Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
Denis Vladmirovich Molla (screen capture via CBS News Minnesota)A Trump supporter in Minnesota has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after filing fraudulent insurance claims for an act of arson he staged in September 2020 and then blamed on Black Lives Matter activists and Antifa.
A Trump supporter lied??? Color me shocked… Continue reading “Trump Supporter Admits To Staging Arson, Blamed ‘Antifa And BLM’”
Kevin Greeson (image via Parler)Some news items you might have missed:
• Snopes: The venerable fact-checking site says there’s no truth to the rumors that a Trump supporter tasered himself in the balls causing a heart attack. Kevin Greeson (above) has been confirmed as one of the five people who died during the invasion of the U.S. Capitol, but his wife said he did not have a taser.
• New York Times: House Democrats intend to introduce articles of impeachment against Donald Trump for his role in the insurrection against Congress if he refuses to resign.
• Deadline: The final show featuring longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek aired Friday, and a special tribute at the end of it captures everything that audiences loved about the man. In a video montage, Trebek jokes, banters with contestants, and generally delivers the same warm, naturally smooth, humble and reassuring presence that guided his performances through 36 years.
• Wall Street Journal: White House officials pushed Atlanta’s top federal prosecutor to resign before Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoffs because Donald Trump was upset he wasn’t doing enough to investigate the president’s unproven claims of election fraud. A senior Justice Department official, at the behest of the White House, called Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak and told him he needed to step down because he wasn’t pursuing vote-fraud allegations to Mr. Trump’s satisfaction.
• Business Insider: Top aides have said Trump has been spiraling out of control for weeks, but now he’s directed much of his ire toward his heretofore loyal vice president. A source told The Wall Street Journal that the president was furious, telling Pence: “I don’t want to be your friend — I want you to be the vice president.”
• Billboard: Taylor Swift’s Folklore finishes 2020 as the top-selling album of the year in the U.S., and the only album to sell at least a million copies during the year, according to MRC Data. Plus, the superstar has now claimed the top-selling album of the year five times — becoming the first act to earn the honor.
For the (historic) fifth time, @TaylorSwift13 has the top-selling album of the year in the U.S. https://t.co/2cG7eqep0J
— billboard (@billboard) January 8, 2021
Scott Baio (image via Depositphotos)Donald Trump gave former Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi actor Scott Baio a virtual pat on the head after the performer rearranged a display of mugs at a crafts store to read, ‘Trump is still your president.’
Trump tweeted an enthusiastic ‘You are terrific!’ to the former actor.
As coronavirus cases continue to surge, this is what Trump does with his time?
Thank you Scott, and stay tuned. You are terrific! https://t.co/3jhmFqlazE
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2020
Scott Baio is the Kirstie Alley of Jon Voights
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) November 12, 2020
As Trump Tweets about coffee cups…
Biden is hard at work putting policy & plans together to fight #COVID19
While Trump tweets about Fox….
World leaders are calling Biden/Harris to congratulate them!
No matter how much GOP & Trump cry!
69 Days till Tump gets the boot!— TrueToLife (@True2save) November 12, 2020
A Trump supporter was caught on video loading up her truck after clearing out all the toilet paper, paper towels and paper napkins from a Dollar Tree store in Pompano Beach, Florida.
The short video, shot by another customer at the store, shows the woman loading several huge boxes onto the back of a truck.
In the clip, you can hear the woman recording the scene ask, “I hope you’re not like going to go sell it to other people. Don’t worry you’ll see her on the street corner selling it for double in a minute.”
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” replies the woman who purchased the products.
“I bet you she likes Donald Trump too,” says the woman recording the video to which the purchaser begins yelling, “Donald Trump! Go, Donald Trump!”
Is anyone surprised? Show of hands – anyone? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
The video in Brian Tyler Cohen’s tweet has been viewed 3.4 million times. Needless to say, the Twitterverse wasn’t exactly thrilled with Toilet Paper Tammy.
