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Watch: At GLAAD Awards, Steve Warren Calls Scalia ‘An Old-Fashioned Bully’

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Leonardo DiCaprio and Charlize Theron presented the Stephen F. Kolzak Award to Steve Warren, an attorney and GLAAD Board of Directors member at Saturday night’s 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, held in Los Angeles. Warren took the opportunity to advocate for the Supreme Court to make the right decision on the Prop 8 and DOMA cases they heard last month, and had a few choice words for Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Warren spoke immediately before former President Bill Clinton, who noted, “I was very impressed by the speech of my predecessor up here, and I cannot hope to equal it, but I’d like to say amen to it.  It was quite wonderful.”

Watch: Bill Clinton Delivers Speech At GLAAD Awards That Every American Must Hear

Justice Anthony Scalia, Warren told the audience of thousands, “proudly makes pronouncements comparing laws against homosexuality to laws against murder, and places bestiality on par with homosexual conduct.”

“He is unable to distinguish the difference between the “life partner of a homosexual” and ordinary same sex roommates. Has he forgotten that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are core American values? Every American has the right to a life of meaning, with the liberty to choose who we spend that life with, and to pursue happiness through our sexuality and soulfulness. Justice Antonin Scalia is an old-fashioned bully . . . . I may not have had the strength to stand up to the bullies who taunted me in the fifth grade, but I do now. We do now. Justice Antonin Scalia, the bully on high, we are speaking to you. Do the right thing and be the impartial jurist you swore to the American people that you would be when you took your oath of office. It’s not too late.”

Warren also had these words of advice for the Court on DOMA and Prop 8:

“Four weeks ago, Justice Anthony Kennedy remarked that the court is heading into uncharted waters. It can lead to a wonderful destination he said, or to a cliff. I almost wept when I heard these words. They are so true. In fact, all of us in the LGBT community have been living our entire lives in uncharted waters. Each time one of us comes out, each time we commit our love whether privately or publicly, each time we decide to create our own families with children and partners of our own, we plunge head first into those waters. It’s terrifying . . . . Justice Kennedy, please recognize that these waters will not take us over the precipice, but will, in fact, lead us to that wonderful destination you allude to. But don’t just recognize it. Help take us there.”

“[Just as I did], Chief Justice John Roberts attended an Ivy League college followed by Harvard Law School and Harvard Law Review, and built a thriving private practice as well. He, too, has dedicated his life to the protection of his family, clients and country. And has adopted two children of his own. Only one of us, however, was told by their state that their home was not fit for a child, despite all the child proofing and security measures in the world. Only one of us was subjected to the humiliation and degradation of being forced to appeal to a family court judge with the power to overturn that hate filled judgment mandated by then Governor Pete Wilson. How did this happen? It happened because Chief Justice John Roberts was accorded the protections of the U.S. constitution. And I was not.”

Via GLAAD

 

Related:

Miss The GLAAD Awards? Here Are Some Of The Best Photos, Videos, And Tweets!

GLAAD Announces Media Award Nominees, The New Civil Rights Movement Honored To Be Included

Watch: Madonna Calls Boy Scouts Policies ‘F*cked Up’ At GLAAD Awards

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Ethics Committee Reveals Latest Republican to Come Under Review: Report

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The House Ethics Committee has reportedly announced that U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is facing a review by the Office of Congressional Conduct.

The origin of the review was not been disclosed. Under committee rules, officials are prohibited from stating whether the matter constitutes a formal investigation or identifying its underlying cause. The Committee only stated that there is a “matter regarding Representative Nancy Mace.”

“The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” the Ethics Committee statement reads. It was posted to social media by congressional journalist Jamie Dupree.

The statement also says the committee will “announce its course of action in this matter on or before March 2, 2026.”

Congresswoman Mace is currently running for governor of South Carolina.

Earlier this month Mace warned that Republicans may lose control of the House, saying they have not “done enough” and could “do a lot more” to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda, The Hill reported.

 

Image via Shutterstock 

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Republican Vows to Block Trump’s Greenland Push

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A prominent Republican lawmaker is vowing to thwart any attempt by President Donald Trump to acquire Greenland through force or financial means.

Speaking from Copenhagen as part of a bipartisan delegation of U.S. congressional lawmakers, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), told reporters it is “an important message for the people of the Kingdom of Denmark to understand” that the United States has “three separate but equal branches” of government.

Reminding them that under the U.S. Constitution it is Congress that controls spending, Senator Murkowski, who has broken ranks and stood up to President Trump at times, said, “In Congress, we have tools at our disposal under our constitutional authority that speaks specifically to the power of the purse through appropriations.”

She noted also that “Congress has a role. Certainly, when it comes to spending authorities, the Congress has a role in basically helping to facilitate the message that comes from our constituents, to be reflected in whether it’s legislation or appropriations, or actions or measures, that can indicate, again, the will of the Congress.”

READ MORE: Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

The “vast majority” of Americans do not support the acquisition of Greenland, Senator Murkowski added, noting that “some 75 percent will say we do not think that that is a good idea.”

“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski also told reporters.

Politico reported that U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) “also took part in the visit by House and Senate lawmakers,” and “said he would push ahead with legislation to curb Trump’s power to act unilaterally.”

He also denied President Trump’s claims that Greenland is necessary to be owned by the U.S. for national security reasons.

“Are there real, pressing threats to the security of Greenland from China and Russia?” Coons said. “No, not today.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

Image via Reuters 

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Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

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Just one day after threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, which would allow him to unleash domestic military forces onto American streets, President Donald Trump once again on Friday hinted he would do so while suggesting he may be “forced” to take action.

Trump targeted Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, claiming they “don’t know what to do” after he deployed roughly 3,000 federal troops to the city.

“In Minnesota,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals.”

“The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our currently being rendered, USELESS! If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!”

The Guardian labeled Trump’s claims that protesters are paid as baseless.

Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote: “Note that the Trump admin hasn’t yet been able to produce evidence of a SINGLE ‘paid protestor.’ They’ve had total control of the FBI and the DOJ and ICE HSI and yet despite all of that, they can’t even find ONE person who they can accuse of being paid to protest.”

Separately, The Steady State, a group of over 365 former national security officials, while not referring to Trump’s remarks from Friday morning, noted that the Insurrection Act is “an extraordinary power meant for true emergencies, not a shield for unconstitutional policing. Using it to silence dissent or justify unlawful paramilitary activity at the hand of ICE undermines the rule of law.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

Image via Reuters

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