Gold Star Families Demand Trump Apologize to Khans, Americans in Open Letter

Families of 17 fallen service members wrote an open letter to Donald Trump on Monday, denouncing his remarks against Khizr and Ghazala Khan, and demanding he apologize to all Gold Star families and Americans for the comments.

The letter, as published on VoteVets.org:

August 1, 2016
Donald J Trump
725 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Mr. Trump,

We are all Gold Star Families, who have lost those we love the most in war. Ours is a sacrifice you will never know. Ours is a sacrifice we would never want you to know.

Your recent comments regarding the Khan family were repugnant, and personally offensive to us. When you question a mother’s pain, by implying that her religion, not her grief, kept her from addressing an arena of people, you are attacking us. When you say your job building buildings is akin to our sacrifice, you are attacking our sacrifice.

You are not just attacking us, you are cheapening the sacrifice made by those we lost.

You are minimizing the risk our service members make for all of us.

This goes beyond politics. It is about a sense of decency. That kind decency you mock as “political correctness.”

We feel we must speak out and demand you apologize to the Khans, to all Gold Star families, and to all Americans for your offensive, and frankly anti-American, comments.

We hope you will hear us.

Sincerely,

Diane and Neil Santoriello, Mother and Father of 1LT Neil Santoriello, KIA, Iraq

Summer Lipford-Mickelson, Mother, Frederick Sirko, Father, Kirby Mickelson, Stepfather, Laura Sirko Samimy and Bridget Sirko Gentle, Sisters of PFC Steven Sirko, KIA, Iraq.

Sue and Randy Loudon, Mother and Father of 2ndLt. Christopher Loudon, KIA, Iraq

Melanie House, Widow of HM3 John Daniel House, KIA, Iraq

Derek and Lorene Davey, Mother and Father of Cpl. Seamus M. Davey, KIA, Iraq

Celeste Zappala, Mother, and Raphael Zappala, Brother of SGT. Sherwood Baker, KIA, Iraq

Sue Niederer, Mother of 2LT Seth Dvorin, KIA, Iraq

Fulvio and Gilda Carbonaro, Father and Mother of Sgt. Alessandro Carbonaro, KIA, Iraq

Karen Meredith, Mother of 1LT Ken Ballard, KIA, Iraq

Sergio Torres, Father, Lupe Torres, Mother and Beatriz Saldivar, Aunt of SGT Daniel Torres, KIA, Iraq

MG (Ret.) Paul D. Eaton, and Frank Eaton, sons of Col. Norman Eaton, KIA, Vietnam

Stephanie Fisher, mother of SSG Thomas Fogarty, KIA Afghanistan

Norma and Oscar Aviles, parents of Lcpl. Andrew J. Aviles, KIA Iraq

Cheryl Lankford, widow of CSM Jonathan”Miles”Lankford Sr., KIAIraq

Carlos and Melida Arredondo Father & Step-Mother to Lcpl. Alexander Arredondo, KIA, Iraq

Florence Sandra Penn , sister of 1 LT Charles Penn Jr , KIA Korea

Nadia McCaffrey, mother of SGT Patrick McCaffrey, KIA Iraq

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Hillary Clinton’s Hot Nephew Tyler Clinton Made the Internet Lose Its Mind – NEW PHOTOS, VIDEO 

The internet broke down after photos of Hillary Clinton’s nephew Tyler Clinton began surfacing and being shared online over the weekend.

The pictures, taken by photographer Adina Doria, show Tyler striking a pose (often shirtless) for a series of black and white photographs that are evocative of Bruce Weber’s work for Abercrombie and Fitch.

Now, Entertainment Tonight has obtained new photos from that photo shoot, which you can see below.

ET reports on the hullaballoo over Tyler:

Tyler Clinton, 22, is the son of Bill Clinton’s half-brother, Roger Clinton Jr. Recently, photos of him posing shirtless went viral after viewers caught a glimpse of him during Thursday’s Democratic National Convention, and the craze over the resident “DNC NILF,” as one fan put it, hasn’t stopped since.

More from Yahoo: 

[Tyler] also recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University in California, where his uncle, the former POTUS, gave the commencement address.

