Rating: 
Summary: A book worth reading, whether you agree or not.
Review: The author doesn't pretend to be non-partisan, though she says that the "elites" she doesn't like belong to both parties. Ingraham has a morning radio program that clearly espouses the conservative line, and, of course, so does her book. She finds fault with a lot of elites, including, and especially, the Hollywood left. The wealthy and famous Hollywood crowd clearly are very skilled at playing make believe. They are very skilled at making a lot of money. Few of them have any education beyond high school and acting school. Many of them are probably feeling a little guilty living in such luxury while the rest of us pretty much have to scratch out our living the hard way, in the real world instead of the fairy land the Hollywood stars live in. They sooth some of their guilt by being liberal Democrats going to bat for the poor people, who have a right to be protected and kept up by the government, that is, the tax payers. This political position shows their "compassion" and proves they are really nice people. By hating George Bush and all Republicans in general, they show their sincerity. Socialism would be good for the rest of the country. They must think so, since it is clear that the Democrat party wants to move this country toward socialism. Anyway, anyone who thinks the Hollywood elite knows enough about politics and appropriate government policy to tell the rest of us how to vote are badly misled. These people are not any smarter than the rest of us. In fact, for the most part, less so. So, in the realm of politics, Ingraham is right. They would all be better served if they would just "shut up and sing", or act and not use their celebrity to tell the rest of us how to vote. Ingraham isn't very polite in conveying her message. She does some name calling. Shame on you, Laura. But, inspite of your faults, you have more justification for commenting on politics than the leftist Hollywood stars. You do know what you are talking about most of the time.
Rating: 
Summary: Taking On The Liberal Elites
Review: In her breakout book "Shut Up And Sing", nationally-syndicated radio talk show host Laura Ingraham hammers the nation's hypocritical liberal elite. Laura tackles pointy-headed ivory tower academics, the Hollywood activists, and liberal elites from every avenue of America.Pointing out their endless hypocrisy, Laura challenges liberal opposition to SUVs, flag waving, patriotism, guns, and George Bush's intellectual capacity. Along the way, the author lets her reader know why these elites want to tear down America, the real reason Hollywood is filled with wackos (including her own case study of Michael Moore), and the elitist goal of destroying religion in America. She tears down the myth that the United Nations, as currently constituted, is a force for good and relates her ideas for reform. With original chapter titles such as "In Kofi We Trust?" and "Europe vs. the Cowboys", "Shut Up And Sing" is a book that captivates its reader from beginning to end. With a clever wit, sprinkles of humor, and a straight forward style of prose, Laura Ingraham pens a book that is sure to set her apart as one of the prominent conservative voices in America. For our own sake, let's hope that her voice continues to flourish... Britt Gillette
Author of "The Dittohead Guide To Adult Beverages"
Rating:
Summary: Public Enemies No.1: Liberal Elites & Their Anti-Americanism
Review: I'm affronted Ingraham hasn't been recognized as a premier voice and/or writer of the conservative cause. Ingraham's severely astute and observant in her acidic dissection of which visible, public figures-who've exorbitantly disproportionate "say" than the rest of us-are offending the majority of Middle America. It MUST be signified that, unlike fanatical liberals' "books", conservative authors are widely FAIRER in their discriminations regarding their targets; liberal authors loathsomely, blindly aggress ANYONE they sentence as conservative or moderate with barely "conservative" views, as part of their crushingly zealous intolerance towards opposing viewpoints-Ingraham reserves well-deserved criticism at Republicans and right-leaning publications like WSJ for their fearful laxity hawking illegal immigration, including the President. Ingraham's book-a reference guide exposing anti-American traitors in society-is exhaustively organized in such logical and progressive order that her thesis-ostracizing liberal elites as the decay of American values-is cumulatively built. What Ingraham does competently to provide order is, in the first chapter, establish the pillars of her argument by citing into which infamous groups of elitism the liberal violators fall. As aforementioned, Ingraham's fair-mindedness acknowledges even Republicans dilapidate into the anti-American elite brand; thusly, her book skewers the undermining mentality of elitism. Only liberals are unpromisingly more threatening to fall into the elitist infamy. Ingraham's elites are either media, ivory-tower (academia), cultural, business, or "world-citizen" (UN lackeys like the increasingly wayward Demoncrats)!!!! From observing developments in current events, like liberal media partisanship, 70% of universities' speakers being liberal, the rogue entertainment community's resentment of Bush's successful