Rating:  Summary: A fair and balanced review of this book Review: Priceless. Franken is in top form throughout Lies And The Lying Liars Who Tell Them. Not only does he kill the myth of the "liberal media," he issues scathing diatribes against right-wing talking heads like Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity, using their own words against them. And he does all this while being absolutely *hilarious.* It's much funnier, wittier and precise than Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot. Franken is much angrier and willing to fight here. The chapter on Paul Wellstone's memorial service is worth the price alone. Great book.
Rating:  Summary: Fantastic! Review: Purely fantastic. I laughed out loud, nodded my head, and was otherwise amazed page after page.
Rating:  Summary: Brilliantly funny, thought provoking, and eye opening Review: Put simply, if you enjoyed Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot, you'll love this book. First and foremost, Lies is filled with Franken's brilliant wit and sarcasm that make it nearly impossible to put the book down. Franken takes on the myth that the media has a liberal bias, providing well-organized and painstakingly well-researched (by TeamFranken) facts that make for a jarring response. No stones are left unturned, whether in print, radio or television. More fascinating is the exposing of the blatant lies, illicit tactics and hypocrisy from Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, GW Bush, and many others. Whether outright lies (O'Reilly and his "awards") or cleverly crafted distortions (shady endnotes to deceitful charts), Franken lays it all out in a factual and humorous manner. Though defending myths about the Liberal in America, there are a few Democrats who end up getting their fair share of "Franken-sense". Religion, Economics, Republican Vietnam War dodging, and the truth about Terrorism all finds its place in one of the best books I've read in years. Al's long-standing place in politics, journalism and television certainly make for countless anecdotes found in this work; some outrageously funny, others surprisingly touching. Expect to be pleasantly surprised by what you learn in this book, coupled with what is generally known as good old-fashioned kidding on the square.
Rating:  Summary: Hilarious and Painful Review: Rather like getting a root canal with a LOT of drugs, this is awful truth painted in hysterically funny colors. Franken is so informed and funny that it's hard to get as despressed as we should over this stuff. Since the New York Post, part of Murdoch's empire, printed an editorial saying the curse of the Red Sox was over and that they were going to the World Series (um, the Yankees won that series), it's hard to believe that they would print OTHER lies, isn't it?
Rating:  Summary: Superb! Review: Rather than repeat what others have said I would just like to point out the difference between an open minded conservative versus an ignoramus right winger who first decides what he believes and then judges reality on the basis of that belief. To the close-minded reviewer below from Fairfax VA.....thank you for showing us all exactly why some consider right wingers as those who lash out while burying their head in the sand....so, you gave a book you admit you have not read one star! The depth of your intellect and your personal (sloppy) standards by which you choose to judge things are a glaring example of the problem we have here. If I have to spell it out "YOU AIN'T QUALIFIED until you do your homework." On the other hand, the "right wing" reviewer how actually read the book and compared it to Ann Coulter's book.....kudos to you. I wish there were more people like you on the conservative side who we could actually talk to. Instead we mostly get the hypocritical Rush Limbaugh types and his foot shoulders who only know how to shout their way out of an issue with only the slightest information and willful self-indulgent ignorance!
Rating:  Summary: New Lies from O'Reilly for 2004 Review: Read Franken, and read this to keep up with Bill's new and continuing lies: From www.spinsanity.org: The misrepresentation zone (1/9) By Brendan Nyhan During last night's edition of "The O'Reilly Factor" on the Fox News Channel, host Bill O'Reilly again distorted his controversial February 4, 2003 exchange with Jeremy Glick, the son of a man who died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. As we have noted before, O'Reilly has repeatedly misquoted Glick in recent months. During Glick's appearance on the show, which was cut off early by O'Reilly, he said former President George H.W. Bush Sr. and the US government were "responsible" for training and supporting "the parties involved" in the Sept. 11 attacks, a "legacy" he said was "inherited" by President George W. Bush: Our current president now inherited a legacy from his father and inherited a political legacy that's responsible for training militarily, economically, and situating geopolitically the parties involved in the alleged assassination and the murder of my father and countless of thousands of others. But in an interview last night with Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly, O'Reilly utterly misrepresented these comments, going further than ever before in promoting a fictitious version of what took place. First, he offered this absurd description of Glick's comments: He came on this program and accused President Bush of knowing about 9/11 and murdering his own father. When I asked him for any evidence to prove that outrageous assertion, as you've just