Amazon censors reviews of 'My Pet Goat'

[groover]

Amazon censors reviews of 'My Pet Goat'

(Libertythink.com) - Reviews for the children's reader including "My Pet Goat" are being deleted from Amazon.com for some strange reason. This is the exciting story you can see footage of our Maximum Leader George W. Bush reading intently in Michael Moore's new documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11. Bush reads on for a good seven minutes after his chief of staff allegedly tells him of the 9/11 attacks.

These Amazon.com reviews were posted on 911truthalliance 16 Jul 2004 :
Steady Readership In Times Of Change, July 8, 2004
Reviewer: A reader (Sarasota, Florida)
A riveting story that keeps you glued to the page until the stunning climax. Even a notification from your staff that the nation you lead is under attack can't keep you from reading the gut-wrenching final words.

If only the book were longer......, July 8, 2004
Reviewer: A reader (Raleigh, NC USA)
Then I could have sat there and read it for 7 hours...still, it was nice to be able to get lost in the adventure of this adorable goat - more fun than my "day job"!....maybe I should become a miseducator....I do resignate with these kids!

Nothing could tear me away from "The Pet Goat", July 7, 2004
Reviewer: A reader (Washington DC)
Not even a national emergency! This is probably the greatest book EVER written. It has lots of colorful pictures, and it's just so fun to "read" while I sit there for at least seven minutes wondering why I took a job that I have absolutely no skills for, and that when it comes right down to it, I didn't even want! It's not as good as "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" (the words are bigger), but it comes close!

Yet these were the only four reviews remaining on Amazon.com as of July 20 :
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Why is it a goat?, July 19, 2004
Reviewer: rizzella (In the big state of Texas)
The book was OK. Some of the words were a little hard for me but it is a Level 2 reader. I would have liked a Level 1. I also thought it would have been much better if it was called "My Pet Elephant". That would have made it much more better. After all, the GOP has an elephant for our mascot. Another reason an elephant would have been more better is because I have been known to have seen pink elephants lots of times. So, that is why I think it should have been about an elephant and not a goat. But at least it was not "My Pet Donkey". Haw, Haw. Then I wouldn't have liked the story at all.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
A "must" for my library, July 18, 2004
Reviewer: A reader
This book totally captured my imagination and I could not resist telling my friends all about it, even though the grownups kept bugging me about other things I was sposed to do. This book belongs right beside The Very Hungry Caterpillar Katapilla??? in my presidential library. Actually it's more of a presidential bookshelf and my friend Johnny Ashcroft always wants to know what I and my other friends are reading.

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
Bestes book in da worl!, July 15, 2004
Reviewer: A reader
I think this is the bestes book in da worl! I was lef thinkin for seven minutes caus this book is soooo cooool. I wanna read it again and again and I don care if the whole worl is attac. This is the coooolest book eva!

209 of 212 people found the following review helpful:
Presidential material, through and through!, July 6, 2004
Reviewer:Lolla Fallujah (Hannah Storm's house)
After reading the enclosed story "The Pet Goat," I was stunned by its lyrical beauty and easy cadence. The tempo, the choice of words, and the layout on each page captured my imagination so much that it took me about seven minutes to recover my bearings.

[patricia]

I can't believe I haven't read "My Pet Goat".

[bluenoter]

I've read that in actuality, Moore's film notwithstanding, Bush didn't read My Pet Goat to the children; rather, he sat there as a teacher read it to them.

After all, it would have been tough for him to sound out all those words for the first time, especially in front of an audience.

[patricia]

Originally Posted by bluenoter

I've read that in actuality, Moore's film notwithstanding, Bush didn't read My Pet Goat to the children; rather, he sat there as a teacher read it to them.

After all, it would have been tough for him to sound out all those words for the first time, especially in front of an audience.

Good point. I understand that Mr Bush has been thinking about having a tutor show him how to read ahead, not stopping, just because he reaches the opposite side of the written page. I know that it will be difficult for him, but nothing good comes easy.

[bluenoter]

Many years ago, my friends and I had three goats: Gail, Cindy, and White Goat.

I do not have goats today. Instead, I have an appointed moron as president of my country. I am very happy, because soon I will have a new president!

[crawjo]

I guess the appropriate response for Bush would have been to scream "Oh my God, we're under attack!" and then storm out of the room.

Funny that the man who gets castigated for not thinking before acting also gets castigated when he thinks before acting.

[Dr Dave]

It is time to stop calling George W. Bush a moron, even if he is one. It serves no useful purpose, and, in fact, is insulting to those (admittedly in the minority) who voted for him last time. Don't attack the man; attack the policies. Worst employment record since Herbert Hoover; imploding health care system; secret energy policy; putting people in jail without specific charges and without recourse to counsel; industry-friendly environmental policy; failed education program; and, to be charitable, a foreign policy based on John Wayne movies.

