Former US Speaker hopes plea deal can prevent embarrassing trial for sexual abuse cover-up

Attorneys for former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Dennis Hastert are negotiating a plea deal that could help the one-time lawmaker avoid what would be an embarrassing trial.

Hastert, 73, is accused of agreeing to pay a former male student he’d sexually abused with $3.5 million in apparent hush money, according to federal prosecutors.

He was indicted last March for lying to federal officials about cash withdrawals from various banks which triggered suspicion. The payments are not related to Hastert’s years in Congress but instead to his years as a high school wrestling coach from 1965 to 1981.

Hastert attorney John Gallo tells the Chicago Sun-Times that discussions with prosecutors have been ‘linear and productive’ and have included a possible resolution to the case.

If the two sides fail to reach a deal, Hastert’s lawyers said they will file a motion to dismiss their client’s indictment.

The agreement with the former student was allegedly made in 2010 and Hastert had paid $1.7 million since then in the form of $50,000 every six weeks.

Hastert, married to a woman and the father of two children, is charged with one count each of structuring currency transactions to evade currency transaction reports and making a false statement to the FBI. If convicted, each count can carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Hastert is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history. He succeeded Newt Gingrich in the position and held it from 1999 to 2007. He was succeeded by Nancy Pelosi when Democrats took control of the House.

Hastert resigned from the House in late 2007 and went on to become a Washington lobbyist and consultant. Following his indictment, he resigned from his lobbyist position at Dickstein Shapiro.

While in office, Hastert voted in favor of federal legislation to try and ban same-sex marriage.

The post Former US Speaker hopes plea deal can prevent embarrassing trial for sexual abuse cover-up appeared first on Gay Star News.

Greg Hernandez

www.gaystarnews.com/article/former-us-speaker-hopes-plea-deal-can-prevent-embarrassing-trial-for-sexual-abuse-cover-up/

Jim Obergefell Introduces President Barack Obama; POTUS Reaffirms Commitment to LGBT Equality

Last night, Jim Obergefell had the honor of introducing President Barack Obama at a Democratic National Committee (DNC) LGBT fundraising gala.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/jim-obergefell-introduces-president-barack-obama-potus-reaffirms-commitment?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

On Papal Flight Back To Rome, Pope Francis Says Government Workers Have Every Right To Deny Gay Marriage Licenses

— Pope Francis on the papal flight back to Rome, speaking to ABC’s Terry Moran, in reference to clerks denying marriage licenses to gay couples

Derek de Koff

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Azealia Banks Compares LGBT Community to the KKK, Wants to Pepper Spray a Gay Man in the Face

It was just last week that rapper Azealia Banks went on a violent, gay slur-laden tirade while exiting a flight. Banks then doubled down on her use of the word “faggot”, echoing previous remarks she made defending her use of the anti-gay slur.

Banks was apparently not happy with the negative reaction she received over the incident and continued to post incendiary remarks on social media taking aim at the LGBT community.

In a now-deleted tweet, Banks compared the LGBT community to the KKK, writing, “LGBT community (GGGG) are like the gay white KKK’s. Get them some pink hoods and unicorns and let them rally down rodeo drive.”

She then went on to call the LGBT community a bunch of “weaklings.”

Words are not tangible things. You all CHOSE to get upset. Remember… Offense is only TAKEN, it is never given.

— AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

You boys gotta toughen up!!! Don’t be so weak !!! If one word can put your entire community in distress you’re DOOMED. LOL

— AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

So yes! You CAN call me a nigger and I won’t get mad! …. I’d be like “That’s all you got???”

— AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

I’m not a weak bitch, being called a dyke or a nigger does absolutely nothing to move me.

— AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

Because all the time spent being mad at word could’ve been used to help people who really need the help!

— AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

If I am to be a part of an LGBT community I want to be in it with people who aren’t so weak or so easily moved ya know.

— AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

All I had to do was say one word and I moved a whole community. What weaklings!!!

— AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

Banks also continued the story by attacking a commenter on Instagram in a manner in-line with her previous comments, as The Daily Mail reports:

A poster called @a_sanctuary_found wrote to the musician: ‘Imagine the pain young gay fans feel when they hear the vile things you say @azealiabanks.’

To which she replied: ‘@a_sanctuary_found oh well imagine how I wanna spray a gay man in the face with pepper spray everytime he calls me a bitch a slut or a hoe. Kiss my ass. Goodnight.’

The Instagram user, clearly shocked, wrote back, ‘@azealiabanks if the shoe fits,’ before adding, ‘omg what an evil thing to say??’

‘Keep f**king with me if you f**king want to,’ the 212 hitmaker replied, before continuing with: ‘One day your hemmroids (sic) are going to burst and you’ll bleed to death bitch.’ 

Banks also replied to that commenter on Instagram, “Yea keep trolling for d**k on grindr. You’ll be murdered and stuffed under a truck somewhere soon.” That comment has since been deleted.

Banks previously defended her use of anti-gay language and comments by writing, “I am bisexual. My brother is trans. My employees are all gay men. Nothing else to say.”

