Daniel Montoya (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: I am not mad at fitness guy Daniel Montoya (above) on a beach, just saying… #TGIF Follow him on Instagram here. • Attitude Magazine: Bright Light Bright Light, aka Rod Thomas, may be musically inspired by the LGBTQ+ community – but he hasn’t always felt like he fit in. In a new interview, the singer opens up about being left in the dark while trying to find his place in the LGBTQ+ world. • KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s round-up of LGBTQ publications like GLOSS Magazine featuring an interview with Emmy/Grammy/Tony winner Billy Porter (below). • Media Matters: Facebook is profiting from harmful anti-transgender political ads despite its hate speech policies. • Washington Post: Blood plasma looked like a promising COVID-19 treatment. Then Donald Trump got involved spawning confusion about the treatment and creating a political backlash that specialists say has stifled an expected spike in demand. • CBS News: An officer with the Oxford Police Department arrived to break up a house party over the weekend that violated capacity rules, which currently allow gatherings of no more than 10 people. But after scanning the ID of one of the students who lives in the house, he saw a note on his computer that the student tested positive for COVID-19 just one week prior. “How many other people have COVID?” the officer asked. “They all do,” the student replied.
Donald Trump during a White House press briefing (public domain) After announcing two Nevada campaign rallies planned for this weekend, the Trump campaign has canceled the events due to current limitations on public gatherings imposed by Gov. Steve Sisolak since the spring in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. One event was scheduled for Saturday at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport and the other on Sunday at McCarran International Airport. Since late May, Nevada has limited the size of public gatherings to 50 people. Sisolak’s office on Wednesday issued a statement saying it was not involved in the cancellations. “The Governor’s Office had no involvement or communication with the event organizers or potential hosts regarding the proposed campaign events advertised by the Trump campaign. “Current statewide emergency directives include mandatory face coverings, limitations on public and private gatherings to no more than 50 people, and other measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The Nevada-specific White House recommendations have consistently included recommendations to limit the size of gatherings for weeks now.” Even though the governor’s restrictions have been in place for months, the Trump campaign announced Nevada visits on Tuesday. The campaign publicly whined that this is all an attempt to censor the Donald. “Democrats are trying to keep President Trump from speaking to voters because they know the enthusiasm behind his re-election campaign cannot be matched by Joe Biden — a historically weak candidate controlled by the radical left who could hold a campaign event in a broom closet,” read a statement issued by Tim Murtaugh, communications director of the president’s re-election campaign. Meanwhile, the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority said the rally would have violated the lease agreements that private tenants signed with the authority. “This has nothing to do with politics. The letter (to tenants) we sent is about directives and safety and not political campaigns,” Daren Griffin, president/CEO of the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority, said in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We would hold our tenants to the same standard whether it was a Democratic or Republican rally or any other type of gathering. We are complying with the Governor’s directive and Washoe County’s recommendation during a pandemic.” “The fact that Donald Trump was even considering holding these unsafe events in the midst of a global pandemic is just the latest example of his poor judgment and complete disregard for Nevadans’ public health and safety,” said Madison Mundy, spokeswoman for the Nevada State Democratic Party. Poll crunching website FiveThirtyEight reports Biden currently leading Trump by an average of 6.5 percentage points in Nevada. (source: Las Vegas Review-Journal)
(cover image via Amazon) Bob Woodward, the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist whose reporting on the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon, has released excerpts from his upcoming book, Rage, which includes on-the-record interviews (there’s tape!) with Donald Trump from early December 2019 to July 2020. Woodward interviewed Trump 18 times on a wide range of topics. The interviews were recorded by Woodward with Trump’s permission, and CNN has obtained copies of some of the audiotapes. From CNN:
“This is deadly stuff,” Trump told Woodward on February 7.
In a series of interviews with Woodward, Trump revealed that he had a surprising level of detail about the threat of the virus earlier than previously known. “Pretty amazing,” Trump told Woodward, adding that the coronavirus was maybe five times “more deadly” than the flu.
Trump’s admissions are in stark contrast to his frequent public comments at the time insisting that the virus was “going to disappear” and “all work out fine.”
