Bill O’Reilly Taking a Shot at Nicholas Kristoff
It seems that Fox News’ infamous Bill O’Reilly has taken a shot at Nicholas Kristof. O’Reilly did this in response to a December 18th column by Mr. Kristof called “A Challenge for Bill O’Reilly.” On the December 19th episode of The O’Reilly Factor, Bill O’Reilly accused Kristof of being a secularist and of getting his material from left-wing smear sites.
He is, of course, talking about the time when he said he wanted the Air America “pinheads” in jail. O’Reilly brushed this off by stating that this was “humorous talk radio hyperbole.” So, just because Bill O’Reilly is on talk radio, he doesn’t have to be accountable for what he says? I feel it makes no difference, his voice is still being heard and he should take responsibility.
One statement I found particularly powerful by Nicholas Kristof was when O’Reilly quoted him as saying:
…I’ve spent a chunk of time abroad watching Muslim versions of Mr. O’Reilly — demagogic table-thumpers who exploit public religiosity as a cynical ploy to gain attention and money.
O’Reilly responded to this in a way that was completely missing the point by saying “So now I’m Mullah Omar.” No, Mr. O’Reilly, you are not Mullah Omar and that’s not what he’s saying. The point Kristof is trying to make is that you do things, like start a war on Christmas, in the name of god when all you are really trying to do is get money and attention.
Update: Is the war on Christmas over? Yesterday Bill O’Reilly said “‘Happy Holidays’ is fine. Just don’t ban ‘Merry Christmas,’ that’s all we’re saying.”
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