[bluenoter]

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

It is time to stop calling George W. Bush a moron, even if he is one. It serves no useful purpose, and, in fact, is insulting to those (admittedly in the minority) who voted for him last time.

I see your point. My inner child posted that message; I'll take it up with her.

[clinthopson]

Originally Posted by crawjo

Funny that the man who gets castigated for not thinking before acting also gets castigated when he thinks before acting.

Giving Shrub credit for any kind of thinking (as opposed to mouthing memorized phrases) is stretching it.

[Underhound]

Originally Posted by crawjo

I guess the appropriate response for Bush would have been to scream "Oh my God, we're under attack!" and then storm out of the room.

Funny that the man who gets castigated for not thinking before acting also gets castigated when he thinks before acting.

Or he could have calmy excused himself, left the room, and began considering whatever actions a president (and only the president) is obliged to take in a time of crisis.

It's not an either/or decision between being frozen and being hysterical.

[Jazzzoline]

Originally Posted by Underhound

Or he could have calmy excused himself, left the room, and began considering whatever actions a president (and only the president) is obliged to take in a time of crisis.

It's not an either/or decision between being frozen and being hysterical.

Naw, like other students learned to do, he should have left his right hand and when the teacher give him permission to talk he should have said "I got to pee, may I go to the restroom please?", holding his crutch with his left hand.

Originally Posted by crawjo

I guess the appropriate response for Bush would have been to scream "Oh my God, we're under attack!" and then storm out of the room.

Funny that the man who gets castigated for not thinking before acting also gets castigated when he thinks before acting.

What on earth makes you believe that Bush was thinking anything of substance. His mind drew a blank when a journalist asked him to name a mistake he had made--I have a feeling that this was also a case of his mind having been vacated. The real questions are "did he have thoughts and, if so, what the hell was he thinking?" The latter is a question chronically raised by his alleged decisions.

[tippy]

I'm anti-Bush yet I think far too much has been made of these seven minutes. To the point of idiocy really. These moments are noteworthy--yes, noteworthy--as to his state of mind but why didn't his advisors simply usher him out from the outset? Whose jaw was not hanging on 9/11? So the President is human. What could he have done in those moments that would have made an iota of difference? As far as changing the outcome, the main failure was the delay in notification and indecision by air traffic it seems to me. I just think there is plenty more to relevantly criticize than hanging onto these seven minutes. Let it go.

[moneyp]

What could he have done in those moments that would have made an iota of difference?

He could have given the order to shoot down any other commercial jetliners under terrorist control, an order only the President can give. But I more or less agree with you. It's hardly damning to find yourself in shock over news like that.

[patricia]

I suspect that, much like the rest of us, watching the horror unfold on television that day, Mr Bush was shocked and virtually paralyzed. However, being Commander in Chief does carry more responsibilty than does being a regular person. All the regular people are allowed to be frozen, because they assume that the President is the kind of person who, faced with a crisis, steps into the breech with decisive action. This did not happen. He sat there................and sat there...................and sat there. Meanwhile, people were dying. The President's job is not to be an ordinary person, but the commander in chief, not just in name, but in fact. As it was, he seemed curiously detached from what he was being told by Mr Card. He seemed to be waiting for a cue, not just being controlled, because he didn't want to scare the little kids. As was just said, all he had to do was excuse himself. The story of the pet goat would have continued, since Mr Bush wasn't reading it anyway and the children would not have been the wiser.
Saying he didn't want to scare the kids is totally ridiculous. He just didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do either, nor did any of you. But, we aren't the one who is supposed to know what to do when the country is attacked. That's the job of the Commander in Chief, the President. That he didn't know what to do was troubling and still is. Who decides, if not him??
That's why he gets to have the title and sit in the big chair.

[Underhound]

Right on, Patricia.

I think, given the circumstances, those in the classroom would have forgiven him for leaving abrubtly.

[crawjo]

I wonder if Clinton spent seven minutes contemplating his next move when the WTC was attacked the first time.

My guess is: yes. This situation is extremely unusual in that the Commander-in-chief was actually on camera when he heard the horrifying news. That's never happened before, to my knowledge. We don't know how FDR reacted to Pearl Harbor in the first seven minutes, or, like I said, how Clinton responded in the first seven minutes to the WTC attacks, or the Oklahoma City bombing. Bush was in a very difficult position in that he had just received terrible news, but he was also on camera, knew he was on camera, and was in a room with little children. When you think about it, that's a really bizarre environment to hear the news that is going to forever alter your presidency. Given the circumstances, I think Bush did just fine. He kept his composure.

