When you make public comments, you have to expect people to react. You can't just pop off and yet demand that everyone else stay quiet. That's what free speech is all about. If you don't want the response, keep quiet yourself.

It's like the difference between a movie actor and a stage actor. The stage actor gets immediate response, but the stereotypical movie actor isn't used to that. Immediate reaction throws him off. Here, King is a fiction writer who swerved into punditry. The rules are different. He doesn't know how to handle it.

So, what is the current count, Noel?

I must admit to reading nearly all of King's fiction, and liking most of it. Of course, his liberal leanings peek through occasionally, but he does a fair job of keeping them in check. He even seems to espouse some conservative principles from time to time.

I really think he just chose an unfortunate way to communicate the need to be literate to these students. But the call to arms is quite the over-reaction, I think. Makes him look petty. And the response must be embarrassing, if it's as small as I suspect it is.

(Nice pic, btw. Makes him look pretty neurotic, lol.)

I believe it was a result of the Kerry insult that a study was done (albeit short) on the exact level of education of our troops and it was discovered that in fact the levels of education was significantly higher than their contemporaries out of uniform. As someone who spent 26 years wearing a uniform, I can vouch for the smarts of our young men and women. I wonder who Mr King thinks is able to not only "read" those highly technical manuals but also work on multi-million dollar aircraft and other advanced weapons systems, most of which are computer based going back for decades. I also know for a fact that many of our finest in uniform pursue college degrees when they have the time between keeping the wolf from the doors of unappreciative Americans like Mr. King. Many of my friends while on active duty actually had several degrees including Masters Degrees and even a few Doctorates, and I just talking about the enlisted guys. Far too many Americans have a memory of our Armed Services as something pictured after WWII. These young men and women are smart, sharp, focused but they are still after all young people. They are often lead by men and women who are only in their twenties with the exceptions of the Senior NCOs on a daily basis. I believe it reveals what liberals think of "military people" in general; a kind of contempt and an embarrassment knowing they don't have what it takes or the willingness to be one. They don't do it for the money because the money isn't very good. With a cost - benefit trade off analysis only a fool or a patriot would willingly sacrifice their youth, energy and yes even their lives if necesary for their country. I seriously doubt if Mr King has ever worn the uniform of our nation so it is equally doubtful he would even begin to understand what it means to the ones who do and have. They may have been successful in their chosen professions but for those who serve their country and do so proudly, they are truely PROFESSIONALS in every sense of the word. IMO they are the best people on Earth and I for one am damn proud of every one of them.

Does this mean AP can see us pointing out their lefty ways and laughing at their shoddy 'journalism?'  :-D  Just in case:

Hi AP!  Fear NB!  :-D

"King's got problems...just look at his picture...says it all for me...actually it has for years about King...he is one weird dude."

Is he sucking his thumb in that picture? He looks like a gradeschooler put in time-out. All he needs is a dunce cap to complete the picture.

I miss the days before September 11, 2001 when writers and actors and singers would entertain us and we were all like one big happy family. They'd do their thing and we'd plunk down our cash and leave smiling.

Now the writers and actors and singers are strangers to me and I just don't have the desire to watch or listen to them anymore. I'm  much more choosy about where I turn for entertainment. I sometimes mourn that part of my life. I have to plug my ears anytime favorite actors of mine such as Holly Hunter, Jeff Bridges, Robert Duvall, or Christopher Walken open their mouths because I'm afraid of what liberal bile will spew forth.

As for King, I used to inhale his books when they came out. I was a very loyal reader. Then he started writing shite like Tommyknockers, Dreamcatchers, and The Cell and I turned away in disgust. Truth be told, his wife is a much better writer than he.

someone else may have said it, but what I want to know is why would it be so bad if you couldn't read to end up in the military?

they feed you, they clothe you, they house you, they give you health coverage, they even pay you!!!!  sure, you have to stand up and and sit down when they tell you, but isn't that what will happen when these leftist get their way and the government controls our lives (that is the irony of leftist wimps, they don't understand that what they really want is to be in a military life - but they just want the free stuff, don't want to work for it)

forget that you must take the ASVAB to get into the service, and if you can't read, you will have a real hard time with that test

but lets look at what must be some of the "better options" must be for those who don't know how to read and write

 - you can become a drug dealer

 - you can become a gang member

 - you can become a hooker, or if you are pretty enough, a stripper

 - you can become a common criminal

 - if you are big and fast and strong enough, you can actually get a college degree and play sports for a living

but to me that is what these horrible statements are about - if you can't read, then the worst thing that can happen to you is you end up in the military?  I would think that the worst thing that could happen is you get killed in a driveby shooting because you never achieved a damn thing in your life

but I guess that would be more honorable and patriotic (at least according to King and his ilk) that it would be to get money for college, job training, a sense of accomplishment and a sense of something bigger than yourself

king has a house about 30 minutes from me, I might go carry and sign in front of his house that says "I can read" and wear my Operatoin Iraqi Freedom Combat Veteran hat

This whole thing saddens me on one hand while on the other I'm, of course angry.

As I watched the video which was originally put up here on NB I was firstly angered by this elitist attitude to the military.  Then came the the true to life horror from Steven King, the children he was addressing applauded his remarks. 

This celebrity is influencing the minds of the children.  The first thing which truly alarmed me about the Clintons was their "Goals 2000" because Hillary was after America's kids.  This pervailing anti-military worldview is subversive and celebrities who spout this should be called on the carpet when they do it.

Bravo! Noel....This site is awesome....

“Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.”  Abraham Lincoln