POLL: Liberals Read More Books Than Conservatives
POLL: Liberals Read More Books Than Conservatives
A new AP-Ipsos poll finds that liberals read more books than conservatives. Some highlights from the poll:
– 34 percent of conservatives have not read a book within the past year, compared with 22 percent of liberals and moderates.
– Among those who had read at least one book, conservatives “typically read eight” books in the past year. Liberals read nine, moderates five.
– “By slightly wider margins, Democrats tended to read more books than Republicans and independents. There were no differences by political party in the percentage of those who said they had not read at least one book.”
Pat Schroeder, president of the American Association of Publishers, attempted to explain the results: “The Karl Roves of the world have built a generation that just wants a couple slogans: ‘No, don’t raise my taxes, no new taxes. It’s pretty hard to write a book saying, ‘No new taxes, no new taxes, no new taxes’ on every page.”
Responding to the poll, White House spokesman Tony Fratto attacked liberals for being too “locquacious”:
Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.
A recent Pew Research Study survey also found that viewers of the conservative Fox News channel had the lowest knowledge of national and international affairs.
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Ya and the bush is a prime example.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:08 pmAmong those who had read at least one book, conservatives “typically read eight†books in the past year. Liberals read nine, moderates five.
so it’s the moderates who have been screwing things up. stupid moderates, they’ve been falling for the monosyllabic, monolithic conservative arguments, and now we know why.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:10 pmLiberals read more. Well duh. I’ve could have told you that.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:11 pm“A recent Pew Research Study survey also found that viewers of the conservative Fox News channel had the lowest knowledge of national and international affairs.” - Mission Accomplished.
ug
August 21st, 2007 at 4:11 pmI’ve read 96 books this year. That makes me a SUPER LIBERAL!!
I especially like to read every single “Bush-bashing” book that comes out, checked out at my local library. I like to think of it as my own little civil disobedience.
Tony Fratto should know about obfuscation.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:12 pmI would like to see what KINDS of books conservatives read as opposed to liberals.. That would be an interesting poll. By using this picture it appears conservatives enjoy reading books like “My Pet Goat”…
August 21st, 2007 at 4:13 pmAgreed JG, the question is who is reading what, more then how many books a person reads.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:15 pmI’d say the most significant finding highlighted by this post doesn’t involve separating conservatives from liberals, but rather involves the separation of both from the dimwitted:
Among those who had read at least one book, conservatives “typically read eight†books in the past year. Liberals read nine, moderates five.
A lot of swing voters are illiterate; they’re moderate because they aren’t smart enough to form a real opinion.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:15 pmFolks we know that there is only one good book worth reading!
The Holy Bible Version 2.3, edited by Dick Cheney.
KILL THE GAYS!
August 21st, 2007 at 4:15 pmit would be even more interesting to know what types of books are read by each group
August 21st, 2007 at 4:16 pmLiberals Read More Books Than Conservatives…
——————————————————————–
Perhaps.
What really matters is the kinds of books.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:18 pmNow I see. Conservatives hate the Constitution, in part, because they don’t feel like reading it.
Never despair, Conservites. You can still turn in your “Constitution Worksheet” for letter grade reduced every 10 years that you haven’t turned it in.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:19 pmI know a Republican who reads a lot of books. It is what he chooses to read that bothers me. Like Chrichton’s propaganda screed State of Fear, and Friedman’s simplistic The World is Flat, and now some other book about how the Palestinians have no legitimate claims in the Middle East.
And lots of Republicans read the ultra-rightwing op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal.
But we know one thing for sure: Bush doesn’t read books, no matter what Karl Rove says.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:20 pmTony Fratto attacks liberals for being too wordy in a sentence using the words ‘obfuscation’ and ‘loquaciousness.’
Irony.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:20 pmPerhaps.
What really matters is the kinds of books.
Comment by Ringo
Ann Coulter doesn’t count.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:21 pm“The Little Engine That Could” does not count as a ‘book,’ conservatives. I demand a recount.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:21 pmWhat really matters is the kinds of books.
Comment by Ringo — August 21, 2007 @ 4:18 pm
“A recent Pew Research Study survey also found that viewers of the conservative Fox News channel had the lowest knowledge of national and international affairs.”
It certainly does matter. And, it appears that the conservatives’ book aren’t getting the job done.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:22 pmYes, but conservatives color more of the pictures.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:24 pmI just started this book: The Suicide of Reason: Radical Islam’s Threat to the West
http://www.amazon.com/ Suicide-Reason-Radical-Islams-Threat/ dp/ 046500203X/ ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/ 102-5992094-6230547?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187727630&sr=8-1
Just finished this one: The Long March: How the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s Changed America
http://www.amazon.com/ Long-March-Cultural-Revolution-Changed/ dp/ 1893554309/ ref=sr_1_1/ 102-5992094-6230547?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187727683&sr=1-1
And I’m mid-way through this: Reflections on a Ravaged Century
August 21st, 2007 at 4:24 pmhttp://www.amazon.com/ Reflections-Ravaged-Century-Robert-Conquest/ dp/ 0393320863/ ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/ 102-5992094-6230547?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187727831&sr=1-2
It should be ‘loquacity’.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:24 pmWhat really matters is the kinds of books.
Comment by Ringo — August 21, 2007 @ 4:18 pm
The ones w/ pages that fold out don’t count.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:25 pmAnn Coulter doesn’t count.
