EQUALITY ACT. Biden urges passage: “I urge Congress to swiftly pass this historic legislation. … Full equality has been denied to LGBTQ+ Americans and their families for far too long. Despite the extraordinary progress the LGBTQ+ community has made to secure their basic civil rights, discrimination is still rampant in many areas of our society. The Equality Act provides long overdue federal civil rights protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, locking in critical safeguards in our housing, education, public services, and lending systems — and codifying the courage and resilience of the LGBTQ+ movement into enduring law.”
BOOTLICKING SESSION. Lindsey Graham is headed to Mar-a-Lago this weekend: “According to a person familiar with his plans, Graham plans to spend his time on the golf course with Trump — ideally convincing the former president that regaining congressional majorities for Republicans will help bolster his own presidential legacy. This person said Graham wants to be ‘constructive,' urging Trump to use his influence for the party's good.”
ARIZONA Proposed bill would prevent cities in Pima County from banning gay conversion therapy.
ENDANGERED SPECIES. Scientists successfully clone ferret “duplicated from the genes of an animal that died over 30 years ago.” “The slinky predator named Elizabeth Ann, born Dec. 10 and announced Thursday, is cute as a button. But watch out — unlike the domestic ferret foster mom who carried her into the world, she's wild at heart.”
AMERICA IS BACK. Biden speaks to Munich Security Conference. “America is back. I speak to you today as the president of the United States at the very start of my administration, and I'm sending a clear message to the world: America is back.”
LOSER ZOOM BACKGROUND OF THE DAY. Lauren Boebert.
GOOD NEWS. Boebert has a Democratic challenger: “Colorado state Rep. Donald Valdez (D) on Thursday announced that he will challenge Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) for her seat in 2022, calling the first-term congresswoman a “threat to democracy” and blaming her for helping incite the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.”
ROYAL GOODBYE. The Queen has official stripped Harry and Meghan of their royal patronages: “This was the punishment literally everyone knew was coming.”
BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE DAY. Lady Gaga's Chromatica Oreos.
SEE YOU NEXT WEDNESDAY. Tim Burton is working on a live action Addam's Family spin-off.
GHISLAINE MAXWELL. There are tapes of Trump and Clinton. “Ghislaine Maxwell appeared to admit Jeffrey Epstein was taping his famous friends, including Donald Trump and the Clintons, during a 2016 meeting with former CBS producer Ira Rosen, a new book reveals.”
MR. BIG. He's not in the Sex and The City reboot…
ON THE RAG. This week on the gay magazines…
FREE. Netflix is making The Trial of the Chicago 7 free on YouTube for 48 hours starting today. “Writer and director Aaron Sorkin said the movie is being shown for free to ‘commemorate the anniversary of the verdict in this historic trial,' and he praised the people depicted in the movie as ‘the real patriots who inspired a generation — actually, generations.'” Watch through link below.
FRIDAY FLASH. Jens.
