“If we turn our back on the world’s most vulnerable people, we’re eschewing the values our country was founded on.” ~ Ted Lieu

He’s my Twitter hero, thanks to his epic and savage take-downs of ignorance and hate, as well as his thoughtful and insightful bits of wit and wisdom. Even more impressive, his service to our country earns Ted Lieu our Dazzler of the Day honor. A United States Air Force Veteran, and a member of the House of Representatives, he still counts his family as his first priority. His work in Congress has earned him a place on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. I’m thankful for his presence there, and his hard work for all the people of this country.

“Diversity – both in ideas and people – has always been one of the country’s greatest assets.” ~ Ted Lieu

This Dazzler of the Day is a stunner, holding so many ‘firsts’ that I can’t keep track. Kamala Harris is the first female Vice President, the first Black Vice President, and the first Asian Vice President – and that’s only the ‘firsts’ of her current job title. She was actually my first choice as the candidate for the most recent Presidential election, and it’s thrilling to see her embrace and expand the office of the Vice President, working closely in tandem with President Biden on all key policy points. I also distinctly recall her giving the go-ahead for gay marriages to commence in California, at a time when it seemed like this country was not quite ready to do so. For all those reasons (and so many more), Harris earns her first Dazzler of the Day honor. 

Jose Antonio Vargas earns his first Dazzler of the Day honor thanks to his untiring and ongoing fight for the rights of immigrants. He’s been nominated for Emmy and Tony awards, and has won the Pulitzer Prize. His memoir ‘Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen’ is the next book on my reading list, and a new book ‘White Is Not A Country’ is scheduled to be published in 2023. For more of his many accomplishments, check out his website here.

“This book is about homelessness, not in a traditional sense, but the unsettled, unmoored psychological state that undocumented immigrants like me find ourselves in. This book is about lying and being forced to lie to get by; about passing as an American and as a contributing citizen; about families, keeping them together and having to make new ones when you can’t. This book is about constantly hiding from the government and, in the process, hiding from ourselves. This book is about what it means to not have a home. After twenty-five years of living illegally in a country that does not consider me one of its own, this book is the closest thing I have to freedom.” ? Jose Antonio Vargas, ‘Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen’

Lately I’ve been obsessed with watching video clips of the set-ups for the E! Red Carpet Glambot – directed by Cole Walliser, who earns his very first Dazzler of the Day thanks to his effervescent attitude and infallible ability to get the best out of his celebrity subjects. With a mane of hair that I daresay surpasses the locks of Jason Momoa, Walliser usually makes as dapper a sight to behold on the red carpet as those he so expertly captures on the glambot. Don’t be fooled by all that frivolous fabulousness – Walliser has been making short films and music videos for a while, working with such luminaries as Katy Perry, P!nk, and Miley Cyrus.