Lies (and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them)

Al Franken does not waste time. He starts by lambasting conservative authors and politicians, and he delivers a pretty brutal crush at the end. This is not a book conservatives will like in any sense.
Franken's best chapters detail America's involvement in Aghganistan, starting in the 1980's with the Aghgan resistance to the Soviet invasion. He tells the story of Aghganistan's collapse, albeit breifly, and how that collapse was neglected (Project Neglect). He then tells the story of how Clinton started the war against terrorism without all the grandstanding we see today, and how present day hawks thwarted his every move. He then goes on to detail how exactly the present administration ignored numerous briefings and memoes containing warnings of a terrorist attack for the Fall of 2001 (Operation Ignore). Franken is brutal in his assessment of this and previous administration's failings.
Franken's book is not exhaustively footnoted. He spends most of his time examining other people's footnotes (Coulter's especially) and finds many things lacking, like a corelation of source material to conclusions. For those looking for facts and notes about Clinton's presidency, please see Blumenthal's "The Clinton Wars". For facts and notes about Bush's failings, please see "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy", by Greg Palast, "Big Lies" by Joe Conason, or "Dude, Where's My Country" by Michael Moore. Franken is not unbiased and nor does he claim to be, and he's not an intellectual, but he is informed and he is on fire this time.

Another excellent book by Franken in the vein of Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot. Sort of a sequel really. I hope the irony of Fox suing Franken for infringing on their "trademark", "fair and balanced" is not lost on anyone. (in case it is, "fair and balanced" should be a description, not a trademark). Fortunately it was literally laughed out of court, if only the whole network could be laughed off the air.

To some, using humor to illustrate a point may muddle the message. I feel that despite the fact Franken uses his wit, he is dead-on, regarding his debunking Hannity, Coulter and O'Reilly. Coulter- how can you trust a woman who can't even properly 'end note' her supposed sources of information.

So many people have ripped apart her books by finding that she misquotes sources or has no source at all. Coulter could not even defend her book on Chris Matthews. He gave her every opportunity and she could not back up her statements. Hannity- Franken tells us what we already know; Hannity is a Rush protege. Hannity is more consumed with hating Democrats ( not liberals, but Democrats ) that he flip flops his positions to suit his needs. Kosovo vs Iraq? Well, he showed no support for Clinton and was quite disrespectful on air with his usual name calling and ad hominem attacks. Iraq- people who disagree are called 'unpatriotic.' Franken shows many examples where Hannity can't get his story straight.O'Reilly- What was his background and where did he come from and how is he registered to vote? O'Reilly it seems has made up a new past- a hard working, struggling blue collar past. O'Reilly's own mother debunked him by being interviewed and talked more about his private school upbringing, many family vacations, etc... No struggling. Or lying about what he said on air. I believe O'Reilly thinks that transcripts of him can't be found that easily. The biggest selling point is that Franken shows that when backed into a corner- these people are bullies. How many times have we heard Hannity and O'Reilly yell, "Shut up." I highly recommend this book to anyone- I also challenge readers and watchers and listeners of Coulter, Hannity and O'Reilly to cross check the info they spout. You'll be surprised how many errors you can find. It is the only way to be fair and objective.

Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly liars? Not much surprise there. Not much difference between them and Rush as far as I can tell. But Dubya? Come on Al, show a little respect! Being a physics major from an accredited Christian University, I did the google searches, got the numbers and did the math. You know what? Al is correct; he is a liar. I guess Bill lied too. When it comes down to it though, I'm more concerned with a lie that will burden the next three generations of working class Americans to pay for his tax cut for the wealthy, than I am with who Bill is smoking cigars with.
Back to the Book. Some pretty funny stuff. Some of it will make you laugh but some of it will probably make you mad, so don't read it if you are looking strictly for comedy. The chapter on the draft dodging Republicans was a little over the top. Just kidding on the square Al. I think to truly make it a "fair and balanced look" he probably should have included Ted Kennedy. Oh wait a second, Ted did serve.

Al Franken has written an entertaining, extremely readable, and hard-hitting exposé of the deceptions, lies, and untruths propagated by the both the right wing media and the government in Washington, DC they are supporting. Franken documents a number of individual cases quoting directly such "luminaries" as Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, and George Bush, and demonstrating specifically how they have downright lied. If there is any evidence that the media is not liberal slanted, just compare the overwhelming attention given to misstatements from Bill Clinton or Al Gore, to the absolute lack of attention given to lies of Bush and Friends. If the media were so liberal, just the opposite would be the case.
Besides the attention to facts, truth and details, the biggest difference that separates Franken from the blowhards on the right is that Franken has a sense of humor.
One can only hope that the media picks up just a few of Franken's points during the upcoming election season and show the lying liars for what they are - major prevaricators.

With the perfect blend of wit and fact, Franken reveals the fanatics of the right to be just that- fanatics. Liars, egomaniacs, incapable of truth-telling. The techniques of the right to get the false message across are nothing new. Spew the same lies long enough and they become part of the national discourse. But Franken proves that if think about what the right tells you and you think about it and do just a little research (they certainly don't) you can see through it in no time. Great book, do yourself a favor.

