Slain Soldier's Father Criticizes Lynch's Book Deal

[Rick Myers]

On Tuesday, a publisher announced that Lynch signed a $1 million deal for a book that will tell the story about her capture and rescue.

"Where's the million-dollar book deal for the other members of the 507th who were killed?" Randy Kiehl said. "How do they tell their story?

"Now, she's a profiteer because what she did was in the line of duty."

(snip)

This father has a very good point. She was a soldier, on active duty in a warzone. She's been given a free ride for college, a brand new Mustang convertable, even new cinder blocks fer the house!!! If she does not donate that book money I hope she chokes!

She's getting a million bucks for a story that she claims that she cannot remember!!! More fiction, just like the rest of the Irack WAR!!!

And now the NFL has Pepsi and AOL logos covering The Mall in Washington... Why don't they just finish the job... Put the Halliburton logo on the White House, hang a sign "The Supreme Court, brought to you by Verizon" and The RCA Capitol Building!!!




http://www.ksat.com/news/2455232/detail.html

[Old and In the Way]

1. Who facilitated the deal?

I'm just cynical enough to believe this is her pay-off for toeing the line for this administration. I suspect that it will be long on patriotism, apple pie, and her inability to remember anything that happened in the ambush.

[devinsgram]

2. That is one book

I hope nobody buys, but I bet the repugs will be lined up for it. How can she sell her soul like that?

[liberalhistorian]

3. Well, if you grew up dirt poor in Appalachia, with your parents

together making a total of $13,000 a year, I'd think a million bucks would seem beyond heavenly. The Bushistas and repukes know EXACTLY how to appeal to these things, and what buttons to push.

[fishnfla]

4. He does have a point

Its a tough call, if it was me, I would dedicate the book to the fallen soldiers, and list their names in there and donate the money to charity.
Who knows, maybe she will do the right thing. In her hometown appearrance, she thanked alot of people, didn't even mention shrub

[Rick Myers]

5. The deal is with Alfred Knopf

Which is owned by Random House. You probably wouldn't have to look too hard to find some reich-wing connection in the corporate suite.

[shugah]

6. i dunno, i don't think i find that valid criticism

ultimately, it's not jessica's "fault" that she got catapulted to fame. she didn't really do anything to get there, but without consulting her, the media, and pentagon, and whoever else, decided that she was a hero.

literature is filled with books of war written by former soldiers--they have stories to tell. what is wrong with her writing a book? i don't guess i'll probably read it, but no one really knows what the story will be, so why speculate? :shrug:

[Rick Myers]

8. True...

First, it's a rush job to get this book out before Thanksgiving (how appropo). Second, this war AIN'T even over. Third, she admits she doesn't recall most of it.

So, who is providing the story???

Yes, there are many excellent war bios, but somehow making a wrong turn in a truck on day two isn't exactly the stuff of John McCain or other 'heroes.'

Her entire story stinks to heaven. Did you know that a Pentagon subcontractor registered at least 2 'jessicalynch' domain names about 10 days before her 'adventure?' They have subsequently been transfered to another company.

It's simply TOO EARLY and there are TOO MANY questions about her story to accept that this book could be anything more than what Rummy's boys TELL HER TO SAY...

[Old and In the Way]

16. Think they'll be 300,000 books on DS2?

Come on, she is a media creation of the Rove White House. Her story was used to sell the war back home. And the story spun turned out to be a lie as well. But she was given so much media exposure that her story is somehow more meaningful than the other 300,000 American soldiers who have no one to listen to their stories.

I don't blame Jessica, why not exploit your 15 minutes of fame. I can only hope that she tells her real story which might surprise many who thought they were buying the book version of the Fox TV serial.

[KoKo]

7. Rick Bragg.....whose doing Jessica's Book is a Plaigerist! Fired from NYT!

Rick Bragg's Lousy Alibi
The suspended New York Times reporter insists—wrongly—that
everybody does it.
By Jack Shafer
Posted Tuesday, May 27, 2003, at 4:27 PM PT

On Friday, New York Times reporter Rick Bragg insisted to the
Columbia Journalism Review he'd done nothing wrong in claiming 1)
the byline for a story that an unpaid free-lancer had reported for him and
2) the dateline "Apalachicola, Fla.," after visiting the town only briefly.
(See "Rick Bragg's 'Dateline Toe-Touch.' ")

"I wouldn't have done anything different," Bragg tells CJR.

Bragg reiterates that position to the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz
again today—as he pre-announces his resignation from the New York
Times. He tells Kurtz:

I have dictated stories from an airport after writing the story
out in longhand on the plane that I got from phone
interviews and then was applauded by editors for "working
magic." … Those things are common at the paper. Most
national correspondents will tell you they rely on stringers
and researchers and interns and clerks and news assistants.

