MSNBC #1, FOX "News" #3: Role Reversal!

Rachel Maddow, from source, Variety

I know I hardly blog anymore, but I knew when I saw this headline, I had to post it. In what has seemed inevitable for months, MSNBC has finally overtaken FOX "News" as the number one cable news station. I say "cable news" as a category, because FOX has of course never really been news, having practically invented "fake news" twenty years ago.

Now, I know, there are several factors here that make this possibly a temporary--and maybe even hollow--victory. The channel that used to call itself "The Place for Politics," and said "Lean Forward," has been seemingly morphing slowly into sort of a FOX lite, at least in certain areas. The guy pulling all the wheels and pullies behind the scenes, Andy Lack, seems hell-bent on tipping the focus to a blend of "straight news," and a tip rightward. He's been thwarted by Rachel Maddow's dynamo ratings, and also to the surges by the rest of the prime time lineup. He couldn't very well fire his new ratings champions.

Or could he? The channel's second highest rated host, Lawrence O'Donnell, has a contract renewal looming, and nobody seems to know if it's going to go through. His fans are planning a march, but as often happens in these sorts of things, we don't get to hear the details. Even tonight, as the world is dealing with another terrorist act in Manchester, England (as I write this, responsible parties unknown), Lawrence is not hosting his program, and is being pre-empted by Brian Williams.

It would be foolhardy for Lack to terminate O'Donnell--who has made it clear that he wants to stay--in the midst of a ratings bonanza. It would almost instantly damage the ratings they have just started to really reap, because a huge segment of the their audience would abandon MSNBC. But I've seen this happen before. Radio channels running Randi Rhodes or Stephanie Miller when they're performing well, and replacing them with radio formats that get microscopic ratings. Sometimes ideology trumps money. Strange but true.

Of course the ratings wave also came amidst a crash at FOX, where they've been rocked by scandal, schedule shakeups, and a complete lack of focus after the departure (and now death) of Roger Ailes. I'd like nothing better than to see one of two things happen: a) FOX "News" slides to irrelevancy, with FOX Business Channel-level ratings; or b) FOX itself morphs into a more straight-news channel, free of rightward slant. But what we don't need is MSNBC basically taking their place as the new leader in "fake news."

Meanwhile, congratulations to Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes and the roster of regulars that has performed a mighty feat, seemingly in the face of their own leadership.

[Excerpt]

MSNBC Reaches No. 1 for First Time in Weekly Primetime Ratings, Fox News Drops to Third

For the first time in its history, MSNBC ranked number one in both total viewers and the key adults 25-54 demographic during primetime for a full week among the big three cable news networks, according to Nielsen data. . .

Read more at: Variety

Could GOP's 2014 Election Success Spell Their Doom in 2016?

SPOILER ALERT: Lawrence will read a rather frank and brutal analysis to you, about how the GOP should enjoy their two years of crazy, but that it will end with significant setbacks for them in the next election. The language is pointed and out of character for Mr. O'Donnell. And that's because he is reading the words of a Republican political analyst.

Lawrence O'Donnell Rewrites Kentucky's "Noah's Ark" Theme Park

Who knew there were cranes in Noah's day? Image from Inquisitr.

Oh, this is good. As an atheist, it's not often you get something this good from a religious person. And Lawrence O'Donnell is a good (though perhaps not devout) Catholic. Like me, he has a few problems with some of the Bible's wackier stories, notably the one about Noah's Ark.

The Noah story figured prominently in my slide into atheism. In my confirmation classes, it was clear that everyone around me took Genesis, up to that point, as literal truth. I was having enough trouble with that, but Noah's Ark? Plot holes you can drive an ocean liner through. It cannot be taken as a literal story, unless one is a child, one hasn't really thought about the story since he was a child, or with an economy-sized tub of faith spackle.