Comment by bobwurst
—————————————–
Nor does Al Franken.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:25 pmAnd how has that reading informed your beliefs and attitudes Ringo?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:26 pmBoy this fu*king troll doesn’t just drink the kool-aid, he chugs it, then bathes in it.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:28 pmAnn Coulter’s books are completely unreadable.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:28 pmAnd how has that reading informed your beliefs and attitudes Ringo?
Comment by bobwurst
——————————————–
Well, when I was young I was a Democrat and pretty far to the Left.
I’m not today.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:29 pmSo, the dumb fu*king troll admits that he has gotten dumber from reading those books.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:32 pm“I was in Crawford and I said I was looking for a book to read and Laura said you oughtta try Camus, I also read three Shakespeares.”- George W. Bush
Gee, Bush is well read. I’ve only heard of one Shakespeare. That would be William. Who are these other two Shakespeares Bush has been reading, maybe William’s redneck cousins Bubba Shakespeare and Billy Bob Shakespeare?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:32 pm#
Ann Coulter’s books are completely unreadable.
Comment by Kiki — August 21, 2007 @ 4:28 pm
I tired once and had to quit.
Footnote after footnote, that referenced another footnote, that referenced another footnote. Gibberish, sadly enough.
Also read Limbaugh’s books, Hannity’s, O’Reilly’s (as bad as Coulter’s), Mona Charen, Malkin, Savage/Weiner…
I gave them their due. They actually a real point to make, about 10% of the time. Most of it was bad, bad, BAD writing.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:32 pmrepublicans tend to read Mein Kanff or if thats a little hard then My Pet Goat
August 21st, 2007 at 4:32 pmAnn Coulter’s “books” are just toilet paper with letters printed on it.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:32 pmBy the way, I’ve read more books than all of you (conservatives or liberals) in the past year.
Comment by Makarios — August 21, 2007 @ 4:29 pm
Coloring books and “Barnyard Beauties” don’t count…
August 21st, 2007 at 4:33 pmrepublicans never get past Ladybird book 3
August 21st, 2007 at 4:33 pmI really liked “American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America” by Chris Hedges. My pastor recommended it.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:34 pmBesides, we all know that Bush more recently read Albert Camus’ The Stranger.
Comment by Makarios — August 21, 2007 @ 4:34 pm
Aw, man, he’s switching over to stand-up!
August 21st, 2007 at 4:35 pm#27, I doubt that. I, like Bill Clinton, average 5-7 books a week.
They had to tell Bush how to pronounce “Camus’”….”ok, George, it’s like, the cow says MOO.”
August 21st, 2007 at 4:37 pmrepublicans tend to read Mein Kanff….
Comment by Tobey Tall
—————————————————–
It’s spelled Mein Kampf, and I did read it….but I read it back when I was a Lefty.
Haven’t read My Pet Goat, do you recommend it?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:37 pmI think what they should break down how many parents vs. non-parents read how many books because I know I’ve started alot of books now that i’m a parent and never get to finish them or will take me months little by little to finish when I finally get time.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:37 pmWow! You get a gold star on the bulletin board and membership in the Principal’s Reading Club! Good work, Ringo!
August 21st, 2007 at 4:37 pmActually, books by Ann Coulter and Al Franken DO count as do Harry Potter books. In my opinion, there is a lot better advice and many more lessons for growing minds in the Potter series than in O’Reilly’s advice book for children. But, there is no equivalence between Coulter and Franken - Franken is extremely careful in his sources, endnotes and footnotes. Coulter is anything but careful. Her endnotes are filled with distortions of material. How do I know this? Franken documented much of it in his last book.
And, Makarios, how do you know you’ve read more books than all of us?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:38 pmBy the way, I’ve read more books than all of you (conservatives or liberals) in the past year.
Comment by Makarios — August 21, 2007 @ 4:29 pm
I’m curious. How many?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:39 pmFukc you, TP!
Using the picture from 9-11 for this thread shows that you have no class.
Besides, we all know that Bush more recently read Albert Camus’ The Stranger.
Comment by Makarios — August 21, 2007 @ 4:34 pm
Bahaha GOOD GOING TP!!
One - Bush can’t understand an audio-book.
Two - Bush SAT THERE crapping his pants because he’s the worst president.
EVER EVER EVER EVER!!
And his trolls are even stupider!
Caption:
“Wish I wasn’t so damn high on coke right now”
August 21st, 2007 at 4:39 pmWow! Just….WOW!
August 21st, 2007 at 4:39 pmOne book you may like to read is the Myth of a Christian Nation by Greg Boyd. He is a pastor that will be on CNN tonight talking about religion and politics and how they don’t mesh. Having a christian nation is like having a christian bicycle it just doesn’t work that way.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:39 pmRingo, if you really did read Mein Kampf, why have you argued that Hitler wasn’t a christian?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:40 pmHaven’t read My Pet Goat, do you recommend it?
Comment by Ringo — August 21, 2007 @ 4:37 pm
Bush probably would, he did stay to finish the book despite an airplane hitting the WTC.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:40 pmBush does not look concerned about planes flying into WTC towers in that pic, in fact he has a faint smile, so did he know about attack in advance?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:40 pmWow! You get a gold star on the bulletin board and membership in the Principal’s Reading Club! Good work, Ringo!
Comment by Marcus Aurelius
————————————————–
Gee thanks.
