Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right

Rating:
Summary: Let's hear it for Team Franken!
Review: When I heard that Al Franken was coming out with another book I made a mental note to check it out this time. When I heard that FOX was suing him with the flimsiest of lawsuits (for which they were literally and audibly laughed out of court) I went and got it the next day.

Franken was a visiting scholar at Harvard when he enlisted the aid of a dozen or so student research assistants (to whom he makes mention quite frequently) to explore the veracity of the 'facts' as proffered by the talking heads of the Far-Right media (namely the FOX News Channel and Ann Coulter) and the Bush White House.

The result is an easy-to-read, well-crafted and hillarious work. It would make you angry if it weren't so funny. But after the laughs subside I found myself asking a lot of questions - which is what I think Frankel's aim really is. I highly recommend his book to anyone who wants a laugh at the expense of those who truly deserve it.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the read
Review: When I read reviews that give this book one star, it's always the same thing (or at least appears that way): I haven't read this book, but from what I've heard or what I've seen, it's a big pile of crap. Well, I'm here to say do yourself a favor and read the book and I promise you'll end up laughing, crying, and even getting angry at some of the facts Mr. Franken presents. Some of his chapters go off into neverneverland, but I suppose that's his purview as a comedian.

With so much discourse in the world right now, and in our own country, it's nice to read a book that will bring a little humor into your life. It may not bring humor into all lives, especially intolerant, racist, conservative republicans, but for the majority of readers, it'll give you the laughter and ammo that anyone can use. And remember, if you're only reading books that fall in line with your own way of thinking, you're not really learning anything new.

Rating:
Summary: A funny and thought-provoking read
Review: When I received Franken's book, I couldn't put it down. His book is an amusing, honest, and scathing indictment of his enemies on the Right. Public persons who lie deserve to have their lies exposed so that we, the greater public, are better informed. And for that, Mr. Franken should be applauded.

Note that I said Franken's book is an "...indictment of his enemies on the Right." While I believe Franken's facts to be accurate, I'm not sure that his attacks are "fair" since they are so very personal. This style of expose, while funny, almost comes off as simply the flip side to Ann Coulter. Still, I recommend this book to everyone who desires to engage in a dialogue beyond platitudes. Anything that illuminates the truth should be celebrated.

I have long thought that the media has become the "opiate of the masses" and much of Franken's book supports this hypothesis. What is most disturbing is Franken's assertion that many liars lie because they think their readers/viewers are too stupid to check their facts. I recently finished reading the book Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner, which illuminates some of the lies we are told to keep us in fear. The point is that the American public has an obligation to be skeptical. Don't just listen to pundits! If you're reading Gore Vidal, you should be reading Rumsfeld as well and making up your own mind. So read Franken. Then read Coulter. Check their sources. You decide.

Rating:
Summary: The Best of Franken - Yet
Review: When I say that this is a MUST Read I say so with sincerity. I am a critical person and I don't hand out kudos easily. I must warn you that the conservative right will probably not like this book. Franken exposes the lies and deceits of the likes of Ann Coulter - the Queen of Mean, Bill O'Reilly - the Dude of Rude, Shawn Hannity - as in calamity, and others. Even a right wing, or is it right wind or wrong wind, conservative might learn something if he/she can keep an open mind. And then to be honest with themselves, they would have to consider changing their orientation. The book is filled with examples of the lies of those listed above, Bush, Cheney, etc. ad nauseum. I don't see how any involved American can avoid reading this book-unless of course they are unwilling to hear the "truth" and prefer the lies put out by much of the right and much of the right wing media. Oh, I'm a moderate and not easily taken in by either side. Beware, however, the language is too often rauchy and doesn't add to the book unless it comes out of the mouth of Wolfowitz, etc. I'd give the book more than 5 stars if I could!! It's that good.

Rating:
Summary: I am the missing 3rd Stooge
Review: When I think of this book I think of the Three Stooges:

Bill O'Rielly as Moe, Rush Limbaugh as Curly, and Al Franken as Shemp.

