Maine Author Stephen King made this comment recently when talking with some high school students:
Yep, he said it. What Stephen King was trying to say and what the weak minded weren’t able to comprehend is if you don’t know how to read, you most likely won’t be able to get a job (not a good paying one at least) and you might have to sign up for the military because of it. What is lost on the weak minded is Stephen King writes books and reading & education are the two things he has concentrated on and pushed his whole life. He wasn’t speaking to these kids to convince them to join the military or to not join the military. Hell, he’s not a military recruiter for crying out loud, but that hasn’t stopped the “I’m More Patriotic Than You Are” types from going after King in trying to get him to apologize for his comment. I’m sure if they had their way, they would suggest to Stephen King to kill himself over this remark.
The fake patriots in our country are getting extremely boring now. For example…
Let’s talk about Mike Violette of WGAN morning radio here in Maine. He keeps bringing up Stephen King’s words to “prove” all liberals are traitors to America and are “vile” when it comes to our soldiers. Oh yes, “Mr. I Think Axel Rose Should Kill Himself” Mike Violette apparently believes that he’s the biggest supporter of our troops, is the biggest patriot, and spends his days never saying anything controversial, which is so interesting, because you’d think Mike’s life would reflect this. Nope. Mike…
- DOESN’T WEAR HIS US FLAG PIN WHEN HE’S DOING HIS RADIO SHOW
- HAS A DAUGHTER WHO IS MILITARY AGE WHO IS NOT IN THE MILITARY AND A SON WHO IS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND YOU CAN BET HE WON’T BE GOING INTO THE MILITARY IF OLE MIKE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!
- DIDN’T JOIN THE MILITARY WHEN HE HAD THE CHANCE. HE WENT TO COLLEGE. (He must have been one of those “I’m too smart to serve my country” kind of kids, huh?)
According to Mike’s own biography at WGAN, he was smart enough to: PUMP GAS, READ METERS, DRIVE A TRUCK, AND DO SOME MASON TENDING, but yet, no mention of being in the military or even wanting to serve. Pumping gas was a better, safer alternative for Mike. Why Mike? How come you didn’t serve your nation when you’re spouting to your listeners everyday on your radio program today that you are the TRUE PATRIOT and the rest of us aren’t? I thought you loved the military more than pizza, Mike?
Hypocritical asshole that Mike is.
And what about the right to free speech, Mike? Why is it it’s okay for you to say that Axel Rose should die, but Stephen King can’t point out that the highly intelligent kids aren’t the ones the military recruiters are going after? Huh hypocrite? Let me guess….it’s only for you right wingers to use? Spit. America-Hater.
And what about the No Child Left Behind act that is a back door recruiting tool, Mike? The recruiters aren’t going to the schools to get those with an IQ of 150 to join up. They want the kids who are already at a dead end road and need a future. And they’re not the kids with a 70 IQ either. They’re the kids who need a 2nd chance at life. But you had a choice, huh Mike? Yep, you went to college, pumped some gas, did some masonry, and then had the support in your life to get you where you are today, isn’t that right Mikey?
Mike Violette is a typical weak minded moron who doesn’t know his ass from a tea kettle. Maybe if Mike had joined the military early on, he would have grown up by now and would have understood that Stephen King was trying to push the idea of learning how to read, because it’s the most important skill we have as humans. Nope, not Mike. He knows how to read and still doesn’t comprehend a damn thing.
Stephen King is refusing to apologize for his comment. Maybe he’s not because he wants people like Mike Violette to think about the importance of reading. Could be. As we all know, we had House & Senate members who didn’t read the many important pieces of legislation that got us into Iraq, and had they and the president & VP read about history, they never would have gone into Iraq in the first place. But I digress. Spit.
The Duke of Wellington said the British army were “the mere scum of the earth,” and in his day the only reason men took the King’s shilling was to because they were poor or to avoid gaol – not much has changed.
The typical British soldier today is uneducated, of low intelligence, from a social deprived background, and has criminal convictions – is the US army much different? – I doubt it.