The post Azealia Banks Compares LGBT Community to the KKK, Wants to Pepper Spray a Gay Man in the Face appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Azealia Banks Compares LGBT Community to the KKK, Wants to Pepper Spray a Gay Man in the Face

WATCH: Hilary Clinton Says Yes, I Did Evolve on Marriage

Hillary Clinton sought to clear the air about her record on gay rights and other issues plaguing her run for the White House by sitting down for a one-on-one interview on NBC’s Meet the Press. 

Her main message: She’s “thrilled” the Supreme Court ruled for equal marriage rights in all 50 states, and she concedes that her position on the issue had to “evolve” from support for civil unions for same-sex couples to endorsement of marriage equality.

Clinton joined host Chuck Todd in his Washington, D.C., studio for the 16-and-a-half-minute chat, portions of which were broadcast yesterday. 

He showed several clips in a video collection titled “Clinton vs. Clinton,” to show how her opinions had changed on the war in Iraq, the Keystone XL pipeline, and marriage equality. Todd asked her how she responded to critics who say her stance on each of those issues changed for political expediency. 

“I don’t think that it reflects how people who are thoughtful actually conduct their lives,” Clinton said.

“On same-sex marriage, like a lot of people, including our president, I did evolve.  And I was not raised to even imagine this. And I’m thrilled now that it is the law of the land. And I have a lot of good friends who are now able to be married because of the changes we’ve made legally and constitutionally.”

Her tone in the exchange was firm but far more conciliatory than it was during a tense interview with NPR’s Terry Gross in June 2014, in which she was repeatedly challenged on her changing position on marriage:

“I think you are trying to say that I used to be opposed [to gay marriage], and now I am in favor, and I did it for political reasons. And that’s just flat wrong. So let me just state what I feel like you are implying and repudiate it. I have a strong record. I have a great commitment to this issue and I am proud of what I’ve done and the progress we’re making.”

Watch the entire interview from NBC’s Meet the Press below. Clinton addresses marriage equality at 14:00 in. 

Dawn Ennis

www.advocate.com/election/2015/9/28/watch-hilary-clinton-says-yes-i-did-evolve-marriage

10 Queer Films That Will Teach You More LGBT History Than 'Stonewall'

Though the first big-budget film about the 1969 Stonewall riots has finally reached theaters, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Stonewall does no justice to Stonewall. No one’s claiming you can get all of LGBT history from one film, of course, but if you did want a crash course in queer history on film — whether through fictional narrative, documentary form or mixed-genre — then there are a few films that can jumpstart your education. 

1. The Celluloid Closet (1995)

If you want a movie to teach you about LGBT history, where better to start than a movie that teaches you about the history of LGBT people in film? Based on the book by Vito Russo and narrated by Grace & Frankie star Lily Tomlin, Closet came out a few years after queer activists were sick of being scapegoated as killers in films likeSilence of the Lambs or Kennedy. 

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Today In Dumb Things Azealia Banks Says: Gay Men = The KKK. And Are Weaklings.

It’s official: The songstress behind “Ice Princess” needs to have her jaw frozen shut.

Last week, footage captured Azealia Banks calling a Delta flight attendant “faggot” and then, a few days later, she went on an amped-up Instagram rampage, inferring that she’d like to pepper spray “a gay man in the face.” As one does.

Perhaps her publicist gently passed away last week and the body is still moldering in a swank office building off Wilshire Boulevard. Or perhaps the “Ice Princess” is, in fact, a Crystal Queen, who are similarly notorious for their wild ways.

Related: Azealia Banks Says She’s Too Rich To Care If You Think She’s A Homophobe

Whatever the case may be, because her latest rant — this time on Twitter, because versatile — claims that the “LGBT community are like the gay white KKKs. Get them some pink hoods and unicorns and let them rally down rodeo drive.” Ooh, burn.

Wait. It gets better.

All I had to do was say one word and I moved a whole community. What weaklings!!! ?

— AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

And this blood moon is a BONUS on top of it all!!!! — AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

Man, did she have to drag the Supermoon into this? The Wiccans will be furious.

If I am to be a part of an LGBT community I want to be in it with people who aren’t so weak or so easily moved ya know. — AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

Because all the time spent being mad at word could’ve been used to help people who really need the help! — AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

That’s true. Brb. And… back.

I’m not a weak bitch, being called a dyke or a nigger does absolutely nothing to move me. — AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

So yes! You CAN call me a nigger and I won’t get mad! …. I’d be like “That’s all you got???” ????? — AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

You boys gotta toughen up!!! Don’t be so weak !!! If one word can put your entire community in distress you’re DOOMED. LOL — AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

Words are not tangible things. You all CHOSE to get upset. Remember… Offense is only TAKEN, it is never given. ? — AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 28, 2015

And that’s, indeed, all we got. But come back fifteen minutes later when we report that Azealia Banks calls the gay community a bunch of “stuck-up stoopid poopyheads.”

And while we’re on the subject of fifteen minutes: Hopefully she won’t start tweeting disparaging remarks about twelve-year-old girls with inordinately shitty taste in music, or she’ll manage to isolate her only other fanbase.

