Fraud: The Strategy Behind the Bush Lies and Why the Media Didn't Tell You

Book Description

"Waldman gets right to the heart of the con." -Greg Palast, author of the New York Times bestseller, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

How to Build a Fraud --Portray son of one of America's most influential families as down-home Texan --Berate media as "liberal" until they stop asking tough questions --Take advantage of reporters' tendency to not check the facts --Mask reactionary policies in compassionate words and pictures --Push false stories from right-wing media into mainstream media --Extol the virtues of workers while systematically pushing an anti-labor agenda --Propose a series of tax cuts aimed at the wealthy, but sell them as a boon to ordinary Americans --Disguise destructive initiatives with friendly sounding names --Befriend media with "genuine guy" routine --Keep the public from accessing information --Maintain message discipline at all times --Question patriotism of anyone who disagrees --Repeat above until it all seems true

In Fraud, leading political and media analyst Paul Waldman exposes the truth behind the rise of George W. Bush. What is revealed is more shocking than just a pattern of lies and incompetence. It is the story of how a clever political machine built a high-stakes game of deception, a policy of lies to capture the highest office in the free world, a fraud that continues to this day.

The power of the fraud lies in the ability of the Bush machine to manipulate the press, and thereby avoid having the truth exposed. Waldman's findings reveal an astonishing record of how the nation's media has not only given Bush a pass again and again, but have failed to follow up on even the most openly dishonest parts of the Bush agenda.

For all Americans who have been uneasy about the honesty of the Bush administration, but unsure what it means or how far it goes, Fraud is a shocking wake-up call.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent, Logical Arguments.......2006-09-24

This book has excellent arguments which shows that various major media providers put George Bush in a false light, a pretty one, in order to make him out to be a good or innocent person when in reality, he is not at all.

Mr. Waldman skillfully and logically explained using even subtle evidences as to how the media puts him in an undeserved good light.

One of the things I found fault with however was that he said that George Bush was not evil, yet ironically, his description of Bush, despite whatever else Waldman was saying about Bush Jr. in his book, was a man who with the help of his friends and allies as well, made and makes deliberate efforts to portray him as someone who he is not, that includes him having a humble, God-fearing personality, and who is honest about his true goals for the laws and speeches he makes. For example, Bush hiding the fact that his true intent is to fatten the rich and keep the poor poor. According to the Bible, and many major religions, and even obscure ones, to give to the rich (those who already have) as well as steal from and oppress the poor, especially to fatten the rich by doing so, is EVIL. Even non-religious people sense that to take advantage of the poor to increase the wealth of people who are already rich is an evil act.

Despite that flaw, this book is a great help for reformed type Christians in showing the hellish direction the U.S.A. and the countries it oppresses are going.

Very interesting book..........explains media oversight.......2006-07-23

Paul Waldman exposes one of the most corrupt Presidents to take office and the news media that has supported him.

Fraud shows how the public has been grossly misled. The American Media has portrayed President Bush in a favorable light. Partly because they are gullible, partly because I suspect the news media is owned by very wealthy individuals or large corporations and partly because the Bush Administration has used "bullying tactics" to get bias coverage.

If one looks closer you see that the facts speak for themselves and Paul Waldman lays down the facts.

This book not only lists many of the lies uttered and policies enacted by our 43rd President but lists the exact sources of information (like a college thesis paper) so there is no doubt as to the validity of the information provided. This isn't "Bush Bashing" as much as it's a laying down of documented utterings by none other then W himself.

People that are still pro Bush will not see this, they will make excuses and allowances for the more then 262 lies documented as the American Public sees what they want to see.

We have a President that has bent all rules in favor of his own personal agenda vs the public good. He habitually says one thing, the press reports what he says and then he turns around and quietly does whatever he wants. The media seems to not see or want to see the discrepancy and in the process Americans are being deceived.

I suspect historians will verify that Fraud was accurate and the American People were misled.

I found page 52 very interesting, here Paul Waldman compares Bill & Hilary Clinton's Whitewater scandal to George W. Bush's Harkin Scandal and shows how the American News Media has twist and shaped the publics perception in favor of George Bush Jr.

The Whitewater Scandal was the target of an Independent Counsel investigation that spent more than $70 million in taxpayer funds. And how much money was involved? Approximately $220,000.

George W. Bush made $848,560 on his "timely sale" of Harken stock, the $20 million in losses Harken hid from shareholders, and the $8 million in sham profit it created out of thin air with the Aloha deal".

The New York Times ran more than 1,000 articles on Whitewater and only 9 for Harken. Seems the press largely ignored the "Harken Scandal" while climbing all over Whitewater.

The above is only one sample of how the news media has failed the American People big time. We're not getting the full unbiased story. The public at large has no comprehension of the extent we are being manipulated by the press.

Reviews by Nan Kilar and Bobby Miller.......2006-04-12

Lucid and compelling. By far one of the best anti-Bush books I've read. It's done with a scholar's scrupulous attention. Waldman placed this book at the head of the line with me by repeatedly providing thought provoking comparisons. Frankly, I'd like to compare it with my anti-Bush book, but really the two are incomparable. You will see Bush as he really is. What you will learn, and this pleases me because I've been, okay I'll say it, preaching that Bush is not some dumb clown that doesn't know his left from his right. He knows damn well what he's doing and he's doing it according to plan like a champ. The greatest trick the devil ever played on earth was to convince people he didn't exist. The pleasure was all mine, Waldman.

How to talk to a conservative, if you must.......2006-03-28

This book was a phenomenal, well-written expose of George Bush. As one reviewer put it, it is an encyclopedia of every thing that is wrong with George Bush, and the fraud he has perpetrated on the American public.

Waldman catalogues so many facts and attributions per page, it is difficult to read so many pages in one sitting, because you want to absorb the messages. This book is filled with footnotes and appendices and nexus searches. It is impossible here to list all the things that Waldman describes in detail: his drunkeness, arrests, insider trading, favored military treatment, sleazy campaign attacks, the administration chickenhawks, and his lies about everything from WMD's to taxes.

