First of all I want to remind you of this "Special" presentation by Keith Olbermann after the Proposition 8 vote. After all that has happened in the past two years, please try to understand what it means to people like myself, to have the only network that seems to be on our side, suddenly rip the last vestige of hope away!
I come from a working class family, from an era in America’s history where we actually made things to sell to the rest of the world. I watched my father and his friends constantly fight big business to keep their heads above water in order to support their families. I grew up as a gay child in a era where bullying was accepted from preschoolers right up to the adults, especially against anyone who was perceived to be gay. As an over 60 adult, I personally can remember absolutely no time in my entire life when I actually believed being an American was special for someone like myself. I have always been forced to live OUTSIDE that box where people feel like they are part of something that works for them, something to be proud of!
With that in mind, let me tell you MY perspective on where we are now. The Justice Department should be renamed the Legal Department, because there is no justice in a branch of government that robotically defends injustice. We do not have a system of justice, we have a system of laws, and those laws, now more than ever, are being sold to the highest bidder in a system that is being perverted through its huge loopholes. Judges should not be recalled because they interpret the constitution against the popularity of an ill informed electorate.
I remember a time when those around me, those who believed the system actually worked for them, would talk about the airwaves, proudly talking about how that related to the free flow of information. “The airwaves belonged to the people!” Now, as I travel in my car across America, those airwaves belong to far right wing pundits who spew hatred and lies 24 hours a day, because those airwaves do not belong to the people, they belong to the media monopolies who are supported by the legal system who are backed up by the judges who are elected by their listeners who believe their lies and react to their inflammatory speech.
Here’s what really pisses me off! People have the gaul to lecture me about losing faith in our president and in the system! People actually think it’s OK to tell ME that I’m being too negative! Excuse me, but it’s time to stop ignoring the elephant in the living room!!
Even Jon Stewart, in his rally for sanity, in my opinion, sold out. Everyone seems to buy into the notion that everything is equal. Opinions are equal to facts, lies are equal to truth, Republicans are equal to Democrats, and on and on! Within that restructuring of reality, we have come to the acceptance that one side of the political spectrum gets to cheat while the other side is expected to play by the rules. And it does not help that the leader of the Democratic party thinks it is to his advantage to continue to compromise with an uncompromising ideological obstructionist Republican party.
Here are the facts: Our system is broken! It is so broken that there is no hope left for those who actually believe in our system of a democratic republic. There is no hope left for those who actually take the time to understand the truth or the history of our great republic. There is no hope left for those who actually read the US Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. There is no hope left for those who believe in the power of one’s vote.
Stop telling me there is hope unless you can give me something tangible! It needs to be something outside the political box of Republicans and Democrats! Tell me how we are going to defeat the corporate takeover of everything! Tell me how we are going to take money out of politics! Tell me how we are going to reclaim the airwaves and actually have fair and balanced news! Tell me how America can start making things and exporting things again! Tell me how we can bring back local banking and destroy banking monopolies that are “too big to fail!” Tell me how we can break the deadlock in the Congress when the foxes are guarding the chickens! Tell me how we can support a necessary infrastructure with an electorate that erroneously believes the insane idea that government should be run like a business, but with no money coming in and more money going out. Tell me how we can take the greedy middle man out of the health care system when we have a voting electorate that believes profits above human life is OK!
BUT don’t tell me our system might have faults, but it’s still the best the world has to offer. That just another f*#king lie!
With that in mind, let me tell you MY perspective on where we are now. The Justice Department should be renamed the Legal Department, because there is no justice in a branch of government that robotically defends injustice. We do not have a system of justice, we have a system of laws, and those laws, now more than ever, are being sold to the highest bidder in a system that is being perverted through its huge loopholes. Judges should not be recalled because they interpret the constitution against the popularity of an ill informed electorate.
I remember a time when those around me, those who believed the system actually worked for them, would talk about the airwaves, proudly talking about how that related to the free flow of information. “The airwaves belonged to the people!” Now, as I travel in my car across America, those airwaves belong to far right wing pundits who spew hatred and lies 24 hours a day, because those airwaves do not belong to the people, they belong to the media monopolies who are supported by the legal system who are backed up by the judges who are elected by their listeners who believe their lies and react to their inflammatory speech.
Here’s what really pisses me off! People have the gaul to lecture me about losing faith in our president and in the system! People actually think it’s OK to tell ME that I’m being too negative! Excuse me, but it’s time to stop ignoring the elephant in the living room!!
