Apple's Tim Cook Tops Out's Power 50 List

Out Magazine today published its ninth annual ranking of the 50 most powerful LGBT people in the United States.  Taking the top spot from last year's list leader, Ellen DeGeneres, is Apple CEO Tim Cook, who formally came out six months ago. Here is this year's top ten:

1. Tim Cook
2. Ellen DeGeneres
3. Rachel Maddow
4. Sen. Tammy Baldwin
5. Anderson Cooper
6. Anthony Romero 
7. Chad Griffin
8. Mary Kay Henry
9. Laverne Cox
10. Andy Cohen

Romero is the executive director of the ACLU and Henry is the head of the SEIU. Missing from the list for the second year is closeted homocon blogger Matt Drudge, who ranked at #21 in 2013 and at #16 in 2012. Fellow homocons Peter Thiel and Ken Mehlman appear on this year's ranking at #13 and #41 respectively, with closeted Fox anchor Shepard Smith coming at #20. Also gone this year is recently retired blogger Andrew Sullivan, who ranked at #26 last year. Hit the top link for the full 2015 list.

Tim Cook: Americans Need To Stand Up Against License To Discriminate Laws

"Men and women have fought and died fighting to protect our country’s founding principles of freedom and equality. We owe it to them, to each other and to our future to continue to fight with our words and our actions to make sure we protect those ideals. The days of segregation and discrimination marked by 'Whites Only' signs on shop doors, water fountains and restrooms must remain deep in our past. We must never return to any semblance of that time. America must be a land of opportunity for everyone. This isn’t a political issue. It isn’t a religious issue. This is about how we treat each other as human beings. Opposing discrimination takes courage. With the lives and dignity of so many people at stake, it’s time for all of us to be courageous." - Apple CEO Tim Cook, writing for the Washington Post.

ARKANSAS: Senate Approves Anti-Gay License To Discriminate Bill, Gov. Asa Hutchinson Says He Plans To Sign It

Arkansas Online reports:

The chamber voted 24-7 to approve House Bill 1228, the Conscience Protection Act, a day after representatives from the Human Rights Campaign spoke out against the bill in Little Rock and called it discriminatory. HB1228's lead sponsor, state Rep. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville, has said the bill will shift Arkansas to a strict scrutiny standard, which makes it more difficult to infringe on religious rights. He told House members when the legislation passed that chamber last month that it would require the government to have compelling interest and for it to take the least restrictive action to regulate a "legitimate, deeply-held religious belief."

The bill must now return to the House to reconcile minor changes made by the Senate. The House first approved the bill in February. Gov. Asa Hutchinson said yesterday that he intends to sign it.

Gold Apple Watch: Starting At $10,000

Follow the Guardian's live-blogging from the event.

ARKANSAS: Apple Denounces Bill To Allow Businesses To Refuse LGBT Customers

Via the Human Rights Campaign:

This week, Apple Inc., the world’s second largest information technology company, issued the following statement condemning the anti-LGBT bill in Arkansas, HB 1228 - a bill that could allow any person to undermine state laws by citing their personal religious belief as an excuse to discriminate against others: "At Apple inclusion inspires innovation. Our employees in Little Rock have a right to equal treatment under the law, as do their coworkers in Cupertino and around the world. We join the many voices across Arkansas in opposing HB1228 and we urge the State's legislators to vote against the bill." As written, HB 1228 would allow individuals to sue government actors—including teachers, firefighters and police officers—if that individual believed that their personal religious beliefs were being violated. Yesterday, the bill suffered a setback in the Senate Judiciary Committee. HRC Arkansas remains committed to fully defeating the bill.

Similar bills are in progress in multiple states. Last week Arkansas banned any municipality from enacting an LGBT rights ordinance.

Perkins Attacks Apple Over Fired Lobbyist

"Tech giant Apple was outed for firing an Alabama lobbyist who had supported natural marriage when he was a state legislator! Like FRC's Craig James, who never mentioned his views on the job, Jay Love got the boot for voicing his opinion years earlier as a state legislator. A local Alabama newspaper smoked Love out in a hit piece that no doubt went straight to Apple CEO (and open homosexual) Tim Cook's desk.  Love's contract was terminated the same day. So this is tolerance? The kind that says the biggest publicly-traded company in the world can fire someone for their views? This new Brendan Eich lost his livelihood through the same politics of fear, intimidation, and oppression. Who knows how many will be next if America doesn't wake up?" - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via email.

Tim Cook Gives Big To HRC

The Human Rights Campaign today announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook has made a large donation to help fund LGBT advocacy in southern states including his native Alabama.

The amount of Cook's contribution to the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign wasn't disclosed, but the advocacy organization called it "substantial." Organizers said it would help fund a three-year, $8.5 million campaign launched in April in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi. Called Project One America, the goal of the public relations effort is to build acceptance for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in the states. The campaign includes advertising on TV and elsewhere, direct-mail fliers and staff members hired in each state. "We hope Tim Cook's substantial personal investment inspires others to support this vital and historic project," Jason Rahlan, a spokesman for Human Rights Campaign, said in an email.

