Book Review: Subversive Fun Charles F

Bridgewater Review

Volume 22 | Issue 2 Article 15

Dec-2003 Book Review: Subversive Fun Charles F. Angell Bridgewater State College, [email protected]

Recommended Citation Angell, Charles F. (2003). Book Review: Subversive Fun. Bridgewater Review, 22(2), 31-32. Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/br_rev/vol22/iss2/15

This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Book Reviews: Subversive Fun Lies and the Lying Liars Confronted with his misrep- resentations, O’Reilly Who Tell Them refused to admit a mistake Al Franken and berated Franken in a public forum. “There’s no Stupid White Men shame in screwing up a sta- Michael Moore tistic every now and then,” Franken Bushwhacked: notes. “People make Life in mistakes. It’s just somewhere deep in George W. O’Reilly’s psyche Bush’s America there’s clearly a ter- Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose ror of being proved wrong. When he’s con- fronted with a mistake, the bully comes out, by Charles F. Angell and he bludgeons his guests with incorrect or just made-up facts and figures.” Fox executives Despite complaints from were reluctant to initiate the libel action, but conservative commentators not wanting to antagonize O’Reilly whose of a liberal bias in the press contract—I believe I remember reading—was and electronic media, liberal coming up for renewal, they filed. O’Reilly, commentators like those one might say, bullied and bludgeoned his reviewed here have begun employer and, in a delicious irony, highlighted to raise their voices and Franken’s point about him. The judge—a document how such right Clinton appointee?—found the case without wing conservatives as Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, merit and dismissed it. Ann Coulter, and Rupert Murdoch through his newspa- Franken and his Harvard student researchers, pers and the Fox Network have managed to place their TeamFranken he calls them, exhaustively catalogue the conservative agenda before the public. The recent CBS lies and distortions the right-wing media promulgates. decision not to air a film biography of Ronald Reagan He observes that Bush and other Republicans claimed illustrates the influence conservative voices can exercise during the 2000 campaign that the American military when they feel a fellow conservative is not receiving was unprepared to fight, that it had been “gutted” by “fair and balanced” treatment. Ivins, Moore, and Clinton administration policies; yet, less than two Franken raise their voices in protest against what they years after his election, Bush had the military engaged perceive as conservative distortions of and frequent dis- and victorious in Afghanistan and Iraq. Franken com- regard for the truth. Polemical and humorous, though pares Bush budgets and policies to Clinton’s and sub- differing intensities of anger often strain the humor, the stantiates that the Clinton administration had three writers share a concern that, driven by money and undertaken significant reforms in military procurement an economic rationalist philosophy that claims the mar- and preparedness that contributed to the military effec- ketplace will always determine the most socially useful tiveness in Afghanistan and Iraq. Franken cites outcomes, the nation’s current politics will rend social instances where following 9/11 conservative politicians contracts that have provided bedrock support for most blamed Clinton for “de-emphasizing” the military Americans since at least the New Deal. (Orrin Hatch) or for Clinton’s “backing off, letting the Al Franken’s LIES AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM Taliban go, over and over again” (Rep. Dana achieved notoriety when Bill O’Reilly of the O’Reilly Rohrabacher). Conservatives have learned that in many Factor had his Fox Network employers enter a civil parts of the country Clinton-bashing pays off in votes; action claiming Franken had libeled him. In his chapter Franken points out the extent of the fabrications “Bill O’Reilly: Lying, Splotchy Bully,” Franken had employed to make the former president appear respon- accused O’Reilly of falsely taking credit for prestigious sible for our current problems. (I can’t resist urging peo- journalism awards that he had in fact not received. ple to read a recent The American Prospect interview with