All the people criticising King, like Mike Violette, have all run to the recruitment offices to enlist or taken their children to enlist?
No, of course they haven’t. So King is making a perfectly valid point: educated people with prospects aren’t rushing to join the army, that’s a job for the educationally and economically disadvantaged.
It sounds like Stephen King is trying to put a favorable spin on his comments concerning learning to read, as of late. Can’t say as I blame him. As a writer, he should know the results of choosing his words poorly. He did say that if you didn’t learn to read, your future would not be that bright and all you would have to look forward to was the Army or Iraq. I am a veteran, and I’m educated because of my service in the military, both because I went to college on the G.I. Bill and because of the valuable experience and perspective given me by my service. You may think me weak-minded, for having served in the military(my I.Q. is only 133), but I’m smart enough to know EXACTLY what it was King was trying to communicate when he made those comments. While I’m sure he feels like he’s a patriot, because he “supports the troops, but not the war,” I believe he is your archetypical limousine liberal who looks down on anyone who chooses the military, believing that only someone who is illiterate would contemplate joining up to fight for his country. King may be a world class author, but when it comes to his obvious personal beliefs, this guy is a tool.
It is the Defense Department itself that is lowering standards for recruits to entice soldiers for an increasingly unpopular war. Last year, 17% of the first-time recruits, or about 13,600, were accepted under waivers for various medical, moral or criminal problems, including misdemeanor arrests or drunk driving, 7% having had or may have still have drug and alcohol problems, including those who failed a drug test at the time they took their medical exam.
To entice recruits, often targeting our poorest and minority classes, about two-thirds of the recruits qualified for a signing bonus — an average of $11,000 each. Some in highly valued specialties, such as special operations forces, can get up to $40,000 in extra cash.
Fred Kaplan in a Slate article, wonders how low we can go to scrape bottom for new recruits? Whereas the military once only accepted 2-4% of new recruits from Category IV (on the AFQT [armed forces aptitude test] ranking in the 10-30 percentile), to meet recruiting goals in October 2005, the bar was raised to 12%!
http://www.slate.com/id/2133908/
Uh Jim? As mentioned in my post, most of our soldiers are intelligent, meaning, their IQ isn’t near the mental retardation level. Most of our soldiers don’t come from affluent homes where the houses are big, the money doesn’t run out, and education & reading is the number one important thing. A few are, but the majority that goes into the military go there because it’s a last resort and for some, it is the first resort considering their backgrounds.
My father joined the service because he had a wife & child (my brother) and wanted to be able to eat. Jobs in Maine at the time were scarce and my father knew he HAD to join the service. He doesn’t regret it either. That said, had his circumstances been different (both parents not being alcoholics and being poorer than a church mouse), he may have had another choice.
Not knowing how to read is not always important when finding a job, but to some, it’s a roadblock. Stephen King writes books and reads & writes constantly. He knows how important both is. Look at what our House & Senate members DID NOT DO BEFORE voting for the Patriot Act. THEY DIDN’T READ IT. Had they, they would have seen the consequences of voting in favor of it. Reading is important and that is what King was trying to say, otherwise, you make bad choices and end up bringing OUR troops into a country that did not attack us (an illegal occupation) or you can’t find a job, can’t go to college, and have to sign up for the military which shouldn’t be the only option in the most powerful country on the planet.
Exactly Steph! As Grant pointed out, we have gang members, criminals, and others who are currently being allowed to serve in the military, and yet, the weak minded such as Mike Violette would rather focus on ONE LIBERAL rather than what is really going on.
Um Jim, having served in the military, as both an enlisted man after high school, but before college and serving as an officer after college, I happen to agree most college graduates with their mew fangled degrees ain’t a rushing to the recruiters office to enlist, but quite a few high school students do join to find a way to afford college. I know I did. Mr King is much closer to the truth then you seem to like there. A hell of a lot of people who either haven’t the academic success nor the money to go to college head to the military as a alternate, some making a career out of it. Hence the much lower numbers of wealthy people or their children appearing in the ranks after the end of the draft. But even the military requires an education, an associate degree for the higher enlisted rank and a baccalaureate degree for a commission as an officer.