Iraq policy, and the Demoncrats' subservient begging of UN "authorization", we can justly confirm Ingraham's categorizations are flawless. Ingraham has coherent flow in shaping her arguments. When she dissects the liberal elites' perilous knack to demean anyone Southern as "white trash", for instance, detective-like, she investigates the history of that elitist condemnation, and blames it on the self-righteous, destitute-hatemonger H.L. Mencken, who popularized the term which was originally invented by slaveholders to degrade poor whites, who were the majority of immigrants. Therefore, Ingraham proceeds to reason that liberals' actions have mountingly been against the favor of the masses-from an obdurate consolidation in only major cities and decrying of the "flyover" states to a resentment of and enrollment in the military-and that's why they've consequently been incrementally segregated in holding elective office. Ingraham adeptly arraigns the ever-aggravating rogues from entertainment, and, witnessing the unhygienic lows these scum stooped to throughout 2003 against Iraq and majority opinion, unless you were obliviously unheeding, you'd have to concur with the self-evident. Ingraham chronicles how ALL celebrities are IRREVERSIBLY UNQUALIFIED to discuss ANYTHING concerning foreign policy. Ingraham unmasks what was discomfortingly glaring to all, when celebrities revengefully disowned the war effort, to SHIELD Hussein!!!! Factually, Ingraham provides DAMNING quotes by the most infamously erring celebrities, specifically ones where they downplay tyrants like Hussein's enormities, and confess enthrallment for communist slaughterers like Castro!!!! Ingraham smartly summarizes the reasons for celebrities' mental debaucheries as stemming from their sickly, beastly, isolated development from the real world, where they're surrounded only by more "countercultural" types who refuse to answerably "grow up" to get real jobs. Two of the gloomiest disclosures are the vindictive creeping of secularism into persons' rights to publicly practice religion, and the sinful façade for anti-Americanism and dictatorship-love "human rights" activist groups indulge in!!!! Following the news regularly, there've been excessive, high-profile perpetrations of the state taking away rights of individuals to profess their faith publicly-the most recent case was Alabama, but Ingraham includes many like-minded horror stories ranging from a harmless teacher's aide who was intimidated by her school from wearing a crucifix around her neck in her classroom to a mere six-year-old being tyrannized from bringing his favorite book to read in class because it happened to concern Bible stories. The latter involves the forbidding fact that MANY of the self-righteously hypocritical "groups" aggravatingly peddling "anti-war" messages actually DON'T care about war's victims, NOR love their native, American country!!!! By exposing "activist" groups REFUSED to EVER construct their shabby placards with slogans of concern for civilians, Ingraham details those groups were SOLELY preoccupied with anti-Bush, anti-American animosity-which was independently apparent to ANY observer watching those anarchy sideshows concealed as "demonstrations". More perilously, those said groups also, on the surface, front what really are abased socialist, communist organizations that represent a willfulness to murder America, and actually control the management of those "activists". Two other notorieties where liberal elites contravene pertain to their sinful lust for illegal immigration and a crushing tyranny for their exclusive views in colleges. As Ingraham documents, illegal immigrants are decaying America from the inside out, stealthily, because AMERICANS and LEGAL IMMIGRANTS are PERSECUTED TO PAY for the unrightfully MANY free services illegals plunder!!!! Every last pettiness from FREE healthcare at hospitals to FREE services to have "schooling" and official information rendered in their NATIVE language to JOBS being surreptitiously STOLEN by abusively low-cost-working illegals COSTS AMERICANS and LEGAL IMMIGRANTS!!!! Now colleges, they're grisly havens for liberal elites who've taken over academia because their "professional class"-parents got comfortable jobs after WW2, and were able to send their later-elitist-kids to good schools where they'd be trained in some of the most influential jobs, like professors. The predicament was the timing, as these later-elitist kids were degraded by 60s culture, which misfortunately shaped their adult worldview. Now in academia, these 60s-rejects indoctrinate unsuspecting students with their anti-American, irredeemably "internationalist" partialities over an indiscriminate cross-section of courses, although the majority of their classes DON'T CONCERN politics!!!! Ingraham's a sharp sense of humor, and throughout her book lie hilariously witty quips targeting liberal offenders, usually after an expose scrutinizing an elite's breach against values Americans hold dear. Some reviewers have chided Ingraham for not "validating" her claims with extensive notes. Though ONLY technically fact, readers shouldn't be that hampered to only rely on an inclusion of extensive sources, to verify the book's veracity. Simple Google searches WILL produce independent references to most, if not all, of Ingraham's discussions.
