Al Franken
gregladen | October 3, 2017First a word about our lovely press. If I hear one more reporter grovel and squirm about how we don't really want to hurt the NRA or take away any gun rights or do anything unreasonable, no, no, we just want to assume there is a solution to the carnage that does not inconvenience any of the gun loving yahoos that watch our networks .... then I'm going to I just don't know what. Reporters: Please leave open the possibility that a double digit percentage of Americans don't care one whit how much restrictions there ends up being on guns. We just want the insanity to end, and if that means…
gregladen | May 30, 2017Al Franken, Giant of the Senate By Al Franken. This book claims to be this:
From Senator Al Franken - #1 bestselling author and beloved SNL alum - comes the story of an award-winning comedian who decided to run for office and then discovered why award-winning comedians tend not to do that.
This is a book about an unlikely campaign that had an even more improbable ending: the closest outcome in history and an unprecedented eight-month recount saga, which is pretty funny in retrospect.
It's a book about what happens when the nation's foremost progressive satirist gets a chance to serve in the…
gregladen | June 1, 2013Al Franken's daughter just had a baby, so congratulations to them!
Joseph Bryson Greenwald, 6 lbs 11 oz. We are awaiting word on the baby's length.
gregladen | May 30, 2013As you know, Michele Bachmann, Congressperson for Minnesota's Sixth District, has announced that she will not seek re-election to her seat in Washington DC.
Bachmann almost lost her re-election to challenger Jim Graves last year. I'm convinced that had the election been held a few weeks later, Graves would have won. Recently, internal polling data from within Bachmann's campaign became known, and showed that as of a couple of weeks ago Bachmann was actually behind Graves. Bachmann's response to this polling was an ad buy; the Bachmann campaign started up early with local ads, clearly…
gregladen | May 21, 2012Today is Minnesota Senator Al Franken's Birthday. In honor of that, I'm reposting this historically accurate and important essay, which first appeared on this blog on April 23, 2009 at 3:56PM:
I personally put Al Franken in the Senate
Al Franken is about to be seated as the Junior Senator from Minnesota after a long and costly battle between loser Norm Coleman and Senator Franken. Al won the election by just a few hundred votes, and three of those votes are mine.
So, we have me and about 100 other people just like me to thank for overthrowing the Coleman Regime. Let this be a lesson to…
gregladen | June 29, 2010Coleman Steps Aside: Franken is Senator
Let us not forget, Coleman was an absolute jerk during the whole process. And,he was a sucky senator. Subsequent to Franken's establishment in office, he has proven himself equal to the best. Indeed, his lack of experience in elected office in general and the senate in particular is rather hard to detect.
gregladen | February 6, 2010Don't mess with Al, man.
UPDATED:
If you are impressed with Al, send him money! (That recount was expensive.)
gregladen | December 3, 2009... or ... Republicans Attack Franken for Opposing Rape
No, no ... maybe this ..
Thirty Senate Republicans Prefer Rape over Justice
Or perhaps ...
Al Franken Does Right Thing: Republicans Get Mad
Oh, forget it. I'll never decide on a title for this post. Just watch the story:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
gregladen | October 21, 2009First, watch this
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Rape-Nuts
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes
Political Humor
Health Care Crisis
Then, click here and contribute. We need more of this.
gregladen | September 24, 2009Well, not the Riot Act, but the Fourth Amendment.
Just in case he wasn't familiar with it, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) decided to read the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution to David Kris, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's National Security Division, who was testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee today to urge reauthorization of expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act.
source
The issue is over whether or not the 4th Amendment requirement that a warrant be issued only if it describes the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized obviates the…
gregladen | September 3, 2009Dusty Trice has some brilliant reporting. Here's his film:
Read his detailed report and analysis here.
I love this: The woman who asks the opening question seems to assume that the general population is behind her. Love the way she says "Obama" ... reminds me of how southerners used to say a different word back in the old days. Then, I love the way she stands there dumbfounded when actual conversation happens.
gregladen | August 20, 2009Yesterday, I called Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar and expressed my support for the public option in Heath Care. If you are a Minnesotan, please do that too. Al's number is 651-221-1016. If you are not a Minnesotan, call Al anyway as he is on the Health Education Labor and Pensions committee. Use his DC number for that (202-224-5641).
Amy's number in he Twin Cities is 612-727-5223, and if you are outstate you can get the right number at this link.
While you are in the process of making calls or sending emails, you should consider contacting the members of the Senate Committee on Heatlh,…
gregladen | July 21, 2009In any event, more people seem to like Al Franken than who voted for him ... if we compare the 42% of the vote he got with the 49% approval rating he now has. (details)
This is partly a function of increased favorablity following the nasty recount process, but is also reminds us of something else: There was a third candidate in this race. If Dean Barkley was not in this race, would the outcome have been so close? And, who would have won?
The common knowledge on the street at the time of the election is that about two thirds of Barkley's votes would have been for Franken had Barkley not…
gregladen | July 7, 2009Here is Al Franken being sworn in to the U. S. Senate:
Do you remember The Ad? The ad that made everyone in Minnesota who kinda didn't like Norm Coleman go over the line and realize that Norm Coleman is the scum of the earth? You can read about that here but I'll summarize it for you briefly and tell you why I even bring it up.
When Al Franken was running for the Senate, he would often tell a particular story about Paul Wellstone. In this story, Senator Wellstone is running along side his son, who is, in turn, running second or third in a cross country race as part of his high school…
gregladen | July 6, 2009Today, Al Franken goes to Washington. And we helped.
Now, it is time to kick his ass.
This is the difference between the dittoheads who will follow the anointed head of the Republican Party into a big pile of dogshit if he so orders them and us. They follow their sens less leaders, they stomp their feet and whinge and threaten, but it takes forever for even the most thoughtful Republicans to even begin to question their leaders. But we in the Liberal Blogosphere do not do this. We watch and we evaluate and we comment and we do not give anyone a pass just becasue we voted for them.
So…
gregladen | June 30, 2009I just got an email from my close personal friend, Al Franken. Here's part of it (I cut out the personal smushy stuff):
I've said it before, and I want to say it again: THANK YOU.
We just received word that the Minnesota State Supreme Court has ruled on Norm Coleman's appeal. I wanted to let you know right away, the court upheld our victory in a 5-0 decision.
Paul Wellstone said that successful organizing is based on the recognition that people get organized because they, too, have a vision. He also said that politics only has to do with trying to do right by people.
Throughout this campaign…