Monday, January 14, 2013
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.
Top Story
President Obama tackles debt ceiling and gun control at presser
Guests: Brit Hume

The Factor began Monday's program with analysis of President Obama's press conference, which focused on the debt ceiling and gun control. FNC's Brit Hume theorized that the President is painting Republicans into a corner. "He'd be perfectly happy to get the gun control measures and the debt limit raised without Republican opposition," Hume said, "but if Republicans resist him, he gets an issue he can use against them. We're less than two years away from a mid-term election and I believe he thinks it's possible for him to win back the House for his party." The Factor portrayed the strategy as Machiavellian. "The President says he won't compromise on the debt ceiling, and that if Republicans don't raise it he'll do it by executive order. So if the Republicans pass the debt ceiling, they're weakened, and if they oppose it, he can demonize them. It's a really smart political strategy."
Talking Points Memo & Impact Segment
Media largely ignores the Al Gore-Al Jazeera deal
Guests: Bernie Goldberg

"The network news pretty much ignored Al Gore selling his far-left cable network to Al Jazeera; MSNBC in prime time didn't mention it at all. But what if Mitt Romney had sold one of his companies to Al Jazeera? Do you think the national news media would have ignored it? They would have been hysterical, proving again how corrupt the national media really is. The same standards of reportage are not applied to Republicans and Democrats. Al Gore sold out his principles to people who are unfriendly to human rights, who make massive money trafficking in oil, and who couldn't care less about Gore's big passion, global warming. Al Gore is an unbelievable hypocrite, but you would not know that by watching the network news. The implication of that is huge: No longer are we getting fair news coverage from many broadcast operations. We are living in a complicated age where the federal government is amassing enormous power over all our lives. The harsh truth is that the American press, which is supposed to look out for all the folks, often ignore stories that go against their guys. And since the national media is overwhelmingly liberal, conservative Americans are getting hammered."

The Factor asked Bernie Goldberg to opine on the mainstream media's handling of the Al Gore - Al Jazeera story. "Isn't it interesting," Goldberg observed, "that the mainstream media that hyperventilated over Mitt Romney's comment that he had 'women in binders' shows virtually no interest in anything you just talked about. Al Gore said he wanted to sell to an organization that shared his journalistic values, but in 2008 Al Jazeera threw an on-air party for a Palestinian terrorist who had kidnapped an Israeli family and bashed in the head of a 4-year-old girl. The mainstream media is apparently willing to accept the explanation that Al Jazeera English is different from Al Jazeera Arabic." The Factor added that Al Gore has been hiding under his desk, saying, "He has not provided any statement or defended himself in any way."
Factor Follow Up Segment
Two liberal New York Times columnists criticize The Journal News
Guests: Mary Katharine Ham and Juan Williams

To the surprise of many, two left-leaning New York Times editorial writers disagreed with the newspaper that published the names and addresses of gun permit holders. FNC analysts Mary Katharine Ham and Juan Williams opined on the story. "These are journalist ethics that are so basic that even the New York Times has them," Ham said. "There's a difference between information that is public and information that is newsworthy. Most people would agree that it wouldn't be a good idea to print maps with addresses and names of people on food stamps." But Williams again implied that the paper did the right thing. "I love the Constitution and I'm a First Amendment guy, which means that I think people who are publishing public records have a right to do so. This is America and you have a right to publish that information." In turn, The Factor accused Williams of setting up and knocking down a straw man: "No one is debating whether they have the right, they're debating the wisdom and ethics of this."
Personal Story Segment
FACTOR EXCLUSIVE: Former Marine imprisoned in Mexico for four months enters the No Spin Zone
Guests: Jon Hammar

The Factor welcomed former Marine Cpl. Jon Hammar, who spent four months in a Mexico prison on trumped-up gun charges before being released just before Christmas. He recounted his ordeal, which began in August as he was heading to a hunting trip in Costa Rica. "We told U.S. authorities that we had a hunting shotgun and we were trying to go through Mexico legally. They gave us some paperwork to fill out, we crossed the border, declared the weapon, and a short time after that things started going wrong and the decision came down that we were going to jail. They tried to extort money by calling my family and threatening me." Hammar added that he harbors no bitterness toward Mexico and concluded with a word of thanks: "Bill, I'd like to thank you for everything you did for me in this situation. I'd also like to thank Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Bill Nelson and all the Congress people who helped."
Unresolved Problems Segment
Did pro-American movies get snubbed by the Oscars?
Guests: John Podhoretz

The makers of the movie "Zero Dark Thirty" may be paying a price for the film's implication that waterboarding helped track down Osama Bin Laden. Columnist John Podhoretz entered the No Spin Zone and insisted that director Kathryn Bigelow was snubbed by the Academy Awards for political reasons. "They snubbed her because she is viewed as the movie's author," Podhoretz surmised, "and the movie does not punish the characters shown doing harsh interrogation techniques. The movie is awash in ambiguity about the virtues of harsh techniques in the war on terror, but it's not tough enough for liberals. Kathryn Bigelow is the first female Oscar winner ever and this is a universally-praised movie, but the academy voters wanted to punish somebody involved with the movie."
Back of Book Segment
Did Charlie Sheen party with the L.A. mayor?
Guests: Adam Carolla

The Factor asked Adam Carolla to comment on a photo showing Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa with his arm draped around troubled actor Charlie Sheen at a Mexico hotel. "First of all," Carolla quipped, "I don't know what the Mayor is doing in Mexico, it's kind of redundant and a waste of travel money. He could just go to the San Fernando Valley, which is essentially Tijuana. The Mayor says he just stopped and took a picture with Charlie Sheen, but Sheen says they partied for two or three hours. So who's lying? The drug-addled, prostitute shepherd Charlie Sheen? Or the guy who failed the bar exam four times and then changed his name? The city has been better since the Mayor has been gone, I wish he'd move to Mexico."
Factor Mail
Viewers sound off
Joanne Borichevsky, Hatboro, PA: "Bill, it was obvious that the Congresswoman from Hawaii was ill-informed. She did not watch the segment on how liberal her state is. Well, we did watch it and at no time did you show disrespect to Asian-Americans."

Nelson Lima, Irving, TX: "Sorry, O'Reilly, the Congresswoman wins. You were insensitive."

Terry LaPora, Redmond, OR: "Bill, why would you expect the Congresswoman to actually watch your report? They don't even read the bills they vote on."
Tip Of The Day
Winning with grace
When things are going your way, it's always a good idea to be generous and magnanimous.