Happy Monday!

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great Holiday weekend! and the Easter Bunny brought you lots of goodies!
 Well now with the blog underway my goal is to post Mon. Wed. and Fri. with random posts in between when ever time allows some weeks more some weeks less! so off we go! 

Ellen DeGeneres Tops Out Magazine's 2014 Power 50 List

Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Sam and Robin Roberts are among popular names who are included in this year's list of the most influential LGBT voices in American culture by Out magazine.

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Ellen DeGeneres has reclaimed the first place in Out magazine's Power 50 list, which features most influential LGBT voices in American culture. The talk show host, who last year was placed second, snatches the position from Apple's CEO Tim Cook who falls to second spot this year.

"Everybody loves Ellen, and that's one of the reasons she's regained the top spot," the magazine wrote. This year, the host of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" made headlines after a selfie she took with stars at the Oscars broke record of most retweeted post ever and briefly crashed the site.

Neil Patrick Harris, meanwhile, is on sixth place. Robin Roberts (II) and NFL prospect Michael Sam also make it into the top 10. They are placed 9 and 10 respectively. Sam previously talked about his sexual preference in an interview with New York Times, "singlehandedly shifting the discussion about gay men in professional sports."

Ellen Page makes her appearance in the list for the first time at number 29. The "X Men: Days of Future Past" star revealed her sexual preference at Time to THRIVE conference in Las Vegas in February.

Top 10 Figures in Out Magazine's Power 50 List:

• Ellen DeGeneres (talk show host)
• Tim Cook (Apple CEO)
• Rachel Maddow (MSNBC host)
• Tammy Baldwin (U.S. Senator)
• Glenn Greenwald (journalist)
• Ryan Murphy ("Glee", "American Horror Story" creator, producer)
• Neil Patrick Harris (actor)
• Andy Cohen (Bravo executive)
• Michael Sam (football player)
• Robin Roberts (II) ("Good Morning America" host)

 

 

Susanne Atanus, Who Blames Gay Rights For Tornadoes, Wins GOP Nomination For Congress

 

A Republican candidate who believes that God dictates weather patterns and that tornadoes, autism and dementia are God's punishments for marriage equality and abortion access won the GOP nomination to challenge Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) in the Chicago-area 9th Congressional District.
Susanne Atanus, of Niles, Ill., garnered 54 percent of the vote in her Tuesday win over David Earl Williams III.
"I am not in favor of abortions, I am not in favor of gay rights," Atanus told the Daily Herald, a suburban Chicago newspaper, in January.
She blamed natural disasters and mental disorders on recent advances in LGBT equality and legal abortions.
"God is angry. We are provoking him with abortions and same-sex marriage and civil unions," she said. "Same-sex activity is going to increase AIDS. If it's in our military, it will weaken our military. We need to respect God."
Atanus also reached out to the Windy City Times, an LGBT publication, in an attempt to explain her views.
"Everybody knows that God controls weather," she told the news site in January. "God is super angry," she added. "Gay marriage is not appropriate, and it doesn't look right, and it breeds AIDS."
Jack Dorgan, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, and Adam Robinson, chairman of the Chicago Republican Party, both condemned Atanus' comments and distanced the party from her candidacy. ................and so Ms. Anus your god is so great he hates gays so he kills lots of innocent people that are not gay to get back at us? REALLY?
Why would anyone want to be Gay when you could have something as attractive as this?

And we wonder why our government is so fucked up!!!

The meanings of the Gay rainbow colors

What's next in gay marriage's legal odyssey?

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Utah Gay Marriage Law Going to Federal Court

Thursday's hearing in Denver was the second of two hearings on gay marriage that were weighted with legal significance. The cases are the first time an appellate court has considered the ramifications of last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The hearing on the legality of Oklahoma's gay marriage ban came one week after a three-judge panel heard a similar case originating from Utah.

Gay rights activists have won eight lower court cases since the Supreme Court ruling, and expectations are high that the nation's highest court eventually will rule that gays can marry in every state. But a lot can happen before then.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK?

