Brutal parody of ‘racist’ Jason Aldean’s ‘Try That in a Small Town’ goes viral
Adeem Maria, 35, of Knoxville, Tenn., had the internet in hysterics over his takedown of the troublesome tune.
Sen. Casey pushed taxpayer funding for LGBTQ center that hosted youth drag shows, promoted communist events
A pro-LGBTQIA+ center in Pennsylvania that hosted youth drag shows and promoted Young Communist League of Philadelphia events has received the support of Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who has pushed federal funding for the group.
Throughout 2023, Casey has voiced support for additional funding for the Philadelphia-based William Way LGBT Community Center. Earlier this year, the senator requested a $1 million earmark in the FY 2024 appropriations bill for the organization.
The nonprofit, according to its website, has embarked “on a daring and visionary project to transform and rebuild our existing community center into a more expansive, inclusive, colorful, and unabashedly queer space for all LGBTQIA+ individuals to gather, celebrate, learn, and find life-giving support.”
Earlier this month, according to Pennsylvania Gay News – a local outlet covering LGBTQ issues in the city – William Way was allocated $2 million in Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s city FY 2024 operating budget. Those funds, the outlet noted, will “go toward expanding and improving spaces for the center’s 1315 Spruce Street headquarters.”
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“In addition to the $2 million allocation, several politicians in Pennsylvania also voiced their support for additional funding,” the outlet reported. “Congressman Brendan Boyle, Sen. Bob Casey and Sen. John Fetterman all recommended the center for Federal Community Project Funding from the Appropriations Committee.”
“For nearly half a century, the William Way Community Center has connected Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ community to resources ranging from nutrition to housing to mental health and more,” Casey told the outlet. “I am advocating for federal funding for the Center so it can grow and continue to provide lifesaving services to the community.”
Casey’s request for the $1 million in funding for the organization came in April 2023, two months after William Way hosted “Regeneration: A Global Eco Drag Show.”
The event, according to the Philly Gay Calendar, highlighted “drag performers, who share cultural, environmental, queer and decolonial visions of a future,” and “the way colonialism affected both land and people.”
The event was touted as an opportunity “to discuss issues of colonialism, the climate crisis and a regenerative future with local drag performers of first-generation and immigrant experience.”
In 2016, William Way also hosted a youth drag show featuring performances from children.
Described by the same pro-LGBT outlet in a September 2016 article titled “Youth celebrate the art of drag at William Way,” the venue looked “like any other town hall” two hours prior to the show.
“Feather fans begin to cover a table. Dozens of curling irons, combs, make–up mirrors and brushes emerge on another, along with make–up and glitter in every color, and a Hello Kitty box. A bearded man in studded leather platform boots approaches and begins to apply make–up to the face of a little boy,” the outlet reported from the event.
Esai – an 11-year-old child at the time – was a drag performer at the event whose mother is a drag performer and producer of drag shows for kids.
“According to his mother, Dre, he has been sneaking her heels into his bedroom since he was much younger,” the outlet reported. “Dre is a drag performer herself, having produced another drag show by the name of ‘Fierce’ – the only queer burlesque festival in the world. She also produced the first non–gender binary talent show for kids, ‘Twinkle.'”
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Two other children – Sofia, age 12 at the time, and Max, then 8 – were also involved in the drag show and had “their own drag personas.”
The outlet – which described the event as “just kids dancing around, playing dress–up, having fun” – also noted that Max occasionally dropped “into the splits in his long red dress” while performing for those in attendance.
One drag performer connected to the event suggested that exposing children to drag “offers young children a chance to explore and gain a ‘wider understanding’ of gender,” the outlet stated.
In addition to the drag shows it has supported in the past, William Way has also supported the Young Communist League of Philadelphia, a group that has pushed for socialism in the United States.
The Young Communist League of Philadelphia, according to its website, is “dedicated to the revolutionary cause of the working class of our country and the transformation of the United States through mass democratic struggle into a socialist society.”
In a June 29 post shared to Facebook, William Way highlighted a series of events hosted by the Young Communist League of Philadelphia to protest parents rights group Moms for Liberty’s conference in Philadelphia.
“Below is a list of events you can attend, support our communities and show this hate group that their views are NOT welcomed,” the group wrote on Facebook. The Young Communist League had several dance party protests scheduled during the Moms for Liberty conference.
Moms for Liberty is a conservative-aligned group “dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.”
The Philadelphia Young Communist League has touted its “deep friendship” with China in the past, writing in a July 2021 tweet: “The Communist Party USA is the officially recognized communist party by the socialist world. We have a deep friendship with Vietnam and China in particular. So join the party to show your solidarity!”
Casey – who has represented the Keystone State in the upper chamber since 2007 and is up for re-election next year – announced in April that he was launching a re-election campaign in hopes of securing his fourth term representing the battleground state.
