Ruth Graham

Terrible news for peace in the Middle East. Justin Bieber, visiting Israel as part of his ongoing world tour, was all set to meet up with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A true meeting of the minds! But the plan fell apart, possibly because the wee pop star’s handlers didn’t like the idea of his participation in the event after Netanyayu also invited some children from a town frequently struck by Palestinian rockets. That would be too political, you see. So now the Bibi-Bieber meeting (more)

Let’s start with some disappointing news: Kevin Spacey and Alec Baldwin’s planned joint testimony before Congress was canceled this week! Boring old budget debates got in the way. Now how will we ever know whether or not these two famous actors are in favor of federal funding for the arts?! (more)

This column has naturally focused mostly on Hollywood’s intersection with American politics so far, but this week we see an A-list actor becoming embroiled in the international political scene. George Clooney – movie star, international activist, and all-around handsome guy – may be called to testify at the trial of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. (more)

This was a bad week for glamour in Washington. In other news, a dog recently bit a man. (more)

Did you feel something special in the air yesterday? It was former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd’s first day on the job as chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America! Dodd is now Hollywood’s top lobbyist in Washington. It’s an obvious move, since he is known for his traffic-stopping good looks and charisma. (more)

Matt Damon’s crusade of vaguely miffed disenchantment with President Obama continued in an interview with the British newspaper the Independent this week. In last week’s column, we saw Damon interviewed on CNN about his views on Obama’s handling of Wall Street, education policy, and the war in Afghanistan. Though he said there’s no way he would run for office, that apparently hasn’t stopped him from continuing this series of rambling fireside chats. (more)

Surely most red-blooded Americans agree that Matt Damon is a generally likable man. But he’s most likable when he’s kicking ass or dressing up as a cowboy, not when he’s musing about education policy. So it pains me to report that Damon appeared last night in a taped interview on CNN to discuss that very topic, among others, with former “America’s Got Talent” host Piers Morgan. Turns out, Damon is disappointed in President Obama’s performance as president so far, because Obama “misinterpreted his mandate.” President Obama, I hope you are listening. Every time a move star becomes disillusioned with a sitting president, an angel loses his wings. (more)

If there’s one thing Americans want Hollywood stars to provide, it’s insight into current events and public policy. That’s why Los Angeles is the moral and intellectual capital of the country. And that’s also why this new column will be devoted to finding out answers to pressing questions such as: What does Miley Cyrus think about public sector unions? What’s Shia Lebeouf’s take on corn subsidies? Does the popular young cast of “Glee” think unemployment benefits should be extended beyond 99 weeks? (more)

After a few days' absence thanks to either bad oysters or the stomach flu, Keith Olbermann returned to "Countdown" this week with scores to settle, names to name and questionable accomplishments to brag about. Let’s review! (more)

Happy New Year! Unless, that is, you’re Keith Olbermann and you don’t know the meaning of happiness. Let’s take a look at Olbermann’s first week in the 2011 anchor chair at “Countdown.” (more)

I’ve been watching “Countdown With Keith Olbermann” regularly since January of 2010. Please, don’t pity me, it only makes it worse. And it’s been quite an entertaining year! Here are my picks for the Top 10 Keith Olbermann Moments of 2010. (more)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10: Kicking off a spectacular week of sensitivity toward women’s issues, tonight Olbermann giddily crowed over the fact that two BBC reporters mispronounced “Secretary of Culture Hunt.” Then he told a story about the time that he himself made a pronunciation error in reporting on air about a “quail hunt.” GET IT? He repeated it several times in case you didn’t, almost bouncing out of his chair with excitement over the cleverness and hilarity of it all. (more)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3: “Countdown” viewers witnessed a small but historic moment tonight when Keith Olbermann tacitly admitted he is a giant pain in the Keith Olbmermann. The admission came during his nightly “Tweet of the day” segment, when he reads aloud Twitter postings that are either funny (to him) or flattering (to him). Tonight’s tweet addressed his tiff last week with Bristol Palin: “Aww, Keith, Bristol is pissed at you,” a woman named Sabrina Brown wrote. “To Ms. Brown and Ms. Palin, I worked for ESPN for a total of seven and a half years,” he replied on air. “‘Bristol is pissed at me’ is my default setting.” (more)

After a break for Thanksgiving, Olbermann returned to “Countdown” with new perspective, a thankful spirit and a gentle heart. Just kidding! He’s still the worst. (more)

This week, let us give thanks for “Countdown.” In particular, let us give thanks that it's a short week. (more)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12: Tonight’s “Countdown” was most notable for what wasn’t said: Keith bragged about having canceled a segment on the supposed plagiarism in George W. Bush’s new book. “Only when I saw the actual books just before air tonight was it evident that a lot of these so-called similarities appear only when some very selective editing is done, either in Bush‘s book or the other ones. So the segment is dead.” (more)

So, did anything happen in the world of Keith Olbermann last week? I’m a little behind, but it seems like a pretty typical, ho-hum week. (more)

Election week on “Countdown”! I’ll give you three guesses as to whether it ended in elation or a splitting headache. Or perhaps it ended with the revelation just this morning on Politico that Olbermann made three $2,400 contributions in the recent election, violating both NBC policy and basic principles of journalism. One donation, to Arizona representative Raul Grijalva, took place on the same day Grijalva appeared on “Countdown.” The other donations went to Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway and another Arizona representative, Gabrielle Giffords. (You will definitely want to read this.) But meanwhile, here’s the week that was: (more)

MSNBC host Keith Olbermann’s new book, “Pitchforks and Torches: The Worst of the Worst, From Beck, Bill, and Bush to Palin and Other Posturing Republicans,” has a lot in common with Olbermann’s daily television show: It’s built around the overwritten, overwrought meanderings of a smart but lazy man better known for anger than substance, who fancies himself an avenger for justice but is really just a thin-skinned tyrant in pundit’s clothing. Also, both feature hilarious images of Keith Olbermann’s face. (more)

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