Keith Olbermann did his last MSNBC teevee show! It was a big deal, probably! Was he fired? Were there contract squabbles? How much of his thirty million dollars does he get to keep? Will it be enough, for whatever? All across America tonight (in New York and Washington and Los Angeles, mostly), people who carry dumb electronic mobile media devices “for work” have been looking down as little pop-up things and beeps and alerts tell of the exciting news: Keith Olbermann will no longer do a teevee show he has done for a while now, for this one cable station.
Look, not only have we never watched Keith Olbermann’s teevee show, but we were actually named “America’s Worst Person” by this guy, on national teevee, for reasons we don’t recall — and by the “royal we” here we mean, “your editor.” So, uhh, who cares? But the guy was apparently “popular with liberals,” so here’s your post about it.
Bill Carter writers in the New York Times:
The host, who has had a stormy relationship with the management of the network for some time, especially since he was suspended for two days last November, came to an agreement with NBC’s corporate management late this week to settle his contract and step down.
In a closing statement on his show, Mr. Olbermann said simply that it would be the last edition of the program. He offered no explanation other than on occasion “all that surrounded the show – but never the show itself – was just too much for me.”
Well, at least he’s still being incredibly melodramatic and self-obsessed!
People on the teevee are not exactly pleasant, are they? (Except for Rachel Maddow! She has always been very friendly to us, and we have actually watched her show a few times. One funny thing we remember reading about Maddow, years ago, is how she didn’t own a teevee when MSNBC hired her. Hopefully she still doesn’t have one. They are POISON, complete poison!)
But here is a true fact: Nobody really paid much attention to MSNBC before Olbermann’s show. We remember this! A lot of basic cable packages didn’t even carry MSNBC back then. (Haha, does anyone remember that “MSNBC” means “Microsoft-NBC”? Because that’s what the channel was, originally: a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC News.)
Some of those incredibly boring middle aged potato head guys with current afternoon shows on MSNBC will apparently take over Olbermann’s prime-time spot. That should work out great.
According to things we’re reading right now that make our eyes water in a confused way, Olbermann apparently got THIRTY MILLION DOLLARS from MSNBC a few years ago, when his contract was renewed. Good freakin’ lord. [New York Times]
{ 497 comments }
Good night and good luck?
Goddamn Kabletown.
Pull a Conan, Keith. Just do it, baby!
Now, Bill, for good measure, you do the same…
I like how Ken was America's Worst Person or Worst Person in the World or whatever. You are lucky he didn't yell at length about how you and your comedy blog have ruined society forever!
I'm sure his exit was pleasant. It was said about his exit from ESPN that he didn't just burn bridges, he dynamited them. Wow, what a douche!
no matter what some thought of his 'style' of delivery Keith was always spot on with the truth and very eloquent in stating his views, and he was the only one in the lamestream media who was willing to call out the assholes/ war criminals at Bush/Cheney, Inc. while they destroyed 'Merka..and yet Olbermann loses his job while the lying, hateful, bomb throwing, violence inciting BecKKK is allowed to continue spewing his own special brand of crazy on Fux Noise, WTF? The corporate owned 'liberal' media in this country really sucks…maybe he can get his own show at the only REAL news network left, Comedy Central…as Colbert famously said, "reality has a well known liberal bias"
OK. First of all, by using the Palinesque "lamestream media" outside of quoting or spoofing her, you shame us all. Secondly, the fact that Olbermann was often on the right side of things (that is to say, the left side of things), in no way diminishes the fact that he was a shrill, sanctimonious fuck who shat on the ghost of Edward R. Murrow on a weekly basis. Fuck him, and fuck his faux outrage.
sorry guess I shoulda put 'lamestream media in quotes for ya, so you'd know it was meant to be 'sarcastic' you 'sanctimonious' asshole…his outrage was real and sincere and if'n you can't tell the difference between KO and BecKKK well then, fuck you! also
Jesus, you got some attitude!
You were obviously not being sarcastic. You were making a criticism of the awful, shitty mainstream media we are stuck with. And you were doing so while using Caribou Barbie's pet insulting term for it. If you were being sarcastic, you would have used her term "lamestream" to espouse how simply wonderful the media is. But you used her term of derision as a term of… derision. See how that works?
Now, your use of the term "liberal media" when describing something that is anything but, that was classic sarcasm. (Marred only by the unnecessary scare quotes around "liberal". We're snarky, not stupid. No need for the scare quotes. But far be it for me to tell the Son o' God how to punctuificate.)
You of all people should realise that words have power. Sure, it might still be funny when you accidentally pronounce nuclear like Bush Jr. (nook yoo lar) because you had done it as a joke so often it just comes naturally. But when you tell people to "be nice" and a couple thousand years later they think it means "kill the muzzies", it's not so funny.
Besides, do you really want to perpetuate a Palinism? Best drop the "lamestream" and come up with your own annoying wordplay, (BecKKK is a good sophomoric effort). Or use some of the fun little Wonkmemes helpfully provided by the loving Wonkette writers and commenteriat. (conversely, you could always eat a bag of lightly salted rat dicks) But don't use Palinisms. It makes the baby you cry.
Also, (still with me Jesus?), the sanctimony is all Olbermann's. I'm a post-ironic snarky hipster, doncha know. Not a sanctimonious bone in my body. Just a knee-jerk revulsion to annoying talky heads who are all shtick and no self-awareness. Colbert's shtick, in contrast, is an order of magnitude better. He skewers all the right targets, his aim is also dead on, he's funny, and, he knows he's playing pretend. Granted, it helps that he's playing pretend-to-be-someone-polar-opposite-to-real-Colbert. But Olbermann's pretend-to-be-an-outraged-real-Olbermann is no less a creature of fiction. And with Olbermann you get the feeling he wants you to actually believe he has worked himself up into an indignant lather. Its unconvincing. Its derivative. Insulting to the memory of Edward R. Murrow even. And its really fucking annoying. I know we have so few television meatsacks on the left but Jesus, can't we raise the bar a bit anyways?
Oh, and Jesus? Where did I equate Olbermann and Beck? Being an insincere boor isn't the exclusive purview of the right, you know. Neither, apparently, is leaping to conclusions, straw man arguments, and an "if yer not fer us yer agin us" attitude towards the slightest hint of dissent with the party line. I'll pray for you.
Go foog yourself
Still reeling from the news that Todd evidently didn't think he was the luckiest guy in the world to have the opportunity to get in the Tundra Tart's panties on a daily basis? Oh boo-hoo.
I'm sure DJ will read and study your frustrated screed carefully in order that future comments will meet your knuckle-headed standards. So rest assured, your job here is done.
Exactly correct. Well said and important to say here.
Are you sure you are not the shrill and sanctimonious one, grasshopper?
Needs moar deconstruction.
Okay I'm going to jump in and just say no, I think you're wrong and Olbermanns sanctimony wasn't fake. I'll give a couple of reasons: first, the GOP gives us liberals day in and out ample reason to be pissed at them and instead of shoving their heads in shit President Obama pulls them out and pours them champagne. (I'll crib from Bill Maher) the party of assault weapons isn't blamed when a nut in Arizona purchases a long clip that WAS illegal to kill 5 people and shoot congresswoman Giffords in the head. Or the party of financial deregulation goes unblamed as the financial system destroys itself. Or the party of tax cuts lies incessantly about "tax cuts not creating deficits" as deficits pile up. Or the party of religious bigotry gets away unscathed when a Muslim cabby is stabbed at the height of "victory mosque" hysteria.
The point is, KO had PLENTY to be genuinely pissed at and he didn't just go after the GOP, either like the faux outrage of Beck's "make believe grande conspiracy hour" targets ONLY liberals. Maybe you ought to reexamine your judgmental sanctimony at other people for having passion…or just admit you're a dead inside, nihilistic cynic?
Lighten the fuck up, already.
aha Thanks to the above (a shouty, shrill troll) I just figured out how you can tell if you get minus–there's a minus sign beside them. Haha. I'm as stupid as you'd think a days-away from 63 years old would be. I feel like Phoebe when she suddenly said, "Central Perks. I get it!"
I'm not shrill. I'm just someone who probably shares your political views and is trying waaaaaay too hard to work hisself into a fit of pique and indignation. And being overly verbose about it.
Sounds vaguely familiar, doughnut?
So go ahead everyone, gang rape that thumbs down button. Smash my poor, flaccid p. I can take it. Or at least, I can console myself with the knowledge that a thumbs down for my longwinded forced outrage actually means y'all are giving an unwitting thumbs up for "fuck Keith Olbermann".
Lighten up, Francis.
Win.
Yes, your logic is immaculate – because KO plainly fails being a "post-ironic hipster" if he gets emo over silly little peccadillos like government-sponsored torture, secret prisons or the Bankster Mafia being bailed out on everyone else's dime.
Get a hugbox. Your stupid is showing.
At the risk of losing "p's" (which are precious to me) let me say that in my view Olbermann was simply another propagandist. He did not lie (as the guys on the right to) but he only told one side of the story. His goal, like theirs, was to pump up partisan emotions. To be more honest in an activity with little utility is not a valuable thing. Ms. Maddow rises above that level and that makes her worth watching.
What is the other side of torture?
'zactly.
Win of the entire thread.
This is funny because I thought I deleted this comment shortly after posting it. I thought it would sound too strident and needlessly antagonistic also (had to throw in the "also.") Damn you Intense Debate for third-guessing me!
well said. thank you.
Comcast pleads innocent. Bears shit indoors and the Pope is Lutheran.
Plausible deniability. I'm guessing that someone in the corporate chain thought Comcast would be pleased if Olbermann were gone, like the knights getting rid of Becket for Henry II.
Will no one rid me of this turbulent sportscaster!
Of the purge of the Knights Templar! Except, I don't think Keith has any gold stashed, anywhere. Perhaps, Ailes needs to trump up some charges against the Beckster, 'cause there is plenty of gold in them, thar hills.
History references are so cool.
Cool like the Little Ice Age, which was period from the 1500s to the 1800s where temperatures in Europe and North America were unusually low.
Am I doing this right?
Easy there kid – there's a fine line between dropping in some references and just showing off.
"Comcast" pleads innocent; Xfinity has no comment.
They meant no harm. They most truly did not.
But they had to grow bigger. So bigger they got.
Odd, but I feel very proud that Ken was named the Worst Person in the World. Now if I could only find out for which post, I could kvell properly.
I know, right? I want print that post out and magnet it to my refrigerator like it was my child's first finger painting of a five legged cat or something. SO PROUD!
http://wonkette.com/408538/keith-olbermann-skips-...
I'm just so glad it was for something that truly deserved it, and that Olbermann didn't resort to such petty nonsense as using his national TV gimmick to call out a blog for hurting his feelings.
