Tag Archives: writers

Dear Abby advice columnist Pauline Phillips has died at the age of 94. Phillips was known for being one of earliest and most widely-read supporters of gay people. Phillips’ column competed for decades with the advice column of Ann Landers, written by her twin sister, Esther Friedman Lederer. Their relationship was stormy in their early adult years, but later they …

“We are here in direct relation to the heroes and she-roes who paid with their lives for this right. Many of us are old enough to remember what it felt like to be told we could not register to vote without taking a test or paying a poll tax. Some were asked how many angels danced on a head of …

Hal David, the legendary songwriting partner of Burt Bacharach, has died at the age of 91. David died of complications from a stroke Saturday morning in Los Angeles, according to Jim Steinblatt, spokesman for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. David was a longtime member and former president of ASCAP. Bacharach and David wrote many top 40 hits …

Pithy, withering, astute, bold narcissist. Nobody tossed out bon mots like Gore Vidal. Here are just a few. “It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.” “The United States was founded by the brightest people in the country — and we haven’t seen them since.” “Fifty percent of people won’t vote, and fifty percent don’t read newspapers. I hope …

Earlier this week gay evangelical Azariah Southworth published a blog entry outing well-known Atlantic columnist and Christian author Jonathan Merritt. This morning JMG reader Dwight tipped us that Merritt will be making a “special announcement” at the Georgia church where his father, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, is head pastor and where the younger Merritt had been …

Yesterday I posted a quote from Atlantic columnist and Christian author Jonathan Merritt (above left) in which, referencing the Chick-Fil-A brouhaha, he denounced consumer boycotts driven by social issues. Shortly thereafter I received a Facebook email from gay evangelical Azariah Southworth (who came out in 2008) in which he hinted that he knew something as-yet undisclosed yet very pertinent to …

Famed director, author, and screenwriter Nora Ephron has died of leukemia at the age of 71. The three-time Academy Award nominee was a prolific author, screenwriter, playwright and director who made a name for herself as a pioneer in Hollywood, where she was one of the first women to write and direct her own films. She contributed essays and journalism …

My second favorite author of all time, behind Arthur Clarke. Details. Ray Bradbury — author of The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked this Way Comes, and many more literary classics — died this morning in Los Angeles, at the age of 91.

“The left is at war with the family, and they want control of our children’s education. That’s what those signs on the lawns are about. I’m not making this up – it’s already happening wherever the left has complete control of education. Parents in those places are already forbidden to opt out of sexual and gender propaganda. And with the …

“Happy Easter, Gay People of the World: you have indeed risen in the last few decades from centuries of persecution and oppression. May this be a great holiday for you all wherever you are. You are winning the battle for equal rights. And your victory over discrimination and hate is a victory for all oppressed persons. Happy Easter!” – Anne …

Famed atheist, author, and curmudgeon Christopher Hitchens has died of cancer at the age of 62. Hitchens was diagnosed with advanced esophageal cancer in June 2010, when his memoir, “Hitch-22,” hit the bestseller lists. He wrote and spoke unflinchingly of his grim prognosis and acknowledged that years of heavy smoking and drinking had placed him at high risk for the …

Continuing a mini-trend of well-known writers leaving purely political sites for those with a more broad focus, top Politico contributor Ben Smith is leaving for Buzzfeed. After nearly five years of blogging in this space, and seven years of writing a political blog every day, I have a bit of self-referential media news: I’ll be moving on at the end …

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The Jews “have a lot to answer for” for the state of the world. Pat Robertson: They’re liberal because of their self-hatred.

Are we done with this asshat yet? UPDATE: Dan Savage writes us to point out that It Gets Better contributor Gabrielle Rivera made the same point six months ago. (But without a nonsensical condemnation of “gay narcissism.”)

Obviously NSFW for the audio. Unrelated to and contrary to what you’d expect of someone getting such a tribute as this song, earlier this week Bradbury decried modern technology. “We have too many cellphones. We’ve got too many Internets. We have got to get rid of those machines. We have too many machines now.”

New York Post editorial writer and columnist John Wilson has quit the newspaper business to become a Catholic priest. Wilson spent three years on the Post‘s editorial board, landing there immediately after graduating from Claremont McKenna College in California. “I definitely grew fond of tabloid journalism as such,” he says. “I had a great time and I think I was …