So this woman not only buys out a local Dollar Tree of every single box of paper towels, napkins, and toilet paper so that no one else can buy any, but caps it off with this:
"Donald Trump! Go Donald Trump!" pic.twitter.com/45u2yIjVdQ
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) March 21, 2020
Jon Howes of the Chippendales celebrates a birthday! ( via Instagram)Some news items you might have missed:
• InstaHunks: Happy birthday wishes to Jon Howes of the world-famous Chippendales here in Las Vegas. Jon graciously took part in my little anniversary event last week, and he clearly improved the scenery 🙂
• Outsports: After a relatively short but impactful career on the U.S. independent scene openly-gay wrestler Jake Atlas has inked a deal to join the WWE in 2020. Atlas spun his 2017 Southern California Rookie of the Year award into multiple championships and stellar performances for high profile indie promotions like Pro Wrestling Guerilla and Defy Wrestling.
• ClickOrlando: After receiving an anonymous phone call, the assistant principal of a Florida school fired Monica Toro Lisciandro, a theater arts teacher, for having a girl-friend and attending a Pride festival. And this is totally legal because Florida does not protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace. #WeveGotWorkToDo
• Advocate: Entertainer Marie Osmond shared on The Talk that she once questioned her heterosexuality after surviving sexual abuse. Talking on recent comments by Miley Cyrus, who said she “thought I had to be gay” in a world of “evil” men, Osmond said at the age of 8 or 9 she thought he might have been gay “because I had been sexually abused to the point that men made me sick. I didn’t trust them. I didn’t like them.”
• New York Times: An anonymous Trump administration official who published a September 2018 essay in the Times regarding the active resistance to Donald Trump’s agenda and behavior from within his own administration, will publish a book next month titled, A Warning.
• PEOPLE: The stars of The Facts of Life are coming back together, just in time for Christmas! Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, and Nancy McKeon will reunite in the Christmas movie You Light Up My Christmas, premiering Dec.1 on Lifetime. The TV film, inspired by true events, tells “the story of Emma (Fields), who returns to her hometown to find that the lights in the once festive town have gone dim — prompting her to reconnect with a former flame (Adrian Holmes) and reignite the town with holiday cheer.”
• Star-Telegram: A gay Trump supporter, Pete Gomez (from my own hometown) says, “I just want everyone to know in the LGBT community that Trump is for us, the Second Amendment is for us. We literally are going to make America more greater than it’s ever been, and keep it that way.” #MoreGreater
Screen capture from viral video showing a fake Donald Trump violently attacking the mediaThis video – depicting a violent scene of a fake President Trump shooting, stabbing & assaulting members of the news media & his political opponents – was shown at a conference for his supporters at his Miami resort.
From the New York Times:
Mr. Trump stops in the middle of the church, pulls a gun out of his suit jacket pocket and begins a graphic rampage. As the parishioners try to flee, the president fires at them. He shoots Black Lives Matter in the head and also shoots Vice News.
Some of those in the church try to apprehend Mr. Trump. He fends them off and makes his way toward the altar, knocking over several pews. He wrestles a parishioner with a Vice News logo as a face to the ground and then shoots the person at point-blank range. In the background, the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, is seen trying to get away.
From there, Mr. Trump attacks a range of his critics. He strikes the late Arizona senator John McCain in the back of the neck. He hits the television personality Rosie O’Donnell in the face and then stabs her in the head. He strikes Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California. He lights the head of Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential rival, on fire.
Also among the Donald’s victims in the video are former President Barack Obama, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; former President Bill Clinton; the film producer Harvey Weinstein; and Representative Adam B. Schiff.
The video concludes with Trump driving a stake into the head of a person with a CNN logo for a face. The Trumpster then turns to view his carnage, smiling.
