Poor Lester Holt. If anyone of the estimated 100,000,000 viewers of the first Clinton-Trump Presidential debate expected that he would be able to actually control what ultimately was the most unconventional of this kind of leadership platform, they were disappointed. While his questions were relevant enough, the answers he received were not.

At first, he asked about creating jobs, and received predictable answers. Clinton wants to created more for the middle class while increasing wages that women earn. Trump wants to keep jobs from leaving the country, claiming “ Ford is leaving, you see that their small car division, leaving…thousands of jobs are leaving Michigan, leaving Ohio, they’re all leaving.”

Hello: Lester Holt where were you? Unemployment in Michigan is 4.5%; Ohio’s unemployment is 4.7%–both better than the national average. And Ford CEO Mark Fields says zero jobs will be lost in Michigan because Ford will build two new vehicles at that plant. 

When Lester Holt finally did speak, he asked Trump just how he planned on bringing back those “thousands of jobs,” even though technically, the jobs haven’t left.

Trump pointed to the fact that he intended to tax products that American companies make overseas before he would allow them to be brought back into this country. Holt did not make him explain that America has only 5% of the population, or that the other 95% of the rest of the world have buyers as well.

At this moment, it was clear that Lester Holt was going to allow no-truths to go unchallenged. Certainly he said nothing when, responding to a question on job creation, Clinton said that investing in clean energy would provide millions of jobs at a time when Trump claims climate change is a hoax.

“I do not,” Trump interrupted, breaking the debate rules—this first of many interruptions as he appeared to begin to unravel on the spot. “I did not say that,” he repeated. Again, Holt said nothing, instead of adding that in a speech in Hilton Head, SC, Trump precisely called global warming changed “a hoax.”

Likewise, when Trump commented “I’m a great believer in all forms of energy. But we’re putting a lot of people out of work. Our energy policies are disaster. Our country is losing so much in terms of energy, in terms of paying off our debt.”

No mention from Holt that domestic oil and gas production has increased under the Obama administration, and that the US has been the lead in US gas production since 2011 and the top producer of oil since 2013.

Clinton smiled, and occasionally laughed at comments so ridiculously off-topic and rambling that the entire point of Trump’s sentences seemed to be lost in translation, Holt was left to say “Let me interrupt for a moment” on several occasions. Unfortunately, he was ignored—another debate violation.

There were further skirmishes on Trump’s refusal to released his taxes, his incorrect denial that he would try to negotiate down the US debt, and the need for improvement on the training of police where racial profiling is concerned.

It was only when Trump responded that his solution to crime would be a return to “Stop and Frisk” that Lester Holt finally spoke up and mentioned that “Stop and Frisk,” the act of stopping anyone on the street and frisking them for weapons, was ruled unconstitutional years ago, that some order to the proceedings was returned. Well, sort of.

As he gulped swigs of water and started to increase audibly sniffing into the microphone as if trying to clear the last bit of drugs or mucous from his nasal passages, Trump lost all rationality as he launched into an incoherent explanation of the “birther moment,” which he created at the time of the first Obama campaign.

It was a downhill roll from that point on. Trump saying that Hillary lacked the stamina for the job of President, Trump mentioning a 400-pound voter, and Trump skirting the issue about whether he would accept the outcome if he lost the election.

Clinton came into this debate being held to a higher standard—as the first female candidate for President of the U.S.  She excited the same way.  Leaving the debate without speaking to the press, waving Presidentially.

Trump exited the debate through CNN’s Spin Room, trying to explain some of his answers, trying to gain added air time, and looking more like a disgraced executive about to be carted off to jail.

“Everybody love me.  Just look at the debate polls,” he called as he left the hall.

According to CNN, Clinton won the debate 62% compared to Trump’s 27%. Enuf said.

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WASHINGTON, DC—Speaking at the Human Rights Campaign 20^th annual black-tie dinner Saturday night at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine warned the LGBT community to beware of Donald Trump’s sudden interest in their well-being, saying “Donald Trump is no friend to this community and he’s no friend to the value of equality.”

Kaine called upon every member of the LGBT community to mobilize against Trump and seize upon this opportunity to remember his more controversial statements uttered before his campaign struggles to polish his rhetoric.

“It’s going to be a close election, and the LGBTQ vote in so many of our battleground states could be the difference between victory and defeat,” Kaine said.

