Tag: coronavirus

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News Round-Up: September 25, 2020

Tom Goss in ‘Amsterdam’ (photo: Mark Nickels)
Some news items you might have missed: • JoeMyGod: In a money-beg email, virulently anti-LGBTQ Brian Brown solicits donations for his woeful National Organization for Marriage declaring conservatives should support Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court because “It will mean that religious liberty will be restored to its rightful place as a foundational constitutional right, and that the fake “rights” that are constantly demanded by the left – including special rules for homosexuals and the so-called transgendered – will no longer see the light of day.” Oh no, no hate there… • Out Music: The sensual music video for Tom Goss’s “Amsterdam,” is a beautifully shot wet and sexy romp. He wrote the song four years ago while in Holland, when he had a transformative sexual experience that still reverberates to this day. “It started in the shower,” recalls Goss. “We were kissing and holding each other tightly, with water pouring down over us. I had this overwhelming feeling of peace and acceptance of who I am, like I was being baptized in a whole new way.”

• Reuters:A federal appeals court ruled in favor of allowing the House of Representatives’ lawsuit challenging Donald Trump’s diversion of funds to pay for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to proceed. • KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in LGBTQ publications like MetroWeekly featuring Ritchie Torres, who will likely become the first gay Afro-Latino elected to Congress. • AP: In the Midwest, the virus is now landing squarely in places where there is strong resistance to masks and governors have been reluctant to require face coverings. Oklahoma and Missouri are regularly recording 1,000 new cases a day, and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson [photo], a staunch opponent of mask rules, tested positive this week. Kansas and Iowa are also witnessing a spike in cases. And South Dakota and Idaho are seeing sky-high rates of tests coming back positive.

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Florida: Governor Lifts All Coronavirus Restrictions

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
From the Miami Herald:

Gov. Ron DeSantis lifted all restrictions on restaurants and other businesses in Florida on Friday, and banned local fines against people who refuse to wear masks as he seeks to reopen the state’s economy despite the spread of the coronavirus.

The Republican governor’s order unleashed fresh debate in the politically divided state, where pandemic responses have become intertwined with the upcoming presidential election.

DeSantis, a major ally of President Donald Trump, acknowledged that the pandemic is far from over, but he said the threat has eased and the time has come to reopen for business.

Florida added 2,847 confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, pushing the statewide total since March 1 to 695,887. The state also announced 120 new virus deaths, pushing its total to 14,038. Hospitalizations declined by 34 to 2,137 people.

While local jurisdictions can still impose some restrictions they are not allowed to limit restaurants to reopen at less than 50% capacity. Local regulators will also have to justify limiting any restaurants to less than 100 percent. Today’s order from DeSantis also blocks cities and counties from collecting fines on people who don’t wear face masks, basically nullifying local mask ordinances. Broward County Mayor Dale Holness announced today that restaurants in his county are now allowed to reopen bar counters. BUT alcohol may not be allowed to be served in those areas, customers need to social distance 6-feet apart and plexiglass barriers would need to installed.

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News Round-Up: September 22, 2020

Ellen Degeneres (screen capture)
Some news items you might have missed: • OUT: Viewers were left with no explanation when Noah Purvis, a contestant on CBS’s straight matchmaking show Love Island, quietly disappeared from the show. It’s since been revealed that Purvis has a not-so-secret gay porn past, and according to some reports, executives at the network didn’t like it. • The Advocate: Writer Trudy Ring breaks down why the LGBTQ community is justified in its concern about Supreme Court front-runner Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Here’s a couple of hints: she wasn’t jake about the 2015 SCOTUS marriage equality ruling and she questions the recent transgender discrimination = sex discrimination decision. #DangerWillRobinson • Bloomberg News: Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg is reportedly role-playing as fellow Hoosier Vice President Mike Pence in debate prep sessions with Sen. Kamala Harris in advance of the upcoming October 7 veep face-off in Salt Lake City. • Axios: A 2018 state constitutional amendment in Florida allows for felons who have completed their prison sentences to regain their right to vote — but there’s a catch: they have to pay back any outstanding fines, fees or restitution. Billionaire Mike Bloomberg has raised over $16 million to pay off obligations for 32,000 felons who were already registered to vote in Florida just before Election Day. • NPR: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidelines on how to celebrate Halloween safely. No big surprise: Classic door-to-door trick-or-treating and indoor haunted houses (where people will be crowded and screaming, which could send infectious particles flying) are on the no-no list. Better: outdoor ‘haunted forests’ and individually wrapped gift bags at the end of a driveway or yard while still preserving social distance. • NewNowNext: When The Ellen DeGeneres Show premiered its 18th season on Monday, Ellen (above) began the episode by addressing allegations of a toxic work environment that came to light this summer via reporting by Buzzfeed News. After rumors of demeaning treatment of staffers ran rampant, three executive producers were gone by August. Watch Ellen’s full monologue below.

