The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civil award, and is given to individuals who have contributed to: 1) the security or national interests of the United States, 2) world peace, or 3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
In his new book, Speechless: Tales of a White House Survivor, former Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer reveals how politicized the revered Presidential Medal of Freedom became during the Bush administration.
Latimer writes that administration officials objected to giving author J.K. Rowling the Presidential Medal of Freedom because her writing “encouraged witchcraft” (p. 201)…
Teabaggers eat this stuff up with their grits.
But, but, but they believe in the NYSE and Federal Reserve, right? How different are they from witchcraft?
So the medal is politicized. So what? It’s probably now almost as worthless as a Nobel Peace Prize. Might as well give one to Jimmy Carter and complete the process.
Teabaggers eat this stuff up with their grits.
Teabaggers?
I don’t think so, Scooter.
If you are talking about TINOs (the RINOs who go to Teaparties), then I would have to agree.
Unfortunately, the repubs have given the movement a bad name. Like the Obamessiah has given liberalism a bad name.
Wouldn’t have a little bias here would we? Using Think Progress Blog as a source and a graphic that has nothing to do with the subject.
Latimer, whose memoir was published last week by Crown in the US, says that the “narrow thinking” of “people in the White House” led them “to actually object to giving the author JK Rowling a presidential medal because the Harry Potter books encouraged witchcraft”.
People in the White Houes? What the hell does that mean, the plumber, a tour group?
George Bush believes in Witchcraft? Sure the witches would have had their way with him by now.
why would she deserve the medal of freedom?
Teabaggers are members of Voldemort’s inner circle.
Harry Potter promotes Witchcraft like the Bible promotes Good Moral Values.
These sort of folks make little sense.
“Harry potter is horrible, filled with witch craft!” “Dungeons and dragons role playing game is evil! It teaches you how to cast spells!”
All my life I have heard these sort of moronic statements by hypocritical morons who will happily let you borrow their copy of ‘Mary Poppins’ or ‘Bed knobs and broomsticks’ etc.
Crazy loons 🙁
#6: Why a medal for J. K. Rowling? Because the Harry Potter books have gotten children and teens to read again of their own free will, along with a lot of adults that haven’t read in awhile. The last time people were inspired to read like this was when the Lord of the Rings books came out in paperback in the 60s. Yes, I actually bought the Trilogy in high school during the 60s, then bought another set when the first books wore out.
Harry Potter is gay. That is all.
This is the same administration that put a party line officer in the NASA media office to control the flow of information.
He was a 20-something Bush campaign worker put in charge of editing what comes out of NASA. He didn’t like the fact that NASA referred to the Big Bang without qualifying it as “..a theory that discounts intelligent design by a creator.”
And he also prevented the media from interviewing NASA scientist that didn’t toe the party line regarding climate change.
He was saving it to give to that numbnuts George Tenet.
Isn’t the Presidential Medal of Freedom usually given to people that do something heroic. I mean the Harry Potter series is a good series of books that made children read, but it hardly compares with firefighters rushing into the World Trade Center to help evacuate people on September 11.
I can’t even begin to express the disgust that I have when reading how modern day elected officials either believe in or pander to those that believe in absurd fairy tales such as the bible.
I am with #6 on this one, She really doesn’t deserve the medal. All she did, was do her job, and make lots of money.
Now giving it to a civilian who risked his/her life to save others, is what the medal should be for, not for an Author who was just doing her job.
A medal of freedom for a hack writer that borrowed from a 70’s series of books about pretty much the same topic written in pretty much the same hack style?
Yep. Then we can give them more to all the other hack, trite and odious writers of the past 60 years.
Cursor_
Eideard at his loony best.
So Think Progress is his source of truth? Glad to see he’s a free thinker.
Wikipedia’s list of literature winners
Harper Lee (2007), Jacques Barzun (2003)
Elie Wiesel (1992) Albert Wohlstetter (1985)
Louis L’Amour (1984) Robert Penn Warren (1980)
James Burnham (1983) Dumas Malone (1983)
Eric Hoffer (1982) Eudora Welty (1980)
Tennessee Williams (1980) Archibald MacLeish (1977)
James A. Michener (1977) DeWitt Wallace (1972)
Ralph Ellison (1969) J. Frank Dobie (1964)
T. S. Eliot (1964) Carl Sandburg (1964)
John Steinbeck (1964) E.B. White (1963)
Thornton Wilder (1963) Edmund Wilson (1963)
Against this list, if I were working in the White House and some White House intern geeky fan suggested JK Rowling, I’d probably respond with ‘nah that supports witchcraft.’
How about Tom Clancy next, followed by John Grisham.
They gave one to Dick Cheney back in 1991, and he’s the worst human being on earth.
WTF? Medal of Freedom to a children’s book writer?
I guess words really don’t mean things in modern times.
Dumbledore is gay- What kind of degenerate writer drags the homosexual lifestyle into a book for children?
JK Rowling should be thrown in jail as a child molester.
Bush gave the medal to Doris Day. If Doris friggin’ Day deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom, then J. K. Rowling does too.
#24 – Dr Dodd – What kind of degenerate writer drags the homosexual lifestyle into a book for children?
I can think of another series of authors, who wrote the most infamous book of them all… the bible. And while we’re on that subject… What kind of fucked up sicko organization base their lies on and promotes necrophilia? Yes, that’s that’s right… Christianity.
By promoting “witchcraft”, she is promoting ideas opposite to that of the mental slavery that is religion that was being pushed by the religious extremists.
Sounds like shes medal of freedom worthy to me 😉
# 24 Dr Dodd said, on September 29th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
“Dumbledore is gay- What kind of degenerate writer drags the homosexual lifestyle into a book for children?”
Are you being sarcastic? I read all the books and did not once see anything gay about Dumbledore. I believe the “Dumbledore is gay” fiasco was due to a flippant comment JK Rowling made in an interview when asked why Dumbledore doesn’t have a girlfriend.
Got to go. [sarc]I need to cast spells on certain elected officials and worship Satin because it really is a nice material.”[/sarc]
#24-Benjamin-Are you being sarcastic?
For people like you that have a sense of humor, yes – very sarcastic.
For #26-Jägermeister who was born angry, I meant every word.
#29 – Dr Dodd – I meant every word.
I’m sure you did. So did I.
Have any of you who are behaving like monkeys flinging turds at J. K. Rowling have ANY idea how big those Harry Potter books are? And more importantly, how many kids in the U.S. are reading them? Good lord, any 300+ pages long book capable of getting them off the computer is worth the effort.
Interesting.
Laura Bush has listed the Harry Potter books as some of her favorites.