“I’m running for re-election because with so much on the line for Pennsylvania’s working families, I want to keep delivering results for Pennsylvania,” Casey said in a statement at the time.
Casey’s office and William Way did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Judge sets May 20, 2024, trial date for Trump documents case
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Police department payroll clerk indicted on charges she was paid for hours she didn’t work
A payroll clerk for the Atlantic City Police Department has been indicted on charges she was paid thousands of dollars for hours she didn’t work in the department, which she supervised, authorities said Friday.
Suzanne Ricketts, 43, of Pleasantville, was allegedly unable to account for more than 174 hours of time she did not work. The alleged crime resulted in an estimated loss to city taxpayers of more than $3,000, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
Newark man with dementia has been missing nearly 3 weeks. Police seeking tips.
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One of Germany’s biggest LGBTQ+ Pride demonstrations and celebrations, the Berlin Christopher Street Day (CSD), has registered half a million participants this year. Here are five things you can expect to see.
Yen Plummets After BOJ Crushes Hopes For YCC “Tweak”; Goldman Says To Position For USDJPY 150
Yen Plummets After BOJ Crushes Hopes For YCC “Tweak”; Goldman Says To Position For USDJPY 150
Despite our repeated attempts to disabuse traders of the laughable notion that the BOJ is about to adjust its Yield Curve Control again…
The Bank of Japan will buy bonds with repurchase agreements for the first time since March 2022 after spike in interbank borrowing costs.
But yeah, sure, the BOJ will “tweak” YCC any minute and blow up the entire JGB market.
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 9, 2023
SocGen: “BOJ Call change: we change our BOJ call to no YCC tweak in July; we still think that the BOJ could widen the YCC range in September”
Spoiler alert: the BOJ won’t change YCC band in either July or September.
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 16, 2023
…. after the catastrophic band widening in December which led to hundreds of billions in emergency spending by the central bank to contain the rout and avoid a bond market catastrophe, the market had nonetheless made up its mind that because Japan’s inflation had spiked in recent months, the BOJ would seek to crush inflation spirits and further revise YCC, even though CPI had clearly peaked already and was turning down.
As a result, after peaking just around 145 in early July, the yen exploded higher as the idiotic tag-team of Mrs Watanabe and momentum-chasing CTAs accelerated the yen short squeeze and pushed the USDJPY as low as 137 one week ago, huge carry and rate differentials be damned.
But not for long: confirming what we had been saying all along, this morning the yen plunged just shy of 142, the USDJPY surging almost 200 pips after Bloomberg cited “people familiar” that Bank of Japan officials see “little urgent need to address the side effects of its yield curve control program, though they expect to discuss the issue.” Reuters echoed that and reported that the BOJ is “leaning towards keeping its yield control policy unchanged at the upcoming meeting”
According to the report, there was “no consensus” within the BoJ on how soon it should begin phasing out stimulus as many policymakers saw “no imminent need for fresh steps given the 10yr yield is trading stably within the 0.50% cap.” Furthermore, the “BoJ can wait until there is more clarity on whether a hard landing can be avoided and allow for further wage increases next year.” And taking a page out of the HBO series Silo, the sources noted that while “YCC needs to end at some point” that point the not today (or next week).
Another source added that even if tweaks were made, it would likely be a minor fine-tuning to make YCC sustainable. Still, the BOJ is expected to revise up its core inflation forecasts for FY23, via source; though, FY23 & FY25 expected to be largely in-line with current projections.
The reaction in the yen was predictable, with USDJPY spiking to 142 and rapidly approaching where it was before the entire idiotic move lower started.
What is remarkable is that none of this should have been news: just two weeks ago Reuters made it very clear that YCC would not be changing.
So what happens next? While yen bulls had a lot of egg to wash off their collective faces for an extremely wrong call, those who correctly called the move as transitory are already positioning for USDJPY 150.
As Goldman FX trader Matt Dewitter wrote in a note titled “Positioning for 150 in USDJPY”, the asymmetry in the FX pair is very clearly for the topside. Consider this: “premium you pay to own a 2-month USDJPY put, say 2% from spot, isn’t just 20% more than the equivalent USDJPY call. Or even 50% more. Its nearly 2.5 times more.”
Here is the math:
USD puts cost 1.25%
USD calls cost 0.55%
All for the same 2-month 2% away from spot strike. (Spot 140.55, strikes 137.75 and 143.35 respectively).
Dewitter continues:
At the extremes this imbalance becomes even more pronounced: 10-delta USD calls are now SO LOW they cannot help but offer you exceptionally cheap exponential leverage for a BOJ on hold scenario.
Buy 2-month 4.5% above spot call, roughly 10d, for 0.199% of notional
That’s 200k for $100m of exposure. Strike ~147.00. (the equivalent 134 put would costs 600k.. ) Per the chart, you would expect a 4-5x return on a spot move back to the level from just a few days ago (~145).
The returns get even more exponential, 12-15x, on a BOJ disappointment, with a 145 break plausibly seeing us back to 150 highs.
Note that the price for these USD calls has collapsed. It is 70% cheaper than this time last year. And 50% cheaper than the past 1-year average. That effectively DOUBLES your leverage
Bottom Line:
Combine this with a very attractive spot entry level after the 3% collapse, and these wingy USDJPY calls are very compelling.
As Goldman concludes, “Yes BOJ may move. But if they don’t, you can expect a return back to the prevailing level, and a very attractive return.”
Pay 20bp to own a 2-month 4.5% above spot USDJPY call
Well, we now know they won’t move, so the road to 150 is once again clear. Once there, we cross intervention redlines so it will be time to cover.
More in the full Goldman note available to pro subs.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 07/21/2023 – 10:45
ME demonstrator sues police for violating his First Amendment rights after being arrested during protest
A demonstrator arrested outside the home of conservative legal activist Leonard Leo contends police violated his First Amendment rights.
Eli Durand-McDonnell, 24, of Bar Harbor, contends in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that two police officers singled him out among several dozen demonstrators at Leo’s behest. He was charged with disorderly conduct, but the charges were later dropped.
The arrest was made during a demonstration last summer after the U.S. Supreme Court repealed the nationwide right to an abortion.
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Leo, co-chairman of the conservative legal group The Federalist Society, helped to guide former President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the federal judiciary, providing a list of potential Supreme Court nominees and galvanizing support for them.
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Police were called to Leo’s Northeast Harbor home by his private security detail on July 31, 2022, and a police officer’s microphone captured a discussion in which Leo acknowledged the demonstrators weren’t on his property. Leo singled out Durand-McDonnell for allegedly cursing at him and his family earlier in the day. “I think it’s time for us to press some charges,” Leo said.
Leo is not being sued. The lawsuit targets the two officers. A message left for the officers wasn’t immediately returned.
Durand-McDonnell contends he was exercising his First Amendment rights and that Maine law also required an officer to witness the conduct to make a misdemeanor arrest.
California court to consider whether officers violated an anti-discriminatory law with racist texts
A judge was expected on Friday to consider whether Northern California police officers who exchanged racist text messages violated a state law aimed at stamping out racism in the criminal justice system.
A group of Antioch Police Department officers have been asked to testify in a San Francisco Bay Area courtroom on heavily redacted text messages made public in April by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office that also used derogatory, homophobic and sexually explicit language, with officers bragging about falsifying evidence and beating up suspects.
Defense attorneys were expected to argue before Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge David Goldstein that their clients, two of them mentioned in released messages, were unfairly targeted based on their race. The state’s Racial Justice Act prohibits the state from pursuing or securing criminal convictions or sentences on the basis of race, ethnicity or national origin.
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Goldstein threw out gang charges against all four defendants in May after historical data showed county prosecutors disproportionately targeted Black people with enhancements leading to longer sentences.
Five of the subpoenaed officers who traded texts are not expected to attend Friday because they are injured and out on leave, the East Bay Times reported Thursday. The news outlet obtained declarations signed by Antioch Police Chief Steven Ford swearing the officers have not been cleared by their doctors to attend the court hearing.
Ford, who is Black, also received a subpoena and announced two days ago he would retire next month. He leaves after only a year serving as interim and permanent police chief. Ford did not give a reason for his retirement and did not respond to emails requesting an interview.
“It’s just disappointing,” Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe said. “I know he believed in changing hearts and minds, but then you have people talking that kind of garbage.”
Defense attorneys who subpoenaed the officers represent four men charged with murder and attempted murder in a March 2021 drive-by shooting that prosecutors say was gang-related.
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Two of the defendants, Trent Allen and Terryon Pugh, were the subjects of some of the released messages. Officers joked about kicking their heads and shooting them in the neck and buttocks. They also shared photos of Allen and Pugh injured in their hospital beds.
Mathew Martinez, a lawyer for one of the defendants, said the officers were issued subpoenas so they could explain in court why they sent the texts. But “they’re all unavailable, indefinitely,” he said.
The embattled police department serves a racially diverse city of 115,000 residents about 45 miles east of San Francisco. Officials have named at least 17 officers who sent text messages, including the president of the Antioch police union.
The text messages came out as part of an ongoing joint investigation launched in March 2022 by the FBI and the Contra Costa district attorney into a broad range of potential offenses by officers with the Antioch and nearby Pittsburg police departments.
The city faces a federal civil rights lawsuit and in May the state attorney general’s office launched a civil rights investigation into the police department.
Venezuela explora acuerdo de US$1.500M con UE para reducir emisiones
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