Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

He really is that stupid.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Not all heroes wear capes.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

You are here: Home / It’s Friday, So You Know What That Means

Reader Interactions

87Comments

  2. 2.

    taylormattd

    Let me just bitch about Current-fucking-TV.

    I will never watch that piece of shit, and it has literally zero to do with the left-blogosphere-crush-of-the-decade, Olbermann.

    Rather, it has to do with their decision to air anti-vaxx propaganda. Honestly, they can fuck the hell off if they decide to become the next HuffPo.

  4. 4.

    eemom

    wow, you posted that at like the very instant I asked why there was no such post.

    We are of one mind, Cole, you and I. Two peas in a pod. Soulmates.

  6. 6.

    eemom

    Also too, Keith’s gonna SUE.

    And the case is gonna go all the way to the Supreme Court, where the Koch brigade is gonna overrule the First Amendment, fire the FCC and order all networks and cable channels to broadcast Fox News 24/7.

    Shit’s just getting STARTED.

  7. 7.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    RTV.eu wasn’t streaming Current for awhile besides I needed to expand my work out time. May I suggest Sam Seder, Marc Maron or Mike Papintonio to replace KO. That laughter you hear is Bill O’Reilly.

  11. 11.

    David Koch

    Keith’s a real jack ass.

    Two weeks ago, from today, he didn’t show up for work. They had to cancel the show for the night because he didn’t give them any notice and any time to find a substitute. It wasn’t the first time he pulled that shit, but it looks like it was one time too many.

    And thus, when you repeatedly walk off the set or refuse to show up for whatever reasons, you get let go by even the liberal Al Gore.

  12. 12.

    Jeff Spender

    You know, I bravely decided not to watch this masturbatory exercise by “progressives,” and it doesn’t seem like I missed much. I always sort of imagined it would be the same as giving the emoprogs a TV station.

    That, and I’m rabidly opposed to any sort of anti-vaccination propaganda. Seriously. That’s my x-factor. That literally makes me insane. How stupid do you have to be to say, “You know, I’m going to stand behind a former playboy bunny with no experience in science or medicine over doctors and researchers.”

  14. 14.

    David Koch

    Of course, any moment now, the usual suspects will say it’s Obama’s fault. That, Black Jimmy Carter twisted Gore’s fat arm until he dismissed Olbermann’s low rated show.

  17. 17.

    Quicksand

    I didn’t know about Current TV and the antivax thing . . . so I Googled it, and here’s Orac.

    Yikes.

  21. 21.

    Alison

    They’re replacing him with a show hosted by Eliot Spitzer. LOLZ at being less desirable by your bosses than that guy.

    The main thing I liked about Current was the Vanguard documentaries. Some of them were really intriguing, investigative work. But as they’ve tried branching out into the commentary news shows, it’s just been mostly either boring or stupid or both. And Keith’s ego just got bigger and bigger, leading him to act like a pompous ass who thinks everyone should bow down to him. I mean, he whined about the production values and shit…well, what did you expect, dude? You don’t want to be oppressed by the corporate honchos at MSNBC, fine, but then you also don’t get the snazzy perks that go along with those corporate honchos. Duh.

  23. 23.

    porter

    Haven’t watched that clown since he jumped in the with firebaggers and against Obama on the healtcare debate.

    He takes himself far too seriously and I think his ego has now gotten him in trouble a second time. I doubt the guy will ever be able to get another political gig. Maybe something in sports. I could see him being ok on that I guess. Gore was pretty stupid to hire him and pay him what he did.

  25. 25.

    eemom

    @taylormattd:

    WTF?

    I have paid no attention at all to anything to do with this Current thing, but anti-vaxx shit drives me right over the edge.

    Does what you’re saying mean that Al fucking Gore has condoned that shit??

  26. 26.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    Man sure has a talent for burning bridges. ESPN. Fox. NBC/Universal. And now VP Al Gore. (I’m probably missing some, too.)

