SEASON 2 EPISODE 20: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: I watched the Republican Debate so you didn't have to and there was actually a surprise. Trump isn't leading by such a huge margin solely because of his cult and their craziness. He is leading by such a huge margin because DeSantis is a pull-string toy. He is rehearsed, wooden, confused, inflexible. At one point a moderator said "that isn't the question, Governor," and he replied "I know," like he was proud of it. Also: everybody hates Ramaswamy and there is a perfect word to describe him and that word was supplied by my Pittsburgh-bred friend Howard Fineman: "Jagoff." 

Meanwhile Trump was with Tucker Carlson on Twitter and they were both pleasuring themselves to fantasies of somebody trying to assassinate Trump so then they could have a Civil War.

There are Atlanta developments that could see the Fani Willis trial begin as early as November 3. 

And maybe bigger than all, there is a scandal involving ABC News, CBS, CNN, NBC, The Washington Post, the New York Times, and other news outlets and I doubt anybody will notice but it drove me to distraction. Why, the night before the debate, did a dozen of the leading political reporters and editors think it was cool to have a meal with Jason Miller and two other thugs from the Trump Campaign and let them get schmoozed by them and let Miller try out his latest attacks on DeSantis? The Trump people want to dismember the press and maybe individual reporters. With the BEST of politicians you must keep yourself at arm's length - and these are the worst of them. They (and they include Dana Bash, Robert Costa, and Kristen Welker) should all be fired.

B-Block (31:11) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The Secret Service's 2020 links to The Oath Keepers; Prighozin dead after his plane falls out a window (35:03) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Nice troll by the Biden campaign to advertise on Fox News. Except it helps Fox News. CNN may have found an old Chris Licht to replace young Chris Licht. And with these bothsidesist Climate Change headlines, The Washington Post may kill us all.

C-Block (35:55) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: No, Rudy Giuliani did not fall from grace. He's ALWAYS been like that. You just didn't know him in 1996 - I did. He was nuts then, too.

SEASON 2 EPISODE 20: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN
A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: I watched the Republican Debate so you didn't have to and there was actually a surprise. Trump isn't leading by such a huge margin solely because of his cult and their craziness. He is leading by such a huge margin because DeSantis is a pull-string toy. He is rehearsed, wooden, confused, inflexible. At one point a moderator said "that isn't the question, Governor," and he replied "I know," like he was proud of it. Also: everybody hates Ramaswamy and there is a perfect word to describe him and that word was supplied by my Pittsburgh-bred friend Howard Fineman: "Jagoff." 
Meanwhile Trump was with Tucker Carlson on Twitter and they were both pleasuring themselves to fantasies of somebody trying to assassinate Trump so then they could have a Civil War.
There are Atlanta developments that could see the Fani Willis trial begin as early as November 3. 
And maybe bigger than all, there is a scandal involving ABC News, CBS, CNN, NBC, The Washington Post, the New York Times, and other news outlets and I doubt anybody will notice but it drove me to distraction. Why, the night before the debate, did a dozen of the leading political reporters and editors think it was cool to have a meal with Jason Miller and two other thugs from the Trump Campaign and let them get schmoozed by them and let Miller try out his latest attacks on DeSantis? The Trump people want to dismember the press and maybe individual reporters. With the BEST of politicians you must keep yourself at arm's length - and these are the worst of them. They (and they include Dana Bash, Robert Costa, and Kristen Welker) should all be fired.
B-Block (31:11) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The Secret Service's 2020 links to The Oath Keepers; Prighozin dead after his plane falls out a window (35:03) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Nice troll by the Biden campaign to advertise on Fox News. Except it helps Fox News. CNN may have found an old Chris Licht to replace young Chris Licht. And with these bothsidesist Climate Change headlines, The Washington Post may kill us all.
C-Block (35:55) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: No, Rudy Giuliani did not fall from grace. He's ALWAYS been like that. You just didn't know him in 1996 - I did. He was nuts then, too.

“Countdown With Keith Olbermann,” the landmark news and commentary program that reordered the world of cable news, returns as a daily podcast. Olbermann’s daily news-driven mix will include his trademark “Special Comment” political analysis, the tongue-in-cheek “Worst Persons In The World” segment, and his timeless readings from the works of the immortal James Thurber. The man who turned SportsCenter into a cultural phenomenon will broaden the content to include a daily sports segment, a daily call for help for a suffering dog, and a remarkable series of anecdotes covering a career that stretched from covering the 1980 Olympic Miracle on Ice a month after his 21st birthday, to anchoring the 2009 Presidential Inauguration and the 2009 Super Bowl pre-game show in a span of just twelve days, to rejoining ESPN as a “rookie” baseball play-by-play man at the age of 59.

