DNC on Pentagon Accepting Transgender Service Members

Today, the Pentagon announced it would comply with a court order that requires the armed forces to enlist transgender people while litigation over Donald Trump’s illegal transgender military ban continues. DNC spokesperson Joel Kasnetz responded:

“In a series of important legal developments, the courts have rebuked the Trump/Pence administration’s policy of discrimination against transgender people.

“We must be clear: All capable and willing Americans should be able to serve in our armed forces. This is not only the right thing to do, but it will also make our military stronger and more united than ever before. We look forward to a world where transgender people are recognized for their humanity, not degraded and attacked as they are by this administration.”

Debt Free Guys: How to Talk About Money with Your Partner

By David Auten and John Schneider, the Debt Free Guys

Now that we can get married, LGBTQ people see the need to talk about money with their partner. Why’s it hard to talk about money with your significant other and how can you overcome that?

Capital One found that 75% of Americans who have ever been in a serious relationship said setting financial goals with a partner is harder than going it alone. However, 63% prefer to manage household finances with a partner.

Let’s make talking about money easier.

Understand their money emotions

Before approaching a partner or spouse about money, understand that their feelings about money won’t mirror yours. Everyone carries baggage about how much money we earn, how much we have and what we can afford.

We tie our self-worth to our net worth and our income. If our net-worth or income is small or non-existent, we feel like we’re not contributing our fair share or that we’re a drag on the relationship.

Many of us grew up when it was bad to talk about money, suggesting that money is bad. We carry this belief into adulthood and pass it onto our children.

Approach the money talk with this understanding and empathy.

Blame Queer Money

To keep the conversation neutral, blame us. Tell your partner that you hear from us that couples should talk about money, that couples who manage their money together do better with their money.

If you bring up a recent incident with your financial situation or your current financial condition as the reason for this talk, your partner may not be receptive because they’re already upset.

Dream

When talking about money, focus first on the positive. People love dreaming and hoping for bigger and better things. Remember the last time you bought a lottery ticket? The best part was dreaming about what you’d do with your millions.

Start there. Share your biggest dreams. What is on your bucket lists? Where do you want to travel? If you could buy one thing regardless of cost, what would it be?

Beginning this way will start the conversation positively.

Talk about what you need to achieve your dreams

Once you’ve talked about your dreams, talk about what it will take to make them real. This exercise invites you to talk about what’s keeping you from your dreams.

Must you increase your incomes? Do you need to save more, spend less or invest more?

If approached properly, your partner will admit to or agree with the blockers keeping you from your dreams.

Figure out how to achieve your dreams

Finally, talk about what you’re willing to do to make your dreams come true. Even if you only work towards one dream, create a plan to move toward it. Start with small steps. As you progress and check-in with your partner, and then make bigger steps.

Talking about money shouldn’t be taboo or hard. As with marriage, the money conversation is new to us. That doesn’t mean we can’t do it.

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.

Aisha C. Moodie-Mills to Leave Victory Fund and Victory Institute; Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker Now at the Helm

Victory Fund and Victory Institute announced the resignation of President & CEO Aisha C. Moodie-Mills, and that former Houston Mayor Annise Parker (pictured) will be the new leader of the organizations. The transition comes as both organizations prepare for the enormous opportunities in the 2018 election cycle – with more LGBTQ candidates running for elected office than ever before. Mayor Parker’s experience as a former elected official, as well as decades of experience leading numerous organizations, will position Victory Fund and Victory Institute to be a vital player in electing LGBTQ people in the years ahead.

“As the first openly LGBTQ mayor of Houston, Annise understands the challenges inherent in running and winning elected office, and she’s ideally positioned to help us fulfill our mission now and in the future,” said One Victory Board Chair Kim Hoover. “During Aisha’s tenure we grew the organization’s leadership initiatives to ensure LGBTQ people from across the country were prepared to run for office and be a voice for our community. We invested in game-changing campaigns and took on anti-equality incumbents with historic LGBTQ candidates, and won. And we strengthened and grew our network of LGBTQ elected officials, who work tirelessly to be the change we want to see in the world. We are grateful for her leadership, and now we are excited to build on her great work and use Annise’s experience and expertise to ensure Victory Fund and Victory Institute have an even greater impact moving forward. And she is eager to get started.”

