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How do we deal with American illiteracy?
Perhaps you are disturbed, as I am, that there are large numbers of Americans appearing in this political season who cannot interpret either the needs of the nation or the words of various experts in how to fill those needs. It is very apparent in the repetition by average Americans of things they hear from sources like Fox News, or even CNN and MSNBC, without evaluating whether they are true.
This has a lot to do with literacy, defined by ProLiteracy.org as “the ability to read, write, compute, and use technology at a level that enables an individual to reach his or her full potential as a parent, employee, and community member.” The statistics?
- 63 million adults — 29 percent of the country’s adult population —over age 16 don’t read well enough to understand a newspaper story written at the eighth grade level.
- An additional 30 million — 14 percent of the country’s adult population — can only read at a fifth grade level or lower.
- Forty-three percent of adults with the lowest literacy rates in the United States live in poverty.
- The United States ranks fifth on adult literacy skills when compared to other industrialized nations.
- In the U.S., 63 million adults — 29 percent of the country’s adult population —over age 16 don’t read well enough to understand a newspaper story written at the eighth grade level.
- An additional 30 million — 14 percent of the country’s adult population — can only read at a fifth grade level or lower.
- Forty-three percent of adults with the lowest literacy rates in the United States live in poverty.
- The United States ranks fifth on adult literacy skills when compared to other industrialized nations.
- Adult low literacy can be connected to almost every socio-economic issue in the United States.
- Low health literacy costs between $106 billion and $236 billion each year in the U.S.
- Seventy-seven million Americans have only a 2-in-3 chance of correctly reading an over-the-counter drug label or understanding their child’s vaccination chart.
- Low literacy’s effects cost the U.S. $225 billion or more each year in non-productivity in the workforce, crime, and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment.
Got the idea? How do you think the result of these statistics show up during the election season? Take a look:
This is not something that can be corrected in the short term… mores the pity. It requires long-term support of education and the increased employment of teachers. It mandates aiming the majority of our youth to college education as opposed to the military. It means encouraging reading and writing on continuing upgraded levels.
It also requires a massive reduction in the influence of current television programming, something that is the least likely to happen anytime soon.
Related articles
- ProLiteracy Urges President Obama to Remember Adults at Lowest Level of Literacy (prweb.com)
- Guest Commentary: Subsidized preschool in Denver is key (denverpost.com)
- Literacy Program Has Adults Reading, against the Odds (blog-aauw.org)
- Literacy Month: Know the Facts, Make an Impact (lulu.com)
- National Assessment of Adult Literacy (thirdworldliberator.wordpress.com)
- The NFECs’ Adult Financial Literacy Program Designed for Low- to Moderate-Income Participants Launches (prweb.com)
- You: Non-formal education stressed for prosperity (nation.com.pk)
- BOOK PREGNANT: The Importance of Literacy in My Life, and Yours (alenaslife.wordpress.com)
If you didn’t see Letterman last night…
…then you missed Keith Olbermann talking about his breakup with Current.
I know Keith can come across as somewhat pompous, but I an’t tell you how much I miss tuning in to his show. I was very upset when he left MSNBC and was fortunate enough to have a cable contract that included Current (which I now no longer need)… but now there is no Keith at 8 PM.
Here’s the interview with Keith from last night:
Yeah, I know. Keith often seems full of himself… but I don’t think any conservative host would ever take responsibility for a show’s failure, money or not. And I hope the “nice Judge” takes Keith’s side in court…I really think he has been screwed.
Finally, I don’t know where he will end up next, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be there.
Related articles
- Keith Olbermann to David Letterman: I Screwed Up Big Time! (thehollywoodgossip.com)
- Keith Olbermann Tells David Letterman He’s a 10-Million-Dollar Chandelier That Didn’t Fit the House: VIDEO (towleroad.com)
- Keith Olbermann fired again (leftperspectives.com)
- Keith Olbermann Reacts to Firing, Being Replaced By Eliot Spitzer (inquisitr.com)
- This is turning out to be a really bad day… (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
- Olbermann Going On David Letterman (lezgetreal.com)
MSNBC Dumps Pat Buchanan
You can either celebrate or cry, but here’s the word:
Pat Buchanan has been dismissed by MSNBC, the left-leaning news network, four months after the channel suspended him.
