Tag: news round-up

Posted on

News Round-Up: October 27, 2017

Some news items you might have missed:

• I wish I knew who this guy is – total Furry Friday material 🙂

• The CW’s Riverdale puts the topic of gay cruising in a rural town front and center in this week’s episode.

• Deep Dish blog is asking which is sexier: this guy’s furry face or furry bum?

• Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson asked White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders about proposed legislation in Egypt that would criminalize being gay. Sanders said she “wasn’t aware of specifics” about the news but would be happy to check into it.

• Amid reports former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is growing restless on the sidelines comes the news that Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch may retire at the end of his current term next year stepping aside for Romney to take the seat. A recent poll showed Romney would garner 64% of the vote were that to happen.

• Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, who hails from the small town of Whitefish, Montana, says he had “absolutely nothing to do” with 2-man company Whitefish Energy Holdings being awarded the $300 million contract to rebuild Puerto Rico’s electric grid. I’m sure it’s pure coincidence…

• I swear to you the first thing I saw in the pic below of dancer/aerialist Davide Zongoli was his feet.

A post shared by Davide Zongoli (@acrodave) on Apr 26, 2017 at 7:55am PDT

Posted on

News Round-Up: October 16, 2017

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Fitness model Rodiney Santiago (above) facing down Monday like a boss.

• Thanks to California’s newly signed Gender Recognition Act, folks will soon be able to identify as nonbinary, in addition to male or female, on state-issued identity documents, including driver’s licenses and birth certificates.

• Considering he has never been a friend to the LGBT community, eyebrows were raised when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent an experienced hate crime lawyer to Iowa to aid in prosecuting a man accused of killing a transgender high school student.

• In pop culture news, original Charlie’s Angels star Jaclyn Smith says the ladies of the hit 1970s series are thinking about getting together for a reunion. In addition to Jaclyn (Kelly), the surviving “angels” are Cheryl Ladd (Kris), 66; Kate Jackson (Sabrina), 68; Tanya Roberts (Julie), 61; and Shelley Hack (Tiffany), 70.

• Out radio show/columnist Dan Savage has raised over $200K via his ITMFA website. Upon hitting the second $100K, he sent checks to Planned Parenthood ($33,333.33), the ACLU ($33,333.33) and the International Refugee Assistance Project ($33,333.34). The money was raised selling ITMFA (“Impeach The Mother Fucker Already”) buttons, t-shirts, tanks, hats, stickers, coffee cups, and lapel pins at www.ITMFA.org.

• Transgender hip hop artist Epiphany Mattel released her debut single, “Fix Yo Face,” which she says has an important message. “It’s about everyone going above and beyond with their appearance to stand out and be noticed at clubs today, but then they bring their scowl, a ‘resting bitch face,’ that makes them unapproachable,” explains Mattel.

“They’re so insecure with themselves, they push that negative energy on the rest of the party and make everyone else uncomfortable. It’s a party bitches… lighten the hell up,” she adds.

Watch the music video below:

Posted on

News Round-Up: October 12, 2017

(via Instagram)

News items you might have missed:

• For #ThrowbackThursday, I’m thinking back a few years ago to my first trip to Paris, France. In the pic above… Oh, wait – how did that pic of Chippendale Tory George get there???

• Attorney General Jeff Sessions thinks Christian bakers have a “fundamental right” to discriminate against LGBTs.

• The city of Orlando has installed a rainbow crosswalk (below) to honor the Pulse nightclub victims. The project was completed early Wednesday just in time for National Coming Out Day.

• RuPaul told listeners of his podcast that he’d love to have an “all past winners” All-Stars season of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

• Donald Trump will be the first president to speak at the virulently anti-LGBT Values Voter Summit. #BetterForTheGaysMyAss

• Loote drops the music video today for their latest, “Out Of My Head.” On this hearing, I’m picking up some Maroon 5 influences here. What do you think, readers?

