Bill O’Reilly

National Public Radio Wrong To Fire Juan Williams Over Fears Of Muslim Garb On Airplanes! :(

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Political commentator Juan Williams, who has long been involved in the civil rights community with his writings and work on African American history, has just been fired by National Public Radio for expressing his views about Islamic clothing.

Williams said on the Bill O’Reilly show on Fox News Channel that he is not prejudiced against the Islamic faith, but that it strikes fear in his heart when he sees people in full Islamic clothing on airplanes, as it brings back memories of September 11, 2001.

Such a statement is purely freedom of speech; it is not expressing anti Islamic hatred, as many others have done.

It is a common thought of many Americans because of the events of September 11, as it makes many Americans uncomfortable.

It is not stating that Muslims should not be free to wear such garb. It is just an opinion and expression of a fear which is quite common.

Juan Williams is a quality journalist, and firing him is unjustified! It does not make NPR look very good, as it is stifling freedom of speech!

This is not the same as Rick Sanchez being fired by CNN for his anti Semitic comments about Jews in the media, and perceived discrimination against Hispanics in the media, including himself!

If one is a journalist, and cannot express his thoughts in a non hateful way on a cable or television or radio channel without fear of losing his job, then we have really become a nation where civil liberties itself is under attack!

And since NPR has a reputation as a “liberal” or “progressive” channel, it is especially reprehensible to be seen as intolerant, and lacking an open mind to allow a diversity of opinion!

NPR has done the wrong thing, and it should reverse itself and rehire Juan Williams, and recognize what he is: a quality journalist who deserves respect for his non hateful opinions!

Eliot Spitzer And Kathleen Parker Team Up For New CNN Show In Fall!

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Former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer, who was forced out of office after 14 months due to a sex scandal, is now about to take on an hourly news program on CNN, cohosting it at 8 pm weekdays with Kathleen Parker, a 2010 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for the Washington Post, who defines herself as a “rational conservative”!

Spitzer had a dry run as a substitute talk show host for MSNBC, and proved to be very stimulating, and effective in arguing ideas and points with conservative guests! Parker is very articulate when she has appeared on cable shows, and it sounds like a great debate and point-counterpoint will develop between Spitzer and Parker, as well as their guests!

This could be another “Crossfire” type show, and it sounds as if CNN is attempting to challenge their tough opposition at 8 pm–Bill O’Reilly on Fox News Channel and Keith Olbermann on MSNBC! All for the better! 🙂

Need For Balance On Talk Radio: The Fairness Doctrine

Ronald 4 Comments

A new study reveals that 91 percent of talk radio shows are conservative, compared to 9 percent which are liberal or progressive.

That means that radio listeners across the country are being fed a diet of overwhelming right wing propaganda, with much of it being not just conservative thought, but actual hate speech!

This hate propaganda has reached a fever pitch, and is inciting outrageous reactions, including the anti black, anti gay, anti Jewish invective and slurs that have occurred in the controversy over health care reform. Also, death threats via email and telephone toward members of Congress have multiplied, and security has had to be increased around Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama, on a level never seen before under any administration.

The political atmosphere has been poisoned so that the opposition is seen as enemies, rather than rivals, and militia groups and Tea Party activists have been encouraged by the “Armageddon” type rhetoric which has no limits.

Freedom of speech is paramount, but there has been absolutely no responsibility accepted by Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Michael Savage and other talk show hosts, that what they say could provoke violence, confrontation, and results that would permanently damage the body politic.

There is a dire need for the Fairness Doctrine to be applied to balance out the availability of ideological views. This one sided promotion on talk radio is far worse than the usual charge that print media is overwhelmingly liberal, which is in reality not true, but often stated. (For example, the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Washington Times).

It is not an issue of conservative versus liberal or progressive; it is an issue that under the veil of talk radio, that hate and lies are being disseminated as freedom of speech. The right wing talk show hosts will bear total blame and responsibility if the peddling of their propaganda leads to a disastrous result! 🙁

Anti Obama T Shirts Reach A New Low : Is This Religious Terrorism? YES! :(

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The opposition to President Obama has been fierce, and all kinds of crazy assertions about him have multiplied since he has resided in the White House, and as he has fought for Health Care reform.

But when Bill O’Reilly can ask Lou Dobbs if Obama is the devil, and this weekend, we discover that anti Obama T shirts that quote the King James version of the Bible, Psalm 109:8–“Let his day be few; Let another take his office”–and Psalm 109:9–“Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow”–are being sold online, it is time to say: “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!” 🙁

How can anyone, who claims to be “religious”, preach violence and death on our President, no matter who he is? 🙁

We have been working against Islamic religious terrorism for the past nine years since September 11, and now, in our midst, we have Christian religious terrorism! Are we to stand by and say that is ok, because it is Christianity?

NO religious terrorism, whether it be Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, or whatever is EVER acceptable!

For a “religious” person to promote hate and pray for death is a sickness that MUST be condemned and worked against! Any preacher, talk show host, or political leader who advocates violence and death for anyone in public life has gone beyond the pale, and must be ostracized, and in many cases, prosecuted, as this is “speech” which presents “a clear and present danger” that is not to be protected by the First Amendment.

If we allow this hatred to spread as a poison in our society, one day we will wake up and be facing another Kennedy type assassination that will be a great human tragedy for our nation! We do not want to go through the trauma of the 1960s, when we lost three gifted men–John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.–, and we must as a nation make it clear we will NOT tolerate the kind of hate and threats that religious extremists of any faith advocate!

Religious conviction cannot be a license for violence and hate, and all decent people must deplore it and call for action NOW to stop it before it destroys our nation! 🙁

A Fantastic Idea: A Public Debate Between Conservative And Progressive Talk Show Hosts For Charity!

Ronald 1 Comment

A movement is developing online on Facebook to promote a public affairs debate for charity, to be provided to families of war veterans, between leading conservative talk show hosts and leading progressive talk show hosts, and it should be definitely encouraged!

The debate would pit Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and Glenn Beck from Fox News Channel versus Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow of MSNBC and Jon Stewart of Comedy Channel, with Stephen Colbert of Comedy Channel as the moderator.

This would be a great opportunity for a serious debate on political issues, and would put all six talk shows hosts’ “feet to the fire” to prove that their viewpoints are legitimate on the many political controversies dividing this nation!

The question that arises is whether all of these talk show hosts would be amenable to such a challenging debate. This could be the “debate of the century” in the sense that since none are running for public office, it could be a very productive discussion that would be educational to the millions of Americans that would, hopefully, watch and listen to the debate!

I call on all of these talk show hosts to accept the challenge, and to show the public the abilities and talents they possess, and let the people decide for themselves who is to be believed and trusted!

The Tea Party Convention, Tom Tancredo, And Fox “News” Channel: Right Wing Extremism On Display!

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The Tea Party Convention opened in Nashville last night, with the major speaker being Tom Tancredo, former Republican Congressman from Colorado, and one of the declared Presidential candidates in 2008. No one was unhappy when Tancredo did poorly and withdrew from the race, as he was the wackiest of all ten GOP candidates running for the White House!

Tancredo is totally nuts, a moron and lunatic of major proportions! How he can spew forth his racism, nativism, and other demagogic rants and raves, and not be ashamed and embarrassed by the image he presents, indicates just how crazy and mentally ill he really is! 🙁 Some see him as the new Joseph McCarthy!

Even some of the people listening to him speak expressed the thought that he was hurting the movement, which looks more and more like a group of ignorant, hateful, losers who sound more and more fascist oriented, and a threat to our nation’s stability and security!

Any sane Republican or principled conservative should be able to recognize that associating with this radical right wing movement will not benefit them or the party in the future. If you play with a wild animal, you end up the victim, and the GOP is in dangerous territory trying to appeal to these loonies!

And the fact that Fox News Channel thinks it is professional and legitimate to have their talk show hosts get directly involved in this movement and in other conservative and Republican activities, in the form of delivering speeches, shows how bankrupt a station they are in an ethical sense! Should a news channel openly allow people who work for them to become politically involved, and still have the right to call themselves a “news” channel? I am referring to the planned activities of Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, and the fact that Sarah Palin, who now works for Fox News Channel, will be paid a six figure amount to speak before this Tea Party Convention on Saturday night.

And to top it off, the fee to be involved in this Tea Party Convention is a steep $549, which makes one wonder if this is not just a method to profit from people’s discontents. Is the Tea Party movement a legitimate expression of anger and unhappiness, or is it another example of extremists similar to past Nazi and Ku Klux Klan movements? Any sane person knows it is the latter! 🙁

Bill O’Reilly Cannot Do Simple Math! :) Or Is He Simply Manipulating The Facts And The Truth?

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Bill O’Reilly of Fox News Channel made a public speech recently in which he declared that the Obama Administration’s plans to hold civil trials for the September 11 conspirators and terrorists would cost too much money.

