Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Denver Limo, Inc.: The Hottest Limos In Colorado Now at the Lowest Prices of the Year!
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Are You Gay With Something To Say? Bloggers Wanted For Denver's Best Gay Blog!
Are you a new or experienced writer or blogger? Do you want to be? Or maybe you're just some gay guy with something to say? Well, what better forum for you than MileHighGayGuy?
MileHighGayGuy is looking for regular and guest bloggers to write about local news and events, do music and movie reviews, or write opinion or feature pieces from a gay perspective.
These are unpaid positions but offer the opportunity to be published in Colorado's Best Gay Blog (2010, 2011, 2012 OUTstanding Awards, Denver 2012 #WebAwards), expand your audience and gain valuable experience. There's also swag available in the form of free movie and concert tickets, music, books and other cool stuff.
If interested, shoot an email over to Drew Wilson at drew@milehighgayguy.com. And if you've got column or story ideas to pitch, this is the place to do it.
Koelbel Urban Homes: The New Modern in Denver
As the newest division of legendary developer Koelbel and Company, KUH is focused on in-fill properties, designing and building innovative homes tailored to each unique site.
Offered homes run the gamut of detached single-family homes to svelte modern attached designs featuring today's popular spaces, such as rooftop decks and open-plan concepts. All KUH homes, of course, are designed for optimum living and with respect for the surroundings.
Meet the Debt Free Guys
Despite having had thirteen years of experience working in financial services, the Debt Free Guys were financial messes. They were two thirty-something financial services professionals with $51,000 of combined credit card debt, living in a basement apartment. After reaching rock-bottom, they crawled out of debt and now use their personal and professional experience to help others achieve financial independence.
The Gay Vegans: Danica Roem Is A Rock Star
With the elections on November 7th, Danica Roem became front page news.
What I love most about her is that she took on someone who spent his life demonizing people like her, and taking away rights from people like her. She had had enough when he decided that he should control where she could or could not use the bathroom. Although I do not know her, she comes across as someone who is kind, very intelligent, and one who cares about other people.
I remember reading about her months before election day and thinking how wonderful it would be if she could win. I sure didn’t think she could at that time.
Her opponent had held his seat for over 20 years. He continued his bigoted ways throughout the campaign.
Danica rocked her campaign. She actually knocked on doors and spent hundreds of hours speaking with voters about issues important to them.
I could go on and on. I will leave you with a couple of points:
Danica Roem was pissed off and took action.
So did others in Virginia and around the country.
In one state delegate race in Newport News, VA, over 10,000 more people voted than two years ago and the difference between the two candidates is 12 votes.
Register to vote. Vote. Get active. Run for office.
Monday, November 13, 2017
Do You Want To Reach Denver's Gay Community? Advertise With Denver's Best Gay Blog!
Just click the Advertising page or email sales@milehighgayguy.com to get started today.
Transgender Day of Remembrance at the Tivoli
UN Member States Maintain Non-Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation in Olympic Truce Resolution
The Truce is negotiated every two years ahead of the Olympics, and promotes “civility among nations” during the Olympics and the one week preceding and one week following the game. This year, a reference to Principle 6 came under attack, with Egypt and Russia trying to remove reference to the Principle in the Truce. These efforts however failed, due to cross regional State support for the inclusion of Principle 6 in the Truce.
