How close is 2022 to Orwell's 1984?
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- The Big Lie meets The Ministry of Truth.
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"A lie travels half way around the world and back while the truth is still lacing up it's boots."-Mark Twain
Well, who ever said that was correct!
@@Nashalbeth
It was Sam but Churchill may have repeated it ...
Churchill was a reporter in his youth.
The Ukraine Army has a battalion of self proclaimed Nazis, they are a small minority of Ukraine's citizens but they call themselves Nazis and act like them in their ruthless aggression against their own citizens.
@@Nashalbeth
He also escaped from a Boer POW camp.. it was after that that he started packing the broom handle Mauser pistols. 😉
Wow. A quote of brilliance. Never heard that one before.
Just the truth, and no BS. It honestly blows my mind with the lies that they've gotten away with for so many years. Thank you, Al.
Richard Nixon ranks right up there
side by side with
Covid-45
Tricky-Dicky
Spiro Agnew
Bee-Ess = A long and
storied tradition of the
GOP
G - Grotesque
O - Oligarch
P - Puppets
Republicans have not gotten away with telling lies. The majority of Americans know they are lying. The Republican base only accepts lies because they agree with them. They are not all dumb. Some welcome the lies bc they want them to be true. They may even know they are lies but do not care. They want a white world devoid of liberals and minorities, etc where they are the privileged class. They do not see the eventual outcome for themselves which is tragic.
It all started in Richard Nixon’s administration, when the paranoia of the president has led us to a nation divided, and mired in class warfare, hatred for the less fortunate, “lock ‘‘em up mentality by our law enforcers, and myriad attempts at sabotaging the Democrats, while trying to get away with as many crimes that they are nearly too numerous to count.
Let’s be fair this is both a rep and dem thing lets just call it a __________ thing ………
@@GF-pc5bt 💯 I used to be a proud liberal Democrat. The lies I have seen coming from my " team" , made me politically homeless. Both sides are corrupt as hell.
I love you Al Frankin!
I'm secure enough in my manhood to say that.
You got a raw deal brother.
If you have no desire to enter public service again, please, please do everything in your power to promote qualified leaders to our country.
Peace!
I love💜 him too.
I do too….hey AL, who is in the purple painting over your right shoulder?
I am conservative but yes, he got a really raw deal.
Thanks Al Franken for speaking like this to us. Please do this exercise more often, would you?
If Orwell had included the things we saw in the Trump administration, most readers would have dismissed it as too far-fetched to be believed. How close is 2022 to 1984? We've actually sped right past it without even noticing.
100% correct.
Has it been long since you read 1984? I read it again recently and a lot of the things we saw in the trump administration are actually there.
trump just said "hold my beer, and watch this"
And that’s really scary 😧
*Do any of you read?* A short painful walk of shame:
▪︎ Russiagate - It was proven to be a lie and was an attempt by the Democrats and Intelligence agencies to commit a beaurocratic coup.
▪︎ Trump a white supremacist. Actually he always had black friends. Biden on the other hand, gave the eulogy of a KKK member, and referred to Barack Obama as: "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."
Biden also locked up many black men for life with his crime bill back in the 90s.
▪︎Trump was the only president since Jimmy Carter not to get us into another war. Biden waited only a year.
▪︎ Trump initiated the Warp Spead program that fast-tracted our vaccines. Biden forced children and others to take vaccines and encouraged people to wear cloth masks that most experts now acknowledge are useless.
▪︎ Trump built our economy. Biden destroyed it.
▪︎Trump made us energy independent and warned Germany against becoming dependent on Russian gas and oil. Biden dismantled our domestic capacity is using our strategic reserves that Trump built up for almost nothing. Biden is now going around begging our frenemies to produce more oil and paying Putin for oil at exorbitant prices,
▪︎ Biden a longtime corrupt opportunist has been peddling his influence around the world to our enemies.
Thank you Senator Al Franken for your great commentary. I hope people are paying attention how critical this situation is about our democracy in this Country. We must salvage it. Failure isn't an option or we will suffer the consequences.
@Mark Felder Like Zelenskyy?
Democratic party needs to start calling out Republicans embracing all the Q shit!
Seriously. From Canada. (Though the seiously crazy shit has filtered in here too.)
Too fucking stupid. Esp. when Canadians enjoy subsidized healthcare - yet (as one of my former friends did), argue, in essence that Obama was trying to fuck everyone over for introducing this.
Preaching to the choir. The people who should see this are the ones who have been convinced it's "Fake News".
I am with you Jerry D.. You make a great point about some people being convinced the truth is Fake News. How does a person or a nation fix the misinformation and disinformation? I certainly agree with Al's assessment and his illustration of the problem but where is the solution? We need ways to unite Americans and not just rhetoric about "them and us". Everyone on both sides all know, we are divided.
