Why does Al Franken needlessly bash Howard Stern

in the first sentance of the third paragraph of the first page of his book. In the "A note from the author" section, right after the table of contents.

" Unlike Senator McCarthy and his intellectual heirs, Ann Coulter and Howard Stern, I do have a sense of decency. "

I just don't get this useless disrespect of Stern. To put him, over all other targets, perhaps a conservative or right-wing one, which Stern is not, It's a completely random comment, and it just doesn't belong.

I've now read half the book, and it's fantastic, and for some reason I can't let that one just be ignored.

Stern is either your cup of tea or he isn't, but he's the only person on the radio with a big audience who's making people laugh instead of hate liberals and poor people pretty much. Does the mainstream media seems to have an anti-stern bias? I wish I could ask Franken that, because if you compare Imus too him, it doesn't seem right. One's a news/talk show that attempts comedy and fails utterly, and ones a comedy show that does the news every day at the very least at the end of the show and appeals to both mature and immature people in different ways, yet has a reputation of something it's not because of his E! show, which usually airs only the most POTENTIALLY offensive(to the overly sensitive and in my opinion uptight crowd).

But getting back to the Imus/Stern comparison, the who's who of media elite kiss his ass, despite the fact that, as people like Stern have pointed out, he's a racist and mean-spirited, unfunny, old fool.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=241
Don Imus: Not-So-Hidden Bigotry, Racism, Sexism and Homophobia

http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/3083
THE IMUS A-LIST MEDIA: GOING ALONG AND GETTING ON

Now Franken doesn't go on Imus as far as I know, but I thought that the 2 issues, Stern's overall disrespect, and Frankens unexplained comparison with Coulter and McCarthy, was somewhere in the same realm of people not getting it, at least in my eyes about Stern.

The only explanation I can think of is that he was mad at Stuttering John, in one of his press interviews years ago asking Franken a somewhat goof question about Stuart Saves His Family, and Franken not appreciating it.

trying to interview Franken with the usual shocking questions. Franken really seemed put off by that, but Howard also tend to have some conservative views. Maybe that has something to do with it too.

does that make him the intellectual heir of Joe McCarthy along with Anne Coulter

Stern is basically and broadly a moderate, small L, libertarian.

He strays from libertarianism in being with the democrats on the environment, and with hawks on foriegn policy.

He's made stronger arguments and stronger statements for abortion rights than any democrat I've ever heard, and when the partial birth ban was passed he said that Bush, goes down 1000 points with me for that, there should never be any limits placed on abortion

Why did he fundraise for "Dumptruck" D'Amato? When I heard that he was campaigning for D'Amato in 1998 was the last time I listened to Stern. Sorry, looking up hookers skirts is no excuse to hide being a closet ReichWinger.

and not the other way around. D'Amato, Rudi, Pataki, and Whitman have all asked to go on his show and they befriended him, because they were respectful of him, and he reciprocated by endorsing them and supporting them.

Franken has earned it.

which he in absolutely no way is, and Stern does have decency, even if it's a very libertine decency

As with Stern, one could always predict that dummy's remarks

From what I can see, there is nada coming out of his Neanderthal mouth but anti-anything.

I believe he has a kind of white superiority complex and tries to mask it through middle school humor and cheap laughs. In my opinion, underneath the gimmick hes a pretty hateful, angry person.

I have never understood what people see in him unless he says things that people wish they could say but dont.

Not Robin or Ba-Ba Booey. But the other witless rejects...Stern doesn't need them. They help Stern seem less intelligent than he is, and he isn't exceptionally bright to begin with. And (the worst sin in the world) they're dull.

he has been a huge contribution to the show. He's definetly funnier than anyone else other than Howard

Howard is GOP. I've been on his show a couple of times and he's an ass. Several of my friends are on the show fairly regularly, and although they're happy for the plugs, they still think he's an ass. Oddly enough, Howard agrees with the assessment and cares not.

and second, he's voted democratic in the last 3 presidential elections. (at least)

Tri-state centrist repubs like Whitman, Pataki, and Giuliani have the balls to come on his show, so he supports them, but he also supported Al Gore and continues to claim Gore won the election and that Bush is to lazy to be president

First of all, who the hell are you that you've been on his show?

