Random Musings

Last Sunday, after learning of the shooting at Pulse in Orlando, I was, needless to say, at a loss. I kinda stumbled through the day, doing this and that without really thinking.

After dinner, Carlos and I settled in to watch TV and, my Gaydar pinged to remind me that the Tony Awards we’re on … I am a huge show queen.

And I needed that show that night; not just because of the things said about Orlando by host James Cordon, or by winners like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Frank Langella, but because the show is about differences. Most of the acting awards went to people of color; a lot of the nominees are openly gay; it was the anti-Oscars and seeing that kind of diversity and love and acceptance and applause really made a difference at the end of that day.

Speaking of the Tonys …

As the show began I was calling out the names of actors I recognized from the audience.

Megan Hilty, who was in Wicked. Neil Patrick Harris … bald, for a role. Oprah? WTF? Audra McDonald!

Bob: Angela Lansbury!

Carlos: Isn’t she dead.

Bob: Yes, but they wheel her corpse in for every show because she’s freaking Angela Lansbury!

Bless his heart.

Another upside — and yes, something positive can come from it — from the Orlando shooting came out of Utah this week when the state’s Republican Lt. Governor, Spencer Cox, addressed the shooting … and apologized:

“I grew up in a small town and went to a small rural high school. There were some kids in my class that were different. Sometimes I wasn’t kind to them. I didn’t know it at the time, but I know now that they were gay. I will forever regret not treating them with the kindness, dignity and respect — the love — that they deserved. For that, I sincerely and humbly apologize.”

You can say ‘It’s about time,’ or ‘Why did it take a mass murder for you to apologize.’

I say, Thank you, for coming to your senses.

The Democrats are not playing … this week, in Congress, Republican Goose-stepping Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called for a moment of silence for victims of the Orlando massacre something happened …

House Democrats weren’t having it, and began shouting at Ryan, "Where's the bill?" and "No leadership." Democrats were angry that Ryan had not let the body consider bills intended to curb gun violence because Paul Ryan is in the pocket of the NRA.

South Carolina Congressman, and Democrat, Jim Clyburn expressed to Speaker Ryan that he was concerned that several bills drafted after the Charleston Church shooting were not being considered, but before Clyburn could finish, Paul Ryan ruled his question out of order and directed the House to move to the next vote because … NRA … big check … goose-stepping Republican. 

And that’s why the Democrats, lead by Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, hijacked Congress with their filibuster. After fifteen hours, the Blue Party succeeded in forcing a vote from the GOP.

I see Paul Ryan losing his post in November and I for one will cheer.

UPDATE

Apparently this wasn’t his first time being lenient with rapists.

Remember Judge Aaron Persky who sentenced Brock Turner to six months for raping an unconscious girl? Well, that’s nothing new for Persky; he’s has made questionable rulings that favored a group of athletes accused of rape in the past.

The rulings came during a civil case from 2011 when a group of baseball players were accused of gang raping an unconscious woman at a party; they were caught in the act by other young men at the party.

Sound familiar? One of Persky's allowed the defendants’ lawyers to show the victim dressed in revealing clothing in Facebook pictures taken six months after the assault because, well, victim shaming is Persky’s “thang.”

And because of this second, or first, questionable ruling, calls for Persky to resign are growing louder; even members of the US took to the House floor to call for his removal. But the current Santa Clara County District Attorney, Jeff Rosen, does not want the judge removed despite disagreeing with his sentencing ruling.

“While I strongly disagree with the sentence that Judge Persky issued in the Brock Turner case, I do not believe he should be removed from his judgeship.”

Really? How many more rape victims were be put on trial in a Persky courtroom? And how many more rapists will get a slap on the wrist from him? 

Back to the Tonys and a trio of hot winners, all from Hamilton:

Daveed Diggs, top left, won for the dual roles as both the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, right, won Tony awards for Best original Score and Best Book of a Musical; he was also nominated for playing Alexander Hamilton in the show but lost to …

Leslie Odom Hr.; bottom left, who won for the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton.