Derek de Koff

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/ryH194c158Y/today-in-dumb-things-azealia-banks-says-gay-men-the-kkk-and-are-weaklings-20150928

Watch Gay Vlogger Riyadh K Call And Confront His Childhood Bully – VIDEO

Gay Irish vlogger Riyadh K has posted a new YouTube video in which he calls his childhood bully to “find out why he did what he did.”

In the video, Riyadh shares that he was frequently made fun of in school and called “faggot”, “poof”, and “queer” because of the way he talked and dressed. As a result, school was a nightmare for him. “I hated every minute of it,” he says. As a way of making peace with the past, he decided to call his childhood bully, not to attack him, but to understand more about what motivated his behavior:

“I thought I would be a guinea pig,to show that after time passes, your bullies end up being just normal people. They’re not evil, it’s not some scar that should remain there forever. I want to find out why he did what he did.”

After obtaining his bully’s number from a friend of a friend and texting him to let him know that he would be calling him (all proper etiquette was observed–including augmenting the bully’s voice in the video), Riyadh got the chance to confront him. The prospect of which even made him tremble.

RELATED: Vlogger Raymond Braun Captures Ireland’s Historic YES Vote On Marriage Equality: WATCH

Riyadh asked his bully, “Did you know you were causing me to feel that way?” To which the former bully responded,

“I don’t think we intentionally made a point of slagging you. I don’t think there was ever a conscious thing. I’m really sorry, I obviously didn’t know that was happening in secondary school, and feel kind of bad about it now for sure.”

Riyadh underscored why mocking, teasing or bullying kids because of their perceived sexuality can be so damaging for LGBT youth as they struggle to understand and come to terms with their identity:

“It was laughing about something that was so central to who I was and who I was becoming. I stayed in the closet for four years beyond when I realised – because I was afraid of reactions from you, the boys and a few others.”

Riyadh’s bully said that if Riyadh had approached him personally about the bullying he thinks he would have stopped making fun of him. He also was unaware how afraid Riyadh was of him in school and apologized for instilling such fear.

After the conversation ended, Riyahd said, “I don’t think that could have gone better than it did. He genuinely was sorry, and I don’t think he even realized the effect that it had on me, and still has on me now. It’s very cathartic.”

Watch the video below:

[h/t Pink News]

The post Watch Gay Vlogger Riyadh K Call And Confront His Childhood Bully – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Watch Gay Vlogger Riyadh K Call And Confront His Childhood Bully – VIDEO

Matt Damon: 'Straight or gay, people shouldn’t know anything about your sexuality'

After lecturing a female black director about diversity in Hollywood and later offering a half-hearted apology, Oscar-winning Matt Damon is now facing backlash for comments he made about gay actors.

Damon told The Guardian that out actors “take a hit for being out,” specifically mentioning Rupert Everett, who’s career sputtered after breaking out in the 1990s with My Best Friend’s Wedding. Though he seems sympathetic toward Everett, Damon thinks an aura of mystery makes actors more believable.

“I think it must be really hard for actors to be out publicly,” he told the British publication. “But in terms of actors, I think you’re a better actor the less people know about you period. And sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether you’re straight or gay, people shouldn’t know anything about your sexuality because that’s one of the mysteries that you should be able to play.”

Of course, Damon — who played gay men in The Talented Mr. Ripley and HBO’s Beyond the Candleabra — does not hide the fact that he’s heterosexual, often appearing on red carpets with his wife, Luciana.

Neal Broverman

www.advocate.com/film/2015/9/28/damon-straight-or-gay-people-shouldnt-know-anything-about-your-sexuality

Michael Sam Believes He'd Be In The NFL Now If He Hadn't Come Out

Michael Sam believes he’d be playing in the NFL right now if he hadn’t come out as gay when he did.

Sam, 25, told sportscaster Dan Patrick in an interview last week that it “probably would have been better” for his professional sports career for him to keep quiet about his sexuality in early 2014, just before he was drafted by the NFL. 

“I wanted to come out after I made an NFL roster. It really wasn’t supposed to be public,” Sam, who sad he believed somebody was planning to break the story about his sexuality in the media, told Patrick in the interview. “It was just supposed to be to the team, as I did at the University of Missouri, but… I wanted to be the one to tell my own story. I didn’t want someone to tell it for me.”   

 When asked if he thought he’d currently be on an NFL roster if things had gone differently, Sam said, “I’m not going to say … but it probably would have been better for me if I didn’t come out, I would be on a roster.”

He then stressed, “I have no regrets whatsoever.” 

Sam, the 2013 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and former All-American at the University of Missouri, was ultimately selected by the St. Louis Rams with the 249th pick in the seventh round of the 2014 draft, but didn’t end up making the team’s 53-man roster or their 10-man practice squad.

After a brief stint on the practice squad of the Dallas Cowboys, Sam signed with the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes in May, but said he was stepping away from football in August because he was concerned with his “mental health.” 

Sam told Patrick that he “never really want to go into the CFL,” and that he “wasn’t really getting better as a football player” during his time with the Alouettes. He’s now back at the University of Missouri, and said he’ll “train to get back to football” during his studies there. 

Wishing you the best, Michael! 

Also on HuffPost: 

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