Republican Senator Jeff Flake Takes Astonishing Stand Against Donald Trump In Scathing Resignation Speech

Another Republican Senator has stepped forward to condemn Donald Trump, labelling the US President “dangerous to democracy” in a blistering take-down.

In a withering attack from the floor of the Senate, Jeff Flake said it was “time for our complicity and accommodation to the unacceptable to end” and said Republicans would not “meekly accept such behaviour” if a Democrat was in the White House.

His tirade came hours after he joined fellow Republican Bob Corker in announcing he would not stand for office next year. Corker, too, unleashed a stinging rebuke earlier in the day – accusing Trump of “debasing” the US.

Flake, who has criticised the path that the Republican Party has taken under Trump, told The Arizona Republic in advance of his announcement that “there may not be a place for a Republican like me” in the current GOP.

Watch the full speech from the Senate floor below.

Corker, the US Senator who branded the White House an “adult daycare centre”, added today that the President has “great difficulty with the truth” and is “purposely breaking down relationships we have around the world that had been useful to our nation”.

“It’s amazing. Unfortunately world leaders are very aware that much of what he says is untrue,” Corker continued. “Certainly people here are because these things are provably untrue. They’re just factually incorrect and people know the difference.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Check back for the fullest version. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter here, and on Facebook here.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/trump-jeff-flake-bob-corker_uk_59ef92e8e4b04917c593d31f

Kathy Griffin: Anderson Cooper Is ‘Spineless Heiress’

The comedian slams her former friend after he denounced her controversial photo shoot.

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2017/10/24/kathy-griffin-anderson-cooper-spineless-heiress

“Flash” star Keiynan Lonsdale says he didn’t plan on coming out for at least six decades
“I never had any plans to come out until I was like in my 80s,” Lonsdale says. “Until then I’d just live a nice sad life.”

www.queerty.com/flash-star-keiynan-lonsdale-says-didnt-plan-coming-least-six-decades-20171024?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Man Shouts ‘Trump is Treason’, Throws Down Russian Flag as President Arrives at Capitol: WATCH

A protester at the U.S. Capitol threw down Russian flags and shouted “Trump is treason” as the president arrived for a meeting with lawmakers on Tuesday afternoon.

Watch:

WATCH: Protester shouts “Trump is treason” after the president arrives for lunch with GOP. t.co/CFl8yhNCcM

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 24, 2017

The post Man Shouts ‘Trump is Treason’, Throws Down Russian Flag as President Arrives at Capitol: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Man Shouts ‘Trump is Treason’, Throws Down Russian Flag as President Arrives at Capitol: WATCH

MPs Demand Right To Veto UK’s Exit From Single Market
A cross-party group of MPs have called for parliament to be given the power to veto the UK’s exit from the single market.

Conservative MP Anna Soubry and Labour MPs Stephen Kinnock and Heidi Alexander joined forces on Tuesday to ask for a Commons debate be held on whether parliament should have to approve the UK’s exit from the the European Economic Area (EEA)

The EEA treaty, signed in 1994, extends the single market beyond the current 28 EU members to non-EU states Norway, Lichtenstein and Iceland.

The government has argued that the UK will automatically leave the EEA when it leaves the EU in March 2019.

But speaking to the backbench business committee, which allocates some Commons debates, Kinnock said this was wrong.

“There is a very strong legal school of opinion which takes the opposite view and believes it’s necessary for the UK to trigger departure from EEA as a separate parallel process to Brexit,” he said.

The EEA agreement, signed by Britain, states that to legally leave, a country must trigger article 127 of the treaty at least 12 months in advance of quitting.

Pro-Remain MPs hope there is no Commons majority to leave the single market and will be able to force the government into a so-called soft Brexit.

Even a victory in a non-binding vote asking parliament be given a right to veto leaving the EEA would increase pressure on Theresa May.

The bid for a debate is backed by Conservative, Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem and SNP MPs.

The motion that would be debated and voted on, perhaps as soon as November 6, states:

That this House recognises that to exit the European Economic Area (EEA) the United Kingdom must trigger Article 127 of the EEA Agreement, and that this House calls on the government to give Members of this House a binding Parliamentary vote on the triggering of Article 127 of the EEA Agreement and continued British membership of the (EEA).
Alexander told the parliamentary committee that allocates time for debates there was a concern government would trigger article 127 by the “backdoor” using its EU Withdrawal Bill.

“The governments position is moving towards a state where will see the formal notification of the UK leaving the EEA,” she predicted.

“To coincide with leaving the EU at then end of March 2019, this might be something government is considering doing in early months of next year to comply with that.”

Soubry said “bizarrely” there had been few Commons debates on the “nuts and bolts” of Brexit despite it being “the most important topic in decades”.

“Without that I think it is not only bad for democracy, I think it is bad for Brexit, because it’s not seen to involve people,” she said.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/mps-demand-right-to-veto-uks-exit-from-single-market_uk_59ef452ae4b07cf8380c71ed

85 Gorgeous Photos of Honolulu Pride, Part 1

www.advocate.com/pride/2017/10/24/85-gorgeous-photos-honolulu-pride-part-1

Judge accused of offering discount to straight man in exchange for gay sex
Judge Ron Duebbert allegedly propositioned the man, fondled him, then offered him $100 off his bill if he performed a sex act on him.

www.queerty.com/judge-accused-offering-discount-straight-man-exchange-gay-sex-20171024?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Conservative ‘Cakeshop Squad’ Sings Ridiculous Anti-Gay ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ Cover Outside Capitol: WATCH

Anti-gay activist group Public Advocate of the United States last Wednesday presented an all-singing all-dancing rally outside the Capitol building in support of anti-LGBT bakers the Masterpiece Cakeshop.

