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.
Friday, February 24, 2006
The Factor Rundown
Talking Points Memo
Top Story
Factor Follow Up Segment
Unresolved Problems Segment
Personal Story Segment
Fridays with Geraldo Segment
Back of Book Segment
Factor Mail
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Comments
Backtracking on the ports
"As the evidence mounts that there will be strict oversight on the Arab company working in some USA ports, the political backtracking has begun. The New York Times now says that even though it might not be smart to throw the Emirates out, as the Times wanted to do a few days ago, the whole controversy is President Bush's fault because he overhyped the war on terror. Call me crazy, but I thought Al Qaeda had just a little bit to do with the hype. Anyway, the Times now realizes that its editorial position is racial profiling, and you can't insult an Arab ally without cause. The point here is there was much more to this port story than you were led to believe when you first heard about it. Now those who demagogued and distorted the story look foolish. This is a hallmark in the war on terror coverage in general - distortions often rule the day, cool analysis is rare. Bottom line: there's usually much more to important stories than you're being fed by the ideologues in newspapers and on talk radio. The Kool-Aid drinkers on both sides will deceive you. We will not."

Fox News Video: FoxNews.com

Violence in Iraq continues
Guests: Former Coalition spokesman Dan Senor & Fox News military analyst Lt. Col. Bill Cowan

Baghdad and nearby areas were placed under curfew after the terrorist explosion at the Golden Mosque exacerbated Sunni vs. Shiite violence. Former coalition spokesman Dan Senor said that terrorism against holy sites is nothing new. "Every Shiite holiday I was in Iraq there was some kind of terror attack, all intended to provoke a Shiite response and inflame the country in civil war. The next few days are critical - can Iraqis keep calm without curfews?" Fox News analyst Lt. Col. Bill Cowan added that there is little the US military can do. "The best thing we can do is stay out of the way. We can not afford to take some kind of action that one side or the other could construe as being helpful to their opponent. Iraqi forces are taking the major role."

Controversy surrounds lethal injection
Guests: Fox News judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano & mother of victim Barbara Christian

California has postponed the execution of rapist and murderer Michael Morales because no doctor would agree to administer a lethal injection. Fox News analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano explained more about the case. "Morales' lawyer managed to find a federal judge who was persuaded that there was enough doubt about the 'chemical cocktail' and whether it caused cruel and unusual suffering. So the judge said he had to first be put to sleep, but the anesthesiologists changed their mind and wouldn't do it. This is unspeakable suffering for the family of the victim and a mockery of the system." Barbara Christian detailed how Morales killed her daughter Terri in 1981. "He and his cousin stabbed her repeatedly, hit her with a hammer, then raped her and ran over her with a car." The Factor sympathized with Ms. Christian, who has waited more than 25 years for justice. "The state of California has treated your family disrespectfully. There's no excuse for the doctors or the judges - there's no excuse for any of this. The state has put you and your family through so much pain."

Gangsta rap-related killings
Guests: Attorney Lauren Lake

There's been still another murder in the rap music world - 29-year old Israel Ramirez, a bodyguard for Busta Rhymes, was shot dead during a video shoot. Rhymes, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, and others were reportedly nearby but have remained silent. Attorney Lauren Lake explained that cooperating with police could end their lucrative careers. "This whole concept of no snitching has gotten out of control in the hip-hop community. Busta Rhymes, if he is an eyewitness, needs to come forward and truthfully discuss what he saw. But unfortunately a lot of his record sales depend on 'street credibility,' the whole gangsta rap image. People don't want to snitch because they might lose their profit." The Factor called this incident one more indictment of rap. "I believe the gangsta rap industry is a corrupt industry, and in a lot of situations it is a criminal industry tied in with illegal narcotics. The people who run it are amoral - they destroy children and they don't care."

Bo Derek
Guest: Bo Derek

Actress Bo Derek is speaking out against the American horse meat industry, which slaughters 60,000 horses a year and exports the meat to France, Italy, Belgium, and Japan. "It's in gourmet restaurants in France," Derek reported. "This is an inhumane and cruel process and it is against our culture. Horses are not livestock in our country. These are foreign owned companies doing this and they don't pay federal taxes here. We're subsidizing their taste for American horse meat."

Holloway and Iraq updates
Guest: Geraldo Rivera

Geraldo Rivera weighed in on various stories, beginning with the possibility of civil war in Iraq. "The situation has gone from pessimistic to deadly grim. This attack on the Golden Dome in Samarra was profound - it's as if someone took out the Vatican or the Western Wall. The fuse is lit for widespread violence. We have to protect the democratically elected government, prevent foreign invasion, but we can't step between these two warring factions." Moving to crime, Rivera condemned Joren Van Der Sloot, suspected of murdering Natalee Holloway in Aruba. "He is admittedly a liar. I believe he definitely knows what happened to Natalee. It may have been unintentional homicide, rough sex, and he tried to cover it up."

Bloviating with Bill: Affirmative Action
Guest: Alexander Hamilton

Attorney Alexander Hamilton is the latest Factor viewer selected to debate with Bill. Hamilton chose to discuss affirmative action, which he described as a necessary program to right historic wrongs. "There have always been racial preferences in this country - we've only begun to debate the issue when the preferences switched from whites to blacks. There's a long history of slavery and racism, slavery, Jim Crow, and so on." The Factor agreed that many blacks were wronged historically, but argued against color-conscious solutions. "Affirmative action is necessary, but I want to base it on income level. We shouldn't be dividing or separating anyone on color. It's incumbent on the country to be as fair as it can be to everyone. If you use income, you can have still affirmative action that benefits poor blacks."

Viewers sound off
Factor Words of the Day
Your e-mails dealt with a variety of recent segments. Some excerpts:

Sam Anderson, Flower Mound, TX: "Bill, Mike Farrell totally lost his credibility by ending his interview with a slam against you. However, you handled him perfectly."

Vincent diBacco, Philadelphia, PA: "It is apparent Mr. Farrell is unable to differentiate between unprovoked personal attacks, and defending yourself against invectives."

Roberta McDonough, Ketchikan, AK: "Bill, I was livid when I first heard the port story, and even emailed the President my disapproval. But after hearing your analysis, I've changed my mind."

Julianne Liberty, Miami, FL: "Bill, can you guarantee that the money the Arab company earns from the port deal will not fall into the hands of terrorists?"