The Thing That Not Even Olbermann Will Mention

[dbt]

"Countdown" is the best news show on TV--and I am gratified to be able to use the word news without quotation marks around it. I hardly ever miss "Countdown," because it gives me the same comfort and dose of actual REALITY that I used to get from Walter Cronkite all those years ago.

While one could argue that Olbermann does nothing to hide his disgust at the latest machinations of our Boy King, that his Special Comments are a bit over-the-top, and that he is not as old-school impartial as he should be, I think all these devices are necessary in this age of Corporate Conservative Networks. (You can read those initials any way you like.) Call it Product Differentiation.

But as I watch Olbermann dig into bu$h's actions concerning his precious little War and discuss "the surge" with his analysts, I am fascinated by his apparent lack of curiosity about The Money.

Keith. Sweetheart. Chickie-baby! You seem so PUZZLED over what could be driving a politician to press ahead with such an unpopular and misguided course in the face of what can only be called overwhelming opposition. So riddle me this:

WHY would bu$h risk his cherished "legacy," :rofl: the future of the Republic Pate, and his vaunted Political Capital on such a LOSING proposition as the War On Iraq? Hell, man, it's got to be ABOUT THE MONEY!

The only POSSIBLE answer for such a suicidal course as the Boy King has set for us all is that it's making a few people OBSCENELY WEALTHY. ER. Why don't you--not to mention the sniveling cowards at the other networks who couldn't even carry your glasses--ask about THE MONEY?!?! If you're going to do such a fine, cutting-edge broadcast night after night after night, shouldn't you have stumbled upon the topic of THE MONEY by now?

It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that MSNBC's parent corporation, General Electric, is making MONEY off of war materiel, WOULD IT? If you are, indeed, wearing this gag, can't you find a subtle way to tip us to it? You know, Morse Code eye blinks or selective Capitalization of letters in the on-screen graphics?

For Goddess' sake, man, FOLLOW THE MONEY awhile!

:argh:
dbt
Remember New Orleans

[ray of light]

1. you clearly feel strongly about this so why not write to him and ask him

to cover it.

[dbt]

7. J'ever write to a TV show?

"Thank you for taking the time to send us your comments about (product name here). While we cannot answer individual emails, please be assured that we value your opinions on the vital issues of the day, and we will carefully consider them in the decision-making process."

The replies from the TV shows and print media to which I have written over the years all bear a frightening resemblance to the graf above. The only thing more vapid than a reply from the Corporate Media is one from Blanche Lincoln (DINO-Arkansas).

Perhaps Olbermann's people read DU...

[Cassandra]

8. You can email Keith directly.

As far as I know, he does read his email, although you may not get a response.

[bunny planet]

26. Olbermann's people definitely read DU

and the letters we write to him.
I suspect that the reason he doesn't follow the money story, because he is certainly bright and aware of its existence, is because he works for GE, one of the defense contractors cleaning up in this war. He's been given the go ahead to skewer 'Mr. Bush' and he does go after Halliburton on occasion, but I suppose there is a limit as to what KO will ultimately be sanctioned to cover. He has had the filmmaker of 'Iraq for Sale' on his program and had a respectful, informative interview with him, which is more than any other program has done

[SpiralHawk]

2. "All your government money are belong to us." - BushCo Republicon cronies

"War profiteering is good. Too bad about your sons and daughters in (sneer) uniform."

- Dick 'Five Deferments' Cheney

[Wetzelbill]

35. holy your subject line is hilarious

but the Cheney stuff about makes me want to cry. :)

[mirandapriestly]

38. LOL!..eom

[lapfog_1]

3. you made a fatal assumption

you are trying to ascribe logical actions to someone who clearly has lost whatever handle he had on logic.
For bush, it may NOT be about the oil or the money (those are the things that the puppet masters desire). Bush, otoh does not need any such reasoning... you see, he talks with God and decides things.

[exlrrp]

40. Stupid is forever

I don't think its about the money for George BUsh now, he has always had all the access to money he wanted or needed and always will have.
I think staying in Iraq his way is about power and the use of it, money's just a side issue. Its about Bush's (and Cheney's) world view and about putting their agenda across. I think BUsh is sincere in thinking HIS way is the only right way--that IS what he thinks ( I think Cheney is a little more understanding of reality and consequences--and defends against them better than Bush does)
George Bush and his people aren't going to hand over power on ANY issue to the opposition. Whats going to be interesting is to watch the Republicans deconstruct their "Unitary Excutive" line once a Democrat gets elected.

[rox63]

4. He may not be allowed by MSNBC to cover that angle

because they are owned by GE, a major war profiteer.

[Binka]

24. BINGO!

Can't expose all that dirty money being made by the boss.

[catzies]

32. Which proves that it's true.

Or is that a logical fallacy? I forget.

[madokie]

5. its all about the money no doubt

If there is one thing I have learned in life it is, when someone gets their grubby hands on your money it is almost impossible to get the money back.

[KharmaTrain]

6. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple

TV is a visual medium...pictures truly say 1,000 or more words and this is what this medium does so well. "Shock & Awe" sure looked "nifty" on TV and had a lot more of an impact there than the press accounts. Inversely, stories like the Libby trial and more complex issues that require more than a viceral explanation do poorly on TV and thrive in the written medium...especially the internet.

Olbermann speaks regularly of how he tries to balance the heavy with the light...a way to attract eyeballs that don't usually watch cable news...a younger audience that it is assumed wants more visual than conceptual. If anything, Olbermann rejected the simplicity of cable news when he walked away during the Lewinski mess and Countdown has enabled him to cover a wide range of issues without getting bogged down in the tedium that many other shows ends up getting into...and taking themselves way to seriously. Ya checked out Paula Zahn lately? Not many others have either.

Remember, many of us have a laundry list of crimes this regime have committed and are fully convinced of their corruption and criminality. There is still a large portion of this country that is starting to realize how bad things have gotten and have had to be led slowly to this point...Countdown is a great "gateway" for those who sense something isn't right.

The money is a tricky topic to cover. Honestly, how many financial scandals over the years have the media been able to cover properly? It's too complicated...and be assured that the smoke screen this regime used to cover its no-bid contracts are so full of legal mumbo jumbo it'd make Jonathan Turley's hair go straight. My hopes are that folks like Henry Waxman and the various prosecutors investigating crimes will work quietly and thoroughly...and that ensuing law suits will root out the rest of the profiteers.

[bonito]

9. I'm recommending this It IS all about the MONEY

Kickbacks and bribes aka political donations that has turned politicians against the country by fighting illegal war and running it to financial ruin.

[Az]

10. Its not about the money

You don't need to look to money to understand the BoyKings machinations. Its about power. NeoCon power.

With the loss of the house and senate the republicans and the NeoCons have in a sense been freed. Now anything that goes wrong can be spun onto the Dems. This means that they can go ahead with their most grandiose plans no matter what the public reaction.

See the NeoCons believe that society requires strong visionary leadership that will do what the public needs not what they want. They believe that once the public sees the strength of their convictions and the results of their heroic conquest it will turn the tide of opinion.

Conversely they see backing down as death. You can't sell a vision by backing away from adversity. So the idea of backing away from Iraq is simply not part of their plan. The NeoCons have exposed too much to risk to back down now. They are in it all or nothing.

[bananarepublican]

37. Who is funding the neocons? The neocons have delivered a great...

... Return-On-Investment(ROI)!!!

What about all those put options placed just a few days before 911? Who funded both sides at Waterloo?

Was it Cindy Lauper who had a hit called "Money... money isn't everything"? Maybe a more accurate title would have been, "Money, money is almost everything"!

P.S. Over half a billion bucks was made on Wall Street back in '63 due to prior knowledge of JFK's assassination.

[davhill]

11. The Money May not be there Much Longer

I think even the corporate giants are starting to do cost benefit analysis on this war. They are starting to realize that their war profits may not be worth much if the dollar tanks because of Bush's insane borrowing to finance it. Witness more and more conservative pundits and politicians coming out against the war. More and more large donations going to Democrats. Humanity may not be important to them but their bottom line is.

[xchrom]

12. it's about the money all right --

it's about debt too -- money that isn't there.

money that we're going to have to put out for how long? -- to pay for this war.

money that will be denied to other services{could they have designed this better?} -- aids, the poor, public housing, roads -- money that goes to pay for this war effort isn't available for other things.

and won't considering the debt and deficit we're building.

[Red Zelda]

13. Exactly right!

With the amount of money dumped on Iraq, we should have been able to carpet Mars.
And it's all been stolen.
Nice news media, huh?

[seabeyond]

14. ran across a thread mentioning, olberman talking about the money

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x3129344

This is an incomplete and out of context comment made by Keith Olbermann. Here is what he actually said.

"Your second accomplishment, sir, is to have taken money out of the pockets of every American, even out of the pockets of the dead soldiers on the battlefield and their families, and to have given that money to the war profiteers. Because if you sell the Army a thousand Humvees, you can't sell them any more until the first thousand have been destroyed, can you? The service men and women are ancillary to the equation. This is about the planned obsolescence of ordnance, isn't it, Mr. Bush? And the building of detention centers? And the design of a $125 million courtroom complex at Gitmo, complete with restaurants. At least the war profiteers have made their money, sir."

[ProfessorPlum]

23. I immediately thought of that quote from KO's

special comment. He does indeed seem to be following the money.

[truedelphi]

31. You are quoting from an evening of his

I must have missed.

What a quote. What a concept. Thanks for putting it up on the board for me to copy.

I am continually stunned by Keith.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. 'Why We Fight'

If you haven't seen this movie, GO SEE IT!!

It explains a lot.

[tecelote]

16. You are right...

If the actions of our President seem confusing, stop looking at the war through moral or ethical eyes. Think business.

Bush's interests are commercial. War is his business. He is definitely the CEO of America. If you look at what he is doing from a business perspective, then it all makes sense.

Troop Surge = Higher War Profits.

By prolonging the war and supporting the war profiteering, Bush is shifting the wealth in America from left to right. He is taking from the Middle Class and giving to the Elite. He is making America a Right Wing Radical Christian Nation.

God told him to do it.

[WinkyDink]

17. The winners are ALREADY "OBSCENELY WEALTHY". THAT is why they have the influence

that they have.
What they want now, besides EVERY LAST DIME on the planet, is POWER.

[frogcycle]

18. 100% on target

you point out the exact thing I have been harping on for the past couple of years. As bad as the visible manifestations of the MACHINE are - bush, cheney, and the rest, the real evil, the real enemy, is the vast "militaryindustrial complex" Ike warned us of, with perhaps an update to include big oil in the REAL axis of evil. This Al Queda-like network of worshippers of self-enrichment is the enemy we really face. It was behind starting VN (LBJ: "I'll give you your war"); brought in Nixon to keep it going when LBJ got cold feet; when he screwed the pooch it found a new lackey in Reagan, who gave it Star Wars, Iran/Contra...

It responded to Clinton's election with a two-pronged approach to attempt to cripple him while grooming a new lackey by getting him elected Texas governor.

This is NOT just a series of politicians we don't like. It is a coordinated decades-long program to achieve wealth for the inner circle at the expense of the rest of the worlds population. It is multinational.

That is why bush doesn't care what the polls say. He has his deal with the devil, and he's not about to do what LBJ did and cave in.

This is why, in my opinion, we absolutely must find a leader for "our side" who really gets it. One who can comprehend the complexity of the looming threat and mount a systematic campaign to get at the root cause, not just a few symptoms. One who has demonstrated the intellectual capacity and commitment to see it through to save the planet. One with experience in government at the national and international level, with a relationship with many world leaders who will be needed as allies in this REAL "war on terror."

Need I say more?

[frogcycle]

19. more...

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/frogcycle/1

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/frogcycle/3

[DemReadingDU]

21. Sen Byron Dorgan's book is excellent!

Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America

http://www.amazon.com/Take-This-Job-Ship-Brain-Dead/dp/031235522X



It is quite an eyeful into the ongoing corruption and fraud between Big business and these politicians.

[earth mom]

20. This country is in a Class War.

No one is going to mention it-Not Olbermann, Not Congress, Not even Oprah who did a show on class recently! :wtf:

Those people can't and won't talk about money and profits and the untrammeled greed of the rich because they themselves are rich and are directly or indirectly profiting from it and you, me, ALL OF US! :grr:

[bluedeminredstate]

22. Don't forget Poppy's "interests" will make Bush richer

What the media has really never mentioned is the direct financial gain that Bush himself stands to gain from this war. Poppy and his Carlyle buddies are making TONS of money through their ownership of various domestic security companies as well as weapons manufacturers that feed the war machine. That money will be inherited by Bush and his siblings in order to continue the dynasty, and it will be A LOT of money. With no inheritance tax if the Chimperor has his way - yet another of his policies that benefits him directly.

Remember Hillary and the law firm records? The press were like sharks at the smell of blood and there was nothing there. In this case, the questions practically write themselves, but our WH press corps and the normally chatty pundits remain mute.

:mad:

[Beelzebud]

25. If he did that he'd end up like Howard Beale in the movie Network.

"You have mettled with the forces of nature! And you SHALL ATONE!"

[Orsino]

27. Unfortunately, Big Money pays Keith's salary.

I admire him greatly, but it is simply not possible for him to see beyond his wealth with perfect clarity. He will be useful in removing a lot of corrupt figures from power, but his essential blindness to your key point will help ensure that they are replaced by others who are not so very different.

When the myriad figures who articulated similar views years earlier are heard as widely as Olbermann, then we can expect significant change.

It is indeed the money. Recommended.

[Raster]

28. GE: We bring good things to war!!!

[Berry Cool]

29. Honestly, I don't know where some of you have been

that you got the notion that Keith doesn't "follow the money" or "doesn't know it's all about the money" or "doesn't talk about the money" or "is scared to talk about the money because of his GE overlords" or "won't talk about it because he's rich and doesn't care" or whatever.

I watch his show all the time, and he's ALWAYS talking about the money. In fact, "Follow the money" is one of his favorite phrases. I can't even count the number of times he's mentioned all the defense contractors connected to this administration who are raking in bucks from this war. GE doesn't try to prevent him from doing so, and he's not so stupid he doesn't see the connection, either.

It's wrong to assume that Keith is baffled that Bush goes stubbornly on doing what he's doing because "he doesn't know it's all about the money." No, Keith doesn't get why Bush goes stubbornly onward because if it were HIM being told by everyone except his inner circle of cronies and a few die-hards that he had made a huge mistake and he should stop and turn around, HE would. It amazes him that someone else in a similar position would not--despite whatever profits he had to make from it.

If Keith didn't already know a long time ago how much of it is about money--AND power AND a "legacy" (ha!)--he'd have to be either stupid or corrupt. And I honestly don't think he deserves either charge.

[bettyellen]

30. Wow, how many people here agree without actually knowing if this OP is total bullshit?

why don;t you guys check the archives or watch the show regularly before making foolish assumptions?
This should be yanked from the greatest page by a very embarrassed Original Poster.....

[DearAbby]

33. B*shit represents his real Base.

I had heard that Leahy is writing legislation about war profiteering. Those of B*shit's real base.

[Contrite]

34. Even more important

is WHOSE money

[Beam Me Up]

36. Good. Point.

[orleans]

39. of course it's about the money. and of course it's never mentioned

because of fucking ge

keith does what he can. and he's done a lot. and i am thankful for all he has done & given to the public. too bad there aren't more like him.