News Round-Up: January 19, 2017

(via Instagram)

Some news items you may have missed:

• Instahunk Lex Abramov (above) is giving you "silver-haired ice-bear."

• The niece of former GOP presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, will take over the reins as Chairman of the Republican Party from outgoing Reince Priebus. Ronna Romney McDaniel takes over as Priebus is moving on to be Donald Trump's Chief of Staff in the White House.

• Energy Secretary Rick Perry was quite contrite at his confirmation hearing today, saying he regrets his now infamous "oops" moment during the 2012 presidential campaign when he vowed to eliminate the department he's now nominated to run.

• The latest CBS poll shows President Obama leaving office with a 62% approval rating.

• The former Apprentice contestant who accused Donald Trump of groping her is now suing him for defamation.

• North Korea may test-fire one of their intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) as early as Friday, the day Donald Trump is inaugurated, in an attempt to provoke Trump.

• The Virginia state House killed a potential "bathroom bill" similar to North Carolina's HB2, which has had a devastating effect on the Tarheel State's economy.

• Check out Troye Sivan's latest single, "Heaven" featuring Betty Who, from his Blue Neighbourhood album. You can watch the gorgeous black and white music video below featuring intimate shots of Sivan along with vintage clips of important moments in the LGBTQ rights movement.

Oops - Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry Tapped For Energy Secretary

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry - who famously forgot that he wanted to abolish the Energy Department - has been tapped by President-elect Trump as Secretary of Energy.

Oops.

Yes, the irony is both strange and delicious all at the same time.

Perry had a short-lived presidential campaign himself this last cycle, before dropping out to endorse fellow Texas, Sen. Ted Cruz. During those months, Perry called Donald Trump "a cancer on conservatism."

When the writing was on the wall, Perry eventually shifted his support to Trump saying that “I will be open to any way I can help” and that “I believe that Donald Trump should be our guy.”

Trump has chosen @GovernorPerry to lead the department he forgot in a list of agencies he wanted to abolish in 2012 https://t.co/t6JU9ajRiE pic.twitter.com/FlOxKLLhaI

— POLITICO (@politico) December 13, 2016

Tweet Of The Day

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry Becomes First Casualty Of 2016 White House Race

Former Texas governor Rick Perry is dropping out of the 2016 presidential race http://t.co/4ZGz2X5bTb | AP Photo pic.twitter.com/H8w4Eynxd6

— POLITICO (@politico) September 11, 2015

I'm guessing the "hey, look I'm wearing glasses, do I look smarter?" thing didn't pan out.

News Round-Up: August 12, 2015

Some news stories you may have missed:

• Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne covers OUT and discusses his role as transgender pioneer Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl.

• Former Texas governor and GOP presidential hopeful has had to stop paying his campaign staff due to lack of funds.

• Former President Jimmy Carter revealed today that he has cancer.

• Folks are petitioning Proctor & Gamble to run their cute, award-winning gay couple Tide detergent commercial in the US.

• New poll shows Trump lost a bit of ground in Iowa after last week's debate; Jeb Bush dropped from 3rd to 7th; Marco Rubio jumps from 8th to 3rd in the early election state.

• The governor of Puerto Rico has issued executive orders banning discrimination against transgenders regarding emergency room treatment and drivers licenses.

• The homophobe who attacked two West Point graduates in New York City (and got his ass kicked) has been arrested and charged with assault as a hate crime and attempted assault as a hate crime. That'll learn him.

• Openly gay Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco (the first openly gay poet to speak at a presidential inauguration) has been invited to read a new work at the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana.

Rick Perry Turns Up The Heat On Donald Trump's Inflammatory Remarks

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry turned up the volume of his attacks on Donald Trump's inflammatory statements today during a speech at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C.:

“He offers a barking carnival act that can be best described as Trumpism: a toxic mix of demagoguery, mean-spiritedness and nonsense that will lead the Republican Party to perdition if pursued.

"Let no one be mistaken: Donald Trump’s candidacy is a cancer on conservatism, and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised and discarded.”

“Donald Trump, the reality television star, is a great generator of ratings. But Donald Trump the candidate is a sower of division, wrongly demonizing Mexican-Americans for political sport."

“He has piqued the interest of some Republican voters who have legitimate concerns about a porous border and broken immigration system. But instead of offering those voters leadership or solutions, he has offered fear and sound bites. This cannot stand.”

