Hasta La Gadget!

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) told a group of high school and middle school students last week that it’s fine to be a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer community ― but if you’re too open about it, don’t be surprised if you get picked on.

On Thursday, Enzi was speaking to students at Greybull High School and Middle School when a student asked him what he was doing to support LGBTQ communities in Wyoming. 

Mathew Burciaga, an editor at the Greybull Standard, was at the event. He said he has audio of the exchange, which the paper plans to release Wednesday.

At the event, Enzi offered an anecdote about a man who wears a tutu to a bar and is then surprised that he keeps getting in fights. 

“Well, he kind of asks for it,” Enzi said, according to Burciaga.

“The Senator then went on to state that the situations like this can’t always be solved by law and that he’d be open to hearing suggestions from students regarding ways to address it. He ended his remarks by saying civility is the biggest thing we need,” Burciaga told HuffPost in an email, noting that he thought the comment was “tone deaf by my own personal opinion of it.”

According to Burciaga, Enzi prefaced his comment by saying, “We always say in Wyoming you can be anything you want to be as long as you don’t push it in somebody’s face.”

Max D’Onofrio, a spokesman for Enzi, said the senator stressed the importance of respecting other people and argued that protections mandated by Washington are not always the best solution. 

“He talked about how many Wyoming folks take a live and let live approach to life, but we need to be conscious that everyone may not react the same way to differing value and belief systems. He advocates nothing but respect and civil treatment for members of the LGBT community,” D’Onofrio said in an email. He added that “no one should take his remarks out of context or misconstrue them to mean anything but advocacy of kindness toward our fellow citizens.”

Here’s the full statement from Enzi: 

I believe all individuals should be treated with respect. I do not believe that anyone should be bullied, intimidated or attacked because of their beliefs. Wyoming’s population is made so great by its mixture – and tolerance – of differing value and belief systems. Our live and let live approach is one of the great aspects of our state. It is important that our students learn that the importance of respecting all people and how it is incumbent on those in the communities we live in to treat others as you would want to be treated. It is such a simple lesson ― it is never permissible to hurt another. Hatred in any form is destructive to the very foundation upon which our society is built.

In 1998, Laramie, Wyoming, became the site of one of the nation’s most horrific and infamous anti-gay hate crimes when college student Matthew Shepard, 21, was tortured and left to die. Outcry over his death eventually led to passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, which extended federal hate crime protections to people targeted because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, or disability. 

“Sen. Enzi’s comments are exactly the kind of hateful remarks we are working against in Wyoming and beyond,” the Matthew Shepard Foundation said in a statement to HuffPost. “To tell a person that they are ‘asking for it’ is the same kind of harmful rhetoric people use to disqualify the claims of sexual assault victims. It’s the same kind of rhetoric that keeps up to 61% of hate crime victims from reporting because they are afraid of not being believed while also having to be fearful of being re-victimized by those in power, who should be defending their rights. The Matthew Shepard Foundation will continue to fight against this kind of hate speech as long as it continues.”

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Just like the Death Star would never have been destroyed without the help of Jyn Erso, a recent “Star Wars” event in Orlando wouldn’t have been nearly as fun without a certain cosplaying 5-year-old.

From April 13 to April 16, Harley and her dad, Dino Ignacio, attended the Star Wars Celebration event in Orlando, Florida. During the event (which included plenty of cosplayers), Harley dressed as Jyn Erso, the main character from “Rogue One” who helps deliver the Death Star plans to Princess Leia. Just like Jyn, little Harley delivered her own Death Star plans to every Leia she saw in Orlando.

Ignacio told HuffPost that his daughter has seen “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (which begins with Leia receiving the plans) and most of “Rogue One.”

“We watched it up until it goes dark,” he said.

The 5-year-old loved channeling Jyn as she handed out her Death Star plans, which were made of acrylic sheets. Ignacio used a laser engraver to carve the design on the data cards. According to Ignacio, each one reads, “Celebration 2017” in Aurebesh, an alphabet seen in the “Star Wars” franchise.

Harley also particularly liked her costume’s vest pockets. 

“Harley loves fashion and loves bags and pockets,” Ignacio told HuffPost. “She enjoys her Rey [from ‘Star Wars’] costume for the belt pouches.”

Ignacio told HuffPost that Harley met about 20 different people dressed as Leia, who were all “happy to play along.” She handed out about 80 Death Star plans, but her last data card went to the most important princess (and general) of all.

The event included the original Princess Leia dress worn by Carrie Fisher in “A New Hope,” and Harley left her last card by the exhibit.  

Last year, Ignacio and Harley worked together to create a wearable Millennium Falcon costume. He told HuffPost at the time that he’s enjoyed seeing his daughter learn about “teamwork” and “hopefulness” through the “Star Wars” films, just like he did when he was a kid. 

“It’s great to see the same things resonate with her,” he said.

See more photos of Harley as Jyn Erso below. 

The HuffPost Parents newsletter, So You Want To Raise A Feminist, offers the latest stories and news in progressive parenting. 

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Forget what you know about Pamela Anderson the “Baywatch” star because it’s time to get acquainted with Pamela Anderson the political poet. 

The Canadian-American actress and model has done everything from Playboy to PETA to “V.I.P” and back again, so it was probably only a matter of time before she turned her attention to the White House. 

Amid rumors that she is dating Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, Anderson shared what can best be described as a slightly erotic and unintentionally hilarious poem about President Donald Trump and the state of the free world. 

