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	<title>Complex Blog &#187; Al Franken</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.complex.com/blogs/tag/al-franken/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.complex.com/blogs</link>
	<description>Buy.  Collect.  Obsess.  The original buyer's guide for men.</description>
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		<title>The 7 Worst Excuses For Celebrity Tax Evasion</title>
		<link>http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/04/02/the-7-worst-excuses-for-celebrity-tax-evasion/</link>
		<comments>http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/04/02/the-7-worst-excuses-for-celebrity-tax-evasion/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:59:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>prubin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Politics & Crime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Al Franken]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leona Helmsley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marion Barry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[martha stewart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Method Man]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Hatch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wesley Snipes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.complex.com/blogs/?p=26098</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You've got two weeks before taxes are due. Don't go out like these delinquent celebs.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/evasion.jpg" alt="evasion" title="evasion" width="625" height="417" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-26099" /><br />
’Tis the season to pay the piper, y&#8217;all…and by &#8220;piper&#8221; we mean &#8220;the taxman who pipes you out every April 15.&#8221; So if you&#8217;re expecting a rebate, send it our way (trees are expensive!)—and if you come out on the other side of the ledger, we strongly suggest you at least consider coming up off that check, lest you wind up like Method Man, who got his ride <a href="http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2009/03/22/NY_officials_seize_Method_Man_SUV/UPI-53291237740235/" target="_blank">repossessed</a> a couple of weeks back. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s old news by now, though his original <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/03/27/2009-03-27_method_man_was_too_high_to_pay_back_taxe.html" target="_blank">excuse</a> that <strong>he forgot because he was high</strong> (which he&#8217;s since angrily <a href="http://www.kyte.tv/ch/265398-methodmanredman/390515-mobile-show-72" target="_blank">recounted</a>) struck us as his worst idea since sticking with Def Jam. And since we&#8217;re shameless recyclers, it also struck us as perfect fodder for a list. We love lists. You love lists. Don&#8217;t fight the lists. And <strong>read on for Meth and six other public figures</strong> who need to rethink their rationales&#8230;</p>
<p><span id="more-26098"></span></p>
<p><font color="red"><strong><u>MARION BARRY</strong></u></font><br />
<img src="http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/barry.jpg" alt="barry" title="barry" width="625" height="404" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-26101" /><br />
<strong>Excuse:</strong> The most famous crackhead mayor ever claimed that he never paid is 2007 taxes (after previously pleading guilty to similar charges in 2005) because he was expecting a kidney transplant. Not having one. <em>Expecting</em> one. By that logic, we&#8217;ve never cheated on our girl, we&#8217;re just anticipating her dumping us.</p>
<p><font color="red"><strong><u>AL FRANKEN</strong></u></font><br />
<img src="http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/franken.jpg" alt="franken" title="franken" width="625" height="424" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-26102" /><br />
<strong>Excuse:</strong> The almost-Minnesota senator blamed his accountant for underpaying his taxes in 17 states for money earned in 2003. Doggie, if you&#8217;re passing the buck before you&#8217;re even in office, you need to&#8230;well, you need to skip all that Congress shit and go straight to the White House!</p>
<p><font color="red"><strong><u>RICHARD HATCH</strong></u></font><br />
<img src="http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/hatch.jpg" alt="hatch" title="hatch" width="625" height="381" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-26104" /><br />
<strong>Excuse:</strong> The first-ever winner of <em>Survivor</em> claimed that CBS had told him they&#8217;d pay the taxes on the million-dollar check he received for <strike>repulsing people with his naked body</strike> outwitting, outplaying and outlasting everyone else.</p>
<p><strong><font color="red"><u>LEONA HELMSLEY</font></u></strong><br />
<img src="http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/leona.jpg" alt="leona" title="leona" width="625" height="385" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-26107" /><br />
<strong>Excuse:</strong> During her 1989 trial for tax evasion, a former housekeeper testified that she had overheard the hotel heiress say, &#8220;We don&#8217;t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes&#8221; Which is apparently why we&#8217;ve never seen a monocled dwarf lighting cigars with hundred-dollar bills.</p>
<p><strong><font color="red"><u>METHOD MAN</strong></u></font><br />
<img src="http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/meth.jpg" alt="meth" title="meth" width="625" height="396" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-26100" /><br />
<strong>Excuse:</strong> What, do you not read?</p>
<p><strong><font color="red"><u>WESLEY SNIPES</strong></u></font><br />
<img src="http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/snipes.jpg" alt="snipes" title="snipes" width="625" height="399" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-26106" /><br />
<strong>Excuse:</strong> Big homie Blade tried a few things: sending &#8220;bills of exchange&#8221; instead of money, and then when that didn&#8217;t work, claiming that a section of the tax code left open a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_protester_861_argument" target="_blank">loophole</a> that allows American citizens not to pay taxes. Now we see why he has such a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000648/" target="_blank">knack</a> for picking great movie scripts.</p>
<p><strong><font color="red"><u>MARTHA STEWART</strong></u></font><br />