    I’ll bet O’Reilly’s twice the d1ck KO is, but at least he somehow manages to keep it together with his employer.

    Shame, too. His show helped keep my wife and I sane during that one administration that was in power 2000 – 2008 (KO’s excessive flourishes notwithstanding), and he did bequeath unto us teebee watchers the mega-fantastic Rachel Maddow, whose nightly show is arguably the best thing on the idiot box/flat screen right now.

    But when all’s said and done, who’s going to take him, now? As an employee, the man has a terrible brand identity.

  27. 27.

    Jeff Spender

    @eemom:

    but anti-vaxx shit drives me right over the edge.

    I’ve literally stopped talking to friends who side with the anti-vaccine crowd. I tried to talk to them, and show them the evidence, and I’ve gone on and on about the Lancet retracted all of the stuff from Andrew Wakefield and the connection between the MMR vaccine and autism, but never get through to them.

    After a while, I got so fed up with it that I just threw my hands in the air and automatically ignore anyone who spews this BS.

  28. 28.

    porter

    @Alison: Did you ever watch Spizers show on CNN. It wasn’t too bad. He’s a smart guy and can talk very intelligently about how the political system works. So he can ask very tough questions and back it up with facts as an insider.

    Not unlike Rachel Maddow I guess except without the nonstop talk of gay this and lesbian that.

  29. 29.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @David Koch:
    That face. UGH. TAKE IT AWAY. SO GROSS. When will Americans stop defining attractiveness as looking sexually available and think a beautiful woman should be, you know, BEAUTIFUL again?

  30. 30.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    @porter:

    Not unlike Rachel Maddow I guess except without the nonstop talk of gay this and lesbian that.

    What the deuce are you babbling about?

    Maddow’s is the one show I can count on almost nightly to not just regurgitate the day’s headlines, but to put it all in context, make it not just interesting, but relevant, so that I actually *learn* something.

    She may focus on LGBT issues a tad more than others, but only when it’s relevant. Your offhanded summarization is whacked.

  32. 32.

    CaseyL

    CurrentTV airs anti-vax programming?

    Pro-Science Al Gore’s network is airing anti-vax propaganda?

    Seriously?

    I am gobsmacked, and not in a good way.

    Way to undermine your credibility, Al.

  33. 33.

    hells littlest angel

    There are plenty of things about Keith Olbermann that I dislike. But his greatest achievement — bringing Rachel Maddow to MSNBC — is so totally fucking awesome that he will always have my respect and gratitude. Best wishes to him in his next abortive endeavor.

  34. 34.

    Steve in DC

    The only thing worse than the anti-vaxx crowd are the vegans and homeopathics… though I’ve found often people are all three.

  35. 35.

    bemused

    He did it again. Keith doesn’t play well with others among other issues. He’s not a happy-go-lucky guy.

    I’m pretty happy Current just added the Stephanie Miller radio show in the mornings.

    Great title for this post.

  36. 36.

    CarolDuhart2

    @Steve in DC: At least vegans (nothing wrong with that) and homeopathic people aren’t imposing their ideas on other people. Opposing vaccination means possibly being a carrier of diseases that have-and-can kill folks with compromised immune systems.

    My favorite observation about vaccination: I went to the old part of a cemetary and surrounding the monuments of adults were the smaller ones of their children who died in childhood. When you get to the newer part you find dates of men who died in the 1970’s and next to them the marker of their wives who are still living. And no forest of small children markers. The difference? Vaccination-which saves both old and young. The young children who now grow up, and the older folks who no longer have to fight off so many contagious diseases.

    As for Current, I suspect that anti-vaxx stuff crept in because Al Gore is pretty busy now, and through the documentaries of a phenomenon. I doubt that Current is actively promoting this stuff.

    As for Keith, his only option now is probably some sort of self-produced thing. Having been bounced from so many channels means that only the most desperate channel will hire him now-and those channels aren’t going to be up to his standards.

