The Truth with Jokes

Franken, Al

3.87

8,205 ratings by Goodreads

ISBN 10: 1593357885 ISBN 13: 9781593357887

Publisher: Brilliance Audio, 2005

Al Franken's landmark bestseller, Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them€�a Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, was praised as a "bitterly funny assault" (The New York Times) that rang "with the moral clarity of an angel's trumpet" (Associated Press). Now, this master of political humor strikes again with a powerful and provocative message for all Americans. Because after Lies, comes The Truth€�. Al reveals the alarming story of how: � Bush (barely) beat Kerry with his campaign of "fear, smear, and queers," and then claimed a nonexistent mandate � Republicans decided that Terri Schiavo would make "a great political issue" � Conservatives sought to undermine Social Security by using a strategy borrowed from€� Vladimir Lenin � Tom DeLay is just an absolute horror show This is truly a book for everyone. If you were a Bush voter, Al wants to set aside partisan bitterness and talk about the better future Americans can build together for their children, grandchildre

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

Nearly a year after the presidential election of 2004, Al Franken is still checking facts, exposing lies, and trying to clear the record as he sees it. Sneering at President Bush's declaration of a mandate after a two-and-a-half percent victory, he deconstructs Bush's 2004 platform of "fear, smear, and queers," and explains how the president has done some flip-flopping of his own. He offers comment on well-known stories, including the Terri Schiavo case, and some more obscure, such as reports of forced prostitution, indentured servitude, and squalid conditions at clothing factories in Saipan (which is part of the American Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). Franken focuses on Tom DeLay's connection to the territory and his efforts to prevent bills from being passed that would have required Saipan to follow U.S. labor laws. Iraq, too, is discussed, from its planning stages to the huge sum of money currently unaccounted for, including $8.8 billion missing from the Coalition Provisional Authority's coffers.

On the home front, Franken covers President Bush's attempt at Social Security reform, explaining how they came up with the projected shortfall figure of $11 trillion. For one thing, they adjusted life expectancy to 150 years, while leaving the retirement age at 67: "That's an eighty-three-year retirement. They're never gonna get to that without stem cell research." He also takes some wickedly funny swipes at Karl Rove, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, pundits and hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, Tim Russert, and Sean Hannity, and, of course, President Bush. The Truth succeeds in providing ammunition to liberals and others dissatisfied with the current power base in Washington, D.C.--only this time (with jokes). --Shawn Carkonen

An Exclusive Video for The Truth (with jokes) from Al Franken

We try to keep things civil in our customer review section, but Al Franken, who apparently trained at the Saturday Night Live school of conflict mediation, didn't get the message in his exclusive video for his book The Truth (with Jokes): see high bandwidth and low bandwidth versions.

From the Back Cover:

"Devastating...The Truth keeps its promise to be funny about extremely unfunny matters. It matches Lies in wit, and its subjects are tougher. The gags have bite. . . .The book stays lively even when it dissects President Bush’s views on Social Security . . .And it is effectively leavened with bits of dialogue, many of them all too real."
—The New York Times

"Subtle, laugh-or-cry-out-loud and ultimately devastating . . .The Truth (with jokes) is guaranteed to rile the right again with its forensic lasering of Republican skullduggery and media mendacity, laced with sharp humor. . . . [Al Franken] is the voice the American left has been waiting for."
—The Guardian (London)

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.