Rating: 
Summary: "WE" VS "THEM" INSULTS "US"
Review: I got this book as a gift from a friend of mine after I told him how much I enjoyed Al Franken's "LIES and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them"--obviously the books are politically incompatible, but Franken's book was (1) often very funny (2) surprisingly very fact filled and (3 fairly honest, in a persistently ironic self deprecating way---Ingraham's book is NOT (1)0r(3)and only occasionally (2)- though she occaionally makes good points for liberals to recognize
What really annoyed me throughout this book was her self appropriation of the term "we", her patronizing use of the term "them" and the term "elitist" who should just "shut up"
as the title of the book implies. Despite her disingenuous disclaimer, the term elitist almost invariably meant Democrats, Liberals, politically outspoken entertainers or anyone critical
of George W.Bush. Frankly, her expression of ther opinions often share the same demagoggery(sic) of the liberals she attacks.
Most of her attacks are relatively easy targets (eg entertainers such as Barbara Streisand, Susan Sarandon,Harry Belafonte, Dixie Chicks,Sean Penn etc who should "shut Up and Sing' acording to her way of thinking, a rather odd postition for a one time lawyer who gives lip service to a diverse media
broadcasting and presumably the exhange of all views, including the dissent.
I was also disappointed with her underlying presumption that
the views of the majority are somehow always right, and her a
disapointing presumption that all wars our presidents pursued
are/were invariably the right thing to do (including Vietnam,
and presumably Grenada and Panama). There seems to be an underlying view that anyone who critizes a president is unamerican or unpatriotic. She leaves no room for critics of
policy adopted by a Republican president even if the stated reason for the casu belli was a lie, much like Johnson's Tonkin
Resolution for the expansion of the Vietnam War. She does however justly criticize Democrats running for president who have
articulated seemingly contradictory remarks on the wisdom of
invading IRAQ. To be fair,however, Ingraham often fails to include their explanations or reasons for their criticism as to how this war has been managed. particularly the lack of any plan for Post invasion IRAQ, which is the real reason Hussen wasn't aken out 1O years ago--the world may yet fear the devil we don't
yet know in IRAQ more than the deviol we well knew--all for lack of a well thought post war plan. But why should Ingraham try to be fair to the elitists she's attacking?
Aside for attacking easy targets like the ineffective UN,, corporate crooks (eg Kozlowski et al),the book does not add much to the information on politics,or knowledge of the so called elite with a few exceptions.
I felt her remarks/attacks on Michael Moore were probably dead on , even though I liked Bowling for Columbine. Unfortunately Mr. Moore does have a tendency of "restating" the facts in a way that is not only unfair but also untrue. His ambush interviews and doctored facts are unfortunately sometimes more entertaining than the whole truth--Moore is becoming a liitle full of himself
I also felt she made good points about the politically correct
propaganda course of studies legitimized by the most universities, who have sometimes annointed crackpots, bigots,
racists, anarchists and terorists as professors in the name of
free speech and alleged intellectual freedom, at the expense of moral and intellectual integrity
Nevertheless, on the whole, the book's style, tone fact disclosure and intellectual substance is relatively low for this type of text.The name of the book reminds me of Hannity's 'Let Freedom Ring" ,that is,a rally aroung the flag boys (now that our guy GW is president) I doubt such patriotic fervor was so well cherished when a Democrat was president--some chapters may have been ghostwritten by CREEP that is the Committee to Re-Elect the President . . . She pretends to provide a balanced attack on her elite--that is, everyone she disagrees with politically ...a premise that makes her intelledtually dishonest
In the future, ms. Ingraham might try to let facts speak for themselves. When she doesn't hit us over the head with her
moral majority opinions, she sometimes discloses a few telling
facts that make her points worth hearing--
Rating:
Summary: A Necessary Discussion on Elite Insanity
Review: Laura Ingraham's "Shut Up and Sing" reveals the agenda of American and European elites who work tirelessly to force their views upon the average U.S. citizen, -- U.S. sovereignty be damned. Ingraham begins by defining who these elitists are: their arrogance tends to have no bounds, they frown on any objective morality, shun religion (especially Christianity) and worship science, look down on the South and openly ridicule anyone who does not live in a major city, worship at the altar of the United Nations, and clump people into "oppressed" groups who desperately need their help. Where can these elites be found? Ingraham tells us their "native habitats" are in politics, media, universities, arts and entertainment, business, and international organizations. Theirs is an agenda that consistenly involves a seething anti-Americanism, suspicion and fear whenever the United States seeks to defend its citizens or interests, and demands for America to blindly follow international plans for a one world government. The first half of "Shut Up and Sing" will be a bit familiar to those following the elitist obstructionism during the Iraqi invasion. The second half is actually stronger in tone and facts especially when Ingraham discusses the horrible effects illegal immigration has on the US, the corporate corruption of Enron et al, the arrogance of university elitists, and the UN's dream of subverting the United States. Laura Ingraham successfully and truthfully exposes the elitist agenda for what it is. Those who would criticize "Shut Up and Sing" for its content will sadly do so because the myriad of facts she provides are inconvenient and bothersome. Thankfully, for Ingraham and her fans, truth is more important than ideology.
