The Geeks Had a Word for It ... Nov 21, 2009
One needn't be William Safire, though, to be unsettled that the word "philanderer" is a major mystery to so many people. According to a new list by Merriam-Webster, "philanderer" (a national pastime, meaning to be sexually unfaithful to one's wife) was one of the most searched words of the past year because of the crush of politicians and celebrities busy hiking the Appalachian Trail. (Townhall.com)
University Senate | Students, members debate book removal program Nov 13, 2009
Chancellor Nancy Cantor, who typically presides over the meetings, was out of town for a memorial service for William Safire, Spina said. Spina acknowledged that there has been a lot of discussion about the issue, and threw his support behind Suzanne Thorin, SU's dean of libraries. (Daily Orange, NY)
Oh no Jew di'nt! Oct 21, 2009
If William Safire were still alive he would surely remind his compatriots in political rightery that George Bernard Shaw wrote, in Pygmalion, "Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves is as true of personal habits as of money." No Jew here either. But, then again, Shaw also said that most of the victims of the concentration camps had died of overcrowding, so maybe he had Jews on his mind. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Lavish meal over for Gourmet magazine Oct 6, 2009
NYT: Columnist William Safire dies at 79. Add Media headlines to your news reader. (MSNBC -- Lifestyle)
Happiness expert among Town Hall lecturers Oct 6, 2009
William Safire, speechwriter, NY columnist, dies. William Safire, the conservative columnist and word warrior who feared no politician or corner of the English language, died Sunday at age 79. (Fresno Bee)
Safire’s secret Oct 4, 2009
Several of the past week s tributes to language columnist and pundit William Safire, who died last Sunday, referred to him as a language arbiter. John McWhorter, in Forbes magazine, noted that he and his fellow linguists were not Safire fans. (Boston Globe)
Under a cloud or in a hail of dead cats (2) Oct 4, 2009
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer William Safire was THE expert on political words and phrases. In fact, the New York Times columnist who died Sept. 27 wrote the book on it. (Boerne Star, TX)
They write at the pleasure of the president Oct 2, 2009
The late New York Times columnist William Safire previously was a speechwriter for President Richard M. Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew, coining for Agnew the description of his critics as "the nattering nabobs of negativism.". Theodore Sorensen wrote for JFK.. (Albany Times Union)
Dowd: William Safire: A conservative, but not in today's howling mode Oct 1, 2009
During the Clinton impeachment circus, I walked by William Safire's lair. He had an imposing office in "murderers' row," as he dubbed the hall where we worked, full of English antiques, Oriental rugs and a couple of old ties he kept for those rare moments when he needed one. (Sacramento Bee -- Opinion)
Shafer: Who Says William Safire Was Such a Great Reporter? Sep 30, 2009
William Safire (1929-2009)Flack, political operative, speechwriter, novelist, columnist, and hack ... William Safire Jonathan Alter pierced William Safire's veil in a , Newsweek piece about the pissing match between the New York Times columnist and Bobby Ray Inman ... William Safire (1929-2009): Flack, political operative, speechwriter, novelist, columnist, and hack. (Slate)
Hello, I must be going Sep 30, 2009
The routine has always included tea in a particular bone-china cup, used only at weekends, the paper, and a trawl through the internet, looking up Nigel Slater's weekly cookery column in The Observer, and William Safire's On Language column in The New York Times magazine ... The routine has always included tea in a particular bone-china cup used only at weekends, the paper, and a trawl through the internet to look up Nigel Slaters weekly cookery column in The Observer, various book reviews... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
SU trustee leaves legacy behind despite lack of alumni status Sep 30, 2009
William Safire barely finished half of his Syracuse University education before dropping out and starting his career in column writing at the New York Herald Tribune. Later a Pulitzer Prize recipient for his political commentary in The New York Times, a speech writer for President Richard Nixon and the author of numerous books, he never forgot the university that gave him the finances to attend college. (Daily Orange, NY)
William Safire: A Wordsmith Of Consequence Sep 30, 2009
Conservatives and quite a few liberals were saddened to learn of the death of William Safire on September 27th at age 79. Although he occasionally provoked anger from readers -- especially conservatives when they felt he deviated from the right--the New York Times columnist and onetime Nixon speechwriter was almost universally respected for his mastery of the printed and word and ability to mobilize language into provocative thought. (Human Events Online)
9 comments Sep 30, 2009
William Safire: A Wordsmith Of Consequence - HUMAN EVENTS. William Safire: A Wordsmith Of Consequence by 09/29/2009 ... Conservatives and quite a few liberals were saddened to learn of the death of William Safire on September 27th at age 79. (Human Events Online)
NYT: Columnist William Safire dies at 79 Sep 30, 2009
William Safire, Nixon speechwriter, dies at 79 ... Oct. 30, 2005: New York Times columnist William Safire, pictured, and Washington Post columnist David Broder discuss the indictment of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff ... William Safire, a speechwriter for President Richard M. Nixon and a Pulitzer Prize-winning political columnist for The New York Times who also wrote novels, books on politics and a Malaprops treasury of articles on language, died at a hospice in... (MSNBC -- Lifestyle)
William Safire: Pundit, Provocateur, Penman Sep 30, 2009
William Safire Dies at 79: A Pundit, Provocateur, Penman - TIME ... 28, 2009 William Safire in 1975 Alex Gotfryd / Corbis ... William Safire, who died on Sept. 27 of pancreatic cancer at age 79, was for 32 years a standard bearer of what he called "libertarian conservatism" in the otherwise mainly predictably liberal Op-Ed pages of the New York Times. (Time.com)
