Too Much To Dream

I've long been in the habit of finding some other channel to watch after 8:00 p.m. on weeknights. But this O'Reilly rant really got me PO'd. Mainly because I don't ever want to find myself tempted to root for Al Franken.

Apparently the Internet takes O'Reilly's browser wherever it, not he, wants to go. A TV with no channel selector, directed by the Control Voice from "The Outer Limits."

"We control the horizontal. We control the vertical." It was fiction, Mr. O'Reilly. Wake up and take command of your own life. At your age, you should have done it already.

Most ironic is his rant about corrections to misstatements made on the Net. Bloggers in particular are more reliable than the Old Media about issuing corrections. Moreover, the corrections are issued more promptly, and are made far more conspicuous than the New York Times's half-inch squibs on page 37.

This supposedly state-of-the-art commentator is incensed at the imperfections of the most radical new medium for information dissemination in human history. It is to laugh.

"Why not hold up the publication of the newspapers for a few days while the government checks all the facts?" -- from a lapel button.

I have never been able to watch O'Reilly, and this from someone who used to listen to Dr. Laura all the time. He's just so arrogant and won't let the guests make any kind of sensible argumentation. What's the brilliance in debate when you shut down your opponent before he says anything you'd have to really think to counter? Anyway, this latest is no surprise, doesn't change my opinion of him, just confirms it. The scary part? Two of my friends who do listen to his show (TV or radio) have told me several times that he reminds them of me. I always scream, "TAKE THAT BACK OR I'LL TURN OFF YOUR MIKE!"

This VRWCer never watched O'Reilly before, so it's not exactly gonna put a dent in my viewing habits ;)

I watch Fox News, but I cannot stomach Bill O'Reilly.

I can't believe he's ranting about That Pesky First Amendment. Does he really believe that there would be fewer sickos and creeps without it (well, ok, if they started shooting the sickos and creeps, there might, but you know what I mean...the First Amendment doesn't MAKE them, it just allows them to exist, sort of a side-effect of allowing genuine debate and disagreement to exist)

I wonder what he would say about the PC move to "censor" textbooks, which allegedly contains such ridiculous things as never showing pictures of left-handed people doing left-handed things, becuase little Muslim children living in the US might be offended...

Hey..

Don't forget this is the same guy who started this whole silly "boycott French products" drive. But yet still a couple of weeks ago, he was seen having lunch in a French restaurant.

No spin Zone? Go away, Bill.. Just go away!!

Hey..

Don't forget this is the same guy who started this whole silly "boycott French products" drive. But yet still a couple of weeks ago, he was seen having lunch in a French restaurant.

No spin Zone? Go away, Bill.. Just go away!!

Hey..

Don't forget this is the same guy who started this whole silly "boycott French products" drive. But yet still a couple of weeks ago, he was seen having lunch in a French restaurant.

No spin Zone? Go away, Bill.. Just go away!!

He claims to have no guiding ideology, which is just a gimmick (dare I say it? a SPIN) to get people from both sides to watch his show. His rant against the Internet just shows how short-sighted he is about the Information Age.

He claims to have no guiding ideology, which is just a gimmick (dare I say it? a SPIN) to get people from both sides to watch his show. His rant against the Internet just shows how short-sighted he is about the Information Age.

Argh! Guys, just click once and wait... the comments form is often slow. I used to have a hack set up to prevent double postings, but I think I erased it in the last upgrade.

In his MSNBC column, Instapundit is comparing O’Reilly to Donahue..and mentioning a few names…

“I predict that this dumb piece of O’Reilly’s, inconsequential as it is on its own, marks the beginning of the end. Not because, as Andrea Harris writes, “That sound you hear is the sound of thousands of “right-wing” bloggers changing their tv channel from Fox News to ... anything else.” But because this embarrassing “who are these little people to criticize the likes of me” bit indicates that O’Reilly has lost touch with the common man, and started to identify with the “famous people.” Hey, that was Donahue’s schtick. And we all know what happened to him.”

http://www.msnbc.com/news/856672.asp#030617

Probably every blogger has posted something about O'Reilly. (I quoted from the same Jim Treacher post too...)

I'll excerpt my own post here:

Ain't that a bitch, Bill? People going on the Internet and saying whatever they like, and you can't interrupt them and shout them down. And that's because the Net is not your fucking show!

[yadda yadda, and it sums up:]

"So which is the bigger threat to America?" Well, as I see it, the bigger threat is the Talking Head for a monolithic media corporation advocating a crackdown, as O'Reilly seems to be hinting at, on Internet free speech.

Well, I dunno about that. O'Reilly may be annoying, but he's essentially harmless.

Occurs to me, if he were in the blogosphere, he'd be a tr0ll.

O'Reilly may be annoying, but he's essentially harmless.

Change "harmless" to "brainless", and I'm in complete agreement, McGehee. However, I'm not sure I'd characterize Oh Really as a troll. I just don't think that trolls deserve to be lumped in with Oh Really. The internet variety of trolls are often more intelligent, and the troll in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was better looking.

I don't think about Oh Really often, but when I do, I think of him as a sort of global village idiot.

Riyadh delenda est!

I can't stand O'Reilly, or any aspect of Fox News for that matter. "No Spin Zone" is as big a lie as "Fair and Balanced".

But ...

The Boycott France campaign is definitely NOT silly, but a reasonable and effective way to respond to an "ally" who undercuts and backstabs us at every opportunity.

Sorry to go OT, but I couldn't let one slide.

oops ... should be "couldn't let that one slide".

O'Reilly is annoying, and he is dangerous. While his show and his writings can be ignored, his success at appealing to his audience along with his Fox cohorts is leading to more of his ilk inundating cable and the airways. Unchecked they will marginalize and drown out opposing viewpoints. Ignore him, and he will be the norm, not the exception.