Wait what?
Who da fuck is Keith? He waffles more than Kay Bailey Hutchison and is shitty reporter. Fuck him and MSNBC. He's nothing but a sweat stain on my ball sack. He's like a neopolitan ice cream bar: playing to the players but a complete disrespectful shit sack.
I'll give him kuddos for being better off than me. He's still a shit stain on my liberal ass.
You sir, are overly concerned with feces. Eat some. You might feel better.
Olbermann may have been a bit sanctimonious and shrill and clearly playing to the crowd a bit, but until the "mainstream media" (gotta watch my quotes!) starts showing even a bit of political bias parity, I'll take whatever liberal is on, as long as they don't lie. Which as far as I can tell Keith never did. Unlike Bill-o, BecKKK, or Insannity, etc.
How dare you not go along with dogma!
You know, I've never been sickened by anyone's avatar before, but yours is wretched, in the sense that it makes me wretch. What point are you trying to make with it?
Liberals are all murderers, I think. Or he just knows it's a pissy thing to do. (This is one of our clever Breittard visitors with many names, you know).
Thanks for the clarification. I don't bother to keep track of the trolls who seem to afflict this site every Friday night.
Jared fell through the cracks. I care about children.
Actually, while I understand the disgust over your avatar as well as the downfisting for previous comments, this one I have to agree with. Jared, at one time, was just an innocent boy who merely needed help. He was led to believe, by his parents, his school, his government, that he was invaluable, alone, worthless. Many can point to the school system, if you watched that "walkin' 'round mah campus" video, I honestly didn't hear much that would indicate a danger, just a horribly upset young man. (Sure conspiracy theories are crazy, but are they really wrong?) Other's could point to the rhetoric, "She/He talked about guns too much, it's no wonder the kid went whacko." But, as reprehensible as it is, it's not responsible (by any means, ha!).
No, the real issue is that we, as a nation, have turned our collective backs on those who need us most. I witnessed a man tell a homeless man that he had no change, and proceeded to walk into a gas station and not only purchase a soft-drink with change, but throw down extra saying he just felt like getting rid of it. Of course, the argument is "well, what if he was just going to spend it on alcohol or drugs?" My response would be "What gives you the right to decide on how a person achieves their happiness?"
You think a sandwich can make you happy? Or a bag of chips? No, when your days consist of walking 50+ miles, shitting in bushes, and sleeping on sidewalks, a pint of some cheap-ass toilet liquor goes a long way into drowning the demons, even if momentarily.
So, if you really care about the children, start there. Teach them that hate is simply not an option. Teach them that turning your back, simply because it's the easy thing to do, is a far more violent action than brandishing a gun or bomb.
We're not perfect, nor will we ever be. But if just one child can grow up not being afraid of every goddamned thing in this world, then we will have done our job.
Seacrest out.
"Kuddos"? Really? Bite my shiny metal ass.
You have to admit he was the only one in the national media that bitch slapped Bush.
But when he went after teh Wonkette, now that was kind of petty.
Karma sucks.
At least Forest Whitaker is coming to Criminal Minds.
actually it sucks for Forest Whitaker not to be a superstar (Last Emperor of Scotland, fucking incredible). He doesn't seem to care and takes whatever roles come his way, but I don't have to share his nonchalance.
He always reminded me of jazz fusion: I should be able to appreciate it, but god damn how annoying.
That's how I always felt about Bob Dylan.
Zing!
I got no problem with Olbermann making a frillion dollars for being a liberal pundit. It's still nothing compared to the amount the myriad right-wing asshats make for being right-wing asshats.
I don't have a problem with it either. The network charges advertisers what the market will bear. Apparently certain companies will bear quite a bit to be seen on KO's program. If he's pulling that kind of money in for the network, why shouldn't he see his share of the cash? The network execs and stockholders should get it ALL? I don't tune into MSNBC because I like either Phil Griffin or boner pills.
I feel the same way about sports stars. Why should the OWNERS of the Yankees make all the dough? And for similar reasons, I have no problem with whatever ads may appear here on Wonkette.
It's terrible how sports stars are so underpaid.
Two minute penalty for missing the point, with a ten-minute misconduct for being so totally fucking pathetic.
Non sequiturs = oxygen on Planet Dipshit.
You look like a complete asshole in that picture, too. A psychotic asshole.
Fuck you.
Asshole.
He's gone, and it's all Comcast's doing. Al Franken warned you, but I guess you were all too busy jerking off and nattering about whatever bullshit meme has you beltway kids excited this week. This is an OLD story, and DC just woke up to it today.
Oh, here comes the hipster bullshit. **ugh** You are so smart, and we are so ignorant. Us Wonketter sheeple were just too caught up in A.I. and Lost to notice, right?
Condescending douchebag is condescending.
Haha, agreed. "Beltway Kids," yeah that's a *very* accurate description of the Wonkette editorial team. Catch our panel discussion on Sunday mornings!
Wonkette has a Sunday morning panel discussion? THAT would be worth seeing.
Wonkette Presents: America's Political Hangover, with Ken Layne.
Actually, I mean, not to gripe or anything, but it would be greatly appreciated if you could throw us a bone on the weekends. That's when I have the most time to comment, but also when the political blogs are the least active.
What time and channel should I set the DVR to? Brunch "my" the wonket editorial board.
Today on "Beat The Press" … those wacky Beltway Kids, Ken, Jack & Sara in a steamy three-way! Also, Wonkbot discusses the benefits & drawbacks of piezo-electrically modified TruckNutz in bodysuit-based teledildonics.
Brought to you by the makers of Crisco™.
I liked the "Keith Olbermann is leaving MSNBC" story before it became mainstream.
Media consolidation has some big developments in store for this US of A.
I cant wait until it is just two media conglomerates.
Both owned by Rupert Murdock.
C'mon now, Ken, you know you must have deserved that award. There's no doubt the Wonketeers could win at least one a day for something. Wear it proudly! All I know is, I couldn't have made it through the last few Bush years or the '08 election without his pushback against the right. Strident, bombastic, over the top sometimes? Hell, yeah. And Wonkette isn't?
Besides, he gave us Rachel, which ought to count for something.
'Strident, bombastic, over the top sometimes?' hell yeah indeed, KO was ONLY one willing to stand up to these lying neocon douchebags during the entire 8 fucking years of hell under the fascist Bush regime…and I still got no 'snark' on this one, Olbermann has some brass cajones and stood strong as he consistently told the world what these murderous bastards were doing!
And Lawrence O'Donnell and gets that fun Nation geek Chris Hayes mucho guest spots. I will Keith a lot, even if I would have to throw a rock at him for making our beloved the wonket worst person. Surely we blow enough smoke up Ken to salve his feelings and more than make up for it.
Meanwhile, Faux Newz and Hate Talk Radio continues its right-right-right march and liberals have only the comfort of knowing comcast will let their liberal utube videos still be made and that they can download any documentary they want.
Thanks, Broadcast Regulatory guys, (FCC? SEC? BCS?) for nothin'.
Awesome avatar, my friend!
Yeeeee Haaaaa!
No way I'm reading through these 279 comments (so far).
As far as I'm concerned, undeterredbyreality said it all.
Well done, Major Kong!
~
Never watched him much but when I did, I usually appreciated his point of view. But my (fill in your deity here), he tends to talk way too much. I hope to see him in a more important role in the future. Perhaps when countries who are owned by corporations as we are now decide to compete against each other for World Domination.
Being able to yack yack yack is part of the job.
Maybe he quit because he feels like he sold out journalism in favor of becoming a shill for the Democratic Party.
He was a journalist?
I assume he wanted to become one someday.
I thought he was a sports announcer.
Game Olbermann!
Olbermann: a Sarah Heath wannabe.
So was Craig Kilborn, and look where it got him! Oh, wait…
Yeah, he was such a shill for the Dems. Like when he got mad as holy hell at the Dems for their tax cuts capitulation, their war capitulations, their national security capitulations…yeah, he's such a loyal Dem.
Some of y'all have really lost your damn minds.
Sorry…my mistake. He only repeated the Democratic Party line 99% of the time, not a full 100%.
Bullshit. Keith called both sides, any everyone knows that.
It'd have been so much better if he he'd actually shilled for the Republicans, right?
Troll.
The things you mentioned he broke with the Democrats on, he didn't really, because he always seemed to find Democratic officeholders to interview that agreed with him.
When are you going to call it the Democrat Party?
I'm with you on this one Negropolis. For all his faults, he was articulate, and don't we like articulate? And he was the only person on the teevee with the sense to call these fucks out. Especially, the Special Sauce Comment about the tax cuts for the "job creators."
I'm not even a fan-boy of Olbermann. I never watched his show religiously. I like Rachel's far better. It's more informative, and she's aggressive without being mean-spirited or strident.
I just hate this "kool kids" pasttime of dumping on Olbermann. Liberals can't ever move as a unit in this country because of this. We shit on our own as soon as it becomes trendy to do so. Keith served an important purpose, and to deny him that because you didn't like his style is post-ironic hipsterism at it's worst.
Troll.
We shit on our own as soon as it becomes trendy to do so.
I don't suppose you'd consider the remote possibility that I actually believe what I'm saying, would you?
We discuss this at our progressive Dems meetings- in between arguing with each other. we are progressive so we shit on each other before the rest of you even hear our ideas.
Articulate is the new black.
thanks for tellin' it like it is my brotha!
If I may, I believe it would be appropriate to compare Mr. Olbermann to one, Michael Moore. Of course, on the one hand, he makes absolute sense, drawing the viewer to the most subtle of nuances in such a way that you would feel naive for not realizing the overt nature, such as the atrocities of Columbine and 9-11, while on the other hand, he fails to represent these thoughts with a viable and valid counter-argument, relegating said viewer to an ideologically biased subplot of contradiction and outrage. I believe "Barack" and "Editor Layne" are correct in their statements that he was a "shill", but he was our shill.
And I liked that one time that Bristol was the Worst Person in the World. Fucking Cunt-billy.
Not to mention that he called Lieberman a "delusional liar" just this past Wednesday.
You don't see that every day.
You could say that except for the fact that I think Olbermann actually went after your avatar several times which a shill wouldn't do. I think Olberman has actually been tougher on Obama than Rachel has, and she hasn't really pulled any punches. Although I'll also admit I haven't watched either show for a while due to my job and university commitment. I just think a lot of you guys who really dislike KO never actually watched his show to make an objective judgment because you're very ignorant and sweeping in your posts, sort of like when wingnuts whine about him.
(Disclaimer: By comparing your judgment of KO to wingnuts I'm merely saying they cry about him and don't watch his show, either. I wouldn't say any of you remind me of wingnuts per se judging by my very rare use of the term shitbag)
I just want to climb on up inside this comment and cuddle.
