Keith Olbermann Heads to Al Gore's Current TV | Fancast News

Breaking news!!!!

KO to "get Current".

A very interesting move. More news to come.

Keith Olbermann Heads to Al Gore's Current TV | Fancast News

Quick Hits For January 26, 2011 (State of The Union And Snowbound Edition)

OK boys and girls....I've been slacking off (NOT) for the past few days, and it's time to get caught up with some of the stories people are talking about, the one's that are keeping me up at night, and total fluff that maybe one or two of you have even heard of....plus a couple of personal opinions.

(1). To all parents who want to get your lazy teenage kids to remove snow from your driveway, here's a sure fire method; just buy them a car.

(2). The President's State of the Union speech last night was without a doubt a move to the center- about 90% was a message that even the Republicans couldn't rail against. How do you sit there with arms folded when Barack Obama calls for improvements to education, or new forms of energy, or a presidential veto of earmarks? His mention of a need for high speed rail and a cutting of oil subsidies met with a chilly reception for the Republicans, and a mixed review for another look at the Dream Act, as well as blank looks at the mention of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

But for much of the speech, there was little that the Republicans could pounce on and yell "extremism", though that hasn't stopped the lunatic fringe in the media, the blogesphere, and even in Congress from doing so.

(3). As I type this on January 26, 205 Americans have been shot on this day alone. On a night when Gabrielle Giffords chair was left empty, and the family of little Christina Taylor Green were sitting in the gallery with Mrs. Obama, shouldn't the President have mentioned the need to restrict the sale of extension magazines for handguns? Even Dick Cheney has mentioned that maybe its time to re-examine the easy access to high capacity ammo clips. How much is enough?

(4). Representaitive Michele Bachmann.....oh brother! I confess, I didn't watch her personal rebuttal to the SOTU that followed Paul Ryan's official Republican rebuttal. But I can't take her seriously....not when she actually told a group that the Founding Fathers did away with slavery....and she can't say she was misquoted because, as they say in football, there is "indisputable video evidence" to the contrary.



Ms. Bachmann......go into your wallet. Take out a five dollar bill. Do you see the man with the beard? Excellent! Write down his name and GOOGLE it.

And write a 500 word essay due on Friday....then you can go back to Congress, or run for president.

Anyone for tea?

(5). I was supposed to be at the Rutgers-UCONN women's basketball game at The RAC in Piscataway at this very hour.....but the weather is not co-operating. We had four inches of snow so far today, then there's been a brief pause, and a second storm that will dump around ten additional inches is just starting. The game will not be postponed because UCONN is already in town, and so are the officials.

So anybody who's reading this can have my seat in section 104 tonight.....if you can get there. My guess- they'll be around 6,000 no shows tonight for a game that usually sells out at the 8,000 seat RAC.

(6). Jets go down in Pittsburgh. I guess the countdown to baseball season has officially begun.

(7). Speaking of COUNTDOWN......that Olbermann guy has turned into The Twitter King.

(8). You're not going to believe this.....but there's lightning and thunder outside in a winter storm in January! Nah, there's no climate change!

I just checked outside, and it's freezing rain....and it's driving.

(9). I swore I'd never watch Big Love after the disaster of a season last time around. But I'm back watching.....and I'm still wondering why.

(10). Finally....I'm getting concerned that we could lose power. So I'm outta here.

Keith Olbermann Exits- A "Special Comment" of My Own

Commentary

This morning I watched Johnny Cash's America, a two hour biographical film on A&E. It traced the highs and lows, the demons and triumphs of the life of this American original. Many of us old enough can remember the zenith of Cash's career in the early 1970's when he had a weekly TV show that appealed not only to his country music base, but to the Baby Boomer generation; on any given JOHNNY CASH SHOW you could find Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, or Stevie Wonder, often jamming with Cash and Carl Perkins and the Tennessee Three.

But ten years later Cash's career spiraled downward. By the early 1980's Columbia Records, Cash's label for nearly 30 years, unceremoniously dropped him. Some friends said that the money Cash generated in record sales built Columbia's Nashville headquarters, and the suits showed their gratitude by giving him the boot.

I'm telling this little story because I couldn't help but think of the departure of Keith Olbermann from MSNBC last Friday, and the similarities it had to that of Johnny Cash being tossed by Columbia three decades ago. In my eyes, time should be marked at MSNBC as "BKO" for the years before Olbermann took over COUNTDOWN, and call whatever follows the "Left Turn Era". Keith Olbermann was THAT important to the branding of MSNBC, which before the emergence of Olbermann and COUNTDOWN was deeply mired in third place among the three cable news networks.

To be frank about it, MSNBC had no identity before COUNTDOWN. The Right had Fox News, and CNN was "the Original Recipe", the first cable news station, the one for the rest of us. Yes, MSNBC did have Don Imus in those days; many have now forgotten in the wake of the flap of his remarks about the Rutgers Women's Basketball team is that Imus would have left leaning guests on his show, not because Imus was a liberal (he was a registered Republican), but he only had guests on his show that he liked. And that included members of all political ideologies.

