It's ironic that Bill O'Reilly has an advanced degree in journalism when his nightly spew is the antithesis of real journalism. If any professor of journalism needs an example of propaganda disguised as journalism, he or she should use "The Factor," in particular Bill's "Talking Points" as an example of how to get the most bang for your buck when you're engaging in vicious personal attacks framed in short sound bites. Monday night's "Talking Points" was very instructive as they provided Bill with the opportunity to bash one of his favorite targets, librul higher education, while issuing a new fatwa that, like his last fatwa (the editor of the Denver Post) is an African-American man. Not only does Bill report, he divides!
O'Reilly, a traditionalist who mourns the demise of the white, male, Christian power structure, is not happy about the reality that America's youth are not buying the tired, old regressive ideas which Bill staunchly defends. And even worse, they voted for Obama in overwhelming numbers. On Monday night's Talking Points he began with his pronouncement that "one of the reasons America is moving to the left and becoming a more secular society is that college and university system is overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly teaching liberal tenets." (Awww) He cited stats which show that university faculties are, OMG, 51% Democratic. He cited university contributions to Obama and declared that "American college students are mostly caught in a liberal environment whether they like it or not." (Awww) And then he segued into the personal attack.
He reported, as have just about every Christian right wingnut site, the story about a Florida Atlantic University Mormon student who was told to write Jesus' name on a piece of paper and stomp on it. The student, a Mormon, objected and put the paper back on the desk. And despite his background in journalism, O'Reilly didn't provide the context for the class exercise which was about the importance of symbols in culture and incorporates objections, such as that voiced by the student, as part of the lesson plan. After reporting that the student was removed from class and has gotten a lawyer from Liberty Institute (a conservative Christian law firm that specializes in persecuted Christians), Bill said - ready for it - that he's "not going to try the case on television." He did mention that the teacher, an African-American, is a "Democratic Activist" and showed a photo of him.
Bill then whined about campuses becoming "radicalized" and how "the Harvard newspaper described me as some kind of conservative reactionary, asking if Harvard students should be ashamed that I have a degree from that school." (Hey Bill, what about ignoring guttersnipes?) Actually, the article made clever use of Bill's "pinhead" term" "If you think Harvard is a revolutionary communist hotbed, don’t apply. If you think Harvard is full of “pinheaded” professors, don’t enroll." The only specific reference to O'Reilly was this: "In November, Fox News pundit and Harvard KennedySchool graduate Bill O’Reilly glibly referred to Harvard professors as “pinheaded” while implying that the Harvard community is morally suspect for its acceptance of Harvard College Munch, a group for students who share an interest in kinky sex."
Once more O'Reilly couched his opinion as fact: "Last November many Americans were stunned that President Obama won the election despite all the economic chaos but when you understand the liberal indoctrination on college campuses, you begin to see how that is contributing to the move left."
So in addition to the lazy, minority, welfare moochers who want free stuff, it's also "liberal indoctrination" on campuses that helped Obama win the presidency. Who knew! It wasn't a GOP message that didn't resonate with Americans particularly the young? It wasn't rape candidates, voter suppression efforts, and anti-Hispanic bias that just might have affected the final tally? Even the GOP has acknowledged its need to re-tool itself. But hey, who needs details when the intent isn't journalism but pure propaganda. Way to go, journalist Bill.
Obama will transform America into another 3rd world nation run by UN Laws. Obama will destroy this Country and if that is what you morons want, then that is what you will get. And when you find that you can’t get a job or start a business, or lost most of your freedoms, don’t complain. A vote for obama is a vote for more jobs loses, poverty and more people on foodstamps and welfare =,
“Many Americans”, BillO?
That wouldn’t include the 65,907,213 persons who voted for him, would it?
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Of course, because Democrats like facts, while Republicans only care about rating. It’s the same reason you can go to just about any media watchdog site and pick out which side everyone’s on.