Rating: 
Summary: Like the subject, but Al Franken isn't funny
Review: So you detest the people he skewers in this book as much as I do, and you're hoping to read something funny- not gonna happen here. (The next time he's funny will be his first.) Al Franken has singled handedly ruined entire segments on SNL with boring, juvenile, drivel and has managed to fill yet another book with the same sort of offal. The only two reasons this book gets any stars at all are: 1) At least he managed to waste some of Murdoch's money 2) Amazon doesn't allow for anything lower.
Rating:
Summary: Liberals
Review: So, a foul-mouthed ex-SNL juvenile deliquent upholds the entire Righteously Indignant Hysterically Socialist Democrat Leftist Fringe Party now?Oh, as regards book sales, this vast tome IS really more important than the Holy Bible, assuming you come from Berkeley or Boulder or Paris or some other equally enlightened Leftist hive striving for a matriarchal dope-smoking Arabian communist culture where internal combustion is outlawed and crystal gazing is the official religion.
Rating: 
Summary: Ammunition
Review: So, I've lived in San Francisco for a long time, and I'm afraid it made me a little soft. I moved to NYC for a few months and actually had to work and converse with actual conservatives -- and I soon realized that I'd gotten so used to being surrounded by people whose politics are similar to my own that I couldn't quote chapter and verse about why I believe what I believe. Sure, Dick Cheney is an evil man -- but why do I think so? Sure, Al Gore was a great candidate and should have been President -- but what about all those lies he allegedly told? Franken's book, while certainly humorous, is also an incredibly well-researched work. After reading it, I'm well-prepared to argue the points I find myself arguing with my Republican friends. More importantly, it encouraged me to consume media in a much more critical way than I had been in the past (there were aspects of the conservative agenda that I'd completely swallowed, simply because I kept hearing the same falsehoods repeated by multiple sources). Thanks, Al. You're the man.
Rating:
Summary: Liberals hate America? GHW Bush didn't think so . . .
Review: So, what's this business about liberals hating America? OK, let's see what G.W.'s daddy had to say about losing the presidency to an America-hating-liberal. The following are verbatim quotes from George H.W. Bush concession speeches after the 1992 election (from the G.H.W. Bush Presidential Library web site.) Nothing in here about a bunch of treasonous America haters taking over. Lots of remarks about the greatness of the democratic system, the need for new ideas, the common goals of all Americans, putting differences aside to help the new president . . . Remarks in Houston on the Results of the Presidential Election November 3, 1992 Hey, thank you very much. Look, here's the way I see it. Here's the way we see it and the country should see it, that the people have spoken. And we respect the majesty of the democratic system. . . .
I just called Governor Clinton over in Little Rock and offered my congratulations. He did run a strong campaign. I wish him well in the White House. And I want the country to know that our entire administration will work closely with his team to ensure the smooth transition of power. There is important work to be done, and America must always come first. So we will get behind this new President and wish him well. . . .
Now I ask that we stand behind our new President. Regardless of our differences, all Americans share the same purpose: to make this, the world's greatest nation, more safe and more secure and to guarantee every American a shot at the American dream. Radio Address to the Nation on the Results of the Presidential Election November 7, 1992 Way back in 1945, Winston Churchill was defeated at the polls. He said, ``I have been given the Order of the Boot.'' That is the exact same position in which I find myself today.
I admit, this is not the position I would have preferred, but it is a judgment I honor. Having known the sweet taste of popular favor, I can more readily accept the sour taste of defeat, because it is seasoned for me by my deep devotion to the political system under which this Nation has thrived for two centuries. . . .
I realize that defeat can be divisive. I want the Republican Party to be as constructive on the outside of executive power as it has been for 12 years on the inside. There must be no finger pointing, no playing the blame game. New ideas will flourish, and that is good. . . .
Ours is a nation that has shed the blood of war and cried the tears of depression. We have stretched the limits of human imagination and seen the technologically miraculous become almost mundane. Always, always, our advantage has been our spirit, a constant confidence, a sense that in America the only things not yet accomplished are the things that have not yet been tried. President-elect Clinton needs all Americans to unite behind him so he can move our Nation forward. But more than that, he will need to draw upon this unique American spirit. . . .
There are no magic outside solutions to our problems. The real answers lie within us. We need more than a philosophy of entitlement. We need to all pitch in, lend a hand, and do our part to help forge a brighter future for this country.
