August 31, 2006
COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN - AUGUST 31, 2006
"COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" (8:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. ET)
Host: Keith Olbermann
Topics/Guests:
- SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D-CALIF.) SAYS PRES. BUSH SHOULD FIRE SEC. RUMSFELD: Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
- PRES. BUSH SPEAKS IN SALT LAKE CITY AS PART OF OFFENSIVE ON WAR ON TERROR: Dana Milbank, Washington Post
- PROTESTING BUSH: Mayor Rocky Anderson, Salt Lake City, Utah
- REACTION TO SEC. RUMSFELD'S COMMENTS: John Dean, fmr. Nixon White House counsel
- YOU'RE FIRED - RADIO SHACK FIRED 400 EMPLOYEES BY SENDING THEM EMAILS; TRUMP FIRED CAROLYN KEPCHER: Michael Musto, Village Voice
Keith Olbermann launched into his carnival pitchman's spiel with unusual gusto, perhaps bouyed by the fact that Countdown was now flogging an old news story for the 3rd day. Rummy, of course, and again Olby lied about what Rumsfeld said:
In the wake of his speech against your right to dissent.
KO launched the show proper by saying that "Mister" Bush [1] was "expanding" on Rumsfeld's theme and promoting the troika of repetitive unanimity that were to be his "guests". He quoted from "Mister" Bush [2] and showed a few clips (carefully edited to remove as much audience reaction as possible). A reference to the Brian Williams interview with "Mister" Bush [3] was used to criticize the President for insisting that the Iraq war is in fact part of the war on terror. Olby noted that "Mister" Bush [4] did not use Rumsfeld's description of critics as "confused"--again Olbermann misrepresents what Rummy said, but on The Hour of Spin, that's hardly news.
What a great lead in for the first of KO's "top newsmakers": Barbara Boxer, who is about to introduce a non-binding resolution asking for Rummy to be shown the door. That makes it about as significant as a resolution establishing National Kumquat Week. The BB-gun said Rumsfeld "has just gone too far", then added "this is just too far". We kind of get the idea that it's too far. After all, the Secretary of Defense "attacked the American people". Olby wanted to know what's the impact of such a resolution, and BB rambled on about Iraq, UBL, and so forth. For his part, Keith, world renowned for his tough, non-nonsense interview style, honed in on the BB-gun with laser-like precision:
The administration also insisted again today that nothing in Mr Rumsfeld's speech Tuesday was about stifling dissent, not even the part about those who disagree with the administration being morally or intellectually confused. Do you buy that?
Then it was on to Bush's speech, and more relentless grilling:
There are several parts of that address that a Professor of logic might be able to drive a truck through.... Is that not just nonsense?
A challenging, thought-provoking question! Truly another Countdown Edward R Murrow Moment. For the record, the BB-gun's response was yes, it's total nonsense. Bush is trying to "scare the American people", and off she went into a string of talking points eerily reminiscent of ones spouted just 24 hours ago by Dr Dean. But the tough interrogation wasn't over yet. Edward R Olbermann had one more incisive, probing query:
Senator have you or your colleagues in the Senate or the Democratic Party, at any point, ever suggested not fighting terrorists in other parts of the world?
She rambled on so long that there wasn't even time for another of KO's sharply barbed inquiries, but she got "great thanks" anyhow, as did the "literally thousands" who responded to his Wednesday night diatribe. Then a teaser involving "Mister" Bush [5] to lead into commercial break #1 ("Countdown is brought to you by Dish Network").
The #4 story began with a bit of OlbyLogic: Utah is a red state, but the mayor of its largest city protested Bush's visit, so that raises questions about the President's "core support". Um, not if the mayor is a self-described Democrat, and the city actually voted for Kerry in 2004 (KO eventually admitted the latter, but not the former). Just by coincidence, Mayor Rocky brought up the Rumsfeld "confusion" meme, along with illegal war, immoral war, Bush is a liar, his "neocon advisors" too, and so forth. It was music to Olby's ears. Question: will Rocky get a "great thanks"? Ding! After all, he did thank Krazy Keith for his "great statement yesterday". We're going to need hip boots if this gets any deeper.
