Bill O'Reilly needs to go fuck himself already

“No spin zone” my ass.

I’m so sick of this self-important windbag I can’t take it anymore. Who appointed this asshole as the guardian of American morality? It’s like he thinks he’s the national assistant principal or something.

Rap music is EVIL! The Sopranos is EVIL! VH1 is EVIL!
Everything is an outrage with this guy.

His never-ending hatred of the Clintons doesn’t bother me that much. It’s annoying but it’s par for the course for right-wing demagogs. (not to mention FNC) Ditto his obsessive crusade against Jesse Jackson, predictable and tired, but again, no different than the Limbaughs of the world.

What really bugs me is his PRETENSE of objectivity. His laughable assertions that he does not have an agenda. At least Rush does not pretend to be neutral. O’Reilly claims that his show is a “no spin zone,” and then starts every day with a self-righteous, liberal-bashing rant in his ridiculous (and superfluous) “Talking Points” segment.

He seems to reserve most of his hatred for the least powerful people in society: blacks, (who he nevers tires of giving patronizing, moralistic lectures about) homosexuals, and the homeless. (the HOMELESS for Christs sake)

There is also a misogynist tone to his constant tirades against Hillary Clinton, Janet Reno, Martha Stewart, etc.

In contrast, he is an abject, butt-sucking apologist for the Bush administration. Yeah, he makes the occasional, token critisism to keep up the “objectivity” charade, but he always qualifies it with statements like “…but I believe Bush is a good man…” He has gone after John Ashcroft NOT because of his religious zealotry or his contempt for the bill of rights (2nd amendment hypocritically excepted) but because he hasn’t tried to “prosecute” Janet Reno or the Clintons for whatever nebulous hypothetical crimes exist in O’Reilly’s imagination.

O’Reilly has made it a personal point to go out of his way to hammer Bush’s “bomb Iraq” talking points day after day, swallowing every word of White House bullshit hook, line and sinker.

When Tom Shales was on the show recently, O’Reilly whined about Shale’s writing about GWB’s “sickening grin,” and told Shales (a critic) that he should leave his “criticism” out of his writing.

He says that selling pot is a “violent crime.”

O’Reilly is also kind of dumb. He often misuses or mispronounces words. One example that I’ve heard several times is the use of the (non-existent) word “pillared” when he means “pilloried.”

He says that children should “afraid” of their fathers.

He is unfair and bullying in his “interviewing” tactics. He interrupts, name-calls, and yells at people who disagree with him. He believes that being louder makes him correct.

He often has guests on to offer “both sides” of an issue, creating a scenario where it is always he and the other conservative ganging up on the liberal.

Lately he has become a self-appointed morality cop, taking it upon himself to decide what other people can watch on TV, or who can endorse Pepsi, or who can be in a muppet movie.

This rant is getting really long but I’ve barely even started.

Does anyone out there really believe that Bill O’Reilly is truly unbiased? Is there anyone who doesn’t know who he voted for in the last presidential election?

I don’t believe there are any talk show hosts anywhere who can help but let their own personal views come out. But these shows are ‘entertainment’, and are constntly being mistaken for fact. I enjoy O’s cynicism, ability to thwart obnoxious callers, and to generally keep people on their toes as far as when we are being lied to. Like many other similar hosts, he achieves his shock value, and his audience, through hyperbole. As I sometimes forget, It is up to us to see through all of this drama. But it does become increasingly difficult to do so. I just take all of these guys pretty much the same way…not too seriously.

Heh.

I wondered why we didn’t have more “O’Reilly SUX!!!” threads around here. Perhaps it is proof of his neutral ground.

It’s like this: Liberals hate him, (“Don’t flaunt your gay lifestyle!”) Conservatives hate him (“I think it is better for an orphaned child to have gay parents than no parents at all!”) and independents hate him because they swear he leans to one side or the other.

Personally, I think he is usually on the mark.

Common sense says:

a) Ludakris (or however he spells his name) is NOT someone who should be selling soft drinks to kids.

b) The Sopranos are NOT something kids should be watching.

c) VH1 Should NOT give rapists & killers airtime. (I don’t care how sweet they are in prison)

Any parent or card carrying member of the ACLU will agree with those statements.

So what is the beef with O’Reilly again?

The “beef”, I believe, is his shameless pretense of objectivity. Does anyone actually consider him a journalist? He’s either an entertainer (although I personally don’t find him entertaining) or a demagogue, depending on what reason one cites for watching his show.

So what do you say about convicted Drug Dealer Tim Allen’s career making movies aimed at the grade school set?

It is a love/hate thing with O’Reilly that I have.

But I missed out on the VH-1 thing with music behind bars tirade. I haven’t watched VH-1 or MTV since I don’t know when.

What’s the scoop on the story?

Yeah, what cuauhtemoc said.