Those who lack the education have little opportunity for advancement in the military just like the rest of the society. But the military tries to assist those who make the military as a profession, unlike civil society who expects everyone to pay for it, the military never charges for it’s education (like West Point or the Naval Academy) and OBC, instead they pay you to go there if you make the cut, the same as Basic Training, AIT PLDC, BNOC ANOC for enlisted….. I wonder why the wing nuts never attack that type of socialism by the military, they seem to do quite well at NOT giving them adequate medical care after all?
O/T but appropriate given just how many Bush like skeletons McSame has in his closet, here’s another;
Senior McCain adviser helped arrange Rev. Moon coronation;
A bizarre Capitol Hill ceremony a few years ago in which the eccentric conservative publisher the Rev. Sun Myung Moon declared himself the Second Coming was organized with help from a senior adviser to John McCain’s presidential campaign.
Charlie Black, a Washington lobbyist and McCain confidant, lent his name to the coronation ceremony and invited a few friends, according to newly disclosed e-mails.
“What is clear from this email is that top Mccain advisor Charlie Black is admitting that he helped plan, and would have attended, an event where a convicted tax fraud would have been crowned King Of America and declared himself the Messiah–all on U.S. Government federal property (on March 23, 2004),” writes author Cliff Schecter, who published the e-mails on his blog Friday.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Senior_McCain_adviser_helped_arrange_to_0509.html
So, McSame has Moonie ties just like the Bush criminal cabal does?
Probably one reason why his wife says she will NEVER release her tax records, which means the vast majority of their marital assets are out of the bounds for consideration in the race where both Hillary and Barack have been so open compared to St Johnny the delusional if not dishonest.
another clip from the Rev Moon;
Schecter, who recently published a book critical of the GOP nominee, The Real McCain, outlines some of Moon’s most outrageous views: that he is the second coming of Jesus, that crosses and crucifixes undermine God’s message and that Jesus failed in his mission.
“One wonders,” Schecter muses, “what many in the media would do if Reverend Jeremiah Wright called Jesus a “failure,” proclaimed he (Wright) was the “Messiah” called in by God to clean up Jesus’ mess and staged mock funerals for Christian crosses.”
Wanna bet NO 24-7 MSM cable spotlight on THAT comment?
wanna bet NOT EVEN A PEEP?
Also jim, this Iraqi veteran seems to agree with Stephen King a hell of a lot more then you;
Return to Sender – Iraq Veteran Gets the Call Again
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/07/ED3J10IGLO.DTL
Colby Buzzell
When I voluntarily enlisted in the Army, I remember asking my recruiter about the fine print on the contract about being called back up to active duty once my enlistment was completed. He assured me not to worry, that every contract said that and it would only happen if “World War III” broke out.
That was a little over five years ago. After serving in Iraq, I elected to use my GI Bill to enroll in a photography course at San Francisco City College. I felt good, and I had a feeling that the days to come were all going to be good as well.
On way out of my building two weeks ago, I checked my mailbox and found a letter from the Department of the Army with “Important Document” printed in all caps on the middle. I immediately felt sick, so I went back to my room, locked the door, grabbed a beer from the fridge and stared out my window for a while. People outside were all wearing sunglasses and walking about enjoying the sun. I took a picture.
I got out of the Army three long years ago, and since then I’ve never really talked ill of the military, the people in it, or expressed any regrets at all about enlisting. If I had to do it all over again, I honestly would have. Granted, I got lucky and made it back with all my body parts intact. If I hadn’t, my answer might be a little bit different than what it is now.
As terrible as this might sound, whenever someone asks me about enlisting, I’m tempted to encourage them. I figure that the more people who enlist, the slimmer the chances that I’ll get called back up. But of course this is ridiculous: No one in their right mind would enlist now, whereas I’ve already signed the papers. I’m now going back to Iraq for a second time because people like me – existing service members – are the only people at the Army’s disposal.
