Monthly Archives: June 2019

CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

We return you now to Florida Man: Martin County deputies are asking for help identifying a modern day “hamburlgar” who has robbed two restaurants after breaking in and making himself food. “A suspect coined as the modern day Hamburglar doesn’t appear to have any problem making himself right at home after breaking into local food establishments to make himself a …

Read More »

PHOTOS: New York City Pride / Stonewall 50 March

The New York Daily News reports: Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday signed a law banning the so-called “gay panic” defense in New York State, saying it “ends the justification of homophobia.” Cuomo scribbled his John Hancock on Bill A2707 in the thick of the Pride march in Manhattan as members from the LGBTQ cheered alongside him. “New York has always …

Read More »

LIVE VIDEO: New York City Pride / Stonewall 50 Parade

Curbed New York reports: This year’s NYC Pride March promises to be one of, if not the, biggest events of the year: For the first time, New York is playing host to WorldPride, the annual celebration of LGBTQ communities around the world. More than 550 organizations participated in last year’s Pride March, and it’s likely to be even bigger this …

Read More »

Catholic Bishop To Spray Holy Water From Helicopter To “Exorcise All Those Demons” Destroying His Town

Newsweek reports: A Catholic Bishop plans to spray holy water from a helicopter to exorcise the demons he says are plaguing his town. Monsignor Rubén Darío Jaramillo Montoya, bishop of Buenaventura, Colombia, is borrowing a navy copter to deluge the city on July 14, the feast day for Buenaventura’s patron saint. “We want to go around the whole of Buenaventura …

Read More »

New WH Press Sec Roughed Up By NK Security Guards

The Guardian reports: Newly appointed White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham was reportedly bruised in a scuffle with North Korean guards as President Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Tensions escalated after the guards tried to prevent U.S. reporters from entering a room inside the Freedom House in South Korea as Trump and Kim began their meeting. …

Read More »

2020 Dems Defend Harris Against Racist Birther Attacks

Axios reports: Several Democratic presidential candidates defended fellow 2020 contender Sen. Kamala Harris on Saturday against false online accusations about her race and U.S. citizenship — with many calling the attacks racist. A social media researcher, cited in the NYT and Buzzfeed, aggregated at least 12 tweets questioning Harris’ race during the first Democratic primary debate, saying “it has all …

Read More »

Reddit Threat Shutters Drag Queen Story Hour Event

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports: A threat posted on social media led the Carnegie Library in Oakland and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh to cancel “Drag Queen Story Hour” programs this week. The threat, posted recently on the social media site Reddit, didn’t specifically name the Pittsburgh events but was “alarming enough” to cause the cancellation, said library spokeswoman Suzanne Thinnes. …

Read More »

Lawyers For Indicted GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter Defend Adulterous Affairs As “Mixing Business With Pleasure”

Politico reports: Defense lawyers for Rep. Duncan Hunter appeared to concede Friday that he carried on extramarital affairs with several women, but alleged that much of his related spending of campaign funds was legitimate because he was “mixing business with pleasure.” With Hunter (R-Calif.) facing a federal criminal trial on 60 felony charges that he repeatedly spent campaign money on …

Read More »

Trump Becomes First Sitting President To Visit NK

The Hill reports: President Trump made history on Sunday by crossing into North Korea as part of a meeting with Kim Jong Un in which he and the North Korean leader agreed to restart stalled nuclear talks. Trump and Kim shook hands across a concrete slab forming the line between to the two nations at the Demilitarized Zone, according to …

Read More »

CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

New from our pal Matt Baume: Beverly LaSalle wasn’t the first female impersonator on television. But after years of TV treating drag performers as deranged psychopaths and literal punchlines, she was probably the first to be afforded dignity, love, and respect. Beverly was a recurring character on the show “All in the Family,” and she might embody the most remarkable …

Read More »

Lawsuit Delays HHS Implementation Of Rule Allowing Healthcare Workers To Refuse Patients Because Jesus

NBC News reports: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is delaying the implementation of its “conscience protection” rule until November to give the administration more time to deal with a lawsuit over the policy. HHS announced in a court filing Saturday that the rule, which was originally scheduled to take effect July 22, would not be implemented until …

Read More »

Trump’s Hijacking Of DC’s Fourth Of July Celebration To Include VIP Ticketed Access For High Rollers And Family

The Washington Post reports: Plans by President Trump to reshape Washington’s Independence Day celebration now include an area in front of the Lincoln Memorial reserved for dignitaries, family and friends that will be accessible only through tickets distributed by the White House. The VIP section will stretch roughly from the steps of the memorial to the midpoint of the reflecting …

Read More »

Trump Defends Joking About “Meddling” With Putin

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump insisted he did confront Vladimir Putin about the prospect of Moscow meddling in the U.S. 2020 election, following criticism of his light-hearted admonishment of his Russian counterpart at this week’s G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan. Trump smirked when he waved his finger and said to Putin “don’t meddle in the election, please,” after he was …

Read More »

Trump Shrugs Off Climate Change At G20 Summit, Rips Wind Power As Unusable “When The Wind Goes Off”

The Independent reports: Donald Trump has again dismissed the need to tackle climate change by saying the US has the cleanest air and water “ever”. The president, speaking at the G20 Summit in Japan, also claimed that wind power “does not work” because it has to be heavily subsidized. “I’m not sure that I agree with certain countries with what …

Read More »

Megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress: Democrats Don’t Worship The “True God,” It’s God Of Their Imagination

“It’s the Democrat Party that tried to actually remove God from their platform a few years ago. They’re removing God from the oath of office in many instances. And yet, now, they want some faith votes, so they’re pretending like they’re interested in God. “In fact, you hear some of the Democrat contenders talking about their faith in God, but …

Read More »

Trump Lavishes Praise On His “Friend” The Saudi Prince

CBS News reports: President Trump met with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday while they were in Osaka, Japan, calling the crown prince a “friend of mine.” Mr. Trump called bin Salman “a man who has really done things in the last 5 years in terms of opening of Saudi Arabia.” Mr. Trump did not answer questions about …

Read More »

Junior Promotes Racist Birther Attack On Kamala Harris

The Hill reports: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) dominated buzz surrounding the first Democratic presidential debate Thursday night after battling rivals on stage, but as the debate played out, a series of Twitter bots worked to amplify a far-right conspiracy about her online. During the debate in Miami, apparent bots online amplified conspiracy theories on social media falsely claiming that the …

Read More »

Trump Hits Back At “Terrible President” Jimmy Carter

The Associated Press reports: Donald Trump on Saturday dismissed former President Jimmy Carter’s swipe at the legitimacy of his presidency, calling it nothing more than a “Democrat talking point,” while offering his own digs at the 94-year-old Carter. Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Japan, Trump said he was surprised by the former president’s comments alleging that Russian …

Read More »

LGBTQ Victory Fund Endorses Mayor Pete For President

The Daily Beast reports: On Friday, exactly 50 years after the Stonewall Riots helped ignite the modern gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights movement, the LGBTQ Victory Fund announced that it was endorsing Buttigieg for president, the first presidential endorsement in the organization’s history. “Every day that Pete is in the race, from the standpoint of an LGBT activist, he …

Read More »

CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Gay anthems from now until Stonewall 50: Like so many LGBTQ anthems, ‘I’m Coming Out’ used Top 40 pop to convey more subversive messages to the community. ‘I’m Coming Out’ didn’t just allude to the former Supreme’s disco makeover, it was a sign of support to her gay fanbase (whether Diana Ross was overtly aware of it or not) crafted …

Read More »