But it was Keith Olbermann's emergence as the most prominent liberal.....if not the only....voice in cable news that began the re-branding of MSNBC as a progressive alternative to the FOX NEWS juggernaut, and the bland neutrality of CNN. At a time when it was still fashionable for The Right to use the word "liberal" as a pejorative, Olbermann was unapologetic for his progressive views. While war raged in Iraq and Afghanistan, and any criticism of the wars was deemed as unpatriotic by the Right, Olbermann showed that dissent from popular opinion at risk to one's own position may be in itself the highest form of patriotism. The emergence of his progressive voice began a process that saw more liberal voices coming out of the woodwork and seeking a platform. Not only did Keith Olbermann set a tone for what came to follow at MSNBC, but his voice may have been responsible for spawning hundreds or even thousands of others in the media or in the blogesphere.

And for that, we owe him a collective "thank you".

We may never know all of the reasons for Olbermann's departure from MSNBC. Some conspiracy theorists say that COMCAST was behind the termination...I don't buy that, and yes, I am aware of the situation involving Bill O'Reilly, COMCAST, and former COMCAST broadcaster Barry Nolan. You don't show your biggest star the door when you depend on ratings for advertising dollars. It's business, and it's still always about money.

Keith is rich, and will return to TV even richer. And maybe this is a good time for him to step back and take some time for himself. In the past two years he had to bury both of his parents, and saw a politician he financially supported (resulting in his suspension) shot in the head. And maybe in this time when media and politicians are being asked to tone it down and heed the call of the "new civility" Keith Olbermann just decided to step away, and just watch what will happen next.

Olbermann Leaves MSNBC

In a surprising turn of events, tonight Keith Olbermann announced that this would be his last night hosting COUNTDOWN on MSNBC.

It wasn't a gag, or a publicity stunt. NBC News said on TWITTER that MSNBC has decided Olbermann's contract would not be renewed. Friends such as Luke Russert and Shannyn Moore immediately tweeted goodbyes and goodlucks to Olbermann.

Below, his short farewell and thank you to his audience.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Well...what's next?

It's just my opinion, but don't be surprised if Keith ends up on CNN. Their ratings are in the tank, their Parker/Spitzer is a disaster and is a poor lead in to the new Piers Morgan Show. The entire evening lineup needs a makeover, and fast.

I think after Olbermann's non-compete is completed he ends up at 8:00PM Eastern and Pacific on CNN.

One thing you can bank on...he's not in line to replace Regis.

The Shooting of Gabrielle Giffords; A Commentary

Commentary

When I heard the news yesterday of the shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords at a meet and greet in a Tucson supermarket I must admit, I was not shocked. I was saddened to hear of the incident that left Ms. Giffords shot through the head, and six others dead and another 12 people wounded. A man who can best described as a deranged lunatic named Jared Lee Loughner was the alleged gunman. Federal judge John Roll, 9 year old Christina Taylor- Green-the granddaughter of former Phillies manager and Cubs general manager Dallas Green, Gifford's aide Gabriel Zimmermann, 76 year old Dorothy Murray, 76 year old Dorwin Stoddard, and 79 year old Phyllis Scheck lay dead after the scene was sprayed with shots from a handgun that we're told held 30 rounds of ammo in it's magazine.

No, I was not shocked in the least....in fact I said to myself, well, it finally happened. "It" being a violent event so shocking that the entire nation would be talking about it, just like after Virginia Tech, and just like after Columbine. And as in the case of those two horrific incidents, much will be said about guns and gun violence in America, and the examination of the Second Amendment...and ultimately nothing will change.

But this slaughter was different from the others in that it seemed to have a sitting member of Congress as it's target. We know that Ms. Giffords' congressional office in Tuscon was vandalized in the hours after the healthcare bill was passed last year- Ms. Giffords was a supporter of the bill. And we know that Sarah Palin had an image of crosshairs on her website targetting Giffords and 19 others for defeat in 2010 (Palin's aid Rebecca Monsour defended the image in an interview conducted Saturday).

No rational person can say that the angry rhetoric we hear in political discourse everyday was responsible for the shooting. But sometimes irrational people can believe the nonsense that they're hearing and act on it. I've often wondered if Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck actually believe even half of the BS they spew out daily, or are they just throwing it out there to appeal to a lunatic fringe. The extreme voices that talk about "second amendment remedies", and accuse a sitting president of being (pick one) a Communist, Nazi, racist, Marxist-Socialist, a Muslim, or not even being an American citizen didn't pull a trigger that killed six and wounded a dozen others. But they stir a pot that's ingredients are fear, ignorance, and paranoia.

And to certain deranged minds, like that of Jared Loughner, the conspiracy theories and angry rhetoric make perfect sense.