Check out more photos from Clinton’s shoot with Doria, below.

 

Clinton does have an Instagram, but sadly it’s private. Which means you’ll have to put in a request if you want to try to slide into his DMs.

Watch a report from Entertainment Tonight, below.

The post Hillary Clinton’s Hot Nephew Tyler Clinton Made the Internet Lose Its Mind – NEW PHOTOS, VIDEO  appeared first on Towleroad.

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Ghazala Khan, Tesla, Melania Trump, Draymond Green, Billie Jean King, Whip Crack: HOT LINKS

GHAZALA KHAN. Trump criticized my silence. He knows nothing about true sacrifice. “I cannot walk into a room with pictures of Humayun. For all these years, I haven’t been able to clean the closet where his things are — I had to ask my daughter-in-law to do it. Walking onto the convention stage, with a huge picture of my son behind me, I could hardly control myself. What mother could? Donald Trump has children whom he loves. Does he really need to wonder why I did not speak?”

RIO OLYMPICS. Does opening ceremony feature Giselle Bundchen getting assaulted and robbed? “Another curiosity was on account of a passage where Gisele Bündchen, parading to the sound of ‘The Girl from Ipanema’, will be assailed by an actor. In the end, however, the message of this scene will be peace.”

PROGRESSIVE PALS? Can Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders work together? “Sanders and Warren are legislative allies, but they aren’t particularly close friends.”

DEBATES. Reince Priebus backs Donald Trump’s bogus claim that the debate schedule is somehow rigged: “Certainly we’re not going to agree with anything that our nominee doesn’t agree with. Listen, I don’t know about whether the commission is rigged, I just think there’s a lot of flaws with this commission. They’re working hard, I’m not taking anything away from them.”

LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN HER. NY Post publishes nude photos of Melania Trump.

DRAYMOND GREEN. Golden State Warrior posts dick pic to Snapchat, apologizes.

Draymond Green: “We’re all one click away from placing something in the wrong place. I suffered from that this morning.”

— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) July 31, 2016

BARBERSHOPS. Turning them into safe spaces for black gay men. “Black barbershops are some of the most hypermasculine spaces in the world; at times they can remind you of a locker room. This was terrifying for me as a young boy who already felt that I was different from other boys.”

WORLD RECORDS. The longest whip crack in the world, at 238 feet.

FASHION. Raf Simons expected to be named Calvin Klein creative director. “The reason behind the delay in announcing Raf as the next boss is a banal one. A stringent non-compete clause in his Dior contract prevented him from taking the job officially until the clause expired on July 31. However, WWD report that the designer relocated to New York last month, and that he has already started meeting with key Klein staff.”

TRANS LIFE AND LIBERATION. Art series brings transgender diversity to Instagram.

 

MERGING. Tesla to buy Solar City for $2.6 billion: “The deal combines two of entrepreneur Elon Musk’s public firms to create what the SolarCity post called ‘the world’s only vertically integrated sustainable energy company.’”

POOL TIME. Cristiano Ronaldo and co.

 

BILLIE JEAN KING. No, Serena could not beat one of the top male tennis players.

MONDAY MUSCLE. Team USA wrestler Jordan Burroughs.

 

 

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Young Gay Black Man Explores The Intersectionality Of Racism And Homophobia

Racism in the gay community is something that more people are beginning to recognize as a problem, with an ongoing dialogue about how to address the issue. Michael Sam made headlines when he said in an interview with Attitude that he sees more racism in the gay community than he sees homophobia in the black community.

Spenser Clark has penned a piece for Outsports which adds another strong, first-person narrative to the discussion.

Related: #TweetLikeAWhiteGuy Aims To Expose Racism Within Gay Community

“Growing up as a young black man — and later, once I realized it, a gay black man — meant that I always had to prove I was good enough,” he writes.

He shares a story of wanting to play with his friend when he was five years old, only to be told no because the father didn’t want his white son playing with someone that “wasn’t familiar to them.” He recalls the letdown of prom, because he was the only gay kid he knew and he just wanted to go with a date and have fun like his friends.

