Just when everything was starting to get back to normal and everyone was beginning to forget just how stupid this country can be sometimes, here comes Dennis Miller.

The host of HBO’s “Dennis Miller Live,” now in its fourth season, and author of the best-selling book, “The Rants,” Miller now has a follow-up with “Ranting Again.”

Who knew that one person could be so much of a smart-ass over and over again?

Miller tackles nearly 50 new topics, ranging from “The American Education System” to “UFOs.”

And no one is beyond an insult or two from the king of sarcasm, even the king himself.

In “Animal Rights,” Miller says, “Activists maintain that show business is demeaning to animals. Hey, it’s show business, it’s supposed to be demeaning. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not exactly doing Ibsen here, all right.”

From the first page, Miller draws laughs at the downright lack of common sense that some people have. In “Smoking,” Miller wisely points out, “If you’re saying you didn’t know cigarettes were bad for you, you’re lying through that hole in your trachea.”

Although Miller is usually hilarious in his political commentary, he is also a prime example of just how many political jokes can be too many.

“Ranting Again” can, at times, read like an inside joke between Miller and Washington. CNN-worshippers may be peeing their pants with laughter, but the rest of the cable-watching dead-heads are left going, “Huh?”

Sometimes, in between the laughs, you are left to wonder where Miller is coming from. His thoughts can come completely out of left field and blindside his victims.

But this “ranting” is often the genius of Miller. No one may know what he’s talking about, but the punchline is sure to come eventually.

Miller obviously cops to the fact that he is ranting about nothing. No one can say that they weren’t forewarned of the rambling to come.

Each mini-chapter begins with, “Now I don’t want to get off on a rant here, but…” and each ends with, “Of course that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.”

Miller’s latest book is full of smart and biting (not to mention funny) commentary on some of the nation’s most pressing issues. But the question remains: Just how many of us are intelligent enough to fully enjoy it?

Kelsey Foutch is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from Waterloo.