Countdown with Keith Olderman is a production of I Heart Radio. It is the commercial Your damn right gas prices are rising again, Joe Biden, or Nancy Pelosi or Barack Obama or somebody says, as the commercial begins, because the bone cutting Saudis and the genocidal Russians and the Republican prostitutes here are raising your gas prices deliberately. The commercial then runs through the rest of the Republican platform for the mid terms, cutting social security and medicare, sun setting the rest of the safety net, banning abortion, banning gay marriage, banning transgender treatment, ending any further COVID treatments, keeping drug prices high, keeping gas prices high, selling out Ukraine, helping Putent take over Eastern Europe, eliminating free elections here, ending the peaceful transfer of power, deporting all of the foreigners, deputizing white supremacist militias, increasing anti semitism, rewarding insurrectionists, impeaching Biden, impeaching Mayorcas, impeaching b Lincoln, defunding the FBI, defunding the National Archives, defaulting on our national debts, stealing classified documents, increasing access to guns, increasing school shootings, increasing thoughts and prayers. They are selling the destruction of twenty one century America to Americans, and new polling says they are winning because gas prices are rising again, and they are winning because nobody on the Democratic side has yet put out the commercial. The House Republicans Study Committee plans to raise the age of eligibility for Social Security to seventy and plans to raise the age of eligibility for Medicare to sixty seven and to phase in means testing. Where is the commercial showing its chairman Jim Banks pushing an old woman in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs. Rick Scott's Rescue America plan calls for a new vote on all federal legislation every five years. That's the rest of the safety net up for grabs every five years. Where's the commercial showing Rick Scott imploding an unemployment insurance office or burning food snaps or cutting off school aid. Five years isn't often enough for Ron Johnson. He wants Social Security and Medicare to be reduced to programs that are approved every year with annual budgets that can be cut. However, Republicans see fit. Where is the commercial showing Ron Johnson taking money out of the hands of people in retirement homes and giving it to Elon must Kevin McCarthy now says on the record, yes, he will foment another debt ceiling crisis. He will threaten to plunge this country and the world into financial apocalypse. He has the goal to say, you can't just continue down the path to keep spending and adding to the debt, even though that's exactly what the Republicans did under Trump and raise the debt by seven trillion dollars. Where is the commercial showing McCarthy pulling food out of a child's hands while bankers foreclose on the family home and McCarthy yesterday confirmed what we already knew. Putin is just holding on in Ukraine until the mid terms. Quote, Ukraine is important, but at the same time, it can't be the only thing they do, and it can't be a blank check. Where is the commercial showing Putin using tactical nukes in Poland or standing in front of the Eiffel Tower shaking hands with McCarthy and Trump. McCarthy yesterday said he is opposed to any requests for new COVID funding. Where is the commercial showing him with newspapers dated with headlines about the resistant new COVID strain and McCarthy pulling oxygen tubes out of patients noses and mouths. Ron Johnson said, quote, there's a larger story to be told about January six. They're not asking what did Nancy Pelosi know and when did she know it? Where is the commercial showing Johnson on his fourth of July trip to Moscow shaking Putin's hand and hitting a Capitol policeman over the head with a riot shield. After months of nodding along as the other fascists said leave it up to the states, Lindsay Graham said he will introduce national laws to make abortions illegal after fifteen weeks. Where is the commercial showing a back alley abortionist with bloody coat hangers in his hands, and as he pulls off his masks, the lighting floods his face and the abortion nous turns out to be Lindsay freaking Graham. Marjorie Trailer Park Green and Lauren Bobert and a dozen others are calling to defund the FBI, and JR. Madjuski also wants to defund the c I A where is the commercial showing the FBI purp walking a child pornographer, and then Green and Bobert and Madjusky swoop in to free the pedophile Ron de Santis and too many more of these scumb to count pledged to eliminate any remaining investigations of Trump's nuclear document Kleptomania and the risk Trump poses to national security. Where is the commercial showing Trump handing the fan mail that Kim Jong un sent him to Bob Woodward and saying, oh, those are so top secret, don't say I gave them to you. Okay? How many more of these commercials have not been made? Eve Bannon and a bunch of proud boys beating up poll workers thirty seconds that's just Kanye West spewing anti Semitism, ending with him telling Tucker Carlson, I like Trump and I love this guy Trump marching back into the White House surrounded by the Charlottesville Nazis. A policeman asking somebody their religion, and when the guy says agnostic, the cop pushes them out of the line, and the line turns out to have been the one in which you wait to vote. Any of the great voice mimics of our time reading out Trump's post over the weekend, threatening American Jews that they have to get their act together before it's too late. Where is the commercial I get it. We believe we are better than them, or if we are not actually better than them, we at least can never be as bad as them. We actually believe in diversity, even diversity of opinions. We cannot make the notion it is in our bones that the Trump cultists are not lost beyond redemption, but just deeply confused Americans, and we might yet shame them, or save them, or rescue them somehow. We do not want to make new Willie Horton ads, and we do not want to make the new Roger Ales who makes Willie Horton ads. We don't want a network like Fox News or news Max or o A. And even if the only thing it steals from them is the ferocity of the punch is thrown, and even if it did stick to the truth twenty four hours a day, we are better than they are. But the wolf is at the door here. The Republicans worked with the Russians to tilt in ways we may never fully understand. The Republicans are working now with the Saudis to Hilo. They have jumped the ethical shark and have now