Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: The Human Rights Campaign’s State Equality Index for 2020 measures the rights and protections each state has in place for LGBTQ+ individuals. Texas is ranked in the bottom category, and referred to as a “high priority to achieve basic equality.” • Dallas Voice: With more calls to expel QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from Congress for her wild conspiracy claims and more, here’s a break down of what it takes to expel a member of of the House or Senate plus some history of those who were expelled. • Twitter: If you’ve never watched the far-right leaning outlet Newsmax, all you need to know here is Dominion Voting Systems threatened to sue the online newser into oblivion if they continued airing baseless claims of ‘vote manipulation.’ Now hit the play button.
THIS is really something. If you’ve never watched Newsmax, here you go. Setup – all you need to know I’d Dominion Voting Systems threatened to sue Newsmax into oblivion if they aired baseless claims of vote manipulation. Now hit play. pic.twitter.com/pvSm65yemZ
• Raw Story: Moderate ‘Blue dog’ Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has told the media he will support President Biden’s coronavirus relief package even if Senate Democrats have to use ‘budget reconciliation’ (bypassing a 60-vote filibuster) to get there. Manchin’s vote is critical with the Senate’s current 50-50 makeup of Dems and Republicans. • AP News: Republicans in Georgia’s state Senate are moving to limit voting in future elections with bills that would restrict who can vote absentee by mail, require a photo ID for those who do vote absentee by mail, ban ballot drop boxes, block outside groups from sending out absentee ballot applications, end automatic voter registration when obtaining a driver’s license and ban new residents from voting in a runoff election. #votersuppression • CNBC: The Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday to lead the nation’s Department of Homeland Security, making him the first Latino to hold the role. The Senate voted 56 to 43.
Just now: Alejandro Mayorkas has been confirmed to serve as Biden’s secretary of Homeland Security in a 56-43 vote.
Lots of firsts here: – First Latino to lead DHS – First immigrant to lead DHS – First Senate-confirmed DHS secretary since April 2019 — Sabrina Rodríguez (@sabrod123) February 2, 2021
(image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Fitness trainer Dominik Scherl (above) wants to know who’s been naughty and who’s been nice? 😉 • NY Times: Congressional leaders are on the verge of cementing a roughly $900 billion stimulus deal that is expected to provide a new round of direct payments to millions of Americans as well as additional unemployment benefits, food assistance and rental aid. • Twitter: After President-elect Joe Biden formally announced Pete Buttigieg today to be his pick for Transportation Secretary, Buttigieg shared his thoughts of a time when gay people had a much more difficult time making progress in Washington, D.C. With this nomination, Buttigieg could become the first LGBTQ cabinet appointee confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
I’m mindful of the history of this appointment, knowing this is the first time an American president has ever sent an openly LGBTQ cabinet appointee to the Senate for confirmation. pic.twitter.com/txVuqO4o59
• Washington Blade: As the Trump administration is nearing its end, federal agencies are hurriedly finalizing regulations granting leeway to religious institutions that are federal grantees and contractors, which critics say would enable anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Because these regulations went through a rule-making process, the Biden administration won’t be able to easily undo them. • KIT212: Kenneth takes a look at the popular podcast, Gayest Episode Ever, which looks at LGBTQ+ themed episodes from shows past, back when LGBTQ+ characters and storylines were rare and (often) done terribly. The podcast is not only touching, funny and smart, but it also provides insightful commentary on the evolution of queer representation, gay rights and how culture can both affect, and be affected by, what we see on TV. • The Advocate: The venerable queer magazine offers its list of the ‘Top 15 Best LGBTQ+ TV Shows of 2020.’ Hit the link to see if your favorite made their list. • Texas Tribune: A former Houston police captain was arrested after allegedly running an air conditioner technician off the road and threatening him at gunpoint on October 19 in an attempt to ‘prove’ the man had over 700K fake ballots. “There were no ballots in the truck,” according to a Harris County district attorney’s office press release. “It was filled with air conditioning parts and tools.” • InstaHunks II: One more from furry Santa man Dominik Sherl…
Trevor Wilkinson (screen capture) Texas high school senior Trevor Wilkinson was placed on in-school suspension (ISS) on November 30 after he showed up to school wearing nail polish. Nail polish, it turns out, violates his school’s dress code – but only if you’re male. According to Wilkinson, who attends Clyde High School in West Texas, he was told he would remain in suspension until he removed the nail polish. Wilkinson took to Twitter that day to protest writing, “Imagine your school not allowing boys to paint their nails and giving boys iss for it. And the whole administration being okay with it, homophobic and sexist? Welcome to west Texas.”