“Donald Trump is unqualified and temperamentally unfit to be commander-in-chief and we can’t afford to let his proposals be anywhere near the Oval Office,” Kaine stressed to cheers from the audience.

“Go to Donald Trump’s position page,” the Virginia senator said. “Search for an LGBTQ agenda or maybe I can save you the time. There isn’t one. No mention. It’s invisible.”

Kaine used Trump’s recent praise of Russian president Vladimir as evidence Trump would be a danger to the gay community.

“Our opponent praises Vladimir Putin, a guy who persecutes LGBTQ Russians for great leadership,” Kaine said.

“Great leadership. Running your economy into the ground, persecuting journalists, persecuting LGBTQ Russians, invading other nations, violating international law. Leadership? If you do not understand the difference between leadership and dictatorship, you wouldn’t pass a fifth grade civics exam, you’re no leader, and you shouldn’t be president of the United States.”

Kaine also took on Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, Indiana governor Mike Pence.

“Mike Pence is a guy who believes marriage equality will cause a societal collapse,” Kaine said. “He insulted brave LGBT soldiers protecting our freedom overseas and of course he ran a one-man crusade to allow Indiana businesses acting in the public commercial sphere to discriminate against LGBTQ Americans. Yet Donald Trump saw this and decided this is the person that I want helping me govern this country.”

He said he and Clinton would fight to get the federal Equality Act signed if elected.

“When America leads on LGBTQ equality, that matters worldwide,” he said.

On a more personal note, Kaine addressed how his own views on marriage equality have evolved.

He said that while he fought against discrimination in all forms as he began his life in politics, he viewed marriage as something separate, in line with his Catholic beliefs.

He told the crowd his children helped him see the importance of marriage equality and that an effort in Virginia during his years as governor to define marriage as between a man and a woman in the state constitution spurred him to action.

Kaine even went so far as to predict the Catholic church would likewise change its stance toward gay marriage.

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UNIVERSITY PARK, FL– Olivia Travel, the leading provider of cruise, resort, adventure and luxury vacations for the lesbian community, announced its Scholartrip program at the Aqua Foundation for Women Emerging Leaders Conference in University Park, FL last week. The purpose of the program is an attempt to inspire, motivate, and empower the next generation of LBTQ leaders.

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By Alan Beck

PALM SPRINGS–The 13^th annual National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Conference was held in Palm Desert, California at the JW Marriott Resort last week.  One thousand participants from the United States, Canada, Central America,  South America, and other world ports attended.

The Conference, which lasted four days, started with a plenary session as nationally acclaimed LGBT business leaders spoke about the growth of LGBT businesse, becoming vital to the economic engine of the United States: Eugene Cornelius, SVP of the Small Business Administration; Bob Witeck, president of Witeck Communications, a pioneer in gay public relations and an early advocate of LGBT inclusion spoke about the history and advancement of gay rights within corporations;  Aaron Walton, an out gay black man, spoke eloquently about the commitment to seeing messages of equality getting out to both the black and LGBT communities from Lexus, and the success of those campaigns; and Heidi Lehmann, ResponsiveAds Inc., spoke about connecting businesses together and “dancing with everyone “ at least once to get to the right person and make the sale.

Breakout sessions covered many business topics and Chamber of Commerce issues, giving attendees the opportunity to face each other and learn about business developments, changes, opportunities and more.

An evening reception sponsored by Delta Air Lines, Caesars Entertainment, and the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority was well attended and received.

Luncheon the next day featured a conversation with and performance by the legendary singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge.  Her down home style of speaking, earthy and honest talk brought the audience to laughter and to tears.  When she told the story of a song she wrote, just after the Pulse Nightclub disaster, and how she brought it to rehearsal at a NYC sound studio, and on to the internet in 72 hours, one got the true power of Melissa and the depth of her commitment to the LGBT community as a symbol of strength.  When she sang the song, “Pulse,” dry eyes were hard to find in the audience.

In the afternoon, checks were awarded by Wells Fargo Bank to numerous Chambers for their growth, fine work and dedication to certifying LGBT businesses.  Locally, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce received a $5,000 grant to launch its “Business Connect” program;  and the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chambers received a $10,000 check to expand a program to foster development, growth, and sustainability of certified LGBT business enterprises.

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NEW YORK—A new 18-bed LGBT homeless shelter in East Greenwich Village has been named the Bea Arthur Residence after the Golden Girls star. Due to open in February 2017, the home will provide shelter and counseling for the city’s homeless gay and transgender teens.

