Me and the Snoop Some news items you might have missed: • Snoop Watch: Taking a ride with Snoopy (above). He’s soooo good in the car… #BeagleLife • Law And Crime: A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled on Monday that absentee ballots postmarked as mailed on Nov. 3—namely, Election Day—shall be counted up to six days later. • The Advocate: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden denounced Poland’s so-called ‘LGBT-free zones’ as “having no place in the European Union or anywhere in the world.” Biden has pledged to make LGBTQ+ rights around the world a priority of his administration.
Let me be clear: LGBTQ+ rights are human rights — and “LGBT-free zones” have no place in the European Union or anywhere in the world. https://t.co/zc8YvSq6iN
• Flip-Flop: In a letter to his Senate Judiciary Committee colleagues, Sen. Lindsey Graham says he’s reversed on confirming a Supreme Court Justice so close to a presidential election because he thinks Democrats were mean to Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings. • Tennessean: Former Nashville Councilman Tony Tenpenny died of complications due to COVID-19 on Sunday after several weeks in the hospital. In the months before his death, the conservative Republican shared several social media posts expressing doubts about the coronavirus pandemic including a post calling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) “pure lying asses.” • Reuters: Spain has recorded 31,428 more coronavirus cases since Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 671,468, health ministry data showed on Monday. Spain has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in western Europe and regional authorities have ordered a partial lockdown from Monday in some Madrid neighborhoods where cases are rising fast. • ETonline: I thought the Television Academy did a terrific job presenting its virtual Emmy Awards last night, although some of the attempts at comedy fell a bit flat without a live audience’s reaction. For instance, having lost earlier in the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series category (for the 4th time), a stunning Laverne Cox presented the award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series and did a funny bit about missing out on the award. But the tone of her voice – plus no live audience to laugh along with her – made for an awkward moment, and ABC censored part of her remarks.
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.
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.
The Florida Department of Business and Regulatory affairs announced Friday it is suspending alcohol consumption at all bars statewide, amid a surging statewide coronavirus caseload.
The announcement was tweeted just before 11:30 a.m. by Department Secretary Haley Beshears. It was not immediately clear how the announcement would affect restaurants that serve alcohol, restaurants with bars that serve alcohol, or bars that serve food.
Florida reported nearly 9,000 new cases of COVID-19 today. It’s hard to imagine anything aging more poorly than this DeSantis rant from just over one month ago. pic.twitter.com/20lO4R73gO