I bought this book thinking, "I know all the lies the conservative media has been telling, but I'd like to hear another point of view and maybe pick up a few facts." Once I started reading, and realized that I really had believed some of the lies, I couldn't put the book down. Al tells it like it is, and makes it fun to read. I've never seen Al on TV and I've never read his other book(s), but I'm going to start now. The only chapter I didn't fully enjoy was the cartoon of Operation Chickenhawk, where the humor became more important than the hard hitting facts. I would recommend this book to anyone (even those on the right).

Authentic White House reporting not seen since the triple-source-checking days of Watergate. I naively kept wondering why the press was giving Bush a bye. Now we know why. Interesting to note how almost all of the one-star "reviewers" are shrill in tone and can cite nothing beyond the cover, their apparent sole purpose being to bring down the rating level. I suspect this is symbolic of the beginning of Campaign 2004 Dirty Tricks; wonder how the $175 million in the campaign chest is going to be used while the president, because of his office, gets virtually unlimited press access for free? Remember this book.

The latest incarnation of Al Franken's genius comes in a delightfully wrapped package of truth and honesty. "The truth hurts" has never been more true than to the objects of Franken's ire. This book will leave the jaw drooping for long periods of time, making the reader wish he or she had the ability to articulate his or her anger at the current media hegemony of the right so well.

Every American who suspects our country has taken a shameful turn ought to have this book nearby for handy reference to the right's new wrongs, and a good laugh in the face of the reality

of the depressing fact that mendacity reigns in the mad, mad world of the Bush administration and its infamous supporters.

Franken painstakingly disassembles the hoo-ha of Limbaugh, O'Reily, Bush, Cheney and other present day right-wing lying power mongers. And along the way he provides many yuks and

satirical jabs. (The comic book parody of Supply-Side Jesus alone is worth the price of the book).

Franken is no ordinary comic or satirist, he's intelligent, politically astute, compassionate, honest and fearless. By the time you are finished reading "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" you'll wonder how your could laugh so hard at the dishonesty of so many in power and the destruction they have wreaked.

This is a great book. Do yourself and America a favor: buy it, and read it!

Al Franken takes on the extreme Right, fact for fact and lie for lie. Mr. Franken has produced a thoroughly enjoyable and completely informative book. He engages the reader with a style of wit and charm that make this a very memorable work.
He takes on the most damaging statements of the extreme Right and with thorough research and documentation, proves them wrong. While some of the more minor citations have been proven incorrect, his subjects have not attempted to discredit the important exposès.
Look for his takes on Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, and Hannity and Colmes.

If you want to read a frighteningly logical exposition of our current international troubles, try Noam Chomsky's 911. If you want (or need) to laugh while contemplating the mess the conservative right has made of our country, read this book. Franken's new book is great because it takes on the media-based twistoids who've been daily subverting our national psyche, and plainly calls them out for what they really are -- liars. This is a very funny book that addresses a very serious topic; the sytematic undermining of our basic priciples of liberty, decency and honesty by the greedy who control, and the scared and uneducated who support them. Thanks, Al for having the guts to say what needs to be said.

Al Franken has found his voice with this book. His previous efforts, while funny, didn't sustain their comedic levels throughout. This book does. I think that's partially due to the subject matter, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly etc, who are very deserving of the grief Franken gives them. Once the lies are piled up, it's hard to believe anything any of them say.
Kudos, Al!

I hope Al Franken gets rich from royalties from this book. Here he parses the sentences made by the fair right and other monsters to point up their lies, half-lies, innuendoes, quotations out of context ad nauseam. Mr. Franken lists his sources and backs his statements up with references in the back of the book, not that that means anything to his critics. Thank you, Mr. Franken, for reminding us once again of the many good things that President Clinton did for America. That information alone would make the book worth reading.
There are lots of funny things here - "Operation Chickenhawk" in which Lieutenant John Kerry's Vietnam troops consist of George W. Bush, who is usually a little tipsy; Dick Cheney, who in the heat of combat has a heart attack; Clarence Thomas who is into pornography, along with John Ashcroft, Bill O'Reilly, Phil Gramm and Rush Limbaugh. In the midst of this gaggle, Al Gore comes to to an article on Kerry. Delicious. Then there's the "No Child Left Behind Standardized Test" and the list of people-- Ashcroft, Ralph Reed, Phyllis Schlafly, Condoleezza Rice, the Cheneys, Pat Robertson et al-- whom Franken writes to get their personal abstinence stories. Then some of the scary stuff: I found it incredible when it happened and Franken reminded me that Max Cleland in the 2000 election was portrayed as "unpatriotic" by his opponent. This is a man who lost three limbs while serving in Vietnam. That that lie stuck and probably cost Cleland the election is scary beyond belief. Don't forget Jerry Falwell's statement on 9/13/01: "I really believe that the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way--all of them who have tried to secularize America--I point the finger in their face, and say, 'you helped this happen'." Well, the right Reverend Falwell forgot the little old ladies who play bingo on Wednesday nights. They are really what's sending this nation to hell in a wheelbarrow. But this book ultimately will make you sad, sad that we lost most of the world's goodwill we gained after 9/11/01, sad that there is no civility left in government and politics. (I recently heard a taped conversation between President Kennedy and President Eisenhower in which Kennedy was asking Eisenhower's advice on what to do about an international crisis. There was respect and cordiality on both ends of the telephone. I don't believe that would happen in Washington today.) I was saddened that Paul Wellstone's memorial service in the hands of the right wingers became a "political rally" for Democrats.
My one problem with this book is that Mr. Frankel is so good that sometimes I cannot tell if he is joking or not. For example, did John Ashcroft actually annoint himself with oil before being sworn in for public office in Missouri?

