Sam Seder

It's good and at its best reminds me of some of the anti-George W. Bush books that Michael Moore wrote. Like those, Sam knows how to use humor to add some levity while also commenting on the ludicrous imagery that Republicans put forward in their ideas. The best parts are about the religious nature of the aughts--in everything from Christianity to rampant homophobia. He also does a skilled takedown of Thomas Friedman. Still, I wish the film had tackled racism and the Bush era ownership society mandates a bit more. But those are minor complaints. Recommended.… (mer)

Quite funny, in a sarcastic, satirical, snarky way. The mashup of Bush's Katrina debacle and FDR's Pearl Harbor speech was priceless. In the vein of The Daily Show, this often conveys more truth in its humor than any "real" news pieces. Sadly, despite being published eight years ago, things are even worse today in almost every skewered instance with the lone plus being Bush is no longer president. Far worse, because in addition to every one of Seder's and Sherill's call outs, there are now Tea Party nuts, Citizens United and the Kochs buying up Congress, bigger Wrong Wing media influence, more religious interference in representation without taxation. Of course, Fox is still resiliently resisting admitting their wrestling, um "news", is fake.… (mer)

If you couldn't laugh, you'd cry.

That adage seems to sum up a segment of liberal authors when it comes to the Bush Administration. F.U.B.A.R.: America's Right-Wing Nightmare, written by the co-host and a producer of Air America Radio's "The Majority Report", is the latest entry in the field of books taking on Bush and the conservative movement through satire, sarcasm and humor. While F.U.B.A.R. has its moments, it won't stand with the leaders in the genre, such as Al Franken and Michael Moore.

Like their compatriots, Sam Seder, the cohost of "The Majority Report," and Stephen Sherrill, one of the show's producers, don't hold back. It even starts on the cover. Part of the first word of the military phrase for which the acronym "F.U.B.A.R." stands is blackened out, "redacted by the U.S. Department of Justice, as per the U.S. Patriot Act." They open the book referring to the current GOP as the "Rapture Right" and "an American Taliban." Those labels mesh with the fact that much of the authors' satirical attack on Bush and the GOP is largely on social issues. They start with "intelligent design" and ease right into the concept of the rapture that inspires the name they give the fringe right they believe has gained control of the Republican Party.

Balance of review at http://prairieprogressive.com/?p=728… (mer)