That’s not it.. Joyce Vance, Diane Warren, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jesse Tyler Ferguson Would like us to #FreeBritney, as does Courtney Love. Rose McGowan is ‘brutally angry’, Others ‘with you…hear you’, ‘ready to raise hell’; Keke Palmer says All of them need to go to jail!!!!!’

… and we’re off…. with Elie Mystal, Justice reporter for The Nation. It is: Elie, Joyce, Reece, Paris, Mariah, Cher and Amnesty Australia. But, that’s only Part 1.

Click to Page 2 for Gaetz, Jordan, mixed with some Megan McCain… and reactions to their responses,

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RuPaul All Stars 6 is back, and, no, there’s no Yvie Oddly, despite the mass of season 11 queens and more twists and turns than a contortionist’s routine.

Before we even get into the “game within a game,” we’ve got to talk about a few other “twists” in the franchise. All Stars season 6 is the first to air exclusively on Paramount+, which means many RuPaul’s Drag Race fans may now have three separate providers to keep up. I’ve been watching on Logo and then VH1 on old-school cable, international editions on WOW+ Presents and now All Stars on Paramount+. It’s like a gay tax! During this, our month of Pride?

Furthermore, Paramount+ is taking the Netflix/Disney+ approach and releasing episodes at 3 a.m. Thursday mornings. It’s certainly changed the way we watch. Drag Race is a community experience. Whether you’re watching on Twitter or at a bar, we are gooped and gagged in real time, together. It’s not dissimilar from televised sporting events. They wouldn’t release the Super Bowl in the middle of the night on a weekday. Plus, it makes the already pesky spoiler even harder to avoid. (For our recap purposes, we’re putting these up on Fridays to give folks a chance to watch.)

RuPaul All Stars 6: It’s A Lot, But Always Something

And I haven’t even started complaining about the overstuffed episodes, and, my favorite refrain, “Too Many Queens!” (available now on iTunes). Ma’am, we’ve got 13 queens, two full hours, 48 runway looks and so many mediocre dance songs with the queens repeating what they think their catchphrase was during their season. It’s a lot!

Folks have already snarked about the caliber of the All Stars cast, and last night’s double feature did little to assuage concerns. The preponderance of season 11 queens — one of the less beloved installments among the fandom — doesn’t help either. We’ve got Scarlet Envy, Ra’Jah, A’Keria and the divisive Silky Nutmeg Ganache. (Personally, y’all know by now I like a big girl with attitude, but judging by comments, your mileage may vary.)

And yet? I still had fun! By now we’ve watched queens, All Stars, international queens, gay veterans and C-list celebrities all play some variation of the game. The format just works. Sure, we’ll always find something to critique (otherwise what’s the point of even being gay?), but tell me you wouldn’t be equally invested in watching a spin-off called RuPaul’s Drag Race Worst Queens? It’s like queer people are just … inherently interesting?

What’s more impressive is, despite the exhausting runtime, it feels like very little substance. Barely a gag, nary a goop. It may not be the queens’ fault. With so many contestants to feature, the breakneck speed skipped across so many moments so swiftly, hardly anything the queens did left a sizable impression.

Take the premiere episode. After the queens arrive to show off their new teeth, lips and wigs, the first mini-challenge is the reading challenge. As we learn later in the episode Trinity K. Bonet has no relationship with any of the other girls, and it feels like that may be more broadly the case. The reads are mostly very basic variations on “you’re not good enough to be an All Star,” and nothing seemed to really crack Ru up (the surest sign of a good read). We didn’t see much from each queen, but the edit gives the impression Ginger and Pandora excel as expected, Yara gets laughs being Yara, while Serena, Jan and Silky struggle. Ginger Minj gets the first win of this race, but the real highlight is guest (via video) Miss Piggy, making a long overdue Drag Race appearance. Has anyone made her reactions into GIFs to drop into everyday group chats yet? (This is why we need synchronous viewing!)

The main challenge for this RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars premiere is a variety show that’s, well, light on variety. The task is to showcase your best talents, which for most of these All Stars is … lip syncing. It’s just, I don’t think that’s the assignment. That’d be like entering a beauty pageant and just “being a beauty pageant contestant” for your talent. It’s all original tracks, and they are … fine! They are fine. The dancing is fierce, but there are Real Housewives with better lyrics and more range.

It makes the standouts stand out even more. Ra’Jah manages to sew a simple. chic garment in a mere 60 seconds to the delight of the judges. (Many fans — and Michelle — clock that this is a signature Bianca del Rio routine, but Ra’Jah’s garment has more wow factor in less time.) Scarlet puts a fun twist on a burlesque routine using all manner of bubbles. Even though they were lip syncs, Pandora and Yara Sofia shine. Pandora infuses her performance with lots of campy, physical humor, but Yara takes physical humor to a whole new place — a place of sight and sound, but apparently no gravity. Wearing a massive chest plate filled with what I can only assume is … Flubber? … Yara performs a Spanglish sync while juggling these jumbo Jell-O jigglers to the absolutely delight of Ru. She’s the clear winner.

