Rating: 
Summary: Inspiring and frustrating at the same time
Review: The direction the Right-wing has taken this country in is disheartening to say the least, and it is probably a little depressing that it takes a comedy writer with a keen interest in, and vast knowledge of, politics and history to shed light on our current situation.
The chapters dealing with the haters and lie spinners (Hannity, Oreilly, Coulter) are like listening to their shows to laugh and "guffaw" at their pompousness and disrespect for their listeners' intelligence, but with a friend who happens to be hysterical, interjecting actual facts and smart comments through it all.
The chapter dealing with blaming Clinton for 9/11, which highlights what Clinton did and was doing vs. what Bush and his administration did, or didn't do, aren't so funny. It's sad, but the more FACTS people can get in place of spin will help history correct current perceptions.
And that brings up the final point, Al Franken uses facts and sources which can easily be traced by anyone with a computer. His counterparts on the other side use lies and distortions to smear and destroy...and it's all laid out here for anyone to read...and decide for themselves. Unfortunately the people who should read this book probably won't, but I urge anyone moderate, independent, or just plain not dumb to read this book, and then read any book by Hannity, or Oreilly, or Limbaugh et al., and compare.
Rating: 
Summary: Is this the Al Franken Autobiography?
Review: the DNC Marxist funny man (When was the last time he was really funny? 1976?) If you think he is a comic you did not see his Stuart movie
Rating:
Summary: FREEDOM
Review: The Faux News Channel conservative propaganda machine needs to be shown for what it is: a 24/7 political commercial for the RNC.Al Franken speaks the truth and the truth will set you FREE.
Rating:
Summary: Consistently hard hitting and witty -- you will LOL
Review: The first paragraph alone is worth the price of admission. Purchase this book along with Paul Krugman and Molly Ivins for a well-rounded critique of the current administration. I agree with the gentleman who said he was laughing out loud -- I dare you not to guffaw at the introduction. Good job Al!
Rating: 
Summary: Funny and Forthright
Review: The first thing that struck me when I picked up this book was the unbelievably bad picture of Bill O'Reilly on the cover. I immediately checked the jacket for photo credits, since I figured a picture this bad had to be doctored somehow. I found that the photo was taken by Nancy Kaszerman of Zuma. I checked Zuma's website and found that she does indeed work for them in New York City, where O'Reilly lives and works. So that part checked out, in addition to being pretty funny (I showed the pic to my roommate and we both had a good laugh). As I read the book it became clear that the cover anecdote had set a pattern for the book: a good laugh and solid basis for the politics behind the laugh. Franken skewers the conservative Holy Trinity of O'Reilly, Coulter and Hannity with both his trademark smartass wit and a basic knowledge of Google. I particularly like his curt exchange with Paul Wolfowitz (page 212) and think it perfectly illustrates how this White House treats its political rivals--with a flag in one hand and an outsretched middle finger on the other. My only complaint was with Franken's sometimes Pollyannaesque (is that the right word? Is that even a word?) portrayal of Bill Clinton. While nobody in their right mind really believes that Clinton killed *all* those people, Franken fails to address the shadiness (real or imagined, take your pick) that surrounds Clinton's legacy and its negative effect on today Democratic Party. But I guess the book wasn't about that anyway. All in all, good reading. I bought it at 6PM and finished it at 2AM the same day. And that's not because I have no life. Really. It isn't.
Rating:
Summary: The Fox Backfire
Review: The Fox Network decided to sue Al Franken for his twitting subtitle of "Fair and Balanced," launching a copyright suit that Aaron Brown of CNN called the "most ridiculous" he had ever seen. The judge hearing the case thought so as well, dismissing it immediately with prejudice. This was not one of Fox's shrewder moves. Franken is not a low seller to begin with, but with this free rocket blast of publicity his book jumped to Number One on the Amazon.com list before it was even available for shipping. Franken begins his shrewd and humorous tome by embellshing upon an incident many of us saw nationally televised on C-Span 2, a joint appearance of Franken's along with fellow liberal humorist and author Molly Ivins and his arch nemesis Bill O'Reilly of Fox fame at the Booksellers Convention in Anaheim, California. When Franken began explaining how O'Reilly had insisted he had won a prestigious Peabody Award while hosting Inside Edition, former Saturday Night Live writer Franken demonstrated conclusively that this was not so. O'Reilly became so apoplectic that, as Franken notes, he wondered if violence would ensue. In his book he expunges O'Reilly's claim of being an independent voter by producing a copy of the commentator's voting application in New York State, which reveals him clearly to be a registered Republican. While keeping the jokes hot and heavy, Franken, in the manner of British writers such as Alexander Pope, uses humor to prove critical points. In this effort he is assisted by Team Franken, a group of bright Harvard University graduate students who assisted him in the important research department. Fox had reason to be unhappy with Franken for more than his material dealing with O'Reilly. He takes on Sean Hannity as well, exploding his contentions about Clinton on military preparedness opposite Ronald Reagan, and concerning his claims that liberals have not achieved prosperity, pointing to Clinton's admirable job creation record. He also pokes fun at a ploy he thinks reflects Fox News head Roger Ailes's cynical sense of humor, adding passively likeable moderate Allan Colmes as a quiet foil for Hannity, billing their joint meetings in a liberal vs. conservative context. Franken supplies a hilarious chapter that appears to be straight out of his Saturday Night Live days about the Chicken Hawks at war, led by George W. Bush with Bill O'Reilly, Phil Gramm, Bill Bennett and Dick Cheney supplying additional muscle. If you like good humor and satire, along with well researched documentation trapping television and radio purveyors of error, this is a book for you to read and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful Marketing, Empty Book
Review: The Fox-Franken imbroglio that accompanied the launch of this book puts the lie to Mr. Franken's thesis. It's obvious that he manufacturered this promotional opportunity with the subtitle "A Fair and Balanced Lood at the Right." It was a brilliant marketing move.
