I have to laugh
to keep
from
crying
Lies
and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right
by Al Franken
Very funny, of course, and scrupulously
researched.
I wish he hadn't done the silly story about all the right-wing
draft-dodgers
in Vietnam, but that's easy to skip. (I read it a while ago, so I
don't remember it well enough to write more.)
I have the
strangest
feeling
of déjà vu
Worse
than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush
by John Dean
And Dean should know. It's not the most competent
book (riddled with typos and errors), but it's compulsively
readable.
Dean gathers nuggets of shocking information from a wide array of
sources
(all footnoted) and makes the case that Bush's White House is more
secretive
-- and more craven -- than Nixon dreamed of being. Frankly, I
don't
know what axe Dean may have to grind -- but let the sparks fly! I
wish every voter could be forced to read this book before Election
Day.
Whether you agree or disagree with him politically, the lengths to
which
Bush and his cronies will go to hide the facts, the extent to which
they
"dissemble as a matter of policy," should outrage every American.
(Most interesting to me was how much worse Cheney's health is than
anyone
will admit. Apparently he had some heart procedure with a 20-year
lifespan, and guess when the 20 years is up? Right about
now.
In my favorite scenario, Dean suggests that Bush could be assassinated
by terrorists, Cheney would die from the shock and strain before he
could
pick a new VP, Denny Hastert would be strong-armed out of the way by
Tom
DeLay, and voila: President Tom DeLay!)
I believe all
these whining
liberals
are just pissed because they aren't in power
The
Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of
Paul O'Neill
by Ron Suskind
I admit to skimming this one at times (discussions of
fiscal policy make my eyes glaze over), but since it's written by a
general-interest
magazine writer, it's pretty readable. And since it's former
Treasury
Secretary Paul O'Neill's insider view, it's pretty damning. I
guess
it's nothing too far from the caricatures we know and loathe -- Dubya
as
sneering, clueless frat boy and Cheney as evil puppetmaster -- but
somehow,
having a former member of the administration (a believer converted to a
disillusioned skeptic) confirm it is simultaneously gratifying and
terrifying.
As a bonus, the book includes an account of the
rogering
of Christie Todd Whitman. Why Whitman continues to praise Bush
and
pretend he’s anything but poison for the environment is beyond
me.
What exactly does she think she’s going to get? Why would she
think
that she could trust him after he brazenly and unapologetically screwed
her over? Is whatever political favor she’s hoping for worth
selling
out the earth?
I hug trees and
policy tomes
Strategic
Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a
Century
of Environmental Progress
by Carl Pope and Paul Rauber
Crimes
Against Nature: How George Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering
the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy
by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
I worry that I
hate Bush
just
because I'm a brainless pawn of the liberal media
What
Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News
by Eric Alterman
I’m having trouble getting through What
Liberal Media? Not because it’s poorly written – it’s
quite
well done. It’s just that Alterman lays out a compelling,
convincing,
thoroughly researched argument – in the introduction. I’m not
really
sure where else he can go from there. I hate to steer anyone away
from buying a progressive book, but it seems like something that could
have been (and probably is, somewhere) an excellent magazine article.
I like to hoist
people on
their
own petards
(I think)
Take
Them at Their Words: Shocking, Amusing, and Baffling Quotations from
the
GOP and Their Friends, 1994-2004
by Bruce J. Miller with Diana Maio
This is just impossible to read, because all it is is
an avalanche of quotations, vaguely arranged, but I'm sure there are
some
good lines in here. It could have used some serious editing,
though.
And somehow they managed to leave out a whole slew of
anti-environmental
quotes, mainly from Alaska Rep. Don Young, like when he accused
environmentalists
of wanting to herd people into concentration camps, or when he called
environmentalists
"waffle-stomping, Harvard-educated, intellectual idiots"
(waffle-stomping?)
Leaders of the pack, quotewise? Predictably, George W. Bush, Ann
Coulter (you know, people, if we all just ignore her, she'll go
away),
Tom DeLay, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, and Donald Rumsfeld.
Probably
the only reason Cheney doesn't have more citations is that he rarely
speaks
for attribution.
I need ammunition
to fight
back
against my right-wing relatives
Big
Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth
by Joe Conason
I read this a while ago, too, so I don't remember all
of it, but I recall that it was heavy on the facts, a good source book
for when you need to correct specific wrong assumptions.
Franken's
book is good for this as well, but this book is a little easier to use
as a reference.
I just know
there's
something
seriously wrong with him
Bush
on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President
by Justin Frank
I haven't read this yet, but damn, I want to!
Back to homepage
Reviews A to F
Reviews G to L
Reviews M to R
Reviews S to Z
Search