Bill O'Reilly

Fair and Balanced?

mikelefty22 — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:44:00 -0400

I was visiting my grandmother in a nursing home yesterday for mother's day when I saw a TV commericial in which Bill O' Reilly was bragging about how he "policied the mainstream media, took on left-wing loons and battled the city of San Francisco." I thought Fox News was "The Only Fair and Balanced News Network in America?" Just who is "policing" O' Reilly anyway?

Bill O'Reilly Attacks Pat Leahy over Truth Commission

Bob Fertik — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:04:04 -0500

Here's more evidence that the bipartisan "Truth Commission" proposed by Sen. Pat Leahy and Rep. John Conyers is impossible. Bill O'Reilly attacked it immediately as a treasonous effort to help Osama Bin Laden attack America. The ventriloquist's dummy for O'Reilly's attack was Marc Thiessen, Bush’s former chief speechwriter:

THIESSEN: [T]he facts that they want to get out are the techniques we use to interrogate terrorists. The techniques that we used to intercept e-mails and communications and telephone calls. And when you get those facts out, it’s not just going out to the American people and to the viewers on television. It’s going out to Osama bin Laden. It’s going out to the terrorists who can use those information to get around our intelligence and plan the next attack.

So it’s very deadly — this is very deadly serious stuff. … And it’s terribly dangerous.

Of course Bin Laden doesn't need to read about U.S. torture techniques in a U.S. government report - he can simply ask the victims or read their lawsuits. But if O'Reilly is genuinely concerned that a Truth Commission would reveal secrets, then surely he would prefer a Special Prosecutor like Patrick Fitzgerald who would carefully protect government secrets and just enforce the law.

If George Bush and the torturers agree with O'Reilly that they are heroes, let them convince a jury of their peers.

How Can We Make Bill O'Reilly's Head Explode?

Bob Fertik — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:41:12 -0500

Our grassroots campaign to prosecute George Bush, Dick Cheney, and everyone who authorized torture is clearly working. How do we know for sure? Watch Bill O'Reilly freak out about it:

Our efforts are *this* close to making O'Reilly's head explode right on the air. I'm sure if we think creatively we can come up with an idea for an activity - online or offline - that would push O'Reilly over the edge. I welcome all (legal) ideas below!

Update 1: Here's the transcript of Billo's Memo:

Yeah, mistakes were made at Guantanamo Bay and other places while suspected terrorists were being interrogated. Every one of those mistakes should be examined. But those things happen in every war, by every nation. Again, the far-left press is treating America like a pinata, whacking it at every opportunity because they don't like Bush and Cheney.
Now there's an insane call for fishing expeditions to find something! that will lead to prosecuting the president and vice president. Again, this is poison! A destructive act toward America. Bush and Cheney protected America after 9/11 and they did it fast, so mistakes were inevitable. But they stopped the killing on American soil, did they not?
To his credit, President-elect Obama wants no part of the radical-left jihad to tear the country down. He says he's looking forward. And that is a smart thing to do.
But Talking Points despises -- despises -- those who, in the name of ideology, want to weaken the country, putting us all in danger. As loyal Americans, we owe the benefit of the doubt to leaders in a time of war, and both Bush and Cheney say flat out they did their duty.
[Clips of Bush and Cheney.]
It's also unAmerican.
Finally, all Americans want the economy fixed and their families kept safe from terror killers. That should be Obama's primary focus. Those who continue to run this country down, and divert attention from those things should be condemned by the rest of us. Condemned.
Now we're going to name names, coming up in the future, ladies and gentlemen. It's going to stop.

Update 2: David Neiwert nails it as always:

O'Reilly signaled early in the program that he was on the warpath against the filthy, disgusting, wretched vermin of the far left for their ongoing campaign to bring Bush/Cheney & Co. to justice for their war crimes. The flecks of foam were already visible around the corners of his mouth as he ranted:..
It obviously has never managed to make through the thicket of O'Reilly's coif, let alone his pea brain, that we're talking not just about whether or not a given act is torture but whether or not they broke the law. Last I heard, O'Reilly was big on the Rule of Law and Law and Order and that sort of thing. I guess he applies it selectively.
Prosecuting flagrant lawbreakers who violate their oath of high office isn't just about getting revenge. It isn't just looking backward. It's also about preventing future such acts by making clear that those who break the law will face the consequences. It's very much a forward-looking enterprise too.
But that notion would obviously make O'Reilly's head explode.

How to Get a Job By Shooting Up a Church

davidswanson — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:00:27 -0400

By David Swanson

Imagine being so angry that you couldn't find a job that you were able to decide, as a man in Tennessee just did, that the way to solve your problems was to attack liberals - the people who support (albeit ineffectively) workers' rights, union rights, and fair trade, who oppose NAFTA, oppose tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas, support investing in job creation at home rather than wars abroad, and want to tax corporations and the super-rich rather than small businesses and working people.

