“gay tv” – Google News

Demonizing a candidate for supporting LGBTQ+ rights is despicable, regardless of party.

Advocate.com

Current and Video News – 12:12 PM 10/31/2020 newslynx.net/current-and-vi…

---

Posted by

Michael Novakhov (mikenov)
on Saturday, October 31st, 2020 10:18pm

mikenov on Twitter

Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (4 sites)

LGBTQ Nation

Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee guided through President Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, said Saturday her confirmation demonstrates women in America can achieve anything — provided they follow a “traditional family structure.”

“You know what I like about Judge Barrett? She’s got everything!” Graham told a crowd in Conway, S.C. “She’s just not wicked smart, she’s incredibly good. She embraces her faith. I want every young woman to know there’s a place for you in America if you are pro-life, if you embrace your religion and you follow traditional family structure. That you can go anywhere, young lady.”

In addition to suggesting women who are support abortion rights and have no faith cannot achieve success in the United States, Graham indicated they must follow a “traditional family structure,” which has been a longtime dog whistle used by social conservatives to denigrate and exclude single people and LGBTQ families.

Graham, who is himself single, has been dogged by rumors about his sexual orientation and taunts on social media of being “Lady G,” although he has consistently denied being gay.

The remarks comes weeks after Graham was widely criticized for saying that Black Americans and immigrants can “go anywhere” in South Carolina, but they “just need to be conservative, not liberal.”

Graham is in the middle of a serious political challenge from Democratic candidate Jaime Harrison, who in some polls neck-and-neck — if not ahead — of the Republican incumbent. Harrison has raised a stunning $57 million in the third quarter of 2020 in his effort to oust Graham from the Senate.

Meanwhile, Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, which solidified a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, has raised fears LGBTQ rights, including same-sex marriage, are in jeopardy with her on the bench. Progressive advocates have been calling for expanding the judiciary with Democratic picks if Joe Biden is elected, otherwise known as packing the court.

The Washington Blade has placed a request in Graham’s office seeking comment on whether he stands by his comment on the “traditional family structure.”

The post Graham makes anti-LGBTQ comments hailing ‘traditional family structure’ appeared first on Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights.

Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights

“gay tv” – Google News

Pricing your home correctly from the start is imperative to a successful sale. We all love our homes and probably think it is worth more than it is. But that thinking can be a killer when it comes to pricing your home when you go to sell.

The first thing to remember when pricing your home is you must think of it like a product. While it is still currently your home, in the minds of the buyers it is a product. And buyers will decide if that price you’ve set is worth what the home offers. If it isn’t, your showings will lag and offers will just not arrive. This will lead to longer days on market, which can be a huge turn off to buyers, especially in the D.C. market.

So, what is the best way to price your house to sell? It comes down to your specific home. What it offers, where it is located, the size, the condition, etc. It’s also helpful to see what the market norms are in pricing, so you are competitive. So before pricing any home, you have to do your research. You want to closely examine what similar homes have sold for in your area in the past year to six months. Seeing that data is a start to any good pricing discussion.

While there are many ways to price a home, and no overarching rule that applies to every home, here are three main strategies to think about when approaching finding the right price: Aspirational, Market Value, and Below Market Value.

Aspirational pricing is the “pie in the sky” way of pricing. When pricing this way, you review the comparable sales and price higher than what similar homes have sold for recently. It is easy to fall into the thinking that your home is worth more. Aspirational pricing is a more emotional way of pricing and even in a seller’s market it is likely not the right answer. Buyers will know if you’ve over-priced the home and will either not visit, not make an offer, or offer you a much lower price, which is a hard pill to swallow.

Market Value pricing is pricing right in line with the comparable sold properties in your area. Adjustments to the price should be made to account for variations in the comparable homes. If one has a new kitchen, for example, it would command a higher price than a home that needs a total kitchen renovation if all other factors are very similar. Market pricing is a direct result of what the research is saying your home should be priced at and sell for.

Lastly, Below Market Pricing is when you analyze the comparable sales and price the home significantly lower than the Market Value indicates. If done correctly, this pricing model is putting the home at a lower price than where you expect the home to sell. If there is a lot of competition in your market, if you need to sell quickly, or if your home needs some upgrades this pricing model is worth considering. In certain markets pricing your home this way can lead to attracting more buyers and eliciting multiple offers.

When pricing it is important to have this conversation with your agent. Your agent should pull the research of recent home sales and have a thorough discussion with you as you go to price the home. Your agent can often add real-world market advice to the recent sales so that you can be positioned to price right from the start. I talk more about pricing and preparing your home for sale on my YouTube Channel.

