EPISODE 164: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) Actually I have answers to this. Conflicting reports that the Manhattan District Attorney's Grand Jury looking into the Stormy Daniels payoff will be off until tomorrow - or next week. Either way, this likely has less to do with Trump or Pecker or Trump's Pecker, and more to do with the fact that the jurors have actual lives. There is good news from Special Counsel Jack Smith's Grand Jury in Washington: Mike Pence must testify after all (with limited exclusions). But does anybody remember that there's a THIRD Grand Jury out there? Anyone? Bueller?

B-Block (14:00) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Marjorie Barney Rubble Greene can't understand why Twitter suspended her just because she spat on the dead of Nashville by calling the shooting "the threat of Antifa driven trans-terrorism; and Dominion Voting System has just a few names on its witness list include multiple anchors and multiple Murdochs. (17:28) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Senator Tommy Tuberville is holding up military promotions cuz abortion and the top two REPUBLICANS on the Armed Services Committee are mad as hell about it. The head of the Chicago police union, who has been suspended for misconduct eight different times, threatens voters with "blood in the streets" if they vote for the black guy for Mayor; and Congressman Byron Donalds condescendingly dismisses the possible ban of the AR-15 Death Machine and the children it murdered as "politics."

C-Block (24:25) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: As Baseball's Opening Day looms, time to go back to a simpler, gentler era when a big league manager could lock his entire team in the trainers' room so that there wouldn't be a soul in the clubhouse and that would teach the obnoxious young anchor of SportsCenter a lesson. Me and Buck Showalter - 1993.

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EPISODE 163: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) The apparent final witness who could get Donald Trump arrested for paying off Stormy Daniels is named Pecker. DAVID Pecker, former publisher of the National Inquirer and the middleman in the Catch-and-Kill process by which Trump buried his infidelity problem before the 2016 election, returned to Alvin Bragg's Manhattan Grand Jury to confirm a) Trump paid her off and b) Trump knew it was done to influence the outcome of the election. 

Silence out of the Special Counsel's office; Trump slammed on Fox and Fox Business for his Waco speech; and why Trump's history with Mike Tyson explains Trump's cult unshakable adherence to him even though he's such a putz.

B-Block (15:38) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Was turmoil in Israel quieted or worsened when the Prime Minister said he was staving off a "civil war"? The far right calls the Nashville shooting a false flag - until the shooter was ID'd as Trans and that became their only headline. (19:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD:

C-Block (26:15) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: The whole crowd at New York Bully Crew needs our donations - they're out of food (27:15) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Newly recovered from an archaeological dig in my storage unit: the ORIGINAL unedited copy of the greatest TV sports outtake of all time: Gary Miller's SOCCER BREAKDOWN.

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EPISODE 162: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) Special Counsel Jack Smith is reportedly constructing a conspiracy charge - Conspiracy To Obstruct A Congressional Proceeding - against Trump. CBS News reported this once, buried it, doesn't seem to realize what it has.

If the charge hangs off the statute 18 US Code 1512 (c) (2) it carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, and Robert Costa reported Smith is "looking into a possible conspiracy case against Trump and people around him trying to block the Congressional proceedings on January 6th" and says witnesses "are being asked about what kind of NATIONAL SECURITY LEVERS Trump was asking about in those final days." And Smith's other primary investigation - the Classified Documents Trump stole and were found at Mar-a-Lago - are still very much in play.

Meanwhile back at the ranch: Trump has now made all three possible statements about his possible indictment in the Stormy Daniels case: A) He's Being Arrested B) The Case Has Been Dismissed C) He Really Doesn't Have Any Idea. And Stormy Daniels herself breaks a MAGA critic in half. The MAGA-splainer tweets Trump wouldn't touch Daniels with a 10-foot pole; she slams back: no, he did it with a 3-inch pole. Which circles back neatly to the idea that Trump could go to jail with his national defense lever in his hand.

B-Block (15:37) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Israel falls apart and 16% of the nation protests fascist changes there; pay attention, we may have to protest this way here. And Elon Musk has only lost $24,000,000,000 on Twitter in five months but he can make it up if everybody buys a $7 checkmark. EVERYBODY. (21:10) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Marsha Blackburn attacks Democrats for trying to "ban" everything. She's tried to ban at least 7 things in the last two years; The John Fetterman's Been Replaced By A Body Double conspirators get a tremendous disappointment as Facts ruin their fun. And this is 57-dimensional chess: You know what the Russian Sputnik Covid vaccine was for? To put chips in Russians so they can be targeted by...American missiles? Huh?

C-Block (26:40) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY (27:40) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: I can tell you from my own experience - four different times - that there's nothing fake about receiving "fake anthrax" in the mail, as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did Friday after Trump's threat of "death and destruction."

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EPISODE 161: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) If I told you Donald Trump was an "animal" who "should be removed immediately;" If I told you Trump was "doing...the work of the devil;" If I told you Trump was destroying our country "as they tell US to be peaceful;" If I showed you two pictures, one of Trump and - next to it - one of me holding a baseball bat, about to swing it, posed exactly as was Robert DeNiro portraying Al Capone in "The Untouchables" just before he beat another character to death WITH a baseball bat; If I showed you 30 other social media posts I had made in just 24 hours, each of them filled with threatening and violent and hateful language about Trump, what would you think I was TELLING you? What would you THINK I was hoping you would DO?

Donald Trump is a stochastic terrorist.

He used stochastic terrorism to get somebody to attack the FBI after the Mar-a-Lago search and within days a man breached a local FBI headquarters to try to kill FBI agents. He used stochastic terrorism to get others to commit the insurrection of January 6. He used stochastic terrorism to inspire somebody to attack Democrats in 2018 and Cesar Sayoc sent out 12 liberals and he had a second list in his computer and I know because I was on it. 

Trump is not just committing stochastic terrorism, he knows he is doing it, because it has worked for him, so well, and so often.

Arrest him, today. And he has openly threatened four prosecutors and countless journalists and witnesses. He must not only be arrested - he must NOT be granted bail.

B-Block (17:00) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The judge may order Rupert Murdoch to testify in the Fox/Dominion defamation case; a NEW defamation case may be filed against Tucker Carlson; Ron DeSantis comes out in favor of immediately eliminating The New York Post and all of conservative media (20:01) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: You're going to CHARGE for Apple TV Baseball? After what it sounded like LAST year? A dishonest media attack on Alvin Bragg. And the Congressman who wants to stop The Biden Student Debt Relief program insisting "debt can not be forgiven" - after he filed for bankruptcy FIVE TIMES.

C-Block (25:30) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Lace, on death row in New York (26:30) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: Please meet Muggs - "The Dog That Bit People."

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EPISODE 160: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: The Stormy Daniels Grand Jury reconvenes at mid-day Thursday amid a reporting consensus that one last witness will be heard, to rebut the pro-Trump attorney Robert Costello who appeared Monday. But nobody is certain if that will be a Michael Cohen redux or an entirely new witness (CNN even threw out the name Stormy Daniels). So far Costello's main contributions have been the standard Trump hyperbole about "600 pages of evidence the DA has hidden" (almost none of which seems to have any relevance to the Daniels payoff) and one of the great malapropisms of the Trump era. Costello insists he "threw a wrench into their monkey works" - which isn't a thing.

The Grand Jury is not expected to do anything but hear testimony so an indictment would seem to shift to next week. But so far everything that seemed logical has proved not to be the case.

Happily, the Special Counsel's push to erase Attorney-Client privilege for Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran seems to be clarifying nicely. Trump lost his appeal, seems out of position to go further up the food chain. which means that Corcoran will have to answer six lines of questioning, all of which mainlines back to whether Trump knew that the "certification document" Corcoran wrote and Christina Bobb signed last spring was going to falsely declare that Trump had returned all the Classified Documents he stole. THIS prosecution remains on course and on schedule - unless somebody throws... a monkey into the wrench works.

B-Block (15:23) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Ted Cruz and the others who insisted DirecTV was censoring NewsMax when it was actually about money, now STILL insist it was censorship even after a dollar compromise has been reached. MSNBC follows CNN in a sudden lurch to the right as Ari Melber stands up for absolutely nothing and "welcomes" John Kasich as a paid contributor. And the Michigan GOP gets a new "Possession can be transmitted by Sex With Demons" chair and a month later they're tweeting memes of the wedding rings of thousands of Holocaust victims. (21:27) IN SPORTS: Sports Illustrated declares that local sportscasters - once gods in human form - are now dead. Not only did I used to be one of them but I wrote a piece predicting this day...in 1992!

C-Block (34:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Speaking of local sportscasting: the greatest scoop I ever got while doing it was one where my only real effort was answering the phone from tipsters half a dozen times. The tale of breaking the Wayne Gretzky Trade.

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EPISODE 159: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: Apparently it's the 12 DAYS of Trumpmas: the Judge who was supervising Special Counsel Jack Smith's Grand Jury wrote that Smith had presented prima facie evidence "that the former president had committed criminal violations" and the documents - and NOTES OF AUDIO RECORDINGS - she ordered Trump's attorney to turn over to Smith were part of Trump's "criminal scheme." 

And all this has NOTHING to do with the Stormy Daniels story. But per The New York Times, Trump, in his madness, "has told friends and associates that he welcomes the idea of being paraded by the authorities before a throng of reporters and news cameras. He has even mused openly about whether he should smile for the assembled media... and is said to have described the potential spectacle as A FUN EXPERIENCE."

Norma Desmond Trump is ready for his close-up, Mr. D.A. DeMille!

B-Block (20:00) IN SPORTS: It was the greatest performance in basketball history, and he only scored 4 points during it. New York Knicks legend Willis Reed, who won the 1970 NBA title virtually only by showing up, has died. And ESPN has parted ways with the executive who did the most to direct SportsCenter away from what the audience wanted. (26:10) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The U.S. government is terrified of Elon Musk's foreign partners and might yet step in to end his ownership of twitter, while somebody FINALLY asks Rep. James Comer about his college girlfriend's allegation that he beat her and threatened her life - and he confesses to leaking damaging emails about the blogger who first reported the story!

C-Block (32:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Moose Tracks, on death row in New York (33:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It was Episode 7 of Aaron Sorkin's "Newsroom" and Jeff Daniels said one line - and every one of my old girlfriends contacted me and said "Wait. Wasn't that what your Dad always said?"

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UPDATE 158: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: What if they gave a Trump Rally and nobody came? It happened, yesterday, at Trump Tower. My exclusive report from the scene as TWO people showed up, 22 showed up downtown, and today's big California rally is scheduled in the parking lot of a Laguna Hills In-N-Out Burger apparently because THE NEAREST FOUR SEASONS TOTAL LANDSCAPING WAS BOOKED.

While the rest of us celebrate the thrilling holiday season before Mugshotmas, the far right continue to act as if the gravity has been turned off in their universe. DeSantis defends Trump; Trump implies he's a pedophile or he's gay. McCarthy insists Trump wants no protests; Trump tries to get New York police to NOT defend anti-Trump residents.

And in the case against those who allegedly defamed on Trump's behalf, as Dominion Voting and Fox go back into a courtroom in Delaware today, the Fox "News" case comes apart. The former producer of Maria Bartiromo's show, now a Tucker Carlson guest booker, says Fox lawyers tried to make her take the fall. She sues them; they try to stop her from testifying against them. But her testimony leaks: she says her bosses called Bartiromo "a crazy b*tch" and Carlson's producer asked if Bartiromo were having an affair with Kevin McCarthy. She also alleges Carlson's staff made jokes about Jews, and conducted a mock debate about who they'd rather sleep with: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer or her challenger Tudor Dixon.

On the other hand: Rupert Murdoch is getting married again, because love means never having to say you're sorry you're 92.

B-BLOCK (15:07) A special summary of 20 years ago as this nation attacked Iraq based on a series of lies by a series of liars named George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld. At this milestone anniversary, liberal media is quite rightly assailed for 'letting it happen.' But I want to give some context for it, especially as one of the few who risked their careers to be anti-war (and my first anti-Iraq War broadcast was in October 2002). I was once almost fired for simply telling the truth about the rescue of Private Jessica Lynch, and I expected to be when I aired the first Special Comment against Iraq and Rumsfeld's attempt to demonize dissent. I'll re-read that commentary, too.

C-BLOCK (34:35) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Fenix in Tennessee (35:32) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: On JULY 2, 1979 I was just a fan in the stands cheering Thurman Munson of the New York Yankees. On AUGUST 2, 1979 I was the anchor on a 1000-station radio network having to cover his sudden death, as it flashed across the wire machine two minutes before my first sportscast.

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EPISODE 157: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41): The "Lock Her Up" Crowd needs to speak to the manager! It thought it made itself perfectly clear! It's "Lock HER Up!" It CANNOT BE "Lock HIM Up!" Whether Trump is arrested tomorrow, next week, or never, the fascist orgasm of naked pusillanimous fear over the rumors Trump himself spread, is COMPLETELY WORTH IT.

But the general "wisdom" is complete nonsense. These are bullies who have never before been stood up to. They do not know what to do next but utter dark threats they have no means of acting upon. A "human moat" to encircle Trump? Crashing the economy? Storming key cities in the blue states? As my cousin by adoption and marriage Mike Tyson says, verybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth, and Trump's cult just got punched in the mouth.

And if a Trump arrest would guarantee him a "landslide victory" then the obvious Democratic nominee next year is Hunter Biden, on a chain gang with his father, Pelosi, Fauci, Hillary, and Vice President Harris. I understand we've all been worn down by eight years of this Fun-House-Mirrors-crap but relax. Gravity still works.

Honestly: the arrest thing isn't even the most important Trump story. What a Washington judge did Friday to attorney-client privilege with Trump and lawyer Evan Corcoran - and what she did with Corcoran's notes that must implicate Trump in perjury - is the real deal.

Plus there was an omen in Manhattan yesterday. The Proud Boys attacked "Drag Story Hour" - and got the crap kicked out of them.

B-Block (18:18) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Capitol Police confirm what I guessed at: they not only NEVER saw the Tucker Carlson January 6 Gaslighting Video but they were tricked by Speaker McCarthy and Rep. Bryan Steil into setting up a viewing station the cops thought was for Congressman but was actually for Fox "News." (20:49) IN SPORTS: The World Baseball Classic has a problem and it's not just the injuries to Jose Altuve and Edwin Diaz. Why insurance may cancel or reschedule the next WBC. And a bigoted NHL goalie ruins another pride night, but with a twist: He says he can't be a Homophobe because one of his best friends is Muslim. (29:43) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Kayleigh McEnany tries to say "Ingraham Angle" while guest hosting the show. It goes poorly. The weakest flex ever by a failed candidate for governor. And does Senator Marsha Blackburn sound like an escapee from every 1987 TV Magazine Show special on streamlining your style? That's because she IS - and there's proof.

C-Block (40:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Nacho in Brooklyn (44:40) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Now it's The New York Times burying CNN's Chris Licht. I'd just like to point out I started the Moby-Licht ball rolling, and I should tell you the tale of how when we worked together at MSNBC he was infamous as Joe Scarborough's henchman who tried to interfere with Maddow's show and Matthews' and mine and get preferential coverage for Joey Scars' buddies.

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EPISODE 156: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: It doesn't MATTER whether Marjorie Taylor Greene really is so stupid that when she insisted yesterday she's never seen any Putin plan to invade Europe, she doesn't know Ukraine is in Europe. All that matters is whether she makes sure that something like 51% of the COUNTRY is so stupid that IT doesn't know Ukraine is in Europe. It's MAKE AMERICA STUPID AGAIN.

And its weapon is a rapidly strengthening, rapidly escalating feedback loop centering around Fox "News" and we goddamned better do something about it soon. Because not only is it being used against Ukraine and for Russia, but it's now reached the equivalent to tertiary syphilis: McCarthy gives Carlson meaningless January 6 video which Carlson lies and says is 44,000 hours of the Zapruder film so that yesterday Rep. Barry The January 5th Tour Guide Loudermilk can lie and say "this means we need a new January 6 Committee to investigate the OLD January 6 Committee!" 

The long-term solution would be a truth based liberal television network with a billion dollars behind it, but who's going to do THAT? The short-term solution is Senate hearings into Fox "News" and Murdoch and whether its interest in destroying the current form of government is funded in any way by a foreign power. It doesn't have to BE funded by a foreign power. Just at the moment, we just need something we can put on against the Barry Loudermilk Hearings To Clear Barry Loudermilk!

 (10:20) IN SPORTS: Stop The World Baseball Classic before it kills again (18:35) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: A bad day for Kellyanne Conway as she reveals Kushner was the only Trump family member to make billions during the Junta, and then shocks the world by confirming China is sending arms... to China! But she's no match for Marianne "Non Disclosure Disagreement" Williamson, and SHE'S no match for Ron "I Eat Pudding With My Fingers" DeSantis.

B-Block (24:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It was the greatest scoop of my career to that point, an exclusive told in pantomime by the athlete we were staking out, another gift handed to me without a moment's hesitation by a hockey and football owner and curmudgeon named Harry Ornest. And it would've upended the entire coverage of the 1991 National Football League draft. Except the cameraman forgot to roll tape. I'll be getting over it any day now.

C-Block (39:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Archie, a Missouri puppy, was shot in the leg (40:00) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: Two of his stories of man not against others, but against life: "Nine Needles" and "The Mouse Who Went To The Country."

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EPISODE 155: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: "A Democratic president," writes Will Saletan (whose brother and I co-wrote a book of poems in 4th grade, "is standing up to Putin. And he's facing a Republican who would rather attack Mickey Mouse." But Ron DeSantis's ignorant, naive, isolationism is much worse. It opens the door for a full-on Republican campaign pledge (under him or Trump) to betray Ukraine as of 1/20/25. Just last night a retired American military officer went on Fox and told Carlson "The truth is coming out that this war was not started by Russia."

What happens on 1/20/25, if one of them is inaugurated as president, and moments later Putin bombs...Poland? Because that just went from farfetched scenario to tangible possibility as the Polish Security Agency discovered Russian agents installing hidden cameras along the Polish railroad lines on which Western ammunition and weapons are transported to Kiev. If Putin has already game-planned an attack on NATO, we have to wonder: Would Trump or DeSantis be so committed to the anti-Ukraine, pro-Putin stance that THEIR United States would wind up permitting or even supporting a Russian war against NATO?

It is a long, interwoven saga of DeSantis and Fox and Trump and Georgia 2020 and Marjorie Taylor Greene disclosing classified information at the Mexican border and how you won't hear this on Fox - or on CNN for that matter, where David Zaslav publicly recommitted to Chris Licht (who when we were at MSNBC together we all thought used to eat paste) in a meeting with 600 CNN Managers (CNN? 600 Managers? There's your problem right there). The New CNN's recommitment to useless, pointless, banal stenography was brilliantly characterized by Dylan Byers of Puck: "Nearly one year in, it's clear that Zaslav still believes in his vision for CNN as a nonpartisan, broadcast-style news digest, and still believes that Licht is his Captain Ahab."

Captain...AHAB?

Wait, doesn't Moby-Dick (or is it Moby-Licht) end with mass death? 

CALL ME ISHMAEL. MY BOAT SANK. THE END.

B-Block (19:18) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Shenanigan and Banshee, 14-week old shep/husky puppies in Devore, CA. (20:15) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: My career at the RKO Radio Network, where my boss was Charley Steiner, and where he once tasked me with finding out when and where a secret meeting between Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner and Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn would be held. And after I gave up and went to get some pizza, I literally RAN INTO STEINBRENNER ON THE STREET YELLING OUT THE DETAILS OF THE MEETING.

C-Block (43:40) MORE THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: A little under the weather today so let me re-tell the adventures of another '80s job, which I waited 10 months to be able to start, and which lasted only half that long. Why almost nobody remembers me as "Keith Olbermann, SportsCenter 5, Boston."

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EPISODE 154: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: DeSantis dismissed Ukraine as not being one of our "vital national interests" and exactly six hours later a Russian fighter jet was knocking one of our intelligence drones out of international air space 75 miles off the Ukrainian coach. DeFascist looks like an idiot today, especially since Republican grown-ups pounded the crap out of him all day, and even more so because as a Congressman, the Rube-In-High-Heels demanded offensive and defensive weapons be sent TO Ukraine. 

It's not just the standard story of a local yokel stepping onto the Republican national stage and promptly plummeting into the orchestra bit. DeSantis's flip-flop underscores the Republicans' century-long inability to make up its mind about any of the various incarnations of Russia. The America First DeSantii of 1939 wanted to ignore Russia even after its pact with Hitler. The post-war Republicans turned the actual Soviet threat into spies inside every home fallout shelter. Then Nixon went for detente. Then Reagan joked about beginning the bombing of Russia in five minutes. Then Reagan both destroyed the Soviet Union and 'brought peace.' Then Trump sold the GOP to Putin. Now DeSantis doesn't know which side of which is the Wokey-Fenokee Swamp.

Meanwhile after a day of utter silence, Russia's second-favorite American Tucker Carlson actually mentioned Jacob Chansley, the Q Shaman. One mention. Literally. No explanation what happened to his wall-to-wall-coverage of the worst attack on American freedom unwoke non-CRT conspiracy. And coincidence or maybe more: heard anything from ANY Republican besides Gosar about it? Or about this "visit" to the January 6 defendants inside the DC Jail? They've gone silent too. But a DC judge hasn't: he says not only aren't the J6'ers NOT being mistreated, all their complaints have been addressed by the jailers AND they all have access to tablets to review...guess what...January 6th video for their defense. Something's up and it isn't Fox's ratings.

B-Block (16:19) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Biden again notes that caving to Freedom Caucus demands to freeze spending at 2022 levels as their price to vote for a debt ceiling hike means...De-funding the police. Ohhhhhh are the Republicans pissed. Trump's indictment is days away and always will be. And he championed Veterinary Ivermectin for 11 years. Right up to the day it killed him. (20:40) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Brian Kilmeade calls Trump "the most disciplined I've ever seen him" because he hasn't dined with any white supremacists lately. The NHL televises a New York Rangers game live in cartoon without calling them the New York POWER Rangers. And a Minnesota state senator says there's no need for free school breakfasts or lunches because HE'S never met a hungry person. 

C-Block (26:30) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Hopper, in Missouri (27:15) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Dan Abrams of "News Nation" humiliated himself on his show on the Nick-At-Nite of TV News networks. Which reminded me of the day in 2006 the geniuses at NBC decided to make him General Manager of MSNBC. He was so bad so fast that ONE WEEK LATER they took all the power away from him. It's a long laugh.

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EPISODE 153: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: Wait - what?

After a lurid week of claiming the entire January 6 Insurrection was just "peaceful sight-seers" disturbed by "hooligans" and insisting that the greatest conspiracy in the history of the country had been effected to transform the country and weaponize this and lie about that, Tucker Carlson suddenly, abruptly, completely and without explanation DROPPED THE JANUARY 6TH VIDEO STORY LAST NIGHT. No Jacob Chansley. No withheld video. No punish Liz Cheney. 

It's quiet. It's too quiet.

What happened? The Department of Justice released three videos implicating Chansley, putting him within feet of a Senator (probably Chuck Grassley) during mid-evacuation. A New York State Supreme Court judge let the OTHER voting machine company's defamation lawsuit against Fox proceed. For all we know, Rupert Murdoch called Carlson and said "shut your pie hole." But the sudden silence was almost universal. Seen a tweet from a Congressman lately? Even Elon Musk stopped trying to convince people - on Saturday.

B-Block (19:26) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Yes, you read right. South Carolina state representative introduces bill to institute death penalty for women who get abortions (be pro-life or we'll kill you). A (dubious) report CNN may fire Chris Licht before Labor Day (22:14) IN SPORTS: Garrapolo to Raiders; Bauer to Japan; Unknown Nicaraguan WBC star gets big league contract; in memory of Joe Pepitone. (25:43) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Wall Street Journal blames SVB failure on bank not having enough white guys; Trump talks about education, like he ever had one; and Ron DeSantis can do an interview AND throw a baseball while wearing high heels!

C-Block (34:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Sloane in California (35:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Sportscaster Gary Lineker beats the BBC. It ends his suspension, he keeps expressing his political opinions. Utter deja vu for me. In 2010 MSNBC suspended me for doing something I had the right to do, vowed to not pay me for months. That was Friday. By Tuesday I was back on the air and they owed me much, much more money than they had owed me on Friday.

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EPISODE 152: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: New government document in a separate January 6 case filed yesterday, sworn under oath and under penalty of perjury, confirms that by September 2021 Jacob Chansley and his attorneys were given all but 10 seconds of the J6 video Carlson showed last week. Carlson's claim that Chansley and his lawyers had never seen the video, is a lie. Carlson's claim that it was "withheld" from Chansley and America, is a lie. Carlson's claim that they were sightseers, is a lie. Carlson's claim that it's a false flag, is a lie.

Tucker Carlson is a liar. What's worse: he could be guilty of Obstruction of Justice.

Because what has this all been about? This was Kevin McCarthy providing Tucker Carlson access to the materials with which to lie, gaslight, and whitewash. He did all three things. This is a conspiracy to turn guilty perpetrators of insurrection, coup, and violent attack on the Capitol during the official transfer of power, into victims - and the victims into defendants. And THAT is called "Obstruction Of Justice."

B-Block (20:47) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Yay Capitalism until its speculative bank fails then it's Yay Socialism. At least it shuts up Junior Trump. Mike Pence talks tough against Trump but still won't lift a finger to stop him. And Tom Hanks broke my Cummerbund at the Oscars. (24:23) IN SPORTS: DeSantis's brilliant idea to get a hated tennis player arrested, MSG's Jim Dolan vows to win alcohol fight (it'd be his first win) and what sportscaster solidarity can do: BBC's Gary Lineker has brought the UK's fascist government to its knees. (30:50) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: On the other hand, the UK mailed in its uniforms for the World Baseball Classic. The House Freedom Caucus's debt limit demand includes...Defunding the police? And why DeSantis needs to read every snowflake first.

C-Block (35:20) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: My Dad died, 13 years ago today. But instead of telling you some somber remembrance let me tell you about something he did that, 47 years later, still strikes me as the epitome of selfless parenting and still leaves me speechless. Oh and it features me meeting Howard Stern when he was 20 and I was 15.

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EPISODE 151: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42): New Tucker Carlson bombshell in the Dominion Documents Dump. Media Matters discovers a text in which Carlson praised and disseminated the writings of a racist holocaust denier, only 2-1/2 years ago. He sent somebody close enough to Carlson to have his cell number a link to a column written by David Cole - who denies that Auschwitz was an extermination camp and questions whether six million Jewish people perished in the Holocaust. Carlson added "This is a good piece."

That Carlson would praise such scum is hardly news: he works for Fox "News." But this shocker coming out at such a critical time for him and Fox is indeed news. Because it reopens the 2019 scandal that vanished into the pandemic year, in which radio recordings surfaced of Carlson being crassly racist and sexist, and insulting in those ways to the likes of everybody from Barack Obama to Martha Stewart's daughter. Carlson also defended convicted child rapist Warren Jeffs and attacked statutory rape laws.

His other problems continue. A fourth night of "January 6 Video" produced only more re-runs. And he impeached his own Wednesday guest. The Q Shaman's first attorney Albert Watkins was, on Wednesday, a victim of the vast plot Carlson claimed to have uncovered. But last night Watkins became a villain who had let the "shaman" down. In point of fact, Watkins had been fired after he called his client "retarded" and one of the "short bus people" and Watkins was cited for "ineffective assistance of counsel."

Every time Rupert Murdoch and Fox have squirmed out of a scandal they've done so by firing somebody big: Roger Ailes, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly. Rupert is in survival mode and the new revelations make it easier for him to scapegoat Carlson.

B-Block (19:03) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Yeah yeah sure Trump's gonna be indicted any day now (says the Times. Again). Jenna Ellis, the Canary in the Rudy Giuliani gas coal mine, confesses. Lauren Boebert can't count nor tell time and shock of shocks, a new George Santos scandal. (22:25) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Trump has a new book that sums him up. It's stuff other people wrote TO him. Letters. Now I may have to publish the letter HE wrote to ME. Elon Musk's novel way to promote employees. And Lindsey Graham. No - not that one. A far funnier one.

C-Block (28:00) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: When he went to the 4th Grade at the turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries, the great writer lived in a world where if you failed the 4th Grade, you stayed in the 4th Grade. If his wonderful account is true, some of his classmates had been there for more than a decade, and constituted the best amateur baseball team in the state of Ohio, good enough to beat Ohio State. "I Went To Sullivant."

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EPISODE 150: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: Tucker Carlson's Trump Derangement Syndrome Dance Party went into re-runs last night, then was cancelled, and then the star ran away. Carlson literally ran out of new 1/6 video and re-ran much of his Monday segment; his conspiracy theory rant went from the rage and drama of Monday to something closer than kvetchy. It ended with not a bang but a whimper.

Did Carlson sense that his schtick was less gaslight and more stomach gas and it couldn't have done more damage to himself and Fox "News" if it had planned that way? Did somebody at Fox tell him to stop? There certainly was no mistaking what Carlson did after bailing on 1/6: he had a reporter do the softest, squishiest, credulous report on Trump's promise that if elected everybody would get their own new "Freedom City" - and a flying car. The message was obvious: Trump heard about the "I hate him passionately" text and exacted retribution.

But while Carlson bailed out, America piled on. Carlson was slammed by everybody from Ben Shapiro to Joe Biden. Liz Cheney attacked the possible new investigation of the 1/6 Commission by tweeting "bring it on" and four presidential ethicists asked the House to investigate the McCarthy/MAGA Congressmen/Carlson deal.

B-Block (13:51) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Comer and Marjorie Traitor Greene are going to jail. Unfortunately we think they won't be staying. In Paste Eating news, CNN's boss tells his employees not to go for the "sugar high of ratings." He needn't worry about the ratings - there aren't any. (18:30) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Jesse Watters thinks he can arrest Dr. Fauci. A new trick in high school book-banning: just check out all copies of the book you want to shadow ban. And the Texas state legislator pushing a secession referendum also wanted the death penalty for abortions and wanted a tax break for married straight couples. Then a reporter found out the legislator seems to have gotten his wife off a website that bills itself as an alternative to "mail order brides from Thailand and the Philippines." Ooops.

C-Block (24:45) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Basil, in New York (25:45) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Somebody asked me the other day: "Where In The World Is Mitt Lauer?" And I said I didn't know, but I hoped it was somewhere unpleasant. Before the ugly violent stuff came out, everybody at NBC knew he was a dangerous manipulative vindictive jackass. One day I got a scoop he thought he deserved, so he tried to get me fired. We should have done more to stop him.

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EPISODE 149: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: Free advice for Rupert Murdoch: Fire Tucker Carlson - now. And Ingraham. And Hannity. Because between how the January 6 Video Gaslight Gambit failed and backfired and self-owned, and Round 3 of the Dominion Lawsuit Document Dump, it's gonna be him or them and history has proven again and again that it's ALWAYS him.

Carlson's fraud was so bad, and angered so many, that Senator Thom Tillis said "It's bulls**t" and Mitch McConnell said Fox News made a mistake and half a dozen other Republicans ripped the network. And internally, no other Fox host said ANYTHING supportive, on the air or off, until Laura Ingraham finally hit McConnell back at 10 PM last night.

And the Dominion 3rd Tranche may be the killer. Not only is there now a paper trail to Murdoch sharing info - maybe even a copy - of Biden's commercials with Jared Kushner. But in a phrase you will soon see on every political billboard everywhere, there's Carlson texting a Fox producer on January 4 2021: "We are very very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can't wait. I HATE HIM PASSIONATELY."

How much would you pay to charity for the privilege of showing Trump that text?

B-Block (21:0) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Why are TVs in the US Capitol required to be tuned to Fox 'News?' Trump's genius plan to solve Ukraine: give it to Russia. Marjorie Taylor Greene talks about women who take testosterone what was that about every Republican accusation being an admission? (24:21) IN SPORTS: For the third time, the NHL (The National Hypocrisy League) has screwed up Pride Night. Is this a Russian problem? (28:52) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Before signing a deal to become "Sister Cities" make sure the other one exists. The UK's Prime Minister touts the nation's Modern Slavery (?) And poor Musk thought he was just mocking the differently-abled. Actually he was confirming he owed somebody $100 million.

C-Block (35:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Four poor pups in Dallas (36:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: A lot about Russia and Ukraine in this episode so time to tell the tale of my musical genius Great Grandfather. Ever heard the story of the guy who gave away the name "General Motors" for free? That was my Ukrainian Great Grandpa, Antony Zelensky, whose saving grace was: he TOLD that story on himself every day of his life!

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EPISODE 148: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: As he set out to gaslight his Gullibles into believing the January 6th video "proves" there was false flag, with "sight-seers" led astray by a few "hooligans," what was the ONE thing Tucker Carlson could NOT do? What, as the prospect of a $1,600,000,000 damage judgment against Fox loomed in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case, did he need to avoid at all costs? Say something like "The 2020 election was a grave betrayal of American democracy, given the facts that have since emerged about that election. No honest person can deny it." He RE-ENACTED FOX'S LIES FROM 2020 as documented in the Dominion depositions and texts. If that weren't good (bad) enough he also defamed Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. I guess they'll have to co-own the channel with Dominion.

Now what?

Does Rupert Murdoch throw Carlson overboard? Fire him to try to tamp down the Dominion Crisis AND the Cheney/Kinzinger crisis? How did Fox let him put this on? How did Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham and the others not strangle Carlson into unconsciousness rather than let him do what he did? Carlson's shtick was unsurprisingly thin. But at least he added a catchphrase to the lexicon of lying and manipulation: "The Video Proves This." (NARRATOR: The video didn't prove this).

B-Block (22:03) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Transgenderism eradicator Michael Knowles doubles down, Senator Mike Lee defends him, Adidas may burn Yeezy Shoes (26:44) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Never TWEET a QR code, Mr. Prime Minister. Speaking of, Boris Johnson nominates Dad for a knighthood. And Elon Musk needs two guards to escort him to the bathroom, fulfilling the old joke about the guy too stupid to relieve himself without the help of a committee.

C-Block (32:55) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: August, in California (33:50) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Since we're talking Fox and Dominion and whether Rupert Murdoch is now going to scapegoat Tucker Carlson, how about the other guy he DID scapegoat, Lou Dobbs? 42 years ago Lou Dobbs' rumored messy personal life led directly to the start of my TV career at CNN.

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EPISODE 147: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: Donald Trump is this close to declaring himself God. His announcement to his ever-grieved angry real-victim-here Cult of Karens -- "I AM YOUR RETRIBUTION" illustrates that even his eight-year long terrorist attack on this country had at least one more level to go. Trump has now imbued the 2024 GOP race with vengeance and vendetta. And a vote for Trump in 2024 is a vote for retribution and vengeance - and bloodshed.

And thanks to a failed actor who looks disturbingly like the cartoon character "Quagmire" from "Family Guy," Michael Knowles, we now know the first targets of Trump's mob. "Transgenderism must be eradicated from public life, entirely." While Knowles tries the fascist trick of saying he never said transgender PEOPLE must be eradicated, most people have missed the key word in that hateful utterance. It's not "eradicated" it's "entirely," and it renders Knowles's hairsplitting meaningless.

B-Block (16:45) IN SPORTS: One of the best of baseball's announcers, Dave Wills of the Tampa Bay Rays, has died suddenly, and the sport is grieving. (23:13) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The Russian prime minister gets laughed at, a Florida Republican does something so dumb Newt Gingrich slams him, and Mr. Non-Opinion Journalism at Fox "News," Bret Baier, turns out to be just as bad as the rest of them.

C-Block (30:48) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Brothers Brooklyn and Butter (31:49) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: One minute I was ruminating on the unappreciated beauty of the Hudson River as seen from a commuter train. The next they were prying me loose from the window I had become frozen to.

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EPISODE 146: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: As Rupert Murdoch prepares to scapegoat Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott for the Dominion Documents scandal, a reminder that no matter how hopeful we might be right now, Fox "News" isn't going to destroy itself! Here are ten steps to take to help kill the thing so that democracy may live. There are recommendations for actions by Democrats invited to appear as guests, for what the White House Correspondents Association and RTCA should do, what the Senate should do, what prosecutors should do, what media should do, what the network should do. Plus: there are three steps YOU can do at home to hasten the demise, including hurrying over to UnFoxMyCableBox-dot-com.

Plus I will answer the question: How does Sean Hannity sleep at night (on a bed made out of money) and tell you that the man most responsible for Fox "News" existing today is, of all people, Rudy Giuliani. It's almost forgotten now, but what he did as Mayor of New York in October 1996 saved this godforsaken poisoner of this nation from vanishing almost before it began.