The book, using Trump’s own words, depicts a President who has betrayed the public trust and the most fundamental responsibilities of his office. In “Rage,” Trump says the job of a president is “to keep our country safe.” But in early February, Trump told Woodward he knew how deadly the virus was, and in March, admitted he kept that knowledge hidden from the public.
“I wanted to always play it down,” Trump told Woodward on March 19, even as he had declared a national emergency over the virus days earlier. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”
(screen captures via CNN) Instead, Trump’s decisions allowed many Americans to doubt the severity of the virus and nearly 200,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. Even earlier, on January 28 the discussion turned to the coronavirus outbreak in China during a national security briefing with Trump. “This will be the biggest national security threat you face in your presidency,” national security adviser Robert O’Brien told Trump. “This is going to be the roughest thing you face.” The new book also includes some tough opinions from many of Trump’s former top national security officials on his presidency. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis is quoted as calling Trump “dangerous” and “unfit” to be commander in chief. Former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said he “continued to harbor the secret belief, one that had grown rather than lessened, although unsupported by intelligence proof, that Putin had something on Trump.” Woodward writes that Coats felt, “How else to explain the president’s behavior? Coats could see no other explanation.” You can hear some of Trump’s chat with Woodward in the tweet below, and much more on CNN here.
This is President Trump on tape, on February 7, saying that the coronavirus is "more deadly than your – you know, your, even your strenuous flus." But he minimized the threat in public. On February 26, he told the public "I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away." pic.twitter.com/TOHTpqYtvZ
In audio clips from Woodward's interview, playing on @CNN now, Trump says he thinks China's Xi has the virus under control and says clearly that the Coronavirus is more deadly than the flu. Trump lied to the public repeatedly after this.
On February 7th He knew it is “deadly stuff” and “it goes trough the air” yet he kept holding big rallies for ANOTER MONTH (here he’s on March 2nd). He doesn’t give a damn (even) about his supporters lives. #TrumpKnewpic.twitter.com/deHovrCUtm
Think about this – Trump knew this was an extremely contagious, deadly airborne virus since at least February and yet he went on TV for months mocking masks and refusing to encourage or mandate people wearing them.
Gustavo Naspolini (via Instagram) Some news stories you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Gustavo Naspolini (above) in Greece reminds me that I was SUPPOSED to be there right now on a cruise. #NoWorriesImOk • Washington Blade: Richard Grenell, the former acting director of national intelligence and who’s now the quisling face of the Trump campaign’s LGBTQ outreach, snapped at a reporter Friday at the White House briefing for asking him about the global initiative Grenell himself had led to decriminalize homosexuality. #SoMuchWinning • KIT212: Don’t miss Kenneth’s round-up of the latest from LGBTQ publications like DNA Magazine (below) currently serving up “The Sexiest Men Alive 2020” with Argentine model Leonel Ledesma. (image via DNA Magazine) • Boy Culture: Even the widow of Mr. Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood) can’t stand Donald Trump – “The fact [is] that I can’t believe anything he says, not even the simplest thing. This man is pathologically ill. Mentally ill.” • Associated Press: North Carolina began sending out more than 600,000 ballots to voters today — responding to a massive spike in requests that has played out across the country as voters look for a safer way to cast ballots during the pandemic. The 618,000 ballots requested in the initial wave in North Carolina were more than 16 times the number the state sent out at the same time four years ago. The requests came overwhelmingly from Democratic and independent voters. • The Hill: A key forecasting model – often cited by experts and used by the White House – has revised its prediction of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., now estimating a peak of 410,451 by January 1. • InstaHunks II: One more from Gustavo Naspolini in Greece. I’ll get there someday. In the meantime, I’ve got a pool and Chardonnay to keep me happy 🙂 #HappyLaborDayWeekend
Anderson Cooper (art design: Sean Penn) Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: Dictionary.com has replaced references to homosexual and homosexuality with gay, gay man, gay woman, or gay sexual orientation. Additionally, Pride is now capitalized and its own separate entry that refers to the celebration of LGBTQ+ identity and events that raise the visibility of the community. The website also added a host of other LGBTQ+ terms including ace, ambisextrous, asexual, biromantic, deadname, gender-inclusive, gender diversity, and trans+. • ABC News: Russia has sought to “amplify” concerns over the integrity of U.S. elections by promoting allegations that mail-in voting will lead to widespread fraud, according to an intelligence bulletin obtained by ABC News. The warning was issued after finding with “high confidence” that “Russian malign influence actors” have targeted the absentee voting process “by spreading disinformation” since at least March. • Instinct Magazine: Get your first look at the upcoming LGBTQ-themed Christmas season film, Happiest Season, starring Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Victor Garber, Mary Steenburgen, and Dan Levy. The filmmakers hope to release the film in theaters around Thanksgiving.