Less successful are Silky, whose low-energy live singing I’ve seen at lesser school recitals, and our bottom two, Trinity and Serena ChaCha. TKB tries to recapture the magic of her “Grandma’s Light Bill” routine, but she stumbles and never fully recovers. Serena’s spastic lip sync feels like a huge missed opportunity, forgoing the chance to better use props, tell more of a story or, as Ru request, do more cha-cha!

The All Stars format is in tact (so far). The top of All Star of the week, Yara, will pick the lipstick of the queen she thinks she should be eliminated. The other queens will pick their lipsticks. The winner faces off in a lip sync battle against a former lip sync assassin. If the week’s winner is the victor, she picks who goes home. If the assassin wins, the other queens’ pick goes.

Between Serena and Trinity, it feels a bit like a foregone conclusion. Yara turns in a satisfactory performance against Coco Montrese to Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk.” Coco is certainly lacking the legendary diction she displayed during the absolutely iconic “Cold Hearted Snake” lip sync. Neither seems particular committed to the words, and the stunts are minimal. Ru declares Coco the winner, and Ms. Montrese reveals the gals are sending Serena home.

But wait! As Serena packs, Ru appears on screen like a gay Jigsaw to let her know there is still a game afoot. Does she want to play?

Onto episode two of the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars premiere, we begin with the ceremonial certifying of the lipstick votes. They take out all the lipsticks from the non-winning queens and quickly deduce they ALL voted for Serena, which makes Trinity feel good. They unanimously have her back.

Then, Yara, agent of chaos, chooses violence, taking out her lipstick and revealing she would’ve eliminated Trinity. Now we’re getting started.

Brace yourself, because we’re going right into the next challenge: the Blue Ball! That means we’ve got a staggering THIRTY-SIX LOOKS to get through. Oh, honey, I’m not gagging, I’m CHOKING! Someone give me the Heimlich, there’s a paillette blocking my airway!

The categories are Blue Betta Work (blue-collar realness), Blue Jean Baby and Blue Ball Bonanza, custom-made from unconventional materials. A few of the girls are traumatized from former sewing challenges — I’m looking at you, Jiggly. (May I call you Jiggly?)

The show is a blue blur, but Ra’Jah, Kylie Sonique Love and Eureka manage to make a good impression on the judges and get a top spot. Ra’Jah takes the ultimate win with her smartly tailored lewks and sickening futuristic jumpsuit made in the werkroom.

It’s no surprise Jiggly is less lucky. Her second sk8r ensemble looks right off the rack at Pacific Sunwear in 2002, and her constructed garment is something anyone with a throw blanket and a safety pin could whip up (in a minute or less, even). The judges also find fault in A’keria’s presentation, but it’s mild criticism and she’s clearly safe.

In a bit of a shocker, joining Jiggly in the bottom is episode one’s winner, Yara Sofia. Carson thinks Yara’s unconventional outfit is too busy, and the return of her bouncing boobies felt a bit redundant.

It all comes down to Ra’Jah and the lip sync assassin, Brooke Lynn Hytes. In the pantheon of dancing queens, BLH has got to be somewhere toward the top of the list. Ra’jah absolutely keeps up in a neck-and-neck lip sync that combines sex, competition, interplay and acrobatics in the way all the best syncs do. Ru has no choice but to call it a tie. (Although, I would have given the edge to Ra’Jah.)

That means there’s potentially two gals going home, but both lipsticks say Jiggly. We bid adieu to Jiggly — for now — before Ru appears again like a puppet on a tricycle to see if Jiggly wants to play a game.

That just leaves one enormous piece of business: rankings! Longtime readers know the deal by now, but for any new squirrel friends, these are my own, personal, completely subjective, armchair drag critic rankings based on this week, previous weeks, previous seasons, perceived potential, star power, moxie and whatever my mood may be. Disagree? Leave your rankings in the comments! And remember: It’s only drag!

These rankings were tough, and not because it’s such a tight race for the crown. It’s just a struggle to see a majority of these queens in the Hall of Fame. Maybe this season will slowly change my mind. But for now, here’s how they’re shaking out for me.

