Happy Father's Day Roll Call: Who's proud be a dad today?

I'm so grateful to be the father of bright, inquisitive 11-year old boy

Eric Burdon & the Animals -San Franciscan Nights

Gay Teacher Of The Year Fans LGBTQ Pride In Viral Photo With Donald Trump

Gay teacher Nikos Giannopoulos’ displayed his LGBTQ pride as he sported a rainbow pin and clutched a lacy fan in an official photo with President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump. And now the Rhode Island teacher of the year’s bold stand for LGBTQ rights has gotten global attention after the image went viral on Facebook.

Giannopoulos, who teaches 11th and 12th graders at Beacon Charter High School for the Arts in Woonsocket, visited the White House with other teacher of the year winners in April. He received the photo of his moment with Trump this week and immediately posted it to Facebook.

Though Trump has previously pledged to protect LGBTQ citizens, but members of the community have expressed concern that his administration is rolling back their civil rights in areas such as education.

Giannopoulos said he wore the pin “to represent my gratitude for the LGBTQ community that has taught me to be proud, bold, and empowered by my identity — even when circumstances make that difficult.” He brought the fan that day to “celebrate the joy and freedom of gender nonconformity.”

“When I met the president as Rhode Island’s state teacher of the year, I did not know what to expect,” he wrote in the Facebook post. “After a lengthy security process, we were welcomed into the Roosevelt Room where we each met Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Shortly thereafter, we walked into the Oval Office. The man seated at the desk read prepared remarks from a sheet of paper and made some comments about CEOs and which states he ‘loved,’ based on electoral votes that he had secured. He did not rise from his seat to present the national teacher of the year with her much-deserved award, nor did he allow her to speak.”


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/teacher-of-the-year-trump_us_5944c6c3e4b01eab7a2de4d2?cjl&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/teacher-of-the-year-trump_us_5944c6c3e4b01eab7a2de4d2?cjl&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

Oh, crap. Sleep apnea contributed to Carrie Fisher's death.

Carrie Fisher’s death was caused by sleep apnea and other undetermined factors, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office revealed on Friday, according to multiple reports.

The coroner also said Fisher suffered from atherosclerotic heart disease and “drug use,” but no specifics were given. According to the Associated Press, the report stated Fisher had taken multiple drugs prior to her death.

“The manner of death has been ruled undetermined,” the report concluded.

In an exclusive statement to People, Fisher’s only child, Billie Lourd, addressed the report.

“My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life. She ultimately died of it. She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases.

“She talked about the shame that torments people and their families confronted by these diseases. I know my Mom, she’d want her death to encourage people to be open about their struggles. Seek help, fight for government funding for mental health programs. Shame and those social stigmas are the enemies of progress to solutions and ultimately a cure. Love you Momby.”


https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/carrie-fisher-died-sleep-apnea-used-drugs-report-reveals-daughter-billie-releases-emotional-statement-021433515.html

Virginias Most Anti-LGBT Lawmaker Might Lose His Seat To States First Openly Transgender Candidate

Danica Roem, a transgender woman and former journalist, beat out three challengers on Tuesday night to secure the Democratic nomination in what will inevitably be one of Virginia’s most-watched races this fall. The campaign to represent the state’s 13th District will put Roem, the first openly transgender candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, up against longtime incumbent Bob Marshall—one of the state’s most anti-LGBT lawmakers.

Marshall, a delegate since 1992, was the author of the amendment that enshrined discrimination into the state’s constitution in 2006, by defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. And when he ran, unsuccessfully, for US Congress in 2014, he was described by the Atlantic as “basically the culture war’s four-star general”—a profile he continues to live up to. In January, he introduced what LGBT advocates described as one of the most dangerous bathroom bills in the country; the proposed legislation would have mimicked other bathroom bills across in country in forcing people to use the bathroom corresponding to their sex assigned at birth, but it also went a step further, requiring schools to out students to their parents within 24 hours if they asked “to be recognized or treated as the opposite sex.” When far-right conservatives held a news conference calling on GOP leadership to hold an up or down vote on the matter, a transgender man asked where they thought he should go to the bathroom. “Not here,” Marshall responded. Even the state’s GOP leadership didn’t want anything to do with the controversial proposal, and a Republican-led committee killed the bill.

“Let me make this really clear for you: When the people of the 13th District elect a transgender woman to replace the most anti-LGBT legislator in the South, it will be an act of certainty, and it will be a defining moment that will resonate across the country,” Roem said at an event in May, according to the Washington Blade.

Still, while Roem acknowledges the significance of the race, her focus is primarily on local issues. “[Marshall] is more concerned with where I go to the bathroom than where his constituents go to work,” she recently told the Washington Post. “I’m running a race on improving transportation rather than ensuring discrimination.” At the top of Roem’s platform is relieving traffic congestion on the notorious Route 28, “so morning rush hour isn’t unbearable.” Among her many other proposals is increasing teacher pay in the district so it’s competitive with the rest of Northern Virginia in order to recruit better teachers and encourage them to stay.



http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/virginias-most-anti-lgbt-lawmaker-might-lose-his-seat-to-states-first-openly-transgender-candidate/

Trump chooses family event planner to run N.Y. federal housing programs.

She’s arranged tournaments at Trump golf courses, served as the liaison to the Trump family during his presidential campaign, and even arranged Eric Trump’s wedding.

Now President Trump has appointed longtime loyalist Lynne Patton — who has zero housing experience and claims a law degree the school says she never earned — to run the office that oversees federal housing programs in New York.

Patton was appointed Wednesday to head up the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s Region II, which includes New York and New Jersey, where she’ll oversee distribution of billions of taxpayer dollars.

Patton’s tight relationship with the Trump clan dates back to 2009, when she began serving as the family’s “event planner.”

“Responsible for organizing, executing and assisting with upscale events and celebrity golf tournaments,” her LinkedIn profile says. “Handle celebrity talent acquisition for various marketing projects, philanthropic events and golf tournaments.”

“Responsible for organizing, executing and assisting with upscale events and celebrity golf tournaments,” her LinkedIn profile says. “Handle celebrity talent acquisition for various marketing projects, philanthropic events and golf tournaments.”

From 2011 through January, she also helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, a charity that's now under investigation by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-chooses-family-event-planner-run-n-y-housing-programs-article-1.3251314?cid=bitly

VA-GOV: Dem. primary turnout up sharply from 2013

VA-GOV: African American primary voters key factor in Northam victory.

Quick summary of how Adam West shaped my life.

Adam West's Batman was a kid-friendly gateway to a world that's kept me young for my entire 46 years and for that I will always be grateful.

Marvel's Black Panther - First Trailer (VIDEO)