rationalized anything anything by lying to themselves and lying to their cultists, so long that they truly believe Democrats are satanic, literally satanic, and so anything Republicans do is justifiable, as justifiable as the Union crushing the Confederacy in the Civil War. To them, it's Abraham Lincoln vampire killer. Any time is the right time for principles, But this is also the time for the principle that American democracy, American freedom, American representative government, the safety of every minority in this country, literally, the freedom of Europe and the rest of the world from Putin's aggression, and the freedom from Republican appeasement of Putin, and the environmental future of the planet are all about to be lost in the midterms. In twenty days. We have twenty days until the gravity gets turned off and the bastards who nearly stole democracy right out from under us on January six and have spent the time since fine tuning their treason until they gain control of us, gain control of our families, gained control of our children, gain control of our neighbors, gain control of the world and do whatever the hell they want to it. Where are the commercials? Where is the urgency? Where is the fervor? Where is the anger? Where is the sense of life or death? Where is this symbolism, the metaphor, the equivalence to the greatest words said by a Democratic leader in decades? Where is the commercial that conveys the spirit of I want to punch him out. I've been waiting for this. I'm gonna punch him out and I'm going to be happy. Still ahead, uncountdown. Marco Rubio opposes ballant drop boxes because what if they blow up? The Fox nudes woman who says Stacy Abrahams is not qualified to talk about abortion because she's never had a child. She says this as she sits next to one co host guy who's never had a child. Another co host guy has never had a child, and they all interviewed the Georgia governor, who's a guy who's never had a child. Worse persons coming up? Sports exactly what we need an NFL game on Black Friday. And maybe the best advice I ever got came from somebody I worked with for just five months and twenty days and that ended thirty eight years ago. Today the story of chet Curtis the mandarin of Boston TV news and the phrase don't get used to it. That's next, this discountdown. This is Countdown with Keith Olberman still ahead on Countdown. Apparently the elections in Florida we're more explosive than ever we knew. At the only Senate debate there, Marco Rubio performed a public service by warning us of all those ballot drop boxes there that keep blowing up. Bloat up, real good, blow them up, real good. I'm Billy Sulhirok. And in sports, one NFL owner warns another, don't have with me first. In each edition of Countdown, we feature dog in need who you can help. Every dog has its day. We go to the state of Georgia and Hitchcock. Hitchcock is a handsome little schnauser hit by a car found by a roadside in critical condition with what maybe temporary paralysis. His site is also at risk, but they think with quality care he could be good. Hounds and Pounds of New Jersey is fundraising for Hitchcock. If you'd like to donate to help him, try their site or Hitchcock will be the pinned tweet at my account for Dogs in Need on Twitter that Tom Jumbo Grumbo and retweeting his story will also help him, and I thank you very much for doing so. Postscripts to the news, some headlines, some inside, some snark. Dateline, lake Worth Beach, Florida. A surprise from the first and only Florida senatorial debate when Senator Marco Rubio posited to opponent bl Demmings previously unused rationale against ballot drop boxes. There's danger involved in drop boxes. People need to think about it. Okay. Imagine if someone decides, so, there's a dropbox, I'm just gonna put some explosive in it and blow it up and burn all of those ballots, and now those votes don't count at all. Okay, there's there's something with elections. There are two things that are very important. Number One that you may laugh, but six out of every seven people in Florida are carrying explosives. Okay, imagine someone decides, oh, there's a Marco Rubio, I'm just gonna put some explosive in it. He really is the dumbest person in the country. Dateline Alexandria, Virginia. Well maybe except for John Durham. In the last thirteen months, the Wall Street Journal editorial page has run these headlines about the Special Council who was supposed to I don't know obtain three consecutive death sentences for Hillary Clinton for the Trump Russia conspiracy investigation. Quote Durham shows how the FBI lets its informants mislead it. Quote Durham delivers on Russia Gate. Quote Durham's FBI indictment, and quote Durham cracks the Rusher case. Yesterday, a jury acquitted the analyst Igor dan Chenko on all four charges in connection to the Steel dossier. So John Durham's final score two defendants, seven charges, six acquittals, a plea bargain on the seventh, and the defendant got as a result of the plea bargain probation. Nice works, Sparky, This is Sports Center. Wait, check that not anymore. This is Countdown with Keith in sports just what we need. Part of Amazons streaming deal for NFL telecasts for the two thousand twenty three season will include a new game on the day after Thanksgiving, which is Friday. In fact, it's Shopping's Black Friday. Obviously this will get Amazon plenty of publicity, but wouldn't a midday NFL game on Black Friday reduce shopping at Amazon? And first we had the story that Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has not been tossed out of the league because he has dirt on a bunch of other owners, like Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys. Now ESPN is reporting that the league's thirty two owners have voted to permit their compensation committee to begin negotiations with Commissioner Roger Goodell on a new contract. The final vote was thirty one two Jerry Jones. The head poke was the Loane No but even better. As the vote neared, New England Patriots boss Robert Kraft went up to Jones and said, quoting ESPN source, don't f with me. Jones answered, excuse me, Craft rephrased it, don't mess with me. Apparently that was the end of the confrontation and the brief meeting involving Craft at least had a happy ending think about it. Coming up the day, I witnessed fame for the first time firsthand. Within a minute of Check Curtis's appearance on the deserted streets of Holiday Boston, there formed a crowd of somewhere between fifty and a hundred people. Where they came from. I have no idea to this day. If you told me they had emerged