The case against Masterpiece Cakeshop – which earlier this year refused service to a gay couple – is due to be heard at the U.S. Supreme Court on December 5th.

RELATED: Trump Administration Sides with Anti-Gay Baker in Case Before SCOTUS

In a move certain to influence SCOTUS judges, the Free Cake Baker Squad performed “a country parody song CAKEY BREAKY HEART to the tune of Billy Ray Cyrus’s Achy Breaky Heart, do a 2 step line dance and hold signs that say ‘Free The Cake Baker’ to promote the religious liberty of all Christians in the federal case now before the Supreme Court,” said Public Advocate President Eugene Delgaudio.

The catchy lyrics include:

You can say my work / Didn’t rock your world, / You can take your business / Someplace else,

You can tell your friends / Don’t buy a cake from him / And write and post / A bad review on Yelp.

But don’t sue my shop, / My Masterpiece Cakeshop, / ‘Cause I wouldn’t make / A wedding cake for men,

‘Cause if you sue my shop, / My Masterpiece Cakeshop, / I may never bake / Another cake again.  

Have a look at the stirring rendition below.

The post Conservative ‘Cakeshop Squad’ Sings Ridiculous Anti-Gay ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ Cover Outside Capitol: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Conservative ‘Cakeshop Squad’ Sings Ridiculous Anti-Gay ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ Cover Outside Capitol: WATCH

For Mental Illness, Halloween Is Still A Costume Drama
There was a time when the most popular Halloween costumes were confined to the folk lore of vampire bats and ghosts. This was undoubtedly the popular culture at a time when “horror literature” was based on novels such as Mary Shelley’s Frankensteinand Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Although much of this is still with us in the Trick of Treating of today, the past 50 years have a taken a more sinister turn.

With the release of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest in the 1970s, mental illness appeared to become an object of fear. There with no good reason for this sea change. The image of the “mental patient” restrained with a straightjacket seemed to become a stereotype of “madness”. It seemed to be that the more graphic the portrayal, the more likely was the transformation into a Halloween costume. We only need look at fictional characters such as Normal Bates in Psycho, Michael Myers in Halloween, Jack Torrance in The Shining and Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs to see that both images and words have been translated into Halloween costumes and their descriptions. Mental illness had been carried into a very dark place indeed. Playing to the popular culture of the day is of huge concern if it continues to sweep stigma along with it.

In 2013, a large department store came under pressure to withdraw its “mental patient” costume for Halloween. As an apology for selling the costume, it did withdraw the costume from sale and also donated £25,000 to a mental health charity. You would have thought that would be the end of it, but far from it.

This month, I drew attention to the sale of a “psychotic nympho” Halloween costume resembling a straightjacket and another called “Psycho nurse Sally” whose “treatment is to drive her patients insane”. These costumes undoubtedly portrayed an ignorance towards those with severe mental illness, which remains seriously misunderstood by the public. Just over a week ago, an online petition was launched to ask the company in question to stop selling these costumes. One that has now gained nearly 8,000 signatures.

Yet, the same company continues to sell a “Psycho Wig”, with the description: “This psycho is out of rehab and has come especially this Halloween to plan something crazy with his friends and family. See if they want to be a part of your crazy psychotic plan!” Perhaps the most distasteful of all is the promotional video for the “Psycho Ward” costume of a muzzled man in a bright orange “psychiatric ward jumpsuit”, appearing to make several abnormal movements to appear frightening. The joke is obviously on them for misspelling the word as “phyco”.

Lobbying to persuade one company to stop selling a particular type of costume is a start, but a wider focus is needed to stop the perpetuation of mental illness as something to be feared and parodied. The same “psychotic nympho costume” can be found for sale at other online outlets. In fact, the source of these costumes appears to be a “Hells Asylum” range of “monster costumes” such as “sexy straightjacket” and “nurse delirium”. I wonder if the manufacturers have spent time with someone who has delirium and how terrifying it is for the person who has this mental disorder?

The facts about mental illness and violence fly in the face of public misconception. Although over a third of the public think people with a mental health problem are likely to be violent, people with severe mental illnesses are more likely to be victims, rather than perpetrators, of violent crime. Most violent crimes and homicides crimes and homicides are committed by people who do not have a mental illness. If anything, people with mental health problems are more dangerous to themselves than they are to others. Yet, news stories about mental illness all too commonly report it in the context of violence.

As we approach Halloween, the image of mental illness behind a straightjacket or mask should be confined to the refuse bin of history. It should not be an annual occurrence that vaporises into the cached web pages of tomorrow; only to return the following year.

If Halloween is going to be fun for all, let’s make mental illness more understandable to all. I certainly hope to see that in my lifetime.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-tony-rao-/for-mental-illness-hallow_b_18351958.html