imagine your school not allowing boys to paint their nails and giving boys iss for it. and the whole administration being okay with it, homophobic and sexist? welcome to west texas🤠
Wilkinson’s story went national after he refused to remove the nail polish and instead launched a Change.org petition demanding that the school policy be changed. At this writing, over 336,000 people have signed the petition. “It is a complete double standard because girls are allowed to have any form of nails they want, and honestly they can express themselves in any way they want,” Wilkinson wrote on Change.org. “I am a gay male and I’m beyond proud. This is unjust and not okay.” Monday night, Wilkinson addressed the school board again asking them to amend the dress code. And yes, he was wearing his nail polish. He began by noting that the ACLU had sent letters to nearly 400 schools in September about school rules that might be discriminatory. Clyde High School was among those who received a letter. (image via Trevor Wilkinson) “With all due respect, there have been two times this issue could have been resolved,” he told the board. “Although frustrating, I know everything is not going to go my way. But this isn’t about me anymore – it’s about a discriminatory, sexist policy that needs to be changed.” “I got my education taken away from me for something as minor as painting my nails because it’s against the dress code,” he continued. “The question is why? Why is it against dress code for a man to be comfortable with his masculinity and defy the gender norms society has imposed on us?” “If it’s not harmful for girls to wear it, why is it harmful for males?” he added. Wilkinson also pointed out that making a rule about nail polish only applicable to male students was sexist. “Having a double standard like this only shows that Clyde doesn’t accept kids for who they are.” He also threw down some equality speak saying, “I understand that you guys have traditional values and I respect that, but to get respect you also have to give it.” “There’s a certain beauty in uniqueness and nobody should have that taken away. Diversity is what makes this country so beautiful.” He closed his remarks asking the school board to be “open-minded enough to accept and respect others for who they are.” Wilkinson addresses the school board at the 2:45 mark in the video footage from local ABC News affiliate KTXS. https://www.facebook.com/KTXSTelevision/videos/297445305014979 But it appears the school district will not be changing its dress code any time soon. Superintendent Kenny Berry issued a statement which read, in part, “The District will conduct a thorough review of its dress code when it performs its annual review of the Student Handbook.” There was no mention of when that annual review might take place. Berry went on to note that, until that time, “the District will assure that no student is treated in a discriminatory or inequitable manner.”
Conservative radio host/columnist Erick Erickson Conservative pundit Erick Erickson has had enough of the faux fawning by fearful Republicans over Donald Trump’s seemingly endless attempts to further embarrass himself and his loss in the 2020 presidential election. The latest development to irritate Mr. Erickson is the laughable lawsuit Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas, has filed which asks the Supreme Court to interfere in the handling of elections in four other states – states Trump lost. From the New York Times:
The state of Texas filed an audacious lawsuit in the Supreme Court on Tuesday against four other states, asking the justices to extend the Dec. 14 deadline for certification of presidential electors.
The suit, filed by the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, said Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin had engaged in election irregularities that require investigation, and it asked the court to “enjoin the use of unlawful election results without review and ratification by the defendant states’ legislatures.”
Of course, Texas has no standing to insist on how those four states determine their own elections. You might have heard of “state’s rights?” Erickson calls out the bs:
Ken Paxton, the Attorney General of Texas, is under a federal investigation and would love a presidential pardon. His lawsuit is just more performative leg humping by someone desperate to curry favor with President Trump.
The various attorneys general who have joined his lawsuit all want to either get re-elected or seek higher office. Joining the lawsuit gives them some measure of ring kissing or protection from any rabid Trump supporters who wanted a “just fight” moment.
