J.K. Rowling On Dumbledore Being Gay

J.K. Rowling Wants To Pay Her Share

Unlike many of Britain's uber-wealthy, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling isn't dodging her taxes by setting up a home in another country.

I chose to remain a domiciled taxpayer for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I wanted my children to grow up where I grew up, to have proper roots in a culture as old and magnificent as Britain’s. A second reason, however, was that I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major’s Government, was there to break the fall. I cannot help feeling, therefore, that it would have been contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque. This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism.

Yes, that IS a notion of patriotism that we like.

Dubya: No Medals For Witches

Think Progress reports that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling was removed from consideration for receiving a Presidential Medal Of Freedom because Dubya administration officials believed her book "encouraged" the practice of witchcraft.

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).

As documented at the above link, Dubya and pals had no problem bestowing the Medal of Freedom on numerous pro-Iraq war allies. Medals for oil, not for art!

Friendly Voices - J.K. Rowling

"Homophobia is a fear of people loving, more than it is of the sexual act. There seems to be an innate distaste for the love involved, which I find absolutely extraordinary. The issue is love. It's not about sex." - Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, speaking about the right wing's furor regarding her revelation that Dumbledore was gay.

Rowling: "Fundamentalism is, 'I will not open my mind to look on your side of the argument at all. I won't read it, I won't look at it, I'm too frightened.' That's what's dangerous about it, whether it be politically extreme, religiously extreme. In fact, fundamentalists across all the major religions, if you put them in a room, they'd have bags in common! They hate all the same things, it's such an ironic thing."