Time to update The List (partisan politicos and strategists interviewed on Countdown, identified by party):
- May 22: Lawrence O'Donnell (D)
- May 30: Rep Barney Frank (D)
- June 9: Lawrence O'Donnell (D)
- June 15: Bob Schrum (D)
- June 16: Rep John Murtha (D)
- June 19: Al Gore (D)
- June 20: Sen Jack Reed (D)
- June 20: Lawrence O'Donnell (D)
- June 23: Al Gore (D)
- July 5: Lawrence O'Donnell (D)
- July 12: Barbara Boxer (D)
- July 13: Lawrence O'Donnell (D)
- July 26: Bill Richardson (D)
- August 8: Daily Kos (D)
- August 9: Joe Trippi (D)
- August 30: Howard Dean (D)
- August 31: Barbara Boxer (D)
- August 31: Rocky Anderson (D)
After oddball, it was Rumsfeld Day 3, and "why this continues to resonate". Could that just possibly be because the infamous, deplorable Keith Olbermann has been flogging it day after day? Once again he played the same edited clip he used yesterday, slicing out the part where Rummy was referring to terror battlefronts everywhere except Iraq, to "prove", see, he was talking about Iraq. After another reference to "Mister" Bush [6], it was time for the third of KO's ideological triplets. Disbarred lawyer John Dean had the honor of the "Curly" slot, and Olby launched right in, referencing "semantical dilettantism". KO framed another incredibly probing question by noting that Rumsfeld was "seriously misjudging the playing field and overreaching":
Did he do that in this speech?
It will surprise no one that the ex-con thought it to be "textbook authoritarianism". Olby had him on the ropes now! Time for another killer inquiry:
Can there be, in your opinion, a bigger or broader danger to our democracy than when the very notion of debates, never mind the particulars of debate, becomes not just anathema to the leaders, but is no longer seen as a requirement for the very survival of the Democracy?
Dont' try to diagram that sentence. KO also wanted to know why Rumsfeld wants to "throw dissent under the bus". (Because on OlbyPlanet the rule is Democrats can criticize Republicans, but the reverse is fascism.) The felon chuckled and said, with a straight face, "good question". Good question?!? No wonder he was disbarred. Then more OlbyLogic on parade:
He had conflated the cold war with the fascists, with Mussolini, with, with, uh Hitler, uh, it, it really is, uh, uh, is there anything to be gained by exaggerating a threat like this, by, by, by putting it in terms of, of apocalypse?
After "great thanks" to the ex-con and a sentimental trip down memory lane (ballots in Ohio), came the most welcome commercial break in the history of television. The rest of The Hour of Spin sped by: storms, Kevin Federline, stolen paintings, Donald Trump, and the inimitable Michael Musto. The latter was so daring as to make a joke about men who like "younger women" right to Olbermann's face. In the Media Matters Minute, it was a trifecta: Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, and Conrad Burns (R). This is the segment Keith Olbermann insists is "nonpartisan".
Krazy Keith's scheme to make ratings headway Wednesday night wasn't exactly a roaring success. Even with Mr Bill O'Reilly on vacation, KO found himself mired in fourth place in both total viewers and his beloved key demo. Today's blue blogapalooza will doubtless fare no better--after all, tonight the MisterMeter only went to "6".
A few words on Olbermann's Rumsfeld Rant
I would like to make a special comment on Olby's recent Rummy rant...
While I appreciate the effort of some to make sense out of KO's recent special comment on Countdown last night my advice to Olby Watch readers is "don't bother". First, keep in mind that this "deep analysis" is coming from an individual who runs around in a raincoat doing bad Peter Finch impersonations and presenting news commentary in the form of hand puppets while screaming to any TV critic who will listen how he wants to be taken seriously. Second, the internal logic of Olby's diatribe will make your head spin; for claiming that there is a threat greater than "some" will acknowledge Olby compares Bush to Neville Chamberlain when the historical analogy he goes on to present suggests that the only appropriate comparison is between Bush and Churchill not Chamberlain. Olby goes on to praise Chamberlain Churchill for defying those who would label him a war monger while advancing the notion that Bush and Rumsfeld are war mongers who waged an "unnecessary" war in Iraq.
