On Thursday, June 4, 2009, Glenn Beck devoted his entire show to attacking ACORN with what seemed to be reruns of past segments. But – lo and behold! – the show also included Beck’s get-together with BFF Bill O’Reilly from May 28 in which they seemed to finally be admitting that their evidence of any ACORN badness is pretty thin. But they didn’t let little details like lack of proof or factual verification stand in the way of a good smear. Beck even threw the Obamas into it, while also admitting it was pure speculation. Rock on!
As part of the “culture war,” Bill O’Reilly must be a commissioned officer in the anti-choice storm trooper division. In “looking out for us,’ he knows what’s best for women and as such, is very concerned about their reproductive organs.
His dismay about the demise of the white, Christian, male power structure indicates that he would love to go back to those halcyon days when big daddy knew best, and submissive mommy stayed home, baked cookies, and had nice, white babies; the good old days when uppity women, who denied their mission as mothers, bled to death or were maimed for life as a result of back alley abortions and “homemade” remedies for unwanted pregnancy (served em right, eh, Bill?); those happy days when women accepted the “shame” of an unintended pregnancy, dropped out of school, and gave their babies up for either adoption in a nice white home, or not so nice orphanages where abuse ran rampant.
Because the late Dr. Tiller (and the women who accessed his service) defied Bill’s 50’s world view, Bills continues his justification of his jihad against Tiller and those stupid, silly women who have late term abortions.
The hate mongers on the far right will keep throwing around words like racist when talking about the very distinguished Judge Sonia Sotomayor — who is by everyone’s standards not a progressive, activist judge, but a voice of moderation and common sense. They will keep throwing around words like socialism and “centralized” government when talking about just about anything President Barack Obama says.
But they refuse to admit any connection between the hatred they spew on the evening news or their propaganda-filled Web sites and the out-and-out hatred behind acts of murder and terrorism being committed on our city streets.
A few days ago, Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed during church services at his Lutheran church in Wichita, Kans. Tiller was an abortion rights activist and performed elective late abortions for women, often times when troubling medical conditions occurred during the pregnancy and the mother’s life was at risk.
Dr. George Tiller, one of the few OB-GYNs in the country who performed late-term abortions despite threats to his safety, was brutally slain on Sunday in an act of domestic terrorism. Suspect Scott Roeder has been detained for questioning, but while Roeder may have pulled the trigger, another participant in Tiller’s tragic death is still at large: Bill O’Reilly.
… there’s no other person who bears as much responsibility for the characterization of Tiller as a savage on the loose, killing babies willy-nilly thanks to the collusion of would-be sophisticated cultural elites, a bought-and-paid-for governor and scofflaw secular journalists. Tiller’s name first appeared on The Factor on Feb. 25, 2005. Since then, O’Reilly and his guest hosts have brought up the doctor on 28 more episodes, including as recently as April 27. Almost invariably, Tiller is described as “Tiller the Baby Killer.”
“Tiller the Baby Killer.” That’s how time and time again on national television O’Reilly referred to Tiller — a man who worked within the confines of the law and was a legal medical practitioner. O’Reilly’s rhetoric helped feed the hate that led to Tiller’s killing, and we believe that O’Reilly must take responsibility for his abhorred actions. That is why we urge you to join CREDO in telling O’Reilly that he should “take responsibility for creating an atmosphere in which the assassination of Dr. George Tiller comes as no surprise. And ask him to pledge to stop spreading the hateful rhetoric that encourages violence against doctors who provide reproductive health care for women.” Click here to learn more about how you can help.
Here’s a good game to play with the kids at home. What’s the most shudder-inducing moment from this clip from The O’Reilly Factor? Is it a) the mere sight of Ann Coulter, who epitomizes all the racism and vitriol FOX News and the far right have to offer; b) Coulter and Bill O’Reilly engaged in grossly flirtatious banter; or c) O’Reilly smirking as he claims he “can’t help” being sexist?
It’s not really news that O’Reilly is a sexist or misogynist. I mean the history of his sexism–both on and off camera–is pretty well known at this point. And let’s not forget how O’Reilly suggested Jennifer Moore brought rape and murder upon herself for drinking too much alcohol and wearing revealing clothing, after which he had a FOX producer stalk, harass, and ambush Think Progress’s Amanda Terkel on her vacation for highlighting those comments.
Sexist? Misogynist? Bully? At least O’Reilly is finally owning up to his own turpitude.
Fox News has reason to rejoice as President Obama marks the media-manufactured milestone of his first 100 days in office. The conservative cable network’s ratings are sky high under the new Democratic president. Yes, it looks like it couldn’t be happier serving as “the voice of [Obama's] opposition,” to paraphrase Fox News senior vice president Bill Shine.
