Dr. Phil is the LEAST Repugnant Person in this Book
Out of 101+ people in this book, Dr. Phil (#91) comes across as the least repugnant person who is really screwing America. After all, adults who are dumb enough to appear on his show deserve what they get and any child dumb enough to have parents who are dumb enough to appear on his show deserve what they get.
But the rest of the list? Scary. Far from being “Compassionate Conservatives,” the members of the Imperial Presidency (where is Richard Nixon when you need him?) and its Court have pulled a coup against our democratic system, with the result that we have a government of the Bushies, by the Bushies, and for the Bushies.
(To be clear: I am using the term “Bushies” to stand for everyone who stands against whatever I stand for: ending the Iraq War; respecting the environment and the scientific method; First Amendment, Second Amendment – OK, let’s say all the amendments, when interpreted by a fair and balanced Supreme Court – and yes, compassion.)
From the outdoor environment to the privacy of one’s own home, the Bushies do seem to be preoccupied with sex: from raping and pillaging our national natural resources to determining what happens in the privacy of one’s bedroom. Small-minded people, they hoard what they have, and then want more. From Pat Robertson (#55) and his “Christian Coalition” to Bradley Smith 1 (#79) and Bradley Smith 2 (#78), they seem to believe that they are the ones to set the national agenda – and why shouldn’t they? Since January 20, 2001, they have been.
In a prescient and eerie choice, #19, Alberto Gonzales, comes across as the worst Attorney General ever, in a book that was written well before this month’s (March 2007) events: the purge of the U.S. attorneys for purely partisan political reasons. And Condi Rice at #10 ranks even higher (the lower the number, the higher is your Screwing America listing) than Gonzales, most notably for her horrid, heartbreaking joke about 9/11: The Bush government was completely surprised on 9/11, she claimed, despite the title of the President’s Daily Briefing on August 6, 2001: “Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States.” It must have been a joke, because she couldn’t have been serious.
Media figures in all forms come in for a drubbing: Rupert Murdoch (#14,) Clear Channel Communications (#50), and even the so-called Liberal Media (#13) are called on the carpet. In a system where a 24-hour news network, proclaiming itself “Fair and Balanced” (#28), is nothing but a mouthpiece for one political party, a confused Average American (#57 – oh, my, is no one spared from Huberman’s wrath?) had better turn off their Ipods and TV’s and cancel their newspaper subscriptions and curl up with a good book. (My Pet Goat would be an excellent choice. Just ask #2.).
My one quibble? #44. I’ll never forget my first time. And I refuse to give it up.
The book is amusing but infuriating. Keep away if you are a Democrat with high blood pressure. Everyone else, read at your own risk. But read it.
Out of 101+ people in this book, Dr. Phil (#91) comes across as the least repugnant person who is really screwing America. After all, adults who are dumb enough to appear on his show deserve what they get and any child dumb enough to have parents who are dumb enough to appear on his show deserve what they get.
But the rest of the list? Scary. Far from being “Compassionate Conservatives,” the members of the Imperial Presidency (where is Richard Nixon when you need him?) and its Court have pulled a coup against our democratic system, with the result that we have a government of the Bushies, by the Bushies, and for the Bushies.
(To be clear: I am using the term “Bushies” to stand for everyone who stands against whatever I stand for: ending the Iraq War; respecting the environment and the scientific method; First Amendment, Second Amendment – OK, let’s say all the amendments, when interpreted by a fair and balanced Supreme Court – and yes, compassion.)
From the outdoor environment to the privacy of one’s own home, the Bushies do seem to be preoccupied with sex: from raping and pillaging our national natural resources to determining what happens in the privacy of one’s bedroom. Small-minded people, they hoard what they have, and then want more. From Pat Robertson (#55) and his “Christian Coalition” to Bradley Smith 1 (#79) and Bradley Smith 2 (#78), they seem to believe that they are the ones to set the national agenda – and why shouldn’t they? Since January 20, 2001, they have been.
In a prescient and eerie choice, #19, Alberto Gonzales, comes across as the worst Attorney General ever, in a book that was written well before this month’s (March 2007) events: the purge of the U.S. attorneys for purely partisan political reasons. And Condi Rice at #10 ranks even higher (the lower the number, the higher is your Screwing America listing) than Gonzales, most notably for her horrid, heartbreaking joke about 9/11: The Bush government was completely surprised on 9/11, she claimed, despite the title of the President’s Daily Briefing on August 6, 2001: “Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States.” It must have been a joke, because she couldn’t have been serious.
Media figures in all forms come in for a drubbing: Rupert Murdoch (#14,) Clear Channel Communications (#50), and even the so-called Liberal Media (#13) are called on the carpet. In a system where a 24-hour news network, proclaiming itself “Fair and Balanced” (#28), is nothing but a mouthpiece for one political party, a confused Average American (#57 – oh, my, is no one spared from Huberman’s wrath?) had better turn off their Ipods and TV’s and cancel their newspaper subscriptions and curl up with a good book. (My Pet Goat would be an excellent choice. Just ask #2.).
My one quibble? #44. I’ll never forget my first time. And I refuse to give it up.
The book is amusing but infuriating. Keep away if you are a Democrat with high blood pressure. Everyone else, read at your own risk. But read it.
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