1 00:00:04,795 --> 00:00:24,235 Speaker 1: Countdown with Keith Olderman is a production of iHeartRadio. The 2 00:00:24,355 --> 00:00:28,275 Speaker 1: Cadaver in Chief, the President, who looks like he was 3 00:00:28,715 --> 00:00:33,315 Speaker 1: just exhumed just in case, has now let slip the 4 00:00:33,355 --> 00:00:38,435 Speaker 1: details of his plot to steal the midterms, his new 5 00:00:38,475 --> 00:00:41,435 Speaker 1: demand of active troops at Fort Bragg you have to 6 00:00:41,515 --> 00:00:44,835 Speaker 1: vote for us, and the Valentine's Day words of his 7 00:00:45,035 --> 00:00:49,635 Speaker 1: sucubus Christy nome about making sure Trump has the right 8 00:00:49,715 --> 00:00:54,635 Speaker 1: people voting, electing only the right leaders. Those are the highlights. 9 00:00:54,915 --> 00:00:58,035 Speaker 1: Those are the pressure points, the tips of the spear 10 00:00:58,835 --> 00:01:04,675 Speaker 1: of the latest Trump coup conspiracy. Before I lay out 11 00:01:04,795 --> 00:01:08,115 Speaker 1: every stop on the Trump treason train for you in detail, 12 00:01:08,155 --> 00:01:10,475 Speaker 1: let me cut to the chase and to the solution, 13 00:01:10,795 --> 00:01:14,315 Speaker 1: because what Trump has already revealed about his plans should 14 00:01:14,395 --> 00:01:19,075 Speaker 1: tell us how to construct our plans. It is growing 15 00:01:19,195 --> 00:01:22,595 Speaker 1: increasingly apparent to me that while the whole thing could 16 00:01:22,675 --> 00:01:26,795 Speaker 1: easily collapse of its own weight and its own illegality, 17 00:01:26,835 --> 00:01:29,715 Speaker 1: we are where we are because we have believed our 18 00:01:29,795 --> 00:01:32,635 Speaker 1: norms and laws would hold in the past, and frankly 19 00:01:32,715 --> 00:01:36,875 Speaker 1: they have not because most of our leaders are self interested, 20 00:01:37,035 --> 00:01:43,155 Speaker 1: cowardly crap shacks. Happily, others are made of sterner stuff, 21 00:01:43,795 --> 00:01:48,915 Speaker 1: or they have jobs that require sterner stuff. When Trump 22 00:01:48,995 --> 00:01:53,155 Speaker 1: moves to seize ballots from this election from twenty twenty six, 23 00:01:53,595 --> 00:01:56,275 Speaker 1: judges will have to do what judges did not do 24 00:01:56,515 --> 00:01:59,595 Speaker 1: when Trump moved to seize ballots from twenty twenty in 25 00:01:59,715 --> 00:02:03,595 Speaker 1: Georgia earlier this year. They will have to say these 26 00:02:03,635 --> 00:02:07,795 Speaker 1: are entirely different things, Boso, and nothing gives the federal 27 00:02:07,835 --> 00:02:10,715 Speaker 1: government the right to seize ballots or ballot boxes or 28 00:02:10,755 --> 00:02:15,315 Speaker 1: close voting places from the current election. Some judges, in fact, 29 00:02:15,355 --> 00:02:17,355 Speaker 1: may have to say much more than that. They may 30 00:02:17,395 --> 00:02:19,635 Speaker 1: have to say nothing gives the federal government the right 31 00:02:19,835 --> 00:02:25,715 Speaker 1: to postpone elections because of fictional, imaginary foreign interference or 32 00:02:25,835 --> 00:02:31,275 Speaker 1: national security concerns, and simply trotting out something dramatic. Think 33 00:02:31,355 --> 00:02:34,955 Speaker 1: George W. Bush's convenient bin laden video from four days 34 00:02:34,995 --> 00:02:38,795 Speaker 1: before the two thousand and four election. Or imagine some 35 00:02:38,835 --> 00:02:43,315 Speaker 1: sort of Nicholas Maduro or other bogeyman confession that he 36 00:02:43,715 --> 00:02:46,995 Speaker 1: or they or his mom or your mom, or space 37 00:02:47,075 --> 00:02:50,835 Speaker 1: lasers or somebody had long since launched a project to 38 00:02:50,955 --> 00:02:55,435 Speaker 1: fix these midterms. Imagine Trump saying this with ten thousand 39 00:02:55,635 --> 00:03:01,475 Speaker 1: ice goons outside the judge's court the judges would be 40 00:03:01,555 --> 00:03:04,795 Speaker 1: the first line of defense, but sadly they may not 41 00:03:04,915 --> 00:03:07,875 Speaker 1: be the last. And this is where what Trump said 42 00:03:07,915 --> 00:03:12,395 Speaker 1: at Fort Bragg the other night comes in, and where 43 00:03:12,675 --> 00:03:16,915 Speaker 1: Pete Secretary of Scotch Hegseeth's attempt to demote Mark Kelly 44 00:03:17,515 --> 00:03:21,635 Speaker 1: and US Attorney for Boxed Wine Piro's attempt to prosecute 45 00:03:21,715 --> 00:03:24,995 Speaker 1: Kelly and the others. Where those things come in. Somebody 46 00:03:25,075 --> 00:03:29,315 Speaker 1: has clearly explained to Trump that Mark Kelly and Slotkin 47 00:03:29,435 --> 00:03:32,795 Speaker 1: and the others are god damned right. That military members 48 00:03:32,835 --> 00:03:36,835 Speaker 1: are not only entitled to refuse illegal orders, they are 49 00:03:36,955 --> 00:03:41,315 Speaker 1: constitutionally obligated to refuse illegal orders. If they do not 50 00:03:41,515 --> 00:03:45,755 Speaker 1: refuse illegal orders, they can go to jail. And that 51 00:03:45,835 --> 00:03:49,955 Speaker 1: includes illegal orders from Trump or heg Seth or General 52 00:03:50,115 --> 00:03:55,635 Speaker 1: Raisin Cain think of him as an actual raisin, like 53 00:03:55,675 --> 00:03:58,715 Speaker 1: one of the old California raisins. It defangs him a 54 00:03:58,715 --> 00:04:04,435 Speaker 1: little bit. So Trump is now trying to win line levels, 55 00:04:04,435 --> 00:04:08,035 Speaker 1: sir members, the line guys, the youngsters, the ones Trump 56 00:04:08,115 --> 00:04:11,635 Speaker 1: thinks are the suckers and losers, trying to win them 57 00:04:11,795 --> 00:04:14,395 Speaker 1: with some vague idea in his mind that if the 58 00:04:14,435 --> 00:04:17,715 Speaker 1: commissioned officers and the generals and the Joint Chiefs are 59 00:04:17,755 --> 00:04:20,435 Speaker 1: told to shoot up a voting precinct in Chicago, and 60 00:04:20,475 --> 00:04:23,955 Speaker 1: they refuse, while the raw troops from Fort Bragg will 61 00:04:23,995 --> 00:04:27,715 Speaker 1: do it anyway out of loyalty to Trump and might 62 00:04:27,755 --> 00:04:31,035 Speaker 1: even shoot the officers if Trump asks them to. Like 63 00:04:31,115 --> 00:04:33,795 Speaker 1: this is the Soviet Revolution as it played out on 64 00:04:33,915 --> 00:04:37,435 Speaker 1: their Western Front against the Germans in nineteen f n seventeen. 65 00:04:39,235 --> 00:04:43,835 Speaker 1: It is absolutely possible that the midterms could come down 66 00:04:44,355 --> 00:04:47,675 Speaker 1: to the Joint Chiefs of Staff actually standing up on 67 00:04:47,715 --> 00:04:51,115 Speaker 1: their hind legs, like something out of the Government overthrow 68 00:04:51,235 --> 00:04:56,075 Speaker 1: movie Seven Days in May. And that's two references to 69 00:04:56,115 --> 00:04:58,515 Speaker 1: the movie Seven Days in May in two podcasts, and 70 00:04:58,555 --> 00:05:01,555 Speaker 1: that by itself is a bad sign. It is absolutely 71 00:05:01,595 --> 00:05:04,915 Speaker 1: possible that the names of the people Mark Kelly and 72 00:05:04,915 --> 00:05:08,035 Speaker 1: Alyssa Slopkin were actually talking to in the video they 73 00:05:08,115 --> 00:05:11,075 Speaker 1: and the four House members made will become very familiar 74 00:05:11,115 --> 00:05:14,595 Speaker 1: to us in October and November and December, names like 75 00:05:14,635 --> 00:05:19,915 Speaker 1: General George and Admiral Franchetti and Commandant Smith, and yes, 76 00:05:20,035 --> 00:05:23,235 Speaker 1: in the wildest of political science fiction scenarios, they might 77 00:05:23,275 --> 00:05:27,515 Speaker 1: all have to get together and lock General Cain. That 78 00:05:27,515 --> 00:05:30,915 Speaker 1: would be the California Raisin guy Lock General Cain in 79 00:05:30,955 --> 00:05:34,355 Speaker 1: a room somewhere while they make sure the personnel under 80 00:05:34,395 --> 00:05:39,435 Speaker 1: their command do not seize ballot boxes or begin to 81 00:05:39,515 --> 00:05:43,635 Speaker 1: turn us into a military dictatorship, and do not start 82 00:05:43,715 --> 00:05:47,955 Speaker 1: shooting civilians. And Trump does not pop out of a 83 00:05:47,995 --> 00:05:51,275 Speaker 1: bunker wearing his special new uniform with the Big Hact, 84 00:05:51,595 --> 00:05:55,235 Speaker 1: personally designed and gifted to him by Kim johng Un. 85 00:05:58,275 --> 00:06:00,315 Speaker 1: It cannot be said too many times there is no 86 00:06:00,395 --> 00:06:05,195 Speaker 1: future for Trump and these scumbags around him, Rubio, Ants, 87 00:06:05,595 --> 00:06:13,035 Speaker 1: Stephen Miller, Gnome Heg, Seth Patel, Gabbard Kushner, Trump's two 88 00:06:13,115 --> 00:06:16,875 Speaker 1: idiot sons. There is no future for any of them 89 00:06:17,635 --> 00:06:21,355 Speaker 1: if the Democrats win the House and the Senate. I'd 90 00:06:21,435 --> 00:06:23,435 Speaker 1: argue there is virtually no future for any of them 91 00:06:23,435 --> 00:06:26,755 Speaker 1: if the Democrats just win the House. For Trump, the 92 00:06:26,755 --> 00:06:33,315 Speaker 1: midterms are not the future of his agenda and his policies. 93 00:06:34,955 --> 00:06:36,955 Speaker 1: For his minions, this is not the future of their 94 00:06:37,315 --> 00:06:41,315 Speaker 1: plans or their money. For Trump, the midterms are life 95 00:06:41,395 --> 00:06:47,315 Speaker 1: and death his. He either gains control of this country 96 00:06:47,915 --> 00:06:51,795 Speaker 1: permanently through the rest of his life or virtually permanently, 97 00:06:52,115 --> 00:06:57,675 Speaker 1: or he will die in prison. The Supreme Court immunity 98 00:06:57,715 --> 00:07:02,435 Speaker 1: decision about presidents great good for you won't mean shit 99 00:07:02,595 --> 00:07:05,435 Speaker 1: with a democratic mechanism in place to add just four 100 00:07:05,515 --> 00:07:10,675 Speaker 1: seats to the Supreme Court or fourteen. Now it is 101 00:07:10,715 --> 00:07:16,715 Speaker 1: erasing way too much important detail, buffering down the pointy parts, 102 00:07:17,475 --> 00:07:20,675 Speaker 1: too much to say that everybody traveling with Trump down 103 00:07:20,715 --> 00:07:25,595 Speaker 1: this seditious road that he has taken faces similar inescapable fates. 104 00:07:26,155 --> 00:07:30,235 Speaker 1: But it's goddamn close. You think Pete Hegseth and his 105 00:07:30,355 --> 00:07:37,635 Speaker 1: warm crimes can survive. Special Prosecutor Dan Goldman, how long 106 00:07:37,715 --> 00:07:40,875 Speaker 1: would it take to put Trump Junior and his brother 107 00:07:40,995 --> 00:07:46,955 Speaker 1: idiot Trump in jail for life? Or Kushner if he 108 00:07:46,995 --> 00:07:52,355 Speaker 1: hasn't fled to Saudi Arabia by then. This is it 109 00:07:52,435 --> 00:07:56,795 Speaker 1: right here, And the most important way to prepare for 110 00:07:56,835 --> 00:07:58,595 Speaker 1: it is to remember that Trump tried to coop on 111 00:07:58,675 --> 00:08:01,475 Speaker 1: January sixth, and he tried to coop when he tried 112 00:08:01,475 --> 00:08:05,795 Speaker 1: to get two sitting senators and four congressmen indicted like 113 00:08:05,875 --> 00:08:09,315 Speaker 1: a week ago, and depending on your definition, he has 114 00:08:09,355 --> 00:08:14,115 Speaker 1: moved towards trying at least three other coups. A very 115 00:08:14,155 --> 00:08:17,995 Speaker 1: thorough analysis of Trump's move towards manipulating the midterms states 116 00:08:18,035 --> 00:08:22,795 Speaker 1: reassuringly that judges would doubtlessly say that seizing twenty twenty 117 00:08:22,795 --> 00:08:25,995 Speaker 1: six ballots is not the same as seizing twenty twenty ballots. 118 00:08:26,035 --> 00:08:28,315 Speaker 1: And as I said at the beginning, I agree with that. 119 00:08:28,675 --> 00:08:30,835 Speaker 1: What it leaves out is the fact that Trump's response 120 00:08:30,915 --> 00:08:33,555 Speaker 1: is not going to be to say, ah, shucks, I 121 00:08:33,595 --> 00:08:36,035 Speaker 1: guess I lost. I'll go to jail now. It is 122 00:08:36,155 --> 00:08:39,555 Speaker 1: far more likely to be to order some friendly general 123 00:08:39,715 --> 00:08:43,515 Speaker 1: to arrest those judges and seize those ballots anyway and 124 00:08:43,595 --> 00:08:49,275 Speaker 1: shoot anybody who gets in the way. If we remember 125 00:08:49,355 --> 00:08:54,555 Speaker 1: this at all times, we increase our likelihood of surviving this. 126 00:08:58,075 --> 00:09:03,635 Speaker 1: I hope I haven't alarmed you. Actually, I hope I 127 00:09:03,715 --> 00:09:10,035 Speaker 1: have goddamn alarmed you. Now before I review what Trump 128 00:09:10,035 --> 00:09:14,075 Speaker 1: has done in these last few weeks just this year, 129 00:09:15,235 --> 00:09:17,075 Speaker 1: all of which confirms he is going to try to 130 00:09:17,155 --> 00:09:20,195 Speaker 1: use some combination of military and ice and border patrol 131 00:09:20,395 --> 00:09:26,395 Speaker 1: to steal the mid terms, to fix the election. Let 132 00:09:26,435 --> 00:09:29,315 Speaker 1: me take a quick breath, and permit you to take 133 00:09:29,315 --> 00:09:32,715 Speaker 1: a quick breath, if you have any breath left. I 134 00:09:32,755 --> 00:09:36,915 Speaker 1: was just reading in on Senator Slotkin of Michigan, and 135 00:09:36,995 --> 00:09:39,275 Speaker 1: I need to inquire about this, and maybe I should 136 00:09:39,275 --> 00:09:42,675 Speaker 1: have inquired first before bringing it up. But I knew 137 00:09:42,675 --> 00:09:45,635 Speaker 1: that Senator Slotkin of Michigan was a fellow Cornell alum, 138 00:09:45,675 --> 00:09:49,075 Speaker 1: and in fact a fellow Cornell Agriculture and Life Sciences alum. 139 00:09:49,235 --> 00:09:52,555 Speaker 1: But what I did not know was that she graduated 140 00:09:52,555 --> 00:09:56,995 Speaker 1: in the year nineteen ninety eight. Cornell does not have 141 00:09:57,035 --> 00:09:59,795 Speaker 1: a commencement address. It does not hand out phony degrees. 142 00:10:00,155 --> 00:10:03,435 Speaker 1: It's one of the things I'm actually proud of. It 143 00:10:03,515 --> 00:10:07,475 Speaker 1: has a convocationation speech given by somebody chosen by the 144 00:10:07,515 --> 00:10:12,115 Speaker 1: graduating class each year, given the day before graduation indoors. 145 00:10:12,595 --> 00:10:14,795 Speaker 1: And why anybody goes to it, I do not know 146 00:10:15,475 --> 00:10:18,115 Speaker 1: what we did the day before graduation, particularly if it 147 00:10:18,155 --> 00:10:20,395 Speaker 1: was nice out was the same thing we did most 148 00:10:20,395 --> 00:10:25,635 Speaker 1: of the week before graduation drink. However, in nineteen ninety eight, 149 00:10:25,635 --> 00:10:29,795 Speaker 1: Elissa Slotkin's graduation year, the convocation address got its largest 150 00:10:29,795 --> 00:10:33,435 Speaker 1: attendance in like a decade, and between a third and 151 00:10:33,475 --> 00:10:38,075 Speaker 1: a half of the graduates actually went into Barton Hall 152 00:10:38,475 --> 00:10:42,075 Speaker 1: and attended and listened to this guy. So if Alissa 153 00:10:42,075 --> 00:10:45,035 Speaker 1: Slotkin went to her convocation in her graduation year nineteen 154 00:10:45,075 --> 00:10:53,075 Speaker 1: ninety eight, the speaker she heard was me, okay, back 155 00:10:53,075 --> 00:10:57,155 Speaker 1: to the apocalypse now already in progress. This is the 156 00:10:57,235 --> 00:11:00,475 Speaker 1: checklist to keep in mind at all times of what 157 00:11:00,515 --> 00:11:04,915 Speaker 1: Trump has already done, the conspiracy plot points he has 158 00:11:04,955 --> 00:11:09,075 Speaker 1: already let slip, the stuff he should have kept quiet about, 159 00:11:09,315 --> 00:11:11,995 Speaker 1: but he has happily told us about because he can't 160 00:11:12,115 --> 00:11:16,555 Speaker 1: keep his effing mouth shut. It is our number one advantage. 161 00:11:16,635 --> 00:11:20,595 Speaker 1: The number one advantage for the anti Trump forces is Trump. 162 00:11:22,995 --> 00:11:27,235 Speaker 1: The timeline starts with Trump seizing Nicholas Maduro on January third. 