Via The Hill:More than 30 House Republicans have signed on to a bill to prohibit federal dollars from being used to make “sexually-oriented” materials available to children under the age of 10. The measure introduced Tuesday by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) would prohibit the use of federal funds to develop and host programs or events for children younger than 10 that contain “sexually-oriented material,” such as drag queen story hours that have recently drawn the ire of conservative politicians and right-wing groups. Johnson’s bill, titled the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act,” claims that state and federal agencies including the Department of Defense have in the past used federal funds to promote and host “sexually-oriented events” like drag queen story hours or burlesque shows for children and families.
Unfortunately Republicans have learned from DECADES of their experience in Florida that GAY PANIC is a winning issue for their side. The GOP exploited Republicans’ abject fear of sexuality by dishonestly defining anything having to do with being gay as ‘sexual’, and thus, unsuitable for children.
Democrats had an obligation to explain this rhetorical trick to the voters. Instead they chose to ‘Say Gay’ (whatever that entails), and left the dishonest message was left completely unchallenged by Democrats and LGBT groups alike.
So this is where we are now. 40 years in the past.
It is being reported that Donald Trump’s controversial SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh is under investigation by the FBI for a sexual assault by a former high school classmate.
In the letter, the woman alleged that, during an encounter at a party, Kavanaugh held her down, and that he attempted to force himself on her. She claimed in the letter that Kavanaugh and a classmate of his, both of whom had been drinking, turned up music that was playing in the room to conceal the sound of her protests, and that Kavanaugh covered her mouth with his hand. She was able to free herself. Although the alleged incident took place decades ago and the three individuals involved were minors, the woman said that the memory had been a source of ongoing distress for her, and that she had sought psychological treatment as a result.”
Senator Diane Feinstein ignited controversy Thursday by releasing a statement saying she turned information about Kavanaugh over to the FBI. She did not detail the accusation, and Republicans accused her of trying to orchestrate a last-minute smear.
The woman referenced in the letter has yet to be identified, but is being represented by Debra Katz, a whistleblower attorney who works with #MeToo survivors, according to The Intercept.
Kavanaugh in a release statement said: “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake caused buildings to sway and break apart in Mexico City hours after the city held preparation drills on the anniversary of the magnitude 8.0 quake that did major damage in 1985.
Preliminary reports put the epicenter 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) east-northeast of San Juan Raboso and 34.1 miles (55 km) south-southwest of the city of Puebla.
Damage and casualty reports at this time are sketchy
The Department of Justice has demanded information on visitors to a website used to organize protests against President Trump, the Los Angeles-based DreamHost said in a blog post published on Monday.
At the center of the requests is disruptj20.org, a website that organized participants of political protests against the current Donald Trump and his current administration.
DreamHost, a web hosting provider, said that it has been working with the Department of Justice for several months on the request, which believes goes too far under the Constitution.
DreamHost claimed that the complying with the request from the Justice Department would amount to handing over roughly 1.3 million visitor IP addresses to the government, in addition to contact information, email content and photos of thousands of visitors to the website, which was involved in organizing protests against Trump on Inauguration Day.
“That information could be used to identify any individuals who used this site to exercise and express political speech protected under the Constitution’s First Amendment,” DreamHost wrote in the blog post on Monday. “That should be enough to set alarm bells off in anyone’s mind.”
Instead of responding to DreamHost’s inquiries regarding the overbreadth of the warrant, the DOJ filed a motion (PDF) in the Washington, D.C. Superior Court, asking for an order to compel DreamHost to produce the records.
DreamHost has filed a legal arguments in opposition (PDF) of the DOJ’s request for access to this trove of personally identifiable information.
“We intend to take whatever steps are necessary to support and shield these users from what is, in our view, a very unfocused search and an unlawful request for their personal information,” DreamHost posted on its website.
North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has conceded to Attorney General Roy Cooper in the state’s gubernatorial race. McCrory released a video Monday where he congratulated Roy Cooper in his win. “I personally believe that the majority of our citizens have spoken,” McCrory says in the video. “And we now should do everything we can to support the 75th Governor of North Carolina Roy Cooper.” The race was the closest margin in North Carolina history, with Democrat Cooper leading Republican McCrory by 10,250 votes.
