or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
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"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
June 01, 2005
Why Must Matt Taibbi Pester Us With His Nutty Schemes?
The New Republic has reviewed Matt Taibbi's new book Spanking the Donkey. Of course, I haven't read the review, because to do so you have to subscribe to the New Republic. And if I had to choose, I would rather drink a gallon of snot.
However, David Sirota has somehow managed to read the review. He reports it ridicules Taibbi for suggesting the Democratic party could win by supporting crazy out-of-the-mainstream ideas like universal health care and cutting the military budget. The problem here, as Sirota demonstrates, is these crazy out-of-the-mainstream ideas are held by a majority of Americans.
ALSO: Hopefully there will be an interview with Taibbi here sometime soon.
AND ALSO TOO: You should also read this by Sirota.
Posted at June 1, 2005 10:35 AM | TrackBackThe book is hilarious. It should be purchased by everyone.
Posted by: Elayne at June 1, 2005 02:57 PMI hate to be cynical, but the reason the Democrats don't support progressive things like universal health care (and especially universal single-payer health care) isn't because they are afraid the American people don't support those issues, but because the Democratic party is dominated by corporate interests and hack politicians who don't care about progressive virtures anymore.
Posted by: The Haikuist at June 1, 2005 04:15 PMI can never decide which side I come down on in terms of what The Haikuist just wrote. It's easy to believe, of course. But did you see that a motion to demand that Bush submit a plan for withdrawing from Iraq ASAP just got 135 (I think) votes in the house? Not winning is not the same thing as not trying. Occasionally I feel optimistic - and so keep pulling harder and harder in the direction of good common sense, instead of moving overseas.
Posted by: Aaron at June 1, 2005 04:57 PMHaikuist,
Wowâ€â€sucking up of that quality sets the bar high for others. Even the White House website (as you may have seen if you followed the link) left it as "disassemble."
Also, you're of course right in terms of how the Democratic party acts. However, it's possible the internet will make it easier for politicians to gather small amounts of money from lots of people, which might change things.
Or not.
Posted by: Jonathan Schwarz at June 1, 2005 05:05 PMMy previous comment would make more sense in the Bushism thread. *sigh*.
Posted by: Harry at June 2, 2005 01:01 AMJonathan;
You can find the TNR review for free at Powell's:
http://www.powells.com/review/2005_05_26.html%5C'?
Perhaps the worst part of it is near the end, when the writer asks:
"Who does Taibbi like? He grudgingly supports Kucinich[...] Taibbi also spends a good deal of time talking up weirdo candidate Harry Braun, whose entire campaign rests on the capacities of hydrogen power to solve the world's ills."
This just goes to show how far out of the mainstream that wacky Taibbi is, she thinks. Or rather, it would if Taibbi really had spent "a good deal of time" on Braun, instead of just 3 pages out of a 330-page book.
Posted by: Chris Ekman at June 3, 2005 02:20 PM
