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| 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.
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"As you may know, some vicious hateful people are trying to sabotage the presidential Inauguration set for this coming Friday. There is no excuse for that. A peaceful transition of power should be respected by all loyal Americans. In fact, the term loyal opposition is a badge of honor because we need differing opinions to have a vibrant society. But when you take the word loyal out and it's simply opposition, that is a subversion of our republic. Enter the Talladega College Marching Band, 230 strong. The Tornados are a fabulous part of a very important Alabama college. Talladega was founded by ex-slaves and it is an excellent African-American school that creates opportunities for students who do not have many resources. The Talladega Tornados were invited to perform at the Inauguration and the kids were thrilled. But then came threats directed at the college president, Dr. Billy Hawkins. He spoke to The Factor last week, saying this: 'They've said that I've shamed the college by making this decision, and I've had folks that say that I'm a disgrace to my African-American race. It's been pretty nasty.' Immediately after that interview, donated money from Factor viewers poured into gofundme.com to help the Talladega band. As it stands now, the college has received close to a half-million dollars for the band and scholarships! Factor viewers have donated so much money to help Talladega that not only will the band get to go to the inauguration and have its entire infrastructure upgraded, but scholarships will be available to poor students. My foundation is donating $25,000. The bigger picture is this - much of that money was given by Trump supporters, the 'deplorables' who have been demonized as racist by some on the hateful far left. This story is vivid proof that generalizing about any group of people is foolish and dishonest. Dr. Hawkins knew what he was doing when he came on The Factor. He could have gone on any program, but he chose us because he knows this audience. You guys are watching because you want fairness and justice. On this Martin Luther King federal holiday, the Talladega College Marching Band is getting ready to perform at the Inauguration. The students will never forget that honor, the country should be grateful to have these kids in D.C., and The Factor audience has made it all possible."
The Factor invited reaction from Charles Krauthammer. "You've done a really good deed," Dr. K said, "and the college president has shown infinitely more spine than all the Ivy League presidents collectively. This inauguration isn't a celebration of Donald Trump, it's a celebration of a solemn tradition that is a central focal point of our civic life. These kids simply want to be able to say to their grandchildren that they marched in an inaugural parade, and to deny them that would be a big deal." The Factor added, "This college president has taken every kind of heat you can take and decided what is best for the students, and that's courage!" |
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| Returning for a second segment, Krauthammer turned to President Obama's latest interview on '60 Minutes,' where he defended his 'red line' warning regarding Syria's use of chemical weapons. "Chemical weapons were used in the war," Krauthammer declared, "and Obama did nothing. When the president says the words 'red line,' that has a meaning all over the world in diplomacy. Assad crossed the line, President Obama didn't react, and as a result you see all these aggressive actions around the world. He is fundamentally a weak and feckless president and this is a failed presidency!" The Factor concluded, "As soon as Assad dropped gas killing babies and children, the U.S. Air Force should have bombed his air force to smithereens." |
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| More than 30 Congressional Democratic, among them John Lewis, are boycotting Donald Trump's inauguration. That isn't sitting well with 'The Five' co-host and former Bush communications adviser Dana Perino. "All of these Democrats are in really safe seats," she observed, "so they pay no political price for not going to the event. In fact, they will probably get good public relations in their districts. But there are some progressive Democrats who will attend out of a sense of duty." The Factor said of the boycotters, "These people are in Congress because their districts are crazy left. |
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| Donald Trump continues to send his daily Twitter messages, bypassing the mainstream media. Mary Anne Marsh and Cheryl Casone evaluated his strategy. "It's very smart to have Twitter as his weapon of choice," Marsh said, "because every political reporter is on it and all the breaking news is there first. He gets an unfettered message out to millions of people. But I think he has a 55% unfavorability rating because of his tweeting, which he has used to pick fights and bully people." Casone predicted that Donald Trump is unlikely to tone down the frequency or ferocity of his tweets. "This is what got him elected and he's not going to change. We know that the mainstream media tends to be liberal and he will go completely around them and straight to the American people." |
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| The Factor welcomed veteran Fox News political analyst Brit Hume, who surveyed the contentious political landscape. "In my fifty years of covering Washington," Hume said, "I've never seen the kind of poisonous pre-inauguration atmosphere that we're seeing here. This is usually a time when partisan bitterness is set aside, at least temporarily, but this year that is not happening. The partisanship and bitterness is the worst I've ever seen and the antipathy toward Donald Trump the man is even greater than it was toward George W. Bush." |
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| Jesse Watters spent this Martin Luther King Jr. holiday talking with some black Americans about race relations. Here's what a few of them had to say: "His legacy still lives with us" ... "Black people need to come together" ... "It's all about education and the way we inform ourselves" ... "Don't get rid of ObamaCare" ... "People have to improve themselves and not expect things to come to them" ... "We're all brothers and sisters" ... "We're not black, we're just people!" Watters noted, "It was harder to get white people to talk about this than black people." |
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Bambi Forester, Lacey, WA: "I so admire the president of Talladega College for not giving into the bullies. Isn't it ironic that a school founded by ex-slaves is against standing up to intolerance?"
Ron Fillmore, Centerville, TX: "O'Reilly, you asked why certain groups threaten anyone who might want to attend the inauguration. The answer is they are bigots. The very thing they accuse Trump supporters of being."
Ricardo Esteves, Libson, Portugal: "O'Reilly, someday you will retire, and we will have to live without your brilliant Talking Points. Please put them in a book." |
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| Going forward, fanatical ideologues will not be welcome on The Factor, so you may be seeing some new faces in the new year. |
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