Posted on

News Round-Up: October 4, 2017

Pride flag flies in the breeze

Some news items you might have missed: • A group of men arrested in Egypt for waving a rainbow Pride flag are being subjected to hideous forced anal exams to prove whether they’ve had sex with men. Gay sex isn’t illegal per se in Egypt, but the country is currently cracking down on so-called “moral decency.” • Handsome Downton Abbey star Rob James-Collier says playing the troubled, gay butler “Thomas Barrow” on the hit series has left him type-cast and shut out of opportunities his fellow DA stars have had. • Ivanka and brother Donald Trump Jr. were close to being charged with fraud in NYC back in 2012 until the Manhattan District Attorney received a campaign donation of $25,000 from Trump Sr.’s personal lawyer. The case was summarily dropped. #ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmm • Sad to read one of my favorite Major League Baseball teams, the New York Yankees, are one of four MLB teams to have never hosted an LGBT pride night for fans. The New York Times writes that the Yankees have “shied away from promotions with an ethnic or cultural flavor.” • Check out your new judges for the American Idol reboot for the first time on Good Morning America this week: Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan

Posted on

News Round-Up: September 26, 2017

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• I’m calling for #TouchTuesdays. Do you ever think about how much you touch (or don’t touch) your spouse/significant other/family/friends? If not, give that a ponder. Human contact literally connects us. I was holding hot hubby Michael’s hand through the streets of NYC this week and remembered how much I like it 🙂

• Have you heard the one about the gay Republican who has spent time on Twitter asking why he should pay for health insurance since he’s young and in perfect shape? The same guy who was in a car accident and realized his hospital bill could be enormous? The same guy who, opposing “free healthcare” set up a GoFundMe campaign so others could pay his bills? I kid you not. #Karma

• Frances Abbott, daughter of former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, has made a video for the “Vote Yes” campaign regarding the current vote-by-mail survey on same-sex marriage down under. Her father has famously opposed legalizing marriage equality even though his own sister is openly lesbian.

• Virulently anti-gay Alabama state Rep. Micky Hammon pleads guilty to mail fraud after cashing campaign donation checks and then moving the money into his personal account to pay his bills.

• In Cairo, Egyptian police arrested 7 people for waving an LGBT rainbow flag during a concert by Lebanese indie rock band Mashrou’ Leila, whose lead singer is openly gay.

• Trump voters share why they began to have doubts about voting for Donald Trump:

Posted on

News Round-Up: September 25, 2017

Ben Cohen

Some news items you might have missed:

• Rugby champ and LGBT ally Ben Cohen is more than enough woofy goodness for my Monday 😉

• Two male-identifying transgender students were kicked off a school bus in upstate New York after choosing to sit with other male students.

• Anti-same-sex marriage folks tried to hold a “Straight Lives Matter” rally down under in Sydney, Australia, as the country is currently in the middle of a vote-by-mail on marriage equality. A whopping 20 people showed up. #Fail

• Donald Trump’s nominee for a federal district judgeship says transgender folks are proof “Satan’s plan is working” and that he doesn’t see “anything right about same-sex marriage rights.”

• Former Congressman Anthony Weiner sentenced to 21 months in prison for sexting a 15 year-old girl.

• Among the many NFL players who spoke out against Donald Trump’s Twitter rant on those “taking a knee” during the national anthem football games was Trump pal and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who called Trump’s attacks “divisive.”

• Check out indie singer/songwriter Sara Phillips’ latest, “Rich and Famous.” Phillips wrote the hypnotic track as an homage to her journey through the music industry – “about trying to navigate the music industry, the loneliness of it all, and the hope that all the sacrifices you make will one day be worth it.” I find the song sexy and ethereal.

Posted on

News Round-Up: September 22, 2017

Stuart Reardon

Some news items you might have missed:

• Sometimes I just want to say, “Hey Stuart Reardon, you don’t have to check – every pic is a great pic.”

• The Human Rights Campaign is calling for the Trump administration to withdraw the nomination of Jeff Mateer for a district judge appointment in Texas. Among other things, Mateer has said transgender people are proof “Satan’s plan is working,” and that same-sex marriage leads to bestiality.

• Kansas high school students stage a sit-in to stand up for transgender people.

• A new CNN poll shows 54% of Americans believe it’s likely that Russian-backed content on social media did affect the outcome of the 2016 election.

• As of May 2017, 23% of Americans still think that same-sex relationships should be illegal.

• Did you know before she was cast as “Karen Walker” on Will & Grace Megan Mullally auditioned for the role of “Grace?” Watch Megan talk about her evolution on the iconic show (returning September 28th!) below.

Posted on

News Round-Up: September 20, 2017

Some news items you may have missed:

• Check out grown up Michael Angarano (above) who played Sean Hayes’ son “Elliott” on Will & Grace during the show’s initial run. Like other W&G alumni like Bobby Cannavale, Minnie Driver and Harry Connick Jr., Angarano will return for an appearance during the show’s revival.

• Admiral Mike Mullen, former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has filed a Declaration in support of transgender military servicemembers.

• Why did Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price spend $60,000 of taxpayer money on five private jet flights over three days when his predecessors flew commercial airlines back in their day?

• Avengers star Liam Hemsworth advocates for marriag equality in Austalia via Instagram:

• Five football players from a Christian-focused college in Illinois face felony charges after attacking a freshman and attempting to sodomize him.

• The ACLU has filed a lawsuit against the state of Michigan over a law that allows publicly funded adoption and foster care agencies to discriminate against LGBT folks over “religious beliefs.”

• The Late Show host Stephen Colbert, while chatting with Hillary Clinton about her new memoir What Happened, presented the former Democratic presidential candidate with a packet of “victory jokes” he never got to use on election night that included a Katy Perry video and naked male butts. Watch below.

Posted on

News Round-Up: September 18, 2017

Some news items you may have missed:

• Hottie Nick Jonas (above) raises the temperature as he journeys from desert to beach party in his sultry new music video, “Find You,” today.

• Tennis legend and newly revealed homophobe Margaret Court says the LGBT community wants to destroy marriage. “There will be no Mother’s Day, there will be no Father’s Day, there will be no Easter, there will be no Christmas.”

• Police in Tanzania arrested 20 “suspected homosexuals” this weekend in an effort to “intensify vigilance” against LGBTs. Conviction of a sexual act “against the order of nature” in Tanzania can lead to up to 30 years behind bars. The 8 men and 12 women were arrested at a hotel where they were attending an HIV/AIDS education training session.

• Clearly concerned about losing the ratings war to MSNBC of late, Fox News is shuffling it’s evening schedule to pit far-right pundit Sean Hannity directly opposite MSNBC’s ratings champ Rachel Maddow at 9PM.

• Pop star and LGBT ally Demi Lovato says even though magazines and TV seem to be trying “to break” what her sexuality is, she doesn’t intend on giving those folks their soundbite. She says watch her upcoming YouTube documentary “Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated” on October 12 for some of those answers offered on her “own terms.”

• Always awesome Maroon 5 drops the lyric video and Slushii Remix for their latest single, “What Lovers Do” featuring SZA.

Posted on

News Round-Up: September 15, 2017

Ian Ziering

Some news items you may have missed:

• #FlashbackFriday to when 90210/Sharknado star headlined in Las Vegas as the Chippendales’ Celebrity Guest host. Clearly, Ian had that “action hero” bod ready to rock.

• The ACLU has filed a preliminary injunction asking a court to immediately halt Trump’s proposed ban on transgender folks in the U.S. military.

• For the second time in two weeks, Donald Trump made a point of not being able to fit his hands into  protective gloves visiting sites hit by recent hurricanes. Get it? “These are too small, my hands are too big, just like my anatomy…” #sad

• White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been hit with an ethics complaint for calling for the firing of an ESPN employee. Federal law states executive branch employees are prohibited from influencing the employment decisions or practices of a private entity or company “solely on the basis of partisan political affiliation.”

• The White House says former FBI Director violated  federal laws when he shared a memo he wrote detailing Donald Trump’s request to “drop” the investigation into former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn. But fact checkers say not so.

• Harvard University invited, then uninvited, Chelsea Manning to be a visiting Fellow.

Happy Friday!

A post shared by Steve Raider (@steve_raider) on Sep 15, 2017 at 1:02pm PDT