Friday, January 17, 2014

Greg Gutfeld
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 & Top Story
NSA Shakeup
"President Obama has announced changes to the NSA and I hope they're all for show. Call me a fan of 'better safe than sorry,' but as long as there is evidence that the NSA could have prevented 9/11, why trash it because some media screamers find common cause against modern security? The fact is, data mining is a must in this new world. The NSA should not be a political plaything; it works for no party, it works for you and me. The leftists behind the NSA attacks are against every anti-terror measure since 9/11, which is why after every single terror plot they cast our fear as 'Islamophobia.' This parallels the 20th century smear of anti-communism being worse than communism. Back then the Reds had 'useful idiots' too, but Ronald Reagan ignored such children. Let's do the same here."

For more on President Obama's proposed restrictions on NSA data collection, Greg welcomed national security analyst Cliff May and Fox Business anchor Kennedy. "Should we apply everything we need to do to foreign agents to innocent U.S. citizens," Kennedy pondered. "That's always been a false argument that you have to decide between national security or civil liberties. We always need to protect civil liberties and the NSA continually crosses that line." But May argued that NSA data collection has enhanced national security. "Everything done by the NSA has been overseen by Congress and the judiciary, and there have been no violations of anyone's constitutional rights. You don't connect the dots unless you first collect the dots, and the NSA is looking for patterns in communication. We want to let the NSA do its job and protect us as best as it can."
Impact Segment
Drug Debate
Should other states follow the lead of Colorado and Washington and legalize recreational marijuana? Greg posed that question to conservative radio host Mike Gallagher and comedian/writer Gavin McGinnis. "The problem with the anti-legalization crowd," McGinnis put forth, "is that they say pot is bad, ergo it should be illegal. Pot is bad, it does kill your ambition, and it's way too strong these days, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be legalized. Legalizing would be cheaper and there would be far fewer people incarcerated." Gallagher opined that legalization is an invitation to disaster. "Here's the bottom line for me - is our society bettered when we legalize yet another mind-altering substance? I understand that some people can handle it, but I believe with all of my heart that it is a gateway drug." After weighing both arguments, Greg firmly straddled the fence: "I believe both sides lie. People who want to ban it claim it's the end of the world if you legalize, but the legalizers say it's no big deal. They're both wrong."
Personal Story Segment
Hollywood Hypocrisy
Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who has produced movies overflowing with blood and savagery, says he is making a film that will target the National Rifle Association. Greg explored the hypocrisy with his "The Five" co-host Dana Perino and his "Red Eye" colleague Andy Levy. "This is very hypocritical," Perino observed. "The NRA is not going away and Hollywood isn't going away, so they can continue to be at war with one another, which helps both of them. If he's really serious about something, why doesn't Harvey Weinstein partner with the NRA on something?" Levy ridiculed Weinstein's proposition that guns should be allowed only at times like the Holocaust. "So when a Holocaust situation arises, guns magically appear? The people being oppressed can look in their mailbox and there's a gun in there to defend yourself, apparently in his mind that's how it works. He is now promising not to make any more movies that glamorize guns, but there's no word yet on whether he'll give back all the money he's made from the movies he's already done." Greg accused Weinstein of displaying the very worst kind of elitist pretense: "Rich jerks like him don't need a gun because other people handle his security. It's the regular shopkeeper who can't afford a bodyguard."
Lou's the Boss Segment
Dwindling Economic Freedom
A new global study ranks the United States twelfth in "economic freedom," the first time the USA has been out of the top ten. Fox Business host Lou Dobbs expressed little trust in the study's methodology. "The problem with this index," he said, "is that if you take the countries at the top - Switzerland, Hong Kong, Bahrain, Singapore - their total population doesn't add up to our chronically unemployed. I'm not sure the comparison is one that's intellectually defensible." Nevertheless, Dobbs agreed the U.S. economy is floundering and laid part of the blame on the Obama administration. "There's uninspired leadership, and a lack of management skills and vision.
Unresolved Problems Segment
Too Much Coverage?
Greg welcomed Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz, who examined the wide disparity in media coverage between the terrorist attack in Benghazi and the Chris Christie bridge scandal. "I think the 'Bridgegate' story is a legitimate and juicy story," he began, "but the media have pounded this into the pavement. As for Benghazi, it's complicated and it lacks the simple storyline. But it's a very important and serious story that we still haven't gotten to the bottom of. The recent report by the Senate Intelligence Committee pretty much undermined the New York Times report." Greg pointed out the starkly polarized opinions of the media, saying, "If you're on one side you think Benghazi is being ignored, if you're on the other side you believe 'Bridgegate' hasn't been covered enough."
Fridays with Geraldo Segment
"We the People"
U.S. Olympic hockey player Jessie Vetter has been banned from displaying a quote from the Constitution on her helmet, a decision that Geraldo Rivera heartily endorsed. "I don't like people promoting any cause at the Olympics," he declared. "This is not a NASCAR race, you don't put messages on your helmet. The IOC has a rule that says you can not have these printed words on your uniform, and the Olympics is the last place where they have real amateurs." Geraldo also reported the latest on "Duck Dynasty," which is back on the air after the controversy involving family patriarch Phil Robertson. "It still has huge numbers, it's the number two show on television. A&E made a terrible mistake mixing politics with reality TV." Greg concluded the segment, the show, and the week with an astute comparison: "Duck Dynasty, for religious conservatives, is what the HBO show 'Girls' is for left-wingers. They're mirror images."