Donald Trump Says Rick Perry Should Take IQ Test Before GOP Debate

GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Perry Calls South Carolina Shooting "An Accident"

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry

“This is the M.O. of this administration, any time there is an accident like this — the president is clear, he doesn’t like for Americans to have guns and so he uses every opportunity, this being another one, to basically go parrot that message.” - GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry in response to President Barack Obama’s Thursday remarks.

Perry also shifted the discussion from guns to drugs, saying, "It seems to me, again without having all the details about this, that these individuals have been medicated and there may be a real issue in this country from the standpoint of these drugs and how they’re used.”

More at Right Wing Watch.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry: Rand, Ted and Marco Should Go Be Governors Before Running For Prez

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has advice for Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio: Go run for governor before you run for president.

He shared that thought with the Weekly Standard in an interview last week:

"I’ve had more than one individual say, 'You know what, if you want to be the president of the United States, you ought to go back to your home state and be the governor and get that executive experience before you go lead this country,'" said Perry.

The former governor calls the senators "Marco, Ted, and Rand," and made sure to say he has "great respect" for the trio. "They are smart as a tree full of owls," said Perry, "These guys are very, very capable United States senators."

Perry ran a short, unsuccessful bid for the GOP nomination for president in 2012.

He has signaled he will probably announce a second presidential bid on June 4 near Dallas.

Rick Perry To Announce Run For President June 4th

According to the Dallas Morning News, former Gov. Rick "Bang Bang" Perry plans to announce his official candidacy for the 2016 GOP nod for president in Dallas on June 4th.

For months Perry has said that he would announce his decision in May or June.

But his constant travel to the early contest states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida has left little doubt of his intentions.

Unlike four years ago, when he rushed into the contest after seeing he could raise quick money and was leading in polls, Perry enters this contest as an underdog. He is polling in single digits, but again unlike his last run, he has spent more than a year in preparation.

In the last presidential cycle, Perry was a fresh face on the national political stage. But several gaffes quickly ended his brief candidacy.

This time around he will have to not only overcome the memory of those gaffes, but try to carve out a niche to make his similar sounding policies be heard. Perry touts his experience as a governor, but with Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, Perry can't claim that territory for his own.

Also, while he will surely stress his economic record of job creation in Texas (mostly in low paying entry level jobs), the economy in Texas has taken a bit of a downturn as oil prices have dropped in recent months.

Perry is currently polling in single digits.

.@GovernorPerry & I have been discussing the future of this great country and how our family can play a role. https://t.co/S2EOc5sliC

— Anita Perry (@AnitaPerryTX) May 15, 2015

Texas Tribune Offers "Oops" Reel In Honor Of Gov. Rick Perry's Ride Into The Sunset

As Rick Perry rides off into the sunset as governor of the Lone Star state after 14 years, the Texas Tribune offers this video send-off celebrating a few highlights of his public statements.

I should add: everyone trips up on their own tongue over years of public speaking. Maybe not as much as Gov. Bang Bang, but it's human.

We're just lucky to get to enjoy this little blooper reel. Happy Sunday.

Gov. Rick Perry gets a mug shot following felony indictments

Having been indicted on two felony charges for abuse of power, Texas Gov. Rick Perry reported to the Travis County Court in Austin today to have his mug shot taken.

Following the photo shoot, Perry held a short press conference where he addressed the indictment by a grand jury:

“The actions that I took were lawful, they were legal and they were proper. This indictment is fundamentally a political act that seeks to achieve at the courthouse what could not be achieved at the ballot box.”

And then he got an ice cream cone.

(via CBS News)

Gov. Rick Perry responds to his grand jury indictments regarding abuse of power

Gov. Rick Perry addressed his recent indictments by a grand jury regarding abuse of power.

It's interesting here that Perry says he had the authority to veto the funding of the state's ethics watchdog unit.  Apparently no one disputes that.

The  problem seems to be that he threatened to cut funding unless Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg resigned after being arrested for drunken driving in April 2013.

The issue at hand seems to be that he THREATENED to do so first, which is what made the case that Perry seemed to leverage his power and force an elected official from office.

A Texas judge then assigned a special prosecutor to investigate. That is how the grand jury - after months of testimony - arrived at charges of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant, which are both felonies and carry possible prison sentences.

The idea that Gov. Perry would "defund" an elected official's office because they were arrested for being drunk - in TEXAS - is a difficult thing to wrap one's head around.  I grew up in Texas.  If every elected official was run out of office for being arrested while intoxicated, there would be a LOT of offices with revolving doors.

Note Perry's pivot to the border crisis for deflection...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry indicted for abuse of power

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has become the first sitting Texas governor in over a century to be indicted.

Raw Story has the details:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), a possible Republican presidential candidate, was indicted on Friday for allegedly threatening to cut a state agency’s funding unless a local district attorney quit, Politico reported.

The indictment by an Austin grand jury states that Perry threatened to veto $7.5 million slated for the state public integrity unit, which operates out of the office of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. Perry reportedly demanded Lehmberg, a Democrat, resign after spending 45 days in jail on drunk driving charges. When she refused to comply, Perry allegedly carried out his threat, forcing the agency to cut staff by either firing or laying off prosecutors and other employees.

The indictment is the first against a sitting Texas governor in more than a century.

Gov. Rick Perry meets anti-gay Benham Brothers

The anti-gay Benham Brothers meet anti-gay Gov. Rick Perry at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa this past weekend.

Isn't this a rather interesting perspective?

Gov. Rick Perry gives you "Grumpy Cat"

Close-up forensics reveal what prompted Governor Rick Perry's Grumpy Cat imitation.

(via Politics with Jarred and Dave)

Caption this photo - Gov. Rick Perry and President Obama

Texas Gov. Rick Perry in upper left hand - giving you boo-boo face.

And President Obama laughing.

Btw - note that there is a "name tent" in front of the President???  Really?

Captions, please... :)

Rick Perry: "I stepped right in it" comparing homosexuality to alcoholism

Governor Rick "Bang Bang" Perry admitted that he "stepped right in it" last week when he compared homosexuality to alcoholism.

Thursday he told the Christian Science Monitor:

“I got asked about an issue, and instead of saying, ‘You know what, we need to be a really respectful and tolerant country, and get back to talking about, whether you’re gay or straight you need to be having a job, and those are the focuses I want to be involved with,’ instead of getting — which I did, I readily admit, I stepped right in it."

Perry went on to say that Republicans should not let social issues divide the party.

(via Politico)

CNBC's Joe Kernan calls out Rick Perry on comparing gays to alcoholism

CNBC Squawk Box host Joe Kernan called Texas Governor Rick Perry on his remarks comparing homosexuality to alcoholism in a segment that aired Monday morning. Here's just a bit of what went on.

Joe Kernan:

"In terms of comparing it to alcoholism, that's what got all the play, and i don't -- I have a really high bar for what I would take offense to, but that would exceed the bar for me on being an offensive comment. I don't think gay marriage leads to cirrhosis of the liver or domestic violence or DWIs. I don't see how that's similar."

Perry tried to spin his comments as an issue of "states right," but Kernan was clearly not going to let the governor get off so easily:

“But in terms of changing the behavior of someone...you wouldn’t think that someone who’s heterosexual, that you couldn’t change them into a homosexual, or someone who is homosexual, you don’t think that there should be therapy to try to change them into a heterosexual?”

At one point when Perry says that the issue of homosexuality should be left "to the psychologists and the doctors," Kernan jumps in:

"The psychologists they've already weighed in. they've dismissed the idea that sexual orientation is a mental disorder and they've told their mental health professionals to avoid telling clients that you can change your sexual orientation..."

Near the end of the interview segment, Kernan says:

"It just seems like the Republican Party is going to be forever behind the curve on this issue.”

I can't express how I appreciate a journalist holding a politician responsible for something they said. Rick Perry said these things, and Joe Kernan held him to it and asked for answers.

No softball lobbed here.

(via Towleroad)

Texas Gov. Rick Perry compares being gay to alcoholism

Speaking to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on Wednesday night, Texas Governor Rick Perry compared being gay to alcoholism.

The comment came in response to a question about the Texas Republican Party's recent addition of a platform plank which advocates gay "reparative therapy:"

"Whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide not to do that. I may have the genetic coding that I'm inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way."

This isn't the first time Perry has used the analogy. Back in 2008, TIME Magazine caught this:

...in a little-noticed passage in his first book, “On My Honor,” a encomium on the Boy Scouts published in 2008, Perry also drew a parallel between homosexuality and alcoholism. “Even if an alcoholic is powerless over alcohol once it enters his body, he still makes a choice to drink,” he wrote. “And, even if someone is attracted to a person of the same sex, he or she still makes a choice to engage in sexual activity with someone of the same gender.”

Interesting how Texas conservatives profess a "live and let live" attitude EXCEPT when it comes to the gays.

Several major news organization has picked up on Perry's comment today.