News Round-Up: September 4, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• How about some 'Transformation Tuesday?' I've featured InstaHunk and paleontologist Francesc Gascó many times on The Randy Report. But check out his before/after pic above. Francesc notes, "The biggest change is on the inside."

• A new documentary, American Circumcision, looks at the effects of circumcision and a movement to end the practice in the United States.

• Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, says the Trumpster will try to block the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's final report. Because that's what innocent people do? #AbuseOfPower

• The Vatican has now admitted representatives lied about whether the Pope knew who Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis was when he met with her in private in 2015.

• Scientists now say no amount of alcohol may be safe to drink. #RuhRoh

• Eminem released his new album last Friday and already there's scandal surrounding it as the rapper chooses to use the word "faggot." LGBTQ ally and Imagine Dragons front man Dan Reynolds was not having it:

it’s never ok to say a word that is filled with hate. I don’t care what year you were born in or what meaning it has to you.

if it contributes to hate and bigotry then it is hateful. period.

there is never an ok time to say the word fa**ot

I don’t care who you are.

— Dan Reynolds (@DanReynolds) August 31, 2018

it’s disgusting to be told this is being “overly sensitive” or “millennial”.

LGBTQ kids are TAKING THEIR LIVES after being bullied with homophobic slurs.

it’s not “sensitive” to take a stand against a word that has been used to spread hate for years.

— Dan Reynolds (@DanReynolds) September 2, 2018

I’ve lived enough of my life remaining silent on these issues because of fear or lack of education.

I don’t live in fear anymore.

I still have lots to learn. but no. I will not be a silent voice with this platform I have been given.

— Dan Reynolds (@DanReynolds) September 2, 2018

2 things to say

1. in trying to be an ally it it’s v easy for a straight white “famous” man to be lauded as a hero for simply saying a few words and organizing an event. I have done v little and am no hero. I’m not seeking to be one. I want change. Period.

— Dan Reynolds (@DanReynolds) September 3, 2018

2. I don’t speak for the LGBTQ community. If they want 2 reclaim the word for themselves that is their decision & their’s only. I was only speaking to someone of great influence thinking it’s ok for him to say it time after time for years. It’s not

and with that I’m done on this

— Dan Reynolds (@DanReynolds) September 3, 2018

Irish Prime Minister To Address Same-Sex Marriage During Visit By Pope

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar

According to Irish Central, the openly gay Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, will address the issue of same-sex marriage when he meets with the Pope on August 25th in Ireland.

Questioned on what he would say to the Pope about the ignoring of gay families by the World Meeting of Families, Varadkar said he would express “our view as a society and as a government that families come in all sorts of different forms and that includes families led by same-sex parents.”

Pope Francis is visiting Ireland to celebrate World Family Day, but LGBT groups have stated that same sex marriages are being deliberately ignored and treated like they are not families.

(photo credit: Arno Mikkor (EU2017EE) - CC license)

News Round-Up: June 21, 2018

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Architect, bodybuilder and InstaHunk Preston Brock shares how he counts down the minutes at the tanning salon #SelfieTime!

• The World Health Organization now acknowledges gender dysphoria is no longer a "mental disorder."

• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom cut a key scene from the film that revealed paleo-veterinarian Dr. Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda) is a lesbian.

• Donald Trump's beleaguered Environmental Protection Agency chief, Scott Pruitt, continues his incredible spending spree. We now have reports Pruitt spent $1,500 of American tax payer money on "tactical pants."

• The Vatican has used the term “LGBT” for the first time in an official document about the Catholic Church’s relationship with youth.

• Trevor Noah's hysterical deconstruction of Donald Trump's migrant separation debacle is definitely worth the watching:

News Round-Up: May 21, 2018

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Model Nick Sandell spent time at the beach; I was stuck in my office watching the sun go by. By the time I got done with work, the dang clouds had rolled in :(

• Andy Warhol's iconic Interview Magazine has shuttered. Employees were told today at an "all-hands meeting" that the magazine had folded.

• A proposal to include discussions on the topics of transgender, sexual orientation and sexual identity in Fort Worth, Texas, public schools has found it's protesters.