“Victory played such an important role in my political career, beginning with my run for Houston City Council through my campaign for mayor, and I am thrilled about the opportunity to lead the organizations and help other LGBTQ elected officials win and make change,” said Mayor Parker. “2018 could be a historic year for our community – with more openly LGBTQ people running for office in more places – and I am confident we will be a difference-maker in helping these candidates across the finish line. I appreciate all Aisha has done to take the organizations to the next level, and am honored to continue to build on that success.”

“Over the last two years I’ve been fortunate to lead an incredible team at Victory, and together we have achieved great progress in in our efforts to elect LGBTQ candidates across the country,” said Aisha C. Moodie-Mills, President & CEO of Victory Institute. “We witnessed a surge in the number of LGBTQ people from across the country who want to run for office and be our voice in the halls of power – and it has been so personally rewarding for me to have helped historic candidates win elections thought impossible just a few years ago. Most importantly, I am proud that we’ve positioned the organizations for growth at a critically important time – a turning point in our movement to build LGBTQ political power and wield it on behalf of equality. I am so happy that such a capable leader like Annise will be continuing the vital work of Victory Fund and Victory Institute, and look forward to supporting the organizations as they continue to secure representation for our community.”

Mayor Parker will begin serving as President & CEO of Victory Fund and Victory Institute on Monday, December 11.

EarthCam Announces Its “25 Most Interesting Webcams of 2017”

EarthCam’s favorite annual tradition is back with the announcement of the 25 Most Interesting Webcams of 2017! Spanning 9 countries, the 19th annual list features entertaining live webcams that have been enjoyed by millions of visitors around the world, and some outrageous newcomers that were just discovered this year.

The Top 25 Webcams take you on an adventure to Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain, the world’s busiest intersection in Japan and the largest cathedral in Italy. Sports fans will marvel watching the incredible effort it’s taking to build the Chase Center arena, future home of NBA’s reigning champions, the Golden State Warriors. Head to Gas Monkey Garage in Dallas, made famous by multiple hit TV shows, and watch live as Richard Rawlings and the team test drive their newest hot rod creation, or just burn rubber in their parking lot. Animal lovers will enjoy a land, air and sea tour of animal cams featuring a king cobra in Pennsylvania, hundreds of hummingbirds in California and piranhas in Georgia.

“Webcams have become the perfect medium to connect people around the world with locations and landmarks that they have always wanted to visit, and sometimes serve as one of the only ways to safely witness extreme weather events,” said Brian Cury, CEO and Founder of EarthCam. “Each year, we are impressed with the incredible webcam content that live camera producers share with the world, and this year is no exception.”

EarthCam’s judging panel chose the Top 25 Webcams list based on image quality, uniqueness and overall achievements in webcam technology. This year’s panel includes Selymar Colón, Managing Editor and Senior Director, News Digital, Univision; Karen Cummings, of the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat and a 2016 Top 25 winner; Joseph “Joey Cigars” Tuzzino, Owner of Mulberry Street Cigars; Chi Ling Moy, Communications Manager, World Trade Center Construction, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey; and a third grade class from Spring City Elementary School in Tennessee, who is representing the ‘Kid’s Vote’ this year.

WalletHub: 2017’s Best Places for New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Facts

Source: WalletHub

With New Year’s Eve around the corner and the majority of Americans spending up to $200 each on the occasion per year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2017’s Best Places for New Year’s Eve Celebrations.
To help Americans ring in the new year without breaking the bank, WalletHub compared the 100 biggest cities across 25 key metrics. The data set ranges from legality of fireworks to average price of a New Year’s Eve party ticket to forecasted precipitation for Dec. 31.
 

Best Cities for New Year’s Eve
1	New York, NY		11	Seattle, WA
2	Orlando, FL		12	Dallas, TX
3	Atlanta, GA		13	Denver, CO
4	Los Angeles, CA		14	New Orleans, LA
5	San Francisco, CA		15	Austin, TX
6	San Diego, CA		16	Philadelphia, PA
7	Chicago, IL		17	Buffalo, NY
8	Miami, FL		18	San Antonio, TX
9	Washington, DC		19	Louisville, KY
10	Las Vegas, NV		20	Birmingham, AL

 

50+ New Year’s Facts – Traditions, Spending & More

• $1.2 Billion - Estimated cost of New Year's air travel, with at least six million people expected to pay an average of $204 for a round-trip ticket.
   
