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Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight Back
Torture. Kidnapping. Bogus wars. Illegal wiretapping. Propaganda. Spies in the newsrooms. Oil profiteers. Soldiers who won't fight. Mothers of fallen soldiers Who will.
In Static , the bestselling brother-sister team of Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now! , and investigative journalist David Goodman takes on government liars, corporate profiteers, and the media that have acted as their cheerleaders. The authors cut through the official static to show the truth about war, torture, and government control of the media. Static breaks the sound barrier to present the voices of dissidents, activists, and others who are often frozen out of official debate.
Read Static . Become informed. Fight back. Defend democracy.
In Static , the bestselling brother-sister team of Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now! , and investigative journalist David Goodman takes on government liars, corporate profiteers, and the media that have acted as their cheerleaders. The authors cut through the official static to show the truth about war, torture, and government control of the media. Static breaks the sound barrier to present the voices of dissidents, activists, and others who are often frozen out of official debate.
Read Static . Become informed. Fight back. Defend democracy.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Amy Goodman
45 books270 followersAmy Goodman is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist and author.
A 1984 graduate of Harvard University, Goodman is best known as the principal host of Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now! program, where she has been described by the Los Angeles Times as "radio's voice of the disenfranchised left". Coverage of the peace and human rights movements — and support of the independent media — are the hallmarks of her work.
As an investigative journalist, she has received acclaim for exposés of human rights violations in East Timor and Nigeria. Goodman is the first journalist to receive the Right Livelihood Award. Her brother is investigative journalist David Goodman.
A 1984 graduate of Harvard University, Goodman is best known as the principal host of Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now! program, where she has been described by the Los Angeles Times as "radio's voice of the disenfranchised left". Coverage of the peace and human rights movements — and support of the independent media — are the hallmarks of her work.
As an investigative journalist, she has received acclaim for exposés of human rights violations in East Timor and Nigeria. Goodman is the first journalist to receive the Right Livelihood Award. Her brother is investigative journalist David Goodman.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
December 13, 2007
Like hearing Amy Goodman speak, the book is informative, seamless in its transitions, and kind of like a peek into a well of despair.
This book is well written, but hard to read at times, since it covers a wide swath of things that I wish weren't so wrong with the world. But it's insightful and rigorous, and I would rather know what's going on then not. I learned more than a thing or two about stories that I thought I understood.
You may be worn out before you get to the last section, with its inspiring stories about folks who are pushing back the tide (like Cindy Sheehan). I would suggest skipping ahead to get a little inspired, then head back to the middle of the book. But it's worth reading the whole thing.
This book is well written, but hard to read at times, since it covers a wide swath of things that I wish weren't so wrong with the world. But it's insightful and rigorous, and I would rather know what's going on then not. I learned more than a thing or two about stories that I thought I understood.
You may be worn out before you get to the last section, with its inspiring stories about folks who are pushing back the tide (like Cindy Sheehan). I would suggest skipping ahead to get a little inspired, then head back to the middle of the book. But it's worth reading the whole thing.
November 17, 2017
Static fulfills two functions: (1) it chronicles all facets of the Bush administration that will soon be echoed by the upcoming Trump administration; and (2) provides the coldest of all possible comforts by reminding the reader that Trump's Deplorable administration clearly has its well-established predecessors. Static is rife with information about the Bush era that I knew next to nothing about, most of it disturbing, yet analogous to the administration we are anticipating come Inauguration Day. I knew so little about the U.S.-backed dictatorship in Uzbekistan. I knew so little about how Rumsfeld's cronies recruited notoriously brutal guards/employees from prisons around the country to do the "grunt work" of unrelenting torture in Abu Ghraib and CIA "black sites." Why? So that these people with dubious histories can be blamed for their character and thereby function as scapegoats for the administration issuing the decrees for torture. Static also presaged the 2015 story about how positive psychologists cooperated with the CIA to outline a program meant to break the psychological spirit of the torture victim, which was covered by (if I recall correctly) Tamsin Shaw in The New York Review of Books. Static also provides historical context to the United States' relations to Haiti, which, again, I'd only known about with regard to slavery-era uprising and Jacobin coverage of the Clinton Foundation's failings there. It's a lean book packed with information about the Bush administration, and its merit as a book thrives on this. But it's also a stunning chronicler of the cornucopia of "fake news" that was present far before liberals decried its existence and its utility in assisting Trump's election.
