Rating:  Summary: Lie after Lie after Lie Review: If at first you don't succeed (SNL), Lie, Lie Again.
Rating:  Summary: Tripe, Lying Tripe and Lying Liars who write it........ Review: If ever a book was a collection of vastly misrepresented facts surrounded by some witty sarcasm whose sole purpose was to distract readers from the truth, this book is it. Franken's questionable research and truely dispicable view of people not just on the right, but also in the center of political ideaology are offensive at best and libelous at worst. Why is it, that for all of the intelectual elitism on display by Franken (and other leftists), all attacks switch from being based on fact and instead become personal. Almost all of his opponents (O'Reilly, Coulter, Hannity, etc) seem to go out of their way to avoid personal name calling and ridicule. My sense is that because the facts speak for themselves, personal attacks are not even needed. Reading books from intelectual elitist like Franken only strengthen my view that they will never be in touch with the problems faced in today's real world, and will instead, attempt to distract us from their true feelings, by personal attack and witty banter. While I regret that I cannot have back the hours it took me to read this book, it only reinforces my view that the left are a bunch of immoral, elitist, snobs who thumb their nose at the everyday person and couldn't give a darn about how the majority truely lives their lives. I would suggest this book as a read for anyone who just finished their MAD magazine
Rating:  Summary: Everybody should read this book Review: If for no other reason than the fact that Fox News sued him because of the slogan "Fair and Balanced" claiming that people would think they endorse the book (obviously they think you and I are pretty stupid); or, if you are interested in seeing just what kind of lies O'Reilly, Cheney, Coulter, Bush and their compatriots have told and do tell (No-Spin Zone in your dreams); and, in the end, for a really good laugh and some writing that will make you think, read this book!
Rating:  Summary: I'd like to see Franken on Fox... Review: If Fox wants to get a valid reputation, they should replace Colmes with Franken. Hannity and Franken. Not only would they get real debate, but the show would be much funnier! This book simply reveals lies and liars in a funny way. To all conservatives: Franken is not talking about you. He is talking about media liars that are telling you what you want to hear. I understand how a conservative might believe in tax cuts, less government, less regulation - but how can you defend your beliefs without the facts? More importantly, how can you - as a person blessed with critical thinking - believe what you believe? Make up your own minds with the FACTS, and liberals will start taking you seriously. A former moderate, newly-minted liberal.
Rating:  Summary: Bill Clinton Agreed With Bush Review: If Franken commends Clinton so much for foreign policy, then perhaps he should listen to what Clinton said on "Larry King Live" about how he agrees with Bush on the war with Iraq. He also said that every president makes mistakes (regarding the faulty intelligence on WMDs'). If you don't remember history well, Clinton went into Serbia without even going to the UN. Where does Franken say that in his book? There IS a liberal media (FOX news aside). Franken and Moore's books makes the Democrats only make them look even more desperate. Let's see, Republicans have intelligent titles like "High Crimes And Misdamenors", "The Left's Assault On Our Cultures And Values", "Let Freedom Ring..." etc. What does the Left throw back? "Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot" (ironic for franken), "lying liars who tell them', "Bush wacked", "Dude Wheres my Country" and "Stupid White men." If they had less childish titles for their books maybe I would respect the left more. The only book I thought was reasonable was "The great unraveling" because it doesn't resort to name-calling. Clinton was a great president thanks to the Republican-controlled congress who monitored his money. Get something from Ann Coulter instead!
Rating:  Summary: Is Franken trying to be funny? Review: If Franken is trying to be funny in this work of fiction, then I missed the boat. All I see is a lot of petty and pernicious name-calling. Franken has taken the political discourse of this great country to a new low as he continues to spew forth unwarranted profanity-laced venomous vitriol - the likes of which our country had not accepted in the past, let alone witnessed. His conniption fit on Howard Dean's campaign stage was apoplectic at best as he childlishly pilloried Brit Hume with his nonsensical tirade - while Howard Dean looked on admiring the whole chirade. Unbelievable.
Rating:  Summary: This guy doesn't know what the word Truth means Review: If Franken thinks the media leans right he is either not the sharpest tool in the shed (which I don't believe) or lives in a completely unrealistic world typical of the many entertainers who backed Clinton. We need people like Rush to balance the left leaning news media. It amazes me to think that there are people out there who believe Franken's comments...I guess it's a free country, but his perpetuation of the leftest lies is shameful.
Rating:  Summary: Thanks, Al Franken! Review: If I could rate this book higher than five stars, I would. Why? Because it's the best political analysis I've seen? No. Because it reveals truths that aren't to be found elsewhere? No. Then, why? Well, because it does reiterate important truths that need to be told, because it's (at times) very funny, and, most importantly, because many more people are likely read it than to read other books that are just as truthful but aren't fun to read and aren't presented by widely popular entertainers (e.g., William Blum's _Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since WWII_, Greg Palast's _The Best Democracy Money Can Buy_, and numerous books by Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, etc.). For more entertainment, look at the profiles of some of the Amazon reviewers who rated the book low to see them revealed as racist, self-righteous, and not very smart. Thanks, Al Franken, for using your reputation as an entertainer and your large following to broaden readership for the truths you tell beyond the small coterie of "ultra liberals" like me! It's nice to see someone with a large following who isn't owned by Rupert Murdoch speak out!
Rating:  Summary: Breath of Fresh Air Review: If I were a Republican, I would find this book very threatening, as it exposes the shamelessly lazy (and in too many cases intentionally misleading) reportage of the right-wing media. The fictionalized chapter on Vietnam was a publishing mistake, but the rest of the book is a gem, with Franken employing his ironic wit and some easily researchable facts to point out how Republicans can, and often do, spin anything to create a media tempest in a teapot designed to hurt Democrats. This book exposes knee-jerk conservatism in its ugliest forms. The chapter most right-wingers will find difficult to digest is the one on 9/11 that points out in stark detail how Clinton did in fact understand the threat of terrorism and took action on many fronts (including through several anti-terrorism bills, which congressional Republicans invariably rejected), while it took 9/11 before Bush and crew got religion, so to speak. Bill O'Reilly gets the worst of the treatment, with Franken giving copious examples of how O'Reilly holds others accountable for their false statements but finds any investigation into his own offensive. (Also, when confronted with a lie, O'Reilly's instinct seems to be to cover up the lie with another lie. He has already dismissed this book as a pack of lies, which is unintentionally correct since his whoppers figure so prominently in it.) Be warned: If you didn't question the validity of TV news (so-called "24-hour news" in particular) before, you will now. Even the osetnsibly non-partisan Jeff Greenfields and Judy Woodruffs of the world are caught rolling with stories that have little basis in fact and, in some cases, seem to come right out of a Republican Party press release. Democrats were given a pass in this book, it is true, but then I don't recall Rush Limbaugh, Kellyanne Fitzpatrick Conway, Ann Coulter or Peggy Noonan, including Republican malfeasance in any books they ever wrote. What made much of this book possible, however, is the twenty-four hour news cycle. In the race to "get the story first," the news media seem to have sacrificed some of their factual integrity for the excitement of sensationalism, none more than Fox News. That's what makes this book such a breath of fresh air.
Rating:  Summary: TOO GOOD! Review: If one of my friends or loved ones had died during the September 11th attacks, I would be so furious after having read this book that I couldn't contain my rage. What a powerful dissection of how the Bush Administration dropped so many balls. And then there is the rest of the book which is fabulous! Loved it!
|