Rating: 
Summary: More hateful lies from the sad little man-child
Review: Most of 'facts' in this book have been completely discredited. Not that the hate-mongers on the left actually care about facts. Everyone should read this book. Although it is a pack of lies from cover to cover, it is highly indicative of the modern American left. There is no lie too despicable for the left to tell. There is no person, or group of people the left will not demonize. As long as it leads to their goal of a socialist America with them as the central ruling party-elite.
Rating: 
Summary: Effective satire
Review: Most of the negative reviews have missed the point by concentrating on Franken's criticism of pundits like Hannity, O'Reilly, Coulter, etc. Make no mistake: Franken certainly dishes out some bad names for these folks in the first few chapters of the book; but the real target here isn't the conservative media but our current regime, which is satirized very effectively toward the middle and end. It's no wonder that the Democratic Party is promoting the book so heavily. Like any good satirist, Franken finds no real need to shout his target down, instead preferring to let Bush & Co. hang themselves with their own words. In almost every chapter of the book, I came across quotations from our political leaders which left me incredulous. On many occasions, I had to stop to double-check Franken's sources. And, sure enough, on every occasion Franken has used his evidence fairly. When Franken reminds us of the current House Majority Leader's explanation for his absence from Vietnam, for instance, the explanation sounded so ridiculous that I thought Franken must be stretching the truth. And yet I'd encourage anyone to look at the newspaper article to which Franken refers us: "Representative Tom DeLay explained to the assembled media in New Orleans that he and Dan Quayle were victims of an unusual phenomenon back in the days of the undeclared Southeast Asian war. So many minority youths had volunteered for the well-paying military positions to escape poverty and the ghetto that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like himself" (*Houston Press* 1/7/01). The self-serving arrogance and utter lack of social conscience demonstrated in this remark unfortunately tells us much about the people running the country today. Not only DeLay but many other Republican Party bigwigs have offered similarly ingenious accounts which manage to "reconcile" their nonparticipation with their hawkish mentality.In any political contest conducted through satire, the stronger party understands that fierce and frequent attack, rather than concern for analyzing the other side's data, usually holds the key to victory. To quote the solecism with which Bill O'Reilly regularly cuts off debate: "I don't have time to refute the facts you're using." What makes Franken's book so remarkable is that he has grasped this principle of satire and *still* handled the "facts" well. He has pulled off a thoroughly convincing strike on his opponents, without ever straying too far from the solid research that he's built up. Sure, he relies too heavily on the internet and he hasn't produced many policy recommendations (besides keeping the estate tax), but--let's face it--he doesn't have to dig too deep to find problems with the G.W. Bush administration. Sure, Franken is far too easy on Clinton; but this book is enough to make even the most jaded reader nostalgic (and not just for the old *Saturday Night Live*).
Rating:
Summary: Franken might be a comedian, but he knows his stuff
Review: Most of the time when people put this book down, they say things like "Franken is just a comedian." Like somehow that means he can't have an intellegent viewpoint on any subject except cream pies. Can anyone say Straw Man? I knew you could. Here's the thing, when Franken is picking apart the lies of people like Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity, he does really well. he had a bunch of great fact checkers and researchers. it's not hard to prove these people are lying because the truth is out there for people to find. The only issue I have with Franken is that he's a die-hard Clintonite. and while I am on the liberal side of the equation, I know that Bill is not a god, that he made many mistakes and did his own lying. But it is the way of books such as these to adhere to one side of an issue, no matter what is really going on on that side.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, fact based critique laced with hillarity!
Review: Most of what I want to say has been said already. Great read, very funny, but probably most important - his assertions come with actual evidence to back them up!!! This book has me questioning everything. I am very eager to hear the Right's response!
Rating:
Summary: Al Franken Sets (Most of) the Record Straight
Review: Most people will have their minds made up before even picking this book up. This book is most helpful for those who aren't certain, and for those who to arm themselves for the next round of armchair politics. Much of this really comes down to whom you believe. However, I did research some of Franken's facts, and found them to be accurate. Some of them I already knew to be accurate. The basic message I got out of this book is that we are being betrayed by our media and our government. The media is not telling us the facts which we need to know. It gives some politicians a free ride, while gleefully scewering others (for the record, Gore WAS involved with the creation of the internet). For instance, why were there so many stories about Clinton being a draft dodger, but none about Bush, or many other conservative draft dodgers? Why is it not reported that Bush deserted his National Guard unit for almost a year? We are also being betrayed by Bush and his cronies. First of all, Bush is NOT conservative. John McCain is a conservative, and a decent man. You'll note that he has been fairly critical of some of Bush's legislation, calling his energy bill "no lobbyist left behind." No, Bush is not conservative, he's simply corrupt. He's a spoiled rich kid who never had to do an honest days work, or truly earn anything, in his life, he has no understanding or sympathy for anybody born less fortunate than himself. His agenda is simply to help other rich people like him. He stole a $4.6 trillion surplus, and gave it to his rich family and friends. Now he's borrowing many in our names in order to give it to his rich family and friends. But back to the book. Franken illustrates how Bush (and others) simply make entirely false claims, and never get called on it. They state the majority of the tax cuts go to those at the bottem, but this is patently false; he states no child will be left behind, and then leaves millions behind; he states he will protect our resources, then turns them over to industry to be raped; he claims the studies prove abstinence only education works best, but the opposite is true; he claimed Clinton gutted the military and two entire divisions were not ready for duty, a complete fabrication; yet who is calling him on this? He has betrayed the ideals of any honest conservative, and is turning his party into a mockery of itself. The republicans should be the ones to be truly enraged. At times Franken descends into gratuitious, and superfluous attacks. In general, his point had already been made, such as with "Chickenhawk". The fictional piece doesn't add much, it only insult, and wasn't that enertaining. It's probably there to help sell books. His mini-comic on "Supply Side Jesus" was more insightful than most give it credit. It asks the question "what does orthodox Christianity have in common with supply side ecomonics?" How did this religion get so tied up with this economic theory. It certainly isn't in the bible as far as I'm aware, and isn't much in keeping with the example set by Jesus. If you want an example of a good, honest, and devout Christian politician, you should look to Jimmy Carter! In short, this book is mandatory reading for anyone who wants to understand political discourse in this country. It's funny, insightful, and loaded with facts.