What I not heard discussed here or on some of the sites who have been linking here (Huffington Post, HotAir, National Review, Crooks and Liars, Newsbusters, Free Republic, KXMA/Say Anything, Pink Flamingo Bar, The Guardian UK, Sister Toldjah, Balloon Juice, INDCJournal, etc.) is WHY the radical left and their pals in the MSM (despite his anemic ratings I include Olbermann due to his affiliation with NBC News) are distorting what Rumsfeld said during his Tuesday speech to the American Legion convention in Utah.
So just why is the Loony Left working itself into a tizzy over Rumsfeld's speech? Why have they transformed Rumsfeld's actual words in order to characterize his attempt to defend Bush policies with the "destruction of our freedoms". When Olbermann quotes Murrow's line "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty" which line of Rumseld's speech does he have in mind? I will save you the trouble of looking - none.
The issue is not what Rumsfeld SAID but the belief which formed the basis for his remarks - that the United States is at war, that our enemy is not some amorphous conglomeration of religious whackos, but a well-organized, well-financed and determined enemy bent on killing every American and, for that matter, every person who does not accept the Muslim faith - and does so on their terms alone. And that belief, for the far left, is a very dangerous notion because it undermines the rationale for their ongoing criticism of Bush policies ranging from the Patriot Act to keeping al Qaeda prisoners in Guantanamo Bay to domestic surveillance of terror suspects to the SWIFT monitoring program to eavesdropping on phone calls into the U.S.
This, in turn, explains, the aggressive response to Rumseld's speech. The far left and the Democratic Party they seek to control, is intent on nationalizing this year's Congressional elections and doing so on the issue of Iraq. Having been burned so many times in the past by Bush, Rove and the rest of the Republican political machine they are determined not to let the GOP establish the terms of the debate this fall. They believe they have learned their lesson and. this time, are going to escape the label of being "soft" on terrorism by characterizing any attempt to shift the debate to the global war on terror as "censorship".
If this is the best they can do then you can expect the Dems to once again prove themselves their own worst enemy in '06. I, for one, do not believe that the American people are going to accept the notion of giving power to Democrats unless and until they are able to articulate a coherent, independent strategy for fighting the war on terror that goes the simplistic Bush-bashing formula that has failed then so spectacularly in the past.
That Olbermann is a full participant in what is clearly a coordinated response to Rumfeld's speech only serves to highlight his desire to serve as a tool for the far-left. Unfortunately for Keith, more people watched KO's rant on YouTube and Crooks and Liars than bothered to watch his show.
Perhaps TVNewser should consider adding each downloaded video to KO's ratings?
UPDATE: Normally I link to sites mentioning Olbermann in the Del.icio.us Mini-Blog (scroll down right rail on home page) but there have been so many blog posts about Olbermann's Rummy Rant that I am going to save myself time and link a bunch of them right here:
Huffington Post: Olbermann vs. Rumsfeld: Defining the Real "New Fascism"
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann reminded us why it is so great to be an American.
Crooks and Liars: Keith Olbermann Delivers One Hell Of a Commentary on Rumsfeld
Keith had some very choice words about Rumsfeld's "fascism" comments tonight. Watch it, save it and share it.
TalkLeft: Olbermann's Passionate Commentary on Rumseld
Daily Kos: Olbermann's Condemnation of Rumsfeld
By the time Keith Olbermann finished his response to Rumsfeld, I was close to tears.
Balloon Juice: A Dated Mindset
the appropriate response from Keith Olbermann
Blue Star Chronicles: Olbermann's Obfuscation
if Rumsfeld made that many people mad, he must be doing something right.
Firedoglake: Special SHUT EM SHUT EM DOWN!! Edition
Eschaton: Olbermann
No Quarter: Olbermann Our New Murrow
If you missed Keith Olbermann's commentary on Donald Rumsfeld's accusation that Americans who criticize the Bush Policy in Iraq are basically traitors, then you missed a chance to witness history. Olbermann's courage and genius should be celebrated and cherished. God bless him. The man has a set of stones.
Relevant Torture: We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty
This is why we love Keith Olbermann. Everything else is just icing.
Double Speak: Olbermann on Rumsfeld
Please take 6 minutes and 41 seconds of your day and watch this video. And then take a few more minutes to send it to friends, family, and anyone who might need a bit of the light of reality shown into their world.
