Jon Stewart Schools Bill O'Reilly

Jon Stewart takes Bill O'Reilly to task on The O'Reilly Factor on FOX "News," regarding the "Common" non-troversy. Enjoy.

Jon Stewart on The O'Reilly Factor

Ann Coulter Has Officially Jumped the Shark.

Oh, I suppose it could be argued that Ann Coulter is the shark. But that might be an insult to sharks. I realize this woman (?) makes outrageous and incendiary statements to sell books and get on TV. And that's probably what she's doing here. But she won't make a dime off of this little bitty website, and I'm hoping that my very selective audience gets to see this, and it further confirms what an insane, blithering idiot Coulter is. The subject is Dr. George Tiller, the murdered abortion doctor. Take it away you crazy (oh, I want to go for the alliteration, but I'll settle for. . .) witch.

Sufferin' Succotash: Rudy Giuliani to Take O'Reilly Radio Gig?

Image from source, New York Post

Recently, Bill O'Reilly quit his radio show to (cough) spend more time with his FOX "News" show, The O'Reilly Factor. To replace him, it is rumored that former New York Mayor (and presidential primary flame-out) Rudolph Giuliani will take the gig. I'll admit, he does have a face for radio. But his Sylvester the Cat/Daffy Duck voice would make him insufferable (inthufferable?) to listen to, even if I agreed with him. Um, which I so don't.

[Excerpt]

RUDY TO RADIO?

Now, Page Six has learned the leading candidate to succeed him is Rudy Giuliani (above). Westwood One, which syndicates the O'Reilly show, is negotiating with the former mayor. Giuliani, who doesn't suffer fools gladly, famously ridiculed a ferret owner on the radio in 1999, calling him "deranged. . ."

Read more at: New York Post

The Origins of the Bogus "War on Christmas"

Image from source, The Daily Beast

This was touched on in the post below, but I thought it deserved its own post. Ever wonder where this silly "War on Christmas" came from? It's really not surprising, but I'll bet a lot of O'Reilly Factor FOX "News" fans aren't aware. I have to say though, it fits right in with their ideology.

[Excerpt]

Who Started the War on Christmas?

What would Christmas be without warnings of the secular crusade to destroy it? Thanks to the fulminations of cable news cranks and evangelical moralists, the War on Christmas has become an annual outrage. The story typically goes as follows: secular elements have intimidated stores into replacing the phrase “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays;” nativity scenes have been removed from public spaces under threat of ACLU lawsuits; a decadent culture is moving ever closer to eradicating Christian morality; and America slouches towards Gomorrah. . .

Read more at: The Daily Beast

Olbermann's Worsts: O'Reilly's "War on Christmas"

Would it surprise you to find out that Bill O'Reilly's "War on Christmas" has its origins in xenophobia and white supremacy? Eh, probably not. Equally unsurprising, it landed him (once again) the top spot in Countdown with Keith Olbermann's "Worst Persons in the World."

They Did it Again: FOX "News" Alters Photograph

UPDATE: This story has been disputed. I have a new post up on the subject here.

Altered FOX "News" image from source, Think Progress

Some time ago, Fox & Friends, the oddly-named morning show on FOX "News" did a story where they used altered photographs of reporters that dared to criticize them. They didn't let on that the photos were altered, which seemed a bit unprofessional. Not to mention potentially anti-Semitic, as many thought that one photo was altered in a stereotypical way. This was all parodied to great effect in Vanity Fair.

Well, this time FOX's star is in on the action. The O'Reilly Factor featured an altered photo of favorite whipping boy, Jeffery Zucker, NBC President. And before Johnny Dollar stops by to say, "MSNBC does that on Countdown with Keith Olbermann!!!" Yes they do, but in an obvious, satirical way. No one would mistake KO's photo caricatures for real pictures.

[Excerpt]

O’Reilly Uses Doctored Photo Of NBC President

Last July, Fox and Friends aired doctored photos of New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe while attacking them for writing stories critical of Fox News. As Media Matters noted, “the journalists’ teeth had been yellowed, their facial features exaggerated, and portions of Reddicliffe’s hair moved further back on his head.” Some saw the photos as anti-Semitic. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Opposite Day: Karl Rove Rips NYT for CIA Leak

Here's another good tip from Stupid Monkey Planet, who will be filling in for me this weekend. While it is known that Karl Rove at least had a part in leaking CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson's identity, he keeps trying to distance himself from it. So far, he still--somehow--has the arch right-wing on his side, and the left couldn't hate him any more than they do, so he's sitting pretty. Wait, this is Rove; sitting chubby? I don't know.

But Rove has managed to make himself appear even more hypocritical, though we didn't think that was possible. Take a look.

[Excerpt]



Rove Rips NYT For Outing CIA Agent’s Identity And ‘Putting Our Country At Risk’

. . .Yesterday, on The O’Reilly Factor, Karl Rove slammed the New York Times for supposedly leaking the name of a CIA agent. “[T]hey’ve got a very callous view about our nation’s security and interests,” Rove charged:

ROVE: Well, I read their explanation. And basically, it sounded to me like they were saying we put his name out there because we decided we could. And I mean, they didn’t have a good explanation for it. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Bill O'Reilly Berates Dennis Kucinich on Impeachment

I have not yet watched this clip yet, but upon hearing of its existence, I thought I ought to post it. Exposing Bill O'Reilly for the bully he is is always worth a little effort. Wait, how can I know that O'Reilly is "berating" or "bullying" Dennis Kucinich? C'mon, it's his shtick.

Later, after I've viewed the clip in full, I will gladly come back here with an update if I am wrong. Let's see together, shall we?

UPDATE: No clarification necessary. O'Reilly was dismissive, insulting and condescending toward Rep. Kucinich. It was only on the issue of gas prices that he had anything nice to say.

Battle of the Bills: O'Reilly vs. Maher

I'm reading The Political Brain by Drew Westen, and it has me a little bummed out. According to the book, facts don't matter to the partisan brain. If you're into politics, you are evidently going to side with your camp something like 80% of the time. As I said, depressing.

Anyway, with this particular battle you've got "No Spin" Bill vs. "Libertarian" Bill, so where does that leave the political brain? According to my brain, if you think O'Reilly is neutral, you need a brain transplant. And Maher, though probably partially Libertarian, has also leaned a lot further left lately.

I'd like to think that if my political alignment was different, that I could still see that O'Reilly is a blowhard, and that Maher is really funny. See what you think.