senator al franken grew up in st.is park, minn., and spent 37 years as a comedy writer, author, and radio talk-show host. i wish he was elected reps and will retain about the shenanigans' he has seen since he, -- since he came to washington. let's get busy. we will do some work here. since we are talking about the real world, bob, why don't i start with you? exactly how long have you been looking for a job this last time, and give a sense of what that has been like? >> i have been unemployed since may of 2010. my background is primarily in sales, and i think that is where my skills said is best, so i have tried to find a job in sales since that time. as you are all aware, i'm sure, when you apply for a job that will pay you a living wage, and i am not asking for anything o 70bitant, there are 60 tw applicants for each job, and it is difficult because there might be people that are better qualified, or have college degrees or beyond. you do the best you can to make a good impression and answer the questions properly, p

the most memorable moment was an exchange between al franken and tom minnery of focus on the family. mr. minnery, on page eight of your written testimony you write "children living in their own married, adoptive, with their own married, biological or adoptive mothers and fathers were generally healthier and happier, had better access to health care, less likely to suffer mild or severe emotional problems, did better in school, were protected from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and almost never lived in poverty." you cite a -- a department of health and human services study that i have right here from december 2010 to support this conclusion. i checked the study out, and i would like to enter into the record if i may. it actually doesn't say what you said it says. it says that nuclear families, not opposite-sex married families, are associated with those positive outcomes. 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 cite? >> i would think that the study when it

. ♪ >>> still to come in this hour, senator al franken destroys a witness' testimony during a hearingdefensive marriage act. you really have to see this. and andrew breitbart's protege, james o'keefe, tries to prove that foreign terrorists can get medicaid. his target does something shocking, she actually follows the law. introducing the schwab mobile app. it's schwab at your fingertips wherever, whenever you want. one log in lets you monitor all of your balances and transfer between accounts, so your money can move as fast as you do. check out your portfolio, track the market with live updates. and execute trades anywhere and anytime the inspiration hits you. even deposit checks right from your phone. just take a picture, hit deposit and you're done. open an account today and put schwab mobile to work for you. years ago, my mother taught me. and over the years, i've taught my family. we've created so much here together. so when my doctor said that over those years my high cholesterol was contributing to plaque buildup in my arteries, i listened. and that's why i'm fighting my cholest

. >> and next al franken in defense of the marriage act and leaves the gallery in stitches. us. my cream is what makes stouffer's fettuccini alfredo so delicious. i think you'll find it's the vegetables. deliciously rich. flavorful! [ female announcer ] together at last. introducing new stouffer's farmers' harvest with sides of lightly sauteed farm-picked vegetables. find more ways to get to the table at letsfixdinner.com. i go to e-trade and tap into the power of revolutionary mobile apps to trade wherever. whenever. life isn't fully experienced sitting idly by. neither is investing. [ birds chirping ] >>> the topic of same-sex marriage has never gotten quite so much attention considering that lawmakers in washington for the first-time ever are considering legislation that would repeal the federal defense of marriage act. that is right. what supporters are calling the respect for marriage act would repeal the defense of marriage act which defines marriage as being solely between one man and one woman. now, this new legislation scored a huge endorsement this week, support fr

al franken fears nobody. [laughter] he's going to be here later, and he's going to wrap things up for us. senator franken grew up in st. louis park, minnesota, was a comedy writer, author, and radio talk show host. i wish he'd let it rip when tee comes here and do a routine about the shenanigans he's sense since being in washington. he probably won't do that, but anyway, senator franken will be with us, so we're looking forward to that. let's gets busy. we'll do some work here. since we're talking about the real world, bob, why don't i just start with you. exactly how long have you been looking for a job this last time, and give us a sense of what that's been like. >> i've been unemployed since may of 2010. my background is primarily in sales, and i think that's where my skill sets bets, so i -- best, so i try to find a job since that time. when you apply for a job that will pay you a living wedge, which i'm not asking for anything exorbitant by any means, there's 60-70 applicants for every job, and it's diffi

[booing] ask al franken? i thought so. this is a tough time to be a liberal.ummer of recovery. today, unemployment stands at 9.1%. that is the message we want to make sure everyone -- every american knows. their policies, their regulations, their big spending, their taxation, their health care, is taking us further away from recovery. so happy first-year anniversary. i want to wrap up with this. the two questions i get on the road the most are, "are we making a difference with all of our grassroots activities?" no. 2, "are we winning?" i want to answer the first question by asking you for a moment to go back to january 2009. think about where we stood as a movement in january 2009. the president was enjoying one of the best political honeymoons in modern american history. then, senate leader harry reid had 60 votes in the senate on the democrat side. and truth be known about half a dozen squishy republicans. then-speaker at nancy pelosi, and isn't it nice to say then- speaker nancy pelosi? i thought so. she had a 50 plus seat majority in the house. they pronou

