[peacefield]

When Falafel Bill went on The Daily Show to plug his book, the interview was almost completely devoid of political content. It was a relaxed and groovy segment with some funny jokes (some even from O'Reilly) that almost made one forget that O'Reilly was evil incarnate.

You probably would have liked that one, peacefield.

Sounds like a blast, busyba!

 

[iceturkee]

first, i'm not a guy. second, and most important.....my point is that i believe most conservative parents, who support the war, would disuade their children from enlisting or going into rotc. if you don't agree, that's your opinion.

obviously, i believe michael moore is brilliant and doing a yeoman's job of uncovering the truth. yes, i'm still basically a liberal democrat in my mid 50's and arn proud of it!!

for the record, i served almost 11 years of active duty, receiving many decorations normally given to serion personnel. my record was unblemished. i would have retired but i fell down two flights of stairs and was medically discharged.

 

[barrettd]

I believe most parents, regardless of whether or not they support the war, would try and dissuade their children from enlisting. For the most part, parents don't want their children put in harm's way. Even if they support this war, who knows about the next one?

This is why I have the utmost respect for you and the rest of our men and women who currently serve or have served. The fact that someone volunteers to go and fight for our country is one of the reasons I see ours as the best military in the world.

Even if you think Moore is brilliant...

first, i'm not a guy. second, and most important.....my point is that i believe most conservative parents, who support the war, would disuade their children from enlisting or going into rotc. if you don't agree, that's your opinion.

obviously, i believe michael moore is brilliant and doing a yeoman's job of uncovering the truth. yes, i'm still basically a liberal democrat in my mid 50's and arn proud of it!!

for the record, i served almost 11 years of active duty, receiving many decorations normally given to serion personnel. my record was unblemished. i would have retired but i fell down two flights of stairs and was medically discharged.

 

[iceturkee]

just for clarification, both my parents served in world war 2. when i was getting ready to graduate from college, my mom suggested i look into the military. my initial reaction was why......especially, given my thoughts about vietnam and the va treatment of injured war veterans.

but my mom would never steer me wrong. she thought the discipline the military could give me would be most beneficial. she was correct. i also learned that you can change an institution by working from within it. all my college croonies thought i would never make it out of basic training. not only did i complete my three years but (and i was a journalist), the newspaper i edited and wrote won top honors in department of defense competition. i wrote many controversial stories but i also learned how to become flexible, tactful and diplomatic. i earned a meritorious service medal as an e-4.

i never regretted the decision.

 

[zalusky]

I could tell where it was going the minute he introduced him. Dave typically walks over to center stage and welcomes the guest and even whispers in their ear. In this case he simply stood up from his chair and waited for Bill to come over and shook his hand. He then immediately asked him about his previous jobs which was to show that he previously did tabloid journalism on Inside Edition.

I have watched Bill a few times and I agree his major purpose is to entertain using political debate as his tool. He knows his market and panders appropriately.

What I wished Dave would have said when Bill brought up how we might hurt the troops feelings is the basic question: Are we no longer allowed to debate public policy?

Yet the republicans constantly bring up the troops as a way of staying the course. Its like telling stockholders we shouldnt change anything even though were loosing lots of money because it will hurt the employees feelings and maybe/maybe someday years from now things could be better.

 

[Mr. Merkin]

Letterman came across as a TOTAL JERK! Since when does he discuss politics with his guests or EVER get confrontational with a guest?? Never!! He's all of a sudden a hard-hitting journalist when he has someone conservative on?? He had no idea what he was talking about, would take shots at O'Reilly and when O'Reilly would respond or refute his points, instead of defending his position, Letterman would change the subject by making stupid jokes for a cheap laugh from the crowd. If you're going to go after someone like that, you have an obligation to at least know what the heck you are talking about, you can't have the luxury of throwing out barbs and then when they are returned just cracking jokes and never explaining or backing up your accusations. I was never a huge fan of Letterman, but I think he is a total jer*off now and will never watch his crappy show. Typical Hollywood liberal nonsense, just make wild accusations without any basis in fact.

