Rating: 
Summary: Thank You Al Franken
Review: It isn't very often we get a book as wonderful as this one. Al has great passion for what he's writing about and for a refreshing change, this author has the truth on his side. I've never called myself a liberal or a conservative as I prefer to develop my opinions issue by issue, but if anyone can turn me into a Liberal, it's Al Franken. Franken makes several great points in the book but where the book really hits home is his work concerning President Bush. Never before has a President gotten away with so many deceptions. 9/11 did two very powerful things... 1. World opinion turned more pro U.S. than at any other time in our history. I received a couple emails a day talking about foreigners and their positive views of Americans. 2. Americans turned more pro government than at any time in our history. The heat was taken off of Bush as Americans got behind him, hoping that he would go after the people behind the events of 9/11. Instead of going after Bin Laden and his organization until we finished the job, Bush's personal agenda took over and we turned our military resources towards Iraq for no reason at all.( Oh I guess now the reason was that Saddam was a bad guy) It wasn't to difficult to see that going after Iraq was wrong. Basically we rewarded Bin Laden by taking out his biggest rival in the middle east. In the process Bush flipflopped world opinion by thumbing his nose at our best international friends. We should have known something was wrong when even Canada and Mexico wouldn't go along with us. Now we're left with the most anti U.S. world opinion in our history. 180 degrees in the opposite direction. Franken points out that Bush's policy towards anything is to put money in the pockets of his wealthy constituency. From his ridiculous tax cuts for the rich, to his energy bill, to the non-bid contracts going to Halliburton in Iraq, to the the recent Medicare legislation that actually bans Medicare from negotiating with drug companies for lower prices, everything this administration does, it does for the extremely rich. And it's taken Bush only 3 years to dwarf the enormous deficit that Reagan and his Father took 12 years to build, and Clinton 8 years to correct. Al, you've opened my eyes. We have to get this administration out of office. Vote Democrat in 2004, no matter who the Democrat is.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely a non-partisan look at the right
Review: It just goes to prove how desparate and pathetic the right-wing groupies are when they would give this book a negative review. "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" is brilliant, accurate, and perhaps most importantly funny. Franken does not necessarily, in my opinion at least, choose to toot the left's horn here as much as he uncovers the *obvious* BS spewed by the right. There are so many books that expose the right-wing extremists by using bitterness, anger and gossip. Books by Joe Conason ("Big Lies") and Eric Alterman ("What Liberal Media?") are great books but are examples of this, although they are geared more towards debunking what is the pure myth of liberal bias in the *media* rather than the politicians/conservative Washingtonians themselves. Franken's book is a refreshing change of pace in that it seeks to expose the right through matter-of-fact humor via actual verifiable facts and lacks a great deal, in fact all, of the hostility present in the Alterman and Conason books. Franken is quite civil towards the right by comparison with other books, yet those *on* the right still take themselves so "seriosuly" (quotes to denote sarcasm) that they choose to sling 4th-grade level insults at him and his book ("I feel sorry for the trees that were chopped down to print this book"?...I mean, really!), which I suppose just proves the whole point that a book like this sets out to make.
Rating:
Summary: And I'm not a screaming liberal....
Review: It made me laugh. It pissed me off. It got me riled. Then when I got to Chapter 2.... Franken is convincing even when you take out the name-calling. I can't say it's completely objective, but when he gets into the meat of picking people apart, he cites his sources. He hired a research group (TeamFranken) for this project, so I'm persuaded to believe him over others who don't put as much effort into their work. In addition to a lot of damning information, he's funny as all get out. If you blindly love Bill O'Reilly (or as Franken likes to call him Bill O'Lielly), or fall for everything Sean Hannity spews, or think Ann Coultier can do no wrong, maybe you better not read this book. It will only inflame your ignorant self. On the other hand, if you're riding the fence on those right-wing extremists, take a chance at becoming a convert by reading this emotionally charged, but factful book.
Rating:
Summary: Easy as that!
Review: It makes wing-nuts' heads explode. I love it!
Rating: 
Summary: Yes, Mr Franken Lies as well.
