100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken Is #37)

Because I enjoyed Bias so much, I was especially surprised to find this book so mediocre. Perhaps it really is true that saying negative things never impresses, but I think the main obstacle is this format. Goldberg can only be superficial in commenting on a field of 100 people. It would have been more impressive if he had stuck to his opening chapters about the various types of people who are screwing up America. I also disagree with his world view more than I expected. His views are in lock step with the neocon advocacy of the war in Iraq, and he sees little abuse of power by the conservative regime.

Goldberg takes another popular shot at idiots he thinks are ruining America. I wish there were citations, so you know where his quotes are coming from. And, of course, you can quibble with what number he gives people. I doubt Mary Mapes (#14) is as scary as Ward Churchill (#72). Mapes is out of a job, Churchill has the aura of scholarly respectability. And he tends towards the cultural filth: Ludacris, Paris Hilton, and Eminem. I like Eminem, he's joking, and, you don't have to listen to him - nor must you let him affect how you act in society. But what is lacking are politicians, federal politicians. These are scary guys because they have power over everyone. Nut-jobs like Barney Frank, Charles Schumer, and Hilary Clinton - people who show more can march us down the road to socialism and destruction (they aren't mutually exclusive) aren't listed. True there are idiots like Maxine Waters, Al Gore is mentioned as a dishonest fellow, Ted Kennedy shown to be a meanie, but, I could fill this book up with 100 crypto-socialists in the government. Still, it is an entertaining read. The first 54-pages are quite good, laying out his philosophy on what is ruining America. Goldberg comes off as what they now call a "classic liberal." Individual rights filtered through social mores, but social mores not restricting individual rights. Now liberalism is defined as the minority ruling over the majority, because the minority is always right, because it is oppressed by the majority and ipso facto righteous. A victim. But I talk too much. show less

Complaints about various people, from an obviously decent human being. I was disappointed to see conservative writer Richard Brookhiser call it "puppet theater"; that was snobbish of him. Pay special attention to Goldberg's conversation with Al Franken--it's bizarre, if only from Franken's end of the conversation.

It's hard to disagree with most of this book. My only quibble is that the author is a conservative so he doesn't blame enough conservatives. In my book there would be an equal number of liberals, conservatives, and libertarians taking blame for the death of our glorious land.

He lists Michael Moore at number one and simply uses Moore's quote that Americans are the dumbest people in the world. I don't like Michael Moore, but he's right in this case. We are pretty dumb. But so is the rest of the world. We are human after all.

Bernard Goldberg takes swings at every loudmouth liberal, obscene rapper, and just plain ignorance in this book. Thankfully, while landing some low blows, he's able to support what he's saying with quotes and facts. He's highly entertaining with his dry humor. A must read for any conservative.

Substance: Laments the decline of civilization in America and names names. The book's central idea is to name and blame a long list of specific individuals for making the United States a "far more selfish, vulgar, and cynical place." Rounds up "the usual suspects" and a few I either didn't know by name or didn't know about at all and "also exposes some of the people who operate away from the limelight and behind the curtain, but still manage to pull a lot of strings and do all sorts of harm to our culture." (from the Introduction).
Includes mostly persons on the "left" because they currently have the greatest opportunity and "because of their willingness -- make that their eagerness -- to live up to the most embarrassing sterotypes many show more of us hold about today's cultural-elite liberals.."
Update: He could alter this list as of 2014-11 to drop some has-beens, and include several more schlock-meisters, but the major ones are still screwing up the country, even worse than before.
NOTE: This is not about the powerful politicians who are really screwing up the country, but about cultural "icons".
And, it was written in 2005 - let that sink in for a minute.
This link has a list of the people and types (the book starts at #100 and works upward). http://www.philosophistry.com/specials/100-people.html
See also Wikipedia for responses to the book. And read Goldberg's book "Bias" about terminating his career at CBS when he finally realized how much they slanted the news.

Style: Personal and chatty. Goldberg is funny even if you don't agree with him. However, he does rant a bit, because he takes some of this personally (especially the "journalists" who lie and spin to discredit America).
Goldberg in an interview, via this link, describes his book. http://www.adherents.com/people/100_people_harming_America.html

"The book covers a whole variety of things. It is not just the TV schlep-meisters to people on television and put things on in what used to be the family hour, and you want to watch a situation comedy and it is one cheap sex joke after another that embarrasses you that you are sitting there. It's those people- it is the Hollywood blowhards who think that Bush is a Nazi is civil discussion, and people on college campus that impose speech codes. Things you can say and can't say because no one wants to offend students or those in these protected groups. What is liberal about that? It's about lawyers who file insane lawsuits that make you want to laugh until you cry. There was a lawsuit a prisoner in Florida who was there for murdering five people, lightning hit the satellite dish in the prison and they could only get network television. So, he sues the state of Florida because he said network television is too violent...

I described myself, in my first book Bias as one of those old-fashioned liberals. I'm the liberal the way John F. Kennedy used to be a liberal but not like Michael Moore. Those guys in the old days were upbeat and optimistic. They were hopeful about the country and really the optimist. And today when you look around the cultural - and I am not talking about regular liberals, they're good folks, they work hard, they care about their families - but the cultural elitist and the people who speak for liberalism in this country. I mean, it is a dark, dark America as far as they are concerned. It's blame America first... if we make a mistake. Not because we made an honest mistake, it is because our motives are wrong."

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Entertaining and often insightful take on American society and culture.