Bush Salts His Summer With Eclectic Reading List

[sabra]

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bushread16aug16,0,4595904.story?coll=ny-leadnationalnews-headlines

Bush Salts His Summer With Eclectic Reading List
He is tackling three historical sagas while on vacation, impressing even the authors.

CRAWFORD, Texas — Gas prices are climbing, motorists are fuming and President Bush is at his ranch with a book about the history of salt.

There could be a connection.

According to the White House, one of three books Bush chose to read on his five-week vacation is "Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky, who chronicled the rise and fall of what once was considered the world's most strategic commodity.

The other two books he reportedly brought to Crawford are "Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar" by Edvard Radzinsky and "The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History" by John M. Barry.

Bush, a former oil company chief, has not said why he picked Kurlansky's 484-page saga. "The president enjoys reading and learning about history," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

[truthisfreedom]

1. obviously planning on controlling all of the water as well.

the bush family has an insane streak, as well as a total obsession with power. corrupt power.

[niceypoo]

113. Bush does not read anything the least bit intellectual....

Anything higher level than Dr Seuss or little pet goats is overly stimulating to him.....

[Bhaisahab]

2. what a load of crap!

eclectic for this shallow man means penthouse and boobs n buns. history of salt. yeah right!

[izzie]

12. Now the guy handing the book of the days for that photo clip ====

would be mad at you for saying that. I bet he is in the $100,000 range also.:banghead:

[Rich Hunt]

62. yeah, really

I mean, honestly - nobody reads that crap on their vacation!

[midnight armadillo]

101. speak for yourself

Vacation is the only time I get to sit down and really read!

[VegasWolf]

71. Brain can't even pronounce "eclectic" or have any concept of the

word's meaning.

[cthrumatrix]

3. seems all of them fit with his persona as Czar and conqueror

and the "pig book" was checked out so he had no choice....

PS... the books are being read to shrubbie...it's hard work

[joeunderdog]

72. Alfred E Newman, anyone?

seems more in line with his thinking.

[rfranklin]

4. Bullshit! If he got through the first two pages of any of these books...

it would be a freaking miracle.

And why isn't he called a "failed oil company chief?" Or better yet, "former chief of a failed oil company financed by his father's partners in crime?"

[jeff30997]

8. You can't spell Bullshit without Bush.

[samdogmom]

95. Good one! Can I borrow this line?

I hope some reporter asks him an obscure question pertaining to these books. I doubt he'll be able to answer it. I really don't think he's going to read these tomes.

[GoSolar]

112. My sentiments exactly...

[Bob3]

5. Time to read but no time for Cindy?

Really the man by his own admission does not read newspapers - you really think he settles in with a 484 page book at the end of a hard day doing nothing?

Right. And I got a bridge to sell you cheap.

[jeff30997]

6. What ? He didn't bring "My pet goat" to finish the first page ?

[Art_from_Ark]

18. He finished it in the classroom

after purportedly being told of the second attack.

[ixion]

7. gee, no hints as to chimpy's personality there...

power trip much? :eyes:

I'll bet he doesn't actually 'read' anything. I'm voting for it either being read to him, or playing the accompanying CD. :evilgrin:

[kath]

67. Many think that he CAN'T read. "That woman who said I was dyslexic - I

never interviewed her."

I doubt he can read above a 3rd-4th grade level.

[Scurrilous]

9. 484 page saga...

...perfect for hollowing out and hiding his flask from Laura.

[jeff30997]

13. LOL.

[qanda]

10. Maybe he wants to find out

What the world will look like when bird flu spreads.

[rooboy]

11. Desperately seeking one person who believes this bullshit. n/t

[Pretty_in_CodePink]

14. I want to see a book report

if he is really reading these books. I don't believe he is inclined or capable of such ambitious reading.

[leftchick]

15. yeah right...

bush's reading list consists of titles on his video games.

[KDLarsen]

16. What's next?

the story of lime? And to finish off the three-parter: the story of tequila (including samples!)? :D

[DemNoir]

17. This puff piece is not LBN worthy

Why is it here?

[matcom]

19. my ASS!

my wager is on the entire first season of Mad Magazine. and no, he DOESN'T get the Spy vs Spy jokes :eyes:

[Fenris]

40. Fuck that, he reads CRACKED!

Mad's less funny cousin. :D

[shaniqua6392]

20. I have a reading suggestion for him....

THE FIVE BIGGEST LIES BUSH TOLD US ABOUT IRAQ
By Christopher Scheer, Robert Scheer, and Lakshmi Chaudhry
There are also a plethora of other books published on this very topic!!!

