The O'Reilly Factor
A daily summary of segments aired on The O'Reilly Factor. A preview of the evening's rundown is posted before the show airs each weeknight.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
The Factor Rundown
Talking Points Memo
Top Story
Impact Segment
Personal Story Segment
Factor Follow Up Segment
Unresolved Problems Segment
Back of Book Segment
Factor Mail
Book Mentions
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Comments
More trouble on the left?
"One major casualty in the war on terror is the liberal press in the USA. Michael Kinsley has been removed as Editorial Director of the LA Times just days after the editor of that paper stepped down. The liberal stronghold PBS has been shaken up big time; Bill Moyers is gone, and the new management is Republican. The Air America radio network continues to fail with catastrophic ratings here in New York City, perhaps the most liberal market in the country. The circulations of long-time liberal newspapers like The Boston Globe and Newsday are falling. And there is not one successful stand-alone liberal commentator on cable television. So why is the liberal media in retreat? The answer is that most Americans are not ideologues; they are just everyday folks who want protection from people who would kill us. Most Americans do not want to hear that the USA is the bad guy in the war on terror, which some liberal media are peddling. They do not feel the mistakes at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay define this country. Media and politicians who continue to run down the USA for ideological reasons will continue to be punished in the marketplace."
Jane Fonda's anti-war display
Guest: Byron York, The National Review

Jane Fonda announced she would join a bus tour in March that will protest the Iraq War. The Factor cautioned the left about the limits of dissent. "I think that liberals really have got to be careful now how they define their dissent. As we said, we like dissent. We think it's healthy for the country, but if you're perceived in rooting against your country, then you're done." Byron York, White House correspondent for The National Review, assessed the lack of response from liberal groups to Ms. Fonda's bus tour. "The reaction so far in some of the main left wing places has been no reaction at all and I may think it is because they simply do not want the baggage of Jane Fonda. If you listen to Air America or if you read liberal websites one of the themes you'll hear over and over again is 'we are patriotic Americans and we support our troops' and what Jane Fonda did many years ago in Vietnam was really the opposite of supporting the troops and I think that they probably don't want to re-fight that war."

Deaths attributed to heat wave
Guests: Attorney Jim Vilt

At least 35 Americans have died in the current western heat wave; fifteen of them were apparently homeless. Jim Vilt, a Las Vegas attorney who provides services for the poor, lamented the situation. "There are not a lot of options for these folks. Short of public libraries, there are not a whole lot of in door places to take refuge. We do have Catholic Charities, which opened up about a hundred-bed facility, but we have five to eight thousand people on the streets. Pretty difficult for five to eight thousand people to find air conditioning in this town."

Hillary's puzzling rhetoric
Guest: Fox News political analyst Dick Morris

Hillary Clinton addressed the Democratic Leadership Council yesterday in Ohio with a speech long on metaphor and hyperbole and short on substance. The Factor wondered why Senator Clinton would not make clear her positions. "She never says what she's going to do to find Al Qaeda. She supports the Iraq War. Why? I don't know why. What are you going to do on the border? I don't know. The Bush administration is restricting opportunity, why then do we have 14 million aliens that come here to work? I don't get that." Political analyst Dick Morris revealed what Clinton is trying to do. "She's trying to talk about values and God a lot so that she can escape the Democratic stereotype for being secular. And she's trying to take all of the achievements of her husband's administration and make them her achievements, so that she can basically run on his record."

Natalee Holloway case
Guest: Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of Natalee Holloway has become a media phenomenon. Americans just can't seem to get enough of this story, even though hard facts are scarce. The latest is that the FBI is taking a larger role in the investigation and that Aruba reporters believe the three men suspected in the case may be turning against one another. Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano commended Natalee's mother for keeping the pressure on Aruban authorities. "The Aruban investigators and police do not operate with the speed, efficiency, or thoroughness with which we are accustomed in the US. My hat is off to these people. Not only are they grieving but they are moving, they are energizing."

Talking with Sen. John McCain
Guest: Senator John McCain (R-AZ)

The Factor turned to Senator John McCain for answers to a few questions: What should be done to secure the border? "We need a guest worker program to relieve some of the pressures, so that we can arrest or take care of possible terrorists or drug dealers. I don't believe you could mobilize enough of the National Guard to completely seal off our border. And we've got to get Mexican cooperation, no doubt about that." Should there be an official policy to interrogate captured suspected terrorists? "I want us to abide by the international agreements we've made concerning human rights and against torture. I also want to codify what has been used in past wars, and that is the army field manual, which sets out specifics as far as interrogation techniques. Don't think that you get anything out of torture, because you don't, and I know that for a fact." And who should be the Republican nominee for President in 2008? "I am obviously not considering it now because I want to work on things like we just discussed."

FX's "Over There"
Guest: Producer Steven Bochco

Tomorrow evening a new TV program debuts on FX called "Over There." It is a fictional drama about what American forces are going through in Iraq. Executive Producer Stephen Bochco said the show did not have a political agenda. "I suspect that people who watch this show, because the show has a certain intensity to it, you know, if people bring a strong agenda of their own or a strong point of view of their own, they may tend to either see their point of view validated or they may feel the opposite. But my experience over the last week or so is with all the print journalism and reviews that we're getting is that, you know, some people think we do have an agenda; some people think we don't. What we're trying to do is tell stories."

Viewers sound off
Factor Words of the Day
Viewers weighed in on who is helping the terrorists:

Andrew Fischer, San Diego, CA: "Mr. O'Reilly, you're identifying those you think are aiding terrorists is dangerous. While I don't agree with the ACLU, it is misleading to infer they are helping terrorists."

Linda and Bill Mimm, Pequot Lakes, MN: "How many innocent people will the police kill before the public is outraged? We have lost our freedom in this country, and, Bill O'Reilly, one of these days it will be your freedom."

Harry Houck, Brooklyn, NY: "As a retired detective, I believe the London officers should not be second guessed for their decision to shoot the Brazilian man. Police officers cannot be held to a standard of perfection."

Some folks don't like the Fox News coverage of the Natalee Holloway case:

Harry Hodgkinson, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad: "I am disappointed that Fox News is criticizing the Arubans over the Natalee Holloway case. Why don't you boycott Colorado? They couldn't solve the Jon Benet Ramsey murder."

Book Mentions
Check out the books mentioned during this show.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to NASA
by Tom Jones & Michael Benson

Read more...
The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy
by Byron York

Read more...