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Tag Archives: Authors
It’s a Narnia Christmas : A Hodgepodge of History Bound Together by Love
Drawing by Jeffrey Fisher. Copyright 2008 / New York Times.‘Narnia is a mongrel thing, and so is Christmas. As is often the case, this mongrelizing is the source of its strength.’By Laura Miller / December 18, 2008 Every Christmas, I … Continue reading
Richard Rodriquez : Why Churches Fear Gay Marriage
Author Richard Rodriguez is Mexican-American, gay and a practicing Catholic. Photo by Christine Alicino / salon.com. As the American family fractures and the majority of women choose to live without men, churches are losing their grip on power and scapegoating … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Authors, Catholic Church, Gay Marriage, Gay Movement, Hispanic, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Proposition 8, Religion
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BOOKS / Edward Carpenter : A Life of Liberty and Love
A Pioneer’s Life Richly Rendered:Sheila Rowbotham offers the comprehensive, critical, contextualized biography Edward Carpenter deserves. By Doug Ireland Edward Carpenter: A Life of Liberty and LoveBy Sheila Rowbotham / Verso / 565 pages, $39.95. When Edward Carpenter (1844-1929) broke free … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Authors, Books, Gay Liberation, Homosexuality, Poets, Sexual Freedom, Sexuality, Social Activism, Socialism, Writers
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Studs Terkel : A People’s Journalist Passes
‘For Studs, listening was a craft, deeply studied and deliberately honed.’By Bruce Shapiro / November 1, 2008 When I was a student in Chicago in the late 1970s, Studs Terkel’s daily radio interview programs on WFMT were my morning seminars. … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged American History, Authors, Deaths, Historians, Journalists, People, Studs Terkel, Writers
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Concerning Mark Twain’s ‘War Prayer’ and the ‘Right to Life.’
Photo by Alex Wong / Getty Images.‘In every presidential election for the past several decades we hear a hue and cry from the citizens who represent the “right to life” movement.’By Dr. S. R. Keister / The Rag Blog / … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers
Tagged Abortion Rights, Authors, Health Care, Mark Twain, Pacifism, Peace Movement, Pro-Choice, Pro-Life
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Gore Vidal : John McCain in the Echo Chamber
Gore Vidal in 2007. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.‘Even from the corpse of the Republican Party, which Abraham Lincoln left somewhat hastily in the 19th century, this was an unusually sickening display.’By Gore Vidal October proved to be the cruelest … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged American History, Authors, Gore Vidal, Maury Maverick, McCain Campaign, Presidential Campaign, Republican Party, Texas
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Camilo Mejia in Austin : Private Rebellion, Public Resistance
‘Mejia’s primary message is that conscience, not combat, is the source of our freedom.’By Susan Van Haitsma / The Rag Blog / October 20, 2008 When Camilo Mejia walked into the auditorium of UT’s Garrison Hall where he was to … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers
Tagged Anti-War GIs, Authors, Books, Iraq Veterans, Social Action, War Resisters
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Joan Didion : Election by Sound Bite
Portrait of Joan Didion by Robert Birnbaum.Obsessed by ‘lipstick on a pig,’ economic ‘free fall’ and other ‘great stories,’ America has failed to see the real challenges it faces.By Joan Didion / October 17, 2008 This piece appears in the … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Authors, Free Elections, Media, Political Campaigns, Political Spin, Writers
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BANNED BOOKS : ‘Grapes Of Wrath’ And The Politics of Book Burning
Clell Pruett burns a copy of The Grapes Of Wrath as Bill Camp and another leader of the Associated Farmers stand by. At the time this photograph was taken, Pruett had not read the novel. Years later, after he read … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Authors, Banned Books Week, Books, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Speech, John Steinibeck
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Del Martin, Eloquent Voice of Gay and Lesbian Movement, Dead at 87
Del Martin, left, places a ring on her partner Phyllis Lyon during their June wedding ceremony officiated by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP.‘As a journalist, author and organizer, Martin helped shape the modern … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Authors, Deaths, Feminism, Gay Marriage, Gay Movement, Lesbians, Sexism, Social Action
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What George Orwell Wrote, 70 Years Later to the Day
George Orwell, author of 1984 and Animal Farm.‘”I think he would have been a blogger,” said Jean Seaton, a professor at the University of Westminster in London’By Noam Cohen / August 24, 2008 See George Orwell’s “post” for August 25, … Continue reading
What’s missing from this election? Molly Ivins!
Former Texas Observer editor and columinist extraordinaire Molly Ivins at her Austin home in 2001. Photo by Carolyn Mary Bauman / WpN. “The House passed (by one vote) a bill to eliminate barriers between banks, brokerage firms and insurance companies. … Continue reading →