Bruno, the wonder dog, at one-year-old
“They’ve come up with the AIDS vaccine” pic.twitter.com/Z8MQK5Bi2F
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) June 16, 2020
News Round-Up: June 16, 2020
Alabama: New COVID-19 Cases On The Rise As Citizens Ignore Health Guidelines
As the death toll from COVID-19 nears 100,000 in the U.S., Reuters reports that 20 states saw an increase in new cases of COVID-19 for the week ended May 24, up from 13 states in the prior week. Alabama had the biggest weekly increase at 28%, Missouri’s new cases rose 27% and North Carolina’s rose 26%, according to the analysis of data from The COVID Tracking Project. As folks in Alabama celebrated the Memorial Day weekend by hitting the beaches in droves with little-to-no social distancing or face masks. Even with the state’s relaxed guidelines, groups are supposed to be six feet away from each other. Groups are also supposed to consist of only people who live in the same household. CNN’s Gary Tuchman spoke to several beach-goers about any concerns they may or may not have about the coronavirus. The responses were eye-opening.
“I’m just here just to have fun and meet everybody and be cool, you know,” said the first young man. “When it’s my time to go, it’s just my time to go.” “Everybody’s gotta go somehow. I don’t wanna die, but I mean, if that’s what God has in store for my life then that’s okay,” said a 21-year-old woman. Said another 20-something: “My family has the same mindset as me. We kind of just agreed that if we get it we get it. We’re gonna handle it as a family and just get over it because that’s what a family does.” “Just like the flu, right,” said one woman. “People die from the flu also. To me, that’s just the way I look at it.” Asked if she was concerned about so many people being at the beach, one woman replied, “No, not at all. There’s enough wind and air that it’ll clear it all out.” “I just feel comfortable that we’re going to be ok,” said an older man when asked why he doesn’t wear a face mask. “The survival rate is so high…We’re all gonna get sick from something eventually.” And in a demonstration of presidential leadership, a bearded young man said he was taking his cues from Donald Trump. “I mean, if he’s not wearing a mask, I’m not gonna wear a mask. If he’s not worried, I’m not worried.” And there you have it. 
But it wasn’t just Alabama flouting the rules. Over in Missouri, public pool parties were just as busy. Several videos taken from the Lake of the Ozark Saturday showed people not social distancing. Hundreds of people were packed into a pool and no one was seen wearing a mask. Check out the report from local CBS News affiliate KMOV.
Evangelist Gets Over 1,000 Years In Prison For Child Sex Abuse Charges
Paul Acton Bowen (mugshot)
Poll: Alabama Sen. Doug Jones Trails 3 GOP Challengers
Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL)
"(President Trump) ordered his top people who were in the room, who have first hand knowledge, not to testify. He ordered documents not to be turned over," Sen. Doug Jones says in response to Sen. Ron Johnson's claim that charges against Trump are "thin." https://t.co/1HAWEUtQuB pic.twitter.com/alfXVUC4Ff
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 22, 2019
News Round-Up: October 9, 2019
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: The Griffopotamus dropped his phone and it still takes great snaps (above). Maybe if I drop MY phone my pics will come out this good, too…? • OUT: Mey Rude wonders aloud, “Ellen DeGeneres was a lesbian hero – but who is she now? She broke ground 20 years ago, but her recent actions and words have me rethinking her lesbian icon status.” • Bloomberg: Donald Trump pressed then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to help persuade the Justice Department to drop a criminal case against an Iranian-Turkish gold trader who was a client of Rudy Giuliani, according to three people familiar with the 2017 meeting in the Oval Office. Tillerson refused. The report adds others present in the Oval Office were shocked by the request. • ABC News: Montgomery, Alabama, once known as the cradle of the Confederacy and later the birthplace of the civil rights movement, has elected Steven Reed as its first African American mayor in the city’s 200-year history.
Montgomery, Alabama, once known as the cradle of the Confederacy and later the birthplace of the civil rights movement, has elected Steven Reed as its first African American mayor in the city’s 200-year history. https://t.co/PjcVnDIRzj pic.twitter.com/898HkTThcj
— ABC News (@ABC) October 9, 2019
Alabama Senior Arrested For Threats Regarding Pride Flag At Hair Salon
|
| James Willoughby Wood (mug shot) |
An 83-year-old man in Alabama has been arrested and charged after leaving a threatening note on the door of a hair salon flying a rainbow flag.
