There's no way I can make this a 4 paragraph diary. We got a telemarketer phone call this morning asking for contributions for Obama.  I was irritated and put off by having this call on a holiday. I think the campaign should not make these calls on a holiday.

Al Franken is a genuine liberal candidate who has been taking some heavy hits lately.  Republican proxies for his opponent, Norm Coleman, have been hammering him with oppo research implying he is corrupt.  

From TPM Election Central:

New Poll Finds Al Franken Falling Further Behind In Minnesota
By Eric Kleefeld - April 24, 2008, 9:09AM
The round of negative stories about Al Franken's failure to properly pay business taxes in all the states he was active now appears to be damaging him and endangering his effort to oust Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), a new poll finds.

The latest numbers from Rasmussen, compared to last month:

Coleman (R) 50% (+2)
Franken (D) 43% (-3)

I've been supporting Al through Act Blue and I urge all Kossacks to help him out right now.

A little over a month ago an astute employee of Customs and Border Protection (CPB) saved the United States from an Austrian ski coach entering the US in Seattle in order to (gasp!) train impressionable American children in the finer points of downhill skiing.  It is well known that Austria is a hotbed of terrrorist activity and that hordes of Austrians are entering the country illegally in order to take the volunteer ski coaching jobs that Americans won't do.

A picture of the secret tyrollean madrassa after the fold.