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{{Short description|2003 book by Al Franken}}
{{Infobox Book {{Infobox book
| name = Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them:<br> A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right | name = Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them
| title_orig = | title_orig =
| translator = | translator =
| image = ] | image = Lies and the lying liars.jpg
| caption =
| image_caption =
| author = ] | author = ]
| cover_artist = | cover_artist =
| country = | country =
| language = ] | language = English
| series = | series =
| subject = ]/] | subject = ], ]
| genre = ] | genre = ]
| publisher = ] | publisher = ]
| release_date = ] | release_date = 2003
| media_type = Hardcover/paperback | media_type = Hardcover/paperback
| pages = | pages =
| isbn = | isbn = 9780452285217
| dewey= 320.9730207
| congress= E885 .F728 2003
| oclc= 884599126
| preceded_by = ] | preceded_by = ]
| followed_by = ] | followed_by = ]
}} }}
]'''''Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right''''' is a ] of political commentary and ] by comedian and political commentator ], published in ] by ], a subsidiary in the Penguin Group. It was written with the help of a volunteer group of fourteen ] students known as "Team Franken." The book's subtitle is an ] ] of ]' tagline "]". Fox sued Franken over the use of the phrase in a short-lived lawsuit that is frequently credited with increasing the sales of the book. '''''Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them''''' is a ] book on American politics by ], a comedian, political commentator, and politician. It was published in 2003 by ]. Franken had a study group of 14 ] graduate students known as "TeamFranken" to help him with the research.<ref>{{cite news | title = Chapter and verse on the need for regime change | first = Mark | last = Hertsgaard | newspaper = ] | url = http://www.markhertsgaard.com/articles/144 | url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211085648/http://www.markhertsgaard.com/articles/144 |archive-date=December 11, 2008 }}</ref> The book's subtitle, ''A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right'', is a ] of ]' tagline "]." FNC sued Franken over the use of the phrase in a ], which has been credited with increasing the sales of the book, an example of the ].<ref>{{cite journal|title = The Streisand effect and censorship backfire |journal = ] |last1 = Jansen |first1 = Sue Curry |last2 = Martin |first2 = Brian |date = 2015|citeseerx = 10.1.1.852.9159}}</ref>

⚫ ''Lies'' is one of several books published in 2003 written by ] challenging the viewpoints of ] such as ], ], ] and ]. These books by Franken and fellow authors such as ], ] and ] were described by columnist ] as the "great liberal backlash of 2003."<ref>{{cite news
| last=Krugman
| first=Paul
| title=Missing Molly Ivins
| work=]
| date=2007-02-02
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/opinion/02krugman.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
| access-date=2008-03-02}}</ref>


==Summary== ==Summary==
''Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them'' largely targets prominent ] and ]s, highlighting what Franken asserts are documentable lies in their claims. A significant portion of the book is devoted to comparisons between then-sitting President ] and former president ] regarding their economic, environmental, and military policies. Franken also criticizes several ], especially those he believes to be the most dishonest, including O'Reilly, Hannity, and Coulter. The book includes two comics, "The Gospel of Supply Side Jesus", a cartoon by ], which parodies the seemingly un-Christian policies of Republicans who frequently invoke ] (like the ] meme), and "Operation Chickenhawk: Episode One", which features ] (and prominent Democrats) ] and ] leading a group of popular ]—none of whom actually served in the ]—into battle, only to get ] by the cowardly "]" neocons.
⚫ ''Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them'' is one of several books published in ] written by ] challenging the viewpoints of ] such as ], ], and ]. These liberal-oriented books by Franken and fellow authors such as ], ] and ] have been described by columnist ] as the Great Liberal Backlash of 2003.

''Lies'' largely targets prominent ] and conservatives, highlighting documentable inaccuracies in their claims. A significant portion of the book is devoted to comparisons between ] ] and former President ] regarding their ], ]al, and ] policies. Franken also criticizes several ], especially those he believes to be the most dishonest, including Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity.

In ''Lies,'' Franken divides American media into two groups: the mainstream media, which attempts to be objective, and the ] media, which does not.

In his book, Franken writes that "The mainstream media does not have a liberal bias, ], ], ], ], '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and the rest at least try to be fair." Franken notes that the mainstream media do have biases, including towards sensationalism, the easy story, and ].

