Tag: Wisconsin

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Wisconsin Voters Head To The Polls Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Long lines for voters in Wisconsin today after GOP lawmakers were able to stop a proposed postponement of the state primary due to COVID-19. Wisconsin is the first state to proceed with in-person voting since most states enacted stay-at-home orders. Wisconsin Democrats wanted to extend absentee voting and even postpone the election altogether, but state Republicans fought to block both in legal wrangling. Democratic turnout is expected to be low due to the virus and today’s deadline for mail-in ballots. From the Washington Post:

Hundreds of voters stood in lines that stretched for blocks in several Wisconsin cities Tuesday morning to cast their ballots amid fears about the spread of the coronavirus, a chaotic start to elections in the state that went forward only after a last-minute legal battle.

Morning scenes at the polls across Milwaukee — which was able to open only five polling locations, down from 180 — underscored the near-unprecedented challenge facing election administrators one day after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers sought to suspend in-person voting in light of the covid-19 pandemic, an order that was quickly reversed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The decision was a victory for the state’s GOP-controlled legislature, which had declined to postpone the election and filed a legal challenge to Evers’s order, arguing it exceeded the governor’s constitutional authority.

No results will be released until Monday as so many mail-in ballots (which have to be postmarked by today) are in play. According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, there were 1,273,374 absentee ballots mailed out and 864,750 were returned which already exceeds the record 830,763 absentee ballots received in the 2016 general election. The New York Times reports there are voters waiting in line for up to two hours in Milwaukee where there are only five polling stations open instead of the usual 180 polling sites.

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News Round-Up: April 1, 2020

Ron Rich becomes the second Winter Party festival attendee to die from coronavirus.

Ron Rich becomes the second Winter Party festival attendee to die from coronavirus. Some news items you might have missed: • National LGBTQ Task Force: Volunteer Ron Rich (above) is the second Winter Party attendee to succumb to the coronavirus. According to a Facebook post, he had served on the Task Force’s hospitality team for five years and also volunteered with the Outshine Film Festival and Lambda Legal. Israel Carreras was the first attendee to die from COVID-19. • The Gay UK: A woman found her husband’s Grindr account on his phone. She asked the “Dear Uncle” column in the UK for advice on what to do. • Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Wisconsin is still planning on holding its Democratic primary next Tuesday. But a lack of poll workers has led the governor to use members of the Wisconsin Army National Guard to man the polls during the April 7 election. • Out Music: Troye Sivan originally planned to release his latest single, “Take Yourself Home,” later this year but current events caused him to reconsider that plan. The track mixes acoustic guitar and club beats resulting in a winning mid-tempo groove.

• Mediaite: In a message to his supporters, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) admits he has a very narrow path to the Democratic nomination but vows: “If I’m not the nominee, I will do everything I can to see that Joe Biden is elected president because Trump is the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country, and we’re seeing just how dangerous he is with all of the misinformation that he is providing during this coronavirus pandemic.” • Washington Post: The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 410 points, or 1.9 percent, to cap the most dismal first quarter of its 135-year history. The Dow ended Tuesday at 21,917.16 — a full 23 percent below its January start and 26 percent off the record high it set in February. • Tiger King: It’s interesting to learn that Saff, one of the few sympathetic characters on the Netflix series, is presented as a lesbian. It turns out he’s transgender and was misgendered repeatedly throughout each episode. Robert Moor, who produced a podcast chronicling the private zoo’s story prior to the Netflix docu-series, tweeted that Saff’s gender identity was virtually erased in the series.