• As other states are trying to limit LGBTs ability to adopt or foster homeless children, Connecticut is actively trying to recruit members of the community to participate in adoption/fostering.

• Pope Francis told a gay man that God made him exactly as he is, and that God loves him just as he is.

• GLAAD and Bonnier Publishing USA have teamed up to release a children’s book series featuring LGBT stories (see below).

News Round-Up: September 4, 2017

Some news items you might have missed:

• Ignacio Pérez Rey (above via Instagram) says goodbye to summer #sigh

• The Pope approves of "civil unions" for same-sex couples but says marriage is a "historical word" for men and women that "we cannot change."

• Hate pastor Kevin Swanson of Colorado says the Texas legislature's failure to pass an anti-transgender "bathroom bill" is the reason God sent Hurricane Harvey to destroy Houston.

• This paramedic who worked for six straight days saving lives in Houston during Hurricane Harvey could be deported if Donald Trump rescinds the DACA program.

• Donald Trump has named his first openly gay high-level appointment - homocon Richard Grenell as ambassador to Germany. You'll recall Grenell served as Mitt Romney's foreign policy spokesman in 2012 for two seconds until right-wing conservatives called for his dismissal because gay.

• And by the way - if you're enjoying the Labor Day weekend (or any weekend for that matter) say thank you to the unions.

Signed, a proud union member (Actors Equity Association) for 33 years. Happy Labor Day!

Donald Trump Responds To The Pope's "No Christian" Comments

After Pope Francis commented at a press conference today that Donald Trump was "no Christian" due to his divisive rhetoric about building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, The Donald has responded.

At a press release, The Donald read his own statement that he posted on Facebook then went on a rant about the Pope and how uninformed the Pontiff may be.

Here's the text of his statement aia Donald Trump's Facebook, followed by his full comments at today's press conference.

In response to the Pope:

If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened. ISIS would have been eradicated unlike what is happening now with our all talk, no action politicians.

The Mexican government and its leadership has made many disparaging remarks about me to the Pope, because they want to continue to rip off the United States, both on trade and at the border, and they understand I am totally wise to them. The Pope only heard one side of the story - he didn’t see the crime, the drug trafficking and the negative economic impact the current policies have on the United States. He doesn’t see how Mexican leadership is outsmarting President Obama and our leadership in every aspect of negotiation.

For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian and as President I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened, unlike what is happening now, with our current President. No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith. They are using the Pope as a pawn and they should be ashamed of themselves for doing so, especially when so many lives are involved and when illegal immigration is so rampant.

Donald J. Trump

Pope Francis: Donald Trump Is Not A 'Christian'

Image via CNN

During a press conference today, Pope Francis expressed in no uncertain terms that current the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump, is not a "Christian."

From CNN:

"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the gospel," the Pope told journalists.

Asked if American Catholics should vote for Trump, Francis demurred.

"As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that."

This is unprecedented in American politics that a sitting Pope would speak so critically of a current White House contender.

From what I understand, Trump is currently polling about 20 points ahead of the rest of the GOP pack in terms of evangelicals. Now, evangelicals aren't Catholic, but many Christians across many denominations look to the Pope as the "voice" of Christianity. I'll be curious to see if this impacts the numbers in the upcoming South Carolina primary on Saturday.

Watch The Donald's Twitter feed for his next rant. How much can you go off on the Pope?

Pope Francis' Gay Friend Speaks Out On Kim Davis Debacle

The Washington Post has found and interviewed the newly revealed gay friend of Pope Francis, Yayo Grassi, who did have an private audience with the Pope during his visit to the U.S.

Grassi met the future Pope during the 1960s as a high school student where Jorge Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) taught Argentine literature and psychology at Inmaculada Concepción.

Once this week's brouhaha erupted about the Pope's "meeting" with Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis, Grassi says he had to speak out.