from the sewers, I would have believed you his advice about what to do with that kind of concentrated fame. Coming up first, the daily roundup of the miscrants, morons, and dunning Krueger effect specimens who constitute today's worse persons in the world. Le bronze to Blaine Kanzatti. Blaine Kanzati, the president of the Idaho Family Policy Council, You may have heard that Idaho will be the first U. S state across the finish line into full theocratic fascism. Mr Kanzatti will be near the front of the line. Has announced that in January, the Idaho Legislature will take up a bill that would man quote drag performances in public venues. And it gets worse. Mr Kanzati insists that drag is comparable to anybody blackface. I'm waiting for the silver lining here, which is when all the drag performers reveal the names of all the members of the Idaho Legislature. They know the runner up. Tutor Dixon super genius. She is the only two thousand twenty two fascist gubernatorial candidates who portrayed Sheila Wolf in the two thousand nine film Buddy Bebop Versus The Living Dead. Tutor Dixon is the one who promised to end trans women playing men's sports in Michigan high school and college outfits. And then somebody asked for one example of it happening, and she couldn't think of one. Wow, she's done it again. She was asked now about how to stop the next school shooting before it happened, and her answer was, quote, instead of doing all this critical race training, how about we have training on spotting the emergency before it happens. Firstly, it's critical race theory, Buddy Bebop lady. Secondly, critical race theory is taught in guess how many Michigan schools. That's right, None, idiot, but our winner. Rachel Campos Duffy of Fox Nudes. She's the one who once told her audience that the US had caused Russia to invade Ukraine. Well, now she's topped herself. Campos Duffy has decreed that the Democratic candidate for governor Georgia Stacy Abrams is not qualified to talk about abortions because she has never had a child. A flash of discomfort seemed to form across the faces of her co host Steve Doocey and her other co host, Brian Kilmeade and their guests Brian Kemp and inside you just knew they were all wondering who was going to tell Rachel that men talk about abortions all the time. In fact, men were talking about abortions at that very moment, even though men have never had a child either, foxes Rachel after nine kids, you would have thought she'd know that camp post Duffy two Day's worst personage in the World, number one story on the Countdown in my favorite topic, Me and forty years ago today, my epic career as a local Boston sportscaster ended. I did not last long there. The station got mad at me for making jokes during the sportscast, which raised the question why did they hire a guy known for making jokes during the sportscast? So I left ten days shy of six months. Last day, right after I got back from covering the World Series, sitting next to another young Boston TV Sports reporter named Carl Scrimsky, and the last day was Friday, October four. It was short, but it was not sweet. But I did meet some extraordinary people, and I learned one extraordinary lesson that applies to a lot more of life than might be suggested at first plush. On the night of Friday, July six, Chet Curtis, who with his wife Natalie Jacobson, were the mandarins of Boston Television News, asked me if I wanted to go with him to dinner after our six pm newscast. The following Monday, I would move from sports reporter and fill in at the sports desk to anchoring the sports report every night on r eleven PM newscast. The year before, our station, Channel five, had interviewed me for the job of sports director, but I made a terrible mistake. In the interview with the general manager, Jim copper Smith. I mentioned to him that we had met before when he was general manager of Channel five in New York and I was an intern in their newsroom. This peaked copper Smith's curiosity since it had happened only five years later. That's when he found out I was not twenty eight years old, as his news director had told him, but I was only twenty four. So instead he hired this guy from Florida named Lee Webb. And all you really need to know about Lee was that after he left the station, he became the quote newscast your unquote on the Pat Robertson TV network, and he started talking about what the Bible said about Ronald Reagan. And he often used the phrases Republicans and Democrats and fire and brimstone in the same sentence. So a year later they had decided Webb was too dull and I was the coming thing, and they were splitting the sportscasting job in half. Lee would stay on the six and I would do the eleven. And Chad Curtis, who had been on Boston TV since, wanted to give me an idea of what was coming for me. So he said, Let's go to Anthony's Pier four. Kind of touristy fish place, but beautiful and great food, but I have to stop on my way to get a quick SoundBite for the eleven. Sure enough, Chet drove to a downtown office building, spied the Channel five cameraman waiting for us on the sidewalk, parked and hopped out. Now, on any summer's Friday night, then end. Now Boston's downtown is deserted. But this was a Friday night, two days after July four. It was so empty you could hear the stoplights change from red to green. Yet within a minute of check Curtis's appearance, there formed a crowd of somewhere between fifty and a hundred people. Where they came from. I have no idea to this day. If you told me they had emerged from the sewers, I would have and would believe you. Without being asked. They formed a neat semi circle out of the range of the camera. Whoever the guy was that Chet was supposed to interview, answered his questions quickly. The cameraman repositioned himself to get the obligatory. Chet listens intently and intelligently cutaway shots. Then he said, Okay, we're done, and the semicircle of civilians burst into applause. A few came over for autographs and pictures. One said to me, yeah, the new WUTS guy, I like you. Then they all left as stealthily as they appeared. We got back into Chet's truck. I was laughing nervously how how how do you get used to that? I mean, when I've gone to the ballpark, I get a few hello's and one or two autograph requests. But does this happen all the time? And how do you get used to it? Chat had a wonderful laugh. It does not happen all the time. It'll happen a lot more to you once you start on the eleven. But don't get used to it. That's one of the reasons I want to have dinner with you. And the place we're going is