Not surprisingly, Fox’s success as the president’s “opposition” stands in stark contrast to the way Americans now view Obama. According to the latest ABC News/Washington Postpoll, Obama enjoys the “best job approval rating at this point in 20 years,” with 69 percent of Americans approving of the job he’s doing. Further, the poll found that “half of Americans now [say] the country’s headed in the right direction,” as opposed to the scant 19 percent holding that view just before Obama’s inauguration.
So, what gives? Apparently, Fox’s definition of “fair and balanced” has nothing to do with the practice of good journalism — where fairness means truth and balance means exploring all sides of an issue. No, it is only offering up the “yin” to America’s “yang.”
I’m not sure which was more amusing this week, watching Shepherd Smith drop the F-bomb about the U.S. not torturing people, or watching Sean Hannity tell Charles Grodin he would be willing to be waterboarded for charity. It’s clear though that FOX is divided over the issue of torture. On the one hand, you’ve got your torture defenders like Hannity and Bill “Torture My Ass” O’Reilly. On the other, you’ve got Shep Smith, Judge Andrew Napolitano, who wrote about the “illegal horror” of the Bush torture memos, and Judy Miller, who called “enhanced interrogation techniques” Orwellian.
On the front page of today’s Arts section, New York Times reporter Brian Stelter has a story with the headline, “Gotcha TV: Crews Stalk Bill O’Reilly’s Targets.” In the piece, Stelter notes that over the past three years, O’Reilly’s “young producers” have stalked more than 50 people. In “almost every case,” the Fox News host has used ambushes “to campaign for his point of view,” and 10 of the last 12 ambush targets “were either outwardly liberal or had criticized Republicans.” The network began using the tactic in 2002, but it became an O’Reilly Factor “staple” in 2006. (It has now spread to otherFox shows as well.)
The Fox News producer responsible for most of the ambush interviews, Jesse Watters, refused repeated interview requests. But the network did make David Tabacoff, the program’s senior executive producer, available to comment. Mr. Tabacoff — who started a telephone interview by asking, “This is going to be a fair piece, correct?” — said the interviews are “part of the journalistic mission” of “The O’Reilly Factor.” He called the program an “opinion-driven show that has a journalistic basis.”
“We’re trying to get answers from people,” he said. “Sometimes the only way to get them is via these methods.”
The attitude, as summarized by Mr. Watters in a BillOReilly.com blog post: “If they don’t come to us, we’ll go to them.”
Spencer Ackerman points out one thing missing from this article: “Stelter might also have noted in this piece that O’Reilly’s people never once contacted for comment Amanda before following her to a vacation spot, despite the Factor’s frequent protestations that the ambush-interviews are a last journalistic resort.”
Fox can try to deny the fact that they aggressively pushed yesterday’s tea parties, but Media Matters has the proof. They found Fox aired 23 separate segments promoting the protests between April 6-13, along with 73 in-show and commercial promotions. Hannity and Neil Cavuto were the biggest offenders, as you can see from the Media Matters table. With so much Tea Party coverage, when does Fox Find time for real news?
Here are some highlights from yesterday’s teabaggery.
On the O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly brought on fellow Fox News personality Glenn Beck to celebrate the two shows’ “huge ratings.” They then talked about the downside to their fame — criticism being leveled at them from “Internet fanatics” who are allegedly blaming them for the recent mass murders. “It’s absurd,” said O’Reilly. “It is hateful, obviously.”
O’Reilly and Beck then became upset that at times, they feel personally threatened. Beck said that he has had to have two police cars outside of his house, and O’Reilly said that NBC News — driven by GE and “Internet haters” — have “hired guys” to personally “hurt” him and Beck:
BECK: [W]hen the ratings first started, you pulled me aside and said, “Buckle up, they’re going to come after you.” And they have. […]
O’REILLY: Because Immelt and Zucker, the two villains at NBC, have directly ordered this. They’ve hired the guys to do this. And they’ve done it because they have no other way to compete.
Now, both of those men are in trouble. They could be fired at any time, because the performance of General Electric and NBC is so abysmal. But they did it, so then, “Let’s see if we can drive Beck and O’Reilly to do something crazy. Let’s see if we can do — hurt them personally. Terrorize their families.”
BECK: Can I tell you something? When you have to explain to your 5- year-old why you have two police cars in front of your house for days. […]
O’REILLY: That’s driven by two elements. Internet haters, all right, and the General Electric Corporation.
