I'm sorrry but Al Franken has got to get serious...

He was doing an interview with Bobby Kennedy, Jr. about global warming and this administrations horrible record and then he goes into a skit with, Santa Clause??

I've had to take a break from him lately. :eyes:

satirist. Being serious kinda defeats the point, doesn't it?

pillow yesterday? Kind of defeats the purpose of being funny. I'm starting to listen to Thom Hartmann instead but I keep losing his stream.

www.thomhartmann.com is really much better informed and intellectual.

Are you able to use itunes? He usually stays on for quite some time when I use itunes.

Yesterday 45 minutes with the "Pillow" was enough. His show has sucked since the elction. Now he is making condescending remarks about bloggers-his audience.
He said something at the begining of the show about debunking voter fraud-unitl someone else on the network brought it up agian. I'm guessing he means Randi. Al, I got news for you. You might want to pay attention to Ransi's show, it's very, very good. Your show, however, just jumped the shark.

But I've found him hard to take lately too. I was thinking he's been too serious, relentlessly covering the same talking points over and over again.

He has to modify the focus of the show

I haven't listened to him since the day after the election, when in some terribly bad taste, he had his freeper friend on to gloat. Just what you want to hear when you are feeling down. Nope, He lost me. I'm avoiding him just like I do the television media.

I've gone off most of AAR since they have taken the position that Bush actually won. I used to love Morning Sedition, but no more. By ridiculing the possibility of election fraud , they are denigrating the beliefs of the majority of their audience.

Without Randi and Mike, AAR's ratings would be going down the pan.

are covering the voter fraud stories.
"Jumped the shark" means started to go downhill.

When "Happy Days" resorted to the Fonz jumping a shark while the gang were on vacation in California...

You knew the show was doomed...

being "funny" (I realize that this is what he does, in which case we may need to get someone else) -- he is good when he just speaks the truth, which is what Air America needs to do -- we don't need humor, or even a left-leaning Limbaugh-type. Just a real source of news that is less tainted by propaganda than our other options

I hope not, since it comes in handy when things get really tough.

I love his show.

Al Franken is one of my favorites. If you don't like him, listen to another program.

Why the need to tear him down? Let the right-wing do that on their own.

to Hartmann and will not look back...Franken should stick to comedy and satire.

someone posted about him here the other day and I tuned in to check it out. I like Al, but for what I want in talk radio...Tom is much much better.

that someone like Mallor can fill that time spot. Also, most of the time, Al is just not funny.

Al is very funny.

Give me Randi or Malloy anytime over Franken. It's not just that he's not funny. He's boring and even embarrassing sometimes how he comes off as such a dweeb. Is his show about promoting our cause or is it about proving how funny he is. Sometimes I wonder.

Is his show about promoting our cause or is it about proving how funny he is.

He has a gift. Why shouldn't he use it?

If you want to listen to a serious, serious show, don't listen.

as well as Al. That is possible, you know.

...but I find myself taking of my headphones more and more. The problem is that Al has too many "schticks". I'm not advocating cutting back on humor on his show, it's just that I think he's funnier when he just makes funny comments during the natural course of a conversation. The old Jewish guy schtick of the "Oy Yoy Yoy" show has long since worn out its welcome and Al needs to stop slipping into his Dick Cheney "voice" everytime he goes to quote something that Cheney said. Just say it straight out. Lately, it seems that the first hour of the show is filled with too many "bits".

He's funny sometimes, but not enough to make up for it.

lighten up. the people you should be attacking are the WHORES who won't really cover this stuff. They don't give progressives a voice.

I'm not really listening right now. I will probably again once this possible election fraud is done being investigated.

I turned off the show, after the one time he brought someone on to talk about the possible fraud, it was to debunk it - just like the mainstream media is doing. If I wanted to watch or hear that I'd listen to fox.

I don't need to be made to feel silly for thinking there might be something to this - or that it at least needs to be checked out. I'm listening to Randi Rhodes for right now.

