Jessye Norman, Bill Barr, Adele, Stacey Dash, Jesse Ventura, Catering Truck, Dem Fundraising Hauls, Pope Francis: HOT LINKS

JESSYE NORMAN. Famed opera soprano dies at 74. “The cause was septic shock and multiple organ failure following complications of a spinal cord injury she suffered in 2015, according to a statement by her family.” 10 of her greatest moments.

BILL BARR. Trump’s attorney general asked foreign officials to help Trump to help discredit U.S. intelligence agencies’ investigations into connections between Russia and members of the Trump campaign in the 2016 election: “Barr’s personal involvement is likely to stoke further criticism from Democrats pursuing impeachment that he is helping the Trump administration use executive branch powers to augment investigations aimed primarily at the president’s adversaries.”

COLLABORATION RUMOR OF THE DAY. Adele and Beyoncé.

FUNDRAISING HAULS. In the 3rd quarter Bernie Sanders brought in $25.3 million, and Pete Buttigieg brought in $19 million. ‘While the haul is substantial — and will likely land Buttigieg among the top tier of Democratic fundraisers — it is down from the nearly $25 million the South Bend, Indiana, mayor raised in the second quarter of 2019. Buttigieg has now raised more than $51 million since the start of 2019, a sizable number for a candidate who started the year with relatively little name recognition.’

2020. Jesse Ventura considering potential run… ‘Speaking Saturday on “The Issue Is,” the 68-year-old author and TV show host said that if he were to join the race for the White House, he’d wait until the pool of candidates narrowed.’

STACEY DASH. Clueless actress arrested on domestic violence charge.

DEVIN NUNES. Ranking member of House Intel Committee and Trump lackey sues Ryan Lizza and Hearst Magazines for $75 million in damages in a defamation and common law conspiracy suit. ‘The House Republican and ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence claims in the suit that Lizza defamed him in a Sept. 30, 2018, article he wrote for Esquire titled “Devin Nunes’s Farm Is Hiding a Politically Explosive Secret.”’

DANCING WITH THE HAS BEENS. Here’s Sean Spicer doing his worst John Travolta Saturday Night Fever moves.

POPE FRANCIS. The Pope meets with American Jesuit who has been attacked by conservative U.S. Catholics for reaching out to gays.

UTAH. St. Georges reconsiders hanging Pride banners on city posts: ‘The discussion began after an email from Councilwoman Michele Randall saying she was unhappy with the banners was posted on social media. Randall’s message says the city council should reconsider allowing “political statements” on municipal property.’

YOUTUBE. YouTube creators allege platform uses “bigoted bots” to demonetize LGBTQ videos: ‘Andrew, Sealow, and Een each released their individual videos about the findings, alongside an Excel sheet listing all of the words they used and a white paper analysis of their findings. These words were used to test what YouTube’s bots deem automatically inappropriate for monetization. The team found that if words like “gay” and “lesbian” changed to random words like “happy,” the “status of the video changed to advertiser friendly” every time, Een says in his video.’

TAIWAN. Shocking surveillance video shows bridge collapsing. An oil tanker crossing the bridge failed to make it to the other side. The driver was injured, but survived. The tanker caught fire. “Six people were believed trapped on one of the boats, the National Fire Agency said in a statement. Interior Minister Hsu Kuo-yung told reporters about five people were feared to have been on the bridge when it collapsed. Ten people were sent to hospitals, six of them with serious injuries.”

OUT OF CONTROL. Catering truck goes wild at O’Hare airport, worker deserves a promotion for saving plane.

IOWA. Panel approves $500K to cover legal fees incurred by former Governor Terry Branstad’s continued fight against a jury verdict that found he discriminated against a gay former state executive: “The Iowa Executive Council approved a bill Monday for more than $488,000 for the Des Moines law firm representing the state, Branstad and his former legal counsel Brenna Findley. That brings the cost to taxpayers to defend them to more than $2.4 million.”

