Rating: 
Summary: My Favorite Mistake
Review: Never being one to shy away from " fighting the good fight " I've noticed a particular ( and rather odorous! ) trend eminating from some of the Conservative reviews of Al Frankens "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them " Many recent 'reviewers' ( Dittoheads! ) are coming to the rescue of their " one true Messiah " by attempting to explain how Mr. Limbaugh 'accidently' showed a picture of Millie the Clintons dog on his short-lived television program when describing the cute kid that the Clintons had brought with them. Lets be perfectly frank about this incident shall we....this, sadly, was little more then a typical Rush Limbaugh/Far-Right radio bashing and personal attack on a child who was never in a position to defend herself. An incredibly juvenile act but one that we've come to expect from over-inflated gasbags such as Rush. Can anyone truly belive that Mr. Limbaugh and his cohorts made a 'harmless error' and then proceeded to feign innocence? How terribly convenient! Previous pro-Rush reviewers who expect us to buy into this 'innocent mistake' must also expect Americans to believe that this administrations policies in Iraq are all part of a grand scheme to bring Democracy to the Middle East. Please!! Now while this sad event should not be blown out of proportion it is unfortunately typical of far-Right 'talking heads' who seem to show an appalling lack of good judgement when whining ceaselessly as they do about Bill and Hillary Clinton. Granted, many Conservative readers here ( and thanks for stopping by! ) will defend this far-Right bigot but how can any of us be surprised. God knows, we're talking about an individual who, two weeks ago, blamed the Clintons on his very own addiction to drugs. Yes, Rush Limbaugh, a man who apparently never met a Liberal he didn't hate, once again takes the 'high road' ( no pun! ) by absolving himself of any responsibility for his own pathetic behavior and blames Bill Clinton for his own weaknesses. Ya gotta love it! Mr. Limbaugh states that if it wasn't for the Clinton administrations lack of tackling the drug problem in this country head on our boy Rush would not be in the unenviable position he finds himself today. Apparently Mr. Limbaugh not only reveals himself to be a pathological liar ( something he shares in common with this White House ) but lacks any true back-bone and honesty. Again, raise your hands if you're really surprised by these rather odorous turn of events. Well, so be it! No doubt Rush Limbaugh will soon return to the air-waves as a true martyr of the far-Right and he shall continue to bask in the extreme wealthy life-style that he has become accustomed to there in Palm Beach. God, who said this isn't a great country!?
Rating:
Summary: In-your-face funny while thoroughly informative.
Review: Never knew much (or, really, anything) about Franken before this book -- which I really only learned about because of the lawsuit by Fox. Wow! What a funny, persuasive, informative mind! Loving it, laughing and learning at the same time!!! With footnotes and, on occasion, photographs of documents referred to. Cuts through the c--p we've been being fed largely by our "free" press like a breath of fresh air -- which you have to breathe between laughs.
Rating:
Summary: (4.5 out of 5) Nearly a Masterpiece
Review: Never one to take the Right's political warfare all that seriously, Al Franken is back with another scathing, yet humorous rebuttal of some of the Right's more high-profile mendacity. One thing I love about his work is that he attacks right-wing pundits with intelligence, humor and logic, some traits his targets lack. Rather than do all the research of these lies himself (which would indeed require tremendous fortitude), Mr. Franken enlists the aid of students from Harvard University. What better group to dissect the lies than a team of intelligent, educated people? Besides, who can actually take Limbaugh, Coulter, et al with a modicum of seriousness? Limbaugh has never had credibility and Coulter lost what pittance she had when she shed her dignity and joined the campaign to oust Clinton from office (I'm sure it was well before then, but who knows what she did prior to that). From what I can glean from their antics, they apparently compete to outdo one another to see how outrageous and preposterous they can make their claims while still maintaining the guise of legitimate work (needless to say they fail to pull it off). This provides Franken with the perfect venue for his satire, which he employs most deftly to counteract the Right's punditry and expose them as the Charlatans and liars they are. It is the perfect scenario: the Right attempting with a straight face to pass off absurd lies, only to have their arguments both mocked and simultaneously dismantled by a person of vastly superior intellect. It is great fun to read and serves as terrific reminder of how ridiculous, shameless and pathetic these right-wing pundits truly are. I deduct half a star because this book is marred by the same affliction as his previous effort, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot," which are his tangents about his family and other distractions. I am sure his family is wonderful and he loves them very much, but why interject those anecdotes into this book? It detracts from the central theme and crux of his arguments. Other than that minor grievance, however, this book is perfect.