On Language: Bending The Curve Sep 30, 2009
William Safire, NYT News Service 30 September 2009, 12:00am IST ... (William Safire, whose column 'On Language' appeared in the New York Times for 33 years, died on Sept 27, 2009 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. (India Times, India)
The Word: Is ’mourning’ broken? Sep 20, 2009
It may not come up often in everyday chat, but maven has been increasingly popular in word circles since William Safire adopted the label in 1982, a few years after launching his New York Times language column. I am a language maven - a word that means less than an expert but more expert than an enthusiast or an aficionado, he wrote. (Boston Globe)
Malkin Exposes Obama's Government by Cronyism Aug 7, 2009
William Safire s Political Dictionary defines government by crony as: an administration in which advisers qualify not by experience or talent but by their long-time friendship with the chief executive. Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel -- Obama s key advisors -- all go way back in Chicago politics. (Human Events Online)
Another Round of Mad Bitch, Please Aug 5, 2009
At least Milbank and Cillizza didn't call her a "congenital liar," as William Safire did in a 1996 New York Times. Call me names via e-mail at and listen to my nonstop rudeness on my feed. (Slate)
Conference at The George Washington University to Explore Changes in Public Diplomacy Since Nixon-Khrushchev Debate Jul 21, 2009
Taking part in the discussion will be historian Sergei Khrushchev (Nikita Khrushchev's son), United Nations Association President and former U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia and Venezuela William H. Leurs, New York Times columnist and former Richard Nixon speech writer William Safire, and numerous scholars and eyewitnesses to the Kitchen Debate. In addition, a panel comprised of former exhibit guides and staff will discuss the landmark Sokolniki Exhibition, which brought a slice of American... (PR Newswire)
• Video: Ten top moments Jul 18, 2009
At Cronkite's insistence, the evening newscast devoted 14 minutes to the Watergate scandal, in a report that broke no new ground but, by its length and comprehension, helped elevate the so-called "third rate burglary to the top of the national agenda. Outside of the Washington Post, few news outlets gave the story that much play. After Cronkite pieced the elements together, they could ignore it no longer. The Nixon White House objected, and part two of the report was trimmed, but the damage was... (Variety)
40 years after moonwalk, world of kid space books Jul 16, 2009
But two days before Armstrong s historic moonwalk, William Safire in Richard Nixon s White House was prepared for a far different outcome, drafting a speech the president never had to give called In Event of Moon Disaster. Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace, began the speech that surfaced in the National Archives three decades later. (La Crosse Tribune, WI)
With these books, kids can learn space is far out Jul 14, 2009
But two days before Armstrong's historic moonwalk, William Safire in Richard Nixon's White House was prepared for a far different outcome, drafting a speech the president never had to give called "In Event of Moon Disaster.". advertisement. (MSNBC -- Technology)
The issue with issues Jun 28, 2009
That sense seems likely to have washed in with the tide of psychobabble from the 1970s, and in a 1998 language column, William Safire suggested that issues was psychoanalytic jargon. But Safire also gave examples of sculptors and plastics engineers using issues to mean problems. (Boston Globe)
EU rules: Be successful, be punished May 20, 2009
Wordsmith William Safire incorporated it in his 1968 classic Safire's Political Dictionary, giving Teddy Roosevelt credit for popularizing it (along with pussyfooting, mollycoddling and bully pulpit). No government function relies more on weasel words than the pseudo-courts that prosecute big companies for their bigness a fact documented again last week in the judgment of the European Union's Competition Commission against Intel Corp., the manufacturer of 80 per cent of the world's microchips... (Globe and Mail -- Technology)
NY TIMES threatens to shut down BOSTON GLOBE... Apr 4, 2009
Posted by Eric Arthur Blair April 3, 09 10:35 PM" genuinely funny...and accurate...two thumbs up, way up! Posted by wearedone April 3, 09 10:48 PM Such hatred and vitriol on the conservative side of the ledger. What a sad commentary. Check your history, folks. Unions made the country a much more fair place and newspapers kept the politicians honest. Without either, you'd have an oligarchy and this country's civil society would be much, much poorer. Sure, there's some bias on the editorial page -... (The Drudge Report)
On to Z! Quirky regional dictionary nears finish Mar 23, 2009
"It's one of the great American scholarly activities and people will be reading it for a century learning about the roots of the American language," said William Safire, who frequently cites the dictionary in his "On Language" column in The New York Times Magazine. "It shows the richness and diversity of our language.". (AZCentral -- News)
24 million go from 'thriving' to 'struggling' Mar 10, 2009
" Author William Safire adds that the phrase "defies definition as much as it invites discussion. " Karen Beltran's family epitomizes one classic version of the American dream. Her father came to southern Pennsylvania from Mexico to work on the mushroom farms and as a dishwasher, eventually bringing his wife and their two young daughters here. At first illegal immigrants, Jose and Martha Beltran eventually gained legal status and last month became U.S. citizens. An organization in Kennett Square... (USA Today -- Money)
Who Should Replace Bill Kristol? Feb 8, 2009
Related in SlateIn 2004, Jack Shafer a few replacements for outgoing op-ed writer William Safire. In 2008, he why the appointment of William Kristol to the Times op-ed page was causing such a fuss. (Slate)
"Put This Plan In Motion" Feb 8, 2009
In the NYT's Book Review, William Safire the latest spate of Lincoln bios, now coming hot and heavy on the 200th anniversary of his birth. The Darwin bicentennial has also occasioned a re-examination of his work. (Slate)
