Tuesday, November 8, 2016
A Kid With Cerebral Palsy Got Ejected From A Trump Rally. Then He Met The President.
J.J. Holmes, age 12, had two very different experiences this weekend
From: Huffington Post
From: Huffington Post
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| On Saturday, Donald Trump ordered a 12-year-old boy with cerebral palsy out of his rally. The next day, President Barack Obama shook hands with the boy. |
Twelve-year-old J.J. Holmes begged his mother to drive him to a Donald Trump rally in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday. J.J., who has cerebral palsy, wanted to go and protest the Republican nominee’s treatment of people with disabilities.
His mother, Alison, agreed to make the trip. Once they got there, they held up a Hillary Clinton placard and chanted for the Democratic nominee, according to people who were there.
Trump quickly ordered them out of the rally. His supporters responded by “chanting ‘U-S-A’ and pushing [J.J.’s] wheelchair,” Alison told The Washington Post.
“We were put out by security,” she said. “Mr. Trump kept saying, ‘Get them out.’”
As Alison spoke to the Post reporter, J.J., speaking with the help of a computer vocalization device, interjected. “I hate Donald Trump,” he said. “I hate Donald Trump.”
Less than 24 hours after J.J. was harassed and kicked out of the Trump rally, the 12-year-old boy shook hands with President Barack Obama.
The unexpected turn of events began to unfold when a reporter who witnessed J.J.’s experience at the Trump rally called Valentina Pereda, Clinton’s press secretary in Florida.
Pereda was horrified, she wrote in a Facebook post.
“What the hell could I do to make this child even slightly forget that experience?” she said she thought.
Pereda offered to escort J.J. and Alison to Clinton’s Sunday rally in Kissimmee, Florida, where Obama was scheduled to deliver one of his final campaign speeches before Tuesday’s election.
At the rally venue, Pereda decided that the area reserved for people in wheelchairs was too far from the stage. She wanted to get J.J. closer to the president. So she led J.J. and his mother through crowds of people, across muddy turf, to the VIP area near the stage, she said.
With the help of a White House staffer friend, Pereda was able to set up a brief meeting between J.J. and Obama. After the president’s speech, Pereda’s friend escorted them to the other side of the barricades that separated rally attendees from the stage. Obama leaned forward, shook J.J.’s hand and smiled for a photo.
J.J. was ecstatic. His smile was “almost bursting out of his face,” Pereda wrote ― “His body overcome by light, when just the day before it almost succumbed to hate.”
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.
11 Ways To Take Your Mind Off The Possibility Of A Trump White House
From: Queerty
As Election 2016 draws to a merciful conclusion, good, patriotic voting Americans have come to their wit’s end. After what seems like an eternity of Newt Gingrich, bizarre attacks, antigay meltdowns, sword fights among GOP prez candidates, mudslinging, sex scandals, meltdowns, emails and a leaky, partisan FBI, the American people need a reprieve.
Fortunately we here at Queerty have assembled this fine list of ways to relax before and after election day.
Give yourself a break, and check out 11 Ways To Take Your Mind Off the Election. But don’t forget to vote!
1.
Go to the movies
Moonlight, Loving, King Cobra…movies with LGBT themes are currently hitting cinema screens, and deserve a huge LGBT audience. Turn off cable news and head out to a local multiplex to check out a great new title or two. If nothing else, the movies do show how far our community has come.
2.
TV Marathon
For those with an aversion to going to the movies, have an old-fashioned TV marathon. Get out a boxed set of your favorite LGBT series—Queer as Folk, The L Word, Will & Grace—order pizza, open a good bottle of wine, and kick back with a bud. It beats watching Anderson Cooper non-stop.
3.
Karaoke
Nothing helps take the mind off dire political straits like a catchy song. Ergo, find a local karaoke establishment, and put in to croon. Listening to even the worst singers is still somehow better than listening to the bellicose rhetoric of this election cycle.
4.
Go on a Hike
Get some exercise away from the TV or internet by going on a local hike. For most of the country, winter approaches making good outdoor days endangered. The first week of November or so should still have a few good, outdoorsy days, so take full advantage.