A claim I've made repeatedly since Trump's election is that if we are to encourage the stifling of fake news, the solutions that are being presented to ameliorate that trend are laughable. While there are certainly conflicts of interest at Vox, and obvious garbage like Occupy Democrats, the alternatives presented by peers were The New York Times, The Washington Post, and gently reassuring broadcasts courtesy of NPR and PBS. The Intercept is doing excellent work showing just how The Washington Post is peddling misinformation about Russia's interference in the US election, Static once again reminds readers that The New York Times functioned as a mouthpiece of the stories Cheney was spoon-feeding them about WMDs and Iraq without providing any scrutiny in turn, and PBS - of all places - as of the mid-2000s was sponsored by corporate interests. Bill Moyers himself vocalized disappointment in public broadcasting and radio, saying it's an insufficiently independent medium in our day and age, but still better than the alternatives. The Intercept also caught The Guardian distributing a totally false story last week. A Huffington Post hot-take about the sketchiness of Pantsuit Nation was laden with falsehood, claiming that the book deal was not announced when, in fact, it was. The Wall Street Journal lied about the EPA's "reversal" in policy, and the Los Angeles Times published two back-to-back op/ed pieces that tried their best to argue that Japanese internment wasn't all that bad.
Are these really the best you can do to combat fake news? People, please. Once again I found myself urging people to support American independent media instead of flocking to BBC News by watching Democracy Now!, and looking for up-and-coming independent outlets like #EmergingUS. A campaign is currently underway to expand the camera crew and on-the-ground staff at The Young Turks. For anyone wondering why, Static makes the case for why Democracy Now! is a vital institution. Granted, the book does preach to the converted in an irritating way - at least for the converted - but to those uninitiated I can only hope with all the zeal I can muster it does sway people into checking it out.
Outside of the occasional bout of self-cheerleading and an oftentimes dip in matter-of-fact tone to do a jocular aside or lay the snark on thick, Static is an excellent primer on the worst the Bush era had to offer and the media that colluded with Bush during the War on Terror. This is the sort of recent history we need to revisit and dwell on, in the name of always remaining vigilant about the integrity of the information that will come out of Trump's White House. Important, timely stuff. And please, PLEASE watch Democracy Now!.
A claim I've made repeatedly since Trump's election is that if we are to encourage the stifling of fake news, the solutions that are being presented to ameliorate that trend are laughable. While there are certainly conflicts of interest at Vox, and obvious garbage like Occupy Democrats, the alternatives presented by peers were The New York Times, The Washington Post, and gently reassuring broadcasts courtesy of NPR and PBS. The Intercept is doing excellent work showing just how The Washington Post is peddling misinformation about Russia's interference in the US election, Static once again reminds readers that The New York Times functioned as a mouthpiece of the stories Cheney was spoon-feeding them about WMDs and Iraq without providing any scrutiny in turn, and PBS - of all places - as of the mid-2000s was sponsored by corporate interests. Bill Moyers himself vocalized disappointment in public broadcasting and radio, saying it's an insufficiently independent medium in our day and age, but still better than the alternatives. The Intercept also caught The Guardian distributing a totally false story last week. A Huffington Post hot-take about the sketchiness of Pantsuit Nation was laden with falsehood, claiming that the book deal was not announced when, in fact, it was. The Wall Street Journal lied about the EPA's "reversal" in policy, and the Los Angeles Times published two back-to-back op/ed pieces that tried their best to argue that Japanese internment wasn't all that bad.