Rating: 
Summary: The left-wing equal of those he criticizes
Review: Newton observed that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, but I doubt he was thinking about political discourse in America in the 21st century. Tired of the popularity of the right-wing drivel from the likes of O'Reilly, Coulter, and Hannity, I picked this book up after a recommendation by a liberal friend. I should sue Franken for the time wasted. Franken is nothing more the liberal equivalent of the aforementioned conservative "talents." This book is a ridiculously biased, badly written screed. Read this thing at your own risk. Review over. That being said, if you are expecting a few laughs from Franken, that's about what you are going to get -- a few, in fact, very laughs. Is this the same Al Franken who use to make us keel over in laughter every Saturday night 20 years ago? Maybe it is time for genuine Americans whose loyalty is to our country, and not to some ideology, to tell the O'Reillys, Hannitys, and yes, the Frankens, to knock it off. Let's get back into the business of being Americans. I, for one, am tired of the discord.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Next to Stupid White Men the best book ever written. Man those republicans sure are cry babies.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good...tho "Fair and Balanced" is a bit of a Stretch
Review: Nice job, Al...no question, Franken does a great job outlining the lies of the Republicans, esp. those in the press; some of it's just plain disgusting and unbelievable. Although I agree with his perspective on most of the book, the presentation of some of it comes off as pretty biased in the extreme opposite direction as those he attacks. He does a great job documenting support for his perspective which lends great credibility, but let's not suggest he's being objective.
Rating:
Summary: Stuart Saves his party?
Review: Nit picky book without substance. For example, points out Ann Coulters "lie" that Evan Thomas's father was President of some socialist organization. Not true! Says Franken. But he leaves out it was his GRANDFATHER. Just little nit picky tricks to try to discredit books with real substance. Keep trying Stuart, your party is doomed to the trasheap of history on top of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Research, Satire, Good Clean Fun...
Review: No bastion of right-wing [information] is sacred! Al Franken sets about the task of dispelling the "liberal media" myth that conservatives have so eloquently, albeit deceptively propagated. Among his targets are Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Fox News, George W. Bush (and the whole Bush-gang), Sean Hannity, and Barabara Bush. He backs up his arguments with supportive documents, yet he refuses to take himself too seriously. It is an entertaining read and informative to boot. Anyone with an interest in recent American politics and media coverage needs this book. It will start you on your own "quest" for truth among the "LIES".
Rating:
Summary: Required reading for all Americans - and funny, too!
Review: No kidding - every American should read this book. At the very least, anyone who intends to vote in an American election should read it. I thought the title was funny - I didn't realize that it is a literal description of the contents. Franken manages to keep you laughing with his ironic commentary as he exposes lie after lie after lie put about by the minions of the far right, but the fact is, the truth that is revealed here is very disturbing. The very ease with the lies have been exposed is truly frightening - as Franken says, these people don't even have enough respect for their audiences to think they might check up on something. If you believed any of the myriad accusations against Clinton, if you believed Al Gore tended to exaggerate, if you ever believed a single word Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove or George W. Bush ever said, read this book. Al Franken just might make you think, make you question, make you look and listen past the sound bites. Next time you find yourself outraged because of something the "liberals" supposedly did, take the time to find out if it really happened. Then, and only then, express your outrage to the appropriate party. Given the track record Franken exposes, I am guessing you'll be outraged at being lied to again. Again, again, and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Whether You're a Liberal or Conservative, This Guy is Funny!
Review: No matter what one's political affiliation may be, Al Franken provides witty and hilarious observations in his books and this one is no exception. I borrowed "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations" from my cousin about seven years ago. Although I was a Limbaugh fan and a Republican at the time, I was curious as to what was in the book since I was hearing mostly one side of issues. I was rolling. I still remember some of the funny pieces in the book that brought tears to my eyes. I am no longer political, but cannot resist checking out this new book. Liberals, of course, will relish in it but conservatives should take a look at it also because Franken is not just a comedian. He researches his observations and puts great thought in his ideas. Conservatives also need to be able to laugh at themselves. I saw Franken and Bill O'Reilly of the O'Reilly Factor on a panel discussion a few weeks back and O'Reilly kept throwing angry insults at Franken after Franken clearly caught O'Reilly giving false information about a program O'Reilly was involved in winning a Peabody award (one of the "lies" found in this book). O'Reilly did not come off well. The "liars" discovered in this book should lighten up and admit they made a mistake if they are in the wrong. No one is perfect. It seems that the attacks waged on Franken's books are not on the validity of the information but on the presentation (i.e. the less than tactful titles of his books). But, as is well-known, one should not judge a book by its cover, and Franken's works are insightful and thought-provoking as well as hilarious!
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