“Countdown With Keith Olbermann,” the landmark news and commentary program that reordered the world of cable news, returns as a daily podcast. Olbermann’s daily news-driven mix will include his trademark “Special Comment” political analysis, the tongue-in-cheek “Worst Persons In The World” segment, and his timeless readings from the works of the immortal James Thurber. The man who turned SportsCenter into a cultural phenomenon will broaden the content to include a daily sports segment, a daily call for help for a suffering dog, and a remarkable series of anecdotes covering a career that stretched from covering the 1980 Olympic Miracle on Ice a month after his 21st birthday, to anchoring the 2009 Presidential Inauguration and the 2009 Super Bowl pre-game show in a span of just twelve days, to rejoining ESPN as a “rookie” baseball play-by-play man at the age of 59.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann

GOP DEBATE 1: TRUMP IS ROMPING BECAUSE DeSANTIS IS A HOLOGRAM - 8.24.23

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/389b17c1-d4ab-42f5-8fef-b068003f1f8c/transcript

SERIES 2 EPISODE 181: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: The would-be dictatorships are stacked up so thick they have to wait for permission to land.

We rightfully fear a Trump dictatorship. Right now, however, we are being RULED by a Samuel Alito dictatorship. And now we have to take measures to overthrow it. Caught flying one insurrectionist flag at his VIRGINIA home – while he was adjudicating cases that could have benefitted the Trump Coup Attempt – Alito simply lied about it, claiming he had no role in it, then contradicted himself by telling a backstory of petty personal recrimination involving neighbors – a backstory which had its OWN set of lies.

And now we know that THAT entire story was – at best – a lie of omission, because when Alito was caught improperly flying a disqualifying insurrectionist symbol in public at his primary home in 2021, he was continuing to hide the fact that through much or all of last summer he was flying a DIFFERENT disqualifying insurrectionist symbol in public at his vacation home in New Jersey.

It is, as you know, the Appeal to Heaven flag, stolen by groups of Christo-Fascists from its historical role in our founding revolution and re-purposed to rationalize a fundamentalist religious dictatorship replacing representative government. As the New York Times noted in reporting this story, quote, “the phrase ‘appeal to heaven’ comes from the 17th century philosopher John Locke, who wrote of a responsibility to rebel, even use violence, to overthrow unjust rule. ‘It’s a paraphrase for trial by arms,’ Anthony Grafton, a historian at Princeton University said in an interview,” unquote.

It's a paraphrase for trial by arms, and it’s been flying in public view from Samuel Alito’s home.

And now we have to figure out how to stop Alito from completing his plan to turn this country into a religious dictatorship - a kind of westernized Iran.

On the other hand: In a surprise announcement, Donald Trump has declared himself dead. “They were authorized to shoot me!,” begins his email to try to con more money out of his dumbest cult members. Quote: “I nearly escaped death!”Uhhhh…. So… you… DIDN’T… escape death? Metaphorically, Trump may be right. The words used by the President and those around him about Trump's "Unified Reich" video are a sea change. They are calling him an antisemite. Next they need to call him a Nazi.

B-Block (27:07) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, apparently cannot afford a weather app. It rained so hard on him he became Rishi Sunk. Larry Hogan, a Republican, insists he's always protected women's rights. Of course he's lying. And as we realize just how corrupted and unsalvageable the Supreme Court is, Jim Jordan provides some comic relief by saying something that provides an immediate opportunity to insult Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito.

C-Block (34:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: I ran into Al Roker the other day, so naturally I have to tell you all my Matt Lauer stories. These are the obnoxious, vanity ones, as opposed to the assault-y ones.

SERIES 2 EPISODE 181: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN
A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: The would-be dictatorships are stacked up so thick they have to wait for permission to land.
We rightfully fear a Trump dictatorship. Right now, however, we are being RULED by a Samuel Alito dictatorship. And now we have to take measures to overthrow it. Caught flying one insurrectionist flag at his VIRGINIA home – while he was adjudicating cases that could have benefitted the Trump Coup Attempt – Alito simply lied about it, claiming he had no role in it, then contradicted himself by telling a backstory of petty personal recrimination involving neighbors – a backstory which had its OWN set of lies.
And now we know that THAT entire story was – at best – a lie of omission, because when Alito was caught improperly flying a disqualifying insurrectionist symbol in public at his primary home in 2021, he was continuing to hide the fact that through much or all of last summer he was flying a DIFFERENT disqualifying insurrectionist symbol in public at his vacation home in New Jersey.
It is, as you know, the Appeal to Heaven flag, stolen by groups of Christo-Fascists from its historical role in our founding revolution and re-purposed to rationalize a fundamentalist religious dictatorship replacing representative government. As the New York Times noted in reporting this story, quote, “the phrase ‘appeal to heaven’ comes from the 17th century philosopher John Locke, who wrote of a responsibility to rebel, even use violence, to overthrow unjust rule. ‘It’s a paraphrase for trial by arms,’ Anthony Grafton, a historian at Princeton University said in an interview,” unquote.
It's a paraphrase for trial by arms, and it’s been flying in public view from Samuel Alito’s home.
And now we have to figure out how to stop Alito from completing his plan to turn this country into a religious dictatorship - a kind of westernized Iran.
On the other hand: In a surprise announcement, Donald Trump has declared himself dead. “They were authorized to shoot me!,” begins his email to try to con more money out of his dumbest cult members. Quote: “I nearly escaped death!”Uhhhh…. So… you… DIDN’T… escape death? Metaphorically, Trump may be right. The words used by the President and those around him about Trump's "Unified Reich" video are a sea change. They are calling him an antisemite. Next they need to call him a Nazi.
B-Block (27:07) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, apparently cannot afford a weather app. It rained so hard on him he became Rishi Sunk. Larry Hogan, a Republican, insists he's always protected women's rights. Of course he's lying. And as we realize just how corrupted and unsalvageable the Supreme Court is, Jim Jordan provides some comic relief by saying something that provides an immediate opportunity to insult Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito.
C-Block (34:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: I ran into Al Roker the other day, so naturally I have to tell you all my Matt Lauer stories. These are the obnoxious, vanity ones, as opposed to the assault-y ones.

ALITO CAN SHOVE HIS FLAGS UP HIS INSURRECTIONIST ASS - 5.23.24

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/58c60380-88cf-4f17-9b31-b179001a065c/transcript

SERIES 2 EPISODE 180: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: We may have had a breakthrough with the electorate.

Democratic AND Republican pollsters are finding a shocking number of undecideds or Republicans who will not vote for Trump because of his talk of trying to make himself eligible for a third term, or eliminating term limits entirely, or elections entirely. The fundamental lesson of January 6th - that he will never leave office voluntarily - has sunk in. And which ever way the cult is trying to position it, these voters are taking it seriously.

More over, these seem pollsters are finding a sudden surge in independent and even Republican backlash against The Supreme Court because the gutting of Roe-V-Wade has caused countless voters to reconsider what kind of havoc a corrupted Trump-owned Court would be willing to do to fraudulently bring about the America the fascists want.

It's stunning news and combined with additional polling showing Biden running far behind Democratic Senators in the swing state, it suggests not only that there are margins of victory to be added to his vote totals in those states, but that there is a straightforward way to get them: campaign AGAINST dictatorship, third terms, and a rogue Court.

PLUS: THE DEFENSE RESTS at the Trump Trial. Literally, in his case. All you need to know about what happened was that on Trump's Tuesday posse was comedian Joe Piscopo, who was very good on his last hit, Saturday Night Live, which he just left recently. Well, no, not recently - FORTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH.

B-Block (30:47) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Marco Rubio doesn't know what the phrase "last name" means. Chris Cillizza has just discovered people have been diagnosing mental acuity of presidential candidates from afar (it started a decade ago, by Trump. Chris thinks it started earlier this week with Stuart Stevens). And having burned through CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and Fox News, Tucker Carlson premieres on Russia-24.

C-Block (37:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: At 5:40 AM he told me he was going to get my fired from our radio station, and kill me. At 6:40 AM he was promising me a multi-year contract as a new sportscaster on our radio station. It's more than four decades ago and it is still as scary an experience as I've had in my career. The Ted Brown Story.

SERIES 2 EPISODE 180: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN
A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: We may have had a breakthrough with the electorate.
Democratic AND Republican pollsters are finding a shocking number of undecideds or Republicans who will not vote for Trump because of his talk of trying to make himself eligible for a third term, or eliminating term limits entirely, or elections entirely. The fundamental lesson of January 6th - that he will never leave office voluntarily - has sunk in. And which ever way the cult is trying to position it, these voters are taking it seriously.
More over, these seem pollsters are finding a sudden surge in independent and even Republican backlash against The Supreme Court because the gutting of Roe-V-Wade has caused countless voters to reconsider what kind of havoc a corrupted Trump-owned Court would be willing to do to fraudulently bring about the America the fascists want.
It's stunning news and combined with additional polling showing Biden running far behind Democratic Senators in the swing state, it suggests not only that there are margins of victory to be added to his vote totals in those states, but that there is a straightforward way to get them: campaign AGAINST dictatorship, third terms, and a rogue Court.
PLUS: THE DEFENSE RESTS at the Trump Trial. Literally, in his case. All you need to know about what happened was that on Trump's Tuesday posse was comedian Joe Piscopo, who was very good on his last hit, Saturday Night Live, which he just left recently. Well, no, not recently - FORTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH.
B-Block (30:47) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Marco Rubio doesn't know what the phrase "last name" means. Chris Cillizza has just discovered people have been diagnosing mental acuity of presidential candidates from afar (it started a decade ago, by Trump. Chris thinks it started earlier this week with Stuart Stevens). And having burned through CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and Fox News, Tucker Carlson premieres on Russia-24.
C-Block (37:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: At 5:40 AM he told me he was going to get my fired from our radio station, and kill me. At 6:40 AM he was promising me a multi-year contract as a new sportscaster on our radio station. It's more than four decades ago and it is still as scary an experience as I've had in my career. The Ted Brown Story.

