OlberBlogging

A NOTE TO KEITH:

This week’s nastiness with a relatively unknown blogger really pushed your buttons, Keith. I realize those “unscheduled vacation time” canards related to your mother’s passing and your mourning period, not to any Ben Affleck brouhaha. (That any rational person would go ballistic over anything to do with Ben Affleck points to the rumors’ obvious inanity without the need for denial.) Your heart was bleeding  and your detractors’ enjoyed picking at scabs.

While viewers hate any Countdown without you at the helm, why you take a day off — for sniffles, vacation, mental health day, or baseball double header — remains no one’s business but yours (and your employer’s). No explanation necessary. However, fans do worry sometimes, especially after your exploding appendix episode. 

Keith, you did not help yourself this week or in the past when you feed the barracudas. Your angry, distressed and detailed explanation of your recent absences only offered positive reinforcement to the bastards that they can get at you — thus they’ll continue to do so. True, the lies involved your deceased mother, making them much more vicious and vile. And the rumors went viral on the Internet(s) to even usually more respectable blogs, thus shining a brighter light on the attack.

But, Keith, those who know the truth discount such slander. Those who wallow in such filth tune into Faux News and not MSNBC (except, perhaps, to conjure innuendo). Most of your viewers — intelligent, well-read, reasonable folks — ignore that crap. They just don’t care.

When you devote an entire segment to it, regular viewers wonder if they’re watching Countdown, their chosen source for alternative news, or the “Keith Olbermann Show.”  The 60-year-old executive in Seattle doesn’t care if someone accuses you of  tantrums because of a Ben Affleck booking snafu or because you didn’t receive catsup packets with take-out or if you need Viagra in bed. He (and We) just want to hear your and your commentators’ take on current events. 

We do enjoy your swipes at Bill-O and Rupert and Hannity and all the other nimrods in conservative TV and politics — but we never want to see you falling to their level. You may be the one who cannot be named on “The Factor,” but do you really need to feel compelled to explain yourself to them?

Keith, the goons attack you for several reasons:

First, your reputation proceeds you. In earlier days (even during your illustrious SportsCenter career and your earlier incarnation at MSNBC)) you were an admitted jerk. You treated folks vulgarly. You did huff off the set. You threw tantrums. You may have changed, you may not have. After all, telling Morning Joe to “get a shovel” during campaign coverage tended to be wonderfully apropos but terribly ill timed. Unfortunately, boorishness creates long memories and rehabilitation too often relapses.

Next, you speak truth to power. Your Special Comments really impacted both the Bush Administration and the 2008 presidential campaign. You constantly poke Bill-O, GOPers, the bureaucracy and other idiots who legitimately deserve it. They want revenge. They want you silenced. So, they attack where you are vulnerable, hoping they not only wound you personally but professionally as well.

And, you pick your fights. You refuted those accusations about travel tantrums, catsup malfunctions, vacation time questions, nepotism concerning Katy, but not those involving treatment of your staff, illicit love affairs, etc. Therefore, the gossip rags and blogsters can infer from THAT silence such allegations, in fact, are true. Because, were they not, you would have heatedly rebuked them on Countdown or elsewhere as you do the catsup and vacation diatribes. Such inconsistency harms you.

Ironically, you should have remained silent on all these slights, regardless of  how much they hurt you or others. By mentioning them on Countdown, Daily KOS or in e-mail statements, you acknowledged them, handed critics a victory and worst of all, provided validity to all those Page Six and blog attacks that you previously failed to denounce.

As a former public affairs person with experience in issues management, I advise you to just remain silent on all these smears from here on out. Unless they truly are libelous or slanderous to cause you definitive profession or personal harm, ignore them. Keep silent on all gossip. Do not let your critics (on TV, in cyberspace or in politics) discover what pushes your buttons. When they do, they can control you. They can influence what you say and what you do. Never allow them that power over you.

Stay silent when they start stupid rumors about your work relationships. Let NBC Universal deal with them if they impact the Countdown/Olbermann franchise. If asked to comment, simply say, “Not true.” If rumors are true, let NBC media relations issue appropriate statements. 

Your critics will become angry. So, they will turn their attacks on those innocents close to you including Katy and your family. Again, keep silent. If asked to comment just say, “This accusation is about me not about my family. Leave them out of it. They are private citizens.” Then, if those creeps continue to attack your family, your loved ones have legal grounds to seek action without involving you.

You take this too personally. And the bullies win. 

A NOTE TO OLBERBLOGGING READERS:

You probably noticed that OlberBlogging postings have become rather thin of late. I apologize if I disappoint. Readership stats that once ranked around 300 per week (with an outstanding 500-600 weekly hits once or twice) now tumble to the double digits. 

I never planned to host a blog about Keith Olbermann. Becky, mistress of the late and legendary Either Relevant or True blog, asked me to contribute one post a week. Instead, I turned her down citing concerns about commitment to such a recurring responsibility. I didn’t know when I had it easy.

Then, ERT folded. Not only did I feel immense guilt for not donating a small segment of my time to such a wonderful blog, but I faced the loss of my Keith Olbermann fandom favorite. Where would I turn to gab about KO with such a great community of like-minded, intelligent and, most of all, sane folks? Because when I assume guilt, I also feel compelled to fix things, I decided to resurrect ERT in OlberBlogging form.

If I thought that a mere single weekly post on ERT posed a staggering personal commitment, I never envisioned the encumbrance a DAILY blog entails! Nor did I realize how such a commitment would commendeer my life.  While I religiously watched Countdown in the past, as the Olberblogger I found I had to listen with a third ear as well as take notes on both the telecast content and possible screen shots for the blog. Often times, I replayed the podcasts or on-line segments to reconfirm a statement, quote or impression. Frequently, I referred to the transcript to get spelling or context correct. Until Diogenes2008 came to the rescue, finding, capturing and editing screen shots took at least an hour for each post.

Keith writes with such literary excellence, and as a “professional” writer myself, I wanted OlberBlogging to reflect creative, correct and clever writing as well. Thus, each blog took several hours to write and edit (and still the typos, grammar and syntax errors abound). Add that to the daily struggles with the vagaries of WordPress mechanics and with the necessary censorship of certain comments, I estimate I consumed nearly 15-20 hours each week OlberBlogging.

My OlberBlogging schedule wreaked havoc on my family as well. Dinner waited until 8 p.m. (CT) after the Countdown telecast. Often we resorted to fast and fatty take-out foods. My triglycerides levels have since tripled, for which I directly blame Keith.

My volunteer obligations meant I often delayed OlberBlogging until the next afternoon, so I ended up posting the previous night’s review just in time for the next day’s watercooler highlights. I seemed to always be Counting up, not down. I often prayed that KO would hit the stadium instead of the studio so I could get a vacation day, too.

Even when Samantha, Judith Marie and Diogenes2008 (aka Leesa)…offered much needed relief. I still felt I spent more of my time and energy involved with Keith Olbermann’s life than my own.

I let one blog, my Winking Buddha Blog, languish. For more than a year, I planned to start a new blog about animal cognition called Argos’ Memories which remains in the “coming soon” phase. I’ve started a poetry blog, Poetweetry: The Nexus of Poetry and Twitter where I attempt to create poems in 140 characters or less on Twitter in order to nurture my neglected literary talents. I have several assigned articles with standby deadlines still in outline form.

I also heard the call of the wild. Many ERT readers may recall that I spent last summer talking with chimpanzees who communicate in American Sign Language. Last week I trained to become certified in marine mammal rehabilitation. Currently, I’m “babysitting” a rehabbing juvenile dolphin down in Galveston three days a week (extremely interesting and when Toby gets playful, much fun). I also want to help with wolf socialization at a nearby sanctuary. 

Because of the priorities of my life, Keith must go on without me, or at least less of me. I would like to hear comments by OlberBlogging readers about whether they want me to end this blog outright, post important stories only occasionally, or put up a weekly “comment” blog and allow YOU to “write” the blog via comment section. Other ideas are welcomed as well.

Please discuss (i.e. comment among yourselves).  Based on what you decide, I will either continue OlberBlogging, albeit in extremely abbreviated and irregular form, or let the blog lapse.

THANK YOU!!

I do want to thank all those who have supported and helped me with OlberBlogging. First, Samantha, Judith Marie (aka Rafi’s Mom) and Leesa for helping with posts and pictures.  A special shout-out to  Anneli who regularly comments from Norway. Thanks to ERT founder Becky for her ongoing support, advice and hand-holding as well as ERT alum Chicating for frequent comments. Thanks, too, to Tory for her support, interest and unfortunate short-lived friendship. 

Thanks as well to Craig Crawford and Chris Cillizza for participating on our very fun and successful First and Last “Countdown Favorite Pundit Poll.” Their good spirit resulted in a $200 donation to the Houston SPCA.  Take that Sean Hannity. Also, a shout-out to Chris Hayes who turned to OlberBlogging for fashion advice.

And, of course, thank you to Keith Olbermann and all our readers who truly made OlberBlogging possible.

Best Wishes and Peace,

The Olberblogger