So anyway, they're building a theme park in Kentucky, based around the Noah story, complete with a "replica" of the ark. Kentucky is apparently going to give this entirely religious production millions of dollars worth of tax credits. To a heathen like me, this is very irritating. So, I was relieved to find Lawrence on my side. And his piece is also quite entertaining. Especially his pronunciation of "Ark Park."
 

So, Finally, Here's What Happened to Lawrence O'Donnell

Image from The Daily Beast

If you follow any particular news/entertainment programs on either radio or television (which is easier to do if you're a conservative fan of such programming, than if you're a liberal), you may be accustomed to programming changes with little explanation. Again, this may happen more to liberals like me whose hosts don't have a rock-solid perch (like say a Rush Limbaugh). Anyway, when something happens, the host is gone, or the format changes, news about what happened is somehow always shrouded in mystery. When radio host Randi Rhodes was mysteriously off the air (two or three times), the only way to get any information was online, and then it was sparse and untrustworthy.

So, when Lawrence O'Donnell, host of The Last Word on MSNBC, suddenly wasn't on the air, it was no surprise that details were few. We were told he'd been in a crash with his brother in a foreign country, and that he was convalescing. That was it, there was no more information. I haven't looked, but I'm sure there were online conspiracy theories on both sides about what happened. That's just par for the course.

On Thursday, Lawrence appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show to announce his return this coming Monday. And now, we have an account of where he was and what happened. It's actually a harrowing, yet interesting story.

[Excerpt]

The Crash and Churn of Lawrence O’Donnell

“What a stupid way to die,” Lawrence O’Donnell thought to himself. A split-second earlier, the host of MSNBC’s 10 p.m. program, The Last Word, had been gazing down at a map on his iPhone, following the progress of his taxi, a Chevy van, as he and his older brother Michael rode to dinner on the resort island of Tortola. It was around 7:45 p.m., Saturday, April 12, the start of what promised to be a lovely vacation in the British Virgin Islands with his big brother, a Boston lawyer. . .

Read more at: The Daily Beast

Lawrence O'Donnell Updates Recovery

Lawrence O'Donnell and his brother were in a serious taxi accident a few weeks ago, while out of the country. Beyond that, and that he and his brother were recuperating, there was very little news. On Wednesday night, Lawrence called into his own show--currently being hosted by Ari Melber--to give viewers an update. Sounding snarky and in good spirits, he relayed that he'd be out until sometime in June, that he's not enjoying physical therapy, and that he'd broken a hip.

 

What Happens in Vegas: Did Greenlee Gazette Influence Policy at MSNBC?

This could have been a coincidence, sure. But was it? After watching The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on Wednesday night, I tweeted the following:

Pundits! It's pronounced ADD-el-son, not AID-el-son. I can't stand #SheldonAdelson either, but wow, get the name right. @Lawrence
— James L. Greenlee (@GreenleeGazette) March 26, 2014

I tweeted it to Lawrence, because he and his guests pronounced Las Vegas' elderly casino mogul Sheldon Adelson's name wrong over and over again. My tweet looks a little snotty to me now, though that wasn't my intention. It's just that the Adelson name is so well known here, and every time I've heard it on cable news, it's been said incorrectly.

Then a funny thing happened. Thursday and thereafter, every MSNBC host and most guests I've heard, have said ADD-el-son instead of the incorrect AID-el-son. And I had to wonder (much as I did when I think I helped change Wonder Woman's logo back in the day), did my tweet change MSNBC policy?

The Gay Thing: Leading Gay Conservative Quits GOP

I've said before that I do not understand the concept of a gay Republican. I can see having some conservative leanings, I can see agreeing with some issues or concerns that are typically seen as conservative or Republican. But given the nature and state of the modern day GOP, I cannot fathom how a self-respecting LGBT person could belong to it.

A gay couple we used to hang out with were archly conservative, and fell pretty much in line with whatever FOX "News" had as their daily outrage, and the talking points. But they'd assure me that they were fiscal conservatives, but socially more liberal. Which sounds good in theory, but is another in practice. Because the GOP has shown very little propensity for actual fiscal conservatism. [story continues below]



Despite my lack of understanding, gay conservatives do exist. I've argued with a few, particularly GOProud and its Nevada affiliate RightPride. The latter seems to have faded away, and GOProud has lost its original leaders, got booted from CPAC, and has very, very little currency in the GOP itself. And now, one of those leaders has left the Republican Party itself, and rather publically.