1. I am so here to see Ra’Jah get some Ru-demption in the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars premiere. The talented queen and expert confessional quipper has more talent than attitude, despite her reputation. Her speedy sewing skills were on full display in both episodes, and holding her own against Brooke like that was impressive.
2. Eureka was already one of Ru’s favorites, competing on two previous seasons of Drag Race, reaching the finale in her second go-round. Now, she’s got a lot more exposure and experience, thanks to her work on HBO’s We’re Here. Her variety talent performance — which borrowed the projection technique most recently in the zeitgeist thanks to previous winner Sasha Velour — was too overly earnest for me, but it’s the kind of thing I can see RuPaul eating up. Eureka is the kind of queen custom made to excel here.
3. Even A’Keria‘s competitors want to be her, that’s how fierce she is. We know she can be funny, we know she can turn it on the runway and we know she can lip sync. I thought her placement in the bottom on episode two was misguided, but her variety lip sync was meh enough to justify it for me.
4. I love how Jan came in so determined to undo her narrative of being so over-the-top extra, and she immediately is 10x more intense. Her variety show singing escalated until she was just fully screaming. It was impressive, but not necessarily pleasant. Every single one of her Blue Ball outfits were incredible. Methinks she may have gotten some fashion notes from recent Ru girl Rosé.
5. Ginger is a pro, there’s no doubt about that. Her “Gummi Bear” lip sync in the variety show was dumb, but it was dumb done right. She considered all the details, from the set to the Gummi Bear belt buckle to her Gummi Bear-esque puffs on her head. Everything was executed with precision and showmanship. For Ginger to really shine this season, she’ll need to surprise us. It doesn’t matter how well she does “Glamour Toad” — we know she’s got that — but if she can give us sex or edge, it would really make a statement.
6. Similarly, you know what you’re getting with Pandora. It’s good! I like it! But does she have the versatility, branding and media savvy to take the title?
7. I wasn’t a huge fan of Scarlet her first go round, but so far, so good. She has looked consistently great. The bubble routine was very fun (and an incredibly refreshing change of pace), but she had little memorable confessional presence. Maybe she’ll have more room to shine in coming weeks.
8. I’m glad to see Kylie Sonique Love get a proper run at the Race. One of two trans women competing this season, it’s great (though long overdue) to see Drag Race catch up and highlight all the talent in the community. Kylie is already worlds ahead of where we last saw Sonique. Let’s hope coming episodes give her more highlight.
9. I was all in on Yara in episode one, but, like the judges, I fell off in episode two. Bringing the boobs back the next time on the runway was a big mistake. Yara is still Yara. There are flashes of brilliance in all the chaos, but it’s just a matter of catching it at the right moment. One thing you can say about the rest of these gals, they are CONSISTENT. That makes Yara a wild card. A little surprise can go a long way, it’s just a matter of in which direction.
10. Silky may not be the most popular Drag Race alum, but I was ready to root for her. The variety show performance was a real disappointment that started uneasy and went nowhere. She looked good at the ball, but my favorite part was the crash sound they edited in when she put the box down on the third runway. That’s some *chef’s kiss* foley work.
11. Trinity is another queen so many people are rooting for. She came in with more confidence, but it dissipated on the main stage when she stumbled. It was tough to watch. I think Blue Collar lewk should have earned her a spot in the bottom. It was Kohl’s lady pants and a summer camp craft Stop sign. Not good enough for All Stars!
12. I wish it weren’t true, but Jiggly was the right call to go home in episode two, just based on challenge performance. I think she has potential, and there’s still the lingering hope of whatever this “game within a game” turns out to be.
13. Serena is certainly improved, but, alas, not quite an All Star.

What did you think of the episode? Let us know in the comments. And, FYI: If you share your thoughts online using the hashtag #ParamountPlusPride, the streaming service will donate $1 to the Point Foundation, the nation’s largest LGBTQ scholarship granting organization for more than 20 years. Make an impact while spilling the tea.

Before the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars premiere: Get caught up on previous Towleroad coverage

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New £50 notes memorializing groundbreaking British computer scientist and World War II hero Alan Turing went into circulation on Wednesday, the date of what would have been his 109th birthday.

The new note, which the Bank of England announced in 2019, is the first to be printed on plastic instead of paper and features Turing’s portrait on the note’s back along with a collection of signifiers highlighting Turing’s legacy in the fields of computing and mathematics. Those include listing Turing’s birthday in binary code, a table and formula from his foundational paper “On Computable Numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem” and one of Turing’s more memorable quotes: “This is only a foretaste of what is to come and only the shadow of what is going to be.”

“Our banknotes celebrate some of our country’s most important historical figures. That’s why I am delighted that Alan Turing features on the new polymer £50 note,” said Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England. “Having undertaken remarkable codebreaking work here at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, he went on to pioneer work on early computers, as well as making some ground-breaking discoveries in the field of developmental biology.”

“He was also gay and was treated appallingly as a result. Placing him on this new banknote is a recognition of his contributions to our society, and a celebration of his remarkable life,” Bailey added.

The appalling treatment Bailey refers to is the criminalization of his gay identity despite his efforts to help defeat the Axis Powers during World War II by decoding the German Enigma codes. The new note features drawings of the British Bombe, one of the tools Turing used to break the Nazis’ code.

Despite his heroic status, Turing was still prosecuted for being a gay man and underwent forced chemical castration at the hands of the Crown in 1952. Turing would die by suicide two years later. He was 41.

The U.K. government didn’t apologize for Turing’s treatment until 2009. Queen Elizabeth II posthumously pardoned Turing in 2013 and named a law pardoning hundreds of other men prosecuted for simply being gay after him. The Bank of England also flew the Progress Pride flag on Wednesday in honor of Turing’s memory.