5.
Have Sushi
Rather than subject yourself to one more report about “fishy” dealings by some candidate, head out to your favorite sushi bar, order a tall sake, and gorge on some greats rolls. If the sushi doesn’t take your mind off the election, enough saki will.
6.
Go to a Planetarium
Take in a bit more culture by heading over to a nearby planetarium to take in a star show. Let the music and stars relax your mind. After all, should Hillary lose, no doubt knowing the cosmos will help when you want to leave the planet.
7.
Wine Tasting
Row of wine glasses on barrel in winery cellar
A wine tasting with a friend or date bud can offer a good deal of quality, get-to-know-you time. If nothing else, getting a bit buzzed should distract from the election, or at least numb the pain of it all.
8.
Vintage Shopping
Retail therapy can help take the mind off the election overload, so give yourself a challenge. Do a little vintage shopping at local antique, vintage or consignment stores. Set a goal to find at least one awesome vintage item to wear on inauguration day.
9.
Yoga Class
Stretch the stress away at a yoga class. Again, take a date or friend to make it a bit more interesting, and balance the body and mind with a bit of eastern philosophy. Spend a bit of extra time on the “child’s pose” position, just in case you need to learn to bow to a new government overlord!
10.
All-American release
If all else fails, celebrate an overlooked contribution of Americana by watching some good ole’ all-American porn. Watching it alone can gratify, while watching it with a date can satisfy. Either way, end the screening by shouting “USA!”
11.
Oh, and how could we forget Grindr. Of course you’re probably already there
7 Political Ads Show How Far We Have Come Since George W. Bush Attacked Equality
From: Queerty
Billions have been spent this political season, by all accounts the most expensive election in the history of American politics, with outlandishly wealthy Americans competing to put their agenda squarely in the White House, Congress and the states. While queer issues aren’t as front and center as they were in past elections–such as 2008 when George W. Bush exploited marriage equality as a wedge issue–we remain a coveted voter base, for and against–capable of turning close elections. Hillary Clinton has made the most unafraid, pro-gay ads in history, and Democrats across the country have followed suit. This also represented the first election in which Republicans at times tried to claim the equality banner, albeit in often bizarre and ham-fisted ways.
Here are just a few of the most notable political commercials (and empty gestures) aimed at queer constituents and their allies.
1.
Frenemy of the People
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 17, 2016
In the wake of the Orlando massacre this past June, Trump insisted he was a “friend to the LGBT community.” The Clinton camp called him out by releasing a video reminding the public of his myriad attacks on gays.
Trump responded with his own attack on Hillary’s record:
2.
Hillary for marriage equality, same-sex kissing encouraged
Back in 2004, Clinton stated, “I believe marriage is not just a bond but a sacred bond between a man and a woman.” Fortunately, she woke her ass up and crossed to the right side of history, as demonstrated by last December’s ad vigorously supporting equality.
3.
The Adventures of Milo and the Orange
Some gay men, like internet attention whore/peroxide skid mark Milo Yiannopoulos, claim that Trump is the more friendly option. Its difficult to fathom that the same tangerine-hued dumpster fire that pledged to sign the overtly anti-LGBT “First Amendment Defense Act” is in any way good for the gays in any way shape or form. But what does Milo care? Y’know he’s not a US citizen, right?
4.
Don’t Tell Mama Trump isn’t Dangerous
Although Trump may have media thirsty morons like Milo fooled, most Americans know better, such as Judy Shepard. As the mother of gay murder victim Matthew Shepard, you can believe her when she says “I’ve seen what can happen as the result of hate” in this new ad urging voters to choose Hillary over her bloviating bigot of an opponent.
5.
Home of Beaches, Mountains, and an Extremely Homophobic Governor
Unfortunately, this toxic presidential election wasn’t the only thing poisoning politics this year. Back in March, the state of North Carolina passed the notoriously anti-Trans law HB 2, aka the Bathroom Bill. Funny or Die responded with this deliciously sarcastic tourism video.