Jessica Stern, Executive Director of OutRight Action International, commented on the outcome saying,
“While Egypt and Russia tried to export and sanction discrimination against lesbian, gay, and bisexual Olympians, they failed. States decided to send a clear message that there is no place for discrimination at the Olympics. We're thankful for civil society and for the mobilization that took place to ensure that reference to Principle 6 stayed in the Truce. Today, we were victorious.”In a joint campaign by OutRight Action International and Athlete Ally, professional athletes all around the world came out in support of the inclusion of Principle 6, releasing a letter calling on states to respect non-discrimination based on sexual orientation. In a press release circulated last week US Olympian and WNBA star Breanna Stewart stated,
“Sport and society thrive when we embrace the diversity of our world. The Olympic spirit is grounded in inclusion, fair play and solidarity, and the explicit mention of Principle 6 within the Olympic Truce Resolution sends a clear message that we take these values seriously.”Hudson Taylor, Founder and Executive Director of Athlete Ally, commented on the favorable resolution, saying,
“Today, we’re thankful for UN Member States around the world who stood up for universal values such as diversity, respect, inclusion and fair play. The decision to keep an explicit reference of Principle 6 within the Olympic Truce Resolution is an important step for the full dignity and protection of the LGBTQ community around the world. We thank the athletes who spoke out in the lead up to such an important vote.”
New FBI Data Shows Increased Reported Incidents of Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crimes in 2016
In 2016, 6,121 hate crime incidents were reported --an increase of five percent from 2015. Of the 6,121 incidents reported,1,076 were based on sexual orientation bias and 124 were based on gender identity bias. These numbers reflect a two percent and nine percent increase, respectively
Of the 124 incidents based on gender identity, 19 targeted gender non-conforming people, a decrease of 54 percent from 2015. Yet, of those same 124 incidents,105 targeted transgender people, an increase of 44 percent from 2015.
However, these numbers likely represent only a fraction of such cases, given that reporting hate crimes to the FBI is not mandatory. Thousands of law enforcement agencies throughout the country did not submit any data. And while the number of jurisdictions reporting hate crimes data increased to 15,251 in 2016 from 14,997 in 2015, this is still less than the 15,494 agencies that reported in 2014. The lack of mandatory reporting means that the FBI data, while helpful, paints a very incomplete picture of hate crimes against LGBTQ Americans.
Jurisdictions with populations of more than 250,000 were among the thousands of. law enforcement agencies across the country that did not submit hate crimes data, and the vast majority of those -- 88 percent -- simply indicated to the FBI that no hate crimes had occurred. More than 90 cities with more than 100,000 residents either affirmatively reported zero hate crimes or ignored the FBI request for their 2016 hate crime data.
Over the past year, HRC has been calling on the Trump administration to do more to respond to hate crimes. In March, HRC joined 155 other civil and human rights organizations in urging the Trump administration to more strongly respond to bias-motivated acts of violence and intimidation. The letter cited examples of hate incidents, including the murder of seven transgender women of color, the February shooting targeting two Indian Hindu Americans in Kansas, and the numerous bomb threats against Jewish organizations and houses of worship, among others.
In addition, in September, HRC joined more than 80 organizations on a letter to Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore at the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division outlining steps that the DOJ should take in the wake of white supremacist violence in Charlottesville and in response to other bias-motivated crimes across the country. The letter also highlights the coalition’s broader priorities to help inform the DOJ’s plan of action to prevent and respond to hate violence.
Since the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) in 2009, HRC has worked with the FBI to update the agency’s crime reporting, from providing training materials to sharing details on hate crimes when they occur. HRC continues to press for improved reporting, passage of state laws that protect LGBTQ individuals from hate crimes, and expanded education and training initiatives.
The Anti-Defamation League has mapped the hate crime incidents that were reported in cities with populations of more than 100,000 and includes information on reported hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity biases. You can view this map here. - via HRC
Print all In new window The Leadership Conference Letter on Attorney General Sessions’ House Judiciary Committee Testimony
Today, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee ahead of Attorney General Sessions’ testimony tomorrow, raising serious concerns about the department’s record under President Trump on issues that are critically important to the civil and human rights community
The letter is below:
November 13, 2017
View a PDF of this letter here.
Recipient: House Judiciary Committee
Dear House Judiciary Committee Member,
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 national organizations committed to promoting and protecting the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, I am writing in advance of tomorrow’s U.S. Department of Justice oversight hearing to raise serious concerns about the department’s record under President Trump on issues that are critically important to the civil and human rights community.