“Alan Turing’s appearance on the £50 note is a landmark moment in our history. Not only is it a celebration of his scientific genius which helped to shorten the war and influence the technology we still use today, it also confirms his status as one of the most iconic LGBT+ figures in the world,” said Jeremy Fleming, Director of British spy agency GCHQ.

“Turing was embraced for his brilliance and persecuted for being gay,” he added. “His legacy is a reminder of the value of embracing all aspects of diversity, but also the work we still need to do to become truly inclusive.”

Alan Turing: Previously on Towleroad

Gay WWII Codebreaker Alan Turing to Be New Face of UK £50 Note

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Image courtesy of the Bank of England

View the full article

By Patricia Zengerle and Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Members of the U.S. Congress said on Wednesday they would press ahead with efforts to change the law in order to overhaul how the military prosecutes sexual assault and related crimes, while welcoming Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s unprecedented support for the shift.

Democratic and Republican members of Congress announced the introduction in the House of Representatives of legislation to shift prosecution of such cases from the chain of command and make it the responsibility of trained military prosecutors.

Their bill is named for Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen, who was murdered after reporting sexual harassment. A companion bill is co-sponsored by two-thirds of the Senate, although it has been held up by opposition from the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Armed Services Committee.

Advocates and lawmakers have been calling for years for commanders to be taken out of the decision-making process when it comes to prosecuting the thousands of cases of sexual assault and related crimes among service members every year.

Senior military officials, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army General Mark Milley, have stopped short of endorsing the move, despite acknowledging failings in addressing sexual assault in the ranks.

They argue, supported by some members of Congress, that preserving commanders’ authority over prosecutions is vital to maintaining discipline. Backers of the legislation argue that the military has failed to improve the system despite years of promises.

Austin, in a major break from his predecessors, said on Tuesday he supported the change and would work with Congress to make changes.

“That is a huge, monumental step forward to recognize that good order and discipline does not rest on a commander deciding on if a case goes forward,” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who has spearheaded efforts to change the policy, told a news conference with House members and members of Guillen’s family.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would bring the measure to the floor soon and it would pass. “I hope that it will succeed in the Senate as well,” she said.

A 2018 Pentagon survey estimated that 20,500 male and female service members experienced some kind of sexual assault that year.

Guillen, who was based at Fort Hood in Texas, was 20 when she was bludgeoned to death, her body found mutilated and buried in a shallow grave. An investigative panel looking into violent crimes and abuse at Fort Hood, the largest active-duty armored post in the United States, said in December it had found a command structure that was “permissive” of sexual assaults.

“When we have a system that fails victims, everyone is failed,” Republican Representative Mike Turner told the news conference.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Idrees Ali; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Sexual Assault in Military previously on Towleroad

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League Forbids Rainbow-lit Munich Stadium For Hungary Match to Protest Anti-Gay Laws. So Fans, Other Stadiums Put Rainbows Everywhere

June 24, 2021

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View the full article

The Munich Stadium has worn the colors of the rainbow and looks great doing it as recently seen at the city’s Christopher Street Days pride celebration. But citing a policy on “political and religious neutrality” the League forbid the planned protest lights. Picking up the slack, other German Stadiums went full rainbow and fans filled the stadium with flags and face paints and arm bands and other rainbow products, joined by some players.

The growing divide over anti-LGBTQ legislation recently passed in Hungary even played out on the pitch Wednesday when the German soccer team hosted Hungarian national team for a UEFA EURO 2020 tournament group stage match in Munich.

The Hungarian government has explicitly targeted the country’s LGBTQ population under authoritarian leader Viktor Orban, including the passage of a law banning the “promotion” of LGBTQ identities to minors. This and many other discriminatory laws passed in recent years have prompt human rights groups to decry the European nation for its attitude of erasure toward the LGBTQ community.

Germany planned to illuminate Munich’s Allianz Arena, the location of Wednesday’s match, in the colors of the rainbow as a public response to Hungary’s treatment of LGBTQ communities, but European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, blocked the move, citing its commitment to remain “politically and religiously neutral.”

“The rainbow colors are a tribute to diversity and to the fact that we are all equal. It has nothing to do with politics,” Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand told German press outlet dpa. “I pay respect to the fact that [German team captain] Manuel Neuer and the German national team want to take social responsibility.”

“I find it shameful that UEFA forbids us to send a sign for cosmopolitanism, tolerance, respect and solidarity with the people of the LGBT community,” Munich mayor Dieter Reiter told France24. Orban and other Hungarian officials have consistently maintained that the law isn’t discriminatory toward LGBTQ Hungarians despite critics highlighting that the legislation equates homosexuality with pedophilia.

Some pointed to the hypocrisy of UEFA’s statement by pointing to the organization inserting the rainbow into its logo for Pride month. “For UEFA, the rainbow is not a political symbol, but a sign of our firm commitment to a more diverse and inclusive society,” UEFA said in a statement prior to Wednesday’s match.

