Author Topic: Guess I was right about Franken's book being autobiographical...... (Read 1199 times)

Toad · « **on:** August 29, 2003, 08:20:24 AM »

At least, for a guy writing about liars, he has personal experience and expertise.

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The abstinence jester

By Michelle Malkin

Left-wing "comedian" Al Franken got tripped up by some big fat lies last week. He's sorry he got caught, but smugly silent about making fun of countless American youngsters who have taken abstinence vows.

Thanks to Court TV's Smoking Gun Web site, we now know that the "Saturday Night Live" leftover abused his position as an "academic fellow" (now that's funny) at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy in a puerile attempt to trick Attorney General John Ashcroft into publicly sharing his personal experience with abstinence.

Mr. Franken urged Mr. Ashcroft to share his abstinence story for "a book about abstinence programs in our public schools entitled, 'Savin' It' " (lie). He assured Mr. Ashcroft that the book would document how the Bush administration is "setting the right example for America's youth" (lie). And he breezily informed Mr. Ashcroft that he had already "received wonderful testimonies from HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, William J. Bennett, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, Sen. Rick Santorum and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice" (lie, lie, lie, lie, lie).

Mr. Franken sent the bogus solicitation to Mr. Ashcroft on Harvard's letterhead earlier this summer, without the Shorenstein Center's knowledge or approval. A few weeks later, Mr. Franken sent an apology to Mr. Ashcroft. In truth, Mr. Franken confessed, he deliberately deceived Mr. Ashcroft while trying to gather material for his "satirical" anti-conservative book being rushed to print this week, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right." Mr. Franken sheepishly informed Mr. Ashcroft that the book will contain "only one or two chapters dealing with abstinence-only education."

"My biggest regret is sending the letter on Shorenstein Center stationery," Mr. Franken sniveled. "I am very embarrassed to have put them in this awkward and difficult position, and I ask you not to hold it against the center, the Kennedy School or Harvard in general."

Rest of Editorial

Sixpence · « **Reply #1 on:** August 29, 2003, 08:27:05 AM »

How much free advertising is this guy gonna get?

Dinger · « **Reply #2 on:** August 29, 2003, 08:44:56 AM »

Hmm... He actually realized it was a bad idea. An editorial smear like that and they best they can get was Franken's self-admitted wrongdoing in a matter that didn't even make it into the book.

Hmmm... Yeah, I guess I should check out the book.

Tumor · « **Reply #3 on:** August 29, 2003, 08:48:47 AM »

Fanken is like a fart... loud, obnoxious and completely harmless.

LePaul · « **Reply #4 on:** August 29, 2003, 08:53:37 AM »

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Originally posted by Tumor
Fanken is like a fart... loud, obnoxious and completely harmless.

...and eventually subsides and passes....

Erlkonig · « **Reply #5 on:** August 29, 2003, 09:50:52 AM »

Wow, is this the best you can do?

DiabloTX · « **Reply #6 on:** August 29, 2003, 09:55:02 AM »

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Originally posted by Erlkonig
Wow, is this the best you can do?

I've been wondering the exact same thing about your avi! LOL!!

Toad · « **Reply #7 on:** August 29, 2003, 11:38:11 AM »

No.

However, lying is apparently Franken's metier.

Of course, for some of you, lying is totally excusable unless it is perpetrated by someone you don't favor.

Lying by people you favor is apparently not only OK but laudable.

There's a word for that.

Erlkonig · « **Reply #8 on:** August 29, 2003, 12:09:46 PM »

Now you're just making things up.

There's a word for that, too.

Wanker · « **Reply #9 on:** August 29, 2003, 12:16:31 PM »

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Of course, for some of you, lying is totally excusable unless it is perpetrated by someone you don't favor.

You mean like the way you excuse President Bush for lying about the weapons of mass destruction?

Hello kettle, this is pot.

midnight Target · « **Reply #10 on:** August 29, 2003, 12:17:07 PM »

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"My biggest regret is sending the letter on Shorenstein Center stationery," Mr. Franken sniveled. "I am very embarrassed to have put them in this awkward and difficult position, and I ask you not to hold it against the center, the Kennedy School or Harvard in general."

Fair and balanced

.

Toad · « **Reply #11 on:** August 29, 2003, 12:48:59 PM »

banana, please do show any reference where I've "excused Bush for lying" about anything.

On the contrary, I've said he should and will be held accountable if the WMD do not turn up. I have a longer timeline than the "90 day wonders" on this but it doesn't stretch beyond one year from the occupation.

Do do a bit of research before you sling the old bull, eh?

Franken shows a lot of integrity here, don't you think? "Fraudulent" is a word that springs to mind. Neat to see folks rally to his defense and support of a book about lying and liars.

Dinger · « **Reply #12 on:** August 29, 2003, 01:09:02 PM »

Again, we have one case, of Franken seeking to obtain something on a false pretense, then coming to his senses and sending out a letter of apology. And none of this material appears in his book.
Yet the attempt is to say that "well, he almost obtained information in a backhanded manner, but decided that it was wrong to do so, and so the information he did publish is certainly false".

uh...

This editorial based on the smoking gun is just the kind of reactionary tripe that will get people to buy his book: someone from the right writing a smear piece about a non-starter of a controversy.

What's worse is that, if someone wanted to get off their fat pork-bellied tulips and do a real investigative smear job, they could probably find out the circumstances surrounding Franken's second letter, and if anyone put him up to it.

It's a half-assed character assassination, which makes one wonder about the intelligence of the right in this country.

Toad · « **Reply #13 on:** August 29, 2003, 01:19:11 PM »

Quote

My biggest regret is sending the letter on Shorenstein Center stationery, I can assure you that no one at the Shorenstein Center had knowledge of the letter before I sent it. I am very embarrassed to have put them in this awkward and difficult position, and I ask you not to hold this against the Center, the Kennedy School, or Harvard in general.

He's not embarassed about lying... but about using the Shorenstein Center as part of his lie.

Yeah, the guy's a peach. If this is your kind of hero, it says a lot about you, IMO.

Pretty simple. This paragon of virtue who deems himself worthy of writing a tome disparaging lying an liars is, himself, a ... guess what?

Lionize him all you like.

Mini D · « **Reply #14 on:** August 29, 2003, 01:22:13 PM »

"Franken came to his senses and sent out an apology"

I wonder what caused him to come to his senses and send out an apology. Could it have been a call from Harvard asking him why he used their letterhead to cite a study/paper they knew nothing about?

MiniD