In many ways, things have not gotten easier since then. He continues:

Yet the most sobering moments in my life have occurred over the past two months, with the Pulse night club shooting in Orlando and the deaths of two more African-American men who didn’t deserve to die. It has been a sobering two months, but months that have changed my perspective on the world I live in.

I woke up the morning after the Pulse shooting with my heart having sunk down to my feet. I couldn’t function. I couldn’t comprehend how people who were simply enjoying life and love could so suddenly be gone.

Love is supposed to win. Love is supposed to be the strongest force in the world. But on that night it wasn’t. Our community was devastated and hurting. We felt under attack in our safe space. We were faced with two choices: live in fear or embrace love.

He chose love, prompting him to attend and march in his first ever Pride event, Chicago Pride.

Get like my squad. #Pride2016 pic.twitter.com/nMpIAN7V6h

— Spenser Clark (@spenser_clark) June 26, 2016

“I made a decision to live my truth every day,” he says. But he knows firsthand how difficult letting love win can be and how much bigotry there is left to defeat.

Being a black man is something that I am proud of, yet I know it is something that takes a little more work and requires more patience, as people doubt you and expect you to fail. Their deaths make me embrace my skin, not run from it.

Black lives matter because for so long they didn’t. The movement is about getting respect as human beings and being treated as such. We are not asking for revenge. We are asking simply for equality.

Being a double minority has its great moments, but also its drawbacks when the two groups don’t see eye to eye.

After the Pulse shooting I saw many in the black community silent, while after the police shootings I saw many in the gay community silent. We have to support each other and lean on one another in the tough times. We are stronger together.

Clark points out that it often seems as if “the only voices that get heard in the LGBT community are those of cisgender white men.”

Related: This Closeted Gay Sailor Was Accidentally Outed, What Happened Next May Surprise You

“Their voices are important,” he says, “but people of color have experiences and stories to tell that are just as strong. Make the community whole by giving everyone a voice and respecting all races and not just the majority.”

Clark was previously featured by the publication for his role as an openly gay batboy for the Washington Nationals.

At first, Clark was closeted while working with the team, fearing he would not be accepted.

“Going into Major League Baseball meant that I had to go back into the closet.” – @spenser_clark#outsportsreunionpic.twitter.com/ZEQ5yP9DUN

— Ty McCubbin (@ty_mccubbin) June 25, 2016

He was still fresh off the battle of self-acceptance, explaining that “from elementary school through high school” he hid his true identity and struggled with feelings of self-hatred. He started coming out during the summer leading up to his senior year. By the end of college he had come out to everyone in his life.

Related: (Yet Another) UFC Star Apologizes For Antigay Slur

Next was having the courage to come out to the team, which felt like a whole other level of coming out.

Coming out to my Nationals coworkers was a completely different experience than any of the others. At work I was tired of trying to fit into conversations about women and having nothing to say. I couldn’t express myself the way I wanted. I didn’t want to hide anymore. I was unsure about how “sports people” would feel about having a gay co-worker. I was worried about getting fired or ostracized, all because of who I am.

None of that happened. I told everyone individually and everyone had similar reactions. They were proud of me and congratulated me for feeling comfortable enough with myself to be myself. They told me that nothing would change – and nothing did.

Clark ends his essay, the first for him as a contributor to Outsports with some advice:

Love goes a long way. It’s important to take time to love yourself in the hard times because your feelings are valid and it’s okay to process them. Lean on members of your communities and use them to lift you up and continue to fight the good fight. Take care of yourself and each other.

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When “Q” Stands For “Questioning,” Things Get Tricky

While the diverse rainbow lettering of our community seems to be growing by the day, LGBTQ is a fairly stable standard bearer.

We even have a sister site named LGBTQNation, so you know it’s serious.

But one of those letters has split personalities. We usually think of the “Q” for queer, but it can also mean questioning, something most of us were at one point in our lives.

Questioning is a challenging place to be; it is by very definition uncertain.

Below, we hear from guys on Whisper who fall in that camp.

