January 20, 2006 by s.z.

News Flash: Unhinged Liberals Post Factious Amazon Reviews of Kate O'Beirne's Book

 National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez brings us the story:

[Y]ou might think that Kate O'Beirne should be pretty pleased .

No, I would never think that Kate should be pretty, no matter her emotional state.  [Okay, that was a cheap shot, but as a deranged liberal, I was compelled to make it.]

It would appear that, as of Thursday morning, not only had at least 500 people read her new book, but it had made enough of an impression on them that they were compelled to review it on Amazon.com. [...] But, of course, that's not quite how it works.

It isn't?  Wow, color me disillusioned!

There are no truth tests to make sure you actually read a book you claim to be reviewing. And, as anti-Women Who Make the World Worse Internet efforts make clear, the Amazon customer-review and ratings system appears to be easily susceptible to juvenile ideological manipulation.

Say it ain't so, Kathryn Jean!  You mean the guy who gave Al Franken's The Truth (With Jokes one star and said, "Since when has a democrat EVER told the truth?" might not have actually read the book?  And he could have been indulging in juvenile ideological manipulation?  I am, like, so totally bummed by the fact that Amazon doesn't give polygraphs to all customer reviewers before letting them post that I will never read a book again!

To give you an idea of what the comments look like, here’s what I saw when I checked Thursday morning: 124 of 143 people found the review noting Women Who Make the World Worse’s revelation that Kate "slept with Ted Kennedy" helpful. The Ted Kennedy thing does not, as you might have guessed, appear in the book. (And, uh, didn't happen. National Enquirer, don't come knocking at NR for your next "love child" story.)

It didn't happen? And it doesn't appear in the book?  Well, there goes my only reason for purchasing a copy.

These haven't been 500 random people taking it upon themselves to do the trashing of Kate's Amazon page. It's been a little more coordinated than that. Taking a quick Google tour of the Women Who Make the World Worse mentions, we see that one blogger gives kudos for faux reviewers' work: "I want to thank everyone who aided in the sacking of Kate O'Beirne's book Women Who Make the World Worse over at Amazon."

Ah, yes -- that would have been blogger Jane Hamsher of Firedog Lake.  I think her unkindness towards Kate's book could have been avoided if only the captain of the football team had invited Jane to the junior prom when she was in high school.  (In fact, if only the jocks had paid more attention to Jane when she was a teen, I'm sure she would have not only abandoned feminism, she would also have given up on that whole "law" thing, and would have found her proper niche as a surrendered wife and mother -- like Kate did.)

The whole "sacking" is a shame. Women Who Make the World Worse should incite a constructive debate.

That's why the publisher put such a constructive image on the cover on this tome.

That's not what we're watching happen on the Net at the moment, however. It's pretty evident that the most unhinged and motivated of Kate's detractors have neither read her book nor intend to.

Personally, I'm happy when the most unhinged of my detractors don't read my work -- but then I'm not charging for it. 

Anyway, Kathryn Jean seems to think that the way it should work is that Kate writes a mean-spirited and partisan book, and her publisher puts an inflammatory cover and title on it -- and then people who might be offended by the book buy copies of it, read it thoughtfully, and then engage in a reasoned and mannered discussion of how they are making the world worse.

Of course, we didn’t really need the admission [that the Amazon reviewers haven't all read Kate's book]; the lead customer review on Amazon for a few days now — besides citing “her frequent attacks against the television show, ‘Sex in the City,’” (good luck finding them in the book — they aren’t in there)

So, the photo of Carrie Bradshaw on the cover was just a case of "bait and switch"?  I think everyone who actually bought a copy should join in a class action suit against Kate's publisher!

— says:

As much as I enjoyed this book, I can't give it more than a single star because it has a fatal flaw. It promotes the most destructive myth of all, the existence of lesbianism. Mrs. O'Beirne discusses it throughout the book as if it is something that is real. She doesn't seem to be able to understand that women can't have sex with each other.

There’s not a single mention of lesbians in the book. That reviewer’s got his own vast-right-wing-conspiracy book fantasy going on.

Yes, General J.C. Christian does have his own conspiracies going on, but he would wrestle any man who claims that he's part of the unhinged Left (he wouldn't wrestle K.Lo, but that's because she's a woman, and it's not seemly for men to do that kind of thing with members of the weaker sex).  Clearly, Kathryn has not done her research, or she wouldn't be making cracks about the General's fantasies about lesbians, since everyone knows that the General is NOT turned on by the idea of women having sex.

Much of the WWMTWW debate on Amazon.com is simply juvenile and speaks for itself. I'd just ignore it, but

But ...

• Kathryn's column deadline was due, and she couldn't think of anything else to write about?
• She needed something to convince the troops that they were once again being martyred by powerful left-wing forces?
• She couldn't bear the thought of a fellow National Review employee having to pay back the advance from her publisher?
• She was afraid that NR's reputation would suffer if people believed that Kate really did have an affair with Ted Kennedy?

Yes, why did Kathryn Jean think that she needed to inform the world that many of the Amazon reviews of Kate's book were not serious considerations of the merits of a work of which evenPublisher's Weekly said had as its central focus "smearing powerful, left-wing women"?

but in the interest of making the world better (that's the kinda woman I try to be) I’d like to get some of this on record.

Um, so this column was to make the world better.  Got it.

Maybe it will help the Left admit it has a problem.

I think the Left's problem is that Duran Duran never answered any of the letters it wrote to the group back in high school.

And just a final word to the subjects of our intervention attempt here. Don’t worry: Reading Women Who Make the World Worse is Step 2 — right after admitting you have a problem. You'll be helped yet. Just lay off the "reviews," and get reading.

Next time:  In order to make the world a better place, K.Lo conducts an intervention with the writers of "The Simpsons."  She informs them that they're going to hell for mocking Catholicism and for calling the President "Commander Cuckoo Bananas," and she tells them the first step after admitting they have a problem is to stop writing.  They thank her, give up comedy, and start attended Sunday School every week.  And the world is much, much better.

5:01:17 PM