The O'Reilly Factor
A daily summary of segments aired on The O'Reilly Factor. A preview of the evening's rundown is posted before the show airs each weeknight.
Friday, March 30, 2007
The Factor Rundown
Talking Points Memo
Top Story
Impact Segment
Unresolved Problems Segment
Factor Follow Up Segment
Fridays with Geraldo Segment
Back of Book Segment
Factor Mail
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Comments
This week in review
"Every Friday we're going to highlight some of the week's big stories with our usual no spin eye. First up tonight, Alberto Gonzales needs to get a clue. The media's pounding him into pudding and won't stop until they have his job. Mr. Attorney General, listen up. Just hold a press conference and explain why you fired the eight attorneys. Tell the folks what happened; if you don't you're gone. Next, President Bush visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Friday. I finished my initial investigation about what happened there, and here it is. The Bush administration was not prepared for the casualties the U.S. military has taken in Iraq. In addition, there was a transfer of oversight at Walter Reed to a private company earlier this year. In that transition, chaos ensued, another example of a huge bureaucracy failing to be efficient. Rosie O'Donnell says the British set up their own people to be captured by the Iranians. She also implies that 9/11 was an inside job. Very few media covered this nuttiness. But there's no left-wing media bias in this country? By the way, the Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a close friend of the Iranian mullahs, has caused for a massive demonstration inside Iraq against the USA. If that happens, turn out the lights. Sadr is a killer who wants to run Iraq as a theocratic terror state, partnering up with Iran. I just thought Rosie O'Donnell would like to know."
Taking action against Iran
Guest: Col. Ann Wright, Ret.

For another view on the hostage situation in Iran, The Factor welcomed retired Army Colonel Ann Wright, an anti-war activist who assiduously avoided taking sides. "The jury is still out on exactly where the British ships were. The main thing is to not let this escalate, because the flash points in that section of the world are tremendous right now. Taking the moral high ground, the Iranians should be treating the British with the utmost of care. And we in the United States also need to be treating people in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo according to international law." The Factor berated Wright for instinctively blaming the United States. "We wanted to talk about the Iranian illegal seizure of these military people, but you turned the conversation around to slap your own country and the Bush administration. We're the evil people in the world, that's what you're putting out there."

News Link: British hostage crisis continues
Tony Snow takes abuse in blogs
Guests: Fox News analyst Michelle Malkin & Roy Sekoff, Huffington Post

Left-wing blogs such as Daily Kos have posted vile comments about White House press secretary Tony Snow, who is suffering from cancer. At the liberal Huffington Post, contributor Charles Bouley wrote this: "Stand up every day and lie to the American people at the behest of your dictator-esque boss and, well, how could a cancer not grow in you?" Roy Sekoff, an editor at the site, contended that Bouley's hateful words were the exception. "We agree that it was despicable, but it is extremely rare. We have 900 bloggers who are sort of like independent contractors. When there is something objectionable, we give them the chance to correct it. This was up eight hours." FNC analyst Michelle Malkin, who runs two blogs herself, questioned the Huffington Post's diligence. "The general ethic in the blogosphere is that if you make a substantial correction to your text, you note it. It wasn't until conservative bloggers pointed out how horrid that language was that he changed it." The Factor accused some sites of providing an open forum for hate. "This kind of comment would not have been up for fifteen minutes on my site. You've got to put in some filter at the Huffington Post."

News Link: Huffington post blogger suggests Snow deserves cancer?
Free speech and crime
Guest: Mother Jodi Walsh

The Factor explored one of the more bizarre crimes in recent years. 41-year old Edward Munao called the home where his former girlfriend was living with their 6-year old son, then told the boy to pick up a knife and stab his mother. Jodi Walsh, Munao's intended victim, said her son is still experiencing ill effects from the episode. "He is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He worries about his father getting out of prison and coming after him or possible me, and he lives in constant fear. He is in therapy and we're going to get over this as a family." The Factor reported that part of Munao's conviction was overturned on the grounds that words alone do not constitute child abuse. "I'm worried about this guy coming after you. It must be just a horrific prospect to face. You just can never relax."

News Link: Audio: Father urges son to kill mom
Mark Cuban to distribute 9/11 conspiracy film
Guest: Talk show host Mike Gallagher

As reported previously on The Factor, billionaire Mark Cuban's film company will distribute a "documentary" claiming that Americans were behind the 9/11 terror attacks. Conservative talk show host Mike Gallagher actually defended the decision. "Mark Cuban says that a lie that wallows in the shadows is a lot worse than a lie that gets exposed by truth. You don't ignore bad things, let's not pretend that this vile stuff is not out there." The Factor forcefully disagreed with Gallagher's argument. "We're in a war. They're going to take this, translate it into Arabic, and shove this down the throat of the people. This is going to get Americans killed. This is dangerous propaganda, and you don't elevate it."

News Link: Mark Cuban distributing 9/11 conspiracy theory documentary
Is Rosie causing a ratings drop at The View?
ABC's "The View" has lost about a half-million viewers since January, possibly because of the anti-American and irrational musings of co-host Rosie O'Donnell. But Geraldo Rivera defended O'Donnell's right to spew nonsense. "This is a free speech argument," Rivera pronounced. "Rosie O'Donnell may be the biggest fruitcake on television, but if the ratings are maintained, that means someone is watching. For all of her excess, she may be one of the few people on television really speaking her mind." The Factor pointed to the glaring double standard. "No one reported the O'Donnell excesses. If Ann Coulter had said the same thing, you don't think that would have been played? It's the left-wing deal in the media."

News Link: Rosie O'Donnell says Brits got captured "on purpose"
Looking back at our American TV icons
Finally, The Factor aired interviews with four men who were TV icons: Tony Dow, the big brother on "Leave it to Beaver," Stanley Livingston of "My Three Sons," Billy Gray from "Father Knows Best," and David Nelson of "Ozzie and Harriett." Livingston summarized the experience of being a child star. "A lot of what kid actors are is misinterpreted by the public and for the people trying to get into it. It is very tough. It looks easy, but the hard part is that 90% of your time is spent looking for work."
Viewers sound off
Factor Words of the Day
Your e-mails dealt with the segment on "lesbian chic" and Rosie O'Donnell's notorious comments. Some excerpts:

James Owen, England: "Bill, was it really necessary to show two girls kissing in Texas over and over? I hope the irony wasn't lost on your viewers."

Lisa Smith, Daytona, FL: "There is a media agenda to desensitize the public to homosexual conduct. That leads to more acceptance."

Jody Domenico, NJ: "I believe Rosie's views are so idiotic, they border on mental instability."

Melissa Kinnisten, Columbus, OH: "Bill, you took Rosie's comments out of context to portray her as a crazy liberal."

Mercedes Santana, New York, NY: "It doesn't sound like Rosie is off the wall to most of us, Bill. You just don't get we have a right to criticize our government."