Whatever it is they're doing, I'm sure that Comcast only has the good of all Americans in mind.
The benevolence of Kabletown is legendary.
Well maybe one or two percent.
I, for one, welcome our new corporate overlords. They have my phone, they have internet, they might as well take the TV while they're at it.
Let's take a moment to think who was truly hurt by this: A) Sarah Palin B) MST3K's wonderful Frank Conniff who always killed it when Keith had him on.
Only too true to point out Sarah's unearned misfortune.
Possibly she'll release a soft-focus semi-vice-presidential video relating to her discomfiture on this turn of events.
Hope Bristol and all the kids are still keepin' it real, yo.
Nummy Muffin Coocol Butter?
"I love you like no utter"
I went to their first Convention-com-expo-fest-o-rama and went to the costume ball dressed as the Gorgon from Teenagers From Outer Space. I was a giant lobster. I worked on that costume for a month. Kim Cattrell (sp) was supposed to be there and she backed out. This was before her Sex in the City days and they ripped on her endlessly. The hotel quickly regretted allowing us to hold the convention there.
Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot should have a show!
And Gypsy as the token R guest?
One of the most childhood shattering facts I ever learned was that Mike Nelson was a Michael Medved listening Republican. Luckily, Kevin Murphy(Tom Servo) is a good NPR contributing liberal.
I was shattered when I heard that (from Wikipedia, no less), too, about Mike Nelson, but I gotta say, I listen to Rifftrax and he really doesn't sound like a wingnut there. Frankly, I've detected some definite commie-talk. But maybe I'm just in denial. Just don't tell me Joel Hodgson is a Republican! That would really shatter my dreams.
Of course! Or Pearl!!
Has Sarah Palin taken credit for this yet?
Yep, two years ago she called him an evil man.
Sheee-it, she owes everything to that man.
Yep folks who point out snowbilly's grifting are evil.
She's claiming blood libel!
No her claim I believe is $$ libel.
Same thing, no?
That woman is an idiot!
As far as I know, he didn't mouth-rape anybody.
Oh, I love when Keith stomps on the bastards, but he never fails to remind everyone that he's a princess right after that. And I'm sure he'll land on his feet. In fact, all anyone has to do is ask "You're not gonna be unemployed longer than Lou Dobbs, are you?" and he'll be working the next day, even if it's reading the Butte Montana school cafeteria lunches every morning. And he's a sportscaster too, which means he'll probably interview himself in the locker room after each broadcast. Speaking of which, has anyone else discovered the highly competitive world of women's NCAA volleyball? It's a sign of our failure as a society that this sport is not wildly popular.
With two years' worth of a $30 million four-year contract, I'm pretty sure he landed on his feet a long, long time ago.
Which is a pretty impressive landing when you consider that he did it wearing fuck-me pumps.
When you (deservedly) gave him what he regularly gave others, he acted badly and lost a good bit of respect he'd earned.
Oh I know I go watch the local Jr. College team. Mmmmm tall girls.
And they don't need an army of logistical support staff like football players do.
I'm glad he said NCAA.
I've learned it's impossible to watch varsity girls' volleyball without feeling like Chris Hanson was going to pop out at any minute.
He is the new voice of the Lingerie Football League.
That was the thing with Keith, definitely. He'd say something that needed saying…then he'd go off the rails somehow. I was a regular viewer until his diva turn that Ken called him on.
More likely, he'll be reading the morning announcements in place of Cartman.
I started watching NCAA women's volleyball on the local sports cable affiliate (mostly, given my location, Big 10 action) when I was in my second year at D3 school. Such things as Penn State-Nebraska & Northwestern-Minnesota were a God-send.
The best volleyballers, though: BYU. (Surprising… or maybe not. I swear, Mormon ladies are bred to be hot, as a lure for conversions.)
Carping professional blowhard that he was, the balance is now dipping hard in the direction of Fox.
Once he's gone, the fake hyperventilation, and strawman politics, and misdirection offered by fox— ie firebreathing hate advocacy—- now has no opposing opinion, no opposite ballast, and no powerful opponent —
Olbermann will become another nyetwork oddity, ala Mr Maher, neither completely credentialled & respected, nor willing to be completely the comedian… . Thus, unfortunately, neutralized.
So this is a bad thing, wonketeers.
As I said on the previous thread, like him or not, the country just took another winching, hard turn to the Right.
True enough.
…I can feel a seething, irrational vitriol towards him though, right?
No.
Yes, but only if, in expressing it, you're funny.
I don't make the rules, I just snicker at them.
That's just it. The truth is, a lot of us–while rationally noting KO's foamy over-the-top histrionics and purposeful telling of only part of the story, at times–irrationally loved it that he foamed for our side. Made me cringe sometimes, but I still needed my daily dose of foment, to feed my secret spazhabit. We need to get worked up once in awhile because the other side foams every hour on the hour.
Could you repeat "foamy over-the-top", but more slowly this time?
I just can't right now, but thanks for asking. Too busy foamenting over the top of my…my….well I cannot say, because of my natural reticence and all.
I think there are a number of Wonkers now fantasizing about foamenting all over your 36-DD all-natural reticence.
But if Olbermann isn't on the teevees, who will I listen to wingnuts complain about all the time?
They call her MadCow. They will complain until every last non-Rushfuck voice is squelched.
They haven't stopped regarding Chappaquiddick as a trump for pretty much everything. I'm sure the fact that Olbermann once said something intemperate will continue to excuse the Radio (and TV) Rwanda the right has going for years and year and years to come.
Us cockroaches better stick together.
Because Comcast is bringing out the machetes? Ouch. Too soon for that joke.
Machetes aren't the weapon of choice on this side of the pond. But snark aside, it's getting harder and harder to shake the feeling that this is what they're trying for.
Kopechne = Kolbermann-ectomy ?
We still can haz chappaquiddick ?
OK everybody. Can we call the "haz" thing over? Ugh
If you unplug your internet cord and walk away, you will never have to read a "haz" ever again. Otherwise? Best just immunize yourself to it.
Commie Pinko Anti-American Dems–you know, anyone with an actual heart and soul.
I have no comment at this time.
I'll have a special comment on your "no comment" at the end of this comment.
And now, as promised, my special comment: LEAN DOORWARD.
Later we'll have reaction to your special comment, and a body language expert on to discuss it.
I've sent one of my producers to MiniMencken's house at 6 AM to ask some pointedly one-sided questions about all this.
So that explains why the Rottweilers were playing this morning with a tattered navy blue polyester blazer and blood-spattered, mocha-colored Sansabelt slacks…
I'm taking time off from this comment to spend more time with my family.
I tried to search for the original Olbermann/Wonkette feud thing, but got bored and ate some yogurt instead. I think ShortShortShorts called his father a homo or something.
However, I did discover that some people other than Olbermann still don't like Wonkette, they call themselves "PUMAS" which I believe is an organization for MILFS who like furry porn.
The following comes from (note the date!) : http://dailypuma.blogspot.com/2010/11/wonkette-is...
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2010
Wonkette is the worst piece of progressive arrogant trash, may you wonks rot inside your own fetid feces and enjoy it.
Wonkette sucks, period. I think I recall seeing wonkette on some of the allegedly pro Clinton boards. What a load of progressive crap they are. Die, all of you wonks, the sooner the better. Seriously. You've done more to damage this country in as short of a time as possible, and you just don't get how arrogant and conceited you are.
Real PUMA's hate wonkette and the progressive idiocy they embody. And the comments section is JUST AS DESPICABLE. These are same rotten imbeciles from 2008, trying to kick anybody to the curb who supports Hillary Clinton.
They really think that highly of us? I don't think I'm alone when I say "Thank you."
Haha. My favorite part is "PUMA's". PUNCTUATION UR DOING IT RONG. And "fetid feces"? Priceless.
Also, the set of PUMAS and the set of MILFS in the world have little to no overlap.
Haha. My favorite part is "fetid feces". Priceless. Also, the set of PUMAS in existence and the set of MILFS in existence have little to no overlap.
Sad but true; still looking for a MILF who likes furry porn.
Are they suggesting their own, ah, feces, don't um, stink?
Shoud I be surprised that you were incapable of transposing the link that was contained within the article that revealed what the rant was about?
http://wonkette.com/429643/dana-milbank-thinks-fe...
There's a "Daily PUMA"? They really can't give it a rest. I thought PUMAs became irrelevant years ago.
Do you think if we ask these PUMAs over for tea they'll come? maybe we could make those little sandwiches with the crust cut off? It'll be fun!
That's not a bad idea. It would be fun, if only to see how they'd contort their faces while trying to fashion a refusal.
I sometimes wonder what happened to Shorts and TexasSpaceJunkie..
Or was it HoboSpaceJunkie? Fucking senility. I can't remember worth shit.
http://www.shortsshortsshorts.com/author/shortssh...
He took up the hobo life when this ended, sadly.
As for HoboSpaceJunkie, I only hope he didn't return to earlier bad habits.
I love being despicable. It's so dirty in a retro kind of way.
It turns having a cat on your lap into a branding move, too.
Ah! I remember the Wonkette-PUMA blogwars of '08, well. Didn't we keep one of their blogs from winning some blog awardy thing? Who knew a bunch of middle-aged cat ladies could have their over-sized panties in a bunch? Cats are supposed to be calming animals.
We didn't do anything that wasn't required of us in war. C'est la guerre!
Today, we are all middle-aged cat-ladies. Even the lads. Especially the lads.
we sure did- I actually voted every day. I totally forget who I voted for but I did as ordered by whomever was the Wonkette overlord then.
The awesome thing was we were a juggernaut kingmakers in voting. The Pumas just had no chance. We started to vote for other categories. Just because. It wasn't fair, but life isn't fair is it? Of course, this only made Pumas cough up even more hairballs of hate. It totally makes sense that even a couple of years later they hissing at the very thought of us. Ah, Warblogging…
"The comments section is JUST AS DESPICABLE"??
I object to that – I've always assumed the comments section would be considered more despicable.
I did have to leave a "Poopyhead" comment…. I invite others to do so as well.
It's less objectionable if you picture Daffy Duck, hopping mad, reading the all caps part.
We have our standards.
Jayzus fuck, that website design sears my mind.
Real PUMAs paw their fetid feces around the kitty litter box, and enjoy it.
Seriously, these PUMA anger junkies must have contracted a variant of the same H1N1 hostility virus that infected America's tea supply.
"Real PUMA's hate wonkette…"
Unreal,dude.
Shoud I be surprised that you were incapable of transposing the link that was contained within the article, that revealed what the rant was about?
