Goldberg - 100 people who are screwing up America-- and Al Franken is #37

Im sitting on a jet plane at Newark Airport, minding my

Why do so many Americans who ought to know better find

There was a joke going around Hollywood a few years ago,

I Loved Lucy.

On February 15, 1966, Fred Friendly resigned as president of

I dont know about you, but Im just crazy about rap music. I

Its sunday morning in springfield, and Homer Simpson

I Read Someplace that about 70 percent of all Americans have a

Chris rock used to do a bit he called Niggas vs. Black

Jon stewart, the host of the Daily Show, is a pretty smart guy,

A few years ago, I was the keynote speaker at the annual meeting

On November 18, 2004, I saw this headline in the New York

Okay, Paris Hilton has an excuse. Shes a moron. But her parents

Matthew Lesko.

Sheila Jackson Lee is a black Democratic congresswoman from

His name is Todd Goldman, but I like to think of him as the

You know the grinch who stole christmas? Think of

Ho.

For years, Bronx Republican chairman and state senator Guy

Speaking of Whiners

Kerri Dunn is one of those marginal figures that pop up every

I Love Barbra Streisand. She is, without doubt, one of the

If I have to Explain it to you, you shouldnt be reading this

Jane smiley is an author of many novels and essays. Shes a

Aaron McGruder is the creator of a comic strip called The

When political correctness first began running amok on

In early 1999, Chris Ofili was a young artist, pretty much unknown

Cameron Diaz: Women have so much to lose. I mean, we could

Alec Baldwin: If we were in other countries, we would all right

Linda Ronstadt: I worry that some people are entertained by

Laurie David is a pain in the ass. Shes the wife of Larry David,

I Plugged the keywords arrogant, know-it-all, whining,

We knew all we really needed to know about Kitty Kelley,

As far as harry belafonte is concerned, Colin Powell is

This guy isnt a murderer, hes an artist, Norman Mailer said

Iinda Hirshman is not the best-known feminist in America, but

What is it about higher education that encourages political

Eric Foner, professor of history at Columbia University,

Just days after September 11, 2001, a journalist named Katha

My daughter came home from kindergarten and announced,

On September 11, 2001, 1,600 very long miles from the nightmarish

No need to be cruel to Phil Donahue, a man whose time has

There are thoseokay, lets go ahead and call them liberals

Matt Kunitz is the executive producer of Fear Factor, the

Christina Hoff Sommers, the brave ex-philosophy professor

As if theres not already enough bitterness and misun

Remember that old game, Dead or Alive? I say a name, and

In 2004, Oliver Stones movie Alexander bombed at the box

James Wolcott is a respected columnist for the ultrachic

Heres a little quiz. Assume youre a feminist who is pregnant

I have friends whom I admire and whose opinions I respect,

Lets say you call in to Michael Savages immensely popular

If a bunch of white racists got together and tried to come

As bad as some of the gangsta rappers are, the ones who try to

Go to google and punch in Eminem, the white rap artist

Ted Field is rich. Sure, its possible that Bill Gates or some

There have been many dumb celebrity interviews on news

Ted Koppel is worried.

I readily acknowledge that a lot of you wont care one bit

If you gave Anna Nicole Smith a choice: Push button

On March 31, 2004, four American civilian contractors were on

Remember when you first found out about The Blue Angels, the

California State Senator John Vasconcellos is not a bad

If you dont follow these things too closely, I guess its easy to

Youd think that Senator Robert Byrd would maybe be just a

Back in 1992, in the midst of one of the nasty, race-based disputes

If you go to the abc news web site, you will learn that

Ken Lay was Enrons chairman and CEO who claimed he had no

In June 2001, Dennis Kozlowski, then the CEO of Tyco, the

Youre walking down the street and you see a great-looking

Lets say youre a guy who runs a big, important company, and

Follow the money. It was good advice back in the days of Watergate

Sexual abuse of children is a real and terrible problem, one

Its the second part of that statement thats so scary.

Its one thing to be against the war in Iraq, but its something

Al Franken says hes a satirist, by which he means he can

I dont know about you, but Im tired of listening to left-wing

Lets Play Pretend.

I dont really want to write this one.

Its no surprise that Bob Shrum, the Democratic political consultant,

My favorite description of the Jerry Springer Show is that its

There are some daysI know this will be hard to believe

In late 2004, Latrell Sprewell, who plays basketball for the Minnesota

The headline writers called it the Fracas at the Palace.

I first met Julian Bond in the mid-70s, when I was a young

By now its old news that Paul Begala, the CNN commentator

Doctors have been some of humanitys most noble servants.

On October 23, 1998, antiabortion extremist James Kopp murdered

The best way to talk about Columbia University President Lee

In the middle of the night, on August 1, 2003, a big luxury

Back in 2002, after a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S.

Lets say a liberal judge went way beyond the usual activist stuff.

While he was campaigning for president and still the Democratic

In an age of reckless slander, no charge is so vicious as the

Okay, its not exactly a newsflash that politicians will say

Al Sharpton could have been somebody. Not just a contender

I guess you could say we owe John Edwards some thanks.

Even on the furthest fringes of the America-bashing Left,

Mary Mapes, dan rathers producer at CBS News, is mainstream

Fifty years ago, Harry Truman memorably described leadership

In August 2004, when the Swift Boat Vets for Truth were taking

Theres a chance that youve never heard of Noam Chomsky

If you just went by its name, youd think the People for the

Not long ago, a young man named Dan Gelernter wrote a piece

Paul Krugman of the New York Times is often described as the

If you were looking to find a single person who sums up the

Jimmy Carter has been involved for a long time with Habitat for

Ive never been a card-carrying member of the American Civil

When I was in high school and college in the 60s, the issue

A man of conscience has to do what a man of conscience

Theres a famous story about Arthur Pinch Sulzberger Jr.,

They are possibly the dumbest people on the planet.

For too many years now, the cultural elites have been working

As I said in the introduction to this book, there wont be

IM SITTING ON A JET PLANE at Newark Airport, minding my own business, waiting to take off for Miami. A few seats away is this lawyer right out of Central Castingwire-framed eyeglasses, dull gray suit, red tie, mandatory suspenders. Attached to his ear is another mandatory accessory, the cell phone, which hes using to talk to a colleague about some legal brief.

Actually, talk isnt exactly the right word. Yell is a lot more like itwhich is the way a lot of people talk on cell phones. Anyway, just about everyone on the plane who isnt clinically deaf can hear the whole conversation, loud and clear, including the part where Mr. Lawyer actually invokes the name of a U.S. Supreme Court justiceAntonin Scaliato give a little weight to his brief. Pretty impressive, Im thinking. I mean, how often does a guy on an airplane drop Antonin Scalias name into a conversation? How about never? Then this obviously well-educated, sophisticated man makes another important observation about his important legal case, another observation you could hear all over the airplane.