B-Block (26:06) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Jim Jordan's "Weaponization" Committee is coming apart at the seams; DOJ says yes you can sue Trump over 1/6. But that doesn't mean you'll win, and Daniel Ellsberg says goodbye. (30:53) IN SPORTS: Did the New York Rangers' social media director abuse an LGBTQ fan because other LGBTQ fans complained when the Rangers screwed up Pride Night? And the ESPN offer of a true public service: a centralized place where you can find your game, no matter who's streaming it (35:30) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The NFL team where players say rats ran the practice facility; who would've guessed Marjorie Traitor Greene's press flak is an asshole; and the Florida legislator who wants to force bloggers who write about Ron DeSantis to REGISTER WITH THE STATE OR FACE HUGE FINES.

C-Block (40:30) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: The only Thurber character who owns his own pet...Thunderstorm: "The Black Magic Of Barney Haller."

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EPISODE 145: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: The President must fire FBI Director Christopher Wray, and the Senate must conduct hearings into Fox "News" to see if it can be stopped and if the citizenships of Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, and the others, can be revoked. 

The FBI: The Washington Post's reporting on the FBI's attempt to shut down the investigation, then the search, and finally the prosecution in the Trump case requires nothing less than the immediate dismissal of the director - if we can get him off Fox Non-News for a moment - and most of the now-rogue FBI Washington Field Office. Agents and then the Bureau Chief believed Trump and his attorney, instead of their bosses, and the judge, and the Constitution. Fire everybody.

Fox Non-News: Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries sent a searing six-paragraph letter to Murdoch et al. It demands they chose between "lying to their viewers" and "honest reporting." The money is in the former, and Rupert Murdoch made this decision in 1952. What is necessary is something to scare the crap out of Murdoch: charges against hm for an illegal contribution-in-kind to the Trump campaign, if Tucker Carlson shows any of the 1/6 video - and convening a hearing dragging these bastards before the Senate.

B-Block (20:53) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: I got Senator Mike Lee's twitter account suspended briefly yesterday. So THAT happened. And boring as he is, Merrick Garland still managed to blow up Ted Cruz yesterday. (25:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Rep. Boebert forgets about them new states, Alaska and Hawaii; Rep. Donalds, who met with a 1/6 Seditionist INSIDE THE CAPITOL, and Ronda Santis, who has forgotten one detail in his scheme to dictate what Disney does and doesn't put in their movies and shows.

C-Block (30:15) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Poor Magnus got pulled out of the NYC pound only to come down with pneumonia. (31:15) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: A sports fan so ardent he used to wager on baseball spring training games AND do impressions of sportscasters, including me. It's the story of the day I got to meet the late great actor Walter Matthau.

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EPISODE 144: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: Good news everyone! We don't have to worry about Kevin McCarthy turning over 44,000 hours of January 6 Video to Tucker Carlson. Because Tucker has promised Kevin that he won't use any of the sensitive stuff that could get congressmen or senators or Vice Presidents killed next time. And we know how we can trust Tucker Carlson! Just look at all those Carlson texts from the Dominion defamation suit! His word is the coin of the realm. Provided the realm in question is Russia.

Perhaps never before in American history has their been such a pairing of Political Scum with Media Scum as McCarthy and Carlson. And McCarthy's response to the criticism of his unprecedented and indefensible act: "It almost seems like the press is jealous...He'll have an exclusive. Then I'll give it out to the entire country." And McCarthy's henchman in this sleazy nightmare turns out to be Barry Loudermilk, the Georgia Congressman caught ON the January 5-6 video giving at least one January 6th defendant a tour of security checkpoints.

There are still steps the Biden Administration and the Democrats can do to stop this farce. It stops with ending access to all representatives of all NewsCorp employees, for the simple reason that Fox News and its cousins are NOT news organizations. I'm not holding my breath.

B-Block (21:03) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The Fools on the Hill: Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene humiliate themselves during congressional hearings, while trying to play "gotcha" with people smarter than they are. (26:02) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Chris Licht again, this time for putting on an ex-Norfolk Southern lobbyist to comment on the Norfolk Southern disaster; How could you possibly misspell Jackie Robinson's name? And help us: NYC has elected a messianic theocrat as mayor. Eric Adams goes nuts - again.

C-Block (31:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Dora and Lee, starved puppies in Arkansas (32:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The Fox News/NewsCorp perfidy is not limited to television. When the tv arm of the octopus is criticized and threatened, the Murdoch monster uses the print arms to try to strangle the opponent. When a right wing would-be terrorist sent fake anthrax to me and a dozen other liberals, the FBI asked me - and all news organizations - to keep it quiet just for a day. Murdoch's New York Post not only refused, but wrote the story concluding that the person to blame here was...me.

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EPISODE 143: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: Rupert Murdoch showed Joe Biden's 2020 Presidential Campaign Commercials to Jared Kushner before they were public. This - the most startling of the second tranche of revelations from the Dominion Voting Systems defamation suit against Fox and NewsCorp - doesn't just violate electoral and journalistic ethics. It may be criminal - and it certainly should mean the metaphorical 'Death Penalty' for a dark, evil propaganda channel masquerading as a news organization. Fox News must be de-platformed and the company drive into bankruptcy. We can have democracy in this country, or we can have Fox News. We cannot have both.

Fox is still in a position to do the damage outlined in the newest revelations (including, in essence, selling time on Fox News panels to Mike Lindell, and when its own researchers confirmed the crazy claims against Dominion were false, ignoring them and firing them) in part because in 2009 MSNBC and NBC cut a deal with Fox to circumscribe what news it could report about Fox, and what news Fox could report about MSNBC, NBC, and parent company GE. It's time to tell that nauseating story in full detail.

B-Block (30:56) SPECIAL COMMENT: The 2009 NBC-Fox collusion began with conversations among then-NBC President Jeff Zucker and Roger Ailes of Fox, and included a threat by GE Chairman Jeffrey Immelt to take MSNBC off the air, and the attempt to buy off Fox by having GE advertise on Fox Networks.

C-Block (53:30) SPECIAL COMMENT: The saga of NBC's deal to help Fox News stay out of the full glare of public criticism climaxed in a July dinner in the GE Chairman's Private Dining Room on the top floor of 30 Rock. It was a scene worthy of the movie "Network" - only they didn't wind up actually assassinating me - only symbolically.

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EPISODE 142: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: Merrick Garland is going to appear in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning. And it looks like there'll be yet another new and big and shiny thing to ask him about, about the arrested ex-FBI man Charles McGonigal and the Russian linked via Paul Manafort to Trump, Oleg Deripaska. Once, McGonigal was in charge of investigating Deripaska. The next thing you knew, he was WORKING FOR Deripaska. Exactly WHEN that happened keeps changing. 2020? 2019? Now it's 2018? Could it have been 2016? Judiciary Chair Dick Durban and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse want to know, and they want to know if Garland knows if McGonigal was aware of his FBI New York Field Office and how it was already trying to fix the 2016 election for Trump by forcing James Comey to re-smear Hillary Clinton eleven days before the election.

Meanwhile Trump CAN get the GOP nomination because the GOP hierarchy is moronic: it actually believes it has "cornered" him by demanding a pledge of all would-be nominees to support whoever gets the nomination because OF COURSE he always lives up to his promises. And Tucker Carlson doubles down on the January 6th video scam.

B-Block (18:08) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: First you could say "Dilbert" isn't funny. Then you could say it isn't appropriate. Now, after Scott Adams' racist rant, you can say it just...isn't. Happily Elon Musk is there to defend him. And the Department of Energy says Covid-19 was a lab leak? Oh they say it with "low confidence" that they're right? And it's the Department of ENERGY? (21:43) In sports: baseball's pitch clock seems to work (I'll be DAMNED), but where is it going to come up with the money to pay Manny Machado? Four more Regional Sports Networks pumping baseball (and the NBA and NHL) full of cash say they will likely go bankrupt within a month. (25:20) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Did the anti-Drag governor of Tennessee dress up IN drag in High School? Why does one writer keep calling CNN's Chris "Maybe Ate Paste" Licht a genius when he's never finished higher than last in the ratings? And how do you spell "NINTH" and "TWELFTH"? Don't ask the Florida Department of Education - the folks there have no clue.

C-Block (32:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Peanut, in North Carolina, who weighs 20 pounds when she should weigh 60, needs your help. (33:15) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: On one day I was supposed to have coffee - at her invitation, as a prelude to a date, with Uma Thurman, AND the president of Current TV was taking me to dinner to explain how we could get rid of the idiot co-owner who didn't know what "DVR" was and so bought ratings showing only "Live" viewers, not "Live + DVR" viewers. If I tell you I had coffee and dinner alone, can you guess what happened?

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EPISODE 141: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: Where is the Department of Justice? Homeland Security? The House Democrats? The Senate Democrats? The Capitol Police Board? When those who are supposed to protect us make it a four-day week, WHO will step up to stop Kevin McCarthy's criminal collusion with Tucker Carlson on the 1/6 Security Video?

Mike Lindell.

No, seriously. 

Lindell alone acts as the implications of McCarthy's Quid Pro Quo become more evident. As the argument is made that the Democrats should now release all the video to all news organizations so some of them will be prepared to push back against Carlson's Conspiracy Theories and False Flag claims, the 44,000 hours of pure unadulterated high grade brainwash is clearly designed to be used to whitewash Trump. And it fits into the Gaslight Ecosystem, which last night expanded to include an organization trying to blacklist ALL former staffers on the House January 6th Committee, and blacklist their new employers, and blacklist their new employers' clients.

B-Block (15:02) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Ron DeSantis and his press secretary are losing a battle with a newscaster who fell asleep on the air the other day; Alaska's advocate for child abuse death is censured; and George Santos not only signs on to legislation honoring a gun, but lies about it as well (19:22) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Does a publisher get to purge mildly offensive words like "fat" or "bald" from the works of a dead author? Wouldn't a warning note be enough? Upping the ante: the author is Roald Dahl, the man who created Willy Wonka. Upping the ante again: he was both an often terrible human being and an often exceptionally kind one. Upping the ante one last time: when I was seven years old, Roald Dahl and I corresponded.

C-Block (39:40) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Ben in Brooklyn (40:40) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: His most darkly humorous story, the one that prophesied Trump: "The Greatest Man In The World."

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EPISODE 140: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN: 

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: Speaker Kevin McCarthy has jeopardized the security of every Representative and every Senator and every staffer, and the continuity of the government of the United States, and thus the safety of every CITIZEN of the United States - and he has publicly admitted to, and boasted about, committing the act by which he did so. This is treasonous. Indict him and arrest him.

We now know that Tucker Carlson gained access to the January 6 video by the deception of McCarthy and/or House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil. Steil asked the Capitol Police for a video terminal on which he personally could look at the video. Without warning the Capitol Police, McCarthy unilaterally gave Carlson access to that terminal. 

And then, yesterday, McCarthy not only admitted "he released" the video - he began to FUNDRAISE OFF HIS DECEPTION.

"The Speaker," says Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, "is needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one of the worst security risks since 9/11..it also risks exposing the carefully laid out and highly guarded plans for the continuity of government, intended to preserve our democracy in the event of an attack." These are not minor infractions, nor mere political conflicts.

This is treachery. McCarthy admits to doing it. Indict him and arrest him.

B-Block (15:00) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Special Counsel subpoenas Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner (Trump) and before you think they can't try to evade it by making up yet another ludicrous privilege: You forgot Nepo-Baby Privilege, didn't you? GOP still denies it wants to cut Social Security and Medicare while Paul Ryan and Mike Pence announce they want to cut Social Security and Medicare. And in the new Marist Poll Biden does what 100% of political pundits insisted he could not do. (18:18) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Never light a Pride Flag on fire. Especially not if there's a high-def surveillance camera right next to it. Sean Hannity endorses a plan to disenfranchise Sean Hannity. And Barney Rubble's Body Double explains why "black people" should be proud of Confederate statues.

C-Block (22:50) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Since I'm calling for the government to shut down "Fox News" I probably need to fess up: I went out on two dates with Laura Ingraham. Admittedly, it was a century ago, but I think you need to know. Besides which it's cheaper than telling it to a therapist. Thank you.

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EPISODE 139: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: The Kevin McCarthy/Tucker Carlson Scandal has blown wide open as The Capitol Police Board meets to vote on whether or not to stop the Speaker from giving the Fox News Liar what Rep. Zoe Lofgren calls "a blueprint for bad guys on how to more successfully attack the Capitol." House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries convenes his caucus this afternoon to take what action it can as Jeffries calls the collusion between McCarthy and Carlson "an egregious security breach." In essence, Kevin McCarthy has STOLEN the January 6th video and handed it to Tucker Carlson, and Tucker Carlson and Fox News have already done more damage to this country than Al-Qaeda or ISIS or Atomwaffen or any other terrorist group could dream of.

We're approaching the 20th anniversary of the day Geraldo Rivera, live on Fox News Channel, gave away the position and movements of the 101st Airborne Division, and was literally escorted out of Iraq by the U.S. military. This underscores the reality that Fox News has NEVER cared about the troops, about freedoms, about America. It sells a product. The product is phony patriotism. The product is a distorted picture of America. The product is hate. The product is lies. It's time to put the manufacturers of the product, Fox "News," out of business.

B-Block (20:27) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Trump Georgia Grand Jury presents Hint Number 32,753; Barney Rubble's Body Double doubles down on the Red State/Blue State divorce but adds taking away voting rights for Democrats; Democrats make criminal referral on Ohio Train Disaster while Republicans hesitate to offend their corporate masters (31:20) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: an unfortunate Washington Post headline, a really dumb Oklahoma congressman, and a really disturbing Alaska state legislator who believes if an abused child is killed, "it's actually a benefit to society."

C-Block (31:20) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: When I talk about Fox and its core value - evil - I'm not just repeating what I've heard. I was once fired, personally, by Rupert Murdoch, for telling the truth, and my bosses got dragged for it as well.

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EPISODE 138: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: Only Marjorie Taylor Greene would be stupid enough to demand a "national divorce" in which the United States "separates by red states and blue states" - when SHE LIVES IN A BLUE STATE. But then again, what do you expect? She was raised on a diet of Fox News.

Speaker McCarthy has now unilaterally handed over 41,000 hours of 1/6 Capitol Security Video to Tucker Carlson and Carlson can now provide a roadmap to the next seditionists on how to avoid security while also gaslighting the story of 2021. Last week, we learned of the astonishing cynical manipulation of America by Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and the others, who didn't believe a word of the denialist crap they sold the country. Between those two stories it's time for the country to act to de-platform and close down Fox News as a clear and present danger to the future of the United States of America. The Department of Justice needs to seek a Restraining Order to keep Fox from manipulating the video McCarthy gave it.

I've been arguing since 1998 that Fox News was a mortal peril. Since 2007 I've said it was more damaging to this country than Al-Qaeda has been. We must shut them down the way we shut down Big Tobacco and Big Pharma.

B-Block (23:15) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Moscow commentators react to Biden's trip to Kyiv: "We should've blown him up." Flaco leaves the nest. Adams schools DeSantis. (26:51) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: All she did was tap the balloon. But it wasn't a balloon, it was a $42,000 ceramic sculpture and it crashed to the floor. The Texas School Superintendent whose gun was found by a 3rd Grader. And CNN owner John Malone has to admit one of two things: that after the Don Lemon debacle, Chris Licht is a complete failure, or he hired Chris Licht BECAUSE he'd be a complete failure.

C-Block (33:45) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Mr. JoJo in Shreveport (34:45) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The influence of Fox News and the belief by some of its hosts like Carlson that they are in fact running this country is in large part the result of mainstream media negligence. In 2009, Fox tried to avenge itself against me by attacking GE's Chairman and he folded up because his mother was a Bill O'Reilly viewer and she saw what O'Reilly said and called up her son and yelled at him.

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EPISODE 137: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL BREAKING NEWS EDITION OF THE COUNTDOWN PODCAST: Joe Biden's shock visit to Ukraine and the near-genius of its message to multiple audiences: (A) The American people, rarely surprised by anything, waking up to their president in Kyiv with Zelensky as air raid signals go off - on Presidents' Day no less! (B) To the Republicans trying to undermine support for Ukraine here (C) To buck up the Ukrainians with at least another year of war ahead (D) To Russia if it thought its proxies here could really undermine this country's foreign policy (E) To China amid rumors it might support Russia with materiel that maybe its role could be peacekeeper, what with the Chinese Foreign Minister in Moscow today of all days (F) And lastly, a message so profound and obvious even the American News Media can't miss it nor fail to fit it easily into one of the four or five templates it can process.

B-Block (14:30) On Russian disinformation through Musk, Carlson, Republicans.

C-Block (22:10) My lunch with Joe Biden

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EPISODE 136: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) The death of baseball's legendary television analyst Tim McCarver, easily one of the most beloved people in the sport, and in broadcasting. I knew him for 42 years and for whatever criticisms he took late in his career from listeners who didn't realize all the other ones were merely doing impressions of him, in 1983 he literally, personally, saved my love of the game. He was a pleasure to work with, and as I have been saying for 20 years, his insight in literally the last 60 seconds of the bottom of the 9th inning of the 7th Game of the most emotional season in baseball history was the television equivalent of Bill Mazeroski's home run to win the 1960 World Series.

B-Block (19:55) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The Fox News texts are out. Tucker Carlson was afraid Trump would destroy them, but telling the truth about him would tank the stock price. He, Ingraham and Hannity all thought Rudy Giuliani was crazy. The News Chief tried to stop news. Perjury in the Trump Atlanta case? How many people did Senator Fetterman help yesterday? Now that he's proven he can live on his own, why is the Central Park Zoo setting a honey trap to re-capture Flaco the Owl? And can anyone stop the Killer Windows of Russia? (25:48) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Nikki Haley would struggle with the math part of her own Presidential Candidate Mental Competency Test, Ann Coulter makes you feel sympathy for Nikki Haley, and a German choreographer says: I am an artist and you have criticized me, so, I will now smear my dog's feces on your face.

C-Block (31:50) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Falcon, Rio, Titan, Torino, and Tundra - five pups with Parvo in Texas (32:50) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: fittingly on the occasion of the loss of a great baseball broadcaster, Thurber's story that begins with the words of another great baseball broadcaster: "The Catbird Seat."

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EPISODE 135: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: If you're wondering if the American Political Media Industrial Complex learned something - anything - from its disastrous stenography of Donald Trump's seven-year-long assault on democracy, the answer is here, and the answer is NO. Mike Pence, who refused to testify to the 1/6 Committee because of EXECUTIVE privilege, last night said he was refusing to testify to Special Counsel Jack Smith's grand jury because of LEGISLATIVE privilege and no reporter called him on the impossibility of both things being true, or the fact that he's trying to evade testified about AN ATTEMPT TO MURDER HIM.

Getting even more whitewashing and gaslighting courtesy Robert Costa of CBS and Maggie Haberman was Nikki Haley's presidential candidacy announcement. It was barely noted that she was one of the first mainstream Republicans to sell her soul to Trump, and she then did his evil bidding at the U.N., announcing the move of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem simply to satisfy the religious nuts who believed it was necessary before all the Jews could be converted and all the good little evangelicals can get their asses raptured.

Political Media only understands four or five story templates and still won't take sedition and fascism seriously, nor call out the "Republicans" who helped Trump and now are pretending to distance themselves from his evil. It's unconscionable, and if they're not going to call out the Pences and Haleys, I'm going to call THEM out.

B-Block (19:30) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Smith also subpoenas Mark Meadows, and the death of Raquel Welch, which requires the telling of the extraordinary Peter Cook story from his movie with her, "Bedazzled." (22:20) IN SPORTS: The day they tweet $185,000,000 signee Jacob deGrom was "clocking in," he clocked out with the all-too-familiar non-injury injury. And if your team is on a Bally Sports Network: oops, they may be going bankrupt. (25:40) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The Indiana Congresswoman born in Ukraine has the nerve to compare the NewsMax/DirecTV story to totalitarianism; Same Sex couple parental rights at risk; and the two idiot Tennessee Republicans who want to rename "John Lewis Way" after Donald Trump.

C-Block (31:15) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Guiness (32:15) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: I was actually asked on a New York street yesterday what the greatest thing my father ever said. So I had to explain. And explain how it then wound up coming out of Jeff Daniels' mouth on the 7th Episode of HBO's "Newsroom."

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EPISODE 134: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: We are owned by guns, and our only way out is Economic Civil War.

Why does this supposedly sophisticated nation abide the ritual sacrifice of our children to insane gun owners? Because it makes other people millions of dollars. And when we cross a milestone where one of the Michigan State student-survivors is also a Sandy Hook survivor and at least three of them are also Oxford High student-survivors, we must attack the Gun Lobby, the Death Lobby, the Republican Death Party, and the Red States that harbor these terrorists with the only weapon they fear: Money. The Blue States keep the Red Ones from going bankrupt tomorrow and starving by next week. Let's use it. We must force our Blue State governments to stop contributing money to the Federal Government unless the Red States meet our demands about guns, the disproportionate House and Senate that codifies it, and the bought-and-sold Supreme Court that protects it. The Red States survive on State-to-State Socialism and you know how they hate Socialism. And the constitutional basis for an Economic Civil War? Why, the 2nd Amendment. After all, we are trying to protect "the security of a free State," aren't we?

B-Block (18:40) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Special Counsel squeezes a Trump lawyer, Feinstein to retire, Nikki Haley is the next contestant, and Flaco the Eagle-Owl is not really a "zoo escapee" any longer. (22:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Why lookee here! It's Elon Musk, Elon Musk, and then Elon Musk! He really fixed Twitter so his tweets would "win"? What a twerp!

C-Block (28:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Joy and Easy, sisters in New York (29:10) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Many have dreamed of it, but only one of my 438 past bosses actually threatened to kill me, and chased me around the studio to prove he was sincere. The saga of the premiere of "Rita Cosby Tonight" and the man who actually thought I was sabotaging it (as if anybody needed to), MSNBC president Rick Kaplan.

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EPISODE 133: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: To try to score cheap political points about the downing of the Chinese Spy Balloon, Marjorie Taylor Greene stood before an Idaho Lincoln Day Dinner and defecated on the memory of the dead of 9/11 and the heroes of Flight 93. She actually claimed that the argument that shooting it down over the mainland was "bullshit" because "Do you guys remember on 9/11 when an airplane crashed in Pennsylvania? A jetliner? Remember that? It didn't kill anybody on the ground! It killed everyone on board! But it didn't kill anyone on the ground!" She must resign from Congress immediately, or be expelled, because even for her this is disgraceful and intolerable.

B-Block (15:17) IN SPORTS: The "temporary" Extra Innings Ghost Runner becomes permanent. Baseball has always survived the idiocy of those who run it, as evidenced by the new research of how the old Washington Senators preferred Jim Busby to some guy named Mickey Mantle (22:50) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Bono and U2 get in bed with a guy using illicit Facial Recognition technology; The College Board talks big, does nothing, to Ron DeFascist; The backlash over 'The Black National Anthem' at the Super Bowl. Moron Benny Johnson not only says it should be illegal, but asks what if there were a 'White National Anthem.' Have I got a surprise for Benny.

C-Block (29:45) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Daniel, in Texas (30:45) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It is now exactly 43 years since the masters of UPI Radio got the rookie - me - drunk at the 1980 Olympics and then sent me to cover the Men's Downhill in the -50 wind chill of Whiteface Mountain. I somehow got myself there, but I did not get all my equipment with me and boy was THAT a surprise.

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EPISODE 132: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: We'll get Breaking Balloon News out of the way: four in eight days IS a lot, but our ability to recognize them grew exponentially after the first one, and experts suggest the Pentagon has been flummoxed by unknown aerial craft for years. Meanwhile, Trump's newest Classified Documents crime may seem trivial but is extraordinarily important. Giving docs to a campaign staffer to scan into a laptop and a thumb drive is a textbook violation of 18 US Code 798 (a) "DISCLOSURE OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION." And it raises a peck of new questions: why did CNN identify the staffer in a tweet, then delete the tweet without explanation? What do you mean the staffer they named spent time studying in Russia? Was the laptop attached to the internet? Were the classified documents transferred to ANOTHER computer? What was the thumb drive for? And honestly, couldn't Trump's newest new newer lawyer come up with a better excuse for Trump having the classified documents folder in his bedroom than "he liked to use it to cover the light on his phone that used to interrupt his sleep?" 

B-Block (18:36) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: My gun rights are more important than your physics, said the late gun rights advocate to the MRI staff. Matt Gaetz invites the wrong Vet. And Chris Licht's latest idea to save CNN is: Charles Barkley doing the news. (23:13) IN SPORTS: Not only was the Super Bowl decided on a penalty that they might as well have called "Defensive Sneezing," but those gambling ads are going to make outcomes like this look worse and worse. Plus one of those commercials seems to have purloined my catchphrase; Fox again finds the worst ex-baseball player to join its baseball show; and ESPN - and I - mourn our veteran producer Barry Sacks.

C-Block (32:45) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Theodore, in St. Louis (33:40) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: YOU think the Super Bowl controversy is that lousy holding call with 1:52 left. Today in Washington, the political media thinks the Super Bowl Controversy is the fact that President Biden didn't do an interview with Fox for the Pre-Game Show! As somebody who hosted that show AND a presidential inauguration in a span of thirteen days, I can tell you that the politicos have no clue how unpopular politicians who inject themselves into sportscasts are. I came thisclose to having to do "that" interview in 2009 and I tried to get them to just cancel it. The President who does not a news interview on Super Bowl Sunday but instead puts $100 Million of the nation's money on a series of prop bets and does an interview about THAT will get himself re-elected.

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EPISODE 131: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: The latest on Trump Special Counsel Smith subpoenaing Mike Pence. And the Republicans extended their collective self-own to 48 hours as "The Weaponization Subcommittee" meets and points the weapon at itself. The star FBI whistleblower witness turns out to have retired from the bureau in 1999 and gets decimated by Rep. Dan Goldman; the star "Twitter Legal" expert turns out to be Jonathan Turley and he gets destroyed by Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. As Tulsi Gabbard testifies, a Republican literally falls asleep; as Chuck Grassley testifies he insists Hillary Clinton colluded with the Russians in 2016 to make sure she...lost?

It's worse than a farce; it's a farce that even Fox News won't televise. And it hides the reality that there SHOULD be a weaponization investigation and it should be pointed at the Barr-Durham Investigation, and that the ever-unfolding story of the arrested ex-FBI agent Charles McGonigal. New reporting on McGonigal suggests he could have been a blackmail victim, and that those two separate criminal indictments(working for Trump-friendly Russian Oleg Deripaska, and meddling in Albanian politics) may actually be part of only one giant conspiracy.

B-Block (19:12) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: George Santos's new dog scandal comes to you live from the town of Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania; Nancy Faust pays tribute to the late Burt Bacharach (23:28) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Elon Musk thinks Twitter is suppressing his tweets and reportedly fires those who disagree with him; Ron Johnson defends himself against the charge that he wanted to privatize Social Security by confirming he wanted to privatize Social Security; and Rick Scott TRIES to defend himself against the same charge by invoking one name eight times in four minutes. The name is - inexplicably - Jake Tapper.

C-Block (29:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Snuggle, looking to be adopted in Miami (29:55) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Rudy Giuliani gets his "preserve all documents" lawyer letter from Hunter Biden's attorney. You may think Rudy went bad in 2020, or 2007, or some time after his peak in 9/11. Actually - trust me - even I knew he was a hallucinating jerk, as long ago as 1995.

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EPISODE 130: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: I want to congratulate House Oversight Committee Chairman Comer for letting the Democrats hijack his Hunter Biden express and turn it into "Would you like me to give the direct quote? Chrissy Teigen referred to Donald Trump as a 'pussy ass bitch.'" The Republicans made every mistake they could make, down to not being able to keep the lights on in the hearing room. Elsewhere in Washington, while the GOP continued to insist Biden was lying and none of its members ever called to cut, re-define, sunset, or privatize Social Security, the White House produced reports and proposals and quotes and videos from Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, Mike Pence, Lindsey Graham, and dozens of other Republicans to do exactly that.

And if you needed a punchline: two organizations whined about Biden's speech. One was the Republican Party and the other was...the Chinese Communist Party.

B-Block (15:02) IN SPORTS: NHL shoots itself over Pride Night yet again. Home team doesn't show up for its own game. College hoops game delayed because they installed the court wrong! (19:10) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Who crashed Twitter and Instagram and Pokemon Go and all the other key apps and sites? Even Project Veritas has had enough of Little Jimmy O'Keefe. And book-banning in Florida has now extended to works about Henry Aaron, Roberto Clemente - and Jackie Robinson!

C-Block (24:30) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Gemma in New York (25:33) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: A listener asks 'how many people HAVE tried to get you fired?' Well I have a team working on trying to get an estimate within 100, but for now I've got the story of the Major League Baseball team that actually got me fired from a network before I even started a new job at the sport's network.

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EPISODE 129: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: The State of the Union Address has long since become an anachronism; devolving into a series of insiders talking to insiders and pointing to ordinary citizens as if they were creatures on display at a zoo; e a ritual with the meaning sucked out of it; an ever-louder arguing for resuming what President Thomas Jefferson first thought to do: to just write the damn speech and have somebody else drop it off at the House Chamber door

And against that backdrop of near-obsolescence, President Joe Biden absolutely KILLED The State of the Union last night.

At his finest, at his most robust, at his most combative, in his element, in the arena, throwing punches, blocking the hecklers, and unashamedly exploiting the undeniable advantage of having the only microphone in the room, he delivered a masterpiece. I don’t know how many of these I have heard and how many of the claims and promises and attitudes and catchphrases and applause lines I have heard at 9:30 and forgotten by 11, but this one I’ll remember: roads and infrastructure and education and insulin caps and unfair taxes and hidden service fees and cable costs and raising teachers’ pay and quadrupling the stock buyback tax, and non-compete clauses for fast food cashiers and “The Talk” and “Something Good Must Come From This” and “Do Something” and “Ban Assault Weapons Now”

And without one of them ever seeing it coming, he provided the coup-de-grace: baiting the Republicans into loudly and embarrassingly shouting and bleating and denying what they’ve all been murmuring about all week: baiting the Republicans into insisting no, they don’t want to gut social security and medicare.

And thank you to Marjorie Tailor Greene as Cruella deVil and Kyrsten Sinema as Tweety after the car airbags had inflated and especially Trump for choosing, of all days, the afternoon of the SOTU to accuse Ron DeSantis of "grooming high school girls."

Few political speeches are great. Fewer still are masterpieces. THAT was an actual masterpiece.

B-Block (13:29) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Flaco the escaped Central Park Zoo Eagle-Owl RETURNS to the zoo...and then leaves again for Wollman Rink but is scared away by the unbelievably loud P.A. system? (14:56) IN SPORTS: Aaron Rodgers doesn't know people close their blinds when they go to sleep and LeBron James once tried to get an ESPN sportscaster fired because he thought she was mean to him? (17:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: American opinion weaponizes against The New McCarthyism and Kevin McCarthy's "Weaponization" subcommittee while George Santos may bring Lee Zeldin down with him, and a London tabloid anoints a dark horse GOP presidential candidate for 2024. Or maybe it's 2022. Or maybe it's 2020. They refer to all three!

C-Block (22:30) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Nigel, in New York (23:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Joe Biden's State of the Union last night may have been an epic all-timer. The 1998 one came at the very start of the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal and MSNBC didn't choose an anchor for its coverage until almost the last minute. Imagine my surprise when that anchor turned out to be... ME.

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EPISODE 128: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: Before he begins tonight's State of the Union Address, President Biden should pull his aviators out of his pocket and slap them on, reach under the lectern and pull out a shredded Chinese balloon and drape it in front of himself, and reach under again and produce an AIM-9X Sidewinder Missile and rest it on his shoulder.

It's ridiculous hyperbole of course. But how much MORE ridiculous than Bush's Flight Suit and Mission Accomplished speech? Democrats have no clue how stupid half the country (or more) really is, and how easily that half can be manipulated by stunts, theater, shiny objects, crotch bulges in flight suits, braggadocio, nonsense, outright lies, and other tactics Republicans mastered decades ago.

How stupid are they? When Karine Jean-Pierre reminded reporters they'd been given "Tick Tocks" (journalistic jargon for minute-by-minute timelines), The Daily Caller and Fox News both jumped to the asinine conclusion that the secrets of the nation were being distributed on TIK-TOK. This is how dumb they are, and they are not getting less so.

Bring a Sidewinder with you, Mr. President.

B-Block (18:50) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Did a Federal Judge just notice a flaw in the SCOTUS overturn of Roe-V-Wade that might reinstate it? Samuel Alito's Mom's Abortion Clinic? And Flaco seems about to check back in to his old home. (21:48) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Elon Musk, joke plagiarist, fake news spreader, safety disaster; Confirmation that NewsMax wanted to raise its price to DirecTV from $0 to $13,000,000. And the Bill Maher numbers are in and - guess what - he did not make the slightest difference in CNN's implosion.

C-Block (28:34) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Pandora, in Philadelphia (29:47) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It's basically the anniversary of the day the geniuses at MSNBC would've lost Maddow to CNN because Larry King offered her $250 and unbeknownst to me we weren't paying her anything.

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EPISODE 127: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: It is carefully hidden to protect the sources, but there's no question in my mind now: The New York Times' profile of the arrested ex-FBI New York Executive Charles McGonigal implies that FBI and DOJ are investigating whether he was working for Oleg Deripaska, employer of Paul Manafort who was Trump's Campaign Manager - FOR FREE - long before he retired from the Bureau. I go through the Times piece line-by-line and the phrasing, the invoking of an earlier Russian Spy in McGonigal's own FBI department, the terminology, is all groundwork for later stories that could fully reengage this country with the reality of Trump's 2016 Conspiracy with Russia - and how the FBI's New York Office may have knowingly or unknowingly played a part on both ends of that fetid deal.

B-Block (19:53) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Gang Of 8 offered Trump Dock-Drama briefing; "Jim Dial" dies; Flaco the missing Central Park Owl? He's over at my place (24:32) IN SPORTS: Conspiracy nut Kyrie Irving dealt to Dealey Plaza; NHL tries to pretend its sudden homophobia problem/Pride Night disaster crisis is just going to go away (27:55) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Inside SCOTUS (in)security and use of private emails; Jenna Ellis is a moron; a Mississippi state rep goes full racist about the Chinese balloon.

C-Block (34:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Andre, in New York (34:50) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Schmuck Todd did it again. Another Republican Congressman lied to him about the five Chinese Recon Balloons sighted during the Trump Administration and Chuck said "duh, ok." What it was like to work with - and spend ten years in a fantasy football league with - Chuckles The Clown.

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EPISODE 126: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: The New McCarthyism of Kevin McCarthy goes on full display. He has the nerve to complain of Ilhan Omar's seeming antisemitism that she said "I didn't now there's a trope when it comes to referring to somebody who is Jewish, with money." Yet in 2018 McCarthy himself tweeted "We cannot allow Soros, Steyer, and Bloomberg to BUY this election!" - as obvious a "Jewish With Money" trope as there could be. And McCarthy is still demanding spending cuts without once saying where the cuts should be. And now he's proposing a Congressional hearing into DirecTV refusing to pay $20,000,000 to NewsMax for that which NewsMax was charging it $0. And yet the only event that could actually cost him, was refusing to concur with Marjorie Traitor Greene that Ashli Babbitt was "murdered." Also: Bill Barr defends the Durham Farce and the Los Angeles Times makes him sound as high as a Chinese Spy Balloon.

B-Block (15:27) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: One America News, leading Paul Pelosi Conspiracy Conveyor, has clearly been scared into honesty. An Illinois woman embezzled 100,000 Chicken Wings. And a Nebraska senator has come up with the last impediment to voting that the fascists had forgot to impose. (20:15) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: His best known, and probably his best, short story: The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty.

C-Block (35:50) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Sweetheart, in Texas; (37:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: I'm sure you've all made a commercial, but did you fall off a cliff while doing so? Did your commercial bankrupt the company? Aha! Let me learn you some things.

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EPISODE 125: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: Do 15 words in The New York Times' infamous Halloween clearing of Trump on Russia identify one of the anonymous governmental sources of the lie as the just-arrested ex-FBI agent Charles McGonigal? Does the timeline of what the FBI New York office did with the Anthony Weiner laptop also suggest that the man who helped force the Comey Letter is...Charles McGonigal? Did the DOJ just arrest someone on lesser charges in hopes of getting him to flip on Trump, or the FBI New York leakers, or others in the Trump-Russia Conspiracy? Someone named...Charles McGonigal? The analysis by author Greg Olean finds potential smoking guns everywhere. And did FBI interference on Trump's behalf ever stop? A new Congressman presses the DOJ to investigate William Barr and John Durham, and - another election, another laptop - Hunter Biden goes on offense and demands the DOJ and the state of Delaware investigate Trumpland figures including Rudy Giuliani for stealing the contents of his laptop, and trafficking in them.

