On tonight's episode of "The O'Reilly Factor", Bill O'Reilly resorted to name-calling.
Here's what happened:
O'Reilly was commenting on Thursday's Democratic Presidential Debate, specifically the part where ABC News' Peter Jennings questioned Wesley Clark about the support given to him from "controversial filmmaker" Michael Moore. Moore has officially endorsed Clark for President in '04, and is the best-selling author of Downsize This!, Stupid White Men, and Dude, Where's My Country, as well as the filmmaker behind the award-winning Bowling For Columbine.
Moore said that he would love to see a debate between Clark and Bush, and he said the debate would be "The General versus The Deserter", referring to many articles in major newspapers about Bush's service (or lack thereof) in the Texas Air National Guard. According to the articles, there is a year where Bush is....well....AWOL. He's just unaccounted for.....for a year.
On the O'Reilly Factor, Bill called Michael Moore (and Stuart Smalley) a "smear merchant". Yes, O'Reilly fans, it's true - your "humble correspondent" resorted to name-calling, proving that the Spin actually STARTS here. O'Reilly also made the statement that "people who hate America love Michael Moore". That seems rather libelous.
The underlying problem with this situation is what is known as "lazy journalism". Mr. Jennings is a respected journalist who has been in the news business for many years, and he knows better (or really should know better) than to just say things without checking facts. He was implying that there is no evidence that Bush is a "deserter", when in fact there are many news articles that speak of his suspicious missing year of service.
What's the lesson we've learned here, kids? You can go AWOL without being prosecuted...IF your last name is Bush.
Wow, it seems that last name gets you a lot. It lets "C" students get into Ivy League Schools. It gives drug users a chance to make it in politics. And it also gets you the title of "President" even if you didn't get the most votes. Thank you, members of the Supreme Court, for helping America make up its mind. How in the world did we ever choose presidents in the past without them stepping in to save us?
In all fairness, Bill O'Reilly is not always wrong, just as Michael Moore is not always right. That statement comes from me reading Dude, Where's My Countryand Bill O'Reilly's Who's Looking Out For You? Both authors bring up valid points in many areas.
It just seems shameful to me that O'Reilly only considers certain liberals "smear merchants", while he considers conservatives who act the same way on the other side of the political spectrum friends (i.e. Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity).
Here is a letter I emailed to O'Reilly, and I encourage anyone reading this who cares about ethical journalism and this country to email Bill and ask him to actually be "fair and balanced" like his network claims to be:
TO: oreilly@foxnews.com
Subject: The Smear Merchant Spin
Mr. O,
The spin actually started when you referred to Michael
Moore as a "Smear Merchant". People who like America
can also like Michael Moore. It seems on the Factor
that liberals get the "Smear Merchant" tag while your
"friends" such as Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity don't.
Is this fair and balanced?
Josh Carples
Montgomery, AL
For More Information:
Michael Moore has links to the "deserter" news articles
Bill O'Reilly's site at Fox News
Wesley Clark for President
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (Fair)
No comments:
Post a Comment