The moonbats here at TP should read some books by Robert Conquest, he’s kind of like the anti-Chomsky.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:40 pmRepublicans can READ??
August 21st, 2007 at 4:41 pmRead any Iambic Pentameter lately?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:41 pmHustler Magazine isn’t a book Ringo.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:42 pmPersonally, I eschew obfuscation, in as loquacious a manner as conceivable.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:42 pmRingo used to be a liberal, until his liberal girlfriend dumped him. Now he hates liberals.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:43 pmThat must be how lefties get brainwashed.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:44 pmChad, you have to wait until they go to bed or until they can entertain themselves for a long period of time. And either way, the second you get interested in a book, here they come. My teenagers still do it.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:45 pmmarkarios:”Using the picture from 9-11 for this thread shows that you have no class.
Besides, we all know that Bush more recently read Albert Camus’ The Stranger.”
No, using that picture shows that thinking people have not forgotten that in the midst of our worst terrorist attack, Bush was still more interested in a photo op than leadership. We haven’t forgotten that Bush sat there like a stone when he should have been mobilized into action.
And, how exactly do “we all know” that Bush reads Camus? After all, this is how he explained the fact that he had been reading work by Shakespeare: “I’ve read three shakespeares…” Nobody who really reads Shakespeare refers to his work as “shakespeares.”
August 21st, 2007 at 4:45 pmThe moonbats here at TP should read some books by Robert Conquest, he’s kind of like the anti-Chomsky.
Comment by Ringo — August 21, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
I think the lesson here is for people to read books from both sides the political spectrum to have a proper perspective of all views. Robert Conquest may be interesting I am actually a Russian History major and I havent’ had a chance to brush up on the current state of the country.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:45 pmLos Angeles become the 82nd city in the nation to draft a resolution to impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.
WOW why has the Murdering dictator not been impeached 82 cities WOW
August 21st, 2007 at 4:45 pmBesides, we all know that Bush more recently read Albert Camus’ The Stranger.
Comment by Makarios — August 21, 2007 @ 4:34 pm
I “know” no such thing. I know he claimed Camus was on his reading list. I never saw him reading it, and I’ve never heard him refer to it again.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:46 pmRepublicans can READ??
Comment by Snidely Whiplash — August 21, 2007 @ 4:41 pm
Yes, some can.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:46 pmDoes Reader’s Digest have condensed versions of this author?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:46 pmSo, the dumb fu*king troll admits that he has gotten dumber from reading those books.
Comment by Spudge_Boy — August 21, 2007 @ 4:32 pm
Settle down fudge-packer….this one for you……and your boy friend.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ypa75axdK6o
August 21st, 2007 at 4:47 pmskim
August 21st, 2007 at 4:47 pmConservatives color more books than Liberals. They’ve got them beat on that point, especially El Chimpo Grande.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:47 pmRobert Conquest…. has he got a brother Norman?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:48 pmI just started this book: The Suicide of Reason: Radical Islam’s Threat to the West
http://www.amazon.com/ Suicide-Reason-Radical-Islams-Threat/ dp/ 046500203X/ ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/ 102-5992094-6230547?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187727630&sr=8-1
Just finished this one: The Long March: How the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s Changed America
http://www.amazon.com/ Long-March-Cultural-Revolution-Changed/ dp/ 1893554309/ ref=sr_1_1/ 102-5992094-6230547?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187727683&sr=1-1
And I’m mid-way through this: Reflections on a Ravaged Century
http://www.amazon.com/ Reflections-Ravaged-Century-Robert-Conquest/ dp/ 0393320863/ ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/ 102-5992094-6230547?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187727831&sr=1-2
Comment by Ringo — August 21, 2007 @ 4:24 pm
That must be how lefties get brainwashed.
Comment by m12 — August 21, 2007 @ 4:44 pm
August 21st, 2007 at 4:49 pmLooks like this is how wingtards get brainwashed ;P
I have a shirt that has a grease stain on it from cooking. It has already been washed and the stain did not come out any suggestions?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:49 pmI read ‘Go Dog Go’ three times last night and ‘Hop on Pop’ twice…..to my 27 month old daughter.
Does that count?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:49 pmChad, you have to wait until they go to bed or until they can entertain themselves for a long period of time. And either way, the second you get interested in a book, here they come. My teenagers still do it.
Comment by Kiki — August 21, 2007 @ 4:45 pm
Yeah, I should probably be more deligent by the time they go to bed sitting on the couch is pretty inviting. But I do have to say we have done a good job of instilling a love of reading in my daughter as we will grap a book and sit down and page through it or come get me and she is only 14 months. But I hope we will grow up to read everything and then make up her own ideas and learn to criticize ideas and not people. Seems our society is lacking that skill now a days.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:51 pmBoosh read Camus, but the tape was in French and he didn’t understand a single syllable.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:51 pmI read ‘Go Dog Go’ three times last night and ‘Hop on Pop’ twice…..to my 27 month old daughter.
Does that count?
Comment by Ringo — August 21, 2007 @ 4:49 pm
August 21st, 2007 at 4:52 pmSure I have Curious George and a bunch of Sandra Boyton books stuck in my head. I can probably recite my daughters books line for line.
Apparently, it does.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:52 pmI don’t get it, I’m being polite today to Ringo and my posts are disappearing, I guess I’ll go back to insulting his wife.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:53 pmCamus’ The Stranger is a stupid, pointless book, don’t waste your time.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:53 pmAnother gold star!