Although I’m loath to share it, here’s THE video (shown at conference for his supporters at his own resort) depicting Trump shooting his enemies. I only share because folks should see where these people are at these days… pic.twitter.com/pA34lNVxk1
— The Randy Report (@randyslovacek) October 14, 2019
Reports describing a violent video played at a Trump Campaign event in which images of reporters & @JohnMcCain are being slain by Pres Trump violate every norm our society expects from its leaders& the institutions that bare their names. I stand w/ @whca in registering my outrage
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) October 14, 2019
The conference organizer said himself that it was played there pic.twitter.com/Z6OisAGutt
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) October 14, 2019
At a conference of Trump supporters, they played a video of our president murdering journalists in a church. Last year, a Trump supporter sent bombs to CNN—and a shooter entered a church yesterday. This video isn’t funny. It will get people killed. https://t.co/XWtq1z38Kc
— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) October 14, 2019
The only thing missing from this sickening #TrumpVideo is a voice at the very end saying, “I’m Donald Trump, and I approve this message” — because we all know he does.
— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) October 14, 2019
WHCA Statement on video depicting President Trump murdering journalists. pic.twitter.com/52lHFaQjU2
— WHCA (@whca) October 14, 2019
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted Monday morning that Trump (who lives on Twitter where the video is trending) “has not seen the video” but he “strongly condemns” the video.
Re: the video played over the weekend: The @POTUS @realDonaldTrump has not yet seen the video, he will see it shortly, but based upon everything he has heard, he strongly condemns this video.
— Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) October 14, 2019
|
| (stock image via Depositphotos) |
The owner of Equinox Fitness Clubs has announced he is hosting a big-ticket fundraiser for President Trump’s reelection campaign this weekend and folks are not having it.
Stephen Ross, reported to be worth $7 billion, owns a majority stake in Equinox gyms as well as SoulCycle, Blink Fitness, PURE Yoga, and the Time Warner Center.
The billionaire, a longtime friend of Trump’s, will host a fundraiser in Southhampton for Trump where tickets range up to a whopping $250,000 for “lunch, a photo and a private roundtable with the president,” reports the Washington Post.
 |
| Stephen Ross (image via YouTube) |
The fundraiser is quite the change-up from Trump’s stance in 2016 when he criticized his opponents for accepting massive campaign donations due to the implied access and influence donors may expect.
Equinox has long been a favorite of LGBT gym bunnies, but now that tide may turn.
Instagram users are now circulating a message encouraging people to boycott the trendy fitness venues.
Additionally, LGBT activist, actor, and Equinox member Wilson Cruz (Star Trek: Discovery, My So Called Life) has launched a petition on Change.org urging Equinox to end its support of Donald Trump.
In an open letter to Equinox on the petition page, Cruz says Trump’s anti-LGBTQ policies are incongruent with the spirit and base of the Equinox community.
“We don’t understand how this company, which owes its success to its LGBTQ membership especially in its largest markets in California, New York, Miami, Chicago and other big cities around the world thinks its appropriate to be tied to this fundraiser,” wrote Cruz.
We should add, as others have noticed, Cruz takes his workouts very seriously as his Instagram account will attest.
After the Instagram account for Equinox was innundated with negative comments about the Southhampton event, the company posted a statement which read, in part, “We want to let you know that Equinox and SoulCycle have nothing to do with the event and do not support it.”
“As is consistent with our policies, no company profits are used to fund politicians,” the statement continued. “In fact, we are committed to all our members and the communities we live in.”
Calling Ross a ‘passive investor,’ the statement concluded with, “We believe in tolerance and equality, and will always stay true to those values.”
|
| Cesar Sayoc (mug shot) |
NBC News reports Cesar Sayoc, an ardent Trump supporter who pleaded guilty to sending more than a dozen pipe bombs to prominent critics of President Donald Trump last year, was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison.
Sayoc sent homemade pipe bombs bundled with glass shards to prominent Democrats including Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama.
The series of mailed pipe bombs, which prosecutors described in court papers as “a domestic terror attack,” spurred a nationwide scare last year.
He was arrested on Oct. 26 outside an auto-parts store near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sayoc was living out of a white van plastered with stickers praising Trump and slogans condemning liberals and the media. He would shower at the gym where he works out, a Florida-based cousin previously told NBC News.
From Oct. 22 to Nov. 2, the FBI and U.S. Postal Service recovered 16 manila padded envelopes containing improvised explosive devices that were believed to have been sent by Sayoc from Florida, prosecutors said.