@@kernjames When you have 80 million american idiots that cannot or refuse to distinguish between truth and facts, but rather choose to believe serial liars and utterly corrupt criminals like the GOP ..... then it is a serious problem. It reminds one of the question ... how did the Germans in the 1930's fall for Hitler and the Nazi Party?
Always the honest straight talk from Senator Franken yet he still manages to bring some humor to help us swallow the bad news.
@Michael Whitted Trump USED to be a pedophile.
Unfortunately Belushi missed.
Al Franken is one of the most unfortunate casualties of "cancel culture."
Compared to so many others, his transgressions were minor yet he was forced to resign.
I wasn't all that much of a fan of his until he became a Senator.
One of his best post-Senate lines :
"I like Ted Cruz better than any of his Republican colleagues . . . and I hate Ted Cruz."
...Long as there are no sleeping or passed out females around.
Al SHOULD have been the Democratic Nominee INSTEAD of HAPPY Joe!!!
So perfectly stated Al, keep up the fight!!♥️
It's fantastic to hear truth.💛👍
@Mark Felder ...no, @Mark -- Al's not spinning -- listen again if that's what you think. Lies have become the grist of the Republican mill. How I year for Jerry Ford, Ev Dirkson, Bob Dole!
Thank you, Senator Franken. Artfully argued. Poignant. And Truthful too.
You can never leave out the Iraq War Lie. Because that's one Russia is using to say that we are no better than them. We lost the moral high ground on that one. And blood ..and treasure. A dumb freaking lie and total screw-up, and we've got the vets walking around with metal arms and legs to prove it. The GOP should have NEVER been allowed in the White House again after those eight years of total disaster.
Hear hear!!!🇺🇸
@ Pining for your echo chamber?
You mean... disgraced senator
We lost the best hope for sane, sensible government when they tried to destroy this man. He should have been the Democrat that would be President. No B.S. Just common sense. I wish Al could come back. He's admitted wrong (not much) and he could get back in there and lead us with good, common sense.
Absolutely, totally agree with you. We need him more than ever now.
Blame the self-righteous "woke snowflakes" for Senator Franklin's unjustified and unfortunate political demise.🤦🏼♂️
@@raulputong542 It was a political hit job by Roger Stone & co., timed to precision with the #MeToo movement (which itself was justified because there really were men in high places who’d been sexually harassing and even assaulting women, but Al Franken was never one of them).
@@COMALiteJ Yeah, EVERY ONE of those BROADS making FALSE CLAIMS WERE EITHER GOP or WORKING FOR the GOP!!!
@@donaldcarpenter5328 I wish you were right but you are wrong. Al Franken was betrayed by his own party the Democrats .
it's true that it was a hit job by Roger Stone but it was a clumsy hit job that would have been proved to be clumsy if Al had been given Due process by his own party . But he was not
Thank You Al. I wish you were still a US Senator. I hate what Schumer and Gillibrand did to you. I would love it if you move to New York and challenged her in a primary. YOU were a Giant in the Senate. She is an empty suit.
I sure would like to see Al back in the Senate! I'd like him to again be my (Minnesota) Senator. But we have two good Senators here - so I'd welcome his move to New York and a challenge to Gillibrand! I think he'd have a very good chance to win.
I’ll never support her for that very reason, so unfair to Al
I am a retired NY State employee now in Florida. I am angry about Schumer and Pelosi not demanding the NY Governor fire D A Braggs. He is complicit with Trump. Doing obstruction. So is AG Garland. Why are they not acting? Biden? Treason was done by our X President and members of Congress to steal the election...AGAIN. They comfortable just collecting their corporate monies? One big club? They never held accountable those who our 911committee found responsible now they look the other way again. This only encourages more law breaking by GOP. We have out of control Gov DeSantis. LOL.
And we seldom see Schumer with all that is going on.
All this crap and treason happening during the COVID. The enemy is within. Justice needs to happen. Many died needlessly. 1M so far.
Thank you for posting this podcast Al Franken
Thank you, Al. You could’ve easily turned your back on U.S. government and politics in general and I wouldn’t have blamed you for that one bit. ✌🏻❤️🇺🇸
same here. AND, loved your books. Write another one XOXO
@@bassofone1 Ditto. Sorry these ninnies continue to overreact and punish our brightest and best. I threw away my "feminist card" when women selected Trump over Hillary. They can't be saved and now this cultural insanity has irrevocably undermined all our institutions. Luckily I'm old and don't have to deal with it for much longer. ;-(
Megalomaniacs will never go quietly into the night. Franken cannot let go of power.
