If the Right can have a "dangerous books" list, so can we

[jmowreader]

Bob Boudelang talks about the Right's "most dangerous books" list.

Thank ye, Bob, ya did good to publicize this.

Since the Repukes have one, we need one too. What books would you put on it?

I'll start:

* The Way Things Ought to Be, by Rush Limbaugh. I consider this the book that begat all the other Talking Heads' Books--Scaife-approved favorites like Coulter's "Slander," Ingraham's "Shut Up and Sing" and Hannity's "Deliver Us From Evil."

* Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt. Hazlitt's claim to fame comes from taking potshots at "On the Wealth of Nations." This is the most important tome on the fallacy that is conservative economics.

* How the World Really Works, by Jude Wanniski. This book led Reagan's people to attempt Supply-Side Economics. The absolute failure of SSE plunged America into a deficit that required a Democrat to fix.

Your turn!

[Hello_Kitty]

1. Any of Ayn Rand's bullshit

I know it's more libertarian but a lot of freepers idolize her swill, not that I've ever been able to get through one of her books. I'll read just about anything too, so that's saying something.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. No, we can't have a "dangerous books list"

because we don't ban books -- that's something only fascists, freepers and other totalitarian asshats do. We let them publish their crap because the cure for bad speech is more speech -- truth flourishes in sunlight; lies grow best in the dark. And we need to know what our adversaries are thinking. So let Annthrax Coulter and Limpballs and all the rest of them publish their garbage. It's our job to mock and rebut them and publish the truth -- but never, ever suppress anybody's speech.

[spindoctor]

10. Bravo!

You took the words right out of my mouth.

[TahitiNut]

13. Yup. Books are only 'dangerous' to dogmatic, ignorant reichbots.

[lonestarnot]

15. Yes and even though I added two of Dobson's books, this could be a

promotion thread for freepers...going to see if I can edit delete.

[Carla in Ca]

18. Right. On. Ocelot.

Come to your senses...WE do not ban books. We don't want to be like them, now do we? Leave that bad idea, and the 'bad' books to them.

[jmowreader]

24. Okay, consider it a "brain-destroying book list"

The Right would burn all of the books on their list in a heartbeat. We need to approach this in a different manner:

How the World Really Works by Jude Wanniski Wanniski's tome brought forth the dogma of "supply-side economics." Supply-side is a theory invented by a couple of academicians, and as with many academic theories it was conceived in a vacuum. The only way it works is by eliminating all social expenditures to pay for the massive tax cuts for the rich on which the theory was based. Because you can't cut all of these expenditures without igniting a civil war, implementing a supply-side doctrine ignited an economic downturn that was so severe, even Ronald Reagan raised taxes to attempt to end it.

Basically, "this book is wrong, and here's WHY it's wrong; read it and laugh." Not "we don't like this book, so you shouldn't read it, your library shouldn't stock it and your bookseller shouldn't deal in it."

[DrGonzoLives]

30. Stop making sense

This is GD. You should know better.

[jonnyblitz]

33. exactly. i recommend everyone read wingnuts books to see

how fucked up there are. its the best proof ever!!

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. The Bible

Top of the list.

[Selatius]

14. That's not fair. You may as well put the Qu'ran and the Torah up there too

There are tons of Christians who don't advocate shoving their religion down people's throats or burning/banning books.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. I am not criticizing tons of Christians

just the ones who abuse the bible. If the shoe doesn't fit, it isn't yours.

[Selatius]

17. But moderate Christians refer to the same Bible you want to blacklist

What are they left with afterward?

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. I didn't say I wanted to ban the bible

Just that it can be dangerous. And it can be - you have to admit that.

Moderate Christians should be concerned about how the right is abusing the bible.

[The Stranger]

28. Actually, the Bible contains passages justifying mass murder, race-based

genocide (see Joshua), other forms of murder (see nearly any book), the wanton destruction and death of women and children, even the world's first suicide bomber (Samson).

Maybe you should read what you are defending.

[Selatius]

32. I never wanted to defend the Bible, but we're talking blacklisting here

Thank you for insulting my intelligence on what is found in the Bible.

The idea of blacklisting strikes me as wrong, especially since it smacks of MCCARTHYISM. The question is who has the authority to assume what is right or what is wrong for others to read? Who has that authority to impose their judgment on this issue upon others? No one.

I'm a free-thinker. I subscribe to a free-thought philosophy, not a religion full of dogma because I'm not going to surrender my own judgment by believing a priest or a book just because that priest or that book says so.

