Rob Kall: Keith Olbermann Terrorized and Gov Tries to Hide it

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Keith Olbermann Terrorized and Gov Tries to Hide it

Keith Olbermann is hitting home run after home run, taking on the Bush Cheney led right wing, immoral lie machine, pummelling them unmercifully with truth after truth. He is the strongest voice the left has in the mainstream media. Unlike Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, other strong voices, he does not couch his hard hitting messages in comedy. Last night, he did it again, presenting a chronology of Bush administration failures to do much of anything to respond to the clear warnings he documents that the Clinton administration left for the Bush administration. Now, in spirit, we won't call Condi Rice a liar, but she has her facts wrong.
(Here's the video of last night's kick-ass report on the Bush Admin failure to do anything pre-9/11)
(Here's the video of last night's kick-ass report on the Bush Admin failure to do anything pre-9/11)

We have serious reason to worry about Olbermann's safety. Last night, he reported that he'd been threatened, apparently with some anthrax-like substance that required him to be subjected to 10 hours of detention in a hospital. He was discharged with a prescription for Cipro.

Worse, he and his network were told to keep this off the air. He discussed it last night in the context of the NY Post violating the government's request to keep this quiet, describing how MSNBC had respected the Murdock owned Fox News request that the media keep a low profile in covering the two kidnapped Journalists in Palestine, and how Murdock-owned NY Post had not respected the government request for a low profile on the investigation of the threat that endangered Olbermann.

Editor and Publisher, in an article 'NY Post' Makes Fun of Olbermann's Reaction to Getting Letter With White Powder , reported:

Several leading news organizations in recent years have summoned "HazMat" teams and sent employees to the hospital after receiving letters with white powder at their offices. The Post itself received a so-called "anthrax letter" in the fall of 2001, infecting three staffers, who all recovered.

Here is the Post item, which appeared under the headline, "Powder Puff Spooks Keith." On his MSNBC program Wednesday, Olbermann detailed the incident, pointing out numerous errors, including the fact that it took 14 hours for the substance to be cleared as absolutely safe. He spent 10 hours at the hospital, he said. Far from a lollipop, he noted, he was given a prescription for Cipro at the end, not a lollipop.

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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.

Well, Olbermann commented last night. And he added that if Fox News has another situation, like the one where it's journalists were kidnapped, he and MSNBC would, in light of the way Murdoch's NY Post handled him... do exactly what the did the first time-- in spite of the way the Murdoch paper handled him.

We know the corrupt Bush appointees routinely use the power of their offices to take care of their own. It is not far fetched to speculate that Olbermann is being subjected to a horrendous abuse of power. The idea that he could be abused and placed in hospital detention for 10 hours, then told to keep quiet about it, for purposes of national security, possibly by the FBI, is outrageous and frightening.

Ever since his first of what are now many tough monologues attacking Bush and company, I have feared for the viability of his show. Now, with this latest development I fear for his safety and his life. The stakes are very high here.

Olbermann's message, if it gets out to the voters, could be devastating to the Republicans in November. They've already declared to their base that they are pulling out all the stops, going for broke. It is not unreasonable to assume that these politicians, who have already proved how low, how corrupt they can go, will pull out all the stops when it comes to corrupt, illegal moves as well as legal ones.

Olbermann's heroic-- and it is truly heroic reporting must be protected by the Democratic party and those on the left. I call upon Democratic legislators in congress to hold independent investigations into the terrorist threat upon Olbermann's life. Right wingers who think they can get away with intimidation of the press, the strongest voice standing up to the administration must see that they put themselves at risk, that they do not engage in their invidious acts with impunity.

We on the left must support MSNBC for the courage it is demonstrating by supporting the advertisers that are backing Olbermann's show.

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Rob Kall is executive editor, publisher and site architect of OpEdNews.com, Host of the Rob Kall Bottom Up Radio Show (WNJC 1360 AM), President of Futurehealth, Inc, (more...)

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