@@guncontrolisracism Good description of Trump
@@RetroManVideos Franken was removed from Power by his own party the Democrats guess you didn't know
Senator Franken-
Thank YOU for your continued service to this country.
Great segment.🙏
( and that's a fact.)
It was pretty good, for a change.
Al Stewart has a song “You Should Have Listened to Al”. What an appropriate title!
The only way to overcome those who spread "alternative facts" and the Big Lie, and their adoring mobs who buy into them, is to outvote them.
Yes. That is precisely why all of the voter suppression laws are being passed in red states.
Without a doubt! Vote in numbers too large to manipulate!
it's 50/50, that's not gonna work. You have to win their votes back.
Get out the vote for the mid terms
Biden won because voter turn out increased from 65 to 70%
People voted who usually don’t to get rid of Trump.
Now people have to ensure their vote will count next time. I do not believe that is an exaggeration.
@@seanfaherty Glad you said this!
You'll notice how she paused before she said "alternative facts". It was as if she had a voice in her head asking "are you really about to say this?".
@PAUL BLACK I got that too, it was like she knew she was about to say something wrong and or stupid, but went ahead and did it anyway>
My favorite was the "Bowling Green Massacre."
@@StewieGriffin505 I've seen that one but will check it out. It's interesting to me how you title and logo are both tied to the video documentary (Symbols of an Alien Sky 1)...
Bravo! And preaching to the choir now is VITAL. We're all tired, stressed out, etc., but there's more to this mountain. Preach on, Senator. Keep going.
@Mark Felder the titles are used for life as a mark of respect. And yes, he is a BRILLIANT comedian.
Thank you Al. Beautifully to the point. Should be required listening.
Thank you Al, for an extremely great monologue about Truth to Power! I sure hope even more people are listening to you:))
All solid points Al. Thanks for sharing.
If the justice department cant reestablish the rule of law under truthful evidence all bets are off, and to be frank, a lot of us are doubtful they will. It has to happen, with deliberate speed, and exemplary consequence.
Well put
Garland does not allow leaks! Period!
When he prosecuted Oklahoma City he did not allow leaks! Period!
Obama knew Garland Well, that's why he nominated Garland to the Supreme Court. Biden knows Garland too! McConnell will regret the day that he blocked Garland from the Supreme Court!
Garland had to rebuild the Justice Department after Trump and Barr almost destroyed the agency! 100 people have been hired and assigned! A Grand Jury has been seated for over 2months! They have been issuing subpoenas and interviewing witnesses!
It took 2yrs to bring charges during Watergate! There were not nearly as many criminals during Watergate!
There are hundreds and hundreds of Seditious Conspirators here!
Investigators work there way up the chain off Command to the Top! This is the most important case in our nation's history!
Garland will bring Justice!
⚖ Justice Matters ⚖!!!!!
@@VT_RealBillP how much will it matter if he doesnt do it before those conspirators take back the legislature and return to removing small d democracy every way they can?
and the Repubs will ensure it won't happen again. The Repub party has been working for at least 18 yrs to make sure they're the only party with power
That is going to be difficult to do it with deliberate speed as there is so many broken laws broken by the Trump Administration. They are doing the best they can to collect all of it, to categorize it so they can work on what charges to prosecute. I mean, damn near every day in the 4-year Presidency, laws were being broken. Then you have to mix in all the GOP Senators and Representatives who were complicit or who may have been accessories either after or before the fact. This is huge and will take time to sort out. I know that it has to be done soon but it cannot be rushed.
That moment when Conway choked out the phrase "alternative facts" never gets any less surreal on repeated watching. I'm still surprised that besides almost gagging, her entire head doesn't spin around.
She Swallows too
Yes they have "Alternatives Elctoral Representatives" to represent their non democratic voting scams. They live in an alternative world of denial and deceit. AG Garland is oppressing that crime. State AGs had better do it themselves.
Thank you Senator Franken. I wish you were still in the Senate. You were among the very best and the Democrats screws themslves by not supporting you.
I was so angry when he had to leave the Senate over a joke.
@@doneestoner9945 A “joke” that may not even have happened even as a joke.
Have you looked at the photo of him supposedly grabbing at Tweeden’s chest on that USO show plane? Look carefully. It’s almost certainly photoshopped. Franken is the only thing in the room casting a shadow at all, and the “shadow” looks like a Photoshop Drop Shadow filter, that’s then “baked” and airbrushed. Nobody and nothing else in the photo is casting a shadow like that, not even the frames of his own eyeglasses onto his own face, yet that should’ve been lit by the same light source(s) that would cause him to cast a shadow in real life.