And by the way, Cindy Sheehan is a lunatic and a freak, I don't care what happened to her son, it is no excuse to become a media whore and an antisemite! She is an anti-American nut and has been exploiting her son's death for her own gain, I'll bet he's turning over in his grave as a proud veteran to have her dishonor his memory like that.

 

[grecorj]

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-etranscript,0,1822887,print.story

January 4, 2006, 4:55 PM EST

DAVE LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": How were your holidays? Good?
O'REILLY: I had a nice winter solstice, yes.
LETTERMAN: OK.
O'REILLY: You can't say Christmas.
LETTERMAN: You can't say Christmas? Why is that?
O'REILLY: Because it's politically incorrect. And we did a lot of reporting on this. And that was a big thing that we were doing leading up to the -- while you were in St. Bart's, we were leading up to the Christmas holiday by saying, "Hey, how come we can't say Christmas?
LETTERMAN: I wasn't aware that you couldn't say "Christmas." When did this happen?
O'REILLY: Sears-Kmart started it. They said, "No more Christmas. It's all Happy Holidays or Winter Solstice. I actually got a card from a friend of mine that said, "Have a blessed winter." I live in New York. You know what you can do with your blessed winter, you know what I'm talking about it? Are you with me, Dave?
LETTERMAN: I wasn't aware that this had happened.
O'REILLY: You weren't aware of the big, giant controversy over Christmas?
LETTERMAN: Well, I ignore stuff like that. It doesn't really affect me. I go ahead and do what I want to do. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah.
O'REILLY: Here's why it matters.
LETTERMAN: Yes.
O'REILLY: You with me on this?
LETTERMAN: Yes.
O'REILLY: OK. Ridgewood Elementary School in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. The song "Silent Night"? "Silent Night," you know? Knocked out the words and told the little kids to sing, "Cold in the night, no one in sight. Winter winds whine and bite. How I wish I was happy and warm, safe with my family out of the storm." They replaced the words to "Silent Night" with that.
Now, with all due respect, I even think the baby Jesus would say, "Give me a break." You know? You want another one?
LETTERMAN: No, but what -- I don't -- but what does this prove? It proves that community of...
O'REILLY: It proves there are pinheads at the Ridgewell Elementary School in Wisconsin. That's what it proves. Here's another one. You want another one, or are you bored with this?
LETTERMAN: I kind of think we should -- I mean, but isn't this the kind of thing where, like, once or twice every 20 years, somebody gets outraged and says, "Oh my God, we've got to put diapers on horses."
Isn't it just about -- it's just like so what, let it go, it'll take care of itself.
O'REILLY: No. There is a movement in this country by politically correct people to erode traditions, and this Christmas tradition in the most cherished in the country. Look, how absurd is it that you can't go into the department store...
LETTERMAN: I don't feel threatened.
O'REILLY: No, it's not a matter of feeling threatened.
LETTERMAN: I don't think this is an actual threat. I think that this is something that happened here, and it happened there, and so people like you are trying to make us think that it's a threat.
O'REILLY: Wrong.
LETTERMAN: Because nobody said, "Happy Holidays" to me and then said, "Oh, Merry Christmas. Oh, I can't say Merry Christmas."
O'REILLY: Well, here's why it gets to be more than that. Because it's in court. There are lawsuits in Plano, Texas, another grammar school. The kids were told not to bring in any Christmas colors like napkins that are red and green. That's in court. That's being litigated. Now you can say, "OK, it's just a little thing. It doesn't affect you." But it isn't. The erosion of the culture and the projection of traditions is important in this country.
LETTERMAN: Yes, but are we really describing an erosion here?
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: I've got a million of them. And they're funny ones. Memphis, Tennessee, bible belt library. They have a little display where you can -- say you are in a duck hunting. You can bring in a dead duck and put it there and advertise your duck hunting club. "We kill ducks. Show up at 9:00, and we'll blow some ducks out of the air."
OK. There was a church that wanted to advertise a Christmas pageant, so they brought in the manger scene. And the library said, "You can have the manger scene in Memphis, Tennessee, but you can't have the baby Jesus, Joseph or Mary, or the wise men. We're not sure about the shepherds." That was the big debate. Now, how stupid and crazy is this?
LETTERMAN: I don't believe you.
O'REILLY: It's true.
LETTERMAN: I just don't believe you.
O'REILLY: You think I'm making this up?
LETTERMAN: I do. I think you're making it up.
O'REILLY: Then I could write for your show.
LETTERMAN: Let's talk about your friends in the Bush administration. Things seem to be darker now than they might have been here before. How do things look to you?
O'REILLY: It's pretty rough, you know. But they're not my friends in the Bush administration. They're not kicking the door down to be on my show. In fact, you have an easier time getting President Bush to come on here than I have of getting him on "The Factor."
