When you write a book entitled Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, it helps not to be a lying liar yourself. Too bad Al Franken isn't quite intelligent enough to grasp subtlety. Or consistency. With the sputtering liberal Air America network a few weeks old, I thought it'd be a good time to take a fair and balanced look at this joke of a project. (And perhaps it'd be a good time for them to work on their SEO: I can't find their website in the first 5 pages of Google search results when searching for "air america.")

First of all, let me just admit this: Making fun of Air America is just too easy. Franken and Garofalo were full of bluster and bravado a few weeks ago, prancing about how they were going to take on the big-bad right-wing radio establishment. How are the aging-comics-cum-politicos doing now on the radio dial? Erm, not so well. Before discussing their finances, let's talk about the content of the programming.

Liberals love to paint conservatives as boorish, ignorant, and simple-minded. Strange, then, to launch a radio station with the mission to be angry, loud, and interested in nothing but promoting one's agenda—all charges the left normally levels against the right. Even sillier is to do that with under 10 radio stations. (For a little frame of reference, Rush blasts out his melodious voice on over 600 radio stations every day.)

It's also a really bad idea to come in as David and talk trash to Goliath. Sure, it might be cute, but underdogs win by surprising and outmaneuvering their opponents, not by baiting them into their best effort. Do you think NC State beat Houston by talking trash? Get real.

And another hint for David: It helps to be funny. Air America, I know you're billing yourself as the humorous-and-liberal network, but it seems to me you're just coming off as the pathetic-and-desperate network. Hey, don't take my word for it, though. Just read one of the dozens of editorials from liberals embarrassed about the network. They know it doesn't do liberalism right. It's a sham, and Franken & company are dropping the ball.

Finally, let's come back to that whole "truth" thing. You know, the "lying liars" bit. (That's really serving it up on a silver platter for me, but hey, I'll take the bait.) Recently, after a payment dispute between Air America and host station owner Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc., Multicultural's owner yanked Air America from the airwaves in Chicago and LA. Ever-present thorn in liberals' side Matt Drudge reported it on his website, while Franken & company issued a strange, trying-too-hard-to-be-funny (sound familiar?) press release on their site, claiming Drudge was lying. And the truth? The truth is pretty simple.

The truth (see Chicago Tribune article) is that Air America and Multicultural had a dispute over payments. Air America stopped payment on a check, and Multicultural's owner claimed that AA "bounced" the $1 mil check. If you put yourself in his shoes, they bounced the check. If you put yourself in Franken's shoes (pennyloafers? something suitably pansy-ass), they didn't bounce it. But in any case, in no way did Drudge lie by reporting the stance of Multicultural's owner. The man got a check that didn't clear. Drudge reported that fact. Air America, get the fuck over it.

Bottom line is that if AA didn't have to rent radio time, this issue would have never arisen. When you're a real player in the radio market—like Rush or Hannity—stations buy your show. They want it so they can sell ads, as this conservative editorial points out. Problem is, with the poor quality of AA—a fact recognized by all but the most opiate-laced of leftists—no radio station is going to be paying for the O'Franken factor any time soon.