The Right will say there was anger and vitriol pointed towards the Bush administration and towards conservatives in general. To be sure, there were angry words- but never did members of People For The American Way show up "locked and loaded" with firearms at a Bush political event, nor did any Blue State governor call for secession if we didn't stop using his states' National Guardsmen in an Iraq war he didn't support. There was anger, but the progressives left 19th century remedies where they belong.

And to those who say the words of politicians and extreme media members don't incite people to violence, well aren't some of those the same people who fingered rappers and rockers for lyrical content that they contend lead young listeners to misogyny, drug addiction, and the murder of the nation's cops?

Many years ago I worked in a hotel in Miami. The Speaker of the House at the time, the Democrat Thomas Philip "Tip" O'Neill was a frequent guest with his wife.The Speaker would vacation with his best friend from Massachusetts, the Republican Silvio Conte. Among those in their close circle of friends were Bob and Elizabeth Dole, both Republicans and, and Democratic National Committee Chairman Bob Strauss. That was about 25 years ago, but it was a glimpse as to how things used to work in Washington- lawmakers were like an extended family, with disagreements on certain issues, but in many instances with deep personal friendships when the nation's work ended. It's no coincidence that the wedge that began to divide America was born in the late 1980's with the rise of Right Wing talk radio. The conservative base found a voice with Limbaugh, and he spawned scores of imitators and wannabes.

And the nation changed....and for my money, not for the better.

Below, a special comment from Keith Olbermann.

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Now....Where Were We? Olbermann's Return

Caricature above from THE NEW YORKER, June 2008

It only took a petition with 300,000 plus names attached demanding the reinstatement of Keith Olbermann by his bosses at MSNBC, but he did return on Tuesday night, first disclaiming that the suspension was a publicity stunt, and closed the show talking about the events, and offering both thanks and apologies where he saw fit.






One of the more interesting aspects of Olbermann Suspension Affair was the demand by many petitioners  that Keith's boss, Phil Griffin, be fired for suspending Olbermann because of his contributions to the campaigns of three Democratic candidates in last week's midterms. On further review, it should be said that Phil Griffin and Keith Olbermann go back a long, long way, nearly thirty years. Griffin and Olbermann first worked together at CNN in the early days of the first 24 hour news channel. Griffin, it seems, was an early supporter of Olbermann in those days, a producer who saw his talent when others had doubts about the young eccentric sportscaster turned newsman.

An interesting portrait of Olbermann and his relationship with Griffin, and others in the world of broadcast news, was published by The New Yorker on June 23, 2008. Titled One Angry Man; Is Keith Olbermann Changing TV News? the piece by Peter J. Boyer gives a warts and all look at Keith Olbermann and his brutal honesty that some might find over the top and even hurtful- co-worker at ESPN Suzy Kolber was said to have locked herself in the ladies room to cry on occasion after run ins with Olbermann.

Years later, Olbermann's brief tenure at Fox Sports was ended by none other than Rupert Murdoch himself. A few years ago Murdoch was heard to say "He's crazy", regarding Olbermann.

It's an interesting but lengthy read; and it's fairly objective. It won't change your opinion of "KO" if you're a friend or fan, but it will give you a clear portrait of a very complex guy, maybe even a slightly mad genius.

To progressives like me Keith Olbermann is one of the good guys fighting the good fight. Having said that, one can be one of the "good guys" without necessarily being a "nice guy" in the true sense of the word. And to be candid, after reading the New Yorker piece it's clear that KO has moments when he is not a nice guy. And in today's political climate that's not necessarily a bad thing.

For too long progressives whined after they were slapped around by the Righties. Olbermann punches back, and hard. And maybe that's why the Right detests.... and even fears him.....as much as they do.

Olbermann Apologizes to Viewers, But Not to MSNBC - NYTimes.com

Keith Olbermann responded to his suspension in an open letter on Monday, and credited the uproar created by his supporters to his return to the airwaves on Tuesday.

Below, a link from The New York Times for the full article.

Olbermann Apologizes to Viewers, But Not to MSNBC - NYTimes.com

Olbermann Returns To MSNBC On Tuesday

Welcome Home!

After suspending Keith Olbermann for making contributions to three Democratic candidates, and breaking MSNBC's ethics policy, the cable news network's chief Phil Griffin said that Olbermann will return to his show this Tuesday.

Griffin released the following statement.

“After several days of deliberation and discussion, I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night’s program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy. We look forward to having him back on the air Tuesday night.”

Almost 300,000 people signed an online petition presented by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee to urge Olbermann's reinstatement by Mr. Griffin. Senator Bernie Sanders and others across the spectrum of politics and political commentary have also made statements regarding Olbermann's suspension and have asked for his return to MSNBC.

Surely, a very memorable Special Comment will follow.

Maybe This Is What Keith Olbermann Planned- Do You Think?

I'm going to just go and ask my progressive brethren- and all others who might of had the same thought- the question I'm sure all of asked sometime in the past 24 hours.

"Do you really think Keith Olbermann was so dumb he didn't think he would be caught for contributing to the campaigns of three Democrats, violating MSNBC's ethics policy?".

