Four more years -- of Bill-O

Mediabistro.com is reporting that Bill O'Reilly has signed on for four more years with Fox News that will pay roughly $10-$12 million a year. Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post, who interviewed O'Reilly, wrote that Bill-O will be expanding his TV duties and likely giving up his radio show.

Bill blusters at Barney Frank -- this is real discussion??

Once again, Bill makes an idiot out of himself in this clip with Barney Frank. (Thanks to Brien Jackson of Below the Fold for pointing this one out. )

Sarah Palin on the Obama nomination: "So Sambo beat the bitch"

Alaskans Speak (In A Frightened Whisper): Palin Is “Racist, Sexist, Vindictive, And Mean”

by Charley James –

“So Sambo beat the bitch!”

This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama’s win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

According to Lucille, the waitress serving her table at the time and who asked that her last name not be used, Gov. Palin was eating lunch with five or six people when the subject of the Democrat’s primary battle came up. The governor, seemingly not caring that people at nearby tables would likely hear her, uttered the slur and then laughed loudly as her meal mates joined in appreciatively.

“It was kind of disgusting,” Lucille, who is part Aboriginal, said in a phone interview after admitting that she is frightened of being discovered telling folks in the “lower 48” about life near the North Pole.

Then, almost with a sigh, she added, “But that’s just Alaska.” (more at the link)

Bill-Oh pays "tribute" to George Carlin

This is unbelievable. Even for Bill-O.

Bill O'Reilly Blow Up -- the Dance Remix

This is very funny ...

Some vintage Bill

Everyone knows (or should) that Bill used to be on "Inside Edition." Here's an amusing clip from those days. I didn't know Bill could say nasty things like this!:

Americans love and hate O'Reilly equally, according to poll

Harris Interactive issued a press release Friday listing America's top three favorite and least favorite news personalities. Bill O'Reilly got 23% of the vote on both sides of the issue. He, Charles Gibson and Anderson Cooper came out the three favorites.
The least favorites were Rush Limbaugh, O'Reilly and Larry King. Michael Savage, our choice for third, didn't even place. (You know that's gonna tick that egomaniac off.)

Anyway, the entire press release is below. The results are interesting, to say the least.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conservative Talk Show Hosts Top Lists of Both Favorite and Least Favorite News and Current Affairs Personalities

O’Reilly, Gibson and Cooper Top Favorites and Limbaugh, O’Reilly and King Top Least Favorites List

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The days of old when there was just network news and newspapers for people to go to for their information are long gone, and people who deliver the news have become much more numerous. They are no longer just newscasters, but rather news and current affairs personalities; toward that end, America has their favorites and, of course, their least favorites.

Leading the list of favorites, just under one-quarter (23%) of Americans cite Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly as one of their three favorite news and current affairs personalities, followed by the host of ABC’s World News Tonight, Charles Gibson and CNN’s Anderson Cooper (17% each).

Leading the list of least favorites, a plurality of Americans (42%) say Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh is one of their least favorite news and current affairs personalities. The same number who cite Bill O’Reilly as one of their favorites also say he is one of their least favorites (23%) and 19 percent say CNN’s Larry King is one of their least favorite news and current affairs personalities.

These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,302 U.S. adults surveyed online between January 15 and 22, 2008 by Harris Interactive®.

Rounding out the top five favorite news and current affairs personalities is NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams (16%) and then with 13 percent each is Meet the Press host Tim Russert, CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric and 60 Minutes host Mike Wallace. On the other side, 17 percent say that CNN Headline News’ Nancy Grace is one of their least favorites and just under that (16%) cite Katie Couric. In looking at the two lists, there are a number of the same people who are in the top ten on both. Bill O’Reilly, Katie Couric, ABC’s 20/20’s Barbara Walters, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News’s Sean Hannity all are in the top half of the favorites and the least favorites list.

