Thieves in High Places: They've Stolen Our Country--And Its Time to Take It Back

by Jim Hightower

Book Overview

America listens to Jim Hightower. More than eighty thousand people subscribe to The Hightower Lowdown Newsletterwhile his radio show is aired on more than sixty public and commercial radio stations. In They've Stolen Our Countryand It's Time To Take It Back, he takes on the Bushites, the Wobblycrats, and the corporate Kleptocrats, digging up behind-the-scenes dirt that the corporate media overlooks-like BushCo's "Friday Night Massacres," what's happened...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670031410
• ISBN13: 9780670031412
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

A Gentleman of the Old Southern School

I am a Texan by birth. Growing up in a family where politics were discussed nightly at the dinner table, I learned that according to my Mom, Franklin Roosevelt was a saint and I only remember my father arguing against any point she might make. I never recall the words "Bush." Suddenly out of the night sky, "Bush" appeared suddenly, running for office saying "Bush" was a Texan. Then there is a "Bush" who is suddenly a Floridian--do you suppose Bush citizens are like mushrooms? Springing up overnight to fertilize lowly cultures with their visionary capitalism? Texas used to be a well-educated Democratic (though somewhat conservative) state until the "Shrubs" appeared because Texas wisely used a lot of their oil money to fund higher education. When the "Shurbs" appeared, things changed. Yokels just don't know how to combat Rovers and Shrubs although we fight the overgrowth of underbrush daily, both physically and politically. Hightower was how Texas used to be and how maybe someday it will be again--intelligent, honest, and able to look at reality without flinching. I read Hightower's book concurrently with another very important book called "Bush's Brain." It is a story of how the Bushes took over Texas and how Rove did it. It was remarkable to me to learn in "Bush's Brain" that Rove essentially destroyed Hightower's political future (his capacity to earn his living). I don't know about you, but when someone tries to kill me by destroying my capacity to feed myself, I get downright onery and even insulting!!! Jim Hightower's book, given this knowledge, makes him the most remarkable human being I have ever known. To have a brilliant man's political career so ruthlessly destroyed by a total scoundrel and still to have the objective reasoning capacity and supreme humor that he maintains is beyond extraordinary. I really love this man! Jim Hightower's loss as Agriculture Commissioner of Texas due to Rove's Watergate-type tactics was a horrible loss for the nation as Jim Hightower as Agriculture Commissioner of Texas was the beginning of protecting ground drinking water by peddling back on pesticide and herbicide use. This is where we lost our nation. Rove was like a mold that got its start in Texas (a slice of the bread) and spread through the United States (the whole loaf). I think Hightower's book should be on the required reading list for all educational establishments and citizens of the world. He explicitly delineates how our democracy failed and what we need to do to get it back. If you haven't read this book and "Bush's Brain", don't even talk to me--you are illiterate and not worth talking to.

Funny, Angry book shows the way to recapture Real Democracy!

OK, so you're sitting there feeling helpless that "BushCo" (that corporate monster that now inhabits the White House) has raised close to $100 million in donations to its Presidential campaign, is literally in the back pockets of nearly every Fortune 500 company in this country and thus has access to its money, has Big Oil on its side and seems virtually untouchable with themight and power it has accumulated in its greedy quest to inhabit the White House for another four years, right?As in, OK, this is one big helluva David and Goliath type of thing. How on earth can We The People topple someone who has become almost a dictator with every moneyed and powerful entity on his side and probably more power than any President since this country came into existence?Well, sit yourself down in your favourite comfy chair or couch, pour a nice hot cup of reality tea and read this book. Jim Hightower shows us the way, the very REALISTIC way, that We The People can take back our Government from the greedy minions of "BushCo" who would subvert the very foundations that the Founding Fathers laid forth for posterity.It's called, "Grass Roots", and it's a very powerful weapon that "BushCo" can't stop, given enough of a juggernaut by We The People. Gather round the kitchen table and listen to Jim Hightower tell you of very REAL success stories of Real People like you and like me who defeated Big Corporations (read that, Big Money) using grass roots organising and a bit of moxey and ahell of a lot of anger.You know the one beautiful thing about Americans? We may seem, at times, to just sit there and take it: OK, now, shut up, go shop and spend that tax break we gave you, oh, and don't question us, we know what we're doing, so just move along, move along. Well, Americans are a rebellious bunch, as has been proven by our history, and eventually, they wise up to the Fat Cats and rise up against them and defeat them.It's happened time and again throughout our history. And it's beginning to happen again. Big Money, Fat Cats, Corporate Raiders and all those evildoers would have you go spend your money at Wal-Mart and thus shut down all of your local businesses due to what they call "predatory pricing" (just drivethrough the east side of my home town of Kent, Ohio, and see what our Wal-Mart did to our locally owned businesses! It's a wasteland of empty buildings out there!).They would have you continue to feed the system of slave labour in China, where workers (often women and children) are forced to work sometimes 20 hour workdays for mere pennies a day. I dunno about you, but this seems like slavery to me. But gee, how DOES Wal-Mart keep its prices so low, anyway? Wanna know how? Read this book. It will shock you into never wanting to buy another thing from anyone whose products are produced in overseas sweatshops, among many of the indictments against Wal-Mart in this funny, angry book.They would dump toxic waste wherever they please, not caring that it could sicken yo