My answer is.....no, he is not that stupid, or arrogant enough to think he would not be discovered, and not dealt with by management.

Yesterday POLITICO reported that Olbermann made the contributions of $2,400 each for three Democratic candidates. Keith Olbermann has said on air many times that he doesn't vote in elections, implying that by voting he might compromise his credibility as an on air commentator.

That being the case.....why did he contribute to three campaigns, in states where he didn't live and had no obvious connection other than political sympathy, and leave a trail that could very easily be traced?

I can think of no other reason other than he wanted the contributions traced back to him. He's a smart guy; he knows that what he did violated MSNBC's ethical standards. He knew that management would have to come down on him. But Keith Olbermann is also well aware that he is the biggest star of the left leaning cable network, and is the person who might be most responsible from rescuing what was in the early part of the decade the perennial bottom feeder of the cable news networks. Olbermann is the first person to give MSNBC an identity, a presence, and a voice.

Keith knew he would be disciplined, but not shown the door. Hence, he was suspended indefinitely.

I believe he was setting himself up for this confrontation, and he did so knowing the outcome. By doing this Keith Olbermann made his statement not about his actions, but about the role FOX NEWS and right wing media has as a money making machine for Republicans and right leaning candidates and causes.

Below, Keith's colleague and friend Rachel Maddow talks about Keith's suspension.



Here's a quick rundown about some of the contributions made by FOX NEWS hosts and contributors to various candidates and contributors, taken from MEDIAMATTERS.

Sean Hannity- gave $5,000 to Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) PAC. He also gave $4,800 to Republican candidate John Gomez, a childhood friend. Hannity has hosted GOP fundraisers, and was to tape a show at a Tea Party event in Cincinnati where admission was to be charged. FOX pulled the show.

Mike Huckabee- the former governor of Arkansas and presidential candidate is a weekend host at FOX. He's contributed to the campaigns of Daniel Webster (FL), Doug Matayo (AK), and Beth Ann Rankin (AK). More information here.

Sarah Palin-regularly gives money to the GOP through her Sarah PAC.

A more detailed accounting of contributions and possible conflict of interest at FOX can be found here, with the names Dick Morris, Oliver North, Andrew Napolitano, and Neil Cavuto being prominent.

And this from POLITICO.....The following have offered support to Republican candidates during the 2010 election cycle.

* Fred Barnes, Fox News contributor
* Glenn Beck, host of Fox News' Glenn Beck
* Eric Bolling, host of Fox Business' Follow the Money
* John Bolton, Fox News contributor
* Tammy Bruce, Fox News contributor
* Elaine Chao, Fox News contributor
* Monica Crowley, Fox News contributor
* Mike Gallagher, Fox News contributor
* Newt Gingrich, Fox News contributor
* Sean Hannity, host of Fox News' Hannity
* Mike Huckabee, host of Fox News' Huckabee and Twentieth Television's The Huckabee Show
* David Hunt, Fox News contributor
* Laura Ingraham, Fox News contributor
* John Kasich, former host and contributor
* Brian Kilmeade, co-host of Fox News' Fox & Friends and host of Fox News Radio's Kilmeade & Friends
* William Kristol, Fox News contributor
* Michelle Malkin, Fox News contributor
* KT McFarland, Fox News national security analyst and host of FoxNews.com's DEFCON 3
* Angela McGlowan, Fox News contributor
* Dennis Miller, Fox News contributor
* Dick Morris, Fox News contributor
* Rupert Murdoch, CEO and chairman of News Corp., parent company of Fox News
* Andrew Napolitano, Fox News senior judicial analyst and host of Fox Business' Freedom Watch
* Sarah Palin, Fox News contributor and host of Fox News' Real American Stories
* Dana Perino, Fox News contributor
* Dave Ramsey, listed Fox Business personality and former host of Fox Business' The Dave Ramsey Show (through June)
* Sandy Rios, Fox News contributor
* Karl Rove, Fox News contributor
* Rick Santorum, Fox News contributor
* Doug Schoen, Fox News contributor
* Andrea Tantaros, Fox News contributor
* Stuart Varney, Fox News contributor and host of Fox Business' Varney & Co.

In his way, Keith Olbermann is now putting the spotlight on FOX and contrasting how MSNBC conducts business, and how FOX is the business of Republican fund raising. The GOP has their own "news" organization that shapes its message and raises cash at the same time.

As of this writing 183,314 people have signed a petition to have Olbermann reinstated.

Just maybe, in his own mad genius kind of way, this whole situation was set into motion willingly by Keith.

If this was the case, it might be a brilliant and galvanizing move.

Sen Bernie Sanders- "Keith Olbermann Should Be Reinstated Immediately "

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) issued the following press release regarding the suspension of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann for contributing $2,400 to each of three candidates in the recent midterm congressional elections. Each of the candidates was a Democrat. MSNBC has a policy of not allowing news anchors to make political contributions.

