Now--four and a half years later; as the idea of victory in Iraq becomes a fading fantasy; as more American troops die, as suicide bombings and sectarian atrocities turn daily life in Iran into a living nightmare--Now… O’Reilly and Fox News don’t see the Iraq war to be particularly newsworthy.
“[W]e bring you stuff that is new, that is relevant to your life, and I’m not going to cover every bomb that goes off in Tikrit.”--7/12/07
Things “relevant to your life” like:
· ”[G]gold medal Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard…undraped in Playboy this month.”
· “[T]he increasing problems with bears.”
· “Who is blocking the Monkees from being in the Rock Hall of Fame?”
· “Our body language expert will analyze the latest Rosie O'Donnell Internet posting.”
· “Is [having sex in your sleep] a legitimate defense against rape charges or total B.S.?”
· “Which performer did not appear with Burt Reynolds in the Smokey and the Bandit movies?”
(Courtesy of MSNBC's Countdown--7/20/07)
It is clear that Bill O’Reilly is no longer a newsman. He is now a highly paid salesman, working for the same corporations that employ George W. Bush. Their primary product is War. Bill’s job is to sell it to the American public, and he’s already working toward his next big sale:
· “[I]t’s a matter of time before the United States of America and Great Britain will have to bomb the country of Iran. Get set. Get set. ‘Cause they’re not gonna leave it to Israel to do it this time, because you can’t allow that country to get nuclear weapons.”--1/10/06
· “You know, in a sane world, every country would unite against Iran and blow it off the face of the earth. That would be the sane thing to do.”--3/8/06
The best thing we can do about Bill O’Reilly is to ignore him. Don’t watch him. Don’t listen to him. Don’t read anything he writes. Liberals, progressives and anyone interested in having an intelligent discussion about an important subject should not go on O’Reilly’s show(s). He thrives on attack and confrontation, so don’t attack him or respond to him--no matter how outrageous his statements become or how loud he screams. Eventually, the screams will fade away and Bill O’Reilly will disappear--the sooner, the better.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
