Al Franken's Blog, page 88
September 26, 2011
Albert Lea Tribune: "6 bridges in county listed deficient"
Nearly one in 10 of Minnesota's bridges — including six in Freeborn County — have been rated as structurally deficient, according to a new report released Friday by U.S. Sen. Al Franken.
Franken said investments in rebuilding those bridges would put thousands of Minnesotans back to work, especially those people in the construction field, who have experienced far higher unemployment than most other professions.
"Minnesota has so many men and women in construction who are on the bench — and have been for a long time — and so many projects are in need of their skills," said Franken, a Democrat. "We should get them back to work rebuilding roads and bridges across the state that are in need of repair."
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
Permalink
Post tags:
Austin Daily Herald: "Franken backs infrastructure repairs"
Work to repair Mower County's nearly 100 deficient bridges gained some support last week.
U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., is calling for a plan he said would kill two birds with one stone: put Minnesotans back to work and improve the state's infrastructure.
"Minnesota has so many men and women in construction who are on the bench — and have been for a long time — and so many projects in need of their skills," Franken said in a news release. "We should get them back to work rebuilding roads and bridges across the state that are in need of repair."
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
Permalink
Post tags:
September 21, 2011
Fox9: Don't Ask Don't Tell Over for Military
The U.S. military's policy banning openly-gay men and women is history. It ended at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning. It means thousands of service men and women can now reveal they're gay or lesbian — and not be fired.
One discharged member says there are at least 66-thousand gays and lesbians serving in the u-s military right now and today is a big day because they can officially "come out" and stop keeping their private lives secret.
The law was over 17-years-old but a major shift in policy came relatively quickly. President Obama signed the repeal last December. The military then studied it and certified it wouldn't harm our forces' ability to fight. Then there was a 60 day window for implementation and training. The old policy allowed gays and lesbians in the military by prohibiting officials from asking about their sexual orientation, but discharged them if they made it public.
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
Permalink
Post tags:
Forbes: Senators Worried Job Seekers 'Unfairly Harmed' By Social Media Background Checks
A new start-up that subjects job seekers' Internet footprints to scrutiny during the hiring process got a stamp of approval from the Federal Trade Commission earlier this year, when the FTC dropped its investigation into Social Intelligence's practices. But their practices continue to draw scrutiny as people adjust to a new world in which material they posted online for friends, loved ones, and strangers is now being looked at by potential employers. Privacy-protective senators Al Franken and Dick Blumenthal lobbed an inquiry at Social Intelligence this week, concerned that the "company's business practices may in some cases violate the law," and about "numerous scenarios under which a job applicant could be unfairly harmed by the information [the] company provides to an employer." (Isn't the latter the point of employers using the service?)
The letter refers obliquely to a Gizmodo article in July about a background check of six of the blog's writers. Mat Honan "flunked" the check, mainly because Social Intelligence found that he has admitted to using cocaine and LSD on his personal blog. The Senators are asking the company to answer a series of questions about their practices, as noted by The Hill, including many that have previously been cleared up in press reports, such as whether applicants consent to the background checks of their Facebook, Twitter, and other online accounts and mentions (answer: yes) and can correct errors in their reports (answer: yes).
The part that caught my eye was the suggestion that Social Intelligence's practices might violate the terms of service of other sites. I understand from a source familiar with the matter that, after this report, Facebook sent the company a cease-and-desist letter, saying its practices appeared to violate their TOS. (Luckily for Social Intelligence, Senator Franken is working hard to make sure that doesn't become a felony offense.) Since Social Intelligence doesn't actually scrape information from Facebook, beyond the screenshot, this appears to have been resolved without disruption to Social Intelligence's practices, though they have beefed up the FAQ section of their website, to clarify they only look at information on Facebook that is publicly available.
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
Permalink
Post tags:
MPR: Sen. Franken applauds Iranian release of Americans Bauer and Fattal
DFL Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar are applauding the release of two Americans who were jailed in Iran on espionage charges.
One of the men, 29-year-old Shane Bauer, was born and raised in Minnesota. Franken said he hopes to meet Bauer soon.
"I'm very relieved that it looks like it's over and I won't completely breathe freely until they're back with their families," Franken said Wednesday morning.
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
Permalink
Post tags:
September 19, 2011
Fox21: Gov. Dayton and Minn. Lawmakers Tour Pagami Creek
Today Gov. Mark Dayton, Senators Amy Klobachar and Al Franken, along with Congressman Chip Cravaack toured the Pagami Creek fire by plane.
"I feel reassured as possible that everything is being done that is humanly possible," Dayton said.
Dayton and the Minnesota lawmakers wanted to make sure that every ounce of government support is available to the fire crews, and that the proper measures are being taken.
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
Permalink
Post tags:
The Hill: Senators question privacy practices of background screening firm
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) voiced concern over the practices of an employment screening firm that culls data about job applicants from social media and the Web on Monday, arguing the practice could invade consumers' privacy and violate the law.
"According to sample background reports published in the media, information is collected from applicants' profiles on social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, personal websites, and other online information sources that Social Intelligence Corporation matches to applicants," the Senators wrote.
"We are concerned that there are numerous scenarios under which a job applicant could be unfairly harmed by the information your company provides to an employer. We are also concerned that your company's business practices may in some cases violate the law."
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
Permalink
Post tags:
KELO TV: MN Sen. Franken: Pass American Jobs Act
President Obama will announce his plan to pay for the American Jobs Act and reduce the government's deficit Monday. The President's expected to lay out nearly $2 trillion in reduction measures. And while some critics believe the President's trying to pass the bill too quickly, Minnesota Senator Al Franken says now's not the time for gridlock.
The American Jobs Act was introduced to the country in early September, with President Obama urging Congress to be expedient and pass the legislation.
"If we have a continuation of this sort of unwillingness to compromise that we saw before the August recess with the whole debt ceiling debacle, if that continues, then we might not get this done," Senator Franken said.
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
Permalink
Post tags:
KDLT TV: Senator Al Franken Tours Lewis & Clark Pump Station
Funding for the Lewis & Clark water project is running dry and project officials say Washington refuses to continue the cash flow.
Now a big name senator comes to Tea to support the rural water system.
Minnesota Senator Al Franken made a stop in South Dakota in support of the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System.
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
Permalink
Post tags:
Forbes: No, Faking Your Name On Facebook Will Not Be A Felony
In order to step up the prosecution of hackers and scary cybercriminals, the feds are changing a law to make unauthorized access to a computer system a felony rather than just a slap-on-the-wrist misdemeanor. That means making a change to something called the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Currently, that law includes criminal penalties for "exceeding authorized access" on a computer. The Justice Department has interpreted that to mean violating a website's "terms of use" or breaking your work's rules about how you use your computer. Yes, that law meant that checking your fantasy football scores at lunch or using a fake name on Facebook equaled criminal activity (the latter was one of the charges prosecutors levied at Lori Drew in the MySpace-suicide case).
Legal scholar Orin Kerr wrote an alarming op-ed in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, warning people that "faking your name on Facebook could be a felony" when the law is changed. But a lot changed since yesterday morning. An amendment was added to the bill during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday morning, so that people who violate website's terms of service are not considered felons.
© Al Franken - U.S. Senator, Minnesota, 2011. |
Post tags:
Al Franken's Blog
- Al Franken's profile
- 651 followers
