According to Joe Bageant, author of Deer Hunting With Jesus : Guns, Votes, Debt and Delusion in Redneck America , the American white working class voted for Bush, twice, because 'they are "downright stupid", "dumber than owl shit". Even worse, Christian fundamentalist schools, "those American madrassas", are "a sure way to make the masses even more stupid if there was one".' So much for the economic man. I think I'll read it.

I thought Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America was good too, better than Polly Toynbee's UK version, perhaps because it seemed more desperate. Looking at the criticism of the book on Amazon, I just love the way someone hated it because of its liberal agenda. No shit. Damn those liberals and all that liberty they keep wanting. Anyone who isn't rich just doesn't deserve to live.

It's the ultimate pyramid scheme (actually that's religion, Hank won't even pay up until after you leave town).