  38. 38.

    gbear

    @porter:

    Not unlike Rachel Maddow I guess except without the nonstop talk of gay this and lesbian that.

    That statement is just wrong. It’s an occasional topic, no more than it affects current events news. She is not non-stop about it. You sure that you don’t just have issues with getting your news from a smart-as-a-whip lesbian?

  40. 40.

    celticdragonchick

    @CarolDuhart2:

    My favorite observation about vaccination: I went to the old part of a cemetary and surrounding the monuments of adults were the smaller ones of their children who died in childhood.

    When you go to some of the colonial era cemeteries in Savannah, Ga, you can be overwhelmed by how many graves of children you find. It becomes a grim exercise in childhood disease and lack of maternity care when you stroll through these places.

  41. 41.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    Former vegan, here (I now allow some dairy). I did not and do not proselytize. Eat and let eat, I say. Same goes for Mrs. Pantload.

    Beware the broad brush, and all that.

    Edited to add: The only homeopathy I partake in is zince throat lozenges when I feel a cold coming on in my throat. Stops the virus dead in its tracks w/in 24 hours about 95% of the time.

    The anti-vaxx stuff is just whack. Not a fan.

  42. 42.

    Mister Papercut

    @porter:

    and I think his ego has now gotten him in trouble a second time.

    Nah, that’s gotta be off by at least a factor of 10.

  43. 43.

    BGK

    Oh well, I’ve got nothing. I just wish Rachel Maddow was on at 8, as I pack it in by 9.

  44. 44.

    ChrisNYC

    I will forever love and respect Rachel Maddow for her complete (and happy) “I was wrong” about DADT. I remember watching it and thinking, “People NEVER do this. Just flat out say, I was wrong.” (And she was GLAD she was wrong, which was the happy part.)

  45. 45.

    Donut

    Y’all want to give Keith credit for Rachel, but you maybe forget, she was a radio broadcaster first and made her own name. Her shows on Air America were fantastic, and age built her own TV reputation up as a guest on David Gregory’s shit fest horse race show, “Race for the White House/1600 Pennsylvania Avenue” on MSNBC. She tore it up on that show and that’s how she got her shot at a daily show. KO may have helped her, but I don’t think he gets credit for her success.

    That all aaid, my reaction to KO getting canned by Current: meh.

  46. 46.

    Steve in DC

    @hells littlest angel

    The bullshit health claims they make, the prostelizing to others, and the holier than thou. I’d rate vegans worse than the other two, and slightly above fundamental Christians for assaults on science and public discourse, seriously, fuck them.

  47. 47.

    kd bart

    Keith Olbermann’s career is playing out like a real life Newscaster version of Tootsie. I’m looking forward to him showing up sometime down the road on The CBS Early Show in drag as Olivia Keith.

  48. 48.

    hells littlest angel

    @Steve in DC: Some vegans do that, but your original post just complained about all vegans. It’s like if I met a guy from DC who I disliked for any number of reasons, and I just said, “People from DC are jerkoffs.” Isn’t that obnoxious?

  49. 49.

    Corner Stone

    IMO it’s going to come out that Current made certain commitments and then decided to cheap their way out of them.
    Not a big fan of KO but when you decide it’s more practical to go with a black screen background than take your chances with unresolved technical glitches…pretty sure that says something.

  50. 50.

    Steve in DC

    @hells littlest angel

    Nope, not really. I’d agree most people from here suck, but I don’t feel I do nor do I give a fuck if people thought I did. Whatever.

    Here is a good one about how I feel “most republicans are bullshit assholes that don’t believe in science and are pushy assholes”, I’d say you agree? However, I’d say most vegans are far worse jackoffs than republicans I’ve met. I can have a rethugger over dinner and he won’t fuck everything up, you can’t have a vegan around at all before it ruins things.