“It’s true, the football pitch is not about politics. It’s about people, about fairness, about tolerance,” said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. “That’s why UEFA is sending the wrong signal.” In response, the city of Munich altered its protest plans. Rainbow flags adorned Munich’s town hall while, according to the Associated Press, rainbow Pride flags outnumbered German flags outside Allianz Arena.

A fan in a German soccer jersey ran onto the pitch waving a Pride flag while the Hungarian national anthem played prior to the start of the match. Rainbow flags were flown by fans throughout the stadium and a collection of soccer stadiums throughout Germany lit up their buildings in rainbow lights during the match.

Orban canceled plans to attend Wednesday’s match as the backlash against his nation’s treatment of LGBTQ people continued to grow.

The European Union has also weighed in, stating its opposition to the Hungarian laws. “This Hungarian bill is a shame,” said Ursela von der Leyen, European Commission president. “This bill clearly discriminates against people based on their sexual orientation. It goes against the fundamental values of the European Union: human dignity, equality and respect for human rights … I will use all the powers of the Commission to ensure that the rights of all EU citizens are guaranteed. Whoever they are and wherever they live within the European Union.”

Germany joined with 13 other EU nations in support of a statement from Belgian officials condemning Hungary’s latest anti-LGBTQ law as being discrimination disguised as an effort to protect children. “A union of values is not an à la carte menu. We have a collective responsibility to protect the rights of all EU citizens, and therefore we have a duty to make our voice heard and to react when those rights and our values are undermined,” said Sophie Wilmès, Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister.

Wednesday match ended in a 2-2 tie and Hungary was eliminated from UEFA EURO 2020.

Munich Stadium: Previously on Towleroad

League Forbids Rainbow-lit Munich Stadium For Hungary Match to Protest Anti-Gay Laws. So Fans, Other Stadiums Put Rainbows Everywhere

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Photo courtesy of Twitt

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By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Rudy Giuliani’s law license in New York state was suspended on Thursday, as a state appeals court found he had lied in arguing that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from his client, former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Giuliani, 77, a former U.S. Attorney in Manhattan and New York City mayor, was sanctioned for making unsubstantiated claims in court, testimony before lawmakers, press conferences and other media appearances about electoral fraud.

The five-justice Appellate Division in Manhattan found “uncontroverted” evidence that Giuliani made “demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public” in trying to overturn the election, which Democrat Joe Biden won.

“These false statements were made to improperly bolster (Giuliani’s) narrative that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from his client,” the court said. “We conclude that respondent’s conduct immediately threatens the public interest and warrants interim suspension from the practice of law.”

Giuliani could not immediately be reached for comment.

John Leventhal and Barry Kamins, two lawyers for Giuliani, said they were disappointed with the decision.

“Our client does not pose a present danger to the public interest,” they said in a joint statement. “We believe that once the issues are fully explored at a hearing Mr. Giuliani will be reinstated as a valued member of the legal profession that he has served so well in his many capacities for so many years.”

The court said Giuliani made numerous false statements about the voting in Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania, including that hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots or votes, including from dead people, had been improperly counted.

It highlighted a Pennsylvania court hearing on Nov. 17 where Giuliani alleged widespread voter fraud – though his formal written complaint on Trump’s behalf made no mention of it.

The court rejected Giuliani’s argument that the investigation of his conduct violated his constitutional right to free speech. It also suggested the suspension may become permanent.

“We find that there is evidence of continuing misconduct, the underlying offense is incredibly serious, and the uncontroverted misconduct in itself will likely result in substantial permanent sanctions,” the court said.

Giuliani’s suspension takes effect immediately, pending further proceedings before an attorney grievance committee that had recommended it.

The suspension adds to the legal problems for Giuliani, who as New York City mayor won wide praise for his response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have been examining Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine, including whether he violated lobbying laws by acting as an unregistered foreign agent while working as Trump’s lawyer.

Giuliani received his law license in 1969.

He began representing Trump in April 2018 as federal Special Counsel Robert Mueller was probing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York and Jan Wolfe in Washington; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Dan Grebler)

Rudy Giuliani Law License previously on Towleroad

Dutch Prime Minister Tells Hungary’s Orban to Respect LGBT rights or leave EU

June 25, 2021

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President Biden Names Jessica Stern U.S. LGBTQI+ Special Envoy, Signs Pulse National Memorial into Law

June 25, 2021

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Free Britney. Strange Bedfellows: Cher, Gaetz + Jordan, Megan McCain, the Justice Reporter From ‘The Nation’, Andy Cohen, Rose McGowan, and Amnesty F’in International

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June 25, 2021

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June 25, 2021

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Bi-partisan Effort To Move 20,000+ Sexual Assault Cases/Year Out of Command Chain Gets Surprise Support of Defense Secy. Austin

June 24, 2021

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View the full article

“Lessons learned and trauma experienced early in HIV helped urban gay areas respond quickly and effectively in the face of early federal govt paralysis.”