6.
We’re Even Worse Than North Carolina
A month later, when Mississippi’s Governor Phil Bryant signed the “worst anti-gay ‘religious freedom’ bill in the nation,” Funny or Die repurposed their tourism parody formula to put the state on blast.
7.
Last and Possibly Least…
Not to be outdone, Tennessee upped the ante when it came to homophobic legislation by proposing not one, but two anti-LGBTQ bills. In addition to House Bill 2414, another Bathroom Bill, the state also passed House Bill 1840, which allows private practice counselors to deny mental health services to individuals based on religious beliefs. Funny or Die was once again waiting in the wings with another satirical tourism video.
Its state legislation like these that necessitate Clinton’s vision of a Supreme Court that will “stand up on behalf of the LGBT community.”
Favorite Pic of the Day for November 8, 2008
From: Favorite Hunks & Other Things
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| Love this shot of the beautiful Italian with the killer smile and killer bod, actor and TV personality Flavio Montrucchio |
5 Truly Awful Republican Candidates For Congress (Out Of A Long List)
From: Queerty
There are currently 246 Republicans in Congress, and with any luck there may be a few less of the really bad ones after tonight. Every election cycle brings its own mix of incumbents and challengers who combine the disgusting with the stupid, and this year is no different.
Here’s a look at five races–and there are a lot more like them–where the GOP is fielding genuinely awful candidates.
Paul Babeu
Arizona
Babeu (above) proves that being gay doesn’t make you good. The Pinal County, AZ sheriff first attracted national attention four years ago, when a former boyfriend accused Babeau of threatening to deport him to Mexico, forcing Babeu to come out and resign as co-chair of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in Arizona. Then Babeu’s past as a headmaster at a school for troubled youths surfaced: the schools was investigated for multiple accounts of abuse and neglect. Despite–or given the states of the GOP perhaps because–of this history, Babeu managed to secure the Republican nomination for a Congressional district in Tuscon. How bad a candidate is Babeu? Even his own sisters urged voters to reject him. Babeu does have one famous backer, though: Peter Thiel.
Scott Garrett
New Jersey
Garrett is a Republican incumbent from New Jersey who should be having an easy walk to re-election. That was before Garrett told the National Republican Congressional Committee that he wouldn’t give the group any more money because they supported gay (sacrificial lamb) candidates. That was a bad move for someone who depended on Wall Street money, which dried up when Garrett’s remarks leaked. Moreover, that gave Garrett’s opponent Josh Gottheimer plenty of ammo to portray Garrett as far too conservative for a moderate district and to turn the race into one of the most watched in the nation.
Liz Cheney
Wyoming
Cheney is running for Wyoming’s sole Congressional seat, and as a Republican, is likely to win it. Her last run for office was just a few years ago, when she showed she was willing to sell her sister Mary down the river to satisfy her ambitions. That’s when Liz trumpeted her opposition to marriage equality, a slap in the face at Mary and her wife Heather, who responded by saying that they didn’t support Liz’s candidacy. The public family feud has died down, and Liz has been conspicuously silent about marriage equality–and Mary–this time around.
John Mica
Florida
Mica is a bit of an weirdo, who hordes disposable coffee cups, insisting that they can be reused. He”s also a red-meat conservative, taking big bucks from the NRA and sponsoring legislation that would prohibit the federal government from taking action from anyone who refuses to recognize marriage equality. None of that is surprising, except that Mica’s district includes part of Orlando and that he accepted a big donation from the NRA two days after the Pulse Nightclub massacre. Mica faces a tough race against Democrat Stephanie Murphy, who has made Mica’s antigay positions a campaign issue.
Louis Gohmert
Texas
Michele Bachmann may have retired from Congress, but we still have Louis Gohmert. The Texan is a one-homophobe nutburger factory, cranking out the most outlandish and lunatic remarks with an almost clock-like regularity. During this campaign season alone, Gohmert has declared that child abuse “universally” turns boys gay, caused the flood responsible for Noah’s ark, and insisted that Christians will end up “in shackles” because of hate crime laws. And that was just October’s crop of comments. Gohmert may have an even brighter future ahead. Fox host Sean Hannity thinks Gohmert would be the perfect replacement for Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, whom Hannity despises.