Are these really the best you can do to combat fake news? People, please. Once again I found myself urging people to support American independent media instead of flocking to BBC News by watching Democracy Now!, and looking for up-and-coming independent outlets like #EmergingUS. A campaign is currently underway to expand the camera crew and on-the-ground staff at The Young Turks. For anyone wondering why, Static makes the case for why Democracy Now! is a vital institution. Granted, the book does preach to the converted in an irritating way - at least for the converted - but to those uninitiated I can only hope with all the zeal I can muster it does sway people into checking it out.
Outside of the occasional bout of self-cheerleading and an oftentimes dip in matter-of-fact tone to do a jocular aside or lay the snark on thick, Static is an excellent primer on the worst the Bush era had to offer and the media that colluded with Bush during the War on Terror. This is the sort of recent history we need to revisit and dwell on, in the name of always remaining vigilant about the integrity of the information that will come out of Trump's White House. Important, timely stuff. And please, PLEASE watch Democracy Now!.
September 12, 2020
Holy confirmation bias Batman! This book was published almost 15 years ago and if anything the situation described has only gotten worse. Projecting the premise of the book forward there is an excellent explanation for the feckless media reaction to and treatment of the Trump White House, elite consensus. They are frozen in a model where sources and reporters were a cozy lot and lies were at least well crafted, the Trump Administration brazen disregard for anything approaching the truth was a tactic that the ecosystem wasn't designed or prepared for. If nothing else, if the great disrupter has permanently upended this system it may be his only lasting actual contribution to the country.
January 29, 2018
The book was promising at the beginning. Then it got stuck to the same topic: generally how the Bush administration is bad and how the mainstream media help keep its positive image. Past around page 100 it started to become annoying to me, and at times I could easily detect the biasbwith which the book was written, not to mention that it likely did not take too long to write it considering the fact that a majority of the stories had already featured on Democracy Now! and therefore were easier to summarize and elaborate on in the book
It was great to learn what was said in the book - as the stories were rather interesting and also accurate (not including every interpretation). Some concepts were great to learn from - such as, for example, the idea about how journalists, in order to keep their sources reporting to them, end up forcing too amicable relationships for them as journalists to be accurate in their reporting (that idea was especially presented at the end of the book. However, it was too one-sided and it looked as if it only had a purpose to market Democracy Now! as the only channel out there from which you should get your news.
It was great to learn what was said in the book - as the stories were rather interesting and also accurate (not including every interpretation). Some concepts were great to learn from - such as, for example, the idea about how journalists, in order to keep their sources reporting to them, end up forcing too amicable relationships for them as journalists to be accurate in their reporting (that idea was especially presented at the end of the book. However, it was too one-sided and it looked as if it only had a purpose to market Democracy Now! as the only channel out there from which you should get your news.
June 4, 2017
The book got a low rating from me because it was shocking and depressing. However, it was a necessary read that was excellent in its level of seriousness and relevance.
October 24, 2018
Explains that government lies didn't start with Trump. Well written and interesting.
May 26, 2022
For anyone following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, this is a must-read.
History eerily repeating itself. Propaganda, lies, torture. All following the same script.
History eerily repeating itself. Propaganda, lies, torture. All following the same script.
August 16, 2023
Interesting read from 16 years ago. Before social media, before algorithms, and before politics was a chaotic free-for-all. Simpler days. But as book points out, there were still problems.
March 24, 2024
The true corrupt actions of our government, and how they fool American society in multiple ways, it’s a harsh reality, but the government screws the people over everywhere.
November 12, 2009
By:Amy Goodman Total pages:338
Static by Amy Goodman and her brother david wrote this book about political officials so people would know the lies that some of them are telling us. This shows both democrats and republicans and how they have been telling the world lies. Their mission of writing this book was to go under cover and find out information that no one else knew. they talk about war and about what is really true about what elected officials are saying. From money going to war to officials completing telling us complete lies about their ideas for the future. This book goes in depth with all different officials in politics and tells us the truth. Although it does show both sides these authors do emphasize the democratic party as the better side or the side that has less flaws. They also talk about stories that have been in the news and how true those stories are. The main point of the story is to show people who these elected officials really are and how the people we voted for are doing things for our nation.
