White House: No Plans To Issue 'Religious Freedom' Executive Order "At This Time"


Dominic Holden, award-winning journalist for Buzzfeed, reports today that the White House has issued a statement regarding the newly leaked draft of a "religious freedom"/anti-LGBT executive order.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Deputy Press Secretary, had this reply when asked about the EO:

"We still have no plans to take any action on this topic at this time."

 Please note the last three words - "at this time."

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Trump Does Comedy Routine At National Prayer Breakfast


President Donald Trump, attending the National Prayer Breakfast, broke into a stand up comedy routine criticizing Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger became Trump's replacement on the reality TV show, The Apprentice, after Trump decided to run for president.

At the time, the Trumpster only had praise for Schwarzenegger, tweeting: "Congrats to my friend @Schwarzenegger who is doing next season's Celebrity Apprentice. He'll be great & will raise lots of $ for charity."

However, the ratings for the new season of the show have dropped, much to the delight of Trump's ego.

At the National Prayer Breakfast this morning, Trump mentioned Arnold and the show:

"The ratings went right down the tubes. It has been a disaster. I want to just pray for Arnold, if we can, for those ratings."



Arnold posted this response a short time later:

"Hey Donald, I have a great idea. Why don't we switch jobs?" Schwarzenegger said. "You take over TV since you're such an expert on ratings and I take over your job and then people can finally sleep comfortably again."

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Draft Executive Order Outlines White House Plan To Legalize LGBT Discrimination


The Nation has obtained of a leaked copy of a draft executive order that would realize the fears of the LGBTQ community by legalizing discrimination.

The four-page draft order, a copy of which is currently circulating among federal staff and advocacy organizations, construes religious organizations so broadly that it covers “any organization, including closely held for-profit corporations,” and protects “religious freedom” in every walk of life: “when providing social services, education, or healthcare; earning a living, seeking a job, or employing others; receiving government grants or contracts; or otherwise participating in the marketplace, the public square, or interfacing with Federal, State or local governments.”

The draft order seeks to create wholesale exemptions for people and organizations who claim religious or moral objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, and trans identity, and it seeks to curtail women’s access to contraception and abortion through the Affordable Care Act.

Language in the draft document specifically protects the tax-exempt status of any organization that “believes, speaks, or acts (or declines to act) in accordance with the belief that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, sexual relations are properly reserved for such a marriage, male and female and their equivalents refer to an individual’s immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy, physiology, or genetics at or before birth, and that human life begins at conception and merits protection at all stages of life.”

The breadth of the draft order, which legal experts described as “sweeping” and “staggering,” may exceed the authority of the executive branch if enacted. It also, by extending some of its protections to one particular set of religious beliefs, would risk violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

“This executive order would appear to require agencies to provide extensive exemptions from a staggering number of federal laws—without regard to whether such laws substantially burden religious exercise,” said Marty Lederman, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and an expert on church-state separation and religious freedom.

With this language, you have to wonder if Catholics might be able to legally discriminate against divorced people?

Advocacy groups react:





See photo copies of the draft below via The Nation (click images to enlarge):




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Hump Day: Ramin Karimloo "Anthem"


Broadway and West End star Ramin Karimloo and his Broadgrass Band's 'Lead Me Home' tour recently ended on January 29th in the UK.

I'm an enormous fan of the Iranian-Canadian actor/singer who has starred in Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies and Les Miserables in the UK, as well as his star turn as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables on Broadway. The seriously woofy and talented Karimloo will begin rehearsals in a few weeks for the upcoming Broadway production of Anatasia.

With the issue of immigration, nations borders and more in the daily news spotlight, I think his heartfelt performance of "Anthem," from the musical Chess, is more than  appropriate.

His voice is just... woof. Effortless tone, gorgeous over-the-bar phrasing. And so easy on the eyes, too :)

Follow him on Instagram here.

Click below and enjoy:


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Rex Tillerson Confirmed As New Secretary Of State

Newly confirmed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
The New York Times has the details:

Rex W. Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil, was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday in a 56 to 43 vote to become the nation’s 69th secretary of state just as serious strains have emerged with important international allies.

The many votes against Mr. Tillerson’s confirmation made his selection among the most contentious for a secretary of state in recent history, and he takes his post just as many traditional American allies are questioning the policies of President Trump.

In the past 50 years, the most contentious confirmations for secretary of state were those of Condoleezza Rice in 2005, who passed by a vote of 85 to 13, and Henry Kissinger in 1973, who was confirmed 78 to 7.

Mr. Trump is the most unapologetically nationalistic president of the modern era who has questioned the value of many of the alliances and multilateral institutions that the United States has nurtured since World War II to keep world order. How Mr. Tillerson’s translates Mr. Trump’s vow of “America First” into the kind of polite diplomatic parlance that will maintain vital alliances will be a significant test.
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