News Round-Up: August 5, 2019

Terron Beckham (via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunks: Terron Beckham (above), the ridiculously jacked cousin of the Cleveland Browns' Odell Beckham Jr., shows off some gym humor along with his 'big-is-best' everything else. #thosecalves

• OUT: A new study shows some men may be reticent to recycle because it might be perceived as 'feminine.'

• Variety: At her Madison Square Gardens concert over the weekend, Barbra Streisand offered up a tweaked version of "Send in the Clowns" that trolled the current clown in the Oval Office.

• Twitter: A police officer busts some moves to Steps’ 2017 hit “Scared Of The Dark” while attending Brighton Pride in the UK. The clip went viral after his police department shared the clip on social media.

Did you see our #DancingCop in the @PrideBrighton Parade yesterday. Officers volunteered their time to represent @HertsPolice along with Officer from across the UK. 🕺 @SXP_LGBT @LGBTpoliceuk #BrightonPride @HertsPRIDE @hertslgbtq_nh @LGBTHerts pic.twitter.com/eP5PfCVPAG

— Herts Police LGBT+ 🚔 (@HertsPoliceLGBT) August 4, 2019

• Red Flag Bill: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is collaborating on a “red flag” bill with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) that would start a federal grant program to help encourage states to create “‘red flag’ protection order” laws, which are meant to make it easier for law enforcement to identify mentally ill people who should be banned from purchasing guns.

• NY Magazine: A new profile on Ivanka Trump quotes a friend who says the Trumpette, "Has no idea she’s privileged. She genuinely thinks she’s earned everything she has. She goes on and on all the time about how hard she works.”

• Out Music: Make-up artist Deney Adam (whose work has been seen in Vogue, NY Times, Interview) puts down his brushes to drop his wild and wooly new track and music video, "Heartdrop."

The visual, directed by the fab Mike Ruiz, is a fast and furious, animalistic affair featuring a nearly naked Deney locked inside a glass case.

“I wanted to convey that feeling of being trapped in a situation; when just at the moment that you think you are finally free from it, you find yourself right back where you started,” says Deney.

Musically, the track continually switches gears resulting in a visceral, heart-pounding (or should that be 'heart-dropping?') ride. Hit play below.

House Committee Votes To Subpoena White House Personal Emails & Text Messages

Ivanka Trump

Remember how Republicans, and especially Donald Trump on the 2016 campaign trail, hammered Hillary Clinton for using her private email for government business?

Surely, after all of that, the Trump administration would absolutely be on point using only their government-issued email accounts, right?

Nope.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform voted 23 to 16 to day to authorize the issuance of subpoenas for emails and texts sent to or from White House officials on their personal accounts relating to official business in violation of federal law and the White House’s own records policy.

Chairman Elijah Cummings said this in advance of the committee vote:

“The Committee has obtained direct evidence that multiple high-level White House officials have been violating the Presidential Records Act by using personal email accounts, text messaging services, and even encrypted applications for official business—and not preserving those records in compliance with federal law. What we do not yet know is why these White House officials were attempting to conceal these communications."

The House committee has been trying for months to obtain the documents and information.

In a press release regarding the vote today, the committee specifically called out current and former White House advisers Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Steve Bannon, and K.T. McFarland for using private email or cell phones in the course of government business.

Rosie O'Donnell On Donald & Ivanka: "I Think He's Been Doing Bad Things With Her"

Rosie O'Donnell (image via Instagram)

During an interview segment with SiriusXM host Michelangelo Signorile, Rosie O’Donnell shared her thoughts on Donald Trump’s relationship with his daughter Ivanka, as well as Ivanka's 'public service' working in the White House and a possible future run for president.

“I don’t know what he’s doing with her,” said O’Donnell “I think he’s been doing bad things with her for a very long time. There’s a creepy incest feel that is a very prevalent amongst Donald Trump and his children, at least his daughter. Very creepy. I don’t know."

"I think she’s like, you know, a talentless, non-intelligent, non-powerful woman. And, I think she’s...it’s laughable to think of her in any kind of public service role. No one in his family has ever been in public service. Why should they start now?”

Rosie doesn't cite any particular instance between Trump and his daughter, although many in the public square have noted various statements by the Donald about his daughter that seemed to step into queasy territory.

