Live from the left

Live from the left coast

Today I had the opportunity to listen and watch the broadcast of Al Franken’s daily show from Seattle Town Hall. I’m a big fan of Al. Years ago, before I really didn’t care – or want to care – about politics in this country, I was deeply annoyed by some of the harsh rhetoric I would hear on talk radio from the likes of “Dr. Laura” and Rush Limbaugh. But to me it was just noise – mostly harmless (I thought) and nothing that anyone with half a brain and access to daily newspapers would take seriously (I thought).

So it was a sense of curiosity and amusement (more than genuine interest) that drove me to read Al’s first book, “Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot.” The book was provided on loan from my sister Lynette. As long as I can remember, Lynette has always been passionately liberal. Interestingly, my older brother George matches this passion with his conservative beliefs. So I always took great pride and being the true independent in the family. One who wouldn’t tilt one way or another – firmly ground in my mainstream/middle-of-the-road approach.

I was more interested in learning how and why Rush Limbaugh was a big fat idiot than anything else. The few times I allowed myself to try to listen to his shows he struck me as a loud blow hard who seemed bent on keeping what seemed to be his all-white, upper middle-class audience (based on the TV show cut away shots) entertained with constant Clinton-bashing and rants about welfare or social security. Anyway, I read Al’s book and in addition to being wildly entertained, found myself actually learning a ton about the true conservative culture – and it scared me.

Fast forward to 2004 and the publication of Al’s next book, “Lies and the lying liars who tell them…” By now I had fully evolved into a full-blown progressive.  My path was not unlike millions of others I believe. The collective events beginning with the stolen Florida election that allowed Bush and the neo-conservatives to essentially hi-jack the White House and ultimate power through the events leading up to and eventual mismanagement of the Iraqi war absolutely outraged me. I realized that I had been too complacent about politics and the direction our country was drifting. Inside I felt that something was horribly wrong – yet I professed not to have enough information or data to back up these fears.

“Lies and the lying liars…” was one of many political books I read during 2004 throughout the presidential election. I strongly believed that if I was going to take a political position, I needed to learn as much about current US and world affairs as possible. From Bob Woodward’s investigative “Plan of Attack” to Molly Ivins “Buschwhacked” to the aforementioned Franken’s book – as well as subscribing to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle and Valley (East Bay) Times, I immersed myself in as much information as I could soak in. Franken’s book did not disappoint in both its humor and reporting. He did a yeoman’s job documenting his research and sources and presented the information in an entertaining manner – not always an easy task.

When the Air America network launched last year and announced that Franken would be one of the hosts, I was thrilled. It seemed perfect and appropriate and I knew that his show was one I’d want to hear. Unfortunately, it would take many months before I could actually hear the show on the air – as Air America wasn’t carried on any Bay Area radio station until later in the year. Eventually, a deal was struck and progressives in one of the most progressive areas in the country could get their dose of talk radio that wasn’t dominated by conservatives. I quickly became a fairly devoted listener as I was doing quite a bit of driving around the Bay Area for my job with Comcast.

This is all a very long and roundabout introduction to today’s event. GreenForGood.com was one of the sponsor’s of Al’s broadcast today so we (co-founders Nick, Mary and I) headed to Town Hall early (6:45 a.m.) to set up our table and prepare to hand out GreenForGood post cards and nifty pens made from recycled denim. The crowd was originally estimated to be about 500, but I later learned that more than 600 people crammed the hall for the broadcast. We received numerous compliments and thanks from attendees for advertising on am1090 and sponsoring the event – as well as lots of questions about and interest in GreenForGood.com. So it was a great event from a marketing perspective.

As the show began I looked over at the next table, where the University Bookstore was selling stacks of copies of Al’s new book, “ The Truth (with Jokes).” I walked over and bought two copies – one for me, and the other for my sister Lynette (of course). Following the show, I stood in line to have Al sign my sister’s copy and to give Al his own GreenForGood.com t-shirt. He was extremely charismatic and friendly – and thanked Mary and I twice for being a sponsor of the event. After signing the book, he graciously agreed to pose for a picture with the two of us.

And tonight, I’m an even bigger fan of Al Franken.