I thought you were one of the good guys, Keith. I knew you had a big head, but I thought you really gave a damn and I gave you a lot of credit for that and for helping get Rachel her show. But then I saw the video clip of you on Letterman calling yourself an expensive chandelier and bragging about the hot shot lawyer you hired to sue Current.
Let me say this clearly. I think Current is a nice idea and I wish them success, but I am not on their side. I am not on either of your sides. Personally, I think you were both stupid for ignoring the rule about never going into business with friends or family. But you did and predictably it didn't end well. I thought you would both be decent enough to just shake hands and move on. But I guess I misjudged you both. They had to take parting shots and you are suing them. The parting shots were not cool, but they don't even come close to suing for $50 million.
Now, as I understand it, they were going to pay you $50 million and since they fired you, you still want them to pay you, because you don't think you should have been fired. Whatever. I don't care what your reasons are for suing for $50 million... what I don't understand is why the FUCK you were getting paid $50 FUCKING MILLION for what I understood was you speaking from your FUCKING HEART!!
What the FUCK makes you ANY DIFFERENT from televangelists!? Get the money out of politics? Let's start with getting it out of FUCKING POLITICAL NEWS SHOWS!! 50 FUCKING MILLION DOLLARS?! And you actually THINK that you DESERVE to be paid that money? Who the FUCK do you think you are? Arianna Huffington?
50 million is 1000 people being paid 50 thousand a year. Do you do the work of 1000 people, Keith? Do you? Do you say something on tv that is worth 1000 middle class family jobs? You are already goddamn rich! You not only shouldn't be paid 50 million for talking, but you should have been talking for FREE if you gave a flying FUCK about this country! Equal opportunity criticism happening right now, Keith.
Pull your head out of your goddamn ass, Keith!! If you really care about people. If you really want to do some good. 50 million. Maybe if you were working on a fucking cure for cancer. Definitely not for getting in front of a camera and saying what we all say here for fucking free every day!!
Fri Apr 06, 2012 at 11:50 PM PT: Oh, and I have to add. You were going to pay Keith 50 million, Al? You are trying to save the planet and you are wasting 50 million on a news talk show host? What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously. What the fuck?!
1:45 PM PT: I didn't think this late night rant would be on the rec list. But since it is, let me add that I am angry at Keith over the $50 million, because I had higher expectations for him. I really like Keith a lot. I know that he started out as an entertainer and that there is nothing wrong with earning a lot of money for entertainment. But 'speaking the truth to power' is not entertainment. I understood that he quit MSNBC, because he wanted the freedom to say what he truly believed he needed to say without pressure of money over his head. I understood that he joined Current, because they would support him saying exactly what he wants to say. That is kind of undermined by the $50 million dollar contract. Nobody deserves $50 million for speaking truth to power. IMO.
8:13 PM PT: I have to say again that I am angry at Keith, because I DO think he's a good guy and I just want him to be that good guy instead of the guy he was on Letterman talking about himself like he's a star. I know that he's probably in shock over being fired and he's defensive and he's suing to save face more than to get paid. That doesn't change the fact that he was going to take $50 million to "speak truth to power". I'm sorry, but that is an obscene amount of money to be paid if your job is to stand up for working people. If you are getting paid like that, then you are an entertainer not a voice for the people and that's what you should say that you are. Then knock yourself out making as much as you can. This is America after all. There's nothing wrong with success. It just shouldn't be confused with public service.