I haven’t read Terry Lakin’s book, Officer’s Oath, nor do I plan to — this is not a book review. Generally I have sympathy for the disabled and victims of crime, and so I probably view Terry Lakin somewhat more sympathetically than others, particularly current and former members of the armed forces who have a stronger sense of the importance of being able to rely on your buddies in crisis. On of my great life insights is: “it’s not about me,” a lesson that Lakin unfortunately didn’t learn.
Whether Terry Lakin intended to make money from his book or whether its goal is influencing the election, it has been an abject failure based on sales. The following table shows Amazon.com rankings for a few selected books1 (for the birther impaired, books at the TOP of the chart start with the NUMBER ONE book, the best seller of all Kindle books. The bigger the number the farther down the ranking and the fewer actual books sold):
1I ranked the Kindle edition to be consistent. Books with many editions confuse the ranking, and it’s more fair to eliminate the factor of what books are carried in bookstores and airport shops. The paperback ranking of Lakin’s book is so low it is literally off the charts at 347,886. Maraniss’ paperback, on the other hand, is ranked much better than his Kindle edition at 431.
Interesting. Doing better than deSouza.
Another changeup from the Chef; still can’t find the open thread? Geez.
Doc, no WTBC? 😀 It’s at 65,714 in Kindle-land.
348,000 isn’t that bad for a paperback, That means it’s still selling. Not flying off the shelves, but if decently priced and in good condition, it will move … in less than a month. Based on my 12 yrs selling experience there, that is.
I see Corsi wrote an Alinsky/Obama book back in February. Kinda late to that party, wasn’t he? $3 on Kindle. Whoot! It’s at #30,000
What did he expect? The man is a traitor and a convicted criminal. Who is gonna buy a book written by someone like that? The American public tends to heavily frown on someone disgracing it’s military.
Oh! what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive!
— Not Shakespeare
I think I will do a parody on Lakin, and call it “Officer Oaf.”
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Go have a read of some of the reviews, there’s where the (limited) demographic lies….
Speaking of lies, The Second Worst Lawyer in the Western World, His Lowness and Terminally Sad, Prince of Petulance and Duke of Denial, Mario The Putz the First is infesting one or two of the threads like a bad case of dry rot.
One thread in particular is currently standing at 530 comments….. 😎
http://www.amazon.com/review/R21QR4ZLQBQ2NN/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&channel=rw-dp&ASIN=B008GQ3CH8&nodeID=133140011&store=digital-text
Considering the amount of time La Putz is investing in this battle of his half wit, it is very apparent that he has no ACTUAL real legal work to deal with.
One wonders how he funds his lifestyle …..?
Just a helpful suggestion. Instead of waiting until you have enough empties to bring in to get the coupons, spend your beer money on the book (Or something worthwhile) instead.
Patrick Colliano may have already claimed that parody title. His Amazon review is titled This Officer’s an Oaf … and a Coward, and a Liar.
Coinstar coupons.
“I haven’t read Terry Lakin’s book, Officer’s Oath, nor do I plan to — this is not a book review.”
I will have to give Doc C. credit. Since he has not read Lakin’s book, Doc C. has no right to produce a review on Amazon about it. At least Doc C. is being interlectually honest in that regard.
On the other hand, Patrick Colliano and several other slimy Obots, have produced reviews on Amazon. Judging from the reviews, they have NOT read Lakin’s book.
Therefore, Patrick and company HAS NO RIGHT to make a review about it. Any such review therefore is interlectually dishonest.
And if Patrick and company have borrowed Lakin’s book to read, then they are essentially committing fraud.
Patrick and company are certainly entilted to their review on Amazon after they have paid 24.95 to Lakin and the other authors.
As for Doc C., he has constrained himself not to produce a DISHONEST REVIEW from book that HE HAS NOT read.
Darn it. That throws me off to the number 2 choice, Colonel Cagey, based on Lt. Kije. But that is going to be a whole lot harder.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Maybe he’s retired. And there’s “mystery funding” for the more conspiracy-minded.
I was going to title my article Officer’s oaf too, but I decided not to because I don’t think “oaf” describes Lakin (and then I was it was already used). You’re welcome to: “Officer’s Toast.”
PS: Loved the poem.