In an angry post on his blog, conservative commentator Buchanan took his critics to task, writing, “After 10 enjoyable years, I am departing, after an incessant clamor from the left that to permit me continued access to the microphones of MSNBC would be an outrage against decency, and dangerous.”
Buchanan says the calls for his firing began with the publication in October of his book “Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?” about America’s decline, which critics have called racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic.
Upon his suspension, Buchanan quotes MSNBC President Phil Griffin as telling the press regarding his new book, “I don’t think the ideas that (Buchanan) put forth are appropriate for the national dialogue, much less on MSNBC.”
Buchanan, a former White House aide to Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan and a former Republican presidential candidate, had been with MSNBC as a political analyst since 2002.
On his website, Buchanan called his ouster “an undeniable victory for the blacklisters.”
Among the groups he cites as his accusers: Color of Change, Media Matters, the Anti-Defamation League and the Human Rights Campaign.
Frankly, I’m just as glad to see him go, although he didn’t really bother me. I saw him as more of a clown. He’ll turn up on the McLaughlin Group and on Fox… don’t worry about it.
Related articles
- Pat Buchanan Canned Over Book at MSNBC (webpronews.com)
- Pat Buchanan Out at Msnbc (maboulette.wordpress.com)
- Why did MSNBC drop Pat Buchanan? (csmonitor.com)
- Was MSNBC Right to Fire Pat Buchanan? (collegecandy.com)
- Pat Buchanan is gone from MSNBC (americablog.com)
- Pat Buchanan Will Have To Find Another Enabler (duanegraham.wordpress.com)
- Pat Buchanan out at MSNBC (boston.com)
- “A Moment Of Silence, Please”: MSNBC And Pat Buchanan Part Ways (mykeystrokes.com)
- MSNBC Dumps Controversial Commentator Pat Buchanan (losangeles.cbslocal.com)
Quote of the Week (or more) – How the GOP views contraception…
Andrea Mitchell got a big surprise when interviewing Santorum funder Foster Friess about Rick’s stand on banning contraception:
“Back in my day, they used Bayer aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees and it wasn’t that costly.”
As someone said on television this morning, it’s the kind of quote you can hear over and over again and just not believe someone said it… and certainly not on the air.
Here’s what it looked like:
Related articles
- Santorum Backer Friess Praises Old-School ‘Contraceptive’: Aspirin (npr.org)
- Santorum’s Super Funder: Women Used To Put an Aspirin Between Their Legs for Contraception (crooksandliars.com)
- Chief Santorum backer’s eyebrow-raising comment on contraception (firstread.msnbc.msn.com)
- Santorum Super PAC Backer: “Back In My Days, They Used Bayer Aspirin For Contraception” (buzzfeed.com)
- Friess Apologizes After Bizarre Statement (huffingtonpost.com)
- Foster Friess Apologizes For Aspirin Comment: ‘My Wife Constantly Tells Me I Need New Material’ (mediaite.com)
- Rick Santorum sugar daddy on contraception: In my day, girls put aspirin between their knees (dailykos.com)
Tonight is Obama’s State of the Union Address…
President Barack Obama will deliver his State of the Union speech tonight at 9 p.m. EST. It is expected to last at least an hour, after which Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana will deliver the Republican response (there will be a Tea Party response from Herman Cain… don’t miss it. All speeches like this should end with humor.)
Obama is expected to use the State of the Union to pitch new initiatives on jobs, taxes and housing, in what will be billed as his opening salvo in a long 2012 election race. He will probably push tax breaks for bringing manufacturing jobs home from overseas, give ideas to help the troubled home-mortgage market and create incentives for alternative energy development. Expect him to call again for higher taxes on the wealthy – despite consistent Republican opposition – and to speak of further pressure on China over currency and trade practices.
There are a number of ways you can watch and follow the speech online. The official White House website, which will not only be streaming the speech live, but will be accompany it with charts, stats, and data that reinforce the address. On television, ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC will all air the speech live. The Huffington Post will also run liveblog coverage of the event, accompanied by an embedded live video feed.
Some items based on recent Obama remarks leading up to the address:
“Before we take money away from our schools or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break.”
The President has promised to let the Bush tax cuts for millionaires expire at the end of 2012.
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“[The Affordable Care Act] is making prescription drugs cheaper for seniors and giving uninsured students a chance to stay on their parents’ coverage.”
