Seth Meyers Takes a Closer Look at the War Between Clinton and Sanders Supporters: WATCH

Seth Meyers Takes a Closer Look at the War Between Clinton and Sanders Supporters: WATCH

seth meyers clinton sanders

Seth Meyers took a closer look at the ongoing fight betweens supporters of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on Late Night on Thursday.

Meyers dug into the rift between Sanders and the DNC, accusations that Sanders is a Ralph Nader-esque zombie candidate, and concerns that the growing discord between the two camps will spoil Democrats’ chances in November.

While the acrimony may feel particularly worrisome this year, Meyers says there’s reason for Democrats to rest assured that party unity will ultimately be achieved.

Said Meyers, “We’ve heard a lot this year about the so-called ‘Bernie or bust’ movement, but in 2008 there was something similar going on with Hillary supporters who said they’d never back Obama.” He asked, “Does any of this sound familiar?” Meyers then played clips from 2008 which showed Clinton supporters refusing to back Obama.

But, as Meyers points out, “In the end, fear of a John McCain presidency brought Democrats together, and as Hillary herself explained (Thursday) on CNN, a similar dynamic will play out this year.” He added, “That’s right. Donald Trump can bring people together. Even if they’re not washed up celebrities.”

Watch, below.

The post Seth Meyers Takes a Closer Look at the War Between Clinton and Sanders Supporters: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.



feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/VxV9L7KDGJ8/

#FlashbackFriday: One Year Ago Today, Ireland Prepared to Vote on Marriage Equality

#FlashbackFriday: One Year Ago Today, Ireland Prepared to Vote on Marriage Equality

One year ago today, LGBT advocates and allies anxiously awaited as Ireland prepared to hold the first-ever national referendum on marriage equality.

The referendum, which was held on May 22, 2015, asked voters to approve language that would update Ireland’s constitution to state, “Marriage may be contracted in accordance with the law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.”

While the Irish LGBT community united to lead an unprecedented voter registration campaign and voter mobilization effort, HRC was proud to support and share our experiences fighting for equality with our Irish counterparts. HRC Global was on the ground in Ireland and HRC President Chad Griffin wrote an op-ed encouraging Irish Americans to reach out to their friends and family to vote in the referendum.

Additionally, HRC was proud to partner with the Irish coalition YES Equality, a campaign comprised of GLEN, Marriage Equality, and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. The campaign played an integral role in ensuring the “yes” vote on the referendum. HRC staff met with Irish advocates to share best practices and offer support for the campaign. Additionally, we released a new t-shirt and all net proceeds were donated to the campaign for public education on equality.

While momentum built in Ireland, thousands of people from around the country, major organizations, celebrities and big-name brands showed their support for loving, committed same-sex couples across social media.

When the referendum passed on May 22, Ireland became the 18th country to afford same-sex couples full marriage rights.

The third edition of HRC Global’s Equality Rising report highlights this remarkable victory as well as the ferocious violence LGBTQ people still face around the globe.

Stay tuned to HRC’s blog as we celebrate one year of marriage equality on the Emerald Isle.

www.hrc.org/blog/flashbackfriday-one-year-ago-today-ireland-prepared-to-vote-on-marriage-equ?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Transgender Model Geena Rocero Highlights HRC’s Welcoming Schools Project on National News Show

Transgender Model Geena Rocero Highlights HRC’s Welcoming Schools Project on National News Show

Post submitted by Charles Girard, Welcoming Schools Coordinator.

Recently, ASPIREist, a news show on USA Network, joined openly transgender model and HRC supporter Geena Rocero for an inside look at HRC’s Welcoming Schools program to discover how the program helps transgender youth feel safer at school.

HRC’s Welcoming Schools is the nation’s premier program dedicated to creating respectful and supportive elementary schools that embrace family diversity and LGBTQ-inclusion, prevent biased-based bullying and gender stereotyping, and embrace all students.