Look also at his right pinkytip. It’s chopped off a bit on a straight vertical line, with a slight blur like a “feathering” effect. Two ways that could happen: if the source image they got him from had its edge there with the rest of his pinkytip just past the edge, or if they’d just drawn a Beziér spline masking shape in Photoshop version 7 or so (when this was done according to the date in the EXIF headers) and mistakenly clicked on a control point vertex there instead of clicking-and-dragging, which creates a straight-line segment instead of a spline curve segment.
There’s more, including info in the EXIF headers (she should’ve cleared those out before uploading the .JPG to her website).
We need Al's voice in government!!!
Absolutely 💯
And that is exactly why we don’t have it
He took the high road and avoided all the BS over minor allegations. Would any of these GOP turds do that?
Negative!
They deny, blame and deflect.
Very Christ like.
He’ll be back Rob in 2024
Thank you, Al Franken..✌️ You're voice is always special ..
We miss you being in the Senate Al
AL, if you did a modern day " Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them", the book would be as long as " War and Peace."
And that would just be the first volume.
@@MsThebeMoon LOL - Imagine just on the Trump family, there would be like 20 volumes.
With yourself, Alheimers Joe, Nancy Belapelosi, Bummer, Jabba the Hutt Jerry Nadler, Frankenfeinstein, and your Russia hoaxter in chief Shifty Adam Schiff.
@@hiramnoone Great nicknames ! Sorry sir, none of them lie at this level . There have been no bigger liars in American History, than the modern day Republican Leadership or modern day conservative media. It's almost non stop lies.
@@chrismcdevitt7814 Actually you should be sorry that they do. And even sorrier that your apparently infinite level of gullibility prevents you from seeing it.
Direct and truthful as always, dear Mr. Franken! thank you.
"The banality of evil" is the noxious cloud wafting over almost every important aspect of contemporary American life, from economics to politics, to education and even religion. As an old man I find myself wondering if America has always been this way? Is it the accumulation of evil that has finally seeped into my thick skull? Or have things actually gotten progressively worse?
GOTCHA!
I'm 58, it's worse.
it's worse. in the 90s, with the Soviets gone, militias seemed like a joke and the extreme right was limited to waging culture wars on tv and radio only. Most people thought there'd be a march towards progress of some kind. Now the extreme right is in charge and that banality of evil is all the conservatives who rely on privilege and think "well, if the US goes fascist it won't be bad for me."
Some things were less visible in times of yore, some things got worse, like distribution of wealth, which has been increasing anger, and anger leads to suppression of rational thought.
Things have most certainly gotten worse. I remember when political discourse could be heated, but all the evil name-calling in congress seemed to be less-so or only at the very fringes. Gingrich started the anger within the right and it's continued to fester there and has given rise to the insanity we see today within congress. Now people are legitimately angry about inflation, being poorer than they were 2 years ago, and the angry right wing is there to provide them their antedote with the "pedophile dems and RINO's". It's a twisted and angry political system we have now and I'm afraid we'll have bloodshed over it soon.
I miss Al Franken as my state senator. Please come back! We need straight talk that brings to light the hypocrisy of the right.
Really, really, REALLY wish Al Franken never Left Politics...
We need Al back in the Senate. Should never have left.
@@hapennysparrow I HOPED Franken would be the Presidential Candidate in 2020.
Trump got elected in2016 after a Lifetime of Predatory Sexual Behavior and the Access Hollywood Tape. Pretending to Grope a sleeping Woman wearing a Flack jacket was Sophomoric -- but Franken should not have let it end his Political Career.
It's sooooo depressing where we are as a nation. We cannot agree on basic facts about the election, about science, about factual reporting.
The question is where do we go from here? There is no clear path.
Oh everyone that matters does agree on basic facts about the election; it's just that 1/2 of them are determined to pretend otherwise.
It’s simple, there’s factual truth, and there’s lies.
Let the truth be your light. No matter how dark it gets.
FOR CRYING OUT OUT LOAD MAN YOU ‘’ MUST’’ GET BACK IN THE GAME, WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK.
WE ARE AT EXTREME RISK.
RANKED CHOICE VOTING 🗳 CAN HELP!
Excellent. I wish a few Republicans would someday hear this and wake up their compromised consciences.
They're not asleep. They're being told what they want to hear. And they want a lot more where that came from.
They would have to grow a conscience first
Lol I wish the same of democrats....both Don't represent the majority, they represent corporate interests. I WISH BOTH.....BOTH WERE HONEST WITH THEMSELVES AND STARTED REPRESENTING THE MAJORITY AND NOT A SMALL RICH MINORITY.
@@tonydrennan1050 comparison of a party of lies, corruption, greed, anti patriotism, anti constitution, misinformation, and fascism to a party of only corporate corruption isn’t completely fair.