Hamil-hotties, I say.

So, convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott was sentenced to five to 10 months in jail last February, and begged the judge to let her out so she could film a Public Service announcement about, what, the evils of gay bashing?

The judge said ‘No;’ so now convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott is pleading with Judge Roxanne Covington to grant her request for early parole because she’s been good for a couple of months.

I’m not a judge — which is lucky for convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott — because if I were the judge in this case this is what I’d say:

“If you ask me one more time to get out of jail early, I’m’a double your sentence. Get back to the rock pile, bitch.”

Knott’s minimum release date based is July 8th but I hope the judge makes her stay longer.

I don’t shop at Walmart; I loathe Walmart for a number of reasons.

But …Walmart has just fired a Marietta, Georgia store employee who, using the account @IWillTryLater, Tweeted out that the shooting at an Orlando LGBT nightclub that left 50 dead was “someone doing community service”:

The Tweet went viral, as did requests from other Twitterers demanding Walmart do something.

And they did; they fired the man, who has since deleted his original tweets and replaced his cover photo with one showing himself in a Walmart vest making an obscene gesture.

Some asshats never learn.

Just a few things I've seen around the interwebz in the wake of Orlando ... some make me feel better, some make me angry, and the last one was one of the first laughs I've had this week ...

Convicted Gay Basher Kathyrn Knott Is In More Trouble ... $500,000 Worth

Poor Kathryn Knott; her legal troubles are far from over.

You remember Knott and her friends, Kevin Harrigan and Philip Williams, were arrested and charged with gay bashing of Zachary Hesse and Andrew Haught, who committed the crime of WWH — Walking While Homosexual — and of HHWH—Hand Holding While Homosexual.

And while Kathryn maintained her innocence, her Twitter Hate Speech revealed she was a bigot and homophobe. But Kathryn, unlike Harrigan and Williams, refused to take a plea to avoid jail time and she was sentenced to five to ten months in prison for her crime.

And now we can add civil suit to her troubles, because Zachary Hesse and Andrew Haught just filed a suit against the police chief’s daughter and her cohorts, Harrigan and Williams, for physical injuries, psychological injury, emotional distress and embarrassment. They are allegedly seeking $500,000 and I hope they get every single penny.

I mean half-a-million ain’t much when you consider the millions awarded the women whose McDonald’s coffee was too darn hot, or the suit just filed against Starbucks for putting too much ice in their chilled beverages.

Oh, and the suit by Hesse and Haught comes just three weeks after Kathryn Knott was slapped with another suit from blogger Kathleen O’Donnell, who alleges Kathryn Knott used her daddy’s connections in law enforcement to get her fired from her job after writing a critical op-ed about the young gay basher.

Poor Kathryn Knott, getting her just desserts again and again, and hopefully, again and again.

LGBTQ Nation

I've Got Two Words For Kathryn Knott: Dee.Nied.

In Philadelphia yesterday, Judge Roxanne Covington denied a request to reconsider the sentence of Kathryn Knott who was convicted — she’s guilty, y’all, guilty — of assault for the beating of two gay men who had the nerve to walk the same streets as she and her friends.

"The sentence is well within the guidelines and is as appropriate as I can provide within the law and shall remain. The motion is denied." — Judge Covington

Knott was sentenced to 5-to-10 months in prison and two years probation; she also received a $2,000 fine and was ordered to attend anger management classes, keep out of Philadelphia County during her probation and stay away from the victims Andrew Haught and his partner, Zachary Hesse.

In denying the motion, Covington said Knott displayed a "complete disconnection" from the assault and a "failure" to take ownership of her actions despite issuing an apology at her sentencing hearing.

"As injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, hatred toward any group is no different than hatred toward all of us. Every single one of us has a right to be who we are, to love who we want and to walk down the street and enjoy the city safely, without fear of ridicule, of torture, of attack." — Judge Covington

Knott’s attorney, Bill Brennan, was disappointed by the decision because he … seriously … thought Covington would remove Knott from jail and allow her to film a Public Service Announcement [PSA] in lieu of prison time. He had also suggested that Kathryn Knott be placed on house arrest because she had a job lined up and a new home to live in, but the idea of prison time is to punish thugs like Kathryn Knott, not let them live at home and got to work as though they didn’t assault someone in the street.