Listen to the clip below.

Ivanka Trump Sees "No Equivalency" To Her Private Email Use Compared To Hillary Clinton

Ivanka Trump tells ABC News today the recent revelation that she's used a private email account while doing government business has no "equivalency" in comparison to Hillary Clinton, who her father bashed over and over again for during the 2016 presidential campaign.

She says her personal email use was focused on "mainly scheduling and logistics and managing the fact that I have a home life and a work life."

From Good Morning America:

Speaking with ABC News' Deborah Roberts in Wilder, Idaho, where she's promoting STEM initiatives alongside Apple CEO Tim Cook, Ivanka Trump maintained that all of the emails on her private account were properly archived and contained no classified information. She is adamant they bear no resemblance to Hillary Clinton's email scandal, which her father eagerly and frequently condemned as part of his campaign for president.

"All of my emails are stored and preserved. There were no deletions. There is no attempt to hide," she said, adding, "There's no equivalency to what my father's spoken about."

.@IvankaTrump to @DebRobertsABC on her use of personal email vs. Hillary Clinton's: "There just is no equivalency between the two things." https://t.co/yL3oLTXcqd pic.twitter.com/qBiTbw8BdB

— Good Morning America (@GMA) November 28, 2018

In truth, Ivanka is correct to a degree - there is no equivalency.

Hillary left the State Department in 2013 and did not violate the actual Federal Records Act law that was amended in 2014 like Ivanka did.

One thing that people fail to note about how Ivanka and Hillary's email situation is different: When Clinton did it, there was no law against it. Now there is.

— Kara Calavera (@KaraCalavera) November 28, 2018

Ivanka also pushed back at the idea her father had authorized "lethal force" on migrants. And then GMA played the video tape of him using that exact phrase.

GMA: Are you comfortable with your dad giving troops authorization to use lethal force at the border?

IVANKA: "I don't believe that's what he said."

GMA: Actually he did. Here's video of it.

IVANKA: "So... he's the commander in chief, so he always has to protect the border." pic.twitter.com/kT0WN1HHWG

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 28, 2018

Ivanka Trump Sent Hundreds Of White House Business Emails From Her Private Account

Ivanka Trump

But, but, but... her emails!

I seriously find it difficult to believe that after an entire presidential campaign where her father lambasted Hillary Clinton for using private email, his daughter has gone and done the same thing.

She claims ignorance about the rules....?

From The Washington Post:

Ivanka Trump sent hundreds of emails last year to White House aides, Cabinet officials and her assistants using a personal account, many of them in violation of federal records rules, according to people familiar with a White House examination of her correspondence.

White House ethics officials learned of Trump’s repeated use of personal email when reviewing emails gathered last fall by five Cabinet agencies to respond to a public records lawsuit. That review revealed that throughout much of 2017, she often discussed or relayed official White House business using a private email account with a domain that she shares with her husband, Jared Kushner.

The discovery alarmed some advisers to President Trump, who feared that his daughter’s practices bore similarities to the personal email use of Hillary Clinton, an issue he made a focus of his 2016 campaign. Trump attacked his Democratic challenger as untrustworthy and dubbed her “Crooked Hillary” for using a personal email account as secretary of state.

BREAKING: Ivanka Trump sent hundreds of emails to federal agencies using a personal email account. American Oversight's FOIA requests sparked the discovery. https://t.co/ZUK6wgfC6v pic.twitter.com/bcZONuhvZB

— American Oversight (@weareoversight) November 19, 2018

Members of the Trump administration who have used personal email to conduct official business:
1) Ivanka Trump
2) Jared Kushner
3) Steve Bannon
4) Stephen Miller
5) Reince Priebus
6) Gary Cohn

The shameless hypocrisy of these people never ceases to amaze me.

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) November 20, 2018

I’m truly surprised that the NYT reporters who breathlessly covered Hillary’s emails haven’t managed to tweet on Ivanka’s emails.

— Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) November 20, 2018

Stop comparing Ivanka Trump’s use of private email for official government business and Hillary Clinton.