[ramapo]

21. NOW he wants to learn about history?????

Unbelievable. How could we have such a moron as president? Easy!

[MetaTrope]

22. "The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History"

Can't you just see him laughing over it as he orders up another round of anthrax mailings?

[Mist]

25. Actually that's what I thought too

:tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat:

[slay]

27. Same here!

I figure it was a BFEE warning to those that are paying attention. He's gonna rule like a tsar and if we try to impeach him the "terrorists" will release a plaque.

Listen - there is no freakin way that Bush actually chose these particular books to read just by chance. And where are the classics like his other favorite "My Pet Goat"? :evilgrin:

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

23. And that is from Newsday.... the great liberal media

and blow job specialists.

[nookiemonster]

24. Hey shrubbie, want some insight on salt?

Look at Cindy. She's worth her weight in it.

:patriot:

[screembloodymurder]

26. This is no reading list, it's his SOTU address.

1. Salt (oil) once considered the world's most strategic commodity.
2. Bush II: The Last Great Tsar.
3. The Great Influenza: Deadliest Plague in History.

My God he thinks he's the King of America. He knows the age of oil is over and he's planning on unleashing a pandemic to cull 2/3 of the world's population. We must stop them!!!!

[slay]

31. Heard about all the dead microbiologists?

Dead Microbiologists

"There is an ongoing worldwide series of killing experts in virus and infections diseases: see the Anthrax attacks and microbiologistdeaths timeline by Paul Thompson.

The total number of leading microbiologists killed in a six-month period starting soon after 9/11 was at least 15: Globe and Mail, May 4, 2002, page A1"

more:
http://911review.org/Wiki/DeadMicrobiologists.shtml


A Career In Microbiology Can Be Harmful To Your Health

"DEATH TOLL MOUNTING AS CONNECTIONS TO DYNCORP, HADRON, PROMIS SOFTWARE AND DISEASE RESEARCH EMERGE
by
Michael Davidson, FTW staff writer
and Michael C. Ruppert

ED. NOTE: As FTW has begun to investigate serious discussions by legitimate scientists and academics on the possible necessity of reducing the world's population by more than four billion people, no stranger set of circumstances since Sept. 11 adds credibility to this possibility than the suspicious deaths of what may be as many as 14 world-class microbiologists."

more:
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/02_14_02_microbio.html


Author Theorizes 40 Microbiologists Killed Before Unleashing "The
Ultimate Epidemic."
Monday, January 24, 2005
Free Press International
1.24.2005

<snip>
Author Steve Quayle alleges that 40 microbiologist have died under
suspicious circumstances in the last four years -- most of them
specializing in vaccines and bio-weapons research. The deaths include
stabbings, drownings, plane crashes and hit-and-run crashes. Some were
ruled suicides. There's only been several who've died of natural causes."

more:
http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?noframes;read=64111

[leesa]

28. I bet they're going to make him lug a book around for photo ops again

Clearly, this man doesn't read. It is painfully obvious.

[shantipriya]

29. Bush & Reading

Can he read? And if he can, does he understand what he reads? I doubt it. Please someone give him some comics and chidren's books to read.

[rocktivity]

30. PUFF PIECE ALERT!!!

What a waste of wood.

:puffpiece:
rocknation

[EST]

45. The book or Pinnochio?

[devinsgram]

32. OK, like people are going to believe that.

Doesn't read a newspaper, but is going to read a novel, yeah, right.

[The Icon Painter]

37. Novel?

Not a novel, weighty tomes filled with facts! Sweet jeezus, is there a soul in this admittedly benighted country who thinks this child of privilege and waster of educational opportunities can actually read? I do not even think he could understand one of the books mentioned here if it were read to him, slowly and carefully pronouncing each word. He is deliberately and proudly ignorant, scornful of learning and unable to comprehend any thought past that of a five year old. He is our punishment for not keeping a firmer foot on the 'know-nothings' of whom he is the principal knower of nothing.

[priller]

33. Former oil company chief?

Wow, sounds impressive. Too bad they didn't flesh that out to be more accurate: "Former oil company chief of a tiny firm who repeatedly had to be bailed out by friends of his father."

[SOS]

39. Former oil company chief (three times!)

Bush bankrupted three oil companies in his illustrious private sector career.
Spectrum Seven, Arbusto and Harken - all failures.
He had to have Daddy call off the SEC in the case of Harken.

[Moochy]

90. I prefer "Failed Oilman" nt

[against all enemies]

91. No way he remembers that list when asked.

[tomg]

34. Two of the authors are anti-Bush, one strongly

I found this hilarious:
"Kurlansky said he was surprised to hear that Bush had taken his book to the ranch: "My first reaction was, 'Oh, he reads books?' "

The author said he was a "virulent Bush opponent" who had given speeches denouncing the war in Iraq."