Waldman writes well. His message is clear, concise, and easy to follow. His arguments are compelling and unassailable. If you are still uncertain, read all the one star reviews and look at what they attack: the editorial spelling of a latin phrase, or a dismissive, shrill-like, paragraph without a single, intelligent, cogent analysis, refutation of fact, or challenge of Waldman's work. That may be your best recommendation.

I hope he writes another one about the second term. I'll stand in line for it.

If you want one book that will teach you how to talk to a conservative, this is definitely one of the very best.

How Bush Makes Clinton Look Saintly!.......2005-12-29

Waldman provides a good compilation of Bush and his Administration's lies and manipulations of the truth. While little is presented that is new, having it summarized in one place helps shock readers who have become innured to what has been going on, or may have been too busy to notice.

Examples from the book include:

1)Bush likes to brag about his "business experience." The reality is that he ran three oil companies into the ground, and achieved baseball ownership status only through a sweetheart deal with some of his father's friends. Further, evidence strongly indicates that Bush was guilty of insider trading, and he has refused to release documents relevant to the case. (The SEC, led by a Bush, Sr. appointee, found no problems and closed the case.) Finally, one of the companies Bush was a director for also set up a phony Cayman Island subsidiary to dodge American taxes.

2)Bush gave the impression that Ken Lay (Enron CEO) was but a distant and minor supporter. Reality is that no company gave Bush more money over the course of his political career than Enron.

3)Waldman claims "Orwellian Misdirection" is a favorite Bush tool in which the speaker accuses his opponents of the very thing of which he is guilty. For example, when questioned about his extraordinary fundraising during the 2000 campaing, Bush accused his opponents of being the real profligates.

4)Bush vetoed a Texas patients' bill of rights which was then passed veto-proof and without his signature. When accused of not supporting patients' bill of rights, he claimed to have brought Republicans and Democrats together to accomplish such. (Note: No such bill has moved at the Federal level since Bush became President.)

5)Bush claimed his 2003 tax-cut plan would allow 92 million Americans to keep an average of $1,083 more of their own money. The reality was that the numbers were badly distorted by benefits received by the rich, and 66 million would only benefit by an average $19.

6)Efforts to repeal the "estate tax" instead referred to it as the "death tax." In reality, it then only involved the wealthiest 2%, though thanks to the confusion generated half of Americans believed that most families would have to pay estate tax when someone died.

An important read for any citizen seeking to be well-informed.

The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq

Average customer rating:

Informative Read
Very Interesting
The BushLegend Continues
not a bush basher
The book is indeed correct - Iraq is a SUPERMESS now !

The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq
Christopher Scheer , Lakshmi Chaudhry , and Robert Scheer
Manufacturer: Seven Stories Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Iraq | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1583226443

Book Description

A Copublication of Seven Stories Press and Akashic Books

The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq is the first book to hold the president and his team accountable for the government's campaign of disinformation leading up to the war in Iraq. The administration repeatedly attested that Saddam Hussein had developed weapons of mass destruction and was close to using them; downplayed the cost and risk of the proposed invasion and occupation; shamelessly evoked the atrocious abuse of power of Hussein and his family while brooking no commitment to rebuild the country after the terrifying "shock and awe" campaign, or to do anything to improve the lot of the Iraqi people; and, most outrageously, provided substanceless theory linking Saddam Hussein to the attacks of September 11, thereby cynically manipulating the anger and sorrow of the American citizenry. The charade has culminated in the slow bloodletting of U.S. forces still stationed in Iraq, held there because it would not be politically expedient to admit the failure of "democratization."

While Bush II appears intent on conducting an unending global war against "evildoers," little public debate has gone into assessing the aims and strategies of such a broad campaign. In The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq, coauthors Christopher and Robert Scheer and Lakshmi Chaudhry of the influential web magazine AlterNet.org have aggregated the hard questions that the purported leadership of the U.S. must answer.

Christopher Scheer is managing editor of AlterNet.org, the popular news and commentary website. Scheer has written screenplays for Oliver Stone and previously worked for the San Francisco Examiner. Robert Scheer is the author of six books, the host of NPR affiliate KCRW's "Left, Right, and Center," and a contributing editor to both the Los Angeles Times and The Nation. Lakshmi Chaudhry is an editor at Alternet.org.

Customer Reviews:

Informative Read.......2007-05-11

I found the book to be informative. Being able to read it 4 years after it was published adds a strong current of correctness to the book as some of the things that the authors write about have come true - billions of dollars spent, US lives lost, Iraq still a mess etc.

This book is valuable reading and should create some important questions about the Iraq situation. It is a worthy complement to Bob Woodward's trilogy on the Bush Administration.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-09

This is an interesting book. Anyone who is interested in an alternative to the right wing talk radio and tv news should seriously consider checking out the Thom Hartmann radio show opposite Rush Limbaugh weekdays at: thomhartmann dot com / showlisten.shtml

Whether democrat, republican, or indepedent, so many of the facts out there are completely ignored by the mainstream media and talk shows. This show is one strong example of an examination of the facts regardless of your political affiliation. I am not affiliated with the show in any way, just struck by the facts so many seem to ignore.

The BushLegend Continues.......2006-10-25

The Five Biggest Lies was not the first book I've read on George W. Bush and or his misadventure and it probably won't be the last. Obviously, from the title, one can deduct that this is not a book that praises the forty-third president. The book is well written and planned and is generally about what the title describes - the five major fallacies that were given as the rationale for the unprovoked aggression of Iraq. It is basically set forth in an outline style, starting with an introduction, then a chapter on the reasoning and methodology behind the deception. The deceptions themselves follow, with a chapter allocated to each lie, followed by the conclusion.

The chapters outlining the five lies are titled by the lies:
1. Al Qaeda's ties to Iraq.
2. Iraq's Chemical and Biological Weapons
3. Iraq's Nuclear Weapons
4. The War Will Be a `Cakewalk'
5. Iraq as a Democratic Model
6. Conclusion

Al Qaeda's ties to Iraq

The authors methodically expose this deceit pointing to the fact that all of the prewar suppositions regarding an alleged tie between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein had previously been discredited. Yet, as in the pattern of other falsehoods, these lies mysteriously found their way back into the conversations and speeches of administration officials.