Question Everything: KEITH OLBERMANN DELIVERS ONE HELL OF A COMMENTARY ON RUMSFELD
Keith had some very choice words about Rumsfeld's "fascism" comments tonight. Watch it, save it and share it.
Doug Krile: Olbermann Redux
It deserves a second look.
The Left Coaster: Open Thread - Channeling Murrow Edition
Keith Olbermann stepped into Edward R. Murrow’s shoes for a night with a devastating critique of Rummy and the Bush Administration.
Why We Worry: Olbermann's great speech
I hope the internet coverage of this speech gives him a well deserved spike in the ratings.
Outside the Beltway: Keith Olbermann Blasts Rumsfeld American Legion Speech
even when he's on the right side of an issue, he goes so far over the top as to make his target look good by comparison.
Transafixion: Olbermann on Today's Fascism
he doesn't hold back
TruthDig: Olbermann Puts Rumsfeld to Shame
Keith Olbermann delivered a masterful retort on Wednesday to Donald Rumsfeld's recent diatribe on fascism.
Davebgimp: The best smackdown ever
i had chills reading the transcript
Metadish: Putting Rummy In His Place
Keith Olbermann was absolutely brilliant last night.
Yirmumah: Thus Spoke Olbermann
If you're not doing so, you should think about getting your news at 8pm on MSNBC.
August 30, 2006
COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN - AUGUST 30, 2006
"COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" (8:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. ET)
Host: Keith Olbermann
Topics/Guests:
- RUMSFELD SPEAKS: John Dean, Democratic National Committee
- POLITICS AND THE GREAT LEAK CASE: Richard Wolffe, Newsweek
What does it take for the infamous, deplorable Keith Olbermann to interrupt his vacation? If you think the answer is Donald Rumsfeld, think again. Countdown did their "analysis" of his speech with E.J. Dionne on Tuesday. So why did Krazy Keith show up tonight to attack Rummy over yesterday's news?
Perhaps numbers tell the story. After bragging about how he is in second place in the "key demo", the August numbers show the trend that began months ago still continues. Olby is a poor, distant third (far behind his nemesis Mr Bill, and Paula Zahn for crying out loud) with viewers 25-54. And you don't want to mention total audience to Krazy Keith, where his dismal showing finds him in fourth place, with even the hyperbolic Nancy Grace attracting more viewers. What's a discredited sports guy to do?
That's where the second element enters the mix. The blue blogs have gone ballistic over Rummy's comments to the American Legion, and KO, if nothing else, is a consummate opportunist. What better way to inch his way back into Nielsen relevance than a high-profile, uber-hyped Rumsfeld blitz, expressly fashioned for the thousands (well, hundreds maybe) of Kossacks and Huffers? They'll reward him with free publicity, and that will reinvigorate his core audience. Maybe even MoveOn.org will do another viewership drive to save his scalp.
And the timing is ideal. Bill O'Reilly is off this week. This will be KO's big break! So it was that emails went out to the bluest bloggers, Olby promoted the assault on his low-rated radio program, and even got one of his hapless interns to stick something in his all-but-abandoned "blog". Olbermann's back, in style!
The opening spiel featured, of course, Rumsfeld, but also made note of Brian Williams's interview with "Mister" Bush [1] (code phrasing for the Black Box buffoons). It didn't take long for Herr Olbermann to falsify what Rumsfeld said, hyping that he would be offering:
A special comment on his attack on your right to disagree.
Don't waste your time looking through Rummy's speech for where he said there should be no right to disagree. It ain't there. Olby made it a twofer, introducing a clip with this:
Secretary Rumsfeld compared critics of the current war in Iraq to those who tried to appease Adolf Hitler and the Nazis before World War II.
The clip of Rummy began thusly:
once again we face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism.... But some seem not to have learned history's lessons.
Ah, the magic of editing. Krazy Keith wants his credulous cretins to take Rumsfeld's comments as relating to "critics of the current war in Iraq". But note those ellipses. What did Olby snip out of the clip?
Today -- another enemy, a different kind of enemy -- has made clear its intentions with attacks in places like New York and Washington, D.C., Bali, London, Madrid, Moscow and so many other places.