Cook formally came out in October, spawning widespread condemnation by anti-gay groups but no organized campaign to boycott Apple has yet developed.

Apple Goes Red For World AIDS Day

 Via Mashable:

In a striking show of support for World AIDS Day, Apple in Australia has changed the colour of its logo to red at the flagship Sydney store. The tinted iconic logo illuminated a rainy George Street late on Sunday evening, as onlookers watched on, curious as to what was happening. It is the first store in the world to light up in a show of commitment to the (RED) AIDS initiative, that is fighting for an AIDS-free future. Apple will then change the colour of its logo across key stores in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Europe and the United States, as the various timezones tick into Monday. Apple announced on Nov. 26 that the campaign also includes the ability to purchase 24 apps with exclusive (RED) content until Dec. 7; all proceeds go directly to The Global Fund to fight AIDS. In addition, Apple has committed to donating a percentage of sales at its retail and online stores worldwide on one of the company's biggest shopping days of the year — Cyber Monday on Dec. 1 — which coincides with World AIDS Day.

Take That, Putin

Russia can tear down their monument to Steve Jobs because Apple CEO Tim Cook has come out, but that won't save their stock market. Via the Telegraph:

Apple is now worth more than Russia's stock market, new data have revealed. The US technology giant's market capitalisation has overtaken the combined value of all Russian public companies for the first time in history, Bloomberg reported. Apple, the world's most valuable company, has added $147bn to its market cap this year and was worth $652bn as of November 12. The shares closed up 1.2pc to $114.18 each on Friday. Russian equities have fallen $234bn to $531bn in the same period, Bloomberg data stated. Apple, led by Tim Cook, has being going from strength to strength in recent months, culminating in the release of the company's latest smartphones in September - the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Mr Cook revealed earlier this year that his company is also working on products that "haven't been rumoured about yet". Meanwhile, Russia has been struggling to cope with a falling ruble and tough Western sanctions as a result of its conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Just let that sink in. An out gay man oversees the company whose value exceeds all of the companies on the stock market of the world's most famously anti-gay nation. I think that calls for a "neener, neener." At least.

RELATED: In other gay-related business news, pro-LGBT Microsoft has unseated ExxonMobil as the world's second-most valuable corporation. The energy giant's slide to third place comes as oil prices continue to sag worldwide. For 17 consecutive years the shareholders of ExxonMobil refused to enact workplace protections for its LGBT employees. Only in July of this year did the company grudgingly agree to comply with President Obama's executive order protecting the LGBT employees of companies that contract with the federal government. Fourth place Google, not incidentally, is now poised to overtake ExxonMobil. If that happens, the world's top three corporations will be aggressively pro-LGBT tech firms. Neener.

ALABAMA: Lesbian Lawmaker Renames LGBT Rights Bill For Apple CEO Tim Cook

In 2011 openly lesbian Alabama state Rep. Patricia Todd introduced a bill to protect LGBT citizens from employment discrimination. The bill failed, but Todd is trying again and this time she has renamed the bill the "Tim Cook Economic Development Act." According to the governor, state employees are already protected.

In October, Cook — an Alabama native and CEO of one of America’s best-known tech companies — criticized the state’s employment laws in a speech before the Alabama Academy of Honor, where he was being inducted as a member. “Under the law, citizens of Alabama can still be fired for their sexual orientation,” Cook said. A few days after the speech, Cook came out as gay in an opinion piece published in Bloomberg Businessweek. On the day of Cook’s speech, Gov. Robert Bentley told The Anniston Star he wasn’t sure it was, in fact, legal to fire someone based on sexual orientation. He said he’d look into the issue. This week, Bentley’s office released a short statement saying that state agencies, at least, can’t fire people solely because they’re gay. “As it relates to state agencies in Alabama, it would be a violation of Title VII and Sections 1981, 1983 and 1985 of the Civil Rights Act to terminate a person based solely on sexual orientation,” Bentley’s press secretary, Yasamie August, wrote in an emailed statement. August’s statement didn’t address discrimination in private workplaces, and attempts to reach her for further comment Thursday were not successful.

Rep. Todd: "If you ask people on the street, they’ll say of course you can’t get fired. They think we’re a protected class, but we’re not." (Tipped by JMG reader Jeremy)

RUSSIA: Steve Jobs Memorial Torn Down Because Apple CEO Tim Cook Came Out

Via Business Insider:

Residents of Saint Petersburg have reportedly torn down a giant interactive iPhone memorial that commemorated the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs after the company's current CEO, Tim Cook, came out as gay on Thursday. Business FM Radio reports that the company that originally funded the memorial, ZEFS, decided to tear it down after Cook said he was proud to be gay. The six-foot tall memorial was erected in 2013 to celebrate Steve Jobs' life. It featured a large screen that showcased moments from Jobs' life, as well as scrolling quotations from his speeches and a QR code on the back that would take people who scanned it to a website.

