Al’s Pals
Minnesota Senate hopeful Al Franken is the luckiest kid in the world because:
A. He outraised Republican incumbent Norm Coleman during the second quarter of 2007.
B. He’s got a ton of grassroots supporters sending him in small donations from around the country – donors he can go back to again and again.
C. He’s got a oodles of deep-pocked Hollywood pals. In no particular order, here are some of the entertainment types who have chipped in thus far:
Jason Alexander ($4,600)
Kevin Bacon ($1,000)
Andrea Bernstein ($1,000)
Stephen Bing ($4,600)
David Geffen ($2,300)
David Kohan ($1,000)
Norman Lear ($2,300)
Barry Levinson ($4,600)
Harvey Weinstein ($4,600)
Edward Zwick ($2,300)
Bill Maher ($1,000)
Donna Akroyd ($2,300)
Jane Curtin ($4,600)
Lorne Michaels ($2,300)
Larry David ($4,600, plus (ex)wife maxed out)
Ariel Emanuel ($4,600)
Nora Ephron ($2,300)
Kevin Kline ($4,500)
Leonard Nimoy ($4,000)
Peter Faralley ($4,600)
Larry Hagman ($500)
Tom Hanks ($4,600)
Marlo Thomas ($4,600)
Plus, Bonus Peeps:
Adam Hochschild (($1,000)
Craig Newmark ($500)
Dean Ornish ($1,000)
Linda Ronstadt ($1,500)
Garry Trudeau ($1,000)
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chief