As you all know EX-Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed the hateful law HB2 into effect last March that, among other things would allow discrimination including service and public accommodations against LGBT people and would ban any city in the state of North Carolina the ability to provide LGBT discrimination protections. (It wasn’t all about bathrooms.)
Expect one of Governor-Elect Roy Copper’s first moves in office to repeal the law.
Let the joyous news be spread! The Wicked Old Witch at last is DEAD!
DEVELOPING:At least three people were killed, more than 100 were hurt and others remained trapped after a crowded train slammed into a busy station in Hoboken, N.J., during the Thursday morning rush hour commute, investigators and local media reports.
Commuter Jim Finan, of River Edge, N.J., told Fox News the train “never slowed down” before it crashed through barriers into the terminal’s reception area. One emergency worker described a “horrendous exploding noise” and said passengers were crawling from the scene on their hands and knees.
The crash appeared to be accidental, not intentional, sources told WNBC. The National Transportation Safety Board told Fox News it was gathering information. The locomotive was at the back of the train but the engineer was in the leading car, workers said.
Speaking on “America’s Newsroom,” Finan said people were trying to smash out windows after the crash. He described it as feeling like he was “in an off-road vehicle,” adding, “It was bumpy. You were getting bounced around and then slammed forward.”
More than 20 ambulances sped to the terminal to take injured passengers to hospitals. Nelson said the train carried approximately 250 passengers.
Most of the injured appeared to be passengers in the first train car or people waiting in the station, WABC reported. Passengers told WABC it was train number 1614 on the Pascack Valley Line, which left Spring Valley, N.Y. at 7:23 a.m. bound for Hoboken. The train was apparently running late.
The crash unfolded around 8:30 a.m.
People shared photos of the crash on social media, which depicted a derailed train at the station. One image showed the front of a train stopped beyond the tracks inside the station. Photos also seemed to show extensive damage to the station, which is one of the busiest along the sprawling New Jersey Transit system.
Multiple snipers shot and killed five police officers “ambush-style” during a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas on Thursday night.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said early Friday three suspected snipers were in custody and police were still in negotiations with another suspect, who was being uncooperative and at times exchanging gunfire with officers in a parking garage.
“He told negotiators that the end is coming, and he is going to hurt and kill more of us,” Brown said at a press conference earlier, noting the man had also claimed there were bombs around the structure. “We are being very careful in our tactics so that we don’t injure any of our officers in harm’s way.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the shooters, some in elevated positions, used sniper rifles to fire at the officers in what appeared to be a coordinated attack.
“(They were) working together with rifles, triangulating at elevated positions in different points in the downtown area where the march ended up going,”
At a press conference from Warsaw, Poland, around 4:19 a.m. central time President Obama called the attack “a vicious, calculated and despicable.”
I believe I speak for every single American when I say we are horrified over these events,” Obama said.
He called on Americans to “profess our profound gratitude tot eh men and women in blue” and to remember the victims, in particular.
“Today, our focus is on the victims and their families, Obama said. “They are heartbroken. The entire city of Dallas is grieving. Police across America, a tight-knit family, feels this loss to their core.”
While the Republican party is warning that if the Uniting American Families Act that would extend the automatic green card privilege granted to heterosexual spouses to the foreign-born partners of American gays, lesbians and bisexuals is injected into the immigration Reform Bill working its way through Congress will be a “deal-breaker for most Republicans. President Obama on a visit to Central America Friday he said that he might accept a rewrite of the nation’s immigration laws even if it did not allow tens of thousands of same-sex couples to apply for legal status for their foreign-born partners.
After a series of meeting with Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla spoke to reporters telling them that: “I’m not going to get everything I want in this bill,” he said. “Republicans aren’t going to get everything they want in this bill.” And while Obama stated that recognizing same-sex relationships in the bill is “the right thing to do.” he says it would be premature to telegraph what he will or won’t do before lawmakers send him a bill and would not specify if would veto the bill without the inclusion of the Uniting American Families Act.