If you like Al Franken then you will probably like this book. It has some funny moments. Overall it's like everything that politics has become a rehash of he said she said. Yeah I already know that the commentators on Fox News present out right lies as the truth. The title should have been an alert to the type of book this was going to be but I thought there would been more of a backstory about the lies and th epeople involved. I guess I was looking to come away from the book with a better understanding of why not just who.

Even if you are a conservative, this book should be amusing. Franken gives no breaks to monsterous liars like Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly, but they don't deserve any breaks. Most conservatives I know do not feel that these people represent them. It's sad that they get so much attention.
Franken does a great job of pointing how the mainstream media has basically become lazy and largely unreliable. Coming from a family of journalists and having worked in television myself for a few years, I have personally been very distressed at the blatant lack of journalistic ethics in most media outlets. It was nice to hear someone who feels the same way, but could approach it with humour.

Al Franken is, for many, an acquired taste. For others, he is a perfect compliment to ideas and biases already held dearly and believed as articles of faith. For others, he is (with a grin) the Devil incarnate - the personification of wrong-mindedness and the use of `humor' to achieve attention that is well beyond what the content is deserving of. I propose that whichever of these groups you fall into, his work is worth reading and considering - either because it reinforces that which you already know - or is a clear example of everything you believe is wrong with the Left. I do not believe that anyone ever gets their mind changed involuntarily, so Franken is read for one of those two reasons - not with the intent of changing anyone's mind, but with the idea of either giving you something to agree or disagree with.

This was the first of his books that I read. He has written many, most recently, TRUTH, With A Couple Of Jokes, but also including Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations, Oh, The Things I Know!, and I'm Good Enough, I'm, Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!, amongst others.

About Al Franken:
Al Franken is, first and foremost (admittedly) an entertainer. He is, specifically, a comedian whose material is nearly entirely political and whose acknowledged bias is Liberalism. Of these things, he makes no secret. This particular book was written with the assistance of a team of Graduate Student researchers made available to him during a Fellowship he was awarded at Harvard University.

The Book
In this book, Franken unabashedly and unapologetically attacks (with allegedly carefully researched facts) and shreds what he sees as the destructive, dishonest and dangerously manipulative Right Wing of the Republican Party- which, in Franken's view, has successfully seized control of the entirety of our Federal Governmental Super-structure: all three branches of government laid out for us by the Constitution: The Executive (the President and his Cabinet), Legislative (both Houses of Congress) and Judicial branches (the Supreme Court). Therefore, he proposes that the "checks and balances' designed into the system by our Founding Fathers are currently neither checked nor balanced.

He is particularly critical of and `target' certain individuals who Franken feels represent and articulate - who actively promulgate if-you-will, the points of view that constitute the driving force(s) that power the current ideology that controls our current government and situation - both domestically and internationally. A few of the people singled out for special attention by Franken are columnist Ann Coulter, political functionary Karl Rove, the Vice President and Halliburton Champion, Dick Cheney as well as broadcaster Bill O'Reilly, and finally, of course, the man known to the Secret Service simply as POTUS and to the general public as President George W. Bush.

Politics though the eyes of an admitted comedian does not render his perceptions automatically invalid - though the use of biting humor as his chosen motif of expression my cause some to view his `information' as somehow suspect. I found his writing to be equivalent to the literary genre referred to as Black Humor - i.e., an idea defined to me by a college professor years ago as being writing "... that sticks a knife into your ribs - then twists it, so that it tickles!" Franken clearly has, and openly acknowledges, that he DOES have a point of view. He does not represent himself as an unbiased reporter He is openly and proudly a Liberal and write as a professional entertainer, whose medium is comedy and whose chosen material is comprised of political issues that he believes are important. They are - whether you agree with him or not.

Those who believe that Ann Coulter is the greatest thing since premixed fruit yogurt or that Karl Rove is God's personal gift to mankind or that Halliburton and Dick Cheney were put on this Earth by a higher power to protect and save us from Liberal lowlifeness, nor are they apt to like or read any of Al Franken's books which are all, thematically, of the same vein.