Iraq's Chemical and Biological Weapons

Another stretch by the administration that had been debunked previously, even as the administration members continued to talk about Chemical and Biological WMD. They shamelessly continued to use this discounted intelligence as a pretext for invasion. Even though the United States and the UN had Hussein in a box, in control of only a third of his country and was unable to reconstitute chemical and biological programs; the administration pointed to this phantom program as a grave world threat.

Iraq's Nuclear Weapons

This may have been the largest and most damaging of the fabrications. Everything that the administration put forward to justify their mushroom cloud scenario had already been discredited numerous times and in many ways, yet the people in Rumsfeld's personal intelligence gatherers, whose only purpose was to dig up intelligence that would support the administration position, wouldn't let it die. This despite the fact that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said there was no evidence of any kind of WMD in Iraq and weapon inspectors had come up empty. Vice President Cheney in no uncertain terms said they were "Flat wrong." Well, the head of IAEA ended up with a Nobel Peace Prize and we ended up with a quagmire.

The War Will be a `Cakewalk'

Here again the administration's leading Hawk, VP Cheney was head cheerleader for invasion by going on TV and saying the war would be a "cakewalk." Others treated the invasion in a cavalier manner as well. The administration planned on reducing troop levels to 30,000 troops within three months.

The authors point out that this may be the only inadvertent lie, with administration officials truly believing their own hyperbole in this case.

Iraq as a Democratic Model

This is, of course, the back up rationale for the invasion of Iraq, but it was the primary policy on a position of expansion and policing, which authors put forth in the conclusion.
The authors don't disagree with the idea of a model democracy in the Middle East but it is generally conceived that if such an event were to occur it would have to be nurtured, not imposed from the end of a gun.

Conclusion

The authors postulate that the invasion of Iraq was the first salvo in a new grandiose, radical foreign policy of deterrence by aggression. In doing this the administration made numerous assumptions, all of which turned out to be fallacious. Instead the results of the invasion had the opposite effect, bogging us down in Iraq, helpless to confront other developing mischief in the globe, ie. Iran and North Korea.

My Thoughts

This book only deals with the lead up to the war and the very beginnings, having being published in October, 2003, yet the authors seem quite prescient, having correctly predicting the present situation in Iraq.

Like the other similar books I have devoured, it is meant to be informative and factual. It is probably directed at the average Bush supporter who seem to shun being confused with facts and therefore would not be caught within a mile of such `dreck.'

Therefore this book and others like it serve as kindling, inflaming the passions of those of us that believe Dubya is, at best, a study in mediocrity. It reinforces our incredulity that this man was re-elected. I don't know about others, but it makes be mad at the voters that voted, with whatever stupid reason in mind, for Bush. I can truthfully say, not a day goes by that I haven't marveled at the fact that this man is our President.

not a bush basher.......2005-11-30

I am not a Bush fan, neither am I a Bush basher. I was with him
until Iraq happened.This book is different from other Bush-bashing books I've read, because it focuses only on one thing:
Iraq. And it only gives 5 reasons why the author feels Bush lied. The most intriguing thing about the book, is that 4 of the 5 reasons the Bush administration gave for invading Iraq, have come to be considered false or weak reasons, by everyone from weapons inspectors, politicians on both sides, and the general public, to our foreign allies covering most of the globe.

The book is indeed correct - Iraq is a SUPERMESS now !.......2005-06-16

Even Republicans are now worried and even the famous "Mr. Freedom Fries" Congressman is jumping on board to withdraw troops from Iraq as it's now clear that like LBJ made a mess with Vietnam, Bush made a mess with Iraq by he and his cronies brainwashing the public with lies. This book isn't a bad start for opening up the dirty rotten truth about the Iraq war. The only people who hate this book appear to be the neocons !

Average customer rating:

Riding his brother's coattails..
Bad writing.
Not worth the money
strange
There Are Much Better Books Critical of Bush

Bush Lies In State
Malachy McCourt
Manufacturer: Sensei Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0975574604

Book Description

Being the decent man he is, Malachy McCourt has written a compassionate (but devilishly funny) book about George "Wanker" Bush and his practically unnoticed (but major failing) as president — Bush is an alcoholic.

Bush Lies in State is a collection of 24 essays and performance pieces finely tooled to cleanse and disinfect the government by exposing the lies, violence, and hypocrisy of our current, soon-to-be-ex-President, "Blinky bin Bush" and his "Texiban." Malachy McCourt's distinctive voice rings throughout. As an often-published expert on the subjects of alcoholism and recovery (as well as politics), Malachy has no trouble identifying George W. Bush as a "dry drunk," someone who no longer takes alcohol, but retains all the worst behaviors of the full-blown alky. Worse yet, the disease seems to be contagious, with our whole country now behaving like a dry drunk! The only cure is regime change in 2004.

Customer Reviews:

Riding his brother's coattails.........2006-07-06

Reading Malachy McCourt puts me in mind of the musical Taylor family (singer/songwriters James, Alex, Livingston, Kate, et al): one sibling has exceptional talent, enjoys commercial and artisitic success and the other sibs try to "ride the wave". If it weren't for Brother Frank's brilliance, Malachy's work would very likely never see print. There's nothing really imaginative or informative within these rants, and more coherent and convincing arguments regarding Bush's shortcomings have been made elsewhere. My suggestion: save your money, buy whatever Frank writes next.

Bad writing........2006-02-05

"Essay" is a generous term for the miasma of loosely related run-on sentences that comprise this book. These essays are laden with rambling, egoistic, juvenile arguments, only a few of which are rescue by McCourt's humor. As in "A Monk Swimming" and "Singing My Him Song", McCourt shows a fine lyrical voice, but no sense of objectivity. He seems to prefer cliches to realistic descriptions.