AL.com reports that police identified James Willoughby Wood using surveillance footage which showed the senior leaving a note at the salon.
“This is not San Francisco or downtown Birmingham,” read the note in all caps. “This is Homewood which is a religious and family city. We suggest that you remove that flag before it is too late. We are concerned citizens. Good Bye.”
Before it is too late…
The owner of the salon, Issam Bajalia, found the note after returning from attending World Pride in New York City.
“We’re just very disappointed because our only crime (according to) this person is we have a rainbow flag in front of our building,” Bajalia told AL.com. “My thing is what is so offensive about a rainbow or a flag and how does this disrupt your religious journey?”
Due to the threatening nature of the note, an employee reported the message to the police.
Wood was picked out of a lineup and charged with misdemeanor harassment. His bond was set at $300.
Alabama Senate Candidate: “We’re Too Interested In Homosexual Activities”
|
| Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill |
A Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Alabama told supporters over the weekend the problem with the United States today is Americans are too “preoccupied with homosexual activities” and “the wife swap shows.”
It would seem the Senate race is also a race to prove who is the most homophobic politician in Alabama…
John Merrill, currently serving as Alabama’s Secretary of State, is one of many Republicans looking to unseat Sen. Doug Jones (D) in the 2020 election cycle.
The senate seat was held for 20 years by former Donald Trump toadie, Jeff Sessions, who vacated the position to become U.S. Attorney General, which didn’t work out too well for him, but that’s another story.
At a town hall event in DeKalb County this past weekend, Merrill was asked his thoughts on “culture shift” in the country (that’s code for the gays emergence in the mainstream) and the erosion of moral principles.
It was great to be back in Fort Payne this morning and speak to the folks in attendance at the DeKalb County Republican Breakfast at the Western Sizzlin! I was honored to talk to them and answer questions about my campaign for the United States Senate! #All67 pic.twitter.com/00cN2DmzUC— John Merrill (@JohnHMerrill) July 13, 2019
“[T]hat’s what we’ve allowed to happen,” said Merrill first reported by YellowHammerNews. “How have we allowed it to happen? There are no more good TV shows on like ‘Gunsmoke,’ ‘Bonanza,’ ‘The Virginian,’ ‘Andy Griffith,’ ‘I Love Lucy.’”
“We don’t have those shows anymore,” continued Merrill. “We’re too interested in homosexual activities. We’re too interested in seeing how this family’s finding a way to mess on this family or to see how people are trying to date on TV, or having wife-swapping on TV. That’s what we watch.”
Bolding is mine.
So, basically, Merrill longs for the good old days of TV shows that glorified guns and had wives stay at home in the kitchen.
The comments were confirmed by Alabama news site AL.com on Monday evening during a phone interview.
“The foundational principles which we have grown up as a nation are no more,” lamented Merrill. “There’s no more TV shows like ‘Gunsmoke’ or ‘Bonanza’ or ‘The Virginian’ or ‘I Love Lucy’ or ‘Andy Griffith.’ I said people are too interested in homosexual activities. They’re too interested in the wife swap TV shows and the shows that are not morally uplifting. That’s the problem.”
Asked by reporter Howard Koplowski what exactly that means, Merrill repeated himself.
“I meant what I said. People are too interested in anything that is not uplifting, edifying. They’re too busy being preoccupied with homosexual activities and the wife swap shows.”
According to Koplowski, Merrill demurred from offering any specific examples of how Americans are too preoccupied with “homosexual activities.”
The secretary of state did bemoan about the lack of TV shows “that are based on biblical foundations,” however.
I guess we should have seen that coming.
“Shows that promote family and culture with a father, a mother and children based on biblical teachings and biblical principles on which our nation was founded,” explained Merrill.
Merrill also told USA Today, “There are too many TV shows preoccupied with people’s sexual orientation instead of messages that edify our basic moral foundation.”