Assistant District Attorney Allison Ruth urged against a resentencing, arguing the sentence was not excessive and that a PSA involving Knott would be "comical ... if it wasn't so offensive":

"She didn't say, 'I'm sorry for my actions.' She said, 'I'm sorry it happened to you.' That's not an apology. And this is the woman who should do a PSA? The best PSA to deter a future hate crime would be for this defendant to serve the sentence [that was] properly imposed."

Look, it was hate than made Kathryn Knott do what she did; hate and a mob mentality in a group of over privileged drunken fools. And, as a consequence of her actions, she was found guilty. She does the time, and maybe she’ll learn her lesson.

Doing a commercial would be, as ADA Ruth said, a joke.

And this isn’t funny.

Philly Voice

Kathryn Knott Wants A Do-Over Because Prison Is Hard.

Convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott is sad that she's a convicted gay basher and she wants the state to go easier on her, even after she was found guilty of gay bashing. And so she’s gotten herself a new lawyer — Bill Brennan has replaced Knott's former defense attorney Louis Busico — and together they are asking Judge Roxanne Covington to grant her a resentencing hearing.

Covington sentenced Knott to 5-to-10 months in prison for her role in the 2014 beating of a gay couple in Philadelphia; Knott also received two years of probation, a $2,000 fine and was ordered to attend anger management classes, keep out of Philadelphia County during her probation and stay away from the victims, Andrew Haught and Zachary Hesse.

Knott was sent to the Riverside Correctional Facility immediately after her sentencing. But Bill Brennan is now requesting the court consider alternatives to incarceration, contending that Knott's sentencing should be more rehabilitative and better attempt to heal the wounds caused by the assault.

"Frankly, my client will be out in a few months either way. It's to establish dialogue with the community and begin to heal the wounds with the victims, the community and the city."

Well, I for one think she ought to do the same amount of jail time that her victims took in healing the physical wounds of the beating Knott and her mob of friends inflicted upon them.

Brennan said Knott "has learned a lot in the 18 months" and says everyone could benefit from a sentence that includes community service or a public service announcement; yes, Kathryn Knott wants to beat up gay people and then do a commercial about not beating up gay people.

F**k off.

"She's learned that words and actions have a much more far-reaching impact and effect than she ever thought possible. She learned that your life can change on a dime. I think, rather than warehouse her in jail for a few months and that be the end of it, perhaps some community service or a public service announcement might be more proactive and productive in addressing the larger issues that this case dealt with." — Bill Brennan

You f**k off, too, because she was involved in a gang beating of two innocent people and she deserves whatever punishment she gets … though I think it should have been longer.

Brennan points out that Knott's two co-defendants, Kevin Harrigan and Philip Williams, received lighter penalties when they accepted plea agreements—the two received probation, 200 hours of community service at an LGBT Center and a ban on entering Center City during their probationary period—and he believes her punishment should be equal to theirs.

Except … Knott was offered the same exact deal, but she figured since her daddy was in law enforcement she could go to trial and get off just like that; she chose not to accept a deal, and take a lighter sentence; she chose a trial where she was found guilty; she should stay in jail until her sentence in completed.

And maybe then she can come out of prison, having served the time for her crimes, and do a PSA where she talks about how stupid she is, and arrogant she is, and above the law she thinks she is; and then shut up.

Philly Voice

Good News: Kathryn Knott Is Going To Prison

Drunken party-girl and convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott was finally sentenced this week to 5-10 months in prison — and I’m hoping it’s ten — for her role in the 2014 beating of a same-sex couple, Andrew Haught and Zachary Hesse in Center City.

