Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
Truck spill in Oklahoma covered highway with sex toys & personal lubricantSome news items you might have missed:
• Instinct Magazine: A semi-truck hauling sex toys and personal lubricant overturned on an Oklahoma highway. The reporter in the local news chopper was at a loss for words when asked what was covering the road. Continue reading “Overturned Truck Spills Sex Toys Across Highway + More News”
You’ll recall Eric Trump, second son to ‘the former guy,’ was discovered to have funneled money to the Trump Organization by holding his cancer charity’s annual event at the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, New York.
Eric told folks it was “efficient” to use the Trump Golf Club because it was “free.” But then an investigation revealed the golf club was actually charging for its use and making money in the process.
Well, they’re still at it only now it’s a dog charity down in Florida which has spent as much as $1.9 million at Trump’s Mar-a-lago country club.
Yahoo News reports:
A dog rescue charity with links to Lara Trump has spent as much as $1.9 million at former President Donald Trump’s properties over the last seven years and will drop an additional quarter-million at his Mar-a-Lago country club this weekend.
According to a permit filed with the town of Palm Beach, Florida, Big Dog Ranch Rescue estimates it will spend $225,000 at the club where Donald Trump has taken up full-time residence since leaving the White House. All the profit from that spending winds up in his pocket.
Internal Revenue Service filings show that the group has spent as much as $1,883,160 on fundraising costs at Mar-a-Lago and Trump’s golf course 18 miles north in Jupiter starting in 2014.
And yes, the Donald made a “surprise” appearance at the event. The local NBC News affiliate reports he told attendees he wasn’t “prepared” for the event but happened to be walking by and wondered what was going on.
President Trump makes surprise appearance at animal rescue fundraiser. More at https://t.co/j4AOiStqCD@bdrr pic.twitter.com/J4yai8cAbU
— T.A. Walker (@timallanwalker) March 12, 2021
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger called the ongoing efforts by Donald Trump and certain House Republicans to overturn the election of President-elect Joe Biden a “scam” today on CNN.
From Politico:
Kinzinger, speaking Sunday morning on CNN’s “State of the Union,” said: “The reality is there is no impetus to overthrow an election,” and added that even if there were reasons to do so, there is not a constitutional mechanism to overturn a presidential election after states have formally certified their results.
He went on to say that Trump and certain members of Congress are “getting retweets, they’re getting followers and they’re raising money on this scam.”
“It is a scam and it is going to disappoint the people that believe this election was stolen, that think this is an opportunity to change it,” he added.
President-elect Joe Biden won the presidential election with 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232 votes.
Kinzinger on possibility of Republicans challenging Electoral College results on Jan. 6: “This is a scam … the reality is there is no impetus to overthrow an election, even if you want to … we talk about the Constitution. We have to follow it.” pic.twitter.com/sSQVHsffr2
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 27, 2020
The ringleaders of a former ‘conversion therapy camp’ have been arrested in Texas on child trafficking charges.
From local NBC News affiliate KXAN:
More than a year after boys were removed from a nonprofit in Burnet County, the couple who ran it are facing trafficking charges. A grand jury indicted Gary Wiggins, 49, and his wife Meghann Wiggins, 34, on Trafficking of Persons charges.
They are both accused of “knowingly” trafficking four underage boys and “through force, fraud or coercion” making them “engage in forced labor or services.” The two ran Joshua Home, which officials described as a place that “purports to be a residential home for troubled boys.”
According to the indictment, the trafficking allegedly occurred between May 17, 2018 and July 25, 2018. Eight boys between the ages of 10 and 17 were removed after a multi-agency investigation into allegations of abuse, neglect, labor violations, fraud, licensing violations and human trafficking.
Watch the report from KXAN below:
The Advocate reports the couple has hopped from state to state setting up so-called ‘conversion therapy’ camps where they tried to torture the gay out of young boys.
Before the Wigginses set up the home in Missouri, they ran the Blessed Hope Boys Academy in Robertsdale, Ala., where Wiggins was referred to as Brother Gary. The shuttered school was the subject of a 20/20 investigation in which boys who’d been sent there spoke out against the abuse that included forced exercise, solitary confinement, withholding food, and various conversion therapy tactics.
“He took off his belt and started swinging,” Lucas Greenfield whose mother sent him to Blessed Hope because he is gay, told 20/20 in 2017.
“I’m going to get the demon out of you and make you straight,” Gary Wiggins told the boys he terrorized, Greenfield told police in 2016.
In this week’s podcast:
• An Ohio Republican lawmaker faced backlash after she blamed gays, video games, drag queens and more for recent mass shootings
• A New York City pastor is accused of scamming over $600,000 from two charities that help HIV+ drug addicts
• Coca-Cola faces backlash for same-sex ad campaign in Hungary
• Kevin Spacey resurfaces for an impromptu performance in Italy
* Univision is about to premiere its first Spanish language broadcast television series featuring a gay couple as the lead characters
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
In this week’s podcast:
• GOP trolls attempt to smear Mayor Pete Buttigieg
• A valedictorian at Brigham Young University comes out during his graduation speech
• The president of Brazil told gays not to come to his country
• Disney cancelled its award-winning LGBTQ-inclusive series Andi Mack
• The 2019 Tony Awards nominations are out including a Special Tony Award for Judith Light for her LGBTQ advocacy
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast.