Nine months ago, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly voted to advance the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions to be the nation’s 84th Attorney General. This Tuesday marks the first time Sessions will testify before this committee, and he must be held accountable for the actions he has taken since his confirmation in February. Members must take seriously their oversight responsibility and publicly explore his troubling record of rolling back the civil and human rights of our nation’s most vulnerable communities.
Sessions’ hostility to civil rights is longstanding. Over three decades ago, when he was nominated for a federal judgeship in Alabama, Coretta Scott King sent a letter to this committee about the damage Sessions would do if confirmed to the federal bench. “I believe his confirmation would have a devastating effect on not only the judicial system in Alabama, but also on the progress we have made everywhere toward fulfilling my husband’s dream that he envisioned over twenty years ago.” As a senator for two decades, Sessions had a record of consistently opposing civil and human rights legislation, bearing out the concerns expressed by Mrs. King.
Based on his anti-civil rights record, our coalition opposed Sessions’ nomination to be Attorney General. Unfortunately, our concerns have been realized. Since his confirmation in February, Sessions has advanced an anti-civil rights agenda and has failed to be an Attorney General for all people and communities.
Despite testifying during his confirmation hearing that “We must continue to move forward and never back,” Sessions has stood on the wrong side of history and has moved our nation backward on a number of core civil and human rights issues. In particular, we are concerned about his actions to undermine voting rights, sentencing reform, policing, and LGBTQ rights. On these issues, some of the department’s most egregious actions have included:
Voting rights
On February 27, the Department of Justice dropped the federal government’s claim that a Texas voter ID law under legal challenge was intentionally racially discriminatory, despite having successfully advanced that argument in multiple federal courts. The district court subsequently rejected the position of the Sessions Justice Department and concluded the law was passed with discriminatory intent.
On June 28, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sent a letter to 44 states demanding extensive information on how they maintain their voter rolls. This request was made on the same day that President Trump’s so-called Commission on Election Integrity sent letters to all 50 states demanding intrusive and highly sensitive personal data about all registered voters.
On August 7, the Justice Department filed a brief in the Supreme Court in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute arguing that it should be easier for states to purge registered voters from their rolls – reversing not only its longstanding legal interpretation, but also the position it had taken in the lower courts in that case.
Criminal justice
On February 23, Sessions withdrew an earlier Justice Department memo that set a goal of reducing and ultimately ending the department’s use of private prisons.
In a March 31 memo, Sessions ordered a sweeping review of consent decrees with law enforcement agencies relating to police conduct – a crucial tool in the Justice Department’s efforts to ensure constitutional and accountable policing. The department also tried – unsuccessfully – to block a federal court in Baltimore from approving the department’s own proposed consent decree with the city on police practices, arguing that there were “grave concerns” with an agreement that the department itself had negotiated over a multi-year period.
On May 12, Sessions announced in a two-page memo that the Department of Justice was abandoning its Smart on Crime initiative by overturning the criminal charging policy put in place by the previous administration.
On August 28, Sessions lifted the Obama administration’s ban on the transfer of some military surplus items to domestic law enforcement. The guidelines rescinded by Sessions were created in the wake of Ferguson.
On September 15, the department ended the Community Oriented Policing Services’ Collaborative Reform Initiative, a Justice Department program that aimed to help build trust between police officers and the communities they serve.
LGBTQ rights
On February 22, the Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights jointly rescinded Title IX guidance clarifying protections under the law for transgender students.
On July 26, the Department of Justice filed a legal brief arguing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation – a decision that contravened recent court decisions and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance.
On September 7, the Department of Justice filed a brief with the Supreme Court in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission arguing that businesses have a right to discriminate against LGBTQ customers.
On October 4, the Department of Justice filed a brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asking the court to dismiss a lawsuit against the president’s transgender military ban.