If you can get Wilford Brimley it could be Quaker Oafs
John,
If there’s a book that makes an argument that the Earth is flat, do I really need to read it to know that it’s rubbish and let other potential consumers know it’s rubbish?
The same principal is at work here.
Lakin was a disgrace to the uniform. What he did put his fellow soldiers needlessly at risk.
What else does anyone need to know?
That review and most of the reviews I skimmed at Amazon aren’t book reviews: they are commentary on Lakin and what he did. I saw one that said the essays were “well written” but was as close to a book review as I found.
I face an ethical dilemma with books like this because I don’t want to put money in the hands of people I consider to have done evil by selling the book. Sometimes I get around this by buying used copies, as I have with some of Corsi’s books. I did actually buy the Cold Case Posse’s book, and justified it by telling myself I did more damage to the birthers writing about it than the meager cost I paid.
How come you report that Lakin has sold 347,886 copies but your bar chart indicates 1/10 of that? Corsi and Zullo only about 175,000? Maybe they didn’t teach you slide rule in industrial math?
[That’s not the number of copies sold; that’s the rank. Lakin didn’t sell 347,886 books. His book sold less than 347,885 other titles. The problem is not my math, but your reading. Doc]
If anyone here has written Lakin’s book, would they share if it has anything in it that explains how Lakin became a birther and what convinced him that he was the person selected by fate to sacrifice his freedom and his career to settle the anxiety of the birthers?
And, a new conspiracy theory is born.
Interesting argument, John. Is it your position that if someone borrows a book from a friend or checks it out of the library they shouldn’t be allowed to comment about it?
I have a similar question for John. If I buy a product online and it is a piece of junk, should I only be allowed to comment about it on the website where I bought it? Or should I be allowed to go to other websites selling the item to warn potential consumers about its flaws? What about if I am given something as a gift? Since I did not actually buy it, am I allowed to comment about it? Does this apply to positive reviews as well or only negative ones?
I note that Optional Oath is published by the vanity press company “Paperclip Press”. I’m sure I’ve run across them before, but I can’t recall where.
If john considers this to be “essentially committing fraud”, then it is no wonder he also thinks the White House is involved in fraud/forgery wrt the birth certificate.
I’d also note that despite john’s claims there is no actual evidence that Patrick and others did not read the book before reviewing it. In fact, Patrick’s review says “The book is passably written, but so saturated in dishonesty as to disgust any decent American citizen who supports our troops.” which seems to indicate that he has at least made the effort to get though it. But then again I am not surprised that john looks at something like this and only sees the pieces that reinforce his preconceptions.
It’s a self-publishing house. All sort of oddities have cropped up from there. Particularly from the right.
http://www.paperclippress.com/index.htm
Not as bad as Regnery Publishing. Yeesh.
Since no one else has done it, I’m calling Poe’s Law on this comment. Seriously.
Remind me again, Who’s Terry Lakin?
Oh yeah, he’s the guy who played chicken with Obama and blinked first.
I see little Davey Limbluster’s book of lies and slander has done even worse, no surprise there.
Yeh, no, try harder.
It’s a free country champ, and anyone can make a review about anything they want. TOO BAD, SO SAD, for you. Try looking at the “reviews” written about Limbaugh’s book – 98 reviews, all stellar and chock full of robotic right wing talking points. Too bad it hasn’t sold to anyone outside the crazy bubble. So yeh, sure, “Obots” are committing “fraud” by writing reviews, sure bud, not at all like the paid shills writing incredible reviews about right wing books.
Hi Dr.C!!!
I am glad you liked the L’Mrelle Jerome Corsi poem. I have edited it a little since it was here. As far as Lakin, I think maybe I am going to just use “Officer’s Loathe, (Or, Ciao To Officer’s Mess!!!)” for my parody.
I kind of feel sorry for Lakin being such an idiot to lose his benefits, but OTOH (which means “on the other hand”), he ought to just fess up to being an idiot, and not make it worse going deeper into the Birther mess.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
An Officer and a
GentlemanschmuckNo, it means ‘Oh, the opening is here.’
Shorter john: ‘Please spend your hard earned money to buy my friend’s crappy book before you go talking about the story that everyone already knows about.’
I think it’s more the idea that people like John can’t keep two different thoughts in their head at the same time, so they fear it will breach whatever original thoughts the reader had, thereby turning them into plagiarists.