First of all, why in the world would I tell you who I am and why I was on his show? GEEEZ! It's nobody's damn business on this board who I am. I've said before here several times that I work in the sex industry, so that should give you a clue... other than that, that's all you or anyone else here needs to know about who I am.

and second, he's voted democratic in the last 3 presidential elections. (at least)

Has he? Or has he just said that? You were watching over his shoulder when he marked his ballots?

Tri-state centrist repubs like Whitman, Pataki, and Giuliani have the balls to come on his show, so he supports them, but he also supported Al Gore and continues to claim Gore won the election and that Bush is to lazy to be president.

Howard will say ANYTHING for ratings. THAT is Howard Stern. I and my friends have had to deal with him many times. Don't mistake the on-air personality for the real person. He's a dick. Don't believe it? Hang out with the dude for awhile and it'll become pretty clear to you.

my friend is a dancer and she said the same thing, i am not bashing howard i love his show, i'm just saying don't torch TorchTheWitch for being able to distinguish between an on-air personality and real life

one love
spike

I think I know which girl you mean. Come to think of it, I know of a couple girls from that area that have been on his show too.... a few times at that.

I'll be damned! I'll have to send you a PM... what a small world!

:toast:

indeed!

meet me at the cabaret, we'll talk politics!

:grouphug:

one love
spike

we were probably typing at the same time but I got your's first (ok, so i blab more!). ;)

i got ya! and you'll find out i can hold my own when it comes to blabbing (i love that word: 'blab')

'it's a small world after all'

catch y'all at the cabaret!

blessed be
spike

... he was taking listeners' phone calls and talking about 'Stuart Saves His Family'. He and Stern seemed to get along okay then. Are you sure that they're fighting, and not just ribbing each other?

Stern depreciates women and entices them to deminish themselves.

If you listened to his radio show you would know that the nude women who show up on tv make up maybe 5 percent of his show, and secondly, the only people who think that he is "depreciating" women, are people who can't handle the fact that some people aren't uptight about sex and there bodies, and don't cling to puritan taboos

are they adults or 10 year old women? Just curious...

on his show. Its a type of bullying and manipulative control Stern achieves by being King Fud on his show and and everyone plays along as his subjects, with I think an underlying fear of being targeted verbally by Stern if they dont aquiesce. In one sense it is kind of a rape of someones dignity.

I will agree with you that they make the choice to go on the show, however, our society and promotional needs often make many feel that they must engage in shows like that in order to succeed.

It's rape now? Oh boy...should we charge him with rape? You're doing a big favor to real rape victims.

the society is not one, it's made of hundreds of millions of people who act differently, who have different goals, different ways of achieving them. At the end, YOU are responsible for what you do. If you're too stupid to strip naked becuase you fear he's going to make fun of you, instead of leaving, who's fault is it?

of Stern is valid or not, but Howard
Stern strikes me as someone who does
not need a champion EVER! The man has
thick skin and insults just slide off
of him. He picks people to pieces until
he gets what he wants from them, their
private thoughts, their secret histories,
their clothes, he gets them all through
intimidation and harassment.

I'm glad Al Franken doesn't like him,
I don't like him either!

I think that Frankens book is frankly incredible and should be passed around as much as possible before the election.

And you never know if someone like Stern would give it a read. People don't understand that it is in democratic interests to get his support. You never know how many minds he changed when he gave his reasons for voting for Gore in the last election and bashing Bush.

It's been proven that Swarzzenneggar got thousands of votes from Sterns endorsement as well.

You don't like him, probably because you haven't given his radio show, not his chopped up, show as much rude stuff as possible tv show.

If you listened to his RADIO show, I bet you'd at least be neutral about him.

differently and tried harder I would
like him.