TOO HOT FOR TUESDAY. Lyle Chan.

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1/3rd Miley, 1/3rd Lana, 1/3rd Ari @dirtsquirrel skivvies @jamie_mann

A post shared by Lyle Chan (@lyyyyyyle) on Sep 18, 2019 at 12:36pm PDT

The post Jessye Norman, Bill Barr, Adele, Stacey Dash, Jesse Ventura, Catering Truck, Dem Fundraising Hauls, Pope Francis: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Jessye Norman, Bill Barr, Adele, Stacey Dash, Jesse Ventura, Catering Truck, Dem Fundraising Hauls, Pope Francis: HOT LINKS

Top Five Ways to Promote Ally Behavior in Students

Post submitted by Kimmie Fink, Welcoming Schools Consultant

Bullying in schools is as pervasive as it is damaging to all involved parties — and it’s also preventable. According to Welcoming Schools Deputy Director Cheryl Greene, the single most important way to address bullying behavior is to “promote positive ally behavior.” 

In recognition of Bullying Prevention Month, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Welcoming Schools program is sharing key strategies to help educators engage in this important work with students. 

1. Model upstander behavior. Students watch what you do and will follow your lead. They notice when you treat others with kindness and respect, as well as whether you intervene to put a stop to hurtful name-calling or comments. 

2. Explicitly teach students how to be an ally. Recognize that direct confrontation isn’t always a comfortable or even safe choice. Work with your students so they know that being an ally does not always mean intervening in a harmful situation. Students should know they can also let an adult know when bullying occurs, or they can comfort the person being bullied and offer to go with them to speak with an adult.

3. Practice. Rehearsal is an essential part of mastering any new skill. Talk and even role play possible scenarios. Try the Welcoming Schools’ activity “Making Decisions: Ally or Bystander,” in which students consider different bullying situations and decide in the moment how they will respond.

4. Share books to engage students. In Katherine Otoshi’s “One,” Red picks on Blue. The other colors don’t know what to do until One shows them how to stand up, stand together and count. Go to Welcoming Schools’ “Power of Allies” book list to find more books that highlight the positive impact of allies.

5. Utilize Welcoming Schools’ ally lessons. In “Standing Up for Each Other: Drawing Ally Superheroes,” students create a cartoon version of themselves with non-violent superpowers that help others in their school or solve a problem in the world. For more ally lessons, see Welcoming Schools’ “Lesson Plans to Prevent Bias-Based Bullying.”

Fostering ally behavior in school is all about empowerment. When children have the skills, permission and confidence to intervene, they are more likely to do so — and a school in which kids identify as allies is a safer, happier, more productive place.

HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools is the nation’s premier professional development program providing training and resources to elementary school educators to: 

• Welcome diverse families;
• Create LGBTQ- and gender-inclusive schools;
• Prevent bias-based bullying;
• Support transgender and non-binary students.

www.hrc.org/blog/top-five-ways-to-promote-ally-behavior-in-students?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Planet Fitness CEO has been quietly funding antigay politicians, including Trump, for years

Another day, another reason to switch up the old gym membership…

Recently obtained documents from the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that Planet Fitness CEO Chris Rondeau has been secretly funding antigay politicians for the past several years.

In 2016, Rondeau donated $1,200 to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. The donation was made in the same month Trump invited Russia to interfere in the election, July of 2016.

Rondeau also gave money to the 2018 Congressional campaign of former New Hampshire State Senator Andy Sanborn, who happens to be a major homophobe.

Not only did Sanborn oppose a bill banning gay conversion therapy in New Hampshire, but he voted against updating the state’s existing civil rights laws to ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity when it comes to housing and employment.

As a company, Planet Fitness has long espoused a commitment to equality and the queer community, deeming itself a “judgment-free zone” and offering transgender members the freedom to use the locker rooms which correspond to their gender.

Rondeau’s donations, however modest, undermine that characterization, as Donald Trump has targeted LGBTQ Americans for discrimination on numerous occasions.