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| Donald Trump |
Here’s where it starts to get really interesting, kids.
The AP is reporting that former attorney and ‘fixer’ for Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, has received a subpoena from investigators looking into possible state violations regarding the Trump Foundation.
Investigators in New York state have issued a subpoena to Michael Cohen as part of their criminal probe into the Trump Foundation.
A spokesman for Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s tax department confirmed the subpoena to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The subpoena was issued after Cohen’s attorney said the longtime lawyer for President Donald Trump has information that would be of interest to prosecutors at both the state and federal level.
As a close Trump confidant, Cohen could potentially be a significant source of information for state investigators looking into whether Trump or his charity broke state law or lied about their tax liability.
As the AP notes, a president can’t pardon anyone found guilty of state charges.
The entire Trump family could possibly face legal jeopardy.
Swampity swamp swamp.
Eyebrows are raised high as folks are getting a look at the contract given to a tiny Montana energy company located in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s hometown to help restore power in Puerto Rico.
Get this: at the time of Hurricane Maria, Whitefish Energy Holdings had only two employees and had never attempted work on this scale before.
The contract, obtained by The Daily Beast reporter Ken Klippenstein, states “In no event shall [government bodies] have the right to audit or review the cost and profit elements.”
Plus, the agreement dictates that the Puerto Rican government “waives any claim against Contractor related to delayed completion of work.”
What?
As part of the deal, each employee for the company sent to Puerto Rico will be paid $332.41 each day for accommodations. That’s just housing. And another $79.82 for meals – each day.
The majority of Whitefish’s workforce is comprised of subcontractors who are to be paid $462 per hour for a supervisor and $319.04 for a lineman.
The governor of Puerto Rico has ordered an audit into the contract.
One more thing – did I mention Whitefish Energy was founded and run by a man who contributed large sums of money to President Trump?
Whitefish Energy also got off on the wrong foot by criticizing Mayor Cruz of San Juan when she publicly asked a question of the company about “transparency.”
The company’s Twitter account got crunchy with the mayor which led to deleting the snark and issuing an apology.
.@CarmenYulinCruz and everyone in Puerto Rico… pic.twitter.com/XHIwgQjYvh— Whitefish Energy (@WhitefishEnergy) October 26, 2017
$332.41 per person for accommodations *each day*$79.82 per person for food *each day* pic.twitter.com/jX51fRDZWf
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) October 27, 2017
Whitefish contract states, “In no event shall [government bodies] have the right to audit or review the cost and profit elements.” Wow. pic.twitter.com/dIyQXb6AK0— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) October 27, 2017
Incredible: Whitefish contract states Puerto Rican govt “waives any claim against Contractor related to delayed completion of work.” pic.twitter.com/k4wWxrLFq2— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) October 27, 2017
Puerto Rico’s gov: There’ll be “hell to pay” if any wrongdoing is found in awarding Whitefish that $300M contract. https://t.co/9pvsuxANXV— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 27, 2017
US Congressman demands Oversight Committee investigation into Whitefish contract, warning of “sweetheart contracts and backroom deals” pic.twitter.com/DyoOCDMMOI— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) October 27, 2017
Two senators are formally requesting an investigation into Whitefish Energy’s $300 million Puerto Rico contracthttps://t.co/abwuEujMaR pic.twitter.com/3Zbi09K2Ik— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) October 27, 2017
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| Donald Trump with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi |
The editorial board of the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel published an op-ed today calling for an independent federal investigation into Donald Trump’s $25,000 donation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s reelection fund.
Trump loves to call his presidential opponent “Crooked Hillary” although she has never been charged or found guilty of anything. But in this tawdry campaign donation escapade, it clearly looks like Trump is the one guilty of “pay for play.”
The timing is certainly curious, with the contribution arriving just three days after Bondi’s office said it was considering whether to join a class-action lawsuit against Trump University, an education company that promised to turn students into successful real estate investors, but left many empty-handed. Bondi’s office decided not to join the suit.
The donation from the candidate’s foundation also violated tax rules governing nonprofit organizations. As a result, the GOP presidential nominee recently paid the IRS a pocket-change fine of $2,500.
Maybe there is nothing untoward here. Maybe it’s nothing more than coincidence, as Bondi and the Trump campaign maintain.
[snip]
It’s hard to tell who looks worse in this, Bondi or Trump.
It was learned this week that in 2014, after Bondi decided not to investigate Trump U, the billionaire hosted a $3,000-a-person fundraiser for her at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
So, to recap: Trump University investigation comes up, three days later $25,000 appears from Trump, the next day Bondi decides not to prosecute, and then Trump throws a $3K a person fund-raiser for Bondi at his resort.
Nope. Doesn’t sound fishy to me. How about you?
For a more entertaining look at the story, check The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert looking into the debacle.
I’ve actually contemplated – seriously contemplated – that the Donald Trump campaign is a big “punk” on the American people.
Just when it looks like the Trumpster couldn’t get more outrageous, he does. And it lands.
Cracked.com has made that scenario come to life in this short 8 minute film.
It’s going to be so funny. It’s going to be so funny.
It makes me believe even moreso that the “punking” of America could be true.
If not, the short film is still pretty funny.
In a very, very, very dark way.