Tag: Sen. Al Franken

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Sen. Al Franken Slaps At Donald Trump & Roy Moore In Resignation Speech



“I, of all people, am aware that there is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party,” 

-Sen Al Franken on the floor of the U.S. Senate in his speech announcing his resignation amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

While the Democrats in Congress take the proverbial “high road” in callng for Franken’s departure based on allegations, the Republicans show no such leaning as they remain silent on Donald Trump’s 13 accusers of sexual misconduct and Alabama Republican Roy Moore seems headed to a Senate win even as a dozen women allege sexual impropriety on his part.

Hypocrisy much?

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Sen. Al Franken: All Senate Democrats Will Oppose Confirming DeVos As Education Secretary

During an appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show last night, Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota announced all of the Democrats on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will vote against confirming Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary, billionaire Betsy DeVos.

From ThinkProgress:

Unlike [Dr. Ben] Carson, who avoided disagreeing with senators during [his] confirmation, DeVos played it less safe and showed her lack of knowledge on education policy in a variety of areas. DeVos was not aware of a federal law protecting the rights of students with disabilities, did not appear to understand a question about measuring school quality, and suggested that schools needed guns to protect students from grizzly bears.

Her grizzly bear comment received the most attention, but DeVos also refused to say she would enforce 2011 guidance that uses a preponderance of evidence standard in investigations of campus sexual assault. This standard allows a disciplinary panel to make a decision based on which party’s evidence has greater weight rather than requiring clear and convincing evidence. Advocates for campus sexual assault survivors have long supported the guidance.

DeVos also avoided making detailed remarks about LGBTQ rights during the hearing. This week, DeVos said she supports same-sex marriage. In 1999, DeVos and her husband gave $275,000 to Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian non-profit organization which believes in gay conversion therapy, a harmful practice, but haven’t given money to the organization since. DeVos’ refusal to say she would support the 2011 guidance on campus rape — as well as her donations to a group that opposes the guidance— would seriously affect LGBTQ people. LGBTQ students are disproportionately the victims of campus sexual violence and harassment.

DeVos’ confirmation process is also different from Carson’s in the respect that well-organized national teachers unions fiercely oppose her. DeVos’ support of vouchers for private schools and for the expansion of charter schools has incensed public school teachers, who don’t want to see schools lose federal funding. During her hearing, DeVos dodged a question to vow that she wouldn’t take a cent from public schools. Last week, teachers and their allies protested against her nomination by gathering in front of schools in over 200 cities.

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Sen. Al Franken: Net Neutrality Is About Leaving Something The Way It Already Is, Not Changing It

Sen. Ted Cruz recently wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that net neutrality “would put the government in charge of determining Internet pricing, terms of service and what types of products and services can be delivered, leading to fewer choices, fewer opportunities and higher prices.”

Because Cruz is so busy opposing anything President Obama would support, Cruz forgot to even read what “net neutrality” actually is.

Oh – Sen. Cruz also forgot to tell you that he has received tens of thousands of dollars from internet service providers who would love to be able to make companies pay more.  Yeah, he didn’t mention that, did he?

Net Neutrality is the idea that everyone should have the same access to the internet, which is what has existed since we all got on the inter webs 20 years ago. Some internet service providers would like to be able to charge more for a “fast lane” to those who can afford it which would in turn slow down those websites with smaller budgets.

For instance, last year Comcast demanded that Netflix pay millions of dollars or they would throttle Netflix users stream making it more difficult to watch movies.  During negotiations Comcast did just that until Netflix was forced to pay to get their subscribers back to a “normal” internet feed.

Read a simple explanation of the whole issue here.

Sen. Al Franken responded to Cruz’ inaccuracies like this on CNN:

“Obamacare was a government program that fixed something that changed things,” Franken clarified for Tea Party favorite Cruz. “This is about reclassifying something so it stays the same. This would keep things exactly the same that they’ve been.”

Watch the video below:

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Sen. Franken calls out the truth for Focus On The Family

Franken for the win!

Ah yes, those pesky things called facts…

Sen. Franken: “Isn’t it true, Mr. Minnery, that a married same-sex couple that has had or adopted kids would fall under the definition of a ‘nuclear family’ in the study that you sight?”

FOTF Tom Minnery: “I would think that the study, when it cites ‘nuclear families’ would mean a family headed by a husband and wife.”

Sen. Franken: “It doesn’t.”

Franken then goes on the read the definition of a ‘nuclear family’ in the study being cited…