Franken is a highly biased, but essentially good natured comedic pundit whose style makes his prose concurrently painful and fun to read in the Black Humor kind of way.\Admittedly, I listened to this book on CDs (8 of them) over a week and a half of commuting. Unlike many other `spoken books', I felt that Franken's reading of his own material actually added to the experience as he is able to perform the more subtle innuendos of his own commentary better than it can be conveyed by simply printing the words.

Is he a "pundit?" Maybe so. If we expect pundits to be neutral reporters of objective facts, we suffer from a large dose of naïveté. Let us not forget that even those people who characterize themselves as being "eclectic" DO have their biases. While his humor does not categorically invalidate the information he presents, it may cause some readers - particularly those who may disagree with what he says, to discount the ideas and to regard this book as the ravings of a left-wing lunatic. This would be a mistake. As with most entertainers, he does get a bit carried away with himself from time to time - but that turns out to be a part of this `entertainment.' It is apt to be read or listened two by two groups. 1) Those who know about Franken, already know that they agree with him and are seeking the satisfaction that comes with seeing or reading something that reinforces what one already believes, or 2) Those who disagree and will listen or read this book so as to be able to discount Franken as being just inappropriate and silly - or, worse yet, as a representative example of why left-wing politicians should not be voted for or trusted. Either way and for either group, it is a book well worth the time to read/listen to and consider.

I have always liked Sen. Franken, especially after watching him questioning Trump's proposed cabinet appointments. He pulls no punches, and that makes for some interesting reading. He opens eyes to the lies perpetrated by Republicans in order to advance their own political careers. He turned some serious malfeasance into entertainment, of course, conservatives would call him "Lying Liar".

First of all: You HAVE TO VERIFY ALL YOUR FACTS!!! Al Franken advises his readers not to take him at his word, and you should take this under advisement.

This book addresses the statements by various conservatives that have most angered him, and his least favorite personalities, and their utterances. A lot of Al Franken's arguments are well made, but you have to be a careful reader. The statements he attacks are of various degrees of objectionability, ranging from spin, to outright falsehood. To a true believer, what a conservative says will sound perfectly valid, while everyone else will hear a clear distortion of the facts. On the whole, Al Franken is convincing.

Best of all, of course, is that Al Franken is one of the funniest people alive today. The fact that I agree with his politics by and large, is a great plus.

Arch

I'm not surprised that so many of the conservatives couldn't finish the book. It was far too painful an introduction to truth. The one clunky part is the awful chapter where he fantasizes about how various right wing chickenhawks would do in Vietnam. Other than that misstep, this is genius, sheer genius.
Jerry Mayer

Franken takes a fairly straightforward approach to dissecting and refuting the right wing's attacks on moderates and centrists (c'mon, there aren't any true liberals left in washington). He exposes Hannity, Coulter and others for their blatant lack of honesty and sloppy techniques.
Thanks to Fox, he's riding this one to the bank.
BTW - If Fox is so concerned about trademark protection, how come every friday I hear Hannity say "if it's friday, it must be Miller Time...". Seems to me, the beer folks have the TM on that phrase.
Only criticism is that some of the points he makes are nitpicks. There are enough compelling arguments in the book that he could have left out the more ambiguous ones, which will just leave the right a place for their arguments.

Al Franken does a masterful job of using detailed research to point out the lies told by screaming right-wingers like Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly and others. His barbs are sharp, but never mean-spirited, and every one of his accusations of inaccuracies by the right-wing media is backed up by statistics or direct quotes by the "liars" contradicting themselves.
A terrific book. I read it in just two sittings. Not only did I learn a lot about the issues; the book also gave me ammunition to use when Republican friends start spouting stuff about how Al Gore is a liar. I can now come back with why George Bush is much worse, and then spout off a bunch of examples.
Warning to Republicans: this may be a difficult read for you. But to those frustrated with the barrage of mean-spirited right-wing propaganda, this book will make you feel great!!!! Thanks, Al.

Al Franken does an excellent job of exposing how the right wing propagandists lie and deceive the public. If you like political books, I would recommend this book and buy one for your local library. I know it is a good book when the references are legitimate. Al Franken's research team from Harvard, do an excellent job with using good references that one could use in an academic research paper (unlike Ann Coulter and Hennity's books.) With wit and intelligence he systematically dismantles George Bush and the right's big media machine (especially Fox news). I wish Al Franken would publish a quick reference handbook on how Bush has lied about the War, economy, education, social programs, environment, etc. before the next election so people would be informed..

Not much here. Spend your money better by buying an extra copy of Molly Ivin's BUSHWHACKED and then giving it to someone who really needs to be educated about the excesses, inadequacies and untruths of the Bush leaguers.
Bill Baker, Saratoga, WY

There is no doubt about it: Author Franken is preaching to the choir. "Lying Liars" is for the converted, not for the politically curious. Franken takes dead and frequently deadly aim at the right wing media and the conservative Republicans who are so shamelessly taking over this country for their own selfish aims. The trouble with "LL" is that those of us who oppose the Bushes, Cheneys, Ashcrofts and O'Reillys of the world have heard and read these accusations and verbal thrusts before. They are regularly on the airwaves/pages of responsible media like CNN and The New York Times. But folks like Maureen Dowd and Thomas Friedman express themselves vastly better than does Franken. "LL" has a fault common to too many current books: It is poorly edited, often meandering, full of digressions and side channels that dilute its' message. It often reads as if rushed to print. As an admitted member of the "choir", I'm afraid it will take much more than a few "Lying Liars" to marshal the forces necessary to take this country back again. "LL" is but one way station on a long road back to political sanity. The 5 star rating is on General Principles only. For substance, sensible folks will have to keep searching.