The chairman of the company that installed the memorial said that it might return with a message that instructs Russians not to buy Apple products. (Tipped by JMG reader Alan)

Tony Perkins On Tim Cook

"Apple’s old logo was colored by the rainbow -- and it looks like their top management still is. Three years after taking the company over for an ailing Steve Jobs, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed what many people suspected: he identifies as a homosexual. Cook, the head of the tech world’s colossus, said he made the announcement because his predecessor had urged him to 'be himself' as the company’s chief executive. This may surprise liberals, but as far as I’m concerned, Cook’s sexuality is irrelevant. It only becomes an issue when homosexuals make it one -- and use their businesses as a platform for radical activism.

"When companies get involved in cultural battles, every consumer is forced to take part. And whether people realize it or not, their money could be fueling an agenda they strongly oppose. As conservatives, we aren’t looking for businesses to take our side. We don’t want them to take either side! All we’re asking is for them to focus on their mission of providing quality products and service. If you think it’s impossible to change corporate America, think again. All too often, we get angry at the culture but don’t do anything about it. Being conscious of where your dollars are going is a small thing that can have a big impact. Regardless of political correctness, money talks. And believe me, corporate America is listening." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, in a press release that links out to a listing of companies to patronize or boycott based on their stance on LGBT rights and other issues. Apple is not yet listed.

RUSSIA: Anti-Gay Lawmaker Calls From Banning Apple CEO Tim Cook "For Life"

"What could he bring us? The ebola virus, AIDS, gonorrhea? They all have unseemly ties over there. Ban him for life." - St. Petersburg lawmaker Vitaly Milonov, calling for Russia to ban Apple CEO Tim Cook from ever visiting. Milonov, who is partly responsible for Russia's ban on "gay propaganda," has led numerous anti-gay demonstrations, some of which have resulted in violence against LGBT Russians.

LGBT Business Group Lauds Tim Cook

Via press release from Out Leadership:

Out Leadership, a strategic advisory firm dedicated to cultivating LGBT and ally senior leaders to create global business opportunity and drive equality forward, congratulates Apple CEO Tim Cook on the occasion of his coming out publicly.

“While Tim Cook chose to publicly identify himself as gay for the first time yesterday, he and Apple have long been allies to the LGBT community,” said Todd Sears, Out Leadership’s Founder. “We particularly applaud his choice to use this moment to underline the business case for diversity and the value of out leaders in the boardroom.”

“Though Cook may not consider himself an activist, the fact that the leader of the world’s most valuable company is proud to be gay will no doubt reverberate globally,” Sears continued. “Apple is admired and emulated worldwide, including in many places that have historically been unwelcoming to LGBT people and professionals. Today it’s going to be a bit harder to both love your iPhone and be a homophobe.”

The above-linked press release includes quotes from the CEOs of Deutsche Bank, HSBC, and Goldman Sachs.

HRC Reacts To Sen. Ted Cruz

"It's curious that virtually everything that comes out of Senator Cruz's mouth is either an insult or a put-down. Today, it was Tim Cook, LGBT Americans and three of the GOP's most revered leaders. Positivity training should be on his to-do list. Lighten up, Ted. Coming out is the most courageous and important thing that an LGBT person will do in their lifetime. Tim Cook showed great courage and leadership in doing so. He no doubt will save lives by inspiring those struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity. All we get from Senator Cruz is either backhanded compliments or his backhand." - Fred Sainz, vice present of the Human Rights Campaign, via press release.

Syndicated Radio Hosts Attack Tim Cook

Wikipedia: "The Rick and Bubba Show is heard each weekday morning on their flagship station WZZK and on over 50 radio stations in 15 states – mostly in the Southern United States."

UPDATE: Perhaps out of shame, but more likely due to the widespread outrage, the duo has removed the clip from their Facebook page and made it private on YouTube. If anybody has a mirror of their vile rant, please send it to me.

UPDATE II: Copy via JMG readers Jeremy and Andrea.

Bill Clinton Congratulates Tim Cook

Free Republic Donation Image

The above money beg appears in the middle of Free Republic's sadz fest about Tim Cook.

Sen. Ted Cruz: Being Gay Is Tim Cook's Personal Choice But I Love My iPhone

The Hill reports on Sen. Ted Cruz' reaction to today's coming out by Apple CEO Tim Cook:

"Those are his personal choices. I’ll tell you, I love my iPhone," Cruz said. "Listen, Tim Cook makes his personal decisions, and that is his life. My focus is on the constitutional question of who has the authority to make decisions," he later added. Cruz said that marriage is a "question for the states" because of the country's federalist system. "This is something we’ve seen over and over again, which is the federal government and federal courts deciding they don’t trust the people," Cruz said. "They look down on the people, they don’t trust us to make judgments about our own lives, so the federal government and federal courts are going to step in and impose their own policy preferences."

Tim Cook: I'm Proud To Be Gay

"While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me. Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple." - Tim Cook, coming out formally at last in an essay published by Business Week.