Edit update – January 22, 2011 9:16 am – A Wonkette reader actually copied this article without having the acumen to include the link located within the article. The link is the entire reason this article was written. Instead, a wonkette cut and pasted the article as is, rendering the link as just a sentence with no attribute. Should we be surprised that the democratic fringe that saw nothing wrong with Barack Obama supporters using pre-paid anonymous credit cards in 2008 can't even copy someone's article without altering the meaning? And when I posted a comment explaining this, the comment never appeared.
Not sure, but I think this PUMA is referring to this.
Which if I'm not mistaken was a rip on Dana Milbank for calling Hillary a bitch during that online video thing he did for WaPo during the campaign a couple of years ago.
In any case, I assume calling the comments JUST AS DESPICABLE (in all-caps so we know he's REALLY SERIOUS IN THIS ASSESSMENT) as the articles is kind of a badge of honor.
Egad! A Wonketteer failed to include an internal link TO A RANT THAT RAN IN NOVEMBER! We are truly the scurviest of female dogs.
Also, why aren't there more anonymous "Poopyhead" comments in that article? GET CRACKING, PEOPLE!!1!! Are we a warblog, or are we a WARBLOGGGGGGGG????!!!!!???!
The "all caps" on internet rants is the equivalent of "the glare" on the highway.
You know "the glare" – someone pissed you off and when you get the opportunity to pass them you turn and Glare Your Best Glare RIGHT AT THEM.
Nope, it's Poop Libel (nods sagely).
Anon delivers (10% service charge applies, please have payment ready upon delivery).
Ahem:
Edit update – January 22, 2011 11:48 pm – A reader from Wonkette graciously added my comment from above, something the ADM was too aloof to do by allowing my response to appear there. However, they still have not put two and two together. I was upset by the condescending comments found in the Hillary Clinton article, not the article itself.
Leaving aside the question of whether saying unkind things about HRC really is something we must die for, I love the assumption that, if this person's comment never appeared, it was obviously CENSORED BY THE COWARDLY WONKET SKUM. After all, everything on the internet happens for a reason, and IntenselyBuggyDebate never eats the posts of wontetteers…
EDIT: Poopyheads.
EDITED EDIT: Also! Just read through the comments, and at most, out of 99 comments, there were at most a dozen that were insulting to Hillary (And I'm including even the mildest "pantsuit" comments in that total). Most of the vitriol in the comments is directed at Dana Milbanks' absurd "Oh, golly, if Hillary were Prez, the Dems would have held the House" speculation. In fact, the highest-thumbed comment (+34) was BarackMyWorld's "In the parallel universe where Hillary Clinton was actually elected, we'd all be wondering what if Obama was president." Oh, what a vile slam!
I see below where the poopyhead's comment from yesterday is now finally showing up. Freakin' IntenseDebate. Not that knowing what article he is complaining about makes his rant any less over the top and ridiculous.
Meh, I don't have time for some PUMA's wounded feelings. Go Steelers!
You clearly hate women, and need to die. Or at least rot inside your own fetid feces.
I can't tell–are we evil because we don't worship Hillary, or because we are too liberal, or not liberal enough? Or because we supported that Hussein fella? PUMAs confuse me.
Crazy idea….maybe cable news shows could try reporting instead of basing your programs around speculation, ad hominems, and straw man arguments.
You want to be the liberal alternative to Fox? Fine. Just quit using their tactics to do it, and I might start watching you again.
"liberal alternative to Fox."
That tired old bullshit meme, again. FOX lies, plain and simple. MSNBC doesn't, and when they make mistakes they **gasp** apologize and make the correction on-air. You can take your false equivalencies and GTFO. I'm on the warpath, tonight; I won't stand for this.
Okay….I'll back up because I've failed to get anyone to see the point.
If Olbermann, Schultz, whoever, goes on TV every night and calls Republicans names, and uses straw man arguments, and doesn't back up what they're saying with solid, logical reasoning, data, etc., they are not doing any liberal causes any good. They are not persuading anyone, they are only entrenching everyone in the positions they already had.
The reason I abhor Fox's tactics isn't because I do not like their conclusions (even though I do not), it is because they use irrational reasoning to reach those conclusions.
A liberal commentator SHOULD NOT HAVE TO resort to propaganda tactics to get their point across they have the real facts and real reasoning to do the job.
Fox HAS TO mislead to get their point across, because the facts are stacked against them. Liberals have THE FACTS on their side. Resorting to logical fallacies to persuade the audience only undercuts our own goals.
What really pisses me off is that Shultz is still there. He is by far the most insufferable piece of shit that MSNBC has ever produced. I hate his damn text surveys… Press 1 if the Rupublicans suck, Press 2 is they suck cock. The text surveys start the show and set the tone for what follows, and yeah, what follows sucks even worse.
If MSNBC wanted to clean house they should of started with that douche Shultz, not with Olbermann.
But when did Keith use lies, when the facts would do? I missed that. Seriously. He did use the facts. Maybe not in a PBS tone, but Keith used facts.
You don't have to lie to be irrational.
touchy?!
Which is why FOX is being torpedoed into bankruptcy by the Chomsky Network even as you read this.
I think maybe operating under the delusion that politics is a Princeton debating club where your superior argument & robust logic can win the day against emotionalism & catchy rhetoric undercuts liberal goals a hell of a lot more than someone like KO chomping scenery. The last several decades are an object lesson in just how heinous a logical fallacy THAT idea is on the left in America … yet it lives on like an evil Zombie (see: bipartisanship). If a conclusion is correct reality will confirm it accordingly – & whether it was arrived at via rock-solid logic or reading the entrails of pigeons is secondary. Process takes a back-seat to results every single time, the bitter tears of logicians notwithstanding.
The irony is, the left doesn't even need to do Sharrod hit-jobs or phony ACORN videos to pwn the GOP – just lose its fear of looking mean (or bombastic) while they ruthlessly nail them on their vast & ugly catalog of failures.
[ neilist ] Yeah, sure, take the high-road, with my blessings … your silhouette on the skyline makes such an easy target. [ /neilist ]
Bing-fuckin'-O. This is what Olbermann did, and if it hurts some people's tender sensibilities, they can go fuck off for all I care. We don't have to – and don't try – to beat them at their own game as the false equivalency goes. Olbermann IS NOT opposite of the likes of O'Reilly no matter how many time that lie is repeated. They aren't in the same lane; they ain't even on the same highway.
Bullshit.
I've seen plenty of "creative" readings of stories by MSNBC's pundits (Ed Schultz is especially egregious). That's what happens when you substitute punditry for actual journalism. And MSNBC doesn't have to correct anything, because pundits are entertainers, not journalists.
What Olbermann, Schultz, et al do is take the actual reporting done by journalists and spin it in a way that garners maximum outrage and ratings. That's their fucking job.
One example that springs to mind was an Ed Schultz program dedicated to the BP oil spill, where Ed claimed that a government report said that 75% of the spilled oil was "gone". Ed spent almost the entire show ranting about how this was bullshit, and the White House were just sucking BP's cock, etc, etc.
In reality, the report said that 75% of the removable surface oil was gone. It also stated that much of the oil had sunk to the ocean floor/ gone into the water. It also stated that there were unknown environmental consequences that shouldn't be dismissed. But that doesn't play as well as screaming about how the WHITE HOUSE IS IN BED WITH BP!!!
It is not a false equivalency to point out that Olbermann is a pundit, and that his show is not about reporting the facts but declaring his opinion. And just because some people aren't fans of that particular type of programming doesn't make them annoying hipsters who are just hating on Olbermann because they're just soooooo cool.
I'm not shitting on people who enjoy the show. It is entertainment, after all. But the claim that MSNBC isn't following the FOX template with regards to their programming is a stretch. They've definitely embraced the format of presenting pundits as journalists, and they don't seem to have a problem with those pundits spinning a story.
Pundit has an interesting definition. If you're going to throw the word around as a pejorative, perhaps you could use some modifiers so we'll know whom you're talking about.
Many of Olbermann's guests were pundits in the non-pejorative sense. (I can call them analysts if you'd prefer.) And I got a lot out of the Countdown when I watched, even when mildly put off by Keith's obviously self-aware scenery chewing.
Mr. Ed, on the other hand … just cannot sit through that.
I'm not throwing the word pundit around as a pejorative, just pointing out that there is a distinction between a punditry and journalism. I personally prefer the latter when I'm seeking news, but the former can add depth to an issue.
The problem with the cable news outlets is that they have substituted punditry for journalism, and quite a few of their pundits are just shouting heads. So then you end up with the endless outrage factory, which is not necessarily a good source of information.
I know people on both ends of the political spectrum who get most of their news through infotainment shows like Countdown, or the O'Reilly Factor. The only information they are getting is polemic and often missing important context (like the Schultz example I cited above).
That's crap, and you know it. Olbermann's show was commentary, and never pretended it was anything else. Fox is commentary masquerading as reporting. Big fucking difference. To say nothing of the vast gap in dishonesty and contempt for viewer intelligence.
It started as a humorous news show.
It slowly became commentary. Even as commentary it isn't very good if all you ever do is reinforce what people already think at the expense of logical discussion.
Valid point.
But, in the meantime, can we has r snark back?
Goddammit, all you fucking downfisters are fucking with my p! Perhaps, instead of this back and forth over whether or not a well-paid teevee personality flawlessly represented your views the way you fucking wanted him to, you could just shut the fuck up and come to the one site that makes this joke of a country somewhat bearable, make a few funnies, laugh at some horrible fucking scatological humor relating to Lindsey Graham or Sarah fuck-all Palin, and then hand out p-points to the good boys and girls, not that cunt Neilist, who is clearly having some sort of identity-crisis!
Also, has anyone checked on Bristol's kid? Damn thing's bound to be hungry.
I heartily agree with your complaint — here's what I'd do (after looking at some of the arguments below) to deal with the pundit/reporter/entertainer delineation: whatever you say you are, get your facts right. As punishment for getting facts wrong, every news/opinion show has to spend a portion of each program correcting factual errors from previous episodes. It would be tremendously boring and transparent, thus self-regulating. And I'd call it something exciting, like "Shoot Bad Information in the Face."
Hey hey, this is a kinder, gentler America now. That's not pundit transcendence.
I imagine Keith, late at night in his lair, plotting – "I know! If I read James Thurber every Friday night, then they'll have to let me out of my contract!"
Genius, I tells ya! Genius!
I enjoyed the Friday night story time. I had never read Thurber, and although I had heard of him I had no clue why or how he had become somebody in American culture. So as often happens here on Wonkette, I learned a bit and enjoyed it. I thought it was a bit endearing and a nice slice of Americana.