The sole purpose of Mr. Franken's current book is, so far as I am able discern, to sell another book. It is not, to my sense of humor, funny. It lacks the acerbic prose of Harper's Lewis Lapham. Franken's work is analogous to the work of his Israeli bretheren in Palestine: to exchange blows, albeit verbal, with his equally inane opponents. When will the opposition acquiesce? Team Franken, the purported vanguard of Harvard's unpaid "intelligentsia", is guilty of another reductionistic attempt to pidgeon-hole the opposition with labels i.e., conservative, liberal, republican, democrat...etc. There is only one true measure of societal demarcation: wealth and poverty. Intellectualism knows no party or philosophy. Perhaps Franken could share the book's royalties with Team Franken's researchers; that would be a novel egalitarian stroke. Or perhaps the profits could be donated to a new foundation e.g., The Society for the Prevention of the Propagation of Ignorance (SPPI: there always has to be an acronym). No erudite intellect could be threatened by the likes of Coulter or O'Reilly; these people have merely fallen prey to the delusions of their own paradigm. Too many beer-besotted sports fans rely on others to verbalize their frustrations (hence the best-selling status: see also Jos. Goebbels). But Franken, too, has stooped in this attempt to match wits with half-wits. If you burned the books of Coulter, Limbaugh, Franken et al, I contend that they would give off heat but no light. When will western society stop pandering to the lowest common denominator? Didn't Californians just elect another movie star as governor? Save your money, this one will be on the clearance table before you can say Schwarzenegger.

I thought these reviews were supposed to be by people who have read the book. Yet I see a negative review claiming the book is almost entirely UNSOURCED when in fact there are 13 pages containing well over 100 detailed source notes, and another "reader" claims Al's research team is made up entirely of WHITE MALES when I can plainly see in their picture on page 368, THREE FEMALES(yes, unfortunately all white, but maybe that's the best Harvard had to offer).
So, from a political moderate who has actually read the book....
Al Franken's new book is funny, and at times it is insightful, illuminating and even vicious. One gets the feeling he has finally taken off the gloves and is ready to get in there and sling it with the best of them. At times he overstates his case. Like when he catches Bill O'Reilly lying about where he came from, being an independent, the whole Polk/Peabody thing, or catching Ann Coulter lying about her age. These kind of lies, while they may say say something about the individuals' personality, are not that important. The book might be better if he talked more about the really important lies, but it probably wouldn't be as funny. Don't get me wrong. He talks a lot about about the big lies, the statistics designed to deceive, the dirty campaign tricks, the dishonest reporting, etc.
Al claims the media does not have a liberal bias, and he makes a decent argument. I disagree with some of his conclusions, but I agree with his contention that news media (left, middle and right) suffer from many other biases that undercut their ability to do a good job of reporting. An example (NOT from Al) is the misleading coverage of Whitewater by The New York Times and Washington Post which, for two papers with a supposedly "liberal bias", sure did a lot of damage to Clinton.
In summary, the book is funny and worth reading. Even though it's target is the right wing media, the lessons are applicable to all. It should be of value to all news viewers to show them the many ways in which they are mislead and deceived, sometimes unintentionally. No one should take what they see and hear from these people at face value. The book does not have an index, so the targets will have to search for their mentions and might even be forced to read whole sections. Al has challenged them to find factual errors. I hope they try (and cite them if they do). They might learn something.

Backed up by had facts and a bit disturbing because of it, Franken takes on much of the BS proposed by other writers claiming a media bias. Keep another book handy so that you can take a break from this one when it gets to be too much.

I guess you could call me a political junkie - as such, I read all the crap in this vein - Coulter, Horowitz, O'Rourke, Franken, Goldberg, etc., etc. Most of these books have two things in common: 1) They conveniently ignore facts that do not support the result they are trying to obtain; and 2) They overstate facts that DO support the result they are trying to obtain. The best example of this in the past few years has got to be Ann Coulter who, whether in her books or in her TV appearances, seems physiologically incapable of telling the truth. For Ann, the appropriateness of what she says or writes is determined not by the accuracy of the statement but by it's value in supporting her premise. But make no mistake: While Coulter is the worst offender, these characteristics are present in most or all books of this type, on the left as well as on the right.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I read Franken's new book - It's actually ACCURATE, and properly documented. I nearly dropped off my chair with surprise! As you might expect, he pulls no punches; and the smugness with which he insults his political adversaries is less than amusing (he calls it sarcasm - I call it boorishness). This criticism aside, however, I must point out that the FACTS he presents are accurate and insightful. His footnotes and endnotes provide a clear picture of the context of his accusations. All in all, this is a superb work which people from all sides of the political spectrum - those, at least, who love the truth - will find valuable. My highest recommendation.