However, Franken asserts, the right-wing media, which includes ], '']'', '']'', '']'s'' editorial page, and ], are biased beacuse they have a political agenda. They are "not interested in conveying the truth" and instead "concoct an inflammatory story that serves their political goals."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh021804.shtml|title=A GUTTER RUNS THROUGH IT (PART 2)! It might be true, Frank Rich wanly said. Incomparably, we ask: Where’s the outrage?|work=]}} <!-- earlier url http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56418-2003Aug27.html is now 404 --></ref>

Franken makes this distinction in an effort to debunk the claim that the mainstream ]. Franken believe that the claim of media "liberal bias" is a myth used by conservative politicians. Propagating this myth, Franken asserts, serves three functions. First, it serves to create fear in the part of mainstream media outlets that they will be accused of having a liberal bias if they discuss issues that conservatives don't want them to. Second, it allows conservatives to deny or dismiss reports in the mainstream media, regardless of whether they are true, because they have discredited the source already. Third, attacking the liberal media can be effective at increasing conservative voter turnout.

The book criticizes several conservative authors and pundits by pointing out factual inaccuracies and deceptive statements they have made. Franken criticizes ] on a number of points related to what Franken alleges as abuses or violations of journalistic ethics in her book ''Slander''. In addition to accusing her of lying, Franken accuses Coulter of deliberately misusing citations in order to further a misleading political agenda. Coulter frequently said that ''Slander'' has "720 footnotes" when she was challenged on the accuracy of statements within the book. Franken points out that merely having 720 citations makes readers less likely to actually check them. He also notes that Coulter's citations are not footnotes in a literal sense, but rather endnotes, which are located at the end of the book rather than the foot of the page, which he says, readers are far less likely to refer to. Franken also cites examples where Coulter misuses her citations to attribute offensive our outlandish statements to people who did not make them.

Franken also criticizes former ] reporter ] for what he claims is selective decontextualized quoting, and allegedly dishonest material in his book '']''. Franken recounts an incident on ]'s talk show on ] when he confronted Goldberg about a misleading quote attributed to ] anchor and commentator ].

The book also criticizes Bill O'Reilly, with whom Al Franken has a public feud. Franken accuses O'Reilly of being a serial and ], recounting multiple ], including O'Reilly's inaccurate statements regarding ], his ] with ], and his ] of ] for hiring rap artist ]. Franken pokes fun at O'Reilly for moralizing about the sexually explicit and violent themes of Ludacris's songs despite having himself written a book, ], which contains violent and sexual imagery and profanity. Franken also recounts ] at BookExpo America 2003, seen on ].


==Publicity== ==Publicity==
:''Main article: ]'' {{see also|Fox v. Franken}}
] sought damages from Franken, claiming in its lawsuit that the book's subtitle violated its alleged trademark rights in the phrase "]". The lawsuit was dismissed, and the attempt backfired on FOX News in that it provided Franken with free publicity just as the book was launched. "The book was originally scheduled to be released Sept. 22 but made available Aug. 21," according to its publisher. "We sped up the release because of tremendous demand for the book, generated by recent events." ] sought damages from Franken, claiming in its lawsuit that the book's subtitle violated its trademark of the slogan "]". The lawsuit was dismissed, and backfired on Fox News by providing Franken with free publicity just as the book was launched. "The book was originally scheduled to be released Sept. 22 but will be made available Aug. 21," according to its publisher. "We sped up the release because of tremendous demand for the book, generated by recent events."

⚫ In the lawsuit, Fox described Franken as "intoxicated or deranged" as well as "shrill and unstable." In response, Franken joked that he had trademarked the word "funny", and that Fox had infringed his intellectual property rights by characterizing him as "unfunny." The publicity resulting from the lawsuit propelled Franken's as-of-then-unreleased book to the #1 sales position on ]'s best-seller list.

⚫ On ], ], U.S. District Judge ] denied Fox's request for an injunction to block the publication of Franken's book, characterizing the network's claim as "wholly without merit, both factually and legally." During the judge's questioning, spectators in the court's gallery frequently laughed Fox's case.<ref>{{cite web | last = Saulny | first = Susan | authorlink = | year = August 23, 2003 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/23/nyregion/23FRAN.html?ex=1376971200&en=221c949c94e93f90&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND | title = In Courtroom, Laughter at Fox and a Victory for Al Franken | work = The New York Times | publisher = The New York Times Company | accessdate = 2005-10-05}}</ref> Franken later joked, "Usually when you say someone was literally laughed out of court, you mean they were figuratively laughed out of court, but Fox was literally laughed out of court."<ref>http://progressive.stanford.edu/2003.11_franken.html</ref> Three days later, Fox filed papers to drop its lawsuit.

