Michael Flynn, August Ames, Jeffrey Tambor, Moogfest, Russell Tovey, Richard Hatch, Trevor Moran: HOT LINKS

VOTE TO IMPEACH. Fails. “House Democrats overwhelmingly joined Republicans on Wednesday to defeat an attempt to impeach President Donald Trump. But 58 Democrats supported the bid to consider impeachment over the objections of House Democratic leaders, who viewed the measure as a distraction in a Republican-controlled Congress. The motion to sideline the measure — killing the effort — was approved 364-58, with four Democrats voting present.”

RIPPED UP. Michael Flynn told a former business associate that economic sanctions against Russia would be “ripped up”: “The account is detailed in a letter written by Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. In the letter, Mr. Cummings said that the whistle-blower contacted his office in June and has authorized him to go public with the details. He did not name the whistle-blower.”

TRANSPARENT. Jeffrey Tambor hasn’t left the show quite yet.

OMAR DELGADO. Pulse Nightclub hero cop being dismissed from the force: “Delgado told ABC affiliate WFTV in Orlando that he has been on light duty since the massacre because he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He said the Eatonville Police Department has deemed him unfit for duty and he was told Monday that his last day on the job will be Dec. 31, six months before he qualifies for a pension from the town.”

WORLDWIDE CAUTION. State Department issues warning for U.S. travelers abroad.

AUGUST AMES. Porn star dead after cyberbullying prompted by warning her replacement that scene partner had done gay porn.

AUSTRALIA. State of Victoria to send Milo Yiannopoulos $50,000 bill. “His talk at the Melbourne Pavilion on Monday night saw around 500 protestors and 50 right-wing supporters clash. Riot police intervened, charging the crowd when violence broke out and using capsicum spray. Five police officers were injured when rocks and bottles were thrown at them. Two people were arrested.”

ALSO: New Orleans is About to Break the Next Drag Superstar and It’s One of These 7 Fierce Queens

MOOGFEST. The music festival this year decided to focus on all-female and non-gender-binary artists, and that pissed off Caroline Polachek (formerly of Chairlift) so much she pulled out.

Furious to be (without approval) on an all-female & non-gender-binary announcement list for @Moogfest. Gender is not a genre. I don’t need a sympathy pedestal, esp from a male curator. Take my name off this list and put me in the pit with the boys. pic.twitter.com/6XWcWgldZC

— Caroline Polachek (@carolineplz) December 6, 2017

DIVORCED. Original Survivor champ and tax evader Richard Hatch is splitting with his husband.

DUMB STUNT OF THE DAY. Cementing your head into a microwave oven. “Five firefighters spent an hour working to release a YouTube prankster who had cemented his head inside a microwave oven. The 22-year-old and a group of friends mixed seven bags of Polyfilla before pouring it around his head, which was protected by a plastic bag inside the appliance.”

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY. And the new director of the Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic is…Dexter Fletcher.

RUSSELL TOVEY. On playing gay superhero The Ray, opposite Wentworth Miller: “It made me very happy. Wentworth is just one of the nicest guys I’ve worked with. He’s so supremely Zen and open. We had the best time and we hung out outside of filming and he’s become a friend. I said, “People are liking us; the Ray and Cold together.” He was thrilled. It’s kind of crazy that in 2017 that’s still seen as the unseen. Someone tweeted me or Instagrammed me a message. They are gay parents. Their son was watching the show and ran in to them and said, “There are two superheroes who do what you do,” when they kissed each other. He was so happy about it. So many people have been so supportive of seeing two superheroes who are gay played by two actors who are out. It seems like it became a bit of a moment. I couldn’t be prouder to be one half of that moment.”

TREVOR MORAN. On identity.

NEW TUNE OF THE DAY. Sufjan Stevens “Tonya Harding”.

POLISH CHRISTMAS SONG OF THE DAY. This one.

THIRSTY THURSDAY. Jordan Yeoh.

The post Michael Flynn, August Ames, Jeffrey Tambor, Moogfest, Russell Tovey, Richard Hatch, Trevor Moran: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.

Michael Flynn, August Ames, Jeffrey Tambor, Moogfest, Russell Tovey, Richard Hatch, Trevor Moran: HOT LINKS

Theresa May Poised To Fly To Brussels To Sign Brexit Deal – But DUP Could Yet Scupper Plans

A Brexit ‘divorce’ deal is so close to being agreed Theresa May is reportedly poised to fly to Brussels on Friday morning to sign the agreement – though the Democratic Unionist Party could still block the package.

Reports were surfacing late on Thursday that the UK and Ireland could reach agreement within hours on how to run their post-Brexit Irish land border.

This would pave the way for a deal that would remove the last obstacle to opening free trade talks with the EU, and draw a line under talks that collapsed earlier this week.

May, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council Chairman Donald Tusk could meet early on Friday to seal the border deal, the European Commission’s chief spokesman said.

couple of hours with the UK government to close this off. I say hours because I think we are very close.” 

But the DUP, which stalled the deal earlier in the week, could yet put a spanner in the works. 

It insists that Northern Ireland, as part of the UK, must leave the EU in the same way as the rest of the UK – so no ‘special’ deal for Northern Ireland alone.

All sides say they want to avoid a return to a ‘hard’ border between EU member Ireland and the British-ruled province of Northern Ireland, which might upset the peace established after decades of violence.

May get the support of the DUP, which is propping up her minority government.

Moving to talks about trade and a Brexit transition are crucial for the future of May’s premiership, and to keep trade flowing between the world’s biggest trading bloc and its sixth largest national economy after Britain leaves on March 29, 2019.

The EU will only move to trade talks if there is enough progress on three key issues: the money Britain must pay to the EU; rights for EU citizens in Britain and British citizens in the EU; and how to avoid a hard border with Ireland.

As speculation swirled about whether London, Dublin and Brussels were about to clinch a border deal, Tusk’s office said he would brief reporters at 6.50am.

The EU says May has an effective deadline of Sunday night if she wants to seal a deal and hope to have agreement on trade talks in time for the EU summit on December 14.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/may-brexit_uk_5a29ba0ae4b0a290f04f57c6

White Male Officer Informed of ‘Privilege’: ‘I Was Racially and Sexistly Slurred’

An Indiana police officer filed a discrimination complaint against a colleague who informed him of white male privilege during a training on transgender awareness. 

www.advocate.com/people/2017/12/07/white-male-officer-informed-privilege-i-was-racially-and-sexistly-slurred

‘I, Tonya’ revisits the skating scandal that rocked the world. Prepare to gag.
You think you know, but you have no idea.

www.queerty.com/tonya-revisits-skating-scandal-rocked-world-prepare-gag-20171207?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Trump Supporter Peter Thiel is Funding a Members-Only LGBTQ Social Club in SF Called ‘Yass’

A venture capital firm co-founded by Peter Thiel, the gay conservative who donated $1.25 million to Trump, is the sole backer of Yass, a new members-only LGBTQ “co-working space and social club.”

Yass is set to open in San Francisco’s Mission District in the spring. But it already has expansion plans, given a poll on its homepage asking if visitors want a “Yass” in their city.

The Guardian reports:

Yass, announced last month and set to open in the spring, will provide LGBTQ people who pay membership dues access to events and a co-working space and social club, according to founder and CEO Brian Tran.

The ties to Thiel and Silicon Valley and the decision to open in the Mission, a historically Latino neighborhood that has rapidly gentrified amid the tech boom, means Yass is sure to be controversial. Even before its physical launch, the project is already inspiring backlash in San Francisco, a city that is known internationally as a gay mecca, but has the most expensive real estate market in the country, leading to the rapid displacement of cultural spaces, LGBT nightlife and longtime queer residents.

Critics of the project cite dues which they feel will keep lower-income queers out, the need of existing organizations for financial support, the appropriation of the term “Yass” from drag ball culture, and of course, Thiel:

“The LGBT community in San Francisco, we need a space. But we don’t need a space that is tainted by the hate of Donald Trump,” said David Campos, a former elected supervisor who represented the Mission and is gay. He said the neighborhood should reject a project linked with Thiel, who infamously funded a lawsuit that destroyed the news organization Gawker.

RECENTLY: New Orleans is About to Break the Next Drag Superstar and It’s One of These 7 Fierce Queens

Membership fees will range from $50 to $300 based on income level. Its founder promises Thiel isn’t involved and promises diversity and accessibility:

Tran, 25, said Thiel was not involved in the project, which he said was being funded by Cyan Banister, another partner at Thiel’s firm Founders Fund. Tran insisted that Yass, financed through FF Angel, the firm’s early stage investment vehicle, was dedicated to being inclusive and accessible to a diverse group of queer people, not just tech workers.

“My commitment is to serving the queer community and their needs. And that is separate from what individuals at Founders Fund believe,” he said, adding that although Thiel is a “controversial figure”, “I don’t know what his real intentions are, and it’s hard to make a judgment … Undeniably, he has made a large impact in our economy.”

Read the full article HERE.

Would you belong to a social club and working space funded by Peter Thiel?

The post Trump Supporter Peter Thiel is Funding a Members-Only LGBTQ Social Club in SF Called ‘Yass’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Trump Supporter Peter Thiel is Funding a Members-Only LGBTQ Social Club in SF Called ‘Yass’

Guess which ‘Will & Grace’ fan favorite is about to return with a vengeance?
She’s baaaaack.

www.queerty.com/guess-will-grace-fan-favorite-return-vengeance-20171207?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29