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!

I was really excited about this book becuase I enjoyed "Rush
Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot" back in 1996. I wouldn't have known
that Franken wrote a second book if it weren't for a snipit on
All News Radio about a certain network suing Franken for copyright infringement, or something like that.
The book title pretty much says it all and Franken has ample proof that the Right Wingers embelish half truths or flat out lie
about it. The chapter on Ann Coulter is hilarious. I don't know
a whole lot about her and Franken doesn't really focus on her bio
just her penchant for abusing footies. She reminds one of Jar Jar
Binks from Stars Wars. Maybe the physical resemblance, the long stiff neck, the doe waxen eyes, the big ears, but maybe because
both are such annoying characters.
The saddest and most disturbing part is Franken's accont of the
events following the Paul Wellstone memorial and how a distraught
best friend's momentary ranting was enough ammo for the Right
Wingers to trash the presence of 20,000 people who showed up to mourn a painful loss. It's like sharks needing just a drop of
blood to get them excited and ready for the kill. I think this is
pretty much what happened here.
I glossed over the Chichenhawk Vietnam Parody. I didn't find it
funny the second time. I wish instead that Franken devoted these
pages to people like Micheal Savage, Laura Ingram and the like.
You can't turn the AM dial on without running into 'em. Overall
I thought the book had a lot of chuckles and ensights into the mess we are in today. It's worth your time and money.

Al presents a wonderful, informative look into the world of the media. He leaves you with no anger at the majority of liberals or conservatives in the general public, only a wary distrust of the loud and aggresive tactics used by the minority controlling the far right. Very interesting book, which he seems to encourage you to take with a grain of salt, since his entire point seems to be that we shouldn't immediately accept what commentators say at face value.
And WHY are people suggesting that we read "Treason" instead of this book? If you don't like Al Franken, there have GOT to be lots of conservative books that are much better and intelligent than "Treason". I tried to read it, out of curiousity, and it is almost unintelligible. I'd probably agree with a lot of conservative values if they'd get some spokespeople out there who seemed honest and intelligent.

I was skeptical, but ended up enjoying this quite a bit. Though I identify more with libertarian views than those of either political party, I found myself disagreeing with Franken on only about 10% of his points. Those who've read the book probably wouldn't find that surprising, but my point is that you really don't have to be liberal to find his indictments convincing and relevant.

For best results, buy the audio addition and hear it read by the author, himself (he is a comedian, you know).

BTW, my title refers to the fact that Franken enlisted the aid of a dozen students & faculty of Harvard University, in researching this book. The results are impressive!

Using just the right mix of humor and actual facts, Al Franken points of some of the lies that are told in the name of "right." For example: Remember the reports of vandalism by Clinton staffers reported by the newly elected Bush White House team? Guess what: It NEVER happened. This is just one of the many coverups and outright lies Franken and his brilliant team of college students uncovered in writing this book.
If you don't believe everything you are told by the President and his team, you should definitely read this book.

Truths And The Truthful Person Who Tells Them... I read this book in one sitting and I?m here to tell you that it was the most fun I ever had in six hours (that didn?t involve [adult relations]) This is a damn funny book by a damn funny man so for a damn good time read this damn book.

Al Franken has done it again with this superbly crafted, thoroughly researched page turner! Don't hesitate... just buy it. NOW! It will confirm what you've always suspected about the Bush administration, the Fox "News" Channel, and the conservative "right" (plus give you facts to back your argument), open your eyes to a host of corruptions, distortions, and bald-faced lies being perpetrated in the "no spin zone" (which, as far as I can tell, is spinning at at least 150rpms), and make you laugh until you weep. Al Franken is a national treasure, so pick this book up for yourself, and buy a few copies for those friends that need to be saved.

Exposes most of the better-known conservative blowhards, and a few of the less-known as well. A must for any political observer with a sense of humor.
If you can't decide whether to buy it, read the chapters entitled "Ann Clouter: Nutcase" and "I Challenge Rich Lowry to a Fight". If you like the comics, "Supply-Side Jesus" is also worth a look.

Al Franken has struck gold with this spot on spoof and critique of the "hysterical right." As expected, he hits all the easy targets like O'Reilly and Hannity with dead on facts exposing their lies. However, what I really enjoyed about this book was its ever present sense of humor. The irony in this book is sometimes subtle and sometimes blunt, but its always damn funny. Adding to the hilarity are negative reviews of the store readers who fail to recognize these jokes when present. I know somewhere Al is laughing as his point is proven over and over again on this website. Great book. Would recommend to all.

The rants and name calling in the "reviews" posted by the right wing wingnuts shows that Franken has effectively hit his target and damaged it. It is amusing to see these people foam at the mouth and go into convulsions.
Clearly this book was not intended to be liked by them.
This is an excellent book, both entertaining and enlightening, not only for liberals and moderate centrists, but also for open minded conservatives who are willing to look at the evidence fairly and objectively.