“It is outrageous that General Electric/MSNBC would suspend Keith Olbermann for exercising his constitutional rights to contribute to a candidate of his choice. This is a real threat to political discourse in America and will have a chilling impact on every commentator for MSNBC.

“We live in a time when 90 percent of talk radio is dominated by right-wing extremists, when the Republican Party has its own cable network (Fox) and when progressive voices are few and far between.

“At a time when the ownership of Fox news contributed millions of dollars to the Republican Party, when a number of Fox commentators are using the network as a launching pad for their presidential campaigns and are raising money right off the air, it is absolutely unacceptable that MSNBC suspended one of the most popular progressive commentators in the country.

“Is Rachel Maddow or Ed Schultz next? Is this simply a ‘personality conflict’ within MSNBC or is one of America’s major corporations cracking down on a viewpoint they may not like? Whatever the answer may be, Keith Olbermann should be reinstated immediately and allowed to present his point of view.”

The passage above first appeared in the blog Senatus on Friday November 5, 2010.

UPDATE: Olbermann suspended for Dem contributions – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

Very briefly.

Corporations are guaranteed the same rights as individuals because the Supreme Court says so, and they proceed to fill Republican war chests before the midterms.

Fox News acts as a 24/7 infomercial for the GOP and Tea Party.

Keith Olbermann contributed $2,400 to three Democrats this year, and now he's been suspended indefinitely by MSNBC for ethical violations.

And just how much did parent companies MSN and GE contribute to political campaigns, and to whom?

It's official...the world really has gone mad. This really, really, really sucks.

A new FACEBOOK page called Let's Bring Keith Back has been established.

I'll be back with more after I calm down.



UPDATE: Olbermann suspended for Dem contributions – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

Rally To Restore Sanity.....Take a Breath, and Move Forward

Commentary

I got around to watching The Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear on a CSPAN rerun on Saturday night; Saturday afternoons in the fall are religiously reserved for watching at least one college football game in it's entirety. So while many of my progressive brothers and sisters were being entertained by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert and a cast of 200,000 in Washington,DC, I was watching Pitt stick it to Louisville from Heinz Field.

Reading comments about the rally (and there's some really good one's at Sue's blog, for example), had me thinking about where we are in this country as far as the ratcheting up of rhetoric, and of the level of divisiveness we see today. Republican strategist Ed Rollins was on CNN last week- he's a conservative but very personable and reasonable guy- and he said something that I, being a lifelong Democrat agree with 110%; the level of nastiness in American politics has never been more venomous or destructive. Ed Rollins has been a party operative to the days before Richard Nixon, back to the Reagan administration- as governor of California. And he knows of what he speaks.

Jon Stewart, in his closing remarks at the rally should have touched a nerve with the nation's opinion makers and pundits, both self proclaimed and appointed......

The country's 24-hour, political pundit perpetual panic conflictinator did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder. The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems, bringing them into focus, illuminating issues heretofore unseen. Or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire, and then perhaps host a week of shows on the dangerous, unexpected flaming ants epidemic. If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.

And then came the shots at Stewart, from both left and right. Right winger Andrew Breitbart said the following about the rally (and a veiled shot at Stewart).

It's very motivating for conservatives to have that stereotyped group of Manhattan elitists, know-it-alls, snarky, smarmy liberals to be looking down on average Americans."

On the left, Keith Olbermann said on Twitter that Stewart had "jumped the shark" in his criticism of cable news.

But in analysis, there is more than a little truth in what Stewart said. Cable news has become a chess game of finger pointing at not only those people in the news, but at each other in the news gathering/punditry business- those on "the other guy's" network.

Let's back track for a few minutes and talk about broadcast news, the way it used to be. There used to be the "Big Three" networks 30 years ago, with Walter Cronkite on CBS, John Chancellor for NBC, and Peter Jennings on ABC, all doing their network's respective evening news broadcasts.. The networks were required by the FCC to have news broadcasts for their licensing responsibilities, shown for the public good. News operations lost money routinely in those days, but still produced broadcast journalists and journalism that set the standards by which those that followed were judged.

In the late 1960's, a news magazine called 60 Minutes made it's debut on CBS. It was low rated, and had a cult following for years. By the mid 1970's that changed; it became a phenomenon, a ratings winner, and the show moved to it's familiar 7PM Eastern and Pacific timeslot on Sunday nights.

And it was a game changer for network news; it MADE money instead of losing it. News could be entertaining and informative, and show a profit for the network. The success of 60 Minutes was the first of the changes that would alter the news universe forever. Soon ABC and NBC followed with their own news magazines, 20/20 and Dateline. And there were similar shows on the local TV stations, who's aim was to inform, entertain, and just as importantly, get good ratings and make a few bucks.

Then in 1980 came the second big change in news; Ted Turner founded CNN. The news cycle became 24/7. And with the 24/7 news cycle the constant need to feed the beast; more news all of the time, some of it important, some of it less so. Punditry had a new home where it could flourish at levels never before seen. CNN became a money maker, and in less than two decades competition emerged- conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch launched Fox News on October 7, 1996. A few months early, in July 1996, MSNBC, a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC, took to the airwaves.

