Board Fav Pierce on Maddow Show

Boom_70 · Jun 9, 2009

Small Town Guy said:

Finished the book in two days. Fantastic. And the Idiot America isn't as harsh as it sounds. Well, sort of. He loves that the country is home to those who believe people rode dinosaurs, he loves loons, conspiracy theory believers and other quacks. But those people - cranks, to use his word - used to have their place in the country. He writes, "This is still the best country ever in which to peddle complete public lunacy. In fact, it's the only contry to enshrine that right in its founding documents. The American crank is one of the great by-products of the American experiment." His problem is when their ideas are accepted "untested and unchallenged" into the mainstream just because they're a great product.

"The best thing about American cranks used to be that, if they couldn't have the effect they desired, they would stand apart from a country that, by their peculiar lights, had gone completely mad. Not today. Today, they all have book deals, TV shows, and cases pending in federal court."

There's a lot of interesting thinking and plenty of room for debate in the book. But as always with Pierce, there's also nearly a laugh out loud line on every page. One of my favorites is this one:

"Hannity occasionally seems to make an earnest attempt at avuncularity. He looks like the bouncer at an Irish bar in Southampton, the big lug in the golf shirt who throws you out for singing The Rising of the Moon atop the bar but, as he does so, presses a couple of drink tickets into your hand with a wink and tells you to come back next week."
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That's a pretty apt discription of Hannity. It did make me laugh.

The thing that strikes me is that if you decide to write a book like this you must feel that you are the smartest guy in the room .

Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L) · Jun 9, 2009

BYH said:

21 said:

I'm a big Pierce fan, always have been....I have the book, hoping to get to it soon.

I like the title, but you gotta admit, anyone writing about 'Idiot America' does automatically convey some smugness. That is not necessarily a bad thing.

And btw, because we like to follow these things, the book was #25 at Amazon last week.
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Does Boom nudge you multiple times per hour asking you where it ranks in comparision to the A-Rod book?
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Boom and 21 are different people?

Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L) · Jun 9, 2009

Pierce is an excellent writer. In fact - he's the second best writer to come out of Shrewsbury, MA in the last 50 years.

Lester Bangs · Jun 10, 2009

Boom_70 said:

Small Town Guy said:

Finished the book in two days. Fantastic. And the Idiot America isn't as harsh as it sounds. Well, sort of. He loves that the country is home to those who believe people rode dinosaurs, he loves loons, conspiracy theory believers and other quacks. But those people - cranks, to use his word - used to have their place in the country. He writes, "This is still the best country ever in which to peddle complete public lunacy. In fact, it's the only contry to enshrine that right in its founding documents. The American crank is one of the great by-products of the American experiment." His problem is when their ideas are accepted "untested and unchallenged" into the mainstream just because they're a great product.

"The best thing about American cranks used to be that, if they couldn't have the effect they desired, they would stand apart from a country that, by their peculiar lights, had gone completely mad. Not today. Today, they all have book deals, TV shows, and cases pending in federal court."

There's a lot of interesting thinking and plenty of room for debate in the book. But as always with Pierce, there's also nearly a laugh out loud line on every page. One of my favorites is this one:

"Hannity occasionally seems to make an earnest attempt at avuncularity. He looks like the bouncer at an Irish bar in Southampton, the big lug in the golf shirt who throws you out for singing The Rising of the Moon atop the bar but, as he does so, presses a couple of drink tickets into your hand with a wink and tells you to come back next week."
Click to expand...

That's a pretty apt discription of Hannity. It did make me laugh.

The thing that strikes me is that if you decide to write a book like this you must feel that you are the smartest guy in the room .
Click to expand...

Or you are just a person who observes the world around you. I look forward to reading this book, but it's nothing new. This is one of the defining acorns of the Bush years.

WaylonJennings · Jun 21, 2009

Boom_70 said:

Small Town Guy said:

Finished the book in two days. Fantastic. And the Idiot America isn't as harsh as it sounds. Well, sort of. He loves that the country is home to those who believe people rode dinosaurs, he loves loons, conspiracy theory believers and other quacks. But those people - cranks, to use his word - used to have their place in the country. He writes, "This is still the best country ever in which to peddle complete public lunacy. In fact, it's the only contry to enshrine that right in its founding documents. The American crank is one of the great by-products of the American experiment." His problem is when their ideas are accepted "untested and unchallenged" into the mainstream just because they're a great product.

"The best thing about American cranks used to be that, if they couldn't have the effect they desired, they would stand apart from a country that, by their peculiar lights, had gone completely mad. Not today. Today, they all have book deals, TV shows, and cases pending in federal court."

