Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right is a book of political satire by humorist Al Franken, published in 2003. The book's title is a swipe at the conservative commentators of the Fox News Channel; the network's reaction to the book was to file a short-lived lawsuit that had the unintended (sceptics point out that the TV channel and publishing house are owned by the same company) effect of driving up sales of the book.
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2 Publicity 3 Reviews 4 Book table of contents 5 The Issue of Footnotes and Endnotes 6 ISBN numbers 7 External Link |
Summary
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them is one of many books published in 2003 from liberals challenging the viewpoints of conservative authors such as Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly. This tide of liberal-oriented books by Franken and fellow authors such as Joe Conason, Michael Moore and Jim Hightower has been described by columnist Molly Ivins as the Great Liberal Backlash of 2003.
In Lies, Franken divides American media into two groups, (a) the unbiased "mainstream" and (b) the biased "right-wing":
"The mainstream media does not have a liberal bias. . . . ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, the New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, Newsweek and the rest -- at least try to be fair."
But the right-wing media -- FOX News, the Washington Times, the New York Post, the Journal editorial page, talk radio -- are "biased," the book declares. They have "an agenda." They are "not interested in conveying the truth." They "concoct an inflammatory story that serves their political goals." [1]
FOX News sought damages from Franken, claiming in its lawsuit that the book's subtitle violated its alleged trademark rights in the phrase Fair and Balanced. But the lawsuit was dismissed, and it provided Franken with free publicity just as the book was launched. "The book was originally scheduled to be released Sept. 22 but [was] made available Aug. 21," according to its publisher, Basic Books. "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 he had trademarked the word "funny" and Fox 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 amazon.com's best-seller list.
On August 22, 2003, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin denied Fox News Channel's request for an injunction to block the publication of Franken's book, characterizing Fox's claim as "wholly without merit, both factually and legally." Three days later, Fox filed papers to drop its lawsuit.
Franken, and others, said Fox's lawsuit was brought at its commentator O'Reilly's insistence. Following the lawsuit's dismissal, a Fox spokeswoman stated, "It's time to return Al Franken to the obscurity that he's normally accustomed to." Franken, in turn, suggested that the Judge had unwittingly supplied Fox with a more defensible trademark: "Wholly Without Merit".
"Al Franken [is the man] of the hour. For years, we have suffered while right-wing bullies hijacked American politics and media -- persecuting a president for a consensual sex act; stealing the 2000 election; trashing the country's economy, environment and constitutional safeguards; handing the government over to the highest corporate bidders; deceiving the public into a bloody quagmire; and then brazenly smearing anyone who dared to criticize this orgy of dreadful leadership as un-American. The instant, runaway success of Franken's new book is not just a result of Fox News' inexplicable decision to shoot itself in the foot and head by launching an idiotic trademark-infringement lawsuit, but also the author's bold -- and roaringly funny -- knack for confronting the Bush presidency and its prevaricating apologists." -- Salon Magazine
"Al Franken is the Spongebob Squarepants of the radical left. Outside of the obvious physical resemblance, Franken has other characteristics in common with the cartoon character. He is almost competent at what he does, has an over-inflated value of his self-importance, and is all too frequently given over to mindless bleeting when upset. The comparison is probably a bit harsh, and it's an unintended insult to Spongebob that my five-year-old daughter probably won't forgive. It is, however, true --- unlike 99 percent of what is in Franken's new book, Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them." -- Joe Hartlaub, Book Reporter
"In the kicking, spitting spirit of current all-star political discourse, Al Franken gives as good as he gets. His quintessential ad hominem attack title, Rush Limbaugh Is a Big, Fat Idiot, has already established his flair for the requisite games. Name calling, fact molding, gotcha!: all figure prominently in Mr. Franken's instant best seller Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, just as they do in most of the books that Lies attacks. Whatever their partisanship, these sporting diatribes share two underlying attitudes: 'What gray area?' and 'It's all about me.'" -- Janet Maslin, New York Times
The book criticizes Ann Coulter for listing the sources of her book "Slander" at the end of the book (as endnotes) instead of at the bottom of pages of the main text (as footnotes). Franken writes that it is easier for a reader to check sources by glancing to the bottom of the current page than by turning to the end of a book. However, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" itself uses endnotes.
(Note by a later contributor. Yes, there are endnotes. Two of them. One of which is a jab at Coulter's use of endnotes. There are several dozen footnotes.)
The book does not have an index.
Publicity
Reviews
Book table of contents
The Issue of Footnotes and Endnotes
ISBN numbers
External Link
