Was KO KO'd or did he KO himself?

Keith Olbermann is a prickly personality at the best of times. He is bombastic and outspoken. He has a huge ego. He's never been able to hold onto a job in television for more than a few years, probably because of those attributes. He stuck with MSNBC and MSNBC stuck with him for about as long as he's ever stayed anywhere.

His nightly news and commentary show Countdown has been hugely popular among liberals. When he announced on camera during his show yesterday that that would be the last Countdown, it was a massive shock to his rabid fans and they reacted...rabidly. They blamed MSNBC. They blamed Comcast which is about to take over NBC. They blamed everybody except Keith. I certainly don't have any more information about how the split came about than what I've read in the newspapers and online today, but I suspect the whole thing is a bit more complicated than his most passionate fans may be willing to admit.

Let me state up front that I'm not one of his passionate fans. He lost me as a fan in 2008 during the Democratic presidential primaries when he was rude and dismissive concerning the candidacy of Hillary Clinton whom I supported. Every time her campaign was mentioned, Keith would give one of his exaggerated sighs and wonder aloud when she would be getting out of the race. On the other hand, he absolutely glowed every time he mentioned the name of Barack Obama. (Of course, since Obama was elected, he hasn't done anything right according to Keith!) I stopped watching Countdown back then because I was so offended by his behavior and I only started up again after the election. But since that time, I've had a bit of a jaundiced view of Olbermann and I take his hyperbole with a grain of salt.

It's been obvious for some time that he had lost his enthusiasm for the show. Maybe it had something to do with his father's long illness and finally his death. During that period, Olbermann was absent from his show for much of the time, often for months at a time, but NBC allowed those absences and apparently supported him through a difficult period. But since he came back full time, it has seemed to me that he just never got his groove back and he was often absent, with guest hosts filling in for him. And now, finally, the end has come and he will be able to move on to other things.

Those other things won't include being on TV for a while because, apparently, part of the settlement with NBC precludes television appearances for a unknown period of time. But it won't stop him from doing other types of media such as radio or the Internet or any type of print media. One story that I read speculated that he might be interested in starting his own media enterprise - something similar to Huffington Post. Whatever he decides to do, I'm sure his loyal fans will follow. And I probably will, too.

So what's the verdict? Did MSNBC KO their biggest star? Did Olbermann deliberately KO himself because he wanted out? Or is it that he simply couldn't help himself? Guess we'll just have to wait for the book, but when it comes, I think we would be wise to take it, too, with a grain of salt.

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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