“On The Inside”: Queer Prisoners Find Freedom In Art
"I hope people realize the enormous amount of talent, complexity and culture of LGBTQ people within prison."
From: NewNowNext
From: NewNowNext
A new art exhibit in New York is shedding a light on the LGBT prisoners, who face a greater risk of physical and sexual violence and are less likely to receive support from friends and family.
“On the Inside” is the culmination of a years-long-project by Tatiana von Fürstenberg, daughter of designer Diane von Fürstenberg. It presents a diverse array of works, both in style and subject matter.
Some pieces are religious while others are explicitly sexual. There are depictions of Hillary Clinton, Rihanna and Tupac, as well as nameless couples, portraits and many works that explore gender identity.
The inmates were limited in terms of materials—mostly single sheets of paper, dull pencils and ball-point pen ink tubes. (The hard plastic shells are deemed too “dangerous.) One artist used an asthma inhaler with Kool Aid to achieve an airbrushed technique on an illustration of Marilyn Monroe.
While the art is not for sale, visitors to the exhibition can text the artists through a transcription service or even begin a pen-pal relationship.
Fürstenberg received more than 4,000 submissions, 450 of which appear in the show.
Per the show’s press release:
Through the lens of art, we on the outside have the opportunity to bear witness to the suffering and also celebrate the resilience of the artists who are locked up.The art on these walls demonstrates the ability of those who are suffering to still create beauty. Each of these pieces tells a story and these are stories we must listen to.
Like the artwork itself, the captions offer insight into the lives of these prisoners.
“I have been stripped of all my property, clothing, mat… and left to sleep on a steel bunk in 30-degree weather,” writes Felicity. “I’ve been harassed time and time again for my identity, being a flamboyant fem gay. But still I stand, I won’t bend and I won’t break.”
“I just can’t understand why our proud American culture is accepting of our inhumane, undignified prison system,” writes Tony W. “It is insane to treat people horribly for years, then return them to society. I’ve become wise, yet pissed off.”
Some reveal a surprisingly rich personal life behinds bars.
“I had several relationships in prison and had the best sex I can possibly imagine,” wrote Cheyenne. “My favorite part of the day was lock down. We would make out until the count, that’s when the real fun started.”
Von Fürstenberg got the idea for the show after coming across Black and Pink, an LGBT prisoner support group.
“My dad was gay,” she told the Daily Beast of her father Egon von Fürstenberg. “He had a lot of internalized homophobia early on, and had a really hard time coming out to me initially. He got better with it. Growing up in the fashion world meant I was basically raised by the LGBTQ community entirely. They were the only people I could really relate to.”
She has empathy for the inmates she worked with, many of whom were victim of circumstance or rejected by their community.
“The misconception created by the media is to make everyone in jail seem really dangerous,” she says, “when in fact the prison population would be massively reduced if they decriminalized sex work, or stopped arresting under-18s, or stopped jailing people for the technical violations of probation. A lot of crime is poverty-incited.”
While the art stands on its own, von Fürstenberg wants to remind viewers of the inmates’ humanity.
“What I hope is that people realize the enormous amount of talent, complexity, and culture of LGBTQ people within prison. You can’t stereotype and forget them. I want people to be wowed by the quality of the work, and the voices of these people to be heard.”
On The Inside is view at the Abrons Arts Centre in New York until December 18.
“Dante’s Cove” Could Be Returning For Another Sexy, Campy Season
The last episode of the series aired over a decade ago.
From: NewNowNext
From: NewNowNext
Gay supernatural soap opera Dante’s Cove could be coming back for an all-new season.
The series, which ran for three seasons from 2005 to 2007, was one of the earliest TV shows to explicitly depict LGBT sex and love without shame. It was campy, thrilling and no doubt inspired many a young gay kid’s first forays into queer fantasy.