Looking back, would I have joined the military if I were doing something that I loved? Or had a job that paid $100,000 a year? Probably not. Those are the men and women I feel that we need to mail these letters to. Let’s see what happens when they receive letters telling them to put on a uniform and ship out immediately to the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Many people believe that the draft ended the Vietnam War. I’m convinced that reinstating the draft would definitely end this war. Rich, connected people will always find a way to evade mandatory service, but what about the rest of America? The middle class – people with good jobs and nice lives – would perhaps riot if the government even suggested that it expected from them what the Army expects from veterans.
What if there were a war and none of the veterans who were called up showed up?
Every time when I hear about a soldier’s death now – which is always reported very briefly – there always seems to be a short mention that it was the soldier’s second or third deployment, and now my name might be among them.
I know I won’t get any sympathy at all from the “you dumb ass you signed the contract!” crowd, which is fine, but I really was looking forward to applying my GI Bill to photography classes so I could learn how to take pictures. But now, thanks to not enough Americans volunteering for military service, I now have to worry about my picture appearing on the second or third page of my hometown paper with the words, “it was his second deployment” in my obituary.
Colby Buzzell proudly served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army and participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003-04.
Jim, Stephen King is a tool because he wants kids to learn how to read. Got it.
People should join the military because they want to protect the country. Because they want to be patriotic.
They shouldn’t have to be blackmailed into going to war because it’s the only way they can get a job.
Jim, it’s really not that complicated.
Jim, Stephen King did NOT say “all you would have to look forward to was the Army or Iraq.” In light of the DOD loosening their educational standards, King threw out an example of joining the Army and Iraq as an option, probably to make the kids think about what career choices they may have to choose from, like a choice to possibly get killed in war or be one of the 20% coming home with PTSD’s, mental and emotional problems that may follow the rest of their lives. It is feared that more of our vets will die of suicide in the years to come than the number killed in combat according to a Rand study.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/05/post-war-veteran-suicides_n_100246.html
I think Jim overstated his point with the limousine liberal tool comment, but I have to agree that King didn’t choose his words wisely. I don’t like stereotypes of any sort. Also, I know some very intelligent people who started in the military, some who have great educations, and, by the way, some of them are wonderful writers.
http://armyofdude.blogspot.com/
The military has straightened out many errant kids and given those from poor backgrounds opportunities. Our vets deserve a new GI Bill to make up for spending their “college years” serving their nation in uniform. John McCain and some other Bush Republicans are fighting to defeat Sen. Jim Webb’s GI Bill for Iraq/Afghanistan War vets. The Republicans want to grant college benefits ONLY after a soldier has served SIX years which would mean enlistment for many.
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/05/webbs-proposed-gi-bill-held-amid-squabbling
Five of my nephews/grandnephews have served in the military this decade, 3 having seen combat in Iraq and three are now pilots due to training received. One grandnephew was a spoiled college freshman, given a Saleen Mustang for graduating from an exclusive Austin prep school. He was flunking out as a college freshman, cutting classes. A Marine recruiter was loitering in an arcade in an Austin mall and was impressed with his eye-hand coordination even though my nephew was stoned on pot at the time. Even though marijuana still showed up in his medical exam a couple of weeks later, the USMC still took him as his test score was very high. He instantly became a platoon leader in boot camp and has advanced in rank quickly, currently being schooled in “intelligence” and foreign languages by the corps. He does plan to go back for his bachelor’s in order to become an officer as he plans a career in the Marines.
By the way, isn’t it this weekend that jenna bush and henry (rove’s understudy) hager are to be married? I heard they are marrying at the ranch in Crawford because a Whitehouse wedding would be “too stuffy”. Bullshit!
I hope it rains toads in Crawford.
http://salon.glenrose.net/default.asp?view=plink&id=7252
Gage, if you think about it, Laura Bush is always touting about reading & education, but never says to any high schoolers across this country, “You’re better than reading. Serving your country is the most important thing you can do”. See?
Jim, you didn’t get King’s point at all.
That’s his point. If you could walk into an internationally respected university and read for a bona fide academic or vocational degree, you wouldn’t have needed to have dodged bullets in the Army. The US military is the last chance salon for the economically and educationally deprived.
