Franken combines laughs, politicsSun Dec 11, 2005 19:26
LAUNCH:
Al Franken tells ‘The Truth’ after telling ‘Lies’
In his latest book, the political satirist writes about a future Americans can build together. Here's an excerpt
Franken combines laughs, politics
Radio talk show host and comedian Al Franken zeroes in on his favorite topic: The Bush administration’s antics. —Chris Megerian/Asst. News Editor
By Chris Megerian
Asst. News Editor
December 02, 2005
http://www.emorywheel.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/12/02/438fa0b760bab
Punctuating jokes with biting criticism of the Bush administration, comedian-turned-political pundit Al Franken called for a return of accountability to the U.S. presidency.
“All I’m asking is for [Bush] to go on TV and tick off the mistakes he’s made,” he said. “What I have in mind is basically a six-hour speech.”
More than 450 people packed the Cecil B. Day Chapel at the Carter Center on Wednesday night, and more than 50 were turned away at the door because of a lack of space.
Jason Bradford, president of the Young Democrats of Emory, which took a group of students to the speech, said Franken is unique because he focuses on debunking right-wing statements instead of making his own claims.
“Right now, I think that’s a very easy thing to do,” he said. “He writes very biased stuff but sometimes very true stuff.”
Franken focused much of his speech on the war in Iraq and, to the applause of audience members, pointed out several ways in which he thinks the Bush administration has botched the war.
“Should the vice president just not be allowed to talk anymore?” he asked, referring to Vice President Dick Cheney’s statements on torture and U.S. progress in Iraq.
Speaking of the “National Strategy for Victory in Iraq,” a report released by the White House on Wednesday, Franken said, “It was nice of him to bring it up two and a half years [after the invasion].”
Franken drew laughs as he poked fun at major conservative pundits Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh.
Responding to allegations by Limbaugh that Carter has been unable to make any progress in the Third World, Franken listed Carter’s accomplishments in fighting disease in Africa, saying, “Jimmy Carter’s a great guy.”
Despite his wisecracks, Franken said that his latest book, The Truth (with jokes), is more serious than some of his past ones and that he thinks the current political climate has taken a turn for the worse.
“It’s depressing in a lot of ways,” he said. “The Republican Party now is ready to collapse.”
Franken, a former member of the “Saturday Night Live” cast and a New York Times-bestselling author, also hinted at a possible campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Frank Reiss, owner of A Capella Books, said Franken is one of the many important voices that have spoke up as the country has undergone a “dangerous shift to the right.”
“There has to be opposing forces to push it back,” he said. “[Franken] is a gifted writer and entertainer, and his voice will be heard.”
The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, A Cappella Books and the Georgia Center for the Book sponsored Franken’s speech, which will be televised by C-SPAN’s “Book TV” show the weekend of Dec. 10.
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Amazon.com: The Truth (with jokes): Books
An Exclusive Video for The Truth (with jokes) from Al Franken ... In his latest book, `The Truth (with jokes),' Al Franken goes on a journey to attack the ...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0525949062?v=glance
Al Franken book discussion hosted by the Jimmy Carter Library?? ?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1528641/posts
The Al Franken Show | Air America Radio |
Franken Stuff. The Truth (with Jokes) · The book tour · The Al Franken Show Party ... The Grammy-Nominated Al Franken Show Party Album: Order your copy now. ...
http://www.shows.airamericaradio.com/alfrankenshow/
Jimmy Carter Library and Museum
Welcome to the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum website. ... Comic and author Al Franken will discuss his new book, "The Truth (with jokes)". ...
http://jimmycarterlibrary.org/events/index.phtml
Al Franken tells ‘The Truth’ after telling ‘Lies’ - Today Book ...
An excerpt from Mr. Franken's book 'The Truth (with Jokes)'.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9805738/
"The Truth" is a very different kind of book than the ones this multifaceted genius has given us before. Oh, it’s funny. (How could Al Franken not write a funny book?) But it’s more than that. Gone is the familiar cast of villains: the psychotic Ann Coulter, the sex-addicted Bill O’Reilly, the drug-addicted Rush Limbaugh. Consigned to their own personal hells by their failings as human beings, Franken mercifully leaves them be. Ann Coulter has been banned as effectively from these pages as from the intellectual salons to which she so desperately craves admittance.
In "The Truth," the fish are bigger, and the fry is deeper. Franken’s targets this time include both people — Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rove, DeLay — and something new: ideas. In particular, the idea that the 2004 election meant that Franken’s beloved America had moved to the right. Al Franken ain’t buyin’ it.
Using access to confidential documents and firsthand accounts, Franken weaves the true story of the Making of the President 2004, starring the Three Horsemen of the Republican Apocalypse: Fear, Smears, and Queers.
Franken shows more than how Bush won. He shows what Bush won.
(Or in the case of a mandate, what he didn’t win.)
Penguin
But this story chronicles more than a rise. It chronicles a fall. And what a fall! Was Bush like Icarus, simply a man who dared to dream — a man who flew too close to the sun? Or like Daedalus, a man who equipped his son with unsafe wings made of easily melted beeswax?
As Franken makes clear, the answer is both — and neither. If you doubt that Icarus has fallen, then I say these words to you: Terri Schiavo, Social Security, Ahmed Chalabi, Tom DeLay, and Iraq.
But this book is more than just a disconnected list of names, places, and topics. Far more. It is something new for Franken. And, I would argue, for literature. Here, Franken has taken a single stem cell — the English language — and grown from it a fully functional kidney with which to purify the blood of the body politic.
In the rarified sphere of contemporary general-audience nonfiction, few books live up to the promise offered by their title. Fewer still, their subtitle. But in “The Truth (With Jokes),” the author lives up to not only his title and his subtitle but, most important, to the name that appears on the cover, Al Franken.
Anonymous
New York, NY
August 13, 2005
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