But make no mistakes and switch up my channel
I'm Keifer O when I fly off the handle
What could it be, it's a mirage
Comcast scheming on a thing, that's sabotage
As dustBowlblues pointed out earlier tonight, the other problem with this situation is the GloatBoat that Breitfart and all those fucks are gonna board over the next few days. They are already crawling over themselves about the one year anniversary of the Citizen's United SCOTUS decision.
Here's the thing them dumbfuck Breitbarters fail to realize with their Citizen United and Net Neutrality Positions. They too will soon discover that their new Corporate overlords don't have their best interests at heart. They all seem to think that Rachel Maddow is next on the hit-list. I tend to think the next target of Comcast will be their beloved Faux News who incidentally happens to be in direct competition with their new acquire.
As dustBowlblues pointed out earlier tonight, the other problem with this situation is the GloatBoat that Breitfart and all those fucks are gonna board over the next few days
Seriously, who cares? That is the same crowd that seems to be trying to convince everyone that Gifford's would-be assassin was a "leftist" because they managed to do something without totally fucking it up.
That *is* proof that it wasn't the CIA, though.
That was the same comment Fidel Castro made.
Franklin and I are pleased to announce that our comrade Keith O will be hosting a new, equivalent show, that all TrueLiberals will love:
"Preaching To The Choir!"
Coming Soon! On Radio Peking!
Watch for it!
Cordially,
Eleanor
Believe me, China Radio International would never have anything half so entertaining. It's mostly an imitation of Voice of America (which is pretty lame to start with).
The Real Alternative is: UTTERLY INSANE RADIO PREACHERS! Their Platonic Archetype is Brother Stair (The Profit). Find him all over the Shortwave band and at <a href="http://www.overcomerministry.org” target=”_blank”>www.overcomerministry.org
Oh, snap.
Boring commenter who wishes to emulate the muff-diving wife of a long-deceased president says what now?
We know it is you Glenda Beck.
Attention whore.
Does this mean that Steve Doocy actually knows what he is talking about?
Impossible. You may have well just tried to divide by zero.
Steve Doocy. How do you get more aptly named than that?
Goddammit, all you fucking downfisters are fucking with my p! Perhaps, instead of this back and forth over whether or not a well-paid teevee personality flawlessly represented your views the way you fucking wanted him to, you could just shut the fuck up and come to the one site that makes this joke of a country somewhat bearable, make a few funnies, laugh at some horrible fucking scatological humor relating to Lindsey Graham or Sarah fuck-all Palin, and then hand out p-points to the good boys and girls, not that cunt Neilist, who is clearly having some sort of identity-crisis!
Also, has anyone checked on Bristol's kid? Damn thing's bound to be hungry.
It's the wee hours of the morning, people are probable drunk and posting. I know I am!
Oh shit, I have to get up in five hours.
Buttsecks!
BRING BACK HEADLINERS AND LEGENDS GOD DAMN IT!!!
Bring back Arrested Development.
Too soon?
As someone commented (elsewhere) upon hearing the news: "PAGING ALAN GRAYSON!"
Me likey!
Actually, I was kinda hoping Grayson would go do Gibbs press secretary gig..
And one more thing: I know with a certainty I can never prove that sometimes he pulled his shtick directly from the ol' Wonkette and its Wonketeers. There were times I would swear he was quoting word-for-word. You gotta like that.
Okay, maybe he omitted some of the buttsecks.
I am greatly pleased when I hear a wonkette quote repeated by a respected pundit or congressman and I swear it happens on a regular basis. Are they really quoting our Wonkettes or do we liberals think so much alike? I don't know but I like to think our occasional wise revelation among all the snark makes a difference in the world.
And Rachel reads the wonket, even if it makes her bad, she doesn't want to be good.
We know that the White House reads the Wonkette – they noted coverage in their too soon celebratory note about the Shirley Sherrod firing.
That's why there should be a "Wonkette" Channel".
We may have to go easy on the buttsecks on the TV's, but they many here who should be paid for there wit and insight…you know who you are.
Keith, Keith we hardly knew ye.
Two Olbermann's:
One, the funny, sardonic caricature of a commentator, who got under the skin of libs and conservatives alike with his clever repartee;
The other, a bug-eyed, nostril flaring wierdo, who seemed, on a really bad night, about as lucid as your neurotic and mean-spirited grandpa.
Unfortunately, I think that's the Keith that was "winning".
Become a guest host on the Alex Jones Show! Or something equally unlikely.
You know, folks, the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; the second step is: don't watch TV anymore!
Dr. Lane, I am going to guess that most of the people who read and enjoy your snark – I am one – will miss Keith way more than we will miss you when you are gone. And you could get bought off for much, much, much, less, am I right?
No.
This.
…well, except that Ken could indeed be bought off for much less. At least, I hope to God he could, and I would lose all respect if not.
I never watched the KO show, but KL is the best, so suck on a dead donkey's dong and respect your fucking elders!
Well said.
respect is earned
Yes, it is. Ken, you rock.
Using the R word? On Wonkette?
It's okay, I won't tell.
*wishes someone would buy me off for that much*
I've never been much of one for the KO-bashing bandwagon, but you, sir, can go choke on a dick and explode.
I am impressed at the consistency of content, intensity and style of the responses to my post.
I am impressed at the consistency of
content, intensity and style of the responses to my postthe color and firmness of the deuce I leave in my troll toilet under my bridge every morning.Fixed it for you.
Never watched these infotainment shows. I always wait for the cool clips.
Shouty McShouterson will be fine. The Liberals will be fine. We have an amazing knack for adaptation (cf 1981 – 1993, 2001 – 2009). The parallels to Beck, et al., being removed from the teevee are hollow. If the Right lost their favorite show(s), they would be directionless. This is not necessarily our favorite show, and even if it were, we would be fine in its absence. Keith had a good run, and now it's over.
I'm gonna go finish watching Lost now.
All I know is, Keith Olbermann helped keep me sane during the final years of the Cheney Administration. and for that, I'll be forever grateful.
thanks, my feelings exactly!
He's a self-aggrandizing blowhard, but he's a (mostly) entertaining self-aggrandizing blowhard who (mostly) meant well so I guess I'll miss him. But, I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere else on cable or maybe start his own Internet Concern soon enough.
(I haven't been able to afford the cable in years, so what could have been quite the blow to my tv watchin' schedule has already been taken care of thanks to poverty, hence my reaction to this being a solid "meh.")
Makes me wonder what excuse Comcast will have for getting rid of Maddow. Blowhard or not, at least Keith was factual and managed at times to convey the utter outrage at some of the more outrageous wingnut outrages.
I never really watched Keith Olbermann, so I'm not feeling all OHMYGAAAAWD. Now, when they take away Rachel, I may have to drive to Comcast HQ and sodomize the execs with a splintered baseball bat.
"sodomize the execs with a splintered baseball bat."
climate of hate
Not if you leave.
go fuck yourself.
there. Real proof for your statement asshole.
When you take on the persona of a psycho, you become one.
Yes, go fuck yourself, with a splitered baseball bat, no less.
"I may have to drive to Comcast HQ and sodomize the execs with a splintered baseball bat."
I'm not sure, but they may like that. Well maybe not the spliinters.
I don't watch television. At all. That makes me a terrible person, I know. Possibly the worst in the world.
I don't know about "terrible person", but it does mean you're not very good at being an American.
Before Olbermann the model was a host and 2 opposing spin doctors. Typical exchange: "You're stupid and wrong" followed by "No. You're stupid and wrong". Then host would say "I'm sorry but we're out of time". Bad for my blood pressure and a complete waste of time (See Hardball). Olbermann brought on people to talk about how fucked up the other side is. Refreshing. Not news but damn entertaining. I get all the right wing views I need with my 5-time-a-day e-mail updates from Newsmax. I guess I'll be spending more time on the Wonkette.
For an example of that, see Bill Maher last night. His best shows are liberals only. The MSM idea of a balanced show is James Carville yelling at Bowtie Guy.
Spot on, Clancy_Pants. Spot on!
During the 8-years of "The Troubles" under the Evil Bush, Keith O had plenty of material to work with and was fun to watch. But once Barry got elected, Keith started to sound frustrated and a bit lost.
But we will still have Rachel, who will probably be moved up to Keith's old time slot.
I stopped watching Olberman years ago; around the same time I stopped reading newspapers. Still I continued to approve of him, in an abstract and distant way. I do not think we are better off now that he is off the air and I wish him well in his next endeavour.
I mostly agree with your feeling towards KO program. He used a lot of pundits and they all agreed with him. i did enjoy when he pointed the lies of the GOP about various things.
Now, get rid of Maddow, O'Donnell, Schultz, Matthews, Ratigan and anybody else who even hints at criticizing our glorious regime of corporate fascism, and we will have Hannitized television of any opposing views just as we did with the AM radio dial. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. (Raise that banner.)
I sure hope they give his spot to David Broder. That would be very lively!
It's what plants crave!
I know it's queer but I twittered KO the other day and he twittered back something really funny. Awwww…..I'll miss watching him like I miss drinking jagermeister – it was fun at first but partaking too often led to blackouts, confusion and cottonmouth. And occasionally buttsecks.
MSNBC is the worst person in the world.
You know, that sentence only became grammatically correct after Citizens United.
I'm going to miss that Beethoven beginning and that "Which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow?" And when he had a substitute, I use to say, "No! That's not like the way Keith does it!" No one could say that the way he did. Plus, he was my teevee when Bush was in office. Bye, Keith.
But Allison Stewart did it pretty darned well. She was my faves substitute.
This is good news for John McCain.
It's change we can invest in, my friends!
I'm still hoping that David Schuster will come back. MSNBC is full of jackasses, increasing at an exponential rate now that Comcast owns the world.
You mean David "your welcome" Schuster?
… I think we were both obsessed with that back in the day.
"we were actually named “America’s Worst Person” by this guy, on national teevee"
Was it the buttsecks or the truck nutz that Olbermann didn't like?
I must be one shitty ass liberal…I'm more of a CNN guy.
Give me the Weather Channel every time.
Feh. Poncho-wearing liberal buffoons.
I like the weather channel up to when I start thinking "I get it, the weather's really, really bad. Shouldn't you guys know enough to come in out of it? I mean, you're the experts!"
Fuck them! The Weather Channel is so ONE SIDED! It's raining in the south east?!? Who are you to tell me it's raining in the south east? What about balance?
CNN is a sad-ass copy of the BBC lately
Bingo. To me, they are actually more smug than anything on MSNBC because they try so hard to play shit down the middle that they end up doing a disservice to their viewers when the news, itself, has a bias. John King's "both sides are equally wrong, ALWAYS" bullshit show is just the worse.
I prefer the BBC. Although you can also get some interesting news from Russia Today and France 24.
