Rating: 
Summary: Al proves that you do not have to have talent to write
Review: I do not usually denounce people I oppose. I believe that everyone has the right to say what they want - even if that speech is laden with hate and lies, something in which Franken is outstanding. However, after seeing this untalented, unfunny excuse of a human being appear on Letterman's show, condemnation is what this witless, soulless swine needs. As an added bonus, it seems that Al himself reads these "reviews". Feast on this one Al! This book is really an excuse for this chronically unemployed liberal to spew hatred and fabrication among the gullible. Since only a select few would ever read something written by this snake (if he dared pen a tome with a title that didn't invoke the image or name of Rush or Bill) he feels the need to attach himself to the successful newsmakers of the 90's and the 00's. There once was a time when Franken was funny. Can you remember when? Yes, I know it is difficult to try to think back that far . . . but there was a time - remember the mid '70's? Franken hates Rush Limbaugh. Hates Bill O'Reilly. Hates Ann Coulter. Hates President Bush. But most of all - hates America AND himself. Hey Al, you had 8 years with Clinton/Gore. Why didn't you help change the world then? You had DECADES on SNL to shape the hearts and minds of young people. But you failed then too, didn't you? The fact is that the majority of the American people do not agree with you or your liberal ideology! It is that simple. I am happy of a few things in life - my wife and family - my job - and the fact that I do not pray to the same "god" that Franken does. Al - how can you tell a sympathetic audience that the "Republicans really hate" when sighting a stupid comment from a "reviewer" on Amazon.com about the death of your mother- and turn around and say "all you can do is pray" when making veiled threats and opaque hopes that Rush Limbaugh meets his demise in prison? Or after saying those sordid, disgusting things about Brit Hume? Or writing deplorable things about the President? Or calling Bill O'Reilly a liar (and worse)? Did your mother tech you that? I'll bet not. It is amazing to me that you spout deceit, lies, hatred and loathing about anything and everything "Republican" or "Conservative" - but you do not want to allow any other person you deem "on the right" to have a say about ANYTHING. I guess its all OK as long as we think like you, huh Al? You stand for nothing but arrogance and rage. You and Howard Dean can check into the same anger management class in a few weeks (after Dean goes mental on the campaign trail). You had the nerve to mention you wanted to do "drug free radio" (a VERY funny statement about Rush Limbaugh's addiction) when in the same breath mentioning how awfully Rush talked about Jerry Garcia (something I'd love to see you prove, by the way). You worked with addicts all of your SNL tenure . . . do the names John Beluchi, Chevy Chase and Chris Farley ring a bell? You should have tried harder to do "drug free TV" first. You (and all your liberal pals) were a miserable failure at that. I really hope that your new "talk show" does as well as "Stuart Saves His Family" did at the box office. All we can do is pray! After your show flops, I'm sure you'll blame the "right", "Republicans" or "conservatives". You'll point the finger at everyone but the one person that will deserve it - YOU. You will fail. Your show will fail. All we can do is pray. And right now, you need all the "prayers" you can get, Al . . . and believe me, I'll be the prayer warrior. Stop the hate, Al. Start with yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Fair and balanced is right!
Review: I don't always agree with him, but he does the research and finds the truth. Then he puts what he finds into what can only be called political comic relief. Hooray, for Al Franken!
Rating:
Summary: Very Intersting Book
Review: I don't buy into reading political books of this genre too often but after the stink Fox News mad about the title of this book I had go and read what all the fuss was about. This book was hard to put down. He takes on O'Reilly and Coulter and makes them look even more dim witted than they already are. He has a very easy style to read and the sarcasm is just dripping on most of the pages. What I like about Mr. Franken the most is that he tells the truth on these topics, even if he did or said something off color, etc, he will readily admit he was wrong. Unlike O'Reilly who will deny it to the ends of the earth, or yell down whoever is disagreeing with him. Even if you are a Conservative this would be a good read, its not slanted one way or the other really it just tries to balance out the Radical Conservatives that have been running the news. Do yourself a favor pick up a copy, even if you don't agree with what he has to say, you will still laugh throughout the entire book.
Rating:
Summary: waste of money and time
Review: I don't care about right or left wing. I like Al Franken because he is a funny comedian. But this book is just a total junk! There is no useful material or even funny material in this book. He just writes about his experiences about different events like meeting Barbara Bush in a plane or writing to people about premarital sex.
Rating:
Summary: Not your typical extremist blather
Review: I don't care much for the blather that comes from either extreme, most of what you get from Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity, and O'Reilly, on the right, and Carville and Moore, on the left, is varying degrees of cooked numbers and illogical conclusions. So I don't normally read books like this, even if I agree with the bias of the author. However, this book was actually fair, and the facts very well researched. I like to check the credibility of a book before I read it and my favorite resource is SpinSanity.Org. They go to the trouble to check the facts in political books, including the authors I mentioned above, and has universally criticized their work. Here's what they had to say about this book: http://www.spinsanity.org/post.html?2003_09_07_archive.html
Rating:
Summary: A fair and balanced look at Al Franken
Review: I don't consider myself to be the world's most enlightened political commentator or even partisan for that matter. However, Franken's book was truly enjoyable from the first ad hominem insult hurled to the final quiz that leaves no reader behind. I love the fact that he takes to task the people who are running the country and those who think they should be. This is the literary equivalent of "pants-ing" George dub-ya, his cronies, and all his wannabes that enable him to lie and get away with it. And I say good for Al! Should it be read with a grain of salt? SURE, every political commentary carries that warning, but should it be considered garbage because he brings to light the conservatives ugly dust-bunnies that have been shoved under the rug? No. The best thing about this book is that it forces the reader to ask, "Is this REALLY what's going on?" It motivates the intelligent reader to become informed, to seek more information--which is what every voter in America should be doing anyway. Congrats to Al and the members of Team Franken--you have made politics a dinner-table topic that's accessible to political apathetics like myself. And you completely leveled Bill O'Reilly who has been asking for it ever since he hosted the highly acclaimed political juggernaut "Inside Edition." Way to go Al! I can't wait for the next installment.
Rating: 
Summary: Limbaugh's weak attempts at damage control
Review: I don't know where "a reader" from New York gets his transcript. Did he actually watch the show in question? I did see the TV segment which contained the notorious incident. It could not have been a mistake or accident. Limbaugh's lead-in was contrived, and clearly could have had no other purpose than to set up the joke: Chelsea = dog. Limbaugh said, "We all know there's a White House cat. But did you know there's a White House dog?" Then the photo was put up on the screen behind him. I've seen the same debate elsewhere, many times. Obviously the alternate transcript--which is nothing like what actually happened during the show--is being circulated not only in an attempt to banish to the memory hole Limbaugh's cruel taunting of a young teenage girl, but also to make critics of Limbaugh appear to be liars. As if Limbaugh's defenders are concerned with truth! Franken sometimes exaggerates or embellishes in order to be more entertaining and to make his point more clear. Dittoheads frequently argue it's perfectly fine for Rush to do this, but heaven forbid a liberal should do the same.
Rating:
Summary: Dogs of the Left
Review: I don't understand why the "top" reviewers are so worked up about Chelsea Clinton being the white house dog. I'm sure many people would have "preferred" Buddy. But that seems to be the common thread echoed throughout Al Franken's book: Liberals are generally ugly people and their acts of procreation reflect the goings-on at Midwestern puppy mills. In fact, I would hire Al Franken's family and Chelsea Clinton for the Big Apple Circus just to save on makeup costs. It's why NOW and the American Kennel Club are interchangeable. It's why the "L" in LPGA doesn't stand for "Ladies", if you know what I mean. Anyhow, I recommend this book for Stepford liberals who need to redirect their self-loathing towards beautiful, rich people. The book is basically Al Franken sniping like a little schoolgirl at various conservative (i.e., smart) pundits. It's a good lesson in kindergarten humor (so-and-so is a nutcase, so-and-so is splotchy, etc.). Franken knows ugly. After all, he has to look at his wife and kids every day, not to mention that morning mirror routine. I recommend that people don't look at the cover of the book, unless you want to experience the male Medusa.
Rating:
Summary: Franken's Frankness
Review: I don't usually read books on politics, but I heard this one had a virtue beyond its attention to contemporary issues: it's funny. And I like to be entertained while I learn. The book, for me, fulfilled its promise, though people in Franken's line of fire will certainly be angered. Indeed, righteous anger, even bluster, seems their stock-in-trade. This is the kind of book people need in order to see the self-appointed, self-righteous commentators on the American political scene--like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter and their like--in some perspective. Franken describes (exposes might be a better word) their typical argumentative strategies--i.e., to lie, and then when they're called on it, to start dodging and weaving--and their plain misrepresentations of fact. Franken and his team did the research: they quote the transcripts, cite the facts, go back to the record to find what was actually said and compare it to what the subjects say they said. They cite the statistics, do the math: the record is there. And Franken is honest about his own failed attempts at jokes (e.g., the foray into Bob Jones University), and he apologizes for such missteps. Unlike the major subjects of his book--they never apologize for misleading the public and, indeed, seem to to it with relish, assuming that the most important priority of leadership is to work out favors for their major corporate supporters and chief beneficiaries. Franken puts his finger on something that resonates with me, especially with respect to Dick Cheney, but with respect to others in the administration also: their meanness, their coldness; they use rhetoric cold-heartedly and as an intentionally duplicitous strategy, like the phrase "compassionate conservative," then consciously do the opposite. They exploit people's Christian faith by appealing to it and then doing the opposite of what one would think Christians would do. Bush and his team seem actually hypocritical: after participating in a supposed salvific, year-long exploration of two books of the New Testament, he can't remember anything about them. Franken's account reminded me of an editorial I read after candidate Bush referred to Jesus as his favorite political philosopher: the writer of the editorial pointed out that Jesus's teachings would have been just the opposite of Bush's proposals. The Bush plan is to get conservative Christians on their side by appealing to their faith and making a show of sharing their beliefs; but it's really all about money and power. Nominate some conservative judges here and there, but otherwise construct a policy edifice that benefits the wealthy.
In short, for me, this was a tremendous book--provocative, factually informative, and funny. And it's a call to arms. Conservatives have hijacked the word "liberal" and turned it into something nasty. But their accusations against liberals often sound more like projections of their own mean-spiritedness. Where does that come from? Who thought of circulating the accusation that the Clinton White House staffers left grafitti, cut telephone lines, did disgusting, despicable things, so the Bush occupants had to spend $200,000 in repairs? The GAO later reported that nothing of the sort happened. But who thought of such a sleazy accusation? If nothing of the sort actually happened, the idea could only have come from somewhere within the Bush conglomerate to make the Clinton people look trashy. But it's the Bush conglomerate that gets stuck with the trashiness--it's in their minds, and the public is the beneficiary of that kind of thinking. These are ignoble people. The nobility and Christian humility are for public consumption.
Rating:
Summary: Eat this Bill O'Reilly!
Review: I doubt that Bill O'Reilly or Ann Coulter will much like this book. The book gleefully takes on the right wing and loves to focus on the Fox News Channel and Bill O'Reilly. Franken clearly is unintimidated by Coulter, Limbaugh, Ashcroft, et. al. which must be a source of incredible frustration to them. That alone justifies the price of the book. In any case, whether you like Franken or not, the best thing about this book is that it is very funny. I cannot say that this book is "Fair and Balanced" but who cares?
|
