Cripes! I read Franken's book in a little over 9 hours!

[Fenris]

The book is unquestionably hilarious. And at other times unintentionally disturbing. Like, for example, Al's trip to Bob Jones University. Or the unflattering portrait of Barbara Bush (I should say self-portrait, because after all she was the one who acted like a bitch).

And other times he was incredibly poignant and sad. The obvious example is the Wellstone Memorial and the subsequent slandering all involved (including Paul) were dealt by the uninformed, lying right-wing media.

The whole book was sort of a mixture of all three I suppose. Funny, disturbing, and poignant. I read it and could feel Al's anger and frustration about everything he talked about because I felt the same way. I've felt the same way since the fall of 2001. Utter devastation and stifling anger.

I read "Rush Limbaugh is a Big, Fat Idiot and Other Observations" when I was about, oh, thirteen or fourteen I guess. I really don't know. I was near my middle-teens. 1996, so I was in (or finishing) 6th grade. My dad bought the book, and being a sucker for comedy I read it after he finished. I think that was about the time I started to pay attention to politics. After reading that book I knew one thing: I didn't like these people. It isn't that I was indoctrinated. It was that I read that book and realized that I didn't believe in a lot of what the Limbaughs of the world believed in. Slowly, I became more interested in politics until the 2000 election, my junior year, when the dam inside my head that held back all of my political beliefs and opinions burst. I had crossed the Rubicon.

So I'd like to thank Al for helping make me what I am today, politically at least. Because without his sharp wit, his simple eloquence, and his tireless pursuit of the truth I might, for all I know, be just another apathetic teenager or worse, one of "them."

[ameriphile]

1. This book is a true gem

I couldn't put it down either.

[saline]

2. here here!

It was a great book and big fat idiot was one of my eye opening moments as well. It's one of the only books I've read twice! My sister is about to finish Lies and then I don't know who is going to get my copy next. I laughed I cried I also finished it really quickly. Wasen't it just awesome?

[sonias]

3. Excellent read

I loved it. I didn't beat your 9+ hours time though. Al Franken just did a book signing here in Austin, TX and had about 800 people packed into one of the Barnes and Nobles stores here. B&N said it was the largest book signing they had ever held. He was a real trouper, staying there for hours to sign everyone's book. He told the Bitch Barbara story, it plays very well in Texas. The main point about that story is that people who know her not only say she is a mean bitch, but that G.W. is her son. Just like mama a mean bitch too.

I think the comedy angle works too. We can be angry and use humor to make our point. More people will listen when they can laugh at how ridiculous some of this lying b.s. coming out of the WH is.

Keep on reading, many more books to go. The nation is reading once again and books from the left are big sellers.

Sonia

[sjr5740]

4. 3 days

Thats because my wife kept saying "Put it down."

I had similar observations, but some things Franken does leaves me a little unhappy. I feel that he tries to bait people too hard sometimes.

I know he's a comic and it is supposed to be "funny" but I really didn't like the whole Bob Jones bit. I think people's beliefs should be left alone and respected even if you don't agree with them. I felt that the whole premise of going to BJU was based on a prejudicial assumption about the people there. I know they are really off the deep end, but they really don't want people like Al coming around and making fun of them.

I did however like the conclusion to the chapter b/c I felt that Al did grow and saw that what he was doing there was disrespectful to their belief system. He also seemed to admit that the joke wasn't as "funny" as he thought it would be. (I read the book a while ago so I am just remebering impressions)

Otherwise I loved the book and find Al to constantly be on. I especially like his rivalry with O'Really. O'really always shoots the messanger trying to deflect critcism from the message. "Is that all you got" He doesn't understand that these are illustrative examples and Al is not concerned with dissecting every one of his lies. Although I must admit when I know a liberal is going to be on his show I do keep it on in the background on the off chance he will lose it and yell "Shut Up" again. I just find that so hillarious in the face of reasoned debated.

SJR

[Enraged_Ape]

6. I loved the BJU chapter

I thought it was a real nice lesson in how we really shouldn't broad-brush people. Franken was impressed with the politeness and friendliness of just about everyone he met there. He seemed to genuinely like a lot of them, even if he had little respect for the school itself or their beliefs.

I can't imagine someone like Hannity or Coulter going to a traditionally liberal University, say UC Santa Cruz, and drawing the same conclusions about people, or "libruls".

[newyawker99]

9. Hi sjr5740!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[TioDiego]

5. Poor ol' Bill

He was complaining about Franken's bashing just last night. Poor Bill. Poor, poor, Bill.

[THUNDER HANDS]

7. nine hours?

Is that a short or long amount of time. I'm always curious about my reading ability (speed-wise) because I finished the book in about three hours and I think that's pretty fast.

I'm also plowing through Sydney Blumenthal's "The Clinton Wars" pretty fast. I'm halfway through it and I started it on Sunday morning.

[Interrobang]

8. Boy, do you read slowly... ;-)

I can't remember the last book it took me all of nine hours to read...

I saw Franken fencing verbally with Lou Dobbs on CNN last night while I was in the gym doing my cool-down. He didn't do a very good job. If I'd been him, I would have flattened Dobbs, but he gave him a pass on a couple very important things.

--sigh-- When will the Left learn that we can be pugnacious too?

[Richardo]

10. Fun, wasn't it?

My favorite caption: O'Reilly's voter registration with the caption "O'Reilly is a registered Lie-o-crat"

:D

[MissMillie]

11. A quick read because it's so easy to commiserate w/ him

We're all frustrated over the media's lack of attention to the lies and distortions of the right.

I'm now reading Conason's "Big Lies". Also a fairly quick read, but the lack of humor makes it just a big less so. Still worthy of people's attention. What it lacks in humor it makes up for in arguments.