OK, folks, we're getting perilously close to sounding like indy music fans here…
I only listen to Radio Bulgaria's American Service, myself. They have surprisingly keen insights on the US political scene, and they're free of all the corporate whoring that characterizes the BBC and other supposed "independent" sources.
Trouble is, Radio Bulgaria is probably the only radio out there that isn't playing Rushhannitybecko. I think foreigners do a better job of covering the news here simply because they aren't paid by people with a strongly vested interest in having them not report anything but horserace political coverage.
Well, all those Eurotrash stations are OK, I guess (France24's female readers are pretty damn hot…ooo), but if you want analytical, you gotta go Japan's NHK. Until the cultural segment comes on, and then it's all "Japan, Japan, Japan, Japan."
Pretty damn chauvinistic if you ask me.
Well done Zoom. God I feel like I'm so bourgeois because I watch TV on occasion and American TV at that.
Al Jazeera rocks, too.
Well, at least he’s still being incredibly melodramatic and self-obsessed!
He wuz? That's so totally out of character. fap, fap, fap
Fun fact: I learned of this from a comment in the Android Market. I should have been in bed but was screwing around on my tablet (so no, not a phone. I'm not paying Verizon $80/month to own this thing) and one of the "featured" apps when you start the Market was "msnbc.com". Being someone who likes cheap entertainment every now and again I decided to look at the comment section for that app, and like the second comment from the top was "I uninstalled this app because MSNBC fired KO" or something like that.
So what did I do after that? I went to Wonkette and looked at the most recent comments. Sure enough, people were talking about it. THEN I went to a Reputable News Source (Google News) and decided I'd had enough and went to bed.
GOOD MORNING, America.
GOOD MORNING, Gay Mexican Intern! What the hell are you doing in America?
Saving congresswomen's lives, then denying that he's a hero, I'd assume.
Sheesh, now I feel kinda dumb for using this as my ironic nom du comment.
Well, no, because two weeks ago, We Were All Gay Mexican Interns. It's an honorable nickname, and Daniel Hernandez deserves to immortalized as an action figure far more than that poseur Wolverine.
So I'm here. I don't know if I'll go run now or go to the dog park. It is cold
You can go run AT the dog park!!!
But watch your step!
There's at least a foot of snow on the ground, and it's 18 degrees F. My dad is telling me I should still go to the dog park. OF course it is open all year round, so I have no excuse.
Except that it's 18 degrees F.
Have you told your father that you don't even have a fucking dog?
I believe O'Reilly would leave Foxnews for enough money and the chance to headline what he will see as his own cable news network. Obviously O'Reilly would be hired in the same type of capacity that you see NFL coaches get when they're hired to be both head coach and general manager, not that that always works out for the best. Until this happens, and I'm convinced it will (O'Reilly, although his ratings aren't that much higher than Hannity or Beck's. would be seen as much more likely to be accepted by the type of middle-right leaning audience that Comcast will be shooting for), look for Olbermann to be gone as a business decision and someone like Maddow to be moved in to replace him temporarily. But by the end of the year, MSNBC will have a new, if transitional look. Chris Mathews will reassigned and maybe they'll hire Lou Dobbs to take his place. Dobbs must be going crazy locked into Fox business where, truly, he has no audience.
Middle right leaning, only on your planet, most are right wing tea bag types.
They need to bring back Charles Grodin!
(Remember, time was, CNBC — this was in the years before MSNBC — had a nite-time line-up of Chris Matthews, Geraldo, & Grodin, with Grodin as a sort of copy of a copy of Charlie Rose.)
No shit? This is what I get for being a non-cable American. I love Grodin. He's like a huggable Christopher Walken.
Yea, well if Billo continues to give air space to the Neo Nazis like Russel Pierce, he is going to have to create his own station.
the Neo Nazi/ Skin head /White Supremacist channel!
Imagine, he will have the market all to himself!
Dobbs can be his side kick.
I am a Keith fan. I didn't always agree with him though. It was always great to see Eugene Robinson, even though I don't get why he got an award for spooking chickens. I watched each segment carefully to see if they would explain it and they never did. "And now, Pullet Surprise award winner, Eugene Robinson…"
Upfisted for "spooking". And terrible punniness.
Ditto.
Ditto. Mega-dittos.
Thanks, I was afraid that no one would get it. I fist you back with affection.
You should be ashamed for such punning, and that's the hallmark of punny success.
I fist you in no shame.
KO brought us Wendell Potter, a certified health insurance whistle blower, during all that drama. That gesture alone was worth 30 million.
He needed to do stuff like that more often.
Jeremy Scahill, the Blackwater expert, was another one.
Shout out to Jeremy!
The march to fascism continues. Thanks Comcast.
My news will come from Jon Stewart's pretty mouth or nowhere!
cuz it's not news if it's not from a certifiable liberal source
Exactly! Rush, Hannity, & O'Reilley haven't validated their pinko-liberal membership cards for 2011 yet. As soon as that is done, I'll be sure to tune back in!
Moran.
Billo is giving the Neo Nazis air time (Russel Pierce)
So there may be a shift on the Billo front.
To crazy land!
SHOW ME THE LIBERAL CERTIFICATE
Liberal certificate.
Blood Liberal Certificate
Next time, show me the Long Form.
Eh, you fuckers have Palin and Nugent to make you laugh, we have Stewart. Seems fair.
Cue the banjoes?
(Do Jews do banjo?)
Only the tri-lateral kind.
Klezmer.
Wait, Billy Carter writes for the New York Times now? That explains a lot.
Olbermann, Schmolbermann, here's yer real tragic news
HA!
Back in 2007, Mitt Romney, a devout Mormon and anti-porn advocate, was criticized for serving on the hotel chain's adult committee (and being unaware of the content the hotel was providing).
One can only imagine what he would be unaware of if he were president.
The difference here is that Marriott is all about profits; not enough bucks per dirty looks from the fundie types to justify standing up for teevee porn. MSNBC and Comcast, though consumed with the quest for money, will gladly kill a golden-egg-laying goose in the interest of political obeisance. I don't necessarily attribute the Jeffrey Immelt appointment by Obama to coincidence, either. Just raving here, a little, on a Saturday morning.
How awful! I'm crying like Boehner. This is not the America a grew up in.
The Hilton family, to judge by Paris' behavior, will not be so punctilious about what guests do in hotel rooms.________________________________________
So there's absolutely nothing to do in Utah now.
Of course to be consistent with the faith of their owners, Marriott should also stop selling coffee…and liquor.
Hahahahahaha…..
What? No smut? I think if an adult wants to have some adult entertainment in the privacy of their own room they should be allowed to indulge.
Market share down in early trading.
Monday, bet on it.
On the bright side, so many right wingers masterbated so hard over this their dicks fell off. Now they can't reproduce.
Spell it right or swear off.
I just fisted you soooo hard.
ooooops Masturbate…..sorry!
You can't reproduce by fucking young boys. Sorry.
I'm outraged that you are not outraged by this outrage because it's outrageous and if you do not get outraged by this outrage very soon, there will be more to be outraged about but there will be no one left to be outraged by the outrageous.
Could you please supply a link for this quote.
I have been to Palin's FB page and can't find *any* references to Keith at all.
Unless this is supposed to be a parody, in which case it's uncannily spot-on.
In either case, please clarify.
Thanks for your support.
/s/
Under the Weather
I made it up as a parody of her egocentrism. But Shailey Tripp is a real person. Google "todd palin prostitute"
Isn't one of their brood's named Tripp? Holy shit.
In the future, with genetic engineering, these questions will get hopelessly complicated.
Yeah. Pretty creepy all around, and not in a good way. {{shudder}}
Dr. Maddow,
Please shout once in a while and throw paper at the camera.
Thanks,
Sad Liberal
My 66 years old stepfather, who worked on a factory floor for almost thirty years, watches Rachel. I don't try to understand it, but whatever she's doing is working.
He's hoping he'll get to see her tongue-kiss another woman.
Possibly. But I think it's more how articulate she is. Stepfather always ran toward Democrat, but of late, he's gotten even less receptive to the GOP. & having those leftist bombs thrown by someone so articulate…
Or, it could just be inexplicable. Like my ninety-years-old maternal grandparents watching Ellen & Dr. Oz.
I was just projecting again…
This is a fine opportunity for MSNBC (whatever that is) to start a TV renaissance. Perhaps they could bring back Bernstein's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra", or "Playhouse 90". Unless that unlikely eventuality occurs, who gives a shit.
Commence the thawing of Ernie Kovacs!
Or Rhoda, maybe. Rhoda would be good too.
"Winston Cigarettes Presents Live From The Metropolitan Opera House" or GTFO.
I can imagine the kind of program that would be produced today under the title "Playhouse 90." It would be a lot like Mrs. Moonves' Big Brother, except with 90 assholes, instead of the smaller number she employs.
You know what? We're in the middle of a Golden Age of Teevee right now, even though there's a lot of schlock out there. On the other hand, there's The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Extras, Dexter, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and so on. I'd venture to say that the best 20% of what's on now is probably a lot better than the best 20% of any other period in American TV. A lot of these have a level of narrative complexity that you just never saw on episodic TV before–I look at DVDs of St Elsewhere's first season, and it really jumps out how much EXPLAINING the writers felt compelled to include even in that excellent show–which was definitely among the best of the 1980s. Hell, "The Daily Show" often does media analysis that can stand with the best of NPR's "On the Media."
And sure, there's a lot of crap–but was it not ever thus? "My Mother the Car," anyone?
That 30 million dollars was for piecework–he got paid by the word and he hit his quota on Friday nite so no more talkee unless Kieth gets more money.
I like Keith and I will miss his bombast every night. The left had someone who fought back just a little bit and the right with their idea that no different opinion can contradict them, even when based upon facts is getting old.
This'll probably be my last comment in what is becoming the Wonkette Civil War….
People on here keep saying "We need him because he was one of us." No, we shouldn't be expected to support Olbermann just because he's liberal any more than a fan of hip hop should have to like Souljah Boy, or a fan of science fiction should have to like Stargate. I may be a fan of the genre, but that doesn't mean I have to like everything or everyone who is a part of that genre.
I used to watch Olbermann all the time, but got fed up as his show degenerated from an entertaining news show with a liberal bias to segment after segment of straw men, loaded questions, and name-calling.
When Olbermann first blew up at Bush in 2006 for turning a comment Kerry made about Bush into a comment about the troops, Bush had it coming. Olbermann's argument was honest, logical, and dead-on. But as time went on and the special comments got more frequent, suddenly everything Bush did, even perfectly ordinary things, became a scandal (remember the "Bushed" segment where every mistake W made got the suffix "-gate" attached to it). His commentary on Scott Brown in which he took everything Brown ever did, no matter how innocent or inconsequential, as an excuse to call Brown every liberal insult in the book on the eve of his election was finally a bridge too far for me. There were plenty of reasons to be against Scott Brown without resorting to that kind of exaggeration.
