We were just talking about Al, and now I learn that he’ll be making a campaign stop on my campus on Monday, 27 October, at 10:30am in Oyate Hall in the student center. I don’t even have classes at that time, so I’ll be able to stop by and join the cheering crowds — if you’re somewhere nearby, come on around.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
lucky bastard. :-p
Photos, please!
Al will make a much more fun politician than Jesse “The Mind” Ventura was.
Slightly off topic, slightly on topic.
Maurice Taylor of Titan International has a full page ad on today’s USA Today showing off his ignorance, including on matters of science. There is also bunch of bashing of Democratic leadership of in Congress, but the scientific ignorance really makes it worth checking out.
You can see the content in his blog too:
http://www.grizztalk.com/inside.php?id=17
What a douche. Maybe Al Franken could write up a response letter for USA Today.
Behold the power of celebrity.
I can’t be the only reader of this blog who thinks Al Franken is an insufferable twerp. Or can I?
Although I’m voting for Al in his senate race, he’s not a particularly exciting speaker/politician. During primary/caucus season earlier this year he visited Mac Dems so I got to see him speak to a relatively small group of ~20 people, and it was excruciatingly boring… I didn’t expect him to be a comedian but he didn’t really say anything that no one in the room already know. /shrug
…. And I meant “already knew”… didn’t I?
Patrickhenry at #6: No, you’re not. I completely agree.
Franken is not quite as offensive as Michael Moore, merely because he takes himself less seriously. But he’s still a propagandist and an intellectual lightweight. I’m not being partisan here; much the same could be said of Rush Limbaugh on the right, for instance.
There are plenty of American leftists – both politicians such as Obama, and public intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky – who merit respect, even where I strongly disagree with their views. Likewise, there are intellectual heavyweights on the right (George Will springs to mind). But propaganda artists like Moore and Franken are not deserving of respect, and I would honestly rather spoil my ballot than vote for Franken.
I hope everyone understand that Franken NOT going to win this election. AT the moment he is in a statistical dead heat with Colememan. The way politics work in Minnesota is that attitudes (all else being equal) are more likely to shift away from Franken than towards him. The only way Franken is going to win is if he gets MORE out there in terms of door knocking, phone calling, ad buys, and so on.
So if you want him in, you’ve got to do something about it.
AH: I’ve seen Al in a number of different contexts, and as a rule, the bigger the crowd the better he does. He should kick ass at the Morris rally. Click the link on my name to see photos of Franken and Clinton earlier this week at UMN-TC
I don’t live in MN and I’m not a citizen of the US anyway, but even if Franken is a less than ideal progressive candidate, anything that gets the Democrats closer to 60 votes in the Senate this year is worthy of consideration.
And let’s not have any of that “divided government” crap either. America is long overdue a sharp tack to the progressive side — the country is way to the right of the political mainstream as experienced in the rest of the democratic world. The progressive model of government — universal healthcare, consumer protections with teeth, and decent oversight of the markets has been proved to work in Europe (though it didn’t prevent them from getting a cold when the US sneezed) and it’s high time America gets a taste of it too.
Just a reminder — healthcare in the US is over two times more expensive per capital than in Europe, and there are five times — yes FIVE times as many people in prison in the US than in any western European country (exclude illegal immigrants and it’s still over four times). Conservatives have no workable solution for rising healthcare costs or the exploding prison population (they just want to put more people in jail).
I don’t necessarily think an Obama administration will fix these problems overnight, but we’ve got to start somewhere, and getting a filibuster proof majority in the Senate will certainly help.
Sure, if the Dems fail, by all means punish them two years down the road, but a divided government just means that nothing will get done, and that would be a crying shame.
From daenku32’s link:
So Maurice Taylor thinks the Earth is a giant salad spinner, and weather is what happens to the croutons?
Now why couldn’t those uppity meteorology professors of mine explained it as simply, without going on with all that made-up shit about adiabatic lapse rates, solar constants, the Ideal Gas Law, Kirchhoff’s Law, Clausius-Clapeyron equations, hydrostatic equilibrium, Milanković forcings, and all that goddamn math?
Fucking ivory-tower lefties.
Thanks, Mr.
Stupid, Old, Fat, White GuyRepublican Fiscal Guru, for setting us straight with good ol’ Yankee Know-How.I vaguely remember when Morry Taylor ran for president in 1996. Michael Lewis wrote a really funny book about all the Republican candidates and Taylor came off as the most interesting (read: crazy) and likable (read: funnily crazy). Sad that he has such poor science views.
