Thursday, September 28, 2006

Olbermann, the Post, anthrax, and what constitutes 'funny'

Keith Olbermann, the MSNBC "Countdown" host who's been sending shockwaves through the Bushies and their toadies with his "Special Commentaries" lately, received a letter with white powder in it this week.

Here's the New York Post's reporting of it.

Here's Olbermann's response to the New York Post (transcript, and video available with additional click).

The New York Post had a different reaction when they themselves were the recipient of an anthrax hoax.

So what's so funny about getting a letter like this? KO doesn't think it's funny, but the NYP now apparently does.

Is it funny when the joke's on someone else, after it's been on you? Is it funny when the joke is only on those with whom you disagree, politically?

Is sending white powder in the mail funnier than, say, cracking wise at the airport about the "gun" in your father-in-law's luggage?

Is it funnier than putting a dead deer's head in somebody's mailbox as a college prank?

Does my definition of humor need revising?