Why we should boycott Simon & Schuster
August 14, 2008 | Filed Under Election 2008, Credos, Seriously | 1 Comment
Once upon a time, long ago and far away, when at least a thin thread of ethics ran through reputable American publishing houses, publishers actually cared (and checked) whether the non-fiction books they published were factual. Not any more.
Why should you care? Apart from the rare American who hungers for facts and intelligence, perhaps most people don’t care. But put yourself in the position of the person being libelled. If a book was published with completely undocumented and unverifiable assertions-what we would call “lies” on our planet–about you, what would you do? By the time you sued, the damage would be done.
“Obama Nation,” debunked by reputable sources everywhere as a pack of lies, was published by Simon & Schuster’s Threshold Editions, a division run by Mary Matalin, the former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney and a publishing conduit for the conservative fringe. Matalin is the solitary voice claiming the book to be a good work of scholarship even though real scholars have discredited the “author,” Jerome Corsi.
In short, Simon & Schuster has demonstrated that it is willing to publish libel. Traditionally, publishers check facts before publishing. Think about what would happen if you asked them to publish your fine manuscript asserting that George W. Bush has had a long-running affair with Cindy McCain, Arnold Schwartzenegger, and several dead people, complete with quotes and bogus footnotes (Mr Corsi cites his own works as well as other discredited “sources”). How about a potential money-maker about how John McCain was never even in Vietnam during the war but was instead doing drag shows in Columbus, Ohio? Hmmm. Would that get past the editors? Ms Matalin? So, let’s just cut to the cha$se and boycott Simon & Schuster. Why would we pay money to a publisher when the goods are inauthentic?
Repeat: Boycott Simon & Schuster. If you’d like to tell them why you are boycotting them, fill out a Customer Service form, or write a letter to:
Simon & Schuster, Inc.1230 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10020
If you are interested in a the facts that are subverted in Corsi’s trashy book, check out “Unfit for Publication,” or the Media Matters for America Web site.
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Simon & Schuster divisions/imprints include: Atria Books, Beyond Words Publishing, Free Press, Howard Books, Kaplan, Pocket Books, Scribner, Strebor, The Touchstone and Fireside Group, Threshold Editions, Washington Square Press, and these young adults/children’s imprints: Aladdin Paperbacks, Atheneum Fireside Books, Little Simon, Little Simon Inspirations, Margaret K. McElderry Books, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (including Paula Wiseman Books and Ruckus), Simon & Schuster Libros Para Niños, Simon Pulse, Simon Scribbles, Simon Spotlight, Simon Spotlight Entertainment. Simon & Schuster is owned by CBS.
Slow speeds with Bresnan sometimes, but good customer service
July 14, 2008 | Filed Under Seriously | 3 Comments
Credit Bresnan customer service for being far more polite that Qwest and having almost no waiting-on-hold times. However, Internet speeds are really noticeably slow from time to time. I can fetch a cup of coffee while a page loads, and come back to discover it is still not loaded. This varies according to time of day, and most of the time it is fast, but the slow times can be annoying. Fortunately, they are few and far between.
Sometimes I wonder if it is simply not possible to get great Internet speeds from any ISP here in southeastern Montana.
Any useful info? It would be welcome, just leave a comment.
UPDATE: First of all, sorry for the delay in getting to your comments. I’ve switched email clients (from Mac’s mail.app to Thunderbird) and missed a lot of emails, but was able to recover them. Second, I am experiencing great speeds with Bresnan now, and appreciate the response from one of their network techs below! I continue to give Bresnan good marks for customer service. I had to call about the TV service recently and I got fast service with no on-hold times, and they were polite, too. And they fixed the probelm right away.
Livingston’s 9th Street Bridge endangered
June 20, 2008 | Filed Under Breaking News, Seriously, Around town | 1 Comment
On Thursday the rapid and rising Yellowstone River undermined a pier on the 9th Street Bridge causing it to sag. Island residents were evacuated on foot, wearing helmets and life vests and escorted by emergency crew. Some of the folks who chose to stay on the island were evacuated by helicopter today. It is estimated that about 10 people remain on the island as well as numerous pets and some horses. The bridge continues to drop and the Montana Department of Transportation believes that it will collapse. Search and Rescue boats and Bailey Bridge components were brought in. Flood advisory, hydrology report, and news links follow the slide show.
Today’s pictures:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) advisories.
Hydrology report/graph for the Yellowstone River near Livingston.
News stories:
- “Livingston bridge expected to collapse” Updated: June 20, 2008 05:28 PM. Reporting from KBZK in Bozeman. “A Livingston bridge that is over 50 years old is on the brink of collapsing. We’re told the 9th Street bridge has dropped 7 inches since this morning.”
- “Livingston bridge closed for fear of collapse” June 19, 2008: “LIVINGSTON, Mont. (AP) - A one-lane bridge that crosses the Yellowstone River here was on the brink of collapse Thursday after being pounded by rising, fast-moving water for weeks, authorities said. Park County officials closed the Ninth Street bridge at about 4:30 p.m. after it began to sag noticeably.”
- Sagging Montana bridge prompts island evacuation