Thursday, November 03, 2005

Buy me this book

There are actually two books on my "must have" list. The first is one by Peter Schweizer called Do As I Say (Not as I do). It profiles 11 prominent liberals and exposes them as hypocrites (not living they life they so strongly advocate for us "little people".) I found the Publisher's Weekly review rather humorous:

many of his charges are egregiously hyperbolic, as when he suggests that Cornel West is a "segregationist" because he bought a home in a largely Caucasian suburb. Schweizer clearly knows the limitations of his argument, since he backpedals from many of his most damning statements in his closing remarks. For all its revelations, in the end, this volume reads less like a critique of liberal philosophy than a catalogue of ammunition for ad hominem bloggers.


I think I know the way THAT reviewer voted in '04. Anyway, onto the fun stuff! Here is some of the funny revealed in the book:


Michael Moore owns 2000 shares of Halliburton stock! SAY IT ISN'T SO, oh champion of the little people, and slayer of Halliburton

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who proclaims her support for unions, yet the luxury resort, the vineyard and the restaurants she partly owns are strictly non-union. While she advocates tough new laws enforcing environmental regulations on the private sector, the exclusive country club she partly owns failed to comply with existing environmental regulations for the past eight years – including a failure to protect endangered species.

Noam Chomsky has made a reputation for calling America a police state and branding the Pentagon "the most hideous institution on earth," yet his entire academic career, writes Schweizer, has been subsidized by the U.S. military.

Barbra Streisand is another proponent of environmentalism, yet she drives an SUV, lives in a mansion and has a $22,000 annual water bill. In the past, she has driven to appointments in Beverly Hills in a motor home because of her aversion to using public bathrooms.

Ralph Nader plays the role of the citizen avenger – the populist uninterested in wealth and materialism, pretending to live in a modest apartment. In fact, he lives in fancy homes registered in the names of his siblings.


Thanks to the Mayor, who directed me to this article which had highlights from the book.

The other book I really really really want (and will probably get first) is Richard Miniter's Disinformation: 22 Media Myths that Undermine the War on Terror. He's been interviewed just about everywhere in the last week or so, so I've been totally pumped and primed to get my hands on the book. Maybe I need to take a little trip out today?