You are soooooo wrong! He may have some
redeemable qualities but I cannot tolerate
his brashness long enough to even try to
find them. Life is short, I am not going
to waste my listening time on the crudeness
of Howard Stern.

Why the hell people find him funny, I have no idea. He's the equivalent of fart jokes for adults.

who serves no sociably redeemable purpose as a talk radio host?

:shrug:

That is socially redeemable, whether you like him or not.

and as far as self-aggrandizment, he is haughty, which is part of his shtich, and he has done alot of the things he claims, like change the format and change the entertainment industry itself

try to imagine yourself being Howard
Sterns gown son. As his son you have
fallen in love with a beautiful young
lady, you must now introduce her to
your father Howard.....

How do you think he would react?

.

he doesn't need to ask anyone in his private life to remove clothing.

The strippers at scores probably do it without asking

and he has 3 daughters who are very well adjusted and good students

Each of the few times I have he has badgered female guests to show him their breasts and other parts of their anatomy. If that's what they want to do, fine, but he certainly feels hung up on this need for women to strip at his command on his show.

which unless it is a big celebrity interview with someone promoting a movie, is almost always a bit involving visually enticing MALE-targetted material. Stuff that's racy.

But those bits, the evaluators etc, are maybe actually occuring for an hour out of the entire week of 5 hour shows

:eyes:

Stern is an acquired taste and trying to convince those who don't like him what's redeeming is futile. Just go "C'est La Vie"...enjoy your Stern and the joy it brings you.

I did like Stern's book and movie (thanks more to Ivan Reitman), but his radio show is primarily juvenile...just like another morning zoo that offers mindless chatter to keep your mind off the fact you've got 8 hours of dealing with the real world ahead.

Stern plays fantasy and he's the first to point that out and lives in his own egocentric world which relates around the characters on his show. This isn't new...just no one on radio in the 80's was really doing it. The 90's equivelent...like it or not...is Mancow.

The best description I heard about Stern (and this fits for other shock jocks), is they're the guys on the corner wearing the trench coat...when you pass by, they expose themselves...either you're turned on or off...either way, they've got your attention.

unfatherly way and possibly making
some crude remark about it. It must
be hard being his child and having
to explain him to all your friends.

I see the kind graciousness gleaming in his eyes.

:eyes:

You have no idea what he's like in private...but if you listened closely enough to his shows you'd see his essential decency and fairness.

You're obviously a true believer in this this cretin, so I'll just drop it.

I used to listen to this jerk back when he was on DC101 in Washington, DC, and, hoo, he was so decent when he called Air Florida after one of their jetliners crashed into the icy waters near a bridge in the DC area and asked them how much their fares were to that bridge. See, an airplane crash can be funny! HA HA HA HA!

He has not raised above that level of indecency in the years that I've tuned in occasionally to listen to him on E! You can listen to him closely all you want, I don't waste what's left of my life listening to his sludge.

Gosh, I guess that's a compliment.

Especially considering I'm about as open-minded to "abrasive humor" as you can get (Bill Hicks--the guy I quote in my signature--had he lived, would have eaten Howard Stern for brunch and spit out his black little heart in a belch as an after thought).

just kidding.

Hicks woulda loved that!

:-)

The guy is Absolute Zero.

imagine. That would be incredible. Stern does not have a majority female audience, but it's still probably something like 35-40 percent, which is probably better than any other syndicated talk show, and it's certainly the largest female audience of any radio show.

So If i was howard stern jr I think that I would have no problem introducing a girl to dad and that most girls of my generation would be delighted to meet him

and Sean Hannity and G. Gordon Liddy.

Sorry, I, for one, don't buy your rationalization.

But, if you and "millions of people" are happy every weekday morning as a result of listening to this schmuck, well, who am I to deprive you of your "happiness"?