Titled “I Like How You Resist Me,” the post touches on everything from Assange seeking asylum status to a “threesome” between the U.S., the U.K. and France. She also has a few tips for Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May.

“I may have some advice for Trump and May on special relationships ― based on my own special relationship with Julian Assange,” she wrote. “Regarding Free Speech and Democracy … France can join in as a threesome.”

Her goal? To bring an end to war and human rights abuses, which in her own words is far from “strong or sexy.”

Amen, Pamela. 

Read the entire post below. 

I may have some advice for Trump and May on special relationships-

based on my own special relationship with Julian Assange

Regarding Free Speech and Democracy. 

France can join in as a threesome.

A fast approaching UK election, 

heated up US threats, 

and the French – makes this the opportune time to discuss politics romantically. 

It is a romantic struggle 

Things that the USA and UK bring to the relationship are Bad secrecy laws. Keeping Julian illegally detained. Hating transparency and Bombing countries.

It is dysfunctional and unequal, this relationship to date. 

I wish to help them to improve it,

and make it work. 

And, bring sexy back.

Just as a dysfunctional lover-

The USA has been spying on UK(reading emails and listening to calls).

All this, that the USA does is as a freakish lover or stalker would. 

My recommendations are;

Keep things separate as in a good relationship: 

The UK should have an independent foreign policy not based on a special relationship-

so, 

the UK and USA relationship would be based on a fundamental reconfiguration of domestic politics, and their relationship with the rest of the world.

They then should disarm and withdraw their troops from Afghanistan and other overseas military engagements, and pursue a peaceful and cooperative diplomatic relationship with other countries.

Create a bilateral extradition treaty between them, it should at least appear as if it is between two equal westphalian state entities, rather than between a lord and vassal (or dominant and submissive partner).

It is completely disproportionate and has asymmetrical evidentiary standards.

If disarming and withdrawing from Afghanistan seems too ‘out there’.

Another dynamic approach is to

encourage other countries to reduce their quantise of arms: “If you will, I will”. 

Or: 

Agree with other countries to stop arming and destabilising the Middle East. 

War is a racket. 

Subordinating safety and human rights to the profit motives of arms exporters is not strong, or sexy.

Other relationship issues to work on jointly: 

Openness and honesty are a must in any relationship. 

So, need to get rid of approaching everything with secrecy and cover up. 

Stop abusing espionage and secrecy laws. 

Can’t stop? 

Then get rid of them –

and replace them with laws 

that can’t be abused.

Stop shouting and punishing people who offer them help (as if a couple would turn against a relationship counsellor?) – Julian is trying to help. 

And, if their relationship is improved, they can expand it. Diplomatic relations with other countries should be in the spirit of mutual respect

Not haughty superiority. 

Such as we saw in the threats to invade the embassy in violation of the Vienna convention. Or the refusal to comply with the UN ruling.  A healthy relationship is reciprocal and has a single standard for behaviour.

Not a double standard, 

where Britain gets to call out other countries for defying UN findings- but blow them off when they are against the UK. 

I can’t help but think romantically. 

That is where my compass lays. In love and compassion. 

To apply common sense relationship advice might be the key. 

We must not forget how to make love… 

But, war.

No more war! 

And no walls! (around countries or embassies).

I will stay relentlessly engaged.

Like it or not

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He was exercising, but not necessarily good judgment.

Police in Philadelphia are trying to track down a man who robbed a Dunkin’ Donuts on Saturday morning.

Surveillance video caught the suspect doing stretches in the parking lot before the crime, according to CBS Philadelphia.

The stretches were apparently in preparation for the crime. A video inside the business shows him leaping over the counter and pointing a gun at the employee. Police say he told the cashier, “You have 20 seconds to give me the money from the registers.”

The workers placed $334 inside a blue shopping bag that belonged to the calisthenic-performing criminal, according to WTXF TV.

No shots were fired and there were no injuries, police said.

The man ran away quickly, no doubt helped by his pre-crime workout.

Police describe the stretched-out suspect as 5’10” to 6’ tall, with a medium athletic build. He was wearing a black zip-up hooded sweatshirt, black pants, black sneakers, a black ski mask, latex gloves, and armed with a handgun.

Anyone with information is asked to 215-686-TIPS.

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Actor and producer Vince Vaughn is producing a documentary “focused on the relationship between African American communities and the police.”

The documentary is for AT&T’s Audience Network and Vaughn’s company Wild West Picture Show Productions has reportedly been working on the project for a year now, according to Deadline.

Network head Chris Long told Deadline that they chose the topic because they were “interested in something that’s happening in the media, but that part of the story’s not being told.”

“We said to ourselves, ‘You can’t do it in a soundbite, you can’t do it with four people on a split screen arguing. You have to find out what’s the real struggle, and that’s part of getting the story to be authentic.’”

Vaughn told the publication that he hopes the film will “humanize people on both sides.”

“I’ve had friends who’ve grown up in that environment, I’ve also had friends who are police officers, and there’s a lot of fear on both sides. I think the situation causes a lot of problems, so it’s really a chance to sit with the people and getting access to them and seeing their daily lives,” he said.

Outside of Long and Vaughn, it’s unclear as to who else is contributing to the project. But, seeing as both Long and Vaughn are white men and the project is largely about the relationship between cops and black Americans, here’s hoping they work with people of color who can ― and should ― help shape that narrative, too.

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