By Bill O'Reilly for BillOReilly.com

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Stay with me, because you are not going to believe this column. This month in Chicago, a show will honor three men as "living legends." The men are Minister Louis Farrakhan, head of the Nation of Islam, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor of Barack Obama's church, and Father Michael Pfleger, a radical left-wing Catholic priest. The men will stand together and thousands of spectators will pay to see them.

The press release announcing the program says that the men were chosen "because of their legacy of educating, [and thus] they are being honored as Living Legends for their unfailing work and dedication."

And who, exactly, selected the three men as honorees? Uh, well, that would be Reverend Jeremiah Wright!

That's right, the good reverend is honoring himself and his bomb-throwing pals. And charging up to $100 for the event. Who gets the proceeds? Again, that would be Reverend Wright. His school and day care center will divvy up most of the dollars. Pfleger's parish and Wyclef Jean's charity will also get some cash, according to the release.

There are many interesting things about this exposition. First, it has received almost no media coverage, even though Farrakhan, speaking before a crowd of 20,000 a few days ago, accused the "white right" of planning the assassination of President Obama. The minister, wearing a Muammar Gaddafi-style hat, then went on to say that the "Zionists" were derailing the president's agenda, and white Christians were praying for Mr. Obama's death. Sounds like "living legend" stuff, doesn't it?

Also, what is a Catholic priest doing standing with Farrakhan and Wright? Catholics follow Jesus, a man who preached peace and love for all men. My staff called the Archbishop of Chicago, Francis Cardinal George, for comment. But he doesn't have a comment. Are you kidding me? I'm a Catholic—I'd like to know what's going on!

If you decide to attend the "Living Legends" event, you will hear some music from the "Soulful Sounds," and you will be able to purchase Reverend Wright's new book, "A Sankofa Moment." I don't exactly know what that is, but it sounds like a thriller. By the way, there is no truth to the rumor that Farrakhan's new book will be entitled "Marley, Me, and the Zionists."

This whole deal is pretty amusing and, even if you don't like him, you have to give Jeremiah Wright some credit. The retired minister now inhabits a million dollar house in a largely white gated community and, apparently, has some time on his hands. So, he comes up with an award ceremony that promotes his interests, and I'm betting the Chicago theater will sell out.

But as much as I'd like to, I will not be going. Somehow, I don't think old Louie, Jerry, and Mike would appreciate me sitting there as the "Living Legends" program unfolded. Just a hunch.