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If You Don’t Help, This Film About Same-Sex Binational Couples Won’t Get Made.

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Editor’s note: This guest post by actor and musician David W. Ross (photo, below) (Quinceañera/Bad Boys Inc) explores the path that led him to want to create the film, “I Do.” But without your help, the film won’t get made. The plight of so many same-sex binational couples lies in the hands of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act. And until that unjust law is repealed, love, and marriage, for thousands, will disappear.

I hope you’ll take a moment to look in your heart, and pledge to support this film. It’s an important project, worthy of a little sacrifice from all of us. Visit Kickstarter.com to learn more, or to make a pledge. There are just a few days left. Please, share this with your friends!

The script for I DO started out as a broad comedy. What a funny situation! British gay man marries American girl for his green card. Madness ensues! Hilarious, right? Yeah. Not so much. I mean, granted, there’s comedy gold in people mistaking them for a real couple. The awkward kiss at the alter. The clueless boss finally figuring it out. The cat and mouse with the INS. But I’d been working on the script for 5 years and knew I was in trouble. The script wasn’t working. I didn’t even want to see this movie! So I put it away.

The “British Gay Man,” in the script is Jack Edwards; fashion photographer. I had dropped a few thousand on a camera and lenses as I wanted to really get inside a photographers head. Sure I had assisted people since the age of 17, worked in the New York fashion world (didn’t like Devil Wears Prada, loved September Issue) and had rubbed shoulders with so many super models I had lost count, but I really wanted to understand what it’s like to always have a piece of glass between you and everyone else.

It was a balmy night. The California Supreme Court had just banned same-sex marriage and I was asked to document the rally in West Hollywood. I walked through the crowd to the main stage snapping a few pics. Men holding hands with NOH8 t-shirts. Women hugging each other wrapped in American flags. Families, kids, holding banners: “Please don’t divorce my mums.” I jumped up on the main stage and did my job. But something shifted for me that night. This marriage thing was real, for so many people. Families even. The lens finally dropped away and I knew what I DO had to be.

Marriage means different things for different people. For some it is a big poofy white dress, fluffy cake celebration of a love showing it’s commitment in front of friends and family; for some a religious institution, a vow to God but, whatever your beliefs, if you choose to enter into marriage in the US the law affords you certain protections and rights concerning immigration, hospital visitization, estate taxes, social security benefits etc etc etc. Though gay marriage has been fought for and in some States is now entirely lawful, those legal benefits are not afforded to gay married committed couples at a Federal level. Now, I’m not arguing with churches, private institutions who have their own rights, I’m saying how is it fair to throw a bone in the form of legal State marriage and choose to ignore our human rights that go along with that institution affecting not only the couple but any children involved?

I DO is about one of those rights. Immigration. If you, as an American citizen, were to fall in love with someone from another country and you were straight you could marry and sponsor your spouse’s green card. If you’re gay, there is no legal way for you to keep your spouse in the country. Further more, if you are a same-sex couple and had gotten married and the INS found out, your spouse would be deported instantly as marrying a US citizen is seen as an act of wanting to reside here.

I had fallen in love with a British guy. I know, move across the world and fall in love with someone from the same country as you. He was over here on a student visa, learning to fly Jumbo jets. Sounds sexier than it is. In his words, “It’s like being a bus driver in the sky.” He always had a way of normalizing things. I liked that. He wanted to work for a company that sold private jets. Much sexier. But the company only had a position in the UK. I was in a place with my career where I didn’t want to move back to London. (Truth be told I’m an ex-pop star petrified of returning to an island that might see me as a has-been). I began to realize that maybe I was more like Jack after all. But my lens wasn’t made of glass.

I broke it off. My man moved back to London. Sounds simple. It wasn’t. He was the first guy I had ever met that I wanted to marry. Like, really marry. Like, big-poofy-white-dress-fluffy-cake-celebration-of-a-love-showing-our-commitment-in-front-of-friends-and-family married.

For a few years we saw each other whenever I flew over to the UK. I wanted to do a long distance thing. He knew that it would drive us crazy. Either way it drove me crazy. I was devastated. My friends tried to get me to date. They couldn’t understand why I couldn’t just “hang out” with people. What they failed to realize is that I finally knew what it felt like to be in love.