Rating:
Summary: Looney Tunes
Review: Mr. Al Frankfurter Once Again Proves In His Latest Book That He
Is Clueless. Thanks Oscar M.
Rating:
Summary: hmmm
Review: Mr. Cappetto...I would suggest using (but first learning) real, English grammar before continuing to write any more book reviews. I would assume after having read so many books that it wouldn't be too difficult. Go ahead, give good grammar a try! People might start to respect your opinion!
Rating:
Summary: Funny Title, Little Else
Review: Mr. Franken (or his publisher) deserves kudos for crafting clever titles to his tomes. Now, if he can just say something funny (or at least interesting) inside the cover...
Rating:
Summary: Great info, questionable delivery
Review: Mr. Franken and his research team did a terrific job of digging up information and clearly documenting it. They receive an A+ for that. Some of the humor, however, I found vulgar and offputting. I wanted a book that I could hand to my conservative friends and religious relatives and say "See, the progressives have valid points in their arguments too" but I couldn't because I knew the message would be lost in the delivery. So, this is a great book to feel good about being left-leaning and excellent as a reference tool, but don't expect to hand it to a conservative and win them over to your way of thinking any more than your reading their fave Ann Coulter book would win you over to the hard right. Odds are, your right-leaning friends will never get past Al's language and attitude, so enjoy the old "one-two" he gives to the right, then memorize the facts he presents and deliver them to your friends yourself.
Rating:
Summary: The Confused Al Franken
Review: Mr. Franken appears to be confused on the cover of his latest doorstop of a novel. Is he squinting to see any trace of "conservative biases" in the media, or is this just another example of Mr. Franken's strangely and unsettlingly odd facial contortions?
I am a conservative. I occasionally read books from the left in order to "know the enemy," so to speak. Mr. Franken's tome was the most recent one I read. It was not enjoyable to say the least. Mr. Franken is supposed to be a comedian, but he is far too vicious and far less funny than should be allowed. Ann Coulter, whom Mr. Franken disparages in two back-to-back chapters (backed up with "evidence" that Ms. Coulter has long since rebutted with actual evidence), is vicious too...but she's got a sense of humor that balances the tone, at least in my mind. Mr. Franken, on the other hand, frequently uses swear words and (occasionally) graphic sexual descriptions in his writing. This is not particularly funny or unfunny; it is just increasingly repulsive, especially as one crosses over the 400-page mark. Ann Coulter keeps her books in the 200-300 page range. Mr. Franken's 420+ page paper weight is just too much cynicism and ad hominem attacking for one novel.
Al Franken thinks Bill O'Reilly is a conservative. I pose the following question to Mr. Franken: If the "global warming"-believing Bill O'Reilly is really a Republican, then why is he pro-gay marriage, pro-gun control, pro-choice, and anti-death penalty? Certainly these are not traits that Mr. Franken would apply to any other "conservative." I realize that Mr. Franken has a personal enmity towards Mr. O'Reilly, but without credible evidence to back up the "really a Republican!" claim, it is unconcinving, in my opinion.
Sean Hannity is a conservative. Alan Colmes is a liberal. Mr. Franken takes one "Hannity & Colmes" episode and discovers that Mr. Hannity said over 2,000 words, while Mr. Colmes was relegated to just over 1,000. But keep in mind, this is just one episode. What if Mr. Colmes had the flu that day? Maybe he was mad at Mr. Hannity for having a bestselling novel and didn't want to speak. I like Alan Colmes, even though he's wrong on every single issue. Mr. Colmes is not vicious, forceful, obnoxious and/or annoying (things that Mr. Franken is). For Mr. Franken to criticize Mr. Colmes for not, I don't know, "standing up" for the liberals out there is just another example of the crumbling Democratic party. This is just one more instance of the difference between liberals: there are radicals and there are moderates. Mr. Franken is a radical. Mr. Colmes is a moderate. See the difference? I do.
All in all, I did not enjoy reading Mr. Franken's novel, which plumbs new depths below the bottom of the barrel. Mr. Franken is second only to Michael Moore in terms of sophomoric writing styles, and it is not something I wish to experience again. Here's to conservatism!
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