where I learned the lesson I wanted to offer to you. So we go to Anthony's. The valet was saying good to see you, Mr Curtis. Before Chet was fully out of the truck, his boss appeared, but evening Chat people dining outside on the pier stared. Several waved the major d beat us to the front door and held it open for us, and this is your new sportscaster, Welcome to Anthony's. Chet was more than gracious. He managed to simultaneously conveyed deep appreciation, low key surprise at all the attention, and the sense that nobody was bothering him in the slightest As we entered the dining room, there was polite applause. Chet waved almost but not quite sheepishly. We were seated at the best table at the best angle to see the harbor. The reserved sign the manager of Anthony's removed was comically large. After the drinks arrived, Chent began to preach. Unless you're an athlete, nobody, he said, gets loved on as much in this city as people on TV, especially people on Channel five. Now it's a little quieter than usual because of the holiday, But when they first put me on the eleven o'clock news eight years ago next to my beautiful bride, if I came in here, there would be people standing and applauding. Natalie doesn't really like that stuff, so she sends not to go with me to the big restaurants. But me, I'm just Chester from Amsterdam, New York, and I worked damn hard to get here, and I loved it. I loved every second of it. If there was an opportunity to come here before the late newscast or after it, or on the weekends, I was here. I said, I loved the fish. I really loved the applause. He laughed again. I mean we're still number one, but maybe five years ago we had higher ratings than the other two stations combined. There were months at a time when I didn't pay for a drink here, not one, and I came to depend upon that. And that's what I wanted to tell you. Don't don't get used to it, don't expect it, don't fail to be surprised by it, or at least don't fail if fake being surprised by it. Because one day it happened. It happened right here, and I thought my career was over at the age of I know this will surprise you. I did not listen to a lot of advice, but Jet Curtis was bearing his soul here, and I felt a mixture of terror and rapt anticipation about what had happen to him. I think this was fairly early on, he said, mid seventies. And I drove up, just like we did just now, and I straightened my tie and it brushed my hair and made myself ready for my adoring public. I'm ready for my close up, Mr de Mill. And I opened that door, and I went to that major d stand and I smiled, and there was a guy there. I had never seen before, and he said, can I help you? And I smiled and looked to that bar where Danny always is, see him right now. No, Danny, the bartender that day didn't even look back at me. So, just as the sense of anxiety began to creep up on me, I said, rather defensively, I'm ched Curtis. And the Major D looked at me with annoyance and said, you have a reservation. And I thought a reservation. I have an adoring public. I said, well no, but usually Tony holds a table for me and says, I don't have to call in advance, and the Major D says, well, I'm sorry, we're full without a reservation the way it will be ninety minutes. And now I am sweating, and then there's a tap on my shoulder, Chat says, and I think, thank god, it's a fan of News Center five, And instead it's somebody who just says, excuse me, fellow, can we get through Jones party of two? And now I'm standing there and I look around the bar, and I look around the dining room and nobody recognizes me. Not a waitress, not a customer, nobody. And it starts in my head chat, I say to myself, what have you done? What did you say on the air? Nobody knows you at Anthony's, nobody wants to know you. Your career is over? What did you do? And now, Keith, I am beginning to feel faint and panicky, and I run out the door to get back in my car, and I drive away as fast as possible, all the while thinking what did you do to end your career? And just as I get to my car, another car drives out, and outsteps in shorts and a T shirt, Anthony himself, Anthony of Anthony's Restaurant, the founder, the owner, and he says, Chat, what the hell's wrong with you? Your pale is a ghost? And I stammer about my career ending and nobody inside recognizing me anymore. And and here Chet Curtis burst into laughter. I'm almost in tears, telling him that the major d said I'd have to wait ninety minutes because I didn't have a reservation. And now Anthony laughs and he says, of course nobody recognizes you. The whole staff is at our summer picnic. I only came in now to give them a chance to talk about me behind my back. Those guys in there are all per diems, freelancers. Everybody you know is that Nantasket Beach getting drunk. Chent finally stopped his own laughter, sipped from his beer, and very dramatically said, so, how do you get used to being recognized? Do not get used to being recognized, because one day everybody you expect is going to recognize you will be out at a picnic at Nantasket Beach getting drunk that you don't know about, and all you will be a bolt to figure out is that your career is over and you should go home and jump off your roof. So this is my advice to you as you start the eleven o'clock news in Boston. Never get used to it. I've done all the damage I can do here. Help me out. Subscribe to this podcast Acosta random passers by or passers by, or give it five stars or whatever you do. Most of the music, including our theme from Beethoven's Ninth, was arranged, produced and performed by Brian Ray and John Philip Channel. They are the Countdown musical directors. All orchestration and keyboards by John Philip Channel, guitars, bass and drums by Brian Ray. Produced by t k O Brothers. Other Beethoven selections have been arranged and performed by No Horns allowed. The sports music is the Olberman theme from ESPN two and it was written by H. Warren Davis courtesy of ESPN Inc. Musical comments from Nancy Faust the best baseball stadium organist of all time. Our announced today was John Dene and everything else is pretty much my fault. So that's countdown for this second day since Donald Trump's first attempted coop against the democratically elected government of the United States. Arrest him now while we still can. There will be a new episode tomorrow. Until then on Keith Alderman. Good Morning, good afternoon, goodnight, and good luck. Countdown with Keith Alderman is a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from i heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Countdown