The book reviewer's opening sentance is inaccurate, in that Franken has never proven any inaccuracies by parties opposed to his views. This tome continues in that tradition. If you're already a "true-believer" Deaniac/Nader type you'll love this, because it tells you what you want to hear. If you're a questioning or critical thinker, you'll be sorely disappointed, as Mr. Franken description of the world does not come close to reality, and his arguments are worse.
Buyer Beware.
Rating:
Summary: Would rate zero stars, if available...
Review: The funniest thing about this book .. is its price.. notice that is is already down from 25 bucks to under 15... I think I will wait until I can get it at the thrift store for $1 or less...shouldnt be too long...
Rating:
Summary: Lying Liberals are Sore Losers
Review: The funniest thing on the planet is a liberal who is completely powerless and inconsequential. Well known is Franken's fiasco with making up lies to promote this book. This is the type of drivel that exposes liberals for the pathetic losers that they are. Now that liberal Democrats are reduced to sniveling unpatriotic cowards, their primary concern seems to be with doing anything to get back the power, even tearing down their own country!
Their mantra seems to be "If we can't have it then nobody will." Hopefully the vast majority of Americans will see right through this smokescreen, but I'm sure there are still plenty of ...liberals who'll eat this up like a dog returning to his vomit.
Rating:
Summary: Franken's best book yet
Review: The guy is a comic genius, and with Team Franken working for him he comes across as a research genius too. I just love the unpredictability of his humor and his ability to hit you out of the blue with wonderful uncensored raunch. But the book devastates the right. By reading the odd vapid review posted here by right-wingers (who clearly haven't even read it) one would think they are dumbstruck. Why no substantive rebuttal's to any points made? I would love to see some substance instead of the blather.
I will be buying several copies to distribute to friends. I offered to buy a copy for an acquaintance that likes Bush and is an O'Reilly fan, but he declined by pretending that he wouldn't want to look to "a comedian" for his information. To bad. The real reason is he "doesn't like to read books" and his testes retract when he thinks about having to turn FOX (and other sources) off long enough to read a substantive response to his right wing faith. But he did inform me that I should remember that Bush is a "compasionate[sic] conservitve[sic]." Oh my.
I thought Franken's Chicken Hawk story was the weakest part humor-wise but his main point here is a good one. A surprising number of hawks on Team Bush took a pass when it came time possibly face war themselves. I loved the Supply Side Jesus cartoon. The "Waitress and the Lawyer" play was excellent. The 15 or so pages showing how Bush dropped the ball on terrorism before 9/11 are probably the most disturbing. I already knew most of it from an article in TIME mag., but Al and his team put it together in a very powerful and concise way. Not nearly enough is said about how the incredible incompetence of Bush's team left America open to the 9/11 attack. I think we don't hear much about this because people think it might appear as unpatriotic and Americans just don't want to contemplate that they might have a president that in this important area, was this incompetent. And of course, sadly, there is nothing we can do about it now. Rather depressing really but it needs to be said, and Franken knocks it out of the park. If you are going to be disgusted with the facts, you might as have a little humor along with the medicine.
And that's what this book is, medicine for a nation drunk on endless streams of blatant distortion, lies and effluent put forward by the likes of Hannity, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Coulter and Team Bush. The humor is the sugar that helps it go down. But the right-wing faithful are still going to gag, should they read it. And with good reason. Franken takes their "geysers of liquefied pig feces" and shoves it back down their throat, and no amount of sugar can make that stuff taste good.
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