Here’s how they’re getting along:

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Cleveland LGBT Community Takes Back Its Canceled Pride, Plans New Celebration on Same Day

Outraged over the cancellation of Cleveland Pride due to vague security concerns, LGBT advocates and allies are now planning another event on the same day.

Last week, Cleveland Pride Inc. announced the celebration will not be held as planned Aug. 13 for the first time since 1989, citing the terror attack that left 49 people dead at a gay Orlando nightclub in June.

“We have been entrusted by our community to create a secure parade and festival environment for our LGBTQ brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, friends and allies,” Cleveland Pride President and CEO Todd Saporito said in a statement on the organization’s website. “Because of the changing social climate, Cleveland Pride did not have enough time to engage in the development of awareness programs and training that we believe is critical in today’s environment. Therefore, we regretfully cancelled our 28th annual parade, rally and festival this year.”

The announcement shocked community members, including nationally syndicated radio host and local university professor Ken Schneck, who noted Cleveland Pride had already been pushed back to accommodate the Republican National Convention. Schneck also pointed to the RNC and other events, including the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA championship parade, as evidence the city is capable of safely accommodating large gatherings.

A petition calling for Saporito to resign over the cancellation has garnered nearly 1,200 signatures. And on Sunday, the city’s LGBT Community Center announced the new celebration:

After last Thursday’s announcement made by Cleveland Pride Inc. that the annual Cleveland Pride Parade and Festival had been cancelled, Cleveland LGBTQ Leaders joined together on the morning of July, 31st to move forward with a new event that will take place on Saturday, August 13, 2016.

Phyllis Harris, Executive Director of The LGBT Community Center, Cleveland City Councilman, Kerry McCormack; State Representative, Nickie Antonio; City of Cleveland and Dept. of Economic Development, Kevin Schmotzer and members from the following organizations: The LGBT Community Center, Plexus, HRC Cleveland Steering Committee, GG9, Stonewall Democrats, Stonewall Sports Cleveland, WH2, Dare2Care, Margie’s Hope and Equality Ohio are excited to announce that we will celebrate the LGBTQ Community, loud and proud, in Cleveland.

We will have a safe and secure environment in which to celebrate and we will show the world that Cleveland’s LGBTQ Community Rocks. Please stay tuned for more details on location, times, entertainment, etc. Cleveland will unite and will celebrate our community and diversity on Saturday, August 13, 2016.

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‘Cats’ Is Back on Broadway and Trippy As Ever: REVEW

Full disclosure: I am allergic to cats. Also, I think they’re weird. I generally regard them in the same way I do other sociopaths — from a distance. So, sitting in the fourth row of Cats, which returned to Broadway last night at the Neil Simon Theatre, was not exactly what I would consider my comfort zone.

When those tell-tale pairs of yellow eyes began to glow from the recesses of John Napier’s trash-barge set, I giggled uncomfortably. When the company first emerged from the darkness, many on their hands and knees, the painted patterns of their full bodysuits becoming clear in the light, I looked around to see if anyone else was trying not to laugh. And when, a few minutes later, a giant boot came down and hit the stage with a thud, I may have guffawed.

Hardly 10 minutes in to Trevor Nunn’s earnest revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s feline juggernaut, I knew that waiting for the other shoe to drop would be futile. Of course, it never did.

Much like the animals that inspired it, Cats is divisive. Seeing as it’s the fourth longest-running musical in Broadway history (the original production ran from 1982 until 2000), clearly the show has mass appeal. It is also hands-down the most openly bizarre piece of entertainment to ever be so popular. “Now and forever” reads the original tagline; we’re inching toward forever, and the joke may be on those who are still scratching their heads.

Much has changed in 30 years, but don’t expect irony or any trace of LOL-cats internet culture inside the Neil Simon. From the company’s multicolor shocks of spiked hair and snug legwarmers to Lloyd Webber’s signature synth — this is an unadulterated ‘80s reboot. Its hard to think of a more welcoming climate for pure escapism, and it doesn’t get more pure than this.

