Rick Kaplan's email addy @msnbc.com

[Muffstser]

It's [e-mail]

It must be legit, because it hasn't come back yet. Here's what I wrote:

August 10, 2005


Dear Mr. Kaplan:

I read with horror and disgust this morning an article in the New York Daily News about your confrontation with Keith Olbermann on Monday, August 8, 2005. Mr. Olbermann had the class, courage and honesty to share with his audience his own cancer scare. Unfortunately for you, I guess, his health crisis happened at the same time of Peter Jennings' passing, and the debut of your highly touted "Rita Cosby" show. You may find this hard to believe, but I highly doubt Mr. Olbermann woke up one day and said, "Jeepers! I think I'll plan on having a cancer scare at the same time Rita Cosby debuts, and Peter Jennings dies." Mr. Olbermann is NOT Miss Cleo or Sylvia Browne, and I highly doubt he has that psychic ability.

Quite frankly, I am appalled by your lack of professionalism. To criticize an employee in front of his own staff is uncalled for. To criticise someone who, Heaven forbid, is actually trying to do a public service for his viewers is ridiculous. Mr. Olbermann has more integrity and guts in his pinky than you obviously do in your entire body.

It's no big secret that your two "pet" shows -- "The Situation With Tucker Carlson" and "Scarborough Country" -- are tanking in the ratings. It's also no big secret that "Countdown" is one of the strongest shows you have on your network. Sabotaging your own talent is not going to win more viewers to your network. Quite frankly, to hype Ms. Cosby's program, whose star interviews are two disgruntled Jackson jurors trying to make a quick buck, and a Hollywood madam out for her own publicity, on the same week as Peter Jennings' death and Dana Reeve's own revelation of her cancer is tasteless and pathetic, at best.

Sorry, Mr. Kaplan. My dial is going to be on Larry King tonight, and every night. And you know what? If you dare to cancel "Countdown" or fire Mr. Olbermann, you can bet I won't be the only person that won't be watching MSNBC ever again.

*****************************************

Hopefully, this will be enough of a "mea culpa" for the small minority who have bashed me for my whining about Keith being gone last week. I still feel a lot of guilt about it. But ya know what? Hindsight is always 20/20, and if someone wants to think the worst about you, they're going to. Oh, well.

[DemReadingDU]

1. Great letter, thanks for sharing! n/t

[Gogi]

2. Don't feel that way.

Any one of us could've posted our disappointment last week because we're not psychic either!:hug:

[Muffstser]

3. Well, I can now say I have my very own troll!!!!

He/She/It is following me from board to board.

Guess I've hit the big time, eh?

[Gogi]

4. Have compassion for your troll.

How pitiful is it that there are people whose biggest thrill in life is cyberstalking. Everytime I think I have no life along comes a story like the one in today's Chicago Tribune: man dies after 49 hours playing videogames!


www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-skorea-game-death,1,4257941.story?coll=chinews-hed.html

[gkhouston]

5. complain (politely) to the mods

this is not acceptable behavior on DU.

[crispini]

6. Press "Alert" and notify the mods

and get that person tossed off DU. That stuff isn't kosher here. :)

[Berry Cool]

7. Oh great, all we need is trolls.

*sigh*

Anyway, if I think there is a need to use that email, I will.