NEW POLLING: VOTERS TERRIFIED BY TRUMP "3RD TERM" TALK - 5.22.24

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/3d1ed343-7621-446d-b045-b17800125d6a/transcript

SERIES 2 EPISODE 179: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: The FIRST item, letter A, on Trump's gag order: "Defendant is directed to refrain from making or directing others to make, public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses."

After the last time – after the last TEN times, to be exact – Justice Juan Merchan was explicit that, next time, he’d have to consider jailing Trump. Well Trump talked about witness Robert Costello – the one whom the judge metaphorically kicked in the gonads as the court day came to a roaring end. AND he talked about witness Michael Cohen and as the judge had ALSO explicitly stated, it didn’t matter if he was reading or quoting somebody else’s words. If there is any remaining doubt in Merchan’s mind that the premise of the Trump defense is not some kind of refutation of the charges but instead an all-out attack on the rule of law, on the judge, on the court, on its authority to dare to thwart Trump – the man who wants to put the “dick” in dictator – he must erase that doubt. This is why the outburst from the witness Robert Costello – an attorney - where he complained about Merchan’s rulings in real time – could be the last straw that sends Trump to the big house. That was Trump’s witness, the prosecution fought Merchan to keep him out, Merchan sided with the defense, the witness metaphorically spit in Merchan’s face. 

MEANWHILE: Alito has NOT changed his story again and there is no Democratic politician with the guts to even conduct a hearing into his amazing corruption. But Brian Beutler has a suggestion that could at least illuminate reality and punish Alito and the fascists for his perfidy.

B-Block (33:23) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Politico is so corrupt that the boyfriend editor hyping the girlfriend's article doesn't even bother to put it third or fourth on its list. The guy who finished second to Larry Hogan in the GOP Maryland primary? Robin Ficker? Does that sound familiar? And RFK Jr, wrong about his residence and just three presidents of Iran behind the times.

C-Block (43:25) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The event was a couple of days ago but there's always time to celebrate not just the birthday of the immortal of Willie Mays but the day he gave a 20-year old me a radio interview that began with him doing a voice out of all the bigoted cliched movies of the 1930's.

SERIES 2 EPISODE 179: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN
A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: The FIRST item, letter A, on Trump's gag order: "Defendant is directed to refrain from making or directing others to make, public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses."
After the last time – after the last TEN times, to be exact – Justice Juan Merchan was explicit that, next time, he’d have to consider jailing Trump. Well Trump talked about witness Robert Costello – the one whom the judge metaphorically kicked in the gonads as the court day came to a roaring end. AND he talked about witness Michael Cohen and as the judge had ALSO explicitly stated, it didn’t matter if he was reading or quoting somebody else’s words. If there is any remaining doubt in Merchan’s mind that the premise of the Trump defense is not some kind of refutation of the charges but instead an all-out attack on the rule of law, on the judge, on the court, on its authority to dare to thwart Trump – the man who wants to put the “dick” in dictator – he must erase that doubt. This is why the outburst from the witness Robert Costello – an attorney - where he complained about Merchan’s rulings in real time – could be the last straw that sends Trump to the big house. That was Trump’s witness, the prosecution fought Merchan to keep him out, Merchan sided with the defense, the witness metaphorically spit in Merchan’s face. 
MEANWHILE: Alito has NOT changed his story again and there is no Democratic politician with the guts to even conduct a hearing into his amazing corruption. But Brian Beutler has a suggestion that could at least illuminate reality and punish Alito and the fascists for his perfidy.
B-Block (33:23) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Politico is so corrupt that the boyfriend editor hyping the girlfriend's article doesn't even bother to put it third or fourth on its list. The guy who finished second to Larry Hogan in the GOP Maryland primary? Robin Ficker? Does that sound familiar? And RFK Jr, wrong about his residence and just three presidents of Iran behind the times.
C-Block (43:25) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The event was a couple of days ago but there's always time to celebrate not just the birthday of the immortal of Willie Mays but the day he gave a 20-year old me a radio interview that began with him doing a voice out of all the bigoted cliched movies of the 1930's.

TRUMP MUST GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL; VIOLATES GAG ORDER TWICE - 5.21.24

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f322e94b-e9be-4e2e-b9a3-b17700062f28/transcript

GOP DEBATE 1: TRUMP IS ROMPING BECAUSE DeSANTIS IS A HOLOGRAM - 8.24.23

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