Al can also play a frog. Most people don't know that as he wears dark thick glasses to disguise himself.
Ann Coulter refuses to kiss him, so he's likely to look like this the rest of his life.

Rating:
Summary: bitter
Review: When I was in jr. high school I loved Al Franken on Saturday Night Live. He was a great satirist, but I am not sure what happened.

I was hoping for great political satire, but all I found was name-calling and more of what Mr. Franken's recent television appearances are like. I agree with the politics behind the bitterness, but books like this don't change minds or bring about new ideas they just gather dust and end up on EBay for a dollar.

Rating:
Summary: Another stupid tome from Stuart Smalley
Review: When is Franken going to grow up? The title of this thing alone should indicate to readers a little something about what this guy's concept of "balance" is. This is nothing more than a rehash of all the recent (FAIR, anyone?) baseless criticisms of the conservative media, and it's about as fresh as a Frenchman's boxer shorts. Avoid at all costs.

Rating:
Summary: Al Franken takes a dare
Review: When news broadcasts became part of the entertainment business, so did broadcast politics. Televised political discussions on the left and the right aren't analysis, since they all unfailingly spin their stories in one direction. They aren't debate, since the moderator always controls all the microphones. They can be informative, but they are never dispassionate. They are specifically meant to excite the emotions. This is what makes them entertainment.

When they pretend to be objective and not entertainment, they quite rightly leave themselves open to legitimate attack and exposure. Al Franken, who labels himself a liberal and who is in the political entertainment business himself, has written this very funny book exposing the pretensions to objectivity of a group of self described conservatives in the same business he is in.

Franken's criticisms sting, but it is hard for me to feel sorry for the objects of his ridicule. They themselves set themselves up as strident purveyors of fact. In this sense, Franken's book was written on a dare. If the people he has exposed are whining about ultra-left conspiracies (as Bill O'Reilly apparently has), they appear less the victims of slander and more like the chef whose customer points out a cockroach in the soup. You can decide for yourself whether they are the liars that Franken says they are, but one thing is for sure. If they don't accept in good humor that Mr. Franken has really nailed them, and use this to improve their product, then it's perfectly reasonable to believe that the title of the book is accurate.

Rating:
Summary: Flawed but Vital Example of How to Beat Neoconservatives
Review: When Republicans overtook the Congress in 1994, looking poised to make a takeover of all American politics, Al Franken's _Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations_ served as a powerful antidote to neoconservatives' mendaciousness. With the neoconservative movement now in effective control of national politics, and nakedly attempting to parlay their power into perpetual rule by misleading and scaring the public, Franken has stepped forward again with _Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right_. The book, while flawed, is still a boon for those who look to help loosen the stranglehold the far right has on America today.

As with the Limbaugh book, in between personal anecdotes and non-political humour, Franken not only pokes fun at conservatives, he shatters their arguments. Fox News' conservative bias is thoroughly documented, Ann Coulter's "research" is destroyed, Bill O'Reilly's shameful lies are exposed, and the crimes of the conservative right, from using 09/11 and its aftermath to further their political allies' businesses, to their shameful distortion of Paul Wellstone's funeral to steal the 2002 elections, are all comprehensively and irrefutably laid out.

However, the book isn't perfect. It lacks the lightheartedness of the Limbaugh book, as Franken's desperation over conservatives' continued control of Congress clearly confounds him. Also, Franken's continued defence of President Clinton's more moderate policies and actions betrays Franken's own moderateness; his claim that Clinton was "the greatest president of the 20th century" is horribly absurd.

The fact that the right has yet to effectively refute Franken's claims points to the effectiveness and veracity of his arguments in _Lies_, however. Even those who disagree politically with Franken will probably find themselves entertained by his wit. For these reasons, the book is required reading for anyone interested in current American politics.

Rating:
Summary: Stop the hogwash!!
Review: When will some people on the left begin to think for themselves instead of repeating uncritically what their "leaders" say? They are only angry because they are no longer in power and are becoming more shrill and desperate. You certainly have the right to vent your spleen, but don't try to dress it up like fact.