Score: 4 / 5
Category: Quasi-Politics, Entertaining, Funny, Informative but Not Educational
Strongly Recommended
My Thoughts: This was a fun book. There was nothing really new in the book. No information that I didn't already know (though if you haven't heard of the "creation museum" then you should probably read this book for his description of it). What really makes this book awesome is the author's wit and sarcasm, and the way that he points out all of the ridiculousness that should be obvious.
In particular I enjoyed his three principles of idiot America. It's so true, and once you read the book you start to see the principles at work with every news story in the media today. It's very much a "truth isn't what it used to be" book, that points out the many ways that conservatives in particular have glorified idiots and idiot ideas, even to the extent of demonizing knowledge/education itself.
I especially appreciated his "behind the scenes" thoughts and discussions on hot topic political issues. It's the kind of thing you'd expect normal reporters to do, but (shockingly?) never happens. He goes to the Hospice where Terry Schiavo died and talks to the workers about the incident. His discussion of this section is especially powerful, since he exposes some of the terrifying things that were done in the name of saving someone who everyone in the hospice knew had already been dead for years. In fact, she an autopsy confirmed that she had been dead long before the whole uproar even began. So divorced from reality were the "pro-life" devotees that they were willing to fight (and in some cases even kill) to save someone who was already dead.
I also loved his discussion of "talk radio" though I will let you read/listen to that yourselves. I could not possibly do justice to his take on the evolution of talk radio.
Overall, this is a very interesting book, though I would not recommend people use it to educate themselves about any of the issues within. It is better as an excellent (and hilariously entertaining) supplement pointing out the glaring problems with the conservative/idiot beliefs on a number of issues.
Common Sense
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