I don't get how you can make the distinction, and he isn't a schill for any party, because to be that requires dishonesty, which Stern is free of

Every time i make the mistake of deciding to listen to the egotistical idiot, i hear something offensive. I then turn the dial. I have no problem with him being on the air and i have no problem with people who like him, but I have every right to hate him and think that he panders to the lowest common denominator, and Franken has every right to feel that he acts in the same manner as someone like Coulter (they both put on an act because that act attracts a certain type of audience which earns them money, and I can't stand either of them).

you either like him or not. You either take his jokes as jokes or you take them personally. There's no middle road.

Stern is in the same camp as the rest of them --- a bully who can dish it out fine but refuses to take it. His show is geared to the lowest common denominator and his guests have that "dittohead" reverence towards him.

commenting awhile back on Disney's decision to not award benefits to same-sex couples. Stern went off on them - saying that that "Disney isn't even philanthropic."

He is on our side, even if he is at times, kinda rude in his humor.

Overall, I find him hilarious.

I challenge anyone to listen to him for any length of time and not end up liking him...

he was one hundred percent behind the massachusetts decision too.

and the show isnt' just him, Artie and Fred and sometimes Robin is great as well

"I challenge anyone to listen to him for any length of time and not end up liking him"

Many of us have listened to him far longer than
we should have and still don't like him. I can't
like him....what he does is sexual harassment
under the cloak of entertainment. Some of us
who have suffered sexual harassment are not going
to find entertainment in watching him perform it
live with support from his sidekicks.

As for his guests who giggle ,act shy and
accomodating....they do so in hopes that he
will have a little mercy and lighten up on
publicly humiliating them. He seldom does though.
They pay a high price for the little bit of
P.R. they get.

his firm buttocks?

You must secretly have a real thing for him, spending as much time bashing him as you do....

This is coming from Rumguy who describes
Howard Stern as, "Kind, gracious, decent,
fair, hilarious with firm buttocks"....

Me thinketh Rumguy has a secret crush on
Howard Stern.

she's a hottie

I'm sure after living with foul mouth Stern
for years she would prefer to be described
in more toned down description, but whatever.

She must be a much happier woman not being
shackled to a husband that publicly humiliated
her for years.

She deserves all the happiness she can get now.

she liked his humor...

because she loved him and liked his humor.

Something got really OLD!

they did love eachother for many years...that's settled fact

but it does not take much of a guess
to come really close. Ask any woman
why his wife would have wanted to
divorce him. For that matter ask
any man.....they'll probably come
up with the same possibilities.

Bet she don't love him anymore!

I'm not gonna debate why she left him...

Oh I don't know.....we could find something.
Who are you supporting for the nominee?

But I think he would be a better V.P.
on a ticket with Dean or Kerry. Still
if Clark gets it I would vote for him.

Do you think he watches Howard Stern?

See you around Rumguy,
enjoy your flyfishing!

ever seen a pic of Beth?

so what are you eluding to?

women DECIDE to go there and strip and do all that stupid stuff to get plugs. CHOICE, does that ring a bell to you?

Women who put up with sexual harassment
on a job do so to keep their job.

Women who put up with sexual harassment
on Howard Stern's show do so to get their
15 minutes of t.v. fame. Yes they co-operate
but it's still sexual harassment and public
humiliation. Remove the spotlight or potential
for money and Howard Stern couldn't get the
time of day with any of these women.

I got Franken's book as an Xmas present, and I couldn't help notice the very same quote. What's the deal? I thought.

Could it have something to do that they're both of the Jewish faith?

Maybe he's referring to the "have you no decency" thing. As in, Ann Coulter has no decency because she's an evil lying shrew, and some people would argue that Howard Stern is pretty low on decency based on some of the things he has said and done on his show--not the politics but the sex stuff.

WIth the insults and indecency he shows towards others..I hope ever writer out there sees fit to give it back to him.

so I guess your forming an opinion the same way everyone else is, by not having listened to his radio show

You can hear his show where-ever.

EDIT: I have not listened in a long time. But what I do remember is him playing a Salina song with gunshots in the background..nto funny at all.

you see, some people are less easily offended than others. You might want to figure out if your "outrage" is really neccessary all the time, or if you might be able to lighten up.