Arthur was a lifetime supporter of LGBT rights and was a frequent contributor to the Ali Forney Center, the largest LGBT community center in the United States. Arthur, who died in 2009, bequeathed $300,000 in her will to the Ali Forney Center.

“These kids at the Ali Forney Center are literally dumped by their families because of the fact that they are lesbian, gay or transgender,” Arthur told our sister publication Next before her death. “This organization really is saving lives.”

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The Olympic Summer Games of 2016 held in Rio, Brazil have been recorded into our history books, as the biggest out athlete LGBT presence ever recorded. Although, we won’t be able to see the bulging muscles of the gymnasts, the hairless swimmers at the pool or the lycra shorts on the track for another four years, in Tokyo 2020, team LGBT did make a statement in Rio. However, in 2018 at the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Korea, we are sure team LGBT will have a presence again. Who could resist the gay snow bunnies on the ski slops, the glitter turns in the skating rinks and better yet the lycra jumpsuits at the speed skating track? YAAAS Queen!

Anyway, back to Rio, almost half of the publicly out LGBT athletes competing in the Rio Olympics won a medal, which is a drastically higher percentage than the athletes in general. All told, 25 of the 53 publicly out athletes that we know of — a full 47% — won a medal, including 10 athletes winning gold. This number was made higher, thanks in part to the success of the Swedish women’s soccer team and the American women’s basketball team, which combined account for almost a third of the athletes winning medals. It is odd that being publicly out would translate to Olympic success in the Summer Games. You have to wonder if there is a correlation.

Gold Medals

Nicola Adams

Great Britain, Boxing

51kg weight class

Kate Richardson-Walsh

Great Britain, Field hockey

Helen Richardson-Walsh

Great Britain, Field hockey

Susannah Townsend

Great Britain, Field hockey

Rafaela Silva

Brazil, Judo

Women’s 57kg

Seimone Augustus

United States, Basketball Team USA

Elena Delle Donne

United States, Basketball Team USA

Brittney Griner

United States, Basketball Team USA

Angel McCoughtry

United States, Basketball Team USA

Caster Semenya

South Africa, Track and Field

800 meters

Silver Medals

Alexandra Lacrabère

France, Handball

Lisa Dahlkvist

Sweden, Soccer

Nilla Fischer

Sweden, Soccer

Hedvig Lindahl

Sweden, Soccer

Caroline Seger

Sweden, Soccer

Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel

Netherlands, Field Hockey

Maartje Paumen

Netherlands, Field Hockey

Sunette Viljoen

South Africa, Track & Field

Javelin

Rachele Bruni

Italy, Swimming

10km

Carl Hester

Great Britain, Dressage

Spencer Wilton

Great Britain, Dressage

Bronze Medals

Stephanie Labbe

Canada, Soccer

Marie-Eve Nault

Canada, Soccer

Tom Daley

Great Britain, Diving

Jen Kish

Canada, Rugby

Women’s sevens

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MIAMI BEACH–Cher will host a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in Miami Beach on August 19. It will be the first stop on a three-city fundraising tour for the singer who will later make appearances on Fire Island at the Blue Whale on August 20 and in Provincetown, MA, on August 21.

The Miami Beach fundraiser will be co-chaired by Tony Lima, who is executive director of SAVE Dade. He co-hosts with gay rights activists Bradley Carlson and Joe Falk. Tickets are available for sale at $250.00 with a photo-op available for a donation of $5,000.00.

The Fire Island fundraiser called Low Tea at the Blue Whale have tickets available from $250 to $5,000, with a photo-op available for $2,500.00.

The Democratic Presidential candidate will personally be attending the Provincetown, MA, fundraiser being held at the Pilgrim Monument with tickets ranging in price from $2,700.00 and peaking at $27,000.00.

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NEW YORK–Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential search is centering on three main contenders, with an announcement expected as soon as this weekend as the Democrat prepares for her party’s national convention next week in Philadelphia.

Democrats familiar with the search say Clinton’s running mate process has focused on Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Labor Secretary Tom Perez.
That’s according to Democrats familiar with the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private discussions.

They cautioned that Clinton had not yet reached a final decision and was weighing a number of factors, including the person’s readiness to be president, personal compatibility and ability to help her administration govern.

Clinton is expected to announce her decision during a two-day campaign swing in Florida later this week.