From the Washington Post:

“Although I didn’t know any details, I knew immediately that he had nothing to do with this, that this was arranged by other people without telling him the real character” of Davis, Grassi said. “I received from friends of mine a lot of quite disturbing mail, telling me that ‘This is your pope, look what he did, and he’s a coward,’ and my defense is ‘We don’t know anything. Just wait until things come out.’ And I’m extremely pleased that I was right. And I never had any doubt that I was right.”

In 2010, when Francis was a cardinal in Argentina, Grassi read media reports that his former teacher had condemned the legalization of same-sex marriage. So he sent a long e-mail to the cardinal expressing his disappointment, and the cardinal responded that his words had been cherry-picked and twisted, and that the reported sentiment was not true, according to Grassi.

He wrote that e-mail “with all the respect of the world,” Grassi said. “I stood firm on my position and I ended the e-mail saying ‘Don’t think it was easy for me to write this e-mail but I had to do it, and I think it was the right thing to do because 40 years ago you taught me I had to do it.’ He wrote back to me telling me, first of all, how sorry he was that he had hurt my feelings, that he had hurt me.

One of the things he said on that e-mail was that ‘I want you to know that in my work there is absolutely no place for homophobia.’ And I think that’s what I want people to know.”

Bolding is mine.

Video: Pope Francis Meets Openly Gay Former Student And Partner While In U.S.

CNN reports on the meeting Pope Francis had with an openly gay former student and friend from Argentina, Yayo Grassi and his partner of many years.

"Three weeks before the trip, he called me on the phone and said he would love to give me a hug," Grassi said.

The meeting between Grassi and the Pope adds another intriguing twist to the strange aftermath of Francis' first-ever trip to the United States. Since news broke on Tuesday of Francis' meeting with Davis, conservatives have cheered the seemingly implicit endorsement, while liberals have questioned how much the Pope knew about her case.

In a statement on Friday, the Vatican said that the meeting with Davis was not intended as a show of support for her cause and said "the only real audience granted by the Pope at the nunciature (embassy) was with one of his former students and his family."

"That was me," Grassi said.

Grassi said that Pope Francis taught him in literature and psychology classes at Inmaculada Concepcion high school in Sante Fe, Argentina, from 1964-1965.

Grassi said the Pope has long known that he is gay, but has never condemned his sexuality or his same-sex relationship. Grassi said he and Iwan (he declined to disclose his last name due to privacy concerns) had previously met Francis in Rome.

Greeting Iwan with a handshake, Francis says that he recalls meeting him, according to the brief video. At the end the meeting, the Pope hugs both men and kisses them on the cheek.

"He has never been judgmental," Grassi said. "He has never said anything negative."

Vatican Distances Pope Francis From Kim Davis: "Meeting Should Not Be Considered Form Of Support"

After several days of speculation regarding the news that Pope Francis met with rogue Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis, the Vatican has issued a statement definitively stating that the meeting was not an endorsement of Ms. Davis' views.

In fact, it appears the Pope may not have fully understood who Davis is or her current legal battles regarding her failure to follow the law and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in her county.

The statement, issued by the Rev. Federico Lomdbardi, Vatican spokesman, specified that the encounter with Davis was part of a series of meetings with dozens of guests, not a wholly private appointment.

It's worth noting that the Vatican rarely comments on the Pope's private meetings, so it speaks volumes that this statement has been issued.

Earlier reports seemed to indicate that the Pope himself requested to meet Ms. Davis, but now the Vatican says all of the Pope's greetings in Washington were arranged by Archbishop Viganò.

As a matter of fact, as we had heard earlier this week, the only true "audience" the Pope granted was to a former student and his family. That former student is an openly gay man, and the family involved was his partner of 19 years.

From the New York Times:

Contacted by phone, a former student of Francis’, Yayo Grassi, said he had been granted an audience with the pope. Mr. Grassi is an openly gay man living in Washington, and he said he had been accompanied by his partner of 19 years, Iwan Bagus, as well as four friends.

Mr. Grassi, a 67-year-old caterer, said that his group met with Francis at the Vatican Embassy on Sept. 23 — a day before Ms. Davis met the pope. In the 1960s, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as the future pope was called, taught Argentine literature and psychology to Mr. Grassi at the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepción, a Jesuit high school in Santa Fe, Argentina.

