Tag: Ben Carson

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News Round-Up: November 9, 2020

(image via Andrew Christian)
Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: Underwear company Andrew Christian recently has apologized for marketing a harness (above) emblazoned with the word “slave” using a POC to model them. “As you accurately noted in your article our ‘Master’ and ‘Slave’ harnesses and underwear only reference the ‘Master’ and ‘Slave’ terminology of the BDSM culture and has nothing to do with anything else.  We sincerely apologize if anyone finds the image of the model offensive and we will replace it immediately.” • Out Music: Colton Ford releases his first new music in years with the single, “Stronger.” The inspirational ballad features upbeat lyrics that share Ford’s own positive self speak: “We have to stay conscious of what we are telling ourselves, as that impacts and influences everything we experience in this life.” You can stream the full track here.

• NBC News: Georgia plans a recount of votes in its presidential race, but in the past 50 years, few recounts have led to changes in the winners. And in the handful of still-uncalled battleground states, there hasn’t been a flip following a recount in at least the last two decades. • Statista: As the presidential election results unfolded before the American people last week, the stock market saw the writing on the wall. The S&P 500 closed the week up 7.3 percent on Friday marking the best election week rally since 1928. The Nasdaq and Dow Jones saw similar gains.

(graphic via Statista)
• The Independent: Donald Trump’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, has become the latest Trump administration official to test positive for Covid-19. Carson attended the election night party at the White House on Tuesday where few in attendance wore masks to prevent the spread of the virus. • Mediaite: Fox News cut away from the White House press secretary this afternoon after she alleged that the Democratic party was “welcoming fraud and you are welcoming illegal voting.” Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto cut in saying, “Unless she has more details to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continue showing this.”  

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News Round-Up: March 20, 2018

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Timeout Magazine shares its 2018 round-up of the 20 Hottest Dancers on Broadway including Mr. Adam Perry (above).

• From one lesbian to another: Former New York City council speaker Christine Quinn slammed Cynthia Nixon “as an unqualified lesbian” a day after the actress announced her run for New York governor. Quinn later walked her comments back.

• HUD Secretary Ben Carson told a House Appropriations committee today that transgender people in a homeless shelter make others uncomfortable.

• An openly gay Marine Corps veteran is running for a seat in the Alabama state House.

• Michelangelo Signorile explains why it matters that a gay man helped Trump backers exploit Facebook data.

• Justin Timberlake and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser welcome the thousands of protesters who are expected to descend on the District for the “March for Our Lives” rally Saturday.

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News Round-Up: March 15, 2018

The Kings of Disco (not the Village People?)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Who’s the ‘real’ Village People these days? It’s pretty complicated, actually.

• Fort Lauderdale proves itself to be one of the most LGBT-friendly cities in America with the election of openly gay Dean Trantalis as mayor. The Democrat easily defeated his Republican opponent Bruce Roberts by winning 64% of the vote.

• When word broke that the Department of Housing and Urban Development ordered a $31,000 dining table for HUD Secretary Ben Carson’s offices, we got quick denials that Carson knew nothing about the purchase. Recently released emails show, however, that Carson not only knew but picked out the new luxe new furniture with his wife.

• Donald Trump’s new pick for Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has a terrible record on LGBTQ equality. From opposing marriage equality to fighting open military service by LGBTS, he’s been bad news for the community.

• Megan Rapinoe, the Olympic and World Cup champion soccer player who came out publicly several years ago, has signed a sponsorship deal with Bodyarmor sports drink.

• Ryan Worley of the Chippendales gives you an up-close peek at his totally awesome abs minutes after his Chipps calendar shoot. #Dang

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News Round-Up: March 1, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• Awesome illustrator Silverjow (above) reminds us that this is the lunar year of the dog! Make sure you check out his totally woofilicious art on Instagram.

• Washington state will be next to ban so-called “conversion therapy.”

• Donald Trump says we need more teachers with guns in schools. And then yesterday, an actual teacher with an actual gun went nuts at a North Georgia high school. I guess that answers the question, “What could possibly go wrong?”

• Four-time married Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis has laughably penned a book about her “courage” to stand up for “traditional marriage.” You’ll recall she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples due to her “deeply held religious beliefs” about marriage. #SanctityOfMarriageMyAss #ROTFL

• Out Olympian Adam Rippon has been invited to the Oscars!

• Actor Lee Pace, who plays “Joe Pitt” in the Broadway revival of Angels In America, kinda-sorta comes out in an interview with W Magazine.

•  A new Suffolk University/USA Today poll shows 47% of Americans would vote for a Democrat today versus 32% who would vote Republican. This is the third recent poll to show Dems with double-digit lead in upcoming 2018 mid-terms.

• Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts $6.8 billion from the US Housing department budget. But they’ve still got enough scratch hanging around to buy HUD Secretary Ben Carson a $31,000 dining table for his office.

• The new “Fab 5” from Netflix’s Queer Eye offer their advice on how to throw a – what else? – FAB Oscar party.

