BuzzFlash Reviews
September 8, 2005
Citizen You: The Ultimate Patriotic Handbook
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Despite
it's official sounding name, this is definitely not an
official government handbook! Hey, with two of the three writers having
years of experience on "The Onion," you can rest assured this
is not the Office of Homeland Security Pamphlet #156-Q.
Subtitled "The Ultimate Patriotic Handbook," "Citizen
You" is chock full of satire, in fact more than 220 pages of it.
Some of it is absolutely hilarious, if you are into "The Onion" sort
of humor, which we are in a big way. No, this is not a skimpy book of
humor. It is full of all sorts of good stuff: essays, profiles, sidebar
stories, photos, etc. It could keep you busy laughing for a week.
There's
so much we like in this book, but certainly we found a constant BuzzFlash
refrain distilled into the biography of George W. Bush entitled: "George
W. Bush: Leading, Lying and Loving It." That about says it all in
a nutshell. People are dying of thirst in New Orleans, but Bush is out
golfing and working on his tan, followed by an appearance with Diane
Sawyer when he proves that he is a liar without precedent in the Oval
Office. And what does "Citizen You" list as Bush's favorite
childhood activity? "Blowing up frogs by stuffing firecrackers inside
of them."
The peculiar thing about humorists when it comes to the Bush Administration
is that so much of the dark satire is true!
The section written in parody of John Ashcroft is called, "Fight
Terror, Stay Scared." Funny, but true, no? And, of course, there
is a sidebar story with a cross called, "Believe in Terror." Also,
right on the money.
An interesting bonus to this solid and full romp
through the Bush Administration nightmare is the last chapter called "Dangerous
Questions You Must Never Ask About 9/11," which you are advised
to read and "then
burn." Actually, most of the questions are the ones that the Democrats
should have been demanding answers to (even the fringe theory questions
start to sound plausible as the authors of "Citizen You" make
them relevant.) You could tell that when the authors got to this section,
they decided to get serious for the conclusion of an otherwise hilarious
book.
As the cover notes, this is the book that will teach you: how to "find
out if your neighbors are in Al-Qaeda" and "what will happen
if you touch yourself 'down there.'"
Come on, we know you want to know the answers.
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