Sunday, April 27, 2014

Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight is an author and journalist who regularly appears on national television and whose commentary is featured in major national publications. He is a leading advocate of same-sex marriage, and one of the most influential political writers of his generation.  He is openly gay and a practicing Roman Catholic. Today's Out Spotlight is Andrew Sullivan.

Andrew Sullivan was born in South Godstone, a small town in southern England, August 10, 1963. After earning a B.A. in modern history from Oxford University he received a fellowship to study at Harvard University, where he earned a masters degree in public administration and a Ph.D. in government. He has lived in the United States since 1984.

In 1986, he began at The New Republic (TNR) and in 1991, he was named the magazine's editor, the youngest in its history. In the five years Sullivan was at the helm, the magazine's circulation grew and advertising revenues increased. He expanded TNR's sphere beyond politics to cover such cultural topics as same-sex marriage and affirmative action. He created a stir by publishing excerpts from the controversial study on race and IQ, The Bell Curve.

In the 1990's Sullivan became known for his writing on gay issues. His article "The Politics of Homosexuality" has been called the most influential article of the decade in gay rights. "Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality" was the first book to advocate civil marriage rights for gay couples. He also published "Love Undetectable: Notes on Friendship, Sex, and Survival" and edited a reader, "Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con." Sullivan has gone on to author and edit six books.

As a practicing Catholic, Sullivan has challenged the Roman Catholic Church's position on homosexuality. In Virtually Normal he takes the position that the Bible forbids homosexuality only when it is linked to prostitution or pagan ritual.

His Burkean conservativism is rooted in his British Catholic background and in the political philosophy of his mentor, Michael Oakeshott.

Sullivan started his blog, "The Daily Dish," in 2000. He eventually moved the blog to various publishing platforms, including Time Magazine, The Atlantic, and The Daily Beast. In 2013, he switched to an independent, subscription based format.

His articles have appeared in The New Republic, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Postand Esquire. He is a regular guest on "The Chris Matthews Show," "Charlie Rose," "Anderson Cooper 360°," "Meet The Press," "Face the Nation," Nightline," "NPR's Fresh Air" and "Larry King Live."


He currently serves as a columnist for The Sunday Times of London.

Ross Douthat and Tyler Cowen have suggested that Sullivan is the most influential political writer of his generation, particularly because of his very early and strident support for gay marriage, his pioneering blog, support of the Iraq War, and subsequent support of Barack Obama's candidacy.

Sullivan currently resides in New York and Provincetown, Massachusetts with his husband Aaron Tone.

 "The most successful marriages, gay or straight, even if they begin in romantic love, often become friendships. It's the ones that become the friendships that last."

8 comments:

  1. Andrew Sullivan is definitely a writer and commentator who gets far more attention than most gay writers. I always thought part of the reason is that originally he was quite conservative and supported Republicans, so I think that made him more appealable to many in the mainstream media at one time.

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  2. That's a really nice picture at the end of the "reel".

    OH MAN. Oops, sorry for the caps. I'm on the waning minutes of my lunch hour but I just saw this, despite the twitter clog of @KUDUNEWS which is infiltrating Jake's twitter search like dandelions and crabgrass combined. This is too much.

    Jamie Robson Academy (@RobsonAcademy)
    4/28/14, 4:23

    Mornings W/O Pull Ups, Dips, Chin Ups, Pistols x failure, training with my man Jake Gyllenhaal AKA Big G. Breakfast before Morning Class.



    Somebody catch me, I'm going to fall over.

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  3. I have no words. Literally.


    So he has been in the UK sounds like to me. Those kids going to school over there?

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  4. Here's another way Jake can read his favorite book.


    Harper Lee agrees to ebook version of To Kill a Mockingbird

    Author announces on her 88th birthday that novel will be released as ebook and downloadable audiobook on 8 July

    The Guardian

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  5. What is going on????? I tell you what, it is nuts today where I'm at. We are so crowded, so crazy. We are bursting at the seams, I'm not joking.

    There's never anywhere to hold your meetings and people have to keep improvising and you see people wandering around carrying their laptops and notepads, poking their heads into rooms, just looking for a place to camp out or hold a meeting. Even our little lunchroom gets taken a lot of times to hold a meeting. Then someone is left holding their sack lunch, wondering where they're supposed to eat! It's crazy.


    And if you are gone for just one day on vacation, your cube spot gets taken over by somebody who just needs somewhere to sit. BWAH!! And then they're wanting to know if you're going to be gone the rest of the week. Noooooooo, I'm going to be back the next day. I'm only gone one day. I'm so sorry! lol

    smh

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  7. Ha ha ha ha.

    Poke, poke, poke. Jake's putting himself in NYC yesterday.

    Buddy, you're trying to sell me a Sunday paper on Monday.

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  8. And those crazy kids. What are those crazy kids up to after having been silent for the last several days?

    Do re mi fa............TI !!!!!!!!! Those crazy kids forgot that they were giving us a slide by slide presentation. They were feeding this slide presentation and then they turned off the projector. They swamped us with Kodak overload on Thursday and Friday and then took a break.

    lol. Who's in charge of this production, anyway? Because somebody dropped the ball.

    They were so focused on the main act, Austin's birthday itself, they forgot to stay in character for the next scene. Now they want to open the curtains again for the finale. Well, the audience left, kids. Can't expect the audience to stick around in the dark waiting.




    Gotta go. Lunch hour is over.

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