On October 5, Sessions reversed a Justice Department policy which clarified that transgender workers are protected from discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
On October 6, the Department of Justice issued sweeping religious liberty guidance to federal agencies, which will create a license to discriminate against LGBTQ individuals and others.
In addition to these concrete actions, the department in May published a revised list of priorities for the Civil Rights Division that excluded all mention of the need for constitutional policing, combatting discrimination against the LGBTQ community, or protecting people with disabilities. The same budget document called for cutting 121 positions from the Civil Rights Division. This is especially troubling as this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Division, which was created by passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
In August, The New York Times reported that the “Trump administration is preparing to redirect resources of the Justice Department’s civil rights division toward investigating and suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants.” This investigation and enforcement effort was planned to be run out of the Civil Rights Division’s front office by political appointees, instead of by experienced career staff in the division’s educational opportunities section.
Sessions testified at his confirmation hearing that “The Department of Justice must never falter in its obligation to protect the civil rights of every American, particularly those who are most vulnerable.” The Leadership Conference agrees with that statement but – time and again – Sessions’ actions as Attorney General, as outlined above, have failed to live up to that rhetoric.
Today, nearly three months after horrifying acts of white supremacy, violent extremism, and domestic terrorism in Charlottesville, Va. – at a time when the United States has a leader whose presidency has emboldened and enabled forces of hate and division in this country – our nation deserves an Attorney General who will vigorously enforce federal civil rights laws and stand with our most vulnerable communities. Sessions is failing in that regard, and I urge you to hold him accountable during tomorrow’s Department of Justice oversight hearing.
Thank you for your consideration of our views. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact Mike Zubrensky, Chief Counsel and Legal Director, or Sakira Cook, Senior Counsel, at (202) 466-3311.
Sincerely,
Vanita Gupta
President & CEO
The letter is below:
November 13, 2017
View a PDF of this letter here.
Recipient: House Judiciary Committee
Dear House Judiciary Committee Member,
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 national organizations committed to promoting and protecting the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, I am writing in advance of tomorrow’s U.S. Department of Justice oversight hearing to raise serious concerns about the department’s record under President Trump on issues that are critically important to the civil and human rights community.
Nine months ago, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly voted to advance the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions to be the nation’s 84th Attorney General. This Tuesday marks the first time Sessions will testify before this committee, and he must be held accountable for the actions he has taken since his confirmation in February. Members must take seriously their oversight responsibility and publicly explore his troubling record of rolling back the civil and human rights of our nation’s most vulnerable communities.
Sessions’ hostility to civil rights is longstanding. Over three decades ago, when he was nominated for a federal judgeship in Alabama, Coretta Scott King sent a letter to this committee about the damage Sessions would do if confirmed to the federal bench. “I believe his confirmation would have a devastating effect on not only the judicial system in Alabama, but also on the progress we have made everywhere toward fulfilling my husband’s dream that he envisioned over twenty years ago.” As a senator for two decades, Sessions had a record of consistently opposing civil and human rights legislation, bearing out the concerns expressed by Mrs. King.
Based on his anti-civil rights record, our coalition opposed Sessions’ nomination to be Attorney General. Unfortunately, our concerns have been realized. Since his confirmation in February, Sessions has advanced an anti-civil rights agenda and has failed to be an Attorney General for all people and communities.
Despite testifying during his confirmation hearing that “We must continue to move forward and never back,” Sessions has stood on the wrong side of history and has moved our nation backward on a number of core civil and human rights issues. In particular, we are concerned about his actions to undermine voting rights, sentencing reform, policing, and LGBTQ rights. On these issues, some of the department’s most egregious actions have included:
Voting rights
On February 27, the Department of Justice dropped the federal government’s claim that a Texas voter ID law under legal challenge was intentionally racially discriminatory, despite having successfully advanced that argument in multiple federal courts. The district court subsequently rejected the position of the Sessions Justice Department and concluded the law was passed with discriminatory intent.