August 21st, 2007 at 4:53 pmI read ‘Go Dog Go’ three times last night and ‘Hop on Pop’ twice…..to my 27 month old daughter.
Does that count?
Comment by Ringo — August 21, 2007 @ 4:49 pm
August 21st, 2007 at 4:54 pmIf it does I’ve read millions of books. 3 books before each nap and bed time so 9 books a day since she was 4 months old equals 3285 books besides my own books. I rule!!!!!
Caption:
(thought balloon)
“I want to ride my bicycle,
August 21st, 2007 at 4:54 pmI want to ride my bike,
I want to ride my bicycle,
I want to ride it where I like…..”
pop up books don’t count. Neither do scratch and sniff books
August 21st, 2007 at 4:54 pmCaption:
Wow, this is really getting serious.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:54 pmI had no idea that they were going to implement ‘our pearl harbor event’ so soon.
I’ve got to get dickey on the horn.
Less-see . . . what’s that number again ?
Oh wait, he’ll be in ‘the bunker’, I almost forgot.
T-Blossom ! Get me dickey’s number in the bunker !
Tell you what, Ringo: you read some Chomsky and I’ll pick up some Conquest. You’ll get something you rarely see - a true progressive’s view. I’ll get something I see a lot of already - corporatist propaganda.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:55 pmAll thar readin’ and not a lick of sense.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:55 pmMaybe Ringo should read:
How to answer questions instead of chickening out when asked about Iran/Israel same right to have nukes
August 21st, 2007 at 4:55 pmI don’t get it, I’m being polite today to Ringo and my posts are disappearing, I guess I’ll go back to insulting his wife.
Comment by bobwurst
——————————————
Please don’t insult my wife again, it’s rude.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:55 pmI am astounded by this poll.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:55 pmRepublicans can read??
I know I said I read 10 books this week, no one needs to know they were books of stamps.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:56 pmDo they?
Malarkios! Funny!
August 21st, 2007 at 4:57 pmHow to answer questions instead of chickening out when asked about Iran/Israel same right to have nukes
Comment by Juan C
——————————————–
Israel needs nukes to protect itself.
Iran wants nukes to dominate the middle-east and blackmail the West.
How’s that?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:58 pmCaption:
“A goat?
August 21st, 2007 at 4:58 pmFor a pet?
Do I have to feed it everyday?”
Bush reportedly doesn’t even read his Presidential Daily Briefings. He has them condensed down to one page and that one page is read to him by a reader.
http://www.antiwar.com/mcgovern/?articleid=5078
August 21st, 2007 at 4:58 pmCaption: “Why did they use such big words in ‘My Pet Goat’?”
August 21st, 2007 at 4:59 pmI have a shirt that has a grease stain on it from cooking. It has already been washed and the stain did not come out any suggestions?
Comment by Marcus Aurelius — August 21, 2007 @ 4:49 pm
Soak it in a 12% solution of sulfuric acid for 37 minutes - the grease will come to the top and then can be recovered.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:59 pmTell you what, Ringo: you read some Chomsky and I’ll pick up some Conquest.
Comment by Ret. Col. Jack Ripper
The thing is that in order to understand Chomsky you have to have common sense, instead of “John Wayne´s” sense.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:00 pmHow’s that?
Comment by Ringo
Laughable, but at least thats an answer.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:01 pmIran wants nukes to dominate the middle-east and blackmail the West.
How’s that?
Comment by Ringo — August 21, 2007 @ 4:58 pm
Where did you get this information from?
August 21st, 2007 at 5:02 pmI am smart, S-M-R-T!
August 21st, 2007 at 5:03 pmIsrael needs nukes to protect itself.
Iran wants nukes to dominate the middle-east and blackmail the West.
How’s that?
Comment by Ringo — August 21, 2007 @ 4:58 pm
That makes no sense if they use the nuke anywhere in the middle ease the fallout would still kill people through out the middle east and in Israel itself. I don’t believe any country in the middle east needs to have nukes.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:03 pmCaption: I wonder if this book contains a definition of “sovereign.” Phew, I really blew THAT ONE. I am sooo stupid!
August 21st, 2007 at 5:04 pmCaption:
(I’m Prezzzidunt, Pressdint, Perezedent, planes, huh?, Pressdent, I’ll decide later)
August 21st, 2007 at 5:04 pmI don’t believe any country in the middle east needs to have nukes.
Comment by chad
You can change that to ANY COUNTRY.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:04 pmI heard a very recent KKKarl Rove interview and he was talking about how he and ‘W’ were having a friendly competition of who could read the most books. In that interview, to the best of my recollection, he said that ‘W’ had read over 90 books in a year. Karl, by the way, ‘won’ with over 100 books.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:05 pmI read a lot.
I read nowhere near 90 books a year.
I don’t buy it. And that guy who said he read more books than anyone else in the world…do you read more than ‘W’?
Fratto: Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles
What the poll actually said: 34 percent of conservatives have not read a book within the past year
Not more words, NO words. Geeze, Fratto is another conservative who can’t read.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:07 pm.
Notice no little American Flag lapel pin.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:10 pmI don’t believe any country in the middle east needs to have nukes.
Comment by chad
You can change that to ANY COUNTRY.