The Human Rights Campaign’s Project One America Director Meghan Kissell issued this statement regarding Merrill’s comments:
“This attack on LGBTQ people and our values only further underscores the fact that the Alabama Senate Republican primary is becoming a race to the bottom and a competition for who is the most virulently anti-LGBTQ. Alabamians deserve a leader who fights for the equality of everyone and every community, not someone who would feel more comfortable in America’s oppressive past.”
I seriously think people in the republican party are more obsessed with “homosexual activities” than I am.And I’m pretty dang gay. pic.twitter.com/TwBL2AK94D
— Caine (@CaineWithAnE) July 16, 2019
this man looks like he needs to experience some “homosexual activities” and/or be on a dating show— VKA (@VyMercurious) July 16, 2019
Much like me, John Merrill is apparently too interested in homosexual activities to watch Nick at Night. pic.twitter.com/pK5ENhpLgB— Gabriel Rosenberg (@gnrosenberg) July 16, 2019
The only people preoccupied with homosexual activities appear to be GOP politicians…— Linda Allen (@lindaballen1) July 17, 2019
Also, the top viewed TV drama of 2018 was “This Is Us,” which is noticeably not about homosexual activities or, uh, wife swapping?— Jane Coaston (@cjane87) July 16, 2019
Alabama Senate Race Could Pit Jeff Sessions Against Roy Moore
|
| Roy Moore |
Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore is back and running for U.S. Senate – again.
And the Republican Party is not happy. Even Donald Trump, who like Moore has his own issues with allegations of sexual misconduct, is against another Moore candidacy.
Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama. This time it will be for Six Years, not just Two. I have NOTHING against Roy Moore, and unlike many other Republican leaders, wanted him to win. But he didn’t, and probably won’t…..— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2019
…If Alabama does not elect a Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost, including our Pro-Life victories. Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating….Judges and Supreme Court Justices!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2019
This is pure fake news. I can assure everyone that by running, Roy Moore is going against my father and he’s doing a disservice to all conservatives across the country in the process. https://t.co/pjfDKfoIO0— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 20, 2019
But Moore told NBC News on Friday, “I think the president’s being influenced by other people up there — the establishment.”
Multiple other Republican candidates have announced their own bids for the state’s Republican nomination to take on Jones in 2020. Moore told NBC News: “If people want them, they’ll elect them. But I have a strong base here. And they’ll elect me.”
He said the potential addition of Jeff Sessions, who served as senator from Alabama prior to being tapped as Trump’s first attorney general, would not lead him to exit the race.
“I don’t step aside for anybody when I’m running,” Moore said, adding: “I love Jeff Sessions. He’s a friend. I respect him. If he wants to get in the race, let him get in the race. I don’t have any problem with it.”
Republicans are promising to do everything they can to obliterate Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate primaryhttps://t.co/DQWznA0vpi— POLITICO (@politico) June 20, 2019
Retweeting this as Roy Moore announces he’s running for the Senate. Twice removed as Alabama’s Chief Justice for failing to follow the law & with a history of sexual misconduct toward minors, he will be the GOP’s front runner (at least until we hear if Sessions will get in.) https://t.co/zSsjS6KY3y— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) June 20, 2019
Alabama Mayor Under Fire For Call To ‘Kill Out’ LGBTQs
 |
| Mayor Mark Chambers is under fire for social media posts calling for ‘killing out’ LGBTQs |
An Alabama mayor is facing criticism after posting controversial comments to his Facebook page.
Carbon Hill Mayor Mark Chambers wrote on his Facebook page in all capital letters:
“We live in a society where homosexuals lecture us on morals, transvestites lecture us on human biology, baby killers lecture us on human rights and socialists lecture us on economics.”
Chambers’ constituents responded to the post, but one response from a Facebook friend got the mayor’s attention.
“By giving the minority more rights than the majority,” wrote the supporter. “I hate to think of the country my grandkids will live in unless somehow we change and I think that will take a revolution.”
Having singled ‘homosexuals’ and ‘transvestites’ as the issue, Chambers wrote back, “The only way to change it would be to kill the problem out. I know it’s bad to say but without killing them out there’s no way to fix it.”
“To kill the problem out.”
“Without killing them out there’s no way to fix it.”
 |
| Chambers’ original statement on Facebook which was quickly deleted |
Local news affiliate WBRC contacted the mayor to clarify the social media statements.