On June 28, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sent a letter to 44 states demanding extensive information on how they maintain their voter rolls. This request was made on the same day that President Trump’s so-called Commission on Election Integrity sent letters to all 50 states demanding intrusive and highly sensitive personal data about all registered voters.
On August 7, the Justice Department filed a brief in the Supreme Court in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute arguing that it should be easier for states to purge registered voters from their rolls – reversing not only its longstanding legal interpretation, but also the position it had taken in the lower courts in that case.
Criminal justice
On February 23, Sessions withdrew an earlier Justice Department memo that set a goal of reducing and ultimately ending the department’s use of private prisons.
In a March 31 memo, Sessions ordered a sweeping review of consent decrees with law enforcement agencies relating to police conduct – a crucial tool in the Justice Department’s efforts to ensure constitutional and accountable policing. The department also tried – unsuccessfully – to block a federal court in Baltimore from approving the department’s own proposed consent decree with the city on police practices, arguing that there were “grave concerns” with an agreement that the department itself had negotiated over a multi-year period.
On May 12, Sessions announced in a two-page memo that the Department of Justice was abandoning its Smart on Crime initiative by overturning the criminal charging policy put in place by the previous administration.
On August 28, Sessions lifted the Obama administration’s ban on the transfer of some military surplus items to domestic law enforcement. The guidelines rescinded by Sessions were created in the wake of Ferguson.
On September 15, the department ended the Community Oriented Policing Services’ Collaborative Reform Initiative, a Justice Department program that aimed to help build trust between police officers and the communities they serve.
LGBTQ rights
On February 22, the Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights jointly rescinded Title IX guidance clarifying protections under the law for transgender students.
On July 26, the Department of Justice filed a legal brief arguing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation – a decision that contravened recent court decisions and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance.
On September 7, the Department of Justice filed a brief with the Supreme Court in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission arguing that businesses have a right to discriminate against LGBTQ customers.
On October 4, the Department of Justice filed a brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asking the court to dismiss a lawsuit against the president’s transgender military ban.
On October 5, Sessions reversed a Justice Department policy which clarified that transgender workers are protected from discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
On October 6, the Department of Justice issued sweeping religious liberty guidance to federal agencies, which will create a license to discriminate against LGBTQ individuals and others.
In addition to these concrete actions, the department in May published a revised list of priorities for the Civil Rights Division that excluded all mention of the need for constitutional policing, combatting discrimination against the LGBTQ community, or protecting people with disabilities. The same budget document called for cutting 121 positions from the Civil Rights Division. This is especially troubling as this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Division, which was created by passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
In August, The New York Times reported that the “Trump administration is preparing to redirect resources of the Justice Department’s civil rights division toward investigating and suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants.” This investigation and enforcement effort was planned to be run out of the Civil Rights Division’s front office by political appointees, instead of by experienced career staff in the division’s educational opportunities section.
Sessions testified at his confirmation hearing that “The Department of Justice must never falter in its obligation to protect the civil rights of every American, particularly those who are most vulnerable.” The Leadership Conference agrees with that statement but – time and again – Sessions’ actions as Attorney General, as outlined above, have failed to live up to that rhetoric.
Today, nearly three months after horrifying acts of white supremacy, violent extremism, and domestic terrorism in Charlottesville, Va. – at a time when the United States has a leader whose presidency has emboldened and enabled forces of hate and division in this country – our nation deserves an Attorney General who will vigorously enforce federal civil rights laws and stand with our most vulnerable communities. Sessions is failing in that regard, and I urge you to hold him accountable during tomorrow’s Department of Justice oversight hearing.
Thank you for your consideration of our views. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact Mike Zubrensky, Chief Counsel and Legal Director, or Sakira Cook, Senior Counsel, at (202) 466-3311.
Sincerely,
Vanita Gupta
President & CEO
Come Out. Get Fit With Stonewall Fitness.