163 00:11:27,315 --> 00:11:32,195 Speaker 1: I still think Maduro reappears in this somehow. Then it's 164 00:11:32,235 --> 00:11:37,595 Speaker 1: sending Ice to invade Minnesota, terrorize Minneapolis and underreported terrorize 165 00:11:37,715 --> 00:11:41,115 Speaker 1: rural Minnesota. And then of course murder Rene Good on 166 00:11:41,195 --> 00:11:44,235 Speaker 1: January seventh and Alex Pretti on January twenty fourth. And 167 00:11:44,315 --> 00:11:47,875 Speaker 1: they may not have actually planned murders in advance, but 168 00:11:47,955 --> 00:11:50,715 Speaker 1: if they did, wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, because 169 00:11:50,715 --> 00:11:53,675 Speaker 1: the point of Ice going to Minnesota was to intimidate 170 00:11:53,915 --> 00:11:58,235 Speaker 1: and to practice practice for the midterms, intimidate the midterm voters, 171 00:11:59,635 --> 00:12:04,435 Speaker 1: and of course express the hatred and the racism at 172 00:12:04,435 --> 00:12:08,715 Speaker 1: the part of MAGA. Now, for all the blowback this 173 00:12:08,755 --> 00:12:14,595 Speaker 1: would ultimately direct against Trump. I mean, he lost. Half 174 00:12:14,635 --> 00:12:17,075 Speaker 1: of the people in charge of this got fired or demoted, 175 00:12:17,235 --> 00:12:20,275 Speaker 1: and he had to withdraw. He had to run like 176 00:12:20,315 --> 00:12:25,675 Speaker 1: the little shit he is. It did temporarily give Trump 177 00:12:25,715 --> 00:12:29,155 Speaker 1: what he needs about the midterms. The midterm. Part of 178 00:12:29,275 --> 00:12:33,115 Speaker 1: ICE's invasion of Minnesota was a Trump victory because it 179 00:12:33,195 --> 00:12:36,035 Speaker 1: allowed Pam Bondy the means with which to try to 180 00:12:36,155 --> 00:12:41,635 Speaker 1: blackmail Governor Tim Walls. Walls wanted Ice out, Bondy wrote 181 00:12:41,715 --> 00:12:44,115 Speaker 1: him all he had to do was give the Department 182 00:12:44,155 --> 00:12:51,995 Speaker 1: of Justice Minnesota's voter rolls. That not only obviously would 183 00:12:51,995 --> 00:12:55,395 Speaker 1: give Bondy, the escapee from Last Call at the dive Bar, 184 00:12:56,075 --> 00:12:59,195 Speaker 1: access to an entire state's voter rolls, but it would 185 00:12:59,275 --> 00:13:03,635 Speaker 1: also give the veneer of precedent for Bondy to try 186 00:13:03,675 --> 00:13:09,955 Speaker 1: this again elsewhere. Now we have the means the quote 187 00:13:09,995 --> 00:13:15,115 Speaker 1: Save America Act, which is actually the Save Trump from 188 00:13:15,195 --> 00:13:20,235 Speaker 1: Dying in Prison Act. The Save Trump from Dying in 189 00:13:20,315 --> 00:13:24,635 Speaker 1: Prison Act requires states to give their voter rolls to 190 00:13:24,755 --> 00:13:30,755 Speaker 1: the Department of Homeland Security. That's Christy Nome, who doesn't 191 00:13:30,755 --> 00:13:35,755 Speaker 1: have an honest bone in her body, or an original 192 00:13:35,835 --> 00:13:42,595 Speaker 1: one that passed the House, it will almost certainly not 193 00:13:42,915 --> 00:13:45,315 Speaker 1: pass the Senate. But not to worry. Trump says he 194 00:13:45,395 --> 00:13:50,795 Speaker 1: will enforce it anyway via executive order. Now, how do 195 00:13:50,835 --> 00:13:52,995 Speaker 1: you do that if it isn't law, Well, you do 196 00:13:53,035 --> 00:13:56,995 Speaker 1: it with the military, or with ice, or you send 197 00:13:57,035 --> 00:14:03,235 Speaker 1: Gabbard or Gnome or a guy named Thomas Albus, not Albus, 198 00:14:03,275 --> 00:14:08,195 Speaker 1: Dumbledore Albus, or you do what Trump did when he 199 00:14:08,235 --> 00:14:12,355 Speaker 1: went on Dan Bongino's podcast Republicans, he said, should quote 200 00:14:12,475 --> 00:14:18,995 Speaker 1: take over the voting unquote in at least fifteen places unquote. 201 00:14:19,715 --> 00:14:24,475 Speaker 1: Somebody told him that, how the hell do you do it? Well? 202 00:14:24,555 --> 00:14:27,075 Speaker 1: Executive orders that look like the same America Act, which 203 00:14:27,155 --> 00:14:31,315 Speaker 1: isn't law unless a soldier is pointing a gun at 204 00:14:31,315 --> 00:14:37,795 Speaker 1: your head and telling you yes, it is. Almost everything 205 00:14:37,795 --> 00:14:40,755 Speaker 1: else Trump has tried in this timeline has overlapped what 206 00:14:40,955 --> 00:14:44,715 Speaker 1: clean chronological timeline is impossible. So there's a lot of 207 00:14:44,795 --> 00:14:48,075 Speaker 1: overlap here. But the next standout date is January twenty eighth, when, 208 00:14:48,155 --> 00:14:52,275 Speaker 1: using apparently falsified documents, the DOJ's Star Chamber got its 209 00:14:52,355 --> 00:14:56,155 Speaker 1: hands on the Georgia twenty twenty ballots while bird Brain 210 00:14:56,275 --> 00:15:00,315 Speaker 1: DNI Tulcy Gabbard stood there phoning people back at the 211 00:15:00,435 --> 00:15:03,355 Speaker 1: ranch and making another appointment to get that skunk care 212 00:15:03,515 --> 00:15:07,515 Speaker 1: thing going in her head. This puts some meat on 213 00:15:07,595 --> 00:15:10,275 Speaker 1: the skeleton. That is the paranoid ramblings of the US 214 00:15:10,315 --> 00:15:13,635 Speaker 1: Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, Thomas Albus, who 215 00:15:13,635 --> 00:15:17,395 Speaker 1: has been designated by Barroom Bondi to be the point 216 00:15:17,435 --> 00:15:22,515 Speaker 1: weasel on attempts to fabricate election interference or national security threats. 217 00:15:22,875 --> 00:15:26,515 Speaker 1: Or here comes Nicholas maduro I told you if you 218 00:15:26,555 --> 00:15:29,475 Speaker 1: don't know this Albis shit. He is attached at the 219 00:15:29,515 --> 00:15:33,595 Speaker 1: hip to the idiot ed Martin idiot ed and Martin 220 00:15:33,675 --> 00:15:38,235 Speaker 1: main lines to Cleta Mitchell and Sidney Powell. After the 221 00:15:38,275 --> 00:15:44,275 Speaker 1: twenty twenty coup collapse, Clida Mitchell vanished, Powell confasst apologized, 222 00:15:44,275 --> 00:15:47,835 Speaker 1: and evidently went right back to work doing the same stuff. 223 00:15:50,835 --> 00:15:55,235 Speaker 1: The attempt to demote Senator Kelly the next stage in this. 224 00:15:55,315 --> 00:15:58,475 Speaker 1: You know about Trump's public announcement that Kelly had committed 225 00:15:58,755 --> 00:16:01,875 Speaker 1: crimes making that video punishable by death. You know about 226 00:16:01,875 --> 00:16:06,475 Speaker 1: that too, Janine Piro's complete shutout trying to indict Kelly. 227 00:16:06,715 --> 00:16:11,355 Speaker 1: You know about the wooing of the military fort bragged 228 00:16:11,395 --> 00:16:14,675 Speaker 1: the other night. You know about the seeming malapropisms from 229 00:16:14,755 --> 00:16:18,395 Speaker 1: plastic woman Gnome about making sure only the right people 230 00:16:18,475 --> 00:16:21,435 Speaker 1: vote for the right people you know about. I do 231 00:16:21,635 --> 00:16:26,555 Speaker 1: think hearing the last two comments from Trump and Gnome, 232 00:16:27,395 --> 00:16:29,955 Speaker 1: I think you should hear them again. I think they 233 00:16:29,995 --> 00:16:33,675 Speaker 1: will help you remember this as a mantra to not 234 00:16:33,835 --> 00:16:36,515 Speaker 1: live by, but to make sure we don't have to 235 00:16:36,555 --> 00:16:42,515 Speaker 1: live by. Fort Bragg. We have your name back. We 236 00:16:42,595 --> 00:16:44,995 Speaker 1: got your name back from the radical left. The radical 237 00:16:45,075 --> 00:16:48,035 Speaker 1: left is not happy about it. It's another reason you 238 00:16:48,075 --> 00:16:49,835 Speaker 1: have to vote for us, because they'll change it back 239 00:16:49,875 --> 00:16:52,515 Speaker 1: to whatever it might be. What exactly makes you think 240 00:16:52,515 --> 00:16:55,075 Speaker 1: that if the generals, if the Joint Chiefs actually do 241 00:16:55,195 --> 00:16:58,435 Speaker 1: their duty to this nation and shut Trump down when 242 00:16:58,475 --> 00:17:02,395 Speaker 1: he tries to alter the midterms, that he won't try 243 00:17:02,435 --> 00:17:05,195 Speaker 1: to alter the generals, that he will We'll go back 244 00:17:05,195 --> 00:17:07,995 Speaker 1: to Fort Bragg and try to get all those idiots 245 00:17:08,035 --> 00:17:10,835 Speaker 1: sitting behind him to grab their guns and go help 246 00:17:10,915 --> 00:17:16,035 Speaker 1: him shoot the Commis you ever seen the Stephen King 247 00:17:16,155 --> 00:17:21,435 Speaker 1: movie The Dead Zone? No? I don't think Christopher Walken 248 00:17:22,075 --> 00:17:25,035 Speaker 1: has had a vision of President Martin Sheen starting a 249 00:17:25,075 --> 00:17:28,995 Speaker 1: first strike nuclear war. The missiles are flying, hallelujah, Halllujah. 250 00:17:29,075 --> 00:17:32,515 Speaker 1: I mean, I know Marty Sheen, but when the generals 251 00:17:32,835 --> 00:17:37,635 Speaker 1: in the movie will not use their fingerprints on the 252 00:17:37,715 --> 00:17:42,315 Speaker 1: device to help launch the missiles to destroy Russia, and 253 00:17:42,395 --> 00:17:46,675 Speaker 1: the world President Marty Sheen threatens to cut off their 254 00:17:46,755 --> 00:17:51,915 Speaker 1: hands and put their fingers on the device. Anyway, But 255 00:17:52,035 --> 00:17:53,995 Speaker 1: if you can stomach it, I think it would be 256 00:17:53,995 --> 00:17:58,435 Speaker 1: a good idea to watch that movie again. And Seven 257 00:17:58,515 --> 00:18:02,995 Speaker 1: Days in May. They're both great films, and the HBO 258 00:18:03,115 --> 00:18:07,595 Speaker 1: mini series the Plot against him Erica and the film 259 00:18:07,675 --> 00:18:10,915 Speaker 1: version of Sinclair Lewis's It Can't Happen Here, the great 260 00:18:10,955 --> 00:18:15,275 Speaker 1: movie starring Lionel Barrymore and Basil Rathbone. And oh yeah, 261 00:18:15,275 --> 00:18:20,955 Speaker 1: that's right. Ninety years ago, the US government actually got 262 00:18:20,995 --> 00:18:26,235 Speaker 1: the filming of that overthrow the government movie that here's fascism, 263 00:18:26,475 --> 00:18:35,275 Speaker 1: It can't happen here. The government actually got that movie canceled. Hmm. Anyway, 264 00:18:36,155 --> 00:18:39,235 Speaker 1: watch what you can, presuming you can still get Seven 265 00:18:39,315 --> 00:18:43,355 Speaker 1: Days in May and the Plot against America and the 266 00:18:43,435 --> 00:18:48,435 Speaker 1: Dead Zone. Because the one nice thing about this deep 267 00:18:48,915 --> 00:18:53,795 Speaker 1: weed political science fiction stuff is there are surprisingly few 268 00:18:54,435 --> 00:18:59,915 Speaker 1: new ideas out there, and it'll be much easier when 269 00:18:59,955 --> 00:19:02,755 Speaker 1: Trump tries some of this. And you say, hey, wait, 270 00:19:04,675 --> 00:19:07,635 Speaker 1: and you do you know that meme with the guy 271 00:19:08,355 --> 00:19:12,235 Speaker 1: pointing DiCaprio pointing at the TV. You do that meme 272 00:19:12,315 --> 00:19:16,395 Speaker 1: that wait? I know that that's in seven days in May. 273 00:19:17,235 --> 00:19:22,155 Speaker 1: I know what to do now, because, like the best 274 00:19:22,435 --> 00:19:27,675 Speaker 1: cliche in the world at the moment, anyway goes. Just 275 00:19:27,755 --> 00:19:32,875 Speaker 1: because you're paranoid America, that doesn't mean Trump's not out 276 00:19:32,875 --> 00:19:45,835 Speaker 1: to get you. A quick Epstein update, Casey Wasserman is 277 00:19:45,875 --> 00:19:50,475 Speaker 1: selling his Wasserman Talent agency. He thinks that'll be enough, 278 00:19:50,555 --> 00:19:54,155 Speaker 1: just because Chapel Roane and Abby Wambach quit his agency 279 00:19:54,235 --> 00:19:57,235 Speaker 1: rather than remain associated with the guy so implicated in 280 00:19:57,235 --> 00:20:03,395 Speaker 1: the Epstein Files flirtatious emails with Gleainne Maxwell, Oh my god, 281 00:20:03,635 --> 00:20:11,235 Speaker 1: are there? Did you also Pambondy Pambondi hit on me 282 00:20:11,275 --> 00:20:14,675 Speaker 1: once outside the men's room at the PBS station in 283 00:20:14,755 --> 00:20:19,195 Speaker 1: Tampa twenty years ago. I'll let you know when I 284 00:20:19,195 --> 00:20:24,915 Speaker 1: get over it. Wasserman, anyway back to his problems, thinks 285 00:20:24,915 --> 00:20:26,755 Speaker 1: he can stay on as head of the Los Angeles 286 00:20:26,795 --> 00:20:30,595 Speaker 1: Olympic Organizing Committee. He can't. I only know him a 287 00:20:30,635 --> 00:20:35,635 Speaker 1: little bit, Casey, you can't. If you do. What it 288 00:20:35,715 --> 00:20:39,715 Speaker 1: means is the LA Olympics will grow increasingly tied to 289 00:20:39,795 --> 00:20:43,435 Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein every day a little bit more until the 290 00:20:43,475 --> 00:20:48,315 Speaker 1: opening ceremonies, which are on July fourteenth, twenty twenty eight. 291 00:20:49,755 --> 00:20:52,115 Speaker 1: I got bad news for you case you ain't gonna 292 00:20:52,155 --> 00:20:57,595 Speaker 1: make it. Meanwhile, the chief legal Officer, Katherine Rumler is 293 00:20:57,675 --> 00:21:02,715 Speaker 1: out at Goldman sachs oh Epstein files. Brad Karp, chair 294 00:21:02,795 --> 00:21:05,555 Speaker 1: of the Vshy law firm of Paul White, Rifkin and 295 00:21:05,755 --> 00:21:10,435 Speaker 1: Epstein Files, he's gone too. In the UK, the government 296 00:21:10,515 --> 00:21:13,795 Speaker 1: is investigating prosecuting the man who until last fall was 297 00:21:13,835 --> 00:21:17,475 Speaker 1: its ambassador to Trump and the United States, Lord Mandelsson, 298 00:21:17,835 --> 00:21:22,115 Speaker 1: who is eyebrow high in the files. They may prosecute 299 00:21:22,195 --> 00:21:26,555 Speaker 1: him and the brother of the king for turning over 300 00:21:27,075 --> 00:21:31,235 Speaker 1: secret financial documents to Jeffrey Epstein. On top of everything else, 301 00:21:32,555 --> 00:21:36,355 Speaker 1: the advisor who got the prime minister elected, who also 302 00:21:36,435 --> 00:21:40,035 Speaker 1: said to the prime minister you should make Mandelsson the ambassador. 303 00:21:40,115 --> 00:21:43,555 Speaker 1: He got fired, and a media guy got fired, and 304 00:21:43,635 --> 00:21:46,555 Speaker 1: the Prime Minister got close to being challenged. It was 305 00:21:46,595 --> 00:21:48,235 Speaker 1: like an hour or two in there where it looked 306 00:21:48,235 --> 00:21:50,275 Speaker 1: like he wasn't going to make it. He swerved out 307 00:21:50,315 --> 00:21:54,675 Speaker 1: of the way, at least for now here. Howard Lutnick, 308 00:21:54,955 --> 00:21:57,595 Speaker 1: who said he cut off Epstein like twenty years ago, 309 00:21:57,715 --> 00:21:59,795 Speaker 1: or maybe it was two thousand years ago. Then turns 310 00:21:59,835 --> 00:22:03,635 Speaker 1: out he visited Epstein Island, but just for lunch and 311 00:22:03,715 --> 00:22:06,595 Speaker 1: started a new business with Epstein in twenty fourteen, like 312 00:22:06,635 --> 00:22:09,035 Speaker 1: a decade after he said he'd sworn him off and 313 00:22:09,275 --> 00:22:14,235 Speaker 1: was disgusted. Yeah, he still Trump's lying secretary of bullshit 314 00:22:14,315 --> 00:22:20,075 Speaker 1: commerce because one very simple reason, Trump is the CEO 315 00:22:20,795 --> 00:22:49,035 Speaker 1: of the Epstein cover up. Every once in a while, 316 00:22:49,235 --> 00:22:52,755 Speaker 1: I begin to suspect that this podcast will eventually turn 317 00:22:52,755 --> 00:22:56,835 Speaker 1: into a media criticism podcast. Every once in a while, 318 00:22:56,875 --> 00:23:00,315 Speaker 1: I suspect you believe that this podcast has already turned 319 00:23:00,315 --> 00:23:03,515 Speaker 1: into such a podcast about the media more than about 320 00:23:03,515 --> 00:23:08,155 Speaker 1: politics or Trump or anything else. Because if we stop 321 00:23:08,195 --> 00:23:11,675 Speaker 1: and think about it, beyond the natural problems that we 322 00:23:11,715 --> 00:23:14,195 Speaker 1: have had with what we all thought were laws and 323 00:23:14,235 --> 00:23:17,915 Speaker 1: that turned out just to be traditions and things that 324 00:23:17,995 --> 00:23:21,715 Speaker 1: men of goodwill would observe to keep the form of 325 00:23:21,755 --> 00:23:27,435 Speaker 1: government here largely democratic, apart from that overarching problem that 326 00:23:27,515 --> 00:23:30,595 Speaker 1: has led us here to the precipice of eternal damnation, 327 00:23:31,755 --> 00:23:37,635 Speaker 1: the second biggest collapse, the second weakest guardrail, the guardrail 328 00:23:37,715 --> 00:23:40,435 Speaker 1: that second most turned out to be made out of 329 00:23:40,755 --> 00:23:46,675 Speaker 1: oatmeal and paper mache is the media. There has been 330 00:23:46,795 --> 00:23:50,515 Speaker 1: another array of disasters in the media in the past week, 331 00:23:50,715 --> 00:23:54,915 Speaker 1: from CBS News or what was formerly CBS News, from 332 00:23:55,115 --> 00:23:58,195 Speaker 1: CNN again, from a man I used to work for 333 00:23:58,315 --> 00:24:02,075 Speaker 1: named Andy Lack at NBC formerly of NBC though they 334 00:24:02,115 --> 00:24:07,155 Speaker 1: fired him twice, and from Jake Efing Tapper. I got 335 00:24:07,195 --> 00:24:09,955 Speaker 1: into it very briefly, to the point where people were 336 00:24:09,995 --> 00:24:11,715 Speaker 1: responding to this by saying, we're going to get the 337 00:24:11,755 --> 00:24:15,595 Speaker 1: popcorn now, Olberman's going to Tapper again. I just saw 338 00:24:15,635 --> 00:24:21,315 Speaker 1: this on threads and responded to it, and I believe 339 00:24:21,555 --> 00:24:26,115 Speaker 1: it was misunderstood. So let me clarify this, and then 340 00:24:26,195 --> 00:24:28,475 Speaker 1: let me see if I can carve a few new 341 00:24:28,475 --> 00:24:31,715 Speaker 1: holes in Jake Tapper and explain that the reason I'm 342 00:24:31,755 --> 00:24:34,115 Speaker 1: carving a hole in him is not for the reason 343 00:24:34,195 --> 00:24:37,635 Speaker 1: that everybody thinks I am. Jake Tapper. The other day 344 00:24:37,955 --> 00:24:42,595 Speaker 1: posted the following Dark Days, Hope You're hanging in there. 345 00:24:45,155 --> 00:24:47,755 Speaker 1: That was the entire post. I will give him credit. 346 00:24:47,995 --> 00:24:50,515 Speaker 1: Nowhere here does it say that his book about Joe 347 00:24:50,515 --> 00:24:54,075 Speaker 1: Biden's mental health is now available at popular prices. He 348 00:24:54,275 --> 00:24:57,035 Speaker 1: just says Dark Days, Hope You're hanging in there, to 349 00:24:57,075 --> 00:25:02,075 Speaker 1: which I responded, hope you understand you contributed to the darkness. 350 00:25:02,235 --> 00:25:05,395 Speaker 1: Maybe you should quit your bullshit show on your bullshit 351 00:25:05,515 --> 00:25:08,995 Speaker 1: channel and go atone for a year, work in a 352 00:25:09,035 --> 00:25:14,555 Speaker 1: hospice or a charity make up for how you helped Trump, asshole. 