Trump's Laughable Press Conference, Condensed
The president-elect tried to put out a firestorm and, per usual, failed.
www.advocate.com/politics/2017/1/11/trumps-laughable-press-conference-condensed
Monthly Archives: January 2017
DSC_0865 In Thought
Over 60,000 people have signed George Takei’s “Stand With U.S. Muslims” petition
Over 60,000 people have signed George Takei’s “Stand With U.S. Muslims” petition
Sulu would be proud.
Openly gay actor and activist George Takei, best known for playing Sulu on Star Trek and being sassy on the internet, has started a Care2 petition in support of Muslim Americans, and it’a clearly striking a nerve.
Related: George Takei: Star Trek’s Gay Sulu Scene Didn’t Go Far Enough
In Takei’s “Stand Up for Muslims in the U.S.” petition, he uses his family’s history of internment in the United States to illustrate his concern regarding the incoming administration’s xenophobic rhetoric regarding Muslims:
We were prisoners in our own country, held within barbed wire compounds, armed guards pointing guns down at us. It was an egregious violation of our rights under the U.S. Constitution, all in the name of “security.” During that time, fear and racism drove government policy, creating a living hell for over 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans, most of whom were U.S. citizens.
On Trump’s calls for an immigration “ban” he says:
It starts with a registry, with restrictions, with irrationally ascribed guilt, and with fear. But we know well where it might lead.
The fear of a Muslim internment camp or registry isn’t as far-fetched as it seems. A Trump backer appeared on Fox News last fall and argued the Japanese internment set a “precedent” for a potential Muslim registry.
The petition’s goal is 65,000 signatures, but with 62k already signed and counting, it’s well on its way to surpassing that mark.
Related: George Takei gives Trump a reminder of the profound horror of nuclear weapons
Once the goal is met, Takei plans to present the petition in person to government authorities, as well as the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Cory Booker: Jeff Sessions Lacks the ‘Courageous Empathy’ to be U.S. Attorney General – WATCH
Cory Booker: Jeff Sessions Lacks the ‘Courageous Empathy’ to be U.S. Attorney General – WATCH
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) became the first senator to testify against another sitting senator in a Cabinet confirmation hearing when he testified against Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) nomination as Attorney General.
Said Booker, in part (as prepared):
One of the victories of the Modern Civil Rights movement was the 1957 Civil Rights Act, which in effect made the Attorney General not only the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, but also vested in the office the responsibility to pursue civil rights and equal protections for all in America.
Senator Sessions has not demonstrated a commitment to a central requirement of the job — to aggressively pursue the congressional mandate of civil rights, equal rights, and justice for all. In fact, at numerous times in his career, he has demonstrated a hostility toward these convictions, and has worked to frustrate attempts to advance these ideals.
If confirmed, Senator Sessions will be required to pursue justice for women, but his record indicates that he won’t.
He will be expected to defend the equal rights of gay and lesbian Americans, but his record indicates that he won’t.
He will be expected to defend voting rights, but his record indicates that he won’t.
He will be expected to defend the rights of immigrants and affirm their human dignity, but his record indicates he won’t.
His record indicates that as Attorney General he would obstruct the growing national bipartisan movement toward criminal justice reform.
His record indicates that we cannot count on him to support state and national efforts toward bringing justice to a justice system that people on both sides of the aisle readily admit is biased against the poor, drug addicted, mentally ill, and people of color.
His record indicates that at a time when even the FBI director is speaking out about implicit racial bias in policing and the need to address it; at a time when the last two Attorneys General have taken steps to fix our broken criminal justice system; and at a time when the Justice Department he would lead has uncovered systemic abuses in police departments all over the United States including Ferguson, including Newark; Senator Sessions would not continue to lead urgently needed change.
The next Attorney General must bring hope and healing to our country, and this demands a more courageous empathy than Senator Sessions’ record demonstrates.
Watch:
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Cory Booker: Jeff Sessions Lacks the ‘Courageous Empathy’ to be U.S. Attorney General – WATCH
In Moving Interview, Young Queer Immigrant Shares How His Mother Sacrificed to Ensure His Safety
In Moving Interview, Young Queer Immigrant Shares How His Mother Sacrificed to Ensure His Safety
Javier was just six years old when his mother brought him and his brother to the U.S. from Guatemala. But it wasn’t until he came out a decade later that he found out why she left her professional life and her extended family behind to bring her sons to a new country.
“Right after I came out to my mother, the first thing she told me was that it was the reason we had immigrated to the United States,” Javier says in a new HRC video. “I guess I might’ve just been a very queer kid…and my mother realized it wasn’t something that was going to go away.”
She feared that her son’s safety and well-being could not be assured if they stayed in Guatemala.
In the video, Javier reflects on anti-LGBTQ rhetoric he heard in school growing up before moving to the U.S. and the dangers facing LGBTQ people in Guatemala. And he talked about the apprehension that has been rippling through the Latino community in the U.S. after the election of Donald Trump, whose presidential campaign was marked by virulently anti-immigrant rhetoric.
“I think it is very difficult to be queer in the Latino community. There is violence against LGBTQ people,” he added. “I can’t imagine all the people who are facing deportation now, how they’re going to face that hatred.”
In America, Javier is able to be the “most authentic version” of himself and will be able to get married when the time comes. He is now a U.S. citizen and an advocate for LGBTQ equality.
