The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error

by Steven Rendall, Jim Naureckas, Jeff Cohen

A paperback handbook debunking the misinformation doled out by Rush Limbaugh on his radio show, on his television show, and in his books.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1995

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Step One: Listen to Rush on the radio. Step Two: grow fond of hearing him talk. Step Three: go to the library to read things. Step Four: find book denouncing his rhetoric. Step Five: turn off the radio! It worked for me.... and I never once thought of becoming a 'dittohead'. Thanks for the facts.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone needs to update this book with all the new stuff the shitbag has extruded.

[Valerie]

I agree on the need for a second volume. But there needs to be such media analysis of ALL media. It's not just a matter of patently false claims. It's a matter of people being ill-equipped to recognize HOW they're being scammed. Playing 'dueling experts' really doesn't help much. We need to become our OWN 'experts', able to recognize that ex cathedra proclamations often conceal the true complexity and uncertainties of the evidence.

For example, the recent announcements of dramatic increases in 'obesity' need to be screened through at least one questioning of plausibility. WHY would 'obesity' have increased? Diets are not substanially worse, nor people significantly more sedentary than has been so for more than fifty years. Why would there be a sudden spike NOW? Well, perhaps because the DEFINITION of 'obesity' was changed, and the people who changed the definition did not go back and refigure the old statistics? That's kind of like saying that people are financially better off now because they get higher salaries. If you don't go back and factor in costs, you might believe such a claim. But we do. Why do we uncritically accept what 'experts' say in other fields?

It's not a matter of whether any particular person is an 'expert' in a field 'because I say I am'. It's more a matter of people getting a rounded education, so that they can recognize that ALL 'experts', no matter what their qualifications, are human and fallible--and HOW those experts are likely fail in given fields.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heck of a good read, though I must confess it set my mind onto the idea that ANY TIME a Conservative of ANY STRIPE throws out statistics...they are likely playing fast and loose with the data at best, outright fabricating and lying at worst. This may one day make it difficult to belive legitimate conservatives, but so be it. Very strong book, I want to see this one updated for the latter half of Rush's career. Love the Tom Tomorrow cartoons, especially the one with Rush fans Frank and the wife in the book store for the first time in their lives ("Golly, Frank, did you know this many books had even been WRITTEN?").

[Judi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its probably not fair to try to "review" this as it is 16 years old and from what I understand hasnt been updated. The things Limbaugh is quoted as saying have been printed or quoted everywhere; not much was new. So the book quickly became tiresome.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, pretty tedious.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to believe now, but at one time Boombagh was a real force to be reckoned with, not only among true believers, but among more mainstream media, pundits, politicians and the public. Supposedly the first Bush carried his bag while he was visiting the White House, and he was a guest on network political talk shows as an expert, and I'm not making this up, on the environment! This was one of the first volleys fired in an effort to bring him to justice, call out his lies, rabble-rousing and hate-mongering, and drag him into the sunlight. I also read Al Franken's Rush Limbaugh book, which also deflated, with humor, this big gasbag. So, if you feel that nothing we do makes a difference, and evil always triumphs, this is a good argument to never give up and keep fighting for the truth. Every time we stand up for the truth, and for each other, the world really does become a little better place.