Obama said, the legislation that the bill that has been introduced in the Senate “has the opportunity to do something historic that we haven’t done in decades.” and that the legislation includes his four requirements – border security, restrictions on employers, a legal immigration program and pathway to citizenship – and that he will determine whether to support the legislation based on whether it makes the system better. If there are problems, he said he would attempt to fix them at a later date. “As is true with every bill, we go back at back and fix what’s not there,’’ he said
Will our “fierce advocate” throw the LGBT community and bi-national couples who worked so hard on immigration reform under the bus and sign the bill when it reaches his desk if it does not include Uniting American Families Act?
A spokesman for the Taliban, which has released what it says is a video of the assault on Camp Bastion, said: “We attacked the base as Prince Harry was on it, and so they know our anger. Thousands more suicide attackers are ready to give up their lives.”
The insurgents passed through checkpoints in pick-up trucks before the attack, the Taliban had been wearing local clothes and are thought to have been unarmed.
The fighters then collected the uniforms and weapons – including AK47 automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades – which are thought to have been buried near the Nato base in Helmand.
A suicide bomber blew a hole in the perimeter fence. Other fighters detonated their suicide vests in the battle.
The attack was well planned and it is thought the insurgents may have had help from members of the Afghan army or Afghan civilians who work at the base.
Harry who had armed himself and was ready to fight but was taken to a fortified safe room on the base during the three-hour suicide bombing mission. Harry was prepared for the fight but had to follow the plan.
The insurgents destroyed six American Harrier jets, three refuelling stations and damaged six aircraft hangars.
Eight Coalition forces and one civilian contractor were wounded while the insurgents destroyed six American Harrier jets, three refuelling stations and damaged six aircraft hangars.
14 attackers were killed in all, and another was wounded and captured.
UPDATE:This story has been corrected from its original form to reflect changes that came from additional infromation.
Republican Patricia McKeon, wife of Howard Philip “Buck” McKeon a U.S. Representative for California’s 25th congressional districts running for California State Assembly.
The McKeons are outspoken and virulently anti-LGBT gay-discriminators. Buck donated $5,000 from his own campaign committee to promote California Proposition 8, which eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry. The McKeons, who are Mormon, helped coordinate the Mormon church’s efforts in California to support the same-sex marriage ban.
Buck McKeon has a 0% rating from the Human Rights Campaign. Last year, he tried to write language into the National Defense Authorization Act prohibiting military chaplains from officiating same-sex weddings on federal property, even after the repeal of DADT. McKeon also voted for Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the Defense of Marriage Act, a constitutional ban on marriage equality, a ban LGBT adoptions in the District of Columbia and the 2009 hate crimes bill, as well as against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
According to Rich Ferraro, Director of Communications at GLAAD Moribito is not an “official” Board Member of GLAAD and there is no “advisory committee” within the organization even though numerous press releases name Moribito as such. But Advisory Boards do exist outside the organization. They are top donors who who form these “committees” to raise more money for the organization and get recognition. Moribito is indeed listed in GLAADS 2010-2011 Performance Report as a major contributor.
According to DownWithTyranny.com Morabito, who is also listed as a lobbyist with the US Senate for USHF Communications Company gave a maximum donated of $3,900 to Patricia McKeon for CA state Assembly and in January had dinner with McKeon to discuss homeland security– an area where she would have little knowledge and no influence… but her husband does and routinely pushs the special interests of his campaign donors.
But this is not the only scandal to involve Paul Morabito.
In February 2009, , Morabito was named in a 70 Million lawsuit for taking part in an elaborate scam that fleeced individual investors out of millions of dollars and “allegedly” was part of a conspiracy to buy small commercial properties, artificially inflate their values and sell them to unsuspecting investors.
Is Paul Morabito the type of person who should be co-chairing an “advisory committee” and raising funds for the GLAAD, while using the organizations name to make himself look good and donating to anti-gay political candidates to further his personal agenda?
The answer is no.
We need integrity in our community, its leaders and our organizations to win the battle for full equality
And obviously integrity is not something Paul Morabito knows anything about.
So why is