Rating:  Summary: Flame Magnet Review: Folks, whatever your political beliefs, I hope you didn't form them by reading comic books like this one. This book is just not suited for people who haven't already made up their minds on these major issues. It's designed to provoke either fierce anger or fierce approbation, not to provoke systematic, logical thinking. The only minds it will change are the minds not worth changing, or having, for that matter. Buy this book if you consider yourself a confirmed leftist. Otherwise, don't waste your time and money.
Rating:  Summary: I'm torn between my two favorite books now!!! Review: For a very long time whenever one would ask me what my favorite book was, I'd have my answer ready. "Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot, of course." It was an easy answer because the book was beyond brilliant, but now I'm torn. After reading "Lies and Lying Liars Who Tell Them", I must confess I can not choose which one is best. So, instead I've just decided to say that Al Franken is the best damn writer in the world. One of the greatest aspects about Al Franken is that not only is he a genuis, but he doesn't have the need to use extensive, confusing charts and words to show his fans how intelligent he is. He doesn't have the desire to make his fans feel stupid or that topics of importance are over our heads. Instead, he is more focused on educating people. Breaking down the subjects that people like Ann Coulter, Pat Buchanan and Dick Cheney would rather us not know about. In "Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot" Franken broke down Regeanomics showing exactly how harmful trickle down economics was. Best of all, his readers weren't lost. We didn't feel out of the loop or dumb. WE UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE WAS SAYING!! The man is truley a genuis and he shows this time and time again in his new book. He explains more of what is REALLY going on in terms everyone can understand. Don't get me wrong, this book isn't all education. It's also (and probably a little moreso) entertainment. He tears apart all of the idiots we are forced to watch day after day spewing garbage to the public. He shows clear cut how much they LIE over and over again and how much Ann Cloutier wanted America to believe that Al Franken and her were "intimate." (Buy the book and you'll understand:) Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE should own this book. Even Bill O'Lielly!! Maybe, if he reads how stupid he sounds, he'll shut the hell up! (Here's to hoping!). Finally, knowing that Al Franken is out there working with Team Franken it helps me sleep a little better at night. I worry slightly less about the garbage being spewed daily on Fox News, because I know that Franken is there to catch them and call them on it. In conclusion, BUY THE FREAKIN BOOK!!!!
Rating:  Summary: Republicans Stipped Naked and Exposed Review: for all of America to see. And it isn't pretty. Imagine Rush Limbaugh naked. Now, imagine Rush Limbaugh naked, attempting to come at you from behind. That's what he and other Neocons have been doing, giving you the Bum's Rush. From Rupert Murdoch's cleaning out of liberals at Fox News (save one wimp doormat, hand picked by his loudmouth and obnoxious Neocon co-host as just the man to be the lone "liberal" at Fox) to the truth about how they twisted a funeral into a political talking point, the facts in this book can't be argued nor denied.
Rating:  Summary: a book that was actually RESEARCHED Review: For all of the reviewers that called Franken a liar, I challenge you to do what he did in his book and prove that he lies.
Rating:  Summary: Hides behind humor Review: For all of you who think his facts are undeniable, you seem to ignore the pages of claims he makes, but doesn't feel the need to document them bacause after all it's just humor. For example when he says that Coulter would phrase something this way. He says what he wants to say but doesn't document it in the guise of humor. For someone who is all over Coulter's endnotes, he sure seems to have his fair share, and a lot harder to match up with the statement he is documenting than are Coulter's.
Rating:  Summary: Incredibly funny, insightfull, and downright damaging Review: For all those "1 star" reviews, I ask one question: Can you find a single unsupported claim made in this book? I honestly looked. Pretty hard too. And I couldn't find a single one.Now, granted, I was able to discern when Franken was joking, which obviously some of you can't. At any rate, Franken has, yet again, create one of the funniest books I've ever read. There were maybe 10 or 15 pages in the entire book that I didn't laugh while reading and most of those were during the chapter about the really sickening tactics Republicans used regarding Paul Wellstone's death and funeral. Let me state clearly that I'm NOT a Democrat. And I doubt I ever will be. But I'm also NOT a Republican. I'm a strange mix of Libertarian and Green. (Figure THAT one out!) But after reading this, I have all the more reason to hate what the Republican Party has done to this country. Is it possible that Franken is lying about all of these lies? Perhaps. But when you have transcripts that he quotes from (no, not out of context...), when you have quotes from the accused people themselves, when you have quotes from people like Bill O'Reilly's Mom (ha!), when you have an actual tape of people doing exactly what Franken accuses them of (the C-SPAN incedent), it's pretty tough to figure out what Franken is lying about. So, here is the challenge. If all you Republicans out there are SO convinced that Franken is lying, show us. Give examples. Heck, I'll settle for a single example. Something as damning as O'Reilly lying about where he was born? Something as damning as the Homeland Security proposal HANDED to the Bush administration by the outgoing Clinton administration? Something as damning as making up statistics on the fly to shut up somebody who disagrees with you? Anything!? And once you've done that, trying reading David Brock's "Blinded by the Right". It's not nearly as funny, but it's just as damning. It's time for America, and Americans, to grow up. Do you really want to contribute to what has become a sham of a democracy? Or do you want to try and fix that which is clearly broken.
Rating:  Summary: Excellent! Informative As Well As Entertaining Review: For anyone who has managed to catch a bit of mainstream-media news in the past several years, this book is for YOU. If you want to know the REAL story, instead of the mainstream media LIES, Al Franken manages to outline the major issues in a funny, and very entertaining manner. For anyone who is a major fan of Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly, you should definitely read this book (but I'm sure you won't)! These news personalities are no-doubt ashamed, as well they should be, at what they let pass as journalism. This is definitely the best book I've read all year. I plan to buy copies of the book to give to family & friends for the Holidays.
Rating:  Summary: Educational, well researched and often hilarious. Review: For anyone who wants an insightful look at the current political situation in America this book is highly recommended. Franken uses his sharply honed dry wit to make vitriolic loud mouth right wing blowhards look like the fools they are. He isn't kidding with his choice of title for his book. He calls these dopes liars and he proves it. And that's where the laughs come in. He gets 'em good, cornering them with their own words. This book is a real eye opener. A great way to inform yourself about the way politics is played in this country.
Rating:  Summary: Funny at Times Review: For context, I should begin this review by noting that I am a libertarian, meaning I tend to agree with Al Franken on social issues, but disagree with him on economic issues. Hence, maybe it isn't surprising that at times I found this book amusing because of its clever humor, and at other times I was laughing more at what a donkey Mr. Franken was making of himself. The book is funny for the right reasons when Franken is recounting his mischievous adventures in the world of politics, such as baiting Bill O'Reilly into a shouting match on CSPAN, or posing undercover as a prospective financier at Bob Jones University. The book is funny for the wrong reasons (i.e. I was only laughing because Franken was making a fool of himself) whenever Franken abandons his clever satire and instead tries to be a legitimate pundit. The most ridiculous example of this is when Franken seriously tries to make a case that the media was biased in favor of Bush leading up to the 2000 elections. His primary piece of evidence? That a group of Columbia professors said so. It's in absurd sections like these that Franken is guilty of everything he accuses his enemies of, such as selective use of statistics, distorted anecdotal evidence, and outright lies. Too bad he couldn't stop himself from going down that path, as it greatly weakens the funnier parts of the book. Finally, I can't fail to mention Mr. Franken's inclusion near the end of the book of a one-act play he wrote about a waitress and a tax attorney. This section takes the cake for some of the clunkiest writing I have ever read. It's the polemical Plan 9 From Outer Space, to be savored for its hysterical ineptitude. Even Bill O'Reilly's awful suspense novel has literary merit when compared with this gem. Who knew that Franken, normally such a savvy wit, could write such a clunker and honestly think it worthy of publication? I would recommend this book to anyone, who, like me, derives a guilty pleasure from reading these angry political screeds. I read this book shortly after finishing Treason by Ann Coulter. The books go well together, perhaps to be savored with a Big Mac, a Coke, and some Fox Reality Television.
Rating:  Summary: Drivel...Pure Drivel Review: For entertainment value, this book is a fair read. There are issues which ultra right and left wingers are both on shaky ground in their arguments. For proving a point or making an argument, which I believe he is attempting to do through his bitter satire, Mr. Franken fails to succeed. If he wants to be taken seriously, he should write seriously. Until then, I will continue to put him in the category of liberal hot-head under the guise of satire. If you like, read this book for what it is: Entertainment.
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