Rating: 
Summary: Libs Don't Sound Convincing Enough To Brainwash Anyone
Review: William Orniston has some fatal bile. He assumes to correct an earlier reviewer from SF with his dead-on, rightful lecturing of another lost soul-and his first "point" he capitalizes on is the pettiest nitpicking of whether the reviewer from SF addressed whom he was referring to by his actual last name. Lousy!Orniston resisted the indisputable fact that the only reason Russia, France and Germany so difficultly vetoed the last UN resolution was because of economic interests. This amounts to blasphemy on Orniston's part. It's been awfully over-documented that all 3 countries had nothing BUT an economic interest with Iraq. First is the business of UN sanctions against Iraqi oil. France and Russia refused for sanctions to be lifted, on numerous occasions, just as Chirac wanted to continue those sanctions even after war was over. The reason for this is because France and Russia both depended critically on their own oil exports to support their sagging economies. With Iraqi oil on the market, France and Russia would have been excommunicated in being able to sell their own oil, because Iraqi oil's just cheaper. Chirac gloated merrily while Hussein was laying the "smackdown"-so to speak-on his own people, because all Chirac cared about was protecting his oil exports. It's been arduously documented that Russia had wickedly substantial interests in Iraq, namely a debt of 8 billion that, obviously now, won't be paid off to those commies. Germany and France's gluttony has also been documented, regarding how they built infrastructure for Hussein (bunkers, ammunitions buildings), and likely sold them weapons technologies too. Sadly, these facts are willfully concealed by libs like Orniston, as are truths that honorable countries-like Australia-who was Iraq's 2nd largest trading partner, had no qualms about opposing Hussein for the greater good! The only countries that DIDN'T have economic interests in Iraq but still opposed war were only the lowest of third-world sinkholes-meaning they were mislead by fundamentalist thinking in their respective countries that exploited their shabby economic situations, which are mostly the faults of their policies. Orniston's a democratic apologist-he unaccountably bypasses the free will soldiers have to decide whether to join or not, and blames it on rich men sending kids to die. ASININE. Further, it's Iraqi resistance guerrillas who're killing soldiers-yet annoyance Orniston again wants to brainwash with his conspiracy theories that the Bush Admin. is a plutocracy! Lastly, deceptions WEREN'T used "as excuses for war". America and its coalition didn't base the liberation of Iraq on Hussein buying uranium from Africa-or that Hussein was within 45-minutes of immediately using WMD! Orniston and all his like-mined, brain-decayed PC zombies need to get their minds out of the gutter, because the Admin.'s maintained from the start they wanted to oust Hussein because of his CAPABILITY to build WMD, terrorism ties and the inference of him possessing WMD because he never let inspectors freely inspect, nor did he account for all his weapons! If this is the spoilt-to-the-core infection that resides in liberals' minds; like Orniston, like Franken, like the DNC-then they're all contemptible!
Rating: 
Summary: thank you al franken!
Review: with all of the business going on with Bush and Co.'s LIES about IRAQ and the phantom WMD, I needed a good laugh and Al Franken gave me just that. Read this hilarious, thoughtful, intelligent book and get out there and VOTE!
Rating:
Summary: Political Satire Mixed with Serious Research and Commentary
Review: With all of the flak Bill O'Reilly and Fox News made over this book, I couldn't help but buy it. I found it laugh out loud funny, at times insightful and overall very refreshing. It is not a scholarly work and it is not intended to be. Its Franken's retort to the shrill right wing idealogues that seem to be dominating the airwaves more and more. He lambasts Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, "Ann Coulter (what is wrong with her!)", and "Hannity and colmes", among others in a way that is both funny and at least informative. Still, with all of the hype in the media, don't believe everything you read. Listen to what Mr. Franken says, have a good laugh, and before you dismiss it or enlist in "TeamFranken", check it out for yourself!
Rating: 
Summary: "No Spin Zone" caught spinning to the right!
Review: With all the controversy between Liberal and Conservative, Left and Right, it's good to read a book that not only footnotes all sources, but includes photocopies of acutal supporting documents as well. There are few conservative books that prove their position so clearly. Sure Al Franken included some wacko stuff in a few chapters, we're talking about Al Frankin after all! But when it came to then facts, he proves himself dead on. Come now, "the Levittown section of Westbury Long Lsland"?? Who's the real Spin Master out there?
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing Truth
Review: With all the right-wing books flooding the market over the last few years, it is refreshing to read such an intelligent and funny book like this.