Partisan Differences

It’s not just the backing of candidates that show partisan differences, their choices of favorite and least favorite news and current affairs personalities are also very different. For Republicans, their top three favorites are Bill O’Reilly (42%), Rush Limbaugh (28%) and Sean Hannity (27%). Perhaps, not surprisingly, Democrats have a very different list of favorites – Anderson Cooper (22%), Brian Williams (20%) and Charles Gibson (19%). One thing to note is that Republicans are more united behind their favorites while the Democrats are a bit more fragmented.

Where the Democrats do show stronger support is in the list of their least favorites as three in five Democrats (60%) say it’s Rush Limbaugh, followed by one-third (34%) who say Bill O’Reilly and 17 percent who say Nancy Grace. For Republicans, just over a quarter (26%) each says Larry King and Katie Couric are their least favorites. Rush Limbaugh definitely inspires mixed emotions for Republicans as 24 percent say he is one of their least favorites.

So What?

With the rise of online news and information sites and the 24 hour nature of news, there are many more places for Americans to get their news. This means that just having the anchor seated behind the table isn’t enough to grab viewers or listeners. These news personalities are competing for these viewers and each must try to stand out in some way. Maybe they focus on a single issue, trying to be the dominant news source on it. Maybe they go extremely high tech for announcing elections or, as in Tim Russert’s case, very low tech and just carry around a white board and marker. Whatever it may be, the dissemination of news has changed and the Cronkites, Brinkleys and Huntleys are no longer around.

TABLE 1

FAVORITE NEWS PERSONALITY

“Thinking now of the media in general, of the news and current affairs personalities listed below, which three would you say are your favorites?”

Base: All adults
Total Republican Democrat Independent
% % % %
Bill O’Reilly 23 42 11 19
Charles Gibson 17 17 19 19
Anderson Cooper 17 14 22 17
Brian Williams 16 16 20 12
Tim Russert 13 9 18 16
Katie Couric 13 10 17 12
Mike Wallace 13 9 17 16
Barbara Walters 12 10 16 12
Rush Limbaugh 12 28 2 11
Sean Hannity 11 27 2 7
George Stephanopoulos 11 8 13 14
Larry King 9 9 11 7
Keith Olbermann 7 2 10 9
Chris Matthews 6 5 8 8
Lou Dobbs 6 3 8 9
Nancy Grace 6 6 7 7
Bob Schieffer 6 4 6 9
Wolf Blitzer 5 5 7 5
Shepard Smith 5 9 3 4
Greta Van Susteran 4 7 3 3
Tucker Carlson 2 3 1 2
Alan Colmes 2 4 1 1
None of these 23 13 22 23

TABLE 2

LEAST FAVORITE NEWS PERSONALITY

“Of the news and current affairs personalities below, which three would you say are your least favorites?”

Base: All adults
Total Republican Democrat Independent
% % % %
Rush Limbaugh 42 24 60 50
Bill O’Reilly 23 10 34 29
Larry King 19 26 16 18
Nancy Grace 17 17 17 19
Katie Couric 16 26 10 16
Barbara Walters 15 20 10 16
Sean Hannity 10 3 15 15
Wolf Blitzer 9 13 8 8
George Stephanopoulos 8 14 3 10
Greta Van Susteran 8 9 9 6
Chris Matthews 6 11 3 5
Mike Wallace 5 10 2 4
Alan Colmes 5 9 3 4
Keith Olbermann 5 8 3 5
Tucker Carlson 4 4 5 3
Lou Dobbs 3 3 5 2
Anderson Cooper 3 4 2 2
Tim Russert 2 5 1 2
Brian Williams 2 3 2 2
Shepard Smith 2 1 2 2
Charles Gibson 2 2 2 1
Bob Schieffer 1 3 1 1
None of these 25 20 23 21

Methodology

This Harris Poll® was conducted online within the United States January 15 and 22, among 2,302 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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Q580, 585

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the largest and fastest-growing market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com. Harris Interactive is an independent, non-partisan research company and does not take part in political campaigning or primary predictions.

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online surveys, register at www.harrispollonline.com.

More idiocy at Fox News

Sheppard Stewart reveals himself as a real propagandist for the Republican Party by his outburst at Naomi Wolf in this clip.