with Keith Olderman is a production of I Heart Radio. It is the commercial Your damn right gas prices are rising again, Joe Biden, or Nancy Pelosi or Barack Obama or somebody says, as the commercial begins, because the bone cutting Saudis and the genocidal Russians and the Republican prostitutes here are raising your gas prices deliberately. The commercial then runs through the rest of the Republican platform for the mid terms, cutting social security and medicare, sun setting the rest of the safety net, banning abortion, banning gay marriage, banning transgender treatment, ending any further COVID treatments, keeping drug prices high, keeping gas prices high, selling out Ukraine, helping Putent take over Eastern Europe, eliminating free elections here, ending the peaceful transfer of power, deporting all of the foreigners, deputizing white supremacist militias, increasing anti semitism, rewarding insurrectionists, impeaching Biden, impeaching Mayorcas, impeaching b Lincoln, defunding the FBI, defunding the National Archives, defaulting on our national debts, stealing classified documents, increasing access to guns, increasing school shootings, increasing thoughts and prayers. They are selling the destruction of twenty one century America to Americans, and new polling says they are winning because gas prices are rising again, and they are winning because nobody on the Democratic side has yet put out the commercial. The House Republicans Study Committee plans to raise the age of eligibility for Social Security to seventy and plans to raise the age of eligibility for Medicare to sixty seven and to phase in means testing. Where is the commercial showing its chairman Jim Banks pushing an old woman in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs. Rick Scott's Rescue America plan calls for a new vote on all federal legislation every five years. That's the rest of the safety net up for grabs every five years. Where's the commercial showing Rick Scott imploding an unemployment insurance office or burning food snaps or cutting off school aid. Five years isn't often enough for Ron Johnson. He wants Social Security and Medicare to be reduced to programs that are approved every year with annual budgets that can be cut. However, Republicans see fit. Where is the commercial showing Ron Johnson taking money out of the hands of people in retirement homes and giving it to Elon must Kevin McCarthy now says on the record, yes, he will foment another debt ceiling crisis. He will threaten to plunge this country and the world into financial apocalypse. He has the goal to say, you can't just continue down the path to keep spending and adding to the debt, even though that's exactly what the Republicans did under Trump and raise the debt by seven trillion dollars. Where is the commercial showing McCarthy pulling food out of a child's hands while bankers foreclose on the family home and McCarthy yesterday confirmed what we already knew. Putin is just holding on in Ukraine until the mid terms. Quote, Ukraine is important, but at the same time, it can't be the only thing they do, and it can't be a blank check. Where is the commercial showing Putin using tactical nukes in Poland or standing in front of the Eiffel Tower shaking hands with McCarthy and Trump. McCarthy yesterday said he is opposed to any requests for new COVID funding. Where is the commercial showing him with newspapers dated with headlines about the resistant new COVID strain and McCarthy pulling oxygen tubes out of patients noses and mouths. Ron Johnson said, quote, there's a larger story to be told about January six. They're not asking what did Nancy Pelosi know and when did she know it? Where is the commercial showing Johnson on his fourth of July trip to Moscow shaking Putin's hand and hitting a Capitol policeman over the head with a riot shield. After months of nodding along as the other fascists said leave it up to the states, Lindsay Graham said he will introduce national laws to make abortions illegal after fifteen weeks. Where is the commercial showing a back alley abortionist with bloody coat hangers in his hands, and as he pulls off his masks, the lighting floods his face and the abortion nous turns out to be Lindsay freaking Graham. Marjorie Trailer Park Green and Lauren Bobert and a dozen others are calling to defund the FBI, and JR. Madjuski also wants to defund the c I A where is the commercial showing the FBI purp walking a child pornographer, and then Green and Bobert and Madjusky swoop in to free the pedophile Ron de Santis and too many more of these scumb to count pledged to eliminate any remaining investigations of Trump's nuclear document Kleptomania and the risk Trump poses to national security. Where is the commercial showing Trump handing the fan mail that Kim Jong un sent him to Bob Woodward and saying, oh, those are so top secret, don't say I gave them to you. Okay? How many more of these commercials have not been made? Eve Bannon and a bunch of proud boys beating up poll workers thirty seconds that's just Kanye West spewing anti Semitism, ending with him telling Tucker Carlson, I like Trump and I love this guy Trump marching back into the White House surrounded by the Charlottesville Nazis. A policeman asking somebody their religion, and when the guy says agnostic, the cop pushes them out of the line, and the line turns out to have been the one in which you wait to vote. Any of the great voice mimics of our time reading out Trump's post over the weekend, threatening American Jews that they have to get their act together before it's too late. Where is the commercial I get it. We believe we are better than them, or if we are not actually better than them, we at least can never be as bad as them. We actually believe in diversity, even diversity of opinions. We cannot make the notion it is in our bones that the Trump cultists are not lost beyond redemption, but just deeply confused Americans, and we might yet shame them, or save them, or rescue them somehow. We do not want to make new Willie Horton ads, and we do not want to make the new Roger Ales who makes Willie Horton ads. We don't want a network like Fox News or news Max or o A. And even if the only thing it steals from them is the ferocity of the punch is thrown, and even if it did stick to the truth twenty four hours a day, we are better than they are. But the wolf is at the door here. The Republicans worked with the Russians to tilt in ways we may never fully understand. The Republicans are working now with the Saudis to Hilo. They have jumped the ethical shark and have now rationalized anything anything by lying to themselves and lying to their cultists, so long that they truly believe Democrats are satanic, literally satanic, and so anything Republicans do is justifiable, as justifiable as the Union crushing the Confederacy in the Civil War. To them, it's Abraham Lincoln vampire killer. Any time is the right time for principles, But this is also the time for the principle that American democracy, American freedom, American representative government, the safety of every minority in this country, literally, the freedom of Europe and the rest of the world from Putin's aggression, and the freedom from Republican appeasement of Putin, and the environmental future of the planet are all about to be lost in the midterms. In twenty days. We have twenty days until the gravity gets turned off and the bastards who nearly stole democracy right out from under us on January six and have spent the time since fine tuning their treason until they gain control of us, gain control of our families, gained control of our children, gain control of our neighbors, gain control of the world and do whatever the hell they want to it. Where are the commercials? Where is the urgency? Where is the fervor? Where is the anger? Where is the sense of life or death? Where is this symbolism, the metaphor, the equivalence to the greatest words said by a Democratic leader in decades? Where is the commercial that conveys the spirit of I want to punch him out. I've been waiting for this. I'm gonna punch him out and I'm going to be happy. Still ahead, uncountdown. Marco Rubio opposes ballant drop boxes because what if they blow up? The Fox nudes woman who says Stacy Abrahams is not qualified to talk about abortion because she's never had a child. She says this as she sits next to one co host guy who's never had a child. Another co host guy has never had a child, and they all interviewed the Georgia governor, who's a guy who's never had a child. Worse persons coming up? Sports exactly what we need an NFL game on Black Friday. And maybe the best advice I ever got came from somebody I worked with for just five months and twenty days and that ended thirty eight years ago. Today the story of chet Curtis the mandarin of Boston TV news and the phrase don't get used to it. That's next, this discountdown. This is Countdown with Keith Olberman still ahead on Countdown. Apparently the elections in Florida we're more explosive than ever we knew. At the only Senate debate there, Marco Rubio performed a public service by warning us of all those ballot drop boxes there that keep blowing up. Bloat up, real good, blow them up, real good. I'm Billy Sulhirok. And in sports, one NFL owner warns another, don't have with me first. In each edition of Countdown, we feature dog in need who you can help. Every dog has its day. We go to the state of Georgia and Hitchcock. Hitchcock is a handsome little schnauser hit by a car found by a roadside in critical condition with what maybe temporary paralysis. His site is also at risk, but they think with quality care he could be good. Hounds and Pounds of New Jersey is fundraising for Hitchcock. If you'd like to donate to help him, try their site or Hitchcock will be the pinned tweet at my account for Dogs in Need on Twitter that Tom Jumbo Grumbo and retweeting his story will also help him, and I thank you very much for doing so. Postscripts to the news, some headlines, some inside, some snark. Dateline, lake Worth Beach, Florida. A surprise from the first and only Florida senatorial debate when Senator Marco Rubio posited to opponent bl Demmings previously unused rationale against ballot drop boxes. There's danger involved in drop boxes. People need to think about it. Okay. Imagine if someone decides, so, there's a dropbox, I'm just gonna put some explosive in it and blow it up and burn all of those ballots, and now those votes don't count at all. Okay, there's there's something with elections. There are two things that are very important. Number One that you may laugh, but six out of every seven people in Florida are carrying explosives. Okay, imagine someone decides, oh, there's a Marco Rubio, I'm just gonna put some explosive in it. He really is the dumbest person in the country. Dateline Alexandria, Virginia. Well maybe except for John Durham. In the last thirteen months, the Wall Street Journal editorial page has run these headlines about the Special Council who was supposed to I don't know obtain three consecutive death sentences for Hillary Clinton for the Trump Russia conspiracy investigation. Quote Durham shows how the FBI lets its informants mislead it. Quote Durham delivers on Russia Gate. Quote Durham's FBI indictment, and quote Durham cracks the Rusher case. Yesterday, a jury acquitted the analyst Igor dan Chenko on all four charges in connection to the Steel dossier. So John Durham's final score two defendants, seven charges, six acquittals, a plea bargain on the seventh, and the defendant got as a result of the plea bargain probation. Nice works, Sparky, This is Sports Center. Wait, check that not anymore. This is Countdown with Keith in sports just what we need. Part of Amazons streaming deal for NFL telecasts for the two thousand twenty three season will include a new game on the day after Thanksgiving, which is Friday. In fact, it's Shopping's Black Friday. Obviously this will get Amazon plenty of publicity, but wouldn't a midday NFL game on Black Friday reduce shopping at Amazon? And first we had the story that Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has not been tossed out of the league because he has dirt on a bunch of other owners, like Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys. Now ESPN is reporting that the league's thirty two owners have voted to permit their compensation committee to begin negotiations with Commissioner Roger Goodell on a new contract. The final vote was thirty one two Jerry Jones. The head poke was the Loane No but even better. As the vote neared, New England Patriots boss Robert Kraft went up to Jones and said, quoting ESPN source, don't f with me. Jones answered, excuse me, Craft rephrased it, don't mess with me. Apparently that was the end of the confrontation and the brief meeting involving Craft at least had a happy ending think about it. Coming up the day, I witnessed fame for the first time firsthand. Within a minute of Check Curtis's appearance on the deserted streets of Holiday Boston, there formed a crowd of somewhere between fifty and a hundred people. Where they came from. I have no idea to this day. If you told me they had emerged from the sewers, I would have believed you his advice about what to do with that kind of concentrated fame. Coming up first, the daily roundup of the miscrants, morons, and dunning Krueger effect specimens who constitute today's worse persons in the world. Le bronze to Blaine Kanzatti. Blaine Kanzati, the president of the Idaho Family Policy Council, You may have heard that Idaho will be the first U. S state across the finish line into full theocratic fascism. Mr Kanzatti will be near the front of the line. Has announced that in January, the Idaho Legislature will take up a bill that would man quote drag performances in public venues. And it gets worse. Mr Kanzati insists that drag is comparable to anybody blackface. I'm waiting for the silver lining here, which is when all the drag performers reveal the names of all the members of the Idaho Legislature. They know the runner up. Tutor Dixon super genius. She is the only two thousand twenty two fascist gubernatorial candidates who portrayed Sheila Wolf in the two thousand nine film Buddy Bebop Versus The Living Dead. Tutor Dixon is the one who promised to end trans women playing men's sports in Michigan high school and college outfits. And then somebody asked for one example of it happening, and she couldn't think of one. Wow, she's done it again. She was asked now about how to stop the next school shooting before it happened, and her answer was, quote, instead of doing all this critical race training, how about we have training on spotting the emergency before it happens. Firstly, it's critical race theory, Buddy Bebop lady. Secondly, critical race theory is taught in guess how many Michigan schools. That's right, None, idiot, but our winner. Rachel Campos Duffy of Fox Nudes. She's the one who once told her audience that the US had caused Russia to invade Ukraine. Well, now she's topped herself. Campos Duffy has decreed that the Democratic candidate for governor Georgia Stacy Abrams is not qualified to talk about abortions because she has never had a child. A flash of discomfort seemed to form across the faces of her co host Steve Doocey and her other co host, Brian Kilmeade and their guests Brian Kemp and inside you just knew they were all wondering who was going to tell Rachel that men talk about abortions all the time. In fact, men were talking about abortions at that very moment, even though men have never had a child either, foxes Rachel after nine kids, you would have thought she'd know that camp post Duffy two Day's worst personage in the World, number one story on the Countdown in my favorite topic, Me and forty years ago today, my epic career as a local Boston sportscaster ended. I did not last long there. The station got mad at me for making jokes during the sportscast, which raised the question why did they hire a guy known for making jokes during the sportscast? So I left ten days shy of six months. Last day, right after I got back from covering the World Series, sitting next to another young Boston TV Sports reporter named Carl Scrimsky, and the last day was Friday, October four. It was short, but it was not sweet. But I did meet some extraordinary people, and I learned one extraordinary lesson that applies to a lot more of life than might be suggested at first plush. On the night of Friday, July six, Chet Curtis, who with his wife Natalie Jacobson, were the mandarins of Boston Television News, asked me if I wanted to go with him to dinner after our six pm newscast. The following Monday, I would move from sports reporter and fill in at the sports desk to anchoring the sports report every night on r eleven PM newscast. The year before, our station, Channel five, had interviewed me for the job of sports director, but I made a terrible mistake. In the interview with the general manager, Jim copper Smith. I mentioned to him that we had met before when he was general manager of Channel five in New York and I was an intern in their newsroom. This peaked copper Smith's curiosity since it had happened only five years later. That's when he found out I was not twenty eight years old, as his news director had told him, but I was only twenty four. So instead he hired this guy from Florida named Lee Webb. And all you really need to know about Lee was that after he left the station, he became the quote newscast your unquote on the Pat Robertson TV network, and he started talking about what the Bible said about Ronald Reagan. And he often used the phrases Republicans and Democrats and fire and brimstone in the same sentence. So a year later they had decided Webb was too dull and I was the coming thing, and they were splitting the sportscasting job in half. Lee would stay on the six and I would do the eleven. And Chad Curtis, who had been on Boston TV since, wanted to give me an idea of what was coming for me. So he said, Let's go to Anthony's Pier four. Kind of touristy fish place, but beautiful and great food, but I have to stop on my way to get a quick SoundBite for the eleven. Sure enough, Chet drove to a downtown office building, spied the Channel five cameraman waiting for us on the sidewalk, parked and hopped out. Now, on any summer's Friday night, then end. Now Boston's downtown is deserted. But this was a Friday night, two days after July four. It was so empty you could hear the stoplights change from red to green. Yet within a minute of check Curtis's appearance, there formed a crowd of somewhere between fifty and a hundred people. Where they came from. I have no idea to this day. If you told me they had emerged from the sewers, I would have and would believe you. Without being asked. They formed a neat semi circle out of the range of the camera. Whoever the guy was that Chet was supposed to interview, answered his questions quickly. The cameraman repositioned himself to get the obligatory. Chet listens intently and intelligently cutaway shots. Then he said, Okay, we're done, and the semicircle of civilians burst into applause. A few came over for autographs and pictures. One said to me, yeah, the new WUTS guy, I like you. Then they all left as stealthily as they appeared. We got back into Chet's truck. I was laughing nervously how how how do you get used to that? I mean, when I've gone to the ballpark, I get a few hello's and one or two autograph requests. But does this happen all the time? And how do you get used to it? Chat had a wonderful laugh. It does not happen all the time. It'll happen a lot more to you once you start on the eleven. But don't get used to it. That's one of the reasons I want to have dinner with you. And the place we're going is where I learned the lesson I wanted to offer to you. So we go to Anthony's. The valet was saying good to see you, Mr Curtis. Before Chet was fully out of the truck, his boss appeared, but evening Chat people dining outside on the pier stared. Several waved the major d beat us to the front door and held it open for us, and this is your new sportscaster, Welcome to Anthony's. Chet was more than gracious. He managed to simultaneously conveyed deep appreciation, low key surprise at all the attention, and the sense that nobody was bothering him in the slightest As we entered the dining room, there was polite applause. Chet waved almost but not quite sheepishly. We were seated at the best table at the best angle to see the harbor. The reserved sign the manager of Anthony's removed was comically large. After the drinks arrived, Chent began to preach. Unless you're an athlete, nobody, he said, gets loved on as much in this city as people on TV, especially people on Channel five. Now it's a little quieter than usual because of the holiday, But when they first put me on the eleven o'clock news eight years ago next to my beautiful bride, if I came in here, there would be people standing and applauding. Natalie doesn't really like that stuff, so she sends not to go with me to the big restaurants. But me, I'm just Chester from Amsterdam, New York, and I worked damn hard to get here, and I loved it. I loved every second of it. If there was an opportunity to come here before the late newscast or after it, or on the weekends, I was here. I said, I loved the fish. I really loved the applause. He laughed again. I mean we're still number one, but maybe five years ago we had higher ratings than the other two stations combined. There were months at a time when I didn't pay for a drink here, not one, and I came to depend upon that. And that's what I wanted to tell you. Don't don't get used to it, don't expect it, don't fail to be surprised by it, or at least don't fail if fake being surprised by it. Because one day it happened. It happened right here, and I thought my career was over at the age of I know this will surprise you. I did not listen to a lot of advice, but Jet Curtis was bearing his soul here, and I felt a mixture of terror and rapt anticipation about what had happen to him. I think this was fairly early on, he said, mid seventies. And I drove up, just like we did just now, and I straightened my tie and it brushed my hair and made myself ready for my adoring public. I'm ready for my close up, Mr de Mill. And I opened that door, and I went to that major d stand and I smiled, and there was a guy there. I had never seen before, and he said, can I help you? And I smiled and looked to that bar where Danny always is, see him right now. No, Danny, the bartender that day didn't even look back at me. So, just as the sense of anxiety began to creep up on me, I said, rather defensively, I'm ched Curtis. And the Major D looked at me with annoyance and said, you have a reservation. And I thought a reservation. I have an adoring public. I said, well no, but usually Tony holds a table for me and says, I don't have to call in advance, and the Major D says, well, I'm sorry, we're full without a reservation the way it will be ninety minutes. And now I am sweating, and then there's a tap on my shoulder, Chat says, and I think, thank god, it's a fan of News Center five, And instead it's somebody who just says, excuse me, fellow, can we get through Jones party of two? And now I'm standing there and I look around the bar, and I look around the dining room and nobody recognizes me. Not a waitress, not a customer, nobody. And it starts in my head chat, I say to myself, what have you done? What did you say on the air? Nobody knows you at Anthony's, nobody wants to know you. Your career is over? What did you do? And now, Keith, I am beginning to feel faint and panicky, and I run out the door to get back in my car, and I drive away as fast as possible, all the while thinking what did you do to end your career? And just as I get to my car, another car drives out, and outsteps in shorts and a T shirt, Anthony himself, Anthony of Anthony's Restaurant, the founder, the owner, and he says, Chat, what the hell's wrong with you? Your pale is a ghost? And I stammer about my career ending and nobody inside recognizing me anymore. And and here Chet Curtis burst into laughter. I'm almost in tears, telling him that the major d said I'd have to wait ninety minutes because I didn't have a reservation. And now Anthony laughs and he says, of course nobody recognizes you. The whole staff is at our summer picnic. I only came in now to give them a chance to talk about me behind my back. Those guys in there are all per diems, freelancers. Everybody you know is that Nantasket Beach getting drunk. Chent finally stopped his own laughter, sipped from his beer, and very dramatically said, so, how do you get used to being recognized? Do not get used to being recognized, because one day everybody you expect is going to recognize you will be out at a picnic at Nantasket Beach getting drunk that you don't know about, and all you will be a bolt to figure out is that your career is over and you should go home and jump off your roof. So this is my advice to you as you start the eleven o'clock news in Boston. Never get used to it. I've done all the damage I can do here. Help me out. Subscribe to this podcast Acosta random passers by or passers by, or give it five stars or whatever you do. Most of the music, including our theme from Beethoven's Ninth, was arranged, produced and performed by Brian Ray and John Philip Channel. They are the Countdown musical directors. All orchestration and keyboards by John Philip Channel, guitars, bass and drums by Brian Ray. Produced by t k O Brothers. Other Beethoven selections have been arranged and performed by No Horns allowed. The sports music is the Olberman theme from ESPN two and it was written by H. Warren Davis courtesy of ESPN Inc. Musical comments from Nancy Faust the best baseball stadium organist of all time. Our announced today was John Dene and everything else is pretty much my fault. So that's countdown for this second day since Donald Trump's first attempted coop against the democratically elected government of the United States. Arrest him now while we still can. There will be a new episode tomorrow. Until then on Keith Alderman. Good Morning, good afternoon, goodnight, and good luck. Countdown with Keith Alderman is a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from i heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.