Rating: 
Summary: Rambo of the Left, Albo Strikes One For The Cause
Review: Firstly I'll confess I'm not only a Democrat I'm an officer in the Party serving at the Congressional District level in Minnesota. I'm probably more of a Progressive Blue Dog Democrat in that I'm conservative fiscally but not socially. So that is the perspective or "spin" from which I write this.I really think it is unfortunate the extent to which American politics has become polarized in George Bush's America. There is a real unwillingness to compromise or to recognize that the other side may have some good points and I think it is this attitude that actually got Mr. Franken riled up again (last time he was riled he wrote "Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot"). I'll confess I'm not totally hostile to conservatism, but what I respect is more the old school conservatism than this Neocon phenomena we are seeing today. After the war came to this country in 2001 another attack took place here at home, it was an attack on everything having to do with the left wing. I think "Political Correctness" has it's place and just like right wing issues like "State's Rights" it can be carried too far by people of poor judgment and sensibilities. The primary problem with people like Anne Coulter and Rush Limbaugh is that they are answering the excesses of the left with excesses of the right and it does not serve the common good. It serves to divide America in time of war. I think after 911 the country shifted to right for understandable reasons. The attacks were horrific, terrorism is about fear itself and represented a new and terrible change in our perception of the world. Conservatism is to some extent about mitigating the pace of change, sure it gets snarled up in modern discourse on various issues but that is what the basic notion is. Unfortunately as you go further right you approach something that leaves traditional American conservatism behind. You approach something that allows for only one point of view and in the name of patriotism seeks to purge opposing viewpoints. It's hardly new, perhaps the most famous examples were the Alien and Sedition Acts in the World War One era. Right wing radio doesn't talk about this gray area. It's actually one of those enigmas of American history that the Supreme Court has not ruled on extensively and where we as a nation are still defining what we are. I think it's important to really point out that not all conservatives are happy with the Patriot Act and other contributing factors to the break down in cooperation between the left and right in 21st Century America. I will say this, those who are perpetuating it need to be called on it because America can not afford to be divided in a time of a new type of World War. That's why I think it is perhaps only natural that the man who most directly addresses it is a nationally known satirist. Who else but a comedian to interject himself in a subject this serious? Who else to test and maintain first amendment guarantees but a humorist, even if the book is really on a very serious subject. The book is in some respects a populist rebuttal of the attempted purge of the left on the part of some radical right wing elites in the wake of the 911 attacks. One has to consider what it is that provokes Franken to write books like this. He's criticized for the title of it but he's a satirist and chose the title for a reason. Many of the people who attack him have been saying and doing largely the same thing, the title leads to a guaranteed "pot calling the kettle black" situation. I'm immersed in politics, I follow it, I read an immense amount of the discourse on both the right and the left. The thing about Lies is it is new in the sense that it does what the right wing media has been doing for many years. It takes what they have been saying and effectively turns the tables and reverses it. It's researched by a group of grad students (which may or may not be good if you are familiar with grads) but it is factual. However in a very real sense it is not exclusively about the "facts", there is a larger satirical point to this just as there was with Franken's book about Limbaugh. Limbaugh has a habit of calling people names and where he got into trouble with Franken is when he called 13-year-old Chelsea Clinton a "dog" on national television. Franken took this as bullying and so he did what a 13 year old girl could not do, he called Rush Limbaugh a "Big Fat Idiot". Again with this book the irony is in the "turn around is fair play" aspect. Rush and others have been calling names for years including calling a teenage girl ugly and calling all liberals liars, depraved, sissies, and immoral. Well as it turns out there is enough to go around and in addition to the "liberal media" you had best watch the bias in the "conservative media" because it is if anything more pronounced. I'm somewhat amused because all the dittoheads and so forth seem to think Al Franken invented this and don't appreciate that his satire can at times be far more sophisticated than that which was shown on SNL for 15 years. My advice: politically speaking look around you at how you are doing, your family, your neighbors, your community and make decisions based on that. Don't let talking heads like Limbaugh and O'Reilly make up your mind, just "factor" it in with a grain of salt. If you are a conservative don't dismiss this out of hand, take into consideration the context in which is was written and the larger but very simple statement it was intended to make (even if you disagree with some particulars of course).
Rating: 
Summary: Something for Franken to think about...
Review: Firstly, you wouldn't have this bestseller if Fox News and some of its pundits didn't exist. Secondly, you're just making your name off of hurting other people. Yeah, sure, you have your emmys and stuff before you published your books, but I never heard of you until you called Rush Limbaugh a big fat idiot on the hardback cover of your book. Thirdly, you lied at least seventeen times (according to frankenlies, dot, com) in LIES (pretty ironic I would say). That's more than Bill O'Reilly! Sorry, Al, but I'm still sticking with Fox News and Rush Limbuah.
Rating:
Summary: Who's Better, Who's Better, Who's Best?
Review: Folks with ultra-conservative views will avoid this book, but they shouldn't. It is a witty and insightful collection concerning the American political system. Sure, Franken takes particularly focused aim at conservatives, but none are without strong reason. Everyone has a great deal to learn from this book and if you can stand it, there is plenty of humor here. If Al Franken were to be stoic and straightforward, he would never have been published. If you can't stand the idea of purchasing this book, then just borrow it from the library. If you can't tolerant someone who has a different opinion than you, then go back to your TV. Al Franken is funny, clever and knows what he is talking about. This book may not change the world, but it may change a lot of uptight underwear. You may also want to read any book by Bill O'Reilly. It would make a good bookend to any of Franken's tomes. Note that Amazon reviewers commented over 500 times on O'Reilly's latest book, while this book has over 2,700. But, those are just numbers manipulated by someone other than Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: Flame Magnet
Review: Folks, whatever your political beliefs, I hope you didn't form them by reading comic books like this one. This book is just not suited for people who haven't already made up their minds on these major issues. It's designed to provoke either fierce anger or fierce approbation, not to provoke systematic, logical thinking. The only minds it will change are the minds not worth changing, or having, for that matter. Buy this book if you consider yourself a confirmed leftist. Otherwise, don't waste your time and money.
