Stupid White Men (Paperback)

Stupid White Men, Michael Moores screed against “Thief-in-Chief” George Bushs power elite, hit No. 1 at Amazon.com within days of publication. Why? Its as fulminating and crammed with infuriating facts as any right-wing bestseller, as irreverent as The Onion, and as noisily entertaining as a wrestling smackdown. Moore offers a more interesting critique of the 2000 election than Ralph Naders Crashing the Party (he argued with Nader, his old boss, who sacked him), and hes serious when he advocates ousting Bush. But Moores rage is outrageous, couched in shameless gags and madcap comedy: “Old white men wielding martinis and wearing dickies have occupied our nations capital…. Launch the SCUD missiles! Bring us the head of Antonin Scalia!… We are no longer [able] to hold free and fair elections. We need U.N. observers, U.N. troops.” Moores ideas range from on-the-money (Arafat should beat Sharon with Gandhis nonviolent shame tactics) to over-the-top: blacks should put inflatable white dolls in their cars so racist cops will think theyre chauffeurs; the ever-more-Republicanesque Democratic Party should be sued for fraud; “no contributions toward advancing our civilization ever came out of the South [except Faulkner, Hellman, and R.J. Reynolds],” because its too hot to think straight there; Korean dictator Kim Jong-il “has got to broaden himself beyond porn and John Wayne” by watching better movies, like Dude, Wheres My Car? (which contains “all you need to know about America”). Whatever your politics, Stupid White Men should make you blow your stack. –Tim Appelo