[tippy]

Originally Posted by mone peterson

He could have given the order to shoot down any other commercial jetliners under terrorist control, an order only the President can give. But I more or less agree with you. It's hardly damning to find yourself in shock over news like that.

Did someone mention that to him during the story reading though? Like I said, he should have been ushered out immediately. Not...we have this info but would you like to finish the story? Wouldn't you be confused too? I blame those around him who had access to more info about what was going on than he himself had except for what was whispered in his ear. Obviously plenty of you feel differently, but I find the abundance of attention paid to this overblown, bordering on irrational, at this point. It seems desperate when in reality there's no shortage of material upon which to criticize this fellow. This is mere confection from my point of view that's all. It makes me yawn and roll my eyes.

[bluenoter]

Originally Posted by bluenoter

I've read that in actuality, Moore's film notwithstanding, Bush didn't read My Pet Goat to the children; rather, he sat there as a teacher read it to them.

Did I misspeak? I haven't seen the film. I tried to Google the incident, but it just gets murkier and murkier. Now I'm starting to read that Bush had already learned of the first attack before the session with My Pet Goat.

[crawjo]

Originally Posted by patricia

I suspect that, much like the rest of us, watching the horror unfold on television that day, Mr Bush was shocked and virtually paralyzed. However, being Commander in Chief does carry more responsibilty than does being a regular person. All the regular people are allowed to be frozen, because they assume that the President is the kind of person who, faced with a crisis, steps into the breech with decisive action. This did not happen. He sat there................and sat there...................and sat there. Meanwhile, people were dying. The President's job is not to be an ordinary person, but the commander in chief, not just in name, but in fact. As it was, he seemed curiously detached from what he was being told by Mr Card. He seemed to be waiting for a cue, not just being controlled, because he didn't want to scare the little kids. As was just said, all he had to do was excuse himself. The story of the pet goat would have continued, since Mr Bush wasn't reading it anyway and the children would not have been the wiser.
Saying he didn't want to scare the kids is totally ridiculous. He just didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do either, nor did any of you. But, we aren't the one who is supposed to know what to do when the country is attacked. That's the job of the Commander in Chief, the President. That he didn't know what to do was troubling and still is. Who decides, if not him??
That's why he gets to have the title and sit in the big chair.

Give me a break. How on earth could Bush have known just what to do at that moment? All he knew was that the towers had been hit by two planes. That was it. He had not received any briefings from the CIA, the FBI, or his national security advisor. Unlike many people, he hadn't even see the videotape of the attacks.

Yeah, in theory his mind could have immediately jumped to the conclusion that he needed to give an order to shoot down planes, but jesus christ, one minute he's reading with little boys and girls and the next he's supposed to be able to give such an order, utterly unprecedented in American history? If he'd done that, his critics would just say that this proves that he's a reckless, out-of-control cowboy who shoots from the hip and acts before he thinks.

The bottom line is that in this scenario Bush needed to trust his people. He hadn't seen the attacks; they had. I'm sure that if Andrew Card had come into the room and told him that he needed to get up and leave right then, he would have done so. But Card didn't do that. I echo what Dr. Dave said in this thread. This nit-picking over every single fucking thing the president has ever done or said is completely beside the point and counterproductive. There's nothing Bush could have done at that moment that would have made a damn bit of difference in the way events unfolded. This criticism simply confirms my suspicion that for some of you, there is simply nothing that Bush could ever do in any situation ever that would be reasonable or the right thing to do. Better to just criticize everything, apparently in the hope that the mere accumulation of such minutiae will bring about his defeat.

If you want to criticize the President, then by all means go ahead, but why don't you spend your time criticizing something substantive, like his deregulation policy or his out of control spending or something, anything other than what he did for seven freaking minutes while in a classroom with little children, on camera.

[Dr Dave]

Crawjo has a point, folks.

[patricia]

Yes, Crawjo has a point.
The reason that this discussion centres around Mr Bush's reaction to Mr Card's appearance is that the thread title refers to his sitting there, eyes darting around, frozen while the teacher continues to read "My Pet Goat" to the children. There would have been nothing wrong with Mr Bush politely excusing himself to find out what was going on in New York and Washington, which necessitated Mr Card interrupting Mr Bush's charming photo-op. Mr Card would not have interrupted this event if the news was not dire, I wouldn't think.
I understand that even after he had left the classroom, Mr Bush still didn't know that a crisis situation had developed, since he found time for another twenty minute photo-op. I knew, so I wonder why Mr Bush didn't. I guess you're right that he couldn't do anything then to stop what was happening in New York and Washington, so he might as well just continue building his portfolio of pictures for his re-election campaign.