admitted, he not only didn't have any, but filibustered through, alright? And continued to make these wild accusations without any backup, whereupon I told him to shut up and get off the show. Later, O'Reilly added, "I am not going to let anybody come on this program and accuse the President of the United States of murdering someone without proof and allow him to filibuster." This is actually the third time O'Reilly has falsely claimed that Glick said Bush knew about the Sept. 11 attacks in advance. On Sept. 18, 2003, O'Reilly claimed on his show that Glick "accused President Bush of knowing about 9/11 before it happened." The next night, O'Reilly read Glick's direct quote in an implicit clarification, then said that "Glick was saying without a shred of evidence that President Bush and Bush the elder were directly responsible for 9/11." Then, during an October 8, 2003 interview on National Public Radio's "Fresh Air," O'Reilly again falsely claimed Glick "proceeded to blame President Bush and his father, Bush the elder, for orchestrating the [Sept. 11] attack on their own country." O'Reilly's claims that his show is a "no spin zone" grow more hollow by the day. Related links: -O'Reilly repeatedly misquotes Glick (Brendan Nyhan, 10/16/03)
Rating:  Summary: Right on Target and some sence of humor. Review: Read half of the book on the first day and Al Franken proved to be more than a comedian. He has done a good job working with some hardvard students named as TeamFranken to research and study the facts before reveal it to millions of readers. Al should thank Fox News'law suit for the purchase of my 'LIES'. Great Job Al. Looking forward to seeing you on Tv in 'Franken Defactor' show head to head with "O'lie,lly Factor".
Rating:  Summary: Funny, yes, but really, really serious. Review: Read it. Zany, visceral, hilarious, weird as it may be, the book drives home a concrete and valid reality: Americans are being misled by con-artists, political spinsters, and sloppy well-intentioned "journalists" who tacitly or overtly accept untrue information, and then feed it to casual news watchers. Franken is a comedian, but through the hilarity (and a few flop jokes) is a most serious premise. And it is not so much a polemic rant as his adversaries will claim. In fact, Franken rips his right-wing enemies a new one with the help of a crack team of Harvard research geeks. He employs scholarship and journalistic integrity to discredit a variety of right-wing frauds, including the President. His "TeamFranken" documents how mainstream media allows right wing fringe press to blow its horn loud enough to be recognized, even when (or especially when) the facts are bogus. This is a central theme of the book. It is an old trick to get a falsity published in headlines, knowing no one reads the retraction (if one is published). Hence, liars abound. Lies sounds rather extreme off the bat, and Franken's willingness to describe persons in a profane manner (the way we really do it) might take a humorless person or a republican aback. But TeamFranken, in fact a machine of credible research, pours a solid foundation for Franken's accusations - a stage for him to cut loose. And why use sugar? Franken is almost shocking in his exploits. He describes not only his charges against his foes, but his interaction with them. Franken confronts the people he discredits (if they will see him). In doing so he is delightfully obnoxious and courageous. His loud, crude bragging is intentional. He is Al Franken, and that has been part of his act forever ("And I'm Al Franken"). His tactic is honest, and it is one that other scholarly media critics cannot access. He sees that news has become the business of entertainment, and that often the truth is compromised for professional-wrestling-style debates that evoke memories of Morton Downey Jr. He counters. He uses his celebrity status and his comic talents to mix entertainment with brutal reality. He sees the necessity. But, unlike many "news" outlets, his facts are real and his intentions are on the table. Perhaps the most profound element in this book is Franken's corny idealism. It is not corny, but we have been trained to see it that way, haven't we? By contrast, the deserving targets of TeamFranken seem incredulous when they are exposed. Dirty tricks are just part of the game, Al! Everybody's doing it, right? Wrong. Bill O'Reilly and company will need MLA manuals (in addition to cortisone) from here out.
Rating:  Summary: Superb Review: Read the sheer hatred from the negative reviews below. That should tip you off to how truthful this book is. Truthful and hilarious. Well-researched and well-written. If you're not one of the sheeple, then you'll have a blast reading this book.
Rating:  Summary: Whatever you say Al Review: Read this book if you: 1) Believe in paying higher taxes. 2) Refuse to take responsibility for your own actions. 3) Think it's fair to take money from people who actually work for a living and give it to people who are too lazy to work. 4) Wish this country was more like Cuba. 5) Actually believe that Bill Clinton was an honest man with high morals. 6) Are totally ignorant on how the electoral college works and thinks Bush "stole" the election. I find it ironic that a washed-up "comedian" is one of the leading voices for the left. The title for Mr. Franken's book is also ironic considering he wrote an apology letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, admitting that he was not truthful when he previously sought Ashcroft's views on abstinence.
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