false 1982536 3 Author Jim Hightower is not, as the title of his recent book about the George W. Bush administration indicates, a fan of equivocation. "The Bushites are--let me put this politely as I can--NUTS!" he writes, "They're insane. They're zealots totally dedicated to implementing their plutocratic, autocratic, militaristic, and imperialistic vision of America." The chapters in Hightower's book are prefaced by a series of reasons Bush fans may give for supporting the President followed by blistering and often highly entertaining refutations of those reasons. However, Hightower phrases the pro-Bush reasons to sound as boneheaded as possible, thus giving himself an easier time shooting them down. Meanwhile his down-home humor and polemical wackiness can be tiresome, occasionally getting in the way of efforts to clearly make a point. But don't be fooled by the wackiness: Hightower has done his homework and presents disturbing evidence of the dangers of Bush policy, particularly in the areas of food safety, personal privacy, and the environment. Unlike many on the left, he largely avoids the war in Iraq and the reasons given by the Bush administration for fighting it but that focus on domestic life helps Hightower avoid the pitfall of attacking everything Bush has ever done and being left to spend only a limited amount of time on each. <I>Let's Stop Beating Around the Bush</I> was published in July of 2004 just as the presidential election was heating up and it is very much a book of the moment, featuring references to the need to win the election and attempting to give those who oppose Bush some talking points for when they talk to those who support him. Neither those talking points nor this book are likely to change any minds but Jim Hightower's humor and energy provide are welcome in an election season. <I>--John Moe</I> 1986015 7 2004 Let's Stop Beating Around the Bush total:15|5:3|4:3|3:7|2:2| 15 52 18 2 5 0 false false Wed Jan 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 10:13:26 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 10:21:28 -0800 2009 Once more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Sep 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 20 07:52:28 -0700 2008 Tue Nov 11 15:22:19 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Apr 25 21:36:34 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 21:36:42 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Tue Mar 24 22:13:29 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 22:13:29 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Feb 12 22:54:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 22:54:00 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Mon Jan 05 08:40:26 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 03 14:02:14 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 05 08:40:26 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Sep 17 21:53:39 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 17 21:53:39 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Fri Aug 08 16:48:41 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 08 16:48:41 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Fri Jul 18 17:53:18 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 18 17:53:18 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sat Jun 28 08:30:07 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 28 08:30:07 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sun Mar 30 14:31:16 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 30 14:31:16 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Tue Mar 18 12:58:46 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 18 12:58:54 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Thu Feb 21 13:17:25 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 21 13:17:25 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Sun Feb 10 03:13:44 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 10 03:13:54 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Sat Jan 12 18:44:49 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 12 18:44:49 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Mon Dec 17 14:47:50 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 17 14:48:00 -0800 2007 3 0 false false Wed Aug 01 06:45:59 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 01 06:45:59 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Sun Jun 24 05:24:17 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 24 05:24:17 -0700 2007