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Summary: ... like lambs to the slaughter (so go the fans of O'Reilly)
Review: I bought this book the morning it hit the shelves and finished about 100 pages in the first night. Other than being a well-researched, honest account of the endangered species known as 'fair and balanced' U.S. media, Al Franken's "Lies" exposes how many Americans are easily led to nonsense. The lies repeatedly spewed by Coulter, O'Reilly and the Fox News ilk (shamelessly headed by Uber Aussie Rupert Murdoch and right-winger Roger Ailes) should be ridiculed and shamed, not bought into blindly. Once the misled Americans wise up and begin thinking critically, they can start the long overdue boycot of everything Fox and take our country back.
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Summary: Humor is the greatest Weapon
Review: I bought this book the other day, and can't put it down. A lot of people in these reviews seem to misinterpret this book, and Al Franklin. Al is not an extreme leftist. He is not a Chomsky progressive, or a Michael Moore type pit bull activist. He is a simple Democrat. More than that, a comedian who uses his weapons of irony, sarcasm, and laughter with tactful proficiency.In "Lies", Al uses his humor to "take the piss out" of several blowhards. It is not so much that Al is exposing O'Reilly, Hannity, Coulter, etc. as liars; which is, in itself, fascinating. It is that he exposes these people as hypocrites. He uses their own arguments against them, proven that these people believe that the standards they set for others don't apply to themselves. Does Al live up to these standards? No, but that doesn't matter, because he doesn't claim to. The point of the book is hold up a mirror to those people with pointing fingers, and see what happens when they scrutinized by their own standards. To address the so called impartiality that these "pundits" claim to possess. Some reviewers are bothered that Franklin doesn't live up to these standards himself, but that's not the point of the book. Al never claims to be impartial; he puts his bias right out there for all to see. What I like most about this book, though, is that he never shows the dripping animosity towards his opposition. Even more frustrating to them...he laughs in their faces. The laughter is very contagious.
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Summary: This opened my eyes
Review: I bought this book thinking, "I know all the lies the conservative media has been telling, but I'd like to hear another point of view and maybe pick up a few facts." Once I started reading, and realized that I really had believed some of the lies, I couldn't put the book down. Al tells it like it is, and makes it fun to read. I've never seen Al on TV and I've never read his other book(s), but I'm going to start now. The only chapter I didn't fully enjoy was the cartoon of Operation Chickenhawk, where the humor became more important than the hard hitting facts. I would recommend this book to anyone (even those on the right).
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Summary: This book is absolutely hilarious!
Review: I bought this book today, and as soon as I opened it and started reading, I couldn't stop laughing. I bought this book for the sole purpose of laughs -- but was pleasantly surprised to find some good facts interspersed with the laughs. Overall, a great buy, a great read, and great laughs. I can't wait to read his other stuff.
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Summary: Judge's aren't the only folks who can mock Fox News...
Review: I bought this book yesterday and am already halfway through it (if I read faster, I would have probably been done by now). Franken is extremely clever in the way he dismantles the claims of Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Fox News at-large and many others. Fox News brought upon themselves the wrath of a U.S. District Judge who openly mocked their claims that this book's title was satire, but the Judge isn't the only one to make digs at Fox News. My favorite part about this book (to date) is how it dismantles Fox News' claims that it is "fair and balanced," and O'Reilly's claims that he is not conservative. All in all, its fun to read. Franken's writing style is extremely easy to follow and entertaining... especially the way he tries to spruce up boring old facts and charts with his off-handed comments. Recommended for anybody out there who is fed up with the conservative hacks that rule talk radio and the Fox News Channel.
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Summary: Brainy Kids Help Al Stand Up For Liberals
Review: I bought three extra copies for relatives and friends! This book is the new addition to my lending library--only three other books have such an honor of multiple copies.