A little mix-up, but Bill takes the credit anyway

Watch how Bill O'Reilly laps up this inadvertent reference to himself. He can't get enough of himself, can he?

Homeless vets confront O'Reilly

Here's Fox News' treatment of homeless veterans arriving at Fox News headquarters in reaction to Bill O'Reilly's statement that he doesn't think there are many homeless veterans. Rush and Molloy of the New York Daily News reported on it.


Here's Keith Olbermann's recent report on O'Reilly's statement.

Hey, Bill, here's a link to the Veteran's Administration page on homeless veterans. They do exist.


Here, Keith Olbermann reports on how O'Reilly refused to meet them after presenting a petition.


John Edwards addressed the subject (before dropping out of the presidential race) on the Jan. 22 "Late Night With David Letterman" show.

Bill O'Reilly is a guy who is supposed to be a know-it-all. Good grief!

'COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN' NOTABLE QUOTES FOR JANUARY 21-25

NEW YORK – January 30, 2008 – Following are quotes from "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" for the week of Jan. 21-25. "Countdown," a unique newscast that counts down the day's top stories, telecasts weeknights, 8-9 p.m. ET on MSNBC. Complete program transcripts are available at www.tv.msnbc.com.

[Referring to Attorney General Michael Mukasey's portrait of George Orwell that is in his office]
Olbermann: "He [Mukasey] says the portrait hangs there because he likes the clarity of Orwell's writing. Mr. Mukasey adds he adores Pamela Anderson's penmanship."

[Referring to a theme park in Lithuania called 1984]
Olbermann: "I thought that was in Washington, D.C."

Olbermann: "WMDs that didn't exist, Mike Huckabee says they were hidden like Easter eggs."

[Referring to Jan. 21, which is considered to be the most depressing day of the year]
Olbermann: "Ask Keifer Sutherland. His jail term wouldn't interfere with the production of his TV show. Now he's out of the joint, but his show and all the others are out on strike."

Olbermann: "Economic stimulus package? I got your economic stimulus package right here – Britney Spears contributes $120 million to our economy."

[Referring to reports that Jamie Lynn Spears will give her baby to her mother]
Olbermann: "Lynne Spears is all for it, reportedly, believing that her daughter should be allowed to grow up like a normal teenager and pursue her career, a policy that's worked great so far."

'COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN' NOTABLE QUOTES FOR JANUARY 2-4, 7-11

NEW YORK – January 15, 2008 – Following are quotes from "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" for the weeks of Jan. 2-4 and Jan. 7-11. "Countdown," a unique newscast that counts down the day's top stories, telecasts weeknights, 8-9 p.m. ET on MSNBC. Complete program transcripts are available at www.tv.msnbc.com.

[Referring to the fact that Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee admitted he had no clue about the NIE, but knows about Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy]
Olbermann: "Lord help us if we start electing or not electing presidents based on their Britney Spears I.Q."

[Referring to Britney Spears losing all visitation rights to ex-husband Kevin Federline]
Tom O'Neill, In Touch Weekly: "I'd like to say they are safe with K-Fed, but they're with K-Fed."

[Referring to a new book that claims Tom Cruise is the number two ranking official in the Church of Scientology and that his daughter, Suri, might have been fathered with the frozen sperm of the late L. Ron Hubbard]
Olbermann: "I thought it was Heather Graham starring in the remake of "Rosemary's Baby," not Katie Holmes [Cruise's wife]."

[Referring to Fox News' Sean Hannity being chased by an angry mob of Ron Paul supporters in New Hampshire}
Olbermann: "The villagers have gotten their pitchforks and their torches and stormed the mad scientist's castle that is Fox News Channel."

"On his [syndicated radio host Bill Cunningham] Sunday broadcast, he repeatedly identified a Democratic presidential candidate as, 'Barack Mohammed Hussein Obama' even though that is not his name. That is as offensive and dishonest as calling that host 'Bill Intelligent Cunningham.'"