Mr. Grassi said that he had resumed contact with the future pope years later, when he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires. He also visited the pope at the Vatican in September 2013, and later called him by telephone to ask for an audience.

Mr. Grassi said that Francis had told him to directly arrange the visit through the office of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the papal nuncio, or envoy, in Washington.

“It was a private meeting, for about 15 to 20 minutes, in which I brought my boyfriend of 19 years,” Mr. Grassi said. His boyfriend, Mr. Bagus, posted a video of the meeting on his Facebook page showing Francis hugging Mr. Grassi and the others.

Mr. Grassi said the meeting was purely personal. “I don’t think he was trying to say anything in particular,” Mr. Grassi said. “He was just meeting with his ex-student and a very close friend of his.”

“Pope Francis met with several dozen persons who had been invited by the Nunciature to greet him as he prepared to leave Washington for New York City,” Father Lombardi said. “Such brief greetings occur on all papal visits and are due to the pope’s characteristic kindness and availability.”

At the Vatican on Friday, a spokesman, the Rev. Thomas Rosica, said the invitation had been extended by the office of not from Rome.

“Who brought her in? The nuncio,” said Father Rosica, who is working with the Vatican’s media office in advance of a major meeting of bishops that begins this weekend. “The Nunciature was able to bring in donors, benefactors.”

Father Rosica said of the controversy: “I would simply say: Her case is a very complex case. It’s got all kinds of intricacies. Was there an opportunity to brief the pope on this beforehand? I don’t think so. A list is given — these are the people you are going to meet.”

The Rev. James Martin, editor at large of the Jesuit magazine America, had cautioned in an article this week that the pope meets many well-wishers on his trips, and that news of the meeting with Ms. Davis had been manipulated.

“I was very disappointed to see the pope having been used that way, and that his willingness to be friendly to someone was turned against him,” Father Martin wrote. “What may originally have prevented them from issuing a statement was the desire not to give this story too much air. But what they eventually came to realize was that they needed to correct some gross misrepresentations of what had happened. It shows that Pope Francis met with many people on the trip, and that she was simply another person who he tried to be kind to.”

Father Rosica’s statement seemed to square with that account.

Asked on Friday if the Vatican press office had been unaware that Ms. Davis had met the pope, Father Rosica said: “No, but I think we may not have been aware of the full impact of the meeting. It is very difficult sometimes when you are looking at things in America from here.”

News Round-Up: September 30, 2015

Some news stories you may have missed:

• Two minutes of smile - Feel good video about a typical day with woofy dads, Corey and Rocco, and their adorable son Forge.

• Regarding the "Kim Davis meeting Pope Francis" story - does it help to know he also met Mark Wahlberg? I'm guessing that doesn't mean the Pope endorses the TED movies or the Funky Bunch.

• Rising star in the Indiana Republican Party, Rep. Jud McMillin, resigned from office after sexually explicit video was texted from his phone. McMillin was one of the co-sponsors of the state's ill-received Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

• Donald Trump released his proposed revisal of the tax code which The Tax Foundation says would cost the U.S. $12 Trillion over ten years. No surprise - the wealthy would gain a LOT.

• Check out this most excellent mega-mix mashup of Madonna videos set to her new album Rebel Heart.

Human Rights Campaign Responds To Pope Francis/Kim Davis "Meeting"

The Human Rights Campaign issued a statement regarding news reports that allege Pope Francis met privately last week with Kim Davis, the Rowan County, Ky., county clerk who continues to violate the law by refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

From the Human Rights Campaign:

“We hope that this is just a troubling mistake, but if these reports are true, this is a disappointing end to a historic trip,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “It would come as a shock to all those who were inspired by Pope Francis’s call for greater tolerance and inclusion if he were to lend support to a public employee who has become synonymous with discrimination against LGBT people. And, it would be most disappointing to the dozens of LGBT faithful who gathered to welcome Pope Francis to Washington, D.C., and whose request for a meeting was declined.”