If you hitched your wagon to the corporate agenda led by Bush and Co. you will not like this book. If you are too frightened to see how the current administration has manipulated 9-11 for political purposes, you will not like this book. If your head is buried in your religious opiate in the hopes that your one and only true God will make it all better someday, you will not like this book. Franken with clearly presented well-researched facts (unlike the crowd of phonies like Coulter and O'Rielly who publish books without indexes) presents one of the few helpful publications that stand against the tide of the right-winged owned media. BOOTLICKERS and SHEEP - get brave and throw off your chains.

I bought this book for one simple reason, the one stated above. I felt it would be important to support some sort of "obviously liberal" media forms, in this case Al Franken's book. I was expecting a serious political book, however, instead I got a kind of "mish mash" liberal comedy routine. Which isn't a bad thing! Like I said, it is important to have balance in the media. However, in reading this book a lot of the chapters kind of boil down to mere opinion sometimes. Franken also has a slight habit of stooping to low language and distortions. There's also the fact that he kind of rambles from topic to topic without sharp focus.

However, he is a funny guy at times. This is worth picking up if you are a fan of, say, Michael Moore type "liberal" media. Viva democracy and the right to free speech!

Fascinating, but tedious. This book should have been written by anyone not a comedian. It should be taken seriously, but will automatically be dismissed as " Democratic entertainment" the way Democrats dismiss everything Limbaugh says. Hate to see it categorized the same way. That being said, half-way through, I started to get bored by the weight of the tedium.

I laughed a lot while listening to this at work. Franken read's his work very well. This book is not intended to convert the fans of Franken's "liars". Its designed to make fun of them and amuse people who already have a pretty negative opinion of O'Reilly & company. And it really succeeds. If O'Reilly makes you mad and Ann Coulter freaks you out, you will find this book very amusing. Otherwise, well, I'd skip it because its going to annoy you.

This book will make you angry but laugh while you're simmering. It won't make any wingnuts angry because they won't read it (and haven't in spite of the reviews). Any free thinking American with half a peanut rattling around in their skull will be angry at the mendacious nature of what passes for debate on the far right. As Al points out, it is the far right that is the problem because they base their "arguments" on lies and simply keep repeating those lies. Anyone who disagrees with them is branded a traitor, treasonous, anti-American. However, Al writes truthfully that there is a healthy debate somewhere in the middle. Note to conservatives: Al is not attacking all of you, just the extreme fringe that seems to have hijacked the Republican party and insists on stifling debate by wrapping everything in the flag. All of us somewhere in the middle need to take the country back from the lying administration of W and his minions in the far right press. All the sensible conservatives need to take their movement back from these same people lest they be permanently branded as being in alliance with those seeking to destroy all that has made this country as strong as it is. All of you atavistic conservatives who want to take the country back to pre-Great Society, or pre-New Deal, days, go back and read a history book to see how good things were not. These social engineering programs, while not perfect, laid the foundation for what made America as strong as it was, and as much a guiding light as it was to people around the world, prior to W's presidency.
Read this book but prepare to be angry at how the far right uses falsehoods to support its platforms. Read this book and prepare yourself to fight for something good that is greater than just the individual. A rising tide lifts all boats but if the people are in the water and not riding on top, the people aren't lifted and the boats can't go anywhere.

Finally, a compilation of facts about the insidious actvities of the far right and it's players. Humorously put, yet powerfully impactive. A must read... informed, insightful, hillariously funny. Make sure your calendar is open. You won't be able to put it down.

*

I'll admit two very important points up front:

> Point #1 -

I am "NON-POLITICAL" (I do not vote, register, endorse, contribute, demonstrate, canvas, etc. for ANY politician or political party); but I have grown increasingly incensed by the blatant and arrogant lies & distortions (all clearly deliberate) which have been oozing like a corrosive slime out of the ranks of *phony* Conservatives (& *phony* "Christians") -- aka "NEO-Conservatives" -- who, awash in the elitist 'death-to-individual-freedom' myth-making philosophies of their icon, Leo Strauss, make up the modern-day "Republican" Party. Closely tied to this was the successful arm-twisting of the news media by the "Neo-Cons" to have them put a heavy "right wing" slant on the news (and this was well before the establishment of the "FAUX NEWS" Channel), whose influence was accelerated and worsened by President Clinton's weakening of the "Fairness Doctrine."

My inability to stomach this vomit-inducing madness of these pseudo-Conservative frauds was the first thing that interested me in Franken's scathing book.

> Point #2 -

Had it not been for the infantile temper tantrum thrown on national television by Mr. 'Loofah & Falafel' "Bully O'Liar" (better known as "Bill O'Reilly") -- and his inability to ''SHUT-UP!'' about it and stop 'attacking' Franken LONG AFTER everything was all said & done -- I would have never even CONSIDERED purchasing this book!