Sayoc is also accused of sending the devices, or addressing them to be sent, to former Vice President Joe Biden; former Attorney General Eric Holder; former CIA Director John Brennan; Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.; activist Tom Steyer; and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
Sayoc had faced a possible sentence of life in prison.
Police reportedly found a list of more than 100 additional possible targets.
A cousin describes Sayoc to NBC News as a “lost soul” and a “loose cannon” who abused steroids.
|
| Cesar Sayoc Jr. (photo: Broward Country Sheriff’s Dept) |
After pleading guilty to 65 felony counts regarding sending bomb-like devices to prominent Democrats, the ‘MAGAbomber’ – Cesar Sayoc Jr. – faces life in prison.
Sayoc listed among his targets Hillary Clinton, former CIA Director Jonn Brennan, actor Robert DeNiro, ex-President Barack Obama, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), former Attorney General Eric Holder, Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California), hedge-fund billionaire Tom Steyer and CNN.
But his legal team says that he should receive no more than 10 years and one month in prison for sending what they call “hoax devices.”
From the New York Post:
Public defenders representing Sayoc, 57, note that the FBI released a report last week stating that the devices Sayoc sent to 13 targets “were not functional as bombs” and that no one was hurt. He sent what he thought were duds after months of suffering from “delusional” beliefs and using copious amounts of steroids, the attorneys argue.
“In Mr. Sayoc’s mind, he was sending a hoax device, and he had no true grasp of the severity of his crimes or the potential ramifications of his actions,” the attorneys wrote. Sayoc faces a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence and is scheduled to be sentenced by Manhattan federal court Judge Jed Rakoff on Aug. 5.
They also argue that Sayoc is an outsize fan of President Donald Trump — and that he “became increasingly obsessive, paranoid, and angry” in the months leading up to the 2018 midterm elections, believing that anti-Trump forces had vandalized a “decrepit and cramped” van he was living in at the time that was plastered with pro-Trump messages and images.
Sayoc’s attorneys also point to steroid use, alleged sexual abuse as a preteen and college panic attacks as mitigating circumstances that lead to his behavior.
Prosecutors say that even though the devices didn’t work properly, they did involve real explosives, shards of glass, and toxic chemicals.
At the time of his arrest, Sayoc was living in a white van covered with pro-Trump images and messages, and others attacking Trump’s critics — including ones that showed red crosshairs over Obama and Clinton.
Sayoc says he’s really, really sorry.
|
| (screen capture via CNN) |
This is bad.
CNN interviewed a group of women presented as ‘Republican’ voters who happen to support Donald Trump, when they are actually part of an organized group that promotes the Donald.
From The Washington Post:
The seemingly random group of eight women were, in fact, members of an organized group dedicated to promoting Trump. The group calls itself the Trumpettes of America 2019 Palm Beach Team, although CNN and correspondent Randi Kaye didn’t mention anything about such a group. Nor did the anchors, including Anderson Cooper, who introduced Kaye’s report.
The network simply identified the panelists individually, with their names appearing onscreen next to the word “Republican.” Kaye gave no hint that the women knew one another and had a common cause.
As a result, the segment left the impression that CNN had assembled a panel reflecting a cross-section of opinion from Republican women about the crossfire between Trump and four freshman Democratic congresswomen of color, whom Trump told to “go back” to their own countries in Sunday tweets, despite all four being American citizens.
Rather than a cross-section, however, the Trumpettes were plainly of one mind.
Some of the women had appeared on CNN before, and neither time was an affiliation to being part of an organized Trump group acknowledged.
Edward Wasserman, dean of the University of California at Berkeley journalism school, described the lack of disclosure as “a fraud on the viewer.”
Wasserman told the Post the network may have withheld the identity of the group “to cover up the lack of news value in the interview and to provide ‘something that looks like balance’ in the face of Trump’s criticism that CNN is anti-Trump.”
The women do seem pleased with how the segment went, even going so far as to promote the clip on their Facebook page.
However, note that they encouraged their followers to watch them on “the Anti-Trump Fake News CNN Show.”
There’s gratitude for you…