Over the next ten years the ideological lines were drawn to what we have in cable news today; Fox became the information source of conservative America, MSNBC spoke to the progressives, and CNN tried to walk a fine line in the middle. Fox and MSNBC  gave their respective viewers the messages and answers they wanted to hear, those which reaffirmed their personal belief systems. And those two networks were the ones that shouted the loudest, though CNN would get into the fray as well.

Because it wasn't just about news anymore; it was about ratings, and money, and showing a profit for the corporate bottomline. The cable news networks had their audiences, and now they had to keep them. The shouting began in the Clinton administration, and continued and got louder under Bush, and became even louder in the Obama years.

The news networks didn't create the toxic discourse we see today; talk radio and the print news industry, and political demagogues have been around much longer than cable news. But cable news did give a bigger megaphone to those on different sides of the ideological spectrum. The voices of the cable news channels get paid quite well to do what they do, and like all good performers play to their audience. They do and say the things their audience only wishes it could do and say, about politicians, and about those they disagree with.

Joseph Campbell, the great teacher and mythologist, once said that a society that gains a new technology usually feels a sense of breakdown. For instance, when the American Indians obtained firearms and horses the old ways of hunting , and the religious, symbolic, and societal rituals of the hunt slowly eroded away, doing damage to their culture and traditions, and hastened their fall to Euro-centric expansionism. The printing press of Renaissance Europe spread new learning and ushered in the Age of Exploration. But it also gave a translation of the Bible,  and the spread of religious protest and dissent that resulted in decades of war and destruction

And maybe that's where we are now with political discourse. The rise of cable news, and the internet as well, created an opportunity for instant access to breaking events around the world, be it large or small. But that same technology can be used  to promote agendas for those who control the airwaves; and sometimes that means keeping people divided for one's own interest.


I really find it amusing to listen to Tea Partiers who "want to take the country back to what the Founding Fathers Wanted". I hate to tell those of you who believe it can be done, but it can't. The founders of our nation could not fathom where we are technically, where you can pull a device out of you pocket and talk to anyone in the world, or send a written message in a matter of seconds, or buy some clothes and pay for it instantly, or read the news of the day originating in Paris or London.

Remember, the first citizens of the United States could walk past their congressmen, their senators, or even President Washington himself, and not recognize one of them- no photography yet, or enough access to portraits of the men who governed America. Today every word uttered in Congress or the West Wing is watched by thousands on CSPAN, and analyzed for hours on the news. Congressmen lived in Washington (or New York or Philadelphia) for months at a time back in the day; they had to- travel was long, slow, arduous, and was on horseback. Today Congressmen fly home every weekend to raise more money for the next election. In that bygone era lawmakers lived together and even spent time off together- even those of opposing parties found commonality and friendship in what we now call "downtime".  And the reality is today's lawmakers must play to the omnipresent camera, remembering every word and nuance will be gone over with a fine toothed comb, and eventually will be on YouTube.

A different world, and a different time.

And we can't go back, we can only move forward.

So step back, take a deep breath, then think......and then respond. Maybe that's a first step out of many that need to be taken.

Update! Huffington Post has a slide show of differing opinions on the merits of the Rally To Restore Sanity from pundits on both sides of the political spectrum. It's worth a look.

The Citizen's United Case- The Nightmare Scenario May Be Coming True

“The difference between selling a vote and selling access is a matter of degree, not kind,” Justice Stevens wrote. “And selling access is not qualitatively different from giving special preference to those who spent money on one’s behalf.” ......from Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Steven's dissent in the Citizen's United v Federal Election Commission, printed in The New York Times, January 21, 2010.

This blog first mentioned the Citizens United case on February 5, 2010. It was a case that slipped through the cracks of media scrutiny in those weeks preceding the Super Bowl. To bottomline it, the conservative wing of the United States Supreme Court ruled for the majority, 5-4, that the government may not ban spending by corporations on political campaigns. Essentially the court said that corporations had the same constitutional rights as private citizens, and to try to regulate corporate spending and activities in political campaigns was a violation of their First Amendment Rights.

Dissenters, like Justice Stevens, saw the ruling as a danger to subvert democracy.

Few listened in January- most media ignored the story or put it on a back burner. But Keith Olbermann didn't. I posted this entry about Olbermann's Special Comment on the Citizen's United ruling in February

Below, please watch his Special Comment.....a prophecy that appears to have come true, with tens of thousands of dollars, some of which come from foreign multi-national corporations by way of the US Chamber of Commerce, finding their way to finance dozens of ads attacking Democrats nationwide.

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Now let's fast forward to the present. Think Progress broke the news of the possibility of the US Chamber of Commerce funneling foreign money to produce ads designed to defeat Democratic House and Senate candidates in this November's mid-term elections.

Denial is all around, but there seems to be more evidence of possible wrong doing. US election laws say that if campaign contributions are used to produce political ads, the donors must be named.....and they must adhere to laws governing campaign contributions.

