Electoral Challenge, The Shins, Naomi Campbell, Princess Leia, Tim Kaine, Rehoboth: HOT LINKS

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Electoral Challenge, The Shins, Naomi Campbell, Princess Leia, Tim Kaine, Rehoboth: HOT LINKS

ELECTORAL CHALLENGE. Democratic lawmakers are considering challenge to Trump’s election at Congressional certification on Friday: “Perlmutter, Scott and other lawmakers were encouraged to file challenges by progressive groups who described three grounds to lodge a protest: foreign interference by Russia in the election, voter suppression and a more technical claim that dozens of electors of both parties were ineligible to serve.”

ILLEGALLY SEATED. At least 50 Donald Trump electors were ineligible to serve: “That stunning finding is among the conclusions of an extensive 1,000-plus page legal briefing prepared by a bipartisan nationwide legal team for members of Congress who are being urged to object to certifying the 2016 Electoral College results on Friday.”

OMAROSA. Apprentice loser leads Trump meeting with black leaders: “Manigault guided Trump’s transition team through a meeting with about 100 leaders from various African-American organizations in Washington, D.C., CNN said. Participants included leaders from the NAACP, churches, the education sector and fraternities and sororities.”

JUSTIN BIEBER. And the case of the unwanted Chow.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN. FOX News anchor headed to MSNBC.

CHARLOTTE. Inmate says he was harassed by jailers, brutally assaulted by inmate for being gay. “The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office failed to take very basic steps to adequately protect one of its inmates … and the result was that Mr. Blake suffered a brutal assault,” Blake’s attorney, Jake Sussman of Charlotte, said Wednesday. “Prior to this assault, Mr. Blake had been harassed and demeaned by certain employees of the Sheriff’s Office because Mr. Blake is gay. This is unacceptable, especially from public employees whose job is to serve and protect.”

CARRIE FISHER. Lucasfilm had big plans for Princess Leia (spoilers).

ACLU. We’ll fight back against anti-trans laws. “In Alabama, Texas, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington, and more, bills have been pre-filed or lawmakers have announced their plans to file bills that target transgender individuals for discrimination. Unconstitutional, unenforceable, and harmful, these bills send the message to trans people that our very existence is a problem for the lawmakers charged with protecting us.”

ANDERSON COOPER. Check out the person with a sense of “porpoise” who made his “Ridiculist”.

CENSORSHIP. China asks Apple to remove New York Times app, which it does: “China operates what is thought to be the largest internet censorship regime in the world, blocking thousands of foreign websites viewed as a threat by the ruling Communist party. Google, Twitter, Facebook Youtube and Instagram are all inaccessible. Apple removed the English and Chinese-language versions of the New York Times app on 23 December, although it was not immediately clear why.”

TIM KAINE. On Trump and Russian hacking: “Why does President-elect Trump again and again and again take it upon himself to be Vladimir Putin’s defense lawyer, rather than listening to and respecting the intelligence professionals of the United States?”

Tim Kaine: “If [Trump] went to his intelligence briefings, maybe he’d have a different conclusion” on Russian hacks. t.co/QZEZj8E2tN

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 5, 2017

FORT LAUDERDALE. Transgender ad campaign launched. “The new advertisements, covering a full-spectrum of destination lifestyle experiences, will appear in print, digital, television, radio and social media throughout South Florida, New York, Boston, Chicago, and in national outlets such as New York Times’ T Magazine, USA Today Travel Magazine, Passport, ManAboutWorld as well as on Spotify, Pandora, Hulu and in the destination’s collateral, website and e-blasts.”

LAMBDA LITERARY. We condemn the Milo Yiannopoulos book deal: “We at Lambda Literary stand with the diverse writers and readers who believe that for a publisher to give this writer money and a megaphone is an affront to the values we all share. Furthermore, if Yiannopolous’s forthcoming book, Dangerous, contains the same hateful rhetoric that got him banned from Twitter and earned him widespread condemnation—including from the LGBTQ community he claims to be part of—then Lambda Literary will have to condemn the work as hostile to our mission of advocacy for LGBTQ literature and affirmation of LGBTQ lives. – See more at: www.lambdaliterary.org/features/news/01/04/lambda-literary-condemns-milo-yiannopolous-book-deal/#sthash.N0H2Wkdm.dpuf”

SISTER WIVES. After daughter Mariah comes out, parents can now prove their stance on gay marriage is different from that of the Mormon church. “I know that the Mormon faith, from which your beliefs sort of were rooted in, is very anti-homosexual,” said the journalist. “So I don’t understand how you can accept this [polygamist] lifestyle, and yet many in your faith are very discriminatory against gays.”

538. Registered voters who stayed home probably cost Clinton the election: “Registered voters who didn’t vote on Election Day in November were more Democratic-leaning than the registered voters who turned out, according to a post-election poll from SurveyMonkey, shared with FiveThirtyEight. In fact, Donald Trump probably would have lost to Hillary Clinton had Republican- and Democratic-leaning registered voters cast ballots at equal rates.”

POLICE CHASE.The co-owner of the popular Rehoboth Beach gay bar Double L arrested for DUI: “According to the statement, Ocean City police chased the SUV northbound into Delaware before Ocean View, Del. police picked up the chase. They followed the vehicle westbound on Rt. 26 at Bethany Beach as it continued traveling in excess of 85 miles per hour, the statement says.”

FREEDOM 90. Naomi Campbell remembers George Michael.

SURPRISE. A mom nearly died at Christmas, thanks to her kids. “This is what happens when you surprise your inlaws who live across the pond! We traveled from the USA to England without my mother-in-law knowing a thing! As you can see…she was quite surprised and we pulled it off!!”

ED SHEERAN. 20 seconds of new music.