However, everyone was given free will on this issue, and not everyone is going to come to the same conclusion. I have nothing with people who hold extremist ideas as long as they seek to hurt no one, but what I do have an issue with is intolerance, where they do attempt to violate others and impose their will through coercion or force.

If you want to defeat ignorance, then use reason, not suppression, and blacklisting is the substitute of banning in my eyes.

[dweller]

4. that damn

Pet Goat

has gotta go.

dp

[lonestarnot]

7. Yeah deadly!

[libertypirate]

5. You should make it all books that point back to republican crime

They are dangerous because they would put these fuckers in jail.

[lonestarnot]

6. self delete/deleting myself lol

[ToeBot]

8. Naw, I'm not afraid of books, any books n/t

[Bhaisahab]

9. "My Pet Goat" n/t

[Dogmudgeon]

11. Why should we?

Let the Right be the ones to censure and censor books.

Liberals believe in the freedom to read, even books that ivory-tower right-wingers have judged to be "dangerous".

--p!

[insane_cratic_gal]

12. I've got a few

Anything by Ann Coulter: I don't consider her dangerous, just stupid and stupid people are dangerous. You wouldn't give an idiot a fully loaded gun would you?


At Any Cost : How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election
by Bill Sammon ,... That one just makes me laugh and then laugh again!

The Ten Commandments : The Significance of God's Laws in Everyday Life... Laura Schlessinger : Techincally isn't there only like 6 commandments, 4 are the same shit just reworded. Course telling Rightwingers "thou shall not kill" doesn't seem work.


The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World by Bjorn Lomborg. Anything that tells the right .. the rapture is coming! famine, plague.. destruction of earth, and gives them a free ticket to abuse everything while they wait! Bad, very very BAD!

Edit: Ok ok I won't ban them but can't I just set Coulter's book on fire! or maybe just pie her/him/it!..

[Melodybe]

19. Anything by Ann Coulter, would be good.

Anything by Ann Rand.

[jmowreader]

25. Not Ann Coulter!

I really don't want a bunch of reich-wing talking heads' books on the list because were it not for "The Way Things Ought To Be," none of them would exist. It was really the archetype for the whole genre--which is why I listed it to the exclusion of all others.

Annthrax' books are dangerous, though. One of the fourteen people who paid list price for her oeuvre may decide that's how liberals REALLY are and get his gun out.

Now, something like a Dobson or a Falwell--one of these reich-wing POS that masquerades as a religious book--would make the cut.

[enid602]

20. Cheney

Any of Lynne Cheney's novels.

[dad]

21. The bible, quran, and any other religious books I neglected to mention

Because some people don't realize that imaginary sky daddies are all just pretend.

[deacon2]

22. No books are dangerous

Just some of the ignorant a-holes that read them. We don't need our own version of Kristallnacht here at DU. But I do agree strongly with the idea of vigilance and rebuttal. And taking the fight right to them as well. I've been enjoying e-mailing little truth bombs to right wing idiots of late - and kudos to patriots as well like Craig Roberts, a dyed-in-the-wool conservative who has called for the impeachment of Mr. Bush. I don't agree with much of what he says at his site, but boy do we have that one in common!

As for banning the Bible - you are kidding, right? Why not advocate carrying pictures of Chairman Mao while you're at it - hey, I think there was a song about that...

[Taxloss]

23. But books aren't dangerous.

These are just books; they can easily be countered with other, better books. This is a terrifying path to even consider. Leave it to the knowledge-fearing right.

[HughBeaumont]

26. Here's a dangerous one . . .

. . . dangerous in the sense that it may permanently tighten your stomach from doubling over laughing -

The Official Handbook of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy - Mark W Smith. Poorly written, filled with factually-void paragraphs, appeals to imbecilic Fox News slobberers. You'll especially vomit at the stations that he lists as "liberal media". Yeah . . . he STILL believes in this Tooth Fairy.

[jmowreader]

27. Okay, maybe we change the name of the list

from "The most dangerous right-wing books" to "The worst right-wing books."

This changes it from "you shouldn't read this because horns will grow on your head if you do" to "this guy's full of shit, but if you choose to risk it go to the library to get the book because the author really doesn't need any of your money."

[Book Lover]

31. I got a paper cut while leafing through a Coulter book at B&N

So beware of those books trimmed with just-sharpened edge cutters.