Friday, January 21, 2005
On The O'Reilly Factor...
Segment Summaries
All content taken from The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. Each weeknight by 6 PM EST a preview of that evening's show will be posted and then updated with additional information the following weekday by noon EST.
Talking Points Memo
Inaugural fallout
"Once again I am an oracle. I predicted the elite media would bash President Bush's inaugural speech, which of course they did. The Washington Post scrutinized Bush's call for liberty by holding him to an impossible standard. The LA Times and Boston Globe followed suit. The point is to beat President Bush down. On the other side, conservative Peggy Noonan said the speech included too many mentions of God. But Talking Points counted just four spiritual references. On the whole, I thought the speech was effective in laying out the President's philosophy. The best thing about the speech was that it was vintage Bush--his supporters loved it, his detractors are stewing."

Transcript: FoxNews.com
Top Story
Another view on Bush's inaugural address
Guest: Former Bush speechwriter David Frum

Former Bush speechwriter David Frum presented a different view of the inaugural address. "I'm not offended by the spiritual references," Frum told The Factor. "But I am worried about something else. The President seemed to say America is going to support the spread of freedom, but it's not going to do all that much. This is a very strong President, but when you watch who is being promoted in the State Department, you'll see that people getting the big jobs don't believe a word of what the President said. This tells me the President is emotionally committed, but I don't hear real commitment to action."
Factor Follow Up Segment
ACLU staffers express opposition
Guest: Michael Meyers, ACLU board member

The American Civil Liberties Union, purportedly a guardian of free speech, is considering firing two board members who have publicly disagreed with ACLU head Anthony Romero on certain issues. Michael Meyers, a board member for 23 years, is one of the two. According to Meyers, "This is about the ACLU betraying their core values. You have to speak the party line now. We have gag orders from ACLU leaders saying we can't appear on this show. The people who are trying to gag my speech are the enemies of freedom and free speech." The Factor, which has long been critical of the organization, said this shows the ACLU has lost its way. "The ACLU wants to muzzle you, and is using its power and money to stop people from talking about spirituality. They've drifted a long way from their mandate."
Unresolved Problems Segment
Iran's nukes & Israel
Guest: Benjamin Netanyahu, former Prime Minister of Israel

Iran is developing nuclear capabilities, and the world is debating how to respond. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled a similar situation in 1981, when Israel unilaterally destroyed Saddam Hussein's nuclear facility. "We were the only ones who understood the threat of Iraq with nuclear weapons," Netanyahu told The Factor. "This time Iran's missiles have Berlin and Paris in range, so the entire western world has a stake... And the United States understands perfectly well the danger of an ayatollah regime armed with nuclear weapons." Netanyahu also praised President Bush for his inaugural speech and its emphasis on freedom. "It was magnificent, and the President was profound."
Impact Segment
"Take Back The Music"
Guest: Michaela Angela Davis, executive editor, Essence Magazine

Essence Magazine, aimed primarily at black females, has started a campaign called "Take Back The Music," which protests the violent and anti-women images found in so many rap songs. Michaela Angela Davis of Essence explained why. "We believe the music industry is out of balance in the way they depict women. The only image is over-sexualized, objectified, scantily-clad, gyrating, wordless, faceless women. This is the image of us that is being exported around the world."
Personal Story Segment
Harvard prez fighting for his job?
Guests: Fox News analyst Linda Chavez & Kathy Spiller, executive vice president, Feminist Majority Foundation

Harvard University President Lawrence Summers ignited a controversy when he suggested men may be born with abilities, which help them outperform women in math and science. "It was irresponsible," asserted Kathy Spiller of the Feminist Majority Foundation. "There's so much scientific data that refutes any suggestion of innate differences between men and women. It's tragic that the head of a prestigious institution would say something right out of the 18th century." On the other hand, Fox News analyst Linda Chavez felt Summers exhibited uncommon courage. "I wrote a column praising him for being politically incorrect, and for saying something that most scientists recognize as truth. He did not say women were innately inferior intellectually; he was a posing a hypothesis about what might explain why there are fewer women at the highest levels of science and mathematics. It does appear there may be some evolutionary reason why men's brains and women's brains happen to differ."
Back of Book Segment
Jerry Lewis on chronic pain
Guest: Comedian Jerry Lewis

Comedian Jerry Lewis is promoting a medical device for people who have to endure chronic pain. Lewis explained that his own history of severe pain was a direct result of his many comic pratfalls. "I had fallen so many times, and in 1965 I landed on a steel cable, and wound up in a hospital. And from that day on I had excruciating pain every day." Lewis elaborated on the device he began using in 2001. "I have a battery under my skin, a stimulator on my spine, and it stops the pain from going to my brain. I turn it on when I need it, and I'm completely pain free."
Books Mentioned


The Right Man: An Inside Account of the Bush White House
by David Frum

Read more...