KEITH OLBERMANN: We are still on pace to — to get a new law permitting the indefinite detention of American citizens. Next.
First — because this space is where we merely indict, we do not condemn — here are "Countdown"'s top three nominees for today's "Worst Persons in the World."
The bronze? To former television pundit "Lonesome Rhodes" Beck. His online subscription service, GBTV, will next month be offering to its microscopic 230,000 participants a new entertainment program called "Independence, USA."
The press release describes it as a reality show, even though it's supposedly the story of one of these survivalist nut-jobs — a guy named Frank, from Nazareth, PA — who is preparing for the post-apocalypse. The series will show Frank "building a car that runs on wood, in case gasoline supplies are interrupted, becoming expert hunters when grocery stores are no longer in existence and making his own alcohol for barter when the dollar collapses."
Why is Beck running a post-apocalyptic reality series? Because for him it is already the post-apocalypse, when his audience are no longer in existence and he has to make his own TV for barter when his career collapses. But wait, there's more.
This is the logo for Beck's new series, "Independence, USA." If this looks at all familiar, that's because last year, The History Channel ran a series called "Apocalypse, PA." Same Frank, same cars powered by wood.
Glenn Beck's first new show is a rerun of something that bombed on The History Channel last year.
Runner-up? Joe Amendola, the attorney of the accused ex-Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky. This is not about Sandusky's guilt or innocence — or why on earth judges in Western Pennsylvania continue to grant him bail, as the number of charges leaps past 50. This is about the fact that he has exactly the wrong lawyer you would want if the rest of your life hung by a thread. Mr. Amendola, speaking today after a very brief hearing:
(Excerpt from video clip) JOE AMENDOLA: If anyone is naive enough to think, for a minute, that Tim Curley, Joe Paterno and Gary Schultz and — for that matter, Graham Spanier, the university president — were told by Mike McQueary that he observed Jerry Sandusky having anal sex with a ten-year-old-looking kid in a shower room at Penn State on Penn State property and their response was simply to tell Jerry Sandusky that "Don't go in the shower room anymore with kids," I suggest you dial 1-800-REALITY because that makes absolutely — that makes absolutely no sense.
OLBERMANN: So, the folks at one of America's finest websites, Deadspin, did exactly what Mr. Amendola suggested. They dialed 1-800-REALITY.
(Excerpt from audio clip) MAN: Hey guys, welcome to the hottest place for triple-X action. Get ready for bulge-bursting pleasure with horny gay, bi, and bi-curious studs. Just 99 cents per minute.
OLBERMANN: Not to equate pedophilia with homosexuality, but — if you're Jerry Sandusky — absolutely the last thing you need right now is an attorney who encourages the media to call a gay-sex phone line! Get a public defender!
But our winner? Robert A. Niblock, chairman of the board and chief executive of Lowe's. He and the hardware monolith he runs are getting further and further out onto the limb, after their cowardly decision to pull their advertising from a rather boring TLC reality show called "All-American Muslim."
As we told you last night, Lowe's caved to the pressure from some really out-there fascists like Pamela Geller and a group called the Florida Family Association, who complained that the show was unfair because it didn't depict all those Muslim terrorists they see running around in their own heads.
First, a California state senator began a petition to boycott Lowe's and today, Lowe's got it from all sides.
The Anti-Defamation League's National Director, Abe Foxman slammed the company: "They took this action in response to an appeal that was rooted in anti-Muslim prejudice. It is profoundly unfair and misguided to tarnish all Muslims in the United States with that brush. Most American Muslims are peace-loving, law-abiding citizens who cherish their life in America just as much as Christians, Jews, and followers of countless other faith traditions."
And then there's the reaction from the President of Auburn Seminy — Seminary — a multi-faith operation. The Reverend Doctor Katharine Henderson writes, "We are disappointed to see religion used as a tool to create division and foster fear. Efforts by hard-line religious organizations to scare American national companies from advertising on 'All-American Muslim' are fueled by fear and bigotry. American companies that are rumored to have pulled their ads from 'All-American Muslim' should immediately tell their consumers whether they, like Lowe's, have also caved into these bigoted demands or if they are standing up for an America where people of all faiths and identities can flourish."
So, Lowe's, who are you gonna stand with — the Protestants, the Jews, the Muslims, the Catholics, the agnostics, the atheists and the people who like to buy a nice, new belt sander every six to eight weeks — or these psychos like Geller and her insane hatred of people she blames for the failure of her own meaningless life? Your call.
We give out the award every night and it's yours till you do something about this. You — Robert A. Niblock, chairman of the board and chief executive of Lowe's — today's "Worst Person in the World."
Remember! Don't buy anything at Lowe's.
