Free Republic

Today, the amendment offered by U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) to stop funding defense contractors who deny assault victims their day in court passed the United States Senate by a vote of 68 - 30 Last Thursday, Sen. Franken introduced an amendment (S.2588) to the FY2010 Defense Appropriations Bill that would restrict funding to defense contractors who commit employees to mandatory binding arbitration in the case of sexual assault. The legislation, endorsed by 61 women’s, labor and public interest groups, was inspired by the story of Jamie Leigh Jones, who watched the vote from the Senate gallery today. “I’m proud...

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) faced swift and bipartisan condemnation Thursday and a call for an ethics investigation after a Los Angeles model and broadcaster accused him of “forcibly kissing” and groping her in 2006. After originally issuing a brief apology and saying he didn’t recall the incident the way Leeann Tweeden did, Franken issued a longer apology — “There’s no excuse” — and welcomed the ethics investigation, saying he will “gladly cooperate.” The top Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), said he hopes there will soon be one by the Senate Ethics Committee, which has the authority to recommend...

Broadcaster and model Leeann Tweeden on Thursday said that now-Sen. Al Franken from Minnesota forcibly kissed her and also groped her without her consent while she was on a USO tour to entertain troops in late 2006, and that there is “nothing funny about sexual assault.” She announced her post on Twitter using the hashtag “me too.” Tweeden tweeted on Thursday that it was “time” to tell her story, and she linked to a post published on KABC, a Los Angeles station where she is a morning show anchor. Tweeden wrote that she was on her ninth USO Tour to...

Democrat Al Franken laughed about a homosexual being killed: Al Franken: “I just don’t like homosexuals… Hey, I was glad when that Pudding homosexual got killed in Philadelphia.” Democrat Al Franken does not just have a history of abusing women and cracking rape jokes. For more context in 2005 Mike Adams at Frontpage discussed the murder Franken thought was so funny. For those who don’t get this “fair mean” joke, Franken is attacking Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Club, which is a humorous dramatic society – one that never invited Franken to join while he was at Harvard. So, naturally, when you...

The United Service Organizations, commonly referred to as the USO, has been bringing entertainment to the American Armed Forces since 1941. In wartime and during peace the USO has been there to help bring a little bit of ‘home’ to soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen, serving in all corners of the planet. Back during the Vietnam War, Bob Hope was famous for entertaining the troops in Vietnam for many years running. Bringing along with him many well-known Hollywood celebrities and entertainers, and televising his USO tour for families at home, hoping to catch a glimpse of their loved...

As a feminist and the author of a book on rape culture, I could reasonably be expected to lead the calls for Al Franken to step down, following allegations that he forced his tongue down a woman’s throat, accompanied by a photo of him grinning as he moves in to grope her breasts while she sleeps. It’s disgusting. He treated a sleeping woman as a comedy prop, no more human than the contents of Carrot Top’s trunk, and I firmly believe he should suffer social and professional consequences for it. But I don’t believe resigning from his position is the...

Be sure to check Melania’s Twitter feed account for a series of videos recapping her rather spectacular Asian trip.The trip apparently awakened editors at many publications to the fact that many Americans enjoyed reading about the FLOTUS even though she isn’t black anymore. In fact stories are suddenly springing up everywhere about anything…and nothing: It's Melania 2.0, as Mrs. Trump Iterates in Asia - The New York TimesInside First Lady Melania Trump's mysterious life - Business InsiderMelania and Donald Trump's Stale Wedding Cake Is Up for Auction - Vanity FairMelania Trump breaks away from her husband in crucial ways - Markets...

President Trump blasted Sen. Al Franken on Twitter Thursday over allegations the former SNL comic groped and forcibly kissed a woman during a USO tour in 2006. “The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps?” Trump tweeted, referring to an image of the Minnesota Democrat appearing to grope Former model, and now Los Angeles radio news anchor, Leeann Tweeden. Trump — who has been accused of sexual misconduct himself by numerous women — then added: “And to think that just last...

In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment/assault scandal, allegedly feminist entertainers are being accused left ... and left. The latest is comedian/Sen. Al Franken. Photographic evidence undeniably proved that he placed his hands over a woman's breasts while she was asleep on an airplane returning from a USO tour in 2006. The woman, KABC radio anchor Leeann Tweeden, added that he forced his tongue down her throat during a rehearsal of a skit for the soldiers. Now ask yourself: What if Franken's most hated rival, Sen. Ted Cruz, had been pictured doing exactly that to a sleeping woman...

Isn’t it just so much fun watching as the same Democrats and fake journalists who have been calling for Roy Moore’s twist themselves into logical pretzels finding rationales for Al Franken to keep his seat in the U.S. Senate? A.B. Stoddard made a complete fool of herself on Franken’s behalf last night on the Fox Report panel, saying that well, Franken apologized and Ms. Tweeden said she doesn’t want him to resign, so, you know, it all ok. I didn’t d…wait, you have pictures? Ok, well, yeah, I did that. – Yeah, Franken apologized for fondling Lee Ann Tweeden’s breasts...