Comment by Juan C — August 21, 2007 @ 5:04 pm
Agreed, but that would be an entirely seperate agruement. For Israel to have nukes with its intended and unintended targets so close it makes even less sense. I agree the U.S. should not have nukes as it should be seen as a violation of the Geneva Convention as the indiscriminate killing of civilians and non-combantants.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:11 pmWhen you spend all your time in some government line I guess you have time to read books.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:11 pmEverything that comes from these people are lies.
Remember Bush’s most memorable moment as president was “catching that 7 pound perch on the ranch” when the world’s record for perch is 4.5 pounds.
Republicans feel the need to lie and exaggerate about everything. It is the college frat boy mentality of never being wrong and never admitting that somebody did something bigger or better.
It is a mental condition they have.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:13 pmRingo, It’s possible that the Iranians are going the same path as North Korea. you know them, they’re the one’s that did acquire nukes while GW kept hunting for the new AQ in Iraq.
North Korea believes that by getting nukes they will be in a better negotiating stance with the US. It also believes there will be less of an invasion threat because of their own nukes.
I may be wrong and I don’t care to see Iran gaining nukes but I’m not so quick to jump behind these a$$hats and fly off the handle at yet another country.
It’s time for GWB to hand over the keys.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:13 pmThe stupid fu*king troll knows from personal experience.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:14 pmWhen you spend all your time in some government line I guess you have time to read books.
Comment by Frank J — August 21, 2007 @ 5:11 pm
August 21st, 2007 at 5:14 pmWhich government line is that?
Opposite Day Courtesy the Huffington Post
Just so you know, the reason HuffPo and many other liberals think we conservatives turned against McCain is because he continues to support the war.
Other conclusions Arianna Huffington has reached:
* Why do Americans hate the French? Despite how courageous the French are and their immaculate hygiene, Americans could never get over how bad their wine is.
* Americans dislike of illegal immigration from Mexico stems from their hatred of Mexican food.
* Why do many Americans have problems with Muslims? They’re too nice to the Jews.
* Folks biggest problem with Hillary: She’s not shrill enough and lacks political ambition.
* Reason Michael Vick is currently being lambasted in the news: Americans hate football.
* Up is down. Black is white.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:15 pmso bush read 90 books in a year. I didn’t know there were that many Nancy Drew mysteries.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:16 pmMostlly welfare and social security, sometimes food stamps.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:16 pmIt doesn’t make sense to me when Conservative books kick the tar out of liberal books. Wait! Do you think that liberals are reading Coulter’s, Sean’s, O’Reilly’s, Ingraham’s, Savage’s, and Rush’s books?
August 21st, 2007 at 5:17 pmRingo
You read stuff like that and it will make your brain rot out. Plus, just because its in print doesn’t make it true.
Makarios
I read a book at week as a minimum, sometimes going so far as to read a book a day if I have time.
This is not due to some special virtue, I just enjoy reading and playing computer games more then I enjoy TV.
Plus my job entails one hell of a lot of reading.
So I somehow doubt that you read more then me, or anybody else here.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:17 pmUh-huh…Sure….And, of course, the fact that Pat Schroeder, president of the American Association of Publishers, is a long-time liberal Democratic member of the House of Representatives and was nearly a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination for president in 1988 has absolutely notthing to do with the findings of this “poll.” Right…No bias there….Sure…Whatever you say…
August 21st, 2007 at 5:18 pmComment by Frank J — August 21, 2007 @ 5:15 pm
August 21st, 2007 at 5:19 pmTry to keep your illogical rants on the right thread there is one for huffington post and one on McCain this one happens to be about READING>
In that photo, Bush looks like the kid in Junior High who sat at the back of the class and preferred spending his time telling jokes, passing notes, or throwing spit wads.
Teacher: George, can you give us the answer?
George: Hunh?
Teacher: Not paying attention again, George?
George: Hunh?
August 21st, 2007 at 5:20 pmIt is not about reading. It is about liberal illogic..Huffington Post yet another example.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:20 pmComment by michael — August 21, 2007 @ 5:17 pm
not coulter’s
August 21st, 2007 at 5:20 pmmichael
It more has to do with the fact that we liberals don’t rely on other people to do their thinking for us. We get a wide range of books which, *gasp* aren’t all political. As opposed to Conservatives, who really go for the Oprah Book Club model.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:21 pmthe “troll droppings” here support the findings of the poll.
eh?
August 21st, 2007 at 5:21 pm“you should’a seen Bush, the way he was tearing through those Dick and Jane books, and the pop ups? The pop ups LOOKOUT!!!!
*snarkysnark mcsnarklepuss*
August 21st, 2007 at 5:22 pmIt is not about reading. It is about liberal illogic..Huffington Post yet another example.
Comment by Frank J — August 21, 2007 @ 5:20 pm
ok, then how is liberal illogic applied in THIS situation?
August 21st, 2007 at 5:22 pmAs always the left pins all their hopes and beliefs on their own polls. Next.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:23 pmYou read stuff like that and it will make your brain rot out. Plus, just because its in print doesn’t make it true.
Comment by Bruce Gorton
—————————————————–
Have you read any of those books?
What would you recommend that I read?
August 21st, 2007 at 5:24 pmfrank j never read a book.
eh?
August 21st, 2007 at 5:24 pmThis is meaningless, although I’m sure it will make people who call themselves liberal feel good about themselves. The fact is that very literate people have committed terrible atrocities. Literacy does not mean wisdom. Sorry to pop people’s bubble on this on.