I haven’t seen Franken in person. But I have read some of his work and listened to some of his audio books. I found him to be very rational and astute. And I liked the way he skewered some of the right wing ideologues with humor. I think he’d make an excellent senator.
Walton:
And you base that on what? If you’re only familiar with his satire (e.g., SNL, movies, etc.), you don’t have the data you need to make this judgment. I listened to Franken do a couple hours of radio every single day for several years, and I heard in him a depth of insight and a sincere love of country that you would never suspect from his career as an entertainer… or, for that matter, from a superficial look at his political books, which might seem like trivial snark from their titles, but don’t read that way at all (at least, not if you’re reading with an open mind). (As an aside, I don’t actually accept your dismissal of Moore, either. He is, by design, a rabble-rouser, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong… or shallow. Every political movement needs both thinkers and screamers.)
Greg:
I understand Franken’s prospects in this election are iffy — that’s why I’ve been donating, and urging locals to volunteer — but I think there are going to be some surprises on election night. I still believe there’s an undercounted reservoir of new Democrats (young voters, and those who use only cell phones), and that the Obama campaign’s very effective ground operation will turn those voters out. Not only will these undercounted voters more than counteract the so-called Bradley Effect (if it even exists; most of the evidence says no), but I’m hearing some reports from the field that hint at a kind of reverse Bradley Effect: White voters who won’t admit to their friends (or pollsters) that they plan to “vote for the n*gger.”
So I think larger-than-forecast Obama turnout will turn into longer-than-expected coattails for down-ballot races, esp. those that appear to be dead heats. In MN in particular, I’m hoping that the people’s common decency will result in a statewide backlash against Republicans in the wake of Bachmannania.
Hey, I know that’s all very optimistic… but like the song says, “I can dream, can’t I?”
Have fun.
patrickhenry @ #6
No. You are definitely not alone.
One more race between the lesser of two ‘bad’ choices.
Feh.
Now why couldn’t those uppity meteorology professors of mine explained it as simply, without going on with all that made-up shit about adiabatic lapse rates, solar constants, the Ideal Gas Law, Kirchhoff’s Law, Clausius-Clapeyron equations, hydrostatic equilibrium, Milanković forcings, and all that goddamn
Brownian. Just what the fuck do you think that Kirchhoff’s Law has to do with meteorology?
I thought there were cheering crowds every where you went?!
At least when Al makes a joke; it’s a joke. When the Repugnantcans make a joke; it’s usually on us. Like the wars without end, the tax cuts for the rich, the let’s ignore the science, abstinance education, etc., etc.
Al worked hard on his radio show to defent Social Security. If President W had his way, our social security would have been invested in stocks that would be either worthless or worth a lot less!
Hey Qwerty. I hate to break this to you, but Social Security is a tax, not an investment.
Al is a sad buffoon of a man.
Almost as bad as Mikey Moore.
Kirchhoff’s Law of Thermal Radiation? The one that deals with emissivity and absorptivity? Tons. Absolutely tons, especially with regard to climatology.
Or did you think I meant Kirchhoff’s contributions to circuitry and fluid dynamics? Those are probably less relevant (although I can think of at least one micrometeorologist who could probably integrate those easily into his work.)
I should have been more specific.
Brownian. Uh, nevermind. I looked up , Kirchhoff’s law of thermal radiation. Now I see what you were getting at. I spend to much time with the electrical crap.
My bad, sorry.
I figured something like that. Not a problem.
Well, if anyone’s qualified to determine who’s a sad buffoon of a man, it’s certainly you, Eric.
Walton, if you sincerely think that Al Franken and Rush Limbaugh are intellectual equals, I would suggest that you listen to some of Franken’s radio. He obviously comes off as less intelligent in his comedy and in his books, as they touch on a lot of topics very lightly. But I would say that he is far better educated, more honest, and less divisive and hateful than Rush Limbaugh. Whether or not either is more intelligent isn’t a call I can make, as I don’t think that Limbaugh is stupid. Morally bankrupt, sure…
Coleman voted for the bailout. That’s enough reason to throw anyone out of the senate.
-jcr
Brownian, I love this site. I had to look up Kirchhof’s law too, to find out what it had to do with metereology. I’m pleased I have actually learnt something today.
I would say that he is far better educated, more honest, and less divisive and hateful than Rush Limbaugh.
Talk about damning with faint praise!
-jcr
JCR, I was responding to someone who thinks they are equivalent. Personally, I enjoy Franken’s work quite a bit. My point is that comparing his to Limbaugh is ridiculous.
Al Franken is awesome. I love the “savin it” portion of his Lies and the Lying Liars book.