Nice To See StevieB: Ten Years of StevieB
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the Nice to see StevieB blog. Blogging, remember blogging? A strange fad of the 00's and for me personally a decade-long explosion of keeping a digital diary. Yes, ten years have passed since I began to post my angst and joys, and a lot of stuff has moved my life forward while I blogged away.
My very first entry, ten years ago today, was set in the wild frontier days of online life for humanity. I wrote about ending a relationship; the one I thought was going to last forever. Since that first post about the last of that relationship, I have met that person's forever-forever and danced at their wedding with a guy who is the best thing that has happened to me.
So blogging was just a mere fad of the 00's. And yet, there seems to be a new generation of bloggers. Twenty years needing an outlet which is deeper than Snapchat and Instagram. Like they invented it. Back in my day we had to log into our tower desk top G4 Apples to blog. Not as easy as just telling Siri what to post on an Apple ten.
Happy anniversary to me. Ten years and I am just as cool as the post-Hipster generation sharing life as they begin to explore the world. Me? Yeah I too feel like I'm ready to explore the world. Or continue to explore the world.
Kim Petras - I Don't Want It At All
Check out the new video for “I Don’t Want It At All.” Directed by Charlotte Rutherford, the video depicts Kim’s teen girl fantasy complete with lavish shopping sprees, a “Princess and the Pea” style throne, a miniature Hamptons, and a special guest appearance by Paris Hilton.
Since her childhood in Cologne, Germany, Kim has been in love with pop music. It was a window into the bigger world outside of her little town. Kim notably began transitioning with female hormone therapy following her twelfth birthday before making worldwide headlines as the youngest person to receive gender reassignment surgery at the age of 16. Her experiences and bravery are subtly present in her music and her undeniable debut single perfectly showcases her imaginative artistry and unique brand of escapism.
“Pop was always my biggest obsession,” Kim affirms. “I spend so much time looking for new music online. As a kid, music videos were my escape from the little town I was living in, because nothing happened there. I want to provide that kind of escapism. It’s unapologetically pop.”
Shop Small in Cherry Creek North on November 25
“Of the 260 retailers in Cherry Creek North, 70 percent are small businesses, including art galleries, restaurants, fashion boutiques, spas and salons,” said Julie Underdahl, president and CEO of Cherry Creek North Business Improvement District. “Our community celebrates small businesses year round, and we encourage people to visit the District on Small Business Saturday to shop small.”
In celebration of Small Business Saturday and with proof of purchase, Cherry Creek North will be giving away four CCN gift cards, two valued at $250 and two valued at $500. After making a purchase at a Cherry Creek North business on November 25, visitors can stop by the Small Business Saturday Headquarters at 2nd Avenue and Fillmore Street from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., show a receipt and be entered for a chance to win.
Visitors can plan their trip on November 25 by viewing the list of participating businesses, which continues to grow, or the online Cherry Creek North directory, which shows the diversity of shops in the district that extends 16 blocks from 1st Avenue to 3rd Avenue, and from University Boulevard to Steele Street.
When visiting Cherry Creek North, it’s easy to park or valet once and walk the 16 blocks to everything Cherry Creek North has to offer. Many public parking garage options include $5 flat rates on weekends and evenings or valet opportunities at numerous locations throughout the area. Visitors also can hail an Eco-Ride USA cart at Moxy Denver Cherry Creek, which is offering free parking for the first 30 cars, and ride for free to their favorite local business in the area.
In 2010, American Express founded Small Business Saturday to help businesses flourish by encouraging people to shop at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. In 2016, 112 million people shopped at small businesses around the country on the day and spent an estimated $15.4 billion.
The Greatest Showman - new trailer!
20th Century Fox has released a brand new trailer for the upcoming original musical The Greatest Showman, which hits theaters December 20. Directed by Michael Gracey, The Greatest Showman stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)