[Root Doctor]

I've seen the footage and Bush seems to be deep in thought, not confused or disoriented. Bush has ample flaws, but this isn't an example of one.

[Jazzzoline]

Originally Posted by crawjo

Give me a break. How on earth could Bush have known just what to do at that moment? All he knew was that the towers had been hit by two planes. That was it. He had not received any briefings from the CIA, the FBI, or his national security advisor. Unlike many people, he hadn't even see the videotape of the attacks.

Yeah, in theory his mind could have immediately jumped to the conclusion that he needed to give an order to shoot down planes, but jesus christ, one minute he's reading with little boys and girls and the next he's supposed to be able to give such an order, utterly unprecedented in American history? If he'd done that, his critics would just say that this proves that he's a reckless, out-of-control cowboy who shoots from the hip and acts before he thinks.

The bottom line is that in this scenario Bush needed to trust his people. He hadn't seen the attacks; they had. I'm sure that if Andrew Card had come into the room and told him that he needed to get up and leave right then, he would have done so. But Card didn't do that. I echo what Dr. Dave said in this thread. This nit-picking over every single fucking thing the president has ever done or said is completely beside the point and counterproductive. There's nothing Bush could have done at that moment that would have made a damn bit of difference in the way events unfolded. This criticism simply confirms my suspicion that for some of you, there is simply nothing that Bush could ever do in any situation ever that would be reasonable or the right thing to do. Better to just criticize everything, apparently in the hope that the mere accumulation of such minutiae will bring about his defeat.

If you want to criticize the President, then by all means go ahead, but why don't you spend your time criticizing something substantive, like his deregulation policy or his out of control spending or something, anything other than what he did for seven freaking minutes while in a classroom with little children, on camera.

I can't believe it.
Aren't those men supposed to be "in control" of situations like this? I mean, I can't believe Bush has never thought of a possible attack against America. And when you think it's a possibility, you f***ing get prepared! You have a PLAN! You know what to do when it happens. You have phone numbers and people to call.
And, not only Bush for that matter, All Americans!!!
I can't wait for the next attack when they gonna show on tv people crying "WHY????"
(sorry for that one)

[lynn]

Presidents should be prepared to confront any situation. Bush was not and thusly in retrospect was not prepared to be responsible for the nation he was appointed to lead.

He has shown himself to be unprepared still. He is not a responsible person and should be dismissed from office.

[patricia]

Originally Posted by Jazzzoline

I can't believe it.
Aren't those men supposed to be "in control" of situations like this? I mean, I can't believe Bush has never thought of a possible attack against America. And when you think it's a possibility, you f***ing get prepared! You have a PLAN! You know what to do when it happens. You have phone numbers and people to call.
And, not only Bush for that matter, All Americans!!!
I can't wait for the next attack when they gonna show on tv people crying "WHY????"
(sorry for that one)

I don't think that there is any reason for you to apologize for your prediction of people's reaction to the next, I think, inevitable attack, somewhere in the U.S. I don't think that the measures which have been put in place would have prevented the hijackers from commandeering planes for the first attack, any more than they will stop a determined group of terrorists from conducting another one.
One has only to look at the reluctance with which the administration is moving toward implimenting the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. First they, under pressure from the relatives of the victims of the first attack, finally form the 9/11 Commission. Then, after 1 1/2 years of compiling data and presenting their list of recommendations, the Bush administration is going to "take them under advisement". I'd hate to be hanging while they make up their minds which of the recommendations are worthy of consideration. Meanwhile, people's lives are at stake, the longer they delay. Not the Bush Administration's lives though, so.........................................

[Sergio Zamora]

Is 'My Pet Goat' a book? I thought it was a story in one of those elementary school reading textbooks.

[groover]

Interesting that no one's commented on whether Amazon was justified in removing the reviews. I found some of them rather amusing, and they might have helped them sell a copy or two.

[Jazzzoline]

Originally Posted by patricia

I don't think that there is any reason for you to apologize for your prediction of people's reaction to the next, I think, inevitable attack, somewhere in the U.S.

I don't wish it to happen.
And I will feel very sorry for them as I was the last time and as I am when I read about any horrors happening in the world.

[patricia]

Originally Posted by Sergio Zamora

Is 'My Pet Goat' a book? I thought it was a story in one of those elementary school reading textbooks.

Nope. It's a whole, beautifully illustrated children's book, along the lines of "The Biggest Shadow In The Zoo", one of my childrens' favourites. [The zoo book tells the tension-filled story of an elephant who, because the sun went behind a cloud, thought that his shadow had run away or perhaps even was dead. Then, he saw it at the bottom of the swimming pool and, just for a few minutes, thought it had drowned. Oh...........the drama!!!!]
"My Pet Goat" is not as violence-filled though.