Malachy McCourt is a man of many talents but writing does not seem to be among them. Those who buy this book expecting the skillful prose of a Frank McCourt will be disappointed.

Not worth the money.......2005-11-29

This McCourt Brother is not a good writer. His style is tedious and he has nothing new to say. Don't waste your money on this one-go to the library. I am sure there will be copies available.

strange.......2005-10-20

ive never seen malachy mccourt and micheal moore in the same place at the same time ...could it be they are one and the same?theyve written the same book in the same period of time and both are enjoyable as well as insightful its just strange how this worked out.sad to say the bush still burns the cheney dick still stands and our country is much worse for it but we got what we deserve we gave the bush league a blank check and our blessings.as i write this king george is trying to install his nanny on the supreme court thats america.

There Are Much Better Books Critical of Bush.......2005-05-26

I do like Malachy McCourt a lot and I might add too, that it was a pleasure seeing him again and meeting his friend - and fellow Stuyvesant High School alumnus - Charles L. DeFanti at an outdoor display where Malachy was selling copies of this book last October at the annual "New York is Book Country" street fair. However, I strongly disagree with the opinions expressed by both Malachy and Charles in their Amazon.com reviews written below. If you are an ardent critic of President George W. Bush there are other, more astute - and better written - books critical of him than "Bush Lies In State". Alas I can't think of any, except for David Corn's "The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception" which is also offered for sale here at Amazon.com (David Corn is the Washington editor of The Nation magazine.).

"Bush Lies In State" is a thin tome of ad hominim attacks on President Bush that were published originally in several Manhattan newspapers, most notably "Our Town" and the "West Side Spirit". I have had the pleasure of writing some very critical letters of some of these columns that were published in both newspapers, putting a comical satirical spin on some of Malachy's worst prose, by mentioning Malachy's latest adventures as a former Bajoran terrorist aboard the starship USS Limerick in a potential television series "Star Trek: The McCourt Factor". The Limerick's ongoing mission is "to seek out new life, new civilizations and to boldy go where no Irish have gone before" (EDITORIAL NOTE: For diehard Trekkies and McCourties, the USS Limerick is a substantially upgraded Miranda-class starship still in service in the late 24th Century; her commanding officer, Captain Francis "Frankie" McCourt, was once an aide of Admiral Nyota Uhura, Chief of Starfleet Intelligence.). Judging from the inept critical and literary quality of Malachy's critical commentary of George W. Bush, it seems that Malachy should consider asking Paramount Pictures to revive the "Star Trek" franchise via this new "Star Trek" series which I have proposed (I have already an idea of an episode where Malachy's character teaches Irish stepdancing to some belligerent Klingons.). It would be a far more valuable use of his time than writing more of these rather unenlightening criticisms of President George W. Bush. However, if you are truly a fan of Malachy McCourt's prose, then I would recommend reading his memoir "Singing My Him Song" or taking a look at his relatively new history of Ireland, instead of purchasing this book.

Average customer rating:

LET IT GO!!!
The Lies of Whom?
How did this happen?
Are We Really This Stupid?
David Corn provides a moral compass to those lost in the Bush Administration wilderness...Oprah: the time is NOW

The Lies of George W. Bush
David Corn
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

U.S. | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1400050677
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Book Description

“Get ready to get mad. Corn has cut through the spin and crafted an important and powerful challenge to Bush and his crew.” —Molly Ivins

“David Corn’s The Lies of George W. Bush is as hard-hitting an attack as has been leveled against the current president.” —Los Angeles Times

“George W. Bush is a liar. He has lied large and small, directly and by omission. He has mugged the truth–not merely in honest error, but deliberately, consistently, and repeatedly.”

In this scathing indictment of the president and his inner circle, David Corn reveals the deceptions at the heart of the Bush presidency. With wit and style, Corn details how the Bush administration has consistently lied to the American public to advance its own interests, from mischaracterizing intelligence to whip up support for war with Iraq to misrepresenting the possible consequences of his supersized tax cut and offering false claims to push a radical agenda on crucial issues across the board. In this unflinching work of hard-hitting journalism, Corn explains how Bush has managed to get away with it and explores the danger of presidential deceit in a perilous age. This paperback edition also includes an up-to-date analysis of the aftermath of the war with Iraq.

Download Description

"George W. Bush is a liar. He has lied large and small, directly and by omission. He has mugged the truth—not merely in honest error, but deliberately, consistently, and repeatedly." —from the Introduction

All American presidents have lied, but George W. Bush has relentlessly abused the truth. In this scathing indictment of the president and his inner circle, David Corn, the Washington editor of The Nation, reveals and examines the deceptions at the heart of the Bush presidency. In a stunning work of journalism, he details and substantiates the many times the Bush administration has knowingly and intentionally misled the American public to advance its own interests and agenda, including:

Brazenly mischaracterizing intelligence and resorting to deceptive arguments to whip up public support for war with Iraq
Misrepresenting the provisions and effects of the president's supersized tax cuts
Offering misleading explanations—instead of telling the full truth —about the 9/11 attacks
Lying about connections to corporate crooks
Presenting deceptive and disingenuous claims to sell controversial policies on the environment, stem cell research, missile defense, Social Security, white-collar crime, abortion, energy, and other crucial issues
Running a truth-defying, down-and-dirty campaign during the 2000 presidential contest and recount drama

The Lies of George W. Bush is not a partisan whine—it is instead a carefully constructed, fact-based account that clearly denotes how Bush has relied on deception—from the campaign trail to the Oval Office—to win political and policy battles. With wit and style, Corn explains how Bush has managed to get away with it and explores the dangerous consequences of such presidential deceit in a perilous age.