There's a lot of interesting thinking and plenty of room for debate in the book. But as always with Pierce, there's also nearly a laugh out loud line on every page. One of my favorites is this one:

"Hannity occasionally seems to make an earnest attempt at avuncularity. He looks like the bouncer at an Irish bar in Southampton, the big lug in the golf shirt who throws you out for singing The Rising of the Moon atop the bar but, as he does so, presses a couple of drink tickets into your hand with a wink and tells you to come back next week."
Click to expand...

That's a pretty apt discription of Hannity. It did make me laugh.

The thing that strikes me is that if you decide to write a book like this you must feel that you are the smartest guy in the room .
Click to expand...

I don't get that impression, having read about halfway through it at this point. Quite the contrary - he's willing to concede that experts and scholars who dedicate their lives to empirical research might know a little more about their subjects than he ever could, and it frustrates him that so many Americans don't feel the same - with a huge eight-year stamp of approval from the Bush administration.

Thing is, the tone is so light and cranky that it's tough to not like the guy. Much, much different experience than reading a Hannity, Limbaugh or Coulter screed.

old_tony · Jun 21, 2009

WaylonJennings said:

Boom_70 said:

Small Town Guy said:

Finished the book in two days. Fantastic. And the Idiot America isn't as harsh as it sounds. Well, sort of. He loves that the country is home to those who believe people rode dinosaurs, he loves loons, conspiracy theory believers and other quacks. But those people - cranks, to use his word - used to have their place in the country. He writes, "This is still the best country ever in which to peddle complete public lunacy. In fact, it's the only contry to enshrine that right in its founding documents. The American crank is one of the great by-products of the American experiment." His problem is when their ideas are accepted "untested and unchallenged" into the mainstream just because they're a great product.

"The best thing about American cranks used to be that, if they couldn't have the effect they desired, they would stand apart from a country that, by their peculiar lights, had gone completely mad. Not today. Today, they all have book deals, TV shows, and cases pending in federal court."

There's a lot of interesting thinking and plenty of room for debate in the book. But as always with Pierce, there's also nearly a laugh out loud line on every page. One of my favorites is this one:

"Hannity occasionally seems to make an earnest attempt at avuncularity. He looks like the bouncer at an Irish bar in Southampton, the big lug in the golf shirt who throws you out for singing The Rising of the Moon atop the bar but, as he does so, presses a couple of drink tickets into your hand with a wink and tells you to come back next week."
Click to expand...

That's a pretty apt discription of Hannity. It did make me laugh.

The thing that strikes me is that if you decide to write a book like this you must feel that you are the smartest guy in the room .
Click to expand...

I don't get that impression, having read about halfway through it at this point. Quite the contrary - he's willing to concede that experts and scholars who dedicate their lives to empirical research might know a little more about their subjects than he ever could, and it frustrates him that so many Americans don't feel the same - with a huge eight-year stamp of approval from the Bush administration.

Thing is, the tone is so light and cranky that it's tough to not like the guy. Much, much different experience than reading a Hannity, Limbaugh or Coulter screed.
Click to expand...

I call BS. No way have you ever read a Hannity, Limbaugh or Coulter book. No way have you even let one land in your hands.

doggieseatdoggies · Jun 22, 2009

Wow, that sounded balanced.

Wonder if Mr. Pierce will be visiting the Fox News Channel for a plug?

ScribePharisee · Jun 22, 2009

This tells a lot.

http://www.amazon.com/Idiot-America-Stupidity-Became-Virtue/dp/0767926145

1) Stupid people voted for McCain.
2) Stupid people sided with Terri Schiavo's parents.
3) And I love the interviewer's question about how now that Obama has been elected, can we move forward as intelligent people..presumably, only since he was elected.

Balanced BA-BEEE!!!!

I'll sell tickets to a Fox News Channel showdown.

WaylonJennings · Jun 22, 2009

ScribePharisee said:

This tells a lot.

http://www.amazon.com/Idiot-America-Stupidity-Became-Virtue/dp/0767926145

1) Stupid people voted for McCain.
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The stupid people were the ones who voted for his running mate. That is inarguable.

ScribePharisee · Jun 22, 2009

Sheesh.

So what's your label for those who voted for Obama's running mate?

Flying Headbutt · Jun 22, 2009

Odds are pretty likely that more of McCain's voters voted the way they did because he had Palin as a running mate, versus the number of peole who voted for Obama because Biden was his running mate.

WaylonJennings · Jun 22, 2009

ScribePharisee said:

Sheesh.

So what's your label for those who voted for Obama's running mate?
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Bemused.

Scribe, she's a moron. Bottom line. Get behind Huck. He's folksy, too, but smart (despite the 6,000-year-old earth garbage).

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Board Fav Pierce on Maddow Show

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