HRC invited Pope Francis to meet with LGBT Catholics during his recent visit to Washington, DC. The Pope, who participated in a prayer service across the street from the organization’s headquarters last Wednesday, was asked to join more than 100 LGBT Catholics and staff who gathered to welcome him to the city. HRC also hung a banner on the side of its building asking Pope Francis to embrace LGBT Catholics and put a stop to Archdioceses and Bishops in the United States that have fired capable, faithful LGBT employees.

Rogue County Clerk Kim Davis Speaks About Meeting Pope Francis

The story of the morning seems to be that Kim Davis, rogue County Clerk of Kentucky who has refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, met with Pope Francis in a secret meeting arranged by the Vatican.

According to ABC News, the Vatican allegedly reached out to Davis weeks ago in advance of his visit to the U.S.

“Just knowing the pope is on track with what we’re doing, and agreeing, you know, kind of validates everything,” Davis told ABC News this morning.

Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis says a private meeting with Pope Francis has inspired her -– and given her a renewed sense of purpose.

“I was crying. I had tears coming out of my eyes,” Davis said in an exclusive interview with ABC News. “I'm just a nobody, so it was really humbling to think he would want to meet or know me.”

Davis, who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, says the private meeting occurred during the pope’s historic trip to the United States. After receiving a surprise phone call from a church official, the Kentucky county clerk says she traveled to Washington, D.C., where she and her husband Joe met the pope Sept. 24 at the Vatican Embassy.

“I put my hand out and he reached and he grabbed it, and I hugged him and he hugged me,” Davis said. “And he said, ‘thank you for your courage.’”

Father Benedettini from the Vatican Press office released a statement after reports emerged that Davis and the pope had met.

“The Holy See is aware of the reports of Kim Davis meeting with the Holy Father. The Vatican does not confirm the meeting, nor does it deny the meeting. There will be no further information given,“ the statement reads.

Hours later, Father Benedettini said, in another statement, “I do not deny that the meeting took place, but I will not comment on it further."

It seems odd that Pope Francis, who showed no restraint is expressing his thoughts on a multitude of controversial topics, would go to such lengths in terms of secrecy.

But then, as we've seen with Pope Francis, he does go out of his way to touch as many sick people as he can.

I'm Not Catholic But I Do Know What The Pope's Actions Meant To This Family

Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop while in Philadelphia Saturday, halting his motorcade to bless Michael Keating,...

Posted by NBC News on Saturday, September 26, 2015

My Favorite Rick Santorum Moment This Year

White House hopeful (oh my sides) Rick Santorum says the Pope should "leave the science to scientists" when it comes to discussing climate change.

Hey Rick - Pope Francis has a Master's Degree in Chemistry, thus, making him a scientist.

What's your basis for discussing the subject, Rick?

Cartoon Of The Day

Conservatives are aghast that, after Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner invited Pope Francis to speak to a joint session of Congress, the lessons from Francis are:

• that we should be more giving to those less fortunate

• we should take care of the planet rather than ravage it

• we should have more grace in our hearts for immigrants

The right wing fringe of the political spectrum, of course, takes the next "logical" step.

See the above.

ROTFL...

Video: Right Wing Outrage As Pope Francis Espouses Actual Christian Teachings

Media Matters has compiled much of the response from conservative pundits who have taken umbrage at the idea that Pope Francis has espoused actual Christian teachings.

It's interesting because the right wing usually presumes to take ownership of the idea of being "Christian" and "religious." But these folks don't sound all that "Christian" to me.

Take a look.

Video: Pope Francis Addresses Congress

President Obama Welcomes Pope Francis To The United States

In case you missed it this morning, here's the full video of President Obama welcoming Pope Francis to the United States at the White House this morning.

Delivering remarks in english, Pope Francis spoke in support of President Obama regarding issues of current political note, including climate change, relations with Cuba and immigration.

Gov. Mike Huckabee: Inviting Gays To Meet Pope Is Like Open Bar At AA Meeting

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee tells Fox News' Megyn Kelly that the President inviting openly gay folks to the White House to meet the Pope is like holding an open bar at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

???????