Franken was asked:

Will you cosponsor a resolution in Congress supporting the establishment of a U.N. Emergency Peace Service if one is introduced?

He replied:

I would support anything that helps shorten the time it takes for peacekeepers to be deployed.

Now, read this for the background on the UNEPS.

The UNEPS would be a standing force of basically mercenaries 15,000 strong that could be deployed anywhere within 48 hours under the direction of the U.N. Security Council. While that might make some sense in certain cases in certain lawless regions, it could be completely abused and might even result in U.N. troops - yes, U.N. troops - being deployed inside the U.S.

The United Nations is already trying to establish a global tax via proposals such as the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST). Giving them a standing army would hasten the process towards world government.

I'll be contacting the Al Franken campaign to see whether he was ignorant of the UNEPS or whether he truly supports that plan.

24 HOURS LATER UPDATE: I asked the Franken campaign about this via their online form, someone from their campaign visited this page, and all I got out of it so far is being added to their mailing list. If they don't respond with a statement within another day I'll assume that Franken supports giving the UN a standing army.

36 HOURS LATER UPDATE: Another email later, I'm still waiting to hear back.

"Foul-mouthed attacks ... tasteless, sexist jokes" and "writing all that juicy [you know what]." ..."And we've decided we're running for U.S. Senate," one guy says. "Why not? We're just as qualified as Al Franken, and we're better bowlers."

Implicated in numerous reports of fraudulent voter registration, vote-rigging, voter intimidation, and vote-for-pay scams during the 2004 election

The brother of their founder embezzled $1 million from the group, and their board decided to hush it up.

So, I guess Al Franken is just coming full circle.

EMBARRASSING CORRECTION/UPDATE: It appears I was wrong. It's actually Rush Limbaugh who's received that contract. Hartman has his original contract, but word on the street is that they've upgraded the donuts they feed him from day-old to fresh. This site apologizes for any confusion.

According to Franken spokeshackette Jess McIntosh:

"We've seen all sorts of polls saying all sorts of things, and I'm sure that'll continue all the way through November... This is a close race and we're very excited about where we are."

At this point in time, Franken should consider making his run simply performance art, complete with a mockumentary documenting his attempt. He might as well make some money off the deal, since he's not going to be moving to DC.

"I understand that the people of Minnesota deserve a senator who won't say things that make them feel uncomfortable."

That, of course, is a reference to his endless line of embarassing, offensive, and/or downright stupid comments recently and over the years.

At this point in time, I don't know what the GOP is going to do. Franken is a fierce competitor, and his ideas - and his style - truly resonates with Minnesotans.

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I just noticed Nova M has a lot more stations, you might want to start trashing them too.

And, indeed he/she/it is right: novamradio.com/live/affiliate_list.php shows around 40 stations, including in vital markets such as Anchorage, Coos Bay (Oregon), and Eureka (California). The latter is a very attractive area of the state which unfortunately is also where the hippies went after that whole Peace 'n' Love thing didn't work out. (Out of 40 graduates from Garberville High School last year, 23 were named "Sunshine", with the remaining having the given name "Bud".)

Meanwhile, the once mighty (in their minds) Air America Radio is now down to 60 stations, some of which might still actually be broadcasting part of their schedule.

Thus, the differential is down to 20, and I expect it to drop further.

Of course, just because something is listed as an affiliate doesn't mean much; in the case of NovaM that means as little as the station broadcasting Randi Rhodes and/or Mike Malloy and not necessarily their other superstars.

Not only that, but a very graphic January 2000 column he wrote for that magazine has come to light. There are excerpts at the link which I'm not going to print here lest visitors get the wrong idea about this site. The DFL Party is apparently running scared, since they've reportedly brought in a crisis management specialist to deal with the Franken campaign's impending meltdown.

5/29/08 UPDATE: As much as Stuart Smalley would like it to, it's not going away.

Fellow Democrat and former Mike Ciresi supporter Rep. Betty McCollum says of herself and other candidates:

"Do they spend all of their time defending him, or do they spend their time talking about issues that are important to this election? ...The whole story was a shocking surprise."

Others who are concerned are two other Democratic Representatives, Keith Ellison and Tim Walz. The former says he'll support Franken if he's nominated, but McCollum isn't so sure. Note that Al Franken had kind words for Ellison about a year ago.

But, wait, McCollum had more:

"I can tell you it's not playing comfortably in St. Paul, and I can't imagine this politically radioactive material is doing very well in suburban and rural districts."

If any Franken advisors are reading this site, I urge them to "think outside the box". Rather than rushing from this unfortunate graphic article, embrace it and try to help push the progressive/liberal agenda in Minnesota. Urge those backward, frozen hicks to lighten up and appreciate Franken's humor and his openness about sexual matters. Perhaps his fellow co-hosts Janeane Garofalo and Randi Rhodes could even be brought in to help show those near-Canucks the error of their backwoods ways and help them become better liberals instead of the regressive crypto-conservatives they are now.

[He] told the crowd that "none of the above" would be a better choice than Norm Coleman or Al Franken.

"I may go down and file," he added. "I will be 'none of the above,' and if I win, I'll go to Washington."

On the Senate campaign trail, Al Franken frequently invokes the name of his friend, the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, as a major inspiration.

But as Franken moves to consolidate Democrats behind his challenge to Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, another Democrat is chipping into his support — one whose background and beliefs spark even greater Wellstone nostalgia for some voters...

...A professor of Justice and Peace Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Nelson-Pallmeyer's campaign platform is fueled by his lifelong focus on social justice and economic equality. He often leans on his life experience, from teaching in inner city Chicago to living in Central America to leading large Iraq war protests...

...Nelson-Pallmeyer is to Franken's left on just about everything. He's opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances, for nationwide legalization of same-sex marriages, a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in the next nine months, universal single-payer health insurance and a massive reduction in defense spending...

Andy Barr, Franken's campaign spokesman, dismissed the poll results, calling the poll "deeply troubling from a spin standpoint, but from a social studies standpoint, as well."

Barr called the wording of the initial poll question "deeply flawed" because it doesn't mention the fact that Franken overpaid his taxes in Minnesota and New York, his official states of residence.

"It tells one side of the story when there are two equally important sides," Barr said. "Once you ask a question that's so slanted that it amounts to a push poll, it makes the other subsequent questions worthless."

"Franni and I have paid state and federal taxes on every cent of our income... Franni and I believe in paying state and federal taxes on all our income."

And, I'm sure he does and this was just an "accounting error".