Dispatch from Florida

“having a great time, wish you were here!”

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. All the family is here in Florida for the wedding and it’s all day, all evening visiting, eating, laughing and the usual chaos of family. The weather is great and I’d forgotten how great it is to take an early morning swim everyday. They’re all complaining about the ‘cold water’. Ha! I swim in Lake Tahoe. Let’s get real.

Really, being close to swimming pools and the ocean is what I miss most about Florida. It makes me feel like a kid again, growing up in Miami. I can do without the rest of it, however. But that’s another story.

Last night we had a huge meal for about 20 of us at my sister-in-law’s home… cooked and served by my Culinary Institute of America graduate nephew who is now an executive chef for R&D in Dallas, Texas, and his equally talented brother. What a pair. The pork roast was the most succulent and tender that I’ve ever wrapped a lip around. He even let’s me help as sous chef. I got plenty of photos, but they’ll get uploaded in good time.

Niece, Theresa, is here, too. As one of the key forces behind the astounding growth of the Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota Foundation, she was instrumental in the following spot. I hope you are as impressed with it as I am. This is an example of what can be ‘right’ about healthcare in America.

Gosh, I have some amazing relatives!

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Republican torpedo alley ready with cheap shots for Franken

“Franken, the loud-mouthed former comedian, will be the 60th member of the Senate Democratic caucus…”

David Broder

Thank you, David, for that brilliant analysis. And there you have it folks, Franken can take the oath to serve the citizens of the state of Minnesota without one single wisecrack, with all the gravitas and decorum that should be the hallmark of membership in this august club, but there will be some who just can’t let a fella grow past a Saturday Night Live skit.

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It's official: Franken is da man

Now maybe his campaign people can stop calling me for money. Gov. Tim Pawlentysigned the papers that finally send Al to Congress, after the Minnesota Supreme Court declared Franken the ‘winnah’.

(sound fx: cheers of the massive crowd)

Is this the most unnecessarily drawn out election in our nation’s history? It seems like it.

Now we ( meaning us whining Liberals ) will have the force necessary to repel Republican filibusters. Yea!

Bill O’Reilly called Franken “a smear merchant and a rank liar unqualified for any elected office,” and “a far left extremist” who “traffics in hate.”

Well. That’s certainly the old windbag pot calling the non-stick saute pan black. Bill O’Reilly would certainly recognize a smear merchant who traffics in hate when he sees it.

Repub strategist Bill Blakeman referred to Franken as the ‘gift that will keep on giving.’ But can that really be, in light of recent turns among the hot, steamy, totally unzipped Repubs of late? Yes, they certainly need a boogey man to replace Hillary, but Al?

They ought to pick somebody who isn’t as good at flinging back the ad libbed quip.

But after Franken’s well crafted books, targeting Rush Limbaugh and the likes of Bill O’Reilly, it’s no wonder that they want to cut him off at the knees (read: cheap shot ) … even if it doesn’t make any sense or project an actual party platform or philosophy ( readable only in the original Klingon dialect).

There are, however, still a few thinking people left on the winger side … one Republican political consultant, Stephen Marks, warned that GOP officials should lay off Franken unless he provides clear justification for their wrath, as pre-emptive attacks could come off as “desperate” and work to the Democrats’ advantage.

My guess is that Al will be on his best - not for Saturday Night Live - behavior as a way of earning his stripes among his peers in the Senate.

If the far right wants to take pot shots at him, fine. That’ll just continue to prove to America what a bunch of jackasses they really are.

Al Franken for Senate

Now, I realize he lives in Minnesota. How weird is that? I have lots of relatives in Minnesota and they just don’t seem like the kind of folks who would vote for a wrestler or a comedian. Hey, I love surprises.

So, I’ve been supporting Al for the last year, and I hope you’ll find a spare $25 to put him up over the top in in race against Norm ‘business as usual’ Coleman.

End the Gridlock is a perfect title for the following video. We can’t get things done with the slim majority we’ve been trying to work around. It’s got to be a mandate. Obama needs to have a majority - and then it’s do or die.

If you’re an Obama supporter, then give him the majority he needs to do the job. I just sent Al another $25, and I hope you will to. Help Al continue the fine work that Paul Wellstone began.

http://www.alfranken.com/