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NEW YORK–“I want you to know that Orlando and the world’s gay community are strong and united,” Barbara Poma said. “We will not allow evil to prevail.” The owner of the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, where 49 members of the LGBT community were massacred two weeks previously, sat atop the lead float in the Pride Parade that made its way through the streets of Manhattan with crowds estimated at 2 million.

In his weekly address, President Obama said there is more work to be done toward full LGBT rights.

Columbia University law professor Suzanne Goldberg told CBS News having the president designate Stonewall as a national monument is significant.

“This is a tremendous marker in the trajectory of LGBT rights and really American history because it places the lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual movement in the pantheon of American civil rights,” Goldberg said.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made history when she marched for four blocks in the parade, stepping out of a black SUV in Greenwich Village, to join stunned marchers at the Pride event. Surrounded by her own security detail, Clinton was joined in the parade by a horde of dignitaries eager to share in her spotlight. Among them were Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who momentarily put aside their on-going feud. No one was more spotlight hogging however than the Rev. Al Sharpton, who never left Clinton’s side no matter how hard other tried to nudge him away.

Though Clinton did not speak at the event, she certainly did her share of smiling and waving with the occasional stressful venturing to the police barricades to shake hands.

According to the New York Times, her presence resonated, attendees said, by communicating a measure of solidarity in a wrenching moment.

Near Bleecher Street, a man with a microphone ripped at the frenzied crowd with, “The next president of the United States! Make some noooo-ooooiise.” And, of course, they did.

As a “Hillary” chant began to build, Clinton stopped to briefly acknowledge the crowd, mindful of those behind her who were eager to advance the parade.

And then she was gone as quickly as she arrived, to be whisked off at 2 pm into another SUV for a flight to Indiana, where she addressed the

By about 2 p.m., Mrs. Clinton was hustled into a waiting vehicle, waving once more before heading for a flight to Indiana where she addressed a crowd about the impact of Britain’s recent vote to leave the European Union.

Photo Credit: ooyuz.com

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LOS ANGELES–Three years after a deadly strain of bacterial meningitis killed two Los Angeles gay men and a San Diego student, Los Angeles County Department of Public Healthofficials issued a Department of Public Health (DPH) ‘Health Alert’ warning that a new outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease is once again hitting gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM) particularly hard. According to the Associated Press, “… nine meningococcal disease cases have been identified in men living in Los Angeles and Orange counties. One patient died as a result of the infection. Six of the cases are known to have been caused by a particular strain of meningococcal bacteria.” Four of these nine meningitis cases were found in MSM, and according to the L.A. County Health alert, three of the four MSM cases occurred within the past 6 weeks.

“We are calling on LA County Health officials to immediately roll out an aggressive, high profile and targeted public information campaign about this latest meningitis outbreak,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AHF. “We urge Los Angeles County and other affected health jurisdictions to quickly ramp up their supplies of vaccines and partner with the community in vaccination efforts as well as educating the community. We hope to partner with the County in vaccine and prevention efforts and are working to make vaccines available at our Southern California area AHF Wellness Centers next week.”

In 2013, while Los Angeles County health officials quibbled with community health providers and advocates about labeling the deadly meningitis cases a ‘cluster’ or ‘outbreak’ to describe cases that killed three MSM in Southern California and seven MSM in New York, AHF mounted an aggressive free meningitis vaccination campaign in Los Angeles. In the span of one week (April 15-22, 2013), AHF provided 3,357 free meningitis vaccines to the community. At that same time in New York, “…the city’s health department issued a warning … urging all men who regularly have intimate contact with other men to be vaccinated for meningitis,” according to ‘The New York Times.’ However, the Times’ article also noted that, “Officials here [in Los Angeles] have thus far been reluctant to do the same.”

“AHF was first on the vaccination front in 2013 and we are glad to see that Los Angeles County has stepped up so quickly with a ‘Health Alert’; however, County health officials need to step up now and focus even greater attention on meningitis in these populations,” added AHF’s Weinstein. “Gay men are extremely over-represented in these meningitis case numbers in Los Angeles. The CDC and the NIH, in conjunction with local health departments, should really be studying the issue far more intensively.”

HEALTH NOTE: The meningitis vaccine provides protection for five (5) years, so any individual who may have been vaccinated during the cases or outbreaks reported in 2013 or 2014 does NOT need to get a booster shot or be re-vaccinated now.

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