Dear reader,
I am asking for your help. I don’t get many folks stopping by this blog. I am okay with that since these writings have a greater cathartic value. But if you know other folks please ask them to write to FOX news and complain about the use of the phrase “no spin zone”. Don’t ask them to write to Mr. O’Reilly, write to FOX news. Don’t ask that Mr. O’Reilly be taken off the air, just ask that he stop using their network to lie.

Now to call a person a liar or a manipulator is not to be taken lightly. On the other hand, to insult FOX viewers is also a matter not to be taken lightly. Early on Mr. O’Reilly did come off as more or less fair and balanced and the no spin zone seemed, at times, credible. But in the last year he has begun to believe what he reads about himself in the newspapers and has sacrificed truth and honesty for ratings. The program has deteriorated to an exercise in hyperbole and hyperbole, by it’s very nature, requires spin.

This latest example is the most blatant to date and the most egregious. How much hate and intolerance was Judge Cashman subjected to? How much damage was done to the State of Vermont through vindictive remarks and encouragement of boycotts? How big and strong did Mr. O’Reilly appear as he pounded his desk and demanded his decision be adhered to. How noble he appeared as he chastised the citizens of Vermont, the very seat of Transcendental thought in America, to take to the streets in a massive display of civil disobedience.

Mr. O’Reilly was looking for a “hero” in Vermont. A 21st century Thoreau. What he settled for was the local yokel on an AM station in what is most likely an idyllic little town, St. Albans. The yokel, one Paul Beaudry, put on his white sombrero and his red bandana and rode into the no spin zone. Much to Mr. O’Reilly’s delight the long awaited hero was on the set.

But in an interview with The St. Albans Messenger the day before Mr. Beaudry said “I didn’t really want to do it,” he told the Messenger. “I gave in to the peer pressure.” http://samessenger.com/12106.html.

The day before, Mr. O’Reilly played an audiotape interview of the victims parents. You may have seen that program. One of Mr. O’Reillys’ minions had schlepped up to Vermont and was on the case. The idea behind the audio tape was to evoke sympathy for the parents and further incense those premium viewers. After the tape was played Mr. O’Reilly lambasted every newspaper in Vermont with the exception of the Burlington Free Press. They alone were the beacon of truth in an otherwise lunatic left media.

It wasn’t that the Burlington Free Press spoke kindly of you so much as they didn’t laugh at you. But while you sang their praises you failed to mention some other reporting they did. Things like;

“The Free Press learned that in 2003 the victim reported being abused by two men to a para-educator at her school. An investigation was launched by police and the state's Department of Children and Families.

In a decision that's hard to imagine, the state dropped its investigation after the child recanted her statements -- although according to the parents, the department realized that Hulett was sleeping in the child's bed and advised them to put a plan in place to stop that behavior.” http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060127/OPINION/601270322/1006&theme=

Or things like; “One also wonders why this child's family failed to act immediately to stop the abuse. How could any parent allow an unrelated adult to repeatedly sleep in a child's bed (the girl has been removed from the home and is living with a foster family).

Children should be able to turn to trusted adults, police and social service agencies for help. If they are failing to do their jobs, there must be changes to ensure the next young victim doesn't slip through the cracks of these protections.” http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060127/OPINION/601270322/1006&theme=

We all know why. These truths, reported in a paper you endorse, would have dampened the pathetic tape of the victimized parents. On your singular list of people who let this little girl down Judge Cashman would have slipped from number one to number five. There was plenty of culpability before this mess was thrown at him.

But there would have been no desk pounding, no self righteous indignation and the hero of St. Albans could have left his horse in the barn. Even more repugnant was the parade of Vermonters who made their daily pilgrimage to your set without ever mentioning the truth. Fair and balanced? No spin? Not by a long shot. You, Billy boy, are but half the man you pretend to be. A liar who will stop at nothing to promote himself. On the kind of streets where I was raised you are a cheapshot punk.

My fellow Americans, and you know who you are, I have come here tonight to let you know how things are going in the U.S. of A. Let me start by telling you that things just couldn’t be better.
The unemployment rates continue to rise in all 50 states and that’s a good thing.

I mean, well, look at it this way. If the unemployment rates went down then there wouldn’t be any jobs to fill. If that happened the employment rates wouldn’t go up because you have to have the job before you can hire the worker. This administration could not add two million jobs to the economy unless there were two million openings. You see?

Small businesses continue to thrive, thanks to a lot of tax breaks that this administration got for them. It’s important for small businesses to thrive because that’s where all the terminations come from, and it’s those terminations that make the jobs. You have to fire somebody in order to hire somebody.