Now, cable network Here TV has launched a Kickstarter campaign to revive the groundbreaking drama for a titillating fourth season. According to the page, the script for the six-episode season has been written and a hot new cast of actors has been cast, now all that’s left to do is raise the funds to make it happen.
“So many LGBT projects had a lot of political statements that they were trying to make and this was something that was going to be pure entertainment,” director Sam Irvin had to say of the original series.
“Dante’s Cove: The Next Generation is going to continue all of the elements you loved and adored from the original,” he continued. “Our cast of characters, you’re going to fall in love with them, the story lines are so exciting.”
According to Irvin, Here needs $300,000 to make the reboot, or $50,000 per episode. As the campaign is a Kickstarter, there are a number of prizes involved, including advanced scripts for $10, a t-shirt for $50 and even a featured spot on an episode for $3,500.
Check out the original trailer below.
Let’s All Say Hello To Seth Stewart, Hamilton’s Dishy Thomas Jefferson
A star is born.
From: NewNowNext
From: NewNowNext
Javier Muñoz has been owning ever inch of the stage in the runaway Broadway hit Hamilton, where he replaced Lin-Manuel Miranda as the lead in July.
But “the sexy Hamilton” has some new competition on stage, in the form of Seth Stewart, who, in September, had been announced as the new Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette.
It's official! "I'm taking this horse by the reins...!" "#setherson's coming home! #jam #hamilton #hamiltonmusical pic.twitter.com/Q6gdX71UKM— Seth Stewart (@IAMSethStewart) September 29, 2016
Stewart replaces the also-comely Daveed Diggs, who won a Tony award for the dual role this year.
In the musical, Jefferson is a bitter political rival of Hamilton’s. The Marquis, on the other hand, is a flamboyant revolutionary and one of Hamilton’s close allies.
Speaking of allies, Stewart worked with Miranda on In the Heights, where he originated the role of Graffiti Pete.
He’s been in the Hamilton ensemble cast since the show debuted and has played Lafayette/Jefferson at various performances after Diggs left, alternating with Andrew Chappelle.
He also has cred as a backup dancer—having performed with Madonna on her “Re-Invention” tour
Could he BE more adorable?
His cast mates love him, too.
And he’s got swagger.
Transgender Veteran’s Truck Spray-Painted With ‘Trump,’ Set On Fire In Tennessee
From: Towleroad
A transgender woman in Tennessee says someone set fire to her pickup truck after spray-painting “Trump” across the hood and tailgate in an apparent hate crime.
The woman, a disabled Army veteran who lives with her 3-year-old son, said the incident occurred early Saturday in the driveway of her home in Cookeville, halfway between Nashville and Knoxville.
The Tennesseean, which isn’t identifying the woman due to the nature of the crime, reports that she had no Hillary Clinton signs visible outside her home, but is active on social media against Donald Trump because she believes he would harm the LGBT community.
“Most of (the paint) got burned off, but one of the police officers pointed out that it said ‘Trump’ on the hood and the back,” the woman told the newspaper. “It just breaks my heart every time I walk past the driveway.”
After hearing a noise at about 3:30 a.m., the woman noticed that the door to her 2006 Harley Davidson edition F-150 pickup was open. Thinking she’d accidentally left the door open, she went outside and closed it. Thirty minutes later, she heard a horn honk and found the truck engulfed in flames.
The woman said local police told her they are treating incident as a hate crime, but authorities haven’t confirmed that. Chris Sanders of the Tennessee Equality Project reported on Facebook later Monday that his group has notified federal authorities.
The woman served eight years in the U.S. Army before being medically retired in 2007, after suffering from a severe brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder while on tour in Iraq in 2004, The Tennessean reports. She said her 3-year-old son is still frightened from the incident.
“I’m just trying to live my life,” she said. “I wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
Marcus Mariota Movember
From: kenneth in the (212)
Add the handsome 23-year-old Tennessee Titans quarterback to the list of men participating in Movember -- and I must say I approve!
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| His Sports Illustrated cover was nice, too: |
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