From a literacy expert.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:24 pm“It more has to do with the fact that we liberals don’t rely on other people to do their thinking for us.
Comment by Bruce Gorton — August 21, 2007″
That’s one of the funniest posts I’ve read in a long time! But then again some of the things you liberals post are so far out there I can’t imagine anyone would jeapordize their reputation by actually printing it in a book with their name on the cover.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:25 pmWhat would you recommend that I read?
Comment by Ringo — August 21, 2007 @ 5:24 pm
1>Foxes in the Henhouse
2>Lies and the Lying Liers Who Tell Them
3>ANY Harry Potter book-it’s ALL good baby!!
4>George Takai’s autobiography(Sulu from Star Trek)
August 21st, 2007 at 5:27 pmread michael’s comments.
look at above picture of w.
laugh.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:28 pmView the video of George that morning, and try to tell me he didn’t know.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:30 pmHe’s such a poor actor.
If all you liberals are so smart and read more books than the Republicans, how come the Republicans are in charge?
Almost modified my question to recognize that the Democrats control congress, but decided that they haven’t been able to really “get it together” since taking over.
So same question different slant: Why is it the ‘C’ students are always the bosses and the ‘A’ students are always the peons? Did someone read too many books?
August 21st, 2007 at 5:31 pmYou gotta ask ourselves: Is our conservatives learning?
August 21st, 2007 at 5:31 pmYeah? Well, I don’t believe everything I read. Show me some credentials.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:33 pm“It more has to do with the fact that we liberals don’t rely on other people to do their thinking for us.
Comment by Bruce Gorton — August 21, 2007
August 21st, 2007 at 5:34 pmFor the most part republicans like their thinking done for them that is why the like viewing fox news and having preachers politicize the pulpit they like a father type figure that will do all the heavy lifting for them and tell them what to think and how to be a good “christians” and “patriots.” They view things in absolutes it is either black or white when most people are dealing with variations of gray. They do not see how limiting that is to the discussion if there are only two possible outcomes to any question.
how come the Republicans are in charge?
Comment by double**star
Banana Republic Democracy at your service.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:34 pmRingo
Books I would recommend?
For nonfiction; Tsun Tsu’s Art of War. Get the one with James Clavell’s foreword. Its short, to the point and surprisingly relevant today.
Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy for fiction. Also fairly short, but a good read and it opens your eyes to a different way of looking at things.
The Kellermans (Faye and her husband) are generally good for relaxing with.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:36 pmHey, did you know that GW claimed that he has actually seen the first plane hit the first tower on 9/11 just minutes before this photo was taken? That’s right, he didn’t say it just once, he said it twice - that he saw it live on TV.
Let that sink in real good.
Each time he was relating the story publicly, he acught himself, and through in the caveat that there was a TV in the holding area near the classroom, and that’s where he’d seen it live on TV.
HOW?
That is physically impossible. Why would there have been a live (open) broadcast feed of the twin towers on the morning of 9/11 in advance of the first plane strike? Clearly there wouldn’t have been, and wasn’t.
He saw it on a TV screen before he went into that classroom, but the screen he saw it on was in the back seat of the limo sitting next to Ari Fleisher.
The ONLY way that could happen is with foreknowledge and intricate planning, including a closed circuit video feed to Potus.
It happened just like that.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:38 pmBy the way things are going, I guess ‘C’ stands for inCompetence.
BTW - I don’t know where you work, but they probably won’t be in business for long.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:38 pmI can’t wait to read the books that President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard B. Cheney, and the Honorable Karl Christian Rove will write!!!
Comment by Makarios — August 21, 2007 @ 5:36 pm
August 21st, 2007 at 5:39 pmMe too and hopefully the proceeds go to the katrina victims, the soldiers families in Iraq and the 9/11 victims.
Comment by Makarios — August 21, 2007 @ 5:36 pm
We can only hope the VP Cheney will be a ghost writer.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:40 pmI would suggest One hundred years of solitude by Nobel Laureate GarcÃa Márquez.
Nobody should be punished by not reading it. A true masterpiece.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:41 pmRingo, my reply continued…
For poetry, I am a William Blake fan but I think you would get more out of Wilfred Owen. Thomas MacCauley Babbington is about the best contrast you will get.
If you are going for myth and fantasy, I actually like Rosemary Suthcliff. Don’t go for JK Rowling, the woman is all hype and no quality. Marrian Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover series is good if you like lesbians.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:42 pmI’m helping George, Dick and Karl write their memoirs, now that it is clear their days are numbered.
It is titled: Rub-Dub-Dub, Three Chums in a Tub
I don’t want to give to much away,
August 21st, 2007 at 5:43 pmbut there’s another chum under the soap scum you never see!
Me!
They view things in absolutes it is either black or white when most people are dealing with variations of gray. They do not see how limiting that is to the discussion if there are only two possible outcomes to any question.
Comment by chad
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I see all the shades from thw brightest white - http://www.mama-children.org/ english/ images/ Happy-children.jpg - to the blackest of black - http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/ english/ doc/ 2004-05/ 12/ xin_06050112085844514911.jpg …and all shades between.
Lefties think they are sophisticated because they only see one shade of grey.
That’s what moral-relativism does to the mind.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:44 pmI would suggest One hundred years of solitude by Nobel Laureate GarcÃa Márquez.
