SEN. BEN SASSE. Republican senator captured on tape slamming Trump: “The way he kisses dictators' butts. I mean, the way he ignores the Uighurs, our literal concentration camps in Xinjiang. Right now, he hasn't lifted a finger on behalf of the Hong-Kongers. The United States now regularly sells out our allies under his leadership, the way he treats women, spends like a drunken sailor. The ways I criticize President Obama for that kind of spending; I've criticized President Trump for as well. He mocks evangelicals behind closed doors. His family has treated the presidency like a business opportunity. He's flirted with white supremacists.”
RUDY GIULIANI. U.S. intel agencies warned that Trump's personal lawyer was target of influence operation by Russian intelligence: “The intelligence raised concerns that Giuliani was being used to feed Russian misinformation to the president, the former officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information and conversations.”
AIRBORNE? New Defense Dept. study finds low risk of COVID transmission on airline flights: “A Defense Department study of the risk of catching the coronavirus on a packed commercial flight concluded that a person would have to be sitting next to an infectious passenger for at least 54 hours to receive a dangerous dose of the virus through the air. Researchers concluded that, if passengers wear surgical masks continuously, very little of the virus spreads, because of how the air is circulated and filtered on the planes.”
NOT A SMART MOVE. Piers Morgan blasts Queen Elizabeth and Royal posse for going mask-less at first public event in 7 months.
STEVIE NICKS. If I hadn't had an abortion there would be no Fleetwood Mac.
HOUSE FIRE. Family's Halloween decorations are causing many people to call 911.
ROAST OF THE DAY. Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump's Town Hall. “NBC pulled a very sneaky move. After Trump refused to participate in a virtual debate, they swooped in and gave him his own hour opposite Joe Biden. While many are wondering why NBC would schedule this at the same time as Biden's town hall instead of on another night—or even just in another time slot so we could see what both candidates have to say—the answer to the question is: NBC sucks.“
CHRIS CHRISTIE. Everybody should be wearing a mask. “You know, I heard the president say last night that he has no problem with masks. I think we should be even more affirmative about it.”
LARRY HOGAN. Maryland GOP governor casts write-in vote for Ronald Reagan: “Hogan's latest rejection of his party's standard-bearer comes as he works to expand his political network nationwide ahead of a possible 2024 presidential bid, with a flurry of fundraisers this month for GOP candidates from Vermont to Nebraska who also cast themselves as pragmatic Republicans.”
TEXAS. New rule lets social workers turn away LGBTQ clients: “The Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners voted unanimously Monday to change a section of its code of conduct that establishes when a social worker may refuse to serve someone. The code will no longer prohibit social workers from turning away clients on the basis of disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.”
ON THE RAG. This week on the gay magazines…
MEN IN LOVE. A new book chronicles male romance over the course of a century – in photographs: Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s–1950s is a unique collection of photographs depicting romantic love between men in various contexts.
TRAILER OF THE DAY. Ammonite.
NEW TUNE OF THE DAY. Lana Del Rey – “Let Me Love You Like A Woman”.
NEW TUNE OF THE DAY 2. Icona Pop and SOFI TUKKER “Spa”.
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Justin Bieber & benny blanco “Lonely”.
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY 2. Lauv and Conan Gray “Fake”.
FRIDAY FLASH. David Martínez Alzérreca.