I personally think my company should pay me workers compensation for brain damage for having to read that lawsuit and related filings. It really is one of the stupidest bits of performative leg humping we have seen in the last five years. These attorneys general are willing to beclown themselves and their states all to get in good with the losing presidential candidate.
Amy Coney Barrett being sworn in as Supreme Court Justice with Donald Trump & Justice Clarence Thomas (public domain) Some news items you might have missed: • The Gaily Grind: Guests at the Brussels “daddy orgy” where an anti-LGBT Hungarian politician was caught breaking lockdown rules thought the police who arrived to break up the party were part of the sex party, the organizer claims. • Fox19Now: Wyoming police are investigating after someone allegedly stole an LGBTQ Pride flag from a front porch and burned it. The Fitzpatric family says the vandal came right up to their front porch and even tripped on their Christmas decorations in order to snatch it up. • New York Times: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused a long-shot request from Pennsylvania Republicans to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state, delivering an unmistakable rebuke to President Trump in the forum on which he had pinned his hopes. The Supreme Court’s order was all of one sentence, and there were no noted dissents.
The Supreme Court has rejected a Pennsylvania Republican congressman’s request to prevent Pennsylvania from certifying its presidential election results in favor of Joe Biden. This case is different from the lawsuit filed by the state of Texas this morning. https://t.co/ReS0eU0JsYpic.twitter.com/ybt6Dvlom4
• Pink News: Donald Trump spends dying days of presidency legalizing discrimination dressed up as ‘religious freedom.’ • Edge Media: An 18-year-old suspect accused of murdering a 15-year-old boy lured him into the woods in Cheshire, England, with a promise of sex before clubbing him to death a year ago, the prosecution in the case charged in court. • AZ Central: The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona, upholding a lower court’s finding that there was no misconduct, fraud or illegal voting in the general election.
#BREAKING: Arizona Supreme Court rejects GOP effort to overturn election results, affirms Biden win in statehttps://t.co/g6lLovd2Gl
• Change.org: Trevor Wilkinson, a student at Clyde High School in Texas, was suspended after he wore nail polish to school. Now, over 125K people have signed a petition in support of his freedom of expression. • Instinct Magazine: Despite lowering before 2019, HIV infections are on the rise again. • Christmas Music: From Annie Lennox’s holiday release, A Christmas Cornucopia. As Slant Magazine wrote in 2010: “’God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ marries the traditional with the modern in a daring and ultimately very successful way. Lennox’s commitment to the material is palpable.”
No, Donald Trump Jr., the coronavirus has not ‘magically’ gone away now that the 2020 election has passed. With the virus surging in so many places both here and around the world, I wanted to create a way to share news related to the pandemic in an abbreviated manner. For more information on any of the stories below, please feel free to click the links. Per Johns Hopkins Hospital coronavirus tracking, the U.S. has now reported 10,353,604 cases of COVID-19 resulting in 240,688 deaths. • CBS News: Texas became the first state to surpass 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. The second-most populous U.S. state, Texas now has more coronavirus cases than all of Italy, which was previously one of the major hot spots of the virus. California is close behind with over 986,000 confirmed cases, as is Florida with more than 852,000. • ABC News: Faced with more than 2,000 new daily COVID-19 cases in his state and hospitals at capacity, Utah’s Gov. Gary Herbert has declared a state of emergency and issued a mandate for all residents to wear masks in public until further notice. Herbert’s announcement implored all state residents “to do everything in your power to stop the spread of this disease.” • CNN: Following the positive news regarding the effectiveness of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN’s Jake Tapper that an average American could potentially have access to a coronavirus vaccine by April of 2021.
