Ray Richmond at Past Deadline blog, 9-28-06 wrote:Keith Olbermann Receives a Death Threat, and the New York Post Thinks It's Pretty Darn Funny

The New York Post's unctuous Page Six "reported" it, but it's also been independently confirmed that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann -- whose brave commentaries of late taking to task the Bush Administration (and President Bush himself) have invited genuine comparisons to Edward R. Murrow -- opened a suspicious letter with a California postmark that was mailed to his New York City home late Tuesday night and out poured a white powdery substance. A threatening note inside reportedly indicated that this represented revenge for his outspoken on-air views of late.

It turns out the powder was laundry detergent and (thank God) not anthrax or any other toxic substance. But Olbermann obviously didn't know it was harmless until later on and, panic-stricken, called 911 at about 12:30 a.m. ET early this morning, according to the Page Six item. While preliminary tests of the powder confirmed the detergent finding, Olbermann, as a precaution, asked to be taken to the hospital just to be certain.Envelope

Now, whom among us would have treated this as a ho-hum, given the anthrax mail attacks of five years back? No one. Yet the famously right-leaning Post (published by Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch) naturally allowed its politics to get in the way while reporting what was in fact a legitimate and frightening death threat against a journalist whom someone was looking to intimidate and paralyze with fear.

NY Post, page six, 9-28-06 wrote: POWDER PUFF SPOOKS KEITH

MSNBC loudmouth Keith Olbermann flipped out when he opened his home mail yesterday. The acerbic host of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" was terrified when he opened a suspicious-looking letter with a California postmark and a batch of white powder poured out. A note inside warned Olbermann, who's a frequent critic of President Bush's policies, that it was payback for some of his on-air shtick. The caustic commentator panicked and frantically called 911 at about 12:30 a.m., sources told The Post's Philip Messing. An NYPD HazMat unit rushed to Olbermann's pad on Central Park South, but preliminary tests indicated the substance was harmless soap powder. However, that wasn't enough to satisfy Olbermann, who insisted on a checkup. He asked to be taken to St. Luke's Hospital, where doctors looked him over and sent him home. Whether they gave him a lollipop on the way out isn't known. Olbermann had no comment.

Ray Richmond at Past Deadline blog wrote:Note the sarcasm and cheeky snark, from the headline on down. They refer to a man who received a serious and authentic warning shot at his home address as "acerbic," "caustic" and a "loudmouth" who "flipped out" and "was terrified," as if being badly shaken after receiving what he understandably presumed was a deadly biological agent made him a wimp. Yeah I mean, gee, what moron would think it was actual anthrax, huh? And what relevence is there in noting parenthetically that Olbermann is "a frequent critic of President Bush's policies"? Because he is, the presumption is that he of course deserved it, right? And that he's a girly-man wuss to boot?

Page Six ought to be completely ashamed to publish a mocking dismissal of what is in fact a serious news story and try to pass it off as journalistic, not to mention putting its contempt for the left above its humanity. But then, it has a long and illustrious track record of being both shameless and inhuman, so this is perfectly in keeping with its style.

Antero wrote:And The Daily Show had a similar incident today. Just got the scoop from my girlfriend, who is interning there - mysterious package, white powder, two crew members temporarily quarrantined.

SecondEdition wrote:The maraschino cherry of sleaze upon this ice cream sundae of pure journalistic putrescence is "whether they gave him a lollipop on the way out is not known."

alex maiolo wrote:

SecondEdition wrote:The maraschino cherry of sleaze upon this ice cream sundae of pure journalistic putrescence is "whether they gave him a lollipop on the way out is not known."

I say we take up a collection to send you $50 for this sentence.
Nice.

-A

Twilight Struggle: Finally Standing Up as the Republic Crashes Down
Written by Chris Floyd
Thursday, 28 September 2006
So the New York Times has finally roused itself and laid out the straight facts about the presidential tyranny that has been erected around the pathetic figure of George W. Bush: Rushing Off a Cliff. The Times is to be lauded for this eloquent and powerful depiction of our degraded political state, and you should read it in full. But a few vital points must mitigate our praise of this otherwise remarkable editorial.

First, and most importantly: it comes very, very late in the game – perhaps too late. All of the tyrannical powers enumerated by the editorial were claimed – and put into practice – by Bush and Cheney five years ago. I began writing columns about these very claims in October 2001. In November 2001, I first wrote of Bush's claim that he could not only declare anyone on earth an "enemy combatant" and jail them forever in black holes without charges, but he could also have them summarily killed. This was not classified information that I got from some bold Ellsbergian whistleblower; these were claims being made openly and proudly by "senior Administration officials" to – the New York Times, among others. I'll be writing more on this point later in the week.

Second, the editorial, as strong as it is, doesn't go far enough: We not looking at "our generation's version of the Alien and Sedition Acts" as the newspaper puts it; things are much farther gone than that. What we are looking at is the death knell of the constitutional republic of the United States. Bush has long claimed dictatorial powers in secret; if Congress writes these liberty-gutting strictures into law, then the fundamental nature of the American state will be transformed. It will not be, in any sense – not even formally – a free country anymore. All of our rights and liberties will be the "gift" of the President, who can bestow them – or revoke them – as he sees fit.

Third, many legal experts note that the language of the laws in question here does not specifically exclude their application to citizens of the United States. Although Bush's willing executioners of liberty among the Senate leadership – such as Lindsay Graham, John McCain and the lipless, cat-torturing, money-grubbing excuse for a man named Bill Frist – insist that these draconian powers will apply only to "furreners" (as though that made it all OK), Cheney and his minions have in fact ensured that the measures can be used against American citizens as well – as they already have been, over and over, during the past five years.

SecondEdition wrote:
... the people who staff the New York Post are fucking slimeballs.

clocker bob wrote:

alex maiolo wrote:

SecondEdition wrote:The maraschino cherry of sleaze upon this ice cream sundae of pure journalistic putrescence is "whether they gave him a lollipop on the way out is not known."

I say we take up a collection to send you $50 for this sentence.
Nice.

-A

It is a good sentence. Good like the one I highlighted in Chris floyd's column on Empire Burlesque about the 'great but late' NY Times editorial from yesterday:

Twilight Struggle: Finally Standing Up as the Republic Crashes Down
Written by Chris Floyd
Thursday, 28 September 2006
So the New York Times has finally roused itself and laid out the straight facts about the presidential tyranny that has been erected around the pathetic figure of George W. Bush: Rushing Off a Cliff. The Times is to be lauded for this eloquent and powerful depiction of our degraded political state, and you should read it in full. But a few vital points must mitigate our praise of this otherwise remarkable editorial.

First, and most importantly: it comes very, very late in the game – perhaps too late. All of the tyrannical powers enumerated by the editorial were claimed – and put into practice – by Bush and Cheney five years ago. I began writing columns about these very claims in October 2001. In November 2001, I first wrote of Bush's claim that he could not only declare anyone on earth an "enemy combatant" and jail them forever in black holes without charges, but he could also have them summarily killed. This was not classified information that I got from some bold Ellsbergian whistleblower; these were claims being made openly and proudly by "senior Administration officials" to – the New York Times, among others. I'll be writing more on this point later in the week.

Second, the editorial, as strong as it is, doesn't go far enough: We not looking at "our generation's version of the Alien and Sedition Acts" as the newspaper puts it; things are much farther gone than that. What we are looking at is the death knell of the constitutional republic of the United States. Bush has long claimed dictatorial powers in secret; if Congress writes these liberty-gutting strictures into law, then the fundamental nature of the American state will be transformed. It will not be, in any sense – not even formally – a free country anymore. All of our rights and liberties will be the "gift" of the President, who can bestow them – or revoke them – as he sees fit.

Third, many legal experts note that the language of the laws in question here does not specifically exclude their application to citizens of the United States. Although Bush's willing executioners of liberty among the Senate leadership – such as Lindsay Graham, John McCain and the lipless, cat-torturing, money-grubbing excuse for a man named Bill Frist – insist that these draconian powers will apply only to "furreners" (as though that made it all OK), Cheney and his minions have in fact ensured that the measures can be used against American citizens as well – as they already have been, over and over, during the past five years.

remainder of the floyd column

Antero wrote:And The Daily Show had a similar incident today. Just got the scoop from my girlfriend, who is interning there - mysterious package, white powder, two crew members temporarily quarrantined.