Judge Roxanne Covington also sentenced Knott to two years probation, a $2,000 fine, anger management classes, told her to stay out of Philadelphia County during her probation and to stay away from the victims. No word on whether or not she was ordered to keep her bigoted homophobic hate-filled self off Twitter, though.

Kathryn Knott cried as the sentence came down because, apparently, she thought attacking two men on the street because they’re gay wasn’t a crime … or something. She was taken into custody immediately after the hearing.

In issuing her sentence, Covington said she considered the homophobic slurs used by Knott and others in her group — like Kevin Harrigan and Phillip Williams who took pleas to avoid jail — to be hate speech, even if Pennsylvania law does not recognize it as such. She also wondered how Knott, who worked in the healthcare industry, could leave the two men, neaten and bleeding, in the street.

Simple; she was a drunken gay basher who was thrilled at the idea of beating up strangers. Oh, and she and her band of fifteen had another bar to go to so, yeah, why bother?

"The entire group walked away from this. Until those faces appeared on the news no one responded – and did so only to save themselves from prosecution." — Judge Covington

Naturally, in the hopes that maybe the sentence might go the other way, Kathryn Knott finally, FINALLY, read a prepared statement to the victims:

"I am so sorry to what happened to you both on the night of September 11, 2014. I ask you now for your forgiveness and I hope that you someday will be able to provide it. ... Again, I apologize to you and your families. I wish you nothing but the best."

I’m sorry for “what happened” to you, not sorry for “what I did” to you.

Keep that in mind. That’s Kathryn Knott.

Philly Voice

Kathryn Knott: Guilty Of Assault!

Finally.

This morning Kathryn Knott, the Philadelphia homophobe and gay basher, was convicted of simple assault, reckless endangerment and conspiracy to commit simple assault; she was acquitted of four felony counts, including aggravated assault on each of the victims.

Knott cried as the verdict was read, though I doubt she cried as much as the two men she and her friends beat up without provocation last year. She’ll remain free on bail until her February 8 sentencing, where she may just get probation on the misdemeanor counts, but could, and should, get up to two years in jail.

At first, I was angry, annoyed, and bothered by the verdict, and I will no doubt, be angry and annoyed when the sentencing is said and done because I believe she’ll get off rather easily; I don’t see her in jail for two years, nit that I don’t think she deserves it.

But, this will follow her the rest of her days; due to her complete lack of judgment, her possible, drunkenness, and her idea that gay is something to be looked down upon or laughed at, she will forever be known for being convicted of assault.

Years from now, as people meet her, and she looks for work, acquaintances and employers will be able to Google her name and the search will yield:

Kathryn Knott Guilty of Assault

And I like that because maybe, just maybe, it will be a learning moment for future Kathryn Knott’s to think twice before they open their mouths or close their fists.

Random Musings

In the Gay Bashing trial of Kathryn Knott, after deliberating for a day, the jury returned no verdict but did ask for material to review.

Jurors asked to see a written copy of the charges Knott faces, all the videos that had been played during the trial and statements some witnesses gave to police detectives; they also wanted to see the victims, Andrew Haught's and Zachary Hesse’s statements, as well as the statements given by the three independent witnesses: two women who were waiting at a bus stop and saw part of the fight, and a man who lived in a third-floor apartment on Chancellor Street.

Deliberation began again this morning. I hope I’m sensing a book ready to be thrown at Knott.

In Hot Man News: Idris Elba returns to BBC America tonight with new episodes of Luther. You know I’ll be watching.

[1, 2, 3]

In an act of desperation, Bill Cosby, accused of rape or inappropriate sexual conduct by fifty-seven women, has decided to countersue just seven of them, alleging they were out to defame his reputation and profit along the way.

Yeah, women cry rape to pad their bank accounts … seven of fifty-seven women.

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Earlier this week Donald [t]Rump faced a new rival for the top spot in the polls: Ted Cruz. [t]Rump instantly went on the attack, calling Cruz a maniac.

Pot.Kettle.STFU.

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In other GOP Maniac news, future failed GOP presidential candidate, and billionaire asshat, Carly Fiorina appeared in a new piece of campaign propaganda this week in which she … wait for it … it’s so crazy it makes [t]Rump seem like a sane choice … in which she interacts with dogs and makes idiotic jabs at President Obama, telling two of the puppies she’s cuddling with:

“You know, President Obama ate one of your cousins! Vote Republican.”

And then she puts a Milk-Bone dog biscuit in her mouth and chews on it, saying, “I used to eat Milk-Bones as a kid. I thought they were very good.”

Seriously. Then she tells the dogs they could serve as the other GOP  candidates in her debate prep.

Cra-zy.

P.S. How many bitches do you see in that photo?

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In Karma News … Martin Shkreli, that asshatted drug company entrepreneur, who jacked up the price of a life-saving pill from $13.50 to $750, then said he’d lower the price, then never did, was arrested on securities fraud related to another firm he founded.

Prosecutors charged him with illegally taking stock from Retrophin Inc., a biotechnology firm he started in 2011, and using it pay off debts from unrelated business dealings. He was later ousted from the company, where he’d been chief executive officer, and sued by its board.

Karma is such a bitch. I love her!

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Down there in Texas, Republican Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller took his War On The War Against Christmas to a whole new low: on Facebook, he threatened violence against anyone who wishes him “Happy Holidays”:

“If one more person says Happy Holidays to me I just might slap them. Either tell me Merry Christmas or just don’t say anything.”

Not surprisingly, Miller is getting trolled heavily for his “Happy Holidays” post.

And if you’d like to join in, take a moment, if you Tweet, and head over to @MillerForTexas and wish him Happy Holidays.

I, myself, found him on Facebook and  said:

Happy Holidays Asshat! Better?

If you Facebook, say Hey to the wingnut HERE and HERE.

And Happy Holidays.

Well, this isn’t too much of a surprise, as the charges were kind of an overreach, but a judge in the Freddie Gray trial has declared a mistrial in the case of Baltimore Police Officer William Porter.

Jurors said they could not reach a verdict on any of the charges against Porter, which included involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.

I can understand the no verdict in some of those charges, but reckless endangerment — he didn’t put a seat-belt on Gray in that police van — and misconduct — he ignored Gray’s calls to see a doctor — seemed like a sure bet.

Hopefully, a new trial will result.

The other five officers go to trial next month.

Lastly, my father loves eagles, and luckily lives very bear a spot where eagles gather to, well, fish. And so the other day he took these photos while out walking his dog.

Ain’t that a beautiful sight?

Kathryn Knott Says She "Turned And Ran" And Did Not Gay Bash Anyone ... Uh Huh

Well, the jury in the assault trial of ALLEGED gay basher, homophobe and bigot Kathryn Knott will begin deliberations today following Knott’s own laughable testimony.

On the stand, she testified, under oath, that she did not strike anyone — contrary to testimony of a witness and one of the victims — or use homophobic language on the night two men were beaten in Philadelphia last year even though she was heard screaming Fucking faggot Fucking faggot Fucking faggot as she ran at the couple.

Knott faces charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, conspiracy and reckless endangerment for her role in the beatings, which left Andrew Haught with broken cheekbones and a fractured upper jaw that needed to be wired shut for eight weeks. Two of her cohorts — Kevin Harrigan and Philip Williams — pleaded guilty to assault and conspiracy charges and were sentenced to probation and 200 hours of community service at an LGBT Center.

For her part, Knott says she was near the middle of a group of 15 people when the incident broke out behind her and that she turned around to see a friend, Pat Conly, get up from the ground though she did not see what caused him to fall.

In other words, it wasn’t their fault, somebody else started it.

She then says she went toward the confrontation and was standing to the side when she saw Andrew Haught push her friend Taylor Peltzer's arm away; she then says Philip Williams rushed Haught and hit him once.

"I saw Phil go to pull his arm up. That's when I ran toward him to try and stop him. I didn't want to see anyone get hurt. ... Once I saw Phil connect with Mr. Haught, I turned and ran the other way." — Kathryn Knott

Funny then that two people say she entered the fray and threw at least one punch, after screaming slurs at the two men.

Two independent witnesses testified earlier that they saw Knott strike Andrew Haught’s boyfriend, Zachary Hesse. In their testimony, Hesse said Knott shouted homophobic slurs at him and struck him, and Haught said he saw Knott swinging at Hesse before he was hit by Williams.

But she says she was trying to stop the fight so no one got hurt.

During closing arguments, Knott’s attorney Louis Busico urged the jury not to be distracted by Knott’s homophobic Twitter page, and frequent anti-gay Twitter rants, and he tried to distance Knott from the actions of Harrigan and Williams, both of whom he repeatedly criticized and blamed for the assault.

It was the other guys no matter what witnesses and the victim say.

Assistant District Attorney Mike Barry rightly called Knott's ALLEGED actions a hate crime, saying her Tweets show she shared the same hatred toward gay people displayed in the actions of Harrigan and Williams. He also questioned why four people — the two alleged victims and two independent witnesses — would say they saw a girl strike a man if it didn't happen.

"She walked away from this once. Do not let her walk away from this again." — Assistant District Attorney Mike Barry 

Barry also questioned the reliability of the four defense witnesses — who were among the gang of fifteen — who testified that it was Williams who hit Andrew Haught, but only once.

Funny, again, how that one punch broke a jaw and an eye socket.

Barry also pointed out that these four shared the same exact story, a year later, and only after Philip Williams took the deal.

But let’s talk about what Kathryn Knott said on the stand: she says she ran after Philip Williams — as seen in a video shown several times during the trial — saying she feared Williams would hit Haught. 

"I ran toward them because I wanted to make sure no one got hurt."

But she says she didn’t see the extent of the injuries that Haught sustained, and that he seemed fine, sitting on the ground, holding his bleeding head, his broken jaw. And so, Kathryn Knott and her friends did what normal people do after this kind of altercation: they moved on to another bar and some more drinks, leaving these two men in the street.

"The screams were loud. It was horrifying to see what was happening. I had never been in that type of situation in my entire life. It was scary."

And yet, this horrifying situation wasn’t enough for Kathryn Knott, who says she didn’t want to see anyone get hurt, to call the police, or even an ambulance; it was just enough to keep on partying.

In fact, neither Kathryn Knott, nor any of the fifteen asshats in her little band of thugs, contacted police until after the story broke, and after a video was released of all of them at the fight.

But she did find the time to text her father, a police chief in Bucks County, to say a fight occurred and that she would be home safe … the next morning; there was an Irish Pub she was headed to, for more alcohol.

And as for those Tweets, she did acknowledge that she posted them, and said she was offended by the public display of affection by a same-sex couple, not the sexuality of the couple; she says she hashtagged the Tweet #gay just for clarification. I wonder what the hashtag #ew meant? And she testified that she does not find gay people disgusting or use the term "dyke" every day. 

"What's said there wasn't demeaning toward anybody. I wasn't talking to anybody specific."

No, you weren’t, you idiot. You were talking about an entire group of people, like I’ll begin doing now when people act like morons in public and I’ll call them out for it and hashtag them #KathrynKnott; I’ll hashtag every fight, every gay bashing, every anti-gay slur I hear, #KathrynKnott.

Look, here’s the queer deal: Kathryn Knott clearly was involved in this mess; witnesses and victims says she was involved and why would they single her out of a group of fifteen others for no reason? It doesn’t make sense; she was there, she was probably drunk, and she, as the daughter of a police officer, who once, in another Tweet, praised her father for ticketing a man who ran her off the road, thought she could do whatever she pleased.

Should she be locked up? I say, Yeah, for a short while at least And then I’d make her do well over 200 hours of community service at an LGBT center and pay a rather hefty fine. And if there was a way to educate this fool — though I feel she’s already beyond education — I’d suggest that.

And keep her off Twitter. And out of bars.

Philly Voice