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Poll: Majority Of Americans Don’t Trust Trump’s Promises Of ‘Safe’ Vaccine By Spring

The first confirmed case of the omicron variant in the U.S. has been discovered in California.

A new ABC News/Ipsos poll shows the majority of Americans have little to no confidence in Donald Trump vouching for the safety or effectiveness of a coronavirus vaccine he claims could be available to everyone by Spring 2021. From ABC News:

Fewer than 1 in 10 (9%) Americans have a great deal of confidence in Trump to confirm vaccine effectiveness with another 18% reporting only a “good amount” of confidence in the poll conducted by Ipsos in partnership with ABC News using Ipsos’ Knowledge Panel.

In contrast, 69% don’t have confidence in the president vouching for a vaccine, including 16% saying “not so much” and 53% saying “none at all.”

On Wednesday, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield told the Senate Appropriations Committee that he did not foresee a coronavirus inoculation becoming “generally available” to Americans for another year. Later that day, Trump described Redfield as “confused” and said he thought Redfield made “a mistake.”

The survey also asked respondents which of the presidential candidates they believe is “more honest and trustworthy.” Biden scored much higher than Trump garnering 58 percent support on the question while Trump lagged 19 points behind the Democrat at 39 percent.

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Former Pence Aide Endorses Biden, Says Trump Only Concerned With Reelection

Donald Trump smirks during a press event

Donald Trump smirks during a press event
Donald Trump (photo: public domain/Flickr)
Olivia Troye, a former homeland security official who served in Vice President Mike Pence’s office for the coronavirus task force, endorsed Joe Biden for president today. She described her time in the White House (she resigned two months ago) as “terrifying” and said the president “could have saved lives” in his response to the coronavirus pandemic in a video released Thursday. In the video, she says Trump was only concerned with his reelection. From CNN:

A former top aide to Vice President Mike Pence assailed President Donald Trump’s response to the pandemic in a new video Thursday, adding to the growing list of former Trump administration officials who have criticized the President and, in several cases, endorsed his Democratic opponent Joe Biden.

Olivia Troye, who was a homeland security adviser to Pence and his lead staffer on the White House’s coronavirus task force, charged in the two-minute video that Trump failed to protect the American public because he only cared about himself and getting reelected. Troye’s criticism is particularly striking because of her role working on the coronavirus task force, which Pence leads.

“Towards the middle of February, we knew it wasn’t a matter of if Covid would become a big pandemic here, it was a matter of when,” said Troye, who left the White House in late July. “But the President didn’t want to hear that, because his biggest concern was that we were in an election year, and how was this going to affect what he considered to be his record of success?”

At one coronavirus task force meeting, Troye claimed that Trump suggested “maybe this Covid thing is a good thing.”

“I don’t like shaking hands with people. I don’t have to shake hands with these disgusting people,” Troye claimed Trump said at the meeting.

The White House denied Troye’s statements and predictably accused her of being a disgruntled former employee.

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Pastor Being Treated In ICU After Holding Maskless Church Services

Pastor Paul Van Noy holds open church services during COVID-19 pandemic

Pastor Paul Van Noy holds open church services during COVID-19 pandemic
Pastor Paul Van Noy (screen capture via YouTube)
A pastor in A Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is being treated for COVID-19 at the Kootenai Health intensive care unit after who opening his church in May for in-person services that encouraged unmasked congregants to gather. Who’d have ever guessed something could go wrong? From the Spokesman-Review:

Paul Van Noy, the senior pastor at Candlelight Christian Fellowship, has spent the past two weeks in the ICU while his wife, Brenda Van Noy, recovered from her own bout with COVID-19 at home. Five other church staff have been infected, said Eric Reade, body ministry coordinator the church.

The church closed its doors for two weeks and underwent deep cleaning before reopening for in-person services Sunday, Reade said.

“We didn’t want, obviously, to be spreading the virus,” he said.

Church staffers don’t know how Van Noy contracted the virus, Reade said.

Van Noy, who apparently has a history of sharing his political views from the pulpit, has publicly shared his doubts regarding the efficacy of wearing face coverings to help protect against the virus.

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Fact-Checking Trump’s ABC News Townhall

(screen capture via ABC News)
NowThis News fact-checks Donald Trump’s ABC News town hall earlier this week where he took questions from undecided voters. During the session, Trump blamed Joe Biden for not implementing a national face-mask mandate (even though Biden isn’t president) and said he thinks he’s done a “great job” handling the COVID-19 pandemic as the U.S. approaches 200,000 coronavirus-related deaths. This is a terrific quick wrap-up of the event. Hit the play button below.