HIV and Covid: A study and possible forthcoming book strongly suggest that those who worked and agitated in their communities absent recognition, let alone support, for the Americans fighting the last pandemic, emerged with some skills to go with that trauma. And indications are that the lessons, insights and agitation likely mitigated some amount of pain during quarantines and contributed to greater resilience. — Editor

How gay neighborhoods used the traumas of HIV to help American cities fight coronavirus

Throughout the pandemic, local neighborhoods have played a critical and well-documented role providing the health and social services necessary for American communities and businesses to survive and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gay neighborhoods were particularly well equipped to meet this challenge, according to our latest research on these communities.

We find that the lessons learned and trauma experienced early in the HIV/AIDS pandemic helped urban gay areas respond to COVID-19 quickly and effectively – especially in the face of early federal government paralysis.

How gay neighborhoods fought HIV/AIDS

Gay neighborhoods are those that welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer and other sexual minorities – a population generally referred to by the shorthand LGBTQ+. Well-known examples include the Castro district in San Francisco, Dupont Circle in Washington and Greenwich Village and Chelsea in New York City.

“Gayborhoods” grew during the sexual liberation movements of the 1960s and 1970s, offering LGTBQ people and their allies an escape from pervasive discrimination and prejudice. In these areas, sexual minorities could rent apartments, socialize in bars and express themselves freely in a like-minded, compassionate community.

Even as LGBTQ people in the U.S. began to live more openly, gay neighborhoods really coalesced around the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

When that mysterious new disease began ravaging the LGBTQ community in the 1980s, the U.S. government turned away from, not toward, those communities. Support critical for fighting HIV – including health care subsidies for uninsured people and funding for research on treatments and cures – was initially not provided. Information given by governments about disease transmission and treatment was inconsistent and sometimes inaccurate.

Government neglect ended up stigmatizing people with HIV and leading to many avoidable deaths. So, as we uncovered in our most recent book, gay neighborhoods filled the void where government and mainstream organizations failed. They became the battlefields where the AIDS pandemic was fought and eventually won.

People in gay neighborhoods developed community organizations and systems to deliver health care and mental health services, provide social support for LGBTQ+ people and support LGBTQ-friendly businesses.

Public health organizations like New York City’s Gay Men’s Health Crisis also stepped in to do what many doctors would not. They shared information about slowing and stopping the spread of HIV and also distributed condoms, conducted free HIV testing and connected people who tested positive to help.

Building community through crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic shares many similarities reminiscent of early days of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

With both HIV/AIDS and COVID-19, there was a disjointed and bungled government response that endangered lives and produced both fear and stigma. Even some of the same government-appointed leaders were in place: Both Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx worked on marshaling government resources to spearhead the medical response to HIV in the 1990s.

With COVID-19, as with HIV/AIDS, city and state governments were unprepared to fight a disease outbreak. They lacked both planning and infrastructure to effectively fight a rapidly accelerating public health threat.

Several U.S. states, as a result, looked to organizations within gay neighborhoods for help, relying on neighborhood-based LGBTQ+ health care organizations to help support their COVID-19 pandemic response.

For example, in New York, the Erie County Department of Health requested that Evergreen Health – an LGBTQ community group originally established in the 1980s as a volunteer effort to fight HIV – assume responsibility for HIV testing during the COVID-19 pandemic so that the county government could focus on COVID-19 testing. Evergreen also opened a drive-though COVID-19 testing center in the spring of 2020 – four decades after it had introduced HIV testing to the Buffalo region.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Evergreen Health not only continued to provide health care and other supportive services to Buffalo’s LGBTQ community but expanded offerings to better serve underserved and minority neighborhoods across the city. At that time, New York state was the global epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Chicago and other cities, activists used LGBTQ+ urban social and professional networks established during the HIV/AIDS pandemic to tackle this latest disease. Queer communities disseminated information about COVID-19 to neighbors and distributed face masks and other protective gear, just as they had once shared information about HIV transmission and given out condoms.

[The Conversation’s most important coronavirus headlines, weekly in a science newsletter]

Lessons learned

States with major grassroots activism in the HIV crisis also applied lessons from that era about overcoming misinformation and fear of contagious diseases.

For instance, New York state used a network of small laboratories to process its COVID-19 tests and administer vaccines – a model pioneered during the emergence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic when large, centralized laboratories were initially nervous about working with HIV-positive blood samples. Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, this allowed New York to react effectively and process COVID-19 tests relatively quickly.

New York, followed by California, was among states in which COVID-19 infection first showed up in the U.S. As these state governments set up testing procedures, they drew upon methods for testing established during the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The experience in both New York and California with HIV/AIDS helped, at least in part, to establish robust testing networks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United Kingdom government, on the other hand, chose centralized laboratories to process tests, rejecting an offer to create a complementary network of smaller local providers. That decision may have complicated testing and slowed results and contact tracing, according to reporting by SkyNews.