B-Block (19:25) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Melody in Arkansas (20:38) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Tom Brady retired. Again. SURRRRRE he did. The College Board caves to Ron DeSantis - time to put them out of business. And a nitwitted Freshman Congressman from Missouri named Burlison not only compares DirecTV refusing to pay to carry NewsMax to the holocaust, but tries to ad lib Pastor Niemoller's "First, they came for the Socialists." Too bad about DirecTV being "de-platformed" and Burlison now having absolutely no place left in Right Wing Media to go to whine about being silenced.

C-Block (34:49) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Sure the FBI New York bureau may have fixed the 2016 election to Trump, but literally they're not all bad. In fact, I'm a satisfied customer. They did a helluva job each time some guy mailed me what he claimed was Anthrax in 2006.

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EPISODE 124: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: At a time when the all the forces that can be brought to bear against democracy, against diversity, against more voters more often in more convenient ways, are being brought; when the liberal viewpoint on cable news has never more important, has never been under greater threat from both market-forces and more transparent fascism; when the premise of such 24/7 coverage has never been closer to extinction, the people running the last surviving liberal and moderate outlets have the solution to the crisis: MSNBC will give you more Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert guest hits, and CNN is going to bring you, in prime time, once a week... Gayle King! 

B-Block (22:37) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Akira in New York (23:36) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Oh, NOW CBS reports that days after Biden's lawyers first found documents, they invited the FBI to search the Think Tank; Santos recusing from committees; McCarthy thinks this'll give him time to "clear things up" LOL; Military Coup in Moscow? And self-referential news: a million downloads in one month! (26:56) IN SPORTS: When you're turning to Hope Hicks to help your image, your image is in baaaaad shape. And that 13-year old Women's Basketball JV player? She was just a little old (30:16) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Jesse Watters accidentally speaks the truth, the Schlapp victim sues again, and actress Andrea Riseborough gets away with it.

C-Block (34:48) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: 16 years ago, then Senator Joe Biden invited me to lunch to ask my advice. About what? What did I care? He asked for my ADVICE! Actually it was about converting anger into righteous indignation and I take no credit for this but I will ask you: when was the last time you heard somebody throw the old charge at him that he's a "hot head?"

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EPISODE 123: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: "You have a lot of folks who are just waiting for his mortal demise," says former Michigan Republican Congressman Peter Meijer. "I've heard from a lot of people who will go onstage and put on the red hat and then give me a call the next day and say 'I can't wait until this guy dies.'" It's an amazing strategy but a passive one. And it ignores the various walls closing in on Trump: two District Attorneys, three Grand Juries, one Judiciary Chairman annoyed at John Durham and William Barr, one Judiciary Chairman rebuffed by Merrick Garland, one porn star, and one guy named Pecker.

Still, potentially the most extraordinary story about Trump: the clouds gathering around the arrest of Charlie McGonigal, who was a 24/7, 365 days a year, hot and cold running blackmail-victim-FBI-Agent-waiting-to-happen. And now two analysts look at his arrest and suggest: this may evolve into a) a spy scandal in which the national security was utterly breached and b) a journalistic disaster in which Trump, Russia, and the FBI managed to manipulate The New York Times into pushing Trump across the finish line in 2016.

B-Block (18:53) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Memphis, in Texas (20:06) IN SPORTS: The passing of hockey's Bobby Hull and Cleveland's John Adams; Why was the 52nd best player in baseball chosen to adorn the cover of its top video game? And happy 206th birthday, J. Shorthouse, Esq. (24:07) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: More George Santos stupidity, a Florida Climate Caucus Congresswoman who owns up to $195k in oil stocks, and Megyn Kelly slams Jill Biden for something her own father did.

C-Block (29:56) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: CNN has gone and done it: addressing its cratering ratings by adding a regular Friday segment from Bill Maher's HBO panel. Time again to go back to 2009 when Bill and I nearly brawled at his HBO after-party because he insisted we never met in college (spoiler alert: Oh yeah we did).

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EPISODE 122: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: Watch the video of the torture and murder of Tyre Nichols by the Memphis police, and read what they first claimed had happened to him, and the unmistakable truth is confirmed anew: We are all hostages to the police. More directly, more urgently, more fatally - for people of color. But all the rest of us, too. Police who kill other than as a last, unavoidable act to protect the community are no longer police for any of us, and if they can be trained to kill because of race, they can be trained to kill because of politics, or sexual orientation, or because of whoever those who trained them want them to kill.

B-Block (19:19) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Olive, the mini-pug, in New Jersey. (20:16) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: A motive for FBI election tamperer Charles McGonigal: he was leading a double life; Trump's domes and binoculars; the ratings of CNN and MSNBC crash and burn but thank god NBC didn't have to deal with the controversy of bringing me back! (26:00) IN SPORTS: White Sox retain Benetti, Super Bowl set on the dumbest penalty in years, Pride Night without the Pride or the explanation. (29:46) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: THE Associated Press insults THE French, General Ripper rides again, and the vapid CNN host who says the Memphis police didn't murder Tyre Nichols.

C-Block (35:26) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: On the subject of the cratering of cable news, did I ever tell you how Lawrence O'Donnell tried to take Countdown away from me while I was taking care of my dying father? Or how he stole two of my senior producers to run his new show? Or how he leaked a personal letter of mine to Ann Coulter? Or how his ratings are now down below where MSNBC's were in 2003?

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EPISODE 121: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: Yesterday I proposed that to crowd this corrupt Republican farce, "The Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Government" off the stage, the Democrats needed a similar investigation in the Senate. Suddenly there are far more important reasons than politics and counter-programming. The New York Times' post-mortem on The Durham "Investigation" shows ethical corner cutting and possible criminality. And the deeper dives into the ex-FBI agent arrested Monday show the outlines of the possibility Charles McGonigal took Russian money long before 2021. What if these are just two pictures of the same conspiracy taken at different times? What if this is ALL about an effort to protect Russian Government Intelligence Agencies, and Trump? And even worse: what if The New McCarthyism of the "Weaponization" subcommittee is just the newest photo of the same cover-up?  Start that investigation now, Senators.

B-Block (14:57) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Cookie, in Ft. Lauderdale (16:07) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Sports Owner James Dolan-Moron; Fascist Congressmen threaten an investigation of one company refusing to start paying another company for a product it currently gets for free; and George "Jew-Ish" Santos turns out to have posted offensive Hitler jokes (22:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Numerology time. One birthday boy's greatest scoop, about a guy whose birthday was the day before, that aired on 8/8/88.

C-Block (28:43) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: His epic story of deception and the Brooklyn Dodgers: "The Catbird Seat."

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EPISODE 120: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: We must act now against The New McCarthyism, or lose the Republic. With Trump restored to Facebook, dispatching Coke Jr and recording a video sending KEVIN McCarthy instructions for this insidious "Weaponization Subcommittee," the Democrats must literally counter-program. The Senate must crowd the Jim Jordan Star Chamber off the public stage by holding its own hearings (the suppression of the Mueller Report; the actions of just-arrested FBI agent and now Russian oligarch advisor Charles McGonigal in the infamous Comey Letter of October 2016; anything will do). Trump smells the opportunity to turn truth into falsehood, and falsehood into truth. We must stop him and The New McCarthyism - and damn fast.

B-Block (15:25) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Huggin, in New York (16:21) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Sapphire's successor is finally on the way; the man behind audience participation at "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" has passed; and a bad day for Joe Rogan and Fred Roggin (20:14)THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: HOW many people watched baseball's Hall of Fame announcement on the network it owns? Marge can see her reflection in a mirror. And the RWNJ who thinks Damar Hamlin didn't recover from his cardiac arrest and is actually dead and the vaccine killed him - because some people are just insensitive morons.

C-Block (25:50) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: With the Republicans now offering to place one of their presidential primary debates on CNN or MSNBC, time to recall the day they starkly told Tom Brokaw what HE had to do if they really expected John McCain to show up to the debate Brokaw would moderate in his swan song for NBC News: get me fired.

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EPISODE 119: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) OF McGONIGAL, DERIPASKA, AND MANAFORT, Part 1: Even at this late date, the ex-FBI executive arrested Saturday, Charles McGonigal, could put Donald Trump in jail forever. McGonigal is not only facing prison for working for Russian oligarch and election conspiracist Oleg Deripaska, but when the FBI revived the "But Her Emails" smear against Hillary Clinton 11 days before the 2016 election and three days later leaked it had "cleared" Trump, McGonigal was the head of the FBI's 2016 Trump-Russia investigation. He's the centerpiece of TWO of the plots to install Trump, and his arrest should start the entire investigation of the Trump-Russia Conspiracy.

B-Block (13:34) OF McGONIGAL, DERIPASKA, AND MANAFORT, Part 2: McGonigal, like Paul Manafort, became an employee of Putin crony Deripaska. It's time again to examine Manafort, in bed with Deripaska to the tune of $60,000,000 and appearing in front of Tom Barrack right after Trump lost the Iowa Caucuses saying "I've got to GET TO TRUMP." His story, and the timeline that led McGonigal to a prison cell.

C-Block (31:55) OF McGONIGAL, DERIPASKA, AND MANAFORT, Part 3: Suddenly the picture looks so familiar: emails, a computer, gaslighting. It's time to remember the horrible feeling of the morning the sun did not rise: November 9, 2016, and to launch either a Senate or Presidential investigation of the successful Trump-Russia plot to install him in the White House before they succeed again.

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EPISODE 118: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: The Trump-Russia story roared back from the dead yesterday and basically nobody noticed. They've arrested retired FBI agent Charles McGonigal, of the lead FBI investigators of 2016 Russian Electoral Interference by Putin-friendly Russian oligarch Oleg Derpiaska. The allegation? That McGonigal has spent the last year secretly working FOR OLEG DERIPASKA. And if that doesn't make you scratch your head, remember that one of Deripaska's employees was a consultant named Paul Manafort and by total coincidence one of Trump's campaign managers was a consultant named Paul Manafort. Plus updates on Biden's documents (we're up to EIGHT different stories now) and how the Arizona Senate race just changed, activating Kyrsten Sinema's aversion to three-ways.

B-Block (16:28) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Robin; (17:42) IN SPORTS: Angels not for sale, Hall of Fame may not get any electees; Local newscaster struggles with the hockey name "Canucks." And "Boudreau." And "Tocchet." (23:27) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Mike Pompeo smears Jamal Khashoggi, Elon Musk again, and the M&M Nonsense fight for the honors.

C-Block (29:08) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Since it's baseball Hall of Fame announcement day, the story of the time I was asked at age 20 to call Willie Mays after he was banned from the game. A woman answered. Or it sounded like a woman. But it also sounded like Willie. And that's when the fun began.

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EPISODE 117: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:41) SPECIAL COMMENT: I do not believe Joe Biden and/or his team mishandled any classified documents. Unfortunately, it’s clear Joe Biden and/or his team mishandled the messaging, the process, and the narrative. If you have to tell seven different stories in two weeks, it begins to matter less and less that you were totally cooperative and proactive and invited the feds to search, and it begins to look more and more like that oldest of presidential story templates: It no longer looks like what the president said it was. 

Happily there are several things the president can still did to regain the narrative and smash the undeserved gift his team handed the inquisition-happy Republicans and the pudding-brained American political-media complex so desperate for a Democratic scandal that Peter Baker actually wrote a piece comparing Biden's papers to Clinton-Lewinsky! And he better do them TODAY.

B-Block (16:25) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Sebastian; (17:30) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The Brett Kavanaugh Sexual Assault documentary, Revised Edition, plus George Santos, and the SCOTUS Investigation that wasn't really an investigation. (20:14) IN SPORTS: Trump praises Trump, The Golfer Of Strength And Stamina. Hockey's Vancouver Canucks screw up again. A month until Spring Training games and the chaos of the new rules. And my secret method to make sure all batting averages actually go up (24:36) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Nikki Haley doesn't know what the "P" in VP stands for, the lights are on but no one's home, and Greg Abbott's epic twitter self-own.

C-Block (29:13) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Talk about White Houses trying to control the narrative: in 2004 George W. Bush's people were a) convinced I was on their side b) knew I was only interviewing Iraq War critic Ambassador Joe Wilson in order to savage him c) decided to help me by emailing all their talking points but d) couldn't figure out how to spell my name. Hilarity ensued (and all they wound up doing was revealing to me all of "their" people at NBC News.

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EPISODE 116: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) Alina Habba! C'mon Down! You're the next contestant on YOU TRUSTED TRUMP! His lawyer sanctioned $937,989.39 for being stupid enough to file Trump's stunt-suit against Hillary Clinton. Just part of a day in which it sure sounded as if Trump has gotten a role of stamps and mailed it in for 2024, low lighted by what could be the new somnambulant campaign slogan: "TRUMP 2024! SO IT GOES." (7:45) Trump invokes the Supreme Court leak, leaving me to wonder: if there was a crime, why wasn't the FBI or the cops investigating it and not...the Court itself? (9:06) The first lie George Santos addresses is the Drag Queen story and his big flex is "I don't kill dogs"? And he manages non-denial denials on both (12:04) And there are three new January 6th Defendants, all Marines in Military Intelligence and that magic phrase offers happy memories of George Carlin.

B-Block (17:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Uptown, in New York (18:12) IN SPORTS: Time for Tony Dungy's annual humiliation of NBC Sports, and the Philadelphia Flyers double down on the Pride Night disaster that threatens to turn the NHL into the "National Homophobia League" (23:05) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The New York Times competes with two different state governors - one Democrat, one Republican.

C-Block (28:13) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: Of spies, schemes, string beans, and falling asleep mid-fantasy: "The Lady on 142."

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EPISODE 115: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) It's kind of a drag: The Republican Party has persecuted, vilified, targeted, and endangered every drag performer (and any of the rest of us who have refused to join them in their smears) by branding them 'Groomers' has been twisting itself in knots for a month all to protect a new New York Congressman who has been identified by a Brazilian Drag Star as a fellow Drag Artist.

Just when we thought "George Santos" had run out of new names, he got his best yet: Kitara Ravache. And there's a photo. And there's apparently a new VIDEO. And this is all that's left to Kevin McCarthy: throw Kitara overboard and risk a smaller House majority, or stick with him and spend the rest of the next two years answering questions about SANTOS'S DRESS SELECTION AND ABILITY TO ACCESSORIZE.

It's. Perfect.

Plus: the only Republican who's lied more than Santos does it again. Trump inadvertently gives the DOJ evidence of his intent to steal classified folders. And under oath in the E. Jean Carroll rape lawsuit he is asked who's the woman in the photo with him. He answers "that's my wife Marla Maples." It's not. It's... E. Jean Carroll.

Could've been worse. Could've been Kitara Ravache.

B-BLOCK (16:24) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: "Critical Boy" in Texas. (17:50) IN SPORTS: The National Hockey League destroys its own "Pride Night" in Philadelphia, choosing to defend not the LGBTQ community it pretended to celebrate, but the bigoted player who hid behind his religion that endorsed Russia's attack on Ukraine because Ukraine has Pride Parades. It's a disaster. (25:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Compromises in exchange for debates, Boris Johnson's new book, and a Tesla engineer says there's a problem with the 2016 "Tesla X Drives Itself" video. He says: it's fake.

C-BLOCK (29:48) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Republican Primary Debate Chairman David Bossie - THAT David Bossie - says he's willing to put some debates on CNN and/or NBC. Do you know how much CNN and/or NBC had to prostitute themselves just to get this far? I do, from personal experience. Because in 2008, the Republicans' debate price to NBC was: "Fire Olbermann."

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EPISODE 114: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: May George Santos burn in hell, and the sooner the better. A homeless disabled Navy veteran tells the Oyster Bay NY "Patch" news site that Santos told him he would raise the $3,000 needed for life-saving surgery for the vet's Service Dog, Sapphire. And Santos raised it. And Santos kept it. And Sapphire died.

It boils down to this: George Santos as good as killed a dog, for money.

And today, a political prostitute named Kevin McCarthy will lecture this country about the will of the voters, and refuse to call for Santos merely to resign from Congress, and will insist "I try to stick by the Constitution" solely because McCarthy needs Santos's vote to keep his sorry ass in the Speaker's chair. And I tell people that once, maybe Republicans were just as soulless and evil as they are today, but they used to have a fear of getting caught doing and being it, and so they would refuse to enable wretched, disgusting sociopaths like George Santos. And now the fear is gone, and so with it is any claim of either morality or humanity in that party. Because as amoral as McCarthy is, he was not alone in turning away from the story of Sapphire and god knows how many other Santos stories like it, and giving him seats on the House Small Business and Science Committees. Steve Scalise is guilty, too. And Tom Emmer. And Elise Stefanik. And Mike Johnson. And Gary Palmer. And Richard Hudson. And the rest of the Republican "leadership" in the House.

And today not one reporter will ask any of them, the question: "How can you defend your man George Santos? He ran a fake pet charity and by proxy killed a disabled veteran's service dog so he could take the money from the GoFundMe. How can you defend him? How can you NOT spit in his face?"

B-Block (23:41) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Ravioli (24:41) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Madison Square Garden's face and facial recognition device attacked by all of New York's politicians; what's that on Kyrsten Sinema's shoulder, and hey, Ted Cruz, why didn't you wager some incest porn? (29:58) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: First came the ten hours in a blizzard in a car that had just had its snow tires removed by George's father because after all it was April and it NEVER snows in April. But then, after the trial-by-snow, there was... The Adler Letter.

C-Block (44:32) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL, PART 2: The Adler Letter, written by the-then News Director of WCBS Radio in New York, Lou Adler, changed my life. Nearly 44 years later it still hangs in a place of honor on my wall, and 37 years later I got to repay his kindness and support.

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EPISODE 113: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: Now that George Santos has been tied financially to the cousin of a sanctioned Russian Oil Oligarch, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy has confirmed he won't move to oust him, the Democrats have to run with the gift the Republicans have given them. Whatever the issue, whatever the question, whatever the talking points, every Democrat, every time, must answer: "George Santos." GOP tries to blame Biden for the looming debt ceiling crisis? "You sound like George Santos!" McCarthy asks about the documents? "Why isn't the Speaker as angry at George Santos?" CNN writes another Bothsidesist article about documents? "Why isn't CNN probing George Santos and the Russian Oligarch?" Everybody insists nobody needs to investigates his ex-girlfriend's allegations of violence against Rep. James Comer? "Speaker McCarthy? In Comer, are you worried you've got another George Santos on your hands?"

B-Block (16:33) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Waffles (17:31) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: If she's secretly governor why would she run for Governor? And what do the Biden documents make Ronny Jackson think of? Drugs and hookers! Of course EVERYTHING makes Ronny think of drugs and hookers. (19:36) IN SPORTS: The LIV Golf tournament, formally tied to Prince MBS and Trump; why would baseball expand, especially to Nashville? And 1962 Met Frank Thomas dies, and leaves a troubling legacy on race and teammates and Dick Allen. (26:32) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Jordan Peterson runs a climate change denial chart that ends in 1885; Germany needs a new Defense Minister (to say nothing of 5000 new helmets), and Tucker Carlson needs you to explain candy to him.

C-Block (31:02) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: CNN's Chris Licht reportedly wants to hire a comedian to do a nightly newscast you can laugh at (intentionally, this time). He and others at Clicks Not News think this is a great, brand new idea. In fact, it's a lousy old one. It was first proposed at CNN...in 2001! I know: I was in the room. And it was THE SAME COMEDIAN!

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EPISODE 112: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: Garland has to go - and NOT because he appointed a Special Counsel; that'll probably work to Biden's advantage. We have to have somebody there to protect the Trump Investigation and Merrick Garland has again shown he's not smart enough to be trusted with doing it.

Garland has to go because of a question nobody's asking: Who illegally leaked this confidential investigation to CBS News? How could it leak barely four days after the internal recommendation to name a Counsel? How could Garland have handed this case requiring ultimate secrecy to a Trump appointee? How could he NOW hand the case over to a DIFFERENT Trump appointee who used to clerk for Justice Rehnquist and has his own page as a "contributing expert" to The Federalist Society? We've all long had reasons to question Merrick Garland's intelligence and savviness, but these are the last straws. He's just no damn good at this, and right now we have no margin for error for a guy whose Department of Justice is a sieve, and doesn't understand the realities of the Trump cult.

B-Block (16:48) SPECIAL COMMENT No. 2: This is the third time I have suggested Garland must either act or resign. In September, as Trump tried to block the Mar-a-Lago investigation via the "Special Master" there was a way around the stall for Garland. And he just sat back and did nothing.

C-Block (25:30) SPECIAL COMMENT No. 3: And in October, Garland seemed to willfully ignore that week-long orgy of Trump's boastful confessions about the documents he stole. (40:45) It's so bad that there's even a James Thurber fable, the moral of which is the story of Merrick Garland. It's called "The Bear Who Let It Alone."

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EPISODE 111: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: Washington Post's huge scoop. The Justice of Department is now investigating whether Trump or his minions paid for the attorneys of witnesses in the Special Counsel's investigation and to the Grand Jury. It's the Cassidy Hutchinson question and it's critical to proving perjury, suborning of perjury and obstruction of justice. DOJ is subpoenaing witnesses' retainers with their attorneys. For the second time in three nights the breadth of Jack Smith's investigation has widened. Did you see it on CNN? Are the Post and the Times pushing it? They are not, because they have the "new" Biden story: NBC has one source saying somewhere (their source doesn't know where) somebody (their source doesn't know who) found something (their source doesn't know what). And another stampede reminiscent of the Clinton-Lewinsky "Anything Is News" mindset of 1998 is underway. The knives are out for Joe Biden, and CNN's goal is obvious: it will participate in the cover-up of the crimes as Donald Trump. It's so bad CNN actually brought Maga Maggie Haberman in to "analyze" the Biden sliver and she actually said "We don't know the details, BUT..."

Oh by the way, on the same day it broke its "story," NBC News... fired its president.

B-Block (19:44) SPECIAL COMMENT 2: I really think we have forgotten how serious the allegations are against Trump. Donald Rumsfeld's onetime speechwriter wrote "If Trump's classified document mishandling was 'irresponsible' so is Biden's." Well, no, it wasn't 'irresponsible.' Trump's classified document mishandling was 'when Ethel Rosenberg did the same damn thing in the 1950's we executed her.' Let's really play the CNN Whataboutism game. Here's what I reported on August 9, 2022.

C-Block (36:10) SPECIAL COMMENT 3: Oh and lookee here: this is from September 8, 2022, when we first realized that Trump had stolen nuclear documents outlining what nukes another nation did and didn't have. Not only did this espionage and kleptomania hit home, but three months and four days ago I actually said here that sooner or later, CNN would join the cover-up of Trump's crimes. Point to moi.

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A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: It is amazing but true: the coverage of the Biden document story by Fox News has been more restrained and responsible than has CNN’s. The desperate attempt to position the Think Tank Papers story  as one that - in the words of a CNN commentator - "almost exonerates" Trump, continued last night. The raw numbers are startling: between 5 and 11 PM ET Monday, MSNBC gave the story 14 minutes, Fox News gave it 29 minutes, and CNN gave it 107 MINUTES. Three and a half times as much as Fox! And the worst perpetrator of CNN’s willingness to literally lie to its viewers has been Anderson Cooper. The first words out of his mouth last night were how quote “President Biden’s first public statement on the classified documents uncovered at his former private office” were 'breaking news.' I suggested in real time that if Cooper had any remaining self-respect he would quit before his program was over. He didn't. He doesn't.

There is much more than money to what CNN's new fascist troika - Chris Licht, David Zaslav, and John Malone - is doing. This is the Clinton-Lewinsky night-after-night brainwash play: convince America that if Biden is not guilty, Trump is not guilty. And having sold their souls, they will keep pushing this as long as we don't stop them.

B-Block (18:45) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Poor Mike Pompeo couldn't get anybody to blurb his book so he had to do it himself. He competes with a climate denier who insists if we reinstate wind power we will automatically reinstate The Atlantic Slave Trade, and the nimrods like Tomi Lahren who complained that Ukraine's president went to Hollywood for the Golden Globes last night - even though he didn't. (23:58) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL No. 1: The perfidy of using cable news to brainwash didn't start with Chris Licht. I was there the day the Chairman of GE was ready to shut down MSNBC because his Mommy the Bill O'Reilly fan believed her son was building IEDs to kill America because Fox told her so.

C-Block (41:55) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL No. 2: My first experience with the ad salesmen who pretend to be cable's journalistic decision-makers came even before my first MSNBC show in 1997. That's when the big meeting with the man Microsoft thought shared editorial control of MSNBC was to meet with me, and NBC's execs were worried about only one thing: how effectively I ignored him.

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EPISODE 109: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: We're really doing "But Hillary's Emails" again, huh, CNN? Huh, NBC? Huh, CBS? Huh, New York Times? Huh, Washington Post? THE HELL WE ARE. CBS's website broke the story accurately ("Documents MARKED classified...found at Biden's think tank") and then Norah O'Donnell dropped the caveats and mitigations and tarted the story up. The Post bothsidesed and whataboutismed the Biden story, invoking Trump in the subhead. The Times comped Trump in Paragraph 5. And worst of all, an hour after CNN broke a genuinely important story: Special Counsel Jack Smith subpoenaing Rudy Giuliani in the Trump Post-Election "Save America PAC" Fundraising crimes, what did Anderson Cooper lead with? His network's own, important, resonating scoop? Nope. The Paste Eaters of CNN buried their own scoop - six nights before their Giuliani Documentary Series starts, too! - so television's longest-running failed marketing experience Anderson Cooper could alter the facts and mislead the nation by saying "Turns out the former president is not the only one with a classified documents problem. The CURRENT president has one as well." Sure, Coop. If a Swiss Army knife is the same as Jack The Ripper's Murder Weapon.

Fire. Them. All.

B-Block (20:02) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL PART 1: That "bronchial thing" turned out to be a sinus infection, but happily in September I brought you the career story that fits perfectly this descent into "But Her Emails 2". I would've just re-read it anyway: It was June 5, 1998, when I tried to quit as the anchor of MSNBC's top Clinton-Lewinsky-Starr show and two NBC News executives asked me to see an NBC official as part of a process to leave the network - except she turned out to be their leg-breaker and told me NBC versus me would be "David and Goliath" and NBC would crush me.

C BLOCK (33:35) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL PART 2: But it was even worse: she promised that if I quit, NBC would put my parents "out on the street." That's how closely Ken Starr forged the link between his live made-for-tv political reality show and the profits at all the networks.

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EPISODE 108: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: The Rules Package the new Speaker of the House/Hostage Kevin McCarthy will present today will include a subcommittee with which Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz insist they can investigate ANYTHING the Justice Department does, including active criminal investigations. What these toads don't know is that they're not the first half-baked fascists to try this, and something called The Linder Letter will protect DOJ from testifying, supplying evidence, or prosecuting anybody for contempt of Congress for ignoring the Gaetz-McCarthy masturbatory star chamber. Trump can't escape justice - not this way. Though the Holman Rule, which in theory could allow the House to zero out the salary of anybody in government, is a little more of challenge, there's a way to work around that, too. So as you hear the Taliban 20 and their puppet McCarthy emit dire threats today, have a good laugh.

B-Block (15:40) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Waffles in Shreveport. (16:52) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Deport Bolsonaro back to Brasil? Why? Deport Bannon and Jason Miller to Brasil - DETAIN Bolsonaro here. And, just when you thought Matt Schlapp had lost his grip. (19:23) IN SPORTS: Now we have to worry about the popular baseball pitcher Liam Hendriks. (21:52) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: How to delete an offensive tweet and get others to disseminate it for you, by a Florida MAGA Congressmen, plus the National Hockey League has an idea for its All-Star Skills Competition: ALLIGATORS.

C-Block (25:49) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Two happy anniversaries, within days of each other. How I helped to launch ESPN Radio, and then days later while traveling FOR the new network, happened to meet the lovely, delightful, gifted actress - the late Elizabeth Montgomery.

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EPISODE 107: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) Kevin "Oceans 11" McCarthy is overshadowed by The Daily Beast report that CPAC lynchpin and MAGA Caucus inspiration Matt Schapp has been accused of "sustained and unwanted and unsolicited" sexual groping by a man working for Herschel Walker's Senate campaign. The Schlapp story overshadowed what should've been the real headline: Congressman Don Bacon floated, on Fox News no less, a plan to offer the Democrats improved committee ratios and other procedural (but not insignificant) goodies in exchange for support for McCarthy because the GOP is going to have to be bipartisan to get anything done and it might as well start now. (6:00) But at least half a dozen other Republicans stepped on rakes. One of them led to the House breaking out in chants of "Ha-keem Ha-keem" and another is as remarkable a diatribe as I've ever heard in politics. (9:30) I don't put much stock in Ali Alexander, but he accused Marjorie Taylor Greene of an unspecified crime in Georgia and went deeply misogynistic to insult her. Get your popcorn.

B-Block (14:20) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Zsa Zsa in Georgia (15:40) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The January 6 Presidential Citizen Medals vie for news space with a wrongful death suit against Trump, a sexual harassment suit against Rudy, and Prince Harry's Frozen Junk (19:00) IN SPORTS: You can use the word miracle: Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is moving his limbs and asking for scoreboard updates, and Alex Rodriguez may have gotten caught shoveling about shoveling (21:07) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Conservatives blast Hannity, Bothsidesism in the House, and Joe Rogan is the dumbest guy on the planet. Again. Still. Forever.

C-Block (26:47) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Sunday would've been Elvis Presley's birthday so it's time to play it again: not only did I - at age 18 - actually do a radio commercial for an Elvis Presley Concert that he never lived to see, but the tape of it still exists!

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EPISODE 106: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECAL COMMENT: OK, you guys. I got it. I got the solution to the Republican debacle over the endless Sisyphean votes for Speaker of the House. BEFORE Congress convenes at Noon, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries walks into Kevin McCarthy's office and says "Kevin! Do you WANT to be Speaker? Do you REALLY want to Speaker? I can MAKE you Speaker. Right now." And he hands him a small index card which reads "212 DEMOCRATIC VOTES" and then he says...

B-Block (15:23) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: The Mt. Vernon, New York, shelter is closing. We need to save its dogs and cats by the end of the month. (16:22) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: FBI tries to goose the 1/5-1/6 Pipe Bomber investigation and hey, Trump, guess who's back in town? (18:11) IN SPORTS: The Red Sox do SOMETHING, will anybody get in the Hall of Fame, and meet Marcel Marcel (21:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Roll Call introduces the political equivalent of baseball metrics (and will regret it for the rest of time), Kari Lake goes nuttier, and MSNBC whores itself out - again.

C-Block (27:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: He was the most famous newscaster in Los Angeles from 1960 through 2002 and he had the most famous sign-on catchphrase and everybody in Southern California knew it by heart - except for the night HE FORGOT IT.

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EPISODE 105: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: The Taliban Caucus lights the Republican Party and the House of Representatives on fire, while on his first day, the New Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries perfectly whips his members to do literally do nothing more than bring their popcorn and watch everybody from Gaetz to McCarthy burn, baby, burn. It was a beautiful thing, and it left the full range of fascists from Tucker Carlson to Rep. Byron Donalds having to cobble together the nonsensical sophistry that their self-defenestration was actually democracy in action. If Jeffries can manage to keep the Democrats from reverting to their natural desire to do ill-timed good on behalf of the institution rather than let the Republicans shoot themselves again today, he will have won the 118th Congress no matter which Liz Truss the GOP eventually settles on in place of the wounded McCarthy.

B-Block (15:15) SPECIAL COMMENT No. 2: There is the tragedy of Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills, and then there is the disgusting reality that the National Football League is now trying to gaslight us. OF COURSE the league intended to resume Monday night's game even after the stricken player fell. And now the NFL has lied about it and sleazily blamed Joe Buck, Suzy Kolber and all of ESPN, to cover up its own insensitivity and callousness. This is, of course, the history of the NFL, which did the wrong thing after JFK was assassinated, and after Mayor George Moscone and Councilman Harvey Milk were assassinated hours before a Monday Night Football game in San Francisco, and after it was told flights could not be guaranteed to get its players and media to games the weekend after 9/11. But this lie makes the Hamlin nightmare even worse - as does the rank exploitation of it by the anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists, who spit on the memories of Chuck Hughes and J.V. Cain and Hank Gathers and so many athletes who died on the field, from cardiac distress. (30:54) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Trump and Michael Flynn are no match for Congressman-Elect George Santos.

C-Block (36:09) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: In 1973, Charles Crawford was interviewing me for his TV news story from one of the earliest baseball card shows. In 1983, he was sitting next to me on the anchor desk at CNN. He introduced himself and I said "we've met before." His reaction when I told him how and when is worth your time.

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EPISODE 104: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) Of course, in the spirit of the candidate, and the entire Republican Party, when I say "I know who the secret candidate for speaker is," I might be lying. I am, however, telling the truth about the inevitability of the farce that must result if you run endless Political Purity Tests and try to use The Universal Solvent as a political tool. (6:20) Also ruining the Republicans' day, the George Santos saga. More lies - about Covid and Brain Tumors - and the Brazilians reviving their prosecution of Santos for fraud. (7:39) And were that not enough to spoil the coronation or schlock-blocking of McCarthy, there are the final Farewell Gifts from The House January 6th Committee, from Steve Bannon's plan for a January 21st Coup to Hope Hicks' breathless worry about her resume leading to the rhetorical question "Whaddya mean, NOW?"

B-Block (15:30) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Polo in New York (17:11) IN SPORTS: The health of Martina Navratilova, the self-defeating success of Outdoor Hockey games, Jim Harbaugh's latest NFL dalliance and the day I operated on his knee, and how in the hell was Trump claiming a 2015 tax deduction for a football team he bankrupted in 1985? (21:30) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: two New York politicos, one blocking measures to save shelter dogs, the other resigning for Election Fraud (guess his party?) compete with Sean Spicer who can't spell, Period.

C-Block (26:57) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Next Monday it'll be exactly 40 years since I looked out my apartment window just before bed, and looked down to the street and got a big surprise. The saga of Keith and the Molotov Cocktail.

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EPISODE 103: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:55) BARBARA WALTERS: IN MEMORIAM. Since her death Friday, there has been one story after another about Barbara Walters the groundbreaker and Barbara Walters the feminist and Barbara Walters the interviewer and Barbara Walters the role model and each of these accolades is more than justified. But I'm not seeing enough about Barbara Walters, the person with a large soul who survived as huge a disaster as ever befell the career of anybody in television, who fought her way back from punchline to immortal, and who thanked everybody who protected her, and tried to protect everybody - women and men alike - who might be facing any of the attacks she fought off in the years following 1976. As she wrote me once: "I'm not as tough as I pretend to be and the support means the world to me. I cannot thank you enough."

B-Block (16:40) SPECIAL COMMENT: Chief Justice Roberts reinforced his reputation as the human embodiment of the "This Is Fine" dog in the burning room meme. Did his year end message on the judiciary for New Year's 2023 address Samuel Alito's insults towards this country? The revelation that he discussed Hobby Lobby with one of the theocrats before ruling? The madness of Ginni Thomas trying to overthrow the government? The Court throwing away its remaining credibility? No. He knows who the real victims here: The Justices.

C-Block (26:15) SPECIAL COMMENT: Roberts, of course, is nothing compared to Sam Alito. Where is Alito's reply to The New York Times report about his leak to Hobby Lobby? Where is the Court's reply to the Judiciary Committees of the House and Senate demanding answers about it? Alito is a clear and present danger to this country.

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EPISODE 102: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT No. 1: George Santos is the Brian Williams of politics. I joked last week "If that IS your real name." Now there's question as to whether or not it is. And about where he went to HIGH SCHOOL. And the time he claimed he was black. And about how he could get Kevin McCarthy elected speaker - and get him fired later. As the Feds begin to follow his equally dubious campaign money, I repeat my plea to Democrats: don't try to keep him from being seated by the House of Representatives next Tuesday. After it dawned on me that the comp for Santos is my unfortunate former friend Brian Williams, it also dawned on me that there might still be a way for Santos to worm his way out of it. And that's also reflected in the saga of the George Santos of 1954: Congressman Douglas Stringfellow of Arizona.

B-Block (18:36) SPECIAL COMMENT No. 2: There is method to the January 6th Committee's madness of waiting until the Christmas-New Year's Break to release its final report and these fascinating deposition transcripts. I think they did it to shield the recommendation to invoke the Insurrection Clause of the 14th Amendment. As a bonus yesterday we got testimony that Kim Guilfoyle is an idiot, and that Melania Trump lived in mortal fear of being seen in her robe by Rudy Giuliani.

B-Block (33:51) IN SPORTS: The death of Pele, an analysis of the athletic gifts that made him his game's greatest ever, and his surprising legacy in New York and the United States. (37:55) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Bad reporting at The New York Times, New York Magazine, and Politico is no match for - as Scottish tweeter Al Kennedy wrote - "I have to hand it to Andrew Tate, this is the first time I've seen someone be so outwitted by a teenager that they end up in jail without it involving a dog that solves fake ghost mysteries."

