Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Frankenis an American comedian, actor, politician, and writer. He is currently the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He became well known in the 1970s and 1980s as a writer and performer on the television comedy show Saturday Night Live. After several decades as a comedic actor and writer, he became a prominent liberal political activist. Franken was elected to the United States Senate in 2008, narrowly defeating incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman. Franken is a member...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth21 May 1951
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
My dad never graduated high school. He was a printing salesman. We lived in a two-bedroom, one-bath house in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. We weren't rich - but we felt secure.
My parents didn't make a lot of money. My dad was not a high school graduate - he didn't have a career as such; he was a printing salesman essentially for most of his working life.
I felt like the luckiest kid in the world. And I was. I was growing up middle-class in a time when growing up middle-class in America meant there would be jobs for my parents, good schools for me to prepare myself for a career, and, if I worked hard and played by the rules, a chance for me to do anything I wanted.
Harvard's Kennedy School of Government asked me to serve as a fellow at its Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy. After my varied and celebrated career in television, movies, publishing, and the lucrative world of corporate speaking, being a fellow at Harvard seemed, frankly, like a step down.
In my first week as a U.S. senator, I had the privilege of participating in the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
I'm neutral in this race but I'm for freedom of speech, which means people should be able to assemble and speak without being shouted down.
I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog-one it, people like me.
If Kerry and Bush supporters can put aside their differences for a day to compete, well then, so can Bill O'Reilly and I,
not good enough to be endorsed by Fox News.
Small businesses should have the same ability to reach customers as powerful corporations. A blogger should have the same ability to find an audience as a media conglomerate.
The irony upon irony of this lawsuit was great. First, Fox having the trademark 'fair and balanced' -- a network which is anything but fair and balanced. Then there's the irony of a news organization trying to suppress free speech.
The USO invited me, and when they did, I said yes immediately.
There's no liberal echo chamber in this country. There's a right-wing echo chamber. I want to create a countervailing echo chamber.
Dear Mr. Franken, It's possible that I was mistaken about this. Cheers.