We weren’t in Iraq on 9/11 but the terrorists attacked us anyway. So I decided to go to where the terrorists were. Our intelligence told us that they were all in Iraq and piling up a whole lot of weapons of mass destruction. You see?, There are two kinds of weapons. Weapons of minimal destruction and weapons of mass destruction.

The United States is always prepared for weapons of minimal destruction. Why, heck, the streets are full of them. So I, as the President, made the decision to activate 100,000 national guard and reservists to go over to Iraq and get all those weapons before they could be used against us.

Well, those fine young men and women looked and looked but they couldn’t find any. So I told them all to stay another year and to look harder. They still couldn’t find any WMD, that’s White House jargon for weapons of mass destruction, but that was alright because I really sent them to fight terrorists. You see?

If I had sent them to fight terrorists then the terrorists would have hidden. Wouldn’t you? So I had to fool the terrorists, kinda like sneaking up on them. That strategy worked because we have the terrorists cornered in Iraq. That’s why we lob the occasional missile into Pakistan. Because Pakistan is close to Iraq.

And that gets us right back to our economy because if we don’t use up these missiles then we won’t be making any and if we don’t need to make any then there won’t be a job to fill. You see? It’s all interrelated. The war on terror has a lot to do with our economy.

When I was coronated the stock market was a mess. Fiscal spending had been reigned in by my predecessor and the markets were slumping. Now Wall Street is flourishing, thanks in part to the success of the oil companies. When the cost of oil goes up the cost of everything goes up and that is a boost to our economy. You see?

Now I know that the nay-sayers and the pessimists in this country say that I have a vested interest in oil company profits. And I know they say the Vice President is invested in Haliburton up to his armpits, but that simply isn’t the case. It is vital to our nations’ interest that we keep instability alive in the middle east.

It’s kinda like basic economics. As long as the middle east is unstable the price of oil will continue to rise. And as long as the price of oil rises the cost of everything rises. That means that Americans have to spend more to buy stuff and that means the economy goes up. You see? The more Americans have to pay for stuff the more the economy goes up. It’s all interrelated.

Two years ago we faced a threat from the liberal government of our friends to the north, Canada. American citizens were getting their drugs on the cheap because Canada was sly enough to bargain with American drug manufacturers and buy drugs for next to nothing. Then they would sell those drugs to Americans for less than they would have had to pay at a drug store in the United States. Canada was undermining our drug companies and their middlemen, the pharmacies.

This administration acted quickly by pushing the Medicare part D program through the Congress. As a result the drug manufacturers are seeing increased profits and Canada has been taken out of the equation. Those increased profits help bolster Wall Street just like oil does. The more people have to spend on drugs the more the economy rises.

Because of Medicare part D the federal government has saved millions of dollars and the drug companies are selling millions of pills which the middlemen mark-up which means there is more money being spent which means the economy rises. You see? It’s all interrelated. The additional expense is being picked up by the individual states which is the way it’s supposed to be. Afterall we fought a civil war over states rights, didn’t we?

This administration is committed to keeping our borders porous and that’s important to our economy as well. Illegal aliens are willing to do jobs Americans won’t do for $15.00 a day. And before they go back across the border they usually stop at the mini market or liquor store and spend some of that money right here in the U.S. of A. That helps our economy too because they have to pay taxes on all that beer and chips and cigarettes.

I know that this is running kinda long and I know you all have parties to get to so let me just sum it all up by saying that this nation is strong, the outlook is bright and as long as I am president we will stay the course. Our economy is booming and we are winning the war on terror. Everything else is doing okay but is pretty much on the back burner. Thanks for coming and may Gods’ right hand bless America.

Bill,
Many years ago I worked for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. I was a part of the film crew. For the everyday football fan it was truly a job to die for. Flying around the country with the team, staying in the best of hotels, top of the line food, access to the press box as well as the field, rubbing elbows with the swells and getting to know professional football players on a first name basis. It was the kind of stuff of which contests are made.

After two years I quit that job. The reason was simple. I never got to see the game. I was at work. I took the job because I loved the game and over time I came to miss the game.

These days I am wondering if perhaps you and David Letterman have something in common. Neither one of you watch your show. If you watched your show and listened to the things you say I think you would be embarrassed. Your verbiage is one contradiction after another but, in fairness, you are at work.

You took the job because you loved the show and now you can’t even see the show. A tragic irony to be sure because you are missing a true spin doctor at work. You have become a twenty-first century Judge Roy Bean riding into town atop a wagonload of snake oil.

A few posts ago (see spin I) I cautioned you about judging people before all of the facts had been laid out. It’s unseemly behavior and not to be expected in the milieu of the fair and balanced.