I think that the Iraq thing has been full of unintended consequences and it's a vital thing for the country and it's brutal, it's absolutely brutal. We should all take it very seriously. This simplistic stuff about hating Bush or he lied and all this stuff, does the country no good at all. We've got to win this thing. You have to win it. And even though it's a screw-up, giant, massive, all right, right now, for everybody's protection, it's best for the world to have a democracy in that country functioning and friendly to the West, is it not?
LETTERMAN: Yes, absolutely.
O'REILLY: Okay, so let's stop with the lying and the this and the that and the undermining and let's get him. That is putting us all in danger. So our philosophy is we call it as we see it. Sometimes you agree, some you don't. Robust debate is good. But we believe that the United States, particularly the military, are doing a noble thing, a noble thing. The soldiers and Marines are noble. They're not terrorists. And when people call them that, like Cindy Sheehan called the insurgents 'freedom fighters,' we don't like that. It is a vitally important time in American history. And we should all take it very seriously. Be very careful with what we say.
LETTERMAN: Well, and you should be very careful with what you say also. [audience applause]
O'REILLY: Give me an example.
LETTERMAN: How can you possibly take exception with the motivation and the position of someone like Cindy Sheehan?
O'REILLY: Because I beleieve she's run by far-left elements in this country. I feel bad for the woman.
LETTERMAN: Have you lost family members in armed conflict?
O'REILLY: No, I have not.
LETTERMAN: Well, then you can hardly speak for her, can you?
O'REILLY: I'm not speaking for her. Let me ask you this question.
alright. This is important. This is important.
LETTERMAN: Let's go back to your little red and green stories.
O'REILLY: This is important, this is important. Cindy Sheehan lost a son, a professional soldier in Iraq, correct? She has a right to grieve any way she wants, she has a right to say whatever she wants. When she says to the public that the insurgents and terrorists are 'freedom fighters,' how do you think, David Letterman, that makes people who lost loved ones, by these people blowing the Hell out of them, how do you think they feel, what about their feelings, sir?
LETTERMAN: What about, why are we there in the first place? The President himself, less than a month ago said we are there because of a mistake made in intelligence. Well, whose intelligence? It was just somebody just get off a bus and handed it to him?
Bill O'REILLY: No.
LETTERMAN: No, it was the intelligence gathered by his administration."
O'REILLY: By the CIA.
LETTERMAN: Yeah, so why are we there in the first place? I agree to you, with you that we have to support the troops. They are there, they are the best and the brightest of this country. [audience applause] There's no doubt about that. And I also agree that now we're in it it's going to take a long, long time. People who expect it to be solved and wrapped up in a couple of years, unrealistic, it's not going to happen. However, however, that does not eliminate the legitimate speculation and concern and questioning of 'Why the Hell are we there to begin with?'
O'REILLY: If you want to question that, and then revamp an intelligence agency that's obviously flawed, the CIA, okay. But remember, MI-6 in Britain said the same thing. Putin's people in Russia said the same thing, and so did Mubarak's intelligence agency in Egypt.
LETTERMAN: Well then that makes it all right?
O'REILLY: No it doesn't make it right.
LETTERMAN: That intelligence agencies across the board makes it alright that we're there?
O'REILLY: It doesn't make it right... mistakes were made. .LETTERMAN: See, I'm very concerned about people like yourself who don't have nothing but endless sympathy for a woman like Cindy Sheehan. Honest to Christ. [audience applause]
O'REILLY: No, I'm sorry.
LETTERMAN: Honest to Christ.
O'REILLY: No way. [waits for applause to die down] No way you're going to get me, no way that a terrorist who blows up women and children.
LETTERMAN: Do you have children?
O'REILLY: Yes I do. I have a son the same age as yours. No way a terrorist who blows up women and children is going to be called a 'freedom fighter' on my program. [audience applause]
LETTERMAN: I'm not smart enough to debate you point to point on this, but I have the feeling, I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap. [audience laughter] But I don't know that for a fact. [more audience applause]
Paul Shafer: 60 percent.
LETTERMAN: 60 percent. I'm just spit-balling here.
O'REILLY: Listen, I respect your opinion. You should respect mine.
LETTERMAN: Well, ah, I, okay. But I think you're...
O'REILLY: Our analysis is based on the best evidence we can get.
LETTERMAN: Yeah, but I think there's something, this fair and balanced. I'm not sure that it's, I don't think that you represent an objective viewpoint.
O'REILLY: Well, you have to give me an example if you're going to make those claims.
LETTERMAN: Well I don't watch your show so that would be impossible.
O'REILLY: Then why would you come to that conclusion if you don't watch the program?
LETTERMAN: Because of things that I've read, things that I know.
O'REILLY: Oh come on, you're going to take things that you've read -- even with what say about you? Come on. Watch it for a couple, look, watch it for a half hour. You'll get addicted. You'll be a Factor fan, we'll send you a hat.
LETTERMAN: You'll send me a hat. Well, send Cindy Sheehan a hat.
O'REILLY: I'll be happy to.
LETTERMAN: Bill, it's always a pleasure [audience laughter].

Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.

 

[Kevdog]

You can watch it for yourself here:
http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/dave_tv/ls_dtv_big_show_highlights.shtml

Click on the Bill O'Reilly link.

Personally, I can't stand O'Reilly. I've seen his show a few times and it usually amounts to him disagreeing with someone and either shouting them down or simply telling them to shut up. And when someone has the temerity to stand up to him, he resorts to questioning their morals, patriotism or their sanity, if not all three. He is almost *NEVER* as reasonable as he was with Dave.

 

[RegBarc]

first, i'm not a guy. second, and most important.....my point is that i believe most conservative parents, who support the war, would disuade their children from enlisting or going into rotc. if you don't agree, that's your opinion.

My parents are so far to the right, it makes me look like a hippie.

My brother got back from Afghanistan 1 year ago, is in Baghdad now, and got promoted to Sergeant in a scout/sniper unit. My father actively encourages both of us to do what we want to do, and if we want to serve our country, go right ahead. He himself is a disabled veteran of Vietnam, and every male in this family going back 225 years has served in the military, and every war.

While this isn't an example of all conservative parents everywhere, I simply don't agree with your chicken hawk analysis. You are more than entitled to your opinion, but if you want to start labling people, I would appreciate some empirical evidence to prove your point, or at least back it up. My apologies if I come off as brash, but what you typed struck a chord with me.

 

[RegBarc]

I'm kind of at a loss as to why talk show hosts like Letterman even have political commentators as guests. If I watch Letterman, I want to be entertained with jokes, etc, not watch a political debate. I guess for some reason I don't really find an exchange between O'Reilly and Letterman amusing.

Maybe I'm not being clear (I have trouble sometimes articulating what I mean), but if I want to watch a debate or see talking heads go at each other on TV, I'd rather see one that was serious and where experience and backed-up comments prevailed.

