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.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
The Factor Rundown
Talking Points Memo
Top Story
Impact Segment
Personal Story Segment
Unresolved Problems Segment
Back of Book Segment
Factor Mail
Book Mentions
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Helping the kids of our military
"Most Americans appreciate the sacrifice the American military is making in Afghanistan, Iraq, and all over the world. The war on terror is intense, dangerous, and misunderstood. The New York Times editorialized that 'American soldiers and intelligence agents have been turned into torturers.' The evidence I've seen is demonstrates that the military is prosecuting people who abuse prisoners. If the Times has proof that high-ranking Bush administration officials have endorsed systematic torture, I'd like to see it. Be that as it may, the issue now is helping the children of military people who have been killed in the war on terror. So far about 1,100 children have lost a parent in Iraq, and hundreds of others have had parents killed in Afghanistan. We believe the US government should pay college education costs for those children. So we're asking members of Congress to draft legislation and pass a bill providing college tuition to children of slain military people. Remember, the 9/11 families received government assistance so this is a fair and logical proposition. We also encourage you to contact your representatives and urge them to back this proposed legislation. We'll let you know what happens."

Fox News Video: FoxNews.com

Bush's sinking approval ratings
Guest: Fox News political analyst Dick Morris

President Bush's job approval ratings are beneath 40%, the lowest of his presidency. Fox News analyst Dick Morris warned that the president is in danger of becoming totally ineffectual. "If a president drops below 50% he's functionally out of office, and Bush has been a lot below that for many months. And it's killing him. There are three things Bush needs to do. He needs to get serious about the border, he has got to commit this nation to getting rid of its oil dependency, and he has to get serious about drug issues and drug testing in school. With one speech he could turn this around." The Factor added that President Bush's unpopularity is damaging his party. "The Republicans got thumped this week in the elections. People don't want anything to do with the GOP right now. And the fear among the insiders is that Bush doesn't seem to care."

Building a fence on the border
Guest: Author Col. Randall Larsen

Some members of Congress have proposed building a massive fence along the Mexico-US border, to stem the tide of illegal immigration. Security expert Col. Randall Larsen expressed his opposition to a wall. "My concern is the security of my children and grandchildren and 300 million Americans. The wall will do nothing to improve security. You think you're going to slow down terrorists? There's a longer border with Canada. People who want to come here for jobs, do you really think this is going to stop them?" For different reasons, The Factor agreed that a wall is not the answer. "I'm opposed to the wall because you can do the same thing with the National Guard backing up the Border Patrol, and a wall sends the message that we're not a free society. But it would stop a lot of the drug trafficking and illegal crossings. This chaos can only be stopped by the military or a security fence, and you're against both of them."

Geraldo talks back
Guest: Geraldo Rivera

Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera joined The Factor to weigh in on a number of issues. First, the case of 17-year old exchange student Mykensie Martin, who turned up safe after being missing in Brazil for days. "You have to wonder," Rivera said, "whether we would care about Mykensie Martin if it were not for Natalee Holloway. That is the nightmare that now haunts every one of these stories." On the call for a boycott of Aruba for bungling the Holloway case: "A boycott is appropriate, but not a general boycott that hurts innocent Arubans. How about a selective boycott - no more high school kids? I think we should not allow our children to go there on these senior class trips." Finally, on the terror bombings of three hotels in Jordan. "It is a dangerous escalation in the terror war, and I hope it backfires on them. Maybe this will be the start of a populist movement against these savages."

Revisiting the CBS-Bush controversy
Guest: Mary Mapes

Mary Mapes, producer of the discredited "60 Minutes" segment about President Bush's service in the National Guard, has written a book defending her journalism. Mapes told The Factor she still believes her reporting was sound. "I worked on that story on-and-off for four years, and had plenty of reason to believe those documents were real. In all kinds of journalistic issues in the past, reporters have gone with things they believed but could not prove. We were not sloppy or casual." Mapes maintained that President Bush received preferential treatment in the National Guard, despite his denials. "I think he has selective memory. I think he got preferential treatment, and it's very clear that he did. He did not have a typical Guard experience by any means." The Factor criticized Mapes for putting such a questionable story on the air. "If you're going to report a story about the president shortly before an election, you have to have the standards they have in criminal proceedings - guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Surely here there was reasonable doubt here, and you got fired and Dan Rather got booted. I would not have gone with that story."

"Bad Vibrations"
Guest: Mike Love

Beach Boys co-founder Mike Love is suing his cousin and former bandmate Brian Wilson, complaining that Wilson gave away millions of their songs without his knowledge or approval. "Brian is being mishandled by people around him," Love told The Factor. "They are giving away millions of CDs of our songs to promote Brian's new album, using the Beach Boys name and likenesses. The people surrounding Brian have been unreasonable. I love my cousin Brian and the things we did together were great, but that doesn't justify some of the things that have been done in his name by the people around him." The Factor extended an open invitation to Brian Wilson to appear at any time.

Viewers sound off
Factor Words of the Day
Many of you sent e-mails about the Florida school board that reinstated religious holidays and the controversy surrounding retailers and the greeting "Merry Christmas." Some excerpts:

Franz Frechette, Rollinsville, CO: "The people of Hillsborough County rising up against the secular war on Christmas makes me proud to be an American."

Leonardo Rivera, Truth or Consequences, NM: "I worked for Sears for 15 years and if it does not acknowledge Christmas this season, I will send back my gold card."

Beth Pasek, Cleveland, OH: "I am not a Christian, but when a store clerk wishes me 'happy holidays,' I say to them 'Merry Christmas.' It is certainly appropriate."

Other viewers wrote about the interview with twice-convicted child molester Dave Spencer.

Denise Doucette, La Verne, CA: "Bill, you were right to question that convicted sex offender about his past crimes. The average pedophile has 40 victims by the time he's caught. The only real solution is to colonize them for life."

Dan Sullivan, Tampa, FL: "O'Reilly, you lived up to your reputation in the interview with the child molester. You pushed him to confront the real issue, that he wasn't punished enough."

Leif Zakrisson, Sweden: "Hey, Bill, you are doing a great service in watching judges who are soft on child predators. Those abused kids will never be the same."

Robert Ottaviani, France: "Children do not have their lives ruined by having sex with adults. Only Anglo-Celtics like Americans make up such nonsense."

Book Mentions
Check out the books mentioned during this show.
Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power
by Mary Mapes

Read more...
Condi vs. Hillary: The Next Great Presidential Race
by Dick Morris

Read more...