Current TV Dismisses Keith Olbermann

This trend of being fired from network after network gotten pretty laughable, talk about being your own worse enemy:

It began with some lighting problems in his Countdown digs, and ended, today, with Keith Olbermann‘s firing by Current TV for what sources close to the situation say is “serial, material breach of contract.”


Olbermann, for his part, says the claims against him by Current are “untrue,” and that he plans to sue. He’s currently engaged in a Twitter tirade against Current executives Joel Hyatt and former VP Al Gore.


Olbermann was fired via a written letter delivered Thursday morning to Nick Khan, agent for Mr. Olbermann, and the source says that the decision “reflected a unanimous agreement amongst the senior management” at Current TV, based on ”Mr. Olbermann’s serial, material breach of his contract, including the failure to show up at work (Unauthorized Absences); sabotaging the network (Failure To Promote); and attacking Current and its executives (Disparagement).”


Current executives fired Olbermann because “Mr. Olbermann did not respect the viewers of Current, as he was contractually obligated to do so; and did not support what Current is trying to do when it comes to being a progressive media platform at a time of major corporate consolidation of media properties per his contract,” the source says.


Olbermann released a statement disputing Current’s version of events, but note the parsing:(emphasis mine)


I’d like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV.


Editorially, Countdown had never been better. But for more than a year I have been imploring Al Gore and Joel Hyatt to resolve our issues internally, while I’ve been not publicizing my complaints, and keeping the show alive for the sake of its loyal viewers and even more loyal staff. Nevertheless, Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt, instead of abiding by their promises and obligations and investing in a quality news program, finally thought it was more economical to try to get out of my contract.


It goes almost without saying that the claims against me implied in Current’s statement are untrue and will be proved so in the legal actions I will be filing against them presently. To understand Mr. Hyatt’s “values of respect, openness, collegiality and loyalty,” I encourage you to read of a previous occasion Mr. Hyatt found himself in court for having unjustly fired an employee. That employee’s name was Clarence B. Cain.


In due course, the truth of the ethics of Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt will come out. For now, it is important only to again acknowledge that joining them was a sincere and well-intentioned gesture on my part, but in retrospect a foolish one. That lack of judgment is mine and mine alone, and I apologize again for it.


Olbermann may disagree with the way Current has characterized their philosophical differences (disrespecting viewers, for example), but their factual claims about him missing work are pretty tough to argue with. In January and February, he missed 19 out of 41 working days, including the nights of the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary. At around $50K per show, that’s almost $2 million worth of “bronchitis.”


At least two of those absences appear to have occurred with little or no notice, and according to this source, no authorization. On March 5, Current ran a two-hour version of The War Room with Jennifer Granholm from 8-10 pm, and on March 9, a two-hour episode of The Young Turks. Olbermann’s requests for time off came with insufficient notice to find a replacement.


According to our source, on February 27, after missing almost half of his scheduled shows at that point in 2012, Olbermann asked for a vacation day on March 5, the night before Super Tuesday – one of the most significant news evenings of the entire campaign. Olbermann was told it would be a breach if he took it – and, nonetheless, he took it.


Olbermann’s threat of legal action, especially given the above facts, figures to be posturing similar to previous threats to sue, among others, Tucker Carlson, which never came to fruition.


Since Olbermann’s troubles with the network began to surface late last year, I’ve been in touch with various sources at Current TV, who have all along expressed admiration for Olbermann’s talent, and a desire to accommodate him whenever possible. The attendance hiccups were treated sort as “Keith being Keith.”


As the network’s marquee talent, they seemed to have little choice but to put up with it, but it’s my sense that Olbermann’s growing rebellion, coupled with the network’s increased confidence in the rest of its slate, finally precipitated this action. While Olbermann’s ratings have been, by far, Current’s best, the show has generally not suffered steep declines under guest hosts, and the performance of The Young Turks has been impressive, actually delivering Olbermann a host of new, younger viewers at 8 o’clock. Olbermann’s departure (he’s being replaced by Eliot Spitzer) will certainly mean some major rethinking by the network.


In any case, a tentpole that’s never there can’t hold up much of anything.

RELATED: Breaking: Current TV “terminates relationship” with Olbermann, replaces him with … Eliot Spitzer; Update: Olby regrets joining Current, vows “legal actions” against it

Dumb Black Liberal Race-Baiter Spike Lee Tweets Wrong Address Of Trayvon Martin's Killer

CNN.com:

The first hint something was amiss was the knock on the door from a television reporter.


Elaine McClain and her husband, David McClain, of Sanford, Florida, were not expecting a journalist to drop by looking for George Zimmerman, the man who says he fatally shot an unarmed teenager in self-defense.


The death of Trayvon Martin has sparked strong reactions across the country, and those sentiments made their way to the unassuming McClains.


The next day, a letter arrived with "Taste the rainbow" written on the envelope in felt-tip pen.