At least 2.5 million young Americans now have health insurance through their parents’ health care plans until 26 years of age. As of November, more than 2.2 million people with Medicare had saved more than $1.2 billion on prescriptions (I’m one of them. I support this whole heartedly. - Bill)
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Expect the Republicans to make it clear that they will continue to oppose Obama’s positions… but also expect Obama to say that he will be seeking bi-partisan progress even though it is an election year.
It should be noted, however, that State of the Union messages have historically not effected increases in a President’s poll ratings (an exception being Bill Clinton’s 2nd address which increased his numbers by 3%.)
Related articles
- Obama to Hold Google+ ‘Hangout’ After State of the Union Address (techland.time.com)
- President Obama’s State of the Union Address Webcast (diaryofafemaleveteran.wordpress.com)
- State of the Union: President Obama’s big campaign speech (tarpon.wordpress.com)
- Obama to Answer Your Questions on State of the Union Interview on Google+ (socialtimes.com)
- Obama to shift strategy on healthcare in 2012 – The Hill’s Healthwatch (policyabcs.wordpress.com)
Most Disgusting Quote of July – have you heard this one?
Referring to the mass murders in Norway and the murderer’s views on immigrants:
Pat Buchanan joins the Ranks of the Inverted
“With her native-born populations aging, shrinking and dying, Europe’s nations have not discovered how to maintain their prosperity without immigrants. Yet the immigrants who have come – from the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia – have been slow to learn the language and have failed to attain the educational and occupational levels of Europeans. And the welfare states of Europe are breaking under the burden.[...]“
As for a climactic conflict between a once-Christian West and an Islamic world that is growing in numbers and advancing inexorably into Europe for the third time in 14 centuries, on this one, Breivik may be right.”
- Pat Buchanan in an OpEd on World Net Daily.
Of course, Pat Buchanan is the main reason I don’t even turn Morning Joe on any more. If MSNBC had any sense, they’d ship him over to Fox who would welcome him in with open arms.
It feels so good to have Olbermann back!
OK… It’s the first day of Keith Olbermann‘s Countdown on the Current TV Network, and I am watching him Interview Michael Moore on Obama’s ethical and legal avoidance of the War Powers Act in Libya. I’m thrilled that the first thing Keith did was show that he wasn’t a front for the current Administration… or Democrats in general.
When you compare him to Fox News with its talking heads adhering to the Roger Ailes Daily List of attacks that will be made on the left and no connection with the truth, you find the kind of independent thought that we have missed since Keith went off MSNBC.
It is great to hear again a Special Comment, this one giving the definition of his program’s point of view:
“The weakest citizen in this country is more important than the strongest corporation.”
John Dean is here to comment on Justice Clarence Thomas taking gifts and his wife taking funding from a conservative Texas millionaire and seeing how this affects his Supreme Court decisions, like the Walmart/ women employees class action suit which came down against the female employees of the big-time retailer. As Dean said
Markos Moulitsas (before Daily Kos)
about the Court, this is a great day for big business.
And Markos Moulitsas (of the Daily Kos) is back as a regular commentator after having been bounced off the tube by MSNBC a year ago for comments that network ( and especially Joe Scarborough) apparently didn’t agree with.
Welcome back, Keith. I’ll be watching.
Related articles
- Keith Olbermann announces first ‘Countdown’ guests (insidetv.ew.com)
- You’ll Never Guess Who Keith Olbermann’s First Guests Are [Debuts] (gawker.com)
- Countdown with Keith Olbermann returns TONIGHT at 8 PM Eastern (dailykos.com)
- Olbermann Returns Today With New Countdown Show (jonathanturley.org)
- Keith Olbermann’s Revenge and More (iflizwerequeen.com)
- Keith Olbermann on Why He Left MSNBC – and How He Plans to Get Even (rollingstone.com)
- Current bets on Twitter & web video for Olbermann show (gigaom.com)
- How Many Will Watch The Premiere Of ‘Countdown With Keith Olbermann’ on Current TV? (Poll) (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
Ed Schultz Apologizes to Laura Ingraham… who apologizes to no one…
As I started watching the Ed Show tonight on MSNBC, Ed came out and did a long apology to Laura Ingraham, to MSNBC, to his wife and family and to his audience for making a low and insulting statement, apparently as an improvisation, on his radio show.
This was the statement:
“President Obama is going to be visiting Joplin, Missouri, on Sunday, but you know, like this right-wing slut — What’s her name, Laura Ingraham — Yeah, she’s a talk slut.
