I got an e-mail this afternoon from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee regarding NBC's decision to suspend Keith Olbermann because of a couple campaign contributions.
The PCCC wants me to sign a petition to:
Tell them to put Keith Olbermann back on the air NOW!
No offense, guys... but please relax.
Just as I was fine with NPR firing Juan Williams, I am fine with NBC suspending Keith Olbermann. They can make their own personnel decisions as far as I'm concerned.
True, it doesn't hurt to voice one's opinion because it really can change things (Don Imus only got fired when the public outcry swelled and, quite frankly, it made the sponsors nervous about being associated with him) - so, in that sense, I understand the PCCC wanting to mobilize their e-mail list; however, let's not lose perspective. Our country has a lot of problems and we are getting ready for two years of gridlock (at least?) as Mitch McConnell says his number one goal is defeating President Obama in 2012. Does that sound like we should expect any progress/reforms from the 112th congress?
It surely does not to me, so getting all worked up about Keith Olbermann getting indefinitely suspended for an actual internal corporate policy violation (however suspect it might be... honestly, I don't know how to feel about the rule itself) seems kind of silly.
I think we know one for thing with ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY:
Mr. Olbermann himself knows this is NOT a First Amendment issue.
Sarah Palin might think so. Dr. Laura Schleshinger might think so. Carrie Prejean might think so. It is not.
For an example of the better uses of their energy by the PCCC, check this out.
UPDATE: I will say that I am doing my part in at least one way to hopefully bring back Olbermann sooner rather than later and that is, of course, not watching his show while he is gone. I am a regular viewer but turned it off last night. I had read a report that Chris Hayes was going to be filling in and was willing to watch it with Mr. Hayes - but he was not there; I had never seen that guy before who was filling in. Did Chris Hayes take a stand in support of Mr. Olbermann and refuse to fill in?
Showing posts with label Mitch McConnell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mitch McConnell. Show all posts
Friday, November 5, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Mitch McConnell Has ADD
An observation regarding State of the Union with Candy Crowley this past Sunday:
It looks like the decision of whether to extend the Bush tax cuts (for those making greater than $200k or $250k a year) is going to be an issue in the mid-term elections. It's even been previously discussed on this here blog with Republicans saying, with one side of their mouth, they care greatly about the deficit, but with the other side, saying we have to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Moreover, they claim they want to extend the jobless benefits to the long-term unemployed but that it must be paid for but the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy does not have that same requirement because tax cuts pay for themselves (which is bunk).
Anyway, back to SOTU. In introducing the topic, Ms. Crowley played a recent clip of Alan Greenspan saying this on Bloomberg TV:
They should... let (the Bush tax rates) lapse... the problem is that unless we start to come to grips with this long-term outlook, we're going to have major problems.
Literally, within the next 2-3 minutes, Senator McConnell said this:
What they're trying to do is to argue... we ought to have a significant tax increase. I don't know the economists you're talking to but the ones I'm talking to are saying that raising taxes in a middle of a recession is not a good idea.
Ummm... did he not just see Alan Fucking Greenspan say taxes should be raised?!? And just so we're clear, Alan Greenspan is no "big government" liberal, Keynesian acolyte. He is a conservative icon (semi-disgraced though he may be with what happened in the last half decade).
Furthermore, viewers of Fareed Zakaria GPS will know (not that watching GPS isn't a prerequisite for being informed) that new Conservative Prime Minister of Great Britain David Cameron has raised taxes and cut spending in an effort to deal with UK public finances.
So, I guess consider this a plea for intellectual honesty. I am cynical enough to think that Americans will support tax cuts no matter what... but at least don't intentionally mislead people about the facts.
It looks like the decision of whether to extend the Bush tax cuts (for those making greater than $200k or $250k a year) is going to be an issue in the mid-term elections. It's even been previously discussed on this here blog with Republicans saying, with one side of their mouth, they care greatly about the deficit, but with the other side, saying we have to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Moreover, they claim they want to extend the jobless benefits to the long-term unemployed but that it must be paid for but the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy does not have that same requirement because tax cuts pay for themselves (which is bunk).
Anyway, back to SOTU. In introducing the topic, Ms. Crowley played a recent clip of Alan Greenspan saying this on Bloomberg TV:
They should... let (the Bush tax rates) lapse... the problem is that unless we start to come to grips with this long-term outlook, we're going to have major problems.
Literally, within the next 2-3 minutes, Senator McConnell said this:
What they're trying to do is to argue... we ought to have a significant tax increase. I don't know the economists you're talking to but the ones I'm talking to are saying that raising taxes in a middle of a recession is not a good idea.
Ummm... did he not just see Alan Fucking Greenspan say taxes should be raised?!? And just so we're clear, Alan Greenspan is no "big government" liberal, Keynesian acolyte. He is a conservative icon (semi-disgraced though he may be with what happened in the last half decade).
Furthermore, viewers of Fareed Zakaria GPS will know (not that watching GPS isn't a prerequisite for being informed) that new Conservative Prime Minister of Great Britain David Cameron has raised taxes and cut spending in an effort to deal with UK public finances.
So, I guess consider this a plea for intellectual honesty. I am cynical enough to think that Americans will support tax cuts no matter what... but at least don't intentionally mislead people about the facts.
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