[applause] >> senator al franken, thank you. thank you very much.plause] and thank you everybody for coming. it has been great. really appreciate it. [applause] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> now is the time to deal with these issues. if not now, when? >> the debt limit is the legal limit on borrowing by the federal government and since 1962 has been raised 74 times. the last time in february 2010. follow the process of raising the debt ceiling on line with the c-span video library. search, watch, clip and share. it is washington your way. >> tomorrow on "washington journal" we will be focusing on the debt talk starting with a discussion with representative shock of the top. the house agriculture and natural resources subcommittee held a joint hearing on the on e u.s. forest service draft lan which would dan horizontal drilling for oil and gas. witnesses included representatives from the interior department u.s. forest service, the oil and gas indus

montana voters don't want cuts in social security. 75% of minnesota voter, they don't want senators al franken to sell them out on social security. and in ohio, is that kind of a big state when it comes to 2012? okay, let's forget the election. 80% want social security off the chopping block. not just this year, every year. social security has been around since august of 1935. and it should not be modified. we shouldn't go through any modifications whatsoever or changes at all in august of 2011. social security is the most effective government program in our nation's history. prior to social security, over 75% of the nation's senior citizens, they lived in poverty. today the poverty rate for elderly americans has dropped to 10%. and today, over 9 million disabled americans and their families rely on social security benefits to make ends meet. along with 6.5 million widowed families. about 50 million americans rely on social security benefits. that's a hell of a number. every democrat in the congress and every democrat in this country has an obligation to go to the firewall for these people. ev

that's particularly prescient, it seems where senator al franken had that hearing on geolocation, talkedolks from apple and google specifically about the way their smartphones and twices track the user's motions. where should washington come in on all this? on one hand there seems to be a knowledge deficit as the report itself points out, and on the other hand there seems to be this call to action on capitol hill. so what's your perspective? >> guest: that knowledge deficit that you talk about, tony, is very interesting, and i think that might continue for the better part of a generation, for the better part of about 20 years because the digital natives, we have to wait until they become the educators in the class room. digital immigrants are there now, and that's why it's so difficult for teachers and parents and adults to get their arms around some of these issues. so in terms of what congress can do, there's a number of things. particularly you mentioned this research. so commissioning research, commissioning studies, helping to fund these activities so that we really get a clear pict

considering this week's hearing, where senator al franken had that hearing on geolocation talk to folksrom apple and google specifically about the way they're smart phones in their devices track the location of the users themselves from nearby cell towers. i guess my question to you is where should washington, and on all this? on one hand there seems to be a knowledge deficit as the report itself points out and on the other hand there seems to be this action on capitol hill so what is your perspective? where does congress go? >> guest: you talk about -- i think that might continue for the better part of a generation, for the better part of 20 years, because the digital natives, we have to wait until they become the teachers and educators in the classroom and then it is going to be a different story. but the digital immigrants are there now that is why it is so difficult for teachers and adults and parents to get their arms around some of these issues. so in terms of what congress can do, there is a number of things. particularly and you mentioned the research. commissioning research, co

. >> snaurt al franken. thank you. thank you very much. [applause] >> and thank you everybody for coming. it's been great. really appreciate it. [applause] dd [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> today on c-span, a house hearing on the t.s.a. and arnte security. that's followed by "washington journal" wlive your phone calls and live coverage of the u.s. house as they gavel until for morning business. >> on today's washington journal, the president of americans for tax reform minor vill -- grover norquist. and representative raul grijal va. "washington journal" begins live at 7:00 a.m. on c-span. >> federal reserve fed chairman ben bernanke trourns capitol hill. you can watch live coverage beginning at 10:00 a.m. eastern time on c-span three and c-span.org. consumer financial protection bureau advisor elizabeth warren testified at an oversight hearing in may. she'll back on capitol hill thursday before an oversight committee. members will ask her about next week

al franken has a real head to fry to get rid of mandatory arbitration altogether. not merely to allow class actions and congress will be probably be the final ash tore of whether we have -- arbitor of whether we have mandatory arbitration and what the scope of that is. maybe the most interesting case from my point of view. it involved the tort of nuisance. there eight attorney generals sued five power companies saying that they committed nuisance by emitting greenhouse gases and they should reduce them by 3% a year over the next 10 years. a court, not an agency, the court used the theory called displacement and questions i'll answer in question what that's all about. they said that e.p.a. had displaced the courts in making decisions of this kind. they said even if e.p.a. does not act on its responsibilities no tort suits will be allowed by general attorneys. there are lawyers, i have heard, who narrow this case. you know how lawyers are. to very tiny things. but the spirit of the case was said on page 14 where justice ginsburg really told the difference between wha

franken? >> well you can call me bob if you want, al?all right, bob. >> the argument that rick makes would be probably more potent if it were not for the fact that all of the wealth is held by a very small segment of our society. very small segment. and all kinds of studies show that rather than using it to create jobs they are hording it and building up their treasuries while at the same time, unemployment sits at 14 million in the united states. the truth is, is that probably there should be a tax increase on wealth to more evenly distribute income that is needed now. >> look at the loop holes. i talked earlier with the congress plan and showed house -- congressman wing ston, i showed how there is one man making millions on a loophole by paying a state tax on hedge fund income. what are we talking about here? people are getting away with billions of income which payes a state tax which gets a way out of paying their fair share of taxes and hatcher is telling the poor 20 do more. you can't be serious, rick. >> bob is right with income i