And imagine deciding that the way to attack the people who stand for everything that might help you is to go shoot up a bunch of men, women, and children. And then imagine telling those damn liberals: "You see, you were wrong at least about gun policies, because if angry desperate people who believe everything they hear on the radio weren't allowed to get mad and go buy guns I never could have shot up your children's play! And why are you showing a dumb play about poor kids, anyway? You never put on plays about people like me, potential billionaires down on their luck who've been threatened by Muslim terorists and mistreated by blacks and gays and women and liberals!"

And imagine the Associated Press report completely playing along with your delusion, and writing:

"Although individual Unitarian churches can vary dramatically in outlooks, most congregations retain a deep commitment to social justice, which has led many to embrace liberal stances on the ordination of women, civil rights and gay rights."

What if labor rights had been mentioned?

And then imagine that the Knoxville News Sentinel gives your heros credit for deranging your mind and filling you up with bizarrely misdirected rage:

"Inside the house, officers found 'Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder' by radio talk show host Michael Savage, 'Let Freedom Ring' by talk show host Sean Hannity, and 'The O'Reilly Factor,' by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly."

And what if you were then given decades behind bars, without ever a word of thanks from your heros, to think about what in the world you might have been thinking? What would your advice end up being for others in the same sort of trouble you were in?

I like to think you'd eventually recommend selling your radio and television and spending some time talking to real people.

Speaking as a liberal who supports a sustainable full-employment economy with guaranteed education, income, and health care, I'm sorry that we have failed you and so many others so drastically, in fact failed so badly that you don't even have the slightest idea who we are. I suspect that if you knew us you would find us to have goals you approve of but to be grotesquely and despicably timid, hesitant, and easily compromised in how we go about trying to accomplish anything. And you'd be right.

We'll tell your story, for a week or so, both as an example of the effect of hatemongering propaganda and as an example of desperate economic stress and lack of community. But will we DO anything to improve those situations? I seriously doubt it. This is an election year, after all.

O'Reilly Attacks Wexler for Having Real Family Values

Bob Fertik — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:16:48 -0400

Bill O'Reilly is viciously attacking Rep. Robert Wexler (FL19) because he just discovered Wexler moved his young family from Florida to the DC area so he could actually practice family values, not betray them while hypocritically lecturing others about them.

Obviously O'Reilly's biggest problem is that he can't read, because Wexler explained his family's move in his book!

Bill O'Reilly is the last person who should be talking about family values after paying Andrea Mackris (right) as much as $10 million to settle her lawsuit for sexual harassment.

Apparently O'Reilly prefers Vito Fossella's version of family values: leaving his first family back home - and in the dark - so he could start a second family in DC!

Update 1: O'Reilly is on a jihad against Wexler because Wexler called FOX News racist. During tonight's attack, Juan Williams helpfully listed a few of FOX's racist actions like the Barack-Michelle "terrorist fist bump." Thanks for making our point, Juan!

Update 2: Wingnuts are screaming that Wexler is avoiding taxes by claiming his principal residence in Florida, not in Maryland. But guess what?

"NOT A PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE" is actually a significant thing. It means Wexler is paying the higher (non-resident) property tax rate in Maryland on his home there. This distinction costs him quite a bit of money.

Perhaps Wexler's real sin is that he didn't take bribes from government contractors in the form of an expensive DC houseboat like Duke Cunningham - or dump his disabled wife to marry a rich young woman with eight houses like John MCCain.

Update 3: Let's ask the question rightwingers won't ask - how many Florida Republicans keep their families in DC instead of Florida? Here's the list - start calling and report what you learn in the comments below.

Jeff	Miller	FL01	202-225-4136
Ander	Crenshaw	FL04	202-225-2501
Ginny	Brown-Waite	FL05	202-225-1002
Cliff	Stearns	FL06	202-225-5744
John	Mica	FL07	202-225-4035
Ric	Keller	FL08	202-225-2176
Gus	Bilirakis	FL09	202-225-5755
Bill	Young	FL10	202-225-5961
Adam	Putnam	FL12	202-225-1252
Vern	Buchanan	FL13	202-225-5015
Connie	Mack	FL14	202-225-2536
Dave	Weldon	FL15	202-225-3671
Ileana	Ros-Lehtinen	FL18	202-225-3931
Lincoln	Diaz-Balart	FL21	202-225-4211
Tom	Feeney	FL24	202-225-2706
Mario	Diaz-Balart	FL25	202-225-2778

What's sauce for the goose and all that...

Update 4: The Sun-Sentinel is running a web poll whether Wexler should have a "real home" in South Florida, and rightwingers are spamming the poll. Please vote no here:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-72408poll,0,4279566.poll

Hillary Plays O'Reilly Like a Fiddle

Bob Fertik — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:24:34 -0400

A lot of progressive bloggers were upset that Hillary Clinton planned to go on Bill O'Reilly's show, but I withheld judgment because I wanted to see how she handled the interview.

Based on the first 20 minute segment, I'd say she played O'Reilly like a fiddle! (I say this as someone who once kicked O'Reilly's ass.)

O'Reilly was his usual bully self, interrupting and arguing without pause, trying to make Clinton stumble. In high-speed encounters like this, Obama is often tongue-tied. But not Clinton!