Has anyone here read the book? I would be interested in whether he mentions JB Williams and the US Patriots Union, who wrote all those white papers demanding that Lakin go Vattelite in his defense and claimed to have brought in Col. Dwight Sullivan, who never did say “born on US soil to two US citizens”. Allen West made the same claim: He was the one who brought in Col. Sullivan. Who does Lumpkin say brought in the colonel?
Lakin’s garbage was co- or ghost-scribbled by one David Mercaldo of Staten Island, NY.
I ran across his lovely wife Linda Mercaldo on GA Sec of State Kemp’s FB page while there was all that madness surrounding the Taitz Kibuki Theatre in Georgia.
She’s a real darling, Linda is. She told me all Presidents before have had to show their birth certificate.
She buzzes around the dung named Miki Booth a lot.
Nah! I have way more creative ways of giving myself brain damage.
That would depend. If it is connected to liberals or Obama, billboards, commercials, movies, reviews, ads, etc., are all good. The more the merrier. If it were a “conservative” product, God forbid an AK-47, then one must apply for a permit before speaking ill about it at all. Of ourse, that falls under the “I hate regulations unless it stops people from ‘doing-what-I-hate’ regulations”, which can be found under Chapter 2, Subection C, paragraph 5 of the Do as I say, Not as I Do Handbook.
No. Doing much worse than D’Souza.
Doc, you’re going to have to explain in the post every time you post these rankings that it’s ranks and not sales that the chart is reporting. It throws people off.
What I want to know is why “30 Delicious Refrigerator Cake Recipes” is doing so well? Hmmm I may have discovered a secret that I need to expose myself to. 😛
It is frightfully small the number of times exposing yourself actually improves matters.
Actually, I take no joy in Lakin’s financial plight. It’s not his famiy’s fault that he’s a dufus, and they’re the ones paying for his folly. On the other hand, his self-serving attempts to make his folly out like it was some kind of honorable quest are pathetic. The man should be ashamed of himself, his lies, and what he’s done to his family.
Too bad he wasn’t a Marine. Then he could have titled it “semper stultus.”
It would seem that Chico Escuela’s “Bad Stuff About the Mets” is doing better than Lakin’s book.
“Has anyone here read the book? I would be interested in whether he mentions JB Williams and the US Patriots Union, who wrote all those white papers demanding that Lakin go Vattelite in his defense and claimed to have brought in Col. Dwight Sullivan, who never did say “born on US soil to two US citizens”. Allen West made the same claim: He was the one who brought in Col. Sullivan. Who does Lumpkin say brought in the colonel?”
As a matter of fact, Lakin does discuss this in his book but mentions no names. Lakin had received suggestion that challenge the authority Judge Denise Lind had over him and bring the Vattel Defense but Lakin actually decided this was a bad idea because he might risk a very lengthy prison term if such a legal stategy was not sucessful.
Judging by the preview on Amazon, and the melodramatic chapter titles, I am certain that it does … but it’s well after the Kindle excerpt. And not searchable. Darn.
It includes a collection of essays and ‘vignettes’ (?) that reads like a who’s who of the birther movement. They’re not all in there, but it’s by far the most comprehensive collection I’ve ever seen!
In his intro he speaks about conversion to Christ; yeeeeah. Seems formulated with an eye on converting to quite a different faith!
Not Speed Dating with the Dead???
_____
Oh…nvm. Silly paranormal fiction, not a silly how-to spoof. Drat.
The putz is having a real meltdown on that thread.
He’s posting like a drunk, angry mental patient.
It’s far more pathetic than amusing.
Speaking as a male, please don’t use the terms “frightfully small” and “exposing yourself” in the same sentence.
Wrong again, John.
There is nothing wrong with reviewing a borrowed book. I hope you realize that real book critics – such as the ones who contribute to The New York Times Book Reivew – do not pay for the books they review.
As for Amazon, there is no requirement that you must have purchased a book before you can review it.
You are so consistently wrong about so many things that I sometimes wonder if you might be a parody of yourself.
Reviewing the book would be talking about its style, organization of materials, etc. Frankly I don’t care.
We’re not reviewing the book; we’re reviewing Lakin and his actions, something that is sufficiently known to be able to have an informed opinion.
My opinion is that Lakin is a loathsome traitor who should be in a cell in Leavenworth right now.