Dr. Anthony Fauci tells @jaketapper that an average American could potentially have access to a coronavirus vaccine by April of 2021. pic.twitter.com/u2yn1hI0Mp
• Pink News: Brazil’s homophobic president Jair Bolsonaro has told his country to accept coronavirus and stop dealing with it like “a country of fags”. The far-right leader made the remarks as his country has suffered over 5.7 million infections and 163,000 deaths from coronavirus. “We have to stop being a country of fags… We have to face up to it and fight. I hate this faggot stuff.” • Nevada Current: With the coronavirus surging in Nevada and nearly every state in the nation, Gov. Steve Sisolak urged people Tuesday to “to operate in a ‘Stay at Home 2.0’ mentality to get things under control so our public health response infrastructure can catch up.” Nevada has seen more than 1,300 cases a day over the most recent seven day period and hospitalization rates not seen since August. • The Hill: A top health department official in Wisconsin says that the state is nearing a tipping point at which some patients who need lifesaving care will be unable to receive it due to overcrowding in hospitals resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Drive-through voting in Harris County, TX (screen capture)And stay out! First, the Texas state Supreme Court said ‘no.’ Then, a federal District Court judge said ‘no.’ Now, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has said ‘no’ to a bid by Texas Republicans to block Election Day drive-through voting in Harris County. From NPR:
In a terse order, the three-judge panel wrote: “It is ordered that appellants’ motion for injunctive relief to issue a preliminary injunction banning drive-thru voting on Election Day, November 3, 2020, is denied.” No explanation was given.
The move is yet another loss for Texas Republicans who had sought to challenge the legality of some 127,000 votes cast at drive-through voting sites in the Houston area.
On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen threw out that suit, ruling the plaintiffs don’t have legal standing to sue. The Texas Supreme Court dismissed a similar challenge on Sunday.
Harris County, Texas’ most populous county and majority Democratic, erected 10 drive-through sites, mostly tents, to expedite the early voting process as a way of allowing people to cast ballots safely during the coronavirus pandemic. They were also in place this summer before the state’s primary.
Noting that point, Hanen, a George W. Bush appointee, asked plaintiffs, “Why am I just getting this case?” He later said that the suit was not timely and that “this has been going on all summer.”
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, a George W. Bush appointee, has rejected a bid by Texas Republicans to throw out 127,000 ballots cast in Harris County (Houston) due to lack of standing. The Republicans tried to argue that drive-thru sites (which were approved months ago by the Texas Secretary of State) are less secure than in-person polling sites, but Judge Hanen said, “I ain’t buying that.” If you want to understand why the GOPers wanted the votes tossed – Harris County is 25% Black and 43% Latinx.
🚨 Just now: U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, a W. Bush appointee, has ruled Republicans lack standing to challenge 127k drive-thru votes cast in Harris County (#Houston).
🚨 Re: certain pending 5th Circuit appeal, Hanen says if he did find GOP had standing, he would likely halt drive-thru voting tomorrow. He orders Harris County to keep all drive-thru memory cards separate in case higher court intervenes.
Four months ago, the Texas Secretary of State approved drive-thru voting, informing Harris County (we’re talking Houston) election officials that they could use it for the general election. Now, after over 117,000 voters in the heavily Democratic county have used the process, Texas Republicans have asked a federal judge to declare the practice ‘unconstitutional’ and throw out all of those ballots. From Mark Joseph Stern at Slate:
Because Texas strictly limits mail-in voting, Harris County—which has a population of over 4.7 million people—has sought to make in-person voting safer during the pandemic. Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, who runs the county’s elections, established 10 drive-thru voting locations for the 2020 general election.
Drivers pull into a large tent, where election officials confirm their identity, then give them privacy to vote. The process has proved wildly popular.
Harris County raised the idea of drive-thru voting in June, and Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs promptly approved it. The county tested it in July and approved it in August. Yet Republicans did not contest drive-thru voting in court until Oct. 15, two days after the start of early voting.
On that day, the Harris County Republican Party, joined by several GOP operatives, asked the Texas Supreme Court to halt drive-thru voting. The court, which is entirely Republican, refused, over a single dissent.
So Republicans ran to federal court. On Wednesday, they asked U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen to declare drive-thru voting unconstitutional and void every ballot cast this way.
Judge Hanen has scheduled an emergency hearing on Monday. Over 117,000 Texans cast their votes via drive-thru venues because it was approved. Now, Texas Republicans want those votes thrown out a day before the election?
Judge Hanen has already scheduled an emergency hearing for Monday morning—without even giving Harris County a chance to file a response brief. This, too, is extremely concerning. It looks like he may be rushing to throw out 100,000 disproportionately Democratic votes.
A high school senior in Texas says he was expelled from his school for coming out as gay. Devin Bryant has attended Covenant Christian Academy, located in Colleyville between Dallas and Fort Worth, since pre-K school. Seniors at Covenant are granted special parking spaces at the school and the students are allowed to create personalized signs for their spots. In advance of the beginning of the new school year, Bryant designed a sign which read, “Super Hot, Fun, Attractive, Fast-driving, Insane, Very Smart, Outgoing, Party Freak, Young, Gay (as in happy don’t worry lol), Pretty, Reckless, Humble, Pyromaniac, Fun, Gay (as in homosexual this time, sorry) Person Parking Only.” His design was rejected immediately upon submission. After meeting with the principal, though, Bryant agreed to change his design. “I then had a meeting with the principal in which we discussed the content of the artwork, which I agreed to change,” Devin told the Dallas Observer. “And I promised to not be as vocal about my sexuality for the rest of the year.” With his new parking space artwork, which was immediately approved by the school, Bryant looked forward to his senior year. But just four days before the beginning of school, his mother, Consolata Bryant, was informed Devin would not be allowed to return to Covenant. Devin told the Observer he thinks the issue wasn’t just that he came out as gay, but he was out and proud. “I know of people who have gotten in trouble for stuff way worse than what I did,” says the high school senior. “And they were disciplined more lightly than me, which definitely leads me to believe that it wasn’t the content of the artwork I sent in that got me kicked out.” “If I would’ve come out and said that I was ‘struggling’ with same-sex attraction instead of saying that I’m gay, I think they would’ve had a totally different reaction, and I may have been allowed to still attend there,” he added. Devin Bryant (image via Devin Bryant) In an email to the Observer, Dr. Tony Jeffrey, headmaster for Covenant Christian Academy, defended the expulsion pointing to an enrollment document students and parents are required to sign each year agreeing to live “in accordance with the community guidelines.” “This Covenant Christian Academy enrollment document, signed annually, specifically outlines practices and behaviors consistent with the CCA mission, based on our deeply held religious beliefs,” said Jeffrey. “That includes adhering to the biblical principal [sic] that the expression of human sexuality is appropriate only within the boundaries of a marital relationship between one man and one woman.” Jeffrey added, “Devin Bryant is an outstanding student, and we wish him every success in his studies, and in life.” Devin says he’s never met Jeffrey and Jeffrey wasn’t in attendance for the earlier meeting when the parking sign issue was decided. Consolata is, understandably, angry. “Despite the resolution we had reached, [Jeffrey] had taken it upon himself within the couple of days he had been at the school to seek votes from the board for Devin’s expulsion,” says Consolata. “He secured the votes needed and thus was calling to let us know that Devin was not to report to school that Monday, the 10th, with his classmates.” According to Consolata, Jeffrey’s exact words were that “Devin had chosen an evil path that was contrary to the Bible and therefore was evil and he was only doing what Jesus would do.” Since his expulsion, Devin has enrolled at Colleyville Heritage High School and has been placed in several honors classes. Upon graduation, he plans to attend college with an eye towards a degree in sociology. (source: Dallas Observer)
Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: The Human Rights Campaign’s State Equality Index for 2020 measures the rights and protections each state has in place for LGBTQ+ individuals. Texas is ranked in the bottom category, and referred to as a “high priority to achieve basic equality.” • Dallas Voice: With more calls to expel QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from Congress for her wild conspiracy claims and more, here’s a break down of what it takes to expel a member of of the House or Senate plus some history of those who were expelled. • Twitter: If you’ve never watched the far-right leaning outlet Newsmax, all you need to know here is Dominion Voting Systems threatened to sue the online newser into oblivion if they continued airing baseless claims of ‘vote manipulation.’ Now hit the play button. 