Rating:
Summary: They're Eating Right Out of His Hand
Review: With close to 2400 reviews, surely everything has been said about this book. I don't have much to add, except that a pretty large percentage of the reviews here are completely wrong. Of course conservatives won't like the book, and you can tell from many of the one-star reviews that such reviewers didn't even read the book anyway. Reactionaries, just like their political heroes. Also watch for five-star reviews (not including this one) in which reviewers agree wholeheartedly with Franken's liberal views. That's fine with me because I'm (mostly) on that side of the political spectrum myself. But those types of reviewers have missed the point of the book. Franken is exposing the style of lying utilized by conservatives and their right-wing media lapdogs, by using the same kinds of polemics and truth-stretching himself, as an illustrative device. He's using the phrase "fair and balanced" in exactly the same way they are. That's called "irony" folks, and I don't mean the type found in an Alanis Morrisette song. If you're a left-winger who can't figure that out, at least you'll like the way Franken shoots down conservative dogma with things they've never heard of - facts and evidence. If you're a right-winger who also missed Franken's use of irony, and have condemned the book in the usual reactionary and uninformed fashion, congratulations for taking the bait. You have proved Franken's points better than even he could have imagined. Next time, cut out the middleman and just jump right up into the boat. [~doomsdayer520~]
Rating:
Summary: Oh, the things Al Franken knows. . .
Review: With his keyboard dipped in vitriol, Al Franken hilariously exposes the myth of the liberal media while giving several right-wing clowns enough rope to hang themselves along the way. Unlike all too many members of the vanguard right, who have consistently used spurious statistics or outright lies to make their case, Franken simply allows them to choke on their own deceiving words. And choke they do, from "fiction" author Ann Coulter and Fox News' Sean Hannity to the near psychotic rantings of Bill O'Reilly. In fact, Franken's best stuff is saved for O'Reilly, who, when challenged, acts with all the grace of a rat trapped in a corner and confirms our suspicions about the splotchy parody of himself he has become. Especially illuminating is Franken's well-documented history of America's War on Terrorism-a history that, not surprisingly, bears absolutely no resemblance to the Bush White House version.
Conservatives won't get it, of course, (then again, conservatives won't even read it) but Franken is a highly educated, highly articulate, and extremely funny beacon of hope for the left and a true patriot.
As scathingly funny as "Lies. . ." is, Franken reveals the deeply disturbing backslide our country has taken since the neocons took over. Let's hope the dangerous free ride given to these lying lyers will end soon.
Rating:
Summary: Finally
Review: With more and more people believing anything that screaming conservatives tell them, it's nice to see a liberal actually take the time and effort to uncover the truth. Or most of it. This book uncovers a lot of dirty, downright corrupt activity on the right side of America's political spectrum. If you're not quite sure who to believe, this would be *one* book worth reading, though not the only one. The reason I took a star away from "Lies" is that it's only accurate concerning conservatives; Franken is very "rah rah!" for the Democrats, neatly avoiding certain "touchy" points. Franken's wit makes his words almost seem to grin, like those photographs you see of him on TV and in magazines. Sometimes the jokes are a little weak, imho, but even then the actual argument is happily on target. And he doesn't utterly desensitize or insult the reader's intelligence by resorting outrageous attacks; you won't find him seriously calling Ann Coulter a "traitor" anywhere in here. Still, it's incredibly refreshing to see someone shoot down hateful conservatives, who are looking for an enemy/purpose to replace Communist Russia. "Lies" is worth your money several times over.
Rating:
Summary: we're coming back
Review: With rapier wit, Al announces that we liberals just aren't going to take the name-calling, the personal attacks, and the rampant dishonesty of the conservative propaganda machine anymore. Al sets the example: he exposes conservative lies without sinking to their level. Al shows that we can fight toe-to-toe but use wit, humor, and intelligence instead of cynicism, deceit, and vitriol. And the right has confirmed its strategy in response: it has become even nastier and more bitter than ever. Here's a hint: if your best response to this book is a pathetic claim that you are more patriotic than the author, a pointless tract about Al's writing career, an impassioned denial without justifying your position, or just an overall cheap shot, then know that you have sunk into the angry, negative, cynical, deceit-filled culture that plagues this great nation, that culture of fundamentalism and neoconservatism. And we're not going to sit back and take it anymore.
Rating:
Summary: it's the money, honey
Review: With so many of our news outlets owned by Time/AOL/Warner, Disney, and all the rest -- it's not only impossible to trust their movie reviews, but also to trust their political reporting. Unlike days past where it was just an owner's Citizen Kane-like tactics that ruled the copy room -- it now falls to the corporate deals made in the back rooms with the good-ol'-boys to determine what is reported and what is muffled. And then there is Al Franken -- who tosses LIBERAL and CONSERVATIVE around like the dollar signs they represent. He is bright, funny, and his teeth are sharp. And he consistantly reminds us that however high-minded people are when proclaiming motives -- when it comes down to it, in materialist America, you can usually just follow the money and it will take you to the cash register of real motivations. It is money that drives current environmental policy; it is money that drives current international policy; it is money that drives current human rights policies; and it is money that drives the little engine that can't manaage to report the news in a responsible way.
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