Detroit Man Charged With Assault After Making Antigay Threats, Posting Video Online
Stephen Drake Edwards, who recorded himself making antigay remarks while pointing a gun at another man, turned himself in to police Saturday.
Daily Archives: July 17, 2016
Gente/ people
Insatiable
Heather Small at Northern Pride 2016
Susie Bright Will Cover The Republican Convention for Towleroad…From Mexico…With Love
Susie Bright Will Cover The Republican Convention for Towleroad…From Mexico…With Love
Towleroad will be featuring coverage by Susie Bright as part of our complete Republican Convention coverage this year…starting tomorrow.
She’ll weigh in daily with a post and will be tweeting on the @tlrd Twitter account, and as part of the live blogging on Towleroad each evening. So plan on making us part of your experience of what promises to be the most surreal and potentially volatile political gathering of our lives.
To introduce herself and this coverage, Susie interviewed herself…
Q & A with Susie Bright, our girl reporter on fleek, all week, with the GOP Convention:
Susie Bright has covered White House sexual politics and Dem/GOP shenanigans for Towleroad, Talking Points Memo, OUT, the SF Chronicle, Salon, and the “old” Playboy. The founding editor of On Our Backs, her early LGBT activism included bringing The Lesbian Tide into 1970s L.A. public high schools. Good times! When she’s not driving too fast on Towleroad, you can find her weekly podcast at In Bed with Susie Bright, on Audible Channels.
Why are you going to Mexico to cover the GOP Convention? — Cleveland’s the other direction!
My friend Al Giordano of The Narco News covers narco-trafficking on the border and was an especially prescient prognosticator of the recent Democrat and Republican primaries. As Donald Trump’s “wall against Mexico” became less of a joke and more of a Trump Towers construction project, we realized we wanted first dibs on lawn chairs— on the sympatico side of the border
A group of like-minded journos and artists are just who I want to be with when “family values” run amok. As you can imagine, Mexicans are very interested in the GOP platform, and I will appreciate the international perspective as we tune into multiple screens each evening of the convention.
Live-blogging?
You betcha. I’ll be live-blogging every evening of the Convention and posting a morning-after op-ed, Monday the 18 through Thursday the 21st.
My partner in unflinching observation is Jon Bailiff, who’ll be live-sketching the GOP affaire de fou, on our outpost on the Bay of Campeche. Jon’s work been featured in Salon, The Progressive, Young Lust and 1000 Artists, the group that live-documented our last two presidential inaugurations and local elections.
What can we expect to see from the GOP convention this year?
The GOP Platform committee wants a Scripture-emblazoned witch-burning. Trump wants showgirls, penis jokes, fat clowns, and WWF belt-holders. —What could go wrong?
—————————-
Susie’s recent writing for Towleroad:
First Person: Susie Bright on the Sex-Obsessed Paris ISIS Manifesto
Get Out. Keep Running. — Susie Bright on Orlando
Susie Bright on the birth of On Our Backs:
Susie Bright in her scene in the HBO series Six Feet Under. “This was the scene in the last season of six feet under where we all bid farewell to a dear friend. We were supposed to smoke (harsh non-pot herbal mixture) from a bong and then burst into glorious song. Take after take after take. I got excited because all the other actresses claimed they had NO IDEA how to light a bong, so I gallantly offered until a Teamster intervened. But I liked having a job besides acting!”
Susie Bright’s commentary on “The Children’s Hour” in a scene from the film of Vito Russo’s “The Celluloid Closet,” where I analyzed– and cried a little– about about why Lillian Hellman’s story, about two schoolteachers falsely accused of lesbianism, was so overwhelming to its original audience.
And Josh Marshall of TPM talked with Susie Bright about all kinds of things. Susie is the author of The Sexual State of the Union and editor of X: The Erotic Treasury. She blogs at Susie Bright’s Journal and podcasts every Friday about sexual politics on Audible
Join us the next few days to enjoy Susie’s take on the Republicans and the state of this election.
We are pleased to have her.
The post Susie Bright Will Cover The Republican Convention for Towleroad…From Mexico…With Love appeared first on Towleroad.