Our research also finds gay neighborhoods banded together to meet the needs of the broader community.

Activist mutual aid networks formed decades ago within “gayborhoods” deployed peer-to-peer mobile technologies to help feed locked down and sick people – not only within the LGBTQ community.

Many of these efforts to combat COVID-19, like actions taken to fight HIV/AIDS, were done quietly, without fanfare. This neighbor-helping-neighbor approach is a hallmark of the leadership that can be found in gay neighborhoods – experienced rescuers in times of crisis.

Daniel Baldwin Hess, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University at Buffalo and Alex Bitterman, Professor of Architecture and Design, Alfred State College of Technology, The State University of New York

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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When you picture yourself in Miami, a few images likely come to mind: Dancing the night away among hot, sweaty bodies; enjoying the eye candy on a beautiful beach; mingling with the fashionable Art Basel crowd; or savoring Cuban flavors on your plate and on the dance floor. And that’s still just a fraction of the adventures awaiting.

A single trip to Miami can have you cruising the Everglades in an airboat and cruising the guys at a world-famous gay nightclubs, all in the same day. The wealth of experiences available for gay travelers visiting the famously LGBTQ+-friendly city means it can be hard to cram it all in on one trip.

To make sure you get at least a taste of Miami’s many flavors, we’ve put together four totally unique must-visit Miami spots for your next trip. Add one of these areas to your next itinerary for an unforgettable first-time experience or a new flavor to a return trip.

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Carl Nassib’s historic coming out on Monday is still sending shockwaves through the sports world and beyond. Nassib became the first active NFL player ever to come out as gay and is expected to become the first out gay player to play in an NFL regular-season game when he suits up for the Las Vegas Raiders later this year.

Just as good, his NFL compatriots have been overwhelming in their support for him since the news broke.

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis voiced his support for Nassib in a statement to ESPN. “It’s 2021. All the more power to Carl. It doesn’t change my opinion of him as a person or as a Raider,” Davis said.

Raiders head coach Jon Gruden also chimed in with kind words for Nassib, saying, “I learned a long time ago what makes a man different is what makes him great.”

Notable among the current NFL players that responded was New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley, who played with Nassib in college at Penn State University.

Click to Page 2 and learn: Who is matching Nassib’s donation to Trevor project?; What is Nassib’s political party? How long will it be for his jersey to become the top seller? What’s Dan Savage think? And what do the gays look like “on their way to carl nassib’s instagram?”

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The Emmy Awards have gone gender neutral.

The Television Academy’s Board of Governors has confirmed that nominees in the Best Actress or Best Actor awards can choose to be called a “performer” rather than an actor or an actress when the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards take place in September this year.

They said in a statement on their website: “No performer category titled “Actor” or “Actress” has ever had a gender requirement for submissions. Now, nominees and (or) winners in any performer category titled “Actor” or “Actress” may request that their nomination certificate and Emmy statuette carry the term “Performer” in place of Actor or Actress.”

At the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ swept the board, taking home all seven awards in the comedy categories including the prestigious Outstanding Comedy Series accolade, for which it was shortlisted alongside ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’, ‘Dead to Me’, ‘The Good Place’, ‘Insecure’, ‘The Kominsky Method’, ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ and ‘What We Do in the Shadows’.

There were wins in the Lead Actor and Actress in a comedy series categories for co-creator Eugenie Levy and Catherine O’Hara, and in the Supporting Actor and Actress categories for Dan Levy – who also won for writing and directing – and Annie Murphy.

Accepting his acting prize, his third of the evening, Dan quipped: “Come on! Oh no! OK, the internet’s about to turn on me. I’m so sorry.”

Other winner at the times included ‘Euphoria’ star Zendaya for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Mark Ruffalo, who took Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his work on ‘I Know This Much Is True’, and Billy Crudup and Julia Garner, who took the Outstanding Supporting Actor and Actress in a Drama Series honours respectively for ‘The Morning Show’ and ‘Ozark’.

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Biden trans track record continues as it reverses more Trump-era restrictions. Under Biden trans military members and veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Saturday that it will offer gender-affirming surgeries for trans veterans, a first in the history of the VA.

“[This is] allowing transgender vets to go through the full gender confirmation process with VA by their side,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said during a Pride event at the Orlando VA Healthcare System. “We’re making these changes not only because they are the right thing to do, but because they can save lives.”

McDonough stated that his office will begin a two-year process to provide proper training on performing gender-affirming surgeries to VA facilities. “This time will allow VA to develop capacity to meet the surgical needs that transgender veterans have called for and deserved for a long time, and I am proud to begin the process of delivering it,” McDonough said.

The decision falls in line with changes enacted since President Joe Biden took office focused on being more inclusive to trans military members and veterans. Biden signed an executive order in January repealing President Donald Trump’s ban on trans members of the military serving openly as their assigned gender. The Veterans Health Administration also announced it will rename its LGBT health program to the LGBTQ+ health program in an effort to “reflect new community standards of inclusiveness and anticipate future changes in terms.”