“You see, she was back in the days, praising President Reagan when he was drinking a beer overseas. But now that Obama’s doing it, they’re working him over.”
In his statement, Ed said he had been trying to get Ingraham on the phone to apologize in person, has left a message stating his apology and will continue trying to reach her.
Ingraham responded with cool understatement and claws extended.
“I was surprised to learn that Ed Schultz actually hosted a radio show,” she said. “Is it available only on line.”
Ingraham added a remark about “men who preach civility but practice misogyny.”
Separated at Birth |
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Then there was her statement on Nancy Pelosi in November of 2009:
“Nancy Pelosi basically did everything except sell her own body” (to pass health care reform bill).
There was her comment about how “black people” love ribs, followed by another statement on Michelle Obama back in November of 2010:
“Michelle’s lunch was baby back ribs. Afternoon snack, more ribs. Bedtime snack, the last three ribs!”
To date, I’ve never heard Laura Ingraham apologize to anyone… and, you know, she IS a talk slut.
Related articles
- Democrat’s Civility – Call Republican Woman a SLUT on National TV (dewgeneral.wordpress.com)
- MSNBC’s Ed Schultz suspended after calling Laura Ingraham a “Right-Wing Talk Slut.” (chicagonow.com)
- More misogyny at MSNBC: Neanderthal host attacks Laura Ingraham as a “slut” (michellemalkin.com)
- Harry Alford of the Black Chamber of Commerce talks to Laura Ingram on Obama (politics.ie)
The Return of Olbermann – a Date is Set.
Hooray! Keith Olbermann will be back on Monday, June 20, at 8 PM Eastern… the network? Current TV (The one Al Gore is a major investor in).
What’s even better is what he is going to call the new show: Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
As Keith said when making the announcement vis-a-vis the show name:
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
I guess I’m going to have to catch MSNBC on the re-run.
Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann Heads to Current TV (tvsquad.com)
- Keith Olbermann to Current TV (dailykos.com)
- Keith Olbermann to Host Show on Current TV (cbsnews.com)
- Keith Olbermann: Joining Current TV? (joemygod.blogspot.com)
- Keith Olbermann’s Move to Current TV Offers New Beginnings for Both (tvsquad.com)
Quote(s) of the Day – re: The Republican Budget Plan
“A nervous breakdown on paper.”
- Rep. Emanuel Cleaver on MSNBC…
Of course, this is a quote on the opposite side that an assistant to Paul Ryan (main author of the Republican Budget Plan) said to Wiccaspirits that was quoted at The Political Carnival:
“His representative told me that they did not think it would hurt the middle class that much, and that the budget needed to be cut in any way necessary.
___________
“He told me that Republicans are not paying attention to what the American people want, they are paying attention to the cuts that need to be made, no matter where those cuts come from. He said Republicans are carrying the momentum right now and they will continue to do because that is what the American public wants right now.”
So whose side sums it up best? My bet is on Cleaver.
Rachel Maddow’s comments last night on Scott Walker
You go Rachel!
Related Articles
- More on Rachel Maddow, PolitiFact and other fun stuff In case… (shortformblog.tumblr.com)
- Watch: Rachel Maddow Interviews Defiant Democratic Wisconsin Senator on the Union Protests (towleroad.com)
Colin Powell “manipulated” into making the case for the Iraq War…
…said his former Chief of Staff last night on MSNBC.
Take a look:
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Of course, this is something most of us have assumed for years.
Related Articles
- “Colin Powell gets punked by the CIA” and related posts (bayareahouston.blogspot.com)
- Powell: CIA should answer on WMD (politico.com)
- Conscience catches up with Colin Powell (nowpublic.com)
- Colin Powell demands answers over ‘Curveball’ (telegraph.co.uk)
- Angry Colin Powell wants answers on Iraq WMD lies (capitolhillblue.com)
Let’s hear it for Al Gore…
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Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann joins Al Gore: The professional left strikes back! (thehill.com)
- Al Gore: Keith Olbermann Is Already Bringing New Viewers To Current (mediaite.com)
- Olbermann to become “chief news officer” of Al Gore’s cable channel (hotair.com)
- Keith Olbermann’s Move to Current TV Offers New Beginnings for Both (tvsquad.com)
Keith Olbermann Lands on his Feet!
Keith Olbermann
Keith will be coming back to television and I can’t wait!