Based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the musical is as close to the trippy fever dream of a cat-obsessed shut-in as you can get. Basically, a bunch of cats come together one night to decide which of them gets to enter into a new life. The songs, made up of lyrics from Eliot’s poems, mostly introduce the cast of characters as they assemble — like Rum Tum Tugger, a sexy cat with swagger, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, a pair of cat burglars, Macavity, the mystery cat, etc.

Nunn himself wrote the lyrics to “Memory,” the famous eleven o’clock number that wins Grizabella, the “fallen woman” cat, the honor of ascending to be reborn. (The role also won Betty Buckley a Tony for just 10-odd minutes of stage time.) British pop star Leona Lewis tiptoes into the role here, delivering a rather meek vocal performance before finally blowing the lid off the song’s short climax.

As much as a mind-altering substance may be the only way to reap peak enjoyment of Cats, the cast assembled here delivers 110% percent, from their darting eyes and cat-like moods to their energetic execution of Andy Blankenbuehler’s balletic choreography (based on the original by Gillian Lynne). There’s something marvelous about a chorus line of expressive cats eliciting applause simply by moving downstage. No smoke and mirrors or clever rap lyrics, just heavy makeup, unblinking stares, and bodysuits with tails.

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Follow Naveen Kumar on Twitter: @Mr_NaveenKumar (photos: matthew murphy)

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John Oliver Blasts Trump’s Reaction to Khizr and Ghazala Khan: WATCH

On Last Week Tonight, John Oliver took a thorough look at all the speeches in both the Republican and Democratic conventions, noting how ‘topsy-turvy’ the two weeks have been, as the RNC is usually seen as the more optimistic and patriotic of the two but this year has been thrown into disarray by the carrot-headed fascist.

But what touched Oliver the most – as it did many of us – was the speech by Khizr Khan.

“That engendered in me a level of emotion I did not think was possible after 16 months of this depressing campaign and 39 years on earth as a British person,” said Oliver, noting the power of Khan’s offer to loan Donald Trump a copy of his pocket-sized Constitution.

“That is an American founding document being inspirationally used as a middle finger,” Oliver exclaimed. “I did not know that was technically possible.”

And Oliver laid into Trump for a reaction that was equally astonishing in its ignorance and racism, attempting to play into stereotypes that Muslim women are suppressed by their husbands.

Here’s what Trump said if you missed it:

“His wife, if you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say,” he said. “You tell me, but plenty of people have written that. She was extremely quiet and it looked like she had nothing to say.”

Responded Oliver:

 

“OK. For a start, his wife has explained that she chose not to speak because she gets too upset when she sees images of her dead son’s face, you F**KING a**hole.”

When asked about what sacrifices he has made Trump told George Stephanopoulos on This Week that “I’ve worked very very hard, created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures, I’ve had great success.”

And Oliver laid it down:

“They are self-serving half-truths from a self-serving half-man who has somehow convinced half the country that sacrifice is the same thing as success…Honestly, the main takeaway from these two weeks is that, incredibly, we may be on the brink of electing such a damaged, sociopathic narcissist that the simple presidential duty of comforting the families of fallen soldiers may actually be beyond his capabilities—and I genuinely did not think that was a part of the job that someone could be bad at.”

Watch:

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New Poll Gives Clinton 4 Point Post-Convention Bounce

A new CBS poll shows Hillary Clinton getting a four-point bump following the Democratic Convention:

Forty-six percent of voters nationwide say they’ll vote for Clinton in November, while 39 percent say they’ll back Trump. The race was tied last week after the Republican convention. Clinton led by a similar margin in June….When leaners are included – voters who are undecided when initially asked their vote preference but lean toward a candidate – Clinton leads Trump by six points.

Clinton also retains her lead when Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is added.

Perceptions of Clinton have become more positive:

In the wake of the Democratic convention, positive views of Hillary Clinton have risen five points among registered voters, from 31 percent a week ago to 36 percent today. Unfavorable views of Hillary Clinton have dropped six points: from 56 percent to 50 percent.

A separate Morning Consult poll shows Clinton with a three-point bump.

Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, has 43 percent support in the Morning Consult poll released Sunday morning, compared to 40 percent for Trump, the GOP presidential nominee. One week ago, the billionaire led the former secretary of State 44 percent to 40 percent.

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