Al Franken...is this for real?

[Urbane Guerrilla]

No one of you can impeach la Malkin on the facts of the matter, though. I am afraid you must be not very enlightened. You see, you confuse indignation with active hatred. Not the same thing at all.

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

No one of you can impeach la Malkin on the facts of the matter, though. I am afraid you must be not very enlightened. You see, you confuse indignation with active hatred. Not the same thing at all.

What facts?

That Franken signed a settlement agreement with the owners of Air America because he worked for months without been paid and, as a private citizen before running for office, he didnt want to talk about it publicly? So what?

The rest is innuendo....some nonsense about being part of a broader conspiracy to defraud the public?

There are no facts in Malkin's post that he did anything illegal or even unethical...typical Malkin.

UG...btw, I am still waiting for you to "enlighten" me on illegal acts by the Reno DoJ...perhaps you can find something on Malkin if you take your nose out of her ass and wade through enough shit.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

What facts?

That Franken signed a settlement agreement with the owners of Air America because he worked for months without been paid and, as a private citizen before running for office, he didnt want to talk about it publicly? So what?

The rest is innuendo....some nonsense about being part of a broader conspiracy to defraud the public?

There are no facts in Malkin's post that he did anything illegal or even unethical...typical Malkin.

Merc....I asked a simple question.

What facts are in the Malkin post other than that Franken signed a settlement agreement with the owners of Air America because he worked for months without been paid and he chose not to talk about it publicly

Care to answer?

[TheMercenary]

Well first off as a now public figure he will be required to speak about all the details publicly.

And of course the apologists for the dems are going to say it is no big deal. But there has always been enough red flags for people to question his integrity, which is quite questionable as a representative of the people. With all the taxpdodgers on the current administration I guess the bar has been set. Franken was involved in questionable financial dealings with the start up of Air America and he has not answered to them publicly. He will need to do so now.

Here is a great interview by Franken in the Rolling Stone:

Lanpher reminds him (Franken) to give the number for callers to reach them.

"1-800-f-u-k-b-u-s-h," Franken says. "We tried not to get that number. . . ."

The next day, in the hour before the second rehearsal, Franken and Lanpher sit together in the studio. Lanpher is intent on having Franken lay out a structure for the show. "Let's go through it hour by hour," she says. When Franken digresses, Lanpher politely insists he return his attention to the task. "I want to lay out the broad pattern first," she says.

Once that is disposed of, Franken records a satirical advertisement. Leaning toward the microphone, speaking deliberately and using a deep, patrician voice, he says, "Three, two, one . . . George W. Booosh wants to amend the Constitution to ban gay marriage. But evidently Booosh has no problem with terrorist couples getting married. Right now in America there are terrorists planning to sanctify their love for each other in holy matrimony and blow up the Holland Tunnel. Call George W. Booosh and tell him America doesn't need a president who is soft on terrorist marriages. Because, unlike gays, terrorists can breed." Then, "Brought to you by the Coalition to Distract You From Important Issues."

The rehearsal show begins. He and Lanpher talk on the phone to David Sirota, of the Center for American Progress, a think tank for liberal issues. Sirota has discovered that among the members of President Bush's independent commission to study the search for weapons of mass destruction are three people who contributed to Bush's campaign. One of them was the first person Bush invited to spend the night in the Lincoln bedroom. The show's main guest is former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, but he's not answering the phone where he had arranged to be.

"This happens all the time," Lanpher tells Franken during a break. "We'll vamp, just talk until we get him."

When Reich is finally on the line, Franken ends up listening to him so intently that he is sitting at one point with his elbows on his knees and staring at the floor, while Lanpher waves her arms to get his attention.

After Reich concludes, Franken and Lanpher perform a skit Franken wrote.

"Katherine's teaching me about radio," he says.

"Well, things might happen in the world, and on live radio you have to react to them," Lanpher says. "With a little forethought and preparation, we can handle unexpected situations like old pros."

"Exactly," Franken says. "Let's say the country is hit by another terrorist attack. It would be inappropriate for us to continue doing comedy. So let's say we're doing a show and having some fun with my Strom Thurmond impression."

"Al, he's dead," Lanpher says.

"But it's a good impression, and there's no reason I can't do him from the grave, where I think he'll be more honest," Franken says. "So he was talking about the illegitimate black daughter he had when a terrorist attack occurred."

Franken grimaces. His voice becomes high and gravelly. "Sure, I had a black daughter," he says in a Southern accent. "I screwed them all. 'Cause the pecker knows no bigotry."

Lanpher says, "Al -- "

"I even had an Amish girl," Franken says. "Lots of them. See, the Amish girl, she takes a year off. You got to get them on the year off."

"Al, there's been a terrible outbreak of small -- "

"I'm not Al," he says defiantly. "I'm Strom, and I've screwed everything."

"Stop doing comedy," Lanpher says. "There's been an outbreak of smallpox. In Seattle."

"I screwed a girl with smallpox," Franken says. "Built up my immunity. She was Bangladeshi."

"Al, stop it."

"See," Franken says, leering, "the pecker knows no bigotry."