King is right, and some people cant handle the truth.
Forgive me for being an patriotic, Porsche-driving liberal but i think the idea that the Army should be a means of social mobility for working class kids is hugely exploitative: the working class have to fight in wars for a leg up, while rich mental retards, like Bush, can walk into Yale and Harvard.
I also wonder how true it is that the US Army provides the working class with social mobility, I know the US military claims it’s a route to college and veterans can earn credit towards degrees but not all college degrees are worth much in the real world. So how many former enlisted men and women have salaries in the top tax bracket?
To all who responded:
First, I joined the military in 1972 while there was still a draft and while Viet Nam was still in full swing, not because I was underprivileged nor lacking the funds to go to college, but because as a student of history, from a very early age, I understood that the military offered a unique opportunity for personal growth and perspective than I would have gotten were I to go directly to college. Doing a hitch in the military before college was one of the smartest things I ever did. In addition, I understand that this country historically has reaped the benefits of the veterans who served in its military, and as a citizen, I chose to serve to help pay back that debt. I also served to protect your right to choose NOT to serve, so please don’t ridicule nor find fault with me or anyone else who makes that choice, for whatever reason. To those who think I didn’t get King’s point, I beg to differ; the point he was trying to make was that it’s important to learn to read. I got that point. But, he made his point at the expense (and while demonstrating his disdain) of the military. Since there isn’t a draft, I really have no patience for anyone who believes that people are being forced or “blackmailed” into joining the military; total nonsense. And yes, while I thank the individual for his service, especially on his second deployment, I would be one of those who will tell you that you indeed signed a contract that you should have been fully prepared to fulfill. Lastly, while I never quoted King directly (if I had, as a journalist, I would have used those cute little things we call quotation marks) anyone who read his comments and didn’t understand that what he was trying to communicate was that if you don’t learn to read, the only thing you will have to look forward to is the Army or Iraq, then I suggest you take King’s advice and take a reading course.
Okay Jim. You win. All who join the military are living in McMansions at the time they sign up, are the Mensa types with an IQ of at least 150, and always choose serving the military before going to an Ivy League college because it’s in their blood.
Did the House & Senate read the Patriot Act? Nope! What a great decision too, because now America is enjoying and reaping the benefits of countless torturing of people who haven’t been charged with a crime! Nice. Reading is important, but you can’t convince some of that.
No one is saying that serving in the military is a bad thing. My father started his adult life there without one regret of doing it. He’s not a dumbass either, knows how to read too. He HAD to join the military because he was poorer than a church mouse (both parents alcoholics) and there were no jobs around to speak of. Had my father grown up in wealth, he would have had different choices.
Thanks, I always like winning.
The fact still remains that if not for the military and whomever it was (or is) made up of, any reading that would be going on in this country would probably be in German and the the book you would be reading from would be entitled, “Mein Kampf.”
Have a nice day.
Saw the Kings on Cspan with the high school students. It was most unusual as the kids, for the most part, seemed like under achievers. Heads on each other’s shoulders…talking while the Kings were reading. Only a few asked questions. The fact that those kids were chosen says a lot about the King family. Did you know they sponsor a summer camp for kids all over the world, from places like Palestine and Israel? So they can play games together and see our humanity instead of differences. This would not be acceptable to the ones who see war for oil and profit as acceptable.Like Susan collins and her paid bloggers.
Not surprising , the Republicans don’t want to pay for health care and education when our troops get back from war. Just wear a pin and slap a sticker on their SUVs.It’s the democrats that want to do the right thing, in this area.
Uh Jim? The current White House swears by Mein Kampf! Frightening that they know how to read, but yet, spent countless hours trying not to serve their country.
Jim, it’s mainly the poor in our nation who are serving in the military. Why aren’t they signing up to serve today no matter what Stephen King has to say? Oh that’s right because who the hell wants to serve your government when it’s as corrupt and criminal as our enemies!
Stephen King is a uniter and George Bush & His Thugs are not.