“At VA, we’re doing everything in our power to show veterans of all sexual orientations and gender identities that they can talk openly, honestly and comfortably with their health care providers about any issues they may be experiencing,” McDonough said.

House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, the first out gay person of color elected to Congress, celebrated McDonough’s announcement, saying, “Veterans in need of gender confirmation surgery should not have to seek healthcare outside of the VA health system or navigate complicated processes to get the care they need … VA must be inclusive of all veterans who have served, regardless of their identity.”

The VA estimates that with the change to Biden, trans veterans, roughly 4,000 of them, will be interested in utilizing the program Trans team to obtain gender-affirming surgeries despite the National Center for Transgender Equality estimates that upwards of 134,000 trans military veterans reside in the U.S. currently.

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Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib made sports history Monday when he came out as gay, becoming the first active player in NFL history to do so.

Nassib made the announcement in a video from his home in West Chester, PA posted to his Instagram. “I just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said. “I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest. I really have the best life, the best family, friends and job a guy could ask for.”

Nassib continued: “I’m a pretty private person, so I hope you guys know that I’m not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that one day videos like this and the whole coming out process are not necessary, but until then, I will do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting and compassionate.”

The six-year NFL veteran thanked the NFL, Raiders organization, coaches and his teammates for supporting him in making his identity known publicly. “I would not have been able to do this without them. From the jump, I was greeted with the utmost respect and acceptance,” Nassib said. Both the NFL and Raiders social media accounts shared Nassib’s post with messages of pride.

In a statement to Outsports, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell lauded Nassib for living his truth. “The NFL family is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today,” Goodell said. “Representation matters. We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season.”

Nassib also recognized historic LGBTQ leaders of days past. “I stand on the shoulders of giants, incredible people who paved the way for me to have this opportunity,” Nassib said. “I do not know all the history behind our courageous LGBTQ community, but I am eager to learn and to help continue the fight for equality and acceptance.”

He kicked off his effort in that fight by announcing a donation of $100,000 to The Trevor Project. “For someone like me, who has been lucky and cherishes every day, it brings me incredible sadness to think that our LGBTQ youth are at such an elevated risk for suicide,” Nassib said. “I feel an immense responsibility to help in any way I can.”

Nassib is entering his second season with the Las Vegas Raiders after stints with the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has amassed 20.5 sacks in his career. He joins former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end R.K. Russell as the second NFL player to come out as LGBTQ in recent years. Russell came out as bisexual in 2019 and hasn’t played in the league since 2018.

According to Outsports,15 NFL players have come out as LGBTQ, none of them did so while they were active in the league. Carl Nassib will likely become the first out gay player in NFL history to play in a regular-season game when the 2021-22 season kicks off later this year.

Nassib’s historic announcement drew overwhelming praise:

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Budweiser, Bud Light and all other Anheuser-Busch products won’t be on the menu at The Stonewall Inn during Pride weekend in what the iconic LGBTQ bar’s owners characterize as a protest of the company’s donations to politicians supporting LGBTQ discrimination.

“We just felt Stonewall having the platform, the power to do this, it was important to stand up,” Stonewall Inn co-owner Stacy Lentz told The Guardian. “We really just want Anheuser-Busch to stop donating to lawmakers who are trying to legalize discrimination.”

In addition to pausing sales, the bar will also hold a ceremonial pouring down the drain of Bud Light and Stella Artois in support of the newly established “Keep Your Pride” campaign, an initiative from the recently created Corporate Accountability Action organization highlighting five large corporations, including Anheuser-Busch, publicly supporting the LGBTQ community while making hundreds of donations to anti-LGBTQ politicians.

According to the National Institute on Money in Politics, the beer-brewing giant made 48 donations totaling $35,350 to state and federal legislators in Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi that supported LGBTQ discrimination between 2015 and 2020. “Keep Your Pride” also highlights donations from AT&T, General Motors, NBCUniversal and Coca-Cola, with donations from all five totaling $324,250 between 2015 and 2021.

“It’s unacceptable for so-called ‘allied’ corporations to use Pride celebrations as marketing opportunities, claiming to support the LGBTQ community while they take direct action that hurts LGBTQ people across the country,” Marie Coyle, spokesperson for “Keep Your Pride,” told The Advocate.

“It’s never been more important for these companies to put their money where their mouth is,” Coyle added. “Either they can put an end to their support of these dangerous elected officials, or they can keep their Pride this year.”

Lentz agrees, saying, “You can’t turn your logo rainbow on social media, call yourself an ally, and then turn around and make donations that fuel hate … there are really no excuses, and companies like Anheuser-Busch need to own up to what they’ve done.”

In a statement to The Guardian, Anheuser-Busch said it “supports candidates for public office whose policy positions and objectives support investments in our communities, job creation and industry growth.” The company also noted that it has” a clear role to play in bringing real change and creating an inclusive and equitable world we cherish and celebrate one another.”

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