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Hate Crime Victim Left With Broken Jaw & No Teeth After Assault

Cedrick Green (mugshot)
Cedrick Green of Racine, Wisconsin, has been arrested for a hate crime charge of battery – great bodily harm, plus two incidents of jumping bail. The Journal Times reports that the victim of the assault, which took place on July 29, told police he was attacked by three men who called him “gay” and “taunted him for his sexual orientation.” At one point in the assault, the victim was able to distance himself from the three men and ran to a nearby gas station for safety. The victim suffered injuries to his face, jaw, left arm and left knee. But the injuries to the victim’s jaw were so severe, according to the police complaint, “it required all of his teeth to be removed from his mouth.” Green, 23, was positively identified from a photo lineup by the victim. He is now being held on $10,000 bail and made his first appearance in court on Monday, October 7. He is scheduled to return to court on October 17. In addition to the hate crime battery charge, Green had previously been arrested on misdemeanor charges in an unrelated incident. He’d been released on bail with the condition that he not commit any more crimes. Green also has prior convictions for theft, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of THC and resisting an officer, according to the Journal Times. The two other assailants have not been identified at this time.

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Podcast: Texas, Bisexual Youth, Trump’s Trans Ban, New Netflix Series ‘Special’

Catch up on the week's LGBT headlines with The Randy Report podcast

In this week’s podcast:

• A majority of Americans say their are more than comfortable with a gay or lesbian running for president

• The U.S. House approved a non-binding resolution Thursday morning rebuking Donald Trump’s plan to ban transgender military service members

• Wisconsin couple told to remove their Pride flag or be evicted

• New data shows there are more bisexual youth and they need our attention

• GOP lawmakers in Texas approved a bill on Monday that would allow state-licensed professionals to discriminate against LGBTQ people, or anyone they want to refuse services, based on their religious beliefs

• Netflix drops the official trailer for ‘Special,’ an offbeat comedy series about a gay man with mild cerebral palsy

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

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Gay Couple Told To Remove Pride Flag, But Other Flags Allowed To Fly?

A gay couple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, have been ordered to remove their Pride flag from the outside of their apartment home or be evicted.

A gay couple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, have been ordered to remove their Pride flag from the outside of their apartment home or be evicted.

Kevin Kollman and Merle Malterer told their local NBC News affiliate they received a note from their landlord at the Country Oaks Apartments on Wednesday informing them flying their Pride flag outside their home was a breach of their lease.

They were given five days to remove the flag.

“It’s a symbol of America, it’s a symbol of our pride in America,” Kollman told NBC2. “Personally, I feel like we’re being singled out here because of what it is.”

When contacted by NBC2, the landlord said the conflict wasn’t a ‘discrimination issue’ but an issue with the appearance of the property.

According to the landlord, “No one is allowed to have flags anywhere, and it’s against the lease agreement.”

The couple was asked in January to remove a Packers flag as well.

However…

A neighbor in the apartment complex, Ken Miller, flies flags outside his apartment and hasn’t received the same written warning.

“I’ve been here for three years, and I’ve had these flags up for at least two years, and I’ve never had any issues with the flags,” Miller said.

In the NBC2 report, several flags could be seen throughout the complex.

Kollman and Malterer say they aren’t backing down, and will continue to fly their Pride flag.

“It’s part of my house, it’s part of who I am,” said Kollman. “My neighbors don’t care – why should he?”

The couple told NBC2they are looking into possible legal action.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Candidate Has Extreme Anti-LGBTQ History

Judge Brian Hagedorn of Wisconsin

When an individual sits on the bench as a judge – in any court – the responsibility is to be fair and unbiased in applying the law. The public needs to know judges don’t bring their own personal judgements into the courtroom.

Which is why many in Wisconsin are concerned about the candidacy of State Appeals Court Judge Brian Hagedorn for the state Supreme Court.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, in 2016, Hagedorn helped found the Augustine Academy in Merton, Wisconsin.

The private religious school bans students, teachers, and parents from being in gay relationships.

The school’s statement of faith declares that “Adam and Eve were made to complement each other in a one-flesh union that establishes the only normative pattern of sexual relations for men and women, such that marriage ultimately serves as a type of the union between Christ and his church.”

The school’s Code of Personal Conduct (listed in the school teacher application) specifically dictates no “immoral sexual activity” which is defined as “any form of touching or nudity for the purpose of evoking sexual arousal apart from the context of marriage between one man and one woman.”

Violations of the code of conduct could result in teaches being fired. And students face possible expulsion from the school should they or their parents be discovered violating the rules.

It isn’t unusual for a private, faith-based school to have such policies.

