Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken

I finished listening to Al Franken yesterday afternoon. Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them is definitely partisan in nature. If you are a democrat or independent voter, you’ll find it an interesting read. If you are a republican voter, you’ll most likely be put off by it. For the most part, I enjoyed Franken’s tongue-in-cheek humor, although I did feel he went over the top in spots.

What I found most disturbing while reading this book was the depth and scope of the lies told, particularly the lack of response to the warning signs prior to 9/11. Franken provides copious examples of the warnings and briefings received by the Bush administration from the Clinton administration related to the probability of an Al Qaeda attack that were dismissed.

Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Karl Rove, George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Rush Limbaugh are just some of the liars he covers. With each lie, Franken states the lie and then provides the proof the lie is a lie. Some of them are quite outrageous. Since the book is still in publication and Franken is not being sued for slander, I believe Franken has presented the lies truthfully as lies.

I am disheartened by the state of our partisan politics these days. Franken is just as disrespectful of the Republican point of view as the Republicans are of the Democrats. I don’t know if this can fixed. I’d certainly like to think so.

[xrr rating=5/5] …for the research and facts in the book

[xrr rating=1/5] …for stooping to insulting partisan rhetoric rather than letting the facts speak for themselves

[xrr rating=3/5] …bottom line–definitely worth reading for the informational aspects