In the piece, Rocero interviewed Tarah Fleming, a Welcoming Schools Expert Trainer and the Education Director of Our Family Coalition,

“We have seen definite reductions in gender bias bullying when educators use Welcoming Schools,” Fleming said. “When kids feel safe and seen and valued, they do better in school….they thrive.”

Rocero, an HRC supporter who has worked closely with the HRC Foundation’s Global team, also spoke with students who participated in the Welcoming Schools program. The students, easily engaged in a conversation with Rocero about LGBTQ people and diversity.  

“I think [transgender people] should be pretty happy because they’re unique and special,” said one student.

In addition to the appearing in ASPIREist, Rocero founded Gender Proud, a transgender advocacy and awareness organization. She also spoke at HRC’s National Dinner in 2014.

The students that Rocero met in the video are models of the kinds of citizens that HRC’s Welcoming Schools hopes to foster –– compassionate, understanding and ready to create a better world for everyone.

Watch a clip of the video below or click here to watch the whole episode. Additionally, check out Welcoming Schools’ updated website to help your community embrace all students and their families.

www.hrc.org/blog/transgender-model-geena-rocero-highlights-hrcs-welcoming-schools-project-on?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Trevor Noah Goes on Epic Rant Against Transgender Bathroom Bills – WATCH

Trevor Noah Goes on Epic Rant Against Transgender Bathroom Bills – WATCH

trevor

Trevor Noah blasted so-called bathroom bills, such as North Carolina’s HB 2, on The Daily Show Thursday night, highlighting the absurdity of preventing transgender people from using bathrooms that match their gender identity.

Noah went down the list of the many arguments being used by opponents of transgender bathroom rights, beginning with the de-bunked theory that if you allow transgender people the right to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity, you create a loophole whereby male “predators” can enter into women’s restrooms. Said Noah, “That’s what perverts have been waiting for, loopholes. Guys out there are like, ‘Man, I want to flash people in the bathroom so badly, when are they going to change the laws?’”

As for concerns about “privacy”, Noah noted that we all have to give up a little bit of privacy to be members of society. “I’m not comfortable being in the bathroom with an exposed penis,” Noah said. “And I’m a man. No one likes being around a penis they didn’t plan to see.” However, “There are certain types of privacy we forgo…When I go to the gym I have to accept the fact that in the changing room there may be a man standing there blow drying his balls. I don’t want to see that. Nobody wants to see that!”

Noah also underscored how right-wing fear mongers are focused on the wrong issue:

“The transgender population in America is closer to zero percent than one percent…So the chances of you bumping into a transgender person in the bathroom is almost zero percent, but the chances of a transgender person needing the bathroom is 100 percent.”

Noah argues that while there may be discomfort for some in accepting transgender rights, discomfort is part of progress. And while you might think that transgender acceptance has been progressing quickly, that belief ignores the struggles transgender people have faced for years and are only now seeing changes take place:

“Just imagine for a second being a 55-year-old trans woman and you’ve lived your entire life worried about bathrooms and locker rooms. The only thing trans people are saying right now is, ‘What took you guys so long? Because I feel like I’ve been holding it forever.’”

Watch, below.

The post Trevor Noah Goes on Epic Rant Against Transgender Bathroom Bills – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.



feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/b1WSYC4SjvM/

Celine Dion Releases Queen Classic ‘The Show Must Go On’ – LISTEN

Celine Dion Releases Queen Classic ‘The Show Must Go On’ – LISTEN

Celine Dion

Making a poignant statement about the point she’s at in her life following the death of her husband and manager Rene Angelil and her brother in January, Celine Dion has released her new single “The Show Must Go On” ahead of an upcoming performance this Sunday at the Billboard Music Awards.

The track, which Celine has been performing in concert for some time, also features violinist Lindsey Stirling.

The track was written by Queen’s Brian May as Freddie Mercury was near the final stages of his battle with complications due to HIV/AIDS  in 1990, though that had not been made public.

