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.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
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The Muslim world strikes back ... kind of
Guests: Tom Joscelyn & Tom Rogan
"After ISIS executed a Jordanian pilot by burning him alive, there were scenes of outrage across the Muslim world. Almost immediately, the Jordanian government executed an Iraqi woman who was arrested when her suicide bomb failed. They also hanged an al Qaeda operative who was sentenced to death. I would not have done that because the executions smack of revenge, not retribution. But surely everyone can understand the anger the Jordanian people have toward ISIS and other terrorists. The Japanese people have the same anger, so do most Americans and others around the world. But there is no strategy in place to stop the madness. President Obama said, 'This will redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of a global coalition to make sure that they are degraded and ultimately defeated.' Right now the coalition is a myth and ISIS is doing pretty much what it wants. Last year, the CIA estimated that as many as 31,500 fighters had joined ISIS. Jordan has an active army of 88,000 and almost twice that number in total personnel and reserves. ISIS burned the pilot in a town called Raqqa in Syria. So why isn't the 'global coalition' attacking Raqqa? Surely the Jordanian army could attack it, so could the Turks. The USA could also launch operations against Raqqa, but there is no will to do that. The American people deserve to know the truth about President Obama's campaign to defeat the jihad, and the truth is there is no campaign. We hit selected targets with drones and bombers, and in Iraq the bombing has been somewhat effective in stopping the ISIS advance. But almost every military person knows that only ground forces will get ISIS out of their entrenched positions. Again, we're talking fewer than 40,000 of these savages and you're telling me the world cannot wipe them out when they're sitting in the Syrian desert and in ramshackle towns in Iraq? Bull! America and the rest of the world lack the will to defeat evil. Barack Obama must focus on the growing terror problem and the threat from Iran. We are reaching a crisis level."

The Factor invited reaction from foreign policy analysts Tom Joscelyn and Tom Rogan. "We already beat these guys once," Joscelyn pronounced. "When they were Al Qaeda in Iraq, the mother of ISIS, a counter-insurgency strategy was put in place, led by American forces. It systematically rolled back their territory. I'm now optimistic about our ability to get a foothold in eastern Syria." Rogan agreed that American forces, working with Arab troops, could severely damage ISIS. "The U.S. is about the only country with special forces specifically oriented for what's called foreign internal defense. The tribes in eastern Syria are very similar to the tribes in Anbar, so there is a natural affinity to join forces that would win them basic freedom."
Jesse Ventura's shameless remarks
Guest: Alan Colmes
During an appearance on Alan Colmes' radio show, former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura actually compared "American Sniper" Chris Kyle to Nazis. Colmes entered the No Spin Zone and elaborated on the interview. "Once you bring up the Nazis," he said, "you lose the argument. It's insane to compare our fighting troops to the Nazis." Nevertheless, Colmes agreed with the basic sentiment promulgated by Ventura and the anti-war radicals at Code Pink. "We shouldn't have been in Iraq in the first place and I don't think it's our problem right now. They are not a threat to the U.S. and we are metastasizing terrorism. The Factor theorized that Ventura went off the rails many years ago: "We don't have him on this show because he's a 9/11 'truther' and he's out there in a lot of ways. I know he's bitter, but he's distorting history."
Problems with pot
Guest: Bill Bennett
The Factor welcomed former Secretary of Education William Bennett, who has written a new book about the hazards of marijuana. "Public opinion is getting softer on marijuana," Bennett said, "but the hard science is showing overwhelming evidence about how dangerous pot is. It kills motivation, interferes with memory, and if you start smoking pot in your teen years and smoke once a week, you'll lose eight IQ points. They're starting to have regrets in Colorado." The Factor reminded Bennett that he has engaged in a tough battle, saying, "A lot of baby boomers say the drug is benign and they have passed that idea to their children."
Will taxes and the debt go up?
Guests: Eric Shawn & Molly Line
President Obama has put forth a budget that includes $4-trillion in federal spending next year. Fox News correspondent Eric Shawn evaluated the president's plan for funding all that largesse. "There are 20 new taxes in this budget," he reported, "that bring in $2-trillion more over the next ten years. For example, he wants to raise the capital gains tax to 28%. Taxes are going up, spending is going up, and the deficit is going up. Under the new budget the federal debt would increase from $18.6-trillion to $26.2-trillion in ten years." FNC's Molly Line turned to revelations about the deadly AirAsia flight that crashed into the sea in December. "There's a lot of evidence in this case and the preliminary investigation has just been released. Indonesia authorities say the weather was a major factor and the co-pilot was flying the plane at the time."
Super Bowl musings
Guest: Dennis Miller
The Factor asked Dennis Miller for some observations and impressions of last Sunday's Super Bowl. "In a nutshell," Miller began, "I'd say Pete Carroll over-thought second-and-goal at the one-yard-line like President Obama over-thinks what to call ISIL. I like Pete Carroll, but when you have an absolute beast in the backfield you hand it to him twice and abide by the results." Shifting to a far more serious issue, Miller compared the ISIS jihadists to other evildoers. "The Nazis and the Soviets were 'godless' men, but we're up against some god-centric people now. We're going up against people who believe their god tells them to kill the infidel. I like the Jordanian approach - they kill one of us, we kill two of them the next morning!"
Assessing the Super Bowl commercials
Guest: Martha MacCallum
With Don Draper unavailable, FNC's Martha MacCallum named this year's best and worst Super Bowl commercials. "USA Today uses an 'ad meter' to determine if the money spent on commercials was worth it," she said, "and this year they had 6,700 people who commented in real time." MacCallum revealed that the viewers decided the best ad was the Budweiser spot featuring Clydesdale horses and a lost puppy, while the worst was for a video game called Heroes Charge. "The Clydesdale horses represent Budweiser and the folks loved it, it got an 8 out of 10, while the spot for Heroes Charge got a score of 3.2 But I think the worst spot was for a toe fungus product - it was repulsive, who wants to hear about that during the Super Bowl?"
Viewers Sound Off
Factor Words of the Day
Don Estif, San Salvador, El Salvador: "Apparently Muslim nations are now going to do something because ISIS executed a Muslim. Is it okay for them to execute non-Muslims?"

Jim Knupp, Little River, SC: "What a hoot! Code Pink's answer to stopping the Huns is to have meetings! Yeah, that will do it."

Bob Rosenberg, Cheyenne, WY: "Mr. O, were you just killing time with Code Pink and their imbecilic viewpoint? Next time book Pink Floyd!"
Dealing With Meanies
If and when someone directs some nastiness in your direction, the single most effective response is to just walk away.