The three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in Utah's appeal of a judge's ruling striking down its gay marriage ban. The judges seemed evenly split: one against the ban, one willing to uphold it and a third who asked sharp questions of both sides. The same judges Thursday heard Oklahoma's appeal of a similar ruling that invalidated its gay marriage ban. The judges likely will issue separate rulings, but they could come on the same day. The cases are similar in that both bans were passed by voters in 2004, and they were struck down by federal judges within a month of each other this winter. The legal arguments for and against also are alike.

WHAT'S CHANGED?

The Supreme Court last year found that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that forbade the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage improperly deprived gay couples of due process. That ruling came as polls showed a majority of Americans now support gay marriage. Lower-court judges have repeatedly cited the Supreme Court decision when striking down same-sex marriage bans. So far they have ruled against bans in Michigan, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Texas, and ordered Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. Gay marriage is legal in 17 states and the District of Columbia.

 

Plaintiff challenging Oklahoma's gay marriage ban Sue Barton, left, gets a hug from her pastor,  …

WHEN DOES THE ISSUE RETURN TO THE SUPREME COURT?

Legal experts say the Supreme Court eventually will take a gay marriage case after one or more appeals court rulings, but that won't happen until 2015 at the earliest. And the high court is under no obligation to take up the issue. The three-judge 10th Circuit panel is only the first of five circuits hearing appeals of all those lower-court gay marriage rulings. It is not expected to issue its ruling for several months. In any of the appellate cases, the losing party can appeal directly to the Supreme Court, or first ask for the entire appellate court to review the ruling in what is called an en banc hearing. It's unclear which case would reach the high court first.

IF GAY RIGHTS GROUPS WIN IN DENVER, CAN GAY PEOPLE START GETTING MARRIED?

Unlikely. The 10th Circuit's ruling will become law in the six states it covers — Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming. But it is likely that a ruling striking down Utah's gay marriage ban — the law at issue in the case — will be put on hold until the Supreme Court weighs in. The top court already stayed December's trial court ruling that briefly legalized same-sex weddings in Utah. If the plaintiffs win in Denver, Utah appeals directly to the high court, and the Supreme Court declines to act, then gay marriage would be effectively legalized in the 10th Circuit's states. Same-sex couples wanting to marry in other 10th Circuit states likely would have to first get a judge to formally strike down their state's ban. The New Mexico Supreme Court already has legalized same-sex weddings there.
WILL THE U.S. SUPREME COURT LEGALIZE GAY MARRIAGE?

Many legal observers say they expect so but also acknowledge it's impossible to predict what the high court will do. The Supreme Court also could just wait and see how the nation's appellate courts rule. It often waits until there is a conflict between appellate courts before taking a case.

Top 20 Concert Tours from Pollstar

The Top 20 Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows in North America. The previous week's ranking is in parentheses. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.

1. (2) Justin Timberlake; $1,912,698; $112.70.

2. (3) George Strait; $1,591,432; $91.43.

3. (New) Paul Simon/Sting; $1,467,002; $130.59.

4. (6) Jason Aldean; $644,985; $50.81.

5. (7) Kings Of Leon; $556,737; $55.83.

6. (9) Imagine Dragons; $487,301; $38.20.

7. (10) Lady Antebellum; $432,695; $59.36.

8. (11) Demi Lovato; $412,833; $46.35.

9. (12) Jeff Dunham; $269,768; $45.07.

10. (13) Darius Rucker; $259,532; $42.96.

11. (14) The Moody Blues; $199,022; $78.04.

12. (16) The Band Perry; $174,006; $41.71.

13. (17) "Winter Jam"/Newsboys/Lecrae; $157,370; $13.28.

14. (18) Blue Rodeo; $156,763; $52.49.
15. (19) Justin Moore; $148,747; $33.26.
16. (New) Zoe; $134,774; $35.80.

17. (21) Ron White; $126,031; $51.66.

18. (New) Pixies; $121,923; $50.24.

19. (New) Third Day/Skillet; $120,445; $25.51.

20. (New) Celtic Woman; $120,043; $58.25.

 





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