Hillary Lauds Elizabeth Warren For TIME

"It was always going to take a special kind of leader to pick up Ted Kennedy’s mantle as senior Senator from Massachusetts—champion of working families and scourge of special interests. Elizabeth Warren never lets us forget that the work of taming Wall Street’s irresponsible risk taking and reforming our financial system is far from finished. And she never hesitates to hold powerful people’s feet to the fire: bankers, lobbyists, senior government officials and, yes, even presidential aspirants. Elizabeth Warren’s journey from janitor’s daughter to Harvard professor to public watchdog to U.S. Senator has been driven by an unflagging determination to level the playing field for hardworking American families like the one she grew up with in Oklahoma. She fights so hard for others to share in the American Dream because she lived it herself." - Hillary Clinton, writing for TIME's 100 Most Influential People series.

This Week's TIME Magazine

HomoQuotable - Steve Friess

"[G]ay activists are as responsible as anyone for the fact that a large swath of Americans who thought they were OK with gays are finding themselves surprised by their own reactions to what they’re starting to see [on television]. This is, after all, a civil rights movement that aggressively worked for many years to downplay the mechanics of gay sexual behavior. [snip] This is how the fights over the integration of the military and legalized same-sex marriage were won. Every time anti-gay forces tried to gross out the nation by referencing the gritty details of, say, anal sex, gay advocates would reply by accusing them of being secretly titillated by and obsessed with it. Whenever some crusty old military hack would grouse about gays being naked in showers or barracks with straight soldiers, gay activists did everything they could to insist gay people are supernaturally capable of stifling every fleeting sexual thought even when something attractive is before them." - Steve Friess, in a Time Magazine essay on the "preposterousness" of some reactions to comments made by Billy Crystal. Hit the link for more.

TIME's Person Of The Year

Via TIME Magazine:

Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease, and “us” means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day. The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight. For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defenses, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are TIME’s 2014 Person of the Year.

Runner-up was Vladimir Putin:

Russia now seeks to position itself as an alternative to the Western model of liberal democracy—and it’s had some success. Right-wing politicians in France and the U.K., not to mention Central and Eastern Europe, are not shy about declaring their admiration for Putin. The ultraconservative government of Hungary, a member of NATO and the European Union, has announced its intention to develop as an “illiberal state” modeled on Russia, cracking down harshly on civil society. It is a model that may seem old-fashioned—the Russian President claims not to use a cell phone and has called the Internet a “CIA project”—but his appeal is broad and growing for the many around the world who feel left out of the 21st century. “Putin doesn’t want to play within the system anymore,” says Michael McFaul, whose term as U.S. ambassador to Russia ended in February. “He wants to challenge it now. He wants to prod. He wants to build relationships with others against that system, with the Chinese, Turks, maybe India. That is a longer-term challenge.

HomoQuotable - Robert Hanson

"Performing my best means bringing my authentic self to work, every day. Unlike others, I’ve always had a supportive family and terrific friends and champions. I also have the benefit of my geography (a coastal city), my gender (male) and my ethnicity (white). While I’ve worked very hard, I recognize how fortunate I am. I often meet other gay people in business…as well as women and people of color who also remain underrepresented in senior roles…who are extraordinarily gifted, yet have not had the same opportunities. Sexual orientation can remain hidden, unlike gender or ethnicity, regardless of the public profile with which one lives. To understand why other executives directly or tacitly hide their sexual orientation, it’s helpful to consider the paths that lead them there. Remaining closeted is not, in most cases, due to a lack of courage, authenticity or integrity. This is their conundrum: They’ve been hired primarily to drive performance and deliver returns; but they are also supposed to serve as champions and role models for a wide swath of people, and do not want their sexual orientation to overwhelm or distract from their impact and tenure. The reason it might? History."  - John Hardy CEO Robert Hanson, in a TIME essay in response to recent media attention to the paucity of openly gay CEOs. Hanson is the former global brand director for Levi's. (Tipped by JMG reader Robert)

TIME Magazine: Eat Butter

The story is behind a paywall.

National Review Attacks Trans People

"Regardless of the question of whether he has had his genitals amputated, [Laverne] Cox is not a woman, but an effigy of a woman. Sex is a biological reality, and it is not subordinate to subjective impressions, no matter how intense those impressions are, how sincerely they are held, or how painful they make facing the biological facts of life. No hormone injection or surgical mutilation is sufficient to change that. Genital amputation and mutilation is the extreme expression of the phenomenon, but it is hardly outside the mainstream of contemporary medical practice. The trans self-conception, if the autobiographical literature is any guide, is partly a feeling that one should be living one’s life as a member of the opposite sex and partly a delusion that one is in fact a member of the opposite sex at some level of reality that transcends the biological facts in question. There are many possible therapeutic responses to that condition, but the offer to amputate healthy organs in the service of a delusional tendency is the moral equivalent of meeting a man who believes he is Jesus and inquiring as to whether his insurance plan covers crucifixion." - Kevin Williamson, writing for the National Review.