I just laughed and laughed and laughed. And at this point, I have read it all nearly three times. This book has infinitely more depth than any humorous book I have ever read before. Frankly it has more depth than most college textbooks. So even though there are lots of jokes and most of the jokes are screamers, in a lot of ways, the book is extremely extremely serious. But that's OK; I'm a serious enough guy. But it's packed with things that I didn't know. [With six college degrees, it's not really normal for me to have to admit that.] And it's a bit of a brainy book in some parts. The people who did at least some of the research and the fact checking on the book were 14 Harvard students [many being grad students], who competed to be chosen out of the 700 Harvard students who signed up to do the seminar course with Franken. So imagine that you are a humorist, and you now have 14 utter geniuses as your work slaves. It makes for a different kind of book. I recommend it highly. One thing that some people who were criticised by the book (or whose heros were criticised) didn't like is that Al does not back down one bit from those who regularly go out of their way to lie and intimidate. They call a name. He calls one right back. [Seems pretty fair given that Al backs his claims up.] But we all knew that. And in my opinion, Al doesn't do that to anyone who doesn't do it to others all the time and who also richly deserves it. For example, Rush Limbaugh used to constantly ridicule Janet Reno on her personal appearance, or Chelsea Clinton on her personal appearance. [This must be because Rush is such a good looking man you know.] Then Al wrote a book called "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Liar." You'll remember how many of Rush's friends whined about how Big Bad Al was picking on poor little rush. Here "Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them" is much the same. Bill O'Reilly, known for yelling down people rather than reasoning, pretty much got his ass kicked at the Book Expo America--Al directly confronting O'Reilly with lies O'Reilly had told about winning journalism awards and then catching O'Reilly lying about it some more. Bad form, lying about jounalism awards. Easy to check too. O'Reilly couldn't stop him as it wasn't O'Reilly's show even though O'Reilly tried. [The complete story which in the book is much much funnier.] And then there is Ann Coulter who apparently thinks that Senator Joe McCarthy is a wonderful role model, and with him as her spirit guide, calls well over half of the country "Traitors". There are a number of others as well. But you get the idea. The book "Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them" is exactly what it says it is. It exposes the methods of lying used by various of the country's right-wing-nut media. And then it makes fun of them. Some of it is hillarious. Some of it is disheartening. But almost all of it was enlightening. My favorite silly part is still Operation Chicken Hawk. My favorite serious part was how Ann Coulter uses six distinctly different methods to lie using footnotes. My favorite satirical expose was the sending of letters to expose the hypocracy of 27 of the most powerful people in the country who espouse "Abstinence Education" [by which they mean no real sex education at all other than, "Just say No."] Is it a surprize that none of the 27 came up with an "abstinence story" for "Saving It!", the obviously pretend publication for high schools. Ha Ha Ha. Can you imagine funny little Al doing this. God, I bet the 27 were mad. Imagine. You are one of the most powerful people in the country, and you have just gotten a letter from little Al Franken making fun of you, asking you to prove that you have "walked the walk". Worse, you know it is going to be printed in Al's new book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them." Even worse, you don't have a single thing you can say to defend yourself from the implicit charge of hypocracy because you are a hypocrite. Worse still, the letter is howlingly funny. People will be laughing at you. You are very very argry. Well Al did wind up having to send an apology for using Harvard letterhead to send the letter out to the 27. [It seems that Harvard Fellows like Al don't have that right to use Harvard letterhead just because they are teaching a class--I did not know that.] And these 27 did get revenge on Al to that extent. But if I had done it, I'm sure they would have just had me whacked. Al may be small, but he must really have some brass ones. By the way, I understand that the book is selling like crazy. So if you want it in hard cover, probably better buy it soon. Will737
Rating: 
Summary: funny, at times pitty, and unfortunately true!!
Review: I came across this book at B&N last night, picked it up, and after reading the first paragraph, couldn't put it down. I bought it and read most of it before the evening was out. This book's primary focus is anti-conservative as Al Franken shreds any and all conservative views and actions of the present to the Reagan era. Luckily, he is also frank, methodical, and concerned about the truth (or lack thereof) as he methodically exposes lies and half-truths of such conservative noteworthies as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel, about Reagan's "zupply-zide zeconomics," about the failures of Bush Sr. to respond appropriately to terror attacks, and other conservative failures. As important as exposing some of the lies of the conservatives is (some of which is frankly vain), for me the humor and satire employed by Franken to drive the point home is the real gem of the book. At times I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.... !
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Summary: Sharply funny, even true conservatives appreciate it!
Review: I can appreciate someone pointing out the misleading influences in the media. He doesn't just talk and hope you will not check his sources like the people he talks about. Some Conservatives here have voted here to read Ann's Treason book. Which is an appropriate titled for her work. Do yourself a favor and get the scoop on her by reading her section in Al's book! There is proof backed by the New York Times that shows she's full of what she likes to write about. Bottom line: George Bush does not care about religon or conservative values, but he knows how to call sheep in for the slaughter. It is individual Americans that care about these values, giving him the perfect card to play every time he wants to push a secretive, radical agenda.
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Summary: Much better than I expected! Intelligent! Funny!
Review: I can certainly understand how well meaning, open-minded conservatives may at times become frustrated reading this book since Franken is a proud, unapologetic liberal who definitely has an ideological point of view. But with that in mind, this book is not the asinine political hackwork that I thought it was supposed to be, and that many in the media who have most likely not read it have portrayed it to be. It's a well researched book(thanks largely to TeamFranken) and has a decent tone to it. I would have liked if Franken would have forced himself to refrain from being blatantly partisan in certain instances, since his detractors will undoubtedly point to those instances in an attempt to discredit an otherwise surprisingly insightful and intelligent book. People are going to attack Franken and the book, along with the nature of political discourse in this country, because Franken is a comedian. This is a valid concern since Al Franken is just that: a comedian. But don't blame Franken for doing the job that competent journalists should be doing. Franken calls the right wingers who have hijacked the discourse in this country exactly what they are: LIARS. Something most journalists in this country have been frightened of doing or choose not to. I've seen some of the reviews of this book and am frustrated but not surprised to read that some reviewers are dismissing Franken as doing the same thing that the Hannity's and Coulter's do. He's not. I've mentioned that I wish Franken would have refrained from being blatantly partisan in some cases, but the most partisan page of "Lying Liars" is not as blatantly partisan or vitriolic as the least partisan and vitriolic page of Coulter's "Treason" or Hannity's "Let Freedom Ring." Franken gives his take on the right wing media. He covers everything from institutions like Fox News, The Washington Times, and the Wall Street Journal to individuals like, most notably, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly. He goes after the President, Vice President and several other conservatives. Franken exposes dozens of substantive lies, which I believe in many cases he proves are unarguably deliberate. This current administration is proven to be just as dishonest as the Clinton administration, but in a much more calculated, mean-spirited way. The entire book was valuable but the three most indispensable chapters are the chapters on Coulter, Hannity, and O'Reilly. If you're a rational, fair-minded person then you are most likely disgusted by these three people (O'Reilly not necessarily because of his politics but because of his obnoxious arrogance and self-promotion). Franken did something amazing. Something I never thought anyone could do. He put out the fire inside of me that raged when I heard these three personalities. After knowing what I now know, I'm not angry at them, I pity them. In a way, I kind of already knew it, but no one else ever put it in print. Ann Coulter is proven to be a breathtakingly lazy researcher and psychological case study. Hannity is proven to be a hopelessly hateful hack whose sophistry knows no limits. And O'Reilly is proven to be a dishonest obnoxious bully. He lies about his Peabody's, he lies about his party affiliation, he lies about his background history, he lies about lies in attempts to cover up those lies, he lies about everything. In one lie, O'Reilly, in his usual phony rage, says that Hillary Clinton did not meet with any of the families of the 9-11 victims. I, who admire Hillary Clinton, was dissapointed with her when I heard O'Reilly make that claim shortly after 9-11. As Franken alerts us to, Hillary, at the time O'Reilly made his hurtful claim, had already met with 11 families of victims and had attended the funeral of Father Mike Judge. O'Reilly never apologized for saying something that was inaccurate and hurtful, he never has. It's not right and it's about time someone had the fortitude to stand up to him. He sounds so confident on his show and intimidates and shouts down anyone who questions his accuracy although he's frequently wrong. He's a lying bully. I think it's possible if not likely that seventeen months from now, when President Dean or President Kerry will have just been sworn in, the person most responsible for it will have been an aging former SNL satirist. Maybe, just maybe, this book will be successful in forcing liberals to locate their testicles, stand up, and fight. One more thing, Franken has something of mine that most conservatives and many liberals don't have: my trust. His Limbaugh book was thoroughly accurate and this book is, I have no reason to doubt, just as accurate. The negative reviews I have seen do not attack his accuracy. They can't. If he's inaccurate about anything, I'd love to know. I, unlike most conservatives, do not admire liars just because they say things I agree with. Let me be clear, I'm not attacking conservative values, which in most cases, I completely oppose but respect. What I am attacking is conservatives who don't have a problem with proven malicious liars like Limbaugh simply because he says things they agree with. I never understood that. You would think someone would have contempt for an individual who gave them false information that would harm their reputation if they repeated that false information. You won't have that problem with Franken. When you hear the negative reviews of this book, ask yourself if Franken's accuracy is being questioned. Many conservatives, including O'Reilly, have said that Franken is "vicious." Read the book. He's not. But the point is no one has yet and most likely will not adequately attack his accuracy, but they will attack him. One last thing, it's a funny book! The O'Reilly "fellatio" passage was worth the price! Geez Bill! What were you thinking?
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Summary: Excellent diatribe on the evil blowhards of the right wing
Review: I can just imagine the dissonance an Ann Coulter, Bill "O'Liely" or Hannity fan would suffer, reading "Lies and the Lying Liars...". I almost feel sorry for them but then again, most will never read this book. Well written, and genuinely funny (depending on your sense of humor). The most enjoyable passages were not the spot on attacks of these liars, but rather the well written assertions and defences of Left leaning values. That members of the Left are in fact patriotic, that we love our country as "grown-ups", able to apply critisicm and discourse when we feel our leaders have taken us down the wrong path. It's also nice to read that Al actually had a research team that knew how to properly use Lexis/Nexis (as opposed to Ann Coulter). What a difference a search makes...
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