[HuckleB]

41. Exactly.

Which is why anyone who would actually entertain the thought that this guy reads still knows that this is baloney. Bush avoids those who disagree with him at all costs.

[Lisa]

81. Note also that Kurlansky thinks Bush's advisors choose his reading ...

"they don't seem to do any research about the writers when they pick the books", he said.


By the way, I loved Kurlansky's book on the cod fishery collapse (I decided to use it in my Natural Resources course). I didn't know he was strongly anti-war, but it makes sense (his approach to his topic is thoughtful and humane). Guess I should go out and get his latest book -- SOMEONE should enjoy it as a read, and I bet that person won't be Bush. He probably won't read it all the way through -- he'll delegate it to one of his underlings to sum up in a 1-paragraph memo, at the slightest hint of "highfalutin librul interlectualism".

Re: the influenza issue -- I must respectfully comment on Barry's suggestion that the Clinton administration discounted the threat. Perhaps they didn't zero in on the 'flu in particular, but they were definitely concerned about the potential danger of infectious diseases. This article (and other reports I've seen) noted that Clinton did try to prepare the country -- interestingly, after reading Preston's book "The Cobra Event", about a bioterrorist attack.

http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/bioter/demonterrifyingmicrobe.html

[Boomer]

35. What flunky had to come up with a list?

Or was there some power meeting of PR execs to craft the perfect reading list?

Either way, I don't buy it. This man doesn't have the curiosity to read, assuming his medication even allows him to focus that much.

[stanwyck]

52. This is why I agree

completely with you. Bush has never shown any inkling in any speech, press conference, or statements that testify to being well read. He never has anything to add. No references. No details. Either he recites, badly, the cooked comments written by his handlers or he just spouts off nonsense like "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice.....I won't get fooled again!"
Never has a man with so much education been so ill at ease and spoken so poorly. He didn't know that Newfoundland was part of Canada. He spoke of "Mexican" being spoken by Mexicans.
The books are props. Nothing more.
Like he said, fool us once...

[Solly Mack]

36. If Bush wasn't seen as a total moron by the world, such "news" items

wouldn't be needed.

But because the world does have such a low opinion of Bush, the spin doctors have to push this type of PR.

Normally, one would just assume the leader of a country could read....it's just something you expect....or should expect....but not with Bush.....that's why it's "news"

His handlers pick a human emotion, or everyday activity people might engage in, and decide how to best apply it to Bush

So we are treated to various, though yearly recycled, "news" stories in their attempt to make Bush appear to be human and "one of the people"

He reads!
He exercises!
He cries!
He listens to music!
He cares!
He thinks!
He does yard work!
He drives a truck!
He rides a bike!


How pathetic is it when a so-called world leader is so lacking that such a PR campaign is even needed?

[mandomom]

38. Can he even understand or say "eclectic"?

My Pet Goat.

[GoldenOldie]

42. He can't even read his scripts.

[lakeguy]

44. yeah, what about my Pet Goat?

did he ever finish that one_ oh yeah, that's what he was doing for 7 or 8 minutes after we were attacked. silly me...

[kath]

68. Probably understands the word "eclectic" as well as he does "dissemble" -

Oh, wait, that's "dissassemble".

[July]

43. Hilarious!

Even Bill Clinton, a voracious reader and truly intelligent man, had no trouble saying that he read mysteries and other fiction.

Now we're supposed to believe that Bush enjoys weighty historical tomes? Three of them? Uh-huh. I think the comments at the end of the article reflect a proper skepticism toward this PR.

[SammyWinstonJack]

46. Are they on tape?

:yoiks:

[Mad_Dem_X]

54. LOL!!!!

The History of Salt???? WTF?:crazy:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

102. That was my first thought...

If they are, I wonder who he gets to listen for him.

[antonialee839]

47. The only eclectic reading * does is on the back

of his cereal box. He is particularly drawn to Capn Crunch. As for these books, they can be tossed on the "props pile" along with his codpiece.

[Gyre]

48. I smell BUSHSH*T!

shrub's "reading list"? :rofl:

Gyre

[mainer]

49. It's up to the press to quiz him on the books now

C'mon, Helen Thomas. At the next press conference, ask him a nice, specific question to demonstrate that the guy never got the title page.

[HuckleB]

84. Don't we wish!

The wimps. Ugh.

[blindpig]

50. where's the sarcasm tag?