Three Baton Rouge Police Officers Killed, Three Injured in ‘Ambush’
Three Baton Rouge Police Officers Killed, Three Injured in ‘Ambush’
Three Baton Rouge, Louisiana police officers were gunned down in an “ambush” on Sunday morning. Three others are injured, NBC News reports:
The officers were responding to a call of shots fired when they were gunned down in an apparent “ambush” around 9 a.m. local time, said Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden.
One of the killed officers was a 45-year-old East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office Deputy and two were Baton Rouge police officers. One was a 32-year-old 10-year veteran of the department, and the other was a 41-year-old one-year veteran of the department, Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie said.
A 41-year-old Baton Rouge police officer suffered non-life threatening injuries, while two East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office Deputies, aged 41 and 51, were injured. The 41-year-old was in critical condition, and “absolutely fighting for his life,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards.
The shooting of the officers is just the latest in a series of violent events which include the shooting of Alton Sterling, who was shot and killed as he was pinned to the ground by police, and the shooting of five Dallas police officers who were overseeing a Black Lives Matter protest last week.
#BatonRouge police Officer Montrell Jackson, 32, with his son, 4 months old, killed today by Gavin Eugene Long. pic.twitter.com/DrS6rL8Hde
— jdmullane (@jdmullane) July 17, 2016
Montrell Jackson, an officer killed in the shooting, wrote this on Facebook last week:
Literally in tears man. Officer Montrell Jackson was shot and killed today. He wrote this just days ago #BatonRouge pic.twitter.com/PkOq1YkRrk
— Jayk Purdy (@jaykpurdy) July 17, 2016
Second #BatonRouge officer killed has been identified as Matthew Gerald, 41; Leaves behind a wife and 2 children pic.twitter.com/nXTtS0dQ3v
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 17, 2016
The gunman was killed in a shootout and has been identified as Gavin Long, of Kansas City, Missouri The shooter’s 29th birthday was today.
Long was reportedly honorably discharged from the Marines in 2010. One law enforcement officer said he identified as “black separatist.”
President Obama responded to the shooting at the White House today:
TRANSCRIPT:
Good afternoon, everybody. As all of you know now, this morning, three law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge were killed in the line of duty. Three others were wounded. One is still in critical condition.
As of right now, we don’t know the motive of the killer. We don’t know whether the killer set out to target police officers, or whether he gunned them down as they responded to a call. Regardless of motive, the death of these three brave officers underscores the danger that police across the country confront every single day. And we as a nation have to be loud and clear that nothing justifies violence against law enforcement. Attacks on police are an attack on all of us and the rule of law that makes society possible.
Earlier this afternoon, I spoke with Governor Edwards and Mayor Holden, and I offered them the full support of the federal government and reiterated my full support for law enforcement in Baton Rouge and for police officers across the country. I also spoke to the Attorney General, and the FBI has already been on the scene. And through the work of all levels of government, justice will be done.
Most of all, our hearts go out to the families who are grieving. Our prayers go out to the officer who is still fighting for his life. This has happened far too often. And I’ve spent a lot of time with law enforcement this past week. I’m surrounded by the best of the best every single day. And I know whenever this happens, wherever this happens, you feel it. Your families feel it. But what I want you to know today is the respect and the gratitude of the American people for everything that you do for us.
Five days ago, I traveled to Dallas for the memorial service of the officers who were slain there. I said that that killer would not be the last person who tries to make us turn on each other. Nor will today’s killer. It remains up to us to make sure that they fail. That decision is all of ours. The decision to make sure that our best selves are reflected across America, not our worst — that’s up to us.
We have our divisions, and they are not new. Around-the-clock news cycles and social media sometimes amplify these divisions, and I know we’re about to enter a couple of weeks of conventions where our political rhetoric tends to be more overheated than usual.
And that is why it is so important that everyone — regardless of race or political party or profession, regardless of what organizations you are a part of — everyone right now focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further. We don’t need inflammatory rhetoric. We don’t need careless accusations thrown around to score political points or to advance an agenda. We need to temper our words and open our hearts — all of us. We need what we saw in Dallas this week, as a community came together to restore order and deepen unity and understanding. We need the kind of efforts we saw this week in meetings between community leaders and police — some of which I participated in — where I saw people of good will pledge to work together to reduce violence throughout all of our communities. That’s what’s needed right now. And it is up to all of us to make sure we are part of the solution and not part of the problem.
