'Of Course It Hurts; You are Being Screwed by an Elephant'

Posted by Don Hazen at 10:13 PM on December 22, 2005.

Someone once said roughly, "if you are going to get an idea across to Americans, it has to fit on a bumper sticker."

Well, it turns out a lot of funny and dark stuff can fit on a bumper sticker as Olivia Greer and Aaron Rudenstine* show in their clever, funny, and subversive Actions Speak Louder Than Bumper Stickers. In this sharply designed little masterpiece of a book, you will find not only 96 of the best smart ass statements, but facotids that will make you sound smart, backed up by sources and research. Imagine... all in a bumper sticker book.

The facts with the bumper sticker "Slower Minds Keep Right," offers that the political terms LEFT and RIGHT referred originally to the seating arrangements of the various legislative bodies during the French Revolutionary era. The aristocracy and other supporters of the monarchy sat to the right of the Speaker; commoners and other supporters of reform sat to the Left. Interesting.

Greer, an up and coming singer/song writer, and Rudenstine, a young entrepreneur with a stint at the Kerry campaign under his belt, both twenty-somethings, show the kind of pizzazz that we want from their generation. It gives me hope... and they are not afraid, as one of the bumper stickers suggests: "Police State: Coming Soon to a Democracy Near You," or relevant to everyday life: "My Kid is an Honor Student; My President is a Moron." Buy a few, or a dozen and make your friends and family laugh out loud.


* Disclosure: Olivia Greer once worked as an intern for me. I was lucky. And I went for a hike with both Aaron and Olivia this summer down the cliffs at Big Sur. That was fun.

Don Hazen is the executive editor of AlterNet.