Dude, Where's My Country?

Rating:
Summary: Intermittently Incisive
Review: Political books are big right now. It seems that whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, liberal or conservative, if you put out a book saying that people who think your way are true upstanding Americans and the people who disagree with you are the scum of the earth, those who agree with your opinion of the other side will rush out and buy your book - no matter how sloppily written it is.

This goes a long way towards explaining the unevenness of Michael Moore's new book, "Dude, Where's My Country?" Part anti-conservative jeremiad, part liberal diatribe, it's alternately amusing, thought-provoking and annoying - in about equal measure.

There are entire chapters that read like they were ground out under deadline pressure and can easily be skipped: as with the third chapter, "Oil's Well That Ends Well" (when an author uses a bad pun for a chapter heading, you know you're in serious trouble): it starts out like a bad imitation of those pieces Woody Allen used to crank out for The New Yorker in the 1970s ("Last night I had a dream. Actually I had a number of dreams. One had something to do with smearing Tofutti on a camel."), and goes downhill from there.

But on occasion Moore can suddenly tell the truth in such an unflinching way that you realize just what's been going on in this country in the past two years. "It is my firm belief that Bush and his cronies (especially Attorney General John Ashcroft) have only one goal in mind: To scare the bejesus out of us so that whatever bill they want passed, whatever powers they want Congress to give them, we will happily hand it over." This strikes me as being exactly right. I also agree with him when he writes on page 114 that "Bush failed to do his job and it may have cost 3,000 people their lives. That alone should be enough to haul him before an impeachment tribunal."

So this book is uneven. Some of the attempts at comedy just fall flat. Some of the rhetoric rings hollow. But if you do some discreet skipping of the more dorky prose you will find a good reason why the current occupant of the White House and his anti-democratic agenda should be opposed. And that's a good enough reason to read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Blah, Blah, Blah...
Review: More inane opinions without complete accurate facts from another author with such a special ego that he thinks he knows what is best for all. Moore is one of a dozen of self proclaimed experts on what citizens of the USA should know and do. He along with these other self proclaimed experts, both conservative and liberal, all have one thing in common. They all are profiteering from the current political environment.

Save your money and conduct some personal research with a critical analysis of any and all alleged facts. Freedom of choice and the right to know the facts are important elements of this country's foundation. Do not buy someone's opinion, think for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Finally we hear the other side!!
Review: I have spent the past two years feeling like I was being "duped". It was nice to finally hear the other side, with the proof to back it up. I think EVERYONE should read this book.

Either you will agree with him or you won't but it is every Americans right to know the WHOLE truth. It is about time someone has the guts to give it to us!!!

Rating:
Summary: A Patriot Exercises His Beloved Rights (and Wrongs)
Review: It's amazing how many people in these reviews rage against Michael Moore's weight. I don't think they read the title. The title isn't "Dude, Where's My Hamburger?" Moore has more weighty topics to discuss here than food or his waistline (he's recently lost 50 pounds, by the way, for all those hatemongers who can't seem to think about or address the actual content in this book). He's virtually resurrecting a vision of America that puts the people in charge and jettisons the powerful, truly bloated and obese people out of their commodious seats of power and security. In their place should be all the working stiffs who currently prop up these corrupt greed machines with their labor, their votes, and their children's lives. In effect, he's trying to breathe life into the Democratic party, which always touted itself as the party of the people. And he's trying to educate a public that's being lied to every day by the big right-wing media machine now in place in the nation.
One of the best parts of this book was his reminder that fear has gripped the land, an overwhelming fear that is being used to fulfill an extreme right-wing agenda. FDR said we have nothing to fear but fear itself, and indeed, we should be greatly afraid of how fear is being disseminated from our industrial/military government and our cynical, ignorant president. That fear is driving us away from our rights and away from our senses. It's blinding us to the dirty politics that Bush practices, the lies he constantly tells, and the nasty money connections which trigger too many of his thoughts, words, and deeds. Bad boy, Bushie!
I thank Michael Moore for his love of America. He loves this place so much that he took the time and trouble to write this book and to remind us all about who should be in charge here.
Great stuff, Michael. Just watch your back because lots of people hate you. They hate you because you're telling the truth, something that's a big threat to their personal agendas.

Rating:
Summary: A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT
Review: I absolutely loved "Roger and Me," the chronology of the life of GM CEO Roger Smith and the decline of cities like Flynt, MI due to massive layoffs by GM. 5 stars there.

However, Moore has lost his direction and is only after character destruction in this publication. Far less worthy of "Roger and Me," this is a pathetic attempt to continue his anti-establishment crusade at the expense of intelligent readers. Very sad, Michael, very sad indeed.

Rating:
Summary: please cnn publicize the bush scandals
Review: I have not read this entire book but I did read some of it while browsing a bookstore. I did however not only watch Micheal's Moore recent interview on C-Span I also recorded it on my VCR and I watched it a second time. I can not begin to express my outrage that the media in this country has protected Bush and hidden from the public the scandals that Micheal Moore has documented. After making something like Monica which is the private irrelevant... life of a prez into an obsession the media has ignored the far more serious misconduct of our current president. Micheal Moore is to be commended for doing everything in his power to expose this. I don't particularly like the title of this book, but that is a quibble. I am editting this review to get rid of the unhelpful Republican and all the other Bush supporters

Rating:
Summary: Dude, your country is in Uranus.
Review: This stupid white guy (his own racist phrase) is laughing all the way to the bank, with this book of bunk.

Rating:
Summary: Michael Moore at WSU
Review: I haven't read the book yet, so this review may not be helpful to many of you. However about 3 weeks ago Michael Moore came to WSU for Dad's weekend. Now I didn't intend on taking my retired miliraty republican dad, but he wanted to go, just to hear another point of view. And by the end of the night you were either giving a standing ovation or quietly stewing with the republican club. Point being, even if you don't buy it, diffrent politcal views are important, because if they aren't said, well we might have a king instead of democracy. One thing that Moore said in his lecture, his closing statement in fact was that...American soliders signed up to give their lives for freedom and this country, their lives. But our promise to them was that we not send them under false pretenses, and we did.
I have to say even my dad agreed with this and applauded, and I do to. Wether you do or not, listen to Moore, or Bill O'Reily for that matter. If we never expose ourselves to new ideas there can never be change.

Rating:
Summary: Grassroots Rules! (but Insanity Reigns)
Review: In Michael Moore's latest dive into the world of modern politics and the state of the world in general, facts flow with breakneck speed. His stats are astounding, and Moore's humorous approach makes this otherwise technical rant truly readable and enjoyable. I especially like the way Moore is prone to self-deprication and how this contributes to his credibility as "just yer average guy." Of course we all know Moore is much more than that- He is educated, aware, and ready to take action.

If you are curious as to just what the Bush administration has been up to, then by all means, READ this book. Read it now! It will inspire and motivate you to get involved in politics no matter what side you happen to be on. Also included in this book is a handy guide on how to get politically involved at the local level. This is perfect for those who feel the passion for politics and justice but do not know where to begin. Moore's grassroots approach is what America is all about, and Dude, Where's My Country? shows us this.

Rating:
Summary: Huh?
Review: I am sorry, but this book is another attempt to make money off of the liberal population of this country. Basically, I bought it becuase of the title. Not all is right in government but to act like Clinton or other Democrats are not involved in the same stuff. Dude Where is Your Brain or rather Your Thought Processes?