The Obama Administration has declared that it would cost about $200 million for a year to conduct the trials, and O’Reilly claims that it would take three to four years, which is highly unlikely.

But let’s say he is correct. If it was $200 million for three to four years, it would cost $600 million to $800 million, certainly not a small sum.

BUT, O’Reilly stated that if it cost $200 million per year for three to four years, it would cost ONE TRILLION DOLLARS!

Does O’Reilly realize that ONE TRILLION DOLLARS is ONE THOUSAND BILLION DOLLARS? Yes, one thousand billion dollars as compared to $600 million to $800 million!

Does O’Reilly have inability to know the difference between millions, billions, and a trillion dollars? Is he that stupid and ignorant, or is it that he thinks he can “pull the wool” over people’s eyes, which may sometimes be the case for those who cannot understand basic math?

In any case, it is more likely that it is the latter,and that Bill O’Reilly is again actively manipulating and distorting the facts and the truth in his quest to gain more notoriety and also, face it, wealth, at the expense of the masses who believe in him and treat him as a reputable human being, which he has proved many times he is not! 🙁

Bill O’Reilly’s Sense Of Humor: Sick And Despicable!

Ronald 3 Comments

Fox News Channel talk show host Bill O’Reilly has a sick sense of humor, and that is being charitable!

O’Reilly has suggested that it might be a good idea to “kidnap” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

He also joked that maybe it would be good to “waterboard” Nancy Pelosi, making light of this horrible torture tactic utiilized by the Bush Administration, and still endorsed by conservative talk show hosts and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

O’Reilly is not being funny in reality; he is being outrageous and obscene, and needs to cease and desist in such rhetoric. But then again, has any conservative talk show host,or spokesperson, including O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham, Michelle Malkin, etc EVER apologized or changed their behavior? NO, as their purpose is to divide, promote hate and dissension, and enrich themselves while manipulating their gullible audiences! 🙁

The Haiti Telethon And Fox News Channel

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This evening, a telethon has been promoting Haiti relief–hopeforhaitinow.org.

Every tv network–ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, PBS– is televising this telethon without any commercial breaks, and showing solidarity for the people of Haiti.

That is, all the television networks, EXCEPT Fox News Channel! 🙁 Of course, one might say that regular Fox channels are showing the telethon, but that is not an excuse! 🙁

After all, NBC and MSNBC are both showing the telethon, so why could not Fox News Channel televise it along with the local Fox channels?

Is Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity really more important than the Haiti telethon? Should Fox News Channel be the ONLY cable station and news channel to boycott this event? Even HBO and Showtime are showing the telethon!

There is no justifiable reason for this, except that it just proves what anyone who is open minded truly knows already.

Fox News Channel has devoted less time and effort to this disaster, and seems to feel that Haiti is not worth losing commercial profits. The station and its two anchors tonight should be ashamed of themselves, but then again they know no shame with their constant barrage of propaganda, mis truths, and open lying. What a disgrace! 🙁

Sarah Palin’s Debut As Political Pundit On Fox News Channel

Ronald 1 Comment

Former Alaska Governor and former Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin this week made her debut as a political pundit on Fox News Channel, and it was truly an embarrassment big time! 🙁

Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity gushed all over her, showering her with praise as she sat there and said nothing of substance.

When she was asked about the criticisms by Steve Schmidt, a McCain operative, that she did know anything about any issue, such as why there is a North Korea and South Korea, her answer was to say that the American people did not care about such petty issues, which means she was saying correctly that many of the American people, much more than should be, had no clue on that or other issues. But does that make her ignorance acceptable for a potential President? To just dismiss it so easily shows what the problem is with Sarah Palin. She is totally oblivious on everything!

To say in the interview with Katie Couric that she reads “all” the newspapers and magazines and fail to name any is not acceptable. To answer when asked on Fox News Channel who her favorite “Founding Father” was, that it was “all of them” is also not acceptable, as she fails to indicate any knowledge of the topic.

It was easy for Sarah Palin to sit there as all three talk show hosts on Fox heaped praise on her, and made it easy for her. And when asked how she felt about being there with Bill O’Reilly, her answer was that she felt she was fortunate to be on the same set with “the big man on campus”! What a ridiculous and embarrassing performance, to say the least! 🙁

As many have pointed out, the more that Palin is criticized, the more it seems that her base raves about her. That may be so, but if it translates into “Know Nothings” electing her President, then the nation is in dire danger, as Ignorance and Narrow Mindedness will have taken over the Presidency, making George W. Bush seem intellectual!