two new reviews - The Truth (with Jokes) and Dave Barry’s Money Secrets
The Truth (with Jokes)
Author:
Al Franken
Publisher:
Penguin Group
Date of Publication:
2005
ISBN:
0786561785
Rating:
8
Summary:
Back when Al Franken was on Air America and it was streamed online for free, I used to listen to him regularly. I don’t agree with all of his political positions (“some†is more accurate), but he does have at least one additional attraction: he really is quite funny. Combining politics and humor made his show appealing and I enjoyed it. This book came out about the time I was listening to him regularly (almost two years ago now) and I have wanted to read it ever since. I finally found a little bit of time, so here’s what I thought…
The book has two aims: (1) explain how George Bush won in 2004, and (2) illustrate how terrible the Bush Administration is (in particular) and Republicans are (in general). Franken’s arguments concerning number one boil down to three components – fear, smears, and queers. The first part should be fairly apparent – the Republicans used fear as the primary component of their campaign. In the run-up to the 2004 Presidential election, the Bush Administration tried to cast the decision between Kerry and Bush as a decision for or against terror. To do so they invoked fear, or as Franken puts it, “And that is almost literally the choice that Bush offered America’s voters on November 2, 2004: Vote Republican, or be ripped apart by dogs.†(p. 33). It wasn’t actually dogs, but more along the lines of “mushroom clouds†(actual quote) and terrorism (no need to quote; this was the 2004 Republican platform).
The second component Franken illustrates by dissecting the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads and claims. He basically illustrates that their claims were bald-faced lies and clearly were designed to smear Kerry. The most unfortunate thing about these claims is that so many people took them seriously and it actually seemed to work.
Finally, while accurately minimizing this component, Franken also points out that a hot-button issue was on the ballot in many states – amendments to state constitutions banning gay marriage. Franken draws on the work of political scientists to illustrate that these amendments did, in fact, have some influence on conservative voter turnout and that may have helped push Bush over the edge in pulling out a victory (though the other two components were more probably more important).
The second aim of the book is actually more implicit, as he does this just in passing. For instance, Franken attacks the current situation in Iraq and places the blame squarely on the Bush Administration, “If you’re curious why Iraq is in the crapper, it’s because everyone one of these eminently reasonable recommendations fell not on deaf ears, but on ears into which fingers had been deliberately inserted.†(p. 398). The recommendations to which Franken is referring are the many plans and ideas suggested by consultants and the military during the planning for the war. Franken builds a fairly persuasive argument to indicate that the Bush Administration quite literally ignored all of this advice, resulting in the quagmire that is now Iraq.
Review:
I read Barak Obama’s latest book “The Audacity of Hope†shortly after reading this one (but obviously before writing this review). The tones are quite different and I think reading Obama’s book has led me to soften my views on Franken’s book somewhat. Don’t get me wrong, I still agree with a lot of what Franken writes and I think his analysis is pretty accurate in a lot of ways, but I also see the merit to Obama’s more centrist and empathetic perspectives.
That said, Franken has finally done what I think most future political writers are going to have to do: he turned to the scientific community to support his arguments. For instance, Franken draws on social psychological research in Terror Management Theory to bolster his argument that fear-mongering, particularly death-related thoughts, leads people to prefer charismatic/visionary leaders (e.g., Bush) over task-oriented or relationship-oriented leaders (e.g., Kerry). In terms of beliefs, thoughts of death also lead people to favor preexisting cultural worldviews (e.g., conservatism) as opposed to more liberal or radical worldviews (e.g., liberalism). The fact that Franken actually cites some peer-reviewed literature was encouraging. He doesn’t claim to be an expert, but he does at least recognize the importance of basing his claims on empirical science and not just on opinions. It was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise empiricism-absent political arena.
For most individuals who keep up with the news and current events, much of the information in this book won’t be surprising (and by keeping up with the news and current events I mean reading something other than the Wall Street Journal and watching something other than Fox News). But a few of the things Franken noted surprised me. For instance, Bush claimed the loss of 3 million jobs from 9/11; the Bureau of Labor Statistics put the number at 125,637 (pp. 56-57). The fact that a politician misstated numbers isn’t surprising (this isn’t something unique to Republicans, of course), but I just hadn’t heard the BLS numbers before. The most surprising datum, however, was this one about post-conflict casualties in former wars, “Bush partisans like to point out that after World War II, it took years to form democratic governments in Germany and Japan. What they won’t tell you is that the total number of post-conflict American combat casualties in Germany, Japan, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo is zero, a number invented by Arab mathematicians like Ahmed Chalabi.†(p. 466; I like the joke at the end, too). I had heard that post-conflict occupations in Germany and Japan took a long time (a lot longer than four years), but I had not heard that there had been no casualties. Making this comparison, then, is really like comparing apples with oranges and is a disingenuous comparison for Republican spinners to make.
