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Contributors
Chris Field- Contributor
Chris
Field is Editor of Human
Events Online [go
to Field index]
TWO
CENTS
 Shooting
Themselves in the Foot
Liberal negligence or just looking the other way?...
[Chris Field] 8/16/04
As many of
you are aware, the white-hot new book Unfit
for Command has been making Hurricane Charley-size waves
over the last week. Liberals, of course, are attacking the Swift
Boat Veterans for Truth instead of refuting the claims make in
the back. But, of course, that's to be expected from the Left.
That's their standard reaction -- ignore the charges and try
to smear your enemy.
None of their attitudes were surprising. But there were three
events concerning the book this week that were extremely surprising
to me -- and they had nothing to do with the actual players (the
authors, the vets, John Kerry, et al).
From our
original reports in Human Events:
FIRST --
The cover of the new anti-Kerry book, Unfit
for Command, set to hit shelves soon, was given an alternative,
pro-Kerry cover at the Barnes & Noble online store. The title
of the book was changed to FIT for Command, and the
cover image was changed from a close-up of a finger-pointing
Kerry to a picture of Kerry in uniform with other Vietnam veterans.
Though no information on the source of the cover change has been
found, the latest tactic from the pro-Kerry crowd -- whether
from a computer hacker or an employee of Barnes & Noble or
anyone else -- can hardly be considered surprising.
SECOND --
Amazon, thought by many to be the top (and unbiased?) online
purveyor
of books, has either been hacked, or has oddly
changed an important practice. Amazon's Editorial Review section
generally leads with a note from the publisher, and then continues
with other published book reviews. Except in the case of Amazon's
top-selling (#1 on Amazon's bestseller list) Unfit
for Command where, as of this morning, harsh words from an
out-of-context quote by Sen. John McCain are now positioned as
the lead "Editorial Review." McCain made the divisive
statement in response to a TV advertisement created by a Swift
Boat organization, not to the book, which he has not yet even
had an opportunity to acquire. Yet Amazon (or the hacker? or
a pro-Kerry employee?) has positioned Sen. McCain's quote in
such a way as to make potential readers erroneously assume McCain
is commenting on the book. [Shortly after we reported this, Amazon
pulled the McCain "review." http://HumanEventsOnline.com.edgesuite.net/unfit_amazon2.html]
THIRD --
One day after the mainstream media ran an AP story slamming
Jerome Corsi,
Ph.D., one of the co-authors of #1 bestselling Unfit
for Command, someone at Amazon.com has oddly removed the
primary author, John O'Neill, and listed the book as if Corsi
were the sole author. This is the third such "unexplained" tampering
in just three days. Despite these and other direct attacks by
liberal detractors to censor the veterans' messages, Unfit
for Command continues to be the #1 bestselling book on
both Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com, and will undoubtedly
be a New York Times bestseller once books hit bookstores over
the coming days.
What astounds me about this is -- WHAT THE HECK ARE THESE COMPANIES
DOING? Aren't they in business to sell their advertised products?
Why, then, would they do anything that could hurt the sales
of their #1 bestseller?
My suspicion
is that there's a liberal agenda among some of the people who
run these
two online bookstores -- just like liberals
who run "real world" bookstores.
Of course,
Amazon and Barnes & Noble are in a bit of a quandary:
they probably don't want to admit a Leftist agenda, but they
can't offer any other excuses. What are they going to say -- "somebody
must have hacked our system"? I'm sure that would make their
customers feel really comfortable about giving them their credit
card information online . . . especially Amazon customers, where
the "Unfit" page was altered TWICE.
Considering what occurred this week, is it any wonder Amazon
is renowned for their difficulties turning a profit? CRO
copyright
2004 Human Events
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