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| 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.
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"The world is cringing looking at pictures of misery in Haiti. Thousands of American military are going to Haiti, trying to save lives and impose some kind of order, and today President Obama pledged $100 million. Since 1992, the USA has given Haiti close to $3 billion in assistance, and billions more have been donated by other countries. President Clinton took a personal interest in improving life for the Haitian people, but he failed. The reason is simple - there's no central authority, the police are corrupt, and many politicians are thieves. Some neighborhoods are run by drug dealers, voodoo priests, or extortionists. If relief workers give food and clothing directly to Haitians in need, odds are that a thug will steal the charity. So with the world focused on a humanitarian disaster, perhaps it is time to really help the good people of Haiti and have the United Nations impose some discipline there. Yes, we should send aid immediately, but President Obama should not just promise $100 million with no accountability. Every dollar needs to be managed in Haiti, where billions have gone down the drain."
The Factor was joined by two people with vast experience dealing with Haiti's problems. Sophie Delaunay of Doctors Without Borders outlined how her group is helping right now. "It's always challenging to operate in this volatile environment," Delaunay said, "and our priorities are to provide medical emergency care. We know where all our money is spent because we buy the food and the drugs." Richard Grenell, a veteran UN official, elaborated on the inherent frustrations. "The U.N. has been working on Haiti issues since 1993, billions of dollars have gone there, and for seventeen years we've been trying to get this problem fixed. It's a survival mentality - they're still trying to feed and clothe people." The Factor posed a critical and rhetorical question: "The island is worse now than it was in 1992. Where did all that money go, why hasn't anything gotten better? Americans should give money, but President Obama has an obligation to stringently watch the $100 million that has been pledged."
Fox News analyst Laura Ingraham also weighed in on Haiti and the U.S. responsibility to help. "America is always going to step up and help people in need," Ingraham said, "but we have to remember that the weaker we become economically, the less we are going to be able to help other countries. So as we pray and hope for Haiti's recovery, we have to remember that if we are not fixed as a country economically, it's going to be a tough sell to the American people that we're going to help other people." Ingraham added that Haitians themselves have a responsibility. "You have to have people who want to help themselves. No amount of money or aid or micromanaging is going to help a country prosper if the people don't want to fight for it." |
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| Oprah Winfrey has apparently fallen head-over-heels in love with Denmark and its cradle-to-grave welfare state. Culture Warriors Gretchen Carlson and Margaret Hoover looked at Denmark with a more jaundiced eye. "Who wouldn't be giddy," Carlson pondered, "when you find out that you get free health care and free education and 90% of your salary when you lose your job? Until you read the fine print, which is that Danes pay the highest income tax of anyone in the world." Hoover added that Denmark is a small and manageable country. "There are five-and-a-half million Danes, while we have 300-million people and we're bankrupt on our Medicare program as it is. In the U.S. we strive to guarantee equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome. Would Oprah Winfrey's life story be possible in Denmark? No way!" The Factor also questioned Oprah's logic: "I'm not getting why Oprah, the ultimate capitalist and a brilliant money person, goes over there and says this is the country." |
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| Attorney General Eric Holder refuses to investigate members of the New Black Panther Party who brandished nightsticks and allegedly intimidated voters in Philadelphia. Former Justice Department official Kris Kobach accused Holder of prosecutorial malfeasance. "This was a very serious case of voter intimidation," Kobach said, "but the Holder Justice Department decided to dismiss the charges against two of the three thugs and against the party as well. This is very troubling and it isn't an isolated incident." The Factor complained that Justice Department officials refuse to explain their reasoning: "This looks like a crime to me. There were two guys with sticks in their hands and this is not supposed to happen at an American polling place. Imagine if the Ku Klux Klan had two guys out there with sticks! And Holder won't explain why he's not pursuing the case." |
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| With Megyn Kelly taking the night off, the less comely but equally erudite Bernie Goldberg stepped up to the plate. He began by issuing a surprising defense of Senator Harry Reid. "If I came on this show," Goldberg said, "and called Barack Obama 'a good, decent, honorable Negro,' the roof would cave in on me. I'd be called a racist and you'd be called a racist for having me on. But let's get something straight: The word 'Negro' is not a slur. It's an outdated word, it's a politically incorrect word, but it is not a slur. Of all people, conservatives should not be calling for somebody's head because he used a politically incorrect word. Harry Reid did not say or do anything racist." Goldberg also assessed media reaction to Sarah Palin's debut on Fox News. "There are people on the left who write media columns who will never give her the benefit of the doubt. But it is equally true that there are people on cable television on the right who adore Sarah Palin. You're not going to get honest analysis on either side." |
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| Rev. Pat Robertson claims that Haiti is "cursed," and its many problems result from making "a pact with the devil." The Factor's Check: "For the record, Check does not believe Haiti is cursed." Long-time columnist Helen Thomas implied that "so-called terrorism" is caused by "us bombing everybody." The Factor's Check: "Helen, there are bad people who want to kill you. They lived in Afghanistan before 9/11, which is why the USA went in there. Saddam was also a very bad man who killed hundreds of thousands of people and defied the United Nations on weapons inspections. You may disagree with those policies, but you should understand them." |
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| Thursday's Patriots: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who have donated a million dollars to the Haiti relief effort. And the Pinhead: Perhaps actor Kiefer Sutherland, who lost a bet and showed up on David Letterman's show in a dress. |
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Denise Austin, Dana Point, CA: "O'Reilly, I am stunned at your insensitivity. This is not a time to criticize Haiti, but a time of sorrow."
Dr. Virginia Weldon, St. Louis, MO: "Mr. O'Reilly, your comments were right on target. As a pediatrician, I have worked in Haiti and seen a massive amount of money go to waste because of corruption. Outside of the Catholic Church, few institutions are doing any good there."
Bob Wolfe, Ellington, CT: "Miller got it right when he said Sarah Palin is as smart as she needs to be. We need honest leaders we can trust and she is that."
Jim Clement, Chaumont, NY: "Bill, I agree with Jane Skinner's mom; let people finish their sentences." |
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