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| Fifth Column | ||
| Stephen King Reemphasizes His Dumbassery | ||
| 2008-05-07 | ||
| Stephen King has fired back at conservative critics who attacked him over a remark he made a month ago at a writers symposium for high school students. A blogger jumped on KingÂ’s statement at the Library of Congress about the importance of reading in which he suggested poor readers have limited prospects, including service in the Army. "I donÂ’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 donÂ’t, then youÂ’ve got the Army, Iraq, I donÂ’t know, something like that. ItÂ’s not as bright," King said at the April 4 event in which he was accompanied by his wife Tabitha and son Owen. Blogger Noel Sheppard likened the comment to former Democratic presidential candidate John KerryÂ’s remarks that if you donÂ’t get a good education, "you get stuck in Iraq." "Nice sentiment when the nation is at war, Stephen," Sheppard wrote. King fired back Monday. "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," he said in a statement posted on his Web site.
"I live in a National Guard town, and I support our troops, but I don’t support either the war or educational policies that limit the options of young men and women to any one career — military or otherwise," King said.
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| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #9 Love the word "Dumbassery"; it is so descriptive. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2008-05-07 20:08 |
| #8 I just remembered the sympathy I had for the guy when he got hit & run a few years back (emphasis on 'had'). Maybe someone knew then what we know now. |
| Posted by: Ike 2008-05-07 14:30 |
| #7 It's been all downhill since 'Salem's Lot. |
| Posted by: Mike 2008-05-07 12:35 |
| #6 So...think Stevie Boy could run a Patriot missile battery? Change the tread on an M1 tank? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-05-07 12:15 |
| #5 Yeah, well I didn't understand your stupid-ass book Talisman, so I guess firefighters have zero creativity huh - just spray water and drink beer eh? And as I said yesterday, then who does he have in charge of making his crummy books into craphole movies? After reading the book, the only thing scary about Monkey Shines, supposed one of his best works, was that on the cover next to an evil toy monkey deal was the price I had paid. As I understand nobody question his patriotism - lord knows after The Mist and The Stand (the stories, not the craphole movies) we could see where that is at - what he did was say that millions of Americans are not as smart as he is - is he trying to make Jonah Goldberg's case? If someone does not do or think like him they must be stupid or crazy; Harry T. Stone should find him guilty hubristic and elitist behavior. May a giant space turtle barf up on this toothless clown. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-05-07 12:14 |
| #4 Step back and consider the brainwashing that occurs to those that choose NPR as their news source. We should pity Stephen King and others that once were free thinkers and now balk at the mere suggestion that there might be alternative points of view to consider. Very sad. I've never read his books but I've heard good things about them. Especially his prison ones (Green Mile, Shawshank). |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-05-07 12:02 |
| #3 I was a big fan up through Pet Sematary, but I think King would have a hard time writing his way out of a paper bag these days. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2008-05-07 11:32 |
| #2 King has always been a nut-job. I haven't read his books for years since they all pretty much suck now. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-05-07 10:07 |
| #1 Here in Oregon Lars Larson, radio personality, played his remarks all afternoon yesterday and promoted discontinuing to finance this clown by not purchasing his books in the future...to which the critics responded mostly by saying 'if he apologizes, I'll forgive him' and 'he's a writer, I'll have to give him a pass'. That doesn't sound like an apology, and certainly isn't the creative response I would expect from a writer such as King. He sounds like an elitist liberal with disdain for the military. King books & movies are banned material in our household from now on and an apology later won't matter. |
| Posted by: Ike 2008-05-07 10:04 |