I thought this book was interesting but it was kind of boring at times because some parts feel like they are repeating themselves because many officials had said some false things about the same topics. It was also interesting to see how far people went to get a vote from Americans. I never really thought that these elected officials would lie about what they will do to help us as a nation. I learned that you can't necessarily trust these people involved in politics because they might not always tell the truth and just tell you what you want to hear just to get your vote.
Static by Amy Goodman and her brother david wrote this book about political officials so people would know the lies that some of them are telling us. This shows both democrats and republicans and how they have been telling the world lies. Their mission of writing this book was to go under cover and find out information that no one else knew. they talk about war and about what is really true about what elected officials are saying. From money going to war to officials completing telling us complete lies about their ideas for the future. This book goes in depth with all different officials in politics and tells us the truth. Although it does show both sides these authors do emphasize the democratic party as the better side or the side that has less flaws. They also talk about stories that have been in the news and how true those stories are. The main point of the story is to show people who these elected officials really are and how the people we voted for are doing things for our nation.
I thought this book was interesting but it was kind of boring at times because some parts feel like they are repeating themselves because many officials had said some false things about the same topics. It was also interesting to see how far people went to get a vote from Americans. I never really thought that these elected officials would lie about what they will do to help us as a nation. I learned that you can't necessarily trust these people involved in politics because they might not always tell the truth and just tell you what you want to hear just to get your vote.
June 7, 2007
Scary, and totally unsurprising. I liked the structure of the book: It outlined different ways the bush administration and corporations manipulate the media, covered the network of secret prisions and torture policies of the US, then ended with profiles and accounts of different activists and media disruption events. (Does anyone remember ACT-UP interrupting the studio broadcast of CBS Evening News with Dan Rather at the start of the Gulf War in 1991 by popping in front of him on camera and shouting "Fight AIDS Not Arabs?" Wish I did.) My main criticism of the book is its writing style. The Goodmans use an over-the-top rhetorical style that I think detracts from the extremely important contents of the book. For example, the refer to bush cronies "prostituting themselves" for power. It seems like the style is trying to be dramatic and make people angry, but I think it's overkill--the bush administrations actions speak for themselves, and the audience for the book is probably already mad.
January 8, 2015
How the fifth estate failed during the Baby Bush error-er...era. It was a phony terror war and anyone that had a brain knew it. Sadly, not many in America were conscious at the time and the media abdicated any attempts to counter the nonsense coming out of the cardboard cutout of a president. The media especially did not attempt to expose the men behind the curtain that were pulling the strings of the cardboard man/boy.
The Goodmans were among a few that opposed the regime. Unfortunately their opposition, and that of the other few that participated, fell on a sterile public.
The text is typical reportage. That's not a knock necessarily, but it almost seemed like overkill at times. I know that it is a measure of how corrupt the Baby Dub regime actually was. But the shear volume will never convince the uninterested who will not read all the many anecdotes of stage management that the troika (Cheny, Rumsfeld, Rice) obsessively orchestrated. It is a great compendium of tricks for the aspiring cardboard politicians following.
The Goodmans were among a few that opposed the regime. Unfortunately their opposition, and that of the other few that participated, fell on a sterile public.
The text is typical reportage. That's not a knock necessarily, but it almost seemed like overkill at times. I know that it is a measure of how corrupt the Baby Dub regime actually was. But the shear volume will never convince the uninterested who will not read all the many anecdotes of stage management that the troika (Cheny, Rumsfeld, Rice) obsessively orchestrated. It is a great compendium of tricks for the aspiring cardboard politicians following.
May 12, 2014
Like many books written in the wake of outrageous activities by the Bush/Cheney administration, Amy Goodman's "Static" follows a familiar pattern of delineating a list of crimes. However, "Static" then departs into territory not embraced by some of the more bestselling list chasers.