That is the slogan for Skittles candy. When he was shot, Martin was carrying Skittles candy and a can of iced tea he had purchased from a nearby convenience store.


The letter was followed by a parade of reporters arriving at the McClains' home. Only then, Elaine McClain said, did she and her husband learn that director Spike Lee had retweeted a message to his 250,000 followers with the couple's address, identifying it as George Zimmerman's home.


The McClains have a son whose middle name is George and whose last name is Zimmerman, but he has no connection with the controversy. After the tweets, with hate mail arriving and strangers with microphones knocking on the door, the McClains left their house for a hotel.


Lee apologized on Twitter to the couple and asked people to leave them in peace, and on Thursday, Elaine McClain said, Lee called her and gave a sincere apology.


Lee also told her he would pay the couple's cost of having to leave their home, Elaine McClain said.


The family's attorney, Matt Morgan, said Lee reached an agreement with the couple.


"The McClains are relieved that this matter is now behind them," Morgan said. "We had a very sincere and heartfelt conversation with Mr. Lee today. His apology was genuine and our clients were grateful. We asked Mr. Lee to do the right thing and he did."


The McClains said they were not seeking financial gain from their troubles. David McClain said he simply wants to get his life "back to a rational state."

RELATED: Jon Stewart Goes After Spike Lee Tweet: Even With Right Address, Sending ‘Lynch Mob’ Is ‘Bad Mistake’

Washington Post Declares Rush Limbaugh Boycott Nearly Over, Failed

I'm no big fan of Rush Limbaugh, but anything that beats faux-outrage from the Left (esp. when it involves a leftist smear merchant like Media Matters that engages in nothing but lies, hypocrisy and propaganda) gets my vote:

The effort to boycott advertisers on the Rush Limbaugh radio program appears to be drawing to a close, according to the Washington Post. Limbaugh had sparked the ire of a number of progressive groups for his multi-day attacks on Sandra Fluke for advocating Congress mandate copay-less insurance coverage of birth control and contraceptives. On Wednesday, WaPo’s Paul Farhi declared the boycott on Limbaugh’s advertisers was largely a failure.


“The dark clouds hanging over Rush Limbaugh appear to be lifting,” writes Farhi. “On Monday, the 600 or so radio stations that air Limbaugh’s program were told by his syndicator, Premiere Radio Networks, to resume running “barter” ads during his program.” Clear Channel, Premier’s parent network, had previously suspended barter ads while Limbaugh was in the news.


The boycott was initially successful, forcing fewer than five of Limbaugh’s national advertisers to cease funding the program. However, boycott organizers who claimed that over 100 advertisers dropped Limbaugh’s program were stretching the truth as “some of these companies weren’t regular Limbaugh sponsors in the first place.” Most of the advertisers who opted to drop their ads from Limbaugh’s program were only airing those spots in regional markets.


At the height of the controversy, Limbaugh lost two small syndicated stations in Western Massachusetts and Hawaii. All of the major markets that carry Limbaugh’s program opted to weather the storm – now it seems the clouds are clearing.


The organizers of the boycott effort are not done yet. The liberal group MoveOn.org has organized a petition with SignOn.org which asks for signatures to force Limbaugh’s program off his 180 stations. But with interest in the month-old scandal waning, the likelihood of further success in the “Stop Rush” is in doubt.

RELATED: Limbaugh Advertiser: Coordinated Effort To Ruin My Company Is ‘Internal American Terrorism’

Boy Scouts of America Defeats Philadelphia Gay Mafia

A rare victory for a private group which doesn't want anything to do with an immoral, lifestyle choice that is wrecking civilization as we know it:

The city of Philadelphia must pay nearly $900,000 after a failed effort to evict the Boy Scouts of America over the scout's ban on gays, a judge ruled Wednesday.


The post-trial ruling is just the latest twist in a decade-long legal dispute over the Boy Scout oath, which requires members to be "morally straight."


The two sides have sought a compromise that would let the local Boy Scouts chapter keep its rent-free, city-owned headquarters without violating the national scout policy.


However, a tentative deal struck since the city lost a court case last year has fallen apart. U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter therefore said the city must pay $877,000 for the scouts' legal fees.


The order is a setback for the financially strapped city. City Council passed on a proposed deal to resolve the conflict -- and avoid paying the legal fees -- by selling the scouts the building for $500,000, Mayor Michael Nutter told the Philadelphia Daily News.


"We do not as a city support that kind of behavior," Nutter said Wednesday. "We've tried to take a number of steps to get the Boy Scouts out of a city-related building."


The city insisted at a June 2010 trial that nonprofits given free use of its property must abide by local anti-discrimination laws, which include equal protection for gays. But the jury found the city's reason violated the local scout council's First Amendment rights.


"The city defended this suit in a very principled way," Buckwalter said after the verdict.


The local Cradle of Liberty Council has tried to walk a fine line between appeasing the city, the United Way and other supporters and the Irving, Texas-based Boy Scouts of America.


In 2003, it enacted its own nondiscrimination policy but was forced to repeal it when the Boy Scouts of America ordered it to conform with national rules. The chapter later enacted a statement that says it doesn't tolerate illegal discrimination.


There has been just one known case of a gay scout being ousted from the Philadelphia chapter, although the city argued that more were perhaps scared off by the national policy.

John McCain Calls Obama An ‘Etch A Sketch Leader’ For 'Flexible' Comment

TheHill.com:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) ripped President Obama as "a real 'Etch a Sketch' leader" for suggesting he could switch his policy on missile defense after the election.


In the midst of an often tense discussion between the United States and Russia over plans for a U.S.-led NATO European missile defense system, Obama was heard asking Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for more time on the subject and promising he will have “more flexibility” following the election in November. The comments came across a live mic the two leaders did not appear to realize was on.


"Pres Obama tells Medvedev he'll be more "flexible" on missile defense - that's a real "Etch A Sketch" leader!" McCain tweeted on Monday.


McCain, who is backing Mitt Romney for president in the GOP primary, was referring to comments a Romney adviser made that the GOP presidential candidate could shift his messaging from the GOP primary to the general election like an Etch a Sketch.


Democrats and Republican opponents of Romney pounced on that comment, but Obama on Monday suggested he could also change his position on an issue — after the general election, not a primary.


The hawkish McCain, who is ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has often strongly disagreed with and sometimes personally exchanged barbs with Russia’s prime minister and now President-elect Vladimir Putin. Medvedev, in the overheard conversation, promised to convey Obama’s message to Putin.


Last week, an adviser to the Romney presidential campaign said Mitt Romney could “reset” with voters for the general election if he became the GOP nominee, much “like an Etch A Sketch.” The remark was used as fodder for Romney’s opponents who call him a “flip-flopper” who will “say anything to get elected,” regardless of whether it means changing positions on the issues.

RELATED: Open mic catches Obama asking Russian president for space on missile defense

Politiks As Usual: In The News 3/26/12

U.S. Gives $860,000 To Afghan Families

Health Care Law Brawl Arrives At Supreme Court Steps

The Dark, Intolerant, And Abusive Nature Of The Gay Agenda

Santorum Beats Romney By 22 Points In Louisiana

Cheney Waited Longer Than Average For Heart Transplant

Black Panthers: $10,000 To 'Capture' Trayvon's Killer

John Heilemann: Bush v. Gore Ruling 'Pure Politics and Purely Corrupt'

CBS’s O’Donnell Hits Ryan With White House Talking Points, Then Cues Up Softballs to Schumer

Green Is Taking Us For A Ride

Beware Of The Mob, Hey, Remember When High Gas Prices Were All Bush’s Fault?

Obama Campaign Capitalizes On Foul-mouthed Biden With Profane T-shirts

CNN’s Howard Kurtz On Trayvon Martin: How Can MSNBC Allow Al Sharpton To Cover This?

Mediaite.com:

On CNN’s Reliable Sources today, Howard Kurtz called out MSNBC Anchor Al Sharpton for having it both ways on the Trayvon Martin story: covering it on his program, PoliticsNation, and then being a part of a rally for it in Florida, publicly calling for George Zimmerman to be arrested.


Kurtz first brought up the discrepancy in coverage between Fox News and MSNBC. Derek McGinty, anchor at WUSA9 TV, said he had to argue with people in his newsroom that it was a worthwhile story to cover because “people just want accountability.” The cops not arresting Zimmerman was their obligation under the law, but people still want someone to be held accountable for the actions that took place.


Then Kurtz turned specifically to how Sharpton has been covering the case, describing him as a “major African-American activist in this country.” Kurtz played a series of clips showing Sharpton speaking at the Trayvon Martin rally in Florida, then filming his show near the site of the rally, then speaking again at the rally, effortlessly switching between activist and TV host. Kurtz said that Sharpton was asking people to donate money to the cause, and even went down to the Justice Department with the Martins.


Lauren Ashburn struggled to figure out why Sharpton was allowed to, essentially, cover himself on his own show. She did add that Sharpton has never pretended to be a journalist, and MSNBC knew what they were getting when they hired him as a personality, but Kurtz still thought something smelled rotten at MSNBC.


“It seems to me MSNBC can say, ‘Okay, this is such an important case you can go and be an activist and you won’t do your show on the subject. Or you can do your show on the subject but don’t be standing with the parents at the rally and accompanying them to the Justice Department.’”


Eric Deggans, a media critic for the Tampa Bay Times, said he’s always been concerned with Sharpton’s role at the network, and this particular situation makes things difficult because MSNBC has an obligation to cover the story because it’s news. So having one of their hosts injecting themselves into the story is a problem. Deggans also brought up Zimmerman, and whether he could feel like he could get a fair shake from NBC News or MSNBC if he went on for interviews.

RELATED: Al Sharpton Interviews Trayvon Martin’s Father In Emotionally Gripping Segment