Remember, Olby has been whining for months about how Iraq has nothing to do with the war on terror. So when Rummy says something about the war on terror, mentioning a number of battlefronts but not Iraq, KO doctors the quote and claims it was all about Iraq. The Hour of Spin, indeed.
Olby went on to reference "Mister" Bush [3] twice [4] in one sentence, talked about bombings in Iraq, then brought on his guest of honor, Dr Howard Dean. KO asked if it's possible to have Rumsfeld impeached, while Dizzy Dean spewed Kossian talking points. Another Keith reference to "Mister" Bush [5] led Dean into talking about the "war on the middle class", as Herr Olbermann permitted his guest to give a campaign commercial for the DNC. Keith then suggested that Democrats are too "tentative" in their opposition to the evil Bush administration--another bit of penetrating analysis from the "nonpartisan" Countdown "anchorman".
Next Keith brought on the chairman of the RNC to give the opposing point of view. Hahahahahaaaaa! ROFL! Keith present two points of view? Not on OlbyPlanet. Our latest update of The List (partisan politicos and strategists interviewed on Countdown, identified by party):
- May 22: Lawrence O'Donnell (D)
- May 30: Rep Barney Frank (D)
- June 9: Lawrence O'Donnell (D)
- June 15: Bob Schrum (D)
- June 16: Rep John Murtha (D)
- June 19: Al Gore (D)
- June 20: Sen Jack Reed (D)
- June 20: Lawrence O'Donnell (D)
- June 23: Al Gore (D)
- July 5: Lawrence O'Donnell (D)
- July 12: Barbara Boxer (D)
- July 13: Lawrence O'Donnell (D)
- July 26: Bill Richardson (D)
- August 8: Daily Kos (D)
- August 9: Joe Trippi (D)
- August 30: John Dean (D)
Fair and balanced KO then swerved into the "purported" terror plot in the UK. He noted that "15 have been charged": more artful OlbySpin, since three more were charged today. But rather than report that, he just tosses off the total number, hoping that no one will notice that more and more charges are filed as the investigation continues. Again he says the "alleged" plotters were not prepared to strike at the time of their arrest. Even here, Olby doesn't tell the whole truth. The key element in the timing of the arrest was the intercepted message from Pakistan: "Do your attacks now". For all his tin-foiling about why the arrests were made when they were, has Keith Olbermann ever once reported this salient fact? He sure didn't mention it tonight.
After two teases for his "special comment" on Rumsfeld and Brian Williams with "Mister" Bush [6,7], KO was back with the #4 story. It was part two of Brian Williams and "Mister" Bush [8], like part one a rerun recycled from NBC. The #3 story was The Great Leak Case, where all the Rovian plots to discredit people crumbled because it was Richard Armitage, a critic of the Iraq war, who was the infamous leaker. Olby lied that the President spoke "bogus information" in the State of the Union speech, then made fun of Stephen Hayes, who will write Cheney's official biography. The Wolffe Man did his best to spin the Armitage news as not really disproving the "conspiracy to smear Joe Wilson", and KO replayed a clip of Bush talking about leakers for something like the 89th time. After some yucks over Frist and his medical license, the segment mercifully creaked to a conclusion.
Two more teases for Olby's "special comment" preceded regurgitated NBC footage of an SUV rescued from flood waters, plus Katie Couric (KO's snark about the size of Couric's audience evidenced a particularly dense variety of chutzpah). Then Tara Reed, Paris Hilton, and Cruise News! Another tease for the "special comment", and then the Media Matters Minute: "comedian Rush Limbaugh" was the predictable "worst person" selection, for comments on obesity.
Then the "special comment", held for a Big Finish to keep the blue blog believers tuned in until the last possible Nielsen minute. Rumsfeld is a "quack", dissent is "essential" (whoever said it wasn't?), and Rummy is like the Nazis because they both claimed to have "a monopoly on all the facts". Krazy went off into a history lesson about pre-war England, then said Rummy is like the British because he "demonizes" disagreement. With a straight, even grumpy, face, Olby sermonized:
All voices count.