Who could possibly believe this? Surely that's the wrong link and this came from the Onion.

[Endangered Specie]

51. First I thought hed be reading this:

But its probably beyond his reading level.

[YOY]

53. "Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar"?

Worried about the lefties killing the ineffectual and out-of-touch blue-bloods much?

[onager]

55. He might want to read a little about Nicholas II

A dunderhead who strutted around in fancy uniforms and issued meaningless orders while his army fell apart.

A devout religious kook who believed 300 years of oppressing the citizens was "God's will."

Husband to a featherbrain who believed in all sorts of superstitious crackpottery, such as Rasputin.

A member of an elite ruling family who ignored the warning signs of a disintegrating society...right up until he found himself in that Ekaterinburg basement looking down a gun barrel.

[symbolman]

57. Rasputin DOES exist in this admin

his name is KARL ROVE, and he ADMITTED IT to Barbara Walters.. I have the footage and am adding it to the Rove'S War DVD I'm finishing up :)

[shockra]

56. Dear Bush

Please read Mad Cowboy.

[MetaTrope]

58. Bill Clinton's Summer Reading List

According to the New York Observer:

Faith of My Fathers by John McCain and Mark Salter
Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism by Robert Pape
Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble by Lester Brown
Crusader’s Cross: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke
Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times by H.W. Brands

[legin]

59. The Alexander II book is an interesting one

All about a guy who becomes the ruler of an empire that is creaking at the seams. Tries to do some much needed reforms. Funks it. Gets assassinated, and makes sure that those following him get assassinated.

Maybe bush* might learn something useful from it if he ever reads it.

But probably not (hopefully).

[LeftyElvis]

60. He should finish

My Pet Goat first......he had a rough time with it.

[candice]

61. Hilarious!

Wonder if they even got down to Crawford. No one would have the patience to read them to him and explain it to him in 15 minutes.

[Orsino]

63. Bogus PR about da Prez' alleged reading habits...

...and therefore useless. Not LBN.

[MrBenchley]

64. Let's see him spell "influenza" w/o a teleprompter....

[genieroze]

65. His reading choices sound a bit telling.

[kath]

66. As IF! That story's nearly as bogus as the totally BS one about how

Chimpyshit cries with the parents of dead soldiers. (And FUCK Newsweek for printing that shit. How much you wanta bet Rove pushed them into publishing that piece of dreck??)

[Neshanic]

69. "Book lernin's HARD WORK! I'm lernin bout stuff on vacation."

[demo dutch]

70. "Learning about History"? I guess he's got a lot of catching up to do!

Tending to the problems of this country is pretty much out of the question, that probably doesn't even occur to the man!!

[Vickers]

73. 5 weeks to read 3 books?

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[uppityperson]

74. More info on the books, not picture books like I'd thought, but, well,look

Salt: A World History (Paperback)

First Sentence:
Once I STOOD on the bank of a rice paddy in rural Sichuan Province, and a lean and aging Chinese peasant, wearing a faded forty-year-old blue jacket issued by the Mao government in the early years of the Revolution, stood knee deep in water and apropos of absolutely nothing shouted defiantly at me, "We Chinese invented many things!" Read the first page

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142001619/103-1706264-1591810?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance

"Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar" has not been released yet, according to Amazon

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History

First Sentence:
ON SEPTEMBER 12, 1876, the crowd overflowing the auditorium of Baltimore's Academy of Music was in a mood of hopeful excitement, but excitement without frivolity.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670894737/103-1706264-1591810?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Not incredibly deep first sentences, but not totally picture books.

[Bragi]

75. I guess he's already read "Confederacy of Dunces" /eom

[Brent Turbeaux]

76. If only "Bin Laden Plans to Attack Inside US" was on his list in 2001. n/t

[sakabatou]

77. Probably listening to the books on tape

[HuckleB]

87. Yeah, with volume down real low in the background.

[hallc]

78. Dammit...

and I really liked this book too...
"The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History" by John M. Barry

He's too dumb to read this huge ass book...Its almost 600 pages and has only a couple black and white pictures in the middle...Most definitly not Bush reading material. Stick to the pop-up books Dumbya!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

79. "The president enjoys reading and learning about history"

Too bad he doesn't choose to learn from history...

[deadparrot]

80. I thought he was gonna do a reread of "My Pet Goat." nt

[SharonRB]

82. He can read?

[LisaM]

83. "Salt" is a snooze.....we read it for our book club

I tried to get my boyfriend to photograph me sound asleep with a half-read copy of "Salt" lying over my face. It's just a stretched out New Yorker article, as are so many on the books on the non-fiction shelves these days.

