activist work, nor her bisexual identity.

• Instinct: In its series finale, Andi Mack served up Disney’s first gay couple.

• Gr8erDays: If you love entertainment/pop culture info from days gone by, follow this Instagram account for daily infograms about celebrity birthdays and more from TV, movies and more.

• Politico: Kamala Harris on Monday unveiled a plan to achieve universal health care coverage by growing Medicare with the help of private insurers, an effort that splits the difference with her chief Democratic presidential rivals and equips the California senator with her own signature health care proposal ahead of this week’s debates.

• Roanoke Times: A small number of Republicans tried to have Rep. Denver Riggleman censured for having the nerve to officiate a same-sex wedding for two of his supporters. p.s. The attempt failed…

• Out Music: Kelechi drops his latest bop, “Forever Tonight,” with an upbeat 1980s vibe complete with fat beats and pop/soul roots. I’m hearing a little Human League groove in there perhaps…?

“I make romance pop music,” Kelechi recently told Out.com. “I want people to fall in love with the feeling they get when they listen.”

I have to say I like the simple approach to the video. Lately, I find overly-complicated music videos can get in the way of listening/enjoying the music.

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New Poll: Biden Holds 19 Point Lead Among Democratic White House Hopefuls

New polling by Quinnipiac University shows former Vice President Joe Biden still holds a commanding 19-point lead among Democratic presidential contenders.

New polling by Quinnipiac University shows former Vice President Joe Biden still holds a commanding 19-point lead among Democratic presidential contenders.

Biden garnered 34 percent support from respondents with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) a distant second at 15 percent.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) comes in third with 12 percent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) moved down to 4th position with 11 percent, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg is in single digits with 6 percent.
The polling also showed Biden gets a thumbs-up from 53 percent of black Democrats, with 8 percent for Sanders, 7 percent for Harris and 4 percent for Warren. 

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Russian Authorities Remove Adopted Children From Gay Dads

(stock photo of two dads and son via Depositphotos)

After two dads in Russia took one of their adopted children to a Moscow hospital for treatment, doctors notified Russian authorities and the children have now been taken from the couple.

Gay Star News reports that the men took the child to the emergency room on June 19 for a suspected case of appendicitis.

But when hospital staff realized the boy had two dads, they were reported to the Investigative Committee of Russia.

Adoption by gay couples isn’t allowed in Russia. One of the men legally adopted the two boys, now aged 12 and 14, back in 2010 as a single parent.

The committee ruled the adoption violated the country’s 2013 ‘gay propaganda’ law which prohibits any positive portrayal of LGBTQ people in the media. The government says the law is necessary to protect children from ‘unconventional’ identities.

“A man has been raising two young adopted boys since 2010 in living conditions with another man,” read the committee’s report. “At the same time, he promotes unconventional relations, forming distorted ideas about family values in children, harming their health, moral, and spiritual development.”

In making its determination, the committee ordered authorities to remove the children from their home of nine years.

After multiple attempts to search the family’s home, investigators broke down the doors of the men’s apartment. One of the fathers was interrogated for more than three hours.

The committee also sued the social workers who approved the adoption charging them with negligence.

The social workers were accused of not taking “appropriate measures to protect minors from information harmful to their health and development.”

But, according to the men’s lawyers, the adoption agency had made regular visits over the years to check on the boys’ welfare. The reports filed following visits indicated the children were well and under excellent care.

Gay Star News quotes an LGBTQ activist named Polina who shared that a psychologist who assessed the family found no evidence of abuse, reporting “a healthy and close emotional connection between parents and children.”

Polina notes that this is the first time the ‘gay propaganda’ law has been used to remove children from a family home.

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Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ Breaks The Record For Most Weeks At #1 On Billboard Hot 100

Billboard announced Monday that “Old Town Road” — the country/rap smash hit single by opnely gay 20-year-old Lil Nas X — has officially broken the record for most week's at number one - 17 - on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Lil Nas X

Billboard announced Monday that “Old Town Road” — the country/rap smash hit single by openly gay 20-year-old Lil Nas X — has officially broken the record for most week’s at number one – 17 – on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In doing so, “Old Town Road” bumps the two songs that had previously held the record: Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day,” from 1995, and “Despacito,” the Latin-pop juggernaut by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber.

The rapper kept his momentum going the past several weeks by releasing new remixes of the song. The remixes helped garner streams online as Billboard counts streams, along with downloads and radio play, in tabulating the singles chart.

Last week, Lil Nas X dropped a “Seoul Town Road” version featuring popular K-pop group, BTS.

During his run, he’s fended off challenges for the top spot from music stars like Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes and Ed Sheeran.

The rapper made a social media splash when he came out via Twitter during Pride Month in June.

The music video for the song has garnered over 239 million views.

Joe Jervis at JoeMyGod points up this super-creative cover of the song by Walk off the Earth. This YouTube video alone has over 6 million views.