@@tonydrennan1050 Why don't you get lost teabagger. You sound mental.
My favorite lie was when Fox told their audience that the Capitol was not attacked by Trump supporters. They claimed it was the Antifascists that stormed the Capitol.
My favorite lie was when Trump told us he had a big brain. Or maybe, the one where health care was easy.. Or that Infrastructure week was next week.. Or that he'd release his tax returns. Or the one... Well, 36000+ lies.. Hard to choose just one.
@@mementomori7825 I loved how Biden noted Trump as being a authoritative dictator for so long, and when Biden became president he enforced mask mandates, vaccination identification, stop support for college debt fix, raised prices incredibly high for everything, jumped towards 40 year record inflation rates. Reintroduced loathes of restrictions on small business owners, most covid cases under biden, the list can go on.
But then they say that Ashli Babbit was a martyr. Uhm, does that mean she was Antifa?
@@mementomori7825 He said that he had a big “a-brain.”
When these people lie, they go big.
Oh Al, I really miss you - wish you were still in the Senate.
On the night the election was called in 2016 I was horrified. During that campaign I'd occasionally tell my husband if Donny won I'd have to leave the country. My husband's response was always the same: "He won't".
After much thought and planning we moved to Australia in March of 2018. This move was challenging for a few reasons: our families live in the US, we knew absolutely no one in this country and we weren't spring chickens - in March 2018 my husband was 68 and I was 67.
However, those challenges aside, I knew, with absolute certainty, that Donny would ruin the US. I didn't know how he'd do it but from what I saw during the campaign, it would happen.
I loved the US too much to remain there while a piece of sh$t destroyed it.
I won't give up my US citizenship and am applying to become an Australian citizen.
I watch US news at least 5 days a week (usually Deadline with Nicole Wallace and the Rachel Maddow show) so I m pretty much current on American politics.
Sadly, the lies haven't abated - they've become worse. Returning to the States, as some of my In-laws have asked about, doesn't appear to be in the cards.
However, could you point me to any organizations that could use help from overseas? I tried the DNC but their website is designed for Americans living in the states (seriously).
No country is perfect but Australia comes out ahead in a couple of areas important to me - meaningful gun regulations and health care for everyone.(When I applied for permanent residency I was given a Medicare card, which provided the exact same health care every Australian citizen gets from the day they're born. Can you imagine anyone in the US getting anything close to that, especially if they weren't even a permanent resident yet??)
Couple more things: all citizens must vote - it's not an option and voting is always held on a Saturday! Lastly, Donny doesn't live here.👍😻
So, dear Al, give me whatever suggestions you can. I still love the US.♥️🇦🇺🇺🇲
Well said! Well done! Wish I could join you.
“1984” was specifically inspired by Soviet totaltarianism. It is important to remember that.
YEAH! SCARY THAT USA IS ALMOST THERE, HUH!
ummmm...nope; totalitarianism in general, be it soviet, 12(100) year regime, spanish, japanese, chinese, you name it, not *just* the soviet version
That would be "Animal Farm." Orwell modeled Napoleon directly from Stalin.
That doesn't change the fact the the danger we have today is fascism. Orwell was not a cheerleader for capitalism. He was a socialist. This was a critique of one failed experiment.
Socialism can come in many forms. It also has the ability to study its own mistakes, and adjust its underwear.
"2084" will be inspired by American totalitarianism
I believe that in this we might be the same place we are with the global warming issues. Attempting to do what little can be done at a time it is far to late for a "little" to help.
Anyone who still believes Gore, the corpulent life-long politician, Carbon Cap and Trade SCHEME (actual legal name), his now-debunked Mann 'Hockey Stick' and his ADHD Swedish high-school dropout _paid child actress_ (yes!) surely has a severe case of Ludditism. Since 2017, with new satellites, any 'sea level rise' is debunked, and winters on the West Coast _continue_ to break records for longer, colder, wetter and today still in a record cold.
Exactly George.
Thank you, Senator Franken. Thank you so much for being the voice of reason and for being my hero. I am a St. Paulite born and raised (east sider) and my heart and soul always will be. My body is in this ridiculous state of Florida. I believe the essence of the white supremacy/Trumper cult issue is the racism that exists in the hearts of people since the founding of this country and manipulated by right wing radio talk show hosts in the 80s and 90s ala Rush Limbaugh and ultimately morphing into Fox News etc. Yeah good old fashioned propaganda. But the problem in this country is not Republican elected officials but republican voters. Republican lawmakers only care about what Republicans have always cared about. Money and power. They could care less about racism or religion or abortion or immigration or any other cultural hot issues. They just lie about those issues to get votes. How else could they get elected. Then they proceed to screw over the ignorant fools that them in. Anyway it's the 'government'...it's us. We are the government. That's how democracy works. Anyway I just admire you so much. Thanks for listening to my rant and I hope you run for the Senate again. Take care!