The cast of Queer Eye

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News Round-Up: June 9, 2017

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you may have missed:

• Come on, say it with Instahunk Alex Abramov (above): “Thank God it’s Friday!”

• Democrat Jon Ossoff leads Republican Karen Handel 51% to 44% among likely voters among in a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll tracking the upcoming special election for a Georgia House seat.

• Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson defends federal budget cuts to housing programs for low-income people with HIV: “The pie is only so big.”

• Russian hackers are using Britney Spears’ Instagram account to share cryptic encoded messages that control their hacking system.

• More than 18 million people tuned in to watch former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the U.S. Senate yesterday.

• The Scottish Episcopal Church has voted to allow same-sex couples to marry in the church.

• Scissor Sisters and MDNR have released a lyric video for their collaboration “Swerlk,” a fundraising single in honor of the 49 lives lost in the Pulse nightclub massacre. Click over to http://www.SWERLK.com to donate.

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Trump Officially Taps “Pathological” Ben Carson For HUD Secretary

(image via Facebook)

Only months ago, Donald Trump called Dr. Ben Carson “pathological” and wondered over and over what voters saw in Carson.

Fast forward to today as Trump is now nominating Carson for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

This is probably where I should state that Carson has no experience or specific knowledge related to “urban development” other than the fact that he grew up in Detroit.

Just weeks ago, Carson announced that he did not want any Trump administration cabinet position because he felt he didn’t have experience.

Armstrong Williams, a close Carson confidante, told The Hill, “Dr. Carson feels he has no government experience, he’s never run a federal agency. The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency.”

Now, remember – Carson says he has no government experience so he feels he’s not qualified. And yet, he ran for the office of president of the United States?

Watch Trump from the campaign trail this year discussing “pathological” Ben Carson.

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Trump Looking To Tap Ben Carson For HUD Secretary

Retired neurosurgeon and former Republican presidential hopeful Dr. Ben Carson is expected to be tapped as secretary of housing and urban development.

HUD is responsible for administering low-income housing assistance, fair housing laws, housing development and aid to neighborhoods in distress.

Carson endorsed Donald Trump shortly after dropping out of the race.

He was highly expected to be considered for a spot in Trump’s administration, with many guessing the Health and Human Services department.

But soon after the election, Carson said didn’t feel he had the experience to serve in Trump’s Cabinet, calling himself “a fish out of water” when it comes to being a federal bureaucrat.

Regarding his cabinet picks, Trump told the New York Times on Tuesday, “We’re trying very hard to get the best people — not necessarily people that will be the most politically correct people, because that hasn’t been working,” Trump said. “So we have, really, experts in the field. Some are known and some are not known, but they’re known within their field as being the best. That’s very important to me.”

Considering Carson’s background in medicine, it is not entirely clear what experience he has with housing and urban development policy.

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Dr. Ben Carson Doesn’t Want A Role In Trump Administration

Dr. Ben Carson has announced he will not be a part of the incoming Trump administration.

Carson feels he shouldn’t run a government agency because he has no government experience. He tells ABC News he would prefer a more “advisory” position.

Mind you – he did think he could run the whole country when he was running for president.

Think on that.

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Dr. Ben Carson Endorses Donald Trump: “There Are Two Donald Trumps”

Former Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson endorsed GOP front-runner Donald Trump in an awkward press event today.

In previewing his endorsement, Dr. Carson initially tried to tell a story of “two Donald Trumps,” before backtracking on what was coming across as an odd notion.

Finally, he got a little more thoughtful. Via Politico:

“Well, first of all, we buried the hatchet,” Carson said, referring to Trump’s accusation of Carson being a pathological liar who showed the same destructive tendencies as a child molester. “That was political stuff. And, you know, that happens in American politics, the politics of personal destruction. All that is not something that I particularly believe in or anything that I get involved in. But I do recognize that it is a part of the process. We move on because it’s not about me, it’s not about Mr. Trump. It’s about America.”

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Dr. Ben Carson Drops Out Of Republican Race For President

After landing in 4th place at the Iowa Caucuses, followed by last place showings in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and pretty much coming in 4th in contests across the country on Super Tuesday, Dr. Ben Carson has told his supporters he’s pretty much reached the end of his presidential run.

From the Washington Post:

Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who briefly led the Republican presidential race before his campaign began an extended public implosion, told his supporters in a statement Wednesday afternoon that he does not see a “path forward” and will not attend Thursday’s debate in Detroit.

Carson, however, did not formally suspend his campaign. Instead, he said in the statement that has decided to make a speech about his political future on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland, just outside of Washington.

“I do not see a political path forward in light of last evening’s Super Tuesday primary results,” the statement said. “However, this grassroots movement on behalf of ‘We the People’ will continue. Along with millions of patriots who have supported my campaign for President, I remain committed to Saving America for Future Generations.”

Rumors have been swirling that Republican leaders have been asking Carson to drop out of the presidential race and, instead, run for Marco Rubio’s senate seat in Florida where he lives.

I wonder if that will be part of his speech on Friday?

Stay tuned…