"The Lies of George W. Bush nails the case. Mixing cold, hard facts with a rapier wit, David Corn skewers Bush, using the president's own words and deeds to prove that the straight-shooting candidate who vowed to restore honor and integrity to the Oval Office has, instead, turned out to be a serial liar. Meticulously researched, Lies sets a crooked record straight and shows that Saddam's WMDs are not the only thing missing—so is honesty in the Bush White House. Bush bashers, your ship has come in. Bush backers, I dare you to read this."
   ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, AUTHOR OF PIGS AT THE TROUGH

"Washington journalist David Corn takes a gloves-off look at President Bush's public record and finds a disturbing array of White House whoppers. With biting wit and sharp-eyed skepticism, Corn finds a pattern of deception too sweeping and consistent to be dismissed casually as 'spin' or "misstatements.' A valuable look at how often and effortlessly the man who campaigned on the lofty principles of 'responsibility' and 'accountability' has evaded both."
   CLARENCE PAGE, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST FOR THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

"One of the oddest aspects of the Bush presidency has been how reluctant journalists are to report that Bush lies. Reporters who jumped on Bill Clinton for disingenuous hair-splitting and piled on Al Gore for harmless exaggerations have given George W. Bush pass after pass after pass. No longer. Veteran journalist David Corn has collected all the glaring evidence. With flair, he skewers Bush and shows—beyond question—that the fellow in the White House has manhandled the truth about Iraq, the war on terrorism, tax cuts, global warming,

Customer Reviews:

LET IT GO!!!.......2006-12-27

If you have ever seen David Corn then you know he is a demented man. The "I hate Bush" thing is gone--worn out--let it go. This aberrant lunacy all stems from the 2000 election. Stolen election? That's what all the left wing newspapers said--then after a couple of years looking for proof--they FAILED. Just look at who the dems throw at you now!! The main thing lefties don't like about Bush is they don't seem to be able to do any damage to him--other than the folks who think he scuba'ed one night and blew up the New Orleans levees, or used demolition charges to blow up the WTC--and everything you saw live on TV was faked. Geeezzz... It's a dangerous thing when these people call for the overthrow of our government in their effort to aid and abet our enemies to destroy us. Be sure to remember what they have said, and who colluded with them.

The Lies of Whom?.......2006-09-29

I'll admit up front that Corn has some decent points. He is willing to concede the obvious: "most presidents lie, many brazenly and with impunity" (p 2). He is willing to admit that Clinton lied about the Rwanda genocide (pp 4-5) and...er, that other thing that Clinton's known for lying about. Corn also deserves props for not at least not trying to turn Bush into a total cartoon. Moreover, he digs up some Bush contradictions that even I hadn't known about, like a 1978 interview in which Bush expressed pro-choice views (pp 21-22). He also properly criticizes Bush for some of his actual lies, like his reasons for concealing his drunk-driving arrest (pp 27-30).

However, the book has some serious flaws. Foremost is lack of proper sourcing. If you're going to write a book calling a man a liar, you should at least point to definitive places in the public record. Corn doesn't do that. The book has no end notes and few footnotes. Some references are in the text, but usually not ones that permit a retracing of the author's steps to obtain the source quote. That's a real drawback and a bit of a surprise in a book that, by liberal standards, is otherwise carefully written.

As you might expect with a book that fails to provide proper source documentation, it is rife with innuendo, distortions, selective amnesia, word play, misleading quotes, blind quotes, biased sources, single sources and unverifiable claims. Prominent in these categories are: Ben Barnes' unsubstantiated accusations of preferential treatment in the National Guard** (p 24); 2000 Republican South Carolina primary dirty ticks (pp 33-37); the cost of health care (with Families USA, a hard-left group as his source for the plan's economics) (p 45); Bush determination to go to war without ever mentioning that it had been an explicit U.S. policy since 1998 and Clinton had stated on 2/17/98 "We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program" (pp 206-240); "major newspapers" citing unnamed intelligence analysts supposedly coerced into slanting intelligence, without ever naming either the newspapers or the analysts (p 281).

Also, for a man casting stones, Corn lives in a house with a lot of glass. Listed below are a few of Corn's own lies, misstatements and inaccuracies. This list isn't just for an ad hominem, but rather a demonstration that Corn cannot be trusted as an accurate or definitive source.

* "Richard Nixon...claimed he had a secret plan `to end the war and win the peace...'" (p 3). In fact, Nixon never made such a statement (Safire, NYT Magazine, 6/25/00).

* Social Security's rate of return is supposedly a "paltry-but-guaranteed-2-percent" (p 43). First, Corn himself states that in 29 years, under the current system, Social Security is projected to begin to be able to cover only 70% of its obligations (p 42). A 30% drop is quite a bit different than a "guaranteed" 2% increase, is it not? Second, Social Security is not "guaranteed" in any meaningful sense of the word. See Flemming v. Nestor, 363 U.S. 603, 610-11 (1960).

* Regarding Florida 2000, James Baker supposedly claimed that every vote "had been counted by a machine at least twice" (p 54). But that's not what Baker said. The reason I know that's not what Baker said is because Corn himself quotes Baker correctly in the preceding page, where Baker says the votes "'have not only been counted, they've been counted twice'" (p 53). See the difference? Corn puts words in Baker's mouth by claiming that Baker said that the votes had been counted twice by *machine.* Baker never said they'd been counted twice by machine and engages in a petit libel by claiming Baker does. Tip to Corn: if you're going to do a hit job on someone, make sure you don't include any accurate quotes.

* Bush's position on stem cells means "imposing a virtual ban on this research" (p 120). "Ban." Let's think about this for a second. The 18th Amendment: that was a ban. Smoking on airplanes: that's a ban. Stopping federal (as opposed to state or private) money from being used on new stem cell lines but not old ones: that's not a ban. It's a restriction.

* "Bush spent 14 months trying to make the case that Saddam Hussein was an imminent danger to the United States..." (p 204). This is a well-worn lie of the Left. Bush never said Saddam posed an "imminent danger," "imminent threat" or imminent anything. In fact, in his 2003 State of the Union Speech, Bush said just the opposite, that we should attack Saddam *before* he became an imminent threat: "Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late."