Nobody should be punished by not reading it. A true masterpiece.
Comment by Juan C
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Read it many years ago…and I liked it at the time.
My favorite novel is Ask the Dust by John Fante.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:46 pmPet My Goat, by GW Bush
How to Intimidate and Aleiniate People By Showing Your Bottom Teeth (for Pu$$ies), by Richard “the Big Vagina” Cheney
My Life as a Prison Bit(h and Snitch, by Karl “Find the Soap” Rove
August 21st, 2007 at 5:47 pmExley disregards any poll findings conducted by an organization run by Pat Schroder. OK. Since Gallup is run by born-again christians, I’m going to assume Exley thinks liberals should disregard any Gallup poll results.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:47 pmI must be going now, but I”l come back later to read your book suggestions.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:47 pmThe two titles that pop into mind when considering the current administration are:
August 21st, 2007 at 5:48 pm“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
and
“1984″ by George Orwell.
Both are uide books for the current admin. The first is actually an essay.
Bruce for Sci-Fi I would recommend almost anything by Ian M. Banks, with special recommendations for “Use of Weapons”,and “Against a Dark Background”. I would also suggest anything by Peter F. Hamilton, including his most recent two book series “Pandora’s Star” and “Judas Unchained”.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:49 pmRingo, part three:
For philosophy, for you I would recomend the Tao Te Ching, its not a philosophy I ascribe to, but it is a much better rendering of libertarian philosophy then most libertarians are capable of. I don’t think you would appreciate the God Delusion, though it makes some cogent points you would probably just end up ignoring them.
For economics, well there isn’t really a good one. Most are based off of the ideas of Karl Marx, and while Marx was brilliant, he was also an ideologue.
History, is best done by reading lots of sources. What I would recomend you do if you are really interested in it is this; ignore the political types and go for the straight historians who aren’t trying to score points. IE: Anybody who says “Liberals XYZ” or “Conservatives XYZ” should be read as comic relief only.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:49 pmuide s/b guide in my 5:48 PM post.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:49 pmI recommend “All the Shah’s Men” by Stephen Kinzer. It’s about the 1953 coup against the democratically elected Govt. in Iran.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:50 pmPast as prologue. Maybe they hate us for something besides our Freedoms?
My favorite novel is Ask the Dust by John Fante.
Comment by Ringo
I will read it. Promise.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:52 pmRingo: “Lefties think they are sophisticated because they only see one shade of grey.
That’s what moral-relativism does to the mind.”
This post brings “projection” to a new level of foolishness. We’ve been hearing for years now that neocons “make their own reality.” We’ve read that they are spiritual children of Leo Strauss and his concept of the “noble lie.” We know that Grover Norquist and Karl Rove both believe that the ends justify the means. We’ve even had neocon posters here try to make the argument that morals are subjective and almost unnecessary. There has NEVER been a movement so steeped in moral-relativism than the modern neoconservative philosophy.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:52 pmLiberals who read books read per eight year, Conservatives who read books read per seven year and Patricia Schroeder did the counting.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:52 pmSo the liberals win by one book.This is a rather meaningless statistic. The statistic I would like to know is what is the percentage of conservatives regularly read books and what percentage liberals regularly read books. I would also like to know what types of books that they are reading. If Liberals are mostly reading books by authors like Michael Moore and Conservatives are reading books by authors like Anne Coulter than neither side has anything to crow about.
Lefties think they are sophisticated because they only see one shade of grey.
Comment by Ringo — August 21, 2007 @ 5:44 pm
We’re sophisticated because we see the black, the white and the grey. Conservatives don’t have nuanced thought and that’s why they’re so easily lead into anything.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:53 pmFor what it’s worth — I belong to three library book clubs with a combined total of about 50 people. Inevitably, when discussing the book of the month, certain philosopies, perspectives, and opinions are evident in the discussion and it is my observation that most people who read - whether fiction or non-fiction - are more broadminded, more open to different ideas, less certain that they alone have the only correct opinion; the majority are liberal/progressive.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:54 pm“For the most part republicans like their thinking done for them that is why the like viewing fox news and having preachers politicize the pulpit they like a father type figure that will do all the heavy lifting for them and tell them what to think and how to be a good “christians†and “patriots.†They view things in absolutes it is either black or white when most people are dealing with variations of gray. They do not see how limiting that is to the discussion if there are only two possible outcomes to any question.
Comment by chad — August 21, 2007″
Wow! All that blabber and not 1 example!
August 21st, 2007 at 5:55 pmNat
We also see the reds, the blues, the yellows, the greens etc…
August 21st, 2007 at 5:56 pmwell Ringo I am more a pragmatist that there is no absolute truth all knowledge is subjective, contextual and fallible. Any truth is measured its reflectiion in the experiences at the individual level and its overall benefit to society as a whole. Seeing black and white does not mean seeing things in positive and negative lights it means being able to see a multitude of possible outcomes to a situation. What is your stance?
August 21st, 2007 at 5:56 pmWow! All that blabber and not 1 example!
Comment by michael — August 21, 2007 @ 5:55 pm
August 21st, 2007 at 5:57 pmI learn for the best slappy!!!!
michael
A person disagrees with the war and protests against it.
He also protests in favour of protecting and even expanding troops benefits.
Does he support the troops?
