We've seen, three nights this week alone, the kind of treatment FOX affords their progressive guests after the fact. They are ridiculed, misquoted, and misrepresented. Make no mistake, these are pre-meditated and carefully arranged rebuttals to leave viewers with the interpretation that FOX wants them to remember.

On Monday night 3/19/07 anti-war activist Sunsara Taylor was interviewed by Bill O'Reilly on FOX News Channels "#1 cable rated news show". She had her facts together, with names, cases, and sources, which she rapidly retrieved in answer to O'Reilly's questions. There was much overtalking and disagreement, but Taylor remained civil and on topic. O'Reilly resorted to condescension, name-calling, and insults - and this was to her face.

After she left he remarked to his next guest (actor Gary Sinise) that he "had to" have her on to show viewers the "level of hatred" from the "opposition." In a later segment with commentator Michelle Malkin he made further disparaging remarks about Ms. Taylor and her views, completely misrepresented what she had said a scant half-hour earlier, accused her of slander, and called her patriotism into question.

You can read the entire report on the segment, and watch the relevant videos, at News Hounds.

The following night, 3/20/07, Bill O'Reilly's target was Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Andersen, who has called for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney. As he did the previous night, O'Reilly overtalked, mocked, and hurled insults. Andersen hurled them right back and made his points as well as he could, but too much airtime was wasted with O'Reilly badgering and telling Andersen why he wasn't allowed to speak: in O'Reilly's own words, he's a "kook" and "irresponsible."

After Andersen was dismissed, O'Reilly directed viewers to a poll on his website that asked "who is farthest left?' or some such, with a multiple choice of well-know progressives.

He then had FOX legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano on to discuss the Constitutionality of impeachment. It was no coincidence that the Judge was waiting in the studio and ready to dissect whatever points the Mayor had been able to make.

Read the whole report on the segment and watch the video at News Hounds.

But O'Reilly wasn't finished with Anderson. On Friday he did a "follow-up" segment that highlighted a small piece of what we heard the mayor say in the heavily-edited segment that had aired Tuesday. Conservative columnist Debra Saunders was the sole guest, having contacted O'Reilly with a rebuttal to Anderson's comments. Anderson was not present to defend himself either in studio or via satellite. Together they essentially called him a liar and accused him of selectively cherry-picking documentation to prove his point. In fact, it was the two dirty tricksters who were not telling the whole story, much as the White House had done in 2002-2003 as they lied us to war.

Read the whole piece and watch videos at News Hounds.

Any collusion with the right-wing network will result in unfavorable coverage of Democrats, progressives, and minorities, with (not really) coincidental complimentary coverage of Republicans. That's their definition of fair and balanced.

If the CBC Institute allows FOX News to control the debate, any debate, we'll be watching and analyzing the coverage. And we will say "we told you so."