Private email was permitted while Hillary was Sec. of State. Obama changed rules after she had left office. I wonder if conservative ignoramuses will chant #LockHerUp now? pic.twitter.com/0fh52YP6Jz

— Bryan Dawson (@BryanDawsonUSA) November 20, 2018

Cameras Catch Ivanka Trump Texting During McCain Funeral

And my last post on the funeral of Sen. John McCain today.

Just one small moment that illustrates the Trump family's woeful lack of honest compassion or decency.

During Sen. Joe Lieberman's eulogy, cameras caught First Daughter Ivanka Trump texting on her phone.

At a funeral.

I really don't need to add anything else, do I?

Ivanka texting at McCain’s funeral.
Why am I not shocked. pic.twitter.com/LkqHjUNV8t

— Miranda Binewski (@superlorna69) September 1, 2018

Ivanka Trump Takes On Propaganda Duty For GOP Tax Scam

Ivanka Trump graced Fox & Friends with her dulcet, mellifluous tones this morning in an effort to sell the GOP Tax Scam passed in Congress yesterday.

You see, it's not very popular. Up to 55% of Americans oppose it and think it benefits the rich.

Ivanka chatted on what a big "win" the bill is for the middle class and how it will lead to wiping out the national debt.

She also mentioned she will be traveling around the country next April as Americans file their taxes to celebrate the wonderful savings everyone will enjoy.

“I’m really looking forward to doing a lot of traveling in April when people realize the effect that this has,” she said. “The vast majority will be [doing their taxes] on a single postcard.”

Clearly, Ivanka has never filed her own taxes or she would know Americans pay their 2017 taxes in April 2018. The new law won't affect this year's taxes.

Oh, and that postcard thing isn't really a "thing." Paul Ryan made it up. Folks will still be using at least a 1040EZ to calculate and file their taxes.

I will say this - At least Ivanka isn't a shrill nails-on-the-chalkboard shrew when discussing these things like Propaganda Minister Kellyanne Conway. And she has nice hair.

Watch the brainwashing below.

Special Places

Speaking about the Roy Moore sexual misconduct allegations in Alabama, Ivanka Trump says, "There's a special place in hell for people who prey on children."

Yes, Ivanka, there is.

Remember that.

Ivanka Trump Finds The Words Her Father Could Not

Ivanka Trump

Finding the words her father couldn't, Ivanka Trump condemned the white supremacist/neo-nazis hate on display in Charlottesville, Virginia, yesterday:

1:2 There should be no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-nazis.

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) August 13, 2017

2:2 We must all come together as Americans -- and be one country UNITED. #Charlottesville

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) August 13, 2017

When history handed President Trump the chance to denounce the racist rhetoric yesterday at the Charlottesville rally, he chose to mute his statement saying there was hatred and violence "on many sides."

Trump on #Charlottesville: "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides" pic.twitter.com/qdvhcnCTpD

— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 12, 2017

The nazis celebrated the president's words:

Ivanka Trump Takes Her Father's Seat At G20 Summit

Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, took her father's seat at the G20 summit today as he stepped out of a meeting.

This is not normal.

From The Hill:

Ivanka Trump briefly took her father’s seat at a G20 Summit session on Saturday, sitting next to world leaders including British Prime Minister Theresa May and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A photo posted to Twitter by a Russian G-20 representative shows Ivanka sitting at the table in place of President Trump.

Cabinet officials usually replace the president at those sessions when a stand-in is needed. But Ivanka Trump, an official adviser to the president, took his place instead.

“Ivanka was sitting in the back and then briefly joined the main table when the president had to step out,” the White House said in response to the photo. The topic at hand concerned one of Ivanka Trump's projects, the World Bank finance initiative for women entrepreneurs.

Any number of cabinet officials, like Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, could have sat in for Trump. Instead, his daughter, with no qualifications other than her last name, sits down next to world leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ivanka Trump, unelected, unqualified, daughter-in-chief, is representing the US at the G20 summit next to May, Xi, Merkel. Photo @LanaLukash pic.twitter.com/fvs0EMy8z7

— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) July 8, 2017

Renewed calls for #25thAmendmentNOW as Daughter-Wife Ivanka becomes POTUS-for-a-day at #G20 https://t.co/qt1mA6HKKP

— The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) July 8, 2017

Ivanka fills in for her dad beside Xi Jinping. To me, it feels banana-republicky for the US to be represented by an inexperienced daughter. https://t.co/lDDlyCeFp9

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) July 8, 2017

Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka filled in for him at G20 world leaders meeting...

