A tribute to the 99ers: We are not invisible.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Keith is back to work tomorrow, #99ers are back to work...

Late last night my wife found an update that Keith Olbermann will be back at Countdown on Tuesday.  I am happy Keith is back, not only as a fan, but as a 99er as well. It's not because of unemployment coverage on Countdown.  Countdown touches on unemployment and job creation but not nearly enough for my taste. I'm happy Keith is back to work because his suspension no longer monopolizes the newscycle.

Since his suspension was announced on Friday, support has come from multiple sources. A petition with over 300,000 signatures, at least two Facebook pages totaling over 15,000 "likes", a Twitter site with 210 followers, 2 Twibbons (2200+ supporters) and even William Kristol. All this activity in under 72 hours.  The unemployed, some without any safety net for over 7 months get this support: preemptive armed guards at unemployment offices, tax cuts for the wealthy to "create jobs" and the usual cut spending from one (safety net) program to fund another (safety net) program.

Please do not misunderstand me. I am a huge fan of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann". I'm glad Keith is back. He gives is "liberal media bias" and I want him on the air. I understand why over 315,000 would mobilize on his behalf in a weekend.  Why can't (won't) the same group and more do exactly the same to support millions (and growing each week) of unemployed? More importantly, what can I do to get 300,000+ to spend 10 minutes to advocate for the unemployed?

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