However, it's the sort of book where he could pick up a stray fact here or there and pretend he knows something, so it may be a dangerous book for him to have in his hands.

[HuckleB]

86. "SALT" IS AWESOME!

Not as good as "Cod" or "A Basque History of the World," but it's definitely no "snooze."

If you can't get excited about "Salt," what can a reader get excited about?

[LisaM]

88. "Salt" has good material, poorly presented

Just like a bunch of other similar books out right now. They get the grain (get it?) of a good idea, they assemble the facts, but they don't spend any time revising it into a coherent whole. And I'm a reader - so it has nothing to do with my ability to get through a book, particularly non-fiction - I found it to be poorly edited (if it was edited at all) and disorganized. Too bad, because the premise is admittedly fascinating.

[HuckleB]

108. Yeah, there a lot of books in a similar vein.

But Salt is quite coherent, quite well done, quite well organized, and quite well edited. Again, it is not of the quality of Cod or A Basque History..., but it is not in league with the poorly written histories you mention.

[jhain]

85. He uses the paper to burn brush n/t

[saskatoon]

89. reading

OH! Good God you mean he has learned to read big people stuff and not Hungru caterpillar? whoee gimme proof.

[tanyev]

92. Oh, good grief.

He may be on vacation, but obviously the PR team is burning the candle at both ends. This story is following hot on the heels of several gushing stories about our manly, bike-riding president.

x(

[Darth_Kitten]

93. Walter the Farting Dog?

:hide:

[yorkiemommie1]

94. uh huh and I'm the queen of england

bs. ' he enjoys reading and learning about history '. If he did, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in now!!!

edited: Oh wait. maybe he's reading the comic book versions. Yah, that's it.

[ignatius 2]

96. Oh right, like Laura is going to read those big books to him.

n/t

[A Brand New World]

97. I heard this last night on NBC Nightly News. I told my husband,

this is BS. If he's reading anything, it's My Pet Goat for the 150th time because he didn't understand the storyline the previous 149 times. TOO STUPID! The news and HIM!!!!!!!

[Arkana]

98. Wow.

I bet he's REALLY taxing his walnut-sized brain. Books like "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," "Hop on Pop," and "Goodnight Moon," not to mention all those "Berenstain Bears" books, are very hard to digest. :sarcasm:

[HadItUpToHere]

99. wha..? did they finally publish a sequel to "my pet goat" ?

nt

[Maggie_May]

100. Bull crap

This man isn't reading shit.

[despairing optimist]

103. Bush has the salt. Let Cindy pass the pepper and spice up his vacation

I wonder who reads to him.

[insane_cratic_gal]

104. Are you sure? I bet he just got the cliff notes

[Lisa]

105. the last time someone threw him a "reading comprehension" question

(remember those from elementary school?)

... Bush froze up.

"It appears, for example, that he doesn't read very much. Though he was prepared with an answer last December when, in a New Hampshire debate, he was asked what book he was currently reading. "I'm reading a book on Dean Acheson," Harry Truman's secretary of state. It was a pretty smart choice, showing that, even if he doesn't know the names of all the countries, he's still serious about foreign policy.

The problem was that in the next debate, five days later, the moderator, Judy Woodruff of CNN, asked W. what he had learned about Dean Acheson. Bush froze up and then responded with a string of lines directly from his canned stump speech: "The lessons learned are that the United States must not retreat within our borders, that we must promote the peace." The next day, I called a friend at the Gore campaign and suggested they make a large papier-mache Dean Acheson head and have someone follow Bush around with a sign saying, "Why don't you know anything about me?""


http://alfrankenweb.com/rollingstone.html

[AuntiBush]

106. And Bears Don't Shitz in Woods.

Sorry. Can't see him reading past "A Goat."

[RFKHumphreyObama]

107. I don't believe a word of this

This is another PR-gimmick from *'s PR department which has been working overtime for the last six years to portray presidential candidate and then President * as an intellectual man of substance. Remember when * said during the election campaign that he was reading a particular book and McCain exposed *'s lack of knowledge on the stated publication?

[DerekG]

109. I was hoping he'd read "Crime and Punishment"

Perhaps he'd learn something by reading the chronicle of one who destroyed two lives so that he could prove to himself he was beyond good and evil, only to be brought to his knees, ultimately, by God.

Nah, he'd probably misinterpret it.

[Ilsa]

110. Bush must have mistakenly thought these

books were good "napping" books. I bet they are next to his hammock.

[WinkyDink]

111. HAHAHAHA!!!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!:rofl:

[bitchkitty]

114. BULLSHIT n/t