In the movie, after years of casual relationships Brit in New York Jack falls deeply for handsome Spanish American, Mano Cunio. Jack’s determined to stay in the USA as he’s become like a father to his niece Tara and the sole provider for her mother Mya after Jack’s brother is killed in a road accident. In order to stay in the country it’s not enough to marry Mano as Federal law won’t recognize a State level gay marriage. Jack has a choice: move to Spain with Mano, the love of his life and lose the only family he has for his new one or lose Mano and stay in New York. An impossible choice. Unless…he creates a phoney straight marriage with his best friend Ali to gain citizenship. Saying I Do is not so simple…

So many same-sex bi-national couples go through incredible heartache and pain. Being separated from each other, not just sometimes by prison glass, but sometimes separated by thousands of miles, or months at a time because of paperwork issues, or because they are unable to afford the numerous flights it takes to keep a long distant relationship going. Many resort to selling their possessions to pay for lawyers, or trips abroad to renew visas, or just to see each other without the fear that any knock on the door could be an immigration officer ready to deport them. Over 40% of these families have children. Adding to their stress, financially and otherwise.

I’m not as brave as the 30,000 plus bi-national same-sex couples who are staying together whatever the cost. I know now I should have followed my heart moved to London, true love is not the kind of thing you should turn down.

At least in the movies there can be happy endings….

Please pledge your support at Kickstarter.com.

 

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Congressman Pummeled for Praising Students Mocking Black Protester With Monkey Sounds

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U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, Republican of Georgia, is under fire after praising University of Mississippi students, some wearing American flag outfits, mocking a Black woman protester by making monkey sounds and shouting, “lock her up.”

“Counter-protestors at the University of Mississippi made racist remarks — including monkey noises and comparisons to Lizzo — towards a Black woman who was part of a planned protest against the war in Gaza,” Los Angeles Magazine reported Friday.

Collins, who tried to defund Vice President Kamala Harris’ Office in November, declared his support for the counter-protesters at “Ole Miss,” as the University is called.

“Ole Miss taking care of business,” he wrote on social media, atop the video (below).

The counter-protesters, as evidenced in the video, appear to be mostly white.

A large number of users on the social media platform X responded, accusing the Congressman and the counter-protesters of racism.

“When is the inevitable ‘I don’t have a racist bone in my body’ tweet coming,” wondered Rewire News Group editor-at-large Imani Gandy.

“Which part is your favorite, Mike?” asked Fred Wellman, the former executive director of The Lincoln Project. “Is it the white kid acting like a monkey at the black woman or the white security guy acting like she’s a threat? I’m trying to figure out which flavor of racism has you all excited the most?”

READ MORE: MAGA State Superintendent Supports Chaplains in Public Schools – But Not From All Religions

Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo responded to the Georgia GOP congressman, “Thanks for confirming you’re a massive racist piece of sh*t.”

Mississippi Free Press news editor Ashton Pittman wrote: “Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, praises a video showing a University of Mississippi frat boy dancing like a monkey and making monkey noises near a Black woman student who was protesting for Palestine while other frat boys chant ‘lock her up.'”

In a separate post describing a separate video taken of the same group Pittman wrote: “Frat bros at @OleMiss chant, ‘Lizzo! Lizzo!’ and shout, ‘F**k you fatass, f**k you b*tch’ at a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine. Do people really think these counterprotestors are doing it to support Jews?”

Journalist John Harwood did not mince words, writing, “Congressman proud of the racism.”

“Okay, Mike. We get it,” wrote podcast host, documentary director, and author W. Kamau Bell. “You want to be famous for being a racist. Fine. I’ll help you become a famous racist. You’re welcome.”

The original video is here.

See Rep. Collins’ post and the video below or at this link.

Caution: the video is disturbing.

READ MORE: Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’

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Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’

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Amid more damning revelations from her soon-to-be released book, embattled South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem will head to Mar-a-Lago this weekend as ex-president Donald Trump auditions potential vice presidential picks in front of high-dollar donors. Noem was also slated to attend a Republican fundraiser in Colorado this weekend but it was canceled over alleged safety concerns after news broke she had bragged about shooting her 14-month old dog.