Rondeau has yet to donate to Trump’s 2020 Reelection Campaign.

Rondeau becomes the latest in a series of gym CEO’s to come under fire for donations to Trump. Earlier this year, Stephen Ross, owner of Equinox, faced criticism for donating $13 million to the Trump campaign. The revelation brought an onslaught of public outcry and prompted scores of gym members to cancel their memberships.

Cue the Planet Fitness outrage in 3… 2… 1…

Related: Equinox tries to fix its PR nightmare, but is it enough?

www.queerty.com/planet-fitness-ceo-quietly-funding-antigay-politicians-including-trump-years-20191001?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Utah Lawmaker Derek Kitchen, Who Fought to Overturn State’s Gay Marriage Ban, is Separating from His Husband

Utah state senator Derek Kitchen, who fought to overturn the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, is separating from his husband Moudi Sbeity, he announced in an Instagram post on Monday.

The AP reports: “A former Salt Lake City councilor, the Democrat was elected in one of the state’s few left-leaning districts last November. Kitchen rose to prominence with his 2013 lawsuit, which came two years before a U.S. Supreme Court ruling extended gay couples’ right to marry nationwide.”

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Today I made it official! Looking forward to this race, and to serving Salt Lake City in the Utah Senate. Thanks for the support & encouragement

A post shared by Derek Kitchen (@derekkitchen) on Mar 15, 2018 at 10:50am PDT

Wrote Kitchen: “When we met ten years ago, we did not know what would be in store for us, nor did we know how far our shared strengths and compatible differences would take us. We are incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish together – from our fight for marriage equality, growing two businesses, and running for public office. We’ve been proud to share this journey with you publicly with full transparency, right from the beginning. We couldn’t have done it without your support.”

Within our fight for marriage equality, we fought for all the challenges and rights that come along with it,” he added. “So, it is with much love and in the interest of living with full transparency still, that we are letting you know that we have decided to pursue individual paths and end our marriage. Had we known that this would be the outcome when we met, we would do it all over again. We remain good friends, business partners, and supporters for each other. We still care deeply for, and love each other, and hope that you can find comfort and love in the knowledge that we will continue to stand tall and work for our community, whether it’s through politics, or a safe space for a warm meal.”

As we navigate this new reality, we hope that we can count on your respect and ongoing support,” Kitchen continued. “We are reminded of this quote from Francis Weller: “The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them.” Grief for our loss and gratitude for our shared growth.”

“Love is love, and love will be love again,” Kitchen concluded.

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When we met ten years ago, we did not know what would be in store for us, nor did we know how far our shared strengths and compatible differences would take us. We are incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish together – from our fight for marriage equality, growing two businesses, and running for public office. We’ve been proud to share this journey with you publicly with full transparency, right from the beginning. We couldn’t have done it without your support. Within our fight for marriage equality, we fought for all the challenges and rights that come along with it. So, it is with much love and in the interest of living with full transparency still, that we are letting you know that we have decided to pursue individual paths and end our marriage. Had we known that this would be the outcome when we met, we would do it all over again. We remain good friends, business partners, and supporters for each other. We still care deeply for, and love each other, and hope that you can find comfort and love in the knowledge that we will continue to stand tall and work for our community, whether it’s through politics, or a safe space for a warm meal. As we navigate this new reality, we hope that we can count on your respect and ongoing support. We are reminded of this quote from Francis Weller: “The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them.” Grief for our loss and gratitude for our shared growth. Love is love, and love will be love again

A post shared by Derek Kitchen (@derekkitchen) on Sep 29, 2019 at 1:50pm PDT

The post Utah Lawmaker Derek Kitchen, Who Fought to Overturn State’s Gay Marriage Ban, is Separating from His Husband appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Utah Lawmaker Derek Kitchen, Who Fought to Overturn State’s Gay Marriage Ban, is Separating from His Husband