I have suspected for some time that you are a recovering judge and your appearance on FOX was part of your twelve step program.

Perhaps the vicious attacks on Judge Cashman became as difficult for you to handle as an alcoholic working in a tavern. For whatever reason you fell off the wagon big time last night.

During your interview with Geraldo, himself just back from a seedy photo-op at the funeral of a non-relative, you were talking about this fellow in England whose wife and child were found dead in Massachusetts.

Another tragic case out of the same mold as Scott Peterson. At the end of your bobble-heading with Geraldo you said “yeah he did it”, in defiance to the very caveat I had given you in spin I.

Lastly, during the email segment, you responded to an email from some viewer (probably a premium member) who said the goon in Florida was a hero for punching the teacher who allegedly assaulted his daughter. Your admonition to the writer included the following, “...justice is only served when all the facts are known.”

Believe me, Bill, you need to start watching your program. If you watched your show and listened to the things you say I think you would be embarrassed. Your verbiage is one contradiction after another.

William,
I am beginning to have a few concerns about your “fair and balanced” placard. As I tune in nightly I am not seeing very much of anyone disagreeing with you. The program seems to be taking on the flavor of Rush Limbaugh. I have racked my non-premium brain to recall a guest that has disagreed with you recently.

Thursday’s presentation was rife with example. The first was some redheaded Vermont senator. Her credibility was shot the minute she opened her mouth. You said that the democrats in the Vermont house were planning to resist voting on the laws you suggested and you asked her if that were the case. Her response was that she didn’t know! Just another incredible politician. Just another republican with blinders.

She is in the senate and has no idea the goings-on in the house. If that weren’t enough to generate sadness within me for the residents of the green mountain state she continued by supporting Governor Douglas, a republican like herself. It was her contention that Governor Douglas had taken a great deal of action in the Cashman situation.

You told her that in your opinion the governor was missing in action and had, for the most part, hidden under his desk. Her response was that she agreed with you. I was ROFLMAO. It’s almost as if your guest are screened in advance and warned not to be disagreeable. Either that or your guests lack the courage of conviction to take you on. Yes Bill. I agree with you, Bill. You are right, Bill. On and on and on; ad nauseam.

Bring out the regular contributors who always agree. Who better than the head-nodding, backstabbing, two-faced, bootlicking, weasel; Morris the Chat? I did find it amusing that you had to ask him to let you get a word in edgewise. Once the switch is flipped on there’s no stopping those of his ilk. It reminds me of pulling the string on a chatty Kathy.

Commenting for the one thousandth time on his underachieving book he said that nobody but nobody could successfully take on Hillary except Condi Rice. You interrupted, imagine that (?) And said there were two or three others who could (e.g. Giuliani, McCain).

Can you guess what Morris the Chat responded to that? Would you believe he said that you were right? In essence he was saying that he was wrong, once again, and you were right, once again. I guess he should have entitled his grossly lackluster book “Condi and Hillary and anyone Bill O’Reilly says”.

Once again I was forced to ROFLMAO. The no spin zone is truly entertaining. When are you going to invite Rush to appear, or Sean Hannity? If you want me to stop ROFLMAO, invite Phil Donahue back. Now that was a truly entertaining segment, eh Billy?

Bill,
I guess I should cut you some slack after last evenings display of a no spin zone actually spinning out of control. For quite a few hours after your performance I wondered just what might be bugging you. The only diagnosis that made sense to me was post traumatic stress syndrome. You are a veteran of the “war on christmas”, a bloodless, albeit hysterical, campaign that has since drifted into a ten month hiatus. The psychological impact must be demoralizing and the loss of a bloviatable issue; devastating.

But trying to make the Judge Cashman issue a lightening rod for civil unrest has fallen far short of it’s mark. So short that you had to stoop to lying by omission just to have something to talk about in your Talking Points last night. I mentioned in my last writing that you would have to bring this down to the lunatic left. Sure enough, you did.

You said that the Brattleboro newspaper ran an editorial saying that “lengthy jail terms without rehabilitation accomplish nothing”. Two sentences later you launched your attack on the newspaper, the phalanx of which was that the newspaper said “lengthy jail terms accomplish nothing”. With that you were off on a three minute berating of the Brattleboro paper concluding that the editor was clueless and the entire publication was rife with left wing lunatics.

You left out two important words. “...without rehabilitation...”. Call me a non-premium but “lengthy jail terms without rehabilitation accomplish nothing” sounds pretty sensible to me. I thought that was the idea behind penitentiaries anyway. Come to think of it, your paraphrase of “lengthy jail terms accomplish nothing” makes sense too. I guess it’s all in how you spin it.