Bragg continues his defense, saying Times stringers and interns "should
get more credit for what they do," but in "taking feeds" from such
assistants, "I have never even thought of whether or not that is proper.
Maybe there is something missing in me. ..."

http://slate.msn.com/id/2083607/

.........only the donkey knows.......


Alert

[Pompitous_Of_Love]

17. Not quite plagiarism

Rick Bragg didn't commit plagiarism, which involves claiming someone else's published work as your own. He used at least one stringer to gather material for a feature story and that stringer wasn't credited in the subsequent story. The Times has an inconsistent record of crediting stringers and this particular instance wouldn't have aroused any controversy had it not occurred at the same moment when the Times was dealing with the Jayson Blair scandal. With a young, African-American reporter kicked to the curb, the management obviously felt that they needed some equal opportunity employment termination, so an older white guy got the axe. The problem is that responsibility for determining credit lines lies with a reporter's editor. Bragg's obviously either fell down on this one or never had bothered to credit stringers before. Canning a humble editor, however, doesn't provide the same sense of racial justice for a highly-politicized newsroom.

Rick Bragg does have some responsibility for what happened to him. First, if you don't have the time or inclination to do the reporting yourself, then don't do the story. Second, if you do use stringers or research assistants, they're your people. You make damned sure their names are attached to stories on which they've worked. They deserve that recognition and it's your responsibility to make sure whoever edits the story gets those by-lines in there. They're your people; you stand up for them.

Rick's a hell of a reporter and a hell of a writer who had fallen into some slack work habits. He got screwed by the Times, but given how completely worthless the paper has become in terms of serving the best interests of its readers, we're all pretty much in the same boat as Rick.

[sattahipdeep]

9. Is this true

Wilson has announced that he will have his private attorneys petition the
Department of Justice demanding that Roverer a/k/a Karl Rove be
prosecuted under the 1982 Intelligence Identity Protection Act . This law
specifically supposed to prevent what has happened in this case and that is
the Bush administration attempting to retaliate against a senior government
official who tells the truth about that administration by revealing the
identities of intelligence members within their own families.?

Using Private Lynch - She doesn't deserve the Bronze Star
http://www.gulfwarvets.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?action=getdaily

[gratuitous]

10. Jeez, it's only a million bucks folks

And being paid by a publisher! Meanwhile, the Bushistas are going back to Congress to ask for another extra-budget appropriation for Iraq totalling (depending on who you read) $60 billion, $65 billion, $70 billion or $75 billion (it's gone up $15 billion since I saw the first story last night, but that's inflation for you).

And, unlike the million that Lynch may get some portion of, the huge appropriation for Iraq from Congress will come out of the same funds that are supposed to cover the soldiers when they get wounded or killed, provide their pay and benefits, and make sure they have enough armor and ammo to protect themselves. Unfortunately, you know as well as I do that that money will be funneled directly into the pockets of Lil George's political benefactors for little or no service provided under the open-ended no-bid contracts handed out to Halliburton and Bechtel.

Get upset with Jessica if you absolutely must, but save a little righteous indignation for the Bushistas if you can. They're certainly more deserving of it.

[Rick Myers]

11. Oh, I've got plenty of bile left for the BFEE

Pure, unadulterated EVIL!!! Savages!!!!! Predators!!!!!

[gratuitous]

12. Okay, good

I just wanted to provide a smidgen of perspective. Carry on.

[xchrom]

13. i'm not prepared to critique her decision

to do this. she grew up dirt poor -- and i'm guessing people in her family will get well taken care of. this kind of thing doesn't happen often to people from her neighbor hood.

[TacticalPeek]

14. I'd sure take the dough.

She did not create crass commercialism, she and her folks need it, her state and the feds need the tax, I can't see the prob.

The nature and quality of the book are a separate thing. We'll see.

The father's "good point" should be against the ghouls spending our country's blood and treasure on aggressive war.

[kispoko]

15. heh

good. i'm glad jessica's getting a million dollars plus. of course she was used to stir up a national fervor and further support for the war, but that was something she neither asked for nor wanted.... now, she'll be able to take care of herself and a lot of other people in one of the poorest counties in one of the poorest states in the union. good.

you have to feel for the others who didn't receive any attention, but, don't put that on jessica. that's misdirected venom. it belongs elsewhere.

i talked to a cousin of jessica's at the barber shop last april, not too long after they found her, just by chance. even he was a little miffed that none of the others were receiving the kind of attention she was. even mentioned shoshanna johnson by name. that's pretty much the sentiments of the rest of the family, and if you'd paid attention to how they've carried themselves, you'd see that, and see they hardly deserve any criticisms. i couldn't really find any to volley at 'em.

this guy also said that when jessica got her first paycheck, she thought she was 'rich'.... that's where and what these people come from. so i'm glad she's seeing a bit of change.... it's infinitesimal compared to what everyone else has already made off of her anyway. think about that

p.s. where's my fuckin' gold star? eh...