Below, Olbermann leads with the story on his October 13 show, with Think Progress' Faiz Shakir.

No $75 ? Let It Burn; A Preview of "Tea Party America"?

As most readers know by now, Gene Cranick lost all his possessions, including three dogs and a cat, because his mobile home is Western Tennessee was allowed to burn to the ground because he failed to pay a $75 municipal fee that would have given him fire protection. Cranick called to report the fire last week and offered to pay the $75 to the South Fulton fire department, who refused to respond because doing so would only encourage others not to pay the fee.

South Fulton Mayor David Crocker said the following (from The Huffington Post)....

""Anybody that's not in the city of South Fulton, it's a service we offer, either they accept it or they don't."

This is a story that has resonated through America, and well it should. And it should be a cautionary tale to all of those who may have been seduced by the call of "government should be run like a business", that "government is always the problem, never the solution", and "smaller government now!". What is on display in this case is a possible preview of what life in Tea Party America could look like.....lower taxes, but "user fees" for governmental services.

User fees- remember that term. Because Republicans and their Tea Party buddies always talk about lowering taxes. But one of the ways they get money into the public coffers is increase user fees for government run entities. When Christine Todd Whitman became was elected governor of New Jersey in 1993 she ran on a platform to lower the state income tax by 10% each year for three years. The state income tax was lowered....but tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and Atlantic City Expressway rose, and new toll booths were constructed in areas where previously there were none. New and higher user fees.

Call it a GOP shell game.

So let's examine some possible scenarios in "Ala Carte Tea Party America".

Do you want to send your kids to a public school? Pay a fee. But remember, since not everyone is paying property or income taxes to support the school system, the citizen could be shelling out a lot more money in fees than in property taxes.

What about law enforcement, garbage pickup, libraries, snow removal, senior services, unemployment compensation....and fire protection? Do we offer it "ala carte"? And when the next flood hits in Wayne, NJ or Alton, IL or Nashville, TN does the 911 operator have to punch in your ID and check the computer program to see which government services you've paid for?

Boat and watercraft sales should be healthy in this not so brave new world.

Here in New Jersey families are starting to pay fees if their kids want to play interscholastic sports, and other school systems are imposing fees for students to take field trips. We already have teachers who routinely shell hundreds of dollars of their own money for school supplies because state aid has been cut to a trickle thanks to the New Jersey Mouth That Roared, Governor Chris Christie, now with his road show at a GOP event near you.

This tragedy to Gene Cranick is something that never, ever should have happened in the United States of America. Period and end of story. The lack of response to the burning of Cranick's home, where firefighters did show up to protect his neighbor's home, was a scenario similar to America of the 19th century, where fire protection was done by subscription, and often fires went out of control because the occupiers of the burning buildings didn't pay for fire protection.

The Grand Poobah of The Tea Party, Mr. Glenn Beck, the man who invoked God from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August for a new nation under God, said the following about the incident (from Newser)....

The argument about Cranick’s case will go “nowhere if you go onto ‘compassion, compassion, compassion, compassion’ or well, ‘they should’ve put it out, what is the fire department for?’” Beck said. “No, what is the $75 for?”

After all, he points out, “if they did put the fire out and make an exception for your house and you didn’t pay,” then “would anyone pay their $75?” (His producer helped Beck along in his explanation by mimicking Cranick’s accent for nearly the entire segment.) The fee is “to pay for the fire department to have people employed to put the fire out,” Beck continued, and to use fire services without paying the fee “would be sponging off of your neighbor’s $75.”

My question to Glenn Beck regarding this matter is very simple. If told another person's home was on fire and helped was asked for......what would Jesus do?

If you don't think He'd call for a thunderstorm to douse the flames, He's at least find a way to help...for free.

And if it were too late and the home was lost, He'd comfort the person who lost his home instead of ridiculing and trashing him.

Below, Gene Cranick talks to Keith Olbermann on COUNTDOWN.



In closing, I just watched the interview Olbermann had with Gene Cranick a second time, and I'm torn between profound sadness and outright rage. How can this be allowed to occur in our country? Lincoln spoke of "our better angels"....and thank goodness there are those good people of compassion and justice who are willing and able to speak up for those who have been wronged.

And as for those who say Cranick got what he deserved....quite frankly, they make me sick. This should be beyond politics or ideology. These are individuals who say human evolution is only a theory, yet they adhere and practice social and economic Darwinism.....survival of the fittest.

As for Glenn Beck....I can only say that this self appointed God fearing Christian and savior of America might be the the biggest hypocrite walking the earth. A man who lacks the basic compassion of Christ, and is nothing more than a cheap carnival huckster playing the role of American Messiah.

But the truly delusional are those who believe his gibberish. And PT Barnum is sitting up in his grave, winking at the poor suckers....and there are a lot of them.