* NOTE: Prior to the phony outrage Bully O'Liar displayed at the "BookTV" Expo on May 31, 2003, I had NEVER considered Al Franken worthy of being called a 'political commentator/analyst' -- "satirical" or otherwise. It should come as no big surprise, then, that this is the first (and still to this day, the ONLY) book produced by Al Franken that I've purchased or even read -- though, technically, one cannot "read" an "AUDIO-book." :) Even "RUSH LIMBAUGH IS A BIG FAT IDIOT" still manages to escape beneath my radar -- one of the biggest reasons (no pun intended) is that Rush has the good sense enough to KEEP QUIET about it and go on about his own business!

But "O'Really?" just won't let up! In fact, I credit O'Reilly with introducing me to Al Franken's sweet & thoughtful movie, "STUART SAVES HIS FAMILY" (which can be purchased here on the store, by the way), because the Bully would constantly derogatorily refer to Franken as "Stuart Smalley" -- and having NEVER HEARD OF Franken's "Stuart Smalley" SNL character up to that point (believe it or not), I wanted to understand why O'Reilly could never refer to Al Franken as "Al Franken," but instead always unflatteringly by this name...... Well, now I know! Thanks again, Bill!

All this time has passed, and Bill O'Reilly STILL cannot stop lying or making a jackass out of himself!

> He continues to attack Al Franken personally.

> He constantly smears former Neo-Con hitman David Brock and 'trash talks' his "Media Matters for America" website -- as well as belittling anyone who relies on it as an information source, while NEVER disputing or disproving anything presented therein.

> He repeatedly lies about how much of a "failure" the "Air America Radio" Network is/has-been/will-be -- and yet when the network was launched just a little over a single year ago (March 31, 2004) it started with only 6 stations total: whereas today (i.e. as of this writing), even after its frightful initial 'bad management' handling which resulted in the loss of two of the original six stations (in the 2nd & 3rd largest listener 'mega-markets' -- Los Angeles & Chicago) and nearly ruined the network before it had even barely gotten off the ground, "Air America Radio" programming has in this relatively short time increased to find homes on 64 stations nationwide-- not to mention satellite radio, internet streaming & 'podcasting' --and is now established in over 75% of the "Top 20" radio broadcast markets and is showing no signs of being driven to a halt anytime soon! This is the most phenomenal growth for a "start-up" network ever seen, considering the fact that in order to have the kind of reach Rush and his imitator wannabees currently enjoy they had to "start small" in sparsely populated "no name" towns and "build-up" from there -- which is how they managed such an impressive showing in the actual number of "station affiliates," but it took them a considerably longer time to earn the numbers in "audience reach" that they have today.

And yet, this meteoric rate of growth for "Air America Radio"-- accompanied with ever increasing rating shares --is indicative of a "major failure" to Bill O'Reilly. Go figure. (Perhaps Mr. "Nothing-But-Spin Zone" is jealous that the Conservative cesspool that is "Clear Channel Communications" has realized that, indeed, "Liberals" CAN do good 'talk radio' and also make money at it, and have thereby decided to have a sizable number of their radio stations carry "Air America Radio" programming.)

But is this really all about Bill O'Reilly? Absolutely! It's about O'Reilly, Coulter, Hannity, Limbaugh, et al., as Franken has already focused on in this book. But some time has passed since this expose, so there is MORE for Mr. Franken to grab hold of from these "lying liars" to add to the mix. There are also a few names he left out of this book which should likewise be dealt with -- names like Michael Weiner (Michael "Savage"), Michelle Maglalang (Michelle "Malkin") and fellow "comedian" Dennis Miller, to name a few -- along with some relatively NEW names in the news like Edward "The Lies About Hillary" Klein, Robert 'I-Can-Out-A-CIA-Operative's-Identity-&-Get-Away-With-It' Novak and non-journalist James 'I Slept With Scott McClellan To Get My White House Press Pass" Guckert (aka "Jeff Gannon").

~ [OPEN LETTER to AL FRANKEN] ~

''In light of this never-ending parade of pompous lying hypocrites, Mr. Franken, don't you think it's time overdue to begin working on 'VOLUME II' of this title? As a result of your publication 'LIES and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them,' you hold the distinction of being the author whose work has motivated me to make my very first ever 'audiobook' purchase! I'd like to be able to repeat that experience by having the follow-up volume of this title become the 'SECOND' audiobook I've ever purchased! If you don't like the idea of calling the new work a 'second volume,' you can simply title it: "MORE LIES And the Lying Lying Liars Who Tell Them" -- I don't mind.

Now, I know that things pertaining to your 3-hour radio show is keeping you a busy man and all, but now would be a good time to gather your thoughts together and knock out another best seller! I'll be waiting!''

~ [OPEN LETTER to BILL O'REILLY] ~

''Once again, thank you (and your bosses at the FOX NEWS Channel for their utterly stupid & ridiculous 'lawsuit') so very much for turning me on to Al Franken's impressive works -- especially your personal favorite:

'LIES And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right'.''

He supports almsot everything he says with facts, this book is very interesting, funny, and sometimes confussing. He learns some lessons himself while writnig this book, it just goes to show how he is a person that cares about the issues and does not support jsut what his favorite party does.