What Goodman does is take to the so-called trenches to report on those who indeed speak truth to power. Her chapter about Cindy Sheehan and others who resisted Bush in Crawford is important history, no matter how badly the commercial media might like to bury the protests.
Snappily written in terse journalistic style, Goodman's reporting crosses the line between fringe and mainstream quite gracefully and is definitely worth a reading by those who want to know a little more to the story of the real high crimes and misdemeanors of Bush/Cheney--during the Iraq war, during Hurricane Katrina and up to 2005, when the book was written.
What Goodman does is take to the so-called trenches to report on those who indeed speak truth to power. Her chapter about Cindy Sheehan and others who resisted Bush in Crawford is important history, no matter how badly the commercial media might like to bury the protests.
Snappily written in terse journalistic style, Goodman's reporting crosses the line between fringe and mainstream quite gracefully and is definitely worth a reading by those who want to know a little more to the story of the real high crimes and misdemeanors of Bush/Cheney--during the Iraq war, during Hurricane Katrina and up to 2005, when the book was written.
August 7, 2008
This is an easily read, well organized, and incredibly informative book. However, you have to leave your critical thinking hat on as, at times, the authors make no bones about inserting very strong opinions here and there mixed in with the shocking, well-sourced facts you came for.
This book will absolutely make you furious with its revelations on the corrupt dealings by governments, politicians, and corporations mixed with the mainstream media's complicity in it all. However it ends up on a hopeful note with two chapters devoted to showing instances where people were able to break through the "Static" in the mainstream and fight corruption.
I highly recommend this for people interested in the insanity of the world and ways to stop it.
This book will absolutely make you furious with its revelations on the corrupt dealings by governments, politicians, and corporations mixed with the mainstream media's complicity in it all. However it ends up on a hopeful note with two chapters devoted to showing instances where people were able to break through the "Static" in the mainstream and fight corruption.
I highly recommend this for people interested in the insanity of the world and ways to stop it.
September 6, 2010
Amy Goodman (host of Democracy Now!) and brother David Goodman provide an in-depth and unapologetic argument against the atrocities and civil-rights infringements committed by the Bush administration. Many of these allegations are widely known (illegal wiretapping, media manipulation and propaganda, Abu Ghraib abuse scandal, Gitmo, etc...), but the Goodmans take it one step further by investigating both previous administrations and global politics that have proven to be precursors to this tumultuous time.
A must-read for every American and social activist. As Michael Moore so aptly assessed "This book puts the pedal to the metal of the lies we're told, day in and day out...Pick up this book, shake your head in disbelief, and go raise some hell!"
A must-read for every American and social activist. As Michael Moore so aptly assessed "This book puts the pedal to the metal of the lies we're told, day in and day out...Pick up this book, shake your head in disbelief, and go raise some hell!"
January 13, 2009
For the most part this is a greatest hits compilation of victories scored in the bi-lateral war on human dignity waged by Corporate Media in tandem with the Bush Administration. Static is written with the same concise, no bullshit delivery as Goodman's daily missive, Democracy Now! You won't find great prose, just the important voices which the powers that be systematically silence with intimidation and obfuscate with layer upon layer of misinformation and propaganda. Real nightmare fuel at times, but hopeful in the end. A nice reminder of just how bad the last 8 years or so have been, in case you needed one.
February 14, 2008
This book is a great eye opener to the role that toadie media members have had in helping the bush cronies pull the wool over the eyes of the American Public. Perhaps if some of our Media members had the balls to tell the truth things would be quite different in this country. On the other hand, the information is out there. Maybe if the people in our country weren't such God Damn sheep and would seek knowledge from somwhere other than prime time Fox tv networks this country wouldn't be in such a pickle either!!> Just my 2 cents.