• The Gaily Grind: A married youth minister, Thomas “Tommy” Callaway, who slapped a female reporter’s butt on live television as she delivered a report in Georgia has pleaded guilty to a sexual battery charge. The 44-year-old was sentenced to a year probation, 200 hours of community service, and fined $1,000 by a Savannah judge who accepted his plea for the misdemeanor count on Tuesday. • USA Today: Rick Synder, former GOP governor of Michigan, endorses Joe Biden for president – “For years, I mentioned in most of my speeches the need to bring back civility to our nation. We will not continue to be the greatest nation in the world if we can’t get along among ourselves. We have only become more divided over the past four years. We need a leader who believes in civility and bringing Americans closer together.” • Variety: Filming has been suspended in the United Kingdom on the upcoming movie The Batman as the star of the flick, Robert Pattinson, has tested positive for COVID-19. • Instagram: Bravo’s Andy Cohen decided to have some fun sharing a shirtless pic of his buddy, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, as a lighthearted way to rib his pal. But 2-time Academy Award-winner Sean Penn took things to another level as he celebrated the photo posting his own updated version including rainbows and hearts along with the caption, “Good morning to Twunk Zaddy Anderson Cooper and his tiny hard sharp nips.” #AforEffort
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have informed public health officials in all 50 states that two different vaccines for the coronavirus could be available as early as late October or early November before the completion of clinical trials. From the New York Times:
The new C.D.C. guidance is the latest sign of an accelerating race for a vaccine to ease a pandemic that has killed more than 184,000 Americans. The documents were sent out on the same day that President Trump told the nation in his speech to the Republican National Convention that a vaccine might arrive before the end of the year.
Over the past week, both Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, and Dr. Stephen Hahn, who heads the Food and Drug Administration, have said in interviews with news organizations that a vaccine may be available for certain groups before clinical trials have been completed if the data is overwhelmingly positive.
Public health experts agree that agencies at all levels of government should urgently prepare for what will eventually be a vast, complex effort to vaccinate hundreds of millions of Americans.
But the possibility of a rollout in late October or early November has heightened concerns that the Trump administration is seeking to rush the distribution of a vaccine — or simply to hype that one is possible — before Election Day on Nov. 3.
It normally takes years to develop a new vaccine. Anyone else a bit squeamish about receiving a shot of something that hasn’t been fully vetted? President Ford rushed a vaccine to the public in 1976 for the swine flu. It didn’t go well. Four-hundred fifty people who received the vaccine developed the paralyzing syndrome Guillain-Barré and of those, more than 30 died.
This is terrifyin'. Trump opted out of the global vaccine initiative and is removin' all the FDC guardrails to crank out an untested, risky and certainly ineffective vaccine just in time for the election.
This timetable for the distribution of a still highly hypothetical COVID vaccine seems driven by something other than safety & effectiveness … https://t.co/sMicakV3AC
Jack Trice Stadium at Iowa State (via CycloneAthletics/Instagram) Iowa State has announced its football season opener against Louisiana in two weeks will be in front of live fans. The school has reportedly re-allocated the tickets in Jack Trice Stadium to accommodate 25,000 fans – roughly 41 percent of capacity. This comes at a time when new coronavirus diagnoses have skyrocketed in the Hawkeye State. The Washington Post has this:
According to The Washington Post’s state-by-state database, Iowa has seen a 92 percent increase in new coronavirus cases over the past week, the second-highest rise in the country behind South Dakota.