I think I heard about the Salina thing, because they kicked him off some heavily hispanic metro, probably houston or dallas

Making fun of someone being murdered is not right. It's sick. I was never outraged at Stern, I just think that a guy who does stuff like that all day has no recourse when he gets it back.

The only explanation I can think of is that he was mad at Stuttering John, in one of his press interviews years ago asking Franken a somewhat goof question about Stuart Saves His Family, and Franken not appreciating it.

Do you have any more details on the nature of the question?

As far as Stern being compared to McCarthy, from the quote you posted Franken seems to be comparing them with regards to "decency." Of course "decency" is a subjective matter. But whether you enjoy Stern's show or not (I don't particularly), you can't make any argument that Stern elevates the level of discourse in this country. I think that may be what Franken is talking about.

John was doing one of those interviews at some benefit or something, asking questions to various celebs. John said something to the effect of "are you mad that Stuart Saves his Family turned out to be such a bomb" or something like that, or maybe a bad movie or something.

Franken said something like "Well, I actually liked the movie, and thought it was pretty good" and then I think Franken just said "thanks gotta go", or something and John pleaded for a second and tried to get him to answer more questions, but Al gave him the cold soldier. I think John called him a jerkass

I love Stuart Smalley. He's good enough, he's smart enough... :)

Also from what I have read, Stuart is pretty close to Al's heart, so I am guessing he might get sensitive about that.

If you want to talk bad taste I think the Greaseman had worse bad tase, but was funnier and definitely more creative.

but the greaseman usually just tries to cover up his lack of a punchline by talking in a silly voice

very childish delivery gimmick IMO

how does Greaseman's audience compares to Howard's? You think that people might have a different opinion on what's "good" than you?

he cant take competition. he made sure that opie and anthony, a vastly more entertaining radio show had a 45 second delay so they could be canned at any moment.

One can't really single out Sen. McCarthy intellectually, what distinguished him from the hordes of American commie-haters of the era was his ability to do something about it. He was able to codify his witchhunt rhetoric into something that caused real fear. Coulter is reduced to publishing vicious rambling screeds in whatever sordid rags have the poor taste to allow it, not nearly as focused as McCarthy's attacks.

And as for Stern? Heh. Whatever. I believe McCarthy was somewhat sincere in his hatreds, whereas Stern... well, his insincerity is one of the trademark selling points of the show. He WANTS to be shallow and petty, that's what he sells to the networks.

Stern and someone like lenny bruce or redd foxx or richard pryor. You might not like their sense of humor (Im not really a fan of stern anymore) but they are all pushing the same envelope.

Like in the movie "The Last Supper" you may not like Ron Perlman's character but he definately had a point about utilizing every bit of free speech he had.

that those three were genuinely funny and had masterful delivery. After all of these years, Stern's technique is still pretty clumsy. Those three did actually push the envelope, while Stern just plays to the prejudices of his mook audience.

n/t

I don't agree with all of his views. His blatent overlooking of the facts of the Iraq war infuriates me but for the most part he's fair politically. All I care about is the guy making me laugh and that hasn't stopped happening.

To the chick who was on the show. Did you get to spin the "Wheel of Beetlejuice"?

and he's a rabid repuke to boot :puke: those of bennett and GOP family value crowrd

... but when he starts talking about Iraq or any number of other political subjects, I turn him off. He is an utter and complete moron on those subjects as (even more surprising to me) is Robin.

So frankly, if he is going to shoot off his mouth about "teaching the towelheads a lesson", I don't care what anyone says about him, he is in the same category as Rush and should be treated as such.

merkins jumps into the lake ..

Yes I like to listen to Howard for the 1st hour of the show when they
all goof on each other .. and also the news at then end .. something
about NY style humor I find very enjoyable .. ala Seinfeld a bit.
Anyways I do wish he'd leave his politics at home because he
really comes across to me as a right-wing libertarian Likudinite.
I cringe every time he lets Debbie Schlussel call in with her vile
bucket of piss to share with everyone. How many times have I heard
Howard rail against all Arabs, hinting it would be a better world
if we all would just wipe them off the face of the earth. F. you
Howard ya douche bag. Last week's mutual blow job when he had Senator Al D'amato on was pretty rank also. Sometimes I really get
the feeling they stage alot of what they say beforehand and then
pretend they are having a live conversation on the air.. too many
times I have heard Robin chime in to back up Howie on some right-
ward slant he is having a take on. Come to think of it after re-
reading this post, maybe I should find somewhere else to tune into.

wow.

He's helped to create a culture where pandering to the worst in us is good business. In his own way he's a father to Ann and Rush. He's just more scatilogical than idealogical, but it's pushing the same buttons and delivering the same message that it's really OK to be a dick.

I listen to Howard Stern off and on and have come to the conclusion that he is a reactionary. As other people have noted, he doesn't like Arabs and suggested that Afghanistan should be nuked after 9/11. This from the same guy who constantly makes fun of other people's suffering and when the tragedy hits close to home, he wails and screams about revenge. He never showed compassion to other people and as soon as 9/11 happens, he's on the air, practically in tears railing against "Towelheads." Reminds me of the freeper crowd.
Plus he talks sh*t about people of color all the time.

I also don't get the comparisons to people like Lenny Bruce, Pryor and Redd Foxx. Those people railed against the "establishment" and attacked conventions. Howard Stern doesn't rail against racism, oppression and double standards in the way those men did. Howard Stern would never do time in jail for attacking Bush, Rummy, or Asscroft. In fact, he had Bill O Reilly on his show a couple of months ago and treated him with kid gloves. He didn't call O Reilly out on any of his lies or ask him why he was appearing on his show while condeming the "loss of morality." He let O Reilly skate because he is more of an ideological ally of his than someone like Franker. Stern is a reactionary.

Not to mention the fact that he demonizes Arabs and Muslims, and anyone who questions the Empire.

I'm not "overly sensitive" in any sense of the phrase. Very few thing offend me. Stern is one of them.

a title he wont deny. He is simply pointing out that Coulter is no different than he is. But stern, unlike coulter, never asked to be taken seriously as a political pundit. He is just pointing out that Coulter operates on the same generalization and ignorance filled level that stern operates on. It isnt bad for stern, but it is bad for someone the media apparently thinks has some concept of what should be going on with this country.

his contempt for all female human beings.

Stern knows that he is a vile being.

My exposure to Howard Stern is limited to a short period a few years ago. I've never seen him on E, but I have heard him several times on radio and remember seeing a few episodes of his old TV shows (LA channels 9 and 2?). His audacity and spontaneous wit would occasionally make me laugh out loud. Unfortunately, you’d have to sit through tons of insipid bullshit from King-Creep-And-His-Court for that random nugget.

The difference, for me, between Howard and a great comedian like Richard Pryor, is that I’ve never felt guilty for Richard’s laughs. When Howard scored and forced a laugh out of me, I always shook my head and wondered why I was laughing. I think it’s because Howard’s jokes are ‘contextually’ funny but ‘generally’ abusive.

I remember a bit from one of his old TV shows (tame by today’s standards I’m sure) called Homeless Hollywood Squares. He had his nine celebrity squares: the kissing lesbians, the KKK guy… and as contestants, two transients apparently plucked directly off the street. The coveted prize? - A shopping cart filled with crushed aluminum cans. At first I found it all pretty amusing, that is until I realized how truly pathetic the two homeless people were. I believe one was toothless, both were dirty and disheveled, and neither appeared to be in very good health. If they were able to reply to the questions at all, they were barely coherent, and most of the time they seemed to be genuinely confused by their surroundings. Yep, pretty funny stuff.

If a song parody of a Selena’s murder, or strippers who can fire ping-pong balls out of their pussies on command, is your idea of clever satire, then cool, but don’t expect everybody to want to ride along.

A lot of people don't like the guy. Franken's allowed to dislike someone not soley on his or hers political beliefs, isn't he?