<img src="http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/martha.jpg" alt="martha" title="martha" width="625" height="395" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-26103" /><br />
<strong>Excuse:</strong> In 1994, the then-not-yet-ex-con (did you get that?) tried to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/05/business/stewart-faced-a-state-tax-inquiry-in-94.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/S/Stewart,%20Martha" target="_blank">claim</a> that she didn&#8217;t owe state taxes in New York because, uh, most of her friends lived in Connecticut.  That&#8217;s like saying your shitty album sales don&#8217;t count because you&#8217;re huge on the internet, word to every single rapper out there.</p>
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		<title>6 Comics Who Should Join Al Franken In Washington</title>
		<link>http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/01/05/6-comics-who-should-join-al-franken-in-washington/</link>
		<comments>http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/01/05/6-comics-who-should-join-al-franken-in-washington/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:20:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>prubin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics & Crime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Al Franken]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dave Chappelle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jon Stewart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Katt Williams]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lewis Black]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/01/05/6-comics-who-should-join-al-franken-in-washington/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Now that the former SNL star is officially a Senator, it might be time for these other smartasses to come to the Capitol.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src='http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/franken.jpg' alt='franken' /><br />
Well, somehow it&#8217;s <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MINNESOTA_SENATE?SITE=AP&#038;SECTION=HOME&#038;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&#038;CTIME=2009-01-05-15-45-42" target="_blank">official</a> (if still in legal limbo): SNL alumni and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rush-Limbaugh-Big-Fat-Idiot/dp/0440508649/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&#038;s=books&#038;qid=1231189182&#038;sr=8-3" target="_blank">prodigious</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Lying-Liars-Tell-Them/dp/0452285216/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&#038;s=books&#038;qid=1231189182&#038;sr=8-1" target="_blank">pundit</a>/<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Truth-jokes-Al-Franken/dp/0452287677/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&#038;s=books&#038;qid=1231189182&#038;sr=8-2" target="_blank">writer</a> <strong>Al Franken has defeated the incumbent by 225 votes to become the new U.S. Senator</strong> from Minnesota. Yes, senator. Show-business congressmen (Fred Grandy, Sonny Bono), mayors (<strong>Clint Eastwood</strong>, <strong>Kevin Johnson</strong>), even governors (<strong>Ahnold</strong>, <strong>Jesse Ventura</strong>) aren&#8217;t unheard of, but <strong>Franken&#8217;s</strong> ascension to the Senate is frankly (zing!) a little weird. </p>
<p>We&#8217;re sure he&#8217;ll make a great rabblerouser, especially as the tantalizing 59th Democrat (a party needs 60 to become a filibuster-proof majority, but we&#8217;ll save that conversation for a nerdier time), but it also kinda opens up the playing field. If a guy who starred in one of the worst <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114571/" target="_blank">movies</a> of all time can become a Senator, then <strong>we&#8217;ve got six other comics</strong> who are at least qualified to be his chief of staff&#8230;<br />
<span id="more-21247"></span><br />
<strong><u style="color:red;"><u>LARRY THE CABLE GUY</u></strong></u><br />
<img src='http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/larry1.jpg' alt='larry2' /><br />
<strong><u>WHY:</u></strong> Judging from his <a href="http://www.constitutionlive.com/wp-content/uploads/larrycableguy.jpg" target="_blank">album titles</a>, the  guy&#8217;s already in the NRA&#8217;s pocket. Bring on the no-bid Halliburton contracts!</p>
<p><strong><u style="color:red;"><u>DAVE CHAPPELLE</u></strong></u><br />
<img src='http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/chappelle.jpg' alt='chappelle' /><br />
<strong><u>WHY:</u></strong> <a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=11923" target="_blank">Black Bush</a>, bitches! Not to mention he&#8217;s already tight with the <a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=71562&#038;title=howard-dean" target="_blank">chairman</a> of the DNC. </p>
<p><strong><u style="color:red;"><u>JON STEWART</u></strong></u><br />
<img src='http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/stewart.jpg' alt='stewart' /><br />
<strong><u>WHY:</u></strong> Considering how many blowhards he&#8217;s sonned over the years, this guy clearly needs to expand his audience beyond the apathetic youth (read: us). <a href="http://talkshows.about.com/od/jonstewart/p/BioJon.htm" target="_blank">Mr. Leibowitz</a> goes to Washington!</p>
<p><strong><u style="color:red;"><u>KYLE GROOMS</u></strong></u><br />
<img src='http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/grooms1.jpg' alt='grooms1.jpg' /><br />
<strong><u>WHY:</strong></u> The guy already looks like a cross between Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Malcolm X&#8211;not to mention he&#8217;s got one of the better Obama <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzy7PueU-bI" target="_blank">impressions</a> out there. </p>
<p><strong><u style="color:red;"><u>LEWIS BLACK</u></strong></u><br />
<img src='http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/black.jpg' alt='black' /><br />
<strong><u>WHY:</u></strong> Anyone that apoplectic was born to be a minority whip (no <a href="http://www.faniq.com/blog/Video-Bob-Knight-Says-He-Might-Return-To-Coaching-Blog-12775" target="_blank">Bobby Knight</a>).</p>
<p><strong><u style="color:red;"><u>KATT WILLIAMS</u></strong></u><br />
<img src='http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/katt.jpg' alt='katt' /><br />
<strong><u>WHY:</strong></u> Because the way he merked Steve Harvey, a hostile foreign leader wouldn&#8217;t stand a chance. And you already know how fucked-up most foreign leaders&#8217; hair game is. Wouldn&#8217;t even be fair, pimpin&#8217;.</p>
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