While Noem’s shooting to death of her wirehaired pointer, Cricket, which she detailed in the book, is still making headlines overnight a new revelation made news: Noem falsely claims in her book she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

A spokesperson for Noem “seemed to concede that the Kim story was false Thursday night,” and notified her publisher, Politico’s Ryan Lizza reported in his exclusive.

But less noticed appears to be the actual text of Noem’s false story, in which she brands children she ministered in church “little tyrants,” and compared them to the murderous North Korean dictator.

READ MORE: RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties

“Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee,” Noem wrote, according to Politico, “I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”

CNBC reported this week Trump “will mingle with potential vice presidential running mates and wealthy Republican donors at the Republican National Committee’s spring donor retreat. The meetings are likely to act as informal tryouts for a short list of politicos in the running to join the Trump ticket.”

The list of Republican “special guests” includes U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, and J.D. Vance, Rep. Elise Stefanik, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.

Also expected to attend are House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and other elected Republicans along with RNC co-chair Lara Trump.

READ MORE: Election Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report

NBC News, which says Rep. Donalds is also under consideration, on Friday added there will be “a fundraising retreat that could serve as a screening session” for potential vice presidential running mates.

Meanwhile, the Jefferson County, Colorado Republican Party chair announced a fundraising dinner Noem was slated to attend was canceled after threats were made, The Denver Post reports.

“We understood there was a planned organized protest outside of the hotel, led by Progress Now,” Nancy Pallozzi said. “I felt that our event would be negatively impacted, and we could not take the risk that those who made threats would cause physical harm.”

 

 

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RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties

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Over the weekend independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke at a fundraiser for a far-right anti-government group in Erie County, New York – a slice of the country that had a large proportion of residents arrested and charged for crimes related to the January 6 insurrection. Kennedy, a conspiracy theorist and vaccine denialist, increasingly is embracing the far-right.

“That group, Constitutional Coalition of New York State, has founders who not only have ties to Donald Trump but are also connected to the stop-the-steal movement through their activist network, which includes groups that had a presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6,” The Daily Beast reported Friday. “It’s yet another instance of Kennedy—who is mounting one of the most well-funded third-party presidential threats in decades—serving as a peculiar bridge between his own anti-establishment movement and Trump’s.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center includes the Constitutional Coalition of New York State (CCNYS) on its page of anti-government groups. Political Research Associates, which detailed the high proportion of January 6 residents arrested and charged, included the Constitutional Coalition of New York State in its February report on “The Rise of the Far Right in Western New York.”

READ MORE: Election Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report

“If you don’t think the government is lying to you, you’re not paying attention,” Kennedy told attendees at the CCNYS fundraiser, The Buffalo News reports.

“CCNYS founders Nick and Nancie Orticelli are also affiliated with the Watchmen, a nearby militia who Nick has encouraged his social media followers to join. The Watchmen had several members at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and one member, Pete Harding, is still facing charges for violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds,” The Daily Beast noted. “Nancie Orticelli has also hosted the Watchmen’s founder, Charles Pellien, on her weekly radio show on several occasions.”

One of Kennedy’s goals in traveling to New York was to get on the ballot for the November presidential election. Various polls show him taking votes from both President Joe Biden and ex-president Donald Trump, but Kennedy currently has only qualified to be on the ballot in three states, Utah, Michigan and Hawaii, the newspaper reported.

But The Washington Post on Thursday reported The American Independent Party of California, which has a history of “far-right ties,” and “backed segregationist and former Alabama governor George Wallace in 1968, nominated Kennedy for president.”

Kennedy “said this week that he has qualified to be on the ballot in California and will accept the nomination of the American Independent Party, which has a history of associating itself with far-right figures and individuals who have expressed racist views.”

Some news reports and RFK Jr. himself say the Trump campaign was actively courting Kennedy, attempting to convince him to consider being the ex-president’s 2024 vice presidential running mate.

“That MAGA dalliance with Kennedy could be coming back to bite the Trump campaign, some Republicans close to the former president worry,” The Daily Beast also reported.

“’They can only blame themselves,’ a Trump-aligned strategist told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations about the risk Kennedy poses, ‘because they cozied up to him and thought it was funny.’”

Watch WIVBTV’s report on Kennedy’s trip to New York below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Won’t Commit to Accepting Election Results if He Doesn’t Win State He Falsely Claims He Won

 

 

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