I’m stuck in floriduh too. I wish I could return to Minnesota. It was cold as hell, but we didn’t mind it, we were kids.
Thanks Al, I have both of your books and I'm so sorry that you're not in the Senate now. We really could have used your wisdom over the last six years! Keep up the good work!
I have been saying for years that I am perfectly fine with debating anyone about any subject. But if their opinions are based on lies I can't imagine how to find any common ground 🤔
Russia gate. . .
@@antielfimationleague231 Exactly - as Mueller showed, but Barr et al. sanitized.
@@willdon.1279 bingo Will Don
All the while "patriotic" Trump supporters are defending Putin over Zelensky SMFH.
@Jay Bee Since day one of the invasion. Just listen to Tucker Carlson
@Jay Bee never. but that doesn't stop these chumps from saying it of course. fact they'd eagerly believe it if cnn or liverlips here said trump killed the dinosaurs.
@Jay Bee where are you, Jay?
@Jay Bee she wouldn't know because women aren't allowed out of their houses anymore in Libya. Neither are sub Saharan Africans or Christians
@Jay Bee It started happening just before your old troll account was deleted.
WE lost our democracy long ago, Gerrymandering, lobbyists, alternative facts, no majority vote for our president. Democracy was lost a long time ago and it will only get worse.
...also the electoral college and the filibuster.
The Constitution was established to give ONLY white men of property a vote.
Wow, thanks for your candid analysis, I totally agree. I will never understand how the GOP have decided to take this path, which I thought would end once Trump was out of office. The only reason I can think of is that he must have so much stuff on the top people that he holds over them they are afraid they will be found out, because he will create it even if it’s a lie.
they're taking this path because Trump is wildly popular, and it's career suicide to oppose him in the GOP. GOP leaders, plucked from the ranks of corporate lawyers and high paid spokespeople, do not exactly form a well of statesmanship. Why is Trump so popular? It's because Trump is perceived as being the champion of the working poor, among the working poor.
Yes, I wouldn't doubt that he has dirt on people. And I think it's likely that people are afraid for their safety if they cross this man.
More likely is that Putler has the dirt.
Al, YOU, sir, are one of the few good ones... for a change. (For exactly the kind of change we need now more than usually needed.)
Thanks Al. So glad you have a podcast. Props to you for writing that book about the POS Limbaugh.
Democracy is impossible but the Party is the guardian of it.
“ to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again: and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself -- that was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed.”
If DJT even runs again blame the DOJ AND BRAGG
@Stephen Coopet. Yes. But let's 1st blame his corrupt, hypocritical sycophants and enablers in the Senate who voted to acquit him of BOTH impeachments. He was CLEARLY guilty in both and anyone with 2 functioning brain cells knew it. They are such scum they violated their oath of office (to defend the Constitution against ALL enemies) to allow him to "skate" on violating his oath of office.
They should have voted to convict and remove from office (& permanently disqualify him from holding "any office of honor ..."
Thank you for saying this, and for saying it well. I would add, let's not lose our democracy because of midterm apathy. People must care enough to vote *this year*!
The People need to care enough to vote every time the polls are put up- EVERY TIME, even for "little, insignificant races like secretary of state or even dog catcher". BTW, the Sec of State in all state governments controls the voting process and administers it- why do you think the RNC and Trump have dedicated some much energy and money to put "their people" into those offices? FR
@@fredericrike5974 Absolutely right. Also, let's not forget that in (Wisconsin? Michigan?) a local sheriff was actually taking steps to try and seize voting machines.
Listening to Al tell it like it was is like a breath of fresh air.
Sen Franken, I love that you continued Sen Wellstone's legacy by having his nameplate on your bookshelf. He was a one of a kind. Wish he could have stuck around a lot longer.
So Al......does this mean "Truthiness" is an actual thing?
P.S.......seeing the "Wellstone" name-plaque behind you brought a lump to my throat. America sorely needs more people like Paul Wellstone today.
You’re so right! I’ve always believed that Paul’s plane was sabotaged. May he Rest In Peace.
Truthiness is an actual term in computing.
Basically, a value which can be coerced to be a one (set) bit is “truthy”.
So 0, false, null, undefined, and a zero length string are falsy (equate to a zero bit), all other values are truthy.
Great post, Al. This Ukraine mess is being handled quite well by Biden. Hope you are still communicating with your Democratic colleagues in the Senate. Earlier this month, I was put in a similar position to yours, as I was pushed into resigning my position at an prominent journal with international circulation (I'm not at liberty to say the name of the publication, as they have agreed to give me a generous severance). Just wanted to tell you to keep up the courageous fight!
If Biden had really handled this well there could have been no war. However the Military Industrial Complex is certainly happy.
“The only way to win a war is for human beings to prevent it.”- George Marshall.
Very well stated. There are other things that Joe Biden is handling well also that do not get any recognition. He has had some good accomplishments that get overshadowed by the betrayal of Kyrsten Synema and Joe Manchin, not to mention the total and utterly disgusting obstruction by Republican fascists. Sprinkle in a daily dose of Fox News propaganda and you end up where we are today. What a sad way for democracy to end.
Thank you Al for staying engaged and active--and for speaking the truth.
Thank you .have always been a fan of you.when you were elected and served and served our country. I was so impressed by you and knowledge and intelligence on how to reach the American people. I was so outraged by our party and the cancel culture that you became a victim. Avid fan that you can still be a voice that needs to be heard. Thank you again for standing up and speaking truth.
You just wrote the best bumper sticker (or fortune cookie) I've heard in a long time. "There are no alternative facts, there are only big lies." Hell, it might even fit on a trucker hat! ☮
I wish you, Al Frankin, would run for Congress again, but I like you too much!
Love to see Al Franken take over Bill Maher's role on HBO.
Al I miss you in the senate ,you were a great senator and could read the republicans lies,I’m sorry for you because you were being a comedian that was your job for a long time, and turned against you. Your a fine man and love to see you back again in political service ,Biden old can you run for president,I would love to vote for you.
Al, just one moment, "freedom to choose those who govern'. We may choose, but those chosen do not represent the electors. They are directed by special interests. Also, with regards to Russia fighting Nazi's, who are the Asov Battalion? While the entire fighting force of Ukraine is not the Asov battalion, the Asov battalion and other nationalist groups have been doing their best to remove ethnic Russians from the country.
Agreed, the press covered the neo-Nazi problem in Ukraine before Putin invaded, but says little about it now. From Time Magazine in 2019:
czcams.com/video/fy910FG46C4/video.html
Putin is a monster, but neo-Nazis are no friend of humanity. Perhaps the US should not be funding them.
When I heard her say alternative facts, I knew the US was in big trouble, as she was the Presidents' spokesperson. I'd say it's getting worse for the average person who believes in telling the truth and trying to teach their children good character values. For the others, the ones who believe almost anything they are told, even if it goes against what they've heard with their own ears and seen with their own eyes, it's as if all their dreams came true. If there is any blame it is the poor quality of public education the US is famous for.
“Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Liar”
May he be eternally rewarded
"How far really are we from 1984?" I'm sorry to say spittin' distance Senator Franken.
painful to see telling of lies is the new normal but I see the good will prevail
It's been a long 5 years. What scares me is that it's almost over. We won't have CZcams. We'll have Pravda Social
Thank you Senator! Why someone like you gets drummed out of government and Donald Trump remains is something I am still trying to wrap my mind around. We are one F'd up society.
Thank you Al…..please keep speaking out!
AL PLEASEEEEEE RUN AGAIN
And here I'd been thinking 'Animal Farm' (required reading during my middle school years, and well worth it). Love ya, Al. Class act, as usual.
I always have agreed with Al Franken, he is a truly brilliant guy. But I think something that people continue to get wrong about Orwell’s novel, is that 1984 was not a prediction of the future, but a comment on the present in which it was written. Franken spoke of the “banality of evil” and how it isn’t a great leap from lying about the size of a crowd to the overthrow of democracy. Orwell portrayed a fictional nightmarish world of constant war and oppression and governments creating alternative facts that was only slightly different from the actual world of 1948. The point he was getting at is “Wouldn’t it be horrible if the world was like this? Guess what? It already is. You’re just used to it.” The banality of evil.
Thank you for this, Al. We continue to need you and others like you in office, or at the very least all over the airwaves and internet spreading the truth. What a shame you are no longer in office.
Thank you, Al.
Another great, insightful video. Maybe I’m gonna re-read your books again. ps Thank You Peace Commando!!
Dorn, did you mean "inciteful", or insightful?
Sweet
Yes I remember reading both of Al's books as soon as they came out years. The GOP and their right wing propagandists were spreading lies back then and it's only gotten MUCH worse in the fascist Bush and Cheney and tRump regimes of corporate whores (no offense to sex workers!)
In 1984 Reagan was using Orwell’s book as a roadmap.
The Rush imitation is hilarious. You gotta take that on tour!!