One need only peruse The List above to see how fervently Keith Olbermann lives that philosophy. He ranted on about the presumed "omniscience" of the Bush adminstration, while ticking off old favorites like WMDs, UBL, flu vaccine, and Katrina. It's "arrogance" and "hubris", lectured Mr Humility himself:
He, "Mister" Bush [9], Mr Cheney, and their cronies have, inadvertently or intentionally, profitted and benefitted, both personally and politically. And yet he can stand up in public and question the morality and the intellect of those of us who dare ask just for the receipt for the Emperor's New Clothes".... With what country has he confused the United States of America?... Men like Nixon and McCarthy and Curtis LeMay have darkened our skies and obscured our flag.... Earlier Americans always found their way to the light and we can too. The confusion is about whether this Secretary of Defense and this administration are in fact now accomplishing what they claim the terrorists seek: the destruction of our freedoms.... This country faces a new type of fascism indeed.
Hyperbole Alert! All of this is, of course, based on Keith's bizarre notion that Rumsfeld does not have the right to criticize people he disagrees with. But naturally, Herr Olbermann takes it to the next Kool-Aid level. The Evil Bush Crime Administration wants to outlaw dissent! If Rummy gets his way, and bans anyone who disagrees with him from being allowed to speak, America will end up like... like... like an hour of Countdown!
Update I: Thanks to HotAir and National Review for the links.
Update II: Do you believe in coincidences? As Olby returned from vacation to level his much-hyped attack on Donald Rumsfeld, over at The O'Reilly Factor someone decided this would be a good opportunity to replay a segment with a helicopter cameraman (who happens to have a daughter named Katy).
August 29, 2006
COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN - AUGUST 29, 2006
"COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" (8:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. ET)
Guest Host: Alison Stewart
Topics/Guests:
- HURRICANE KATRINA ANNIVERSARY; WAR POLITICS: E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
His show attracts loonies and cranks,
but Keith Olbermann mainly shoots blanks.
Is he off for the week?
If he is, no critique.
And for this relief, truly much thanks!
Olbermann Defends "Racist" Remarks
It should come as no surprise to Olbermann Watch readers that Keith Olbermann is defending Bryant Gumble's right to publicly disparage his employer and not be fired after causing a firestorm with comments directed at the outgoing NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and NFL Players Union chief Gene Upshaw. Olby has gone on many similar benders - attacking collegues at ESPN, slamming MSNBC during his first stint there, undermining Fox Sports in regards to the Rupert Murdoch-owned Dodgers, attacking colleagues and bosses during his current stint at MSNBC. He was shown the door at ESPN, MSNBC and Fox Sports and, in what can only be a matter of time, will likely suffer the same fate at MSNBC II.
Tim Graham at Newsbusters pulls this gem from KO's remarks on ESPN Radio:
"I don't think I'd consciously go out and ever give information I knew not to be true, deliberately."
August 28, 2006
COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN - AUGUST 28, 2006
"COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" (8:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. ET)
Guest Host: Alison Stewart
Topics/Guests:
- POLITICS: Richard Wolffe, Newsweek senior White House correspondent
- KENTUCKY PLANE CRASH OUTRAGE: Mary Schiavo, fmr. D.O.T. inspector general
- EMMY ROUNDUP: Tom O'Neil, In Touch Magazine
"Another Day Off"
It's a downer for every dingbat.
Olby once more from Countdown does scat.
He likes teenage sexpots
more than finding Rove plots.
Keith just had to see Emmy with Kat.
August 27, 2006
I'm Back
I left home on August 1st and traveled to Phoenix to NY to Boston to NY to San Diego to L.A. to Phoenix to Tampa to Nashville to Chicago to NY. I got back last night. In the meantime, I did not have much time to look at Olbermann Watch but learned that a troll on this site and become particularly active. As a general rule, I do not edit or delete comments or ban commenters. When comment spammers find open threads I close them and delete the comment spam. It generally takes a couple weeks for comment spammers to find open threads so it is typical that a comment is open for about that long.