This from Huffington Post (You can go in and read more…):
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Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann to Host New Nightly Primetime News and Commentary Show on Current TV (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
- Keith Olbermann Announces Move to Current TV (towleroad.com)
- Keith Olbermann Signs on With Current TV (thehollywoodgossip.com)
- It’s official: Keith Olbermann to host nightly show on Current TV (dailykos.com)
- Olbermann Will Be Chief News Officer For Current TV (oliverwillis.com)
- Keith Olbermann is Headed to Current TV (laist.com)
Quote of the Day – So, after Olbermann are we next?
“The loss of Keith Olbermann is a bad omen for America. We should be aware of this loss, and do what we can to let others know its impact — how much of democracy we have lost. I’m sure if George Orwell were alive today, he would weep at this atrocity. Just as we should, but we must also stand strong against these oligarchs. We must realize that they are in control; we must support our alternative media sites so long as we can — because soon they will be taking our websites down by raising prices and by other underhanded means to silence all dissent — even on the Internet.”
- Sam Hamod, Ph.D., at http://www.todaysalternativenews.com
Related Articles
- Jon Friedman’s Media Web: Why Keith Olbermann will return to TV (marketwatch.com)
- Jonathan Richards: Bring Me the Head of Keith Olbermann (huffingtonpost.com)
- UPDATE 3-MSNBC and anchor Keith Olbermann abruptly part ways (reuters.com)
- Omen: Keith Olbermann’s Exit Comes Exactly One Year After Air America’s Demise (mediaite.com)
- “Keith Olbermann and MSNBC’s Messy Breakup [Video]” and related posts (gawker.com)
- Mitchell Bard: A Tribute to Olbermann: Why He Is Different from the Pundits at Fox News (huffingtonpost.com)
What we can do to preserve Liberal/Progressive standards and information in the growing Right-Wing Oligarchy…
My wife asked me, as we watched the news about Keith Olbermann’s firing at MSNBC, the House of 
Representatives’ attack on necessary human services – especially in Health care, and the limiting of the commercial media to control by 6 right leaning corporations (excuse me… “citizens”, according to the SCOTUS): “What can we do?”
Good question, and one I think many Progressives and Liberals are asking themselves and each other right now.
Well, here are a few things to remember right now:
1.) The Internet, especially the blogosphere on the WWW, is an overwhelmingly Progressive place, with left oriented sites far outnumbering those on the right. As long as technology moves forward, it will remain Progressive… “Conservative Technology” is a backward concept that will not bring us into the kind of social network that we are only recently becoming aware if.
Therefore: get out there on these blogs (start with mine and the list of others you’ll find on the right side of this page)… make your comments seen… start your own blogs and make your opinions stand up with the rest of us. I look forward to cross-linking ith you.
2.) Get anything you can onto other media. I’m particularly fond of Radio and I participate on a very liberal morning
radio show (I’m on every Friday and I sub on other days when the regular host is on vacation) called “Winners and Losers” on WSHC FM 89.7, in Shepherdstown, WV. For folks not in our local broadcast range (limited to the WV Eastern Panhandle area) this station at Shepherd University has a large local listening population and more and more people who listen On Line.
If you live in a college town, you may find other stations like this one who allow locals to broadcast (you do it for Free as college stations have very low budgets.) Check it out.
3.) You can run for local, state, county… even National offices. Get involved in politics now. 2012 is likely to bring back the many voters who got Obama elected in the first place.
In Summary… GET INVOLVED. And when you come up with things, click on my little mailbox and let me know what you’re doing. Or leave a comment.
-Bill.
Related Articles
- More on why American Competitiveness is NOT a good model (iflizwerequeen.com)
- Why Keith Olberman’s Ouster Is Good for Progressives (hustleknockin.com)
- Excerpt: How the Rich Are Destroying the Earth (chelseagreen.com)
- A coaltion that breaks things up to change society can’t stop at the state | Julian Glover (guardian.co.uk)
- Was Olbermann a “victim of his own success”? (hotair.com)
Quote of the Day… one of many I’m seeing all over the Internet
“Countdown with Keith Olbermann was the anchor of something extraordinary that emerged, painstakingly and against all odds, during the Bush years. A mild liberal alternative was established in the corporate media to counter the flamethrowers at Fox. Nothing like it had existed since MSNBC fired Phil Donahue in early 2003. Now it’s gone. And it’s hard to see how this gaping hole on the “liberal” end of the corporate media is going to result in anything other than giving a louder voice and greater ventilation to the policies that are currently being advanced by an aggressive right-wing oligarchy.”