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News Round-Up: September 16, 2020

(promotional photo from the acclaimed film ‘Call Me By Your Name’)
Some news items you might have missed: • The Independent: In a new interview, Luca Guadagnino, who directed the Oscar-nominated coming-of-age film Call Me By Your Name, defended casting straight actors Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer in gay roles. • Washington Blade: Gay Democratic activist Eric Morrison defeated a six-term incumbent by a decisive margin in Delaware’s Democratic primary on Tuesday for a seat in the state House of Representatives. Morrison is considered the strong favorite to win in the Nov. 3 general election in a heavily Democratic district. If elected, he will emerge as Delaware’s first openly gay man to serve in the Delaware State Legislature. •  Washington Post: The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted Wednesday that most of the American public will not have access to a vaccine against the novel coronavirus until late spring or summer of next year. Redfield said the vaccine will be provided first to people most vulnerable to covid-19 with Americans who are considered at lower risk offered the shot more gradually. • AARP: The venerable seniors’ organization takes a look at sacrifices Americans made out of patriotism during World War II. But, today, wearing a face mask is ‘tyranny…’ • CNN: Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, on the Donald’s biggest concerns about releasing his tax returns: “His biggest fear is, if that tax return was released, there’s a whole slew of accountants and forensic accountants that will rip through it and he will end up with a massive tax bill, penalties, fines, and possibly even tax fraud.”

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Town Hall: Trump Cites ‘Herd Mentality’ And Churchill Atop Buildings During Bombing Of London

Donald Trump (screen capture)

Donald Trump during ABC News Town Hall (screen capture)
In case you missed it, Donald Trump didn’t have a great time during last night’s town hall event hosted by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos. At one point, he was asked by an undecided voter about a national mandate on wearing face masks during the coronavirus pandemic. In an odd twist, Trump pointed to his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, for failing to implement such a mandate. Note – Joe Biden is a private citizen holding no public office meaning he has no authority to enact such policies. Did Trump forget HE is currently president? “A good question is, you ask, like Joe Biden. They said, ‘We’re going to do a national mandate on masks,'” Trump said Tuesday evening. “But he didn’t do it, I mean, he never did it.” Biden has said he would encourage governors to support the use of face masks and promised to lead by example by wearing face coverings in public. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci recommend universal mask-wearing when in public and around people who don’t live in your household to help prevent coronavirus transmission. Trump also said “a lot of people” don’t like face masks. When asked who those folks were, Trump said “waiters.”

Additionally, Trump declared, again, that the coronavirus will just disappear citing “herd mentality.” “Over a period of time, sure, with time, it goes away and you’ll develop, you’ll develop like a herd mentality — it’s going to be herd-developed, and that’s going to happen. That will all happen.” Most people believe he meant to say “herd immunity,” but, you know, four-syllable words can be hard… Along the way, the Donald also told some wild story about Winston Churchill standing on the roof of buildings while the Nazis were bombing London during WWII telling folks, “Everything’s going to be ok.” Actually, as soon as Churchill became prime minister, he warned the UK of ‘struggle and suffering’ and told Londoners the Nazi campaign was ‘killing large numbers of women and children.’

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Trump: COVID-19 Restrictions Don’t Apply To Me

Donald Trump smirks during a press event

Donald Trump smirks during a press event
Donald Trump (photo: public domain/Flickr)
Donald Trump told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in an interview Sunday that he doesn’t believe Nevada’s COVID-19 restrictions regarding large gatherings of over 50 people apply to him giving himself permission to hold his indoor rally in Henderson attended by a few thousand followers.

The president blamed the Democratic governor for forcing his campaign to abandon plans to hold an outdoor rally Sunday at Cirrus Aviation near McCarran International Airport and a Saturday rally in Reno, which was moved to an outdoor venue in Minden.

After failing to arrange alternative venues in the Las Vegas area, the campaign decided to hold the rally indoors at the Xtreme Manufacturing facility, owned by his friend Don Ahern, Trump said. “They canceled six different sites because the governor wouldn’t let it happen, all external sites,” the president said.

Henderson officials issued written and verbal warnings of compliance to the event organizers. Kathleen Richards, a spokeswoman for the city of Henderson, said in a statement “gatherings of more than 50 people in a private or public setting is prohibited.”

“If the governor’s directives are not followed,” she said, “the city may assess a fine of up to $500 per violation as well as suspend or revoke the business license.”

Sisolak was not targeting Trump in any way. Currently, no one is supposed to hold large gatherings of more than 50 people in Nevada. That’s the rule for everyone.

Sisolak clapped back in a lengthy thread on Twitter writing, “Tonight, President Donald Trump is taking reckless and selfish actions that are putting countless lives in danger here in Nevada.”

“The president appears to have forgotten that this country is still in the middle of a global pandemic,” added Sisolak.