Rating:
Summary: Sobering and Funny
Review: Sobering and funny, this expose reveals the lies and the biggest liars of the right wing including George Bush's false Christianity and his misinformation about improving education (No child left behind) while cutting funding for educational programs (Head Start, Title 1, etc.) and teacher training. George Bush uses friendly sounding names for programs that eliminate health, safety and environmental regulations that are poisoning our air and water including safeguards that protect us from things like Mad Cow disease. George Bush is raping and looting our democracy and handing over the wealth and power of our nation to his richest friends and campaign contributors. Recommend this book to friends and family and help take back our country in November, 2004. There is no left wing bias in the media. There is a right wing bias. Our media outlets are owned by a small number of large corporations which benefit from spreading right wing propaganda and suppressing the truth. Fox Lies - Scare and Dishonest reporting is a GOP infomercial. Despite this, the majority of people who work in the media are liberal because they are better informed than most. Al Franken reveals the lies. To see how the rest of the media suppress the truth read "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" by investigative reporter Greg Palast. If you have any doubts, read any of the 20 or 30 books that have come out recently to corroborate the lies of George Bush and the right wing. Here a few reccomendations: Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative by David Brock,
Bushwhacked : Life in George W. Bush's America by Molly Ivins
Pigs at the Trough : Corporate Greed Political Corruption by Arianna Huffington
The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century by Paul Krugman
Weapons of Mass Deception: Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq by Sheldon Rampton
Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine by Joe Conason
Thieves in High Places: They've Stolen Our Country... by Jim Hightower
The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception by David Corn
Rating:
Summary: al franken, the master of taking it all in stride
Review: social-political discourse with a rapier wit. i would have laughed until something exploded if the right-wing wasn't so horrifyingly chilling in their historical amnesia and selective 'truths' with the blatant urgency to influence america. look at the current trends, 'you aren't a american if you think x and y. you're a traitor.' ug. franken pokes the eyes of those 'lying liars,' in the public eye - special attention to his old pal, and liar extraordinaire o'reilly and others of the same low-life caliber. fun and irreverent he finds no problem with lambasting the abundant misdeeds and duplicity of those purporting to give a 'fair and balanced' view of the world - the world they seem to have constructed out of thin air and with very little basis in this world at all. it's a heady topic but much is here - memorials into democrat clubbing just to further their hate campaign, the bush administration and its tap dance around the truth, political bias in certain 'news programs' (*cough*), and a holy host of others. a good gift for your beloved truth-seeker, and a necessity present for your misguided right-winger.
Rating:
Summary: What a Bitter Moron
Review: Some liberal spokesman- Catty, juvenile and BITTER- I don't really
care for Coulter's petty attacks either, but at least she's
got an excuse for acting like a woman.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious and revealing
Review: Some of Al Franken's television humor does not appeal to me. But this book is intelligent and very funny. My ultra-right, conservative mom laughed her head off while reading it !
A must read for any one interested in today's politics.
Rating:
Summary: An extremely funny book that will agitate all who read it
Review: Some of the best books and films I have seen or read in recent years have been those which instill a sense of responsibility to take action. This is often not through a direct call to action, but simply by revealing the injustices in our society in a way that makes the reader feel that they must be remedied. This is one of those books. Al Franken, along with a team of students from Harvard who verify every fact and example he gives (there is very little ambiguity in his points and examples and they are all well documented), lays down two major premises in the book: firstly, how there is no "big liberal conspiracy" in the media; and secondly, how conservatives lie time and again to further their political agenda, at the expense of the welfare of the American people. This book will agitate all who read it: liberals will feel a sense of responsibility to be proactive, as well and a sense of validation of their beliefs after being so harshly criticized by conservatives for so long. Conservatives may dismiss the entire book as liberal exaggeration, or ironically, lying. Hopefully, some conservatives will begin to understand and accept some liberal viewpoints, and also understand how they have been lied to for so long by the GOP. Instead of concentrating his attack on conservatism in general, Franken decries the deception and hypocrisy of its leaders and the right-wing media, which are hurting Americans, as well as people throughout the world.
Rating:
Summary: hysterical
Review: Some reviewers are missing the point of the book. Franken is a comedian, and the book is meant to be funny. It scores big time in this regard. There were times that I laughed so hard I was crying and sweating. Franken's books are the only books I have read that can accomplish this level of laughter. If you don't believe that O'Reilly, Hannity, Coulter and other extremists are liars-and a litle bit crazy-then you likely will not find it so funny. And you are probably a little crazy.
| 