And the decline in his show should have been extremely obvious even to him when he's immediately followed every night by a vastly superior show. That doesn't mean I wanted him off the air, though. I just wanted his show to be better.
What you said.
The show became rather tiresome once W was out of office; the outrage lost its footing.
On the plus side, Rachel and Lawrence are doing well, and even Cenk is getting more airtime these days.
What Dewey said.
Nobody likes Souljah Boy.
I'm glad I don't know who Souljah Boy is. I have the feeling he is not the kind of Souljah I would be proud of.
I have to idea, either. For what it's worth.
Agreed. I appreciated KO during the Bush years and usually agreed with his politics, but there were plenty of times when he just brought on people to agree with what he said, asking loaded questions so Eugene Robinson or the dude from The Nation would just say "Oh yeah Keith, totally what you said, I didn't get you with my teeth, did I?" From the few clips I've seen online since I got rid of my TV, that hadn't changed in the last year or two.
I appreciate Rachel or even Lawrence O'Donnell – they will bring on people with an opposing viewpoint and then totally demolish that person's argument with a well-reasoned argument of their own. Witness Rachel calmly telling off Rand Paul last year, for example. After that Mitch McConnell had to order the guy to stay off TV altogether. KO would have just named him Worst Person while all his viewers nodded their heads and said "That's right!" Might have been entertaining, might have made people feel better, but it wasn't any different from any of the other blowhard partisan pundits anywhere else.
"Oh yeah Keith, totally what you said, I didn't get you with my teeth, did I?" TV in a nutsack, I mean nutshell.
I can respect your point of view. During the Bush years we needed Keith because almost everyone else in the media, up until the time that Keith found his voice, was going in lockstep with Bush. People are so ungrateful.
I have been quietly fisting you all morning. Hope you appreciate that.
Aw, shit…first they came for BarackMyWorld, and I said NOTHING…(sob!)
I do the same. Just one more friendly service I provide.
Thumbs up, but you could have saved a lot of time if this had been your first comment.
Also, his pee wouldn't have taken all those thumbs down hits. Wonkette Civil War, indeed. Makes me laugh just to think of it. Don't bring a toothpick to a popsicle stick fight? What would be the apropos cliche?
Thought splurge gunz were the weapon of choice here?
They bring a brie, we bring a baguette! ARUGULA!!!!!!
KO's show morphing into something that featured straw men, loaded questions and name calling was nothing more than a logical response to every political show on Fox which features straw men, loaded questions and name calling. KO became a counter-weight to the Fox approach. You impliedly suggest that the shows hosted by Hannity, O'Reilly, Beck and their pathetic ilk are such pantheons of objectivity by comparison to KO. KO's show may have been the only one that fought fire with fire and for that, we should have been grateful instead of applying either the hipster criticism of him, or the librul guilty conscience reaction to anybody on the right telling you that you don't have the right to act like they do, or that somehow "you hate America," and for a brief instant you wonder whether those fucks on the right may have something there. None of KO's kindred joined him in being a full-on foil to the assholes on the right mentioned above, leaving only KO with the counter-weight responsibility. I for one, appreciated the fact that you didn't have to worry about him bringing on some fuck like Congressman Steve "Obama is so Urban" King, and even giving him the time of day.
The terrorists have won.
As Erick Erickson tweeted last night: "I wonder if @SarahPalinUSA had anything to do with Olbermann? To the left, it'd be just like Arizona. Sigh"
The dude jerks off while tweeting.
CNN revolts; you debride.
i just wish I had a job.
I hope you get one.
Work is over-rated. So I hear.
Work is over-rated, getting paid, however , is the nazz.
I guess all Old Yeller's have a sad ending.
If they lose Rachel or O'Donnell that will be on Comcast, but Olbermann has been all about the drama for some time. My theory is that Tim Russert was the glue holding this little dysfunctional family of many egos together. Once he was gone, the feuds began and all cohesion was lost. It gives me the sadz.
Like the Godfather, with Russert as Vito?
Oh dear…who's Fredo in this story? Tell him to stay out of the boat…
Easy: Chuck Todd.
Exactly. Given past history, for all anyone knows, Olbermann stormed off in some kind of huff.
I kind of thought about that, too. Like Jack Parr walking off his show. Except KO didn't do that, and sent off classy.
Does this mean KO can be back on Football Night in America?
I'm worried about Mark Potok from the Southern Poverty Law Center. You think he'll find another gig?
He was a frothing, thin-skinned, shrill, bloviating gasbag, but he was OUR frothing, thin-skinned, shrill, bloviating gasbag.
Only watched maybe ten minutes of this guy's show ever and it was not "my thing". He sort of struck me as being like Bill Maher, that even when he was right, he was enough of a jerk about it as to rub me the wrong way.
I think folks need to see what happens next before getting bent out of shape.
oh doan yu go sayin' nothin' bad about billy maher.
oh no yu doant
Which leftist partisan hack will get the job?
OMG COULD IT BE ROCK STAR PAUL BEGALA??!?
Little Andy Breitbart is free, not being able to hold down an actual job and all.
Just not James Carville.
I am pretty sure Carville is currently stalking some hobbits to try to get "his precious" back.
I love how the conservative world has hundreds of pundits and they are all well regarded by the right. While the liberals have less than 4 actual liberal pundits and they are despised by much of the "left".
It is not my fault that a certain "insect mentality" always sticks by the folks on "their side" no matter how screwed up their behavior gets.
See Foley, Mark.
Not really despised, just not revered. Plus, I really have better things to do other than listen to other people tell me what they think and why I should too, so I don't faithfully tune in political pundits.
I don't go to church, either. Same reason.
Please, people–it's "pundints"
I knew Sarah Palin was lurking around here somewhere.
Well said, and a good explanation of the overabundance of reichwing pundits, they need "daddy/pastor/drill instructor" telling them what to think, when to poop and to buy their damn book now!
Oh me, oh my. I do both. Does that mean I have to leave "my" the wonket? Or come back with a new screen name like, "Fuck gelatin salad and David "You're Welcome" Schuster and the horse he rose in on?" Just so no one would know it's me?
No, please keep your nom de plume, I like it, and the avatar. I think that we are mostly adults here, and can have a reasonable discussion about someone some of us admire, some of us do not, and I believe that most of us would admit that O contributed something of worth to the public discourse through the years.
Contrast this with the right wing, who must be in lock-step at all times.
Besides, Mr. O seemed to make lefties heads explode on a regular basis, which I have to admire him for, puerile though this may seem.
OT, but not entirely: From The Onion: Political Pundits Surprisingly Good At Getting Inside Mentally Unbalanced Shooter's Head
At this point, I have no interest in another news analysis show. The Maddow team does such a good job breaking down the issues in a thoughtful manner backed by impeccable research. I'd love for MSNBC to pick up a Frontline style investigative news show but that would get in the way of non-stop Lockdown reruns.
My first thought when I heard the news was "Boy, it sure didn't take ComCast long to get rid of him."
Hooray! Now all network news is brought to us by GE, Westinghouse, and Disney. That's why I usually just watch the BBC or read Wonkette.
Really, Ken? "Worst Person in the World"? I'll just bet your mama is sooo proud of you. I know I am.
Ummm, actually it's been that way for a long time. Of them all, GE owning NBC was about the worst business decision for both sides. The "networks" will be out of the news business in about 10 years — I know, I know, they already are…
I'll bet you still think Westinghouse makes lightbulbs, too. Westinghouse hasn't existed as a corporation since the late 1990s when it was broken up and sold for parts by a CEO who had previously worked for PepsiCo. The old Westinghouse Broadcasting arm of the late corporation is now part of CBS and CBS ownership has nothing to do with the defense-contract and/or nuclear energy parts of Westinghouse that were sold to others (e.g. Morrison Knudsen, Mitsubishi, etc.). Not to say that the entities involved aren't evil, but you can't equate "Westinghouse" with GE and Disney because it is only a label and hasn't been traded on the stock exchange for a decade.
Thanks! I guess it's true that you can't tell the players withjout a program.
This frees him up to replace Regis on "Regis and Kelly". I'd stopped watching KO a few years ago — it was always the same thing. Knowing him, he probably tired of seeing his name next to MSNBC (funny, Ken, reminding us where the MS came from) and the words "languishing behind FOX". Keith's a sports guy and knows winners and losers and saw that he was never going to go up. I think, finally, Keith got bored with his shtick.
You might be right.
I see Keith leaving politics behind for a bit, maybe going to the NFL Network — where he can join fellow ESPN refugee Rich Eisen — for two or three years.
(Remember, too: it was NFL.com that bailed out Brookings Brother Gregg Easterbrook when ESPN.com dumped Tuesday Morning Quarterback for comments at TheNewRepublic.com about how the Jew bosses at Disney should have known better not to make such violent movies. TMQ did three seasons at the NFL's site after that, I think. (ESPN eventually brought Gregggggggg back.))
Both you guys, get amusing pictorial avatars, toot sweet. I mean, really.
I uploaded an avatar — Catherine the Great of Russia — but it only appears when the site is wonky & the comments load in a basic display (no reply to function, & such as).
Ken was afflicting the comfortable while comforting the afflicted here on Wonkette. I missed that one, what an outlier in the trendline of "Worst Person in the World" hundreds of right wing assholes, then Ken, the a bunch more right wing assholes. It's like running down a list, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Ghandi, Bush The Second, Pinochet… Keith just sort of slipped that one in out of pettyness. I'll still miss him going off on a righteous tear about some hypocrite, but this does tarnish the "looned out Murrow" image I had of him.
Ths will fit in with Comcast's major business plan; run anything they own into the red.
I will certainly miss Keith Olbermann and his show I stopped watching years ago.
I remember years ago, when Lynn Cullen(a liberal radio host from Pittsburgh) was simulcast on CSPAN one day. They were getting calls from people from rural areas and the south who were amazed there was such a thing as a liberal radio show. Just as they were amazed, I think a lot of people don't realize many us stuck in places like Pennsyltucky would need a 50 foot car antenna to get NPR and our local papers are full of RW hack op-eds. However we have no trouble getting Rush, Beck, Hannity, Mike Gallagher, Savage, G. Gordon Liddy, Laura Ingraham, Neal Boortz, etc. clear as a bell 24/7.
So yeah, Keith was greatly appreciated in a media dominated by RW radio, Fox News and a CNN that turned any fact into a debatable point and gave rise to Lou Dobbs and the TV career of Beck. Yeah he could be over the top at times, but he could also call himself out when he was wrong. Which I can't say for the likes of David "I don't think we made mistakes" Gregory. Happy trails Keith.