What If Hillary Won and Chelsea did this?

— Impeach Donald Trump (@Impeach_D_Trump) July 8, 2017

This kind of thing happens all the time. In dictatorships. https://t.co/CKiLwhvjDz

— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) July 8, 2017

Having your daughter step in for you at world leader summits shows how little Donald Trump cares about being president.

— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) July 8, 2017

If #MichelleObama had sat in for her husband on any high level meetings, Republicans would've called for investigations.

— Chico Delainky (@ChicoDelainky) July 8, 2017

News Round-Up: June 2, 2017

Tyson Beckford and the Chippendales (click to enlarge)

Some news items you may have missed:

• That time you're at the Planet Hollywood pool in Las Vegas and notice Tyson Beckford and the Chippendales just hanging... #HappyFriday

• In this sneak peek from MTV's The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros, Olympian Gus Kenworthy gets emotional recalling lying about his sexuality while being a professional skier.

• President Trump has no time to honor Pride Month, what with being so busy proclaiming June "National Ocean Month" and "National Homeowner Month." As such, Ivanka Trump got a whole lotta backlash when she tweeted a bubbly message about how she "celebrates" and "honors" the LGBTQ community.

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

— Tyler #ChosenFamily (@tyleroakley) June 2, 2017

Who is this "we" you talk about? Because your father isn't celebrating us - that's for damn sure!!

— Perez (@ThePerezHilton) June 2, 2017

Sorry, Ivanka, these easy 'up with people' tweets don't let you off the hook. You & your dad just flipped the bird to the world

— Bill Shapiro (@Bill_Shapiro) June 2, 2017

• Chilean President Michelle Bachelet plans to send a bill to Congress later this year that will legalize same-sex marriage in her country. South America currently celebrates marriage equality in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay.

• MSNBC's Joe Scarborough says his sources point to White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon as the "leaker" inside the Trump administration.

Joe Scarborough: Leaks for recent Kushner-Russia stories came from Steve Bannon pic.twitter.com/ZPXslKvV6f

— Axios (@axios) June 2, 2017

• A North Carolina minister is accused of kidnapping and assaulting a gay parishioner. The 23 year-old victim says he was slapped, punched, choked and screamed at for two hours in an effort to exorcise his “homosexual demons.”

• The film adaptation of Wonder Woman opens nationwide today boasting a rating of 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing, putting it ahead of popular super hero movies “The Avengers” (92 percent), “Guardians of the Galaxy” (91 percent), and tying “Iron Man” (94 percent). Watch the trailer below.

The Trumps Cover MAD Magazine

It's kinda perfect, right? 

Ivanka Trump To Accept $100 Million From Saudi Arabia & UAE For Women Entrepreneurs

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will pledge $100 million to the World Bank’s Women Entrepreneurs Fund for women entrepreneurs, an idea proposed by Ivanka Trump.

From The Hill:

The first daughter spoke with Saudi women who are civil leaders, businesswomen and elected government officials during the president’s first foreign trip.

The State Department has noted problems with human rights in Saudi Arabia, including that “citizens’ lack of the ability and legal means to choose their government; restrictions on universal rights, such as freedom of expression, including on the Internet, and the freedoms of assembly, association, movement, and religion; and pervasive gender discrimination and lack of equal rights that affected most aspects of women’s lives,” the Washington Post reported.

In the conservative Islamic country, women are not allowed to drive and require permission from a male guardian to travel in public. Women are also required to cover themselves in public.

In 2016, then-Republican candidate Trump criticized Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation for accepting donations from Saudi Arabia.

Please take a trip on the way-back machine to one of last year's debates when then-candidate Trump railed against Hillary Clinton's Clinton Foundation for accepting money from Saudi Arabia to help 11.5 million with HIV/AIDS.

