Author Stephen King has redeemed himself somewhat.
( see: Stephen King Channels John Kerry )
Good Onya, Stephen.
"I don't want to sound like an ad, a public service ad on TV, but the fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don't, then you've got, the Army, Iraq, I don't know, something like that. It's, it's not as bright. So, that's my little commercial for that."Perhaps you should read this, Mr. King:
"That a right-wing-blog would impugn my patriotism because I said children should learn to read, and could get better jobs by doing so, is beneath contempt."Well, Mr King, you were correct in exhorting children to learn to read.
Mr. King has the right to speak out against any policy, any war. But he failed to provide fact-driven objectivity and diminished his case by belittling military personnel. In the process, he gave the impression that his fiction isn’t restricted to what comes out of his pen." - Claude BerubeBluto at the Jawa report has an excellent response:
"For the record, I don't impugn King's patriotism because he wants tiny, cute little children to learn to read. On the contrary, since the American military doesn't accept illiterates, patriotic youth hoping to serve their country should get the best education they can. The also-rans can always read Stephen King novels while waiting for their Welfare checks."
It is the Soldier, not the reporter who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer who gives us freedom to demonstrate.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
-- Father Dennis Edward O'Brien