John, I am sorry to say that he has every right to produce the information on that book that is available. In your haste you failed to realize that what was produced isn’t a book review but the sales results.
Disobeying orders was a very bad legal strategy.
If I had read it, I would be talking about whether it is “revealing,” and whether it is objective or self-serving.
I do not think he practices law at all any more. He just Googles his name and posts on his blog and other places like Amazon all day. His address is on all his filings. His house is not very impressive, at least for an attorney.
He had been administratively ineligible to practice due to not paying into a fund (sorry, on mobile so I cannot pull the link or proper term easily). I assume he did this because he was not practicing, possibly retired. He returned to eligible status last year.
True, true, but again, personally, I don’t care.
That Bradley Manning is being kept in jail under torture-like conditions and Lakin free to roam is IMHO a mockery of your military justice system.
In John’s world, anyone that borrows from a library has committed fraud. That’s truly magical. I wonder how much he owes publishers and authors for all the books he read from his elementary school library, and how many book reports he should retroactively get an “F” on because he didn’t buy the book first.
I would read the thing, but I don’t buy books written by blue falcons who disgraced their uniforms and put other soldiers at risk for no damned reason at all other than the fact they the blue falcon in question is nothing more than a coward.
YMMV.
“authors for all the books he read ”
you actually think that john reads books
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
The Vattel defense would have been meaningless as well as Obama’s eligibility had nothing to do with his orders.
Why would I read a book by an officer who ignored orders?
As someone actually injured in the field and treated by military doctors, I’d glad my doctors were present, and did not shirk their duties, ignore their orders, and ignore the direct order from their CO, in Lakin’s case a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. John should try envisioning a hospital in which the medical staff is off the day John arrives because of some imaginary issue.
But, of course, John shares none of our values or of any Amerucan values, so why would he care that Dr. Lakin put American servicemen and women at risk?
“Some of the specific areas in which for help are listed below.”
Lakin should try that in the IDF or the Red Army.
True story: A kibbutz I had volunteered for had been shelled by Syria, so we each took turns running to the storeroom.
I made a mad dash, got what was needed, and then a mad dash back to the shelter. When I got back, I said in English “Second time around.” Silence.
I then said, “Anyone see or read A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum? Neil Simon, a Jewish playwright…anyone?”
“Well, we’re not in the Borscht Belt.”
Which was one of the few intelligent decisions which Lakin made, because he would have doubled down on stupid if he had listened to the advice of people like J.B. Williams.
He did just as badly: he took the advice of Paul Jensen, a personal injury lawyer. Lakin rejected the advice of his military lawyer, provided free of charge, by the Army.
Mario is a deeply sad case of birfoonery; he continually claims “I win!!” even though he convinces no-one: not his opponents, not the courts, not the real world.
But reading his incessant flood of drivel leads me to the conclusion that there are three main types of birfoon expert. All of them have arguments that are a pile of turds, but they are differentiated by how they respond when it is pointed out that they have a pile of turds.
Type A throws more turds onto the pile and screeches “it’s not a pile of turds now!”. Yes, it is, Orlena.
Type B polishes the turds until they are nice and shiny. But they are still turds, Jerry.
Type C shovels the turds over to a new location. But they are still turds, Mario.
Oh I suppose I should add another type, epitomised by the Alaskan nutter: the type who says ” yes, it’s a pile of turds, I like turds”.
Sigh. I guess you’re right. Here’s the addition I made:
Word of mouth? [rim shot]
Nor a new ’60s rocker bio.
“Hi Jerry! So, like, my name is TanYah, with an ‘h’, and I’m a Pisces… hey, do you mind if I ask, like, what happened to your hand, there?”
@Sam
Yes alas there is a strong element of coprophilia and coprophagia in the Bewildering and Bizarre Bowels of Birferstan.
In Falio’s case I would contend that he is a cross dresser as he is both a turd polisher as well as shoveller.
Such a legal strategy could not be successful. Have you not read Judge Lind’s decision? Are you still incapable of grasping that the authority of military orders derives from statute, not one god-like figure at the top?
Even if Obama turned out to be ineligible, the orders Lakin disobeyed would remain lawful orders. He was guilty no matter what one thinks about Obama’s status. That was explained to him before he chose to go on this quixotic quest.
Perhaps a golf analogy? Lower score = better?
I think the bar graph is also misleading to the simple. The bars must represent sales, because bigger bars are better!