Even Jon Stewart, in his rally for sanity, in my opinion, sold out. Everyone seems to buy into the notion that everything is equal. Opinions are equal to facts, lies are equal to truth, Republicans are equal to Democrats, and on and on! Within that restructuring of reality, we have come to the acceptance that one side of the political spectrum gets to cheat while the other side is expected to play by the rules. And it does not help that the leader of the Democratic party thinks it is to his advantage to continue to compromise with an uncompromising ideological obstructionist Republican party.
Here are the facts: Our system is broken! It is so broken that there is no hope left for those who actually believe in our system of a democratic republic. There is no hope left for those who actually take the time to understand the truth or the history of our great republic. There is no hope left for those who actually read the US Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. There is no hope left for those who believe in the power of one’s vote.
Stop telling me there is hope unless you can give me something tangible! It needs to be something outside the political box of Republicans and Democrats! Tell me how we are going to defeat the corporate takeover of everything! Tell me how we are going to take money out of politics! Tell me how we are going to reclaim the airwaves and actually have fair and balanced news! Tell me how America can start making things and exporting things again! Tell me how we can bring back local banking and destroy banking monopolies that are “too big to fail!” Tell me how we can break the deadlock in the Congress when the foxes are guarding the chickens! Tell me how we can support a necessary infrastructure with an electorate that erroneously believes the insane idea that government should be run like a business, but with no money coming in and more money going out. Tell me how we can take the greedy middle man out of the health care system when we have a voting electorate that believes profits above human life is OK!
BUT don’t tell me our system might have faults, but it’s still the best the world has to offer. That just another f*#king lie!
Back to Keith! Wake up America! Part of the corporate conspiracy is to get YOU to sign contracts that take away your constitutional rights. As for this particular controversy, it's another part of the plan where one side gets to cheat while the other side is expected to play by the rules! In this case, justice is served when MSNBC does away with the clause in question and reinstates Keith!
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I understand where you are coming from, but in all the definitions of justice from many different sources, revenge is way down on the list below fairness , being treated fairly, or doing what is right. When I think of justice I never think of revenge. In the realm of marriage, there is also the issue of inequality. Marriage exists, and through its existence there is institutionalized discrimination. So labeling everyone who supports equality within that institution as assimilationists, I believe is an unfair generalization. I do not necessarily support the institution of marriage, but have to fight this fight after what I saw during the AIDS epidemic when families absent for twenty years came to claim all the possessions of their deceased sinner sons, at the expense of their longtime partners.
You know as well as I do that he had dozens of lawyers review his contract before he signed it. He KNEW what the rules were and he knew that they were constitutional. He deserves a temporary suspension for his actions. (note TEMPORARY).
Above and beyond the fact that I believe that there needs to be consequences for our actions, there is a more important reason he should be censured. As Saint Rachel said in the following video, his suspension serves to high light the difference between a true news organization like MSNBC and a fully own political organization like Fox News. To me, Fox news is part and parcel of the Republican party and should be treated as such (inc. equal time, tax and legal!!!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nZnMumCKXU
Another part of me respects that there are journalists who continue to be unbiased and if Keith signed that contract he should have honored it. What was he thinking? Did he want out? I haven't read a statement from him. What is his next move?
And yes, we want Keith back on the air..
http://www.growingpower.org/
For me, hope comes from many directions--partly from the grassroots organizations, working all over the country in hundreds of different ways.
In my personal life, I know people of all incomes, races, religions, gay, straight, and these are decent people doing their best every day to make the world a little better and treat the people around them fairly. These people give me a lot of hope.
Our country has had a violent, brutal history from the get-go up to the present, but I still believe in the value of the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence. We may never have a utopia or even the best country in the world, but most of us are here for the duration--where else can we go? We better make it work.
I do still hope for a democracy that has enough of a social safety net, so that each person has access to the basics--food, shelter, health care, a chance to work, the freedom to love and worship and exrpess as they wish (...and a country that values and protects its natural and human resources, and respects those of other nations, too).
Thanks for your interesting and very thoughtful writing! I really enjoy reading your blog.
Having said that, Olbermann wasn't forbidden to contribute, only to get the network's permission. He didn't. And if he found any clauses in his contract unworkable, he has high enough ratings (and, I assume, talented enough legal counsel) to get those clauses out of his contract before he signed it.
War is hell, but this was just stupid to do.
Bottom line, he'll be back in a week.
I agree completely with safe bet's Amy here...all the way down to Saint Rachel : )
So glad you are writing about it.
Damn - I don't get MSNBC and really would like to hear Olberman and Maddow on a regular basis. I do get Fox, but don't watch - listen instead to mealy-mouthed CNN.
I hope Olberman gets reinstated - the country needs voices like his.
I live in Canada where, with a minimum of hurrumphing, gays were brought in under the marriage regulations...and, just as would seem reasonable, straight people have not been affected in any way whatsoever (except, perhaps, in having to buy more wedding presents...)
The rest is just our discussion of what might have been on Mr. Olbermann's mind leading up to this...
Best Wishes,
Blittie
Yes! This is exactly what we need. Critical thinkers talking about real issues. I appreciate your input!
Meanwhile, I agree with much of what you say: we are living in a corporatocracy. But until the majority of people get uncomfortable enough to realize that too, anyone who would say so is going to be yelling into the wind for a while.
And regarding Keith: I personally don't think it's something worth firing him over, but he shouldn't have signed the contract if he didn't mean to abide by it. Unfortunately, he may have put himself right where his corporate bosses wanted him...
Purpose maybe, to get the old thinking wheels turning. One place to start perhaps. If KO hadn't done, how long before the next opportunity for people to began to question? Bunches of little bytes adding up to..
(Rated for) ..the big picture.
I agree with Olbermann. I endorse the candidates to whom he contributed. I endorse his politics. But there is a good, and perfectly reasonable point that a news agency must hold about impartiality. They did not ask that he not contribute. They only asked that you let someone know. I would much rather know that a journalist is contributing to a campaign of they are also interviewing him.
This society functions best with informed participation, although it does not mandate it. In the most recent cycle, the participation among 18 to 29 year olds was 11%. That is only one in nine. It is distressing for the obvious reasons. The results are not truly representative of the whole. But the level of participation is almost certainly a result of low information as well as low concern by this group. While it is better among older groups, it is not optimal.
If we default to deciding for those most like us, or those we like most, we're all screwed. We need Olbermann. We want Olbermann. But Olbermann screwed up.
Now, Citizens United does allow anonymous donation by corporations. And an individual can be revealed with a Freedom of Information Act request. I think the Citizens United decision is a very bad one. But, it has no bearing on this action. The relationship between employer and employee does not involve censorship. Just like if you boycott GE because you dont like their politics, that is not censorship. Severing a client/vendor relationship is analogous to a employer/employee relationship.
Rated.
The underlying assumption behind the request is that commentators be unbiased and that is fundamentally ridiculous. We are each biased in many ways and Oberman's point of view was why he was hired. The broadcaster does have the right to oversee what material is broadcast but that is an entirely different matter.
There is an aspect of the corporate world that I think has spilled over into the larger non-corporate community that seriously troubles me! It can be seen in the numerous times during the past decades when corporations have explained or excused absolutely reprehensible immoral behavior by pointing out that they have operated perfectly within the perimeters of the law, while downplaying the fact that they and their high paid lobbyists wrote the laws. Over those past few decades these corporate entities and their lobbyists have very systematically stacked the courts, changed the rules within the government to allow total gridlock when things do not go their way, and very successfully gutted all legal protections of the public in the realm of oversight and antimonopoly laws.
The reason I keep coming back to the bigger picture in this discussion is that too many people seem to now take that corporate line that MSNBC or their owners are perfectly within the perimeters of the law in action they took against KO! This is why I posted the video I chose above. As a Gay man my life is filled with situations that have been totally discriminatory, excused by the idea that they were perfectly within the perimeters of the law. Well, sometimes the law is wrong!
I cannot ignore the fact that MSNBC is in the process of being taken over by a corporate entity that leans to the right politically and has very large contracts with Rupert Murdoch. I cannot ignore the fact that this very same corporate entity has poured literally millions upon millions of dollars into political campaigns against Democrats and for Republicans in what is a clear conflict of interest because the new Congress will now have the power to approve their merger that many rightly believe will further the monopolization of the media to a point that is absolutely dangerous to our democracy!
So I am absolutely unable to believe that this is simply a minor slip up on either party’s part. As a minority, I am very familiar with rules and laws that are designed to be used discriminately against people to silence them while the application of the law against others is ignored as long as they tow the line. The proof is in the pudding, as my mother would say. Where are the real progressive voices in the US media? Tomorrow they may not exist at all!
Great post!