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On Monday, May 5, 2008, on what must have been a slow news day, Noel Sheppard, "writer" (I use that term loosely, as most of his blog entries have the self-flagellating tone of verbal masturbation that can only be acheived by bloggers with an over-inflated sense of self importance) of a blog at NewsBusters.org, dredged up the following month-old clip of acclaimed author Stephen King giving a talk to high school students at the Library of Congress.
During the talk, King makes the statement that "... if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don't, then you've got the Army, Iraq ..." You can view the discussion in its entirety on C-SPAN's video library.
At the time the statement was made on April 4, 2008, it obviously went largely ignored. Now, however, probably hoping to gain readership by blasting those more sucessful than himself, Noel Sheppard has taken it upon himself to lead the public outcry.
In his May 5 blog entry, Sheppard posts the video stating that "... what follows is another in a long line of liberal media members bashing the military." In doing so, Sheppard continues the long line of talentless "journalists" who stand by the belief that any post they feel compelled to pull out of their nether regions is news in our fast-food, do-it-yourself media landscape.
Interestingly, King did not take the attack lightly. He addressed it on his official website, StephenKing.com, and on his site's forum, with the following statement:
A message from Stephen
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. Noel Sheppard says, "Nice sentiment when the nation is at war, Stephen." I guess he feels ignorance and illiteracy are OK when the country needs cannon-fodder. I guess he also feels that the war in Iraq has nationwide approval. Well, it doesn't have mine. It is a waste of national resources. . . and that includes the youth and blood of the 4,000 American troops who have lost their lives there and for the tens of thousands who have been wounded. 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. If you agree, find Sheppard on the internet, and send him an email:
"Hi, Noel - Stephen King says to shut up and I agree."
Steve
After receiving several such emails from StephenKing.com readers, Sheppard posted a follow-up on his blog. As could be expected, the post seemed poorly researched and hastily posted, implying that the StephenKing.com message boards were shut down to control any potential backlash and linking to what his post called a "cover story" on why the forums were locked.
In reality, the forum outage had been planned for some time. All posts to the forum require moderator approval and the moderator had a scheduled vacation during this time, necessitating a shut-down of the forums.
On Tuesday, May 6, the AP picked up the story. This prompted yet another post from Sheppard, this one devolving even further into sophomoric drivel, with comments like "Yeah...so far with blanks," in response to the headline "Stephen King Fires Back After Blogger Attacks Remarks."
According to his profile on NewsBusters.org, Sheppard "welcomes your feedback at nsheppard@costlogic.com."
Go ahead and give him your feedback. Clue him into the fact that, regardless of if you share King's sentiments or not, he has as much right to make the statements he made as Sheppard does to post his insignificant fluff on his blog. It's called freedom of speech, and it applies to everyone, whether you agree with them or not. Don't tell Sheppard to shut up because you want to stifle his free speech, tell him to shut up because there are more important things to cover on his "news" site than this.
I what is likely an effort to hang on to his traffic increase, as well as any sliver of relevance he has in the so-called "blogosphere," Noel Sheppard has posted a new bash-Stephen-King blog to his site.
The post links to this report on WUSA9, a Washington, DC news site. The report states that members of the US Army are upset with and offended by King's comments, and that King could not be reached for additional commentary.
What the reports and Sheppard's post fail to mention is that King's statement has been available on his official website, StephenKing.com, for the past two days.
In addition, many Stephen King backers have reported that they have tried to register for accounts at Sheppard's site so they could voice their opinion on this "developing story," only to be denied. It seems that Sheppard and Co. must only like to listen to viewpoints that exactly match their own.
In an interview with the Bangor Daily News, Stephen King responded to the outcry over his comments made at the Library of Congress.
Also, on a side note, additional reports are coming in regarding the status of commentary accounts at Noel Sheppard's blog. Apparently, at least one Stephen King supporter was approved and allowed to post, only to have their post removed and their account suspended shortly after. Once again, freedom of speech is shut down by Sheppard and his group.
Since so many King supporters have been effectively "locked out" of Sheppard's blog commentary, an open invitation has been personally extended to Sheppard to come here and join the discussion. In addition, we have urged him to pass on this open invitation to his readers. As of this writing, no response has been received.
According to this story from the Bangor Daily News, troop greeters have removed Stephen King materials from the Bangor International Airport, where they would traditionally hand out King books to troops.
King has long had a policy of donating books to the troops, and usually gives about 100 books each month. In addition, King has gone so far as to sign books for members of the military passing through.
His thanks for this? Troop greeters have taken it upon themselves to take these books and materials out of the hands of the troops over the backlash surrounding King's misconstrued comments.
In reaction to the news, King said, "It hurts me that people are putting my stuff away for political reasons.
"When people who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan write to us for books, they get the books. I think the world of these kids."
Matt Rayne, owner of TheDarkTower.com, has put up a page of support for Stephen King.
Matt, a former soldier, has also strongly voiced his support of the troops. As such, he has helped start an email campaign urging the troop greeters at Bangor International Airport to restore the King items and books that many troops look forward to.
Vistit his site, read what he and other supporters of King (and more importantly, supporters of our military servicemen and women) have to say, and do what you can to help be a part of the solution.
According to a story in the Bangor Daily News, troop greeters have decided to display King materials again in the Bangor International Airport.
Tom Kohl, chairman of the troop greeter leadership committee, said, "I? really sorry this was blown out of proportion. His comments were made in reference to literacy of youth, [an issue] that we agree with."
Kohl said the greeters would also continue to hand out King books, as long as King was still willing to donate them.