He is reported to have a gigantic ego and star demands for other perks.

I wish he had a political show, tweetie (Chris Matthews) is boring.

Last edited Tue Jan 14, 2020, 06:45 PM - Edit history (1)

can't have that according to many. Well done rant on Mr. Baer.

GEORGE F. BAER



- George F. Baer, c. 1904.

(Wiki)...He moved to Reading, Pennsylvania in 1868 and established a law practice. He was later hired by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad as their counsel. In 1901, Baer was installed by financier J. P. Morgan as the President of the Reading Railroad after the retirement of his predecessor, Joseph Smith Harris. Soon thereafter, Baer was confronted with the Coal Strike of 1902 in the anthracite coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania, the largest united strike of the United Mine Workers. The Reading was a major employer in the region, and Baer refused to put down the strike or speak to the strikers, citing Social Darwinist ideas. Baer's attitude was released into the papers and became an example of arrogance and superiority. Finally, President Theodore Roosevelt intervened and settled the strike in favor of the striking workers.

Baer's statements on workers and labor relations became rallying cries for the unions. Most famously he wrote in a letter, later leaked to the press, "The rights and interests of the laboring man will be protected and cared for -- not by the labor agitators, but by the Christian men of property to whom God has given control of the property rights of the country, and upon the successful management of which so much depends." In closing statements on behalf of the coal managers to the government's Anthracite Coal Commission he stated, on the subject of working conditions, "These men don't suffer. Why, hell, half of them don't even speak English." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Frederick_Baer

Which was probably true.

Edmund Morris' book on Teddy Roosevelt, "Theodore Rex"*, opens with the assignation of William McKinley in Buffalo, NY only six months into his second term. Then VP TR immediately goes from New Hampshire directly to Buffalo, is sworn in, and attends a service for McKinley before going to Washington as president.

The presidential train back to Washington with McKinley's casket passes through the coal mining regions of Pennsylvania, TR looked out the windows of that slow-moving train and saw miners watching the train pass and saw the hatred in their eyes.

America, in the opening years of the 20th century was filled with anarchists. Who hated the people who hired them for dangerous jobs at very low pay, and who disdained them. And Morris records how worried TR was about those people and anarchy.

And those miners TR saw? Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenians, Poles. Many of whom didn't speak English.


* If you haven't read it, it's a terrific read!

that would have picked him up by now.

the will for another outlet is what's missing. A real shame esp. after all the years and the mounting wreckage.

If only someone would hack into Faux and air this instead.

Sad to say, I feel exactly the same.

His voice is missed.

In retrospect, unfortunately, they seem slightly naive.

Consider his final episode of "The Resistance." Mr. Olbermann listed seven ways that Trump would be brought down. Yet, none of those have ended the Trump Era, at least so far.

In fact, Trump's criminality has escalated far beyond hat I think Mr. Olbermann could have imagined two years ago.

Here's the final installment:

I think he nailed the Mueller report before it was written. Each week he exposed Trump's crimes--Mueller should have watched for a road map.

avoided prognostication.
We humans haven't progressed much, still wanting someone to predict the future. I still get sucked in by it sometimes.

I especially liked his "worst person ever" bit.

They were factually, ironically hilarious segments. God only knows DT and McTurtle would make that list every episode. Toccata and Fugue in D minor was the perfect backdrop, rounded out every "Countdown" show.
A revival of this would be soo very fitting the current shit show.

I forgot about that music...it makes me smile remembering how perfectly fitting it was.