• 8 in 10 Americans - Spend less than $200 on New Year's Eve.
   
• $680 - Difference in the cost for a couple to enjoy dinner and a show on New Year's Eve in the most expensive (New York) and least expensive (Washington) cities.
   
• 360+ Million - Glasses of sparkling wine are drunk each New Year's Eve.

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.

Do You Want To Reach Denver's Gay Community? Advertise With Denver's Best Gay Blog!

Do you want to advertise to Denver’s gay community? Of course you do, it’s the 7th largest in the United States! And the best way to reach them is with MileHighGayGuy – Colorado’s Best Gay Blog.
 
Just click the Advertising page or email sales@milehighgayguy.com to get started today.

Get Drunk with Scrooge this Holiday Season: Audacious Theatre & Fiction Beer Company Host “Drunk Christmas”

This year a local theatre company is putting a boozy spin on everybody’s favorite Christmas tale. Join the drunken cast for a beer at Fiction Beer Company as they teach Scrooge a lesson about Christmas and all its “spirits”. Drunk Christmas will be a shortened version of Charles Dicken’s classic, and is part of Audacious Theatre’s holiday fundraiser. The festive evening will include raffles, baked goods, and Christmas Karaoke.
Audacious Theatre is a new performance group that seeks to create innovative and immersive theatrical events that engage all of the senses. This production is directed by Bethany Richardson, and the cast includes Logan Custer, Joey Laughlin, Ren Manley, Dylan Nevergall, Andrew Norman & Elizabeth Porter.

Drunk Christmas will only perform for two nights at Fiction Beer Company - Dec. 15 & 16 at 8:00 p.m. Limited reserved seating is available for $15 and pay-what-you-can admission is available first come, first served. For tickets and more information, visit www.audacioustheatre.com.

The Presets - Do What You Want

The Presets are back to their slamming, party-first sound, heralded by their first new song in nearly four years, "Do What You Want".

Currently burning up airwaves in their native Australia, the band themselves are flamboyantly front and centre in the Kris Moyes-directed video. Check it out after the jump and beware, it's autoplay! 

Kit Williamson Talks Being Groped in Hollywood

Hornet Stories’ Stephan Horbelt recently spoke to actor/filmmaker Kit Williamson, who appeared on the final two seasons of Mad Men and created and starred in the LGBT Emmy-nominated series EastSiders, about his experiences with sexual harassment in Hollywood:
 
On being assaulted at his first Hollywood party:
“I was 18 years old on my first trip to Los Angeles in college. I went to a party with a friend of mine that was held at the house of a pretty big agent at one of the top five agencies. One of those big ones that has three letters in the name, if that narrows it down a little bit. The guy tried to put his hand down my pants while telling me that I would never make it as an actor if I was openly gay. It was kind of a one-two punch of harassment and homophobia, and I think the two things do kind of go hand in hand. One of the reasons why we haven’t had a gay Harvey Weinstein yet, I think, is that a lot of people don’t want to speak out because of homophobia.”

On various “industry parties:”
“I came to the industry when I was already over 18, but it’s kind of an open secret that there are, or were, let’s call them ‘industry parties’ that were largely populated with a very young crowd, a teenage crowd. I do know people who went to those parties, and I do recall being invited to those parties and not attending. It honestly made me a little grateful that I spent my teenage years doing theater in New York, because I heard a lot of rumors of things that happened to friends and friends of friends. I think it’s an open secret that not everybody in that scene was 18, but I can’t speak from personal experience; I didn’t go to those parties.” 

On what women are facing in Hollywood:
“We need to make [public conversation] universal in the hopes of amplifying women’s voices. Because every woman I know in Hollywood has been propositioned for a role, or forcibly groped, or in some other ways had her agency taken away at some point while working. Every woman I know. It’s an outlier story for gay men. Because my story — I have that experience, but it’s not the same.”