Sherri Anne Green is an award-winning Realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty having earned the prestigious International President’s Circle Award designating her among the top 5% internationally. Focusing on custom, data-driven marketing and client service, Sherri Anne provides impeccable, high-touch service tailored to her client’s unique situation. She can be reached via phone or text: 202-798-1288 or sherri.green@cbmove.com. Follow her weekly real estate series on YouTube and on Instagram.

The post Pricing strategies when selling your home appeared first on Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights.

Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights

‘El Perro del Hortelano’
Through Nov. 22
GALA Hispanic Theatre
3333 14th St., N.W.
$25-$45
Galahispanictheatre.org

All eyes are on GALA Hispanic Theatre. After closing its doors in mid-March due to pandemic, the Columbia Heights company is re-opening with a genuine live, in-person, indoor production of “El Perro del Hortelano,” or “The Dog in the Manger,” a comedy by the 16th-century Spanish playwright Lope de Vega. It’s a pilot move, so of course GALA is taking thorough precautions – masks, socially distanced-seating, dramatically improved air infiltration, etc., all in adherence with the mayor’s guidelines.

Safeguards extend beyond front of the house. In fact, they can be seen onstage where plexiglass walls separate the actors from the audience. New York-based scenic designer Clifton Chadick says “I’ve done shows where we wanted to create a voyeuristic feeling with transparent walls, but this is the first time I’ve used partitions to keep a virus at bay.”

After replacing a Spain-based designer in mid-July, Chadick, 34, spoke with director José Zayas who suggested they design the show in a way that would address the concerns of COVID-19 and also tell the story in a modern light. “So, we imagined the set as a microcosm in a plexiglass box. It protects actors from audience and vice versa but also establishes a little world where Diana, the controlling central character, lives.”

“The plexiglass creates a sort of terrarium of a Renaissance garden. It’s a striking mix of high fashion and dark and baroque. It’s a comedy, and I feel like audiences who are finally coming out want to have some fun. It will be magical, I hope.”

The work has been a pleasure: Chadick loves taking classics and flipping them: “I have a passion for storytelling and making longstanding stories relevant and visceral for current audiences.”

His involvement with GALA began in 2019 when he was asked to submit a scenic rendering for “FAME! In Español.” Chadick’s idea was selected by the production’s director Luis Salgado, and the bilingual, Latinx-centric reboot of the musical “Fame” proved both a critical and financial success for the company.

Subsequently, Chadick, who graduated from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with a BFA in theater design and production, was hired to design the set for last winter’s “Exquisita Agonía,” a play about finding life in death by Pulitzer Prize-winning out playwright Nilo Cruz. Chadick says, “Nilo and I were both mourning the recent deaths of our mothers at the time. So, it was a sort of funereal atmosphere all around.”

He speaks zero Spanish, nonetheless the collaboration with GALA works well on different levels: While Spanish is the company’s first language, it isn’t a problem (“I’m not much of a talker. I’ll listen and try to pick up words. If something needs my attention they’ll switch to English.”) Also, working with GALA has reinvigorated his artistic passion: “It feels really good to be an ally during a time when we need to be telling more stories. I feel I’m at the service of something good and you don’t always feel that way.”

Until recently, the Brooklyn-based designer was quarantining with his boyfriend, a science writer, and his sister at his late mother’s house in his hometown near Houston. Working on the house provided a creative outlet during a time of mostly unemployment, he says. But more importantly it was good to be with family.

Theoretically, Chadick could have worked remotely from Texas or his apartment in Bedford–Stuyvesant while onsite people brought his design to fruition, but instead, he opted to come to D.C. After two negative COVID-19 tests, he joined the GALA team for tech week: “Everything has been going smoothly so far. Everyone has been diligently social distancing and wearing masks. There are only 25 seats sold for each show so the theater has the seats taped off and it seems like there is plenty of space between audience members.”

Later this season, Chadick is slated to set design “Tía Julia y el Escribidor” (“Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter”) for GALA.

“Safety remains an issue,” he says. “We’re talking about a clear curtain or some sort of vinyl barrier for the design. We’ll see how things go.”

The post GALA Hispanic Theater reopens with comedy — and plexiglass appeared first on Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights.

Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights

Many of my heroes are fictional. Dr. Anthony Fauci, our country’s top infectious disease expert, is one of my few real-life heroes.

As COVID-19 cases surge nationwide, and Donald Trump tells us to stop listening to scientists, I can’t help thinking about Fauci. How does he keep going as his work is continually disrespected by the president and his base? Like many queers, I’ve heard this song before: When Ronald Reagan and the first George Bush refused to speak of AIDS or adequately fund AIDS research.

