Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
I revisited this sweet, thoughtful poem by Tomfoolery last night and was reminded of its magical quality. Definitely worth the few minutes of viewing time. Continue reading “Saturday Slowdown: ‘The Great Realization’ By Tomfoolery”
I have no idea what Pastor Mike Todd thought he was doing spitting several times into his hand during a sermon, but then he began rubbing it all over a congregant’s face and I was like, “Oh, hell no…” Continue reading “Hell No: Pastor Rubs Spit All Over Congregant’s Face During Sermon”
Some new items you might have missed:
• Variety: After months of negotiations, the estate of legendary rocker David Bowie (above) has sold the singer’s formidable publishing catalog to Warner Chappell Music for a price upwards of $250 million, sources confirm to Variety. Continue reading “News Round-Up: January 3, 2022”
Oh hell, no! This ‘Karen’ brought her own bluetooth headset so she could hold her fellow flight passengers captive while she spread pandemic conspiracy theories. Continue reading “‘Karen’ Brings Bluetooth Headset To Address Passengers Mid-Flight”
Covid-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did — approximately 675,000. Continue reading “COVID-19 Has Killed More Americans Than 1818 Spanish Flu”
Wishing everyone a fun and frolicsome 4th of July as the country recognizes the birth of our nation.
We’ve come a ways from last July 4th, when travel was way down and gatherings were – at least supposed to be – kept within our pandemic bubbles.
This year, thanks to COVID vaccines, holiday celebrations can be safer and larger.
Here’s some stats on how far we’ve come:
• According to the CDC, 67% of U.S. adults have gotten at least one vaccine dose. Among Americans 12 and older, 64% have gotten at least one shot.
• According to the results of the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index a year ago versus today in regard to how folks feel about returning to pre-coronavirus lives:
June 26-29, 2020: Large to moderate risk – 70%, Small to no risk – 29%
June 25-28, 2021: Large to moderate risk – 28%, Small to no risk – 72%
• AAA projected holiday travel this weekend will be almost back to pre-pandemic levels — just 2.5% lower than in 2019.
• An expected 43.6 million Americans will drive to their destinations, the highest on record for this holiday and 5% more than the previous record set in 2019.
• And air travel is definitely bouncing back – TSA reports it screened more people on July 1 and 2 than it did on those dates in 2019!
Have an awesome holiday and make sure you tune in for PBS’ A Capitol Fourth tonight!
I’ll be holding down the fort at my backyard today 🙂
Donald Trump
A new book by Washington Post reporters Damian Paletta and Yasmeen Abutaleb, Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration’s Response to the Pandemic That Changed History, sheds new light on the incredible dysfunction in the Trump White House regarding the bungled COVID-19 response.
From the Washington Post:
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, as White House officials debated whether to bring infected Americans home for care, President Donald Trump suggested his own plan for where to send them, eager to suppress the numbers on U.S. soil.
“Don’t we have an island that we own?” the president reportedly asked those assembled in the Situation Room in February 2020, before the U.S. outbreak would explode. “What about Guantánamo?”
“We import goods,” Trump specified, lecturing his staff. “We are not going to import a virus.”
Aides were stunned, and when Trump brought it up a second time, they quickly scuttled the idea, worried about a backlash over quarantining American tourists on the same Caribbean base where the United States holds terrorism suspects.
The book is based on interviews with over 180 people including White House senior staff members and government health officials.
“Testing is killing me!” Trump reportedly exclaimed. “I’m going to lose the election because of testing! What idiot had the federal government do testing?”
“Uh, do you mean Jared?” Azar responded.
(from @yabutaleb7 and @damianpaletta's new book)https://t.co/uu85plUyuf
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) June 21, 2021
(photo: Sudan Ouyang)New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced at a press conference this morning that Broadway shows will be able to reopen September 14.
Beginning tomorrow, May 6, producers will be able to put tickets on sale – wait for it – at 100% capacity.
More from the New York Times:
Why the four-month wait? With as many as eight shows a week to fill, and the tourists who make up an important part of their customer base yet to return, producers need time to advertise and market. They need to reassemble and rehearse casts who have been out of work for more than a year. And they need to sort out and negotiate safety protocols.
But the biggest reason is more gut-based: individually and collectively, they are trying to imagine when large numbers of people are likely to feel comfortable traveling to Times Square, funneling through cramped lobbies and walking down narrow aisles to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers.
The Times mentions that long-running mega-hits Wicked, The Lion King, and Hamilton are already planning their announcements to reopen next week.
Aladdin, Chicago, Come From Away and American Utopia are also looking strong to reopen in September.
Some news items you might have missed:
• AP News: The European Parliament is scheduled to debate a resolution on Wednesday that would declare the entire 27-member European Union a “freedom zone” for LGBT people. The move is seen as a reaction to actions in Poland, where many local communities have adopted symbolic homophobic resolutions declaring themselves free of “LGBT ideology.”
• Pink News: There was widespread shock when LGBT+ Rights Ghana, an advocacy organisation, had its offices raided and shut down by national security forces in February. On Monday, parliamentarian Samuel Nartey George announced that he and seven other MPs will bring forward legislation in an effort to criminalize the promotion of LGBTQ rights.
• NowThis News: An Uber driver (above image) in San Francisco, CA, was assaulted by passengers after one of them allegedly refused to wear a mask (warning: distressing). The San Francisco police are now investigating the women for possible charges. A GoFundMe was launched to help the driver here.
• Washington Post: President Biden confirmed Wednesday that his administration plans to secure an additional 100 million doses of the single-shot vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson. The additional doses will reinforce the supply needed to offer all American adults a vaccine by the end of May.
• Twitter: Donald Trump issued a pathetically lame statement tonight “reminding” people HE should get credit for the COVID vaccines. He notably doesn’t take responsibility for the 529,000+ American deaths that occurred thanks in part to his admitted ‘downplaying’ of the virus.
The seven-day average of new coronavirus cases has (finally) dropped below 90,000 for the first time since early November.
From the Washington Post:
Newly reported coronavirus infections in the United States continued their steep drop, with about 56,000 new cases reported Monday, though the figure may be artificially low due to the holiday. However, the seven-day average, considered a more reliable measure, has dipped below 90,000 a day for the first time since early November.
Scientists have been split about the reasons for the drop, citing increased vaccinations, decreased testing, improved social distancing habits and the seasonal patterns of these kinds of viruses.
Meanwhile, cases of the more contagious variant first identified in Britain are rising: Only 293 cases were reported in late January.By Feb. 4, there were 611, and the number now is 1,168.