  51. 51.

    porter

    @Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn: Yawn, here we go. It’s no secret that a large part of her audience are gay and tune in for that perspective and of course because she lives and breathes it like they do.

    Great. No prob. I’m all for it. That is not what I am interested in when I tune into a political show.

    I dare you to find 1 show that does not have at least 1 gay/lesbian related story every night.

    And fuck you if you have a problem with anything I am saying and want to try knee jerk by attaching some label on me. I don’t give a fuck if you are so defensive about it that you just cannot handle anyone crisizing her show.

  52. 52.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    @Steve in DC:

    assaults on […] public discourse, seriously, fuck them.

    Ha! As opposed to your own genteel style of discourse?

    I’ve got a “moderate” friend who has the same knee-jerk reaction to just about all liberals. Seems he got into some verbal scuffles with the in-yo’-face activists on the campus he went to school at, and now thinks anyone who registers as a Democrat is cut from the same volatile cloth, blinded by their ideology, whatever. Even though he almost always eventually comes down the on the liberal side of issues, himself — but of course in his own non-partisan way that allows him to think through the issues first, as I guess he’d have it.

  54. 54.

    MattR

    @Corner Stone: IMO the question is whether those details will come out or whether there will be a financial settlement with a confidentiality clause first.

  55. 55.

    Steve in DC

    @Studly

    I never claimed I wasn’t a confrontational asshole, I am. Most people from my area, and most Navy guys I know are as well.

  56. 56.

    Corner Stone

    @MattR: Well, yes, IMO I think that’s probably more true. They’re going to pay KO off and he’ll take it and we’ll just get crumbs about what was actually what.

  57. 57.

    kevin

    I wonder now if Olberman killed “Worst Persons” this latest time just to be a dick and as a way to piss off the execs. Makes more sense than the lame public reason he gave for canceling it.

  58. 58.

    Steve in DC

    @hells

    Worse than fundies in terms of holier than thou, worse than vaxxers on science denial, and more pushy than New Yorkers! And god forbid you are a server or waiter, you’ll learn that the one group of people that will make your life hell is them.

  60. 60.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    @porter:

    Please re-read my post. I did not attach or infer attachment of any sort of label to you, nor was I defensive. I just summarized why I like her show and said your assessment was off base (which I stand behind).

    “And fuck you…”

    Uhm, *who’s* defensive?

  61. 61.

    David Koch

    MSNBC issued a poll today showing Black Jimmy Carter leading Mittens by 17 pts in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin.

    Impressive. No one has won Wisconsin by 17 pt since 1964, when LBJ won it by 24.

    Yet, Tweety, Halperin, and a “reporter” from WaPo immediately said polls aren’t important, that even though Obama is winning by a margin not seen in 48 years, the race will end up being close because Mittens is such a good campaigner (I shit you, not – tweety actually said Romney is good campaigner).

    This is hilarious. If polls aren’t important then why did they bother to pay for one.

    But you and I know, if a Democratic challenger was losing a swing state by historic margins to a Republican incumbent, the corporate media wouldn’t be saying the race will end up being close. No, they’d be all over the Democrat screaming “it’s over, look for a blow out in the fall”.

    But when it comes to the corporate media, it’s always sunny for the Republicans.

  62. 62.

    Alison

    @porter: Dude, no. PLENTY of her shows – five fucking nights a week, with rare nights off – have no segments on LGBT-related topics. But when she does, it’s because it’s, I don’t know, A MAJOR FUCKING NEWS TOPIC that either is on every news show – like DADT, DOMA, Prop 8, etc – or a seriously important human rights story like the Kill the Gays bill in Uganda that should get way more attention than it does, and that any human being, LGBT or straight or whatever, with a heart and a conscience should care about.

    She does not have a “gay perspective” unless you are a homophobic fuckbucket who thinks that gay people are somehow fundamentally different from straight people, and everything they say and do is, in your eyes, colored by their sexual orientation. She has a human perspective.

    I mean, she did a hell of a lot of coverage of nuclear power and such after Fukushima, and just did a big special on Mexico giving up all of its nuke stuff…so, what does that say? Is she secretly some sort of nuclear-powered superhero?

    Gah, just fuck off.

  63. 63.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    @David Koch:

    (I shit you, not – tweety actually said Romney is good campaigner).

    Uhm, whatever it is Matthews is smokin’, I do not want to touch that stuff.

  64. 64.

    David Koch

    MSNBC issued a poll today showing Black Jimmy Carter leading Mittens by 17 pts in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin.

    Impressive. No one has won Wisconsin by 17 pt since 1964, when LBJ won it by 24.

    Yet, Tweety, Halperin, and a “reporter” from WaPo immediately said polls aren’t important, that even though Obama is winning by a margin not seen in 48 years, the race will end up being close because Mittens is such a good campaigner (I shit you, not – tweety actually said Romney is good campaigner).

    This is hilarious. If polls aren’t important then why did they bother to pay for one.

    But you and I know, if a Democratic challenger was losing a swing state by historic margins to a Republican incumbent, the corporate media wouldn’t be saying the race will end up being close. No, they’d be all over the Democrat screaming “it’s over, look for a blow out in the fall”.

    But when it comes to the corporate media, it’s always sunny for the Republicans

  65. 65.

    burnspbesq

    Keith has been his own worst enemy going back to his first stint at ESPN. This is completely unsurprising.

  66. 66.

    Schlemizel

    When nobody on TV would speak against Boy Blunder and His Super Friends Keith did. When nobody in the media questioned the stupid shit being foisted on us Keith did. When nobody with a national profile had the guts to say publicly that the emperor had no clothes Keith did. We should always be grateful for that.

    It sad that he has an uncontrollable ego (odd too since it seemed he was aware of his ego and was self-aware). Unfortunate that he could not just do his job without the drama since there are still not many who will speak truth to power. I was able to forgive his ego for the most part because he was the loan voice in the wilderness but he seems to have forgotten that that was what he was, a voice.

  67. 67.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    @Alison:

    You are spot on AND waaaaaay more patient that I am. If Maddow’s show was really the “MSNBC Nightly Gay & Lesbian Report,” I’d probably not tune five nights a week, either. But the fact is she’s just one of the best political analysts out there, period.

    Oh, wait, she did just come out with that gay new book about all those gay and lesbian topics that would just bore us straights to bitter little tears.

  68. 68.

    Corner Stone

    Personally, I’m a big fan of Spitzer. I hated his previous incarnation on CNN and hope this is more suited to his talent and intelligence.

  69. 69.

    CarolDuhart2

    @David Koch: 17 points? Yes, it’s early, and maybe it closes a bit in October, but still, it’s a huge gap to close-and usually only gets closed by disaster. (Are the operatives of “October Surprise still alive and lively?).

    It takes a massive charismatic figure like FDR or Reagan or Clinton to close such a gap, and Romney is none of the above. And the incumbent in those cases was usually not very inspirational-Hoover, Daddy Bush, and Carter(at times) could be stiff as boards. Obama is warm and charismatic and funny and runs as if he really doesn’t need another term for his sake, but for yours.

  70. 70.

    Alison

    @Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn: I’m reading that book right now and I swear it’s like Elton John, Ellen Degeneres, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and the ghost of Harvey Milk are go-go dancing with ribbons and glitter all around me.

    Except, you know. Not.

    But then, I’m under that LGBt umbrella, so what do I know about anything except GAY GAY GAY ALL THE TIME EVERYWHERE GAY.

  71. 71.

    CarolDuhart2

    I think Spitzer is more of a fill-in than Keith’s permanent replacement. I think we’ll see Thom Hartman get an evening gig before Spitzer goes permanent.

    Thom would be a good replacement. While not as red-meat as Olbermann, he’s strongly liberal and has a gravitas that would be a counter balance to Cenk’s more passionate approach. Another suggestion might be Jesse Jackson Jr. Articulate and passionate, would give diversity to the Current line-up.

  72. 72.

    Lancelot Link

    Well, however obnoxious vegans might be, at least they don’t cause other people to get sick or DIE IN PAIN.
    Not true for the anti-vaxers

  73. 73.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    @Alison:

    Yes, I’ve been seeing all the online talk about how her book is 20 pounds of Fabulous in a 10-pound bag with just enough hint of dour lesbo-feminazi to balance things out.

  74. 74.

    Cacti

    I think it can be safely assumed that KO is a complete horse’s ass to work with.

    He gets thrown out head first by every company he works for.

  75. 75.

    Anya

    KO can be an asshole but he has his good points. He is a liberal who champions liberal causes, including health clinics in communities without health care. Also, he went against Bush when it was not considered cool. Also, too, I hate that Bill O’rally is enjoying Olbermann’s demise.

  76. 76.

    boss bitch

    You know what’s fucked up about this whole thing? That Cenk Uygur still has a job.

  77. 77.

    300baud

    @Steve in DC:

    You seem to be confusing vegans with assholes who happen to be vegan. I know a number of vegans and vegetarians who are perfectly polite and reasonable about it.

  80. 80.

    Corner Stone

    @The prophet Nostradumbass: It seems pretty clear that the overwhelming majority of commenters there enjoyed KO. And, in fact, indicate they found Current on their TV dial specifically to watch KO.
    You can love him or leave him, but there were about 500 comments on that thread indicating people enjoyed his show.

  81. 81.

    Billy Rae Valentine

    @porter:

    non-stop talk of gay this and lesbian that is ignorantly inaccurate. i’m sorry. i never argue with people on here but that is just wrong. i watch her show every single day and that is just false.

    non-stop is such a hypberbolic, flagrant, casual signal of bigotry. never mind that lgbt issues have had a relevant reason for increased coverage in the last couple years and hardly no one else covers it and she’s a prominent lesbian journalist. i’m really taken aback by how much that coverage seems to bother you, which i infer by your ridiculous statement.

    also don’t u hate how much al sharpton and melissa harris-perry are always talking about black people stuff? ugh. stop shoving it in my face, blacks. i’m with you, pal.

  82. 82.

    Elizabelle

    Funny, sad and not surprising that Olbermann and Current parted ways.

    Olbermann’s got so much talent in there, along with the personality disorder. Give him credit for taking on the Bush administration as early and thoroughly as he did. I don’t watch much TV, but is John Dean ever on anywhere? He has a lot to say, and glad Keith gave him a forum.

    Wonder if Keith would do better doing weekly or monthly specials, rather than anchoring a nightly broadcast.

  84. 84.

    Bethanyanne

    So, I get that Keith O has more ego than anyone should really put up with, but I don’t think that’s what’s really going on here. I mean, I get that his talent for burning bridges is on display, but it normally takes years for it to work up to this level. I think what is going on is grief. From what I’ve seen, around 18 months after life shaking loss, lots of folk really seem to implode. I know it happened to me, and I noticed it others before I got to see that in my life. I think he’s finally self destructing from his Dad’s death. Been about a year and a half since that happened, right? If so, it’ll be a few years before he realizes that’s the real force propelling him, if it goes like I’ve seen. Might be wrong, of course, but that’s my take.

  86. 86.

    Applejinx

    The way we needed and exulted in Olbermann’s stuff for a while there, really says a lot more about the Bush administration than it does about Olbermann’s merits…

    I hope we don’t have to go back to a place where we need to wallow in that again. Things have to be SO bad to merit it.

  87. 87.

    Patricia Kayden

    Maybe MSNBC can take him back and only show Chris Matthews’ show once per day (instead of at 5 and 7). I like Olbermann and am sorry to hear of his misfortunes.

Comments are closed.