C-Block (43:21) FRIDAYS WITH JAMES THURBER: His most reprinted story: "The Night The Bed Fell."

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EPISODE 101: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: Be as righteously indignant as you want, Democrats. But do NOT attempt to block the seating of George "If That Is Your Real Name" Santos. No matter which way Kevin McCarthy turns, Santos will be his undoing, so just shut up and invest in popcorn. As a Republican District Attorney opens a probe of his campaign and his cornucopia of lies, Santos is still doubling down and dismissing as "nitpicking" those recoiling at his lies about his religion, family, the Holocaust, the Pulse Nightclub, 9/11, his finances, jobs, education, time spent in Brazil, time spent in Russia, possible criminal records, buildings he does or doesn't own, and lies about a DOG RESCUE. This is not a man even approaching the building that contains the hallway that leads to step one of the 12-Step Program for compulsive liars. It's so bad one Republican ex-Congressman is openly hoping they can seat Santos, then talk him into voting for McCarthy for Speaker, and only then resigning!

B-Block (19:45) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Maltipoo Honey in New York (20:53) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: I'm running for CEO of Twitter, the health of Jamie Raskin, the Bill Cosby Comeback-And-Spiked-Drink Tour (22:54) IN SPORTS: The Raiduhs Quarterback must go down and he must go down hard (24:38) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The New York Times can't stop itself: now it's hyping books written by three correspondents who held news back from The Times in order to get book deals. Plus Elon Musk, and Mayor Eric Adams endorsing turning New York over to "Big Brother."

C-Block (29:12) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Because I found the cassette recently, please enjoy the first professional sportscast I ever did, on July 10, 1979, plus sportscasts from Disco Demolition Night and the retirement of Catfish Hunter. Or don't. I won't hold it against you if you don't listen to 43-year old sportscasts!

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EPISODE 100 REVISED: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:53) BREAKING OVERNIGHT NEWS IN SPORTS: 24 hours ago Carlos Correa was on his way to a press conference for a $350 Million dollar deal with the San Francisco Giants. Then the shindig was cancelled and now Correa has instead signed with the New York Mets! Invoking the college basketball coached who changed his mind on the way to HIS press conference. And sadness in football as Franco Harris died, two days before the 50th Anniversary of the "Immaculate Reception" and three before the Steelers were to retire his uniform.

SPECIAL COMMENT (7:17) Merry Christmas! We got you six years of Trump's Tax Returns! No accounting expertise? No problem. There are apparently no receipts, no substantiations - and somebody stopped the IRS from its mandated audit of Trump's returns while he was in the Oval Office (9:00 The walls haven't just closed in on Trump, they've crushed him. The 1/6 Committee is now shipping all its evidence to DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith (10:52) Remember the attorney who told the Trump witness not to tell everything to the Committee? She's been identified - and her lawyer was the Trump White House Ethics Attorney! (10:45) Bigger picture: The Omnibus Spending Bill will include "The Electoral Count Reform And Presidential Transition Improvement Act," or as it has also been described: Trump-Proofing Our System (14:00) And the right wingers are beginning to look for the Emergency Exit. They can't survive an actual Trump Trial, so they are floating "The Agnew Option" (16:00) But couldn't Trump then transfer his cult to some up and coming young Republican like Representative-Elect George Santos and his helpers? I will not make Simpsons references I will not make Simpsons references I will not make Simpsons references. (17:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: He really thought the name was "John Mastodon;" the owner of the Knicks, Rangers and Radio City owner is using facial recognition technology to keep out people he doesn't like, and Sean Hannity says you're not allowed to have his phone number (23:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Grizzly in California.

B-Block (25:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Amid dark rumors at MSNBC, the day that GE was ready to shut us down because the chairman's mother loved Fox News.

C-Block (44:00) JAMES THURBER: Maybe the best of his longer works, that almost predicted Joe McCarthy, O.J. Simpson, Donald Trump. The saga of fame without character, "The Greatest Man In The World."

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EPISODE 99: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: The House 1/6 Committee's criminal referrals of Trump are historic and headline-grabbing but they are symbols. The testimony and newly-released text of Hope Hicks, the ubiquity of the obscure Ken Klukowski in at least three tentacles of the coup plot, and the introduction of a whole new line of Obstruction of Justice are the real keys. Because not only are they the evidence the Department of Justice can use, but they also give us the shape of things to come: what the trial of Donald Trump will look like. And he says "what does not kill me makes me stronger"? OK, fella. Deal.

B-Block (16:36) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Buddy (18:04) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: It's not just that the Republicans elected a Congressman in New York whose entire resume is a lie, it's that the lazy, sloppy New York Democrats only found out about it when they read it in The New York Times (23:35) IN SPORTS: No, the NBA is not expanding to Mexico City now, any more than it was expanding there in 1992. And baseball mourns the pitcher who walked out on a World Series game because the baby was on the way - and the team had the play-by-play announcers try to beckon him back.

C-Block (32:25) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: How is this possible? Probably the two most prominent blackmail stories of this century - and I once worked alongside the blackmailer in the first case, and I once worked alongside the blackmailee in the other!

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EPISODE 98: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: As Elon Musk votes himself off Twitter Island, the shocking news from The Washington Post: though the two things were unconnected and Musk irresponsibly blamed reporters and the Elon-Jet kid for something that none of us caused or even influenced and had happened two days EARLIER, the mother of two of his children, the singer Grimes HAS an alleged stalker and there was a confrontation last Tuesday. It wasn't our fault and incredibly Musk tried to argue the Elon-Jet kid down from $50,000 to $5,000 for his help. But as somebody who was himself stalked - for FIVE years - IN Los Angeles - by a woman who had the same kind of delusion about 'secret coded messages' from me that Grimes' alleged stalker claims about her, I feel nothing but empathy for Grimes and the kids and - even though Musk tried to humiliate me, mocked my efforts to save death row dogs, and literally told 120 million followers that I had committed a crime, I have empathy for him and would've helped if asked. WHY DIDN'T HE TELL US FIRST, OR EVEN EXPLAIN, INSTEAD OF SUSPEND, THREATEN, AND BULLY?

B-Block (22:51) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Violet in New York POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Criminal Referrals are coming; why Kari Lake must be arrested; Kyrsten Sinema to finance Independent Senate run by selling her old shoes IN SPORTS: Oh great, you decide the soccer championship of the world by a shooting competition. What a pathetic conclusion to a great tournament. The guy who caught Aaron Judge's homer auctions it for half what he would've gotten a month ago. THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Larry Elder invokes Mao, Musk, and Hitler, Marjorie Taylor Greene is back with a second reference to the sex toys for sale, and Chris Licht strikes back at me - and misses.

C-Block (37:11) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: You have to admit, if you want to listen to somebody who's an expert on getting suspended - from Twitter or anybody else - I'M YOUR GUY. Where my top three suspensions rank (and the Twitter one doesn't make the cut). The sagas of MSNBC 2010, ESPN 1997, and UPI 1980.

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EPISODE 97: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: So you probably haven't heard anything about this (LOL) but last night Elon Musk reenacted the church scene from "The Godfather" where Al Pacino as Michael Corleone has all his rivals murdered while his own son is being baptized. I was almost incidental in this: on November 6th, Musk wrote "My commitment to free speech extends to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk." Five weeks later Elon Musk-leone banned the account and threatened legal action against the kid, called it "Assassination Coordinates," even though the information is legally and publicly available and as Phil Bump of The Washington Post writes "identifying the location of an airplane provides 'assassination coordinates' to, like, the operator of a Patriot missile battery." Journalists like Aaron Rupar, Ryan Mac, Donie O'Sullivan from CNN, Drew Harwell of The Post, Matt Binder, Micah Lee, Tony Webster, Steve Herman from the Voice of America - and me - who defended the account, or mentioned a new account had begun on Twitter's rival Mastodon, or linked to it - were immediately banned, permanently, without explanation or notification. I"ll give you the full saga of Apartheid Clyde here, but what a friggin candy-ass lying hypocritical self-contradicting little paranoid snowflake Elon Musk is!

B-Block (20:57) SPECIAL COMMENT: I swear I wondered if maybe Musk did this anti-free speech crap just to make everybody forget about Trump's ridiculous "SuperHero Digital Baseball Cards" which show such illustrations as liquid pouring out of the seat of his pants, him standing in front of something called "RUMP TOWEL," and him standing dressed as a cowboy and way in the background it sure looks like two horses are having sex.

C-Block (27:27) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: His classic story "The Catbird Seat."

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EPISODE 96: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) Do you have a dog? Seems like a simple question. Until you're reminded that Donald Trump never had a dog in his life and only refers to dogs as insults, while Joe Biden got a shelter shepherd who apparently had the insight to bite somebody from the corrupted Secret Service. I'm a late-life dog guy and there's no zealot like a convert, so let me tell you about two of my five pups. The first - was my first. The story of how I was adopted by my gal Stevie is the stuff of improbability, including the role played in it by... Rudy Giuliani?

B-Block (14:03) Stevie's story led me to the American Maltese Association's rescue arm and soon she and her sister were joined by a little guy with a bad heart, who recovered after delicate surgery. (28:42) And then last year I was asked to take in another pup named Mishu whose heart was even worse and for whom there was no surgery to have.

C-Block (37:00) Mishu's story ended in the only way it could. And every moment was worth it. And every moment, he remains with me.

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EPISODE 95: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: You'll be happy to know that Kevin McCarthy, whose only gift is making up excuses for the violent, insane, anti-democracy, murderous, treacherous, traitorous, seditious mob otherwise known as "The Republican Party," has reassured us that when Marjorie Taylor Greene said SHE would've "won" the January 6th Coup, she was just being "facetious." (2:11) So now, what rationalization will he come up with Rep. Ralph Norman and his text of 1/17/21 urging that Trump get busy "invoking Marshall (sic) Law!?" There's quite a few of these McCarthy needs to excuse: the Republicans who want to hang Democrats, who want to hang them from cranes, or put them before firing squads. What words might he choose? (7:05) And how would he describe what Trailer Park Greene asked Laura Loomer to find out about McCarthy's own "affairs"? (8:19) And what word would we use if McCarthy grew a pair and acted to expel Marjorie Taylor Greene under the Rebellion Clause of the 14th Amendment?

B-Block (11:55) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Zenith in New York (13:00) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Senate progress to close the coup loophole? Commutations in Oregon. And the Drag Show Must Go On. (14:46) IN SPORTS: The NBA does an odd job in suddenly naming all its awards after its greatest players. How is a guy who played in nine finals and lost eight of them, to be the face of the "Clutch" Award? And this raises the question of re-naming hockey awards. If the people for whom they are named are not worthy, you should find new faces, yes? That means the racist Conn Smythe. Does it also mean the colonialist anti-native Lord Stanley? (19:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Brittney Griner's situation is original but not unique as The Wall Street Journal claims; many ex-prisoner athletes have played again - including one who played in the country that imprisoned him! Plus Rudy Giuliani changes the Hunter Biden laptop story AGAIN. But can they compete with Elon "I Might Be Elizabeth Holmes Only With A Higher Voice" Musk and his new scheme to cut costs by not paying his debts.

C-Block (24:42) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: I went past my first New York Apartment the other day. It was a great place for $483 a month. Until that night I noticed that the light peeking in around my shades was way too bright because somebody had thrown a Molotov Cocktail into our lobby!

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EPISODE 94: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) Trump and Musk (and it would've been Marjorie Taylor Greene, too, but she screwed it up) are working simultaneously and perhaps in some coordinated form to portray Trump's 1/6 Coup as a "false flag" operation run by Democrats. (4:05) Trump pitched this in an interview yesterday, because it's obvious public opinion will change significantly once the 1/6 Committee issues its report and probably criminal referrals (6:05) As to Greene, she was supposed to make the same claim, but instead inadvertently disproved the whole thing by invoking Guns and the 2nd Amendment in her speech Saturday (9:26) Musk's "Twitter Files" failure has clearly been leading up to the latest claim: that Twitter violated its rules by "illegally de-platformed" Trump (when obviously Federal Laws against sedition and the violent overthrow of the government make your little Twitter rules unnecessary). This all taps into Musk's urgent need to be worshiped on a site that has so far cost him his status as the richest man in the world and forced him to fabricate excuses for why he got booed during a walk-on at Dave Chappelle's show Sunday. Until there's a more complicated explanation, Musk's need of Trump's approval is pretty simple: he's just another rich guy, terrified it will all go away as fast as it arrived, and Trump represents the type of government that will always protect Money.

B-Block (18:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Hershey, in Oregon (19:02) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: No SPF for SBF; TPM buries Rep. Scott Perry and Rep. Andy Biggs; No press conference for Putin. (22:09) IN SPORTS: Grant Wahl comes home, baseball continues to shuffle stars, and why would you pay $63 million for a pitcher whose whole thing is delaying and waiting and pausing, if they're instituting a 20-second pitch clock next year? (25:20) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: A Rush Limbaugh cosplayer says supporting vaccine mandates makes you the equivalent of a Slave owner; A Michigan GOP official threatens to shut down a library "by force" and Senator-Elect Vance moves to ban porn. This presumably puts him up against Ted Cruz in a head-to-head battle, as it were.

C-Block (30:31) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: No, I haven't been fired as many times as you've been told. But yes, after years of rumors, it turns out to be true: I WAS fired - personally - by Rupert Murdoch!

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EPISODE 93: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (2:02) SPECIAL COMMENT 1: The attack on power stations that blacked out Moore County, North Carolina turns out to be just one of THIRTEEN attacks on the softest targets of our power grid, in Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington State - just since September. What's going on about this domestic terrorism that could leave the entire nation without power, and what are we doing about it? (9:15) SPECIAL COMENT 2: You might be mystified by Kyrsten Sinema's declaration she's suddenly an "Independent" - as somebody who's known her, I am not (11:00) This is her only chance at staying in politics: Convince the Democrats that as a third-party candidate she can steal away at least 6% of the vote from the Democratic nominee for Senate in Arizona in 2024 so they need to clear the field for her. It's nonsensical, but then again, so is she. (14:46) The obvious explanation is the corporate money poured into her campaigns (and her life) but I keep wondering how such a genuinely progressive person could have destroyed herself so quickly. And each time it hits me anew: she's messianic but she's also messy and if I'm not the only one to whom she revealed details of her unconventional personal life, perhaps she's been blackmailed.

B-Block (18:49) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Benji in New York; (19:52) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Trump confesses: he turned down a Russian offer to send American Marine Paul Whelan back in a prisoner swap; Will we learn tomorrow that there's been a breakthrough in nuclear fusion?; Will Dr. Fauci sue Elon Musk and has The New York Times figured out what Q-Elon's politics are yet? And Marjorie Taylor Greene says if she'd planned it, January 6th would've succeeded, then lies about there being no guns involved, then switches to topics she can comprehend: "a butt plug or a dildo." 25:55 IN SPORTS: Another journalist dies at the World Cup; In a new interview Grant Wahl's brother is still "legitimately suspicious;" Britney Griner hits the court; and 51 years later, in defense of the Mets trading Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi; (31:10) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Chuck Todd vies with Kyle Rittenhouse and Justice Brett "I Shouldn't Be At This Party, Should I?" Kavanaugh for the honors.

C-Block (35:05) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: I have seen the view from the top of the mountain. It's not quite so good if you're there to cover the Gold Medal race in the 1980 Olympics Men's Downhill skiing and you have not brought anything to record your interviews on!

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EPISODE 92: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:46) SPECIAL COMMENT: Their response to the extraction of Brittney Griner - unpatriotic, simple-minded, the Real-World-Is-Just-A-Fantasy-Basketball-League-And-You-Made-A-Bad-Trade - has not only reaffirmed that Republicans ARE stupid, but it has also underscored that when a glimmer of smart might sneak through, Republicans will deliberately pretend to be even more stupid, to appeal to their stupid base full of stupid people. Some are born stupid, some achieve stupidity, and some have stupidity thrust upon them. (3:50) Trump's stupid statement stupidly reminded people how HE failed to rescue Paul Whelan; Marjorie Greene's reminded people she wants to give the Russians not just an arms dealer but Ukraine. (10:00) I truly believe this is a choice: their stupidity is a language all its own, a reverse-superiority, an indecipherable code, impervious to logic or intelligence (11:28) And it was the Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from the depths of a Nazi concentration camp after the failure of the plot he participated in to kill; Hitler, who observed "Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice."

B-Block (18:58) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Moon, in New York (19:57) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: DOJ insists Trump is still hiding documents, wants lawyers cited for contempt; Who the 1/6 Committee will refer criminally (22:45) IN SPORTS: Late baseball signings, and why would an NFL team even think about signing a 49-year old receiver? (24:36) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Jim Jordan denies the tweet he tweeted, Eric Trump Trumps, and Paul Gosar's spokesman is so confident in him, he won't give the press his name.

C-Block (29:35) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: My Dad's favorite, Thurber's story of the school in which some students repeated the 4th Grade a dozen times and the baseball team was good enough to beat Ohio State: "I Went To Sullivant."

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EPISODE 91: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: Ludicrous or imminent, Trump and his minions are planning some sort of violent revolution, something not unlike what has percolated in Germany these last few years. Yesterday, the Germans had the presence of mind to recognize insurrection and mass violence and terrorism and revolution when they saw it. WE damn well better do the same - and fast. The Germans sent 3,000 police and Special Forces troops to arrest 25 coup plotters who planned to attack their capitol, assassinate the chancellor, take over the government. (3:00) Lost in the Trump/QAnon bluster, nobody is saying the obvious: to "terminate" the constitution or just part of it, Trump will have to foment violence. Even in the Trumpian fantasy, Biden and the military don't just stand aside because somebody decides Trump is right (7:44) This is what Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar and failed governor candidate Kari Lake endorsed yesterday. ARREST THEM. (10:53) And Trump continues to meet with plotters. The latest? A QAnon/Pizzagate lunatic named Liz Crokin, at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday night.

B-Block (16:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Chestnut in New York (16:52) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: More stolen classified docs in Trump's possession; SCOTUS may actually NOT legitimize 'Independent Legislature Theory'; Putin has a 'Noah's Ark'? (20:17) IN SPORTS: The NHL's most goals in a game record is threatened, and there are more baseball signings. (22:01) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Jesse Watters decides girls want alcohol, the Virginia restaurant that stood up to the Bible-thumping bigots, and Sean "D-Day in December" Spicer.

C-Block (26:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It is 42 years since the night John Lennon was murdered in New York. Impossibly, one of only two times I was ever a rock disc jockey, it was at the exact hour Lennon was killed. The air check of the show still exists, and it re-tells the nightmare as it unfolds in real time.

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EPISODE 90: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: Eight different things - led by Raphael Warnock's victory over Herschel Walker in the Georgia runoff - went drastically wrong for Trump on Tuesday, so PARTY DOWN. (2:10) The Special Counsel not only issued subpoenas he expanded his investigation to include electoral fraud; the 1/6 Committee is (probably) going for criminal referrals; the Trump Organization convicted of 17 counts of...free cable? Ronna McDaniel turns on him over Georgia; Mitch McConnell turns on him over 'terminating' the Constitution; and the families of the January 6th Congressional Gold Medal recipients with a never-to-be-forgotten diss of Trump's nearest proxies, refusing to shake the hands of McConnell and Kevin McCarthy.

B-Block (14:57) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Eddy in New York; (15:59) IN SPORTS: Cody Bellinger moves, Aaron Judge about to, J.T. Daniels AGAIN (19:39) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: A New York newspaper confuses Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander; Arson Judge? Who the hell is ARSON Judge? And Kanye West is a long way from rock bottom.

C-Block (23:46) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: 17 years ago this week we found out the president of MSNBC didn't have cable, and was still congratulating himself on changes to Countdown he'd made a year before, and which we'd dropped after actually doing them only once. Also, as Lester Holt, Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough, Jesse Ventura and I realized - in the men's room - the guy wasn't 6'7." He was 6'5" and for some reason he was lying about it!

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EPISODE 89: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: Trump: "Who you are going to believe? Me on Truth Social, or Me on Truth Social? I never said I wanted to terminate the Constitution! I only said I wanted to terminate articles OF the Constitution! (2:50) Trying to backpedal on his latest coup call, Trump just digs his hole deeper: he is now subject to 18 USC 115 Section 2385: Advocating the overthrowing of the government of the United States. (4:30) Some current GOP figures finally - mildly - defend the Constitution against Trump (6:30) But best of all: dozens of GOP quotes, from Boebert to Hannity, vowing eternal vigilance to protect the Constitution, including Kevin McCarthy's "That Constitution, and the freedoms it protects, must be defended and preserved for us and for our children." Take these quotes and put them on signs and drape them around the necks of these blowhards: Corner. Them.

B-Block (13:50) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Bentley in Santa Rosa (14:48) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Georgia: Trump literally phones it in. What does ABC News do about its love co-anchors? (18:09) IN SPORTS: Verlander, Turner, Kershaw get paid. Yankees spend on...Brian Cashman? (21:08) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: A Times headline slip, Kanye West's latest racist hallucination, and Glenn Greenwald compete for the honors.

C-Block (25:34) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: I've been quiet about her since 2006 and despite a series of jaw-dropping mistreatments since 2016. And I probably would've remained so. But when my ex, Katy Tur, turned her husband's vasectomy into a photo-op for their newscasts, something snapped. When the New York Times and Washington Post asked to talk to me about her, this is a person who told them she'd ask me, then told them I declined - without ever telling me. And that, sadly, is just the tip of the iceberg.

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EPISODE 88: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: A man whose words have previously unleashed an attempted coup now calls for the 'termination' of the Constitution, and 48 hours later he has not been arrested, apprehended, or detained? Like we've done it to everybody else who has launched a seditious conspiracy, TWICE? (2:55) Ohio Congressman Dave Joyce speaks for a complacent nation and media with this rationalization: "He says a lot of things. But that doesn't mean it's ever going to happen." (5:30) This was also unleashed by Elon Musk, Matt Taibbi and what even right wingers confess was no "smoking gun" in the saga of Hunter Biden's Lap (as opposed to laptop) yet it in turn inspired still more Fascist Angertainment: an ex-GOP candidate for congress responded "we can no longer get rid of tyranny by the ballots. It's only by the bullets now," and two attempted domestic terrorist attacks over the weekend may have been connected (9:11) There is an irony here: hours before Trump went ANTI-Constitution he had positioned himself as PRO-Constitution (11:00) But the real danger of ignoring these latest words of madness is best processed by asking yourself: What if somebody else had said these exact things?

B-Block (15:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: AMA Animal Rescue urgently needs fosters (15:55) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Have the Morality Police been abolished in Iran, or not? Sesame Street's icon has passed away. And here come antisemites like Steven Crowder to defend the antisemite Kanye West (19:27) IN SPORTS: For once a baseball Hall of Fame voting committee gets it right: Fred McGriff is in, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens aren't. Which permits me to reveal for the first time the mind-boggling story the former General Manager of the Yankees told me of how they gave away McGriff: a Yankee player insisted to owner George Steinbrenner that he had to make the deal! Plus did the Texas Rangers overpay for Jacob deGrom by $185,000,000, and a really cheap joke about the U.S. at the World Cup (24:24) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Points Bet "Lightning" Commercial competes with Chris Christie's niece against Rudy "Protect Democracy By Cancelling The Elections After 9/11" Giuliani for the honors.

C-Block (28:15) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Not only did I work for Ted Turner but at the 1982 NFL Strike Talks I covered Ted Turner and I nearly decked Ted Turner. The saga of why my camera crew was wearing CBS baseball caps, what Ted said when he saw them, and why I responded to the humiliation by quick thinking as opposed to horse-collaring him.

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EPISODE 87: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: There is no such thing as being "slightly Nazi" and that is the reason, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, The House Judiciary Republicans, Tucker Carlson, Paul Gosar, Greg Gutfeld, Benny Johnson, Jeanine Pirro, Will Cain, and Jason Whitlock, you do not excuse and rationalize and defend somebody who had only said relatively minor antisemitic things. Because one day they will announce "I see good things about Hitler" and "I love Nazis." (12:44) As a gentile of largely German heritage I learned this lesson when I was a kid, the day my Dad came back having stormed out of a final interview for a great job because the directors really wanted to be reassured he wasn't Jewish. "It is always there," he said. "It is always beneath the surface. And often as we think we have gotten rid of it for good, still it is there. And I've had to fight it. And I had to fight it today. And YOU'LL have to fight it tomorrow." Because - there IS no such thing as being "slightly Nazi."

B-Block (18:46) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Jupiter in New York (19:39) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Senate abandons Rail Workers, Herschel Walker threatens and hallucinates again, and CNN fires Chris Cillizza - and why that's bad news for Joe Biden! (23:09) IN SPORTS: Chaos after Germany is eliminated at the World Cup, and the passing of baseball spitball - and NON-spitball - pitcher Gaylord Perry (24:55) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: New York City hiring a "Citywide Director of Rodent Mitigation" competes with Herschel, and ABC's Amy Robach for the honors.

C-Block (29:22) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: One of the very few times the great humorist dipped a toe in the world of the occult: how Thurber's imagination turns an accent into a man who "traffics with the devil" in "The Black Magic Of Barney Haller."

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EPISODE 86: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: Three weeks ago - so quietly it has barely been noticed - the government declassified the 31-page "memorandum for the record" of the 9/11 Commission's 2004 interview with President George W. Bush (2:20) In it, Bush's words are beyond damning - they are confessional. They confirm his dereliction of duty, his culpability, his malfeasance, in the months before 9/11. Bush lied (5:38) about the August 6 President's Daily Briefing (6:58) Bush lied about the only threats being "overseas" (7:53) Bush lied about Al-Qaeda cells in the U.S. (8:23) Bush lied about aircraft as missiles (8:57) Bush lied about being warned about domestic threats (9:30) Bush lied about George Tenet never warning him (10:00) Bush lied about never being told how Al-Qaeda would attack (14:28) Sadly the 9/11 Commissioners never asked Bush about the allegation that he rushed through the August 6 2001 PDB because he wanted to go fishing and told the briefer "All right, you've covered your ass now." That's unfortunate because ALL Bush did in his interview with the Commissioners was try to cover HIS ass. For more than 20 years he's succeeded, but after the declassification of this memorandum, history will conclude two things: Osama Bin Laden attacked America - no one else. And George W. Bush made sure that America was unprepared - no one else.

B-Block (19:29) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Lucky in California (20:21) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: McCarthy promises a committee to investigate the 1/6 Committee - IF he can get elected; and after promising no layoffs, CNN's Chris Licht lays off hundreds (22:26) IN SPORTS: How IS Pele? And Don Mattingly's new job and why whenever he sees me he says "That's Mel on the right!" (25:25) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The man who ignored the warning 'never drink while playing Monopoly' and the gullible website Semafor compete with Elon "I Lied About Apple" Musk for the honors.

C-Block (29:31) 37 years ago this month I was new in L.A. and on my way to a great interview with baseball immortal Mickey Mantle. That's when I ran into the most elegantly dressed couple I have ever seen in my life. They were fans of my new local sportscast, and they introduced themselves as Joseph and Patricia Carlton. But who WERE they and why he look SO familiar? An amazing explanation in "Things I Promised Not To Tell."

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EPISODE 85: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: Kevin McCarthy says: "Stop Picking On Elon Musk!" FINALLY, because two of the worst Republican politicians shot off their big bazoos, we get a clue as to what Musk is doing to Twitter. He's running the same play on it that John Malone ran on CNN: (4:02) see the platform that permits criticism of fascists, buy the platform, claim you only want to make it again into "sensible and centrist" media, shift the Overton Window as far right as you can, and turn it into radical right propaganda.(7:46) After Musk's self-martyring battle with Apple, his next fight may come from Google. Axios reports Google is "monitoring developments" on the lack of content moderation at Twitter and could remove the App from its Google Play Store (11:25) What specific political rewards Musk should be expecting is still unclear but to hear Kevin McCarthy and Ron DeSantis whine about it, you'd think Musk had been kidnapped by pirates. DeSantis went so far as to suggest that if Apple removes Twitter from its App Store, Congress should "respond."

B-Block (17:35) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Meatball, in Staten Island (18:33) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Senate passes Same-Sex Marriage, House to take up Paid Leave for Railroad Workers, Stewart Rhodes convicted, Trump still avoids condemning Nick Fuentes (20:49) IN SPORTS: World Cup Win, Golf War could end if they fire Greg Norman, Joey Votto beaten by 9-year old (22:55) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: So, yeah, I ate a box of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups without taking off the brown wrappers - of course this was in 1966. I compete with Herschel "Texas Ranger" Walker and Marjorie "Masks Can't Stop Farts" Greene for the honors.

C-Block (29:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It's roughly the anniversary of the day I got a call about how they were going to fire Jimmy Kimmel and could I replace him? It's not exactly what it sounds like - I'll explain.

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EPISODE 84: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: I think Republicans just found a window to push Trump out of the party over Nick Fuentes and Kanye West. His VP, at least a dozen Senators, and others rushed for the exits - and to publicly slam him for dining with the two antisemites (2:30) Relax. I'm not interested in their flexible and utterly reversible morals. They did this exact same thing with the Access Hollywood tape. They don't CARE. Trump doesn't CARE. But when Rick Scott says "there's no room in the Republican Party for white supremacy and antisemitism" he's setting in motion a political timeline that ends with Trump as a 3rd Party candidate who splits the Republican vote. (7:15) It isn't yet a full-fledge run on the bank, but it was enough for Mike Pence to demand Trump apologize (10:42) and even Herschel Walker to run for cover. (11:50) As a footnote, why is it all Fuentes and not Kanye? Last night the host of a livestream didn't immediately agree with West's proclamation that "The Media" and "The Jews" were the same, so seconds later West walked off the show in protest.

B-Block (17:15) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Luca in New York (17:57) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: 1/6 Committee interviews Kellyanne ConJob, and the top puppy and kitten names for 2022 (20:05) IN SPORTS: How the World Cup started or accelerated the Chinese anti-government protests (23:03) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Marsha Blackburn destroys a kitchen and the subtle threat for more Colorado Springs shootings from "Gays Against Groomers," competing with the tag-team of Elon Musk and Steven Crowder for the honors.

C-Block (25:05) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Enjoying Alexi Lalas on the Fox Sports coverage of The World Cup? A quarter century ago he and I did a "This Is SportsCenter" commercial. If you've ever wondered how much fun it would be to grab a guitar out of Lalas's hands, in a crowded newsroom that hasn't been warned, and smashing it against a wall - it pretty much couldn't be MORE fun.

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EPISODE 83: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (0:15) SPECIAL COMMENT: Of COURSE Trump knew who Nick Fuentes was. Of course Trump knew what Kanye West has become. Of course Trump wanted them there, because they are hate-peddlers with followings and they are all he has left. And you don't get past security as Kanye's "Plus One." (5:30) Trump is exploring going all-in on antisemitism because if you hadn't noticed, nobody but Lindell-level freaks have even referenced The Big Lie about the 2020 Election since Trump lost the 2022 Election. While House Republicans promise to investigate every crackpot rumor from Hunter Biden's Laptop to Fentanyl to Covid's Origins, did you notice they are NOT investigating the 2020 Election? Trump needs a New Act. (8:39) Though Trump is vulnerable, prominent Republicans are still hesitant to accuse him of antisemitism, which is odd since he's been antisemitic far longer than Fuentes or West.

B-Block (16:30) DON'T FORGET. A MONTH AGO, TRUMP THREATENED AMERICAN JEWS: "No president has done more for Israel than I have. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S...U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel. Before it's too late." (20:04) Translating Trump's manifold antisemitism, including the 'real loyalty' trope, his history of calling Israel "your country" to American Jewish groups, the 'You know some people would mistreat you Jews but I didn't so why haven't you rewarded me' threat, and especially (22:39) invoking the Evangelicals, for whom the Jews are a prop in their "End Times" fantasy of the return of Jesus followed by all Jews converting - or being slaughtered (27:00) Given Trump's history of Hitler worship this is especially virulent stuff. He praised Hitler's generals and economics and kept a book of his speeches in his bedroom 

C-Block (30:00) I'LL REPEAT MY ASSERTION. TRUMP IS NOW AMERICA'S HITLER. We saw it first in September in Youngstown, Ohio, with the modified Sieg Heil, and the QAnon Music, and the rewritten history. it is time to use the real words. Trump has stopped pretending, and embraced QAnon, Christofascism, and Violent Revolution. He is America's Hitler, and he must be stopped while we still have any capacity to do so.

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EPISODE 82: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: OK maybe I am. (1:58) Trump has about as bad a day as you can have in court and not be Al Pacino in the movie "And Justice For All." But first, I'm worried about The Washington Post profile of new Trump Special Counsel Jack Smith and my haunting fear he is there to run out the clock on behalf of Merrick Garland. A former colleague is quoted as saying "It was understood that the fastest way for a case to die was to give it to (Jack Smith's) Public Integrity Section." (3:00) Happily, though the Post gave not the slightest hint of  it, the guy who said that is not just a revenge-obsessed right wing nut job but the worst kind: one who thinks he's an impartial analyst. (6:07) So we can look instead at Trump's FIVE legal setbacks in one day: on the tax case at the Supreme Court (and what Dems can do with the taxes with only 41 days until the GOP takes the house); at the hearing to dismiss the Special Master from the Nuclear Documents Kleptomania case; at Lindsey Graham's Grand Jury appearance in Georgia; at the efforts to revitalize Manhattan's Stormy Daniels hush money case; and at the impending SECOND lawsuit by E. Jean Carroll. No comment from Trump Attorney Lionel Hutz.

B-Block (12:40) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Max in North Carolina (13:40) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Yes, you didn't imagine it. The 2nd Woman produced a tape of Herschel Walker phoning her and saying "this is your stud farm calling, you big sex puppy you," and then he said something much dumber live on Fox News. Herschel's Erection Election plus the AP taking its "Russian missiles in Poland" screw-up and making it much worse and Bolsonaro contesting after all (19:29) IN SPORTS: Lionel Messi's Employers upset Lionel Messi's Team at the World Cup: It's A Messi Situation, plus the Rob Thomson surprise, and what a fan did to Pete Rozelle the day he wouldn't cancel the NFL schedule even after the JFK Assassination (23:14) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Bothsidesist Ashley Parker and GOP Talking Point Merchant Katherine Herridge of CBS can't compete with producer Stew Peters whose movie about supposed deaths after Covid vaccinations "DIED SUDDENLY" actually shows people who a) didn't get vaccinated b) didn't die and c) didn't do anything suddenly.

C-BLOCK (28:44) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It is ESPN's most beloved outtake and since it was about the World Cup, I present it now in annotated form. Ladies and gentlemen: It's the famous "SOCCER BREAKDOWN.":

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EPISODE 81: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: Tucker Carlson, who has spent months conflating LGBTQ issues with "sex crimes" and "castrating children" and two months ago demanded his viewers not "put up with this, for one second, no matter what the law says," last night insisted stochastic terrorism is impossible and no one could be indoctrinated by his or others' words while repeating that gay and trans people and doctors and teachers were indoctrinating children and then throwing to a commercial for Golden Corral because OF COURSE things said on television can't influence you to do ANYTHING. (8:49) And the right wing continues its attempt to get others to act violently: GOP presidential wannabe Mike Pompeo insists "The most dangerous person in the world is (American Federation of Teachers leader) Randi Weingarten" because of "the filth they're teaching our kids."

B-Block (15:23) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Cottage and Sheff (16:36) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Comer Scandal-latest. Bob Iger returns; I will repeat the best advice I've ever gotten in my life, which Iger gave me in March 1979! (20:16) IN SPORTS: US "loses" World Cup opener 1-1; Iran's brave players win the day while the cowardly captains of Belgium, Denmark, England, Germany, The Netherlands, and Wales lose it. The new baseball Hall of Fame ballot is out and once again the top new candidate will be excluded because of a cheating scandal (24:03) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: 32 paragraphs of Trump Special Counsel/GOP BS Biden Investigations bothsidesism from CNN, competing with Cesar "Crisis of Confidence" Conde of NBC News and ex-Press Secretary Kayleigh "I Dunno How To Say This Name" McEnany for the dishonors.

C-Block (28:53) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL. It is 59 years since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and I may be the youngest person you know with a distinct memory of that terrible day and the days that followed. From the adults crying to the cancellation of all the cartoons to the muted Thanksgiving Day Parade, it made its impression on me, two months shy of my fifth birthday.

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EPISODE 80: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) 1st SPECIAL COMMENT Is America free? Or are we slaves to the mob rule of Republican gun owners? These Americans - just out for a Saturday night in a place in Colorado Springs that they considered their "haven," just like the children were in Uvalde and just like the shoppers in Buffalo, were killed - directly or stochastically - by Republicans.(5:40) We always ignore the darkest, truest part of the equation of gun violence: there are people in this country who WANT this to keep happening. It is why more children die by gunfire every year than do on-duty cops or active military. And the Republican Party has prostituted itself to these people. (9:10) The 2nd Amendment is a lie; there are 103 words related to money or ownership in the Constitution as amended and none of them are in 2A; (13:41) Right now the President could make enormous inroads into the availability of the guns with which Republicans hunt minorities and children, just by Executive Orders. He must make them, and more over he must lead us in the truth: once again, in Colorado Springs, REPUBLICANS MURDERED AMERICANS.

B-Block (18:51) 2nd SPECIAL COMMENT: If you were Attorney General and you were trying to run out the clock on prosecuting an ex-president and make sure it was the clock that got the blame - and not you - you'd do exactly what Merrick Garland did in appointing a Special Counsel nearly two years after the crime (22:08) There are seven major rationalizations for Garland's act. I'll let them by refuted by Neal Katyal, William Barr, Jill Wine-Banks, Bradley Moss, Matthew Miller, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Samuel Alito - and Robert Mueller.

C-Block (30:50) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: The extraordinary offer by dog rescue champion/singer/comedian Elayne Booster (31:25) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Nothing new on the James Comer Scandal (32:21) IN SPORTS: Qatar didn't ban beer at the World Cup. It just raised the price to $22,600; the infamous "Mantle Lewd Questionnaire" is up for auction (and I'll tell you about the only baseball document even more profane than Mantle's: the 1898 Special Instructions To Players (38:15) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Geraldo Rivera and Ronny Jackson are no match for Maggie "Trump's Change of Tone" Haberman (40:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: 40 years ago, the media guy for the NFL Players Union and all but one of the reporters covering the NFL strike talks pranked the one remaining reporter. It. Was. Epic.

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EPISODE 79: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) How could the Republicans be THIS stupid? The man who will lead their attack on Hunter and Joe Biden, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, has been credibly accused by his college girlfriend of violence, psychological abuse, threatening her life, and driving her to the clinic to abort their child. (2:05) Did they think that because the story broke seven years ago it had fallen off the internet? The first full day they are the Majority-Elect they trot out a new head of House Oversight, James Comer of Kentucky, who announces a Hunter Biden investigation and then says "I want to be clear: This is an investigation of JOE Biden." (3:05) No, let ME be clear: this needs to be an investigation of JAMES COMER. This is where this crap STOPS. (5:20) You don't like this kind of stuff? This is the only way to STOP this kind of stuff: the bully has to get the crap beaten out of him, and James Comer is the bully here. Let's Go. (7:15) What the GOP should've announced it was investigating was Ticketmaster (9:10) Still the co-defendant in the Republican Investigation Machine is the media. The Washington Examiner and Red State didn't headline Comer's Folly over Pelosi's Retirement - CNN and The New York Times did. (11:50) And once again CNN's Chief Chris Licht stepped right up with that big "Hit Me" sign around his neck and said "So the play is not to be offensive to A side, right?" I'll explain how wrong he is. (13:43) The good news is: the Democrats are finally getting smart, and David Brock has left Media Matters to run a "SWAT Team" that will investigate the GOP investigators. And they can start with the James Comer scandal. Oh, did I mention the James Comer scandal?

B-Block (20:20) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Miller in Pennsylvania, who ate a sock (21:16) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Space Karen kills Twitter; 1/6 Subcommittee to decide whether to make criminal referrals (23:43) IN SPORTS: The Most Valuable Players are named. If a guy finishes 2nd in that vote AND 4th in the vote for best pitcher, isn't he by definition the "most valuable?" What the hell does "most valuable" mean? (26:38) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Mike Pompeo forgets his part in the insurrection, the New York Post has never heard of "Run Of Show" or "Rundown" documents. They compete with Baseball's Commissioner who suddenly announced that if you bet on baseball, you should be banned BY baseball.

C-Block (31:30) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: His classic stories of Man vs. Life: "Nine Needles" and "The Mouse Who Went To The Country."

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EPISODE 78: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: 12 Republicans join the Democrats to give the codification of Marriage Equality a filibuster-proof majority. The Respect for Marriage Act will be law by Christmas (2:37) It seems so obvious; it is in fact breathtaking. 14 years ago a Democratic candidate could be elected POTUS without endorsing same-sex marriage. 26 years ago a Democratic president could sign legislation defining marriage as only between a man and a woman (4:02) And 14 years and exactly one week ago, I could startle viewers, my bosses, and some liberals by decrying the passage of Prop 8 in California - which TOOK AWAY Marriage Equality awarded by the courts - in a Special Comment called "A Question of Love" (12:15) This is how far we have come: Two months later I was approached by Sir Ian McKellan who said that the fact that I was able to incorporate those opinions into an American cable newscast meant "some of my hope for the future is restored." Today, with the path to codified Marriage Equality assured, some of MY hope for the future is restored.

B-Block (17:48) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Penny, in Missouri (18:50) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Mike Pence defies Congress (and logic), now it's Stu Varney trashing Trump (to Trump's daughter-in-law), and a Democrat beats a Faux Democrat in LA (20:22) IN SPORTS: Two unanimous Cy Young Winners for the first time since Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA and Denny McLain's 31 wins, Virginia cancels its football game, Kyrie coming back - but why? (23:11) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Laura Ingraham continuing to try to make the fabricated Pelosi Conspiracy Theory happen and Chris Licht drowning at CNN, compete with the executives of MSNBC, NBC News, and NBC. After getting fricasseed for firing Tiffany Cross to appease fascists like Tucker Carlson, they knew what to do: Trash her anonymously in The New York Post.

C-Block (32:21) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: 30 years ago today, the Colorado Rockies and then-Florida Marlins were born in the baseball expansion draft which I anchored on ESPN. The draft followed one of the weirdest you're-gonna-die-on-THAT-hill things I ever witnessed in sports broadcasting. But most importantly: I can now confess that to get the scoop as to who would be the first pick, I did a terrible, terrible thing ;-)

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EPISODE 77: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: God what a terrible speech! Trump's official declaration he's running was so bad Fox News bailed out of it! And CNN bailed out of it! And Mick Mulvaney trashed it. And two ex-Trump Press Secretaries. AND DURING IT IVANKA TRUMP ANNOUNCED SHE'S LEAVING POLITICS! (5:00) The mainstream GOP continues to distance itself; Fox News lists 13 GOP presidential possibilities - none of them are Trump (5:40) Chris Christie trashes Trump to GOP Governors conference, gets applauded (8:30) These are not moral judgments, not patriotic ones, not decency ones, not pro-democracy ones. But these people have the survival instincts of cockroaches and somebody just flipped on every kitchen light in America (8:40) Even crazy Wendy Rogers in Arizona is wondering if she's been living in an echo chamber (11:15) And yet there's just enough loyalists to remain to make sure if the GOP can keep Trump at bay, he'll run as a third party candidate in 2024. They were the ones outside Trump Tower yesterday screaming "Trump or Death" - to which we say "OFFER ACCEPTED!"

B-Block (15:31) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Elsa in Brooklyn (16:26) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Latest on the Russian missile or rocket that hit Poland; (18:14) IN SPORTS: Angels with their annual dubious free agency signing; Richard Nixon's alma mater ends 107 years of football; and the merchandisers of the NBA finally outsmart themselves (22:03) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Republicans keeping 50-99% of what they raise for Herschel Walker and Fox's Kevin Corke are no match for Worst Persons Hall of Famer Bill O'Reilly - he's baaaack!

C-Block (26:43) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: O'Reilly's contretemps with the "News Nation" channel reminded me Dan Abrams has a show there, on the cable tv news version of 'Nick-At-Nite.' And THAT reminded me of the day MSNBC tried to switch the disrespected Abrams from hosting its unpopular 9 PM show, to being network General Manager. After the staff stopped laughing, it wound up being worse than we could have dreamed. Within ONE WEEK management had reassured us he would be fired. He became a Lame Duck in ONE WEEK!

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EPISODE 76: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: New leak to Washington Post clearly confesses Trump stole documents, but insists he didn't do it for evil reasons, he did it for EGO. He's not a TRAITOR! He's just a hoarder! He's not a foreign spy who might face the death penalty. He's just a collector! He's like YOU: YOU'D keep a White House cocktail napkin wouldn't you? So HE kept a White House Ultra-Classified Document (or 200 of them) (3:28) This transparent attempt to minimize the charge and the sentence again suggests it's not only unbelievably bad for Trump but it's far worse than we could possibly imagine. (6:30) "He seemed motivated by a more basic desire not to give up what he believed was his property," the Post writes, and suddenly I'm watching Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck breaking into the den of the 40 Thieves and Daffy sees all the diamonds and gold and screams "IT'S MINE! DOWN, DOWN, DOWN! GO, GO, GO! MINE, MINE, MINE!" He's not Julius Rosenberg! He's Daffy Duck! (9:35) The Guardian also reports evidence secret documents were mixed with post-presidential letters in Trump's desk drawer. What collector doesn't do THAT? (10:15) Trump still scheduled to formalize his 2024 candidacy today, even as a London paper reports Murdoch called him personally to withdraw support.

B-Block (16:08) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Spaghetti, again (16:58) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Not only did Katie Hobbs win, but she was right about not debating Lake. And we need to worry about the phenomenon of not just TV types, but TV newscasters, seeking office. Plus Jay Leno is recovering and he's nicer than you know, and NBC suspended the reporter who ran the fake Pelosi conspiracy theory (21:31) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Virginia's hypocritical lieutenant governor takes on Elon "Bloatware" Musk and Herschel Walker attacking how Senator Warnock is raising his kids, for the dishonors.

C-Block (25:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Not one but two of my ex-ESPN colleagues entered the media wing of hockey's Hall of Fame last night. One saved my scoop about the retirement of Mario Lemieux, and the other was in the booth the night New York player Sergio Momesso was called "Sergio Mimosa."

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EPISODE 75: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: Well THAT was fun! Enjoy retaining the Senate and the fascists turning on Trump and then FORGET IT AND GET BACK TO WORK (2:32) Ever seen the movie "Carrie"? There is a lesson for us in it. When you think you have ended Carrie's reign of horror, make sure you burn the grave, salt the earth, and encase everything in concrete before she can reach up from hell to grab you. They are not defeated, they are developing a new Supreme Court scheme as we speak (4:26) Be aggressive - like Pelosi and Schumer planning to raise the debt limit during the Lame Duck session (5:44) And consider the more outlandish ideas: nominating Liz Cheney to be Speaker or offering cabinet or ambassador slots to uninfected GOP Congressmen (7:20) Because the fascists will now cut to the chase: supporters of a different Kari are calling for a military takeover of the government so they can get a new vote in Arizona (8:47) Now is the time to strike because they are burning down their own house: attacking Trump, McConnell, McCarthy and Ronna Romney while Trump cultists like Ann Coulter and Glenn Youngkin's Lieutenant Governor and even the DILBERT GUY bail on Trump (10:43) But now the next threat comes into focus: The Federalist Society is so hellbent to enact "Independent State Legislature Theory" that it has purged its own co-founder because he doesn't believe in it. Supreme Court Barbie - Amy Coney Barrett - and the other fascists do, as you'll hear. And to stop them, we'll need to designate The Federalist Society as a terrorist organization.

B-Block (18:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Maslow in Pennsylvania (19:02) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Coincidence? Trump wanted to "get the IRS on" Comey and McCabe. And each was then hit with a rare invasive audit. (21:07) IN SPORTS: No experience? No problem! Jeff Saturday wins in NFL coaching debut (23:39) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: A New Jersey Republican official calls the cops on a 9-year old African-American girl who "scared him." He competes with Sarah "They think we're stupid" Palin and Donald "They stole the ELECTRON from Blake Masters" Trump for the dishonors.

C-Block (29:36) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: I really did fall off a cliff (well, a pretty tall rock outcropping) filming a TV Commercial for Boston Market. But that's only part of the story. The ads paid so much I was willing to quit ESPN to do them instead, and the ads were so perversely effective that the company went bankrupt!

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Episode 74: Countdown With Keith Olbermann

A-Block (1:45) Let me tell you what is to come: Trump and DeSantis will both run for the '24 Republican Nomination. When DeSantis wins, Trump will run anyway as an independent, cinching the White House for Biden (or any Democrat) (2:05) The Republican establishment has, overnight, turned on Trump and burned the bridges to him. The front page of Murdoch's New York Post has an illustration of Trump as an egg, atop a wall, and in big block letters: "TRUMPTY DUMPTY" and a column inside nicknames him "Toxic Trump." (7:00) Let's review your doubts: Do you doubt DeSantis will run? You think he made that two-minute miniature Bible Epic movie just to run up the score in Florida? Do you doubt the GOP has bailed? Peter King has just said Trump "should no longer be the face of the Republican Party." (12:10) Now Kevin McCarthy gets to lead an impotent, fractured Republican party in the House with not enough power to crush the crazies but not enough power to impeach Biden, either (11:50) And Trump got them a runoff in Georgia where the 203,000 Georgians who voted for Brian Kemp but did not vote for Herschel Walker are really expected to vote for Walker in the runoff? 

B-Block (17:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Spaghetti in Staten Island (18:22) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Glenn Youngkin apologizes to the Pelosis but only after the election is over, and competes with Chris Cillizza and Elon Musk screwing twitter into the ground and threatening to turn your non-blue-checked tweets into junk mail, for the honors. ( 23:14) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The story of the anniversary of my late beloved puppy Mishu.

C-Block (37:02) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL, CONTINUED: The passing of Mishu. 

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EPISODE 73: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT There WAS a Red Wave: A wave goodbye to your tsunami. Sanity got up off the mat. We beat the undead zombies with some well placed shovels. Fetterman defeated Oz. Free Crudites for EVERYONE. This could turn out to be the BEST midterms for any first-term president in decades. Joe Biden just went from nomination Dark Horse, to superhero Dark Brandon. And as a bonus, regardless of who ultimately gets the House and who gets the Senate, among Republicans, Trump will get much of the blame.

B-Block (15:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Princess Wiggles in New York (15:58) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: 1/6 Commish interviews Trump's driver, big countries may finally pony up at COP27, Zelenskyy softens stance on negotiations with Russia (18:15) IN SPORTS: Dusty Baker will return, invoking memories of Jesse Orosco and the poet Rolfe Humphries (21:11) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Peacock, with its upcoming Casey Anthony series, battles Tucker "One of the Largest Sources of Death Threats" Carlson and Brett "Another Day, Another Scandal" Favre for the dishonors.

C-Block (25:55) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: 25 years since I met her and nearly as long since I went out on a date with Laura Ingraham. It was worse than you'd expect, and it was followed by a second date that was actually closer to me being kidnapped and held hostage. But I learned a valuable lesson about how - and how efficiently - "The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" actually works, that remains instructive to this day.

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EPISODE 72: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) OH GOD I so wanted Trump to declare his candidacy last night. He was THISCLOSE to doing it at his fascist rally in Ohio and thus snatching defeat for the Republicans from the jaws of victory, like he did in Georgia. But somebody got to him! (3:46) Whatever happens today, the media is doing everything it can to stick to the "Red Wave" narrative: Their polls all indicate Democratic leads in the Generic Congressional Ballot so what did Politico, Yahoo, and Reuters do? THEY DISMISSED THEIR OWN POLLS AS OUTLIERS. It all underscores the real media narrative: The media corporations are sucking up to the fascists (8:30) Last night, the Republicans gave away the next narrative: any election undecided by Wednesday morning has been fixed by the Democrats (10:48) Oh by the way, a key member of Russia's 2016 Conspiracy with Trump confessed to interfering in the election (11:45) And Elon Musk tweeted more Nazi names and six months after saying "for Twitter to deserve public trust it must be politically neutral" he told his 115,000,000 followers they should vote Republican. Oh and he's also talking about putting all of Twitter behind a paywall. 

B-Block (16:40) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Ace has been reserved! Today it's Angie, in Brooklyn (17:33) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Bannon incarceration delayed, Ted Cruz hit by a White Claw and Texas police actually just don't stand there (19:24) IN SPORTS: Check with me Monday after new Coach Saturday makes his debut Sunday; It's the strangest NFL coaching move since Rock Island fired its coach mid-game in 1921. Baseball free agent news and the new Veterans' Hall of Fame Ballot is out: McGriff, Murphy, Mattingly, four roiders, one jackass - where's Keith Hernandez? (23:27) Brit "Trash OnThe Street" Hume and CNN's New Morning Show, called "Fascists? Please Let Us Live!" are no match for the all-time champion of Conventional Political Lack of Wisdom and Groupthink: Chris Cillizza with an all-time great column, telling History Teacher Jim Clyburn he doesn't understand history.

C-Block (34:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The day in 1981 the disc jockey on the top New York radio station tried to kill me and then get me fired for daring to criticize "his" New York Giants on his show. The saga of Ted Brown and "he won't remember that either" (49:55) Plus, because it was handy, a complete sportscast from December 30, 1981, and 22-year old me doing an entire sportscast on WNEW Radio in New York, complete with the latest Wayne Gretzky news (and Ted Brown).

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EPISODE 71: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) On the Friday before an election crucial to democracy, MSNBC fired its most outspoken host because Fox News complained about her. Where is the protest by Lawrence O'Donnell? By Chris Hayes? By Alex Wagner? Where is the threat to walk out, to boycott, to stand on principle, by Rachel Maddow? (3:10) NBC had to retract a fabricated Today Show story that reignited the fascists' homophobic conspiracy theory about Paul Pelosi. The correspondent was not fired. The Today Show executive was not fired. The head of news was not fired. Tiffany Cross? She was fired. (7:33) Cross joked about "castrating Florida," rightly savaged Alyssa Farah, Megyn Kelly, and Clarence Thomas - and her ratings were growing. But when Tucker Carlson devoted a segment to actually suggesting she was fomenting a Rwanda-style genocide of white Americans, NBC and MSNBC went crazy. (10:10) Joy Reid said something, more personal than professional (10:30) O'Donnell said nothing; then again when he filled in for me while my father was dying in 2010 he tried to replace me as Countdown host and then stole a group of producers from me for his new show (11:36) Chris Hayes, silent now, once stood up and refused to substitute for me when I had been improperly suspended (13:30) And Maddow, who in 2009 stood up and told the president of NBC News and all the executives and talent at MSNBC that if anybody interfered with the content of her show, she would walk out because "I cannot have the audience wondering what else I have not told them" (18:41) But now Maddow is making $30 million a year and the courage to walk out when it could cost you that much, is lacking. Rachel? Will you pretend the firing of Tiffany Cross is not your problem? Or will you stand up for what is right? You know - like you used to.

B-Block (23:40) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Ace in New York desperately needs a foster or adopter, anywhere from Virginia to Maine (24:30) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: DeSantis shocked head of The Leopards Eating People's Faces Party ate his face; Musk "likes" meme with quote from American neo-nazi pedophile, and that was the BEST thing he did to Twitter over the weekend (30:19) IN SPORTS: Astros get a World Series Parade; Phillies set World Series futility records; Boston Bruins destroy reputation by signing, then dumping, bully (32:45) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Mark Levin admits his side consists of "White Supremacists" and competes with Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz padding a 50-page report to 1,050 pages, and former journalist Jason Whitlock going misogynistic, homophobic AND racist all in the same sentence.

C-Block (37:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: In memory of Vinny Vassallo, or as a few SportsCenter viewers will remember him: Vinny The Stat Man.

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EPISODE 70: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: It goes without saying Trump should not merely already be under indictment - he should be under 24/7 guard in a SuperMax Prison. But he's not. So we have to view last night's leak about the Department of Justice considering a Special Trump Counsel as "good news." (2:45) CNN's report says the Special Counsel would be appointed as soon as Trump officially declares he's running (he came close last night at one of his Cult Rallies) (3:53) CNN also reported something strange: that DOJ has hired two high-priced prosecutors in advance, just in case they do decide to prosecute. Are you kidding? Who does this? You don't hire guys away from Law Firm Partnerships 'just in case' (5:55) Plus CNN discovered one of the hirings because the guy UPDATED HIS LINKED-IN PROFILE! (8:23) In actual stuff that's happened, CREW, which got a New Mexico County Commissioner removed from office for insurrection based on the 14th Amendment, says it will sue to get Trump similarly barred from serving (11:00) All of which leads me to invoke 19th Century British Prime Minister William E. Gladstone and an immortal quote about him supplied by one of his fiercest critics, Henry Labouchere.

B-Block (14:25) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Calto, in New York (15:17) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Golly, I guessed right: Elon Musk IS willing to sell YOUR Twitter identity to somebody else. I think we call this "blackmail." Plus CNBC fires Shepard "I Come From A Town Full Of Secrets" Smith. (17:54) IN SPORTS: World Series Game 5 Nailbiter; maybe those Phillies Powder Blue unis aren't good luck; and an imperfection in Don Larsen's 1956 Perfect Game you may not know about. Finally, Kyrie Irving is suspended. (24:37) WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: A lawyer age-shaming the victim in an indecent exposure case and a medical school that played with the 1918 Influenza vie with Laura Ingraham for the honors

C-Block (29:57) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: "The Luck Of Jad Peters."

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EPISODE 69: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) It's hard to believe a Presidential speech about domestic threats to democracy would have to take a back seat to another story (2:20) But the Department of Justice has given "Use Immunity" to Trump flunky Kash Patel so he can be brought back before the Documents Grand Jury and tell the truth about whether or not he witnessed Trump verbally declassifying all the stolen documents (Spoiler alert: he didn't) (5:40) Patel's testimony suggests DOJ is still on a timeline towards indicting Trump in the first week of January (6:02) There was nothing WRONG with Biden's Democracy-In-Danger speech but it lacked the controlled rage he mastered in his speech in Philadelphia in September. Thus, the advice he asked me for 15 years ago about channeling anger into righteous indignation was either too good or not good enough (7:52) Unless this was some kind of "this is the last time I say it nicely" speech, Biden's call to the better angels of our nature will completely elude those who disagree with him and believe America IS a zero-sum game, like Stewart Rhodes, whose terrifying manifesto for Trump was released (9:30) And there's no use throwing the new facts in the DePape/Pelosis case at the Right Wing. It's case closed for them and any new facts can be dismissed as Cover-ups or Conspiracies (11:55) IN SPORTS: What if they gave a World Series no-hitter and nobody cared?

B-Block (17:45) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Lia in Staten Island (18:40) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Elon Musk not knowing that +$8 and -$8 are different things fights Captain Obvious from The New York Times and Kyrie Irving and the NBA trying to fight their way out of the antisemitism mess, for the honors (22:15) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It's 22 years ago now when Roger Clemens of the Yankees threw part of the broken bat of Mike Piazza of the Mets - threw it either AT him or inadvertently NEAR him. I had to do the first interview with Clemens, and then I asked a question that has haunted me for 22 years - what happened to the shattered bat?

C-Block 41:09 THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The Piazza Bat saga continues through the present day, and includes everybody from John Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox, to Vin Scully, to Jay of Chez Jay restaurant in Santa Monica, California.

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EPISODE 68: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) "He was completely caught up in the fantasy. He really believed in the whole MAGA, stolen election. If you go to Fox News, if you look at QAnon - you know." David DePape's employer of six years makes it Case Closed: the would-be assassin of Nancy Pelosi was energized stochastically by every weapon the GOP can muster (2:24) And it appears that DePape's defense will be a claim of "vulnerability" to the MAGA/Fox News/Trump misinformation machine (3:24) Yet the GOP continues in full denial, to the extent that a Washington Examiner columnist insists the assassination attempt never happened (5:04) How does the GOP maintain this astonishing and apparently heartfelt hypocrisy? Their party DEPENDS on it. Let me review a couple dozen Herschel Walker/Peter Navarro/Samuel Alito cases (10:30) And finally we have the explanation of "Every Republican Accusation Is A Confession" from a psychology professional: it's not projection, it's not compensation.

B-Block (20:04) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Hex, in Devore CA (21:00) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Graham has to testify, Wisconsin fascist gubernatorial candidate says the quiet fascist part out loud, and Elon Musk's tries to make selling Verification into a populist issue when he's really just blackmailing the blue checks: pay me $96/year or I'll shadow-ban you, and maybe sell your identity to somebody else. Plus late word that the Treasury Department isn't happy with all those Saudi, Qatari, and Chinese investors and may try to hold up his purchase! (26:16) IN SPORTS: Even MORE home runs, yet another A's franchise shift, and the NBA screws up the Kyrie Irving disaster yet again (29:40) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLDS: Mehmet Oz, Jim "Yes MASA" Jordan and Andrea "Bothsidesism" Mitchell compete for the honors.

C-Block (34:02) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: You know how I know CNN is trying to swing to the right to protect its profits in case the country goes fascist? Because MSNBC tried it in 2003. The harrowing story of the day they tried to make me run a commentary by Michael Savage - literally dressed as a brownshirt - in the middle of Countdown and what I had to do to stop them.

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EPISODE 67: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) Since 2018 Republicans have spent at least $227 Million on TV advertising to get somebody to try to kill Nancy Pelosi and now we know how they finally got their money's worth with David DePape (2:15) They're not calling it a confession, but that's what it is (3:44) A confession to political terrorism versus the Democratic Party, engineered stochastically by the Republican Party. And every Democrat and every news organization that does not say that is an accessory after the fact (5:13) And this has all be inevitable since January 21, 2010 - since "Citizens United" when the Roberts Court ruled all curbs on how much money corporations could spend on political advertising illegal (10:33) What INFINITY MONEY would do to American politics, and America, was so obvious that night that even I was able to predict much of it on Countdown. If anything, I understated the impact (12:38) Which leaves us this question: if the corporations and the men who run them want more attacks on more Nancy Pelosis - who's going to stop them?

B-Block (20:41) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Pearl in Nashville (21:25) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: On top of everything else, Clarence Thomas is an idiot, and the producers of "2000 Mules" have been jailed! (23:49) IN SPORTS: It's simple. The NBA is going to have to ban Kyrie Irving, We've had the traditional Philadelphia World Series rainout. And I called Hoberg Hoiberg but not Zoidberg (26:16) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Tara Reid can't tell hearts from diamonds. She and Anti-Vax Nut Sherri Tenpenny compete with Don Bolduc - who actually NAMED a school where he thinks this "Litter Box" nonsense is happening - for the honors. But Bolduc is the only one likely to be sued.

C-Block (30:48) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: I thought I had met Bill Maher 22 years ago this month. Turns out the date was much, much earlier. But it took 31 years and two near-fistfights to figure it all out.

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A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: Arrest the stochastic terrorists who instigated the attempted assassination of Nancy Pelosi on Friday. 18 USC 871, punishing threats against those in the presidential success, will suffice for Marjorie Taylor Greene, on video from 2019 (5:41) And Republican Congressional Committee chair Tom Emmer, who tweeted video of himself firing a weapon, with the hashtag "#FirePelosi (6:49) The GOP has been encouraging violence against Pelosi since 2010 (8:00) It got a gift to help satisfy its own adherents and gaslight others when Bay Area TV reporter Evan Sernoffsky falsely reported the assailant was wearing only underwear. All references to this stem from this terrible journalism, and none carry Sernoffsky's retraction (9:15) And then came the Elon Musk tweet spreading a nonsensical conspiracy theory from a pretend news outlet around the world (10:30) The GOP's effort to work the refs has produced results, especially in convincing media to pretend the party's use of the threat of violence is something new (11:00) Just my own experience, as a victim of four fake anthrax mailings in 2006 because I criticized Bush, and being on the second wave list of the "MAGA-Bomber" in 2018 for criticizing Trump, underscores how widespread this tactic has been. (15:15) And then there is the last component. How can the Marjorie Taylor Greenes of this world be sure that everybody they encourage to use violence is a Republican, and every one of the victims will be a Democrat - and not the other way around?

B-Block (19:20) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Droolius Caesar, in New York (20:22) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Lula wins, why did the DOJ add a Terror prosecutor to the Trump Documents team, the Mastriano confession, Musk charging for blue checks? (23:55) IN SPORTS: Did you see the perfect game in the World Series Saturday? And the Qataris celebrating the LGBTQ boycott of the World Cup (28:28) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The new UK PM gets roasted by a patient at a hospital photo op. He and Tom Cotton compete with the Kansas candidate who implied Tiger Woods killed a cop for the "honors."

C-Block (33:36) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The day Brian Williams lied about Iraq but I thought I was the one going crazy, then the day I tried to save Brian Williams; then the day the president of NBC News explained why they didn't - and couldn't - fire him.

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SPECIAL EPISODE 65: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: This was an assassination attempt. It was meant to be the execution of the Speaker of the House, 11 days before the midterms. It was a political crime, an act of domestic terrorism, an extension of the January 6th coup, the full expression of a new mantra of a political party gone insane, the culmination of the cult of Donald Trump (3:18) And THIS MUST BE SAID NOW by the Democratic leaders and media now cowering behind bothsidesism and electoral mediocrity (4:23) And it must be said by President Biden: that the attempted assassination of Nancy Pelosi was an attack on the government of the United States, inspired by the GOP, MAGA, and Trump. And Biden must also say: IT STOPS HERE.  (7:25) Democrats must also push back on the GOP filth who actually tried to dismiss this as a random break-in, like Ronna McDaniel, Glenn Youngkin, and the journalistic whores of Fox News, Newsmax, and others (11:53) And I want to have the conversation about POTUS' emergency powers - big and small (12:42) Because after a week in which Trump threatened to have reporters raped, thugs maced students, militia stalked ballot drop boxes, antisemitism and pro-Putin propaganda was rewarded, and now an assassination attempt - this country is under attack. Friday it was life and death for the Pelosis. Now, it is life and death for the rest of us.

B-Block (17:38) FRIDAY'S SPECIAL COMMENT: 90 months for a 1/6 Insurrectionist and 1/6 Committee pursuit of Secret Service turncoats. But two years after the coup and not one insurrectionist politician, stochastic terrorist, or Trump is in jail (18:45) As the midterms loom we must act as if democracy is already lost and we are trying to fire up an electorate - and candidates - who might get it back (22:25) We are betrayed by two supposedly liberal institutions: the political infrastructure and the media, yet CBS, CNN, New York Times, others, are still hedging their bets, ready to protect their profits in case Full Fascism comes to this country (28:00) Instead of making a plain case: Republicans = Fascists, Democrats = Destroyers of Fascism, we are trying to hide under euphemisms and appeasement and fear. (33:40) We have nothing to fear but fear itself. But to paraphrase to FDR but my late friend Bill Hurt in "Body Heat," "Sometimes the fear comes down so heavy I feel like I should wear a hat."

C-Block (36:47) FRIDAYS WITH JAMES THURBER: Dog lover Thurber’s lovable dog story about an unlovable dog that if you’re a dog lover, you’ll just love. It's "The Dog That Bit People."

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EPISODE 64: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: 90 months for a 1/6 Insurrectionist and 1/6 Committee pursuit of Secret Service turncoats. But two years after the coup and not one insurrectionist politician, stochastic terrorist, or Trump is in jail (2:55) As the midterms loom we must act as if democracy is already lost and we are trying to fire up an electorate - and candidates - who might get it back (6:30) We are betrayed by two supposedly liberal institutions: the political infrastructure and the media, yet CBS, CNN, New York Times, others, are still hedging their bets, ready to protect their profits in case Full Fascism comes to this country (12:08) Instead of making a plain case: Republicans = Fascists, Democrats = Destroyers of Fascism, we are trying to hide under euphemisms and appeasement and fear. (17:47) We have nothing to fear but fear itself. But to paraphrase to FDR but my late friend Bill Hurt in "Body Heat," "Sometimes the fear comes down so heavy I feel like I should wear a hat."

B-Block (21:51) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Yofiel, in the Bahamas (23:54) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Zeldin under unexpected investigation; Why does the Omaha PD need a tank?; New York Post hacked - nobody notices the difference; Lucianne Goldberg dies. Thoughts and prayers. (27:17) In sports: Britain's Foreign Secretary actually tells LGBTQ soccer fans to "flex and compromise" at the anti-gay Qatar World Cup, plus the World Series preview from a guy who may have checked out on the World Series after 55 years. (29:42) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel attacks Biden's stutter and Fetterman's stroke but sucked up to Trump's brain damage and insanity. She competes with Elon Musk and Tudor Dixon - who may be the dumbest person in America - for the honors.

C-Block (34:30) FRIDAYS WITH JAMES THURBER: Dog lover Thurber’s lovable dog story about an unlovable dog that if you’re a dog lover, you’ll just love. It's "The Dog That Bit People."

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EPISODE 63: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:46) I cannot be certain which scumbag I hate more today: Joe Scarborough or Samuel Alito. It's amazing that a shameless venomous opportunist, whose behavior for 30 years implies a damaged psyche, has the nerve to attack and not celebrate the recovery from stroke of an honest politician (5:30) Scarborough is the political whore who tried to mainstream Trump on MSNBC yet never once asked him "Why do you say things that make no sense?" or "Have you had an aneurysm or concussion?" or "Have you used drugs that can interfere with or damage your cognitive ability?" (7:27) His attack on Fetterman is worse than it seems because for every American recovering from injury or illness, it is a slap in their face from a creature not worthy of any position of influence in this business or this society (10:30) And "Justice" Samuel Alito, who has now failed mathematics, history, and ethics, may still be worse after his self-martyring speech to a fascist group (15:20) Perhaps Alito can resign and be replaced by an attorney who once defended the murderer of an abortion doctor. The attorney was named Joe Scarborough.

B-Block (18:15) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Kodah, in New York (19:00) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Surprisingly good news for Dems in early voting numbers and the generic Congressional Ballot; the implication Kash Patel is willing to testify against Trump; Kanye crashes Skechers and gets shown out by security; Musk tries to float a joke only to see it sink; Another Herschel Walker abortion story (23:00) IN SPORTS: Boone stays, the new NYC Marathon chief may have togo, and they're not booing, they're chanting "Potvin Socks" (26:07) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: NewsNation TV and Louis DeJoy compete with National Review Online publishing the rants of a Pennsylvania Republican who wants genocide against Democrats for the honors.

C-Block (30:33) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Back 43 years ago today, they actually banned Willie Mays for promoting gambling (rather than give him a big paycheck). At age 20 I had to interview him, and the bizarre way he answered his phone still resonates me - as does the bizarre way he was drafted by the army right after his big league debut and how that might have cost him the all-time Home Run Record.

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EPISODE 62: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: Voters would rather have cheap gas than the right to vote. Herschel Walker, lying abortion-funder and out-of-wedlock absentee father is the Man of God, not a pastor at Martin Luther King's church. The Congressional Progressive Caucus undermines the Democrats on Ukraine two weeks to the election. We know things ARE getting worse - but WHY are they getting worse? (2:40) Four answers: 1) 40+ years of Rush Limbaugh and imitators (4:00) 2) Individual moral turpitude, and blackmail (5:15) 3) The incompetence of the news media and the shortage of qualified reporters and analysts (9:15) 4) The ubiquity of platforms for anyone and everyone to become a political commentator and a political combatant when 30 years ago if you weren't in "the media" your choices were calling in to a talk show or writing a letter to the editor.

B-Block (16:40) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Blaze in New York (17:50) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Debate-a-palooza. Never give them a viral moment, like Oz on abortion or Oz on the debate being just a "television show" or Zeldin and Dixon appearing soft on crime; Saudis reneged on an oil deal; we must make Prince Mohammed bin Bonesaw pay. (23:35) IN SPORTS: Retired Serena Williams says "I am not retired." For the first time since 1950 - 1950! - there will be NO African-American players in the World Series. (27:40) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Marco Rubio rushing to the aid of an injured...Charlottesville white nationalist buddy to Proud Boys? Doug Mastriano extolling the virtues of moving to Russia? They compete with the would-be Oklahoma Superintendent of Schools who wants to impose 'Christian Patriotic Education Training' on the state's public teachers.

C-Block (32:39) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It's 42 years ago this month when, as the Jimmy Carter-Ronald Reagan presidential election loomed, control of the 1,000-station radio network owned by the world's second largest news organization was left for eight hours entirely in the hands of a 21-year old sportscaster pressed into service because of a flu wave: ME. And that's when our chief Washington correspondent phoned in from the campaign trail, thoroughly blitzed and thoroughly articulate!

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EPISODE 61: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: Am I really seeing this WaPo headline? "ANTISEMITES RALLY AROUND KANYE WEST" (3:20) As Adidas (finally) and his agents, documentarians, and others drop him (3:35) LAPD ties the 405 Freeway sign to antisemitic leaflets in Westwood (4:36) And something worse looms in Colorado: a Republican member of the State Board of Education has gotten the word "Nazis" replaced by "National Socialist German Workers Party" and demanded America acknowledge "this party was and is a socialist party." (7:05) The next stage has begun: assume a MAGA will come up to you shortly and say "Hitler was a Democrat. The holocaust is your fault. Antisemitism is your fault. Kanye West is your fault." Let's walk through his history: appointed as Chancellor by Conservatives, arrested Communists, sent Union Leaders to concentration camps, dissolved the Social Democratic Party, had Goebbels say "National Socialism opposes liberalism...liberalism broke under the blows." (14:00) On a much much much lighter note: you'll never believe who's advertising for a Concept-to-Consumer Manager? Yep: Adidas and Kanye.

B-Block (17:09) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Jerry in Houston (18:08) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: DeSantis freezes when Crist asks him ONE debate question; Senate/Governor polling improves for Dems; Proud Boys embarrass Pen State; Coerce or Caress Walt Nauta and Kash Patel as Document investigators press hard for testimony (22:02) IN SPORTS: Yankees embarrassed themselves but Yankee fans did themselves proud saying helloooooo to Ted Cruz; my fellow giant-head Bruce Bochy gets a new gig; and you'll never believe who predicted, NINE YEARS AGO, that the next Phillies World Series appearance would be in 2022! (25:16) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Soccer's World Cup vies with Right Wing Troll Jacob Wohl and Justice Sam Alito - who gets pounded from beyond the grave by Ted Kennedy - for the honors.

C-Block (30:04) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: I paid $2000 plus a game ticket for it, but I promised never to run exclusive video of a near-brawl between Yankees' ace Roger Clemens and a Yankees fan in the middle of the 1999 World Series. What happens when you have facts, but not truth? You side with truth - and your bosses start looking for a reason to fire you. It's quite a saga.

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EPISODE 60: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: Did Trump steal the classified documents not for selling or espionage or kleptomania but as Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free cards? (4:06) New Washington Post reporting informs us that besides the document describing another country's nuclear capabilities, Trump took one about Iranian missiles, another about intelligence efforts against China, and materials that would expose U.S. intelligence methods or agents, or expose this country to retaliation. These are conceivably capital crimes and maybe he thought having the documents - or copies - was his insurance (6:11) Trump fixated again on leaks over the weekend (7:04) And proposed getting leakers to confess by threatening them with rape in prison (8:19) The fascination with the leak, not the crime, extends to Trump's prostitutes like Jonathan Turley who invoke the "No Electoral Interference" unwritten law, which died six years ago this Friday at the hands of James Comey (10:12) The FBI and DOJ should be worried about Trump's plans to send goon squads to voting stations, starting in Philly, and contesting every close election (11:00) The good news is: the 1/6 Committee decision to subpoena Trump gave Nancy Pelosi the chance to make ANOTHER great joke at his expense (and gave me a chance to make an even better one!)

B-BLOCK (15:31) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Eamon in New York. (16:30) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Tucker Carlson threatens a Congressman on behalf of his failson Buckley Carlson (is his nickname Buckles?), Antisemites above the 405, Kanye insists Adidas can't drop him - so we'll have to boycott other athletes associated with Adidas, Jenna Ellis joins the surge in antisemitism, why is Centcom still helping Saudi Arabia, and Boris Johnson goes away (24:55) IN SPORTS: Yankees swept, Padres send themselves home early, oooh boy the World Series is...a reunion of the 1980 NLCS? (27:16) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The Canadian Freedom Convey's impact on kids with cancer, competing with professional self-owner Matt Walsh-Blog and El Douche' himself for the honors.

C-BLOCK (30:13) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Ever watched a movie and there was a scene that seemed taken directly from your own life? It happened to me with "A Christmas Story." When Little Ralphie loses his mind and nearly kills the bully? I did that. But I had a reunion with the bully a scant 43 years later!

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EPISODE 59: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: Liz Truss, the British Prime Minister, is more than just an eternal punchline who had to resign on her 45th day in office. She IS Kevin McCarthy. And Kevin Stitt. And Kari Lake. And Jim Banks. And Trump. And every idiotic Republican economist. (3:05) She truly believed Conservative Populist Mumbo-Jumbo could defeat reality. The fight between Mathematics and Liz Truss was not a pretty sight. Math brought addition and subtraction, and Truss brought a series of memorized sound bites. (5:34) And her bid to cut taxes for the rich, add billions to the debt, spend billions on energy, and make no spending cuts and not crash the economy was the dream of Trump economists Larry Kudlow (just 29 days ago!) and Steven Moore (just 26 days ago!) (6:30) This week Kevin McCarthy proposed to do internationally what Truss did domestically: wreck the world economy in a bid to cut Social Security and give the money to the rich. When the blowback started, McCarthy tried to walk it back only to see Jim Banks double down yesterday. (10:00) The ultimate lesson of Liz Truss is that the Conservatives believe their own bullcrap. That's why she's also Kevin Tritt, the Oklahoma Governor who laughed and told the crowd to laugh when his debate opponent spit facts on how much more violent crime there is in Oklahoma than in New York. And once again we ask: WHERE ARE THE COMMERCIALS SCREAMING "THEY ARE ALL LIZ TRUSS"?

B-Block (16:21) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Ceres, in California. (17:16) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Kash Patel testifies to DC Trump Documents Grand Jury, Loeffler to Atlanta Trump Election Tampering Grand Jury. (19:28) IN SPORTS: Astros win again, baseball reveals unannounced experiment: video review of ball and strike calls? Why? And the plight of the Vancouver Canucks. (23:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Anti-immigrant Adam Laxalt gets a big surprise about his own Grandma, and competes against DeSantis's doctor and his guest hit on a QAnon show, and Lara Logan's blood libel proving too crazy even for NewsMax.

C-Block (28:46) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: His epic short story - so topical 85 years after he wrote it - of when the biggest popular hero in America turns out to be the biggest jerk in America: "The Greatest Man In The World."

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EPISODE 58: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) The vague and underwhelming Bloomberg report about how prosecutors "believe there is sufficient evidence to charge Trump" was surprisingly specific about one thing: the timeline is developing in such a way that a Trump indictment for Obstruction of Justice and other crimes would not happen before the week of January 2 (or, as a longshot, the week of December 26) 3:44 Bloomberg also gives away its source: the FBI agents in "the team that's part of the classified records probe." (5:00) There is an unclear claim that DOJ would not indict ONLY on Obstruction. Does that mean they DO intend to file other charges, or that if they don't file others, they won't file ANYTHING? (6:50) DOJ may also be trying to time any announcement to fit appropriately with Trump's other legal vulnerabilities, like the Eastman Coup Georgia lying-in-a-sworn-statement case that just grew in seriousness yesterday (7:26) But probably not the E. Jean Carroll rape lawsuits for which Trump was deposed yesterday (8:00) Finally I take a wild guess at the EXACT date of any Trump indictment - at least the most appropriate date for it.

B-Block (12:37) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Griffin, in California (13:36) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The voice of the Ohio voter is heard loud and clear: "F You, Fascist!" So why aren't Dem bigwigs funding Tim Ryan? And push comes to shove in the slowly-expiring British cabinet. No: Literally. Pushing and shoving in parliament. (17:31) IN SPORTS: You may think pitching decides baseball's post-seasons, but those with more homers won both games yesterday - and 101 of the last 120. And a Christmas Album allows me to confirm the ancient story of Philadelphia fans booing Santa Claus, plus New York fans throwing snowballs at Tiny Tim's tulips (21:11) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Sean Hannity tells us way too much of how his dad used to beat him with a belt. He and Jim Jordan compete with Kimberly Guilfoyle actually making a joke about Nancy Pelosi and plastic surgery. Can we start a GoFundMe to get Kim a mirror?

C-Block (27:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: With Netflix's profits in the news, the story of the day I met with them to propose not just a streaming political show, but how they could own ALL of the TV News field in the post-cable future and all they could think about was...the necessity of putting on Italian subtitles.

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EPISODE 57: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: "It is THE commercial: 'You're 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 their Republican prostitutes here are raising your gas prices, deliberately.' THE commercial then runs through the rest of the Republican platform for the midterms." (4:27) But even as Kevin McCarthy goes on the record threatening another Debt Ceiling Crisis as a lever to cut Social Security and Medicare, THE commercial doesn't exist. (6:32) There could be a dozen versions of THE commercial - the one where the FBI perp-walks the child pornographer only to have Marjorie Trailer Park Greene swoop in and defund the Bureau and free the suspect. Or the one with Trump, on tape, handing Woodward the Kim Jong Un letters and saying "Oh, those are so top secret. Don't say I gave them to you!" (8:11) But with 20 days left until the midterms we are still hung up on safe arguments and with being better than the fascists. We have 20 days! Where is the urgency? Where is THE COMMERCIAL?

B-Block (15:11) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Hitchcock, in Georgia. (16:02) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Marco Rubio's argument against Drop Boxes: They could blow up! And speaking of blowing up, there's John Durham (18:10) IN SPORTS: Amazon buys an NFL game for Black Friday, and did the Jerry Jones-Bob Kraft swearfest have a...happy ending? (20:22) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Tudor Dixon vows to stop "Critical Race Training" in Michigan, and competes with an Idaho lobbyist who compares drag shows to blackface, and the Fox News dingbat who says nobody who hasn't had a child can talk about abortion, for the honors.

C-Block (24:45) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It's 38 years since I left Channel 5 in Boston, and had to say farewell to the man who gave me one of the best pieces of advice I ever received. As a hundred fans appeared out of nowhere to cheer him, I asked anchorman Chet Curtis "how do you get USED to this?" His priceless advice: "DON'T."

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EPISODE 56: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: The old sports phrase is "No Pain, No Gain." The political corollary is: "No Pain, No Gain - But No Brain, No Pain." This is proved by Herschel Walker's latest lie about the abortion he paid for (3:00) To say nothing of similar amazingly stupid deceit from Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, Donald Trump, Kanye West, and Elon Musk (5:53) And yet the World Championship may be held by the new U.K. government. Only on Day 41 and already a lame duck, Prime Minister Liz Truss doesn't show up to face the House of Commons and when someone jokes she's hiding under a desk, Truss's stand-in answers seriously "I can assure the house she is not under a desk." It's the longest sustained laughter I've ever heard a group of politicians express at another's expense, and it proves another theory that has been festering in me for decades (9:30) Namely: There are no adults.

B-Block (13:21) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Jeezy, in Los Angeles (14:15) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: In the Senate debates, Utah's Mike Lee is caught seditioning and Ohio's J.D. Vance is caught lying, denying he ever claimed Alex Jones was a more credible source of information than Maddow (17:13) IN SPORTS: Baseball's jinxed post-season continues: they wait two-and-a-half hours to rain out the Yankees and Guardians when it never really rained. Plus the format is a disaster: the National League World Series team will have either the 10th or 11th worst record in the sport. And more taxpayers get scammed for a new stadium, this time in Nashville. I'll repeat the simple explanation proving all the 'benefits' of new sports facilities are non-existent folderol. (22:20) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Liz Truss's Health Secretary vies with Trump's balls and Oz drinking his own urine (yeah, they "made" you) for the honors.

C-Block (26:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It was 48 years ago this month that I was at Boston University, aged 15, destined for an internship with the Boston Celtics, and to my shock I was offered a full merit scholarship - a free ride. And then a stringy-haired disc jockey at the college radio station said the set-up was all wrong and I would be making a mistake if I went there. Impossibly, that gaunt, snarky kid of 20 was named Howard Stern.

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EPISODE 55: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN"

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: Donald Trump is an antisemite.

"No president has done more for Israel than I have. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S...U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel. Before it's too late." (3:34) Translating Trump's manifold antisemitism, including the 'real loyalty' trope, his history of calling Israel "your country" to American Jewish groups, the 'You know some people would mistreat you Jews but I didn't so why haven't you rewarded me' threat, and especially (6:09) invoking the Evangelicals, for whom the Jews are a prop in their "End Times" fantasy of the return of Jesus followed by all Jews converting - or being slaughtered (10:30) Given Trump's history of Hitler worship this is especially virulent stuff. He praised Hitler's generals and economics and kept a book of his speeches in his bedroom (12:40) Yet when he endorsed candidate for NY Governor Lee Zeldin almost simultaneously with this antisemitism, Zeldin didn't refuse.

B-Block (15:32) MORE ON TRUMP AND OTHER ANTISEMITES: (15:32) That House Judiciary GOP tweet ("Kanye. Elon. Trump.") aged well! (16:02) Kanye West goes on his THIRD antisemitic tirade in the last two weeks on the podcast "Drink Champs" (18:25) and we review the one that launched it all: the hateful cliches and bigotry West launched in his interview with Tucker Carlson, but Fox refused to air or acknowledge.

C-Block (23:00) "OUR WONDERFUL EVANGELICALS": The hidden dagger in the Trump post is the dogwhistle to the Evangelical and other Fundamentalist movements and their belief that this is the hour for them to take over the country and exclude all minorities (and the majority) from governance (23:50) Ron DeSantis and the "Full Armor of God" movement and (35:25) "The New Apostolic Reformation" and their "Watchman" catechism that "We the Church are God's governing body on earth."

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EPISODE 54: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: It is the greatest sound bite of the last seven years. It is what at least half this country has been thinking. It is so cathartic to hear, to be life-affirming. Nancy Pelosi, on 1/6, hoping Trump shows up to The Capitol: "I'm gonna punch him out and I'm gonna go to jail and I'm gonna be happy!" It's the inscription for the base of a statue, it's a national motto, it's a Kate Bush song! (3:50) And knowing we would hesitate to say it has been the fascists' license to threaten and commit violence (5:15) If you're worried we're invoking political violence: this nation is already there. (6:45) We have wasted the 21 months since 1/6 playing nice - this is the only modern country where a violent coup was fended off and the surviving government had to ask nicely to prosecute the insurrectionists. (8:42) And given that November 6th is the 10th anniversary of the FIRST time Trump called for "Revolution" it's time to wrap it, and him, up. Frog-march him over to Nancy Pelosi.

B-Block (13:28) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Smokey, in New York (14:23) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Government investigating Musk over off-again/on-again Twitter buy; the nightmare close to ESPN; the sentencing in Florida (16:16) IN SPORTS: A really unhappy family milestone for the Dolan Family of Owners if Cleveland's Guardians don't win the World Series; and Dan Patrick and I make our first dual appearance in three years - on Kenny Mayne's podcast (21:14) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD (21:14) Billo is Back! And trying to fend off Penn State University and NBC News Chairman Cesar Conde and his recent run of disasters, for the honors.

C-Block (26:36) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: His immaculate comical short story of murderous intent overcome by the need to keep a marriage going so husband and wife can keep bickering: "Mr. Preble Gets Rid Of His Wife."

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EPISODE 53: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:47) SPECIAL COMMENT: The FBI has an informant! He's told them that after the subpoena, Trump ordered the boxes of documents moved, and it was all captured on Mar-a-Lago security video! He's the equivalent of Watergate's "Deep Throat" - let's call him "Deep STORAGE"! (2:25) But why does this Washington Post scoop sound so familiar? BECAUSE THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME THIS STORY HAS BROKEN (3:08) On August 10th, we learned there was an informant inside Mar-a-Lago, and a subpoena for security tapes. (3:41) Let me replay the relevant part of the August 11th Countdown commentary, to show that we first encountered "Deep Storage" that moment, and that the only true element to this story is WHAT the informant told the FBI about - moving the boxes. (11:45) So now we ask: did the informant tell the FBI anything that hasn't been reported? Is there more than one informant? But if there's only "Deep Storage" - WHO IS IT!?!?!?

B-Block (15:52) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Thor, in North Central L.A. (16:53) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: That $1 Billion figure in the Alex Jones case? That's a minimum. There are still punitive damages to be assessed against the scum; Kanye does another "hate speech" and the show gets shelved; and another family member catches Herschel Walker in another lie. (19:54) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Joe Rogan, LibsOfTikTok and Tulsi Gabbard team up to battle Blake Masters and Chris 'I Used To Pretend To Have Hearing And Vision Problems To Explain My On-Camera Gaffes' Matthews - MSNBC's new undead guest - who trashed John Fetterman for using the equivalent of the text dictation device you have on your phone, during an interview.

C-Block (27:42) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: We're in the baseball post-season now so I'll take you back to 1999. In one Yankees-Red Sox series as the host and dugout reporter for Fox, I was a) caught in the middle of a bottle-throwing melee at Fenway Park b) witness to a Yankee swearing endlessly at a manager c) visited by a pitcher (El Duque Hernandez) who supposedly didn't speak English but had a bunch of questions about SportsCenter, and d) was also visited by Bernie Williams, who was so deeply worried that I might be a Red Sox fan that he kept asking me about it even while he was due in the on-deck circle during the 1st Inning.

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EPISODE 52: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) Elon Musk boasted of talking to Vladimir Putin before tweeting his moronic "Ukraine Peace Plan" that just happened to give Putin everything he wanted. Then he blasted the reporter who broke the story - but didn't deny it (3:30) Which fit perfectly in a day in which the fascists proved reality means nothing to them: it doesn't have to BE real; it only has to SEEM real. Take Herschel Walker, now accused of demanding TWO abortions and demanding she pay for them. Meanwhile back on the campaign trail he starts talking about a bull who has impregnated three females and wants to impregnate three more (6:09) And the other new darling of MAGA, Kanye West, turns out to have been plenty crazy in the Tucker Carlson interview, but they left it on the floor. All the antisemitic tropes you can eat! (10:30) And then there's Tulsi Gabbard, who blew all the dog whistles in 'quitting' the Democratic Party just two years after she was thrown out of it (12:30) While the fascists can do nothing with sincerity or love - like Joe Biden's for his broken son - but mock it (13:34) And I am reminded of when I shared a studio with Sean Hannity and he gave away the entire Far Right Game: "Why are they so upset? I mean, it's only TV - it's not REAL!"

B-Block (17:40) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Morgana in Gardena, CA (18:35) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Prediction by analysis: Garland WILL indict Trump; How can an LA City Council member take a "leave of absence," and remembering Angela Lansbury and her all-time great performance in "The Manchurian candidate." (20:26) IN SPORTS: Baseball's Rusty Champs, and Hockey's Referee Hosts (21:20) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Some Trumpers want a declaration of war against something you can't declare war against. They compete with Kevin McCarthy and Saudi Arabia for the honors.

C-Block (26:50) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Somebody asked me recently "Whatever happened to Matt Lauer?" A look inside his reign of terror at NBC, and when it was directed at me because the husband of the late Terri Schaivo wanted to do an interview with me and not him. And a reminder of how the utterly corrupted Joe Scarborough responded to that story by saying "The Democrats (are) the party on the side of death."

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EPISODE 51: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: Putin is doubling down and we must act. We must avoid war, so we must DO everything else. We must at least explore dissolving the United Nations and re-forming it without Russia (3:05) More practically, Biden must reverse his September decision and declare Russia a State Sponsor of Terrorism - it's what the oligarchs fear most (4:27) And the need to do SOMETHING is not just about Russia. It's about Russia's propagandists here - paid or not - like Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson, CPAC, and Michael Flynn. We have to make it career-ending to supply the Kremlin with anti-Ukraine sound bites.

B-Block (15:09) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Al, in Miami (16:25) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The lone Ohio Senate Debate is a TKO for Tim Ryan over J.D. Vance, or, if you prefer, "Hillbilly Eulogy"; Maggie Haberman battered by BBC; LA Council resignations not enough. (20:15) IN SPORTS: Baseball lifer gets the big gig in Philly; the five-year plan in Carolina turns into a five-week plan; Tommy Tuberville blowback hits sports (22:23) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Candace Owens, Owen Shroyer, and Jason Whitlock defend Kanye West and antisemitism, and compete with Lauren Boebert and the Secretary of the Army for the crown.

C-Block (27:08) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Five different baseball franchises have tried to get me fired - at ESPN, at KTLA, at Fox Sports. Only one has kinda sorta succeeded. The remarkable story from ten years ago: when MLB Network offered me a show, and then reneged when threatened by the Yankees.

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EPISODE 50: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: At his Sunday night rally in Mesa, Trump boasted he had boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago, their contents were all "his." He is all but daring Merrick Garland to arrest him (2:30) Mr. Attorney General: saying "I had a small number of boxes at Mar-a-Lago...guarded by Secret Service...they should give me immediately back everything they took from me, because it's mine" is a CONFESSION (4:06) We now learn he also offered to TRADE the documents for FBI Russia records (6:00) And Friday's conclusion that the FBI was at least ready to search Trump Tower and/or Bedminster was confirmed by Rolling Stone's report that DOJ is asking witnesses if he had documents in those locales (8:30) And while Merrick Garland stalls and hesitates, Trump's minions have dropped the pretense and are joining him on stage to admit they are there to end fair elections (11:00) And his cult's candidate for Governor of Arizona did something last night that was just this side of posing with a ball-gag in her mouth with the word "TRUMP" written on it.

B-Block (13:54) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Boomer, in Los Angeles (15:01) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Small problem in the Kremlin case against the "terrorist" who blew up the Kerch bridge, as Michael Flynn calls US Ally Zelenskyy a "fool," the lead Democrats on the L.A. City Council are going to have to resign, and the bad reviews for Yankee Scented Candles may actually augur a new Covid wave, so get your Bivalent! (20:29) IN SPORTS: Ear today, gone tomorrow: Mets get waxed as Showalter's Musgrove Ritual falls on deaf ears (23:55) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Kanye West (and the Republican Attorney General who defended his antisemitism) try to stave off Tommy Tuberville's racism and Mehmet Oz's Hitler Symbolism for the honors.

C-Block (30:21) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: My friendship with the legendary actress Elizabeth Montgomery (32:00) How it happened because of the founding of ESPN Radio and the unexpected scoop we got on the first weekend (34:25) Leading me to do my impression of my high school classmate Chris Berman as he greeted me on my first day at ESPN (38:44) And the extraordinary life lesson about fans and memory that she taught me and has stayed with me for 30 years.

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COUNTDOWN EPISODE 49

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: The FBI is preparing to search The Trump Golf Club And Cemetery in New Jersey or Trump Tower in New York. That's the clear implication of The New York Times report (2:24) that the Justice Department notified Trump's lawyers that it is not convinced that all the classified documents stolen by Trump have yet been retrieved (2:45) CNN went a step further, sourcing that DOJ demanded to Trump's attorneys all remaining documents must be returned. (2:53) There have been hints (like those empty folders with "CLASSIFIED" on them (3:14) And there was almost a compromise, but now Trump is hard-lining this and ultimately this ends with another search (5:02) Apart from the danger of him still having docs, there's the chance he's already sold or lost or had some stolen. (6:03) More bad news for Trump: Secret Service confirms Oath Keepers contacted them about "security procedures" which they position as ordinary but which a witness at the sedition trial implies had something to do with invocation of The Insurrection Act (8:20) And a key Proud Boy has flipped against Enrique Tarrio (8:51) But at least no one invoked The Herschel Walker Defense.

B-Block (12:13) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Theodore, in New York (13:33) IN SPORTS: Baseball overshadows its own playoffs with streaming controversy while Canada's hockey scandal just keeps getting worse (15:49) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Matt Walsh-Blog defends his support for impregnating 16-year olds, and competes for honors with Kari Lake and TNT hockey nudnik Paul Bissonnette (17:45) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It is exactly 47 years since my first appearance on a professional radio station, when they told me I was only going to do one story in a five-minute sportscast and it was all a lie and I was 16 and I mispronounced my name. Twice. And I am actually letting you hear clips from it.

C-Block (27:03) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: His epic story of public panic, and people so convinced they were right that they ignored common sense, science, and what their own eyes showed them: The Day The Dam Broke (42:22) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL BONUS: My entire 11:15 PM sportscast on WVBR-FM, Ithaca NY, on Tuesday, October 7, 1975!

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COUNTDOWN EPISODE 48

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: A corrupt unstable ex-president is trying to use a corrupted Supreme Court to avoid prison - and that's just the start of our troubles (4:20) Happily, democracy has survived not so much through the exertions of those of us who would save it, but thanks to the laugh-out-loud stupidity of those who would destroy it (4:46) So LET'S laugh out loud. (5:00) Trump made a fool out of himself in Miami yesterday (7:25) Ron DeSantis implied the liberal media controls the weather (8:08) The Herschel Walker story - now morphed into "He paid for the abortion for the mother of one of his children" - precipitated a hilarious confession about GOP hypocrisy (9:49) Alina Habba is a blooper factory (10:35) Senator Marshall can't pronounce "9/11" (11:15) Ron Johnson endorses white supremacy (11:27) CPAC admitted its members are terrorists (11:54) And Trump actually said "When they leak on my administration." Wait - WHAT?

B-Block (15:01) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Xica, in Van Nuys (16:07) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The bill to remove our missile systems out of Saudi Arabia after their oil blackmail, and bad polling news for Herschel and Boebert. (18:15) IN SPORTS: Steven Vogt goes out with a bang; maybe the real Most Valuable Player of the American League is neither Judge nor Ohtani; and the announcer nominees for the Baseball Hall of Fame are revealed (24:07) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: GOP Governor candidate swears there are kids "identifying" as cats, another GOP Congressional candidate exaggerates his military record, and they compete with Fox's Mark Levin's latest high-pitched whine.

C-Block (27:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The day Dodgers' owner Walter O'Malley nearly caused his top lieutenant to pass out by saying "We lost $2,000,000 last year" and why that doesn't mean anything close to what it would sound like to us civilians.

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EPISODE 47

A-Block (1:46) SPECIAL COMMENT: Trump's appeal of the "Special Master Compromise" is just a stalling tactic so he can time his 2024 announcement AFTER the Mid-terms but BEFORE he's indicted (2:16) He knows announcing before 11/8/22 will undercut many election deniers he needs in place in '24. He may even believe the DOJ won't indict him if he's an announced candidate. (4:00) Whatever the specifics, the appeal to Clarence Thomas at the Supreme Court is nonsense: it might as well be 35 blank pages (6:11) The NYT notes he didn't even appeal the ruling that lets DOJ continue using the classified stolen documents in its investigation of him. (7:27) Trump could also be deflecting legal attention from his next real problem: The trial of The Oath Keepers (11:00) Prosecutors played a tape of a November 2020 meeting to plan a violent insurrection and if they can tie it to Trump's inner circle, he's meat.

B-Block (14:45) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Ranger in Greenville, Tennessee. (15:48) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The abortion story won't hurt Herschel Walker. His son's videos will. And what happened to the lawsuit, Hersch? (20:08) IN SPORTS: Our long national nightmare is over: Aaron Judge is the new home run champ. And if you don't think so, ask yourself: which is the all-time Strikeout Record: Nolan Ryan's 383 in 1973 or Matt Kilroy's 513 in 1886? (24:19) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Mehmet Oz, torturer of puppies, competes with Roger Waters and David Zaslav of CNN for the honors.

C-Block (30:50) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It's the 15th Anniversary of the day MSNBC management told me they'd never let me use Rachel Maddow as my guest host, nor give her her own show, because no woman could get ratings in prime time, and we didn't need a second liberal show, and no LGBTQ woman host would ever attract male viewers! 

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EPISODE 46

A-Block (1:46) SPECIAL COMMENT: Trump just convicted himself of Obstruction of Justice. (2:50) The big debate within DOJ about charging him is about "consciousness of guilt." Could he have NOT known he had illegal possession of documents (including one detailing the nuclear capabilities of another nation)? If as The Washington Post reports, he actually packed the boxes himself, he knew - and the debate is over. (3:45) And to make it worse, he tried to suborn perjury, to get his attorney to sign a document in February saying he had returned all the documents (4:38) Which could lead to a conspiracy, since he DID get another attorney to sign the same kind of document in June (5:36) An entirely separate second path of Obstruction and Conspiracy was opened by his conversation with Maggie Haberman about the Kim Jung-Un letter (7:12) All of which explains the timing of his suit against CNN (8:45) And his threat to sue the 1/6 Commission, which may register in only one place: (9:00) CNN, where Chris Licht and John Malone have spent six months brown-nosing Conservative politicians in hopes that the leopards wouldn't eat THEIR faces.

B-Block (13:17) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Whisper (14:20) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: It's one thing to be anti-abortion and to have a news organization prove you paid for a girlfriend's abortion, but it's quite another, Herschel Walker, to then be repudiated in public by your own son. Plus the Oaf Keepers' trial starts (18:06) IN SPORTS: Albert Pujols yes, Aaron Judge no; Monday Night Football fan flattened; National Women's Soccer League devastated by new report of coach corruption (20:50) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Scott Jensen and Kim Kardashian compete with a Twitter Karen who can't tell the Pennsylvania Senate from a minor league baseball team.

C-Block (25:19) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The day I met actor Walter Matthau, his improbable hobby of vocal impersonations, and the kindness he extended me that was so extraordinary that though it was the only time I met him, when he died years later, I burst into tears.

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A-Block (1:46) SPECIAL COMMENT: Trump threatens violence against Mitch McConnell and Marjorie Trailer Park Greene implies Republicans should kill Democrats but the real sign over the weekend that the GOP has transformed entirely into a nihilist mob is neither of them (2:44) It's Susan "I Haven't Learned My Lesson" Collins, who has just noticed that "a Senator or House member (might be) killed." (8:30) It is the Collinses of this nation who have let Trump echo his cultists' call for Civil War by valuing their own offices and power more than they do the nation. 

B-Block (13:53) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Stella in St. Louis (14:58) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Brazil's Burn The Amazon vote goes to a runoff; they've identified the DeSantis Trafficking Coyote; Prime Minister Truss attacks the King; Trailer Park Greene self-owns. (17:37) IN SPORTS: Aaron Judge now has one homer in his last 49 plate appearances; Angels sign Ohtani - to trade him? T.J. Watt beats Fox to an exclusive about his A-Fib and they'll close a loophole to keep future Tuas on the bench. (21:18) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Michigan's Tudor Dixon (WHO THE HELL IS NAMED 'TUDOR') competes with Conservative unemployables Sophie Corcoran and Alex Bruesewitz (whose entry is one of the most despicable public statements I've ever covered).

C-Block (28:25) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It's the anniversary of the week David Letterman revealed, on his show, that he was being blackmailed. Incredibly, I WORKED WITH the blackmailer 40 years ago at CNN, and somehow I also worked with the other victim when the Trumpists tried to blackmail Jeff Bezos!

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EPISODE 44: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: This should've been a landmark day at the Supreme Court with Judge Jackson's Investiture (2:15) Instead it's again about the prejudice, the dishonesty, the proselytizing of Samuel Alito and the threat contained in his response to Justice Kagan: "Saying or implying that the court is becoming an illegitimate institution or questioning our integrity crosses an important line." (6:08) New Gallup poll shows trust in the Court has dropped from 67% to 47% in just two years (10:29) Alito thinks his job is to create laws that protect the "role" of Jesus in American life, and said so in Rome in July (12:12) And hidden within his reference to criticism that "crosses an important line" is a threat that Alito thinks the Court should ACT against those who dare to stand up against the theocracy he and the other political prostitutes of this course are building as we speak.

B-Block (17:18) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Gulf Coast Humane Society (18:35) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: John Harris of Politico believes Maggie Haberman and the other Suppress-The-News-Til-You-Get-A-Book-Deal hacks proved journalism is "more powerful than Trump." He competes with LIV Golf and Ben Shapiro for the honors (23:26) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Exactly 10 years ago today my then-girlfriend faced the heartbreak of a dying family dog by telling me "I need a puppy fix." What followed was probably the most important day of my life.

C-Block (36:51) Part Two of Things I Promised Not To Tell: Rudy Giuliani makes a cameo appearance in the middle of my meltdown and the ultimate triumph of love at first sight - and you'll hear from the girl herself.

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A-Block (1:47) SPECIAL COMMENT: Trial of the Proud Boys starts in DC, near the trial of the Oath Keepers, while one liberal commentator is blasted for asking about climate change and Hurricane Ian, but Tucker Carlson is free to insinuate President Biden blew up the Nord Stream pipelines. So this question: (2:47) WHY and WHEN did much of our country GO CRAZY? When did despicable but sane conservatives go insane? (4:09) I think the answer is: the conservatives' guard rails began to fall off when the 9/11 PTSD sunk in (13:52) Certainly what Bush got away with, in Iraq, with torture, conservatives lost any fear that they couldn't get away with anything - including claiming JFK Jr. is back from the dead.

B-Block (19:27) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Gonzo, in New York (20:27) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Coolio, In Memoriam; J.R. Majewski, in trouble again; Marjorie Trailer Park Greene, in divorce court; and John Barron rides again. (22:20) IN SPORTS: Tim Mayza and Matt Buschmann are in the record books! (Oh and Aaron Judge too) And of triple-headers, quadruple-headers, and sextuple-headers (23:56) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: MTG self-owns while hog-hunting, Martha MacCallum doesn't understand Puerto Rico, and Chris Hayes advocates something unconscionable, as they compete for he honors (29:45) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Saturday is the 29th Anniversary of the launch of the New Coke of TV Sports: ESPN2 - and I still have the scars!

C-Block (41:15) Part two of Things I Promised Not To Tell. There were two reasons I was willing to give up SportsCenter to be the face of the ESPN2 disaster. One reason, I've always mentioned. But the other? I don't think I told more than one other person in 29 years. In this podcast: I TELL THEE.

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OATH KEEPERS COULD SCREW TRUMP

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: Keep your eye on the trial of Stewart Rhodes and the Oath Keepers as jury selection continues today. Rhodes' defense is: he and his terrorists were acting on what were to be legal orders from Trump as President. So...they just guessed that would be the case? They assumed? THEY HAD TO HAVE BEEN TOLD. Told? By whom? What will they say in their own defense and who will testify to what communications or meetings or conspiracies? They are on trial for Seditious Conspiracy and perhaps decades in jail and who they blame could be close to Trump - or Trump himself. (5:07) Other Oath Keepers have already flipped and implicated Roger Stone, Stop The Steal, and The Proud Boys (7:05) And ex-Trump physician, Congressman Ronny Jackson, who supposedly reached out to Stewart Rhodes for protection during the attempted coup. 

B-Block (15:16) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Jinxie in Brooklyn (16:39) IN SPORTS: Sure they clinched their division, but what about Aaron Judge's home run drought? And now that the NFL has cancelled its All-Star Game will the other leagues follow suit? (20:32) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The book banners of Bucks County PA taking it an extra yard, the University of Idaho, and the DeSantis appointee who just quit after a KKK photo surfaced, compete for honors (24:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: In the world of the movie "Network" it was 47 years ago this week that things began to go off the rails for Howard Beale, Max Schumacher, Diana Christensen, and the UBS Evening News. For my money, it's the greatest movie of all time - and especially the most prophetic.

C-Block (37:03) More on "Network" and the 23 separate prophecies of auteur Paddy Chayefsky, who saw in 1976 what the rest of us could not imagine: what television news would look like in 2022.

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KYRSTEN SINEMA SHOULD RESIGN

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: I do not know how or why Senator Sinema of Arizona can still identify as a Democrat after appearing with Mitch McConnell at an event that was for all intents and purposes a Republican Campaign Rally for the mid-terms. Sinema praised McConnell for his "respect for the Senate" even though it was McConnell who made up a rule that denied Merrick Garland even a hearing for the Supreme Court and stole the seat for the Republicans. She blamed everybody BUT the Republicans for politics becoming "radicalized, spiraling steadily downward into bitter and tribal extremism" and never mentioned January 6th. She forecast a Democratic defeat in November. (9:53) I explain my personal relationship with Kyrsten Sinema, first as a friend, then in a brief dating relationship, then again as a friend, spanning nearly eight years, and her deterioration from as liberal and progressive a person as I've ever met to a clown who has fallen for Mitch McConnell's act. She should resign from the Senate - Arizona's governor would be required by law to name a Democratic replacement - and take her deliberate unwillingness to recognize the threat to democracy posed by the Republicans, and utilize it either to challenge Tulsi Gabbard for the role OF Tulsi Gabbard, or go host "Meet The Press."

B-Block (19:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Edda in The Bahamas (20:13) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The Meadows texts: the "Crown Jewels" of the 1/6 Investigation; Liz Truss has them invoking the 119 days of George Canning; Ken Paxton flees. (22:45) IN SPORTS: The Judge Watch Never Stops; Brett Favre suspended by SiriusXM. (24:35) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Our boy Chuck Todd, the American Senator who doesn't know how to pronounce "9/11," and the Elitist cheering for the defeat of the Elitists without realizing he IS an Elitist, vie for the honors.

C-Block (31:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It actually happened: the president of NBC summoned us to his 52nd Floor office to warn us that MSNBC was about to be taken off the air by order of the Chairman of G.E. because HIS MOMMY TOLD HIM TO.

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TRUMP BACKING AWAY FROM "Q" OVER ROYALTIES?

A-Block (1:47) SPECIAL COMMENT: At his latest rally Trump had security stop his cultists from doing the Q-Anon Sieg Heil and seemed to be backing away from the conspiracy theory. Or is it just that he found out he'll have to pay money for the damned "Q Song"? (5:15) Shocking developments as two excerpts from Maggie Haberman's book are actually relevant and revelatory as Trump confesses his true motivation for everything: the fear that people won't know who he is (9:07) And the Italian elections may seem remote and irrelevant, except that the apparent winner, the anti-LGBTQ anti-migrant fascist, is another Steve Bannon protege.

B-Block (14:25) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Jelly Belly and Cooper in California (15:56) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Kevin McCarthy thinks he's quoting Lincoln when he's actually quoting a bank ad; JR Majewski says it's classified; Everybody hates Kyrsten, and NASA says 'Kiss your asteroid goodbye." (20:26) IN SPORTS: NFLPA has a headache over Too, and Judge stuck on 60. Plus the argument that the most homers is automatically the RECORD for homers is nonsense. The most strikeouts in a season isn't the RECORD for strikeouts, nor is the most steals. (27:52) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Somebody doesn't like my criticisms of CNN henchman Chris Licht, the Congressman who says women shouldn't vote, and what do you mean 'The Soviets irradiated Richard Nixon?'

C-Block (33:13) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: For 46 years, I have told the saga of my ill-fated hero Fred Merkle and how they changed the rules on him in the middle of the game in September, 1908. But this'll be the first time I've told the extraordinary story of what his great-grandson did as a toddler, as his parents and I watched in astonishment, that left us wondering about reincarnation!

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THIS IS VICHY CNN

A-Block (1:37) SPECIAL COMMENT: Apropos of the Vichy CNN shake-up yesterday that saw Chris "Ate Paste" Licht reward Jake Tapper after he defended the "Special Master" ruling and attacked those on MSNBC who attacked CNN's biased analysis, and rewarded Alisyn Camerota for questioning whether what Ron DeSantis did to the asylum-seekers in Texas could really be kidnapping because they were treated so well by their rescuers in Martha's Vineyard, let's look again at the beginning. When Licht fired Brian Stelter and cancelled "Reliable Sources," we didn't know he had also already fired John Harwood. When I knew him at MSNBC, Licht was Joe Scarborough's hatchet-man. And now he's John Malone's. This... is Vichy CNN.

B-Block (19:57) SPECIAL COMMENT: Would that it were exclusive to CNN. It's not. Every news outlet in the country has had "the" meeting: 'If this country goes fully fascist, how do we protect our profits?' The meetings began at MSNBC in 2006 - and they have never stopped. I told that story in the first episode of this series and it's worth revisiting it in the context of the collapse in the only ratings measurement that counts in television: viewers aged 25-54. These ratings at MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News are as low as they've been in 20 years, and MSNBC's newest show has settled in nicely into last place in prime time in the category. The fear of offending Right Wingers will kill the profits of cable news long before fascist oppression can.

C-Block (38:38) SPECIAL COMMENT: With a little perspective, the obsession of CNN and other right wing media with the presence of two marines in the background of President Biden's Philadelphia speech about the threat posed by MAGA-Republicans, seems ridiculous and futile. EVERYTHING they've done since has served merely to prove that the president was right; contrast what Biden said in Philadelphia to the Q-Anon references and Q-Muzak and mass fascist salutes and stochastic calls to violence that Trump presented in Youngstown.

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THE GODFATHER: PART TRUMP

A-Block (1:46) SPECIAL COMMENT: Remember the baptism scene in "The Godfather"? Where Michael has everybody whacked? Metaphorically, that was Trump's Wednesday - only he was ALL 10 GUYS WHO GOT WHACKED. His Appeals Court appointees let the DOJ resume its investigation, declare declassification irrelevant (4:02) Trump replies to Spokesmodel Sean Hannity that he could declassify documents just "by thinking about it" - BLINK ONE FOR CLASSIFIED, BLINK TWO FOR DECLASSIFIED. But the judges just said declassification is a red herring. (5:30) NY AG James' lawsuit may hurt Trump more personally because he's accused of not being THAT rich, and needing to be THAT rich is perhaps Trump's only human emotion (7:30) Two other court cases for Trump (7:52) and maybe one coming for Ron DeSantis (8:40) And Trump Endorsee J.R. Majewski grabs what used to be the Third Rail of Politics: Lying about your military service. He didn't fight in Afghanistan; he loaded cargo in Qatar. We'll hear him recount his ordeal in Afghanistan that he didn't have.

B-Block (14:31) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Koley (15:34) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The Electoral Count Act, McCarthy Suffers Premature Jocularity, Tucker Carlson slanders the wrong Ontario teacher, the World Bank boss is a climate crisis denier, and Contagious Defenestration continues even as Russia destabilizes (18:31) IN SPORTS: Buster Posey becomes management, Dayton Moore becomes ex-management, and why Aaron Judge's 60 Homers are not comparable to Babe Ruth's 60 Homers (like McGwire's 70 Homers were not comparable to Ruth's 60) (22:41) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Politicians walk out of Greg Norman's pitch for the Saudi Blood Money Golf Tour and he competes with Ted Cruz and the NBA for the honors.

C-Block (27:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Sunday it'll be 16 years since a guy sent me, at my home, an envelope he claimed was full of anthrax. What happened next, including The New York Post getting vengeance against me by printing a story that identified the real culprit of the anthrax story: Me.

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DOJ'S LATE NIGHT FILING AGAINST TRUMP

A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT. I wonder if Trump has ever heard of Victor Marchetti? He will now. The Government's 1975 court victory over him defined who has to prove a Classified Document is STILL a Classified Document - and it ain't the government. The Justice Department with a killer filing in its appeal of the Special Master ruling (3:55) Even as the Special Master comes down on Trump like a ton of bricks. His insistence those are HIS documents because he declassified some of them but he can't tell you which ones or when, is attacked by Special Master Dearie (4:10) Who says "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Didn't somebody we all know use that same phrase yesterday? YES I DID. (6:03) If you think Trump's lawyers are nitwits, wait'll you hear Alina Habba not understand why it's called an OCTOBER Surprise (6:45) Trump also makes a dumb analogy about the search of his bedroom (7:40) While New York's Attorney General may be ready to move (8:00) And three of the asylum seekers DeSantis human-trafficked have filed a class action suit against him and he's reduced to using the phrase "Onesie-Twosies" (10:34) And Trump's desperate neediness leads to one of the greatest Owns in Twitter history: Greg Proops flattens Maggie Haberman for all time.

B-Block (14:35) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Hooch (16:00) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Ron Johnson "condones" white supremacy; Bret "Mr. Journalist" Baier tried to get the Fox Arizona call retracted; Tucker Carlson may get more people hurt. (18:50) IN SPORTS: 60 homers for Judge, the passing of Maury Wills, three NHL vets retire (21:30) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The 1776 Restoration Movement scumbags compete with Ronna McDaniel and a ton of Fentanyl for Halloween, and the Australian TV hosts covering the Queen's funeral, for the honors.

C-Block (26:45) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: 25 years since the head of the NBC part of MSNBC told me to ignore the head of the MS part of MSNBC. Andy Lack said they "were only supposed to give us money and computer terminals! Don't tell ME that we have to 'synergize' cable television and the internet - whatever the hell the internet is!"

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HERSCHMANN SINKS TRUMP

A BLOCK (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: Eric Herschmann may be today's John Dean. In 2021 he warned Trump to return all the classified documents he took with him. Because Trump ignored his advice that gives prosecutors a smoking gun (3:35) Because the Espionage Act requires the perp to have "WILLFULLY" concealed the stolen secrets (3:50) And 18 US Code 2071 also says any convicted "SHALL BE DISQUALIFIED FROM HOLDING ANY OFFICE UNDER THE UNITED STATES." (4:32) Herschmann has already testified against Trump at the House 1/6 Committee and is to testify to a Federal Grand Jury. (5:31) And Trump's handpicked 'Special Master" Raymond Dearie demands they tell him what Trump claims to have declassified and when, sending Trump's lawyers into a panic (7:53) While Trump is only worried about where Biden sat at Queen Elizabeth's funeral service and even in that, he inadvertently admits Biden is president, and he isn't (9:12) Meanwhile: Told you so: The DeSantis Migrant Kidnapping disaster is being investigated as a crime in Texas.

B BLOCK (14:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Colson (15:22) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Sad sack New Hampshire Senate candidate Don Bolduc steps in it; GOP threatening to investigate its beloved U.S. Chamber of Commerce?; And what does TV news do, now that Elizabeth has finally been buried? (18:43) IN SPORTS: Now the Saudi Blood Money Golf Tour sends Greg Norman to DC to lobby on its heinous behalf. (20:50) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The GOP Congressman who confesses that unpaid student debt is the greatest recruiting tool for the US military, vies with a NYPD Lieutenant with 52 disciplinary allegations, and the Funeral Spider, for the honors.

C BLOCK (25:24) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It's 40 years since CNN let me spend well into three figures to take the three key figures from the Players Union to dinner during the 1982 NFL Strike. I'll even reveal the day a players' negotiator tried to strangle an owners' negotiator.

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TRUMP IS AMERICA'S HITLER

A BLOCK: (1:50) SPECIAL COMMENT: After the Saturday Trump rally in Ohio, and the modified Sieg Heil, and the QAnon Music, and the rewritten history, and the Sunday Mastriano rally in Pennsylvania, and the modified Sieg Heil there, and the QAnon Music there, and the rewritten history there, it is time to use the real words. Trump has stopped pretending, and embraced QAnon, Christofascism, and Violent Revolution. He is America's Hitler, and he must be stopped while we still have any capacity to do so.

B BLOCK: (23:53) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Henrietta (25:21) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Fiona blacks out Puerto Rico; Tomi Lahren evacuates?; Henry Silva passes; How about "Emancipation: It Slaps"? (27:54) IN SPORTS: Tom Brady's bad day and Trey Lance's worse day; What does "American League" record mean any more?; The passing of Mrs. Gil Hodges (30:2) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: DeSantis spits on Nazareth, Pat Sajak, and Alysin "Is It Really Kidnapping" Camerota of CNN compete for honors.

C BLOCK: (35:20) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The anniversary of the day in 1908 when my great grandfather Antony Zelenskyy turned down $1000 in stock in the company that would become no I just can't write it

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3 STEPS TO STOP TRUMP TODAY

A BLOCK (1:48) SPECIAL COMMENT: Ron DeSantis didn't "pull off a political stunt." He is guilty of kidnapping and human trafficking and must be arrested. (3:42) He's violated 8 US Code 1324 and (5:31) his agent lured people onto the flight to Massachusetts. There are 50 counts; it's 5 years each (8:09) Incredibly, the White House already had a meeting scheduled today about "litigation options" against DeSantis and Abbott (8:49) And we must stand up against the psychopathic scum the way our ancestors did against the psychopathic scum of 1860 (10:30) Plus: there's a three-step process to bypass the corrupt Trump-appointee who just erased American law to protect the pimp who put her on the bench: Appeal, Waive All Executive Privilege, and INDICT THE M'F'ER NOW, especially after the interview (13:05) in which he made seven separate incitements to another insurrection in just 37 seconds of an interview.(14:30) A reminder: the bully understands only the kick in the crotch.

B BLOCK (19:10) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Cooper, in Los Angeles (20:42) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Marjorie Taylor Greene tries three times to kick and push a Young Voters' Organizer, finally gets her, no word on charges; Chris "Eats Paste" Licht demotes CNN's top liberal primetime host to co-host of the little-watched morning program (alongside a former reporter for "The Daily Caller"), WSJ whiffs on Biden's Railroad (25:30) IN SPORTS: Federer goes, Ohio Republicans vote themselves the right to inspect undressed teenaged girl athletes, Washington Commanders can't tell WHICH Washington (28:22) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: D'Souza confuses an arrested Republican for a Democrat, Mike Lindell literally forgets This-Is-A-Hardee's and Blake Masters wants to fire all the generals as they vie for hours.

C BLOCK (34:10) FRIDAYS WITH THURBER: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty!

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JEFF CLARK SPILLS THE BEANS

A BLOCK (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: The would-be Attorney General, Jeffrey Clark, inadvertently reveals the Justice Department is pursuing Obstruction of Justice, Conspiracy, and False Statement charges over the Eastman-Trump Fake Electors Scheme (3:30) NINE phones now seized, including Mike Lindell's. We'll get his nitwitted update on the worst crime since the crucifixion (7:30) It's confirmed: Monday's Trump "Golf Course Meeting" was actually...a golf course meeting, about sprucing it up for the Saudi Arabian Blood Money Golf Tour stop there next spring (9:00) Surprisingly, Trump declares himself Antifa (9:20) The Durham bull is over as the 'Deep State Investigation' ends in shallow waters (10:10) And in an unrelated headline: Queen Elizabeth is still dead. Seriously: British TV coverage gives one reason to worry about our UK cousins. PTSD seems to be settling in, and now they're claiming Elizabeth will be missed as much here in the US as there in the UK.

B BLOCK (16:50) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The NBC News affiliate in Tampa kisses up to Ron DeSantis, Republicans attack Lindsey Graham for telling the truth about their secret abortion ban plan, and Etsy gets the message but a new sponsor steps up for Steve Bannon's Fascist Disco Party - and they compete for today's honors. (20:55) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL PART 1: The death of Ken Starr recalls his pollution of American news, especially cable TV, and I'll take you back to June 5, 1998, when I tried to quit as the anchor of MSNBC's top Clinton-Lewinsky-Starr show, two NBC News executives asked me to see an NBC official as part of a process to leave the network - except she turned out to be their leg-breaker and told me NBC versus me would be "David and Goliath" and NBC would crush me.

C BLOCK (34:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL PART 2: But it was even worse: she promised that if I quit, NBC would put my parents "out on the street." That's how closely Ken Starr forged the link between his live made-for-tv political reality show and the profits at all the networks.

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URGENT CIA BRIEFING

A BLOCK (1:48) SPECIAL COMMENT: Warning or Coincidence? CIA Director Burns urgently briefs Pelosi, McCarthy, Schiff, Gang of 8 at Capitol at close-of-business. Could easily be nothing except it's now public (3:24) that Trump stole classified documents marked HCS, SI, and FISA. It's all in the less-redacted version of the Mar-a-Lago search warrant affidavit. (4:05) Judge is again warned SHE is risking national defense (5:53) Trump gives up the pretense and posts a picture of himself wearing a "Q" lapel pin, referencing "The Storm." (6:43) An attack on Liberals to "restore Trump to President-King" is thwarted in Pennsylvania (7:15) Lindsey Graham falls further, announcing an anti-abortion bill that proves McConnell was lying that it was to be "left to the states" (11:03) Lindsey now works for the Mike Lindell party. Lindell says the FBI seized his phone at an Arby's. Then he says it was at a Hardee's. Please lord let the agents have said "Sir, this is a Wendy's." (11:31) And can it get dumber? Yes, if Lauren Boebert is around. Tasked with reading the Bible aloud to a bunch of Christian theocrats, she screws it up and refers to "Wonton Murders."

B BLOCK (15:49) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Josephine in Illinois (17:06) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Polling showing Shapiro over Mastriano by 19? Warnock over Walker by 10? Is it legit? And what's wrong in Russia? An oligarch didn't defenestrate, he drowned! (19:08) IN SPORTS: Aaron Judge has 57 homers - and competition, and could they have become "The Southern California Angels?" (23:21) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Etsy, sponsoring Steve Bannon, competes with Erin Burnett and Brett Favre for the honors.

C BLOCK (28:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Clinton-Lewinsky persecutor Ken Starr is dead, and so is the rule that you can't speak ill of the dead. He was a harbinger of today's Authoritarian Rules-For-Thee Fascism, and he distracted America from the looming threat of terrorism, and he leaked constantly and illegally, and he let people like NBC News President Andy Lack degrade and demean America - and me, too, when I told him I no longer wanted to do a "news" show designed to fulfill Starr's nakedly political purposes.

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THEY WERE DOIN' A GOLF

A BLOCK (1:46) SPECIAL COMMENT: That wasn't a secret Trump Crime Family meeting at the golf course: They were doin' a GOLF (2:10) No matter who captioned the photos "Trump with Devin Nunes and Sean Hannity" it was Trump with his VP/Golf Courses and Director of Grounds. (3:35) I have witnessed Trump do this in one of his New York apartment buildings: he likes to show his employees how to do the jobs they are actually experts at. (5:40) It seemed to dovetail: 40 subpoenas! Dan Scavino! Boris Epshteyn! Seized phones! Of course they were meeting at a golf course! They were afraid of wiretaps, and everybody had their phones seized! Nope. They were doin' a GOLF (6:16) And they weren't trying to fix the Special Master case because it looks like the judge has realized she's screwed up and may walk it back. (9:08) After he lost the election Trump told people he wouldn't leave the White House. Why are we only finding this out now? Because Maggie Haberman held it for months (maybe longer) for her new book: "I'M NOT GOING TO REPORT ANY OF THIS UNTIL I GET A BOOK DEAL!" This is the third time Haberman has done this with this book alone. She joins Bob Woodward, Robert Costa, Jon Karl, and others as reporters who refused to report. (13:00) But Haberman's case is so egregious we need to know what ELSE she might be suppressing. So I think The House January 6th Committee should subpoena her to find out what she knows - or what she WILL know later when the damn book comes out.

B BLOCK (16:49) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Willow (18:06) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: J6 Committee may invite Pence and Trump today, possible new PA Secretary of State goes full 9/11 Truther, and no one was injured at the Emmys. (21:35) IN SPORTS: The continuing shame of Mike Trout's anonymity, and the death of Queen Elizabeth messes with the weekly European soccer championship. (22:38) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Fox's Faulkner Freaks, Ronda Santis bribes voters, Matt Gaetz mocks his opponent's autistic son.

C BLOCK (28:10) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The day my appendix burst and it was 48 hours before I knew it so I kept working and I beat CNN in the ratings anyway and I learned how to tell Rush-To-The-Hospital Appendix Pain from the other kind so I can tell thee and John Cleese reminded me it happened to him too and to milk it for all it was worth: "You and I were dying of septicemia!"

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THE CHIEF JUSTICE SHOULD RESIGN

A BLOCK (1:48) SPECIAL COMMENT: "Simply because people disagree with a (Court) Opinion," says Chief Justice John Roberts over the weekend in Colorado, "is not a basis for questioning the legitimacy of The (Supreme) Court." Firstly: of COURSE it is! (2:50) Ever heard of Dred Scott, Johnny? (3:54) Secondly: that is hardly the primary reason your court's legitimacy is being questioned. It's being questioned because the Supreme Court has been poisoned by Conservatives. One Justice's wife is an insurrectionist. Another Justice is there because a Senate Majority Leader made up a phony rule. A third is there because the same Leader didn't FOLLOW the phony rule. At least three of them lied to the Senate. Alito gave a political speech mocking anybody who opposed him, or wasn't Catholic. It's time for Chief Justice Roberts to resign! (7:19) Judicial corruption is so pervasive that the "Special Master" Trump proposed to a judge he appointed, is the husband of one of the judges he appointed to the appeals court that next gets his case! (7:58) Happily the Department of Justice has offered Judge Cannon a climbdown from her decision to threaten National Security. (10:00) May video from London's Daily Mail has new significance: it shows Trump taking boxes of stuff from Mar-a-Lago to his golf course in New Jersey three days after the National Archives emailed about missing stuff (10:55) and last night we saw more video of Trump and private jets, ferrying him from New Jersey to DC sparking all kinds of speculation with the easiest explanation: he has another golf course near Dulles Airport (11:15) No, I don't know why he went, but the last time we saw him go to a golf course he buried a wife in it. Has Trump got anybody he needs to bury?

B BLOCK: (15:20) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Janet the Boston Terrier in New Jersey (16:40) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Looks like the Russians are losing badly in Ukraine; a Kansas sheriff thinks he's going to war against the IRS, and the Royal Beekeeper has let the bees know the bad news about Queen Elizabeth. (19:55) IN SPORTS: Mahomes' hand is fine, Aaron Rodgers' head isn't (and it's probably my fault), who drew the line at Soldier Field, and Baseball shorts Doc White (24:10) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: CNN's Jake Tapper vies with Mike Pence and Kimberly "The New King Is My Friend" Guilfoyle for the honors.

C BLOCK: (29:05) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The strange tale of how ESPN wanted me to take on New York radio legends (and illiterates) Francesa and Russo, but fate intervened.

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JUDGE CANNON RISKS NATIONAL DEFENSE

A BLOCK (1:46) SPECIAL COMMENT: Department of Justice asks Trump Flunky Judge Aileen Cannon to stay her order for a "Special Master" to thumb through documents too top secret for most defense officials to know exist (3:29) To explain the continuing risk that Trump may have stolen MORE documents describing other nation's nukes (and done a better job hiding them) let's explore two hypothetical nations, one with nuclear capabilities and one without. Let's call them "Bisrael" and "Howdy Arabia" (6:05) DOJ emphasized they can't tell what Trump might still be hiding without knowing what they already have; I believe if the judge doesn't cooperate they should act without her, on the basis of national defense (7:10) And after former Trump US Attorney Appointee's revelations, no more crap from Republicans about "politicizing the DOJ." Trump wanted him to prosecute John Kerry (8:39) Grand Jury now investigating Trump's "Save America PAC" scam (9:12) and speaking of scam, Steve Bannon Does The Perp Walk and repeats "They'll have to kill me first." Whatever you say, Rasputin Only More Unkempt.

B BLOCK (14:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Pumpkin, in Miami (15:25) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The death of Queen Elizabeth and her 25,782 days on the job and how she seemed to accept both reverence and irreverence with equal grace; and one of my original CNN colleagues Bernard Shaw has also died, leaving a controversial legacy and an infamous question in the 1988 Presidential Debates (23:24) IN SPORTS: Baseball is going to do it! Ban shifts, even though shifts have been in use IN THE MAJORS SINCE 1874 and even though without shifts the 1st Baseman would still spend all game standing ON 1st Base (29:11) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: I compete against Fox News and @GarfieldFanArt for the honors.

C BLOCK (34:45) FRIDAYS WITH JAMES THURBER: Three of his best, and most admired, fables: "The Unicorn In The Garden," "The Rabbits Who Caused All The Trouble," and the one I have a tattoo for, "The Moth And The Star."

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WHERE'S TRUMP'S DENIAL?

A BLOCK (1:50) SPECIAL COMMENT: Everybody from Lindsey Graham to Marco Rubio to Kellyanne Conway attacked The Washington Post for reporting the FBI found a Top Secret document stashed at Mar-a-Lago "describing a foreign government's...nuclear capabilities." But who came out and said 'Nah, Trump DIDN'T DO IT?' Isn't ANYBODY going to deny it? (3:57) Even some nonsensical 'he did it to secure the documents' defense? No? Nothing? (4:24) Three DAYS before Nixon resigned, Congressman Chuck Wiggins was still insisting Nixon was innocent! Three days! NOBODY believes Trump DIDN'T do this! (6:00) Or is the "foreign government" really Israel and they're all too terrified to say anything? (6:25) But if it were Israel wouldn't Mitch McConnell throw Trump overboard to protect his own ass? (7:30) The other news: Steve Bannon Day. He says "they'll have to kill me first." Sounds like a plan. (7:42) Who is William S. Russell and why does the January 6 Grand Jury want to hear from him? (8:30) And yes, CNN led an hour last night pushing one of the 'The Real Crime Is The Leak' stories. The turning has begun. (11:00) When new CNN boss Chris Licht and I were together at MSNBC, I thought he ate glue (11:15) I've known Licht's first talent hire - Cop Apologist John Miller - since I worked with him in 1978! If you need a living symbol of CNN's coming conservatism, Miller is it. He's so bad that even New York Mayor Eric Adams (himself an ex-cop) apologized for him!

B BLOCK (18:30) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DIE: Deserey, and a desperate need for fosters in NYC (20:55) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The problem with Obama's portrait, comparative life expectancy, Oath Keepers in our midst. (22:55) IN SPORTS: The guy from the Minnesota Twins? His cousin wrote Hamilton; Jerry Seinfeld blames "Timmy Trumpet" for the Mets slide; MSG boss Jim Dolan steps in political crap yet again (28:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Fox News screwing up the bio of a founding father, Senator Ron Johnson, and Michigan's Kristina Karamo vie for honors.

C BLOCK (32:10) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: The man I met on 9/11, who cheated death because the regular men's room attendant at a top New York City restaurant. It's the story of that sad anniversary, in miniature.

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DETAIN THE NUCLEAR KLEPTOMANIAC

A BLOCK (1:47) SPECIAL COMMENT: Trump is a nuclear kleptomaniac. And per The Washington Post, the FBI recovered "a document describing a foreign government's...nuclear capabilities" he had taken to Mar-a-Lago. We do not have TIME for a Trump appointee's bought-and-paid-for delays. Judge Cannon must vacate her Special Master ruling, or the Department of Justice must ignore it, and if necessary arrest Judge Cannon as a risk to the national nuclear defense. (3:52) WHY is Trump not already in a naval brig or army stockage? WHY haven't Mar-a-Lago, Bedminster, and Trump Tower been sealed off indefinitely until we are sure he didn't stash MORE NUCLEAR DOCUMENTS THERE? (5:12) We spent the years after 9/11 listening to the Republicans warn of "loose nukes," dirty bombs, unimaginable risks - this document IS a loose nuke, it is the written equivalent of a dirty bomb, and TRUMP is the "unimaginable risk." 10:30 On August 26 Trump boasted "nothing mentioned on 'nuclear'" in the Mar-a-lago affidavit. Now 'nuclear' has been mentioned and Trump must be detained in a secure facility until we know we and our allies are safe, and then we can decide how many decades his sentence should be for.

B BLOCK (15:28) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Cider, in Atlanta (17:05) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The Insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment is finally used to remove an officeholder; the damning video showing Sidney Powell's henchmen going in to access a Georgia voting system; the would-be Trump Attorney General Jeff Clark fails to get the bar association's punishment against him sealed. (20:35) IN SPORTS: Minor League Baseball players seem set to join Big Leaguers' union, Chicago Bears announce a new stadium just as they've done continuously since 1989, and Oakland's Dave Stewart will be honored, but not for Lucille - and how Nancy Faust figures in! (26:23) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD (26:23) As the new British Prime Minister's twitter handle, the Ohio GOP skunked by Trump, and the Proud Boy who wasn't too proud to lie, vie for the honors.

C BLOCK (31:58) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It took a year to finally get to the sports anchor desk at WCVB Channel 5 Boston, but only six months to get the hell out. Why would you hire me to do sports if you didn't want me to tell jokes?

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ARREST TRUMP WHILE WE STILL CAN

A BLOCK (1:48) SPECIAL COMMENT: After the Rubber Stamp Judge he appointed has fabricated law to protect him from justice, Trump has again demanded that "they" overthrow the duly-elected government of the United States - 20 MONTHS TO THE DAY SINCE JANUARY 6TH (3:06) Arrest him NOW while we still can and before he sells the secrets he stole (4:39) Since we know he does not care if the next coup is violent or not, we must stop him NOW (6:05) "Judge" Cannon listened to Trump's "swirling allegation of bias" and used them as an excuse to issue a lawless ruling (8:55) We must act as if we had been invaded by a foreign nation with allies inside this country (9:05) There are six steps that can be taken: including impeaching Cannon, declaring the Federalist Society factory of treason as what it is: a Terrorist organization, search for more stolen documents at Bedminster and Trump Tower, double the number of 1/6 Committee hearings, have President Biden again give his Philadelphia speech (only this time with the gloves off) and ARREST. TRUMP. NOW. WHILE. WE. STILL. CAN.

B BLOCK (19:36) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Rufio (21:02) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Trump's rally proves everything Biden said was true, and then some, plus the British have made a lookalike for Evil Tweety Bird their new Prime Minister (24:13) IN SPORTS: Nadal loses, Seal is there (under the name Seal Seal), Judge is poised to break Maris's record, the Oakland couple is sought, and Final Jeopardy is a sports question (28:45) WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Brianna Kellar, Jonathan Truly and Kristina "F it, I'll kill us all" Karamo vie for the honors.

C BLOCK (33:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: First the Republicans ran a 9/11 Snuff Film unannounced - on MSNBC - and I apologized to our viewers. Then the Republicans told Tom Brokaw: if you don't get Olbermann fired, McCain won't show up to the Presidential Debate YOU are moderating. It all goes down hill from there, and the end result was: I got $22,000,000. Thanks Tom!

Oh and ARREST. TRUMP. NOW. WHILE. WE. STILL. CAN.

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BIDEN FULFILLED HIS OATH OF OFFICE

A BLOCK (1:49) SPECIAL COMMENT: When political corruption and degeneration threatens the nation, it is NOT political to say so. Last night in Philadelphia, President Biden rose above politics, went beyond politics, and spoke in spite of politics (3:14) The most important part: No problem has ever been solved until someone stood up and said "this is wrong" as Biden did - and thank God he named names (5:50) Even knowing how the American Political Media Complex can't comprehend or digest new things, the networks and newspapers utterly mishandled the story, and bluntly CNN's Poppy Harlow, Brianna Keller, and Jeff Zeleny must've been showing their new Right Wing bosses that they can do Bothsidesism with the best of them. CNN humiliated itself last night (8:42) And the person who proved Biden's point - and the necessity of his speech - was Trump, dangling pardons for and apologies to the 1/6 Traitors (10:45) Trump also contradicted his own attorneys, matter-of-factly slipping in the claim he had declassified the documents he stole (12:20) While Clarence Thomas's continuation on the Supreme Court became even more untenable after his wife's latest disgrace (13:07) And circling back to the Biden speech: somebody else who proved him right? The heckler. What would Trump and his thugs have done to such a protestor?

B BLOCK (17:02) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Ginger (18:15) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Another protesting Russian succumbs to the leading cause of death in that country: Windows; Greg Abbott is running on the greatness of the Texas Power Grid?; GOP now suing to stop Biden's College Loan Forgiveness plan. (20:35) IN SPORTS: So the Tom Brady Retirement/Un-retirement/Disappearance saga was about his wife? And the Yankees break in a 70-year old rookie tonight! (23:56) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: House Minority Leader McCarthy is a political poet, invokes "the electric cord of liberty"; Twitter opens Pandora's box with an edit button, and Sarah Palin mystified by Ranked-Choice as they contend for the award.

C BLOCK (32:01) FRIDAYS WITH JAMES THURBER: The story is 88 years old but much of it rings true right now: "How To Relax While Broadcasting."

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TRUMP CONFESSED LAST NIGHT

A-BLOCK (1:49) SPECIAL COMMENT: His lawyers' answer to the DOJ Filing ADMITS Trump was in possession of all the documents prosecutors say were classified. It also makes NO CLAIM that Trump declassified anything. THAT'S! A! CONFESSION! (2:52) He also confessed on social media (4:51) So why hasn't he been perp walked? Finger-printed? Because the DOJ is still afraid of affecting the election! Not 2024, but the November midterms, even though Trump isn't running in them - merely because he's endorsed people who are! (7:45) The problem is, the delay in arresting Trump benefits those he's endorsed, and the "no electoral interference rule" is only in play because Trump has repeatedly stalled. (9:20) This makes the next 68 days until the midterms will be hell, because the revelations are still coming. Does "the" photo show Trump stole Iran Nuclear Deal documents? (12:17) And Trump's own lawyer Alina Habba may have inadvertently convicted him of espionage but she (13:10) dismisses espionage as a "mundane statute" which will come as a surprise to the Rosenbergs.(14:32) This is now an open and shut case. Good God, he's CONFESSED! Charge him already! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!

B-BLOCK (19:32) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Arnold in Downey (20:42) Postscripts to the News: Palin loses, Mastriano and Ron Johnson employ conspiracy whack jobs (24:10) IN SPORTS: Serena did it, the Marlins toss back a player named Fishman, and the 35th Anniversary of Dave Bresnahan's Great Baseball Potato Caper (29:17) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Chuck Todd says he's not fired, by tweeting a link to a Mark Twain quote Mark Twain never wrote, in a cable he never sent, about a story that never ran. Par for the course.

C-BLOCK (35:30) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Back-to-school-days means only one thing to me: the Cornell History professor who graded our papers right after he watched his beloved New York Giants - and was grading them right after the Giants pulled off the worst choke loss in their history!

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TRUMP IS REALLY, REALLY, SCREWED

A BLOCK (1:50) SPECIAL COMMENT: A Justice Department photo shows at least five bright yellow TOP SECRET/SCI files strewn on a gaudy carpet. Some pictures are worth a thousand words - this mind-blowing one looks like it's worth 10 to 20 in a Supermax for Trump. The DOJ answer to Trump's ill-conceived "Special Master" suit is released early Wednesday morning and in it, Trump destroys his own defense that he "declassified" all the documents, as government agents swear Trump did NOT assert Executive Privilege over any of the documents he turned over in June, nor did he claim any of them had been declassified. There are countless lesser Trump self-destructions in the DOJ filing that add up to Obstruction of Justice, Concealing Classified Documents, and Falsely Sworn Documents - and all this is BEFORE WE EVEN KNOW FOR SURE WHAT'S IN THE DOCUMENTS. (7:20) And this may not even be the worst news of the day for Trump. President Biden is clearly on offense, slamming Lindsey Graham for his "riots in the streets" promise. (8:06) Graham actually makes it worse: he goes back on Fox and flatly lies, and denies he said what he said on Fox two nights earlier (10:33) Biden's willingness to call out Republicans normalizes the terms he uses like "semi-fascism" and builds momentum for others to use them on a daily basis (14:20) To paraphrase "The Manchurian Candidate": "Are they saying ARE there any fascists in the Republican Party? Of course not! They're saying HOW MANY fascists are there in the Republican Party!" (14:20) Trump meanwhile goes full QAnon, posting direct messages from the imaginary figure and all but calling for another coup to be led by people who believe prophesy tells them to participate (17:15) But overarching all of it is that one photo: glowing TOP SECRET/SCI files on a carpet like so many baseball cards.

B BLOCK (19:42) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Hadley (20:57) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Gorbachev dies just before Putin finishes undoing all his work. How will your town look under 10 inches of melted glacial water? How come the dirty words on the GOP headquarters were carefully sprayed AROUND the Republican logo? (23:32) IN SPORTS: Sweden warns its players: don't go to Russia. Why are we letting Russians play in the NHL? And sports blogger Clay Travis actually compares vaccine-refuseniks Aaron Rodgers, Kyrie Irving and Novak Djokovic to Muhammad Ali's refusal to be inducted into the military: "Covid is our modern era Vietnam," says the dumbest man on the planet (29:47) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Ted Cruz, Joe Rogan, and Herschel Walker - proudly insisting "My bike is not bent" compete for the honors.

C BLOCK (34:43) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: It's the birthday of the late Daniel Schorr, the last man hired by Ed Murrow at CBS News, a proud member of Richard Nixon's enemies list, and my colleague at CNN 40 years ago. The best story? The day I had to delay his interview with the CIA chief for breaking... College Football Rankings News!

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GRAHAM: "I REJECT VIOLENCE, BUT..."

A BLOCK (1:49) SPECIAL COMMENT: Lindsey Graham is a Stochastic Terrorist, now trying to escape accountability. After insisting Sunday "there will be riots in the streets" when Trump is prosecuted, he now says "I reject violence. I'm not calling for violence. But..." The same man who said the night of January 6th "count me out, enough is enough" is now back in, laying the groundwork for another January 6th (5:49) Or maybe another Oklahoma City bombing. Trump has now posted an article comparing the FBI at Ruby Ridge to the Gestapo (7:00) And made another demand that he be made president immediately, directed to idiots Graham is encouraging to riot in the streets. (9:00) But, Special Master suit may backfire on Trump as DOJ plans 40-page refutation of Trump's lies in his filing (10:40) And Trump plant Tony Ornato has quit the Secret Service (12:00) Plus a microscopic answer to the question: Why did Trump steal all this? The report that Trump boasted of knowing details of the French President's sex life.

B BLOCK (16:16) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Givenchy (17:49) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Biden's next "Freedom Speech," his approval ratings rise again, Chuck Todd may be fired from NBC's Meet The Press, and they recall Dinesh D'Souza's "book." (20:55) IN SPORTS: Serena starts her farewell well, and Aaron Rodgers admits he deliberately misled everyone about his 'vaccination.' And I'm proud of Aaron and Joe Rogan for confessing they're afraid of vaccine needles (27:46) WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Mike Lindell, Nikki Haley, and I vie for the honors.

C BLOCK (32:45) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: A quarter century ago, the news broke from Paris that Diana, Princess of Wales, was dead. Beyond the tragedy, there is another story. That was the day American TV News eliminated any remaining dignity or sense of responsibility from its equations.

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GRAHAM THREATENS RIOTS IF TRUMP IS PROSECUTED

A BLOCK: SPECIAL COMMENT (1:47) Senator Lindsay Graham (R-NC) has actually gone on television and threatened the peace and security of this nation with "riots in the streets" if Trump is prosecuted for mishandling classified documents (3:03) He must resign, be expelled, or censured (4:10) If you get your "riots in the streets, Senator, who has the law on their side, and the National Guard? These insurrectionists never stop to think their acts of violence would not be crushed (5:35) It's being done to try to blackmail the Department of Justice into letting Trump escape though he has compromised the "Human Intelligence Control System" and risked the lives of countless American agents and sources around the world (6:20) and must be prosecuted under 18 USC Code 794, the Espionage Act. (7:20) CIA notified all its stations last September of high number of agents and sources being "captured or killed" (8:26) This is not the first timeline suggestive of Trump jeopardizing American lives. 2019 Trump/Putin/List of Spies timeline detailed. (9:26) Trump/Putin/Helsinki 2018 timeline, plus the nearly simultaneous FBI tweet about the Rosenbergs, detailed. (10:50) 2017 MBS/Jared Kushner/Saudi round-up timeline detailed. (11:26) History of US traitor/Russian Spy Robert Hanssen and his 15 consecutive life sentences (12:10) History of US traitor/Russian Spy Aldrich Ames and his life sentence without the possibility of parole (12:30) DOD employee who without malice mishandled classified documents got three months (13:07) DNI Haynes warns Congress of damage to National Security and analysis she is referring to saving lives of agents/sources whose identities have been compromised (13:57) Mar-a-Lago affidavit by itself virtually convicts Trump of Obstruction and Attempt to Conceal Classified Documents (14:30) "Anna de Rothschild" cons her way into Mar-a-Lago to play golf with Trump - and Lindsay Graham (14:24) "Special Master" filing may backfire on Trump (17:37) If you get the riots you want, Senator, make sure you're near the front where we can all see you.

B BLOCK: EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY (20:26) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS (21:51) Biden approval, new "Covid Shot," Doug Mastriano in Confederate Uniform, Marsha Blackburn and "The Taiwans," anti-abortion leader charged with soliciting sex from minors, Ron Johnson says people in Wisconsin thinks he's a "tool of Putin." (25:03) IN SPORTS: No I didn't buy it; Adidas doesn't believe Fernando Tatis Jr; new MLB 2023 schedule underscores how baseball killed The World Series by killing the independence of the two Leagues. (33:43) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Junior Trump, Kim Crockett, Marco Rubio vie for honors.

C BLOCK: THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL (38:00) How James Gandolfini influenced the conception and the writing of the first "Special Comment" 16 years ago, and the horrible night I knew of Gandolfini's passing before it was announced. And I apologize: I discovered too late I misidentified Lorraine Bracco as "Elaine." 

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FOX GUEST SAYS TRUMP MAY HAVE TAKEN NUCLEAR RETALIATION PLANS

A BLOCK: (1:50) We know Trump took nuclear weapons documents, information "among the most sensitive secrets we hold," documents marked "Special Access Programs" (2:19) What if it's even worse? What if it's worse than the worst we could imagine? (3:37) What if every crazy rumor about nuclear codes and invoking of The Rosenbergs is not only apt, but an understatement? (4:23) Biography of former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Ronald Kessler (5:12) Kessler, a past Trump apologist, appears on Fox News Channel Thursday night (6:30) Kessler says what Trump took "could very well include the plans for counterstriking against Russia in the event of a nuclear attack" (8:50) Or, "penetrations by the CIA of foreign embassies, of foreign leaders like Putin, as well as recruitments of spies overseas." And that the Russians would've been trying to get a spy into Mar-a-Lago, and may have succeeded (11:00) Reinhart poised to release search warrant affidavit with all redactions the government requested (12:08) CNN reports Trump has been getting legal advice from non-lawyer Tom Fitton (12:56) Fox Business reports his web host may sue Trump for non-payment for Truth Social (13:40) We should assume that what's in Trump's Pandora's Box could be worse than we can possibly imagine.

B BLOCK: (17:30) Every Dog Has Its Day: Duo-Duo has been saved! And I'm plugging the Schwarzman Animal Center's "AMC To The Rescue" fund to treat shelter and pound pets who need medical help (18:59) Postscripts To The News: White House burns Republicans complaining about Student Loan Forgiveness program who themselves got PPP Loan Forgiveness - like Marjorie Trailer Park Greene (21:27) Who says she was swatted - again (22:01) Bill Barr turns on Trump (22:48) Couple confesses to stealing President's daughter's diary for Project Veritas (23:14) Tim Scott thinks "fruitful" and "fruit-filled" are the same word (25:04) Sports: Bryce Harper returns to the Phillies and that might be BAD news (25:40) Bengals-Rams scrimmage fight recalls Cletus The Slack-Jawed Yokel from The Simpsons (26:19) Anniversary of the ESPN2 show - and song, and the back story of how we launched it to mess with Fox (32:00) Jared Kushner, Doug Mastriano, and Ron DeSantis compete for Worst Persons dishonors.

C BLOCK: (37:13) Time for James Thurber and a short story that invokes Red Barber and Vin Scully (37:50) And might've become a film directed by Burt Lancaster (38:00) Regardless, it's one of his best: The Catbird Seat.

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ANYBODY NOTICE TRUMP CONFESSED?

A BLOCK: (1:55) First, the memo William Barr had his lackeys write, with which he buried The Mueller Report, has now been released by a Federal Court. (4:25) It's exactly the kind of whitewash you'd expect, possibly pre-written by one of the attorneys who defended Sarah Palin during the McCain Campaign and another who signed off on the Bush Torture memos (5:46) Ryan Goodman says it's a "Get Out Of Jail Free Card" that starts with the sophistry that if Trump felt the investigation was undertaken just to undermine him politically, he couldn't have committed any crimes (7:20) Simply: the House of Representatives needs to start an investigation into possible Obstruction of Justice by Barr and his deputies Ed O'Callaghan and Steven Engel. (9:15) Oh by the way: the Trump Classified Documents Theft case is so enormous that nearly everybody missed the Trump confession contained in the court filing. If Trump wants "Executive Privilege" documents to be returned to him at Mar-A-Lago, he is necessarily confessing he TOOK THOSE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS TO MAR-A-LAGO.

B BLOCK: (15:45) Every Dog Has Its Day: Duo-Duo in New York (17:16) You know how you KNOW Biden's Loan Forgiveness Program is good? Republicans are making fools of themselves trying to attack it. One complained without noting that his own firm had government loans worth $3,291,773 and they were... yup... forgiven. (20:10) A House Committee looking at Covid-19 turned up a familiar name among the charlatans: Mehmet Oz (20:46) The political data specialist of The Economist has preliminary good Mid-Terms news for Democrats, and better news for codifying Roe state-by-state.(22:15) Sports: Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson is dead (25:25) Eric Trump, Herschel Walker, and Marjorie Trailer Park Greene compete for Worst Person Honors.

C BLOCK: (31:09) Things I Promised Not To Tell: Peter Jackson admits he considered asking a hypnotherapist to erase all his memories of making "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy (32:30) which flashes me back to the day I first stepped into my college radio station - 47 years ago today! - and was warned to do something immediately if I ever wanted to enjoy radio or music again!

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"AMONG THE MOST SENSITIVE SECRETS WE HOLD"

A BLOCK (2:20) Washington Post reports some of the material Trump took recovered 8/8 is "among the most sensitive secrets we hold" (2:29) which could reveal American intelligence-gathering methods. This makes Trump a SPY (4:35) Reality Winner got 63 months for stealing one classified document so the math is: for 300 documents Trump would deserve 1,575 years (6:08) There once was the chance this was a mistake but it is now clear Trump went through all the documents and chose which to keep in defiance of the demand to return them (6:40) and reportedly supervised packing them at Mar-a-Lago. ALL OF THIS WAS A CRIME (7:45) Trump's lawyers humiliate themselves in front of Trump-appointed judge who says she can't tell from their filing what they want her to DO (9:48) Jared Kushner makes it worse (11:40) Rolling Stone reports Trump wants all "his" documents back (12:34) but as that song he always plays at his rallies reminds us: You Can't Always Get What You Want.

B BLOCK (15:40) Every Dog Has Its Day: Sonny Boy (17:10) Primary Results (17:57) DeSantis closes his 3rd speech in a month with "put on the full armor of God" (18:17) Mehmet Oz reignites the "Crudite" saga (19:23) Sanders floats bill not to recognize Brazil government if Bolsonaro tries to ignore election. Can we get this bill for the US too? (19:51) Michigan residents warned not to walk their dogs: a new virus, or a Parvo variant, is abroad (20:54) Sports: Fernando Tatis Jr says he's sorry he used steroids but is sticking to his claim he only took them for Ringworm (22:00) Angels for sale (22:48) Oakland fans engage willy-nilly in hanky-panky, others celebrate with signs, security gets tetchy (24:44) Tucker Carlson, Senator Rick Scott and Florida's Lieutenant Governor compete for Worst Persons honors.

C BLOCK (29:48) Things I Promised Not To Tell: It is 42 years to the day since I learned why Mom said "Never run for a train, there'll always be another one." I ran for - and HEAD-ON INTO - a New York City Subway train. The story winds through the U.S. Tennis Open, Dr. Renee Richards, a lesson in how to report sports, and ends with two new ventilators for Elmhurst Hospital during the pandemic.

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NOW, TRUMP MUST BE PROSECUTED FOR ESPIONAGE

A BLOCK (1:30) The New York Times' blockbuster and a stunning Trump leak of a letter from the National Archives makes it inevitable (2:15) There is no prosecutorial discretion here: if you've stolen MORE THAN 300 CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS THEY HAVE TO PROSECUTE YOU (2:43) And if some are the highest level of classification, you must be prosecuted FOR ESPIONAGE (3:00) The Times also implied there's video of people actually mishandling these documents (3:41) DOJ also isn't sure Trump isn't hiding MORE classified docs at Mar-a-Lago (5:08) None of the crimes mentioned on the search warrant are affected even if Trump somehow DID declassify the papers he stole (5:27) You also don't want to be Christina Bobb right now (6:47) Trump's motion to have a 'Special Master' review everything seized is described as 'Alice In Wonderland' (7:22) and incredibly it contains Trump boasting of how he got a threat relayed to Attorney General Garland (8:37) Judge Reinhart also seems to be leaning against unsealing the search warrant affidavit - in part for Trump's physical safety (9:55) Trump flunky Kash Patel is blaming the Government Services Administration because they haven't gotten around to blaming the moving company yet (10:05) Early Tuesday somebody connected to Trump LEAKED A NATIONAL ARCHIVES LETTER TO TRUMP'S LAWYER and ex-journalist John Solomon posted it (10:30) Archivist Debra Wall has detailed all of Trump's efforts to keep the stolen documents through the first five months of this year (11:07) Wall says Trump tried to claim executive privilege over them! The Biden White House finally agreed to waive any executive privilege (11:49) But Solomon (and presumably Trump) think the mere mention of Biden in the letter will let them paint this as Biden politically attacking Trump (12:09) without realizing that the letter confirms Trump DELIBERATELY held on to the documents and cannot claim some kind of mistake (12:39) And Wall even notes some documents were "Special Access Program materials" - bureaucratic speak of ultra-secret Black Ops programs. Trump is in twice as much trouble as he was before Solomon posted (15:20) They won't listen, but this would be a good time for his supporters to bail out on Trump because it's all indictments from here on in.

B BLOCK (19:05) Every Dog Has Its Day: Roxy (20:33) Postscripts To The News: there's a Trump Electoral Fraud scandal too. The Your-Kraken-Is-Showing crowd seems to have illegally disseminated election data to people like friends of Sean Hannity (21:59) Why did The New York Times run a Trump Op-Ed by Rich Lowry when (23:13) it could've just reprinted his self-gratifying assessment of Sarah Palin's wink from 2008? (24:47) Sports: Tom Brady's back. The Masked Singer? Refilled his consecrated ground? (25:17) Bryce Harper's minor league rehab is...SPONSORED? (27:40) Trump, Tim Michels and Russia Ron Johnson compete for Worst Persons honors, with Ron insisting he was only involved in the coup for just "seconds."

C BLOCK (32:00) My career stories - Things I Promised Not To Tell - focuses in this episode on the most talented (and most self-destructive) person I've ever worked with. He was a New York and Los Angeles radio news anchor and TV news reporter named Will Spens. He was a genius, but his ability to do what others would not try, eventually destroyed him.

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"THREATS TO DEMOCRACY" VOTERS' NEW TOP ISSUE

A BLOCK (1:51) 21% of voters polled by NBC say "threats to democracy" is their most important issue (2:08) Fascism Carries the Bible: Ron DeSantis again tells voters "put on the full armor of God" in speech for Doug Mastriano (2:42) whose security chiefs are an Evangelical minister and a former Oath Keeper (4:08) The NBC poll does not differentiate: there could be Republicans IN FAVOR of "threats to democracy" (5:45) Hatred, violence, and antisemitism now mainstreaming among GOP candidates after Pennsylvania Republican calls for "execution of Marxist/Communist Jews" (8:57) 24 hours after Oklahoma Republican says "I ain't owned by the Jews" and Arizona's Kari Lake hesitates to rescind her retraction of him (10:50) Secular stochastic terrorism on rise over weekend as Florida GOP House candidate says he'd have killed FBI agents (11:18) 24 hours after Florida State House GOP candidate says "his plan" would allow Floridians to shoot FBI, DOJ, IRS and ATF. Both men are still on the ballot Tuesday (13:40) All of this ties together in the "New Apostolic Reformation" whose members insist they "have been given legal power from heaven" to destroy all political enemies (16:14) What can we do? Take a page from Germany. You incite violence against public figures? You get arrested. Sadly, it's time.

B BLOCK (21:19) Every Dog Has Its Day, including updates on three dogs (22:30) Postscripts To The News: Sen. Graham gets his delay, FBI STILL sifting through recovered documents Trump stole; Republican Senatorial campaign seems to have spent all the money (25:06) Sports: Former Red Sox star Bill "Spaceman" Lee has a cardiac episode on what amounts to EMT Night at the ballpark; Yankees Manager Aaron Boone news permitting me to tell you how I met Boone when he was 13; Sue Bird sets a record; Yadier Molina bails out on pennant race (30:27) The New York Daily News, CNN President Chris Licht and writers of the LOL-worthy "World Climate Declaration" vie for Worst Person Honors.

C BLOCK (35:20) Things I Promised Not To Tell: 29 years to the day since Yankees Manager Buck Showalter locked his ENTIRE TEAM in the trainers' room to try to teach me some kind of lesson. And somehow we're friends anyway.

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DID TRUMP STEAL THE MUELLER INVESTIGATION DOCUMENTS TOO?

A BLOCK (0:00) We know the FBI suspects Trump purloined documents relating to nuclear weapons (0:35) but now it looks like he may have also taken stuff from boxes figuratively marked "MUELLER" (0:49) because his lackey Kash Patel has left a trail of interviews in which he has promised to go into the National Archives, take all the "Russia-Gate" and impeachment documents, and publicly release them (1:55) Judge Reinhart promises partial release of the search warrant affidavit (2:55) and Ryan Goodman and Laura Rozen of "Just Security" saw the connection (3:07) the infamous John Solomon is named one of Trump's reps to the Archives (3:37) and Patel is named the other one (6:24) Patel began telling interviewers, on the record, of his plan in MAY (7:40) ABC News made the linkage too (8:58) If Trump and/or the documents at Mar-A-Lago are at all connected to the Patel scheme, it may trigger espionage charges against Trump (9:55) Goodman notes one document released Thursday reveals DOJ got the search warrant on the premise that the Mar-A-Lago stash included EVIDENCE OF A CRIME (10:57) meanwhile Trump world is looking for the rat who talked to DOJ and even suspecting family members, when DOJ could easily have figured all this because Kash Patel has been opening his big kazoo for four months!

B BLOCK (16:00) Every Dog Has Its Day (17:44) Postscripts To The News: the Congressman who insists the FBI director appointed by Trump was actually appointed by Biden (18:27) The candidate who looks like all five members of Kids In The Hall playing the same character has already lied about Liz Cheney after defeating her (20:23) and Mike Lindell means it this time: THIS election conference will prove to everybody who's ever lived that there's fraud! (21:14) Sports: DeShaun Watson suspended, fined $5,000,000, apologizes - and then insists he's innocent and the settlement means nothing (22:30) We've put out a Silver Alert for Tom Brady (23:36) An Alabama County Republican group apologizes for using a logo with hooded Klansmen in it - they vie with the Prime Minister of Norway and a Minnesota violence-threatening GOP candidate for Worst Person honors.

C BLOCK (28:48) Things I Promised Not To Tell: CNN cancels the only TV show that regularly criticized Fox News, and fires host Brian Stelter (30:23) The Daily Beast quotes a source who insists new CNN President Chris Licht "didn't want to do this" (33:11) I call BS because at MSNBC, Licht was Joe Scarborough's Henchman and after Scarborough attacked me on twitter in a violation of MSNBC policy that was supposed to resort in automatic suspension, Licht warned management that if they suspended Scarborough, Scarborough would go to right wing media and say he was being persecuted by me because he was a conservative. (37:48) In May 2010 Licht also helped Scarborough get Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos suspended from MY show and ultimately banned from MSNBC because Scarborough didn't like something Moulitsas had tweeted (40:29) Licht demanding that Maddow, Matthews and I stop criticizing "Joe's friends" was a staple at MSNBC (41:25) and Licht was hired to run CNN to enable the new Trump-Friendly owners to move out the liberals like Stelter. (42:42) Less Thurber than usual for a weekend edition, but his impeccable fable "The Peacelike Mongoose" and the story behind it involving my father, and James Thurber's daughter!

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SECRET SERVICE DELAYED WARNING PELOSI OF 1/6 THREATS AGAINST HER.

A BLOCK: (1:07) The simple question is: has The Secret Service become politically corrupted, a threat to the nation, a CELL loyal to Trump? (1:24) Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has emails proving Secret Service waited until after the coup attempt to warn Speaker Pelosi of tangible threats against her (2:10) and sat on "Biden will die" message from same Parler account (3:56) It's either extraordinary incompetence by elements in Secret Service, or collaboration in the coup by those elements (4:18) Secret Service was also warned of plans involving guns and the occupation of the Capitol "to change election results" and did nothing (6:30) The story of Tony Ornato, who went from Secret Service agent to Trump's hand-picked choice as Special Assistant and Deputy Chief of Staff protecting the White House, and impossibly, is now BACK AT SECRET SERVICE running training of agents and other employees (8:49) and no one is acting to protect the president or the democracy because while one side continues to plot and scheme and undermine, the side in power refuses to use it and remains convinced the system will heal itself.

B BLOCK: (12:00) Every Dog Has Its Day: Bluestone (13:17) Postscripts To The News: How can Trump release the surveillance video from the Mar-a-Lago search if he told Fox News on Monday that the FBI told them to turn off the surveillance camera? (13:56) Eric "Brains" Trump wants to re-name the Republican Party (14:49) Tremendous poll numbers for Democrats in California, Wisconsin, and nationally (15:45) Trump "assumes" Liz Cheney's defeat means dissolution of the January 6th Commission - and you know what they say about ASSuming (16:50) Sports: oh good LeBron gets a raise (17:16) Tiger Woods leads PGA players' solidarity meeting. Bob Slurm reports (18:02) Chuck Howley leads NFL HOF nominees (18:02) Elvis cut on the anniversary of the week Elvis died (18:42) In 1st MLB game, (18:48) Mets rookie Brett Baty masters his domain. (19:23) Mehmet Oz, Nikki Haley, and Jared Kushner compete for Worst Persons In The World honors.

C BLOCK: (23:28) Things I Promised Not To Tell: Friday is the 14th anniversary of the day that a year of badgering paid off and I finally bullied my MSNBC bosses into giving Rachel Maddow her own show. This intertwines neatly with the Alex Wagner opening night teleprompter disaster (TOLD YOU SO) and the unlikely story of Paul Harvey's deepest fear: that somebody would figure out he only got to start his 58-year run on ABC Radio because they fired the guy he was filling in for. It's quite a story and it underscores that you have to control your origin story.

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FIRE THE INSPECTOR GENERAL AT DHS TODAY!

A BLOCK (0:00) President Biden and all of us are at risk as long as Joseph Cuffari is in government (1:00) Trump is not trying to "bring down the temperature" - he's raising it through proxies like Cuffari (1:33) Cuffari has again refused to provide documents about the DHS/Social Security text purges from 1/6/21 (2:10) and now claims he cannot be removed from his job (3:17) Removing a Trump loyalist from Homeland Security is not political vengeance when Trump is the biggest threat TO Homeland Security (4:00) Trump lawyer Alina Habba insisted names from the Mar-A-Lago affidavit must be released because they'll leak anyway (4:22) Hours later Maggie Haberman of the New York Times leaked the names of two Trump lawyers the FBI interviewed about the documents Trump stole (5:17) The Trump premise is: his crap don't stink (5:40) This part of the Trump coup poisoned DHS, Secret Service, and the Pentagon (8:10) President Biden must stop walking on eggshells about this scandal: it's a massive cover-up and prosecuting it will probably reveal widespread obstruction of justice (9:13) No temperatures are being lowered; to the contrary we are the frogs staying in the pot as Trump turns the temperature up.

B BLOCK (11:19) Good news about Sweetheart in Every Dog Has Its Day (12:47) Postscripts To The News: Liz Cheney loses, hints at presidential run (14:55) Trump reportedly seeks big-name attorneys but none will work for him. But Alina Habba is still there and she literally can't tell the difference between Judge Reinhold and Judge Reinhart (17:19) Florida poll: Demings leads Marco Rubio (18:11) After 70 games they give him 72 million (18:36) Rodolfo "Flying Phone" Castro gets his punishment (19:02) and it's way more than the 2017 Astros got for their unauthorized electronic devices (19:21) Which league had higher regular season TV ratings: women's pro basketball or men's soccer? (21:06) Senator John Kennedy and Mehmet Oz vie for Worst Persons honors as John Fetterman writes the book for Democratic candidates everywhere.

C BLOCK (25:02) Things I Promised Not To Tell: When I nearly hired Monica Lewinsky's lawyer to get me out having to do the Monica Lewinsky show (31:18) The story Bill Ginsburg thought explained the whole scandal (33:38) and the story he made me promise not to tell for 20 years: what she first thought when she saw...the dress.

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WHY HASN'T TRUMP BEEN ON CAMERA?

A BLOCK: (0:00) Where IS Trump? (1:30) His disappearance left a void so large a six-year old clip of him promising to "enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information" (LOL) went viral (2:09) Confess: when you heard Trump say agents had "stolen his passports" you had a brief moment of hope that turned into the realization Trump had just played the self-martyrdom card again, this time inside a passport he didn't even know was missing (4:41) He did do an off-camera, completely nuts, Organized-Crime-Demands-Protection-Money interview with Fox Nudes (6:55) in which he even contradicted one of his attorneys (8:07) The Guardian inaccurately suggested he can avoid indictment if he announces his candidacy quickly (8:55) The Wall Street Journal described weeks of debate by Merrick Garland about signing off on the warrant (10:47) Georgia prosecutors tell Rudy he's a target. Is he running scared? Is his mascara running scared? (12:22) Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts confirms the GOP could defund the FBI (12:52) and hard as it is to believe, Laura Ingraham says maybe America wants to turn the page from Trump.

B BLOCK: (15:23) Larry David does his Bob Sheppard impression (16:06) Every Dog Has Its Day (17:29) Iran blames the attack on Salman Rushdie...on Salman Rushdie. And remember Republicans think like Iran (18:17) Primary Day may be the end of Liz Cheney in Wyoming, and the chance for Sarah Palin to lose twice in Alaska (19:27) and if Palin is in the news, I am REQUIRED to re-read the Rich Lowry 2008 'Palin Starbursts' heavy-breathing article. (21:17) Sports, and why I don't trust the college polls (they once made me vote in them) (22:17) Pete Carril is dead (22:52) Billy Bob Thornton is no longer manager of the Texas Rangers (23:40) Marjorie Trailer Park Greene, Mehmet Oz, and Kari Lake fight it out for Worst Persons In The World.

C BLOCK: (29:12) It may not sound like it, but as Alex Wagner premieres in the MSNBC Maddow time slot tonight, I hope she does really, really well. And I'll tell you the story of when we wanted to make her the guest host for Countdown after Maddow and O'Donnell were spun off onto their own shows. FINIS

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MONTHS MORE OF TRUMP'S NUCLEAR DOCUMENTS

A BLOCK: (0:00) Of Roy Cohn, The Rosenberg Executions, and Donald Trump (2:45) Officials predict "many months" before the Trump Theft story "plays out" (5:30) Every possible angle of "Classification/Declassification" is hyped, except Charlie Savage's note that none of the laws Trump may have broken "turn on whether information was deemed to be unclassified" (6:01) In one week Trump's Cover-Up Team produced 31 DIFFERENT excuses why Trump did nothing wrong, and I review them (11:10) This obscures the only real debate: do you pursue Trump for a 10-year sentence per count, or a 20-year sentence, because we can't do to him what Cohn did to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

B BLOCK (13:12) Every Dog Has Its Day: Cheer Bear (14:49) Postscripts To The News: The IRS coming to kill you nonsense; The Boeberts (Again).(16:50) When I met Salman Rushdie and wondered if he had enough security (19:25) How come nobody's talking about baseball's new steroid scandal? If the man the game attempted to market as the new face of the sport, who was "here to change the game" is suspended until next year, it's more than Fernando Tatis who is in trouble (23:55) The Norwegian Government, Ted Cruz and Kevin McCarthy vie for honors as The Worst Persons In The World.

C BLOCK (29:31) Things I Promised Not To Tell: 45 years ago Tuesday, Elvis Presley died. It is little remembered, but the day he shuffled off, he was due to start a concert tour in the Northeast. For his scheduled appearance in Syracuse, Elvis's promoters bought commercial time on every radio station within an hour of the arena. That included the Cornell radio station I was running at the time, and I did the commercial! (35:33) The actual Elvis concert commercial I did, from WVBR-FM, Ithaca, New York, from August 1977 - when I was 18 years old (37:17) What happened on our station's main newscast the moment Elvis died (39:20) ELVIS OWES ME MONEY. Fin.

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TRUMP IS SUSPECTED OF STEALING NUCLEAR WEAPON DOCUMENTS.

A BLOCK (00:00) Stealing nuclear documents has previously been prosecuted in this country as a Capital crime (2:10) Washington Post's scoop on FBI seeking "classified documents relating to nuclear weapons" at Mar-A-Lago (2:42) Another report: FBI found dozens of Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented documents (3:52) Attorney General wants to unseal warrant; in late announcement Trump says he acquiesces (4:14) The Assistant Attorney General for National Security attended Garland's announcement (4:25) What changed in June that made authorities act? (8:38) Republicans respond. Have you no sense of decency, at long last?

B BLOCK (13:57) Every Dog Has Its Day (15:50) Postscripts To The News: Attack on Cincinnati FBI, more Herschel Walker nonsense, USPS screw-ups, first glimmer of hope for the return of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan (19:08) Sports: Bill Russell's number retired by NBA (19:54) I was the first TV reporter to do a story on the book that became the movie "Field of Dreams" and the Field of Dreams Game is everything the book and movie criticized (24:00) The Worst Persons In The World: Scott Adams, The Lincoln Project, Charlie Kirk.

C BLOCK (26:54) The weekly reading from the immortal humorist James Thurber. In this episode, from his book "My Life And Hard Times," his most famous short story: The Night The Bed Fell.

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A BLOCK: (00:00) Donald Trump has his own Deep Throat! (3:05) There's a Trump Flipped Snitch Mole Rat Informant who tipped off the FBI and it has Trump asking if somebody's wearing a WIRE (5:08) Lordy there are TAPES: the FBI has Mar-A-Lago Surveillance video - but how much? (6:35) Like we need more: somebody snitched on the snitch! (7:41) I suspect all this is why Trump is so quiet, and why he hasn't even cherry-picked the self-serving parts of the Search Warrant and released them, as he has every right to do (8:40) Shamelessly he invokes the 5th Amendment more than 400 times in a 'Question And Non-Answer Session' with the NY AG breaking his record of 97 in the Ivana Divorce deposition AND WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HER.

B BLOCK: (14:26) Postscripts To The News: Historians tell Biden it's like 1860 or 1940 and Democracy is imperiled (I could've told him that. YOU could've told him that (15:33) They're going to give Herschel Walker WHAT before his Senate debate? (18:15) Seen the video of the baseball player sliding into 3rd Base and his phone flying out of his pocket? Baseball has a long history of pockets full of stuff that didn't belong there: a lit cigar, a vial of cocaine, and sandpaper and emery boards! (22:17) The Worst Persons In The World! Competing: Senator Tim Scott, The Trump Non-Campaign Campaign, and The Washington Post.

C BLOCK: (25:44) Things I Promised Not To Tell is about the day of my final showdown with Chuck Todd (27:40) We were original participants in a DC-based Fantasy Football League founded in 2008 (28:54) I was the victim when Chuck violated a key rule of the secret league and the league actually took away one of his draft choices! (30:30) He tries to get me to tell my ex, Katy Tur, some bad NBC news so he didn't have to (32:21) Chuck claims on-air that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez referred to "Nazi Concentration Camps" even though she never referenced Nazis, Hitler, or Germany. I protest to him and he doesn't know the British started Concentration Camps (35:15) On the eve of the 12th Fantasy Football season I decide I just can't stand another year dealing with him and I leave the league (36:00) Chuck finds out I've quit and barrages me with emails ending with "Don't make me care about you." (39:45) I'll talk to you Friday!

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Why did Trump's immediately allege the FBI planted evidence IF NOBODY HAS YET SEEN THE EVIDENCE?

(00:00) THE A BLOCK: It's obvious: you don't say "anything damning they find was planted" unless you know they're going to find stuff that's damning! (02:12) Why hasn't anybody just said "Trump's innocent"? (03:51) Sean Hannity with an unexpected update on the pee tape (05:12) Trump is suspiciously quiet! (7:15) Democrats have a chance to campaign on the GOP wanting to "Defund The Police" (8:11) And what's this about the FBI grabbing Rep. Scott Perry's phone?

(10:54) THE B BLOCK: Every Dog Has Its Day: Please meet Ox (12:45) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Primary results, Facebook helps prosecute a 17-year old for having an abortion, Rudy loses again. (16:31) WORLD OF WIDE SPORTS: Serena! and (18:28) Marshawn Lynch reaches the Mugshot Hall of Fame. (19:45) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Alex Jones, Me, and Mrs. Jones and Dave Barstool Portnoy and Andrew Cuomo vie for the title.

(23:14) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL (26:45) 10 years since Aaron Sorkin put a quote of my Dad's into the mouth of Jeff Daniels' character on "Newsroom" and every woman I ever dated contacted me (28:44) I meet Josh Charles, who played me in Sorkin's "Sports Night" and we swap tales of woe (30:25) At Stephen Colbert's Comedy Central finale I meet Jeff Daniels and we swap the truth - and take a selfie!

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Cheese it! It's the Feds! When Trump is quoted as asking why "his" generals aren't more like Hitler's generals were and that calls up his 32 years of publicly praising the Nazis, and that's NOT the TOP Trump story that day, it's been a big day! The full implications of the raid at Mar-A-Lago, the possibility the DOJ is going for an 18 USC Code 2071(b) case against Trump, the chances of getting him disqualified from again holding federal office, the dismissal of the charge that the investigation is unprecedented, and the hilarious reaction from the right threatening "war." We'll also review The New Yorker story about Trump and Hitler, and why reporters keep burying important stories to save them for books years later. Plus Sports, Worst Persons In The World, and in Things I Promised Not To Tell: The day I did absolutely no work and broke the greatest story of my career - the trade of hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky.

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While you were (completely justifiably) celebrating the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the racists of CPAC were telling us who they are - literally announcing "We are all domestic terrorists." And Trump was simply promising a personal takeover of the National Guard, detention camps, and a military dictatorship. We also saw three retiring Republican Senators who could've capped the price of Insulin fail to muster the 1% courage required to do so. Also in this episode: Pete Rose reappears and tips off three separate baseball controversies in one day, the L.A. Times butchers the details of the career of the late Vin Scully, Marco Rubio uses the most modern obvious Antisemitic dog whistle, and I celebrate the 17th anniversary of the day I nearly had to call the police because yet another soon-to-be-ex-president of MSNBC chased me around the studios, threatening to kill me. On that happy note: enjoy our second week on Countdown!

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TOLD YOU SO! "The Jones Phone" goes to the 1/6 Committee. Alex Jones' attorney was unable to convince the judge in the Sandy Hook trial to walk back the legal team's dramatic dunderheadedness in sending a copy of all of Jones' texts since 2019 to the opposing counsel. Thus, he said, he would turn over that copy to the House January 6th Committee "Immediately." We know there are "intimate messages" between Jones and Roger Stone, but how else will Jones incriminate himself after having taken the 5th nearly 100 times during his testimony before it? But the man who may be covering up missing texts from Secret Service and Homeland Security is being inexplicably protected by President Biden. And more inexplicable still, Dick Cheney, who once called me out by name at a Washington Correspondents' Dinner, issued a two-minute video blasting Trump - and he and I are now completely synched. Meantime my ex-date Kyrsten Sinema has finally consented to the Climate/Inflation bill, and the Cretins of CPAC have roared at the antisemitic dog whistles from their keynote speaker, the strongman of Hungary - and Tucker Carlson just echoed them. There's an extraordinary story from Washington as a city says goodbye to its "Good Morning Man," and another DC question from sports: if the Russians are going to hold Brittney Greiner hostage, why are we letting Putin's buddy and propagandist Alex Ovechkin play for hockey's Washington Capitals? The oddest of couples, Sarah Palin and I, reappear in Worst Persons. And resurrecting a Friday tradition from TV as part of the Friday/Weekend edition of the podcast, I'll read you some of the timeless works of America's greatest humorist, James Thurber. And I'll let the brilliance of musical directors Brian Ray and John Phillip Shenale shine without me talking over it, all on this edition of the Countdown podcast.

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"The Jones Phone" could become as famous in the language of American Presidential Scandal as "Watergate" or "Teapot Dome." His lawyer's gaffe in the Alex Jones Sandy Hook Defamation obviously impacts that lawsuit. But wait: you're saying ALL of Alex Jones' texts since 2019 are now legally in the hands of a lawyer suing him? So, ALL of any texts Alex Jones sent Trump or Roger Stone or The Oath Keepers or the rest of Trump's January 6th mob are AVAILABLE? If you didn't notice, the House January 6th Committee sure did and reportedly reached out to the Sandy Hook parents' attorney with a simple request: SEND US THE JONES PHONE! Also in this episode: the post-Kansas Vote outlook for Choice and for November, the latest  paper trail of John Eastman's hallucinatory legal advice, 'So what if I finished fourth, I'm not conceding,' and the only moron in America who would defend Alex Jones after the day he had - Joe Rogan - competes for Worst Persons Dishonors. More on the passing of the legendary Vin Scully, and I'll look back on the amazing day in 2005 when MSNBC fired Rachel Maddow. And that's not a typo.

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My friend of 34 years, the voice of baseball, Vin Scully, has died at the age of 94. He has often been depicted as a saint, but he was better than that: warm, funny, sometimes profane and uncertain and even almost another team's announcer. I'll tell you what I can of a man who didn't know he was a legend, and was always happy to see YOU. In news, we have the Kansas Abortion Vote, the Alex Jones "Guilty By Reason Of Insanity" trial, a "whoops" in the Arizona Fake Electors Scheme, Bill O'Reilly trying to make a TV comeback and Alan Dershowitz getting "cancelled" for the fourth time in four years. Plus, Postscripts to the News, Worst Persons in the World, Every Dog Has Its Day, other sports news, and Things I Promised Not To Tell: My TV career started 42 years ago Wednesday because...Lou Dobbs was rumored to be stepping out on his wife!

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Even 10 years ago, Republicans ran on a simple platform: Vote For Us Or Al-Qaeda Will Kill You; Discount Terrorism And Your Career Is Over! Yet when we learned Monday night that under President Biden's direction, the architect of 9/11 and successor to Bin Laden had been killed, some Republicans MOCKED IT. The Democrats need to crush the Republicans on this and a dozen other controversies: look what Jon Stewart's public shaming did: the GOP just reversed itself and will support Health Insurance for Veterans exposed to Burn Pits. That's today's commentary. There's also news and sports and why if teams consider dealing stars like Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto, the Baseball Trade Deadline may be damaging the game itself. Worst Persons features Herschel Walker and Kim Guilfoyle, and in Things I Promised Not To Tell, it's the 43rd anniversary of one of the most shocking tragedies in sports history and I'll tell you what it was like to have to cover it on a 1000-station radio network on your 7th day on the job!

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IT'S ALIVE! The premiere episode of Countdown With Keith Olbermann steals from a) all his other programs b) Beethoven and Bach and c) Peter Finch as Howard Beale in the film "Network" - only with Olber-Beale screaming "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take Trump any more! Searing political commentary in Segment One, the news of the day and the Worst Persons In The World in Segment Two including the passing of basketball immortal Bill Russell AND the story of the man who spent years impersonating him. Then in "Things I Promised Not To Tell" in the final segment, the whole history of the Countdown franchise and what really happened at MSNBC all those years ago. Welcome and enjoy: we're starting off with a super-sized premiere edition! Good night and good luck!

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