- Joseph A. Palermo, Associate Professor, American History, California State University, Sacramento.
Related Articles
- Sean McBride: The Disappearance of Keith Olbermann (Robert Parry) (consortiumnews.com)
- Juan Cole, too! Most of the best bloggers on the web have made support statements for Olbermann… (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
- Is Olbermann the victim of his own success? (salon.com)
- Keith Olbermann — Fired By MSNBC (tmz.com)
- Keith Olbermann out at MSNBC (washingtonmonthly.com)
This Sucks! Olbermann is leaving MSNBC
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Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann leaving MSNBC, ends `Countdown’ (boston.com)
- Keith Olbermann abruptly fired by NBC | Richard Adams (guardian.co.uk)
- Olbermann signs off msnbc – msnbc.com (news.google.com)
- Olbermann, MSNBC part ways (politico.com)
- Keith Olbermann out at MSNBC (seattlepi.com)
- Keith Olbermann Leaves “Countdown” & MSNBC [VIDEO] (mashable.com)
Keith Olbermann did a Special Comment on Obama’s compromise with the Republicans last night…
Here it is… worth listening to:
Thank you, Keith. I hope everyone listens.
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Newsflash: MSNBC President Phil Griffin Threatened To Fire Keith Olbermann
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“A STATEMENT TO THE VIEWERS OF COUNTDOWN” by Keith Olbermann
This was just issued by Keith:
I want to sincerely thank you for the honor of your extraordinary and ground-rattling support. Your efforts have been integral to the remedying of these recent events, and the results should remind us of the power of individuals spontaneously acting together to correct injustices great or small. I would also like to acknowledge with respect the many commentators and reporters, including those with whom my politics do not overlap, for their support.
I also wish to apologize to you viewers for having precipitated such anxiety and unnecessary drama. You should know that I mistakenly violated an inconsistently applied rule – which I previously knew nothing about – that pertains to the process by which such political contributions are approved by NBC. Certainly this mistake merited a form of public acknowledgment and/or internal warning, and an on-air discussion about the merits of limitations on such campaign contributions by all employees of news organizations. Instead, after my representative was assured that no suspension was contemplated, I was suspended without a hearing, and learned of that suspension through the media.
You should also know that I did not attempt to keep any of these political contributions secret; I knew they would be known to you and the rest of the public. I did not make them through a relative, friend, corporation, PAC, or any other intermediary, and I did not blame them on some kind of convenient ‘mistake’ by their recipients. When a website contacted NBC about one of the donations, I immediately volunteered that there were in fact three of them; and contrary to much of the subsequent reporting, I immediately volunteered to explain all this, on-air and off, in the fashion MSNBC desired.
I genuinely look forward to rejoining you on Countdown on Tuesday, to begin the repayment of your latest display of support and loyalty – support and loyalty that is truly mutual.
–K.O.
Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann Says He Didn’t Know About Donations Rule [Statements] (gawker.com)
- Olbermann Offers Apology to Fans, but Not to MSNBC (nytimes.com)
- Keith Olbermann Says MSNBC Suspended Him “Without A Hearing”, Slams “Inconsistently Applied Rule” (mediaite.com)
- Olbermann Apologizes to Viewers in Letter (cbsnews.com)
Juan Cole, too! Most of the best bloggers on the web have made support statements for Olbermann…
…and many, me included, are just not going to turn MSNBC back on unless Olbermann is restored.
Here’s part of Juan Cole‘s LONG piece… get all of it HERE:
That Olbermann is being treated unfairly is obvious. Joe Scarborough has also donated to a political campaign while at MSNBC. And Sean Hannity at Fox has given far more money to candidates than Olbermann ever did. In fact, Hannity donated to Michele Bachmann, which suggests he is better suited to playing a bit part in a remake of the Night of the Living Dead than to anchoring a major ‘news’ show.
Hell, most of the main Republican candidates for president are working for Fox Cable News! So it goes beyond giving some campaign a couple thousand dollars, nowadays!
Fox argues that Hannity is not a news anchor but the equivalent of an op-ed columnist, a purveyor of opinions, and so may also be a political actor.
