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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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Guests:"As you may know, Megyn Kelly caused some controversy last week when she said Santa is a white man and so is Jesus. The far left was outraged, but one wonders why anyone is even bothering with this. The historical truth is that St. Nicholas, the prototype for Santa, was white. He was born around 280 AD in what is now Turkey; he was a very kind man, a protector of children. By the time of the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe and in Holland they gave presents on his feast day. When the Dutch settled New York, they continued to honor St. Nicholas, who was called 'Sinter Klaus,' and in 1822 Episcopal minister Clement Clarke Moore wrote a Christmas poem for his daughters that forged the modern image of Santa. Now, why the bother? Because any talk of skin color brings out the zealots and because any controversy attached to the Fox News Channel will be seized upon by the media. In this case, Megyn was correct, Santa was a white person. Does that matter? No, because the spirit of Santa transcends all racial boundaries; it's a spirit based on generosity, kindness to children, and magical moments. But for those who despise Fox News, there's nothing magical about anything we do here. Because the liberal media cannot defeat us on the media battlefield, the far left seeks to demonize Fox News as a right wing propaganda machine and a racist enterprise. That's why Megyn Kelly got headlines about a remark that was totally harmless."
The Factor invited reaction from FNC analysts Mary Katharine Ham and Juan Williams. "I love Megyn's show," Williams began, "but as the politicians in Washington say, mistakes were made. If the mythic figure of Santa goes back to Turkey, he's a dark-skinned man. And in the case of Jesus, it's more likely that he was Arab or Asian or a Moor than white. Imposing a racial framework on Jesus, the son of God, is not generous in spirit." Ham ridiculed the dustup as a tempest in a chimney liner. "The good news is that most kids are truly colorblind when it comes to Santa, as long as he's bringing an Xbox down the chimney. The other thing is that none of us have actually seen Santa, so there's no way of telling. Is the dominant cultural representation of Santa a white guy? Yes, but that doesn't mean our country is without racial tolerance." |
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Guest: Brit Hume
The Washington Post reports that some crucial parts of the Affordable Care Act were intentionally delayed until after last year's presidential election. Brit Hume explained the significance of the revelation. "One of the definitions of corruption," he said, "is the use of dishonesty to gain or keep power, and that's what this was. Holding this stuff back for political reasons was corrupt, and they did it to prevent the electorate from knowing things before the election. They held back some Obamacare provisions and they held back other regulations that had to do with a lot of other things." Hume accused President Obama of intentionally misleading the American people, saying, "He knew people were going to lose their insurance policies, he had to know that." |
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Guest: Andrew Napolitano
FNC's Andrew Napolitano analyzed the recent ruling by a federal judge, who struck down part of a Utah law dealing with polygamy. "This is about co-habitation and not about polygamy," Judge Napolitano explained. "Polygamy is still illegal in Utah, but if you claim that you're married to 14 people but are only lawfully married to one, you're not violating the law. We are moving to the point where it is none of the government's business who you live with, who you marry, and what your relationship is. For libertarians and for those of us who believe in the separation of church and state, that's a good thing." The Factor put forth a pragmatic argument against polygamy. "I look for what's best for the country and I don't think that chaos in the home is best for the country. We've gone down this road of 'marriage equality,' and that will lead to a fundamental dissolution of marriage." |
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Guest: Howard Kurtz
MSNBC host Ed Schultz has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from labor unions while consistently promoting big labor on his program. The Factor asked FNC media analyst Howard Kurtz to evaluate the situation. "The appearance is awful," Kurtz declared. "It's the appearance of a commentator who is way too cozy with the unions. I don't have any problem with union advertising money going to Schultz's radio show, but he gets speaking fees from unions. He has to give the money to charity to avoid running afoul of NBC rules, but why do the paid speeches at all when you're so active on these labor issues?" The Factor questioned why NBC's corporate parent Comcast allows so much mischief at MSNBC: "I'm not sure what's happening over there. The Nightly News is run responsibly, the Today show is responsible, but this cable network under the NBC banner is just outrageous. There are no journalistic standards at that place, so just make it an entertainment network!" |
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Guest: Karl Rove
Karl Rove opined on the escalating war of words between Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner and Tea Party conservatives. "Boehner is going after some Washington-based groups," Rove said, "that he believes have put his members in a bad place by bullying and threatening if they don't vote the way these groups think they ought to vote. This started last year when these groups came out against any strategy to remove elements of Obamacare - they said the only thing to do was repeal it. These groups were also the movers behind the strategy that led to the government shutdown." The Factor pointed out that "some conservative radio and cable news commentators are simpatico with the pressure groups." |
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Guest: Jesse Watters
After hitting the streets to ask folks some questions about Christmas and its traditions, and after receiving some truly ignorant responses, Jesse Watters entered the No Spin Zone to reveal the secrets of his interviewing methodology. "I am attracted to dumb people," Watters admitted, "there's a natural attraction there. I look for personality, looks, and for someone who is a good talker. Maybe somebody will have crazy hair or a good look and then we just start right away. I say, 'I'm Jesse from The Factor and I want to talk about Christmas,' and then we go. If they're bad, we bail immediately." |
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| Write down all the places you have to go, the things you have to do, and the people you have to tip this Christmas season. You'll feel much more organized when it's all in front of you on paper. |
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