⚫ The lawsuit is described by Franken in a ]-only chapter of ''Lies'' entitled "I Win".

==Criticisms==
The book has drawn a number of criticisms, many of them from Franken's political adversaries. The web site Frankenlies.com,<ref>]</ref> (operated by Dave Pierre, a contributor to NewsBusters, operated by the ] ]) compiles and sources many of these criticisms.{{fact}} Some examples are:

:On pages 110-111 of the book (hardcover, 1st edition), Franken wrote that President Clinton "thwarted" "plots to kill the Pope and blow up twelve U.S. jetliners simultaneously." On page 121, Franken wrote that Clinton thwarted a plot "to hijack an American commercial plane and crash it into CIA headquarters." A Congressional joint inquiry, partially declassified in 2003, declared these plots "were thwarted by Philippine police when a fire erupted in an apartment where was preparing explosives." Portions of that section of the report remain classified, so any findings relating to Clinton administration involvement would be unknown to the public (or to Franken.)<ref> Retrieved February 25, 2007.</ref> The actions by Philippine police are detailed and accounted over a number of chapters in a book by former ] reporter ], ‘’1000 Years For Revenge.’‘ In the book, Lance interviews members of the Philippine police responsible for thwarting the plots. The work by Philippine police in stopping the plots was also researched and written about by investigator ] in a book called, ''Why America Slept''.<ref></ref>
<!-- the two books referenced above should be moved to footnotes, and their content should be summarized briefly in the text. -->

:In passages about reported vandalism at the White House complex during the transition of the Clinton and Bush administrations in 2000-2001, Franken wrote, "Of course, none of this horrible vandalism actually occurred" (page 153). However, a 217-page report by the ] concluded the opposite: "Damage, theft, vandalism, and pranks occurred in the White House complex during the 2001 presidential transition. Incidents such as the removal of keys from computer keyboards; the theft of various items; the leaving of certain voice mail messages, signs, and written messages; and the placing of glue on desk drawers clearly were intentional acts." <ref> United States General Accounting Office, "The White House: Allegations of Damage During the 2001 Presidential Transition," June 2002, p. 19 (page 22 of the pdf file).] Retrieved February 25, 2007.</ref><ref></ref>


⚫ In the lawsuit, Fox described Franken as "intoxicated or deranged" as well as "shrill and unstable." In response, Franken joked that he had trademarked the word "funny", and that Fox had infringed his ] by characterizing him as "unfunny." ] propelled Franken's yet-to-be-released book to #1 on ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/0452285216.asp|title=Lies: And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them - Bookreporter.com}}</ref>
⚫ In a book review of Franken's book in the Washington newspaper ], reviewer Mary Lynn F. Jones opined, "Franken's tendency to mix fact with fiction left me wondering sometimes what was true and what wasn't." <ref> Retieved February25, 2007.</ref> As an example, she cited a passage in Franken's book in which he wrote that former Bush foreign policy advisor ] "bolted" from a Senate hearing and " over veteran reporter ], breaking her hip and jaw" (page 218). In the ] version of ''Lies'', Franken clarified the passage with a footnote saying, "the Helen Thomas thing is a joke" (page 227 of the paperback).<ref></ref>


⚫ On August 22, 2003, U.S. District Judge ] denied Fox's request for an injunction to block the publication of Franken's book, characterizing the network's claim as "wholly without merit, both factually and legally." During the judge's questioning, spectators in the court's gallery frequently laughed at Fox's case.<ref name="nytfox">{{cite web|last=Saulny |first=Susan |title=In Courtroom, Laughter at Fox and a Victory for Al Franken |work=New York Times |date=2003-08-23 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/23/nyregion/23FRAN.html?ex=1376971200&en=221c949c94e93f90&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014065839/http://nytimes.com/2003/08/23/nyregion/23FRAN.html?ex=1376971200&en=221c949c94e93f90&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-10-14 |access-date=2007-03-15 }}</ref> Franken later joked, "Usually when you say someone was literally laughed out of court, you mean they were figuratively laughed out of court, but Fox was literally laughed out of court."<ref name="stanfordprogressive">{{cite web| last = Corman| first = Mary| title = Franken Speaks Frankly| work = interview| publisher = Stanford Progressive| date = 2003-08-23| url = http://progressive.stanford.edu/2003.11_franken.html| access-date = 2007-03-15 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070109235717/http://progressive.stanford.edu/2003.11_franken.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-01-09}}</ref> Three days later, Fox filed to dismiss its lawsuit.
A 2004 article by ] ], of the ] ], challenged Franken's book on one of its facts. <ref></ref>. Lowry noted that Franken had written on page 115 of his book that the Clinton administration had "far-reaching plan" to eliminate al Qaeda and that the Clinton team "decided to turn over the plan to the Bush administration to carry out." However, Lowry wrote that Sandy Berger testified in front of Congress on September 19, 2002, and stated, "here was no war plan that we turned over to the Bush administration during the transition. And the reports of that are just incorrect."<ref></ref> Berger did, however, testify that the administration was executing a plan to detect bin Laden and disrupt Al Qaida, and that he personally ensured that the importance of terrorism and Al Qaida was communicated to his successor.


