Tuesday, May 17, 2005
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
Media in a time of war
Guest: Fox News analysts Ellis Henican & Jane Hall

"The always reliable Los Angeles Times has a unique take Newsweek's bogus story on abuse of the Koran, saying anti-US sentiment is 'the Bush administration's fault.' Newsweek isn't the issue for the LA Times - President Bush is. This kind of editorial nonsense is now standard issue at the LA Times. The truth is there have been few abuses by the American military in this kind of a dirty war. As Talking Points has said, some in the media magnify every mistake the military makes in order to hammer the Bush administration. Let's place the blame where it belongs - on news agencies that are blinded by ideology and make mistakes because of that blindness."

Transcript/Video: FoxNews.com

Fox News analysts Ellis Henican and Jane Hall both disagreed with the gist of the Talking Points Memo. "The LA Times was not saying (Muslim unrest) was the Bush administration's fault," Hall claimed. "They were asking why people in the Muslim world were willing to believe this story." And according to Henican, Newsweek was not out to damage the Bush administration.. "Obviously Newsweek made a mistake, and factual mistakes end up in everybody's reporting. But your answer is for Newsweek not to be as aggressive." The Factor again accused the magazine of harboring a deep bias. "They went with the story for the same reason Dan Rather went with his story - they wanted to embarrass the Bush administration. The elite media will hammer the military, guys that could be killed. And it's despicable. I've never made a mistake like the one Newsweek made - in eight-and-a-half years we not had to retract a story."
Impact Segment
USA & Islam
Guest: Sarah Eltantawi, Progressive Muslim Union of North America

Many in the Muslim world view America as "infidels" and the "Great Satan." Sarah Eltantawi, a self-described 'progressive Muslim,' declared that part of the rage is America's fault. "What Islam symbolizes for these people is their human dignity. Guantanamo is a sore and is against the image and interest of the United States." The Factor vehemently disagreed with that assessment. "In most cases the people who have dehumanized Muslims are other Muslims. We have nothing to do with it. And you can't reason with the jihadists or fanatical killers. Most Americans want Guantanamo to be there, and in another society there wouldn't even be a Guantanamo because we would have executed these people."
Unresolved Problems Segment
The ACLU attacks again
Guests: Denny Pattyn & Nikki Natiello, "Silver Ring Thing"

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing to stop a sex educational group from receiving federal funds. The ACLU claims the pro-abstinence group is pushing a religious agenda, which the program's founder Denny Pattyn strongly denied. "Part of our program," Pattyn told The Factor, "is designed for students who want to come and have no religious instruction whatsoever. We want it to be secular because we're trying to reach kids who normally wouldn't come to something like this. We talk about waiting until marriage to have sex." The Factor warned Pattyn that his program seems to be "on the edge" of what is constitutionally permissible: "A judge may say that any kind of religious presentation should not be funded by the federal government. I hope you win, but in the time we live in it's no lock."
Factor Follow Up Segment
1 year for gay marriage in Mass.
Guest: Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney

It's been one year since a Massachusetts court ruled that same-sex marriage is legal, and since then more than 6,000 gay couples have tied the knot. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney told The Factor that overturning the ruling will require the approval of both the people and the state legislature. "The people will favor limiting marriage to a man and a woman," Governor Romney predicted. "But the legislature is 85% Democratic and what they'll do is anybody's guess. This is a matter of what we as a society prefer, and there is a good reason to say a child has the right to have a mother and a father."
Personal Story Segment
Zell Miller's new book
Guest: Fox News analyst Zell Miller

Former Georgia Senator Zell Miller has written a new book called "A Deficit of Decency." He joined The Factor and weighed in on various hot topics.

Zell on rampant illegal immigration: "There is a dereliction of duty by both Republicans and Democrats. This problem is stealing from our own people, but any time a politician touches this issue the press brands you a bigot."

Zell on Democratic Party chair Howard Dean: "He has become very embittered with the whole process. This is not the man the Democrats should have chosen to be their chairman."

Zell on the Newsweek controversy: "They incited a riot, and that's a criminal offense. The media don't like the military and they don't like Bush. And they search for anything they can find that can make the military and Bush look bad."

The Factor concurred with Miller's last assertion, with one caveat. "I don't think the press is anti-military. But what they do is take any mistake made by the military and blow it up to try to embarrass Bush."

Back of Book Segment
Reason Magazine on Jane Fonda
Guest: Nick Gillespie, editor, Reason Magazine

Reason Magazine, known for its libertarian leanings, actually compares Jane Fonda to Benjamin Franklin. Reason editor Nick Gillespie said the comparison is based on Fonda's autobiography. "She talked about how she's a work in progress and has made many mistakes. It's a tradition of autobiography that started with Ben Franklin, who wrote about the mistakes he made in his life." The Factor pointed out that Fonda has never apologized for her betrayal of American prisoners of war. "Former POWs are still embittered and against her, and I've got to believe the guys who were there. I'm not going to give her a pass on that, and you're giving her too much credit."
Factor Mail
Viewers sound off
Many of your e-mails dealt with the Newsweek article that falsely accused military interrogators of defacing the Koran. Some excerpts:

Don Galvin, Congers, NY: "I've been saying for a while that the greatest threat to the American people is the media. Its hatred of President Bush outweighs its concern for the American people."

Tom Tauchert, Hawthorne, NJ: "Sir, you were justifiably hard on Newsweek. But I don't believe you came down that hard on President Bush for the WMD error."

Dr. R.J. Golick, Manhattan Beach, CA: "O'Reilly, you were too easy on Newsweek. The magazine has done enormous damage to American-Islamic relations."

Other viewers commented on the segment about Bill Cosby.

Dan Fendel, Sylman, CA: "Bill Cosby is not knocking poor kids for having names like 'Shanika.' He's telling their parents to stop handicapping them with those names and other things that may hurt them."

Marilyn Lindgren, Yorba Linda, CA: "I listened to Cosby speak and he offended many of us. He talked down to us and tried to teach us how to raise our own children. It was insulting."

Elizabeth Lorenz, Plymouth, MI: "I am a teacher in the Detroit school system and totally agree with Cosby. Many of the parents in my school need to hear his message of personal responsibility."

Books Mentioned


A Deficit of Decency
by Zell Miller

Read more...