From an infographics standpoint, the chart is flawed (sorry, Doc!), but it isn’t representing a super-complex concept.
An improvement would be a list of the titles, by rank, and with ranks in paren’s, with leader lines to a single, vertical column, a number line on which the ranks are plotted.
That would drive home the point that all these silly books are waaaayyyy up here, and all these really silly ones are waaaaayyyyyy down there. Way. On. Down.
But there is just something wrong about catering to stupid.
The interest in Birtherism seems to be waning a bit on WND.
State legislator claims the President plans fake attempt on his life in order to delay the 2012 election.
Seriously now, I just figured it out. “John” has got to be an invented troll persona for the dry humor effect; a birther art project. Brilliant 🙂
I sent the feller this email this morning:
“Since you have decided to try your hand at spreading baseless partisan lies, you should know that your emails about the Obama administration planning a fake assassination attempt could be interpreted as laying the groundwork for an actual assassination that you yourself are participating in as a co-conspirator.
If, God forbid, there is such an attempt, this places you at the top of the suspect list. We are writing letters this morning to the FBI and the Secret Service to alert them to consider you a suspect should such an event transpire.
Do you care to confirm or deny that you are planning an assassination attempt on the President at this time?”
Feel free to copy, paste, and send the same message to his office at rep.kelly.keisling@capitol.tn.gov
Another type, exhibiting typical Birfer schitzoid logic, screams “They are NOT turds! And besides, they will turn into a pile of caviar any… day… now…
I think the birthers made a big strategic error constantly harping on the issue over the last 4 years, If they had the slightest common sense, they would have simply dropped the issue after the Inauguration and taken it up as though it were new some time early in 2012. Instead, like a rookie marathon runner, they put on their finish line spurt in 2011, which would be about mile 20 and now are staggering towards the finish. Obama, being of East African heritage (eventhouugh born in the US), knows exactly how long a marathon is and when to start the sprint to the tape.
While the hard core birthers can still get it up for occasional performances by their heroes, for the average person, mention birth certificate and they will yawn and ask what’s new with Lindsay Lohan. The birthers have so turned everyone off that if Corsi found film in the British Archives of Obama being born in Mombasa, about 80% of the public would simply not care. And rightly so.
“Angione prefaces the rumor by saying it has not been confirmed but likewise notes it has not been denied.”
Glenn Beck has never denied raping a murdering a girl:
http://didglennbeckrapeandmurderagirl.blogspot.com/
Word of mouth? [bada-bing] FIFY
Thomas Brown, great idea e-mailing the TN legislator. Misha, I’m glad to see that the “questions” linger on about what did or absolutely did not happen at all in 1990.
To Orly, Kelly Keisling and the rest of that coterie: J’accuse.
A legend in your own mind? I give it a 6.4.
Please tell me you knew this all along and you’re just playing him.
Sounds kind of dull.
Yes, but by the time the trial began Jensen had been pushed aside by an attorney with real military legal experience, Neal Puckett.
I don’t see it. If john’s someone’s satiric invention, my hat’s off. It is right tough to feign being somebody who is not smart, but who thinks he is brilliant.
In my book he’s exactly who he sounds like: a Fervent Believer clinging to his Piece of the True Cross that he paid $1000 for, never spurning it even after he is shown 1) other fake pieces, 2) the shop where they were made, (3) court decisions against the importer and sellers for fraudulent practices, 5) candid accounts from the craftsmen who cut them out of modern lumber, and 6) how they used heat and chemicals to make them look 2000 years old, plus 7) the emails they sent to each other, LOLing about how they’re suckering the faithful selling $2 pieces of wood for $1000 each . . . who still believes, despite having seen all that, that HIS piece was there on that hill when Jesus bled and died for our sins.
AGREED!
As both of you has mentioned, these hateful people are being very irresponsible with their rumour-mongering rabble-rousing. It really does come across as a suspiciously dog-whistle route for them to attempt to goad a lone wolf into making their delusions into a self-fullfilling prophecy.
AGREED! Observation leads me to the same conclusion. Just about every non-ODS person I encounter has that turned-off and bored reaction to the sillyness of Birthers. Some folks react even worse – mentions of Birthers make them very angry – at the Birthers and their ilk…
Either way Poe’s law is proven, as someone noted.
Eeew!