Someone once wrote, “A bullet need happen only once, but for peace to work we need to be reminded of its existence again and again and again.”
My fellow Americans, only we can prove, through words and through deeds, that we will not be divided. And we’re going to have to keep on doing it “again and again and again.” That’s how this country gets united. That’s how we bring people of good will together. Only we can prove that we have the grace and the character and the common humanity to end this kind of senseless violence, to reduce fear and mistrust within the American family, to set an example for our children.
That’s who we are, and that’s who we always have the capacity to be. And that’s the best way for us to honor the sacrifice of the brave police officers who were taken from us this morning.
May God bless them and their families, and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you very much.
Hillary Clinton also released a statement:
Hillary’s statement on the shooting in Baton Rouge. pic.twitter.com/4a0MVF3025
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 17, 2016
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Reince Priebus: Gay Convention Speaker Peter Thiel is ‘Welcome in Our Party’
Reince Priebus: Gay Convention Speaker Peter Thiel is ‘Welcome in Our Party’
Republican Party Chair Reince Priebus told the AP in an interview on Friday that Paypal billionaire Peter Thiel, who is openly gay, is “welcome” in the Republican Party though the platform is staunchly anti-gay:
“We’re still a party that believes that marriage is between one man and one woman, but it doesn’t mean that we’re going to kick people out,” he said, describing opposition to gay marriage as “one of the bedrock issues of our party.”
“I can’t win this race if I tell people that they’re not welcome in our party,” Priebus said when asked about Thiel. “He’s been a good help to our party and many candidates across the country. He’s a good Republican. He’s welcome in our party. Period.”
RELATED: Gay Billionaire Peter Thiel Admits to Bankrolling Hulk Hogan’s Case Against Gawker
Thiel, who made headlines recently by admitting to secretly bankrolling a lawsuit against Gawker Media by Hulk Hogan which has forced the media outlet into bankruptcy. The revenge suit was prompted by a 2007 story Gawker published discussing the fact that Thiel is gay.
Sam Stein notes that there have been two other openly gay speakers at Republican conventions:
Steve Fong, a little-known official with the pro-gay rights group Log Cabin Republicans, gave a one-minute speech, to little fanfare, in 1996.
Four years later, the party gathered in Philadelphia to formally nominate the George W. Bush and Dick Cheney ticket. Months prior, a group of gay and lesbian Republicans had petitioned Bush to give Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) a speaking spot. Kolbe had supported his home-state senator, John McCain, in the primary. But Bush was aware of the message it would send to have an openly gay conservative speak. Advocates said he was intrigued by the idea.
An invitation was extended: Kolbe would get a slot on one of the convention’s earlier evenings and not during prime time. He would also talk about trade, not LGBT rights. Still, social conservatives were upset and rumors began to surface that they would stage some form of protest.
The topic of Thiel’s speech is unknown at this point.
Priebus also discussed gay conversion therapy and claims that it is not in the platform:
Priebus denied that language inserted into a draft of the party platform encourages “conversion therapy,” which religious conservatives believe can stop gay people from being gay. The new language, which has yet to be adopted by the full convention, reads, “We support the right of parents to determine the proper treatment or therapy, for their minor children.”
Asked whether the Republican Party supports “conversion therapy,” Priebus charged, “It’s not in the platform.”
RELATED: 2016 GOP Platform Lays It Bare: Today’s Republican Party is an Anti-LGBT Hate Group
Snopes takes a look at recent reports that conversion therapy has made it into the platform, though the platform “faces at least two more tests before officially becoming part the party’s platform, and thus far its myriad issues remained unapprove.”
The rumors seem to come from reports in CNN and TIME about Tony Perkins’ success in getting language adopted to the platform that cannot be interpreted any other way:
Most reports about the conversion therapy aspect of the 2016 GOP platform trace back to CNN’s account, which is based on a copy of a draft obtained by the news network. The cited language (if accurate) is ambiguous and does not expressly identify conversion by name, but many onlookers nonetheless believe there is no other reasonable interpretation of Perkins’ proposal.
At least two of Donald Trump’s delegates run a political organization that believes gays can be cured, the San Diego Union Tribune reports:
The views of husband and wife team John and Donna Woodrum espoused through their Eagle Forum come to light just before the Republican National Convention opens in Cleveland.