Initially, the mayor denied posting the comments telling WBRC reporter Brittany Dionne, “I don’t think I posted that, I think that’s somebody else’s post.”
Dionne pointed out she was on the correct Facebook page noting photos of his family and birthday greetings, and asked if someone might be using his identity on Facebook.
Chambers replied with a meek “I don’t know.” When Dionne asked to meet in person, the mayor hung up.
Chambers did call back a few minutes later wherein he admitted to writing the post but argued it was being “taken out of context.”
“I never said anything about killing out gays or anything like that,” he told WBRC. Chambers explained that his comments were in reference to what might happen in a “revolution.”
“If it comes to a revolution in this country, both sides of these people will be killed out,” he said.
During the second call, Chambers also claimed that immigrants were taking over the country and called them “ungrateful.”
The mayor added that the post was meant to be a private message and didn’t intend for the public to see it.
He complained that he didn’t realize his Facebook page was available to the public, and shortly after the call with Dionne, his page went to private status.
You can watch the full report from Brittany Dionne at WBRC’s website here.
Chambers was elected mayor of Carbon Hill, population 2,000, in 2014.
Alabama Public Television Bans Gay Wedding Episode Of Long-Running ‘Arthur’
|
| Mr. Ratburn and Patrick head down the aisle (image via PBS) |
The long-running PBS children’s show, Arthur, opened its 22nd season last week with an episode featuring one of the animated characters marrying to his male partner.
In an episode titled “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone,” it turns out that Arthur’s stern yet forgiving 3rd grade teacher is gay, and marries his boyfriend, Patrick.
The storyline was celebrated by LGBTQ advocacy groups like GLAAD:
Congratulations Mr. Ratburn! 🌈🐀https://t.co/8ejkwU1sfU— GLAAD (@glaad) May 14, 2019
While the episode doesn’t mention the word “gay” or “homosexual,” I did wonder if some folks might be offended or raise their homophobic voices in opposition to two animated characters finding happiness together.
Yep. And some of those folks are in Alabama.
Alabama Public Television (APT) decided the same-sex wedding was too much for its intended audience to handle, and refused to air the episode. Instead, APT chose to air a re-run.
Yes, this is the same Alabama where public lawmakers just passed a law which will require a 13-year-old rape victim to carry a possible child to term.
Perhaps if Mr. Ratburn HAD married his sister, Alabama community standards would have been fine with the show? https://t.co/jeKuQjo26j— Crooks and Liars (@crooksandliars) May 21, 2019
Mike McKenzie, the director of programming at APT, confirmed to NBC News that upon receiving an alert from PBS in mid-April about “possible concerns about the content of the program,” APT felt it was best to omit the episode from their schedule.
“Parents have trusted Alabama Public Television for more than 50 years to provide children’s programs that entertain, educate, and inspire,” Mike McKenzie, director of programming at APT, said in a statement.
“More importantly—although we strongly encourage parents to watch television with their children and talk about what they have learned afterwards—parents trust that their children can watch APT without their supervision,” continued McKenzie. “We also know that children who are younger than the ‘target’ audience for Arthur also watch the program.”
“The vast majority of parents will not have heard about the content, whether they agree with it or not,” added McKenzie. “Because of this, we felt it would be a violation of trust to broadcast the episode.”
 |
| (image via PBS) |
Interestingly, one parent heard about the LGBTQ-inclusive episode and recorded the show with plans to watch with her 9-year-old daughter. But Misty Souder told AL.com that she was disappointed to only find a re-run on her DVR.
Souder says she contacted APT about the censorship, and used the experience as a teaching moment for her daughter about the importance of standing up for others.
“I just want her to be aware,” Souder explained to AL.com. “There’s too much going on not to stand up for stuff, even if it’s Arthur. I never thought I’d be going to battle for a gay rat wedding, but here we are.”
This isn’t APT’s first time to censor PBS’s Arthur.
In a 2005 episode, a bunny character named Buster visited a girl who was revealed to have two mothers.
Yep – APT pulled that installment, too.
According to AL.com, then-executive director of APT Allan Pizzato explained, “Our feeling is that we basically have a trust with parents about our programming.”
“This program doesn’t fit into that,” he added.
Watch the full episode featuring Mr. Ratburn’s wedding HERE.