353 00:25:16,595 --> 00:25:19,715 Speaker 1: It was assumed that my reference there to Tapper was 354 00:25:19,755 --> 00:25:23,515 Speaker 1: about the book. It really was not, and I will 355 00:25:23,515 --> 00:25:27,195 Speaker 1: explain that in a moment in point of fact, the 356 00:25:27,395 --> 00:25:32,755 Speaker 1: idea that Joe Biden's acuity should be addressed was a 357 00:25:32,835 --> 00:25:36,795 Speaker 1: valid one. The timing was wrong. The way Jake Tapper 358 00:25:36,875 --> 00:25:40,515 Speaker 1: did it by debasing his network himself, chilling this book 359 00:25:40,555 --> 00:25:42,515 Speaker 1: on the air, the way he did like a bill 360 00:25:42,555 --> 00:25:49,235 Speaker 1: O'Reilly reducts. These were all humiliations, These were all disqualifications 361 00:25:49,235 --> 00:25:54,115 Speaker 1: from the journalism business. But that's not the point. The 362 00:25:54,195 --> 00:25:58,635 Speaker 1: point is what Jake Tapper did not do. And Jake 363 00:25:58,675 --> 00:26:02,235 Speaker 1: Tapper has again underscored the fact that the pivotal moment 364 00:26:02,355 --> 00:26:05,475 Speaker 1: in the twenty twenty four presidential election was at the 365 00:26:05,555 --> 00:26:08,555 Speaker 1: debate between Biden and Trump, and it had nothing to 366 00:26:08,595 --> 00:26:11,595 Speaker 1: do with as bad as Biden did during that It 367 00:26:11,715 --> 00:26:18,315 Speaker 1: was Jake effing Tapper's fault because he put himself ahead 368 00:26:18,355 --> 00:26:24,795 Speaker 1: of this country. Looking at Joe Biden's mental acuity consistency, 369 00:26:25,075 --> 00:26:27,315 Speaker 1: there is no question that it should have been addressed 370 00:26:27,555 --> 00:26:30,155 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two, and America would have been better 371 00:26:30,195 --> 00:26:32,835 Speaker 1: off if Joe Biden had said, I will be what 372 00:26:32,915 --> 00:26:35,035 Speaker 1: I said, I was going to be a transitional president. 373 00:26:35,275 --> 00:26:36,715 Speaker 1: I am going to get out of the way, out 374 00:26:36,715 --> 00:26:39,235 Speaker 1: of the way of the next Democratic candidate. There is 375 00:26:39,315 --> 00:26:41,515 Speaker 1: no question it would have been better if that had happened, 376 00:26:41,635 --> 00:26:43,835 Speaker 1: and there is no question that he should have done it, 377 00:26:44,035 --> 00:26:45,955 Speaker 1: and there is no question that it should have been 378 00:26:46,035 --> 00:26:49,275 Speaker 1: raised more often than it was in the media by everybody, 379 00:26:49,315 --> 00:26:54,035 Speaker 1: including me. What Jake Tapper did, of course, was second 380 00:26:54,035 --> 00:26:58,755 Speaker 1: guess the thing while ignoring what is also unquestionable. There 381 00:26:58,795 --> 00:27:02,875 Speaker 1: has never been a minute in the last fifty years 382 00:27:03,355 --> 00:27:07,115 Speaker 1: in which Joe Biden has been one one millionth as 383 00:27:07,315 --> 00:27:11,955 Speaker 1: mentally uncertain or as unreliable as Donald Trump has been 384 00:27:12,875 --> 00:27:17,875 Speaker 1: at Donald Trump's best minute. Donald Trump is insane. Joe 385 00:27:17,875 --> 00:27:23,915 Speaker 1: Biden is momentarily confused. This, however, did not sell books. 386 00:27:24,355 --> 00:27:29,595 Speaker 1: So Jake Tapper hoared himself out and the results are well, 387 00:27:29,635 --> 00:27:32,715 Speaker 1: they are what we are in right now. And yet 388 00:27:33,195 --> 00:27:36,755 Speaker 1: my major complaint about Jake Tapper and the reason I 389 00:27:36,835 --> 00:27:39,955 Speaker 1: suggested he should quit his bullshit show and go work 390 00:27:39,995 --> 00:27:42,675 Speaker 1: in a hospice or a charity and make it up 391 00:27:42,715 --> 00:27:49,155 Speaker 1: to Earth is not about the book, even though he 392 00:27:49,235 --> 00:27:52,155 Speaker 1: sat there selling it during the middle of his newscast 393 00:27:52,275 --> 00:27:56,875 Speaker 1: for the last year. My complaint with Jake Tapper remains 394 00:27:57,555 --> 00:28:02,435 Speaker 1: the twenty twenty four Biden Trump debate. It's not about 395 00:28:02,435 --> 00:28:05,435 Speaker 1: the Biden book that he went on his little Jake 396 00:28:05,475 --> 00:28:09,355 Speaker 1: Tapper newscast and shilled this book the way Bill O'Reilly 397 00:28:09,435 --> 00:28:11,995 Speaker 1: used to shill his books on his shows on Fox, 398 00:28:12,435 --> 00:28:17,195 Speaker 1: or some woman selling fake diamonds sells the fake diamonds 399 00:28:17,195 --> 00:28:21,875 Speaker 1: and shills them on QVC. It's embarrassing, it's humiliating. But 400 00:28:22,115 --> 00:28:25,475 Speaker 1: if you're incapable of being embarrassed, if you have no core, 401 00:28:25,675 --> 00:28:28,555 Speaker 1: no soul, and you cannot make a fool of yourself 402 00:28:28,795 --> 00:28:35,075 Speaker 1: because you just don't care, have fun, My complaint remains 403 00:28:35,075 --> 00:28:38,515 Speaker 1: his role in the Biden Trump debate in twenty twenty four, 404 00:28:38,755 --> 00:28:42,115 Speaker 1: which was the turning point in that campaign and the 405 00:28:42,155 --> 00:28:45,315 Speaker 1: turning point that led to the late dropout of Biden 406 00:28:45,435 --> 00:28:50,235 Speaker 1: from the presidential campaign. And Jake Tapper has a huge 407 00:28:50,635 --> 00:28:55,435 Speaker 1: double digit percentage responsibility for what happened because Jake Tapper, 408 00:28:56,075 --> 00:29:02,515 Speaker 1: moderator of that debate, refused, refused to fact check Trump's 409 00:29:02,835 --> 00:29:07,875 Speaker 1: three digit lie total. When ABC did a debate, they 410 00:29:08,075 --> 00:29:11,515 Speaker 1: fact checked Trump's lies. They didn't have a problem doing that. 411 00:29:11,875 --> 00:29:15,875 Speaker 1: David Muir didn't have a problem doing that. Jake Tapper 412 00:29:15,955 --> 00:29:19,195 Speaker 1: was more interested in being on TV than telling the truth. 413 00:29:19,595 --> 00:29:22,795 Speaker 1: He is not a newsman. He has never been a newsman. 414 00:29:23,115 --> 00:29:27,795 Speaker 1: He is a TV figure who has befouled himself. He 415 00:29:27,875 --> 00:29:31,795 Speaker 1: has shit his pants on TV time and time again. 416 00:29:32,755 --> 00:29:36,995 Speaker 1: Perhaps that is why he has sided with Trump. Oh, 417 00:29:37,035 --> 00:29:40,875 Speaker 1: those were the rules you were offered for doing that debate, Jake, 418 00:29:42,115 --> 00:29:45,435 Speaker 1: Stop pouring yourself. What are you going to say to 419 00:29:45,475 --> 00:29:48,635 Speaker 1: yourself in the last minutes of your life when the 420 00:29:48,715 --> 00:29:52,035 Speaker 1: question becomes in your mind, did I do the wrong thing? Then? 421 00:29:52,235 --> 00:29:55,155 Speaker 1: And you say yes, I could not have done worse. 422 00:29:56,475 --> 00:30:00,875 Speaker 1: If you are offered an untenable, unacceptable series of circumstances, 423 00:30:01,235 --> 00:30:07,715 Speaker 1: you turned them down, and Jake, you didn't. You're a prostitute. 424 00:30:07,955 --> 00:30:10,435 Speaker 1: Now to a place where Jake might fit in perfectly. 425 00:30:10,475 --> 00:30:13,515 Speaker 1: They're looking for a new host of the CBS Evening News, 426 00:30:13,595 --> 00:30:16,675 Speaker 1: presumably they're looking for another new host of the CBS 427 00:30:16,755 --> 00:30:20,155 Speaker 1: Evening News, Perhaps it should be Jake Tapper. CBS is 428 00:30:20,235 --> 00:30:24,635 Speaker 1: imploding and its new anchor, Tony Diacoppol is going down 429 00:30:24,715 --> 00:30:29,635 Speaker 1: faster than Titanic. It is now unquestionably and solely a 430 00:30:29,675 --> 00:30:33,315 Speaker 1: propaganda outlet, and very few of the key people at 431 00:30:33,355 --> 00:30:37,315 Speaker 1: CBS News are even pretending otherwise. There is no question 432 00:30:37,395 --> 00:30:40,675 Speaker 1: that there are plenty of broadcasters and reporters who are 433 00:30:40,715 --> 00:30:44,395 Speaker 1: still there. They are dropping steadily, however, and I would 434 00:30:44,555 --> 00:30:46,795 Speaker 1: guess that they will all be out of there within 435 00:30:46,875 --> 00:30:50,955 Speaker 1: two years. But Barry Weiss has proved herself to be 436 00:30:51,395 --> 00:30:56,195 Speaker 1: a very stupid three card Monty operator who may may 437 00:30:56,235 --> 00:30:59,635 Speaker 1: be fooling herself into thinking that she's some sort of journalist. 438 00:31:00,475 --> 00:31:04,035 Speaker 1: If she was a journalist, she's now sold out journalism 439 00:31:04,235 --> 00:31:07,235 Speaker 1: so she can pretend she's a big time executive. And 440 00:31:07,315 --> 00:31:10,595 Speaker 1: evidently she's not much of that either, And there are 441 00:31:10,675 --> 00:31:13,835 Speaker 1: plenty of people under her at CBS willing to sell 442 00:31:13,875 --> 00:31:17,555 Speaker 1: their souls too, like the unprincipled anchor to Koppel and 443 00:31:17,715 --> 00:31:21,275 Speaker 1: the amoral and I have never understood for a moment 444 00:31:21,635 --> 00:31:24,395 Speaker 1: the appeal this man had, and when he was hired 445 00:31:24,435 --> 00:31:27,955 Speaker 1: by CBS. I said him, and every time I have 446 00:31:28,115 --> 00:31:31,115 Speaker 1: seen him on TV since I have said him, and 447 00:31:31,235 --> 00:31:34,675 Speaker 1: he's doing it still, and he is out there rooting 448 00:31:34,715 --> 00:31:37,995 Speaker 1: for Barry Weiss and carrying her shit for her in 449 00:31:38,075 --> 00:31:43,075 Speaker 1: a plastic bag or possibly in his own mouth. Robert Costa, 450 00:31:43,875 --> 00:31:47,075 Speaker 1: Robert Costa, it was who revealed that there had been 451 00:31:47,115 --> 00:31:51,755 Speaker 1: an interview done with stephen A. Smith for CBS Sunday, 452 00:31:51,955 --> 00:31:55,755 Speaker 1: CBS Sunday, which used to be perhaps the most respected 453 00:31:55,835 --> 00:32:00,595 Speaker 1: and most enjoyable news long form show in television. I 454 00:32:00,635 --> 00:32:03,675 Speaker 1: include all them in this. There was a quality to 455 00:32:03,755 --> 00:32:06,875 Speaker 1: this show in which they largely stayed away from controversial 456 00:32:06,955 --> 00:32:11,555 Speaker 1: subjects and yet managed to provide interesting and informative and 457 00:32:11,755 --> 00:32:15,315 Speaker 1: accurate information. And that it is gone. It is now 458 00:32:15,475 --> 00:32:20,275 Speaker 1: a staging ground for stephen A Shit, I will confess 459 00:32:20,395 --> 00:32:23,395 Speaker 1: to you. Costa. Quote Smith is saying on the program 460 00:32:23,475 --> 00:32:27,835 Speaker 1: which broadcast yesterday, I'm giving strong consideration to being on 461 00:32:27,955 --> 00:32:31,275 Speaker 1: that debate stage for twenty twenty seven and running for 462 00:32:31,315 --> 00:32:36,715 Speaker 1: the Democratic nomination. No for president. Quote. I've got this 463 00:32:36,875 --> 00:32:39,515 Speaker 1: year coming up twenty twenty six to think about it, 464 00:32:39,555 --> 00:32:44,235 Speaker 1: to study, to know the issues well. At least. Stephen 465 00:32:44,315 --> 00:32:47,995 Speaker 1: A is admitting that he doesn't know the issues, hasn't studied, 466 00:32:48,115 --> 00:32:50,795 Speaker 1: and hasn't thought about it. He just likes the idea 467 00:32:51,115 --> 00:32:55,315 Speaker 1: of being president. Stephen is too stupid to understand that 468 00:32:55,355 --> 00:32:58,475 Speaker 1: he is a stalking horse. We've been through this before. 469 00:32:58,635 --> 00:33:00,675 Speaker 1: I'm not going to go through all the arguments and 470 00:33:00,675 --> 00:33:04,555 Speaker 1: the whole Stephen A. Smith story. He is wonderfully talent 471 00:33:04,915 --> 00:33:08,915 Speaker 1: at killing time in sports broadcasts, but most sports people 472 00:33:08,955 --> 00:33:11,635 Speaker 1: will tell you that whereas he kind of knows the 473 00:33:11,755 --> 00:33:15,875 Speaker 1: NBA anything outside of basketball, he's just making it up 474 00:33:15,875 --> 00:33:18,075 Speaker 1: as he goes along. And now you're going to ask 475 00:33:18,155 --> 00:33:21,875 Speaker 1: him about public policy issues that he does not understand. 476 00:33:22,475 --> 00:33:24,675 Speaker 1: This is the man, after all, who jumped right into 477 00:33:24,675 --> 00:33:28,355 Speaker 1: the middle of the ice shooting the first one in 478 00:33:28,915 --> 00:33:32,875 Speaker 1: Minnesota of Renee Good and said that it was kind 479 00:33:32,875 --> 00:33:36,355 Speaker 1: of unfortunate that Renee Good died, but the ice officers 480 00:33:36,395 --> 00:33:41,835 Speaker 1: were completely justified in killing her. That was his starting position. 481 00:33:42,195 --> 00:33:45,515 Speaker 1: And now he's going to know the issues later and 482 00:33:45,595 --> 00:33:50,795 Speaker 1: he will be portrayed doing this on CBS. And don't 483 00:33:50,835 --> 00:33:54,715 Speaker 1: think that this program yesterday would be the only time 484 00:33:54,835 --> 00:33:58,435 Speaker 1: you're going to see this, because he's a stalking horse. 485 00:33:59,595 --> 00:34:04,115 Speaker 1: He is there and too stupid to understand solely to 486 00:34:04,195 --> 00:34:07,875 Speaker 1: siphon off votes from the would be Democratic candidate in 487 00:34:07,915 --> 00:34:10,755 Speaker 1: twenty twenty eight, or those from other parties who might 488 00:34:10,835 --> 00:34:14,875 Speaker 1: oppose JV. Vance or whoever the Republicans will get or 489 00:34:15,235 --> 00:34:18,435 Speaker 1: if they actually try Trump for a third term. They 490 00:34:18,595 --> 00:34:23,315 Speaker 1: targeted Smith's ego and it's a pretty big target. And 491 00:34:23,355 --> 00:34:26,395 Speaker 1: Steven A. Smith will not know that he's Bobby Kennedy, 492 00:34:27,035 --> 00:34:31,275 Speaker 1: Jill Stein, Cornell West. I don't think he knows who 493 00:34:31,275 --> 00:34:34,675 Speaker 1: any of those people are. He is being used and 494 00:34:34,755 --> 00:34:40,275 Speaker 1: CBS has declared that it will be his platform. And 495 00:34:40,315 --> 00:34:44,075 Speaker 1: there's more. As if this were not enough, there was 496 00:34:44,355 --> 00:34:49,195 Speaker 1: Tony da Koppel's town hall announcement on March fourteenth. He 497 00:34:49,275 --> 00:34:53,715 Speaker 1: will host a town hall with JD. Vance and one 498 00:34:53,755 --> 00:34:56,675 Speaker 1: of the topics is going to be the twenty twenty 499 00:34:56,675 --> 00:35:03,275 Speaker 1: eight presidential campaign with just JD Vance. How is that news? 500 00:35:03,515 --> 00:35:08,875 Speaker 1: It's not its advertising? And what's more, the title of 501 00:35:08,875 --> 00:35:13,195 Speaker 1: this Barry wise series of town halls is CBS Things 502 00:35:13,275 --> 00:35:20,715 Speaker 1: that Matter. On February ninth, Tony de Koppel already once 503 00:35:20,755 --> 00:35:24,715 Speaker 1: again put a hole in whatever reputation he had as 504 00:35:24,755 --> 00:35:27,515 Speaker 1: a newsman at some point in his past when he 505 00:35:27,555 --> 00:35:33,075 Speaker 1: announced on their newscast. The CBS quote Evening Quote News 506 00:35:34,355 --> 00:35:38,035 Speaker 1: ICE arrested nearly four hundred thousand people in President Trump's 507 00:35:38,075 --> 00:35:41,275 Speaker 1: first year in office. Of those, nearly sixty percent had 508 00:35:41,315 --> 00:35:45,835 Speaker 1: criminal histories, meaning charges or convictions, including many for serious 509 00:35:45,835 --> 00:35:49,875 Speaker 1: crimes such as drug trafficking and child pornography, and several 510 00:35:49,955 --> 00:35:54,515 Speaker 1: thousand cases involving rape or murder. Those are some pretty 511 00:35:54,555 --> 00:35:58,995 Speaker 1: heavy statistics. That's a very important story, and it is 512 00:35:59,075 --> 00:36:02,875 Speaker 1: to some degree surprising that you're probably hearing this for 513 00:36:02,915 --> 00:36:06,155 Speaker 1: the first time. Four hundred thousand people arrested. Of those, 514 00:36:06,235 --> 00:36:10,795 Speaker 1: sixty percent had criminal histories, drug trafficking, child pornography, several 515 00:36:10,915 --> 00:36:18,275 Speaker 1: thousand rapes or murders. The books were cooked. Trump is 516 00:36:18,315 --> 00:36:21,635 Speaker 1: not right. Trump is not dragging off only the violent criminals, 517 00:36:21,675 --> 00:36:25,075 Speaker 1: the worst of the worst. The number had been rewritten, 518 00:36:25,475 --> 00:36:28,875 Speaker 1: the facts had been changed into what Tony Dacoppel read 519 00:36:29,515 --> 00:36:36,995 Speaker 1: to present a fake picture, to falsify reality. CBS had 520 00:36:37,035 --> 00:36:40,475 Speaker 1: its own online report on its website, which has not 521 00:36:40,595 --> 00:36:43,395 Speaker 1: yet been corrupted by Barry Weiss and Tony Diacoppel and 522 00:36:43,435 --> 00:36:47,195 Speaker 1: the others. The CBS story, using the same data from 523 00:36:47,195 --> 00:36:51,035 Speaker 1: the same sources, reads less than fourteen percent of those 524 00:36:51,155 --> 00:36:53,755 Speaker 1: arrested by Ice in Trump's first year back in office 525 00:36:53,955 --> 00:36:59,115 Speaker 1: had violent criminal records. Document shows, so between the actual number, 526 00:36:59,155 --> 00:37:02,515 Speaker 1: which is less than fourteen percent, and this dire picture 527 00:37:02,675 --> 00:37:08,835 Speaker 1: of nearly sixty percent had criminal histories, somebody changed the 528 00:37:08,915 --> 00:37:15,435 Speaker 1: facts from the facts to lies that Copol promptly spewed 529 00:37:15,675 --> 00:37:19,675 Speaker 1: on the CBS Evening News. This would explain then, something 530 00:37:19,715 --> 00:37:22,075 Speaker 1: that was obtained by The New York Times and posted 531 00:37:22,595 --> 00:37:25,475 Speaker 1: a goodbye cruel World note from a producer at the 532 00:37:25,475 --> 00:37:28,795 Speaker 1: CBS Evening News from a woman named Alicia Hasty who 533 00:37:28,835 --> 00:37:30,875 Speaker 1: had been there apparently for four years. And I will 534 00:37:30,875 --> 00:37:33,555 Speaker 1: not read this in its entirety, but some of it 535 00:37:33,635 --> 00:37:38,795 Speaker 1: is of great value. Alicia Hasty's farewell email to her colleagues. 