Thursday, January 10, 2008

New Book Review From The Entertainment Critic: Truth and Consequences

Here is a new book review that I wrote. Please check out the book on my new website, The Entertainment Critic.Com by clicking the link below
The Entertainment Critic


and also our new book group here on MySpace
New Book Group



Truth and Consequences: Special Comments on the Bush Administrations War on American Values
THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
www.theentertainmentcritic.com
TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES: SPECIAL COMMENTS ON THE BUSH ADMINISTRATIONS WAR ON AMERICAN VALUES
By Keith Olbermann, Host of Countdown
Published by Random House, An Imprint of the Random House Publishing Group
A Division of Random House, Inc., New York
Publication Date: December 26, 2007
Price: $24.95
172 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-40000-6676-6
Five Star Rating *****
KEITH OLBERMANN IS THE HOST OF COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN ON MSNBC. A VETERAN BROADCASTER, HE WAS THE CO-ANCHOR WITH DAN PATRICK OF ESPN’S SPORTSCENTER FROM 19992 TO 1997 AND HELPED TO LAUNCH ESPN 2 AND ESPN RADIO NETWORK. MR. OLBERMANN IS THE RECIPIENT OF NUMEROUS AWARDS IN RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTING, INCLUDING THE EDWARD R. MURROW AWARD FOR HIS COVERAGE OF THE EVENTS OF 9/11. HE HAS HOSTED PRIME-TIME NEWS PROGRAMS, MODERATED A DEBATE BETWEEN DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES, ANCHORED WORLD SERIES BROADCAST, AND WRITTEN FOR DOZENS OF PUBLICATIONS, INCLUDING THE NEW YORK TIMES, NEWSWEEK, TIME, AND SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. HE CO-HOSTS MSNBC’S ELECTION NIGHT COVERAGE AND NBC’S FOOTBALL NIGHT AMERICA.


A Portion of Mr. Olbermann’s Special Comment for November 6, 2006 entitled, “Where Are The Checks and Balances?” given on the evening before the Congressional Election in response to the Republican’s efforts to use Saddam Hussein’s conviction to rally their own voters.

“Suddam Hussein found guilty in an Iraqi court. Who can argue against that? He is officially what the world always knew he was: a war criminal.

Mr. Bush, was this imprimatur worth the cost of 2,832 American lives, and thousands more American lives yet to be lost?

Is the conviction of Saddam Hussein the reason you went to war in Iraq?

Or did you go to war in Iraq because of the weapons of mass destruction that did not exist?

Or did you go to war in Iraq because of the connection between Iraq and al-Qaeda that did not exist?

Or did you go to war in Iraq to break the bonds of tyranny there, while installing the mechanisms of tyranny here?

Or did you go to war in Iraq because you felt the need to wreak vengeance against somebody, anybody?

Or did you go to war in Iraq to contain a rogue state which, months earlier, your own administration had declared had been fully contained by sanctions?

Or did you go to war in Iraq to keep gas prices down?

Not four years removed from the most dismissive, the most condescending, the most ridiculing denials at the very hint at, as Mr. Rumsfeld put it, this “nonsense” that you were, campaigning in Colorado, in Nebraska, in Florida, in Kansas-suddenly turning the “unpatriotic idea” into a platform plank.

‘You can imagine a world in which extremists and radicals got control of energy resources,’ you told us. ‘And then you can imagine them saying, ‘We’re going to pull a bunch of oil off the market to run your price of oil up unless you do the following,’”

Having frightened us, bullied us, having lied to us, having ignored and rewritten the Constitution under our noses, having stayed the course, having denied that you’ve stayed the course, having belittled us about “timelines” but instead extolled “benchmarks” you’ve now resorted, sir, to this?

We must stay in Iraq to save the two-dollar gallon of gas?

Mr. President, there is no other conclusion we can draw as we go to the polls tomorrow.

Sir, you have been making this up as you went along.”

“We who have the final word can speak softly or angrily. We can seek to challenge and annoy, as we need not stay docile and quiet.”
William O. Douglas

“Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best stage, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”
Thomas Paine

“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
Thomas Paine

“That government is best which governs least.”
Thomas Paine



Sharp, stinging, shocking, but always illuminating, Keith Olbermann’s “Special Comments” have made Countdown with Keith Olbermann the fastest growing news show on cable television. In a day and age of the Fixed News Network comes this independent, clear voice extolling the virtues of democracy and American ideals, starkly in contrast to the fear and loathing of our current Presidential administration. In Truth And Consequences, Mr. Olbermann collects the best of his Special Comments, taking to task the mismanagement, brutality, cronyism, lack of accountability at the highest levels of the Bush administration (Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, as well as the President himself). To do this in an era of the mainstream media’s fear and trepidation is nothing short of heroic, not to mention tantalizing interesting as his rapidly expanded audience attests to. His nightly attack on the presidential overreaching and abuses of executive power belie the main them of this book: our current presidential administration has lost its ability to distinguish between leading our great country and ruling it. His candor and razor-sharp commentary make this book a must read in the most important Presidential election year, in perhaps the last 100 years. Keith’s comments and this book are a great exercise in the ideals that underlie the basis of democracy; we not only have the right to dissent, but the obligation to do so when our government is intolerant, fear-mongering, and Anti-American. In the free marketplace of ideas that underlies the 1st Amendment, Mr. Olbermann has demonstrated the courage to fight to reclaim the dignity of speaking one’s mind and acting on one’s conscious. To dissent with the government is not treason, but uniquely Democratic and American.

Keith’s Special Comment’s have been a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale news environment. The main support of the 1st Amendment is a free and independent press. The job of a free and independent press is to honestly inform and discuss politics in the free marketplace of ideas. This frequently means to examine and criticize those who have power, subjecting them to close scrutiny, skepticism and sharp, pinpoint criticism. What it does not mean is that the press is to act as a sounding board for those in power, acting out of fear and conveying not only that message, but that atmosphere to the general public. This does not mean supporting President Bush when it became clear that his administration lied about Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and his administrations continued attacks on the basic rights of Americans everywhere. The other news networks echoed the far right-wing messages, but not Keith. Keith’s sharp candor and insights punctured the big, bad balloon of fear politics. His straight forward, honest, skeptical, and frequently humorous approach as seen in this book are just the balance that is required. Eric Alan Isaacson said it best, “Keith Olbermann is a model for what American journalism should be.” The selected Special Comments that inhabit this interesting and provocative little book demonstrate just that.

In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, Keith’s new book reminds us, “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” Irreverent, intolerant, the dissent in this book reads like Thomas Paine or former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, “Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us?” Keith Olbermann is in very good company, and this election year of change, his book resonates with the echoes of those who have fought tyranny and won. “The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs of people.” said Justice Douglas. In Truth and Consequence, Keith Olbermann does just that, or as he put it, “Screw you, pally. This is America.” By thumbing his nose at those who seek to suppress our inalienable right to speak our mind and act on our conscious, he reminds us that the true American character is not ruled by fear and self-loathing. Don’t be surprised if you hear many of the themes in this book being echoed by the candidates for President. This book is in the tradition of those who in the past have upheld traditional American values against the transgressors. This is a great political book that should be on the top your reading list