Oh, and same goes for plain old celebs that are on a talk show like Letterman's. If you go on a show, don't talk about politics! I hate that. Just talk about what you do best and keep the rest out of it.

Why can't all talk show hosts be like Carson?!

Very good point. :up:

I think the Daily Show is more suited for this debate than the Late Show is. It was interesting to see Letterman in this form and God bless him for inviting the king of debate onto the program. But maybe the show was meant for jokes?

 

[wannaB]

i believe michael moore is brilliant and doing a yeoman's job of uncovering the truth.

Now that is funny I don't care who you are..........

This argument is alot like votes in the senate & congress - right down party lines. I think most folks can agree to disagree but some seem to make it personal & that is where it gets ridiculous.

 

[Mr. Merkin]

I wonder.. how much of the millions and millions of dollars that Moore made off that Leni Riefenstahl-type propoganda piece of crap ended up going to the families of war veterans that he exploited for that movie?? Anyone know?? If he cared so much, shouldn't he donate the proceeds? And if his arguments are so strong, why does he use so many deceptive editing techniques like he did in Bowling for Columbine? I smell a rat, a big, fat, unkempt one, but a rat nonetheless.

 

[darthrsg]

fox sucks, bill sucks, letterman rules. nuff said.we need terrorists to put the fear of something in our american a**es. our govt will not be there for you in the event of a catastrophe. the iraq war is stupid, saddam was never a threat to us at least as bad a threat as we are to ourselves. the people need to take america back or we will asian in few generations. my 2 cents. btw i like asians.

 

[RegBarc]

fox sucks, bill sucks, letterman rules. nuff said.we need terrorists to put the fear of something in our american a**es. our govt will not be there for you in the event of a catastrophe. the iraq war is stupid, saddam was never a threat to us at least as bad a threat as we are to ourselves. the people need to take america back or we will asian in few generations. my 2 cents. btw i like asians.

Hi. What is this.

 

[iceturkee]

i see we have a bunch of compassionate conservatives on this forum (she says with tongue firmply planted in cheek).

so how many of you bush war lovers have served your country? last time i checked we are guaranteed freedom of the press which means cindy sheehan can say whatever she darn well pleases. i bet her son is damn proud of her!!!!

 

[RegBarc]

Please, please, please, I hope this thread doesn't get locked. Can we tone down the insults a little? There was some good conversation in here and it would be a shame if it couldn't go on because of the insults.

 

[Redux]

that Leni Riefenstahl-type propoganda piece

Leni Riefenstahl is one of the great artists of the 20th century.

She was offered a commision (much like many corporate films I've done) to undertake a positive presentation of an event in the mid-1930s. An event sponsored by a political party in Germany that, BTW, had considerable support in the U.S. then and for many years afterward. A party that had many advocates in the U.S. even many years _after_ WWII ("we fought the wrong enemy", "the Nazis had some good ideas but they went too far"). Leni Riefenstahl, personally, was right wing in a very philosophical, theoretical sense, but I've never been convinced that made her responsible for the horrors that followed, any more than I think right wing philosophical sympathizers in the U.S. today are responsible for the debacle in the middle east.

What Michael Moore did resonated with much of the country and most of the world. He is also not un-talented. But to compare Michael Moore with Leni Riefenstahl as an artist is to compare George W. Bush with a president.

 

[RegBarc]

::throws hands up in air::

Well, that's that.

 

[Redux]

::throws hands up in air::

Well, that's that.

I do what I can.

 

[funbox]

When considering Bill O'Reilly and other war lovin' gangsters its always good to keep in mind, the bigger the mouth the smaller the testicles. Now I have no idea, but I think 9 out of 10 people would agree (in private if he's their hero) that Bill got picked on something mighty as a child. As bad as Michael Moore is, at least he's benevolent. Bill O'Reilly's a season or two away from tryin' to get an HBO show where he raises his right hand proudly screamin "***********!" Seriously, he's just a case of childhood gone very, very wrong.