Award-Winning Spoken Word Artist Andrea Gibson Kicks off 40+ Date Tour in January

Award-winning spoken word poet Andrea Gibson (they/them/their) will embark on a 40-date headlining North American "HEY GALAXY Tour" on January 14th. The tour's first stop is in Detroit, with Gibson bringing their compelling brand of spoken word to some of the biggest stages of their career.

Gibson has been known to make audiences laugh out loud at the hilarious mundanities of life while leading them to tears minutes later recounting stories of vulnerability and heartbreak. Andrea's poems are a cathartic and insightful look into how we handle the world around us. Of Gibson's writing and live performance, The Rumpus said, "Gibson had charged the air around me with electricity" while Curve stated, "Gibson's way with words will make the tough weak in the knees."



This run of shows will follow-up the announce of their 6th LP, 'HEY GALAXY' (January 12th, Tender Loving Empire) and recent dates supporting Ani DiFranco. The tour has roughly 40 stops - in most major markets including The Neptune Theatre (Seattle, WA), Grammercy Ballroom (NYC), Thalia Hall (Chicago) The Boulder Theatre and The Parish (Austin, TX). They will recite pieces both solo and with musical accompaniment from the new album along with a few catalog pieces. Chastity Brown will open all shows.

Gibson hopes the upcoming live shows will unite and inspire audiences to remain truthful, loving and celebratory even in the midst of the chaos of current day.

"The poems on this album were written to live out loud, to be rally cries for action, hope, and beauty during a time when justice is begging us to lace our boots," Andrea said. "I want the shows to ring with possibility, for people to leave newly inspired to step into their enormous hearts, to be lit up with a desire to speak truth to power, while celebrating our recognition that we are not alone, that we are in this together."

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.

Nice To See StevieB: The Annual Christmas Rant

By StevieB

Ahh, December 7th. It’s time to gather around and listen to Uncle Steve’s annual Christmas rant…..

WHAT THE F*#K DO PENGUINS HAVE TO DO WITH CHRISTMAS!?!?

Have you seen the inflatable, glowing Christmas crap that everyone displays on their front lawns? Big billowing snowmen, elves, and insidiously happy penguins. Seriously, What the heck to penguins have to do with Christmas?

At night it’s quite a cute little scene. A winter wonderland all blown up and bopping around to the forced air whooshing up their butts. During the day it’s another story, driving through any upscale neighborhood it's a reenactment of Jim Jones goes to Christmas town. Dead, flat elves and snow people scatter the lawns like a mass suicide cult hit the North Pole. A massacre of merriment. One half-inflated penguin dragging its self off the lawn coughing out,  I only live in Antarctica and parts of South America why am I even here?

Aaaaaaaaaghh!”

Australia to Become 25th Country With Marriage Equality

Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, celebrated the Australian House of Representatives’ overwhelming vote in favor of marriage equality legislation. The measure passed with only four votes against it. The Australian Senate previously passed the measure by a vote of 43 to 12.

“We welcome Australia into the growing family of freedom loving nations that ensure marriage equality for all couples,” said Ty Cobb, Director of HRC Global. “The overwhelming support for marriage equality Down Under is a testament to the hard work of Australia’s LGBTQ advocates and allies who fought tirelessly to make today a reality. We congratulate them on this incredibly important victory.”

After the Governor-General gives the legislation official approval in a formality known as “Royal Assent,” marriage equality will become the law of the land. Australia will become the 25th country to recognize same-sex couples’ right to marry.

The legislation followed a voluntary postal survey that showed a clear majority of Australian voters endorse equality. The postal survey came after years of stalled efforts to bring marriage equality to Australia. After the country’s governing party refused to allow a conscience vote on the issue in parliament, it undertook the controversial and expensive survey in an attempt to settle the issue. The survey was widely criticized for delaying the arrival of marriage equality.

HRC is proud to have supported the efforts of Australian LGBTQ advocates and allies to achieve marriage equality in their country and partnered with Australian Marriage Equality (AME) — a prominent national organization leading on the issue. HRC Global visited Australia in 2015 and 2016 to share strategic advice from the successful campaign for marriage equality in the United States.

Earlier this week in Europe, Austria’s Constitutional Court ruled that marriage equality will become the law of the land in that country by January 2019.