This Week's TIME Magazine Cover

The story is behind a paywall.

Jason Collins Lands Inside Cover Of TIME

Chelsea Clinton has written a Jason Collins profile for TIME's most influential people issue. Via Today:

TIME magazine unveiled its 11th annual “Time 100 Most Influential People in the World” issue on Thursday, with major — and controversial — figures from music, movies and the political world filling up a large portion of the list. Superstar Beyonce Knowles-Carter is on the cover of the popular issue, and subsequent inside covers feature actor Robert Redford, Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay athlete, and General Motors CEO Mary Barra. Other honorees include actress Amy Adams, Amazon founder and The Washington Post’s newest owner Jeff Bezos, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Pope Francis, actress Christy Turlington Burns, potential presidential candidate and grandmother-to-be Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State John Kerry, Late Night host Seth Meyers, country singer Carrie Underwood, “Happy” singer Pharrell Williams, Russian President Vladimir Putin and singer Miley Cyrus, making it possibly the first time Putin and Cyrus have had something in common.

Inside covers are a thing? (Tipped by JMG reader RKK)

This Week's TIME Magazine

Glenn Beck: TIME Magazine Is Totally Fascist For Selecting Pope Francis

Mediaite breaks it down:

Just like his fellow conservative host Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck was not pleased with TIME Magazine’s decision to name Pope Francis its Person of the Year for 2013. But unlike Glenn Greenwald and countless other journalists, Beck didn’t think the honor should have gone to Edward Snowden. He had someone else in mind: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Beck claimed that the only reason TIME didn’t put Cruz on its year-end cover was because they “didn’t want to give him anymore power.” Meanwhile, Beck admonished the magazine for making Adolf Hitler what was then called “Man of the Year” in 1938. He was also upset about the inclusion of Benito Mussolini, even though that never actually happened. “Remember, progressives are fascist,” he reminded his audience. “They are for fascism.”

Quote Of The Day - Edith Windsor

"I am honored that Time chose me as one of the number 3 individuals in the top 5 nominees for ‘Person of the Year,’ but I am just one person who was part of the extraordinary and on-going fight for marriage equality for all our families. There are thousands of people who helped us come this far and we still have a lot more work to do. The gay community is my ‘person of the year’ and I look forward to continuing to fight for equal rights and educate the public about our lives alongside my gay brothers and sisters and our allies. Even without taking the ‘Person of the Year’ even being in the top 5 is an extraordinary way to end a year that has been historic for all of us and truly spectacular for me and gave me the chance to tell my story via Time through an interview and audio interview with photo slideshow. Thea would be thrilled, proud and so happy to see what we have all accomplished together." - Edith Windsor, via email. (The link goes to Windsor's just-launched website, which chronicles her life and the battle to overturn DOMA.)

TIME Names Pope Francis Person Of The Year, Edith Windsor Ranked Third

TIME Magazine today named Pope Francis as its person of the year.  In second place is Edward Snowden, with DOMA champion Edith Windsor placing third.  Syrian President Bashar Assad is ranked fourth, and Tea Party hero Ted Cruz finished out the top five.  Has TIME previously revealed the runners-up in this manner?

Edith Windsor: Top Ten Finalist For TIME Magazine's Person Of The Year

TIME Magazine today released the top ten finalists for Person Of The Year. On the list is Edith Windsor.  Here are the finalists in alphabetical order. 

Bashar Assad, President of Syria
Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder
Ted Cruz, Texas Senator
Miley Cyrus, Singer
Pope Francis, Leader of the Catholic Church
Barack Obama, President of the United States
Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran
Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services
Edward Snowden, N.S.A. Leaker
Edith Windsor, Gay rights activist

The 2013 Person Of The Year will be revealed on Wednesday.

Freep This TIME Magazine Poll

TIME Magazine is polling readers for its annual Person Of The Year issue. Click over and vote for Edith Windsor, my pretties. NOTE: You must connect your Facebook account to vote (ugh). At this writing 57% of voters do not want Windsor to be be selected. (Tipped by JMG reader Alan)

Christie On TIME Magazine Cover

"If I’m bothered by jokes about my weight, it’s time for me to curl up into a fetal position and go home, okay? If they think that’s clever, great for them! They run the magazine, they get to make the decisions. The way people in New Jersey look at this: their governor’s been on the cover of TIME Magazine twice in one year, we must be doing something right." - Chris Christie, speaking this morning on This Week With George Stephanopoulos.

The Next Issue Of TIME

TIME Magazine's new cover is blowing up Twitter today. Via Mediaite:

Next to a shadowy profile of newly-reelected New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the cover reads, “The Elephant in the Room,” a triple pun on Christie’s party, his uncomfortable status within it, and, most troubling to the tweepsters, his weight. Despite Christie’s party affiliation, the cover drew much of its criticism from liberals, and even from old Time employees.

This Week's TIME

The Tea People are furious. Good.

MSNBC On New TIME Covers

TIME Magazines's Next Cover