Road to redemption? Publicity stunt? Not sure. And I'm not sure the gay community will take him, nor the right wing base care that he's gone.

Lawrence O'Donnell on "The Handshake Seen Around the World"

Lawrence addresses the ludicrous non-troversy of President Obama shaking Raul Castro's hand during Nelson Mandela's funeral. And he shows a goodly number of other presidents and officials essentially doing the same thing. Can no one on the right do a little research before having a knee-jerk reaction?
 

The Fake, Annual, War on Christmas

I've written on this subject many times in the seven holiday seasons I've been blogging. And I'll continue to, considering how it keeps cropping up as though it's a legitimate "problem." In reality, the "War on Christmas" is a manufactured outrage, a complete nonsense story that has been an unlikely success story for Bill O'Reilly, FOX "News," Sarah Palin, and others in Right Wing World.

Contrary to the claims, there is no organized effort to shunt Christmas to the sidelines, and if there were it would likely be a) by Christians, offended by the crass commercialization of the holiday, and b) considered a complete failure by now. With the backward creep of "Black Friday," and the appearance of Christmas trimmings starting to appear in August in some places, Christmas is more visible than it ever has been.

In my opinion, the success of this faux crisis came about in a perfect storm of a number of elements:
- Conservative outrage over challenges to religious displays on public property.
- Conservative paranoia toward the ACLU, atheism, "secularism," and diversity.
- Conservative antipathy toward anything deemed to be more "inclusive" or sensitive to other beliefs.
- Occasional overboard actions or reactions by individual school administrators or jurisdictions. A declaration that the word "Christmas" be struck or replaced from a musical program, and the like. Outliers depicted as a trend, in other words.
- The tendency of conservatives to feel like a victimized minority, even though they're statistically part of the majority (read: heavily white and Christian).
- A strange confluence between the "Put the Christ back in Christmas/reason-for-the-season" sort, and the prosperity gospel, "greed-is-good" modern-day conservative base, resulting in an orgy of consumerism that must be labeled CHRISTmas!
- A populace with a limited memory, and the difficult-to-pin-down origins of the perennial "Seasons' Greetings" and "Happy Holidays" phrases.

O'Reilly claims that those two phrases were a plot, in the last 10 years or so, to supplant the word, the concept, the holiday of Christmas. This is of course, preposterous. I'm 47, and have a good memory. I know for certain that both phrases were being used in the early 70s. I'm positive they go further back. Back then, the only controversial wording was "X-Mas," and even that is misunderstood (the "X" is actually a cross, folks). So right off the bat, we know that O'Reilly is blowing smoke: the phrases have been on greeting cards and in ads for decades now. I have a program from our school winter musical, in festive, snow-capped letters, reading: "1978 Winter Holiday Concert!" That's 35 years, Bill, and it included Hava Nagila.  [Story continues below]



So, we should be able to conclude that there is no conspiracy, and if there were, it isn't working. But let's flip it, shall we? Why should we take O'Reilly's side, and be forced to say "Merry Christmas" from late November until (presumably) New Year's? Why "merry" and not "happy," "festive," "joyous" or "groovy?" Why does the Christmas holiday--one day, incidentally--get to override every other holiday (and holiday party, and gift exchange, and work gathering, and Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa and New Year's Eve), with the insistence that "Merry Christmas" is the only proper and legitimate greeting? It's preposterous, as well as a little too precise when you want to wish someone a happy holiday season, rather than just the one day.

I'm no longer Christian, but I was raised one. I still celebrate Christmas, and when I can, take off the whole week. I'm not offended by the phrase "Merry Christmas," and believe me, most people aren't. Not even Jewish, Muslim or atheist people. People taking offense are almost entirely fabricated, part of this phony-baloney "war." You might find a nutty activist, trying to ban the word in some Podunk school system in Backwater, Pennsyltucky.  But not a movement. FOX "News" is fighting a straw man. . .snow man?


 

Rand Paul's Plagiarism Charges Continue

Most of the responses I've seen from the right on Sen. Rand Paul's numerous plagiarism charges have been either attempts to shrug them off as "nothing," or they have been to attack the messenger. The messenger in this case was Rachel Maddow, and right-wing attacks on her usually amount to plays on her name ("Mad Cow"), and homophobic slurs. They're just so clever.

But plagiarism is not a frivolous, "nothing" charge. And this wasn't one speech, or even a series of them. It's cropping up in Paul's writings in many, many places.

 

A Little Fun at Ted Cruz's Expense

I've already shown you Right Wing World's reaction to Ted Cruz's Senate fauxlibuster. I showed you why it's pointless. And here are are couple of people having a really good time with the whole thing:

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Lawrence O'Donnell to Anthony Weiner: "What is Wrong With You?"

Did you watch The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on Monday night? If you didn't, I've got to tell you, you missed probably the most interesting live interview you're likely to see all year. It was riveting, but at the same time repelling. It was uncomfortably awkward, but I couldn't turn away. And I had food on the grill! Suffice it to say, Lawrence wrung all the drama that was left out of Anthony Weiner's failed mayoral campaign, and Weiner--who I'd have felt for, before he proved to be such a douchenozzle--didn't come off so well. You could argue that Lawrence didn't come off well either, but I really think he accomplished exactly what he set out to do.

[Excerpt]

‘What is wrong with you?’ Weiner answers O’Donnell

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Democratic NYC mayoral candidate joined MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell for his last television interview the night before the Democratic primary election. O’Donnell had one big question for him, asking the disgraced former congressman, “What is wrong with you? . .”

Read more at: The Last Word


And if you just didn't get enough from that clip, here's the web exclusive:
 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

School Gunman Stopped by Unarmed (Awesome) Woman

This is a pretty awesome story! An unlikely happy ending to a tense and awful situation. Due to some quick thinking, and a genuinely warm manner, this lady helped save the day, and very probably several lives, maybe even her own. And she didn't need a gun to do it.

[Excerpt]


Nice Time: Good Guy With A Calm Voice Stops A Bad Guy With A Gun



 Here’s an actual hero: Antoinette Tuff, a clerk at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur, Georgia, who talked Michael Brandon Hill into laying down his semiautomatic rifle and abandoning his plan to commit suicide by cop yesterday. Hill had come to the school expecting to shoot up the school and then to die in a shootout with police; instead, Tuff talked to him for an hour while teachers, staff, and 870 children waited in the locked-down building. . .

Read more at: Wonkette

And in case you want to see a little more on the story, here's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell's take, which is pretty awesome too.

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Real IRS Scandal Now is in a Lawsuit

When FOX "News" (and the rest of Right Wing World) believes they have a good scandal for the Obama Administration, they won't let it go, even when it fizzles out ("Benghazi!!!" anyone?). This isn't surprising when you realize that they still believe all kinds of debunked information. So, it is predictable that they're still harping on the "IRS Scandal," you know where conservative groups were "targeted," but it turns out it wasn't just conservative groups? And that no conservative groups were denied, but some liberal groups were denied? That one.

There is a scandal in there, but it's not the one they wanted it to be. The real scandal may not even be known to typical FOX viewers. It's that 501(c)(4) organizations "operated exclusively for the promotion of 'social welfare', such as civics and civics issues," etc. A huge chunk of these groups, be they conservative or liberal do not meet that definition. Like at all. In fact, it has been laughable how political many of the groups are. Finally. . . .FINALLY. . .somebody is trying to do something about it.

[Excerpt]

The ‘real IRS scandal’: Now, a lawsuit

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Rep. Chris Van Hollen is preparing to file a lawsuit in federal district court challenging the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service over the agency’s interpretation of the 501(c)(4) law that determines tax-exempt status for social welfare organizations. . .

Read more at: MSNBC

The Gay Thing: Three Perspectives on Russian Olympics

The issue of Vladimir Putin's draconian anti-gay laws and the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia are bubbling out beyond the blogosphere into the mainstream. Below are three clips from MSNBC on Wednesday night, with Harvey Fierstein, Dan Savage and Greg Louganis.  Harvey and Dan took Chris Hayes to task for omissions from a previous story, so it was pretty cool that he had them on for their rebuttals. And Louganis talked to Lawrence O'Donnell, with a bit less edge. All are interesting, so if you don't know much about this particular kerfuffle, here's a way to get a few different perspectives on it.
 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Mitt Romney Claims He Didn't Make "47%" Comment

By now, we're not surprised by a politician who denies saying what he plainly said. Meet the Press not to mention The Daily Show have long made hay pulling old speeches out to prove a candidate is wrong or has lied. But when the statement in question is one of the most glaring, most obvious pivot points of the race? What point is there in lying about it now? I mean, I know that Mitt Romney had a truth-telling problem (especially for a Mormon), but this one really takes the cake.
 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sign Lawrence O'Donnell's Petition to Restore IRS "Exclusivity" 501(c)(4) Language

I'm on board with this. No way, no how should the IRS in 1959 have decided to interpret a Congressional law saying "exclusively" as "primarily." Of course, no way, no how should "primarily" be so difficult to figure out. Tea Party groups are primarily political, not primarily public welfare organizations. Full stop. Same with "Occupy"-type groups of course. But there would be no ambiguity whatsoever if the "exclusive" language was restored, or rather just followed.

[Excerpt]

Lawrence O’Donnell urges viewers to sign IRS petition on White House website

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A new report on the handling of applications for 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status rewrites presumptions made by House Speaker John Boehner and Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa on the so-called IRS “scandal.” In recent weeks, both had suggested there was criminal activity involved in the targeting of Tea Party groups, possibly extending all the way to the White House. . .

Read more at: The Last Word

Lawrence O'Donnell Rewrites Rudy Giuliani's Take on National Security

There are certain people who should have no credible say on politics or national security. They include almost anyone from the George W. Bush administration, and Rudolph Giuliani. And yet, they keep popping up like bad pennies. Here's Rudy, lisping Sylvester the cat impersonator, traipsing through the Boston Marathon bombing area, trying to pretend like he's some kind of anti-terrorism expert. He failed. Rather spectacularly. He was lauded at the time, despite his failings. Will history correct the record? With the help of Lawrence O'Donnell, maybe we'll get it right.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Chris Christie Buries Special Election on a Wednesday in October

Image from ABCNews

When Senator Frank Lautenberg died this week, Chris Christie, the New Jersey Governer was on the hotseat to nominate a successor. Christie is currently doing a tightrope dance (tricky for anyone, but him?) with his image, both trying to be his brash, gruff self to some people, and a cuddly teddy bear to others. He clearly has Presidential aspirations, and he has to be weighing every decision he makes. So, rather than appoint a Senator, he's going to have it put to a vote. But not in just any election. That could be risky for a number of reasons. So, he's burying the vote in a special election (which costs millions) just a couple of weeks ahead of the real election. Some critics are understandably interpreting this move as bald fear on Christie's part. Which is amusing for lots of reasons.  I couldn't decide which of these clips would irritate Christie worse, so I'm running them both. First, Rachel Maddow accuses Christie of being a wussy. Then Lawrence O'Donnell does. They're both highly entertaining.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Lawrence O'Donnell Points Out (Again) The REAL IRS Scandal

I might be getting a little too repeaty with my Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell posts, but this subject bears repeating, and needs to be spread far and wide. The real IRS scandal is the fact that these Tea Party groups were accepted for their tax exempt status in the first place, not the fact that they were investigated (and should have been).

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy