Al Franken

The year 2011 will be the end of an era in broadcasting. That’s when Oprah will leave her long-running show — and, by coincidence, when Gov. Tim Pawlenty will leave his, Minnesota Public Radio confirms. Today, his “hot” wife Mary sits in for T-Paw on ‘CCO, but you won’t see Her Hotness unless the First [...]

As if Michele Bachmann’s 2010 re-election battle wasn’t already going to be a doozy, it’s begun shaping up as a proxy war between the forces of U.S. Sen. Al Franken and the man he bested in Minnesota’s recount, former Sen. Norm Coleman. “The eyes of the nation — and Michele Bachmann’s right-wing allies — will [...]

Tuesday was a day for Q and As with Norm Coleman, Michele Bachmann and Tom Petters. Coleman in the Harvard Crimson: “No regrets.” Bachmann in City Pages: “I’m proud.” Petters in federal court: “I apologize.” Al Franken got in on the game this morning on Minnesota Public Radio, where an interviewer said it sounds like he’d [...]

No, it’s not the return flight-path for those errant Northwest Airlines pilots. It’s U.S. Sen. Al Franken’s hand-drawn map of Minnesota, done on spec for National Geographic. 

Minnesota Public Radio is holding a “Future of the News” forum today, but a couple ex-office-holders are the ones who’ve really got the print media’s back. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former U.S. Sen. Dean Barkley ran large ads in the Star Tribune this weekend — for “Going Rogue” (really NewsMax) and a free [...]

Senate Democrats are salivating at the prospect of attacking Republicans in 2010 who voted against an anti-rape amendment sponsored by Al Franken, reports Politico. The provision, which was supported by 68 senators, would prevent the Department of Defense from contracting with companies that prohibit employees from suing over workplace disputes — including complaints of sexual [...]

While Minnesota’s drawn-out 2008 Senate election didn’t top MAD Magazine’s upcoming “MAD 20″ list of the “dumbest people, events and things” of 2009, the issue does promise a cure for “electile dysfunction” — in the form of a fake ad for “Democra-cialis,” showing Al Franken and Norm Coleman in side-by-side bathtubs.

Sen. Al Franken spoke at a Senate hearing on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) on Thursday. ENDA, which is vociferously opposed by the religious right, would make it illegal to fire somebody because of their sexual orientation. Franken sits on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee which held the first hearing the bill has [...]

Tim Pawlenty didn’t bring it. Or he did, depending on who you ask. Here’s a roundup of reaction to the Minnesota governor’s speech to Republican activists in Iowa over the weekend.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken introduced legislation Thursday that would encourage states to examine untested rape kits for DNA evidence. The bill would also provide for more health workers trained to administer rape-kit exams, particularly for Native American women.