January 10, 2008
Amy and David Goodman provide a lot of information on the media, the Bush administration, and the political climate in the U.S. (and thus much of the world as well). Their research is complete and their examples are numerous and personal. Everyone should have to read this book to supplement other current events books/articles and to cut through the misinformation touted as news by many journalists. It warrants re-readings (if you can stomach it), and I promise you won't want to put it down. Also check out democracy now's podcast.
February 23, 2009
This is the second book by Amy and David Goodman that I have read, though I see that they have a new one out that I will have to get.
Again, here is reporting the way reporting should be done, by members of a shrinking class of true journalists (I group Greg Palast among this group). This book tackles both corrupt governments and the structure of the media which allows those governments to remain popular... or at least in control. I recommend this book to any fledgling journalist, and all fans of Amy's weekday show 'Democracy Now!', which I consider absolutely essential.
Again, here is reporting the way reporting should be done, by members of a shrinking class of true journalists (I group Greg Palast among this group). This book tackles both corrupt governments and the structure of the media which allows those governments to remain popular... or at least in control. I recommend this book to any fledgling journalist, and all fans of Amy's weekday show 'Democracy Now!', which I consider absolutely essential.
September 25, 2009
Entertaining and informative-but any book that portrays the Blank Panthers and SDS as peacful movements that were targeted by the government for no reason...........well that is plain wrong. There were a group of people that split from SDS and formed a terrorist group that bombed government officers and police stations-the buildings were empty and there were no deaths but does that excuse it? They also suggest that PETA is peaceful as well. I do agree that most of the mainstream media is deficent and or worthless but as with any ultra liberal book they rarely look at themselves.
March 19, 2014
The brother-sister team of Amy and Dan Goodman cut through the official static and tell the truth about war, torture, and the "government-controlled media."
The voices of dissidents and activists are given wings here, so one can become informed, fight back, and defend democracy.
In 2006, Michael Moore told us to pick up this book "and go raise some hell."
"The Bush administration fabricated the news, and corporate media mainlined lies onto the front page."
Controversial and scary stuff indeed.
The voices of dissidents and activists are given wings here, so one can become informed, fight back, and defend democracy.
In 2006, Michael Moore told us to pick up this book "and go raise some hell."
"The Bush administration fabricated the news, and corporate media mainlined lies onto the front page."
Controversial and scary stuff indeed.
January 11, 2008
Amy Goodman is fantastic as always. For those of you not familiar with her you should definately read one of her books or watch her show "Democracy Now!" Amy is one of the much needed voices of the current political arena who continues to challenge the moral obligations of humanity. Static is a well written examintion and uncovering of government secrets, corporate scandals which connects the dots between the media and the powers that be.
September 5, 2008
A good look inside the media/government relationship and many of the issues they are not reporting. I'm not into conspiracy theories or anything so I don't buy a lot of the "interesting" stuff I hear and read, but this is one that is filled with a lot of good, factual information. It is a few years old so some of the stuff isn't really "new" anymore, but it's still good to be reminded of the need to search out the truth in the world around us.
November 19, 2007
Static is a great rundown of everything that's been going on in this country for the last few years, everything that Amy Goodman's been covering on her radio show. But the book is a little choppy; it makes a better reference than a read.
December 8, 2021
I'm a huge fan of Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! ...her broadcast is one of the few places that I trust anymore to tell me what is going on at home and abroad without corporate or political censorship.
September 1, 2008
I saw Amy Goodman speak in college and was inspired. I love reading her books when I'm in the mood for some non-fiction. Very informative reads! (Extremely liberal viewpoints, but factual and little scary to think about how dysfunctional America is).
April 3, 2009
Excellent book if your interested in our media and what it has evolved into...I grew up with Walter Cronkite....boring guy but that was news. The book also gives you alternative sources and ways to get involved.
June 10, 2007
if you wanna get angry at the Bush administration, read this book
September 16, 2007
A lot of the information was not well-documented. It was interesting, but it was hard to tell which parts they had actually documented and which were their own opinions.
October 1, 2007
Seething political and cultural commentary and criticizm of the use of media to push conservative political issues and big business policy.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews