Stinque Repeats Blogging Invitation to Keith Olbermann

I dunno. Does Olbermann have it? Can he deliver the Apocalyptic Vulgarity?

@FlyingChainSaw: Lefties are certainly delivering it right now, willfully ignoring the “prior notice” clause to jump on the KO bandwagon.

Hey, folks: It’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up.

That’s what got Wolffe into trouble with Management — not the fact of his consulting gig, but that he didn’t tell anyone about it.

Speaking of money, a few checks arrived today at Stinque World Domination Headquarters, in support of the Fund to File a Fucking $105 DMCA Declaration Notice to Protect Ourselves from Evil Copyright Trolls. You guys know who you are, and thanks.

No worries, Keith… Bill Kristol to the rescue.

@nojo: Copyright trolls? What’d we cadge?

@IanJ: The short version is that there’s a law firm that bought the copyrights from a Vegas paper (not the Sun), and is suing websites right and left for excerpts, fair use or not, even if they appear in comments. The law firm plans to expand its operation to other papers.

It uses the same basic approach as the RIAA: Sue the weak, who can’t afford to defend themselves, and quickly settle.

The chief defense is filing a $105 DMCA notice with the U.S. Copyright Office. This requires complaints to go through a Designated Flunky, and provides safe-harbor procedures against lawsuits. The law firm is studiously avoiding websites with formal DMCA contacts.

So Serolf brought this up in the Above-The-Timestamp backchannel the other day, I whined about the filing fee, and everyone rushed to their checkbooks. Any leftover money will fund bottomless bowls of nuke popcorn for Canadian election observers.

@nojo: And Guinness, and server space….we ARE creeping pretty close to comment 100,000….not to mention all those pictures of hawt soccer players I uploaded this summer.

TJ/

Day three of the Republican’s refusal to do anything at all about the economy. The waiting continues…

@nojo:

Wait, what? Why wasn’t I informed? I will send you some cash!

@SanFranLefty: Stormy has been wronged – wronged I tell you!

Check out this video of a Dream Act student confront the douchebag state senator who authored SB1070, Prop 300 (regarding tuition), and other anti-immigrant Arizona laws. At one point, he actually says “I don’t make the laws; I just enforce them.” The Republicans just elected this idiot Senate President.

Meanwhile: Rachel’s cold open tonite was PERFECT.

@chicago bureau: MSNBC promos have suddenly gone from lame to cheerfully ironic.

@nojo: So. Wait. There’s this law that already carves out an exception for Fair Use, but to be protected by this law, you have to buy Fair Use Insurance from the Copyright Office?

@JNOV: Thus, my whine. Cooler heads and fatter wallets prevailed.

@nojo: Mailing address, please (post at the Top Secret Place).

@nojo: Blargh.

ETA: Send a picture of Tabitha with the check.

Wasn’t sure where Rachel was going with that, but she landed it.

@Tommmcatt: Sex God or AVATAR OF SEX?!?!?! You be the judge…: @redmanlaw: @JNOV: Humble thanks for the offers, but you’re too late: It’s covered.

The monthly server expense is adequately subsidized by Google and Amazon. This was a one-off, because apparently free speech costs $105, and I was pouty about ponying up.

I caved. I’m within 1G of going over my data plan from LOLAT&TISADICK with 19 days left in my billing cycle. Bought me some sorta DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem and have sold my soul back to Comcast. Fringe is back on, ya know. Gotta stream!

@nojo: Rightly so. Such bullshit.

ETA: No, I think you should send a picture of Tabitha with the check (unless you’re paying online). OR you can ask Thorne to draw a spider for you to send as payment. Hell, draw your own spider. I’m sure it’s worth a buck oh five.

@nojo: Do you know if the Electronic Freedom Frontier knows about these shenanigans?

@JNOV: The EFF is actually defending a case or two, one involving (I think) Democratic Underground. That’s how the news hit Wired, and where we found out about it.

@JNOV: That ATT name is the funniest damn thing I read all day. Did you see the article on the ATT and Apple marriage in the print version with Will Ferrell on the cover? Es prolly online, too.

@nojo:
The interesting bit is that Rachel landed foursquare on the side of MSNBC management and saying that her “good friend and colleague” Keith Olbermann was wrong. Although – you had to pay attention to what she was actually saying as opposed to her demeanor.

She starts by tut-tutting over this long litany of egregious examples of Fox personalities raising funds and contributing to Republican candidates and causes. Once you start down that road, you can’t say what Olbermann did was ok, since – you know – that would make MSNBC just like Fox.

It is obviously important to her to show that she works for a news organization that has higher standards than Fox. Important enough that she was willing to throw her “good friend and colleague” under the bus. She even seemed to agree with the sentence from MSNBC management, concluding only with a wish that he will be back soon. It was kind of a hope for commutation – perhaps for showing remorse and time off for good behavior.

Bill Kristol did a better job of defending Olbermann.

@libertarian tool: I’m Going Long on this in the morning, but Management was right — even if Management has ulterior motives, as many suspect. And the principle involved is one that Olbermann himself has expressed strongly and acted upon in the past.

Olbermann’s defenders are misguided. He made the wrong call this time.

@nojo: KO made a mistake. Perhaps for that he should be relieved of his $7million/year contract or whatever.

What got me in the reports I’ve read is that the donation seems to have been made the same day as the interview — almost as if he was buying it. I wouldn’t feel nearly as sketchy about this if he had made the donation after the interview.

I don’t see KO as a journalist, he’s a commentator or editorialist, and as such I think he should be free to contribute to whatever causes he cares to. But to go on the teevee the same day (if I’ve read it correctly) he interviews a politician, without disclosing that, reeks of the standard slime all of the politicians in both parties brazenly flaunt.

@PedonatorUSA: It’s entirely possible he made the donation after taping the show — there are 24 hours in a day, after all — but unless he or the campaign can produce a timestamp to that effect, the sketchiness remains.

@nojo: Most interesting thing, for me? Keef has been fired by ESPN, MSNBC and FOX, now.

To Chainsaw’s point on the other thread, when I do watch tv news over here, it’s pretty much Al That Jazeera, all the time. Cable snooze in the New World is just yellow journalism that you can’t even use for fish wrap.

@PedonatorUSA: @mellbell: I think you’ve nailed the reason for such a policy, even if it amounts to prior notice to management: It throws into question Keith’s editorial judgment, even in a program that’s editorial by nature.

@Nabisco: Wasn’t he also on CNN for a time? That’s running the board.