MSNBC Cancels Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann gave his final comment as the host of "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" tonight. It appears that Olbermann and MSNBC "have ended their contract". My understanding is that the two parties agreed to end the current 4-year contract. I guess the fact that MSNBC suspended Olbermann a few months ago should have been a clue that everything wasn't hunky-dory on the "Countdown" set.

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I enjoyed Keith Olbermann's show. More accurately, I used to enjoy the first 20 minutes of the show. I thought that he gave some insightful looks at the political shenanigans of the day. The last 40 minutes of the show seemed to be more political humor than political analysis ... so I didn't care for that portion of the show as much.

What will be your lasting memory of Keith Olbermann and his MSNBC show?

Keith Olberman is BACK!

Keith Olbermann will be back on his MSNBC show tomorrow. He issued the following note:

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Statement To The Viewers Of Countdown

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.

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It is nice to see that MSNBC listened to the voice of the people. Villagers who are so inclined should feel free to congratulate Keith on his return.

Keith Olbermann Suspended Without Pay by MSNBC

NBC president Phil Griffin indefinitely suspended Keith Olbermann.  Griffin wrote,

“Became aware of Keith’s political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.”

Olbermann acknowledged to NBC that he donated $2,400 apiece to the campaigns of Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway and Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords.  He didn't think it was a big deal because he never told others, either privately or publicly, to make donations.

However, Olbermann didn't get prior approval for the donation.  NBC News prohibits its employees from working on, or donating to, political campaigns unless a special exception is granted by the news division president -- effectively a ban. Olbermann's bosses did not find out about the donations until after they were made.

The policy seems stupid.  There is nothing illegal about making a donation ... so why should an employee be penalized for doing so.

On another level, it seems hypocritical because one of the major news networks (Fox) gave $1 million dollars to the Republican Governors Association without any consequence.   Yet, a major news network is suspending, without pay, one of their commentators for giving $2,400 to three candidates?

Progressives took a shellacking during the mid-term elections on Tuesday.   Now it appears that some progressives are being eaten alive in the aftermath.

If this isn't resolved quickly then I don't see how or why Keith Olbermann comes back to the network.   Like Conan or Juan Williams ... it seems likely that another network may make a lucrative offer to Olbermann.

In the meantime, the call for a boycott of MSNBC has already been made by at least one progressive organization.

Meet Democratic Senatorial Candidate Alvin Greene (D-SC) [Video]

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Some shyt doesn't really need much in the way of commentary. That being said ... do you have any thoughts on candidate Greene?

Keith Olbermann: 'We Cannot Forgive You Senator Clinton'

Villagers, Keith Olbermann lets it all hang out in his 'Special Comment'.

What say u?

Six Florida Students Suspended for Joking Around with Lynching Noose

We want our national leaders to engage in words and deeds that uplift our country. We want to move away from the evil racism that dominated our country over the past 300 years. Keith Olbermann had it right. It is a shame that Hillary Clinton didn't seize on the moment earlier this week to put racist words and deeds into a box and out of her campaign.

Young people take their cues from these national discussions. As such we shouldn't be surprised that at least six students at the Somerset Academy in Pembroke Pines, FL were caught hanging a noose on cmapus. [SOURCE]

Cindy Guerra, the South Florida regional deputy for the Attorney General’s Office noted, “A situation involving children and hate symbols is something we take seriously.”

The school’s assistant principal, Donyale McGhee said the students involved in the noose hanging were cited for “disorderly behavior, misrepresentation of information, defiance and withholding information from administration.”

Somerset freshman Moremi Akinde wrote a column for the South Florida Times titled, “Banning Black History Month,” in which she expressed her view that relegating black history to the shortest month of the year marginalizes the contributions of the race. The column was distributed at the school, and some students were asked to write responses to it.

Later, on Feb. 14, Moremi and several of her friends sat at a lunch table in the outdoor eating area of the school’s campus. Shortly after they were seated, one of the young ladies spotted a rope fashioned into a noose, dangling from an umbrella affixed to the lunch table directly behind them. The noose recalled the lynchings of Black people by white supremacists in the Jim Crow South.

Six male students of various ethnicities were sitting at the table where the noose was hanging. When Moremi and her friends approached the young men, the boys dismissed the offensive symbol as “just a joke.” Their response prompted Moremi and one of her friends to approach and complain about the noose to school officials.

Moremi said in a previous interview that there is an undercurrent of racial insensitivity at the school, where she has heard this joke from other students: “What do an apple and a black person have in common? Answer: Both look good hanging from a tree.’’

It is time that Hillary Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro, Ed Rendell and others do some soul-searching about the careless way that they are dealing with race relations in our country. Noose incidents like the one at Somerset will continue to plague us all over the United States if our national leaders don't do better.