Listen:

The post Celine Dion Releases Queen Classic ‘The Show Must Go On’ – LISTEN appeared first on Towleroad.



feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/dzfLJKIBA2w/

Felony Abortion, Apple Stores, Summer Reading, EgyptAir, Pedro Almodovar: NEWS

Felony Abortion, Apple Stores, Summer Reading, EgyptAir, Pedro Almodovar: NEWS

EGYPTAIR. Body part, seats and luggage reportedly found: “The Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos said Egyptian authorities have said they have spotted a body part, 2 seats and suitcases in search for the EgyptAir plane. Kammenos said that Greek military bases on Crete would be made available for allied forces carrying out the search mission. He said data clearly shows that the aircraft took sharp turns and plunged, but analysis is for experts to determine.”

Lawyers for Kim DavisOKLAHOMA. Legislature passes bill declaring abortion a felony, Liberty Counsel takes credit: “Life begins at conception,” the press release quotes Liberty Counsel’s founder Mat Staver saying. “Preborn children are in fact children, not merely fetuses, and their lives should be protected from the moment of conception. This bill is a very positive step toward affirming the value of human life by taking away ability to murder children. Liberty Counsel stands ready to defend this legislature if it is challenged.”

Javier GonzalesSANTA FE. Gay Mayor Javier Gonzales advances progressive agenda: “One of the first things that Gonzales proposed upon taking office was a gender-neutral bathroom ordinance. The measure has subsequently gone into effect, but Gonzales conceded that it sparked a backlash among some Santa Fe residents. He noted he received comments that included the ordinance was able to pass because voters had elected a gay mayor. ‘They were nasty,’ said Gonzales. ‘They were brutal.’”

IRELAND. 412 gay couples have married in six months since it was legalized: “The vast majority of these ceremonies took place in the capital with 213 marriages registered in Co Dublin over the past year. There were 43 same-sex marriages in Co Cork, followed by 25 in Co Limerick, 17 in Co Wicklow and 14 in Co Galway. The lowest number of registered same-sex marriages took place in Carlow, Leitrim and Monaghan with only one marriage in each county.”

thegambia_senegalTHE GAMBIA. European Parliament concerned about anti-LGBT activity in the western Africa country: ‘The resolution notes that “LGBTI people are often victims of attacks, threats or arbitrary arrests by security forces.’ Accordingly, the Parliament ‘[u]rges the Government of The Gambia and the regional authorities to take all necessary measures to stop the discrimination against, and attacks and criminalisation of, LGBTI people and to guarantee their right to freedom of expression, including the removal of provisions criminalising LGBTI people from the Gambian Criminal Code’”

TALK TO HER. Pedro Almodovar blasts sexism in Hollywood: “We’ve got all of these movies that are about heroes and about arch-enemies, and there’s the sequels and there’s the prequels,” he told Variety. “With those movies, in general – and I’m only generalising – if a woman appears, their function is to prove that the hero is not a homosexual.”

AppleAPPLE. Stores get massive makeover, revealing clues about company’s future: “Cook consistently presents Apple as a company with a public responsibility. Sometimes he does so by weighing in on issues like encryption, or by having Apple be a vocal supporter of LGBTQ rights. In this case, he’s doing it by presenting the Apple store as a friendly community hub, and by building a store that is fueled entirely by renewable energy.”

SUMMER READING. Bill Gates thinks these books should be on your list.

TRAILER OF THE DAY. The second spot for the animated food flick Sausage Party is out:

FRIDAY FLESH. Cubby American living in Sydney Kevin August.

Instagram Photo

 

Instagram Photo

Instagram Photo

Instagram Photo

The post Felony Abortion, Apple Stores, Summer Reading, EgyptAir, Pedro Almodovar: NEWS appeared first on Towleroad.



feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/IN7dmmPn6IE/