To many, as Trump lies so often that it’s hard to keep track of his false claims, Fauci is the one person we can trust. He’s become the voice of sanity for our time. When Trump says we’ve “turned the corner” on the pandemic after more than 230,000 people have died from COVID-19, we know Fauci will tell us the truth, even when it’s hard to hear or bear.

A number of straight people I know hadn’t heard of Fauci before the pandemic. They may have had vague memories of him being on the news. But he didn’t become a household name until COVID-19 and the White House Coronavirus Task Force briefings.

But Fauci has been a friend to the LGBTQ community for decades. He’s been respected by the queer community since he began working with scientists and AIDS activists to find medications to help people with HIV.

Before he came to be loved by the many in the queer community, Fauci was loathed by AIDS activists, because they felt he was working too slowly to get medications approved as thousands and thousands of people were dying at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. “Fuck you, Fauci!” Larry Kramer, founder of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and of ACT UP said at the time.

Later, after Fauci had worked with AIDS activists, Kramer, author of the searing play “The Normal Heart,” and Fauci became friends. “We loved each other,” Fauci said after Kramer died.

Not surprisingly, Trump and his base distrust Fauci, who has been the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the U.S. National Institutes of Health since 1984. On Oct. 19, in a conference call to his campaign staff, Trump called Fauci an idiot, reported The New York Times and other news outlets.

“He’s been here for 500 years,” Trump said. “Every time he goes on television, there’s always a bomb, but there’s a bigger bomb if you fire him. This guy’s a disaster.”

Trump’s displeasure with Fauci didn’t stop his campaign from using Fauci’s voice in a campaign ad. Fauci told CNN that he didn’t consent to his voice being used in the ad. “In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate,” he said.

I doubt if Trump’s base will ever want to learn more about Fauci. In their own minds, they know that he’s the idiotic Prince of Darkness who wants to shove science down our throats.

But, for the rest of us, there’s “Fauci,” a new audiobook by New Yorker staff writer Michael Specter.

Though it’s dubbed by its publisher as “the essential first biography,” it’s not the comprehensive story of Fauci’s life. If you love gossip, you’ll be disappointed. Its most juicy revelation is that, when he was young Fauci loved basketball. If he was taller than five foot, seven inches – who knows? He might have been the next Lebron James.

But, “Fauci” (an extension of Specter’s April 20, 2020 New Yorker profile of Fauci) let’s us in on what makes Fauci tick. We hear how his belief (honed from “The Godfather”) that “it’s not personal, it’s business,” helps him to keep working in the midst of death threats.

To get to know the good doc, check out “Fauci.”

Kathi Wolfe, a writer and a poet, is a regular contributor to the Blade.

The post To understand the good doctor, check out ‘Fauci’ appeared first on Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights.

Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at: comingsandgoings@washblade.com.

Congratulations and a warm welcome to Washington to Michael Ubertini who has started his new position with Long & Foster as Director of Growth and Partnerships. Upon accepting the position Michael said, “The family that Long and Foster has built over the last 50+ years is pretty inspiring, and the true testament to that is shown through the tenure of our agents. With all the Long and Foster resources, our agents can launch their career in real estate to the next level and know there are those who will be there every step of the way to support them.”

Prior to joining Long & Foster, Ubertini held a number of positions including with WeWork in both Boston and New York as sales lead account manager and special community lead for high-profile clients, including the U.S Air Force, Amazon Inc., J.P Morgan Chase Bank, and government agencies. He has worked as a property manager with tenant relations and community experience in 12 residential buildings. He also had what he describes as a fun position as executive assistant and business manager and brand negotiator for Kelly Bensimon, who appeared on the “Real Housewives of New York City.”

Congratulations to Jonathan Barrio on his new position as a development officer with SAGE located in their New York office. According to its website, the mission of SAGE is “to lead in addressing issues related to LGBT aging.”

Barrio has had a lot of experience in LGBTQ organizations and is an experienced fundraiser. Just prior to accepting the position with SAGE, he was founder and executive director of Queen City Prism, Inc. in Charlotte, N.C. Prior to that he was with Equality Florida as a Development Officer and with SAVE in Florida as Development Manager.

And congratulations to Blade editor Kevin Naff, who has joined the board of the Daily Collegian Alumni Interest Group at Penn State University, his alma mater. The AIG works to connect alumni of the student newspaper while assisting and mentoring current students. Naff worked as campus news editor and opinions editor during his four years at the award-winning Daily Collegian.

“The Daily Collegian remains one of the nation’s best college newspapers and it’s an honor to reconnect with this important institution and play a small role in its continued success,” Naff said.

Collegian alumni interested in getting involved can email Naff at knaff@washblade.com.

The post Comings & Goings appeared first on Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights.

Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights