Rating: 
Summary: A book filled with facts... and humor!
Review: In an atmosphere where the conservative right spends much time lying in and about the media, it's refreshing to read a book with facts behind it. Al Franken and TeamFranken have put together a well-researched book that points out, with a lot of humor, how often the right distorts the truth or just plain lies. A must-read for everyone with a Voter's Registration Card!
Rating:
Summary: Sharp, Scathing together with Fair and Balanced to boot!
Review: In an ocean of conservative media Franken brings in a blast of fresh air, and a small army of Harvard fact checkers. It's somewhat ironic that my favorite chapter was supposedly written by an underage factory worker; but it is that humor that brings balance to a disturbing barrage of irrefutable evidence that we as a nation are being misled by the conservative right. Of course we've always known this, but now we have proof! Franken you've outdone yourself. Where are the other Liberals? I can't believe you hit #1 on the New York Times and I am the first person to write any sort of review here!
Rating:
Summary: Al is right on
Review: In his book "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right", beloved comedian and author Al Franken tells it like it is, finally standing up for the democrats and discrediting the myth of liberal bias in the media. Both hilarious and insightful, Franken takes powerful shots at Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Bill O' Reilley, as well as the Bush administration, exposing the lies they make (and then try to cover up with more lies), the myths they try to create (Clinton "gutted" the military, McCarthyism never existed and is a "liberal myth", and the "liberal bias" myth), and the way that they try to politicize events that aren't political (he has a solid 35 pages on the Paul Wellstone memorial). I reccomend this book for anyone looking for a view that is actually fair and balanced as well as thought-provoking and funny.
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Summary: Flies and the Gadfly who exposes them
Review: In his new book Al Franken does not do as good a job as Eric Alterman does deconstructing the notion of a left bias in the media. Peter Hart did a much better job reporting Bill O'Reilly's innumerable lies and distortions. Al does not lay down as concise a retort to the rights distortions of progressive views as Joe Conason does in his screed. And in their areas other writers like Paul Krugman have probably been more illuminating. But nobody has upset targets so much as Al has in Lies and the Lying Liars. Poor Mr. O'Reilly is absolutely apoplectic. Al has the genius of the gadfly. We should immediately commision a bust of Al arm and arm with Socrates. First it would be accurate, and second it would really upset the right who loves to coopt the symbols of democracy as it defames its substance.
"How dare that profane jokester be seen with the venerable Greek!"they would bloviate. You see Al goes to the leaders of his day and he puts them on the spot just like Soc did in Athens 2400 years ago. He attacked O'Reilly to his face. O'Reilly lamely insulted back (I have the tape). He went up to Paul Wolfowitz and asked the undersecretary how he liked using the Clinton military to fight the Iraqi and Afgan wars. Wolfowitz flipped Al off. He goes on their turf and attacks. And always with facts. He gives the evidence; they give the bird. The folks he calls liars actually lie. He does not subscribe to the Coulter school of persuasion that counts unsubstantiated insult as poignant argument. I agree with Vimal Patel's magnificent critique of Coulter's Treason. Vimal said that Treason was probably the lamest book (words to that effect)to ever acquire general readership. I concur. I have read lunatic tracts that were that bad, but those were written by fringe hate groups or fanatics (of course, I am not saying that Ann is not a lunatic or a fanatic). To have Al, as proxy, say what the rest of us have not the forum to say in retort to this machine is gratifying. He gets to the viscera of the matter--that thing about the right wing, the Bush administration, those in powerful places. Their lies are just a starting point. That Al iginites their rage is great. How many extra points of blood pressure has he added to O"Reilly's cuff reading. I believe he got Fox to pull the fair and balanced canard. He got the host and the network to look like jackasses in the faux law suit. He polks deserved fun at the "Chickenhawks"--that group of right wing war lovers who send our kids off to fight wars they never had the courage or manhood to fight. You can be pretty brave when someone else does the fighting. Jon Kerry serves as their brave commander in this prequel to the installment in Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Liar where Ollie North led the group of reluctant heroes. Supply Side Jesus skewers the greatest liars of all--those who profess a Christianity based on selfishness and disregard for the poor. We should know who the targets are and they are richly deserving. The right's lies are here for all to see. Let the right posture; let them bloviate. But let them try to refute Al's allegation's with fact!
Rating:
Summary: Contains Bill O'Reilly's Explicit Sex Scene!
Review: In late August lawyers for Fox News tried to make Al Franken's publisher remove the words "fair and balanced," and a photo of Bill O'Reilly with what looks like a nasty case of rosacea, from the cover of what to many people is probably a vile, disgusting, and dangerously inflammatory book. "Franken is neither a journalist nor a television news personality," Fox told the court. "He is not a well-respected voice in American politics; rather, he appears to be shrill and unstable. His views lack any serious depth or insight." As spectators tittered, guffawed, chuckled, chortled, and giggled, adding a whole new dimension to the expression "laughed out of court," U. S. District Judge Denny Chin methodically shredded Fox's arguments, calling them "wholly without merit, both factually and legally." Franken thanked Fox "for filing one of the stupidest briefs I've ever seen in my life." Since then, it's been all down hill for Fox News, which predictably decided to quietly withdraw its suit, not to report its courtroom debacle and let you decide how far its lawyers went to make fools out of themselves. Franken, on the other hand, is living well and trolling for a Pulitzer. As the author points out, this is a work that "brings to a new level the politics of personal destruction that have come to define our era." Franken decided that the entertainment value of right-wing politicians and conservative media personalities comes from their willingness to lie and distort. So, with the help of a volunteer research team of 14 Harvard students, he assembled an encyclopedic catalog of the right's underhanded accusations, devious innuendo, factual misstatements, and blatant distortions of the truth. The result makes a compelling case that right-wing media icons are sleazy, intellectually dishonest, and willing to sink to any depths to promote themselves and advance their careers. Maybe that's a little harsh. It's probably more correct to say that Franken makes a compelling case that they're a bunch of liars. Yeah, that's better. Unfortunately, some of this book is just gratuitously cruel. For example, when Franken lifts a sizzling sex scene from Bill O'Reilly's weirdly kinky suspense thriller "Those Who Trespass," and uses it three different times simply to mock its author and make him appear ridiculous and absurd, it seems like piling on. But you'll never watch Bill O'Reilly again without thinking of the phrase "brief white panties." Try it. I dare you. Unless you're familiar with concepts like "parody" and "satire," and can quickly spot examples, a lot of this stuff will probably sail right over your head. This might be what happened to Fox's lawyers. Or maybe it was just the money. Anyway, if you're a far right-wing conservative Republican, you will despise this book. You will want to give it less than one star, warn people not to waste their money, and say that you tore it up and threw it in the garbage after reading the first four pages. Don't do this to yourself. If you're anybody else, you will laugh, and laugh, and laugh, because this book is very, very funny.
Rating:
Summary: It's exactly what you'd expect--which might be a good thing.
Review: In Lies and the Lying Liars (LLL), Al Franken is funny, persuasive, and informative. Whether you agree with his views or not is another story--one which shouldn't have anything to do with writing an accurate review of LLL. Franken explains in the first five pages that LLL is a satirical attack on a half-dozen or so conservatives and the conservative media in general; he also says it's a funny book, which it is, if you like that sort of thing. Franken delivers what he promises in LLL, plain and simple. P.S. Franken also goes to great lengths to back up everything he says with sources. For this reason it's not a all-out emotional smear book, as some reviewers have claimed. Granted, it's nowhere near objective, and it doesn't scrutinize liberals with the same sharp eye as it does conservatives, but it's not pretending to, either.
Rating: 
Summary: Just stick to comedy gags Al.
Review: In my honest opinion, Al Franken reached his intellectual zenith as the stoned, bumbling baggage handler in Trading Places. It's been a steep descent since, and this latest book of his only makes this fact more obvious and sad. A few paragraphs were mildly humorous, but nothing that'll cause spontaneous coffee discharge from your favorite orifice. If you want humor, pass this one over and read Dave Barry. If you want incessant, hate-charged ranting from a kooky leftist who still believes the 21st century began on 1/1/2000, then this is your book. He's NOT good enough...he's NOT smart enough, and DOGGONIT, people are starting to DISLIKE him.
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Summary: opps caught Mr franken in a lie!!!!!!!!
Review: In reading Mr. franken's book I see where he stakes the credibility of the book on telling the truth. well, well, well, Mr. franken insists that President Bill Clinton NEVER received offered from the Sudanese Government to turn over Osama Bin Ladin to the USA. Well, unfortunately for Mr. Franken former President Bill Clinton has admitted that this is the absolute truth and that he regretted this over any thing else that happened in his administration. It appears he asked Janet Reno if we should accept the offer's from the Sudan and Reno's opinion was that we did not have the evidence to try him yet. So Clinton said NO to the 3 offers from the Sudan. On the last offer he told to Sudan to let Osama go on to Afghanistan well, Mr. frankin maybe I should write a book about you lying, you got some explaining to do.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, It's Funny
Review: In reading the 1-star reviews, I felt motivated to write this review of my own. This book is a satire. It is supposed to be funny, and it is. Franken is a comedian, a very successful one too. The point is that he takes facts - yes, facts - and presents them in a way that is funny. Since he's dealing with the hard core right (Coulter, Bush, Rush, et al.), that means all he has to do is repeat (as in quote) what these people have already said. Neat trick: repeat what Ann Coulter said; get a laugh. Michael Moore did the same thing in "Bowling for Columbine". Remember the Charlton Heston interview? Remember the militia dude who said that to be unarmed is to be irresponsible? The only fault that I can find is that satirizing the hard core right is shockingly easy to do, and therefore, no great achievement. Then again, the book is a satire. It doesn't present itself as a reasoned, intellectual response to the hard core right. For that, see Joe Conason's new book. By writing that book, Conason has basically put himself in the position of being the muscle bound bully kicking sand in the face of the 98 pound weakling. I take that back. Actually, he's more like the 98 pound weakling who went to the gym, got some muscles and then beat up the bully. One more comment for the 1-star reviewers. The book does not present hard core leftist views. If it does, then this must be a hard core leftist country since this book is #1 on Amazon's list and because more than half of the country voted for Gore, a hard core leftist according to Coulter, Rush, et al.
Rating: 
Summary: Right, Left, Conservative, Liberal, anyone really know the d
Review: In some cases the reviews are more entertaining than the book. Al Franken is a funny guy, and we all know that humor, especially effective humor has more than a little truth. But this battle between Liberals and Conservatives is bizarre. I truthfully don't know, nor do I care, if I am a liberal or a conservative, or a mutt, all I know is that though I don't agree with everything here, I was immensley entertained and I think that was a huge part of the author's intention. A book, a single book, isn't going to convert a nation unless it is populated by morons, and anyone who is fanatically biased as a Conservative or Liberal could quite possibly also be a moron. But that's just me.
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