The World’s Most Powerful Gay Man

Posted on Aug 26, 2011

The media ignore the fact that new Apple CEO Tim Cook is gay; the ratings of both the Republican and Democratic parties decline; and the consequences of the defeat of Gadhafi’s regime are still up in the air. These discoveries and more, below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

The links below open in a new window. Newer ones are on top.

Don’t Ignore Tim Cook’s sexuality
Tim Cook is now the most powerful gay man in the world. This is newsworthy, no? But you won’t find it reported in any legacy/mainstream outlet.

Americans Want More Pressure on Students, the Chinese Want Less
With U.S. students underperforming in international tests, it may not be surprising that more than six-in-ten (64 percent) Americans say that parents do not put enough pressure on their children to do well in school. In sharp contrast, about two-thirds (68 percent) of the Chinese public take just the opposite position in saying that parents in their country, with its surging economy, put too much pressure on their children to succeed academically.

Obama Leadership Image Takes a Hit, GOP Ratings Decline
The public is profoundly discontented with conditions in the country, its government, political leadership and several of its major institutions.

Steve Jobs and America
Jon Taplin lists his take-aways from Steve Jobs’ departure from Apple.

Too Soon to Declare Victory
Moammar Gadhafi’s whereabouts are still unknown, and the defeat of his regime may be near at hand. But the consequences of that defeat remain uncertain.

The secret the politicians and media won’t tell you: Government is legally required to create jobs
The debate about the debt ceiling should have been a conversation about how to create jobs. It is time for progressives to remind the government that it has a legal duty to create jobs, and must act immediately—if not through Congress, then through the Federal Reserve.

Number of women working in TV falls
The number of women working as writers and directors on prime-time broadcast programs took a big tumble in the 2010-11 season, a new study reports—part of an overall decline in women’s employment as actresses and in key creative jobs behind the camera.

Is Sleep Brain Defragmentation?
After a period of heavy use, hard disks tend to get “fragmented.” Data get written all over random parts of the disk, and it gets inefficient to keep track of it all.

Another ‘not gay’ legislator pays a young man for a good time
Indiana State Rep. Phil Hinkle admitted Tuesday that he paid a young man $80 to have a good time. But Hinkle insisted he isn’t gay and doesn’t know why he did it.

Russian court bans Mickey Mouse as Christ painting
A court in central Russia has ruled that a painting of the Sermon on the Mount that features Mickey Mouse instead of Jesus Christ is extremist, the regional prosecutor’s office said Friday.

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