The skit delivers them into a break for the news. Franken sits back in his chair. "This is fun," he says. "We could pull this off." Lanpher responds cautiously. "If we get really, really, really organized," she says.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics...fat_radio_host

A great example of who is going to represent MN in the Senate.

You can defend him if you care. I will continue to rack him back and forth across the coals and expose the hipocrisy.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Well first off as a now public figure he will be required to speak about all the details publicly.

And of course the apologists for the dems are going to say it is no big deal. But there has always been enough red flags for people to question his integrity, which is quite questionable as a representative of the people. With all the taxpdodgers on the current administration I guess the bar has been set. Franken was involved in questionable financial dealings with the start up of Air America and he has not answered to them publicly. He will need to do so now.

Here is a great interview by Franken in the Rolling Stone:


http://www.rollingstone.com/politics...fat_radio_host

A great example of who is going to represent MN in the Senate.
.

So what you are saying is that there are no facts in the Malkin post other than that he signed a settlement agreement and did not disclose it on the air.

Certainly not facts about illegal or unethical behavior.

And the rest is innuendo.

But you never let the facts get in the way....I understand that.

I will continue to rack him back and forth across the coals and expose the hipocrisy

Move to Minn and vote against him in 2014 if he bothers you that much.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

So what you are saying is that there is no facts in the Malkin post that is factual other than that he signed a settlement agreement and as a private citizen did not disclose the fact on the air.

And the rest is innuendo.

But you never let the facts get in the way....I understand that.

No there are plenty of facts that point to Franken and Air America and they were involved in some very shady lending practices. Franken isn't talking. That is a fact. Now he is a public figure he will have to weather the heat any of his detractors care to rain down upon him.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

No there are plenty of facts that point to Franken and Air America and they were involved in some very shady lending practices.

Cite those facts please, rather than innuendo...specifically regarding Franken and shady lending practices...as opposed to the Air America management.

Do you always hold employees responsible for actions of management...or just when it suits your agenda?

I'm not defending Franken...just looking for the plentiful facts.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

Cite those facts please, rather than innuendo...specifically regarding Franken and shady lending practices...as opposed to the Air America management.

Do you always hold employees responsible for actions of management...or just when it suits your agenda?

I'm not defending Franken...just looking for the plentiful facts.

Here is a nice summary. Like I said there are enough factual red flags to question Franken's integrity. Not to mention the quotes of the Rolling Stone interview are another measure of what the new standard for decorum can be for the majority.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortu...1397/index.htm

[TheMercenary]

Well I guess Franken gets to join the elite club in D.C. after all! Who would have thunk it.

Doggone it … “Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken, front-runner in the race to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, said on Tuesday that he has paid $70,000 in back taxes and penalties owed in 17 states, going back to 2003,” reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Franken, who has earned income across the country for celebrity appearances and speeches, blamed his accountant of 18 years for failing to pay the appropriate taxes owed in each state.”

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...-were-the-irs/

Maybe it is a requirement to have not paid your taxes to be a public servant of the new majority.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Well I guess Franken gets to join the elite club in D.C. after all! Who would have thunk it.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...-were-the-irs/

Maybe it is a requirement to have not paid your taxes to be a public servant of the new majority.

Hardly a one-party issue.

Politico did a survey of all 99 senators earlier this year, asking about their taxes.

The results:

While a handful of Senators noted that they have found errors in past tax returns, resulting in payment of back taxes...

31 Democratic Senators returned complete surveys, compared with only 12 Republican Senators. Further, 9 Republican Senators returned surveys declining to answer the questions, compared with only 3 Democrats who returned surveys and declined to answer. 2 Republicans returned incomplete surveys. 22 Dems and 18 GOP Senators have not responded. (Additionally, Joe Lieberman has not responded and Bernie Sanders declined to answer.)

Nearly three times as many Democrats returned completed surveys - and nearly three times as many Republicans declined to answer the questions about their taxes.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

Hardly a one-party issue.

Politico did a survey of all 99 senators earlier this year, asking about their taxes.

The results:

May hardly be a problem for one party but there is only one party in complete power and it is a big problem for them. They were to re-set the bar and things were going to be different. Pelosi made that promise to the country in 2006. So far I see nothing to believe that she or her party has lived up to her claims.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

May hardly be a problem for one party but there is only one party in complete power and it is a big problem for them. They were to re-set the bar and things were going to be different. Pelosi made that promise to the country in 2006. So far I see nothing to believe that she or her party has lived up to her claims.

Start with the ethics/lobby reform bill the Democrats enacted as their first act in 2007...the first in more than 15 years.

Add a bill last year to make Senate campaign contributions more transparent....that was blocked by one Republican Senator (Ensign).

And the same bill place on "hold" this year by a different Republican Senator (Roberts).

And its seems to me its hard to argue that the Democrats have not attempted to provide more transparency and accountability.

[Undertoad]

Redux is winning this one. The Malkin piece is a pile of nothing.

[TheMercenary]

You can repeat your mantra of "transparency and accountability" all you want as they continue to appoint and elect people who have not paid their taxes until it was uncovered immediately before appointment.