She joked. She smiled. She charmed. She needled. And on the key policy issues, she turned O'Reilly's frames on their head.

And she stuck with her home team. Unlike Obama's interview with Chris Wallace, Clinton didn't take any jabs at progressives.

Brava Hillary!

How Democrats Should Answer Bill O'Reilly

Bob Fertik — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:17:08 -0400

Bill O'Reilly announced he will "destroy" DailyKos.com. How exactly? By asking every Democratic candidate who attends YearlyKos this weekend whether they approve of the photoshop on the left that was posted by some unknown Kos reader.

The Democratic candidates should answer O'Reilly by asking whether he approves of the non-photoshopped photos below.

Bill O'Reilly's hands are drenched in the blood of these victims of U.S. forces. I tried to warn him six months before the invasion but he threw me off his show. O'Reilly is a war criminal who should be punished for his war propaganda - both on earth by a jury of his peers and in the afterlife by his creator.

Boycott FOX News advertisers

rosweed — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:20:12 -0400

I received this email from Lowe's this morning:

NOTICE:
All information in and attached to the e-mail(s) below may be proprietary, confidential, privileged and otherwise protected from improper or erroneous disclosure. If you are not the sender's intended recipient, you are not authorized to intercept, read, print, retain, copy, forward, or disseminate this message. If you have erroneously received this communication, please notify the sender immediately by phone (704-758-1000) or by e-mail and destroy all copies of this message (electronic, paper, or otherwise). Thank you.

Replied On 07/30/07 08:07:06

Dear Lowe's Customer:

Thank you for your comments regarding the program, The O?Reilly Factor.

Lowe?s has strict guidelines that govern the placement of our advertising. Our company advertises primarily in national, network prime-time television programs and on a variety of cable outlets.

Lowe?s constantly reviews advertising buys to make certain they are consistent with its policy guidelines. The O?Reilly Factor does not meet Lowe?s advertising guidelines, and the company?s advertising will no longer appear during the program.

We are dedicated to providing the best service, products, and shopping environment in the home improvement industry. All three of these are very important to our business, and our customers will always be our number one priority.

We appreciate your contacting us, and hope this information addresses your concerns.

Thank You,

Lowe's Customer Care

Received On 07/27/07 08:31:23----------------------------------------

Dear FOX News Advertiser,

I am writing to inform you that I will not purchase your products as long as you advertise on FOX News.

FOX News does not broadcast news, it broadcasts Republican Party and conservative propaganda.

If you want my business, you need to advertise in the media I rely on, especially the <a href=http://web.blogads.com/adspotgroups/mininetwork.2006-08-22.2224163586/ba_mininetwork_view>Liberal Blog Advertising Network</a>.

Thank you.

Shawn Rosvold
854 Park Place
Brooklyn, NY 11216
United States

Fox News Identifies Foley as Democrat

Bob Geiger — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 12:15:46 -0400

Let's get one thing out of the way right up front: I believe that most thinking Americans understood long ago that Fox News is to journalism, what the Republican party is to ethics -- in other words, the two just ain't related. As if we needed yet more proof that Fox might as well be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Republican party, there they were last night, in three separate video cutaways, identifying disgraced Republican Congressman Mark Foley as…. a Democrat.

On two segments of the O'Reilly Factor dealing with the Republican pedophile, Fox showed video footage of Foley with a banner reading "Former Congressman Mark Foley (D-FL)." Here's the screen shot from last night:

They did this at least three different times and, I'm sure, will expect everyone to believe that this could have innocently made it through the editors and fact-checkers who examine these things before they appear on the air. Yeah, right. I guess the only possible mitigating factor that Fox News can give today is that, other than the fact that the show's host is indeed named Bill O'Reilly, the entire show is lies, so the chances of anyone believing that Foley is actually a Democrat are quite slim. While the managing editor in most news organizations would have been calling for someone's head when this happened, the biggest argument at Fox headquarters today is undoubtedly over how big the responsible employee's bonus should be.

Pussy Bill Calls Hillary "Weak"

Bob Fertik — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 15:21:16 -0400

I know Bill O'Reilly - I was on his show on 9/25/02 and kicked his ass so badly that he threw me off the show and then ranted about me twice.

As I result, I know first-hand that Bill O'Reilly is a pussy. If O'Reilly was a man, he would defend himself. But O'Reilly isn't a man; if anyone disagrees with him or challenges him, he goes berserk.

Just ask Jeremy Glick. Or George Clooney. Or Keith Olbermann. Or Al Franken.

Since he threw me off his show, I've repeatedly challenged O'Reilly and the rest of the FOX liars to debate but he's too big of a pussy to reply.

So now O'Reilly is calling Hillary Clinton "weak"?

Let me tell you something, Pussy Bill: Hillary Clinton would tear you to pieces if you picked a real fight with her, either verbal or physical. You would become the laughingstock of the entire planet.

Go ahead and challenge Hillary to a debate - I dare you, Pussy Bill.