Trump criticizing Hillary for accepting $ from Saudi Arabia. Ivanka's proposed foundation will be taking $100 mill from S.A. and U.A.E. pic.twitter.com/Wt301oZ3Tn

— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) May 21, 2017

More reactions from the Twitterverse:

This is virtually identical to what Trump and others in GOP criticized Clinton Foundation for. https://t.co/AcwddFeuYW

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) May 21, 2017

It's like when they donated to Clinton Foundation, but without Fox News saying Ivanka should be put in prison for it https://t.co/8ed2j2kcPz

— Donald J. Drumpf (@RealDonalDrumpf) May 21, 2017

Fox News Host Makes On-Air Blowjob Joke About Ivanka Trump

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Randy Rainbow Interviews Ivanka Trump

Randy Rainbow scores another big "interview" - this one with "First Lady," Ivanka Trump.

Watch below as Randy asks Ivanka why she can't seem to help her father with a better shade of make-up, women's rights, gay advocacy, or if she at least considers herself "complicit" in the debacle that is the Trump administration.

Scarlett Johansson Spoofs Ivanka Trump In Parody Perfume Commercial "Complicit"

Scarlett Johansson takes her turn at Trump parody. On SNL this past weekend, the elegant Avenger offered her take on "Ivanka Trump" pitching faux perfume commercial, "Complicit."

The spot takes aim at the woman who "could stop all this, but won't."

"She's loyal, devoted, but probably should have bounced after that whole Access Hollywood bust thing," goes the voiceover.

And then there's the shot of what exactly "Ivanka" sees when she looks in the mirror :)

Watch below:

Government Ethics Office Recommends Disciplinary Actions Against Kellyanne Conway

It looks like White House counselor Kellyanne Conway will get more than just "counseled" in regard for her recent hawking of Ivanka Trump merchandise on national television.

From The Hill:

The director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) says White House counselor Kellyanne Conway misused her official position by hawking Ivanka Trump’s product line on TV and recommends the White House punish her.

“Under the present circumstances, there is strong reason to believe that Ms. Conway has violated the Standards of Conduct Act and that disciplinary action is warranted,” Walter Schaub wrote in a Tuesday letter to White House legal counselor Stefan Passantino.

Schaub asked the White House to respond by Feb. 28 with the results of its investigation and any disciplinary action it may decide to take. “I recommend the White House investigate Ms. Conway’s actions and consider taking disciplinary action against her,” he wrote.

Here's Conway on Fox News last week promoting Ivanka Trump's wares:

"Go buy Ivanka's stuff!" Kellyanne Conway tells "Fox & Friends" viewers from the White House briefing room. pic.twitter.com/noIhnVgcAk

— Andrew Kirell (@AndrewKirell) February 9, 2017

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released the letter on Twitter. See below.

#BREAKING: U.S. Office of Government Ethics Calls on White House to Discipline #KellyanneConway pic.twitter.com/nixmDhMc6Q

— House OversightDems (@OversightDems) February 14, 2017

Submitted Without Comment

Sean Spicer: Kellyanne Conway "Has Been Counseled" About Shilling For Ivanka Trump

During today's White House press briefing, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer was asked about Kellyanne Conway's "free commercial" for Ivanka Trump's Nordstrom fashion line (which is being dropped) on FOX News.

According to Sparky Spicer, “She’s been counseled on that subject.” And then he quickly moved on.

Ethics experts weighed in all morning saying Conway clearly violated federal law which prohibits federal employees from “endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity.”

Watch Spicer below:

"She's been counseled on that subject and that's it," Spicer says on Kellyanne Conway's Ivanka Trump plug https://t.co/OTUmlnUM6u pic.twitter.com/3YWblvtlSC

— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 9, 2017

Did White House Adviser Kellyanne Conway Violate Federal Laws?

Ethics experts are amazed at a promotional shout out from White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway today on FOX News.

Kellyanne Conway used an interview from the White House this morning to officially endorse the Ivanka Trump product line at Nordstrom department store, a clear violation of federal law.

A federal employee (that would be Ms. Conway) may not “use his public office for his own private gain [or] for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated..."

And this was clearly an endorsement. Conway said, “This is just wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully — I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.”

UPDATE - Congressman Elijah Cummings has sent a formal request for potential disciplinary action regarding Conway's "free commercial." See below - click on image to enlarge.