The LGBTQ community is as diverse as the fabric of our nation. We are African Americans, Latinx, women, immigrants, Christians, Jews and Muslims — and so many more identities — and HRC will continue to stand together against any legislation or Administration, at home and around the globe, that targets our community.
HRC is a proud sponsor of the “We Are Here To Stay” day of action for immigrant rights and refugees on January 14. Learn more here.
Javier Y El Miedo De Ser Un Indocumentado LGTBQ
Watch Rex Tillerson's Confirmation Hearing for Secretary of State
Watch Rex Tillerson's Confirmation Hearing for Secretary of State
www.advocate.com/politics/2017/1/11/watch-rex-tillersons-confirmation-hearing-secretary-state
Jo Adams (2017)
“Urban Myths” trailer gives us a very close look at Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson
“Urban Myths” trailer gives us a very close look at Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson
There’s clearly quite a bit going on in Urban Myths, a film that explores what might have happened when Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marlon Brando decided to go on a road trip following the 9/11 attacks — which was apparently a very real thing.
As you may have heard, the fact that Joseph Fiennes plays the role of Michael Jackson has been met with considerable controversy.
“The decision with the casting and producers — I wrangled with it,” the actor tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Related: That Time Prince Backed Out Of Working With Michael Jackson Because Of A Lyric About Butts
“I was confused and shocked at what might come my way,” he says. “And I knew the sensitivity, especially to Michael’s fans and to Michael’s family. It doesn’t negate who he was.”
The British TV film also stars Brian Cox as Marlon Brando, and the brilliant Stockard Channing as Elizabeth Taylor.
To put it artlessly, the film — which debuts January 19 on the U.K.’s Sky Arts — looks pretty damn amazing:
Cannabis, Dustin Lance Black, Trump Nominees, Madonna, Marc Cherry, Austin Armacost: HOT LINKS
Cannabis, Dustin Lance Black, Trump Nominees, Madonna, Marc Cherry, Austin Armacost: HOT LINKS
RECORD BREAKER. Obama’s tweet retweeted more than 471,000 times.
.@POTUS‘ tweet saying “Thank you for everything” becomes Pres. Obama’s most retweeted tweet ever, with more than 471,000 RTs, Twitter says. pic.twitter.com/cZ5Ihg9pNd
— ABC News (@ABC) January 11, 2017
HEARINGS. Senate Republicans feeling pressure to fully vet Trump nominees: “Hearings for Betsy DeVos, Mr. Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Education; Andrew Puzder, his labor secretary nominee; and Representative Mike Pompeo, Republican of Kansas, Mr. Trump’s pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, have all been pushed back as Democrats clamor for more time to collect and review the standard background checks that nominees traditionally undergo before their hearings commence.”
MISSOURI. MSU agrees to pay $25,000 to settle lawsuit with former student who wouldn’t counsel gay couples: “A student in the class asked Boyce if the Springfield Marriage and Family institute counseled gay couples, and Boyce told the class he does not give gay couples relationship counseling because of his religious beliefs, according to the lawsuit.”
REPORT. Cannabis use increasing among older Americans.
DUSTIN LANCE BLACK. On Alt-Right attacks on new miniseries When We Rise: “I think a lot of people who voted for Donald Trump will love this show. I don’t see this show as the type of show that’s only trying to speak with half the country. That’s not what this is all about. I didn’t write this show for half the country. I think if Donald Trump actually watches the show, he might like the show.”
MADONNA. New film in the works based on Andrew Sean Greer’s The Impossible Lives of Greta Walls: “On her coffee table, there were binders filled with research for the project—potential settings, costumes, and so on. Madonna is thorough. In fact, she co-wrote the screenplay and will be directing the film. The novel follows the title character as she moves through time and negotiates three different lives she could have lived. The story also focuses on Greta’s relationship with her gay twin brother, Felix, in those different lives.”
Introducing Madonna As Our February Cover Star t.co/IyIGwW59EE pic.twitter.com/SJUM9vBjdm
— Harper’s Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) January 11, 2017
MARC CHERRY. Desperate Housewives creator back with drama for ABC starring Reba McEntire. “The new drama centers on Ruby Adair (McEntire), the sheriff of colorful small town Oxblood, KY, who finds her red state outlook challenged when a young FBI agent of Middle Eastern descent is sent to help her solve a horrific crime. Together they form an uneasy alliance as Ruby takes the agent behind the lace curtains of this Southern Gothic community to meet an assortment of bizarre characters, each with a secret of their own.”
AUSTIN ARMACOST. I’m asexual. “I am probably in all honesty the least sexual people you will ever meet. As much as I love getting my kit off and showing my bum everywhere, I am like a nun in bed. I am not going to go out with someone and have sex with them. Even after a fourth or fifth date – that’s not what I want. I want a nice man! It has little to do with physicality.”
INTERSPECIES SEX. Snow monkey observed attempting sex with deer: “It is only the second recorded example of sexual relations between two distantly related species. Snow monkeys and sika deer generally have a symbiotic relationship, with the deer eating fruits dropped from the trees by the monkeys and the monkeys grooming the deer and occasionally riding on their backs.”
REMINDER. Don’t try to leap across subway tracks.
ICE CIRCLE. Beauty in the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River near North Bend, Washington.
HUMP DAY HOTTIE. Pak Narapat.
The post Cannabis, Dustin Lance Black, Trump Nominees, Madonna, Marc Cherry, Austin Armacost: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.
Cannabis, Dustin Lance Black, Trump Nominees, Madonna, Marc Cherry, Austin Armacost: HOT LINKS
