Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing To See Some Truth in Truth!
Review: I found this book very refreshing to see a non-politician write a book that explains things to a common person and puts you in stitches as well. If you want to read a book that doesn't check out the facts or the rough draft might have been written in crayons, please by all means read "The Freedom Ring" by Sean Hannity. I hope you catch my sarcasm in this. Pick up the book and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: I challenge the right to prove any of this book wrong!
Review: I found this to be an extremely funny book at times, obnoxious at times, even a bit mean-spirited at times, but never more so than the right-wing zealots he is railing against. And they're never funny - one wonders if they are filled with so much hate they're no room left for a funny bone...The best thing about this book is that you KNOW Franken is telling the truth. Massive research by 14 Harvard graduate students (despite their politics, at least you have to admit they've got to be pretty smart to be there), backed up by numerous citations which document every lie Franken points out go a long way to convincing those of us who PAY ATTENTION to what's going on in the world that our suspicions as to the lack of honesty in the Bush administration and on Fox News are backed up by the facts. Seeing such a massive conspiracy of lies by the right wing and our senior elected government officials, backed up by so much damning evidence, I can forgive Franken for occasionally being a bit obnoxious and mean. At least his comments are simply a retelling of the facts, don't mind that man behind the curtain trying to tell you otherwise - words on a page. What he is complaining about is a concentrated effort to shift taxes from the mega-rich to the middle-class, eliminating services to the poor in the process, and converting our country from a nation others admire to one they fear and despise. This is not the America I grew up in, it is not the America I want to live in, and it is not the America I want to leave to my children. He is pointing out things which are being done to this country by far-right very rich conservatives (in the name of middle-right, well-off conservatives and the religious right) which significantly affect us and our children for the worse. I think these details need to get out. The right wing doesn't want anybody to know these facts, and you can see their attempts to stop such knowledge even in the mean comments with a 1 star rating they're using to try and damage the credibility of this book. Use your head - books don't vary from being excellent to terrible depending on the reader. This is a good book, which those on the right will strongly disagree with. Well, the truth hurts, doesn't it. Doesn't make this a bad book, however. I strongly urge all of those reading this book to also download Paul Krugman's excellent article on the how the Bush administration has conned us on the Tax issue, which can be found at the New York Times with the following details: September 14, 2003
The Tax-Cut Con
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Rating:
Summary: Why I gave this book 5 stars
Review: I gave this book 5 stars because I couldn't put it down. Al Franken does a careful step by step analysis of some of the right wing material we are all exposed to, and exposes the half-truths, distortions, and outright lies. He presents facts to support his allegations. You can draw your own conclusions. I'm sure the people included in this book don't like the fact that Franken uses their own words to demonstrate how some conservatives play fast and loose with the truth, but that doesn't make Franken vicious or hateful. It just means he's paying more attention than the rest of us.
Rating:
Summary: A halarious look at the lies with which we are barraged.
Review: I generally avoid books like this for being boring, untrue, or full of exaggerations. Franken covers his claims with excellent research from "Team Franken" and writes with halarious sardonic humor, keeping the reader entertained throughout the book. This is a book I will pass around to all my friends. Great job, Al!! If only little Tommy Friedman could write like this!!!
Rating: 
Summary: A Conservative who likes it!
Review: I generally consider myself a conservative, which makes me an unlikely reader of this book. However, watching Franken blast Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly -- the heirs to Mort Downey Jr. -- I must say I loved this book. Coulter and O'Reilly are nothing more than shock jocks who have somehow managed to be taken seriously by the mainstream media. For the most part, their lies are well-documented and Franken had my rolling in my chair. I was not fond of the Bob Jones set-up, which did nothing but prove that Franken is not below lying and distorting for a cheap (and unfunny) laugh. The abstenience letter was incredibly stupid, regardless if Franken put it on a Knights of Columbus letterhead. However, the book is worth reading just for his chapter on the Paul Wellstone memorial. At the time, I was appalled by the politicization of the memorial for a Senator who I disagreed with, but ultimately respected. Franken makes a persuasive case that what was said at the memorial was taken out context and distorted by Republicans. I would recommend buying the book and a few grains of salt.
Rating: 
Summary: So how can we make the most of this information?
Review: I give Al Franken credit for courageously speaking his mind. Let's assume that what he has written is without prejudice (an assumption many would disagree with), then how can we make the best of this information? As I see it, the only reason to express negativity is to find the best solution to resolve the issues at hand.
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Summary: listen to it!
Review: I got Al Frakens book on CD and listened to Al read aloud. It was so great! I love Al and had the best time driving around from work and back laughing and crying my head off.
Rating:
Summary: Game, Set, Match!
Review: I got Al's book as a birthday gift, and I'm glad that I did, since I probably would not have gotten it for myself. I figured that as a staunch liberal I wouldn't learn anything, and that so much of the book would be just a bunch of personal attacks that it would be off-putting. While there are a lot of personal attacks (about lies more than splotchy faces, but there are both sorts) the general subject of the book is the ways in which the right-wing has "spun" (read "lied") about everything from G.W.'s past to the cover-up of the real facts behind Sept. 11th and the administrations failure to react to the information they had. There are lots of lies pointed out, but there are also lots of facts that counter those lies. There are plenty of crude jokes too, which is perhaps Franken's weakest point -- his strength is now political writing and not comedy. But overall Franken succeeds in countering some of the lies of the right. Not only will free-thinkers find it entertaining and enlightening, but for many who wouldn't ever pick up anything written by Anne Coulter or listen to Rush Limbaugh, the book provides a record of what's being said about liberals and counter-arguments to them. It's a must-read for everyone with a sense that something is going wrong, but who isn't sure exactly what, who, and why.
Rating:
Summary: I love it so far!
Review: I got home about an hour ago and sitting on the front porch was my copy of Al Franken's book. I am only 20 pages into it so far, but I must say right off the bat that Al does even a better job here than he did in his 1996 opus Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot, which I happen to think is one of the funniest and most insightful books I have ever read. Here's what has happened in the book so far: A forward about what got him to write this book, some pages about writing the book, a few more pages thanking his researchers - it is actually funny stuff! Then comes the first of his targets: Ann Coulter. It takes him all of 1/2 page to thoroughly destroy her and her "research". But he does not stop at that. He goes on for at least (I am only 20 pages into the book for cryin' out loud!) 15 more pages and 3 chapters describing what a sad little woman this Coulter character and her pathetic research is. Would I buy this book again? Well, I loved RLIABFI, so YES! I would buy it again! As a matter of fact I will probably do that a few times this year to hand out as gifts. I plan on making a lot of Republicans really happy this holiday season.
Rating:
Summary: We thinkers are not alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I got it!! Do you ever wonder why anything the conservatives don't like they either try to SHUT UP or simply label it LIBERAL? Conservatives believe that if you aren't toeing the party line you're a LIBERAL who should SHUT UP. Well, there are a lot of people who I'm sure would agree with me that if it weren't for "liberal-minded" people who decided to SPEAK UP as opposed to SHUT UP we would still think the earth was flat, not to mention the center of the universe. Galileo would be considered a liberal, not because he was right or wrong but because he wasn't toeing the status quo set forth by the conservatives of the time (i.e., the papacy). So it is plain to me that all throughout history there have been both people speaking out with facts like Al Franken and those barking and biting, not because the facts are wrong, simply because they are too ignorant to respond to a intellectual challenge. This book was very informative as well as entertaining. Franken is extremely gifted at conveying his points with subtle to not so subtle humor and solid facts. If I had to use a mathematical metaphor to explain this book it would be: 2+2=4. What the conservatives would like us to buy is that X+Y=4, with Y fixed at 2 and X can be any number that serves there purpose except 2. This of course would render a unbalanced equation so perhaps, in reference to that limp lawsuit FOX attempted on "Fair and Balanced", FOX's new slogan should be "Unfair and Unbalanced - Views of what the heck is going on in the country". If they use this, should I sue them?
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