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A review by asteroidbuckle
Lies & the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair & Balanced Look at the Right by Al Franken
4.0
I never used to consider myself political. And I still don't think I am, really. But lately, I find myself more and more interested in the differences between Conservatives and Liberals, Republicans and Democrats. All over the news I hear about how Democrats are bad. Liberals are bad. They hate America and are traitors. I'm a Democrat and, I believe, a liberal, and guess what? I love my country. I'm not a traitor. Political pundits like Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Ann Coulter demonize Democrats for their own ends, presenting arguments that aren't backed up by any "proof" other than their own vitriolic statements.
On that note (and on the recommendation of a friend), I decided to read Al Frankens' Lies. And I learned two things from this book:
1. Conservative Republicans have made a collective, concerted effort to undermine and villify liberals and Democrats in order to cover for the inherent weaknesses of their own cohorts (namely, President Bush). They do this by out-and-out lying, presenting unsubstantiated claims as facts, and by screaming bloody murder whenever an even remotely left-leaning opponent tries to call them on it. They also do this by blaming everything on former President Bill Clinton.
2. Bill O'Reilly writes bad porn. (An excerpt from his novel, Those Who Trespass [who knew?] is ruthlessly and hilariously spotlighted three times in Franken's book.)
This book was extremely insightful, very well-researched, and jaw-droppingly shocking. For someone like me who doesn't follow politics with rabid furor, the facts presented in this book were eye-opening. The outright, bald-faced lies told to us by our president (who I DID NOT vote for--twice!--thank you very much) as he kept a straight face really irritated me. Not to mention those told by all his cronies as well.
Franken is at times self-serving, I'll admit. He shamelessly plugs his own books and his services as a corporate speaker. But he does so with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek. He also presents the information in a straigtforward manner and with razor-sharp humor that made me laugh out loud more than once. The book, if nothing else, is not boring.
Here are a few of my favorite excerpts from the book:
--From the chapter titled, "You Know Who I Don't Like? Ann Coulter": But then again, like any movement conervative, Ann Coulter is a firm believer in the free market. By definition, anything that succeeds in "the marketplace of ideas," like her books, must inherently be of value...Here's something to think about, though. A friend of mine [Franken's] works in the hotel industry. About 65 percent of the movies that are ordered in hotels are "adult movies." Clearly, two blondes going down on each other is a real winner in the marketplace of ideas.
--From the chapter (titled, "I'm A Bad Liar") where Al Franken and one of his research team members go "undercover" as prospective parent/student at Bob Jones University, an uber-Christian university in South Carolina: ...I cleverly changed the subject to creationism. You really believe it? Doug (a BJU [hee!] student) said he did, and so did all his friends sitting around us. According to Doug, evolution made no sense at all. No mutation, he insisted, had ever been beneficial. I looked at my thumb, but said nothing..."
--From the chapter titled, "Vast Lagoons of Pig Feces": Twenty years ago, there were 27,500 family hog farmers in North Carolina alone. Now there are none. Today, a single company called Smithfield owns more than 70 percent of the state's hogs. Small farmers are learning that you can't beat Big Meat.
At times scathing, at times funny, Franken's book is always factual. It has "real" footnotes and everything! (See chapter 2, "Ann Coulter: Nutcase.")
Read this book; you won't regret it. (Well, unless you're one of the Lying Liars.)
On that note (and on the recommendation of a friend), I decided to read Al Frankens' Lies. And I learned two things from this book:
1. Conservative Republicans have made a collective, concerted effort to undermine and villify liberals and Democrats in order to cover for the inherent weaknesses of their own cohorts (namely, President Bush). They do this by out-and-out lying, presenting unsubstantiated claims as facts, and by screaming bloody murder whenever an even remotely left-leaning opponent tries to call them on it. They also do this by blaming everything on former President Bill Clinton.
2. Bill O'Reilly writes bad porn. (An excerpt from his novel, Those Who Trespass [who knew?] is ruthlessly and hilariously spotlighted three times in Franken's book.)
This book was extremely insightful, very well-researched, and jaw-droppingly shocking. For someone like me who doesn't follow politics with rabid furor, the facts presented in this book were eye-opening. The outright, bald-faced lies told to us by our president (who I DID NOT vote for--twice!--thank you very much) as he kept a straight face really irritated me. Not to mention those told by all his cronies as well.
Franken is at times self-serving, I'll admit. He shamelessly plugs his own books and his services as a corporate speaker. But he does so with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek. He also presents the information in a straigtforward manner and with razor-sharp humor that made me laugh out loud more than once. The book, if nothing else, is not boring.
Here are a few of my favorite excerpts from the book:
--From the chapter titled, "You Know Who I Don't Like? Ann Coulter": But then again, like any movement conervative, Ann Coulter is a firm believer in the free market. By definition, anything that succeeds in "the marketplace of ideas," like her books, must inherently be of value...Here's something to think about, though. A friend of mine [Franken's] works in the hotel industry. About 65 percent of the movies that are ordered in hotels are "adult movies." Clearly, two blondes going down on each other is a real winner in the marketplace of ideas.
--From the chapter (titled, "I'm A Bad Liar") where Al Franken and one of his research team members go "undercover" as prospective parent/student at Bob Jones University, an uber-Christian university in South Carolina: ...I cleverly changed the subject to creationism. You really believe it? Doug (a BJU [hee!] student) said he did, and so did all his friends sitting around us. According to Doug, evolution made no sense at all. No mutation, he insisted, had ever been beneficial. I looked at my thumb, but said nothing..."
--From the chapter titled, "Vast Lagoons of Pig Feces": Twenty years ago, there were 27,500 family hog farmers in North Carolina alone. Now there are none. Today, a single company called Smithfield owns more than 70 percent of the state's hogs. Small farmers are learning that you can't beat Big Meat.
At times scathing, at times funny, Franken's book is always factual. It has "real" footnotes and everything! (See chapter 2, "Ann Coulter: Nutcase.")
Read this book; you won't regret it. (Well, unless you're one of the Lying Liars.)