In this case, the commenter may or may not have been the owner of the web site and the owner of the web site may or may not have been the person depicted in the web site. It's the internet so you can never be sure about these things. Regardless, someone was posting from a particularly IP address (and doing so anonymously, psuedonymously or under other people's names). I found over 100 posted comments from this IP address. Many of them had dozens of links to a particular site so that there were thouands of outbound links to that site coming from our site. For those who don't know how this game works - if you do that on dozens of sites you can get hundreds of thousands of inbound links to a site which increased the sites Google Page Rank and causes the site to show up higher in Google searches. In other words, these comments were spam designed to advertise a particular site.
As a result, I have deleted all of these comments and banned anyone from posting at that IP address.
This is generally not an effective solution because there are many ways around a ban but reasoning with a troll is pointless, negotiating with a spammer is pointless and doing nothing is not an acceptable option.
I have reported the matter to the web host for that site and will let them look into whether the commenter is coming from the same IP address as their customer and determine how to handle their customer. Spamming is a violation of their user agreement.
One last point, some folks might wonder why I don't moderate comments (pre or post),, require registration or use a catchpa. The answer is simple, I've tried them all and they all inhibit a free exchange on the site. I'd rather close comments after a couple of weeks and deal with the occassional spam that gets through then get in the way of the give and take on this site.
UPDATE: Here is my exchange with Piczo Member Services, the company hosting the site linked in the comments on Olbermann Watch
Subject: one of your sites is being comment spammed into my site
Discussion Thread
Response (Pom) 08/28/2006 05:25 PM
Dear Mr. Robert Cox,
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We here at Piczo take abuse complaints very seriously. The IP address you reported is actually different from the owner of the site. However, this site is in violation of our Terms of Service and therefore we have cancelled it.
Unfortunately, at this time our systems are unable to search sites by IP address. If you become aware of any other inappropriate site or the email address of a Piczo member who is abusing the use of our services, please notify us immediately and we will take action.
Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.
Regards,
Piczo Member Services
Customer (Robert Cox) 08/27/2006 09:55 AM
My site is http://www.olbermannwatch.com/
Someone is repeatedly posting the following URL into my comment
sections (hundreds of instances of this):
[delete]
Many of the comments contain phrases like "fuck my website bitch" and
"I am invincible" etc.
The comments are coming from the following IP Address: 204.112.163.122
This is comment spam and may be a violation of your user agreement.
It is certainly a violation of my comment posting policy. Can you
please investigate this and advise as to whether the spammer is the
owner of this site and whether you are able to take any steps to
discourage this behavior?
You might also want to refer the owner of the site to a psychiatrist
as it appears this individual has some serious psychological issues.
Robert Cox
Editor
Olbermann Watch
August 25, 2006
COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN - AUGUST 25, 2006
"COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" (8:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. ET)
Guest Host: Brian Unger
"A Night on the Town"
Krazy Keith did not answer the call.
He's in LA with his junior doll.
So while Unger does news,
and reports on Tom Cruise,
Olby's there as the ump cries, "Play ball!"
August 24, 2006
COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN - AUGUST 24, 2006
"COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" (8:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. ET)
Host: Keith Olbermann
Topics/Guests:
- MIDTERM ELECTIONS: John Harwood, The Wall Street Journal
- TOM CRUISE VS. PARAMOUNT; "SURVIVOR": Sharon Waxman, New York Times Hollywood correspondent
- MOTORIST PULLED OVER WHILE LISTENING TO BILL O'REILLY TOO LOUD: Office Kurt Iskra, Largo, Fla. Police Department
In his opening spiel, the infamous, deplorable Keith Olbermann, looking as grumpy (and orange) as ever, used his favorite adjective once again:
The purported London terror plot: it continues to deflate.
What was he talking about? A suspect was released. Wait, didn't he report that yesterday? He's not using yesterday's news to inject day-old spin into his opening spiel, is he? Nah, that would hardly be the award-winning journalism that Keith loves to remind people he practices.
But first on the spin parade, from the palatial Los Angeles MSNBC studios, was "Mister" Bush's Iraq rhetoric. It's more pessimistic, which led Olby to return not to yesterday's news, or even the day before yesterday's news. No, it was back to the Presidential conference of Monday! We thought the time difference between New York and LA was four hours, not four days. After some political notes about John McCain and Hillary, it was time to chat with Harwood, with a typical Olby-style leading question about how the Republicans are screwing something up:
In terms of strategy, have they just reached the last ditch?