But MSNBC has already marked Olbermann also as an opinion person, not a hard news anchor, when it took him off election coverage in 2008. So MSNBC has put Olbermann in the same category as Fox has put Hannity. But one is on the air and the other is not.
MSNBC has a long history of throwing liberals under the bus, despite its recent strategy of trying to use them to counter-program against Fox.
In the build-up to the Iraq War, MSNBC had Phil Donahue, whose evening magazine show was the highest-rated thing on the network. As the momentum for war built, the top corporate management became very nervous about having a show starring an anti-war liberal, so they fired Donahue Rick Ellis wrote at the time that General Electric-owned NBC had commissioned a study of its public image, and that the consultants produced a report in which they wrote, that Donahue was a “difficult public face for NBC in a time of war……He seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration’s motives.” The report worried that the war fever would benefit rival, pro-war, pro-Bush networks and implied that Donahue might succeed in branding NBC in a way that caused viewership and therefore advertising revenues to plummet.
MSNBC replaced Donahue with far right wing shock jock Michael Savage, Dick Armey and Republican Joe Scarborough (who went on to donate to a Republican politician while on the air).
Related Articles
- You: Olbermann suspension ignites debate (latimes.com)
- MSNBC: Un-Suspend Keith Olbermann. Bring him back (rupeenews.com)
Matt Taibi at Rolling Stone has commented on the Olbermann layoff…
Bring Back Keith!
I like Matt Taibi. Here is about half of his comment. The rest is HERE.
We had a whole generation of journalists who sat by and did nothing while, for instance, George Bush led us into an idiotic war on a lie, plus thousands more who spent day after day collecting checks by covering Britney’s hair and Tiger’s text messages and other stupidities while the economy blew up and two bloody wars went on mostly unexamined… and it’s Keith Olbermann who should “pay the price” for being unethical? Because, and let me get this straight, he donated money, privately, to politicians?
This is absurd even by GE‘s standards. There is no reason, not even a theoretical one, why any journalist should be prevented from having political opinions and participating in election campaigns in his spare time. The policy would be ridiculous even if we were talking about an evening news anchor — because the only “ethical” question here is the issue of NBC wanting to preserve the appearance of impartiality and being unable to do so, because political contributions happen to be public record and impossible to hide from viewers.
Again, that would be true even if we were talking about Brian Williams or Tom Brokaw, someone from whom viewers expect a certain level of impartiality. But what Olbermann does is advocacy journalism and it’s not exactly a secret. NBC punishing Olbermann for donating to Democratic candidates is like Hugh Hefner fining the Playmate of the Year for showing ankle. It’s completely and utterly retarded.
These periodic spaz attacks the people in our business have over obscure and usually completely made-up ethical controversies — often over this whole “objectivity” issue, which provides a seemingly endless source of false piety for some of the more obnoxious journo-ethicists — are really irritating. I’m biased, obviously, because I’m a guest on the show, but this is beyond stupid. And by the way, has anyone checked the donation lists for CNBC anchors? I’m guessing a few of those have shelled out to the Rs. What’s the deal, GE?
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Even Bill Kristol opposes MSNBC’s Olbermann Action…
This from William Kristol… and who is more Conservative?:
MSNBC’s suspension of Keith Olbermann is ludicrous.
First, he donated money to candidates he liked. He didn’t take money, or favors, in a way that influenced his reporting.
Second, he’s not a reporter. It’s an opinion show. If Olbermann wants to put his money where his mouth is, more power to him.
Third, GE, the corporate parent of MSNBC, gives money to political organizations. GE executives and, I’m sure, NBC executives give money. Why can’t Olbermann?
Perhaps Olbermann violated NBC News “policy and standards.” But NBC doesn’t have real news standards for MSNBC—otherwise the channel wouldn’t exist. It’s a little strange to get all high and mighty now.
But there’s now a Republican House, and perhaps GE is trying to curry favor by dumping Olbermann?
Republicans of the world, show you believe in the free expression of opinion! Tell the crony corporatists at NBC—keep Keith!
Related Articles
- Olbermann ‘Doesn’t Answer’ to NBC News Standards [Cable News] (gawker.com)
- TV Newser: “Insiders” say Olbermann won’t be back (hotair.com)
- You: Olbermann suspension ignites debate (latimes.com)
- MSNBC suspends Keith Olbermann indefinitely over political contributions (capitolhillblue.com)