The "Ground Zero Mosque"; Four Video Comments

I've made my position on the so called "Ground Zero" mosque clear in my past two entries; the Muslim group that wishes build a community center/mosque on the site has a constitutional right to do so.

Also....any responsible elected official must support that First Amendment right. And that for any elected official, no matter who it may be, to comment further on the propriety and wisdom of building at that site, is in itself inappropriate. It's about the separation of church and state.

And to create a wedge issue on the matter, as some are trying to do, is a slap at one of our most basic freedoms. Either you support the first amendment, or you don't.

Below, some opinions from on air personalities and guests on MSNBC.



Michael Smerconish Subbing for Chris Matthews on Hardball

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Chris Hayes subbing for Rachel Maddow on The Rachel Maddow Show

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Rudi Odeh-Ramadan A 9/11 first responder and guest on Countdown

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Keith Olbermann a "Special Comment" on Countdown

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One last comment regarding Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his wishy washy support for the right to build the Islamic center, just not at that site....Senator, you're a Mormon by choice. In the 1830's and 1840's members of your faith were run out of Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri, and then forced to leave the United States for what was still officially Mexican territory- Mormon pioneers called their new home "Deseret", now the state of Utah.

They left to practice their religion freely.....their former neighbors believed they had that right......just not in their backyards.

Yes, Senator....you're in a tough re-election race. But since when is an election more important than defending the constitutional rights of others?

The GOP vs The Working Man; NEWT GINGRICH

COUNTDOWN with Keith Olbermann once again gave us a few moments of "must see TV" on Thursday. In a recent interview at humanevents.com, former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich wrote that extension of unemployment benefits gives the incentive to stay on unemployment instead of looking for another job. He went on....

"The Wall Street Journal quotes an engineer who admits he turned down more than a dozen jobs because the salary would have been less then he made on welfare.This story encapsulates the problem of the long-termed unemployed. The depth and length of this recession is at risk of creating a permanent pool of unemployed Americans, who get so used to being unproductive that they are willing to accept welfare indefinitely instead of taking a job."

You would think the former Speaker, who was at one time third in line to the presidency during the Clinton administration, would know the difference between "welfare" and "unemployment insurance".

But he knows the difference. It was just Newt's way of scoring points with his political base.

And by the way....the jobs being offered in the paragraph above would require the hired person to move to Dubai.

In the video below the man referenced by Gingrich, Mike Hatchell of Lumberton, NC- with his wife Sarah- talk about their history, and the truth about why he turned down the job offers. The bottom line is, Mr. Hatchell payed into the unemployment insurance pool for more than 30 years.....it was money he was entitled to, and the depiction of him being on welfare by Gingrich was simply a bold face lie.

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The Shirley Sherrod Scandal; Keith Olbermann's Special Comment

Keith Olbermann takes a break from his vacation to make a Special Comment on the role of the Right and the Left in the story of Shirley Sherrod.

In a word....BRAVO!

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Limbaugh "Eulogizes" George Steinbrenner; Part II, The "Explanation" (Huh?)

In an attempt to explain his words on the death of George Steinbrenner to an internet site, Rush Limbaugh has only made what he initially said just a bit more bizarre, controversial.....and just a little more whacky.

And of course, he injected more racial overtones into the "discussion"....are there really only three members in the New Black Panther Party ?

Anyway, Limbaugh's rant earned him a place on Keith Olberman's Worst Persons list last night on COUNTDOWN, along with the omnipresent Sharon Angle (GOP candidate for Senate in Nevada), and some blond with no eyebrows who thinks a Glenn Beck presidential run should be mentioned in the same breath with George Washington.

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Keith Olbermann On The LeBron/ ESPN Debacle

"Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in".....Michael Corleone, The Godfather, Part III





I know...in my previous post I made it appear that it would be my last words (and entry) on the decision of Fredo, errrr, LeBron James to leave Cleveland and join the Miami Heat.

But how often do you get to see a real Anakin Skywalker morph into Darth Vader before millions on national TV as ESPN's broadcast of The Decision became the ratings champ for that night? Early numbers indicate ESPN did a 7.0 share for the LeBron media event, which appeared to be as controlled as anything George W. Bush or Barack Obama could command for an alleged presser.

This was more than a sports event...it was a pop cultural phenomenon, though it does well to recognize the show was fruit of an unholy alliance between a narcissistic superstar and a network that prostituted itself to a level that surpassed WWE wrestling.

Here's what Keith Olbermann had to say on COUNTDOWN, with guest Will Leitch of The New Yorker

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Pamela Gorman- "A Conservative Christian, and a Pretty Fair Shot"

Arizona Republican Congressional candidate Pamela Gorman is a Second Amendment lovin' straight shooter who wants to take over for retiring John Shadegg in that state's Third Congressional District. While we have yet to know what fate has in store for her after the smoke clears in November, we do know this....if this politics thing doesn't work out, Pam has a shot for a co-starring role in any future remakes of Bonnie and Clyde.

Check out this campaign ad.....



I wonder what Jesus would say about machine guns and the soccer Moms who love them?