Monday, January 30, 2006
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
A word about network rivalry
"All of us at Fox News send prayers and best wishes to the families of Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt, the ABC anchor and photographer badly injured by a bomb in Iraq over the weekend. There is a code in TV news of respect and professional courtesy. Thus when guys like Woodruff and Vogt are hurt the industry stands together. Fox News has good relationships with ABC News, CBS News, and generally CNN. But Talking Points is troubled by the behavior of NBC, which cheap shots Fox News on a regular basis. Only a few people are doing this, but NBC president Robert Wright allows it to happen. We understand that NBC has major problems, but that is no excuse for unprofessional behavior. There is no question that the amazing success of Fox News has affected all TV news operations, but CNN usually competes with class, not bitterness. But there's something very wrong at NBC, and if it continues Talking Points will go into greater detail about the problems besetting that network. We hope Robert Wright will right the situation and believe he has the power to do it. But maybe he's out of the loop, or maybe he just doesn't care. Well, he should care. We'll let you know what happens."

Fox News Video: FoxNews.com

Top Story
Exxon-Mobil sees record profits
Guests: Julia Boorstein, Fortune & Dr. Jared Bernstein, Economic Policy Institute

Exxon Mobil has reported earnings of more than $36 billion in 2005, more than any company in US history. Economist Jared Bernstein explained that huge oil profits are a result of insatiable worldwide demand. "If the price of fast food doubles we'll find other things to spend our food dollars. But oil is something you pretty much have to have, and when prices go up we have no choice." Business reporter Julia Boorstein agreed that most consumers aren't able to substitute another product. "There aren't the alternative energy sources to give Americans the options to not go the gas station when prices go up." Factor added another element, accusing oil companies of old-fashioned price gouging. "Someone on the inside told me that every time OPEC raises the price of oil, the oil companies find a way to add more pricing into it. Thus you have, presto, record profits. If this continues, this is going to lead us into a recession."

Impact Segment
Enron executives now on trial
Guest: Fox News chief judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano

Former Enron bosses Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling are on trial in Houston, and Fox News analyst Andrew Napolitano laid out the government's case. "They accuse them of duping banks and investors into believing the corporation was worth more than it was. It was an effort to inflate the shares of the stock and enrich themselves. They could get jail for the rest of their lives." Factor predicted that former Enron executive Andrew Fastow will be a potent witness for the prosecution. "He knows who did what, where they moved money, which frauds they perpetrated. He was in the middle of everything."

Factor Investigation Segment
Looting continues in New Orleans
Guest: Author Douglas Brinkley

Five months after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans continues to be plagued by widespread looting. Historian and New Orleans resident Douglas Brinkley explained that a few neighborhoods are especially susceptible. "People are coming into some of these homes and taking things that didn't get destroyed - silverware and family heirlooms. At night, people aren't policing these neighborhoods, so it's easy pickings. There's a deep and systematic problem in the police department." Factor urged the state to consider redeploying the National Guard. "I believe, and I could be wrong, that the fix is in - that these looters have bought the cops. The police department doesn't have the volume of work they had pre-Katrina, so why can't they control the looting when they have less to do? They know this is happening."

Personal Story Segment
No support for the troops from columnist
Guest: Fox News political analyst Tammy Bruce

Last week columnist Joel Stein wrote this in the Los Angeles Times: "I don't support our troops ? we shouldn't be celebrating people for doing something we don't think was a good idea." Radio talk show host Tammy Bruce denounced the paper and the column. "The LA Times sees itself as an entity that influences national opinion, so their choice to run this column says volumes. They think this idea of not supporting the troops should be considered seriously. At the same time, it is awards season in Hollywood. Instead of looking at real heroes in Iraq, they're obsessed with gay cowboys and desperate housewives. It's a whole different planet, and many people on the left agree with the column." Factor pointed out that Stein's column has not received national attention. "The media is covering for Stein. This story has not been around, and I think we're breaking it nationally for the first time. Stein is a far, far left individual." Joel Stein had agreed to defend his column on The Factor, but backed out.

Factor Follow Up Segment
Wartime limits of dissent
Guests: Author Al Skorski & Richard Walter, UCLA

Joel Stein is certainly not the first far-left observer to ignite controversy. In 2004, Al Franken recorded a song about Abu Ghraib with these lyrics: "Sorry 'bout the prisoners, Sorry they got raped ? I'm awfully sorry for that broomstick up their rear." Professor Richard Walter defended Franken and the scatological lyrics. "I think you're missing completely what Franken is saying. What it means is that what happened at Abu Ghraib damaged the troops, diminished our reputation and has placed our troops at risk." Al Skorski, a fierce critic of Franken, portrayed the song as part of a pattern. "Franken has done a number of skits on his show that mock and demean our troops. Every time there is good news coming out of Iraq, he has mocked and parodied it. He has demeaned recruiters and portrayed them as predators."

Back of Book Segment
Funeral held for murdered mother & baby
Guets: Harry Mount, London Daily Telegraph

27-year old Rachel Entwistle and her 9-month old daughter were murdered more than a week ago near Boston. Rachel's husband Neil, a British citizen, fled to England right after the murder and will apparently not be returning for the funerals. British journalist Harry Mount reported that England's newspapers are having a field day. "It's a huge story and everyone is astounded. Here is this guy who leaves behind a dead child and dead wife, flees the country, and is not arrested. To most of us, it is an open-and-shut case and he did it." The Factor described Entwistle's post-murder behavior as damning. "No man on this Earth would allow his wife and baby to be buried without being there, and it looks like that is what's going to happen here. This guy did it, I think, and they'll bring him back very soon."

Factor Mail
Viewers sound off
Many of you continue to send e-mails about the situation in Vermont. Some excerpts:

Teresa Golding, Ascutney, VT: "There are many of us here who want to see this whole scandal be the reason that Jessica's Law is passed. I don't think anyone wants to just move on."

Marianne Dias, Atlanta, GA: "My family will not travel to Vermont, and will not eat any more Ben and Jerry's ice cream."

Adrienne McFall, Dayton, OH: "O'Reilly, I have been an attorney for 30 years and I have seen the careers of good judges ruined by people like you."

Gary Evans, Thousand Oaks, CA: "I'm a prosecutor and I can truly say that this story has been your finest hour, Bill."

Books Mentioned


Pants On Fire: How Al Franken Lies, Smears, and Deceives
by Al Skorski

Read more...