Review: It never ceases to amaze me at how poor Americans are at remembering their own history. The neo-cons will never give an alternative viewpoint a fair chance so a 1 star rating should tell you that the reviewer does NOT want the truth. That's why they are called ditto-heads - someone else tells them what to think. The attacks on Clinton - for of all things oral sex - pale when you could just as easily name Nixon, Harding, Grant, or Buchanan as Presidents who repeatedly lied - or were unaware of the truth themselves - about subjects that are so much more important to the goverance of this country, should confirm to the rest of the world that we are a nation that is bereft of an historical clue. (Apologies to those who know what bereft means) At a time when we confront international terrorist who have an excellent command of their 4000 year history (Osama referred to avenging a loss to the Spanish in the 700's in the tape released after 9/11), Al Franken challenges Americans not to blindly follow where the Right-wing leads us. His facts are well researched and do point to lies from the Administration. I feel like the Marine Colonel portrayed by Jack Nicholson, but a significant number of Americans can't handle the truth. If that's the case, avoid this book like the plague. You will stroke out, although that might make the world a safer place, hmm...
I'll admit to being labeled a liberal but I have my DD214 and feel like I'm entitled to my say in our Democracy. We are wrong. Where's Osama? We promised aid to Afghanistan and their opium harvest (remember heroin and the devastation it caused here in the US) is the largest in history. Saddam's weapons? If these questions piss you off, go back to rock you crawled out from and do us all a favor and pretend to be Eric Rudolph and hide in the woods during next years election. If it pisses you off that we are forced to ask these questions, then read Al Franken's book.
Like all of Mr. Franken's works, this book is a quick read. He always seems to pick a subject that lends itself to the type of satire to which his writing style is well suited. If you enjoyed "Rush Limbaugh is a Big, Fat Idiot" then you will love the current release.
Mr. Franken's attack is on target and his scholarship (17 Harvard research assistants probably didn't hurt) and with the footnotes and endnotes, it reminded me of many a history textbooks which I have read. I strongly recommend that the reader read the footnotes; not only are they illuminating about how the right has used endnotes to confuse the public about the right's political agenda but they are funny in and of themselves. Thank you Al for making all those years of pouring over footnotes rewarding in this book.
Mr. Franken's stated goal - and exhortation to the Non-Right of American politics - of using facts and research to confront the Right's lies holds up until I reached page 254. Fine, John Walker Lindh plead guilty to treason but it was a deal with Federal prosecutors who wanted to protect US involvement in 1980's Afghanistan (Stinger missiles, drugs for arms with the CIA, Osama was our kind of guy when he was killing Soviets, etc.) Those Harvard researchers missed that one. I guess they don't read Mark Twain @ Harvard and how he defined Patriot. Al missed a chance to call Attorney General Ashcroft on that one; would have strengthened his argument against the proposition that Reagan won the Cold War single-handedly. Strange ... but Lindh was no Benedict Arnold and may yet be rehabilitated.
Then I read page 255. If you - or your ancestors - are/were Southern, then Mr. Franken has (with help from Harvard, in Boston, MA, right?) rewritten our history. Ann Coulter must be proud of you, Al. In your weltanschauung Al, the right of secession (which still exists in most Yankee state Constitutions) meant nothing. Perhaps, David H. Donald's (Harvard professor emeritus of American history) "The Civil War and Reconstruction" could lose it's first 242 pages. Thanks again Al, the left nows gives the simple answers. And the controversy over the Stars and Bars didn't start in 1866. We lost, furled our battle flags, adopted the 13th thru 15th Amendments, and at the final order of R.E. Lee, became Americans again. The flags came out again as a result of Brown v. the Board of Education, so I have little sympathy for those who want to keep them flying. At one time in my life, I lived in South Jersey and I saw more Stars and Bars on flagpoles than I had ever seen in my home state of Virginia. We know it's over and we lost. However, to have someone stand behind the banner of Harvard (Veritas, Veritas, Veritas) in Boston - scene of some of the worst race roits due to forced busing - and tell me my ancestors were traitors makes me wonder why the men of the 115th RGT. died on the beaches of Normandy to liberate Mr. Franken's family from German death camps. I've read of no instances where liberated Jews told Southerners to leave them alone b/c they didn't want to be liberated by traitors.
If Al's position was correct, surely Jefferson Davis (Former US Senator and Sec. of War) would have swung from gallows in the yard of the casement @ Fort Monroe. One should never judge w/o checking the facts, Al. Even W. knows better than that and he only went to Yale.
All in all and excellent book that I hardily recommend to my Yankee friends but if I were to give to someone who speaks w/o an accent, I'll tear out page 255.
