<![CDATA[The Truth (With Jokes)]]>

false <![CDATA[The Truth (With Jokes)]]> 23576 13 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 1106898 2005 The Truth (With Jokes) total:1549|5:318|4:666|3:467|2:84|1:14| 1549 5837 1896 132 3 1 false false Wed Dec 31 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 28 07:53:25 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 08:25:15 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Sep 25 08:49:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 09:00:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Mar 20 16:32:23 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 01 00:07:43 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 20 16:32:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Jul 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 17:04:12 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 17:04:12 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Wed Dec 24 08:13:09 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 19:39:18 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 24 08:13:09 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 12:21:45 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 14:50:11 -0700 2009
Senator Franken does a great job at looking at a certain political moment; rehashing the various t...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 07:56:30 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 07:59:35 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 3 0 true false Fri Feb 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 18:23:44 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 18:28:06 -0800 2009
Although i loved his trashing of the right wing media in the first of these, this book showed an extreamly positive view of the Democratic Party which I think detr...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jun 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 14:38:43 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 13 19:57:44 -0700 2009
This was an entertaining and educational book by one of my favorite SNL alums. It is basically an anti-Bush tirade written after the surprise "mandate" of the 2004 election. Attacking W mostly peripherally, Franken focuses m...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 20 14:02:25 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 20 14:43:25 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 08 00:51:57 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 08 01:10:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Mar 24 10:58:41 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 24 11:10:06 -0700 2008 Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, which was heavier on the funny and lighter on the serious s...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Dec 02 01:21:55 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 02 01:21:55 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 24 00:17:37 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 24 00:27:24 -0700 2007 Lies ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Oct 10 12:13:30 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 05 10:46:04 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 05 11:07:45 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Jan 09 19:03:33 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 19:05:58 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 08:43:10 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 08:46:54 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Dec 05 09:36:18 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 09:37:17 -0800 2008 For the rest of us who can think and enjoy jokes at the same time EXCELLENT READ!!!]]> 2 0 false false Sat Feb 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 07 17:42:08 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 07 08:58:40 -0800 2009
I did not finish this book for the above reason but also because the narrative is disjointed. For what Franken's tryign to do -- critique the ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Nov 19 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 18:37:43 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 18:40:35 -0800 2008
I finally felt able to read this now that Obama's been elected.

Good luck, Al! Just a couple of hundred votes to go!!

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