Rating:
Summary: I'm torn between my two favorite books now!!!
Review: For a very long time whenever one would ask me what my favorite book was, I'd have my answer ready. "Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot, of course." It was an easy answer because the book was beyond brilliant, but now I'm torn.
After reading "Lies and Lying Liars Who Tell Them", I must confess I can not choose which one is best. So, instead I've just decided to say that Al Franken is the best damn writer in the world.
One of the greatest aspects about Al Franken is that not only is he a genuis, but he doesn't have the need to use extensive, confusing charts and words to show his fans how intelligent he is. He doesn't have the desire to make his fans feel stupid or that topics of importance are over our heads. Instead, he is more focused on educating people. Breaking down the subjects that people like Ann Coulter, Pat Buchanan and Dick Cheney would rather us not know about.
In "Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot" Franken broke down Regeanomics showing exactly how harmful trickle down economics was. Best of all, his readers weren't lost. We didn't feel out of the loop or dumb. WE UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE WAS SAYING!! The man is truley a genuis and he shows this time and time again in his new book. He explains more of what is REALLY going on in terms everyone can understand.
Don't get me wrong, this book isn't all education. It's also (and probably a little moreso) entertainment. He tears apart all of the idiots we are forced to watch day after day spewing garbage to the public. He shows clear cut how much they LIE over and over again and how much Ann Cloutier wanted America to believe that Al Franken and her were "intimate." (Buy the book and you'll understand:)
Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE should own this book. Even Bill O'Lielly!! Maybe, if he reads how stupid he sounds, he'll shut the hell up! (Here's to hoping!).
Finally, knowing that Al Franken is out there working with Team Franken it helps me sleep a little better at night. I worry slightly less about the garbage being spewed daily on Fox News, because I know that Franken is there to catch them and call them on it.
In conclusion, BUY THE FREAKIN BOOK!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Republicans Stipped Naked and Exposed
Review: for all of America to see. And it isn't pretty. Imagine Rush Limbaugh naked. Now, imagine Rush Limbaugh naked, attempting to come at you from behind. That's what he and other Neocons have been doing, giving you the Bum's Rush. From Rupert Murdoch's cleaning out of liberals at Fox News (save one wimp doormat, hand picked by his loudmouth and obnoxious Neocon co-host as just the man to be the lone "liberal" at Fox) to the truth about how they twisted a funeral into a political talking point, the facts in this book can't be argued nor denied.
Rating:
Summary: a book that was actually RESEARCHED
Review: For all of the reviewers that called Franken a liar, I challenge you to do what he did in his book and prove that he lies.
Rating:
Summary: Hides behind humor
Review: For all of you who think his facts are undeniable, you seem to ignore the pages of claims he makes, but doesn't feel the need to document them bacause after all it's just humor. For example when he says that Coulter would phrase something this way. He says what he wants to say but doesn't document it in the guise of humor. For someone who is all over Coulter's endnotes, he sure seems to have his fair share, and a lot harder to match up with the statement he is documenting than are Coulter's.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly funny, insightfull, and downright damaging
Review: For all those "1 star" reviews, I ask one question: Can you find a single unsupported claim made in this book? I honestly looked. Pretty hard too. And I couldn't find a single one. Now, granted, I was able to discern when Franken was joking, which obviously some of you can't. At any rate, Franken has, yet again, create one of the funniest books I've ever read. There were maybe 10 or 15 pages in the entire book that I didn't laugh while reading and most of those were during the chapter about the really sickening tactics Republicans used regarding Paul Wellstone's death and funeral. Let me state clearly that I'm NOT a Democrat. And I doubt I ever will be. But I'm also NOT a Republican. I'm a strange mix of Libertarian and Green. (Figure THAT one out!) But after reading this, I have all the more reason to hate what the Republican Party has done to this country. Is it possible that Franken is lying about all of these lies? Perhaps. But when you have transcripts that he quotes from (no, not out of context...), when you have quotes from the accused people themselves, when you have quotes from people like Bill O'Reilly's Mom (ha!), when you have an actual tape of people doing exactly what Franken accuses them of (the C-SPAN incedent), it's pretty tough to figure out what Franken is lying about. So, here is the challenge. If all you Republicans out there are SO convinced that Franken is lying, show us. Give examples. Heck, I'll settle for a single example. Something as damning as O'Reilly lying about where he was born? Something as damning as the Homeland Security proposal HANDED to the Bush administration by the outgoing Clinton administration? Something as damning as making up statistics on the fly to shut up somebody who disagrees with you? Anything!? And once you've done that, trying reading David Brock's "Blinded by the Right". It's not nearly as funny, but it's just as damning. It's time for America, and Americans, to grow up. Do you really want to contribute to what has become a sham of a democracy? Or do you want to try and fix that which is clearly broken.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent! Informative As Well As Entertaining
Review: For anyone who has managed to catch a bit of mainstream-media news in the past several years, this book is for YOU. If you want to know the REAL story, instead of the mainstream media LIES, Al Franken manages to outline the major issues in a funny, and very entertaining manner. For anyone who is a major fan of Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly, you should definitely read this book (but I'm sure you won't)! These news personalities are no-doubt ashamed, as well they should be, at what they let pass as journalism. This is definitely the best book I've read all year. I plan to buy copies of the book to give to family & friends for the Holidays.
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