Bought both books in hardcover, when they came out, enjoyed them thoroughly. More than once!
Thanks so much Al.
I read Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot while on vacation in Jamaica in 1996. It was a great read! You were part of a wonderful time I had at Hedonism II resort. Those were great times we had together Al. Thank you for serving our country; I really miss you.
We need you back! Whether on stage or in politics, your country , indeed the world needs you!
New and different ways to LIE...yes, it's INCIDEOUS . I lost my love for POLITICIANS when you were "forced out" by the "holier than thou's". The campaign of today's politicians has us all wondering, are we supposed to BELIEVE A LIE BECAUSE OF THE PERSON WHOSE TELLING IT? You would think TRUTH ON TRIAL would be a "slam dunk", but I'm not so sure TRUTH is going to STAND as T R U T H.
Didn't this guy get booted from Congress?
I was an independent before Trump came along and I certainly did not vote for Trump, but, by golly, I am going to vote for nothing but Democrats from now on.
38 years I would think
But it's astonishing and tragic how much of the book we see in our daily lives now!
One of the songs from the soundtrack of the film version of Nineteen Eighty-Four was the Eurythmics’ Sex Crimes, which we used during the 80s fight for gay rights.
Thankfully the American right has long got over their fixation on what other people do while naked.
Sex Crimes by Eurythmics czcams.com/video/IcTP7YWPayU/video.html
Yeah because the grooming generally occurs clothed.
@@subg8858 you people marry your child brides while clothed. Yet you’re so concerned about what other people get up to.
Don’t worry. Teaching young children to understand when a creepy Republican is taking advantage of them is part of children learning about gender and sexual orientation. Because gay and trans kids know from very early on they are different from what they are told to be. I knew I was gay at 5.
That you only see gender and sexual orientation through the lens of having intercourse is your problem. Why are you constantly thinking about sex? It is an unhealthy perversion.
What's the difference between a republican and a Ukrainian? A Ukrainian will defend his capitol!😜
Your just as honest and funny as Al Franken, hopefully you are not as handsy.
You flipped the results of a poll that showed the Democrats to be the cowards.
"However, out of Democrats, 52 percent said they would leave the country, 40 percent said they would stay and fight, and 8 percent were unsure.
Out of Republicans, 68 percent said they would stay and fight, while just 25 percent said they would stay leave, and 6 percent were unsure."
Dear Mr. Franken - I was in Fairway on Broadway yesterday afternoon and saw you shopping. Just a regular guy doing his chores. The buzz was infectious...if you decided to run today and the patrons of Fairway were your constituents, you would win by a landslide. We desperately need your voice and your conscience in Washington. We hope you're not finished with national politics. XXX A Fan
“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.
It was their final, most essential command.”
~ George Orwell "1984"
Please get back in the game.
Yes, please 🙏
👩💻 I immediately sent this to Twitter. Thanks, Al👏👏
I still am literally appalled at the memory of seeing Drump in front of a church, holding up the Bible as if to ward off evil and assure his cult followers that God remains on his side. He was holding the Bible up-side-down. I thought to myself. you couldn't write this. The absurdity was/is frighteningly mind-blowing.
This is a man we desperately need in the Senate. Thank you, Senator Franken. Please never give up, and help us cut through all the bullshit that has engulfed this once-great country. Peace.
Sorry Franken, we have lost our democracy. It will take decades to revert to any semblance of normalcy.
Well done piece.
There never was a democracy. That’s where the trick was. Only thing changed is the veil has slipped
C’mon man. Capitol police are the ones who held open the capitol doors in the first place.
So they could be beaten up ! Yeah that sounds right !
I read both books, and totally forgot I had. Thanks for the memory recall Al.
I am re-reading 1984. The similarities are insane.
Sadly, much of the left has responded in the same way. Whether it is Russia-gate, cancel culture, or eating its own regardless of the facts (that´s you Al), we need to resist this tendency. We should never fight lies with more lies.
Nothing Al said was a lie. He speaks the truth.
I really like how he's only taking a jab at republicanism while defending his own corrupted tribe. He's only playing into his own words, scary times, seems like we can't trust anyone these days.
Yeah, you can pretend they're just as bad.
@@nimrodery There no need to pretend, anything else is just lying to yourself.
@@NPCorangebad Okay, if there's no need to pretend, stop.
@@nimrodery What? Well that made no sense on your part.
@@NPCorangebad Yeah, I know "stop" can be a difficult word for some people.
Senator Franken, as a fellow Minnesotan, I would very much like you to run for president in 2024. We need your wisdom, skills and smarts! Please go and talk to Stuart Smalley if you need to boost your confidence.
I’m so damned mad Al Franken isn’t in our Senate!!!