They aren’t the first Trump supporters with controversial views. In May, another potential Trump delegate was discovered to be a white nationalist who leads the American Freedom Party, a group that says it “represents the interests and issues of European-Americans.”
Trump’s campaign later said a database error caused William Johnson’s inadvertent selection, and he was taken off the delegate list.
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Versailles
West Virginia GOP Lawmaker and United Airlines Pilot Calls for Hillary Clinton to Be Publicly Executed
West Virginia GOP Lawmaker and United Airlines Pilot Calls for Hillary Clinton to Be Publicly Executed
West Virginia Republican legislator and United Airlines pilot Michael Folk is under scrutiny for a tweet he directed at Hillary Clinton on Friday which said “You should be tried for treason, murder, and crimes against the US Constitution… then hung on the Mall in Washington, DC.”
Folk said he posted the tweet with regard to the FBI’s decision not to charge Clinton over her private email server.
Folk has since deleted the tweet and called it “hyperbole.”
Folk said in a telephone interview he still wants Clinton to go on trial, but he doesn’t want her executed.
“It could have been said a little bit better,” Folk said. “I regret the tone, and the second part of that tweet. The biggest misconception is that for some reason, everybody thinks I made a death threat, which I did not. Clearly it was not that.”
The Justice Department announced earlier this month Clinton would not be prosecuted over her handling of classified information. Folk said he sent the tweet after watching a video of testimony before a U.S. House committee over the Clinton emails.
Some groups, including the West Virginia Democratic Party, are calling on Folk to resign:
According to a press release from the Bulldog Finance Group, Jon Cooper, Chairman of the Democratic Coalition Against Trump stated: “Saturday morning the Democratic Coalition Against Trump organized a petition asking that United perform an investigation and at the very least do a psychological evaluation before Mr. Folk returns to the skies. United Airlines then replied directly to the Democratic Coalition Against Trump with the message “We are appalled by comments advocating harm. They do not represent United & we are looking into the matter further.”
Cooper said today in response, “While we appreciate the prompt reply from United Airlines, until they take concrete action to protect the public, we are calling for a nationwide boycott of United.” The 20,000 followers of the Democratic Coalition Against Trump were asked this afternoon to help spread the word of the boycott.
The Trump Campaign, the Republican National Committee and the West Virginia Republican Party did not return calls and inquiries from CNN, USA Today, and multiple local news outlets in West Virginia.
“We need United Airlines to show we hold public leaders like pilots to a higher standard,” said Nate Lerner, Executive Director of the Coalition.
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Must-See LGBT TV 7/17-23: Don't miss 'Looking: The Movie'
Must-See LGBT TV 7/17-23: Don't miss 'Looking: The Movie'
Photo Credit: HBO/Melissa Moseley
Grab the remote, set your DVR or queue up your streaming service of choice! GLAAD is bringing you the highlights in LGBT on TV this week. Check back every Sunday for up-to-date coverage in LGBT-inclusive programming on TV.
Don’t miss the premiere of Looking: The Movie this Saturday on HBO! The film sees Patrick returning to San Francisco for the first time to celebrate a wedding after he has been living in Denver for a year. As he returns, he is forced to confront some of the loose ends and broken relationships he left behind when he moved. Looking: The Movie: Saturday, 10pm on HBO.
Sunday July 17: The Last Ship (9pm, TNT); Roadies (10pm, Showtime)
Monday: The Fosters (8pm, Freeform); Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta (8pm, VH1); UnReal (10pm, Lifetime); Major Crimes (10pm, TNT)
Tuesday: Sisterhood of Hip Hop (9pm, Oxygen); Animal Kingdom (9pm, TNT); Scream (10pm, MTV); My Giant Life (10pm, TLC); Difficult People (Hulu)
Wednesday: I Am Jazz (10pm, TLC); Tyrant (10pm, FX); Mr. Robot (10pm, USA); Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce (11pm, Fuse); Transcendent (11:30pm, Fuse)
Friday: The Great British Baking Show (9pm, PBS); Killjoys (9pm, Syfy)
Saturday: Looking: The Movie (10pm, HBO)
July 17, 2016
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www.glaad.org/blog/must-see-lgbt-tv-717-23-dont-miss-looking-movie