It’s not his opinions, per se, that piss me off, it’s his sannctimonious air of “journalistic” objectivity. The guy is NOT a journalist. I would have a lot more respect for him if he just ADMITTED that he is a right-wing propagandist.

Why CAN’T Ludakris endorse Pepsi? He hasn’t killed anybody. His lyrical content is no worse than KISS, and THEY endorse soft drinks. Also, who put Bill O’Reilly in charge of deciding who’s a fit role model?

Who said The Sopranos WAS for kids? That’s not the point. He went on a tirade about how the show was “corrupting” society. I love The Sopranos and I guarantee, I’m a WAY better person than Bill O’Reilly.

I’ve never heard O’Reilly complain about convicted felons like Oliver North or G. Gordon Liddy being given air time.

Shirley:

VH1 broadcast a concert by some prison rock band, and O’Reilly went ballistic about it. Criminals shouldn’t be “glorified” etc.

I’m a card carrying member of the ACLU, and I don’t agree with those statments. (I’m undecided on the first two statments).

And I think that BO [Beavis] heh heh heh [/beavis] is self-righteous, rightwing asswipe.

Next time, DtC, try to remember that ol’ Bill doesn’t market himself as a journalist. He markets himself as the host of an opinion show.

What are you talking about, Monty? O’Reilly constantly describes himself as a journalist, and his show as a “news analysis” show. If he just ADMITTED that he is an idealogue, then I wouldn’t have a problem with him.

Diogenes, while I’m not saying that your argument against O’Reilly is entirely unfounded, I would avoid using fallacious points to back yourself up.

For one, we can’t prove your statement about your being a somehow better person than O’Reilly as false, but it certainly can’t be proven, either.

Second, I’ve never seen O’Reilly endorse KISS (nor have I seen them endorse a soft-drink, for that matter), so it’s unfair to say that he agrees with their message. The reason Ludacris is attacked is because he is a popular figure with my generation; KISS is not nearly so popular any more.

Finally, there is not a significant relationship between the non-violent crimes of Oliver North and G. Gordon Liddy and the crimes of a rapist/murderer. Beyond that, both North and Liddy have served their terms in prison (they did not have talk shows while in jail, for the record) and should therefore be considered rehabilitated until proven otherwise.

Oliver North has never served time. His conviction was overturned on a technicality. He is, however, guilty of treason. IIRC North’s arms-for-hostages deal supplied Irani terrorists with the explosives they used in an attack on the American Embassy in Lebanon which killed 150 marines. That makes him a violent criminal MY book.

KISS is currently being featured in a coke commercial in which they perform with that annoying little red-haired girl (you know the one). B. O’R hasn’t ENDORSED them but he hasn’t CONDEMNED them either. Their lyrics are every bit as offensive and misogynist as Ludakris’.

Also, how about Hank Williams Jr. doing the Monday Night Football song? HW JR. has written songs which glorify alcoholism and joke about spousal abuse. Why isn’t O’Reilly condemning that?

As for me being a better person, well this IS the BBQ pit. Would it make you feel better if I said IMHO I am a better person?

They endorsed pepsi with that annoying girl who was so annoying that hundreds of men chopped of their testicles each time she appeared in a commercial.
O’Reilly likes to point out during his viewer mail segments (does he still do them? no longer get fox news :() that he gets blamed for being on both sides by the opponents of each. I think Bush gets a small leeway because he actually got interviewed by O’Reilly. If i were running for President, he’d be the first show i appear on (followed by the Daily Show to go after that youth demographic)

Cerebral.Assassin, when did Oliver North spend any time in prison?

Diogenes beat me to it

No, he isn’t. One can only commit treason during a war by giving aid to our enemy. What war effort against the United States did Oliver North aid?

Kirk

Heh- nobody really believes that “no spin” crap right? It’s like “Tastes great, and less filling” a bold faced lie used to sell a product. Just like Miller Lite actually does not “Taste Great”, neither is O’Reilly “spin free”. He is a shill for the right-- he is on Fox News Channel for crying out loud, what did you expect?

The thing is- if you don’t like him, why bother watching that assmonkey? You seem to know alot about someone you can’t stand. Just turn the channel already.

O’Reilly is a third rate Limbaugh wanna-be in my book, and Fox News is annoying- so I don’t watch them. Let the right wing have their toys. If the lefties get NPR, it is only fair.

Hijack- does anyone actually like those annoying news crawlers Fox News and CNN constantly use? I can only take about 3 minutes before I have to switch the channel.

Kirkland:
It is treason by the letter of the law to give weapons to a sworn enemy of the United States. That is exactly what ON did.

Elf: Of course you’re right, but for some reason I feel morbidly compelled to watch. It’s like picking a scab, I can’t help myself.

The crawls annoy me too. So does that stupid-ass flag in the corner.