536 00:37:39,435 --> 00:37:42,275 Speaker 1: There has been a sweeping new vision, prioritizing a break 537 00:37:42,315 --> 00:37:45,475 Speaker 1: from traditional broadcast norms to embrace what has been described 538 00:37:45,515 --> 00:37:50,195 Speaker 1: as heterodox journalism. The truth is that commitment to those 539 00:37:50,195 --> 00:37:52,875 Speaker 1: people and the stories they have to tell is increasingly 540 00:37:52,915 --> 00:37:56,915 Speaker 1: becoming impossible. Stories may instead be evaluated not just on 541 00:37:56,955 --> 00:37:59,915 Speaker 1: their journalistic merit, but on whether they conform to a 542 00:37:59,955 --> 00:38:04,635 Speaker 1: shifting set of ideological expectations, a dynamic that pressures produce 543 00:38:04,715 --> 00:38:09,315 Speaker 1: users and reporters to self censor or avoid challenging narratives 544 00:38:09,475 --> 00:38:13,995 Speaker 1: that might trigger backlash or unfavorable headlines. None of this 545 00:38:14,155 --> 00:38:16,515 Speaker 1: detracts from the talent of all the journalists who remain 546 00:38:16,635 --> 00:38:20,195 Speaker 1: at CBS News. You all produce thoughtful and important work, 547 00:38:20,275 --> 00:38:23,875 Speaker 1: even under different circumstances. That is precisely what makes this 548 00:38:23,955 --> 00:38:27,435 Speaker 1: moment so heartbreaking. The very excellence we seek to sustain 549 00:38:27,915 --> 00:38:33,355 Speaker 1: is hindered by fear and uncertainty, she continued. Walter Cronkite 550 00:38:33,395 --> 00:38:35,835 Speaker 1: once said, in response to critics, if that is what 551 00:38:35,915 --> 00:38:38,675 Speaker 1: makes us liberals, so be it just as long as 552 00:38:38,715 --> 00:38:41,435 Speaker 1: in reporting the news, we adhere to the first ideals 553 00:38:41,435 --> 00:38:44,995 Speaker 1: of good journalism, that news reports must be fair, accurate, 554 00:38:45,035 --> 00:38:49,275 Speaker 1: and unbiased. Cronkite's idea is one of the best I've encountered. 555 00:38:49,475 --> 00:38:53,675 Speaker 1: He understood that labels are inevitable, but standards are what matter. 556 00:38:53,995 --> 00:38:57,075 Speaker 1: What defines journalism is not what critics call it, but 557 00:38:57,115 --> 00:39:00,875 Speaker 1: whether it remains faithful to those principles. I've always taken 558 00:39:00,915 --> 00:39:03,715 Speaker 1: comfort in the belief that if we hold fast to 559 00:39:03,755 --> 00:39:08,315 Speaker 1: those first ideas, trust follows. But those ideals cannot stand 560 00:39:08,355 --> 00:39:13,555 Speaker 1: on their own. They require vigilance, They require courage, and 561 00:39:13,675 --> 00:39:16,835 Speaker 1: there you have it. At CBS News, a woman producer 562 00:39:16,875 --> 00:39:20,195 Speaker 1: who was trying to uphold the principles of Walter Cronkite 563 00:39:20,755 --> 00:39:23,955 Speaker 1: quit left, was forced out, could not do her job 564 00:39:24,195 --> 00:39:27,715 Speaker 1: because she wanted to do actual journalism. A fraud named 565 00:39:27,795 --> 00:39:31,275 Speaker 1: Dakoppl who once said that his newscast would be far 566 00:39:31,355 --> 00:39:38,075 Speaker 1: more transparent than Walter Cronkites. He stays, it is a 567 00:39:38,195 --> 00:39:40,355 Speaker 1: very sad thing to say as somebody who grew up 568 00:39:40,395 --> 00:39:44,435 Speaker 1: on CBS News and aspired to work for it and did, 569 00:39:45,315 --> 00:39:49,235 Speaker 1: But unfortunately CBS News will have to be discontinued. There 570 00:39:49,355 --> 00:39:51,475 Speaker 1: is no way to repair the damage that has been 571 00:39:51,515 --> 00:39:55,355 Speaker 1: done in these brief months by the Ellisons and this witch, 572 00:39:55,595 --> 00:40:01,475 Speaker 1: Barry Weiss. And lastly, just to prove that the collapse 573 00:40:01,675 --> 00:40:06,275 Speaker 1: of media in this country did not begin recent, Andy 574 00:40:06,475 --> 00:40:10,315 Speaker 1: Lack has appeared out of nowhere, former president of NBC 575 00:40:10,475 --> 00:40:13,555 Speaker 1: News twice and to his credit, the man who looked 576 00:40:13,595 --> 00:40:16,795 Speaker 1: at me somehow in nineteen ninety seven and saw a 577 00:40:16,875 --> 00:40:21,115 Speaker 1: guy who could do news programming on then the almost 578 00:40:21,195 --> 00:40:25,195 Speaker 1: brand new network MSNBC. I don't know that he got 579 00:40:25,235 --> 00:40:27,955 Speaker 1: anything else right. There have been times since then when 580 00:40:27,955 --> 00:40:30,355 Speaker 1: I'm not sure that he got that right. But Andy 581 00:40:30,435 --> 00:40:33,555 Speaker 1: Lack apparently popped up on Facebook and this was posted 582 00:40:33,555 --> 00:40:36,955 Speaker 1: by Jeremy Barr, formerly of The Washington Post and now 583 00:40:37,075 --> 00:40:39,915 Speaker 1: The Guardian, and I will read this in its entirety 584 00:40:39,955 --> 00:40:43,795 Speaker 1: because I forget which of the various cliches this is, 585 00:40:44,155 --> 00:40:48,275 Speaker 1: but it's one of them, I think. Lack writes. It 586 00:40:48,395 --> 00:40:51,635 Speaker 1: was in twenty eighteen at the Vanity Fair Oscar party 587 00:40:51,715 --> 00:40:54,915 Speaker 1: in LA that Jeff Bezos confronted me with a simple question, 588 00:40:55,515 --> 00:40:57,715 Speaker 1: when are you guys going to stand up to Trump? 589 00:40:58,275 --> 00:41:00,915 Speaker 1: I was at NBC at the time, and a bit startled. 590 00:41:01,195 --> 00:41:03,995 Speaker 1: What do you mean? I said, He was in my face. 591 00:41:04,355 --> 00:41:06,675 Speaker 1: Come on, you're letting him off the hook. He was 592 00:41:06,715 --> 00:41:10,635 Speaker 1: steely eyed. I pushed back, I don't think that's quite right. 593 00:41:11,035 --> 00:41:13,155 Speaker 1: Before I said anything more, he shook his head and 594 00:41:13,235 --> 00:41:16,755 Speaker 1: moved on. I've thought a lot about that encounter recently. 595 00:41:16,995 --> 00:41:19,795 Speaker 1: When Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post for a meager 596 00:41:19,835 --> 00:41:22,155 Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty million dollars, it seemed like a 597 00:41:22,195 --> 00:41:25,515 Speaker 1: bargain basement deal, Lack continues, and he would be the 598 00:41:25,555 --> 00:41:28,555 Speaker 1: perfect new owner, ushering one of the great newspapers into 599 00:41:28,595 --> 00:41:32,275 Speaker 1: the digital age like no one else could. My best 600 00:41:32,315 --> 00:41:35,635 Speaker 1: friends at the Post, included the legendary Bob Woodward, were 601 00:41:35,675 --> 00:41:39,595 Speaker 1: hopeful and excited. Here we are now bewildered and pissed 602 00:41:39,635 --> 00:41:42,075 Speaker 1: off at the arrogance of the fourth richest man in 603 00:41:42,115 --> 00:41:45,075 Speaker 1: the world, tearing the paper apart, firing more than three 604 00:41:45,115 --> 00:41:50,155 Speaker 1: hundred people with his insanely stupid leadership. Go figure. Peggy 605 00:41:50,235 --> 00:41:52,795 Speaker 1: Noonan's column over the weekend in the Wall Street Journal, 606 00:41:52,955 --> 00:41:56,715 Speaker 1: a lament for The Washington Post, and Tina Brown's bafflement 607 00:41:56,755 --> 00:42:01,155 Speaker 1: with Bezos on her subsect Fresh Hell Yesterday are must reads. 608 00:42:02,875 --> 00:42:05,595 Speaker 1: Before I address Andy Lack, I want to mention that 609 00:42:05,795 --> 00:42:08,635 Speaker 1: you've just had a conversation with Andy Lack from my 610 00:42:08,715 --> 00:42:11,675 Speaker 1: two tenures or my one tenure working for him, and 611 00:42:11,755 --> 00:42:14,675 Speaker 1: the second time when I actually talked to him about 612 00:42:14,715 --> 00:42:19,675 Speaker 1: returning to work for him. Andy Lack exists solely to 613 00:42:19,835 --> 00:42:26,875 Speaker 1: drop names Vanity Fair, Oscar Party, Jeff Bezos, Jeff Bezos again, 614 00:42:27,235 --> 00:42:30,835 Speaker 1: my best friends at the Post, including legendary Bob Woodward, 615 00:42:31,155 --> 00:42:36,835 Speaker 1: Peggy Noonan, Tina Brown. That's right. There is one comforting 616 00:42:36,915 --> 00:42:39,115 Speaker 1: thing now, kind of a funny thing about Andy Lack 617 00:42:39,155 --> 00:42:42,475 Speaker 1: in his dotage. He doesn't know when people will be 618 00:42:42,595 --> 00:42:46,555 Speaker 1: impressed by his name dropping and will simply go who 619 00:42:46,675 --> 00:42:50,635 Speaker 1: the hell's Peggy Noonan. In any event, what I found 620 00:42:50,675 --> 00:42:55,315 Speaker 1: so entertaining about this posting from Lack and his rage 621 00:42:55,715 --> 00:42:59,115 Speaker 1: that Jeff Bezos once criticized NBC for not doing enough 622 00:42:59,155 --> 00:43:03,475 Speaker 1: against Trump was that apparently this confrontation with Bezos, which 623 00:43:03,475 --> 00:43:07,275 Speaker 1: he cites to be I guess early twenty eighteen would 624 00:43:07,275 --> 00:43:09,555 Speaker 1: have followed by a little bit more than two years 625 00:43:10,195 --> 00:43:13,715 Speaker 1: of the afternoon of Thursday, October twenty ninth, twenty fifteen, 626 00:43:13,755 --> 00:43:15,835 Speaker 1: when Andy Lack, who had just been put back in 627 00:43:15,915 --> 00:43:20,675 Speaker 1: charge of NBC News and MSNBC after the Brian Williams disaster, 628 00:43:20,795 --> 00:43:23,755 Speaker 1: if you will remember, that, offered me a new show 629 00:43:23,915 --> 00:43:27,355 Speaker 1: on MSNBC. It was four years since I had left 630 00:43:27,355 --> 00:43:30,995 Speaker 1: to go start my own program at Current after NBC 631 00:43:31,075 --> 00:43:33,555 Speaker 1: had breached my contract and I walked away with all 632 00:43:33,635 --> 00:43:36,275 Speaker 1: their money, and he was willing to admit that was 633 00:43:36,275 --> 00:43:38,715 Speaker 1: a mistake and he wanted me to come back. However, 634 00:43:40,755 --> 00:43:44,875 Speaker 1: the rule would be my new show could not include 635 00:43:45,715 --> 00:43:53,515 Speaker 1: political commentary, especially not political commentary about the Republicans, especially 636 00:43:53,875 --> 00:43:59,115 Speaker 1: not political commentary about Donald Trump. He was willing to 637 00:43:59,115 --> 00:44:01,675 Speaker 1: put me back and do the things the kind of 638 00:44:01,755 --> 00:44:04,475 Speaker 1: difficult things that would have been required inside NBC. To 639 00:44:04,875 --> 00:44:07,635 Speaker 1: me back on the air at MSNBC. He was willing 640 00:44:07,715 --> 00:44:11,315 Speaker 1: to do that, provided I didn't do the only thing 641 00:44:11,395 --> 00:44:15,475 Speaker 1: I was good at. He explained to me that the 642 00:44:15,555 --> 00:44:18,715 Speaker 1: special comments that I started to do at MSNBC in 643 00:44:18,715 --> 00:44:21,515 Speaker 1: two thousand and eight, excuse me, two thousand and six, 644 00:44:22,075 --> 00:44:25,475 Speaker 1: were the worst things that had ever been done. They 645 00:44:25,595 --> 00:44:29,955 Speaker 1: destroyed MSNBC. They ruined MSNBC. What he meant by this 646 00:44:30,155 --> 00:44:34,155 Speaker 1: was it ruined his vision of MSNBC, which of course 647 00:44:34,155 --> 00:44:37,435 Speaker 1: he surrendered when he left NBC circa two thousand. But 648 00:44:37,515 --> 00:44:39,915 Speaker 1: he never got over the idea that he was right 649 00:44:40,035 --> 00:44:42,435 Speaker 1: and I was wrong, and offering me a new job 650 00:44:42,555 --> 00:44:44,755 Speaker 1: would prove to the whole world that he was right 651 00:44:44,915 --> 00:44:46,995 Speaker 1: and I was wrong, and that the worst things that 652 00:44:47,155 --> 00:44:51,795 Speaker 1: ever happened to MSNBC was letting Keith Alerman do political 653 00:44:51,835 --> 00:44:55,795 Speaker 1: commentaries instead of feature interviews. He wanted me to move 654 00:44:55,835 --> 00:44:58,315 Speaker 1: to Los Angeles and have a co host and do 655 00:44:58,595 --> 00:45:01,875 Speaker 1: feature interviews for half an hour every night, And he said, 656 00:45:01,955 --> 00:45:04,635 Speaker 1: we'll call it The Last Word. And I said, yeah, 657 00:45:04,675 --> 00:45:06,435 Speaker 1: I have a show called The Last Word already with 658 00:45:06,515 --> 00:45:11,195 Speaker 1: Lawrence O'Donnell. Not for much longer, I hope. In any event, 659 00:45:11,875 --> 00:45:14,195 Speaker 1: he went on now to explain to me his initial 660 00:45:14,235 --> 00:45:16,635 Speaker 1: reaction the first time he saw one of the special comments. 661 00:45:16,715 --> 00:45:18,515 Speaker 1: I thought you were going crazy. I thought you were 662 00:45:18,515 --> 00:45:20,915 Speaker 1: literally growing crazy on the air. I called up a 663 00:45:20,915 --> 00:45:23,475 Speaker 1: bunch of my friends, I said, are you watching Olderman? 664 00:45:23,595 --> 00:45:25,635 Speaker 1: I think he's gonna go crazy. We're all gonna have 665 00:45:25,675 --> 00:45:28,075 Speaker 1: to watch tomorrow night. See he may actually go crazy 666 00:45:28,115 --> 00:45:29,635 Speaker 1: on the air. I don't know what he might do 667 00:45:29,715 --> 00:45:32,755 Speaker 1: to himself on the air. He's going crazy. He's absolutely 668 00:45:32,755 --> 00:45:36,355 Speaker 1: lost control of himself. I did not say to Andy 669 00:45:36,435 --> 00:45:40,595 Speaker 1: Lack at that point, did I approach your total lack 670 00:45:40,635 --> 00:45:44,195 Speaker 1: of control in business meetings? Was I that crazy sounding? 671 00:45:44,715 --> 00:45:47,235 Speaker 1: I didn't say that because I was trying to manipulate 672 00:45:47,275 --> 00:45:50,435 Speaker 1: Andy Lack into offering me this show and thus triggering 673 00:45:50,515 --> 00:45:53,515 Speaker 1: an offer for a different show at CNN. That was 674 00:45:53,515 --> 00:45:56,235 Speaker 1: the real goal. That did not happen for a variety 675 00:45:56,235 --> 00:45:58,755 Speaker 1: of reasons. So I just sat there and listened. And 676 00:45:58,835 --> 00:46:01,915 Speaker 1: the other thing I did not say, the one which 677 00:46:02,235 --> 00:46:04,395 Speaker 1: the part of it which he said, Okay, look all 678 00:46:04,395 --> 00:46:06,755 Speaker 1: of my all of my friends were now going to 679 00:46:06,795 --> 00:46:08,795 Speaker 1: tune in and watch you, and we were all watching 680 00:46:08,835 --> 00:46:10,955 Speaker 1: to see if you're going to lose your mind. What 681 00:46:11,115 --> 00:46:13,595 Speaker 1: I wanted to say, I was trying to find a 682 00:46:13,635 --> 00:46:16,035 Speaker 1: way to say this and still not get him to 683 00:46:16,075 --> 00:46:21,115 Speaker 1: not offer me that job, was that perhaps he'd missed 684 00:46:21,115 --> 00:46:24,315 Speaker 1: the point here that whatever he thought of the special comments, 685 00:46:24,355 --> 00:46:27,435 Speaker 1: whenever he thought about my histrionics or my anger or 686 00:46:27,435 --> 00:46:30,555 Speaker 1: my rage or telling President Bush to shut the hell up, 687 00:46:32,075 --> 00:46:36,075 Speaker 1: he was watching, wasn't he Andy Lack? For all that 688 00:46:36,155 --> 00:46:38,835 Speaker 1: he said he hated about what I was doing, he 689 00:46:38,995 --> 00:46:42,595 Speaker 1: was watching the television show, the newscast, and the first 690 00:46:42,675 --> 00:46:45,115 Speaker 1: rule of doing the newscast is if you can't get 691 00:46:45,155 --> 00:46:50,595 Speaker 1: anybody to watch it, it didn't really happen. This was 692 00:46:50,675 --> 00:46:53,995 Speaker 1: more or less when Andy Lack explained, and I think 693 00:46:54,035 --> 00:46:58,435 Speaker 1: perhaps this is the starting point when we began to 694 00:46:58,475 --> 00:47:00,915 Speaker 1: move to this guard rail proving itself to be made 695 00:47:00,955 --> 00:47:07,155 Speaker 1: out of oatmeal and paper mache. He did not say 696 00:47:08,355 --> 00:47:10,435 Speaker 1: in the explicit way that I would have liked him 697 00:47:10,435 --> 00:47:12,715 Speaker 1: to say it, that we are about to go to 698 00:47:12,835 --> 00:47:15,795 Speaker 1: hell in a handbasket, But in retrospect it's pretty clear 699 00:47:15,795 --> 00:47:18,515 Speaker 1: he said it in this opaque way. This was the 700 00:47:18,515 --> 00:47:21,555 Speaker 1: moment that Andy Lack, who explained that whatever we did, 701 00:47:21,595 --> 00:47:23,595 Speaker 1: we could not have me come back and do political 702 00:47:23,635 --> 00:47:30,515 Speaker 1: commentary about Donald Trump. He said he knew what America 703 00:47:30,595 --> 00:47:35,275 Speaker 1: wanted for news in the years twenty fifteen, sixteen, seventeen 704 00:47:35,475 --> 00:47:39,195 Speaker 1: and into the twenty twenty. He knew what America truly wanted, 705 00:47:39,355 --> 00:47:41,755 Speaker 1: that the tide had turned, that the yelling was over, 706 00:47:41,995 --> 00:47:45,075 Speaker 1: that the acrimony was at an end, that what America 707 00:47:45,155 --> 00:47:52,275 Speaker 1: wanted for news from MSNBC was the New York Times 708 00:47:52,515 --> 00:47:57,635 Speaker 1: of cable. I am only glad in retrospect that he 709 00:47:57,675 --> 00:48:05,155 Speaker 1: did not say the Washington Post of cable. Also of 710 00:48:05,195 --> 00:48:07,515 Speaker 1: interest here. I'm not done with the media, by the way, 711 00:48:07,675 --> 00:48:10,475 Speaker 1: and it's failure to even partly look out for us. 712 00:48:11,555 --> 00:48:13,595 Speaker 1: I want to come back later in the show and 713 00:48:13,675 --> 00:48:18,555 Speaker 1: tell you about the day an MSNBC anchor told a 714 00:48:18,595 --> 00:48:21,915 Speaker 1: member of the audience live on TV on MSNBC This 715 00:48:21,995 --> 00:48:26,755 Speaker 1: Is on Television told a member of the audience of 716 00:48:26,795 --> 00:48:30,515 Speaker 1: his show on MSNBC that that audience member should die 717 00:48:30,515 --> 00:48:34,115 Speaker 1: of AIDS. Not only that, but after it happened, the 718 00:48:34,155 --> 00:48:38,555 Speaker 1: president of NBC tried to prevent the president of MSNBC 719 00:48:38,715 --> 00:48:44,875 Speaker 1: from firing the bastard. And are you enjoying the Olympics? 720 00:48:45,435 --> 00:48:49,475 Speaker 1: I think they are the worst, most insincere thing in sports. 721 00:48:50,915 --> 00:48:54,315 Speaker 1: There are some exceptions, but I think almost everybody involved 722 00:48:54,315 --> 00:48:57,075 Speaker 1: in them is going to make it onto the worst 723 00:48:57,115 --> 00:49:02,595 Speaker 1: person's list. That's next. This is a Fahrenheit four fifty 724 00:49:02,635 --> 00:49:07,875 Speaker 1: one level edition of Countdown. George Carlin, pleasure to have you. 725 00:49:07,995 --> 00:49:10,035 Speaker 1: Thank you. This is the best news show ever. I 726 00:49:10,075 --> 00:49:12,235 Speaker 1: toilet to one of your producers, and I want you 727 00:49:12,315 --> 00:49:14,875 Speaker 1: to know that I've seen them all and it's just 728 00:49:15,315 --> 00:49:17,795 Speaker 1: especially the first thirty five minutes. Thank you. It's just 729 00:49:18,075 --> 00:49:20,355 Speaker 1: just on paralleled. I got bad news between you and I. 730 00:49:20,395 --> 00:49:22,795 Speaker 1: We got six minutes to completely screw that in the back. Yeah, 731 00:49:22,835 --> 00:49:47,515 Speaker 1: that's okay. Still ahead on this edition of Countdown, I 732 00:49:47,635 --> 00:49:51,755 Speaker 1: vow to invoke what Carlin would do more often than 733 00:49:51,795 --> 00:49:56,835 Speaker 1: I have been. I've been getting too easy in my 734 00:49:57,035 --> 00:50:02,195 Speaker 1: old age. It just occurred to me, I've moved now 735 00:50:02,275 --> 00:50:06,955 Speaker 1: officially certainly into the final two thirds. I might have 736 00:50:07,155 --> 00:50:10,795 Speaker 1: moved into that years ago, who knows, but officially sixty seven, 737 00:50:11,075 --> 00:50:13,515 Speaker 1: that's your You know, you're not the first third, certainly 738 00:50:13,555 --> 00:50:16,755 Speaker 1: not the middle third. You're definitely on the last third, 739 00:50:17,035 --> 00:50:20,755 Speaker 1: and so what so I I still I still had 740 00:50:20,795 --> 00:50:23,755 Speaker 1: a few fs to give, and having just watched the 741 00:50:23,755 --> 00:50:29,075 Speaker 1: biography of George Carlin. Again, it's time to stop giving 742 00:50:29,195 --> 00:50:33,115 Speaker 1: any fs at all. So I may have indicated to 743 00:50:33,155 --> 00:50:36,315 Speaker 1: you that I was done about ranting about the collapse 744 00:50:36,355 --> 00:50:41,275 Speaker 1: of media, specifically at CNN and MSNB now and all 745 00:50:41,315 --> 00:50:44,715 Speaker 1: the rest of them. No, I still have more people 746 00:50:44,715 --> 00:50:48,755 Speaker 1: to go after. Now. I have to go after Abby Phillip, 747 00:50:48,955 --> 00:50:52,395 Speaker 1: who is still the person enabling that shit on CNN. 748 00:50:52,755 --> 00:50:55,755 Speaker 1: I have to go after former NBC presidents Bob Wright 749 00:50:56,435 --> 00:50:59,595 Speaker 1: and Andy Lack, and a lunatic who is still on 750 00:50:59,755 --> 00:51:05,555 Speaker 1: radio somewhere named Michael Savage. Tell you about the day 751 00:51:05,875 --> 00:51:09,155 Speaker 1: the former MSNBC tried to go right wing and one 752 00:51:09,195 --> 00:51:11,875 Speaker 1: of its hosts told one of its viewers on the 753 00:51:11,915 --> 00:51:15,195 Speaker 1: air that he hoped that viewer would die of AIDS. 754 00:51:16,755 --> 00:51:19,835 Speaker 1: And the response to this was to fire the host, obviously, 755 00:51:19,995 --> 00:51:24,155 Speaker 1: except the president of NBC tried to stop the president 756 00:51:24,235 --> 00:51:28,515 Speaker 1: of MSNBC from firing the MSNBC host who wanted the 757 00:51:28,635 --> 00:51:32,195 Speaker 1: viewer to die of AIDS. The reason I want to 758 00:51:32,195 --> 00:51:34,795 Speaker 1: tell this story now is because of the cowardice and 759 00:51:34,875 --> 00:51:37,795 Speaker 1: the greed of TV news that I have just finished 760 00:51:38,115 --> 00:51:42,595 Speaker 1: referring to in its newest incarnation, its newest evil, little 761 00:51:42,635 --> 00:51:48,835 Speaker 1: monsters like Tony Takoppel and Barry Weiss. It's greater now 762 00:51:48,875 --> 00:51:51,395 Speaker 1: than it was twenty years ago. That's absolutely true, but 763 00:51:52,635 --> 00:51:56,195 Speaker 1: not by all that much. This has been coming for 764 00:51:56,235 --> 00:51:59,555 Speaker 1: a long time. We have just reached this point, and 765 00:51:59,595 --> 00:52:02,795 Speaker 1: God knows where we're going from here. Coming up next 766 00:52:02,795 --> 00:52:05,595 Speaker 1: in things I promised not to tell first, believe it 767 00:52:05,675 --> 00:52:07,955 Speaker 1: or not, there's still more new idiots to talk about. 768 00:52:07,955 --> 00:52:10,835 Speaker 1: The roundup of the miscreants, morons and Dunning Krueger fac 769 00:52:10,875 --> 00:52:16,275 Speaker 1: specimens who constitute today's other worst persons in the world. 770 00:52:17,155 --> 00:52:23,955 Speaker 1: The bronze worse Congressman Randy Fine, Florida sixth. You know Randy. 771 00:52:24,515 --> 00:52:27,035 Speaker 1: He's the one who got caught illegally voting in the 772 00:52:27,075 --> 00:52:31,075 Speaker 1: House using the voting cards of other members to cast 773 00:52:31,195 --> 00:52:34,155 Speaker 1: extra votes for them, even though they were not in 774 00:52:34,235 --> 00:52:36,995 Speaker 1: the House at the time and he was still casting 775 00:52:37,035 --> 00:52:42,835 Speaker 1: their votes for them. Randy, who's also a plus sized congressman, 776 00:52:42,875 --> 00:52:46,675 Speaker 1: is also crazy. He demanded that the FCC investigate and 777 00:52:46,795 --> 00:52:50,795 Speaker 1: prosecute Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl halftime show because 778 00:52:51,035 --> 00:52:54,955 Speaker 1: Randy Fine said Bad Bunny swore on national TV and 779 00:52:54,955 --> 00:52:57,555 Speaker 1: should go to jail for it. Swore in Spanish and 780 00:52:57,635 --> 00:53:01,715 Speaker 1: his music. Randy Fine insisted, Oh, and everybody who watched 781 00:53:01,795 --> 00:53:05,475 Speaker 1: should go to jail two quote Randy Fine, and lock 782 00:53:05,555 --> 00:53:07,515 Speaker 1: them up. Today would be a great day to round 783 00:53:07,595 --> 00:53:11,475 Speaker 1: up and deport illegals, especially those who liked bad Bunnies filth, 784 00:53:11,795 --> 00:53:15,795 Speaker 1: all of them, no exceptions because of the swearing that 785 00:53:15,915 --> 00:53:19,955 Speaker 1: Randy Fine heard, except, of course, there wasn't any swearing 786 00:53:21,075 --> 00:53:24,755 Speaker 1: people at places like oh, television companies that bring you 787 00:53:24,835 --> 00:53:29,555 Speaker 1: Super Bowls or bring you the news or own MSNBC now, 788 00:53:29,715 --> 00:53:34,035 Speaker 1: or they're stupid, but they're not stupid enough to avoid 789 00:53:34,355 --> 00:53:37,555 Speaker 1: easy fixes like saying to this man, we're gonna put 790 00:53:37,595 --> 00:53:39,075 Speaker 1: you on in front of one hundred and twenty five 791 00:53:39,075 --> 00:53:42,475 Speaker 1: million people all at once, and you can increase your 792 00:53:42,515 --> 00:53:45,435 Speaker 1: brand to whatever degree that is and say whatever you want, 793 00:53:45,475 --> 00:53:48,155 Speaker 1: because we're actually going to be able to use this 794 00:53:48,195 --> 00:53:51,115 Speaker 1: as a window for you to speak your political piece. 795 00:53:51,275 --> 00:53:54,115 Speaker 1: But you have to not swear. And he's not such 796 00:53:54,155 --> 00:53:56,235 Speaker 1: a dummy that he's gonna say that. I refuse, and 797 00:53:56,275 --> 00:54:00,435 Speaker 1: I'm gonna swear anyway. Of course, he didn't swear, But 798 00:54:00,595 --> 00:54:05,795 Speaker 1: Randy Fine, whose interest in life is ham sandwiches, Randy Fine, 799 00:54:05,875 --> 00:54:09,355 Speaker 1: whose interest in life is twinkies, Randy Fine could not 800 00:54:09,435 --> 00:54:12,275 Speaker 1: have been bothered to have watched and even use a 801 00:54:12,395 --> 00:54:15,795 Speaker 1: live translating service online to find out that all of 802 00:54:15,835 --> 00:54:21,435 Speaker 1: them Spanish words that he doesn't understand were just ordinary, regular, nondescript, 803 00:54:21,555 --> 00:54:27,155 Speaker 1: non curse words. So the FCC, Randy Fine demanded that 804 00:54:27,195 --> 00:54:31,075 Speaker 1: they investigate and arrest everybody. How did the FCC investigate it? 805 00:54:31,435 --> 00:54:34,955 Speaker 1: They watched the Super Bowl halftime video. I believe it 806 00:54:35,035 --> 00:54:39,515 Speaker 1: took this guy car, this Nazi, Brendan Carr, several days 807 00:54:39,555 --> 00:54:42,515 Speaker 1: to figure out that there might still be a tape 808 00:54:42,595 --> 00:54:45,675 Speaker 1: of this and that people could look at it. And 809 00:54:45,795 --> 00:54:49,115 Speaker 1: somebody at the FCC looked at it and translated everything 810 00:54:49,115 --> 00:54:52,635 Speaker 1: from Spanish to English and realized he cleaned up the lyrics. 811 00:54:53,275 --> 00:54:56,355 Speaker 1: He didn't make any references to body parts, let alone 812 00:54:56,355 --> 00:55:01,035 Speaker 1: actual curse words, which you would think that the idiot, 813 00:55:01,275 --> 00:55:06,395 Speaker 1: maga balloon shaped congressman who represents the district between Gainesville, 814 00:55:06,475 --> 00:55:12,155 Speaker 1: Florida and the Atlantic Ocean would have known, unless Randy 815 00:55:12,195 --> 00:55:16,235 Speaker 1: Fine doesn't speak Spanish and only speaks hatred. And you 816 00:55:16,315 --> 00:55:19,435 Speaker 1: guess to wonder, even the way things are weighted against 817 00:55:19,475 --> 00:55:22,315 Speaker 1: Hispanic people in this country, how on earth do you 818 00:55:22,355 --> 00:55:27,155 Speaker 1: get elected to congressman from even a largely Spanish speaking 819 00:55:27,235 --> 00:55:31,275 Speaker 1: district between Gainesville and the Atlantic Ocean in northern Florida. 820 00:55:31,315 --> 00:55:35,115 Speaker 1: How do you get elected without speaking Spanish. I'm sorry 821 00:55:35,155 --> 00:55:38,355 Speaker 1: you didn't get to hear the F word. Randy. By 822 00:55:38,395 --> 00:55:41,115 Speaker 1: the way, Randy Fine has not apologized, and he hasn't 823 00:55:41,155 --> 00:55:44,075 Speaker 1: apologized for the voting thing and for the hatred and 824 00:55:44,115 --> 00:55:47,155 Speaker 1: the prejudice. And we've lost his attention because we said 825 00:55:47,315 --> 00:55:50,515 Speaker 1: F word, and I guess he just presumed the F 826 00:55:50,755 --> 00:55:55,195 Speaker 1: stood for food. The runners up the White House Social 827 00:55:55,275 --> 00:55:58,195 Speaker 1: Media Team, proving it can screw up not just about 828 00:55:58,195 --> 00:56:00,915 Speaker 1: ethics and laws and moralities. It can be not just 829 00:56:01,075 --> 00:56:04,915 Speaker 1: racist and insane and sexist and autocratic, it can also 830 00:56:04,955 --> 00:56:07,955 Speaker 1: be just plain old, stupid, just plain old, dropped out 831 00:56:07,955 --> 00:56:11,355 Speaker 1: of the fourth grade stupid. The White House Social Media 832 00:56:11,475 --> 00:56:14,995 Speaker 1: team posted right after the first US Olympic hockey goal 833 00:56:15,435 --> 00:56:18,595 Speaker 1: from Italy, and they had a bald eagle emoji and 834 00:56:18,635 --> 00:56:22,915 Speaker 1: a flag emoji, and in all caps they wrote Q freebird, 835 00:56:23,955 --> 00:56:28,075 Speaker 1: free bird being the unofficial song of the US Olympic 836 00:56:28,075 --> 00:56:32,595 Speaker 1: Hockey team, because because there hasn't been any good rock 837 00:56:32,595 --> 00:56:35,795 Speaker 1: and roll since then, Q freebird, and they spelled Q 838 00:56:37,555 --> 00:56:41,875 Speaker 1: well there's three different ways you could spell Q to 839 00:56:42,035 --> 00:56:45,315 Speaker 1: those who would be looking at the White House on 840 00:56:45,635 --> 00:56:48,475 Speaker 1: social media seriously, and they still picked the wrong one 841 00:56:48,515 --> 00:56:52,635 Speaker 1: out of three. They spelled it q u e ue 842 00:56:53,355 --> 00:56:56,155 Speaker 1: Q as in get in the QE, get in the line, 843 00:56:56,235 --> 00:57:00,195 Speaker 1: get in the computer, lineup the Q the Q. Of 844 00:57:00,195 --> 00:57:05,035 Speaker 1: course they meant Q up A record is cue always 845 00:57:05,075 --> 00:57:09,555 Speaker 1: been cue. I mean, honestly, if they'd just chosen the 846 00:57:09,595 --> 00:57:13,075 Speaker 1: third option, just the letter Q as in QAnon, it 847 00:57:13,115 --> 00:57:18,235 Speaker 1: would have been slightly less stupid than writing queue Q 848 00:57:18,755 --> 00:57:22,115 Speaker 1: free bird. I think we're just lucky they didn't spell 849 00:57:22,155 --> 00:57:29,235 Speaker 1: it bird b u RT. But the winner worst the worst. 850 00:57:29,475 --> 00:57:34,675 Speaker 1: Speaking of the Olympics, the Olympics, you heard me, the 851 00:57:34,755 --> 00:57:41,075 Speaker 1: whole Olympics, everybody connected to the Olympics. Let me start 852 00:57:41,075 --> 00:57:44,635 Speaker 1: by saying something. If you're enjoying the Olympics, good for you. 853 00:57:45,315 --> 00:57:47,875 Speaker 1: I'm happy for you. I think it is fair to 854 00:57:47,915 --> 00:57:51,515 Speaker 1: say that I am as critical and opinionated as anybody 855 00:57:51,915 --> 00:57:54,595 Speaker 1: in the world. But I also think the number of 856 00:57:54,675 --> 00:57:59,995 Speaker 1: things I proselytize about is comparatively a small percentage. I mean, 857 00:58:00,035 --> 00:58:02,755 Speaker 1: if you're enjoying the Olympics, I think you're mistaken. But 858 00:58:02,795 --> 00:58:05,195 Speaker 1: I'm not going to stop talking to you because you're 859 00:58:05,275 --> 00:58:08,555 Speaker 1: enjoying the Olympics. I just don't think it's that important. 860 00:58:08,555 --> 00:58:10,795 Speaker 1: But it just annoys me because there's so many things 861 00:58:10,915 --> 00:58:14,515 Speaker 1: we've come to accept as normal for the Olympics that 862 00:58:14,595 --> 00:58:17,835 Speaker 1: are just bullshit. So if you're enjoying the Olympics and 863 00:58:17,875 --> 00:58:21,355 Speaker 1: you don't want to piss off or get mad at 864 00:58:21,355 --> 00:58:23,875 Speaker 1: me or have me seem like I'm mad at you, 865 00:58:24,235 --> 00:58:27,635 Speaker 1: just skip this part. There's a very nice story coming 866 00:58:27,675 --> 00:58:31,795 Speaker 1: up about this guy from MSNBC who who tried to 867 00:58:31,835 --> 00:58:35,835 Speaker 1: tell a viewer to die of AIDS, and the president 868 00:58:35,835 --> 00:58:38,795 Speaker 1: of NBC tried to keep him employed after he said that, 869 00:58:39,155 --> 00:58:40,755 Speaker 1: even though it's said in his contract you have to 870 00:58:40,795 --> 00:58:43,315 Speaker 1: fire him if he says that specific thing. There's a 871 00:58:43,315 --> 00:58:46,195 Speaker 1: good story coming up after the next commercials. Skip this 872 00:58:46,315 --> 00:58:48,955 Speaker 1: part if you don't want to hear me take the 873 00:58:48,995 --> 00:58:51,915 Speaker 1: Olympics apart. But I'm still going to say it now. 874 00:58:52,315 --> 00:58:55,835 Speaker 1: The Olympics is crap. The events are largely crap. What 875 00:58:55,875 --> 00:58:58,995 Speaker 1: the Olympics have done to real sports is crap. What 876 00:58:59,115 --> 00:59:01,955 Speaker 1: professionalism has done to the Olympics is the worst crap 877 00:59:02,035 --> 00:59:06,875 Speaker 1: of all. The NBC telecasts are Ablin and terribly produced 878 00:59:08,115 --> 00:59:11,155 Speaker 1: my old colleague Mike Turco, whose career I saved in 879 00:59:11,235 --> 00:59:13,715 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety two when he got in a little trouble 880 00:59:13,715 --> 00:59:20,355 Speaker 1: at ESPN. Mike is completely smart me. They had a game, 881 00:59:20,435 --> 00:59:23,075 Speaker 1: a hockey game on Saturday on the streaming channel in 882 00:59:23,115 --> 00:59:27,115 Speaker 1: which Finley beat Finland beat Italy eleven to nothing, although 883 00:59:27,155 --> 00:59:29,595 Speaker 1: Finley could have beaten Italy eleven to nothing as well, 884 00:59:30,235 --> 00:59:32,715 Speaker 1: Italy doesn't have much of a hockey team. Finland beat 885 00:59:32,755 --> 00:59:36,035 Speaker 1: the host team, the Italians, eleven nothing. And they had 886 00:59:36,155 --> 00:59:40,475 Speaker 1: one announcer on the Peacock streaming service. Who do you 887 00:59:40,515 --> 00:59:44,915 Speaker 1: work for? I worked for Peacock? Uh huh? Proud of that? 888 00:59:44,995 --> 00:59:47,235 Speaker 1: Are you? What do you call it around the office? 889 00:59:47,235 --> 00:59:48,595 Speaker 1: Do you call it pee? Or do you call it 890 00:59:48,595 --> 00:59:51,115 Speaker 1: the other thing? They had one announcer on an eleven 891 00:59:51,195 --> 00:59:53,995 Speaker 1: nothing game, and I swear to you I am a 892 00:59:53,995 --> 00:59:57,155 Speaker 1: better hockey play by play announcer than whoever this guy was. 893 00:59:57,835 --> 01:00:00,675 Speaker 1: And the last hockey game I actually announced was in 894 01:00:00,755 --> 01:00:04,515 Speaker 1: early nineteen seventy four, and I could have stepped in 895 01:00:04,555 --> 01:00:07,555 Speaker 1: a done a better job, not even knowing the numbers 896 01:00:07,555 --> 01:00:12,115 Speaker 1: the players were wearing. This fella believes the word nothing 897 01:00:12,475 --> 01:00:18,435 Speaker 1: is pronounced nothing does not say g nothing in an 898 01:00:18,475 --> 01:00:21,955 Speaker 1: eleven to nothing game. Do you know how many times 899 01:00:22,155 --> 01:00:26,035 Speaker 1: an announcer working alone is going to say the word nothing. 900 01:00:26,875 --> 01:00:29,675 Speaker 1: It's about two hundred and seventy three times. That's just 901 01:00:29,755 --> 01:00:31,915 Speaker 1: a guess, but that's what it seemed like from the 902 01:00:32,115 --> 01:00:34,675 Speaker 1: one third or so of the game I saw, and 903 01:00:34,875 --> 01:00:38,475 Speaker 1: he did. I briefly searched for his name, started to 904 01:00:38,515 --> 01:00:41,595 Speaker 1: search to find out who this guy was to identify 905 01:00:41,675 --> 01:00:45,955 Speaker 1: him here. But then I thought, yeah, I'm not really 906 01:00:45,995 --> 01:00:48,515 Speaker 1: mellowing in my old age, contrary to what I said before, 907 01:00:48,515 --> 01:00:52,515 Speaker 1: but I am picking my spots more. I found something 908 01:00:52,555 --> 01:00:55,395 Speaker 1: from Marcus Aurelius that said, you know, this may not 909 01:00:55,435 --> 01:00:58,035 Speaker 1: have occurred to you recently, but you are entitled not 910 01:00:58,235 --> 01:01:02,035 Speaker 1: to have an opinion about something. Oh that's very powerful 911 01:01:02,075 --> 01:01:05,235 Speaker 1: if you think about it. Certainly, don't have an opinion everything, 912 01:01:05,315 --> 01:01:08,195 Speaker 1: or even if you do, just keep a couple of 913 01:01:08,235 --> 01:01:14,795 Speaker 1: them to yourself. Why why bury this guy? Other people 914 01:01:14,795 --> 01:01:17,035 Speaker 1: who heard him say nothing two hundred and seventy three 915 01:01:17,075 --> 01:01:22,755 Speaker 1: times they know he probably knows. I mean, he sounded 916 01:01:22,835 --> 01:01:25,635 Speaker 1: like like a tech who showed up. Because the actual 917 01:01:25,675 --> 01:01:29,835 Speaker 1: play by play announcer defected to some other country. I 918 01:01:29,915 --> 01:01:33,435 Speaker 1: do not hate anybody bad enough just to gratuitously mention 919 01:01:33,555 --> 01:01:35,795 Speaker 1: this man's name. If you want to find out who 920 01:01:35,835 --> 01:01:40,035 Speaker 1: it is, go go find out. I stopped. I never 921 01:01:40,075 --> 01:01:43,155 Speaker 1: heard him say his name on the air. It's possible 922 01:01:43,195 --> 01:01:45,835 Speaker 1: he was trying to remain anonymous, in which case I'll 923 01:01:45,835 --> 01:01:48,715 Speaker 1: give him applause. I'll take back what I'm saying about 924 01:01:48,755 --> 01:01:53,475 Speaker 1: him now. I'm also not going to identify NBC's hockey 925 01:01:53,515 --> 01:01:55,875 Speaker 1: studio host who I saw on the air and I 926 01:01:55,915 --> 01:02:01,635 Speaker 1: said what She's still in the business. Friday, she introduced 927 01:02:01,675 --> 01:02:05,795 Speaker 1: an interview on tape, saying it was after the game, 928 01:02:06,155 --> 01:02:09,475 Speaker 1: except oops, the game wasn't over yet. It was only 929 01:02:09,555 --> 01:02:11,995 Speaker 1: after the second period. Then she came back on the 930 01:02:11,995 --> 01:02:13,955 Speaker 1: air and made up some sort of excuse about how 931 01:02:13,955 --> 01:02:16,275 Speaker 1: the game wasn't close anymore, so it might as well 932 01:02:16,315 --> 01:02:18,955 Speaker 1: be after the game. It's like, holy cow, seems kind 933 01:02:18,995 --> 01:02:20,675 Speaker 1: of important to know whether or not the game is 934 01:02:20,715 --> 01:02:24,395 Speaker 1: over already, because if the game's over already, you get 935 01:02:24,395 --> 01:02:30,555 Speaker 1: to leave. This host was blown out by SportsCenter nine 936 01:02:30,635 --> 01:02:33,355 Speaker 1: years ago, hasn't had a major assignment since, and she's 937 01:02:33,435 --> 01:02:36,075 Speaker 1: studio host at the Olympics. Just because her husband is 938 01:02:36,115 --> 01:02:39,315 Speaker 1: a host on the Today Show? What are they paying 939 01:02:39,355 --> 01:02:43,515 Speaker 1: minimum wage to the host at the Olympics less than 940 01:02:43,515 --> 01:02:46,515 Speaker 1: minimum wage? And of course, when it comes to the 941 01:02:46,515 --> 01:02:51,715 Speaker 1: Olympics on TV, the standard business formula of national television, 942 01:02:51,995 --> 01:02:55,675 Speaker 1: particularly when it comes to sports, is writ large, do 943 01:02:55,755 --> 01:02:59,955 Speaker 1: you enjoy this sport or this team great? We will 944 01:02:59,995 --> 01:03:03,235 Speaker 1: now take this sport or team hostage. We will now 945 01:03:03,355 --> 01:03:05,915 Speaker 1: charge you more to see and often we will make 946 01:03:05,955 --> 01:03:10,115 Speaker 1: it impossible for you to watch anything else from your 947 01:03:10,155 --> 01:03:13,995 Speaker 1: sport on television while we are broadcasting this, and we 948 01:03:14,075 --> 01:03:17,675 Speaker 1: are blackmailing you into watching this or nothing. Sign up 949 01:03:17,675 --> 01:03:23,555 Speaker 1: for our service forever, like NBC is doing with hockey hockey, 950 01:03:23,555 --> 01:03:26,835 Speaker 1: a sport that NBC buried for about a decade before 951 01:03:26,955 --> 01:03:29,555 Speaker 1: NBC lost the NHL contract a couple of years ago, 952 01:03:29,675 --> 01:03:33,595 Speaker 1: and now they're back screwing up hockey yet again. And 953 01:03:34,115 --> 01:03:36,475 Speaker 1: this is a real shock to me because it's years 954 01:03:37,435 --> 01:03:40,315 Speaker 1: since I've watched programming for more than five or ten 955 01:03:40,355 --> 01:03:43,515 Speaker 1: minutes at a time that was produced by NBC or 956 01:03:43,555 --> 01:03:46,675 Speaker 1: CBS or ABC or Fox at any length. I don't 957 01:03:46,675 --> 01:03:49,635 Speaker 1: watch sitcoms, I don't watch dramas. All of my favorite 958 01:03:49,635 --> 01:03:53,795 Speaker 1: shows were canceled about twenty fifteen Letterman retired. Craig Ferguson 959 01:03:53,875 --> 01:03:56,875 Speaker 1: left that show. It's all gone. My shows are no 960 01:03:56,955 --> 01:04:01,915 Speaker 1: longer on TV today. The commercials and the show promos 961 01:04:02,795 --> 01:04:05,075 Speaker 1: on the Olympics appear to have been designed for an 962 01:04:05,115 --> 01:04:08,395 Speaker 1: audience of nine year olds. In fact, I have to 963 01:04:08,435 --> 01:04:11,795 Speaker 1: say this, when I was nine years old watching the Olympics, 964 01:04:12,395 --> 01:04:14,635 Speaker 1: I would have been offended by the low quality of 965 01:04:14,635 --> 01:04:19,555 Speaker 1: the commercials and the promos. I have been grieving in 966 01:04:19,555 --> 01:04:21,795 Speaker 1: what little I have seen of the Olympics, seeing my 967 01:04:21,915 --> 01:04:26,115 Speaker 1: friend Ben Stiller, a lovely human being on top of 968 01:04:26,155 --> 01:04:31,515 Speaker 1: being extraordinarily talented, slowly unraveling his great work with these 969 01:04:31,715 --> 01:04:36,635 Speaker 1: brief self humiliations for a grocery delivery company who told 970 01:04:36,715 --> 01:04:41,635 Speaker 1: him this was funny, and they keep running them. Apparently 971 01:04:41,635 --> 01:04:43,595 Speaker 1: it started during the Super Bowl. They've been running at 972 01:04:43,595 --> 01:04:51,555 Speaker 1: every spot break since they're terrible. Also, who knew When 973 01:04:51,555 --> 01:04:54,355 Speaker 1: it comes to the promos, Apparently every TV dramatic series 974 01:04:54,435 --> 01:04:58,795 Speaker 1: is about some municipal service in Chicago. Chicago, Hope, Chicago Fire, 975 01:04:59,075 --> 01:05:05,435 Speaker 1: Chicago l Chicago diaper delivery, Jesus H. Christ. Anyway, back 976 01:05:05,435 --> 01:05:07,915 Speaker 1: to the Olympics. I was at the nineteen eighty Olympics 977 01:05:07,915 --> 01:05:10,555 Speaker 1: for UPI Radio, and I was kind of the local 978 01:05:10,635 --> 01:05:13,715 Speaker 1: liaison to the nineteen eighty four Summer Olympics from my 979 01:05:14,195 --> 01:05:19,755 Speaker 1: TV station in Boston and ABC station. And then roughly 980 01:05:19,795 --> 01:05:22,435 Speaker 1: around then they started to let the pro athletes perform 981 01:05:22,475 --> 01:05:24,795 Speaker 1: at the Olympics, and they essentially turned the Olympics into 982 01:05:24,835 --> 01:05:27,955 Speaker 1: nothing more than a bunch of all star games, an 983 01:05:27,995 --> 01:05:31,835 Speaker 1: opportunity for people to get jingoistic and drunk and belligerent 984 01:05:31,875 --> 01:05:34,755 Speaker 1: in a kind of fantasy league environment in which the 985 01:05:34,795 --> 01:05:39,195 Speaker 1: players they already knew were reassigned from their real teams 986 01:05:39,595 --> 01:05:43,755 Speaker 1: to these made up temporary national teams, national teams that 987 01:05:43,795 --> 01:05:49,355 Speaker 1: were based entirely on where Grandpa got lucky with Grandma. 988 01:05:49,475 --> 01:05:51,715 Speaker 1: I checked out of the whole thing very quickly over 989 01:05:51,755 --> 01:05:54,115 Speaker 1: the years, and the Olympics have not had any interest 990 01:05:54,155 --> 01:05:57,235 Speaker 1: in me. And I was supposed to anchor the Olympics 991 01:05:57,835 --> 01:06:00,195 Speaker 1: from Sydney in two thousand halfway I got out of 992 01:06:00,235 --> 01:06:02,315 Speaker 1: that entire job before that happened, and then I went 993 01:06:02,355 --> 01:06:06,435 Speaker 1: back to NBC. In the original point of my returning 994 01:06:06,435 --> 01:06:10,515 Speaker 1: to NBC was to anchor from Athens on cable in 995 01:06:10,515 --> 01:06:13,435 Speaker 1: two thousand and four, and then I started to do 996 01:06:13,475 --> 01:06:15,555 Speaker 1: this news stuff on the side again, and I won 997 01:06:15,795 --> 01:06:19,515 Speaker 1: the enduring enmity of the head of NBC Sports, Dick Eversow, 998 01:06:20,195 --> 01:06:23,475 Speaker 1: by asking him to reprioritize things. And I said, instead 999 01:06:23,515 --> 01:06:26,155 Speaker 1: of skipping my cable show Countdown for a month during 1000 01:06:26,155 --> 01:06:29,835 Speaker 1: which will probably die in August two thousand and four 1001 01:06:29,915 --> 01:06:32,595 Speaker 1: September two thousand and four, I asked, Dick, take me 1002 01:06:32,635 --> 01:06:35,835 Speaker 1: off the Olympics. Let me stick with it. I think 1003 01:06:35,915 --> 01:06:38,115 Speaker 1: the news show is not only going to succeed, but 1004 01:06:38,155 --> 01:06:40,115 Speaker 1: it's going to be important and if I leave it, 1005 01:06:40,115 --> 01:06:43,755 Speaker 1: it's going to go away. He almost threatened to kill me, 1006 01:06:44,075 --> 01:06:47,315 Speaker 1: and he never understood that. And I think you can 1007 01:06:47,395 --> 01:06:50,235 Speaker 1: understand now why I made the choice of Countdown over 1008 01:06:50,275 --> 01:06:54,875 Speaker 1: the Olympics. Anyway, I keep going off on these side tangents, 1009 01:06:54,915 --> 01:06:56,835 Speaker 1: but there's a lot to discuss. If I'm going to 1010 01:06:56,835 --> 01:07:00,475 Speaker 1: trash the Olympics. I'm going to trash the Olympics this year. 1011 01:07:01,155 --> 01:07:04,115 Speaker 1: For the first time since twenty fourteen, the National Hockey 1012 01:07:04,195 --> 01:07:08,355 Speaker 1: League has shut down for three weeks, so that only 1013 01:07:08,395 --> 01:07:12,155 Speaker 1: about seven teams worth of its players and they have 1014 01:07:12,275 --> 01:07:15,275 Speaker 1: thirty two teams can go play in these Olympics, and 1015 01:07:15,315 --> 01:07:18,635 Speaker 1: all but about six of the games they play in 1016 01:07:18,675 --> 01:07:23,195 Speaker 1: the entire Olympic Hockey Tournament will be humiliating blowouts like 1017 01:07:23,355 --> 01:07:28,995 Speaker 1: Finland's where Finley's eleven to nothing win over Italy on Saturday. 1018 01:07:29,115 --> 01:07:33,035 Speaker 1: The NHL only gets one window all season in which 1019 01:07:33,075 --> 01:07:36,995 Speaker 1: it is not in competition for tension, a competition it 1020 01:07:37,035 --> 01:07:40,195 Speaker 1: cannot even partially win, and the only time that it 1021 01:07:40,275 --> 01:07:44,395 Speaker 1: has equal footing or nearly equal footing is in the 1022 01:07:44,435 --> 01:07:47,515 Speaker 1: window after the Super Bowl ends and before the opening 1023 01:07:47,555 --> 01:07:51,235 Speaker 1: day of the baseball season, when its real competition is 1024 01:07:51,275 --> 01:07:55,355 Speaker 1: only the NBA in college basketball formidable, and they'll still 1025 01:07:55,395 --> 01:07:57,995 Speaker 1: finish third, but they finish a strong third, and so 1026 01:07:58,275 --> 01:08:01,715 Speaker 1: in this window, the NHL has chose to waste the 1027 01:08:01,755 --> 01:08:05,475 Speaker 1: window this year and will let just those those top players, 1028 01:08:05,515 --> 01:08:07,515 Speaker 1: one hundred and forty hundred and fifty of them, play 1029 01:08:07,635 --> 01:08:11,235 Speaker 1: a couple of interesting games, while basically the other twenty 1030 01:08:11,275 --> 01:08:14,515 Speaker 1: five teams worth of guys sit on their asses in 1031 01:08:14,595 --> 01:08:18,195 Speaker 1: the prime hockey window and hope the audience comes back 1032 01:08:18,715 --> 01:08:22,115 Speaker 1: after the Olympics ends. Now, if you don't like hockey, 1033 01:08:22,155 --> 01:08:24,555 Speaker 1: this doesn't mean anything to you. If you do like hockey, 1034 01:08:24,755 --> 01:08:27,315 Speaker 1: you may be looking like this at this the way 1035 01:08:27,355 --> 01:08:30,675 Speaker 1: I do. I don't care what country the players are 1036 01:08:30,715 --> 01:08:34,355 Speaker 1: playing for. I don't care where they're from. I don't care, 1037 01:08:34,715 --> 01:08:37,355 Speaker 1: and I'm not going to bother to remember whether Michael 1038 01:08:37,435 --> 01:08:43,875 Speaker 1: Granland is from Norway, Finland, Italy, Switzerland or Baltimore. I 1039 01:08:43,915 --> 01:08:46,275 Speaker 1: don't care. You know where he's from. He's from the 1040 01:08:46,275 --> 01:08:51,035 Speaker 1: Anaheim Ducks. That's his team. I don't need to see 1041 01:08:51,035 --> 01:08:55,995 Speaker 1: his passport. I don't need more jingoistic bullshit. My job 1042 01:08:56,115 --> 01:09:01,675 Speaker 1: is about jingoistic bullshit. Oh my god, flag this and 1043 01:09:01,715 --> 01:09:06,675 Speaker 1: wave this in national anthems. Oh my good lord, how 1044 01:09:06,715 --> 01:09:12,035 Speaker 1: well has that worked out for everybody on earth? Austin 1045 01:09:12,155 --> 01:09:15,115 Speaker 1: Matthews captain of the American team. The hell he is 1046 01:09:16,235 --> 01:09:19,635 Speaker 1: captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, plays for the Toronto 1047 01:09:19,675 --> 01:09:23,435 Speaker 1: Maple Leafs, takes a three week vacation, and he's captain 1048 01:09:23,475 --> 01:09:25,635 Speaker 1: of the American team. I know where he's from. He's 1049 01:09:25,635 --> 01:09:29,875 Speaker 1: from Arizona. Good for him. What does that have to 1050 01:09:29,915 --> 01:09:33,675 Speaker 1: do with his job? His job is in Toronto now. 1051 01:09:33,715 --> 01:09:36,875 Speaker 1: The argument is the players deserve a chance to represent 1052 01:09:36,955 --> 01:09:42,155 Speaker 1: their countries. I guess sure. I mean if you say 1053 01:09:42,155 --> 01:09:45,235 Speaker 1: something other than oh yes, I have a flag at home, 1054 01:09:45,235 --> 01:09:47,395 Speaker 1: and I spend twenty five minutes every day waving it 1055 01:09:47,435 --> 01:09:49,715 Speaker 1: back and forth in the backyard, even though nobody can 1056 01:09:49,755 --> 01:09:51,915 Speaker 1: see me. If you don't say that, you are suddenly 1057 01:09:51,955 --> 01:09:54,635 Speaker 1: disloyal and ice will stop by. And I don't mean 1058 01:09:54,675 --> 01:10:00,875 Speaker 1: hockey ice, but I mean, what's the point. The players 1059 01:10:00,915 --> 01:10:03,875 Speaker 1: deserve a chance to represent their countries if they think 1060 01:10:03,915 --> 01:10:06,115 Speaker 1: it's good for them in some way, or they actually 1061 01:10:06,155 --> 01:10:14,875 Speaker 1: have this unfortunate nationalistic bullshit gene. But you know what, 1062 01:10:15,155 --> 01:10:17,475 Speaker 1: the fans deserve to be able to watch their sport 1063 01:10:17,555 --> 01:10:22,235 Speaker 