06.11.19 | The US State Department began rejecting all embassy requests to raise rainbow flags outside the mission buildings during Gay Pride Month this year, but some US diplomats have been finding ways to get around the new policy. Sir Ian McKellen launches Pride in Ageing, a UK program to support LGBT people over 50, and home flippers are hiring Uber and Lyft drivers to scout properties in a pricey housing market.

06.05.19 | The Focus Group welcomes Harry’s Grooming Company and launches their Shave with Pride campaign with all proceeds going to The Trevor Project. Get your Shave with Pride kit at HARRYS.COM/FOCUS. Then, consumers prefer the iPhone blue chat bubble versus Android green, George Blaisdell of ZIPPO is our Business Birthday, and Target is targeted again by the anti-LGBT crowd. Happy Pride!

06.04.19 | It’s June, and time for John’s Pride Leprechaun to rear his head again. Enjoy the many Pride Events in your area. Up first, a Mom is horrified, then humored, by a Frog and Toad t-shirt she bought her daughter from an online source in China. The Noah’s Ark replica exhibit in Kentucky sues its insurer for water damage, and LYFT may be your car service of choice as they make an effort to make all people feel welcome. Top of the Pride to you!

05.29.19 | June is the perfect month to catch a musical on or off Broadway, and Keith Price suggests only the best while he guest hosts with John. He also has some recommendations for cabaret shows. First, Steve Jobs saying “no” to airing some of Apple’s funniest “I’m a Mac” ads caught our eye.

05.28.19 | America’s 3rd largest city now has its first black lesbian mayor. She won on her merit and it is a great step forward as America continues to affirm equality for all. Drag shows in select Maryland bars being labeled “adult entertainers” is an assault on gay bars—in our opinion. In an effort to further erase the Obama legacy, the Trump administration has reversed the 2016 Treasury decision to put Harriet Tubman on the twenty-dollar bill.

05.22.19 | Maggie Hureau from Harry’s and Shira Kogan from The Trevor Project join The Focus Group. Harry’s and The Trevor Project have partnered on a great initiative called Shave With Pride. 100% of the profits from sale of the Shave With Pride kit goes to fund suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth.

05.21.19 | Taiwan makes history and becomes the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, with all the benefits and language afforded to heterosexual nuptials. Great news. Then, a humorless flight attendant goes overboard on a delayed flight and an evangelical radio host claims, “homosexual privilege” is greater than “white privilege,” and oddly compares Pete Buttigieg with Cory Booker.

05.15.19 | The desire for hand-me-down furniture has evaporated due to taste, economics, or simple lack of space, as rents rise and living spaces shrink. More young people are leaning into the rental or sharing economy — owning less of everything and renting and sharing a whole lot more. The popular workplace-advice site Ask A Manager uploaded a salary survey on how much people get paid. More than 12,000 respondents have answered the survey to date.

05.14.19 | Grammy-winning singer Vicente Fernández, known as “The King of Ranchera Music,” refused a liver transplant over fear of a gay donor. An Oklahoma law is banning bans on plastic bags and other recyclables. And a Pennsylvania bride is upset after a guest loaded up 7 Tupperware containers with food, 3 containers of homemade cookies, a couple bottles of beers, and most of the centerpieces. The guest gave a $5 bill as a wedding gift.