Meg

Like others who consider themselves part of the intelligensia left and therefore 'above' the issue of election fraud ("I've moved on, so should you."), Al has consistantly spewed forth his defeatist trash about our "loss" and how we should move on. You know what, folks, we didn't lose anything. The final official vote count in Ohio separates Kerry and Bush by some 137,000 votes, there are at least 155,000 uncounted provisional ballots, 93,000 contestable "no-vote" ballots, overseas ballots, and at least 3 seperate groups trying to get a hand recount in Ohio. Therefore, THIS ELECTION IS NOT OVER. Turning over Ohio or Florida for that matter could give Kerry the presidency, and give US the high ground in discussions of 'morals' and 'mandates' and feeling the pulse of America, while the GOP would be reexamining their loss.
Those of Franken's ilk, the type who can't cope with or even imagine something as heinous as mass election fraud, are hurting us. Even Hartmann is backing off the issue somewhat, not saying what needs to be said, that being, that if the vote count in Ohio goes in favor of Kerry, not only does he WIN THE PRESIDENCY, but other recounts will be demanded all over the country, and Bush's false "mandate" of 3 million surplus votes could very well turn out to proven false as well. Then the GOP, the 'president', our own groveling left writers, editors, and talk show hosts like Al will be forced to eat crow and reevaluate themselves and their high horse manner, and admit what they themselves said was a very real possibility BEFORE November 2, that being that election fraud IS possible and that it DID happen. All of their arguments and those of the gloating Right would be turned upside-down. The GOP would be thoroughly discredited for decades, the news media embarrased into being truly "fair and balanced", and the Democratic Party and liberals everywhere would raise their voices with confidence and zeal, and be invigorated with new power that any Republican charge could not quell.

Eat Crow?

Al would jump for joy if there was a way to overturn the results of this election.

You should calm down. Al is doing what he thinks is right. And so should you. Al's on your side. He's not trying to lessen your and anyone else's effort to obtain evidence that could make a difference.

It is possible to respect Al, Randi and Mike's efforts all at the same time. You don't have to pick and choose one over the other, just because the approach is different.

Posts like yours, I'm afraid, contribute to the reasons why people just go ahead and vote republican.

Al may be doing what he thinks is the right thing, but it may not be the right thing to do.

NT

But just because he helped create it doesn't mean that no one can criticize him when he's not doing so hot. You don't want him to live in a "bubble" like you know who, do you? We all see how that works out.

GAWD! People seem to forget that.

the one thing I don't like about this site is the way some people react when other people (who are on our side) don't do things the way they think they should. EVERYBODY on Air America is wonderful in their own way. The first day I was able to hear it, it felt like a miracle. It still does.

has got to go because he just isn't engaging in any kind of intellectual debate. Simply patronizing. Their conversations are pointless and frustrating.

Also, Al seems to be the only hold out on AAR on the voter fraud issue (even as MMS is starting to pick up the story). He's mentioned he's following it but doesn't want to give it credence by discussing it, which sort of makes those of us invested in it feel like it's us he won't give credence to. I feel like a disenfranchised Al listener!

Randi and Mike on the other hand continue to kick ass-- and they are no less "reality based" than Al. I don't know of anyone who has more real facts at her fingertips to support her arguments than Randi.

Rachel is the glue that holds them together and Liz is really funny I think and Chuck D is well, Chuck D. I enjoy him.

I like Al's show cause he has great guests. BUT I do get irritated when he won't let the guest finish his thoughts. I wanna hear what the great guest has to say. Al's humor isn't my type of humor but I realize a lot of people really like him so I still listen.

Actually, I like them all, to be honest. I listened to Randi long before she was with AAR. I like Sam and Jeanine even though I feel like I am listening to a married couple argue in front of company. I love "Morning Sedition". They are a real hoot. Mike Malloy appeals to my darker side(even though he sometimes scares me). Love Laura and Pap and Bobby on weekend. That covers them all I think.
:)

First rule of comedy is,
that comedy is hard.

Yeah, the Santa skit was mostly corney. So what. He will think of better stuff, you think its easy to come up with new material every day?

Heck, SNL has not been funy for at least a decade.

:)

imagine **, he'd be freaking out becaue santa claus was speaking to him, and suddenly ** would be worring about if he was going to get coal, and then al and company would be thrown into to gitmo for scaring ** and making ** crap his pants.

I've always wondered. I know this is irrelevent to the conversation, but if anyone knows, please chime in.

Thanks.

it's just my idear...but maybe people from Massachusettes and Connecticut all sound the same.

is when Joe Conason is on Fridays. Besides that, I get sleepy listening to him.

Considering the gravity of the situation, the Santa Claus bit seemed to mock RFK Jr.'s seriousness, rather than add levity.

It's like hiring a clown to make balloon animals for mourners at a funeral.

The planet is dying, for god's sake. Al, spare us the (tired) schtick.

is doing. All I said was that the skit was not funny and not necessary. One skit a day is more than sufficient.

I am entitled to my opinion; aren't I? There is nothing wrong with a little dissent; is there?

was by Bradley Whitford (Josh Lyman on "The West Wing")?

Does anyone think there's a bit of dissention at AAR between Franken and the others? He made a crack today about the fraud being discussed at the station. If he was more serious, it could get worse IMO. Anyway, I'd like Franken to stay because of his involvement in the network. But prominent right wing radio as far as I know has no moderates - so I don't know if Franken will fit in at AAR. Especially if there IS dissention.