1: as scheduled and their teams because the players can always 1064 01:10:22,355 --> 01:10:26,275 Speaker 1: pursue an Olympic spot with or without the necessity of 1065 01:10:26,315 --> 01:10:29,795 Speaker 1: shutting down an entire league for three weeks. You do 1066 01:10:29,875 --> 01:10:32,635 Speaker 1: what they used to do when the Olympics were limited 1067 01:10:32,715 --> 01:10:35,515 Speaker 1: to amateurs. A player who wanted to play in the 1068 01:10:35,515 --> 01:10:39,195 Speaker 1: Olympics tried to make the Olympic team before he went pro. 1069 01:10:39,835 --> 01:10:43,395 Speaker 1: The greatest Olympic hockey team success we have ever seen 1070 01:10:44,355 --> 01:10:49,195 Speaker 1: for any nation, possibly the greatest Olympic team success in 1071 01:10:49,235 --> 01:10:51,595 Speaker 1: any sport in the one hundred and thirty years of 1072 01:10:51,595 --> 01:10:55,075 Speaker 1: the modern Olympics, unquestionably the greatest we will ever see 1073 01:10:55,115 --> 01:10:58,195 Speaker 1: from here on in unless a nation of sixty two 1074 01:10:58,315 --> 01:11:01,635 Speaker 1: wins a gold medal in something. The nineteen eighty American 1075 01:11:01,635 --> 01:11:05,995 Speaker 1: hockey team they upset the Soviet Union were not members 1076 01:11:05,995 --> 01:11:08,795 Speaker 1: of the Toronto Mate believes that was not the thats 1077 01:11:08,875 --> 01:11:12,275 Speaker 1: not the Austin Matthews of nineteen eighty. Those were college guys. 1078 01:11:13,355 --> 01:11:15,995 Speaker 1: They won the gold medal, and then they then they 1079 01:11:15,995 --> 01:11:19,515 Speaker 1: went pro, then they signed their first contracts. And oh, 1080 01:11:19,515 --> 01:11:22,275 Speaker 1: by the way, if this American team wins the gold medal, 1081 01:11:22,275 --> 01:11:29,435 Speaker 1: it will have played seven, maybe eight games to do so. 1082 01:11:29,475 --> 01:11:32,995 Speaker 1: The nineteen eighty US Olympic team also played seven Olympic 1083 01:11:33,035 --> 01:11:35,675 Speaker 1: games to win the gold medal, after playing a brief 1084 01:11:35,755 --> 01:11:40,835 Speaker 1: preliminary schedule, very brief, just sixty one games starting the 1085 01:11:40,835 --> 01:11:44,395 Speaker 1: previous September. The nineteen eighty US Olympic team played a 1086 01:11:44,435 --> 01:11:48,795 Speaker 1: preliminary schedule against top collegians and international teams starting the 1087 01:11:48,835 --> 01:11:51,195 Speaker 1: previous September. September of nineteen seventy nine, I had played 1088 01:11:51,235 --> 01:11:55,835 Speaker 1: sixty one games before they got to the Olympics. Austin 1089 01:11:55,955 --> 01:12:01,795 Speaker 1: Matthews captain America. Seven games. Seven games is not a 1090 01:12:01,915 --> 01:12:08,675 Speaker 1: national team, It's a hobby. If that's too draconian, if 1091 01:12:08,755 --> 01:12:11,795 Speaker 1: that's too unfair in these days of money, first success, 1092 01:12:11,835 --> 01:12:15,395 Speaker 1: second Okay, I can change, I can grow a little. 1093 01:12:16,235 --> 01:12:18,315 Speaker 1: You want to play in the Olympics. In February twenty 1094 01:12:18,355 --> 01:12:23,555 Speaker 1: twenty six, Austin Matthews Granland, whoever the Italian goalie was 1095 01:12:23,595 --> 01:12:26,595 Speaker 1: who lost eleven to nothing, feel free take a leave 1096 01:12:26,635 --> 01:12:29,995 Speaker 1: of absence from your team and go play in the Olympics. 1097 01:12:30,475 --> 01:12:34,155 Speaker 1: Why cancel the team? The whole team isn't going, As 1098 01:12:34,235 --> 01:12:38,755 Speaker 1: I mentioned, about seven out of the thirty two teams 1099 01:12:38,795 --> 01:12:41,035 Speaker 1: worth of players are going. The other one just went home. 1100 01:12:42,555 --> 01:12:44,515 Speaker 1: You take a leave of absence, You take a leave, 1101 01:12:44,595 --> 01:12:47,475 Speaker 1: you go join the national team, the way international soccer 1102 01:12:47,515 --> 01:12:49,995 Speaker 1: stars used to leave their league clubs to go play 1103 01:12:50,035 --> 01:12:53,795 Speaker 1: for their countries. You feel national pride, you want to 1104 01:12:53,795 --> 01:12:56,515 Speaker 1: win for your nation, you want to win a gold 1105 01:12:56,555 --> 01:12:59,875 Speaker 1: medal for yourself. Well, give something up the way your 1106 01:12:59,915 --> 01:13:03,795 Speaker 1: predecessors did. It's not a question of entitlement that's ruining 1107 01:13:03,795 --> 01:13:07,235 Speaker 1: our society. It's a question of people believing that they're 1108 01:13:07,395 --> 01:13:11,355 Speaker 1: entitled to one hundred percent of the possibilities. Fifty percent 1109 01:13:11,475 --> 01:13:15,955 Speaker 1: is pretty damn good fifty percent of your opportunities, and 1110 01:13:16,035 --> 01:13:22,275 Speaker 1: you have to choose and prioritize. That's really fair. You 1111 01:13:22,315 --> 01:13:24,355 Speaker 1: give something up for that, You give up like three 1112 01:13:24,395 --> 01:13:26,995 Speaker 1: weeks of your salary, and you have to convince your 1113 01:13:27,075 --> 01:13:29,435 Speaker 1: National Hockey League team to let you skip the nine 1114 01:13:29,555 --> 01:13:32,795 Speaker 1: or ten games. And of course, oddly enough, I don't 1115 01:13:32,795 --> 01:13:34,955 Speaker 1: think the National Hockey League teams will let them do 1116 01:13:35,035 --> 01:13:41,195 Speaker 1: this because well money. I also understand about why some 1117 01:13:41,275 --> 01:13:44,715 Speaker 1: of the key hockey franchises have bought into this Olympic bullshit, 1118 01:13:44,755 --> 01:13:47,115 Speaker 1: which I thought they had killed off in twenty fourteen. 1119 01:13:47,155 --> 01:13:51,835 Speaker 1: And I say this as a fan of Canada, someone 1120 01:13:52,195 --> 01:13:57,995 Speaker 1: who may someday soon seek political asylum in Canada, someone 1121 01:13:58,435 --> 01:14:00,675 Speaker 1: who wanted when he was ten years old to go 1122 01:14:00,755 --> 01:14:05,555 Speaker 1: see the Montreal Expos, an expansion baseball team, play baseball 1123 01:14:05,595 --> 01:14:08,555 Speaker 1: in Canada, because it seemed me so cool that there'd 1124 01:14:08,555 --> 01:14:12,075 Speaker 1: be baseball played in a different country, speaking a different language. 1125 01:14:12,115 --> 01:14:15,355 Speaker 1: So we went to Montreal. And I say this as 1126 01:14:15,355 --> 01:14:18,755 Speaker 1: somebody who genuinely wants to see the next twenty one 1127 01:14:18,915 --> 01:14:23,195 Speaker 1: Stanley Cup Championships won three times each by the seven 1128 01:14:23,235 --> 01:14:27,195 Speaker 1: different Canadian teams, a nice little rotation. I take the 1129 01:14:27,235 --> 01:14:31,195 Speaker 1: Cup champion Montreal Canadian over the Carolina Hurricanes any day 1130 01:14:31,195 --> 01:14:33,875 Speaker 1: of the damn week, Winnipeg instead of the New York 1131 01:14:33,915 --> 01:14:39,115 Speaker 1: Islanders Vancouver Canucks over anybody, even the maple Leafs. And 1132 01:14:39,195 --> 01:14:42,595 Speaker 1: with that I say the following. Of course, the Canadian 1133 01:14:42,675 --> 01:14:47,115 Speaker 1: NHL teams support the Olympics idea because in hockey, Canada 1134 01:14:47,155 --> 01:14:50,795 Speaker 1: has a chance to win the Olympics, unlike the Stanley Cup, 1135 01:14:51,235 --> 01:14:54,555 Speaker 1: which no Canadian team has one since nineteen ninety three, 1136 01:14:54,595 --> 01:15:01,635 Speaker 1: which will shortly be half my lifetime ago. Sorry, I 1137 01:15:01,675 --> 01:15:04,195 Speaker 1: had to mention that because to me, that's what international 1138 01:15:04,275 --> 01:15:08,715 Speaker 1: sports is is all about now, bad sportsmanship and bitterness 1139 01:15:09,595 --> 01:15:13,435 Speaker 1: for which we cancel three perfectly good weeks of the 1140 01:15:13,515 --> 01:15:17,835 Speaker 1: National Hockey League season when psychologically, in the depth of winter, 1141 01:15:18,275 --> 01:15:21,075 Speaker 1: those games are more valuable to the viewer, to the 1142 01:15:21,115 --> 01:15:24,795 Speaker 1: elderly shut in like yours truly than any other part 1143 01:15:24,795 --> 01:15:27,835 Speaker 1: of the season, including the Stanley Cup finals. We canceled 1144 01:15:27,875 --> 01:15:30,555 Speaker 1: three weeks of these games and shoved them off into 1145 01:15:30,595 --> 01:15:35,315 Speaker 1: the rest of the schedule. And instead, where do I, 1146 01:15:35,435 --> 01:15:38,355 Speaker 1: the elderly shut in wind up? I have to sit 1147 01:15:38,395 --> 01:15:44,115 Speaker 1: here and watch like CNN and the Weather Channel, or 1148 01:15:44,195 --> 01:15:51,035 Speaker 1: watch the NBC Nightmare Olympic cast and Ben Stiller's one 1149 01:15:51,155 --> 01:15:57,995 Speaker 1: commercial running in every break. Everybody involved in the Olympics. 1150 01:15:58,275 --> 01:16:06,195 Speaker 1: One question for you, why today's worst sends God by 1151 01:16:06,275 --> 01:16:34,835 Speaker 1: us and to the number one story on the countdown 1152 01:16:34,875 --> 01:16:37,395 Speaker 1: and my favorite topic, me and things I promised not 1153 01:16:37,515 --> 01:16:40,875 Speaker 1: to tell and who boy, they're all still at it 1154 01:16:40,915 --> 01:16:44,515 Speaker 1: in cable news. Huh, still hoping they'll wake up tomorrow 1155 01:16:44,595 --> 01:16:47,515 Speaker 1: and it'll be two thousand and five again, and everybody 1156 01:16:47,555 --> 01:16:50,915 Speaker 1: watches one of the channels, and hundreds of millions of 1157 01:16:50,995 --> 01:16:54,315 Speaker 1: dollars are just waiting to be made, and our industry 1158 01:16:54,395 --> 01:16:57,675 Speaker 1: is not dying. It's not, it's not, it's not. I'll 1159 01:16:57,715 --> 01:17:02,195 Speaker 1: repeat my point about the desperate attempts at CNN and 1160 01:17:02,435 --> 01:17:07,355 Speaker 1: MSNBC and the minor ones to court right wing viewers. 1161 01:17:08,195 --> 01:17:11,835 Speaker 1: I mean, once again, I'll mention the name Abby Philip. 1162 01:17:12,755 --> 01:17:17,715 Speaker 1: This is no voting accident. Virtually every mainstream media organization 1163 01:17:17,795 --> 01:17:20,155 Speaker 1: in this country, as I have said time and time again, 1164 01:17:20,395 --> 01:17:25,195 Speaker 1: has already had the same meeting. Let's now discuss how 1165 01:17:25,275 --> 01:17:28,955 Speaker 1: if Trump seizes power again and America goes fully fascist 1166 01:17:28,995 --> 01:17:31,475 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty five, how can we do the most 1167 01:17:31,515 --> 01:17:36,075 Speaker 1: important thing that journalism demands. How can we still protect 1168 01:17:36,395 --> 01:17:41,155 Speaker 1: this company's profits. I say this not merely because I 1169 01:17:41,235 --> 01:17:44,555 Speaker 1: know most of the people running the mainstream media organizations, 1170 01:17:44,715 --> 01:17:48,875 Speaker 1: but because these conversations have already happened, and they happened 1171 01:17:49,035 --> 01:17:54,155 Speaker 1: long ago, largely because the first not white guy president 1172 01:17:54,235 --> 01:17:56,635 Speaker 1: was elected just seven years and two months after nine 1173 01:17:56,635 --> 01:18:00,915 Speaker 1: to eleven. We forget how seriously and terrifyingly we already 1174 01:18:00,915 --> 01:18:04,035 Speaker 1: have teetered on the edge of full fledged fascism here. 1175 01:18:04,675 --> 01:18:06,795 Speaker 1: The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon 1176 01:18:07,795 --> 01:18:11,395 Speaker 1: nine to eleven happened between my two tenures at MSNBC, 1177 01:18:12,035 --> 01:18:14,915 Speaker 1: but I returned a year and a half after it happened, 1178 01:18:15,675 --> 01:18:17,475 Speaker 1: and by then the place I went back to work 1179 01:18:17,515 --> 01:18:21,475 Speaker 1: had already hired a sort of Alex Jones prototype radio 1180 01:18:21,555 --> 01:18:24,755 Speaker 1: host named Michael Savage, and it was slowly trying to 1181 01:18:24,795 --> 01:18:28,555 Speaker 1: build him into the host of a weeknight show. Savage 1182 01:18:28,635 --> 01:18:32,315 Speaker 1: was a homophobe plus an equal opportunity bigot. His real 1183 01:18:32,395 --> 01:18:34,795 Speaker 1: name was Michael Wiener, and all you need to know 1184 01:18:34,795 --> 01:18:36,755 Speaker 1: about him is that he was a Wiener who pretended 1185 01:18:36,755 --> 01:18:39,435 Speaker 1: he was a Savage. What happened to him when they 1186 01:18:39,475 --> 01:18:41,995 Speaker 1: tried to stick him into primetime and what he said 1187 01:18:41,995 --> 01:18:44,395 Speaker 1: that led to his firing and the blowing up of 1188 01:18:44,435 --> 01:18:47,595 Speaker 1: the let's out Fox Fox News plan of the then 1189 01:18:47,715 --> 01:18:51,355 Speaker 1: NBC chairman and CEO Bob Wright. Is a great story. 1190 01:18:51,395 --> 01:18:54,875 Speaker 1: I will relish telling you in a moment, but first 1191 01:18:55,395 --> 01:19:00,515 Speaker 1: a little context to this. MSNBC and Fox Nudes launched 1192 01:19:00,515 --> 01:19:03,475 Speaker 1: within weeks of each other in nineteen ninety six, and 1193 01:19:03,595 --> 01:19:06,915 Speaker 1: for a while, in fact, until I left MSNBC in 1194 01:19:06,955 --> 01:19:10,555 Speaker 1: December nineteen ninety eight, we were ahead of Fox in 1195 01:19:10,675 --> 01:19:16,075 Speaker 1: many time periods, though CNN crushed us both. Then Fox ascended, 1196 01:19:16,115 --> 01:19:18,755 Speaker 1: then came nine to eleven, and then Bob Wright thought 1197 01:19:18,795 --> 01:19:21,635 Speaker 1: he saw his opportunity. All you need to know about 1198 01:19:21,715 --> 01:19:25,435 Speaker 1: him is that after he left the position of running NBC, 1199 01:19:25,875 --> 01:19:31,195 Speaker 1: he became a contributor to Fox Business. At MSNBC, Wright 1200 01:19:31,275 --> 01:19:34,675 Speaker 1: gave Oliver North his own show and Laura Ingram her 1201 01:19:34,715 --> 01:19:37,675 Speaker 1: own show. He had given a program to Alan Keyes, 1202 01:19:38,395 --> 01:19:40,995 Speaker 1: a Republican who somehow managed to lose Senate races in 1203 01:19:41,035 --> 01:19:45,075 Speaker 1: two different states and washed out three different times in 1204 01:19:45,155 --> 01:19:50,235 Speaker 1: Republican presidential primaries. His MSNBC show consisted of him giving speeches. 1205 01:19:50,875 --> 01:19:53,195 Speaker 1: Though he was alone in a studio with no audience, 1206 01:19:53,595 --> 01:19:56,355 Speaker 1: Alan Keys could not break himself up his habit of 1207 01:19:56,515 --> 01:19:59,835 Speaker 1: spraying the room with his eyes. The viewer at home 1208 01:19:59,875 --> 01:20:02,595 Speaker 1: would see him looking off camera to his left, then 1209 01:20:02,635 --> 01:20:05,275 Speaker 1: looking at the camera then looking off off camera to 1210 01:20:05,315 --> 01:20:07,955 Speaker 1: the right. He went back and forth like a sprinkler. 1211 01:20:08,435 --> 01:20:11,315 Speaker 1: I remember once looking at him and yelling at the TV, hey, 1212 01:20:11,315 --> 01:20:15,355 Speaker 1: hell over here, I'm the one in the middle. Bob 1213 01:20:15,395 --> 01:20:18,395 Speaker 1: Wright also brought in Joe Scarborough, long before Scarborough knew 1214 01:20:18,395 --> 01:20:21,835 Speaker 1: how to disguise much of his fascism. Bob Wright fired 1215 01:20:21,835 --> 01:20:25,115 Speaker 1: Phil Donahue, although to be fair, that was really more 1216 01:20:25,115 --> 01:20:27,515 Speaker 1: about money than it was about politics. But he replaced 1217 01:20:27,555 --> 01:20:29,475 Speaker 1: Dona Hughes's show with what was supposed to be a 1218 01:20:29,555 --> 01:20:34,075 Speaker 1: high speed, slightly right leaning newscast produced by a Fox 1219 01:20:34,155 --> 01:20:40,555 Speaker 1: News refugee. It was called Countdown with Sam Donaldson, and 1220 01:20:40,635 --> 01:20:43,635 Speaker 1: needless to say, the right leaning idea went horribly horribly 1221 01:20:43,675 --> 01:20:47,315 Speaker 1: wrong after they changed it to Countdown with Keith Olverman. 1222 01:20:48,515 --> 01:20:53,075 Speaker 1: MSNBC's lineup was remarkably unstable at that time. I had 1223 01:20:53,115 --> 01:20:57,035 Speaker 1: hosted its eight pm show from October first, nineteen ninety seven, 1224 01:20:57,075 --> 01:20:59,115 Speaker 1: through the beginning of December nineteen ninety eight, and then 1225 01:20:59,155 --> 01:21:02,515 Speaker 1: I left to go back to sports and baseball at Fox. 1226 01:21:03,515 --> 01:21:06,835 Speaker 1: Then the eight pm hour hosted by John Hockenberry for 1227 01:21:06,875 --> 01:21:10,875 Speaker 1: three months, then Ali North got his shot a month later. 1228 01:21:10,915 --> 01:21:13,835 Speaker 1: They started having rotating Liberals co host with Ali North 1229 01:21:14,315 --> 01:21:16,515 Speaker 1: in April nineteen ninety nine, and it became North and 1230 01:21:16,555 --> 01:21:20,195 Speaker 1: Paul Bagala. That was five shows in five months. In 1231 01:21:20,235 --> 01:21:22,595 Speaker 1: May they cut North and Begala to half an hour. 1232 01:21:22,915 --> 01:21:25,355 Speaker 1: In June they canceled them and replaced them with a 1233 01:21:25,355 --> 01:21:29,595 Speaker 1: half hour An Curry documentary. In early two thousand, Curry 1234 01:21:29,795 --> 01:21:32,515 Speaker 1: was expanded to an hour, but then in May Curry 1235 01:21:32,595 --> 01:21:35,755 Speaker 1: was replaced by Lorie Doo. In August two thousand, they 1236 01:21:35,755 --> 01:21:40,195 Speaker 1: started their version of Dateline called MSNBC Investigates. In September, 1237 01:21:40,235 --> 01:21:43,395 Speaker 1: they cut that show to four days a week and 1238 01:21:43,475 --> 01:21:46,515 Speaker 1: launched a vanished white Woman of the Week show actually 1239 01:21:46,555 --> 01:21:51,475 Speaker 1: called Missing Persons with Diane Diamond, which they canceled after 1240 01:21:51,515 --> 01:21:55,035 Speaker 1: one episode, and then they put MSNBC Investigates back on. 1241 01:21:55,075 --> 01:21:56,715 Speaker 1: Then they canceled that a month layer to make room 1242 01:21:56,755 --> 01:21:59,835 Speaker 1: for a newscast with Forrest Sawyer. Then after the uncertainty 1243 01:21:59,835 --> 01:22:02,475 Speaker 1: of the two thousand election, they refocused that as Decision 1244 01:22:02,595 --> 01:22:06,075 Speaker 1: two thousand with Forest Sawyer. In January two thousand and one, 1245 01:22:06,115 --> 01:22:09,355 Speaker 1: they canceled Forest Sawyer and put MSNBC Investigates back on 1246 01:22:09,395 --> 01:22:12,235 Speaker 1: for the third different time. Then in July they moved 1247 01:22:12,275 --> 01:22:15,275 Speaker 1: the News with Brian Williams from nine pm to eight pm. 1248 01:22:15,355 --> 01:22:18,195 Speaker 1: Then the next September they moved Brian to CNBC and 1249 01:22:18,315 --> 01:22:22,395 Speaker 1: instead launched Phil Donahue's show in the eight pm MSNBC slot. 1250 01:22:22,915 --> 01:22:25,115 Speaker 1: Then in March two thousand and three they off Donahue. 1251 01:22:25,435 --> 01:22:28,995 Speaker 1: They started Countdown originally with Lester Holt, Pat Buchanan and 1252 01:22:28,995 --> 01:22:31,755 Speaker 1: Bill Press. Then after the war started and there wasn't 1253 01:22:31,755 --> 01:22:34,475 Speaker 1: anything to count Down two anymore, they hired me to 1254 01:22:34,515 --> 01:22:38,115 Speaker 1: host Operation Iraqi Freedom, and after one week of that 1255 01:22:38,195 --> 01:22:42,715 Speaker 1: show they launched Countdown with Keith Olruman. That's twenty different 1256 01:22:42,755 --> 01:22:46,595 Speaker 1: shows or formats in four years and four months. So 1257 01:22:46,795 --> 01:22:50,875 Speaker 1: Bob Wright's next primetime ideas, and you got to give 1258 01:22:50,955 --> 01:22:53,835 Speaker 1: him this much. He had a lot of primetime ideas 1259 01:22:54,115 --> 01:22:56,715 Speaker 1: and virtually all of them made it onto TV. His 1260 01:22:56,955 --> 01:22:59,515 Speaker 1: next set of ideas was a primetime lineup of me 1261 01:22:59,715 --> 01:23:03,555 Speaker 1: doing the News at eight, then Scarborough at nine, then 1262 01:23:03,635 --> 01:23:08,315 Speaker 1: Jesse Ventura ten, and then this Michael Savage character. They 1263 01:23:08,355 --> 01:23:11,235 Speaker 1: began this plot by giving Savage his own show an 1264 01:23:11,355 --> 01:23:16,355 Speaker 1: hour every Saturday afternoon on March eighth, two thousand and three. 1265 01:23:16,435 --> 01:23:22,795 Speaker 1: Everybody agreed it was crap on radio. Savage sounded kind 1266 01:23:22,795 --> 01:23:25,395 Speaker 1: of threatening, I guess, a kind of red meat fascist. 1267 01:23:25,435 --> 01:23:29,795 Speaker 1: But on TV taking calls from viewers in a tiny, little, 1268 01:23:29,835 --> 01:23:33,155 Speaker 1: cramped looking studio somewhere in the Bay Area, he looked 1269 01:23:33,195 --> 01:23:36,995 Speaker 1: small and whiny and cavetchy, and he was wearing a 1270 01:23:37,035 --> 01:23:40,115 Speaker 1: bad tupei and a suit that was far worse than that. 1271 01:23:42,275 --> 01:23:44,875 Speaker 1: When I was negotiating my return to MSNBC in two 1272 01:23:44,915 --> 01:23:46,755 Speaker 1: thousand and three, I got the executive in charge of 1273 01:23:46,795 --> 01:23:49,835 Speaker 1: Primetime to put it in my contract that Michael Savage 1274 01:23:49,875 --> 01:23:53,515 Speaker 1: would never appear on my newscast in any form unless 1275 01:23:53,555 --> 01:23:58,395 Speaker 1: it was an obituary, open and shut. But then on Friday, 1276 01:23:58,395 --> 01:24:00,635 Speaker 1: April twenty fifth, two thousand and three, I came into work. 1277 01:24:01,115 --> 01:24:03,595 Speaker 1: We were about a month into the show, and there 1278 01:24:03,635 --> 01:24:06,515 Speaker 1: in the computer rundown of my newscast was a pre 1279 01:24:06,675 --> 01:24:10,235 Speaker 1: recorded Michael Savage commentary. As soon as he saw I 1280 01:24:10,355 --> 01:24:12,515 Speaker 1: was in the office, the executive producer they had hired 1281 01:24:12,515 --> 01:24:16,155 Speaker 1: from Fox, a cross eyed chainsmoker named Dennis Murray, pushed 1282 01:24:16,155 --> 01:24:18,155 Speaker 1: his way into my office and said, we have to 1283 01:24:18,195 --> 01:24:21,275 Speaker 1: run a Michael Savage commentary. There's also a mandatory Matt 1284 01:24:21,315 --> 01:24:23,995 Speaker 1: Drudge SoundBite. This is per Phil Griffins. So don't think 1285 01:24:23,995 --> 01:24:25,675 Speaker 1: you can call Phil to get it dropped. He's not 1286 01:24:25,715 --> 01:24:29,195 Speaker 1: in New York, he's not reachable, and he left. I 1287 01:24:29,275 --> 01:24:31,555 Speaker 1: called my agent. I told her the story, and I'm 1288 01:24:31,555 --> 01:24:33,675 Speaker 1: matter of factively asked, if they don't drop it, I 1289 01:24:33,715 --> 01:24:36,315 Speaker 1: have to walk out, don't I mind you? She had 1290 01:24:36,435 --> 01:24:42,515 Speaker 1: just exhausted herself negotiating my extremely unlikely return to MSNBC. 1291 01:24:43,155 --> 01:24:45,555 Speaker 1: She didn't flinch. Of course, you have to walk out, 1292 01:24:45,755 --> 01:24:48,315 Speaker 1: but first call Philip Griffin's office and tell him you're leaving. 1293 01:24:48,315 --> 01:24:52,195 Speaker 1: Give him a chance. It'll help when you sue them. 1294 01:24:52,435 --> 01:24:56,035 Speaker 1: It was breach of contract. I find dramatic, life changing 1295 01:24:56,035 --> 01:24:59,475 Speaker 1: and potentially costly stuff like that is usually way easier 1296 01:24:59,515 --> 01:25:02,355 Speaker 1: if you have the high moral ground. So I called 1297 01:25:02,395 --> 01:25:05,315 Speaker 1: Griffin's office. His assistant said he was in Washington in 1298 01:25:05,315 --> 01:25:06,875 Speaker 1: meetings and could not be reached. I said, well, you 1299 01:25:06,915 --> 01:25:09,675 Speaker 1: should reach somebody there. Tell them I just called a 1300 01:25:09,715 --> 01:25:12,075 Speaker 1: car to take me home because my contract says you 1301 01:25:12,115 --> 01:25:14,995 Speaker 1: can't put Michael effing Savage on my newscast and somebody 1302 01:25:15,075 --> 01:25:17,275 Speaker 1: just did nice working with you all, And tell Phil 1303 01:25:17,315 --> 01:25:23,435 Speaker 1: to give me a call sometime sometime. Was three minutes later. Griffin, 1304 01:25:23,475 --> 01:25:27,635 Speaker 1: who frequently panicked, outdid himself on this call. You would 1305 01:25:27,675 --> 01:25:30,395 Speaker 1: really walk out, buddy, I said, it was in the contract. 1306 01:25:30,755 --> 01:25:32,795 Speaker 1: I was putting my pens and books in a box 1307 01:25:32,835 --> 01:25:37,915 Speaker 1: as we spoke. I told him he was repeating himself. Finally, 1308 01:25:37,955 --> 01:25:42,315 Speaker 1: he said, okay, okay, okay, buddy. Can you look at 1309 01:25:42,315 --> 01:25:45,555 Speaker 1: the commentary and find me a reason, a reason it 1310 01:25:45,635 --> 01:25:49,595 Speaker 1: isn't about politics, why it shouldn't run. I said, you mean, 1311 01:25:49,675 --> 01:25:55,275 Speaker 1: like video quality, or racist language or something. Phil Griffin's 1312 01:25:55,595 --> 01:25:59,795 Speaker 1: voice brightened. Yeah, good racist language or something that'd be great. 1313 01:25:59,955 --> 01:26:03,675 Speaker 1: Call me back the executive producer and I went to 1314 01:26:03,715 --> 01:26:06,555 Speaker 1: the video edits, where a guy named Brendan o'melia was 1315 01:26:06,555 --> 01:26:09,195 Speaker 1: cutting out the time Savage had stumbled or flubbed while 1316 01:26:09,195 --> 01:26:12,795 Speaker 1: recording this nonsense. First of all, I said to the 1317 01:26:12,995 --> 01:26:15,875 Speaker 1: X Fox guy who was the producer, Michael Savage is 1318 01:26:15,915 --> 01:26:20,555 Speaker 1: wearing a brown shirt and a brown tie on top 1319 01:26:20,595 --> 01:26:23,755 Speaker 1: of his brown shirt. He is literally dressed like a 1320 01:26:23,835 --> 01:26:28,355 Speaker 1: Hitler brown shirt. The editor Omelia played the whole video 1321 01:26:28,395 --> 01:26:30,755 Speaker 1: for me, and as I dialed Phil Griffin's cell, I 1322 01:26:30,835 --> 01:26:34,875 Speaker 1: started laughing. I said, even for racist, homophobic crap, this 1323 01:26:34,955 --> 01:26:37,635 Speaker 1: thing makes no sense. He just keeps saying George W. 1324 01:26:37,715 --> 01:26:40,075 Speaker 1: Bush is right, because George W. Bush, because he's right. 1325 01:26:41,315 --> 01:26:43,515 Speaker 1: He looks small and whiny and convecchy, and he's got 1326 01:26:43,515 --> 01:26:45,915 Speaker 1: a bad tupey in a worse suit. We wouldn't run 1327 01:26:45,955 --> 01:26:49,035 Speaker 1: this as a SoundBite in his obituary. And the lighting 1328 01:26:49,115 --> 01:26:55,275 Speaker 1: is terrible and he's dressed as a brown shirt. Apparently 1329 01:26:55,275 --> 01:26:57,995 Speaker 1: that was enough. Phil Griffin ordered the piece dropped from 1330 01:26:57,995 --> 01:27:01,115 Speaker 1: My show. I think they ran it on Scarborough Show 1331 01:27:01,115 --> 01:27:03,875 Speaker 1: at nine pm. In fact, I think I might be wrong. 1332 01:27:03,915 --> 01:27:07,995 Speaker 1: They ran two or three Savage commentaries on Scarborough shows. 1333 01:27:08,035 --> 01:27:10,595 Speaker 1: I know they intended to God knows. I never watched 1334 01:27:10,595 --> 01:27:15,315 Speaker 1: Scarborough Show. Happily, this was about the time Michael Savage 1335 01:27:15,435 --> 01:27:19,235 Speaker 1: ended his own TV career. On Saturday July fifth, two 1336 01:27:19,315 --> 01:27:22,595 Speaker 1: thousand and three, show fifteen out of a series of 1337 01:27:23,515 --> 01:27:27,915 Speaker 1: Chex's Notes fifteen, Michael Savage was on the air live 1338 01:27:27,955 --> 01:27:33,675 Speaker 1: on MSNBC when a caller baited him about gaze. Savage replied, quote, 1339 01:27:33,875 --> 01:27:37,475 Speaker 1: so you're one of them sodomists. You a sodomite. The 1340 01:27:37,515 --> 01:27:40,595 Speaker 1: caller said, yes, oh, you're one of them sodomites, continuing 1341 01:27:40,635 --> 01:27:43,115 Speaker 1: the quote, you should only get aids and die, you pig. 1342 01:27:43,275 --> 01:27:45,275 Speaker 1: How's that? Why don't you see, if you consume me, 1343 01:27:45,315 --> 01:27:47,395 Speaker 1: you pig, you got nothing better to put me down, 1344 01:27:47,435 --> 01:27:49,915 Speaker 1: you piece of garbage. You have nothing better to do today. 1345 01:27:49,955 --> 01:27:52,035 Speaker 1: Go eat a sausage and choke on it. Get trick 1346 01:27:52,075 --> 01:27:57,875 Speaker 1: and noses. End quote and Michael Savage. And by the way, 1347 01:27:58,395 --> 01:28:01,195 Speaker 1: that quote that I just read that was way better 1348 01:28:01,235 --> 01:28:03,875 Speaker 1: than the commentary they had had him record for Countdown. 1349 01:28:05,635 --> 01:28:09,555 Speaker 1: Two days later, on Monday, Eric Sorenson the president of MSNBC, 1350 01:28:09,675 --> 01:28:11,635 Speaker 1: and he was president of all the boring things Bob 1351 01:28:11,675 --> 01:28:14,395 Speaker 1: Wright didn't want to be bothered with. At MSNBC, Eric 1352 01:28:14,475 --> 01:28:18,795 Speaker 1: Sorenson fired Michael Savage. Sorenson, for whom I worked in 1353 01:28:18,795 --> 01:28:21,275 Speaker 1: Los Angeles in local news and who consulted on my 1354 01:28:21,355 --> 01:28:24,875 Speaker 1: show on Current TV as recently as twenty eleven, took 1355 01:28:24,915 --> 01:28:27,315 Speaker 1: me for a drink because he needed to tell somebody 1356 01:28:27,435 --> 01:28:31,915 Speaker 1: what happened next after he fired Michael Savage. As soon 1357 01:28:32,115 --> 01:28:35,275 Speaker 1: as the Savage firing was announced, Sorenson said, the phone 1358 01:28:35,395 --> 01:28:38,075 Speaker 1: rang in his office and it was Bob Wright, the 1359 01:28:38,195 --> 01:28:42,235 Speaker 1: chairman of NBC. Did you have to fire americ? Wright 1360 01:28:42,355 --> 01:28:45,875 Speaker 1: asked in his nasal long Island accent, and Sorenson said 1361 01:28:46,195 --> 01:28:49,515 Speaker 1: he answered, yes, I literally had to. I had to 1362 01:28:49,555 --> 01:28:52,795 Speaker 1: fire him. Remember the clause in his contract there are 1363 01:28:52,835 --> 01:28:55,315 Speaker 1: forty phrases he's not allowed to use on the show. 1364 01:28:55,515 --> 01:28:57,715 Speaker 1: It literally says, if you say any of the following 1365 01:28:57,715 --> 01:29:01,195 Speaker 1: forty things, you will be automatically fired for cause and 1366 01:29:01,275 --> 01:29:05,235 Speaker 1: get no money. Remember remember what number four on that is. 1367 01:29:05,555 --> 01:29:08,395 Speaker 1: Number four is quote, I hope you get AIDS and 1368 01:29:08,475 --> 01:29:11,635 Speaker 1: die unquote. And then he said, I hope you get 1369 01:29:11,635 --> 01:29:15,595 Speaker 1: AIDS and die. Bob, I literally had to fire him. 1370 01:29:15,995 --> 01:29:21,155 Speaker 1: I had to fire him. It's in the contract. Eric 1371 01:29:21,195 --> 01:29:23,755 Speaker 1: Sorenson told me. There was a long pause on the 1372 01:29:23,755 --> 01:29:26,715 Speaker 1: other end of the phone, and then Bob Wright said, 1373 01:29:27,475 --> 01:29:29,995 Speaker 1: in anticipation of all that we have seen in television 1374 01:29:30,035 --> 01:29:33,595 Speaker 1: news since all the meetings about what happens if the 1375 01:29:33,595 --> 01:29:37,675 Speaker 1: country goes fully fascist, and NBC and CNN and CBS 1376 01:29:37,715 --> 01:29:40,595 Speaker 1: and ABC all want to protect their profits and do 1377 01:29:40,915 --> 01:29:44,715 Speaker 1: the devil's work, Bob Wright said, after a long pause 1378 01:29:45,955 --> 01:29:48,755 Speaker 1: to Eric Sorenson, who had just fired Michael Savage because 1379 01:29:48,795 --> 01:29:52,155 Speaker 1: it was in the contract, Bob Wright said, softly and sadly, 1380 01:29:53,235 --> 01:30:10,995 Speaker 1: but Eric, did you have to fire him? I swear 1381 01:30:11,035 --> 01:30:17,155 Speaker 1: to God it's true. I'll never forget the look on 1382 01:30:17,235 --> 01:30:19,595 Speaker 1: Sorenson's face. As he tried to explain this to me, 1383 01:30:19,635 --> 01:30:24,035 Speaker 1: and I knew in my heart that because he invoked 1384 01:30:24,035 --> 01:30:26,795 Speaker 1: the clause in the contract that said, if this exact 1385 01:30:26,835 --> 01:30:30,115 Speaker 1: thing happens, you have to fire this guy, that they 1386 01:30:30,155 --> 01:30:35,635 Speaker 1: would then soon fire him. Dude, done all the damage 1387 01:30:35,635 --> 01:30:37,715 Speaker 1: I can do here. Thank you for listening. Most of 1388 01:30:37,715 --> 01:30:40,875 Speaker 1: our Countdown music was arranged, produced, and performed by Brian 1389 01:30:40,955 --> 01:30:44,235 Speaker 1: Ray On guitars, bass, and drums by John Phillips Chanel 1390 01:30:44,315 --> 01:30:47,395 Speaker 1: handling the orchestration and the keyboards. Naturally, they are the 1391 01:30:47,475 --> 01:30:51,635 Speaker 1: musical directors of Countdown. Their work was produced by Tko Brothers. 1392 01:30:52,275 --> 01:30:55,155 Speaker 1: Our satirical and pithy musical comments are by the best 1393 01:30:55,155 --> 01:30:58,835 Speaker 1: baseball stadium organist ever, Nancy Faust. The sports music is 1394 01:30:58,875 --> 01:31:02,555 Speaker 1: the Ulderman theme from ESPN two that was written by 1395 01:31:02,595 --> 01:31:06,355 Speaker 1: Mitch Warren Davis courtesy of ESPNA. Other music in this 1396 01:31:06,435 --> 01:31:09,555 Speaker 1: Thing arranged and performed by the group No Horns Allowed. 1397 01:31:10,115 --> 01:31:13,435 Speaker 1: My announcer today was my late friend and hero, George Carlin. 1398 01:31:13,995 --> 01:31:17,075 Speaker 1: I swear George, more of you, less of me in 1399 01:31:17,155 --> 01:31:20,915 Speaker 1: the weeks to come. This program was produced by Ted. 1400 01:31:21,795 --> 01:31:24,635 Speaker 1: Everything else was, as always my fault, and so that 1401 01:31:24,755 --> 01:31:27,515 Speaker 1: is Countdown for today Day three hundred and ninety three 1402 01:31:27,715 --> 01:31:30,995 Speaker 1: of America held hostage again, but just one thousand and 1403 01:31:31,195 --> 01:31:36,955 Speaker 1: seventy days kN x ten seventy days until the scheduled 1404 01:31:37,035 --> 01:31:39,555 Speaker 1: end of his lame duck and lame brained term unless 1405 01:31:39,595 --> 01:31:44,435 Speaker 1: he is removed sooner by Epstein or Christy Noman, Corey 1406 01:31:44,475 --> 01:31:50,275 Speaker 1: Lewandowski or who knows the next scheduled Countdown's Thursday bulletins 1407 01:31:50,275 --> 01:31:52,835 Speaker 1: as the news merits till the next one. I'm Keith Olberman. 1408 01:31:52,915 --> 01:32:23,075 Speaker 1: Good Morning, good afternoon, goodnight, and good luck. Countdown with 1409 01:32:23,195 --> 01:32:27,515 Speaker 1: Keith Oldman is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts 1410 01:32:27,515 --> 01:32:32,275 Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 1411 01:32:32,315 --> 01:32:33,635 Speaker 1: you get your podcasts.