Overall, I think Franken does a good job of building and supporting his arguments. While he is probably overly partisan (he seldom criticizes Democrats, who certainly aren’t immune to criticism), he does make a lot of good points. And, he’s funny (in fact, laugh-out-loud funny at times). As is often the case in the U.S. (as Barak Obama points out in his excellent book), the people who read this book are more than likely going to be people who agree with it to begin with. That’s unfortunate, as it does have some compelling arguments. But at least Franken’s choir-directed preaching is laden with jokes, which does make the book well worth reading.
Dave Barry’s Money Secrets: Like: Why Is There a Giant Eyeball on the Dollar?
Author:
Dave Barry
Publisher:
Brilliance Audio
Date of Publication:
2006
ISBN:
1597371653
Rating:
7
Summary:
Dave Barry tackles many of the most common financial questions people have… using humor, sarcasm, and satire. The topics he addresses range from: investing in the stock market to buying a home to how to perform well as a CEO. The real irony, of course, is that despite his humorous treatment of all of these topics, the book basically does reflect a pretty accurate understanding of many of these financial issues: (1) the average layperson is very likely to get screwed financially over the course of their life, (2) wealthy people will remain wealthy but probably become even more wealthy, and (3) poor people may as well give up hope now.
Review:
I’m a regular reader of Dave Barry’s columns and have always found his writing witty and entertaining. Barry has a keen ability to paint normal human behavior with the brush of humor. Barry’s style of humor is well-suited for this topic, even if the book isn’t uproariously hilarious throughout (it’s pretty funny, but not consistently funny).
As I mentioned above, the real irony in this book is that, despite blatantly poking fun of these topics, Barry is often right about them. For instance, Barry explains that paper money only has value because we all agree to behave as though it has value – which he considers to be laugh-out-loud hilarious in and of itself (and, in a sense, it is). He is, of course, right – that is the only reason paper money and electronic currency have value. His explanation of the economy (that no one really understands how it works – especially economists) is also pretty accurate. Barry takes on popular “financial gurus,†like Suze Orman, as well. I loved his satirical treatment of her books, which he ultimately points out is how Suze Orman makes her money – by selling people books, not by doing what she tells them to do (why else would she be writing these books?). Barry skewers CEOs as bumbling morons (literally, he uses the word “moron†dozens of times). He talks about how office furniture must give off “moron-rays†as there is no other explanation for how: (1) CEOs make such stupid decisions; (2) corporate boards decide to keep these CEOs despite their stupid decisions; and (3) CEOs make so much money. According to Barry, the only explanation is moron-ray emitting office furniture. Barry also skewers stockbrokers, who only give one piece of advice, ever, “Buy stocks†(because they’re stockbrokers, of course!) and stock analysts who basically have no idea why stocks go up or down and are about as good at predicting stock price changes as psychics are at actually reading your mind. Barry’s thoughts on the stock market: You’re better off betting your money at a casino than on the stock market. At a casino you know your odds; in the stock market you have no idea if there are even odds and even less of an idea what might happen to your money.
I think my favorite chapter – probably because it is currently relevant to one of my major preoccupations at the moment – is Barry’s advice on buying a house, “Don’t buy an old house, it will fall apart. Don’t buy a new house, it will fall apart.†In short, don’t buy a house – or, at least, don’t expect any house you buy to actually make you money. Barry details all the many ways he has lost money on both old and new homes, illustrating that it really doesn’t matter what you buy, homes are expensive to own.
Overall, for a good laugh at the rather ridiculous sphere of life we call “money management,†this book is worth picking up. As with most of Dave Barry’s humor you have to know what he is talking about in order to get the humor. As a result, the book won’t really teach anyone anything, but it is mildly entertaining.
(Note: I listened to this book as an mp3 on my iPod.)