Sarah Palin spoke out against sexual harassment in the workplace on Thursday, but said personally hasn't experienced any incidents because people know she is carrying a weapon."I think a whole lot of people know I'm probably packing, so I don't think there's a whole lot of people who would necessarily mess with me," the former Alaska governor said while speaking to MSNBC's Kasie Hunt on Capitol Hill. “I don’t mean to be lighthearted about it; this is a serious issue,” Palin added. “It really stinks for women in the workplace that for too long, men have thought they can get...

A Thursday afternoon CNN Newsroom panel showcased political tribalism as three liberal journalists downplayed the disturbing sexual misconduct allegations against Democratic Senator Al Franken (Minn.) by harping on the fact that Franken was “just a comedian” while those against Roy Moore and President Trump were far more serious. “But just out of the gate, the fact that you have Gloria, you know, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, right, from the left and right, both saying there needs to be an ethics investigation. I realize that this was years and years ago, this story, and he was a private citizen at...

Now, Little Brian Stelter over at CNN — he’s their media analyst. He’s the guy that does reports on how well the media’s doing for CNN. He’s the Howard Kurtz, if you will, of CNN. And I guess that Brian is upset that I am not taking a leadership position with you in this audience in the effort to get rid of and bury Roy Moore. Brian is terribly upset that I have fallen back on my identifier as an entertainer and that I am shirking my obvious leadership role. He said this this morning on CNN’s New Day. By...

Two prominent members of Minnesota's Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party are calling on Sen. Al Franken to resign his Senate seat following allegations of sexual misconduct. Although many other Democrats have called the former comedian's actions disturbing, state auditor Rebecca Otto and Megan Thomas, president of the party's official Feminist Caucus, say he should leave office.

RUSH: I just got an email, by the way, from Melanie Morgan. Melanie Morgan’s a former newscaster and talk show host at both KGO San Francisco and KSFO San Francisco. She runs a military charity now that packages items for U.S. troops overseas, raises money to assemble these packages and ships them to our troops overseas. And she sent me a note saying: “You said will other women come forward? Well, I will.” She claims that Al Franken stalked her in 2000, and she writes at a website now called mediaequalizer.co and she’s at the moment preparing a story on...

Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley is ready to move forward with President Donald Trump’s appellate judicial nominees, even when home-state senators have formal objections. Grassley is going to move ahead with confirmation hearings for Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras to be a judge on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Politico reported ahead of a formal announcement by the chairman. “The Democrats seriously regret that they abolished the filibuster, as I warned them they would,” Grassley said on the Senate floor Thursday. “But they can’t expect to use the blue slip courtesy in its place.” Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.,...

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is moving to nix the blue slip for two of President Trump’s judicial picks, sparking a showdown with Democrats over nominations. Grassley announced on Thursday that he has scheduled Nov. 29 hearings for David Stras, Trump’s nomination to be an appellate judge on the 8th Circuit, and for Kyle Duncan, nominated to serve the 5th Circuit. “Today I’m announcing that the Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing for two circuit court nominees, each of whom has one home state senator who has not returned a blue slip containing a positive endorsement,” Grassley said from the Senate...

This is disgusting. A “feminist” writer has finally said publicly what the worst progressives really think: a Democrat who sexually abuses a woman should be let off the hook because he’s a Democrat. The blogger, Kate Harding, is “sincerely” making this argument. Democracy 2017: I am sincerely arguing that we should not force a Democrat to resign for sexually abusing a woman, because I know Republicans never will, and that once the first Democrat goes, R's next move is finding shady Ds from states with R governors. — Kate Harding (@KateHarding) November 16, 2017 Why? Because all men in politics...

RUSH: Now back to the Franken situation. Al Franken is now calling for an investigation into himself, saying that women need to be believed, women needed to be applauded for their courage in coming forward, they need to have their stories heard. It is much more important that these women’s bravery be acknowledged over what anybody thinks of Al Franken. So Franken is throwing himself on the fire. What will the Democrats do? I think what they’re gonna do is try to pretend this isn’t happening. The smart thing for them to do would be to get rid of Franken,...

But rewrite-room excuses didn’t fly in the 24/7 reality of the campaign, and the “joke” almost killed Franken’s campaign. It landed on the eve of the Minnesota convention where he hoped to be chosen as the Democratic nominee to face Coleman. He made the dangerous move of addressing the controversy in a raw convention speech. “It kills me that things I said and wrote sent a message to some of my friends in this room and people in this state that they can’t count on me to be a champion for women, a champion for all Minnesotans, in this campaign...