I saw on some newsfeed that Olbermann was no longer at MSNBC but as usual went to my Wonkette for confirmation. Much more reliable than the New York Times or whatever source google news leaches from.
My news comes from Wonkette posts. I use the comments for grabbing funny lines to amaze my friends.
♪♫ I made up the Countdown, they let me do just what I please
I built up the Countdown, they let me do just what I please
Asked the Lord above "Why Bill O'Reilly is such a sleaze?"
Years of blabbin' on the Countdown, baby, now my risin' sun's a goin' down
Blabbin' at the Countdown, baby, eee, eee, my risin' sun's a goin' down
Comcast bought the show, now, poor Keith be sinkin' down
You can run, you can run, tell my friend Ol' Tina Brown
You can run, you can run, tell my friend sweet Tina Brown
"Keith got axe this mornin', do Newsweak or teh Beast need me around? ♫♪
$30 million dollars is more that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis got from the Onassis heirs, in payment for having to accept the…er…attentions of that old goat, Aristotle Onassis. Kind of an obscene amount of money. Once Olbermann could no longer scold the Boy Emperor, Bush, saying "Sir!" over and over again, in outrage, he kind of lost his purpose.
He wasn't my cuppa, but I'm glad he had a place from which to shout our views during George II's Keystone Komedy.
Ya know, snark aside, this is a disconcerting and unnerving occurrence. I was not a big fan of KO's bombast, but I did have a larger appreciation for what he was trying to do, which was give liberals a voice in a cableland largely populated by batshit conservatives.
Losing his voice is a hugely symbolic blow to liberals who could count on him to speak loudly for them. You people need to get over yourselves, some of you, and realize there are trees in the forest you claim to value.
What i like the most are comments on other web sites about how biased KO can be. WTF. Same people are probably watching Fox news and thinking, "wow these folks at Fox really presents both points of view". What a bunch of fucking "morans".
I do have a weird feeling about Comcast screwing around with MSNBC content, and Griffith is just jumping the gun to make himself look good.
Again the Liberals lose a big voice..fuck!
it was a dark and stormy $30M night…
For you Facebooky types, there's a Bring Keith Olbermann Back Facebook page now. But it makes me sad that Olbermann created it for himself.
Please tell me that you're joking about at least half of this.
No, not joking. AmericaBlog says Keith created it, and on Keith's Facebook page, he writes, "I have created the page, 'Bring Keith Olbermann Back.' Please Join."
Are you sure it isn't really Tucker Carlson doing an imitation?
Maybe I should begin a bring back David "You're Welcome" Schuster page. He got in trouble once for a dig about, ugh, Palin wasn't it? That, and saying "you're welcome" every time someone said, "Thank you," rather than the annoying, "Thank you," "Thank You," etc line.
Schuster earns a spot in my Grammar-Amenities HOF for the YW response to TY.
I am looking at the group, and it seems unlikely that Olbermann created it for himself.
See my reply to DustBowl above. Keith created it.
If that is not a hoax, then that group has the oddest description ever.
My last comment on this, for now because I'm going to bed and finishing my Sunday School prep for tomorrow, having just put out my Valentine's Day decorations (please tell me someone can relate to this. No? Well, fuck).
I'm old and I don't like change. Case closed. For tonight.
Best Special Comment evar.
This firing can mean only one thing…
Lockup: Inside Florence Supermax (8 PM)
Does tis mean there will be more episodes of Lockdown?
Good night & OH FUCK.
Time for Ken Layne to look into ways to spruce himself up for the cameras.
Keith Olbermann's greatest protector at MSNBC was Tim
Russert before his sudden death during the '08 campaign.
KO & Rachel Maddow:
"All About Eve"
Special Comment: "Fasten your seatbelts,it's going to be a bumpy night" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrAU3km8dRQ&fe...
I really enjoyed his Edward R. Murrow impressions. Would have worked better if he smoked on camera and the show was in black and white, though.
After wading through 457 Comments, all I can say is, I stopped being impressed by/watching KO shortly after he started patting me on the head and telling me how illiterate I was by READING Thurber to me on air… Lie to me, insult my intelligence, but do not fucking patronize me, fuckface!
He once had on the remaining members of Monty Python, The Kids in the Hall, and MST3K. Plus, I think he was the originator of "Coultergiest" for our Ann.
So, yeah. Bite me, I'll miss him.
Nicely said. An original & one of the handful of eloquent pied pipers for the progressive cause on TV. I hope to hear him on the radio or the internet while he waits out his "conditions". Blank the corporate whores!
Hey, now; I'm a fan of Conan's recession beard. Took a while, but now I can't imagine him without it.
So, he should have been interviewing Republican officeholders, instead, right?
Republicans and Democrats are the only two options? How about some actual experts?
I laughed at this. Fist for you.
He did have some experts. What's the deal? You miffed that Ralph Nader doesn't have his own show?
It's not easy showing off during an ice age. Why do you think they called it "little"?
Reporting the story in a way that leaves out any facts that might contradict his forgone conclusion, followed by loaded questions while interviewing other pundits whose only role is to parrot what Keith just said two minutes earlier isn't my definition of talking to experts.
EVERY FUCKING EPISODE SPENT THE FIRST SEGMENT DOING THIS.
no
Dude, America is largely a subcortical nation. Present facts and make rational arguments and you may get half of the white college educated populace to listen. You don't bring frontal lobes to a limbic fight.
FTW
You don't bring frontal lobes to a limbic fight.
I am so using that in class next week.
Oh, yes. Switching my Profile quote to that .
Mmm, hot political nerd with a fill-in-the-blank body! *fap-fap-fap*
What a relief you were just showing off your History Nerd Skills…When I saw "Little Ice Age," I was worried that a climate change denial rant was coming. My apologies for doubting you.
In the interview I read with Mike, I remember him saying he thought liberals were trying to push the country in a "silly" direction which is pretty much the mildest thing you can say about the opposing political party. I'd like to think of Joel as a perfect being ,beyond silly things like political affiliations, floating through the cosmos mocking coleman francis.
This morning's guests are SayItWithWookies, Negropolis, Barbara_i, and Prommie, America's only pundit found in a Catholic school dumpster.
If only there was some way for the fetid faeces and the pumas to unite. Imagine the good we could do together.
Any culture that gives us used schoolgirl panties in vending machines has a right to chauvinism.
Yeah but how many of them have had Sara Benincasa on to explain WTF is going on in this country? I think that pushes RT over the finish line.
It would be the first Sunday chat show where nobody made even a cursory attempt to hide their hangover. Everyone would just wear what they woke up in (or a bathrobe, since the FCC might object to complete accuracy…)
The set could look like someone's basement, or maybe a post-apocalyptic hobo jungle.
TSA-1138 better make an appearance.
Also, too.
I wish I could afford your wardrobe.
"I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat."–Will Rogers
Minus P points you're getting just means you failed at being funny, clever, snarky, or having big enough trucknutz. It is okay, Muffin — it doesn't always work. Maybe we can just cuddle.
I loved Keith during the Bush years. Bush was his Mobey and Keith was the dick. It was great. The peak.
Mmm. Cut n pasting comments == not to take seriously. Even a little bit.
actually I didn't get past the first sentence, and yeah I do have an 'attitude' so crucify my already…
thanks for the fine commenting and defense of KO brother, I don't give a fuck who didn't like his 'bombastic' style, his outrage was sincere and he took apart the asswipes on the right, point by point, and he did it alone for years until Rachel joined him…if it weren't for KO and Wonkette and Mike Malloy and Randi Rhodes and Thom Hartmann speaking out against the Bush/ Cheney criminals during their 8 fucking years of madness and terror, I'd have lost my mind, or what's left of it…
One last time (and mercifully brief this once): It's not the substance I object to. It's the style. I don't think I ever found myself disagreeing with what he had to say. I just find his "passion" about as convincing as Bohner's tears.
I thought complaining about Olbermann's allegedly faux outrage, and then treating us to an entire page of his outrage over one of us not using quotation marks exactly how he/she would like them to be used was odd.
How can you say you agree with the substance but dislike the style when the two are intertwined? I'll admit from time to time Olberman was a bit dramatic in his delivery but let's examine the evidence of sincerity: the $2 million plus in donations to travelling free clinics from his viewers (and unlike Glenn Beck and Ohio, Olberman didn't promise to give the proceeds to charity and then just pocket them) not to mention before Olberman our voices were all about unheard on the news. Because of his style that you object to his show was popular and gave Rachel her in to cable, also. So when you look at just what Olberman covered I'd say it's difficult to call the guy a shill, especially post Obama. I'd say it's awfully difficult to call him phony (and I have a good radar for phony) when you consider the causes raised. Also, let's not forget he got into trouble for making discretionary donations which is a long distance from those shameless GOP shills at Fox; now THAT is shilling and if you want examples, go to media matters…there's no comparison.
Also I know you've made you little GOP "they're as bad as we are!" pull themselves out the shitter by doubling down on lies talking point but comparing Olberman to Boehner is just ridiculous. Unless you're saying there's nothing geniune for liberals to be upset about and therefore like Fox we must invent issues to get angry at you're being disingenous. Rachel Maddow might have a softer, friendlier delivery than say KO or Ed Schultz does but that's because this seems to be her actual personality. I watched her on Realtime literally having to stand to talk because that child molester looking Steve Moore wouldn't shut the fuck up and kept trying to silence her and she STILL didn't get upset (maybe frustrated but she keeps her cool, always). If that is what you prefer, then cool and it's a preference issue but don't doubt someone's sincerity just because they use a delivery style you don't prefer. It's not like KO ever cried (like Boehner) or simulated crying with Vicks Vapo-Rub (ala Beck) which goes well into faux (want to see fake? see Hilary post New Hampshire).
oh substance over style. I love rock 'n roll but cant stand heavy metal even though some of it has depth.
Dont like Ed all that much either, but do like Papatano and Cenk. And Tom Hartman. Amy Goodman has great writing but needs a buxom blond to deliver the message so we can all fap to, not only the words, but the images too.
I guess I just have a bee in my bonnet over (what apparently only I see as) his fake delivery since I agree with what he says. I couldn't give a rat's arse about whether Boehner, right-wing pundits etc. are convincing, since they are lying fucks and propagandists to start with. But to see someone speak the truth, all while sounding disingenuous and ripping off his betters (Murrow) just bugs me.
Perfectly stated.. Could not agree with you more.
I agree Amy Goodnews always know just what stories about starving South Americans will put a pep in my step and a smile on my face all day long.
Sorry about the double post. Had replied to the wrong comment, copied it and pasted it as a reply to the one I originally intended to answer, but by the time got around to deleting this (misplaced one), it was too late since there were replies and it was un-baleteable.
(shirley you have better reasons not to take me seriously though!)
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