Rating: 
Summary: Typical rightwing claptrap
Review: This book is worthless. Laura Ingraham -- herself an elite Washington, DC attorney -- takes it upon herself to determine who does and does not have the right to express a political opinion. Who died and appointed her God? Laura Ingraham needs to take her own advice, to wit: Shut up and write someone's will.
Rating:
Summary: Shut up Laura
Review: This book, plainly stated, sucks. Laura Ingraham believes that anyone who doesn't agree with her world view is part of the elite. Her book is incredibly annoying, and she is equally annoying. She is inconsistent, and she seems to be a hypocrite. Look no further than the amazon.com official review of this work.
Rating:
Summary: OUR MEDIA STARS ARE LOOSERS!!!
Review: THIS BOOK IS RIGHT ON TARGET. I HAVE WORKED IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY FOR YEARS. IT IS FULL OF NEPOTISIM AND HOLLYWOOD IS SKEWED TO THE HILT! RIGHT ON LAURA FOR TELLING IT LIKE IT IS. MOORE IS ESPECIALLY BLASTED IN THIS BOOK FOR BEING THE MANIPULATIVE AND SENSATIONALISTIC LIAR THAT HE IS. FOR HIS OWN AGENDA OF COURSE - AND THAT IS TO GET YOUR MONEY - SO HE CAN STUFF HIMSELF AT ALL YOU CAN EAT RESTAURANTS.
Rating:
Summary: Straw men
Review: It is incredible that - over, and over, and over, the likes of Coulter, Hannity, Limbaugh, Savage, Ingraham on radio, books and TV make a very nice living through their blatant use of the "straw man". It's their bread and butter and accounts - easily, for 75% of the content they create, regardless of media. If you've never heard of this term, here's a nice definition I've found (emphasis, mine)... "Straw man. Another way to stack the deck against the opposition is to draw a false picture of the opposing argument. Then it is easy to say, "This should be rejected because this (exaggerated and distorted) picture of it is wrong." The name of the fallacy comes from the idea that if you set up a straw man, he is easier to knock down than a real man. And that is exactly the way this fallacy works: set 'em up and knock 'em down. ->It is argument
by caricature. It avoids dealing with the real issues by changing the opposition's views." <-(Geisler N.L. & Brooks R.M, "Come, Let Us Reason: An Introduction to Logical Thinking," 1990, p101) The next time you see a sentence that reads along the lines of, "Liberals think that...", written by one of these conservative infotainers, rest assured they are building their liberal straw man, soon to be easily pummeled Use of a Straw man in an argument is dismissable on its face, as are these conservative screeds in their entirety.
Rating:
Summary: HEY HOLLYWOOD--SHUT UP ALREADY!
Review: I recently met Laura Ingraham when she came to "Flyover Country" for a live broadcast of her radio program from St. Louis. "Shut Up and Sing" contains the same fast-paced, witty & irreverant tone of her radio show. Laura takes on liberal elites not only in Hollywood, but also in the mainstream media, the U.N.A.A. (United Nations Against America) and academic elites on our college campuses as well as the antireligious elites of the Christophobic Left. God bless you, Laura! I look forward to your next visit, and hopefully a new book from you in the near future.
|