* A meeting in Prague in April 2001 between Mohammed Atta and Ahmad al-Ani, an Iraqi intelligence officer "never even happened" (p 216). Oh? That's not what the CIA director told the 9/11 Commission: "'Atta may also have traveled outside of the U.S. in early April 2001 to meet an Iraqi intelligence officer, although we are still working to corroborate this'" (9/11 Report p 386). At the very least it is still subject to legitimate dispute.

* The attempt by Iraq to purchase yellowcake uranium was "seemed to have been predicated on a hoax" (pp 229, 288-294). In response, first note that Corn himself can't come out and unequivocally state it was a hoax. He has to leave himself an out ("seems to have been") but of course he would never dream of cutting Bush the same slack. Second, the fact is that Iraq almost certainly *did* seek yellowcake uranium from Niger. The Brit's Butler Report confirmed their initial intelligence, and the Senate Intelligence Committee Report of July 7, 2004 states: "[former Nigerien Prime Minister Ibrahim] Mayaki said...that in June 1999, [redacted] businessman, approached him and insisted that Mayaki meet with an Iraqi delegation to discuss `expanding commercial relations' between Niger and Iraq....Mayaki interpreted `expanding commercial relations' to mean that the delegation wanted to discuss uranium yellowcake sales" (Report p 42)

And of course the book gives us the usual anti-Bush staples, the eyes-glazing-over vignettes that fill up any and all of these types of books: TANG service (pp 24-27); Florida 2000 (pp 53-64); Enron (pp 175-190); Harken Energy (pp 190-198). Not that these vignettes are necessarily factually incorrect, but rather have already been thoroughly examined and much doubt exists about certain key claims on both sides. But to sweep them up into supposed overarching theme of Bush lies is ad hominem, black and white fallacy, argumentum ad verecundiam, slanting, argumentum ad populum and just plain silly.

** Unless you count forged documents as substantiation.

How did this happen?.......2006-05-26

George W. Bush once said, "First and foremost is to tell the truth. There's a lot of young people who get disillusioned when they see political figures say one thing and do another; political figures who say, I'm going to campaign one way, and campaign another way; political figures who, when they take the oath of office, dont uphold the dignity and honor of the office. So step one is to... tell the truth." This is the biggest load of hipocracy I have ever heard. This book honestly and validly points out hundreds of lies that have come out of George's mouth as Governor, president hopeful, president elect, and, worst of all, president of the United States of America. If this book was read by half of the people who voted for him in 04, he would have lost the election in a landslide. If this book was read by all of the senators and representatives in Washington, Bush would certainly be impeached.
This is the America we live in, history in the making. Dont go through life ignorant, read the facts and know the situation before you even consider taking an opinion on the job of the president. Read it now because when all is said and done, the history books will not be kind to Mr. Bush.

Are We Really This Stupid? .......2006-04-21

This must have been ghostwritten by Jacques Chirac, Michael Moore, Osama bin Laden, and all of the wacky Bush-haters out there. Are the liberals ever going to admit that Bush is right about anything? Well then they may ask me if I ever have admitted that Bush is wrong about something? Well I'll tell you that he was wrong about letting Dubai run our ports on the eastern seaboard. So that's one thing he's wrong about. Now when are you going to admit that he's right about something?

First of all, the author needs to find out what the word "lie" actually means. When a person tells a lie, he is saying something that is not true when he knows it is not true. With the WMDS issue in Iraq, Bush actually did not lie. He was merely stating something that he believed to be true when it was found that is wasn't true. He even apologized for it!

People please stop hating Bush just because he is interferring with your cushy California lifestyle. Just as a previous reviewer stated, every great president is misunderstood during his time. Abraham Lincoln was one example, Ronald Reagan was another. Despite all of the criticism from the media, Reagan later went on to become the greatest president in recent memory. The Berlin Wall was toppled, Communist governments fell around the world in Europe, Asia, and Africa. This would not have been possible without him. Think of how history would have been different had he been assasinated in 1981.

David Corn provides a moral compass to those lost in the Bush Administration wilderness...Oprah: the time is NOW.......2006-01-28

"We live in a relativistic culture where television 'reality shows' are staged or stage-managed, where spin sessions and spin doctors are an accepted part of politics...where an aide to President Bush, dismissing reporters who live in the 'reality-based community,' can assert that 'we're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality'...members of the current Bush administration, as Franklin Foer has written in The New Republic, have promoted 'the radically postmodern' view that 'science,' 'objectivity' and 'truth' 'are guises for an ulterior, leftist agenda,' arguing that experts (be they experts on the environment, Medicare or postwar Iraq) 'are so incapable of dispassionate and disinterested analysis that their work doesn't even merit a hearing'...As Deborah Lipstadt, author of DENYING THE HOLOCAUST: THE GROWING ASSAULT ON TRUTH AND MEMORY has argued, the suggestion that no event or fact has a fixed meaning leads to the premise that 'any truth can be retold.' And when people assert that there is no ultimate historical reality, an environment is created in which the testimony of a witness to the Holocaust - like Mr. Wiesel, the author of NIGHT - can actually be questioned..."

Michiko Kakutani
New York Times
"Bending the Truth in a Million Little Ways"
January 17, 2006

"This [neoconservative] focus on reintegrating Iraq into the regional framework of order under US hegemony was no doubt heightened by the fact that Iraq challenged the US monopoly over the oil trade, maintained through the fact that oil transactions occur in US dollars. Since 1971...the dollar has...become the de facto world reserve currency... Overall, since the world economy is fundamentally oil-dependent, this...lends the US a dominant trading advantage...In November 2000, Iraq began trading its oil in euros, and profited handsomely in the process. Iran, Venezuela and Russia--all key oil producers--have also considered and/or moved towards switching to the euro..."

"The real reason the Bush administration wants a puppet government in Iraq--or more importantly, the reason why the corporate-military-industrial network conglomerate wants a puppet government in Iraq--is so that it will revert back to a dollar standard and stay that way..."

Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed
and
William Clark
BEHIND THE WAR ON TERROR
From Part Two, Chapter Seven: "False Pretexts"
And quote from
"The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War
with Iraq: a Macroeconomic and
Geostrategic Analysis of the Unspoken Truth"
Independent Media Center, January, 2003

"[A] very selective history [as compiled here of 19th and 20th century presidents] demonstrates there are many varieties of presidential lies. Some concern grand policy matters, some concern secret government activity...Sissela Bok, the author of LYING: MORAL CHOICE IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE, defines [a lie] simply as "an intentionally deceptive message in the form of a STATEMENT (emphasis his)"...I would propose a slightly different standard for White House occupants. If a President issues a statement, he or she has an obligation to ensure the remark is truthful... It is not enough for a president or White House contender to BELIEVE what he is saying is true; he/she [like scientists, doctors, journalists and other professionals whose careers are built on a basic understanding of honesty, research, integrity and the public trust] should KNOW it to be true--within reasonable standards...Lying in office not only poses a potential risk for [a sitting president], a president who lies is a risk to the nation. He might steer the country into a war under false pretenses. Or, if he comes to be regarded as untruthful by a significant portion of the public, he might fail to rouse the country for military action that is indeed warranted. A liar in the White House is a national security threat."

David Corn
THE LIES OF GEORGE BUSH
From the Introduction
(Published in 2003, before
the start of the Iraq war)

With the recent excruciating interview of James Frey, author of A MILLION LITTLE PIECES on Oprah regarding the dishonesty of selling his truth-based novel as a memoir, and the conversations about the nature of truth & honesty in our society (and its relevance), there has never been, nor will there ever be in my opinion, a better time for the American public to take a courageous look at the total absence of honesty and honor in the Bush Administration: that from which the American culture's current will to equate any statement successfully serving a political agenda or lucrative business endeavor with truth flows.

Many people remember the degree to which Ms. Winfrey openly criticized President Clinton for his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky and the resultant impeachment proceedings on her program. However, her silence regarding the litany of lies coming from the Bush Administration...the appalling absence of critique regarding everything from the issues surrounding his first election (see Greg Palast, THE BEST DEMOCRACY MONEY CAN BUY) to the WMD/Downing Street Memo scandals...and now the unapologetic illegal wiretapping of American citizens.... Ms. Winfrey's comparative or total silence over the lies, the cost of them to the American economy, American culture and American lives (what is the current body count of our soldiers in Iraq?) and more do more than make the James Freys of the world comfortable with their convenient melding of myth and reality at people's expense. Her ability to create public debate and bring cultural truths to light, combined with her refusal to engage in a substantive public conversation or debate on these all-important topics make her complicit in the eroding of our Constitutional rights and the very nature of not just truth but our democracy as a whole; something billionaires don't often have to worry about but regular people, even in the suburbs, must. Her quiet regarding our President's character and the catastrophic effect it is having on the nation is a greater threat to her integrity than anything James Frey has ever conceived of being.

Like this book or not, agree with it or not, America needs it. Badly. Oprah: the time is now to fulfill your destiny, and protect the soul of your country.

Big Bush Lies: The 20 Most Telling Lies of President George W. Bush

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The Truth About a Liar
Right on the mone;y
Pointless exercise in partisan demonizing
hmmm...
Comprehensive view of the way the Bush Administration works

Big Bush Lies: The 20 Most Telling Lies of President George W. Bush

Manufacturer: Riverwood Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Political | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Leadership | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1883991943

Book Description

George W. Bush and his administration have a well-documented difficulty with honesty. President Bush lies. He lies frequently. He distorts the truth, changes the facts, and smirks all the while.

These 20 original essays detail and document lies both outrageously obvious and subtle. Taking Bush to task for his assault on the intelligence of Americans, the distinguished list of contributors includes academics, activists, legal experts, financial leaders, and journalists.

Lies covered include

• Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction

• Foreign Policy

• Environment & Energy

• Health & Science

• The Use and Abuse of Religion

• Education

• Women and Minority Policies

• National Security & 9/11

• Bush Campaign Lies, and

• Pre-Presidential Lies, including Bush's experiences with drunk driving and the controversies and inconsistencies of his National Guard service.

Included is a handy reference guide to the 50 Most Telling Lies of George W. Bush. Meticulously researched and documented, Big Bush Lies is a must read for the 2004 presidential race and the book to hand out on the campaign trail.

Customer Reviews:

The Truth About a Liar.......2006-11-20

For Americans who think George W. Bush may be the worst president we will ever have had in our history, this book will provide all the ammunition they could ask for. This book of twenty essays and a list of fifty lies are irrefutable. Readers may remember things they forgot already that made them detest Mr. Bush in the first place.

Detractors will make rationalizations that the lies are only the opinions of the authors, or that Clinton lied too. In no case will they be able to refute what Bush has said and done, which were deliberate attempts to deceive or misinform. The other point here is that Bush is the president, not Clinton, and no one died when Clinton lied.

They may add it demonstrates a pathological hatred for Bush, but it is also true that people have a rational hatred for him because he is a liar of the worst magnitude. This book documents them, and this is only about his first term. In fact, it may beg the question of how people could support a man whose lies have been so well documented yet ignored or discounted.

Bush's lies, mischaracterizations, omissions, have been raised (or lowered) to an art form:

While running for the republican nomination, Bush stated that as governor, Texas had the most comprehensive health care plan in the United States. What he failed to mention was that he vetoed the bill twice. His second veto was overridden and he left it on his desk, unsigned. He lied.

When asked point blank about a drunk driving conviction, he refused to answer the question and used a deflection about who might have let the information slip so close to election day. He lied.

He sold company stock which he knew was going to tank. It did within the next two months. He violated the several insider trading laws. He said that he was found to have done nothing wrong. That was true. What he didn't mention was that the head of the SEC, the one who would have investigated him, was appointed by his father. In other words, he lied.

He has attempted to deceive the public on Iraq, tax relief, medical care, support for veterans, the economy, the debt, and the environment, to name a few.

Lies big and small are documented in this book and provide a powerful indictment of a man who not only appears to lie completely, but appears to do it without conscience.

The tone of this book is not vociferous. It lays out Bush's recorded words, and respected sources that are frequently cited.