BRIDGEWATER REVIEW DECEMBER 2003 31 BOOK REVIEWS CHARLES F. ANGELL Ber buses.) CitizensareforcedtoconfronttheissueGeorge school districtscontemplatingadvertisingin cent.” (InMassachusettsbudgetshortfallsfi books, forcorporatelogosandadvertisingisup539per space, includingscoreboards,rooftops,walls,andtext- sign forcorporateAmerica.Appropriationofschool sometimes tur riculum. Moorenotesthat“schoolsandcorporations Columbine expanded thoseremarksin comfortable inhisacceptancespeech,hasessentially answers—see cated toprofit?Suchquestionsinvitenoeasy fundingbycommercialorganizationsdedi- permit truth citizens andpursuingthe both toeducatinginformed Shouldorcanschoolsdedicated in causingthatmisery? deeplycomplicit Distillery) ing fromasource(Bodger’s acceptfund- dramatheSalvationArmy) (inShaw’s ery should aninstitutiondedicatedtorelievinghumanmis- Michael Moore, whose documentary Michael Moore,whosedocumentary further afflicttheafflicted.” worldview designedtocomfortthecomfortableand needs tofeelanyobligationanybodyelse.It’sa right-wing media’sliescreateaworldinwhichnoone stream mediaisaliberalpropagandamachine…The add up.Theycreateaworldviewinwhichthemain- Franken concludesisthat“allthelies,smallandlarge, mate.) Theconsequenceofright-wingmendacity politicalcli- Bill Clintonasheevaluatesthecurrent business. Thisis notnew. Schools havealwaysbeen should bewritten notonlybybigbusinessbut forbig critics wouldsaythattheBushies believeeducationlaw NoChildBehind,”shewrites“some her chapter“Leave out-dated te ing, depressedteachersalaries,deterioratingfacilities, schools. Hislistoffailuresisfamiliar:inadequatefund- ates howpoliticianshavefailedthenation’spublic richer.” Inhischapter“IdiotNation,” Mooreenumer- onitsownforsometime)even been allowedtorun autonomous fiefdomwithintheUnitedStatesthathas junta anditscohortsinCorporateAmerica(aseparate, tomake thatonlyserve the produce goodsandservices asked toworkourassesoff “togetupinthemorning Bush typifiesthestupidwhitemenforwhomweare Forbusiness andbiggovernment. MooreGeorgeW. feels istakingascrewingfromtheunholyallianceofbig to speakforthelittleguy, theaverageAmerican,whohe less genialversionoftheWill Rogershumorist,purports Molly Ivins’ dents certainlyshould. bargain, thestu- won’t confrontsquarelyacorrupted level and,ifschoolofficialsintheirquestforfunding corporations peddleoughttobeinter to subvertratherthansubmit.Thebrandofauthority sympathetic toMoore’sadvicehigh-schoolstudents they cantransfor to helpthemcatchupelidethequestioninhope leave nochildbehindandlackingthefinancialresources nard Shawdramatizedin won himanOscarandtherighttoafflict xtbooks, corporateintr B USHWHACKED Major Barbara n theschoolitselfintoonegiantneon m profitintowisdom.Ifindmyself S sounds thesametheme.In ; yetschoolsdesperateto TUPID Major Barbara W usion intothecur HITE rogated atevery Bowling for M : canor EN nd some . Moore,a - - (and planes) start to run ontime. (and planes)starttorun whenthetrains people. Maybewe’llonlyneed toworry point out,Americansareanoptimistic andtrusting But asFranken, Moore,andIvinsallindifferentways should beeducatingcitizensto questionloudandlong. produce thebestdecisions,atsuchatimeschools economic rationalismwhichholdsthatthemark tives andpoliticiansjustifytheiractionsbyapervasive Cheney ofHalliburton);andwhenthesesameexecu- corporate interests(e.g.K and usetheirpowertoaggrandizethemselves seamlessly betweenhighcorporateandpoliticaloffice corporate executives (stillmostlywhitemales)move gives themimmensepoliticalpowerandaccess;when which assets largerthanthoseofmanygovernments a timewhensomeAmericancorporationsmanage corporate power.” At merger ofstateand ratism, sinceitisthe be calledcorpo- should moreproperly remark Mussolini whoonce Ivins quotes mall. workplace oratthe time isspentinthe work sumer is onlypartlyacon al interests.Acitizen political, andperson- with broadersocial, skills—do conflict schooling shouldprovidestudentswithmarketable teacherunderstandsthat education interests—every Corporate interests,whilenotcompletelyopposedto zens, andviewschoolsasahumanpowerresource. global market.” Corporationswantworkers, notciti- skills” tobecomeworkers whocan“competeinthe for trainingstudentswith“basicliteracyandnumber porations regardsuchhigh-stakes testingasnecessary recognize thisconsequence.)Ivinsalsoarguesthatcor- (MC especiallyamongminorities. population ofdrop-outs, of testtakers or, tostateitdifferently, anincreasing clude thattherisingscoresimplyashrinkingpopulation incremental, ifany, improvement.Theresearcherscon- thatshowonly against morestablenationalnorms that showgreatlyimprovedstudentper researchers whohavecomparedrisingstatetestscores dents, teachers,andschooldistricts.Shecites standardized testingasthemeansforassessingstu by nowwell-entrenchedmovementtousehigh-stakes tion-legislation hunt.”Ivinsfocusesmostsharplyonthe that thebusinesslobbyhasapackofdogsineduca profit centersforpublishingcompanies.It’snosurprise AS maysooncompelCommonwealtheducatorsto er; Notallour , onlypartlya ed “F ascism —Charles F. Angell isProfessor ofEnglish - enneth Lay ofEnron,Richard enneth Lay formance et will - -