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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent, witty social and political rantings, January 17, 2006
This review is from: When You Ride Alone You Ride with Bin Laden (Limited) (Paperback)
In World War II, there was a very famous poster of a man driving a car with a shadow of Adolph Hitler in the passenger seat. The caption was "When you ride ALONE you ride with Hitler! Join a Car-Sharing Club TODAY!" This was an appeal to save gasoline for the war effort and that every gallon of gasoline used was one less that could be used to fight the war. Maher makes the very valid point that it is just as true today as it was during World War II. The reason that American forces are fighting in the Middle East is because there is oil there and the Western nations need it to run their economies. If there was no oil or no need for it, hundreds of billions of dollars could be saved and we could care less what happens there. If even simple, relatively painless fuel economies were enacted, a large amount of that dependence could be eliminated. He also explains how the Bush administration has made very little effort to have the American people sacrifice things for the "war on terror."
Maher also makes other very valid points using posters, some of which had analogues created in World War II. Each poster also has an explanatory caption, where Maher is at his best in intelligent ranting combined with satire. One of my favorites is "Knowledge Wins" where he points out that to fight an enemy successfully, you must understand them. He quotes "The Art of War" and George C. Scott as General Patton when he notes that the only way to defeat the terrorist threat is to understand it. Groups such as bin-Laden's are largely Islamic in nature, well funded and have the support of hundreds of millions of people. Just as importantly, millions of those people own land floating on the oil that we cannot do without. Our national ignorance of other people is our greatest weakness, because knowledge is the ultimate power in our corner of the universe.
My partner Kathy Brogla and I are devoted fans of Bill Maher's HBO shows, his brand of intelligent wit and social insight is very fun to experience, even when we don't agree with him. I consider this his best work to date and strongly recommend it to everyone, independent of where they land on the political and social spectrums.
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Q & A for Activists of Every Stripe, September 13, 2005
This review is from: When You Ride Alone You Ride with Bin Laden (Limited) (Paperback)
Who by now isn't familiar with the satire and political incorrectness of Bill Mahr? He has always been capable of thinking as fast as he can talk, and this book encapsulates his opinions into one to two page, easily readable, hilarious proddings to anyone with the brains to question the way things have been going in America since September 11. He points out the many ways most of us here have been choosing to live like ostrichs with our heads in the sand, and ways we can change our politically correct lameness into intelligent, decisive self preservation. I especially enjoyed his explanation of why we should allow profiling in airports, why SUV owners deserve to be drafted (and why there should be a draft), and why we should not allow Muslim countries to muzzle their women - if it were Black men behind those veils, we'd have a fit.
Excellent, thought provoking reading for adults who can pry themselves away from FOX news and reality shows.
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15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Funny and Insightful!, December 30, 2005
Maher is excellent at point out inconsistencies and hypocrisies. His basic platform in this book is following the format of WWII posters appealing to Americans to support the effort. One of these was "If You Ride Alone You Ride With Hitler," referring to the need to save gas. Maher points out that the need to conserve is just as great today because the monies ultimately go to OPEC tyrants who support terrorism. Unfortunately, we now act as though we have a god-given right to drive SUVs and waste gas.
Maher is also upset by the government's political correctness in refusing to use profiling at airport security points - thus, the little old lady in a wheelchair has a great an opportunity of being searched as an Osama look alike. True, the little old lady may be a fake, but that doesn't make me feel any better sitting on a plane behind three obvious Middle Eastern men who did not receive special screening.
Another topic of attention in the book is Maher's disgust that we don't want to see Islam as a problem - despite its prior record of trying to rid the world of "infidels" (everyone else), and the monopoly they have on today's terrorism. Again, political correctness bites America in the rear.
Throughout the book Maher makes clear that his patriotism for America is total - however, that does not mean that we should not question our leadership, or try to understand our enemy.
If only President Bush spent time listening to people like Maher, and not just neo-con crazies!
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