If you need ammunition against his admirers, this is a good book to have. It should not be just read, but kept. It should remind us that we should be on our guard should anyone so loathsome aspire to the highest office in the land ever again.

Right on the mone;y.......2006-10-20

This book is a synopsis of all the other anti-Bush books on the market. The chapter "Ranch Dressing" shows the importance of the "Hair, Wardrobe and Set Design" of the Bush Administration. The chapter on religion "President Bush: False Prophet of the Christian Right" is a pre-cursor to David Kuo's new book "Tempting Faith." A must read.

Pointless exercise in partisan demonizing.......2005-02-08

I suppose this book is informative, so long as you accept the premise that any statement with which the author disagrees or which doesn't match the assumptions of his picked experts is a deliberate lie. The problem is that an actual lie is a deliberate falsehood, not a difference of opinion. When you call every opinion which you don't agree with a lie you expose yourself as a partisan hack, which is basically what this book is - partisan hackery. For Jerry Barrett another definition of evil is George W. Bush and anything he says is by nature a lie or an attempt to spread hate. The problem is that this premise is just not true, anymore than it would be true to believe that Bush is perfect and always right about everything. In addition, many of the 'well documented' articles in this book are documented with self-referential material or sources which are themselves basically opinion pieces and which cannot be called evidence by even the most generous definition. Saying something is true and then citing yourself saying it is true doesn't make it true.

hmmm..........2005-02-07

Only 20 lies, that's not that bad. I know a lot more people worse than that. The point is that Americans, no matter what Bush's agendas are, we are trying to bring peace and stability to chaotic place. Saddam was killing his own people to live; has Bush ever done that. Bush has stuck to his word and is following it out. War has been an issue with the starting of time. Ever heard of the Holy Roman Empire? Or Alexander the great's conquests; or The hundred years war, the Thirty years war? War is a fact of life; it brings control, which equals stability. Peace would come if the human race, involving criminals, racists, ect. would stop being ignorant. The world would be such a better place if everyone worked together and left their differences aside. My father was in the military for 20 years. People in the military fight for a place that doesnt't exist, but in the future hopefully it will come. I know when I am old enough, I will join the military and fight for my country and for everbodys right to love EQUALLY. God bless.

Comprehensive view of the way the Bush Administration works.......2004-06-26

Big Bush Lies really covers the bases. It covers virtually all aspects of policy domestic and foreign and covers the years before Bush was elected while he was still governor of Texas.

The theme of the book is the central role that lying plays in corporate ethics [sic] and the self-proclaimed vision of Bush as CEO of the country in which the citizenry are consumers of government products.

Book Description

In the first four years the Bush White House allowed a former lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute to re-write a government report on global warming, editing out scientific conclusions he didnÂ't like. BushÂ's Interior Department offered to overpay a wealthy Republican donor for oil and gas rights on Everglades land that the government already owns.

The PentagonÂ's inspector general released a report on a lucrative Air Force contract for Boeing that cost too much for planes the military didnÂ't want. Perhaps the White House pushed for the contract because Boeing was a generous contributor to the Bush/Cheney reelection campaign? Former big tobacco employees now working as Bush officials at the Justice Department reduced its settlement request with the tobacco industry from $130 billion to $10 billion.

Echoes of Watergate fill the air with names like Enron, Halliburton, and Jeff Gannon (a gay prostitute) being linked to the White House. BushÂ's failures include lying about Weapons of Mass Destruction to justify the Iraq War, soaring gas prices, privatizing social security, and granting amnesty to illegal Aliens. The press has mostly buried the failures of this administration. But thatÂ's no surprise during the past four years the press has been missing in action. Aliens and Cowboys tells the truth about George W. Bush proving heÂ's the most corrupt president since Richard M. Nixon.

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In the first four years the Bush White House allowed a former lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute to re-write a government report on global warming, editing out scientific conclusions he didn't like. Bush's Interior Department offered to overpay a wealthy Republican donor for oil and gas rights on Everglades land that the government already owns.

The Pentagon's inspector general released a report on a lucrative Air Force contract for Boeing that cost too much for planes the military didn't want. Perhaps the White House pushed for the contract because Boeing was a generous contributor to the Bush/Cheney reelection campaign? Former big tobacco employees now working as Bush officials at the Justice Department reduced its settlement request with the tobacco industry from $130 billion to $10 billion.

Echoes of Watergate fill the air with names like Enron, Halliburton, and Jeff Gannon (a gay prostitute) being linked to the White House. Bush's failures include lying about Weapons of Mass Destruction to justify the Iraq War, soaring gas prices, privatizing social security, and granting amnesty to illegal Aliens. The press has mostly buried the failures of this administration. But that's no surprise during the past four years the press has been missing in action. Aliens and Cowboys tells the truth about George W. Bush proving he's the most corrupt president since Richard M. Nixon.

Pledge of performance: sensing where the power lies, this superintendent has joined with politicians to help create workable education policies. (Administrator ... An article from: District Administration

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Pledge of performance: sensing where the power lies, this superintendent has joined with politicians to help create workable education policies. (Administrator ... An article from: District Administration
Rebecca Sausner
Manufacturer: Professional Media Group LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from District Administration, published by Professional Media Group LLC on February 1, 2003. The length of the article is 826 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Pledge of performance: sensing where the power lies, this superintendent has joined with politicians to help create workable education policies. (Administrator profile: Earl J. Lennard).
Author: Rebecca Sausner
Publication: District Administration (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2003
Publisher: Professional Media Group LLC
Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Page: 19(1)

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Secrets and lies.(State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration)(Book review): An article from: The Progressive

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Secrets and lies.(State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration)(Book review): An article from: The Progressive
Matthew Rothschild
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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This digital document is an article from The Progressive, published by Thomson Gale on April 1, 2006. The length of the article is 2673 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Secrets and lies.(State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration)(Book review)
Author: Matthew Rothschild
Publication: The Progressive (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 70 Issue: 4 Page: 41(4)

Article Type: Book review

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