⚫ Franken describes the legal battle in a ]-only chapter of ''Lies'' entitled "I Win".
===Alleged Plagiarism===
In a 2005 book called ''Pants on Fire'', released by the conservative organization ], writer Alan Skorski claimed that Franken ] portions of ''Lies and the Lying Liars'' from a 2001 report on the ] by the ] ]. An example by Skorski:


==Reception==
:: FAIR, July/August 2001: by Seth Ackerman, writing about '']'':
::: Even Fox's "left-right" debate show, Hannity & Colmes--whose Crossfire-style format virtually imposes numerical equality between conservatives and "liberals"--can't shake the impression of resembling a Harlem Globetrotters game ...


⚫ In a largely favorable review of Franken's book in the Washington newspaper '']'', reviewer Mary Lynn F. Jones wrote: "Franken's tendency to mix fact with fiction left me wondering sometimes what was true and what wasn't."<ref name="joneshill">{{cite web | last =Jones| first =Mary Lynn F.| title =Franken's humor overpowered by cynical Look at the Right| work =The Hill| date =2003-09-09| url =http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Features/BookReview/090903.html| access-date = 2007-03-17 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070107221953/http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Features/BookReview/090903.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-01-07}}</ref> As an example, she cited a passage in Franken's book in which he wrote that former ] foreign policy advisor ] "bolted" from a Senate hearing and " over veteran reporter ], breaking her hip and jaw".<ref>Franken, page 218</ref> The ] version has a footnote saying, "The Helen Thomas thing is a joke."<ref>Franken, page 227 of the paperback</ref>
:: Al Franken, page 63 (hardcover, 1st edition):
::: For those of you unfamiliar with the Hannity and Colmes dynamic, it's a conservative-versus-liberal talking head show, kind of a combination between Crossfire and a Harlem Globetrotters game.


===Recognition===
According to ''Pants on Fire'', the passage in Franken's book does not have ], and FAIR's report is not cited in the "Notes and Sources" section at the back of the book.
The audiobook version was awarded the ] ] for ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs084/1102478472127/archive/1111231035954.html|title=Become A Compelling Audiobook Narrator - Paul Ruben Webinar Oct. 16|website=archive.constantcontact.com}}</ref>


==Editions== ==Editions==
* ISBN 0-525-94764-7 (hardcover, 2003) * {{ISBN|0-525-94764-7}} (hardcover, 2003)
* ISBN 0-452-28521-6 * {{ISBN|0-452-28521-6}}


==See also== ==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Politics}}
*] *]
*]
*]


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}}
<references/>
==External links==
=== Rebuttals ===
*
* -- General criticism of Franken


{{Al Franken}}
=== Counter-rebuttals ===
{{Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album 2000s |state=autocollapse}}
* - Challenges purported smears and criticism of Franken
{{Authority control}}


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Latest revision as of 02:52, 23 December 2024

2003 book by Al Franken
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them
AuthorAl Franken
LanguageEnglish
SubjectAmerican politics, American conservatism
GenrePolitical satire
PublisherDutton Penguin
Publication date2003
Media typeHardcover/paperback
ISBN9780452285217
OCLC884599126
Dewey Decimal320.9730207
LC ClassE885 .F728 2003
Preceded byRush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations 
Followed byThe Truth (With Jokes) 

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them is a satirical book on American politics by Al Franken, a comedian, political commentator, and politician. It was published in 2003 by Dutton Penguin. Franken had a study group of 14 Harvard graduate students known as "TeamFranken" to help him with the research. The book's subtitle, A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, is a parody of Fox News' tagline "Fair and Balanced." FNC sued Franken over the use of the phrase in a short-lived and unsuccessful lawsuit, which has been credited with increasing the sales of the book, an example of the Streisand effect.

Lies is one of several books published in 2003 written by American liberals challenging the viewpoints of conservatives such as Bernard Goldberg, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter. These books by Franken and fellow authors such as Joe Conason, Michael Moore and Jim Hightower were described by columnist Molly Ivins as the "great liberal backlash of 2003."

Summary

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them largely targets prominent Republicans and conservatives, highlighting what Franken asserts are documentable lies in their claims. A significant portion of the book is devoted to comparisons between then-sitting President George W. Bush and former president Bill Clinton regarding their economic, environmental, and military policies. Franken also criticizes several pundits, especially those he believes to be the most dishonest, including O'Reilly, Hannity, and Coulter. The book includes two comics, "The Gospel of Supply Side Jesus", a cartoon by Don Simpson, which parodies the seemingly un-Christian policies of Republicans who frequently invoke Christianity (like the Republican Jesus meme), and "Operation Chickenhawk: Episode One", which features Vietnam veterans (and prominent Democrats) John Kerry and Al Gore leading a group of popular neoconservatives—none of whom actually served in the Vietnam War—into battle, only to get fragged by the cowardly "chickenhawk" neocons.

Publicity

See also: Fox v. Franken

Fox News sought damages from Franken, claiming in its lawsuit that the book's subtitle violated its trademark of the slogan "Fair and Balanced". The lawsuit was dismissed, and backfired on Fox News by providing Franken with free publicity just as the book was launched. "The book was originally scheduled to be released Sept. 22 but will be made available Aug. 21," according to its publisher. "We sped up the release because of tremendous demand for the book, generated by recent events."

In the lawsuit, Fox described Franken as "intoxicated or deranged" as well as "shrill and unstable." In response, Franken joked that he had trademarked the word "funny", and that Fox had infringed his intellectual property rights by characterizing him as "unfunny." The publicity resulting from the lawsuit propelled Franken's yet-to-be-released book to #1 on Amazon.com.

On August 22, 2003, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin denied Fox's request for an injunction to block the publication of Franken's book, characterizing the network's claim as "wholly without merit, both factually and legally." During the judge's questioning, spectators in the court's gallery frequently laughed at Fox's case. Franken later joked, "Usually when you say someone was literally laughed out of court, you mean they were figuratively laughed out of court, but Fox was literally laughed out of court." Three days later, Fox filed to dismiss its lawsuit.

Franken describes the legal battle in a paperback-only chapter of Lies entitled "I Win".

Reception

In a largely favorable review of Franken's book in the Washington newspaper The Hill, reviewer Mary Lynn F. Jones wrote: "Franken's tendency to mix fact with fiction left me wondering sometimes what was true and what wasn't." As an example, she cited a passage in Franken's book in which he wrote that former Bush foreign policy advisor Richard Armitage "bolted" from a Senate hearing and " over veteran reporter Helen Thomas, breaking her hip and jaw". The paperback version has a footnote saying, "The Helen Thomas thing is a joke."

Recognition

The audiobook version was awarded the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.

Editions

See also

References

  1. Hertsgaard, Mark. "Chapter and verse on the need for regime change". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008.
  2. Jansen, Sue Curry; Martin, Brian (2015). "The Streisand effect and censorship backfire". University of Wollongong. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.852.9159.
  3. Krugman, Paul (2007-02-02). "Missing Molly Ivins". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  4. "Lies: And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them - Bookreporter.com".
  5. Saulny, Susan (2003-08-23). "In Courtroom, Laughter at Fox and a Victory for Al Franken". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  6. Corman, Mary (2003-08-23). "Franken Speaks Frankly". interview. Stanford Progressive. Archived from the original on 2007-01-09. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  7. Jones, Mary Lynn F. (2003-09-09). "Franken's humor overpowered by cynical Look at the Right". The Hill. Archived from the original on 2007-01-07. Retrieved 2007-03-17.
  8. Franken, page 218
  9. Franken, page 227 of the paperback
  10. "Become A Compelling Audiobook Narrator - Paul Ruben Webinar Oct. 16". archive.constantcontact.com.
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