Woody Harrelson: I'm an American tired of American lies

Well, O'Reilly is a professional journalist... and you lump him in with a few celebrity know-it-alls. Isn't that a huge slight?

 

Ok, how about O'Reilly and Oprah Winfrey? Both talk show hosts. Both opinionated. Both educated. Of course, Oprah is a hell of a lot more popular...

How about Ted Nugent vs Barbara Streisand? Is that a better celebrity comparison? Both are opinionated idiots. Seems about right.

By the way, O'Reilly is NOT a journalist. He is a commentator and a talk show host but he is no more a professional journalist than Oprah. There is a BIG difference.

 

I don't think anyone is saying that these people don't have a right to their opinion-- moronic or not. Isn't the issue the way that their opinions are artificially elevated by the media to unwarranted levels of importance and newsworthiness.... or worse, to provide clout.

Streisand is a centerpiece for the left; Nugent is capitalized upon by nobody on the right. Are you sure you want to put them in the same department?! Oprah doesn't deal with the daily news in any way, shape or form; she has a book club and is regularly seen on the covers of tabloid publications.

Are you sure that O'Reilly is not a professional journalist? I'm going to do some checking. Seems like I've heard him talk about his career.

 

From O'Reilly's bio at www.foxnews.com:

"While growing up O'Reilly had no idea that journalism would be his calling. He lived in a modest house with his father, mother and sister in the Westbury section of Levittown. O'Reilly began working in his early teens mowing lawns, which evolved into a house painting business.

Upon graduating from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York with a degree in History, he taught high school for two years in Miami, Florida. O'Reilly returned to school to pursue a <b>Masters in Broadcast Journalism</b> from Boston University.

After receiving his Master's degree, O'Reilly began his television news career in <b>Scranton</b>, Pennsylvania, followed by stops in <b>Dallas, Denver, Portland, Oregon, Hartford, and Boston</b>. In 1980, he anchored his own program on WCBS-TV in New York and later became a <b>CBS News correspondent</b>covering the wars in El Salvador and the Falkland Islands, among other assignments.

In 1986, Bill O'Reilly joined <b>ABC News</b> as a correspondent on The World News Tonight. During his three year tenure, he appeared on the show more than one hundred times, and received <b>two Emmy Awards</b> and two <b>National Headliner Awards for excellence in reporting</b>.

O'Reilly's career changed in 1989 when he joined the nationally syndicated Inside Edition as senior correspondent and backup anchor. Within three weeks, he took over the anchor chair from David Frost. During his six years at <b>Inside Edition</b>, the show was one of the highest-rated "infotainment" programs in America.

In 1995, O'Reilly left to enroll in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he received a <b>Master's Degree in Public Policy</b>. Upon leaving Harvard, Roger Ailes, chairman and CEO of the then startup FOX News Channel, hired O'Reilly to anchor The O'Reilly Factor.

Bill O'Reilly continues to live on Long Island where his best friends are guys with whom he attended first grade."

Take that Oprah; she's just a talking head.

 

That was the first thing I noticed, Woody was always a wiz with the numbers! Maybe we can use this math for credit card bills? Oh, you owe 3k to VISA, 4k to Mastercard and 2k to Discover - that equals .5k


Frasier sucks, Cheers RULES!

 

I apologize for challenging convenient, conventional wisdom by asking for evidence proving it's true. I will make sure to let anyone say anything about anybody without challenging it from now on, if doing so will provoke a "conservative vs. liberal" debate.

Even if the topic of the thread is anti-American commentary made by a liberal.

I hope everyone else will do likewise.

Now, I'm off to sit in a sunny meadow and contemplate how Asians are the "model minority".

 

I normally don't like celebrity articles, but that was surprisingly well-reasoned. Not academic quality, but those who dismiss it out-of-hand are doing it a grave disservice.

It's foolish to dismiss something because it was written by someone who happens to be famous, just as it is to accept it for the same reason.

I don't want to debate the analysis here... but the article was logical and coherent. Certainly, it was better written by certain "journalistic" pieces that have been cited and lauded in this same forum that took the opposite view. Why the derision? If you dislike the article, think objectively, and state your reasons. The math, of course, was silly.

No offense meant to those who did that...

 

Let's say that Joe Schmoe did that article. We'd either be here disecting it point for point or recognize the fact that there our government does alot of things that only look out for their own best interest and not ours, the citizens, like they should be. The point is there are much better ways to be handling things and the people we "elect" aren't handling them properly.

 

An opinion voiced by the Loyalist Americans to those protesting against non-representation, taxation etc. in and around 1771-76...These are His Majesty's colonies.This is the way it works here...if you don't like it, move....you damned Rebel.

An opinion expressed by the pro-slavery position in Southern States, and even those under consideration, like Kansas, to those calling slavery inhuman....This is The South.This is the way it works here...if you don't like it, move....you damned Yankee.

An opinion expressed by the supporters of the McCarthy-lead Anti-Communist Movement during the 1950's to those protesting the infringement of their Constitutional Rights...This is America. This is the way it works here...if you don't like it, move...you damned Commie.

An opinion expressed by the anti-Civil Rights movement in the South during the early 60's to those protesting against segregation....This is Mississippi (ex.)This is the way it works here...if you don't like it, move...you damned %$*&$ lover.

An opinion expressed to those protesting involvment in the Vietnam War during the 1960's by those supporting the government. This is your country. This is the way it works here....if you don't like it, move...you damned Hippie.

An opinion expressed by the supporters of the invasion of Iraq to those protesting said invasion, or asking for more justification for such. This is America. This is the way it works here...if you don't like it, move...you damned liberal.

 

An opinion expressed by Adolph HItler himself to those Jews protesting anti-semitism throughout Europe. This is The Third Reich. This is the way it works here...if you don't like it, move...you damned Jew.... or something like that!

 

And now an opinion expressed by me to you.

 

OK, I'll be objective and point out a few problems I have with this article:

• Most of the "facts" cited are pretty flimsy at best, and outright wrong at worst. Military spending making up half the Federal budget? How about 14.2%, Woody. Bush Sr. providing nerve gas to Saddam? Come on.
• Many of the conclusions seem pretty one-sided. For example, why should we think for a minute that Western sanctions are responsible for the ongoing suffering of the Iraqi people, when Saddam continues to pour resources into his military, palaces, etc.?
• The recommendations are just plain silly. Shut down the oil industry, nuclear power plants, and all the rest. Burn hemp and "wheat straw" (whatever that is) and revert to a 17th-century agrarian economy. Sure, Woodman, go smoke another blunt and get back to us with some more brilliant ideas.

Now what was so "logical and coherent" about this piece again?

 

Or, alternatively, an opinion expressed by the National Socialist Party to those who protested their expansionist, imperial tactics and restrictions on civil rights for the sake of 'national security'...This is the Third Reich. This is the way it works here...if you don't like it, move...you damned Communist/Jew/etc...