August 21st, 2007 at 5:59 pmFor economics, well there isn’t really a good one. Most are based off of the ideas of Karl Marx, and while Marx was brilliant, he was also an ideologue.
Comment by Bruce Gorton
————————————————
Here is where we differ…..I believe that Marx was not only NOT brilliant, but was, in fact, wrong about almost everything. I really don’t have time right now but you shoud read ‘The Road to Serfdom’ and ‘The Fatal Conceit’, both by F.A.Hayek as well as Milton Freidman’s Free to Choose.
Thomas Sowell’s ‘Basic Economics’ is also quite good (as are most of his books).
Gotta go…really.
Adios.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:02 pmOh, and on my book recomendations: If you are going to get the Tao te Ching, don’t get the Sacred Texts version. It murders it.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:02 pmI’ve known this for awhile:
Lived in rural PA briefly in the Electin year of 2004…and joined the only book club in the nearest town for socialization. We determined that every single person in the book club was a Democrat!! …even though that area was predominently Republican. One person in the group belonged to yet another book club in the next town…and said that group was also composed of only Democrats.
We concluded that Republicans don’t read and are not intellectually curious.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:05 pmhttp://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=28456
Democrat Congress Approval Rating Matches Historical Low
August 21st, 2007 at 6:09 pmRingo
Marx wasn’t wrong about mechanisation at all, and his contemporaries totally missed it. Further, the way the world has worked out has been far closer to Marx’s ideal then most politicians nowadays feel comfortable with mentioning.
Where Marx went wrong was he mixed ideology with his economic theory, thus turning what should have been a science, into a political platform. Economists ever since him have tried to cleanse it of that, but miss the basic day to day realities of the economics of survival - forgetting in their haste to predict the markets that the economy is basically a reflection of the people living in it.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:11 pmfrom the website that noname links:
Typically, partisans view Congress much more positively when their party is in control of the institution, so the fact that Democrats’ ratings are not materially better than Republicans’ is notable.
so, noname, what we learn from this is that democrats will actually call their leaders on not getting anything done, whereas authoritarian-loving republicans will just continue their partisan reacharound, as they did when republicans ran congress and were screwing us left and right.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:14 pmnoname1234
That’s mainly because people voted Democrat in the hopes that they Democrats would do something about the president, the war, and the deficit. The lack of results is not exactly heartening to the American public.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:15 pmmore from the gallup website
Americans elected the Democrats as the majority party in Congress in November 2006’s midterm election in large part due to frustration with the Iraq war and an ineffective and scandal-plagued Republican-led Congress. But any hopes that the elections would lead to change have not been realized as Democrats’ repeated attempts to force a change in Iraq war policy have been largely unsuccessful due to presidential vetoes, disagreements within their own party, and the inability to attract Republican support for their policy proposals. Also, many of the Democratic leadership’s domestic agenda items have not become law even though some have passed one or both houses of Congress.
obstructionism, anyone?
August 21st, 2007 at 6:18 pmMarx put economics in math terms.
He discovered surplus.
He figured out the cyclic mechanism of societies.
He discovered that power was achievable only by those who had access to production methods and tools.
He said that capitalism is doomed to fail.
Take a look around. After “communism” fell do you see a better world? A world where economic justice prevails? How many people are poor in comparison with people who are rich?
He was a goddamn genius. And even his most furious detractors agree at that.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:18 pmlonesomerobot
And that is why, Nancy Pelosi is a moron. The Democrats should be impeaching Bush, because there isn’t a terrible amount else they are going to get done so long as he is in office and he has broken the law.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:19 pmNot even on the toilet? What are they doing, meditating?
August 21st, 2007 at 6:23 pmIF liberals read more books, why are the majority of political bestsellers books with a conservative bent?? There are a number successful leftard authors (the libraries are full of their work). Too bad liberals don’t read more books about giving to charity and less on how to buy carbon offsets - such precious hypocrites!!
August 21st, 2007 at 6:39 pmValiant Venus: “IF liberals read more books, why are the majority of political bestsellers books with a conservative bent??”
To begin with, your premise is wrong. The majority of political bestsellers are not with a “conservative bent.”
But, if your statement were true, it would probably be because of the fact that wealthy corporatist like Richard Mellon Scaife do bulk buys to jack up the numbers. The NYT list even puts a “*” next to books when indicating that it’s numbers are the result of bulk buys. Coulters books, for example, almost always have the bulk buy sign.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:45 pmJuan C. - Marx was a lazy drunkard who refused to care for his own family….that’s why he was so interested in co-opting other people’s money..…(”In Paris Marx met Friedrich Engels. Engels was a wealthy capitalist and went on supporting Marx through his entire life.” from Independent Movie Database) Hmmmm….I wonder if his poor/absentee parenting was responsible for the deaths of three of his kids at early ages and the suicide of two others?
Hmmmm…..maybe Marx should have taken care of his own family (the way self-respecting parents do) before he thought of changing the world……
August 21st, 2007 at 6:46 pmOK, Makarios, let’s play polls. I’ll call your Gallup and raise you a Pew which shows that 50% of respondents are glad Dems control congress against 24% who wish Repubs did.
And, I’ll add the latest CNN poll which shows that 48% trust the Dems in congress to do what’s right for the country against only 32% who trust Bush.
Furthermore, here’s a suggestion. Since Congress is made up of both Dems and Repubs, why not look at the respective polling for both. I think you know what you’ll find if you look there.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:54 pm