Every American Should Read This Book

Jim Hightower tells it like it was, is and always be. He proves that neither party represents the common man. He holds no punches and delivers his message with a Texas flair. At times funny and at times deadly serious, Jim takes us backdoor to what is really happening to our country. Only a few selected people control this country and they are doing EVERYTHING in their power to keep control. He also talks about how the neo-conservatives have hi-jacked the Republican Party and why the Democrats are no longer the progressive party. Jim shows why all of Texas don't like GW Bush and he shows facts how Bush actually hurt Texas, rather than helping it. Bill O'Reiliy clams he is a populist. But he NEVER tells the truth when it comes to the Republicans and most importantly, to President Bush. To keep from getting into hot water with his bosses, O'Reiliy just avoids the subject or sugarcoats it. Jim Hightower is not like that. He is a true populist who tells it like it is and don't care if Republicans or Democrats don't like it.

Now these are high crimes.

Jim Hightower has issued a call to arms in this his latest book. It is a call to action that should be answered by the vast majority of Americans for the current system is serving very few of us. Hightower has only stated the obvious in regard to our current government structure but he does so in a very clear manner that may just get the attention of America. Too often we just accept things as they are because speaking out is too much trouble. If we aren't careful, we are going to lose the America we love to corporate greed and corruption. Bush won't help us for he and his whole crew are company men all of the way and are doing everything they can to help the process along. In Jim's words, "Never have so few done so much for so few." The things Hightower documents in this book are not only unbelievable but also downright scary. The Democrats don't escape Hightower's wrath either. Bill Clinton and the Democratic Leadership Council are just about as guilty as are the Republicans. These people figure that if they don't fight the corporate greed that is ruining America they can expect large campaign contributions. It has obviously worked since as Democrats we no longer seem to have the trouble raising money that we used to. On the other hand, as a party we no longer have a soul. The reason the Democratic Party exists is to fight for labor, the poor, and all of the other good hard working Americans who look to our party for protection from the, "haves and the have mores." Quite simply, I don't care how much money Microsoft puts in DNC coffers; our principles should not be for sale.Just as the reader starts to get really depressed, Hightower hits us with the good news. People all over the country are starting to stand up and be counted. It's not a political thing, as both Democrats and Republicans have worked together for the common good of their community. From little projects like planting flowers along a highway to taking on and defeating big corporations who want to bring part-time minimum wage jobs to the community while destroying local business. Yes friends, the MacWal-Marting of America can be brought to a halt and Jim has the stories to prove it. This book also has the dirt on some of America's corporate giants and some of the things these people do in the name of profit are just downright disgusting. I'm not sure if I will ever go into a Wal-Mart again. There are also chapters that expose the food industry, sweatshops, (hello again Wal-Mart) and the decline and fall of our right to privacy. Ending on a high note, Hightower issues his call to action. He has shown the reader how corporate greed and government avarice can be defeated and at the end he gives us the contact information we need to join the fight. This is an excellent book, laced with both humor and acid. Every American should take a look at this book. You may not agree with all Hightower has to say but he will most assuredly give you something to think abou

Telling it Like It Is.

This is an excellent book although the WalMart chapter made my so annoyed that now I won't shop at any WalMart. Can anyone believe that a company would take out "stealth" life insurance policies on unwitting employees just to make more money? Aren't the billions they're already making enough? This is sleazy, disgusting and it's WalMart to the core! Anyway, the rest of the book is good too. It's an eye opener.