Off topic: So the French were wrong about Iraq 'docob'? Do you know where those WMDs are?

They're in the trunk of my car.

"They're in the trunk of my car."

Mine are cleverly hidden in the gas tank... Weapons of Mass Distraction brought to you by Texaco and Fox "News".

The problem with TV news today is that alternative sources on the Internet need to spend so much time "undoing" the disinformation campaign of the corporate agenda. "Conservative" media has become anything but. They are most liberal with their journalistic standards. If it weren't for Internet news sources, I would probably believe by now that the First Amendment had been overturned without the public being informed.

Oh yeah, O'Reilly. Loose cannon 'bout to 'splode. That should make for good television, eh?

Sorry about the double post. I sware that I only clicked once, but I blame my computer, as posting to Atrios teaches you patience while waiting for one's comment to appear.

What about the whining Bill O'Reilly?

"The Internet has become a sewer of slander and libel, an unpatrolled polluted waterway, where just about anything goes"

I'm sure B.O. wasn't making reference to the hatchet job he and his ilk perpetrated against the 42nd president. That in the world of "commieconservatism" was fair game. As the argument goes, how could we let a president lie about getting a little goop on a blue dress and get away with it? Where is the same sense of indignation at a president who willingly lies about WMD and jeopardizes the lives of untold numbers of young Americans as a result.

Won't be long before B.O., Fatso Rush and Hateful Hannity (as well as FOX - "Fair and balanced...my ass") are relegated to the trash heap of tabloid journalism history.

Dennis McArthur

Dennis -- 1) don't sign your posts. As you can see, your name appears in the "posted by" space. Signing your name merely appears redundant.

And to you and everyone else, 2) please keep the "Bush lied!" crap off my blog. I am not interested in debating this here. There are plenty of other blogs where you can join in the Where-Are-The-WMDs mud wrestling match. I have said my piece on the subject some time ago, and I consider the subject stale and boring. Those of you who have "Bush lied" on the brain, as far as I am concerned you and your fellow mutterers are no more relevant than the JFK obsessives. I expect any day now to read that Cheney and Wolfowitz have Saddam and his sons stashed away at Area 51 along with the frozen dead aliens.

Bill O'Reilly is so redundant; I've stopped watching his show as "his point" becomes pointless, from a viewer's perspective. Might as well watch shorter, sharper political quips from a Jay Leno Show and emerge happier and content afterwards.

Fox News should be called CET-- Conservative Entertainment Television. That's all it is. Just like professional wrestling

Has Leno said or done anything funny in the last 5 years? I stopped watching his show some time ago.

The really amazing thing is that guys like Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity are benefitting from the technology we have now, albeit the Net is a totally different story. While O'Reilly worked for ABC News I believe, I don't ever recall seeing him on a report, although I'm sure he did them. The thing I remember about him is that is that I think he did some silly Hollywood Insider gossip show before he landed at Fox News. Do anyone really believe that if these guys were at this stage in their professional career 20-25 years ago, we would even know who they are? They ought to thank their lucky stars they can get their faces on at least one of the airwaves, so then they can sell "no-spin" non-fiction books, which are full of fiction. But, hey, that's America.

What a left-wing bunch of loonies on this website!
You leftists need to get used to the fact that millions of people outside of Santa Monica and Manhattan have switched to Fox! I watch O'Reilly every night that I can, because he shoots straight and takes no prisoners. By the way, his radio show AND his Factor show are huge hits. Chris Mathews can't even get half a room of people to watch his show. And CNN? The Clinton News Network is far, far left and makes no bones for it, so all you leftists just watch that and shut up!

O'Reilly does have control and he puts on sleazebags like Dick Morris? Morris even looks unclean. Bill feeds him softball questions and Dick answers by stabbing his "former employer" Bill Clinton in the back. Regardless of the question. O'Reilly then pounces on his answer as gospel. Morris learned a lot from his prostitute. He'll be anything or say anything for a buck. Bill Bennett was a moralist and IS a hypocrite. O'Reilly is the same.

Conservatice Joe,
I guess you are still thinking from your 15th century shelf. Stop presenting yourself as a conservative first and be an American first then a conservative. Left wingers-right wingers clubs are killing the country and the rest of the world. Criticize when critic is due and stop using excuses to protect those who sound like you. We shall all be able to stand on our own feet and on our own feet alone.

Bill O'Reilly IS done as he probably now thinks he's American royalty. In the fantasy about royalty no one can talk bad about the royals, or off with their heads!!! Come on that guy has been an accident waiting to happen for a while as he preens his way to fantasy dominance of the news. He can't seem to figure out that he's a popular clown. And, um, I'm not afraid to admit that clowns scare me.

Aw jeezus now I'm a leftwing loonie. LOL.

Conservative Joe--
I first thought you were joking. The Radio Factor is a dismal failure in the ratings, you can look them up. I could argue other things, but they've been argued.

I think it is also pretty funny that fox shows a lot of 2nd mortgage and viagra commercials--tells a lot about the viewership.

Let's put this thing to rest. O'Reilly is annoying, period. He's like the person at the table that doesn't let anyone speak by speaking above them. We all know these types. Useless because they don't really care about what you have to say, their opinion is always right, regardless. Putting it to rest, O'Reilly doesn't realize his comment's are a throw back to the time of the introduction of TV and mass media, which, I might add puts food on his table, traitor. There were many people at that time with opinion's. Think about it and then put it to rest, it's not worth the time. Beside's, the internet is only useless for those with tendencies to do wrong and shirk their productive responsibilities. Without the internet, many aspects of my job would take 5 to 10 times longer. Maybe O'Reilly should be reincarnated in the 17th Century.