KO went on to reference "so-called achievements" in Iraq (what, they aren't "purported" achievements?), while Harwood talked about the administration being "completely out of touch with reality". A recycled NBC report from the impartial David Gregory covered remembrances of 9/11 and Katrina.
Then it was back to the "purported plot", which wasn't anything like "how it was initially sold" to the public, according to terrorism expert Keith Olbermann. This was KO's lead-in to the story of Tayib Rauf, an arrestee who was released yesterday. Keith noted that "only 12" have been charged. This was a slick way to avoid specifically reporting that another person was charged today (it had been 11). After all, KO couldn't possibly admit to any progress in the investigation; has he ever reported the bomb kits and suicide videos that were found?
Going into the break at just 13 minutes into the hour, Krazy Keith returned with a feature on the planet (or not) Pluto. A recycled NBC report handled the details, followed by teasers for such exclusive scoops as JonBenet and tonight's edition of Cruise News. After oddball (including a tasteful "erection" joke) and more teasers, KO started cluck-clucking about a program that hasn't even aired yet (the upcoming Survivor: Cook Islands). But that was just an excuse to divert the rest of the segment to another installment of Cruise News! Specifically, the split from Viacom. Hold on, didn't he cover this yesterday too? Hey, it beats working. And then a teaser for #107:
What happens when an officer of the law comes face to face with a law-breaking Bill O'Reilly radio listener?
Klassic Keith. The terror plot, where a dozen people have been charged and mountains of evidence seized, is "alleged" and "purported". But this poor schlub gets a ticket and Judge Olbermann flat-out declares him guilty! Who says KO doesn't have his priorities straight?
Another teaser for the Big Bill O'Reilly Story followed, with Keith promising "that's next". Only it wasn't. The nightly JonBenet segment was next. Why would KO say something is "next" when it knows full well it's not next? To keep his core audience of gullible simpletons tuned in for as long as possible? After the JonBenet update (a supposed-to-be funny montage of hyperbolic MSNBC breaking news), we got Paris Hilton, Brittney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and self-promotion for a KO voice-over on "Family Guy".
In the Media Matters Minute, KO managed to fill two of his pre-determined slots, the Fox News slot (O'Reilly, so that makes this #107), and a conservative/Republican (Rush Limbaugh). He even worked in an insult to Ann Coulter.
Finally the discredited sports guy got around to his Big O'Reilly News--another days-old story flogged to within an inch of its life. But good enough to be attack #108. One cannot overstate the painful desperation of the smarmy Olbermann engaged in a futile attempt to steal some of the success and viewership of his nemesis. Crusading journalist Krazy Keith got to the bottom of this developing story:
Do they often, do, do the people who complain about the tickets often mention Bill O'Reilly or anybody in particular, or is that novel?
Did you, did you have to keep, uh, uh, struggle, to keep, uh, a straight face during that, uh, or, or are you used to the bizarre, if not that particular kind of bizarre?
Wh, when, when you asked him that, that was, that one moment where, where it got out, where you said Bill O'Reilly doesn't fall under that statute, have you ever encountered anybody who thought what they were listening to, no matter what it was, made any difference in a, in a noise complaint situation?
Eh, was it, was it playing still on the, on the car stereo when you first approached the, the car?
Do you know, we, we, we had been told he had a month to request a, uh, a, a formal request for a trial, do you know how that turned out with, uh, both the speeding citation and the, uh, the loud radio citation?
This went on and on and on: pointlessly empty questions and respectful, brief replies from the officer. This is what Olby and Abrams thought was worth day-long promotion and hype? It's another tape that must be sent to the Emmy committee.
For the tenth day, Olbermann couldn't find even 30 seconds to report on the kidnapped Fox journalists. He was on the Jill Carroll story for day after day, but when IslamoNazis abduct reporters from the hated Fox channel, Keith can't be bothered. It's more important to belabor the tabloid stories of yesterday, the day before that, and the day before that. We have a suggestion for Krazy Keith: when you leave the studios tonight and stop off to purchase a trinket for your current squeeze, pick up a paper and read about the plight of the journalists being held hostage. Oh wait, that won't work. They don't have newsstands at Toys 'R' Us.
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