Iowa’s seven-day average of new coronavirus cases stands at 241 per 100,000 residents, the highest among the 50 U.S. states.
In Story County, home to Iowa State’s campus, the seven-day average of new cases per 100,000 residents is 777, nearly a fourfold increase from just a week ago and one of the highest rates in the nation for one county. On Aug. 14, that number hovered around only 50 new cases per 100,000 residents.
The school says face masks will be required and there will be no tailgating allowed at the stadium. “I’ll have personally zero, zero tolerance for any fan that doesn’t comply,” said Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard. “I don’t care how much money they give this institution, if you want to be in the stadium, you’re going to have to comply with what we put together. If you don’t do it, we don’t want you here.” According to USA Today, that 41 percent of capacity figure is the highest level announced by any school in the U.S.
Donald TrumpYahoo News reports Donald Trump ignored warnings from the White House coronavirus task force about rising infection rates for months.
Even as President Trump spurred states to lift lockdown measures and resume normal economic activity in the early summer, reports from his own White House coronavirus task force were presenting regular evidence that infections were rising in many parts of the country.
Critics have maintained that by not acting on evidence that the virus was not in remission, Trump and his advisers only prolonged the nation’s battle with the pandemic, which has killed more than 180,000 Americans to date.
The task force reports are customarily not made public, but eight of them from June and July had been requested late last month by the coronavirus subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee.
The subcommittee is headed by Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., a leading House Democrat who is also a close ally of Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee for president. Biden has made the absence of a national plan to deal with the coronavirus a centerpiece of his campaign.
“Rather than being straight with the American people and creating a national plan to fix the problem,” Clyburn said in a statement on Monday morning, “the President and his enablers kept these alarming reports private while publicly downplaying the threat to millions of Americans.”
Leaders in Europe are facing the possibility of new lockdowns as cases of COVID-19 have begun to surge again. The New York Timesreports:
In France, President Emmanuel Macron warned on Friday that the authorities were doing “everything to avoid a new lockdown.” A day later, the country reported over 7,300 new virus cases, its highest daily tally since March 31 and a number that sent its seven-day average to a new record of 4,668.
As Germany faces its own more modest resurgence, Chancellor Angela Merkel said this week that managing the pandemic would become more challenging in the fall and winter, as the colder weather drives people back indoors. “We will have to live with this virus for a long time to come,” she said.
The sobering comments from Ms. Merkel and Mr. Macron come as European countries brace for — or even appear to be entering — a second wave of infections. Nowhere on the continent is the threat more alarming than in Spain, where the Times database shows that the seven-day average has passed 7,600.
CNBC reports a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Moderna is showing strong results with senior patients in testing. The company tested its vaccine on 10 adults between the ages of 56 and 70 and 10 elderly adults aged 71 and older, Moderna said. Each participant received two 100 microgram doses of the vaccine 28 days apart. The volunteers produced neutralizing antibodies, which researchers believe are necessary to build immunity to the virus, and T-cells, Moderna said in its results, which have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Additionally, the antibodies that were produced were higher than those seen in people who have recovered from Covid-19.
BREAKING: Moderna says its coronavirus vaccine shows promising results in small trial of elderly patients https://t.co/yHMvkfZsBR
• Media Matters: Facebook is profiting from harmful anti-transgender political ads despite its hate speech policies. • Washington Post: Blood plasma looked like a promising COVID-19 treatment. Then Donald Trump got involved spawning confusion about the treatment and creating a political backlash that specialists say has stifled an expected spike in demand. • CBS News: An officer with the Oxford Police Department arrived to break up a house party over the weekend that violated capacity rules, which currently allow gatherings of no more than 10 people. But after scanning the ID of one of the students who lives in the house, he saw a note on his computer that the student tested positive for COVID-19 just one week prior. “How many other people have COVID?” the officer asked. “They all do,” the student replied. 
Instead, Trump’s decisions allowed many Americans to doubt the severity of the virus and 