However, Hagedorn’s close relationship to the school, which he still oversees, gives pause as to how neutral he would be as a judge on the state’s highest court.

In that the nonpartisan court hears cases that involve LGBTQ discrimination based on “deeply held religious beliefs,” it’s difficult to see Hagedorn putting his personal beliefs aside in such cases.

Analiese Eicher, executive director One Wisconsin Now, expressed her concerns that Hagedorn “remains intimately associated with an organization that actively discriminates against the LGBTQ community.”

Stephan Thompson, a member of the schools board of directors, defended Hagedorn saying he “treats everyone fairly under the law.”

“He is running for the Supreme Court to protect religious freedoms for all Wisconsinites, regardless of faith,” added Thompson. “Yet the latest smear is just another example of attacks on his own faith.”

But the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has previously reported on blog posts made by Hagedorn while in law school where he once wrote gay rights could lead to legalized bestiality.

In 2005, he wrote, “The idea that homosexual behavior is different than bestiality as a constitutional matter is unjustifiable.”

Hagedorn has stated he sets aside his personal beliefs as a member of the state Appeals Court, and would continue to do so if elected to the Supreme Court.

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News Round-Up: February 5, 2019

(image via Instagram/Johnny.Desperado)

Some news items you might have missed: • I love Wrangler jeans. And the outdoors. And cowboy hats. And something else, wait, it’s coming to me… 🙂 • The movie Boy Erased, based on Garrard Conley’s real-life journey through so-called ‘conversion therapy’ will not be released in Brazil. Universal Pictures says the film won’t be released due to ‘financial reasons.’ The South American country recently elected openly-homophobic Jair Bolsonaro as president. • If you ever wondered EXACTLY what it’s like to be bullied at school as a young boy, before he’s even figured out who he is, please read this by my talented friend, David Toussaint. Definitely worth the read. https://twitter.com/DRToussaint/status/1092872236124565505 • ABC News: An investigation by a government watchdog organization shows President Donald Trump’s four trips to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida over four weeks in March and February 2017, including his summit with the Japanese prime minister, cost the government nearly $14 million. • Opera singer David Daniels and his husband Scott Walters, were arrested Tuesday over allegations of rape by baritone Samuel Schultz in 2010. Schultz, who told police he was drugged and raped in 2010, came forward with the allegation in August. • Texas political phenom Beto O’Rourke gave Oprah “a strong signal” he is seriously considering a 2020 run for the White House. https://twitter.com/Jay1043/status/1092923855910457344 • A seven year-old boy in Wisconsin was beaten, tortured and buried in the snow until he died of hypothermia for not knowing his Bible verses. • Pet Shop Boys drop their first single, “Give Stupidity a Chance”, from their upcoming EP Agenda (release date April 12). Neil Tennant describes the track as “a satirical song about the poor quality of political leadership in the modern world.” “Chicks are always up for it / You’ve got to grab whatever you can / We need a leader who knows money means class / With an eye for a peach-perfect piece of ass” Check out the lyric video below.

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News Round-Up: January 31, 2019

Instagram hottie José Adones – check his moves out at the end of this post

Some news items you might have missed:

• A candidate for the Wisconsin state Supreme Court wrote just a few years ago that legalizing homosexuality would lead to bestiality. But he has no bias against LGBTs whatsoever…

• New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed a law requiring school boards to use instructional materials that accurately portray political, economic, and social contributions of LGBTs and persons with disabilities. #Bravo!

• Donald Trump responded to reports of the horrific attack on Empire star Jussie Smollett telling reporters in the Oval Office today, “That I can tell you is horrible. It doesn’t get worse.”

• Yorke Print Shoppe in Chicago refused to print a fundraising brochure for an LGBTQ charity. The owner, Brad Scull, says he has nothing against “those people” but has an issue with promoting “the lifestyle.”

Note: There is no religious exemption to Illinois’s nondiscrimination law, and sexual orientation is specifically included as a protected class. So, you do the math…

• The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the city of Fayetteville may not continue enforcing its anti-discrimination ordinance while the city challenged the constitutionality of a 2015 law that prevents cities and counties from enacting their own LGBTQ protections not covered by state law.

