Thursday, August 21, 2014

Greg Gutfeld
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 & Top Story
Reaction to Wednesday's Talking Points
Guest: Horace Cooper
Greg began Thursday's show with a flashback to Bill's provocative Wednesday Talking Points Memo, during which he lambasted Al Sharpton and other race hustlers in Ferguson, Missouri. Conservative Horace Cooper and liberal Hilary Shelton, both black men, entered the No Spin Zone to opine. "You may disagree with Al Sharpton," Shelton said, "but even Bill O'Reilly would agree that Al Sharpton has a right to say what is on his mind, as controversial as it might be. The high homicide rate in this country should be discussed, but in this case we want to talk about police-community relations." But Cooper agreed with Bill's denouncement of Sharpton. "Even if there isn't a crisis going on, he brings a can of fuel and lights it up. If you want to talk about how America addresses how blacks, whites, and browns all get along, Al Sharpton is not the man to do that. But if you want to talk about how the problems can be exacerbated, he's the man to call. The Justice Department and the NAACP and the other agitators are trying to exploit this situation."
Impact Segment
A New Conflict in Missouri
Guest: McGraw Milhaven
Many black citizens are demanding that St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch be replaced in the Michael Brown case, partly because McCulloch's father was gunned down by a black man fifty years ago. Greg was joined by St. Louis radio talk show host McGraw Milhaven, who denounced Missouri Governor Jay Nixon for lining up against McCulloch. "Since Saturday there has been a state of emergency," Milhaven said, "but Governor Nixon hasn't held one news conference, he's been in hiding. He released one prepared statement in which he indicated that he is in favor of Michael Brown's family. In this entire crisis, every political person you see is trying to get the next political office. Bob McCulloch is the only one who is not running for anything, he has dedicated his life to victim advocacy. This man has been elected and re-elected numerous times, he doesn't have an agenda."
Factor Followup
Is Holder the Man for the Job?
Guest: Dana Perino
Attorney General Eric Holder spent part of the week in Ferguson, where he commiserated with black residents and promised a "fair and thorough" investigation. Greg asked FNC's Dana Perino to assess Holder's involvement. "I don't think there is any evidence yet," she began, "that the local district attorney would not be able to handle this without the involvement of the Justice Department, which would usually get involved if there is some evidence of wrongdoing in the investigation. It is true that the Ferguson police department has had very bad communications and public relations, but the local district attorney seems like he's a stand-up guy who should be given a chance. If this were a white teenager killed by a black police officer, would Eric Holder try to infringe on a local district attorney? The answer is probably no."
Unresolved Problems Segment
Failed Rescue Mission
Guest: Lt. Col. Ralph Peters
The Obama administration has revealed that it attempted a secret rescue mission that would have freed James Foley and other Americans who were held hostage by ISIS terrorists. Lt. Col. Ralph Peters entered the No Spin Zone to opine on ISIS and the failed rescue operation. "The administration disgracefully released the details of this raid," Peters complained, "because it provided some fictional political cover so the administration could say, 'We were trying to rescue the hostages.' The administration didn't think about the hostages who are still being held, and we still have nothing that remotely resembles a strategy to deal with the Islamic State terrorists. We're doing these little tactical attacks, but the Islamic State terrorists are a huge threat, worse than Al Qaeda. You have to hit them hard!" Greg criticized President Obama for his seeming passivity in the face of the ISIS terror: "President Obama refers to what happened as 'appalling,' but you should never be appalled by evil. Evil should never surprise you and there is only one recourse, which is to destroy it."
Personal Story Segment
Jihadist Kills Americans
Guest: Laura Ingraham
A self-proclaimed American jihadist named Ali Muhammad Brown has admitted to killing four people in New Jersey and Washington State, calling it "vengeance" for U.S. military actions in the Mideast. Greg asked Laura Ingraham why the story has received so little attention. "The media are always uncomfortable," she theorized, "in covering these acts committed in the name of Allah. They're worried about the 'Islamophobia' charge, and there are a lot of politically correct fears about how it will be perceived. They don't want to look like they're smearing all Muslims for the heinous acts committed by this thug, and they're just terrified by the idea of reporting on this story in a vigorous way. But we must talk about this - our country's liberty and our national security depends on it." Greg ridiculed the media's reluctance to deal with Islamic-related terrorism and criminality: "Radical Islam is the first real evil that has benefited from the fruits of political correctness. If this politically correct tolerance movement were there during the era of Hitler and you said you hated Hitler, would they call you 'Naziphobic?'"
Back of Book Segment
The meltdown of the Obama presidency
Guest: Bret Stephens
Greg welcomed Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens, who has written that the Obama administration is in a freefall. "The Obama presidency is like the Brazilian soccer squad," Stephens said. "These guys were supposed to be playing the brilliant game, resetting relations with Russia and restoring America's good name abroad. And then, like the Brazilians, they collapsed. It's not even in dispute that this president's foreign policy is a total failure, the question is why it is failing. Liberals will tell you it's because the world is a terribly complicated place, America is in decline, and the president simply can't control events. The second theory is that this is an out-of-touch president who is not giving this job his full attention, he is continually caught flat-footed by events. The argument I'm making is that this president is pursuing an ideological goal to reduce America's footprint around the world. As American power and influence shrink, you have all of these groups coming to fill the void." Greg lamented, "President Obama believes our influence is detrimental to the world."

As a coda to Thursday's show, Greg gave a full-throated shout-out to actor Matthew McConaughey, who wore a fanny pack to a baseball game and vigorously defended that oft-ridiculed male accessory.