Dick Cheney knows how to read and here’s what he’s currently reading:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/8/174913/9295
I’m sure it will be helpful in learning how to convince a nation that dropping a nuke on unsuspecting innocent people (could be us Jim! Remember that).
Will you sign up to serve, Jim, to fight the Iranians after Dick Cheney drops a nuke on them in defense of Israel just like they did in Iraq (no nukes, but they have used similar type bombs, some contain depleted uranium, and some contain that “yummy” stuff Napalm, but they renamed it to make you Jim think these chemicals are perfectly okay!)? I don’t want to hear you’re too old. Make sure your kids & grandkids sign up too! Make it a family affair and a way to celebrate not knowing how to read! Thanks.
Actually, no it wasn’t, by the 01 January 1972, two thirds of America’s troops have been withdrawn, only 133,000 U.S. remain in South Vietnam and the ground war was by then almost exclusively the responsibility of South Vietnam. By 30 April 1972, U.S. troop levels drop to 69,000, and the last combat troops were withdrawn by 23 August 1972.
There was a draft until December 1972, but anyone with a college place avoided it, so in 1972, King could have said “If you can read you can walk into a job later on. If you don’t, then you’ve got the Army, Vietnam – I don’t know,” and it would be just as true as it is today.
And in 1972, the patriots protecting American civil rights, were burning their draft papers and protesting their government, chanting: “one, two three four. We don’t want your fucking war.”
You misread the second premise of King’s argument.
Go Steph! Woohoo!
http://equaltimeradio.org/?p=365 Yeah, us liberals really hate the troops. Hey Mike Violette,to paraphrase that old song,”What have YOU done for them lately?” Then ask Senator Murray what WE’VE done for them lately.
You know Steph, the main difference between you and me, in this regard, is that you look up your “facts” on the Internet, from the comfort of your easy chair; I, on the other hand, lived them. While the U.S. military involvement was winding down, as I stated, the war was still very much in full swing. In 1972, there were more than a million South Vietnamese soldiers fighting in the war against the North. But you see Steph, I don’t have to go digging into statistics to prove my point, I can go read the names of my dead friends on a FUCKING wall. How dare you minimize this country’s military sacrifice during ANY part of the Viet Nam war. I guess you think that the 4,508 killed, wounded or MIA U.S. soldiers from the year 1972 are of little consequence because you read some statistic that says our part in the war was winding down. Tell that to the friends and relatives of those soldiers. You want to look up statistics? Look up Operation Linebacker. In late December 1972 we lost 26 planes and close to 100 killed, captured or missing, and two of those soldiers were MY FRIENDS. Care to guess how many POWS there were still in captivity in 1973? Or don’t they count either? Like some more statistics? Of the 58,178 casualties during the war, 1,980 of them were reported during 1972 or later. By your standards, I guess the U.S. Marines who were killed as late as April and May of 1975 don’t matter much either. I’m not impressed with your smug attempt to minimize this nation’s military sacrifice, nor your belief that the definition of a “patriot” is someone who chants or spouts rhetoric from the safety and comfort of a country, whose military has fought and died to protect that very right to be a moron spewing that crap. I’m done monitoring this blog. Have a nice day.
I see Jim is putting words in our mouths again. I suppose right wingers do that when they’re losing.
George Bush minimizes the death & sacrifice of our soldiers by saying, “Mission Accomplished!” (a lie), or “Bring em on!” (because his daughters don’t have to fight), or “The upsurge in violence & people dying is a sign of progress in Iraq!”.
Spit.
Go shit on your president, Jim. He’s the one who thinks of our troops as fodder.
By the way Jim, wouldn’t you agree that SOLDIERS LONG AGO IN OUR HISTORY fought for our rights and the only person who can take those rights away are the current bastards in the White House who keep giving themselves signing statements to ignore the laws of our country while caging protesters miles away from them?
Our current soldiers are fighting FOR OIL FOR GEORGE BUSH, HIS FAMILY, AND HIS FRIENDS. Nothing else. Prove to us they’re fighting for our rights and then tell us what color Kool-Aid you’re drinking today.
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