Wondertrash®

It seems that Minnesota senatorial hopeful Al Franken has got himself in a spot of bother. It turns out that Franken has failed to declare some $$70,000 in earnings. The earnings were not a part of his regular income, but from public speaking engagements, like those colorful verbal jousts he has with his occasional 'straight man' Ann Coulter. Further more he was living in New York at the time, so he declared the income - earned in 17 states - in New York. Perhaps he felt that a little extra income was none of the business of the State of Minnesota??

Franken is picking up the political game quick. Besides landing himself in the middle of a scandal, and trying to bail himself out with an unlikely sounding explanation - perhaps he wants to debate the meaning of the word tax, like Bill Clinton tried to debate the meaning of the word sex: everyone knows what it is, but it's not as cut and dried as you might think - Al has found himself a convenient scape goat to hang the blame on. That would be his accountant.

Al goes on to say that his only real failing was receiving bad advice (does "an older boy made me do it" still work once you're out of high school?). He relied completely on the advice of an incompetent accountant, which he followed to the letter. Unfortunately the accountant was too stupid to understand the law, and Al was too trusting of him (Why Al might've have been in the Bush Administration!). We need that kind of integrity in politics, now more than ever before!

Says Franken "What happened is our accountant made a mistake, and all of these are repercussions of that same mistake," said Franken. "His mistake was not understanding his job the law, the obligation to pay these state taxes." Well it sounds plausible enough. I like the way he links the whole can of worms back to a single error in judgment; trusting his accountant.

Well Al wants to make things right, especially now that he's been caught, and is running for public office. He is stepping up to the plate, and paying the money, plus a $25 ooo late fine. Where as many state politicians would've haggled over the money and denied any wrong doing, Al as a professional entertainer, understands the value of image. Good image is even more important when you're trying to get he public to support you!

Not everyone is convinced of the purity of Franken's motives. His political rival ,Sen. Norm Coleman, finds the allegations 'troubling'. Now that kind of inflammatory rhetoric is way out of line! Then again, he does have a vested interest. He's hoping to win back his senate seat. At least the good senator didn't resort to sarcasm, or Heaven forbid, irony!

Al wants you to know that his heart is in the right place, even if we can't account for all of his money. Says Franken "I would like to get back to talking about the lives of the people of Minnesota and the issues this campaign is about." Lest you think that this is some sneaky attempt to duck the issue, Franken is also 'releasing the information to be transparent about his mistakes'. He also reiterates that his one mistake was an honest one, an error in judgment. Now no one expects an honest mistake from politicians; though our leaders are required to have good judgment. We can only hope that Franken, if elected, will be more particular about those from whom he seeks advice! It is comforting to know however, that if he is elected, he can explain!

Post Script: What are Franken's chances of getting elected in Minnesota? They did elect Jesse "the Body" Ventura as governor. I am disappointed he gave up the relatively honest occupation of humorist, to enter politics!

Wondertrash quote of the day, from another guy who can explain:

The new rage is to say that the government is the cause of all our problems, and if only we had no government, we'd have no problems. I can tell you, that contradicts evidence, history, and common sense.
Bill Clinton

Political Humor from Jay Leno:

The reason there are two senators for each state is so that one can be the designated driver.

Wondertrash thought of the day: Thinking outside the box, or stepping over the line?

"There's definite line between snarky, insightful critique, and bitter, snobbish bashing." Wondertrash disregards that line as often as possible!

Quote courtesy of Miranda Kali

Of course there's a place for those who cross the line!