JK Rowling denied top US honour
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| Wed, 09-30-2009 - 9:51am |

JK Rowling's Harry Potter's books have sold more than 400 million copies
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8282356.stm
Harry Potter author JK Rowling missed out on a top honour because some US politicians believed she "encouraged witchcraft", it has been claimed.
Matt Latimer, former speech writer for President George W Bush, said that some members of his administration believed her books promoted sorcery.
As a result, she was never presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The claims appear in Latimer's new book called Speechless: Tales of a White House Survivor.
He wrote that "narrow thinking" led White House officials to object to giving Rowling the civilian honour.
The award acknowledges contributions to US national interest, world peace or cultural endeavours.
Past literary recipients of the award include John Steinbeck and Harper Lee.
Others denied the privilege under the Bush administration included Senator Edward Kennedy, who died in August this year.
Latimer claimed, in his book, that the veteran politician and health care activist was excluded because he was deemed to be too liberal.



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Blessings,
Gypsy
)O(
Blessings,
Gypsy
)O(
"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset.
- Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator
Dog fighting is cruelty, which is a human activity and a human illness.
It's not the dog's fault.
All dogs need to be evaluated as individuals."
--Tim Racer, one of BAD RAP's founders
http://www.badrap.org/rescue/
Mika Dog
"All things share the same breath;
the beast, the tree, the man.
The Air shares its spirit with
all the life it supports."
--Chief Seattle
"If there are no dogs in Heaven,
then when I die I want to go where they went."
~Will Rogers
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress
can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
~~Mahatma Gandhi
"Life is a state of mind." ~~from Being There.
Blessings,
Gypsy
)O(
Despite the fact that her books DON'T promote witchcraft any more that Scooby-doo does...her books don't really contribute to US national interest, world peace, or cultural endeavours anyway. But that IS a stupid reason they gave for not giving her the award!
Here's a list of previous Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients. It's pretty interesting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom_recipients
I guess my question would be what has she done to deserve the Medal of Freedom?
According to a description I found The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
I'm not sure how writing children's books fits this category.
OK, after reading the list of other recipients I see there are various categories including literature.
I guess I'm still missing the point. I can't see children's fiction as literature deserving a medal from the PRESIDENT.
Weeellll...I wouldn't say it's a 'children's book'. LOL!
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