briar patch?

I'm beginning to wonder if Keith Olbermann is trying to get fired. He has missed work much of the last six months and has said lots of things that are embarrassing to his employer on the days that he has worked. I figured a good portion of this was due to family issues and I have no grudge for his seeing to his personal affairs, but I'm surprised that his employer continues to pay a couple of million dollars a year for his efforts. Now he's taken to reading stories by a famous American literary figure, something that really doesn't have anything to do with mission of the network, and for which advertisers pay lots of money. It's getting totally surreal and feels like watching "Weekend Update" with Leonard Plinth Darnell as guest host.