And to respond to the reviewer who asked to point out where Mr.Franken lied, there it is. If you need to check sources, even Googol will give sufficient evidence that even Unionist did not consider Confederates traitors. Veritas. Veritas. Veritas. Guess it depends on your accent.
Rating:
Summary: To all of the One-Stars
Review: It never ceases to amaze me how the One-Star reviewers can dismiss something without any specific refereices to the content. Similar to the right-wing attack dogs Franken takes to task in this entertaining book, the One-Stars aren't interested in facts, just parroting that last thing they heard from Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity, et al. Although some sections of the book are less successful than others, Franken scores big outing the current crop of right wing commentators for what they are...liars, with documentation to prove it. His chapter on the right's politicizing of Paul Wellstone's death is not to be missed. Thanks to Fox News for the free publicity. Unfortunately for them, their lawsuit, like everything on their network, is "wholly without merit." And if Franken is the liar that all of the One-Stars claim, then why was the lawsuit over copyright infringement rather than libel?
Rating: 
Summary: Franken's Folly
Review: It only gets 2 stars for a couple of good one-liners. Everyone likes a good joke. The problem is there are only a couple of good one-liners. The rest of the time you will spend laughing at this book not along with it. Al Franken leans so far to the left he can't tie his right shoe. Any validity to his points is overwhelmed by his obvious bias.
Rating:
Summary: Can't we all just get along?
Review: It seems like all the political books today are expound "Rush Limbaugh-type" ideas or this book, which is way-out to the left and an attack against those to the extreme right. Where do the people in the middle fit in and where is their voice? It seem like Hollywood types (since Franken was a comedian on SNL and a not very good one at that, I assume he is of that ilk) and people like Paul Krugman want to attack the current people in power and any right-wing talk show personalities and then we have the Ann Coulters who fire back and attack these ultra left wing individuals. I for one would like to have someone who is truly unbiased give me their view of politics. Not everything that George Bush has done has damaged the economy (as people like Krugman and Franken would lead you to believe). Not everything that Bill Clinton did or continues to do has hurt the country as the Michael Savages and Monica Crowleys claim. We as the general public do not know the classified information that only the president is privy to. We can only conjecture. It seems like these pundits like to state things as fact to support their own position, when they don't know what is fact. Franken shows some flashes of insight when he is not attacking the other side. I am sure he is an extremely intelligent individual when he is not attacking the other side. If you can throw all political bias out the window when you read this book, you may be able to enjoy some of it.
Rating:
Summary: what's wrong with humor?
Review: It seems like most conservative responses to this book are in reaction to the sense of humor that Franken brings to the political arena. I suppose self-seriousness is required of dogmatism. I'm not saying some liberals aren't dogmatic. Both sides need to listen to each other. Comedy and sarcasm are both good sources of criticism, and, unfortunately, it's difficult to have political criticism in this day and age without a comedic bent. Otherwise you're labeled as anti-American. Plus, having a sense of humor, in my opinion, means being open to criticism. And, in my opinion, everyone should be open to criticism... no one's perfect.
Rating:
Summary: The Left's Only Viable Choice
Review: It seems that in today's world the Left has only two choices:
Humor and Anger. Radical Liberals choose to express their dissatisfaction with the media and politics with anger. They can not believe where the country stands and are angered by its leaderships decisions and direction. Anger is not appealing to a moderate electorate. Even if a situation in politics or the media is painful and distasteful getting angry at this only means to prod the wound as if to remind oneself that it is still present. Franken chooses a different approach for his memoir on the current state of the media and politics. Dabbing into anger only when absolutely necessary, only when Franken's chosen medium isn't enough.. Franken's medium is Humor. Not to say humor doesn't achieve the same ends. Robert Heinlein in his novel _A Stranger in a Strange Land_ once put humor as being a human development to cope with pain. When something becomes so uncomfortable or distasteful or outright painful, you have to laugh at it. If you get angry you only breed more pain. Humor is the one way to cope with the lies, and discourse that the Right has so insidiously ingrained. When the fate of the Nation can be decided by people who are either Liberal or Conservative, when the very foundation can be changed by people on either side, you have to do something to alleviate the pain that this can cause. You have to laugh. Right now Liberals have to laugh because all they see is the painful truth. When the Right stops telling lies and start preaching the truth, it will be there turn to laugh. When that happens Franken may need to change careers, or change idealogies, much to my dismay.
| 
