LGBTQ news and entertainment
Some news items for you as we close out the weekend:
• KMOV: 58-year-old Michael Goessling (above), who was adopted as an infant, spent decades wondering about his biological roots. He was recently reunited with his birth parents and discovered his father is five-time Grammy-winning artist Michael McDonald. You totally see the resemblance. Continue reading “St. Louis Man Discovers His Birth-Dad Is Grammy Winner + More”
The U.S. Postal Service has been swiftly developing a complex screening system for mail-in ballots ahead of this year’s midterm elections despite a court order temporarily barring Trump’s plan to restrict mail-in voting. Continue reading “Postal Service Developing Complex Mail-In Ballot Screening Process”
Donald Trump may still be on the war path over mail-in voting, but here in my home state of Nevada, two deep-red counties are among the highest percentage that vote by mail.
So, Donald, guess what happens to those voters if you get your way? Continue reading “Nevada’s Two Reddest Counties Overwhelmingly Vote By Mail”
Some news stories for you as we head over Hump Day:
• Queerty: Comedian Kathy Griffin initially celebrated Rosie O’Donnell’s guest-hosting stint on Jimmy Kimmel’s show this week, but then went public saying she felt snubbed not being invited to be a guest.
O’Donnell replied on one of Griffin’s social media posts, “Kathy – shoulda called me honey – I didn’t choose the guests …” Continue reading “Kathy Griffin Feels Snubbed By Rosie O’Donnell + More”
The Trump administration has asked the US Supreme Court to let federal officials move ahead with the president’s overhaul of mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections.
A Massachusetts appeals court upheld a federal judge’s block on the order last week, finding that it would “sow confusion” and “threaten disenfranchisement of many eligible voters.” Continue reading “Trump Asks Supreme Court To Allow New Limits On Mail-In Voting”
A Republican lawmaker in Florida has proposed legislation that would make voting by mail much harder to do with narrow exceptions for people who are ill or living overseas. Continue reading “Florida Bill Would Make Voting By Mail Much More Limited”
Some news stories you might have missed: • The Advocate: Looking back at some of the top LGBTQ milestones of 2023 including the first Black lesbian U.S. Senator and the first trans Grammy Award winner. Continue reading “Top LGBTQ Milestones Of 2023 + More News”
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
— The Randy Report (@randyslovacek) February 3, 2021
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
Donald Trump (image via Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain)
Kelly, along with several other Pennsylvania Republicans, sought to invalidate millions of mail-in votes, which could have ceded a key state won by President-Elect Joe Biden to President Donald Trump.
The ruling said, “Petitioners sought to invalidate the ballots of the millions of Pennsylvania voters who utilized the mail-in voting procedures. … Alternatively, Petitioners advocated the extraordinary proposition that the court disenfranchise all 6.9 million Pennsylvanians who voted in the General Election and instead ‘direct the General Assembly to choose Pennsylvania’s electors.'”
The high court ruled no on all counts and said, “All other outstanding motions are dismissed as moot.” It said the claim could have resulted in the “disenfranchisement” of millions of voters.
The court also criticized Kelly and company for filing their lawsuit more than a year after the law establishing universal mail-in voting was passed by the state legislature. Today’s ruling wipes out a lower court order that had blocked officials from certifying the Keystone State’s election results. More than 26 election challenges filed by Team Trump have now been dismissed by courts in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and elsewhere. So. Much. Winning.
It’s very impressive that it only took ONE WEEK — from the filing of the original suit at the trial court level — for the PA Supreme Court to deal it a death blow.
Rarely do the wheels of justice turn so quickly. pic.twitter.com/JPsLpD2fRu
— Rob Major (@RobMajor4) November 29, 2020
The PA Supreme Court has just dismissed a case from PA Republicans that claimed mail in voting is unconstitutional (it is not), that those ballots should be thrown out (they will not be) & PA’s certification should be prohibited (it won’t be).
This decision is a win for voters!
— Senator Jay Costa (@Senatorcosta) November 29, 2020
Unanimous decision and dismissed with prejudice. (i.e. It cannot be filed again because it's so ridiculous.)
👉🏻 https://t.co/rAgCIMm6yZ https://t.co/zgnoURMwGe
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) November 29, 2020
The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) lost today in a legal court fight meant to derail mail-in voting in Nevada for the 2020 presidential election. From Talking Points Memo:
U.S. District Judge James Mahan on Monday threw out the Trump campaign’s lawsuit over Nevada’s vote-by-mail measure that directs all local elections officials to send mail-in ballots to all of the registered voters in the state.
Mahan ruled that the Trump campaign, along with the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Nevada GOP, “make no showing” of an unfair advantage against GOP candidates caused by the measure, known as Assembly Bill 4 (AB 4).
The judge described the plaintiffs’ claims–that voting by mail hurts Republicans and that mail-in ballots illegally distort the vote count–as “generalized and speculative.”
“Plaintiffs never describe how their member voters will be harmed by vote dilution where other voters will not,” Mahan wrote. Republican candidates “face no harms that are unique from their electoral opponents.”
Trump has repeatedly attacked AB 4 in his attempts to undermine and suppress the vote in the battleground state. In sowing seeds of doubt, the Donald continually alleges – without any evidence – that Democrats (but not Republicans) would somehow cheat with mail-in voting. And yet the last time there was any voter fraud of note actually found, it was on behalf of a North Carolina Republican candidate back in 2018. Several states – including Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington – have handled their elections via mail-in ballots for years with no irregularities reported.
I’m pleased to see a federal court judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block AB4, a measure passed to expand options for Nevadans and provide for safe, fair & accessible elections during the pandemic. Well done and congrats to AG @AaronDFordNV & your entire team!
— Governor Sisolak (@GovSisolak) September 21, 2020