• A deaf lesbian couple say Delta Airlines mistreated them when they tried to communicate with a gate agent in Detroit. The women say they wrote down their request to sit next to each other on the plane, but the agent crumpled up their note and threw it away.

• This could technically qualify as a ‘Daily Dance’ post, but I thought I’d leave this right here.

Florida-based dancer/entertainer José Adones (top of page) is giving you all kinds Latin flavor here. And I ain’t mad 🙂

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Wisconsin Republicans’ Last Minute Power Grab

Out-going Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

As a last f*ck you to the Democrats who won the governorship and other key statewide offices in the recent November elections, outgoing Republican Gov. Scott Walker and GOP lawmakers are passing last-minute changes to limit the powers of the new governor and other incoming Democrats.

From the Huffington Post:

Wisconsin’s lame-duck, Republican-controlled state Legislature passed on Wednesday a host of measures designed to kneecap Gov.-elect Tony Evers, other Democrats elected to statewide offices and hurt the Democratic Party in general, sending the legislation to the GOP governor Evers defeated ― Scott Walker ― for his signature.

One part of the package would prohibit municipalities from allowing more than two weeks of early voting. That presumably would cut down on voter turnout, which generally helps Republicans.

Other provisions would give the Legislature full control of a state economic development agency, block the governor’s ability to write regulations and allow the Legislature to hire its own lawyers to file lawsuits on behalf of the state.

Republicans still control the state Senate and Assembly, due to the gerrymandered nature of the legislative districts.

It’s worth noting that the GOP retained a supermajority in the Assembly even though they received a minority of the overall votes cast in those races.

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Gay High School Student Explains Why He Didn’t Pose With Nazi Salute

High school senior Jordan Blue

Yesterday, I reported on the prom photo that went viral from Baraboo school district in Wisconsin.

The photo showed about 30 male members of the Baraboo High School Class of 2019 giving the Nazi salute before their junior prom last spring.

As I noted yesterday, one student was not having the moment.

Today, CBS This Morning spoke with the student, Jordan Blue.

Blue tells CBS News the photographer came up with the idea of telling the boys to “wave goodbye to their parents,” but didn’t specifically tell the boys to “raise your hand in a Nazi symbol way.”

But it’s telling that ‘raise you hand’ to these young men meant doing so in Nazi fashion.

Blue added that he felt his classmates did understand what the symbol represented, and that the moment was “scary” and “uncomfortable.”

Photographer Peter Gust has issued a statement which reads, “I didn’t tell them to salute anything… it was waving goodbye to their parents, having a good time.”

“There was nothing that diminished the quality of anyone’s life,” said Gust in defense of the photo. “There was nothing that diminished anyone’s stature in society, there was nothing that was intended to point a finger at anyone in their class who may have some kind of difference. There was none of that.”

When asked why he didn’t participate, Blue tells CBS This Morning, “It did not represent my morals and I could not do something that I didn’t believe in.”

Blue admits making the gesture makes no sense to him, saying, “Some of these people have bright futures ahead of them, so why’d they do it?”

Speaking to CNN, Blue says if he’d known the direction the photo opp would go, he wouldn’t have taken part in the pics at all.

He also says that while the community is a ‘phenomenal’ place to live, people are “hurt and very distraught” over the scandal. And he makes a point to say the photo doesn’t represent Baraboo as a whole.

Blue, who came out as gay earlier this year on social media, shared with Vice reporter Jules Suzdaltsev yesterday that he’s been the target of bullying by these boys since middle school.

Suzdaltsev later tweeted that, after receiving more than 100 messages from students and parents from Baraboo High School, “nearly all of the stories echo the same basic theme: the community as a whole has a lot of casual & jokey racism, homophobia, and transphobia that is accepted as a part of life.”

“The school (and other schools in the area) do little to nothing to address these issues,” he added.

The American Defamation League reports the number of anti-semitic incidents in the U.S. rose 57% in 2017. That’s the largest single year increase on record.