[Referring to the fact that Bill O'Reilly is trying to link NBC and GE to Osama Bin Laden]
Olbermann: "That's right, Bill, and John Wilkes Booth worked for us, too."

Olbermann: "Rudy Giuliani has said you need to read, write, and speak English to become an American citizen. He started running a new campaign commercial on three Miami TV stations. The commercial is in – yes, Spanish."

What's O'Reilly's problem with John Edwards?

You notice how often Bill O'Reilly spews about John Edwards' candidacy? He refuses to take him seriously. Not that anyone in O'Reilly's audience cares anyway. But what's O'Reilly's problem? Well, besides the fact that he's a Democrat?.


Earlier this month, he slapped Edwards for showing compassion for homeles veterans.

This week, with guest Ed Schultz, he dismissed Edwards' comments again.
So O'Reilly doesn't think there are any homeless veterans? If O'Reilly might step out of his ivory tower once in a while, he might see reality.
Hey, Bill, John Edwards is surging himself, partly thanks to your continual mentions of him. People are listening to him. Good for them. Good for us and the political process.

Supreme Court Justice O'Reilly??

Here's a good one. Now O'Reilly thinks he should be on the Supreme Court. Think Progress quotes him as supporting Indiana's restrictive voter Id law. "If I’m on the Supreme Court, as I should be, I say what is the down side of having somebody prove who they are [when they come to vote]?"

Thank goodness he's only on television.

As if we haven't heard enough about the dustup

Here's the dustup as explained by O'Reilly. It makes him look all the more ridiculous. Despite what he says, there is nothing in freedom of the press that demands O'Reilly get a shot. For him to react the way he did was childish.

More on the O'Reilly dustup

In this video, O'Reilly can be heard calling Marvin Nicholson, who O'Reilly says he "gently" moved out of the way, names, though the actual confrontation is not seen.

Fox News caught in a big lie

This first clip is from an interview with a guy in a random focus group saying he supports John McCain. The second clip is the same guy ... in a different state, now an undecided voter. We report, you decide, huh?

Bill O'Reilly's "important" news

Here's what Bill O'Reilly said is important news to viewers of the "Factor," courtesy of Keith Olbermann. You watch and you decide.

O'Reilly in dustup at an Obama rally

A story only Bill O'Reilly could make.
The Associated Press reports O'Reilly was involved in what can be described as an altercation with a Barack Obama staff member at a New Hampshire rally. When the staff member, who stands at Obama's side at all times, blocked a camera shot O'Reilly's crew was trying to get, O'Reilly yelled at him to get out of the way.
"Then he grabbed me with both of his arms and tried to push me out of the way," the staffer, Marvin Nicholson, was quoted by the AP.
Nicholson told him, "I told him, 'Sir, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't shove me anymore.' Reilly called him "low class."
Nicholson, who worked as Sen. John Kerry's personal aide in the 2004 presidential campaign, also said, "I've never seen a member of the press lay hands on a staffer before," he said.
Obama said he would consider going on O'Reilly's show after the primaries.
What we want to know is why O'Reilly wasn't arrested for assault. This isn't the first time O'Reilly's been involved in a scrape with the law. Who doesn't forget the sexual harrassment suit against him and his falafel comment that will live in infamy?
That wasn't all. He also showed up at a Hillary Clinton rally and, according to an interview on Fox News, actually had a good-natured banter with Sen. Clinton. We're sure he was disappointed it was nothing he could exploit.
And it's no surprise that O'Reilly plans to show the tape of the dustup on his show Monday. Nothing like exploiting it for ratings, Bill-0.

Old spin for the New Year

Good ol' Bill O'Reilly. The New Year has begun, and of course Mr. No Spin is already spinning.
Take his Talking Points for Wednesday night.
Please.

"But "Talking Points" has no horse in this race at present. We're watching all the candidates, hoping, hoping that one will emerge as a creative problem solver, who's truly looking out for you.

Only John Edwards is on our absurd list. Over the holiday weekend, Edwards once again demonstrated his unbelievable incompetence by suggesting that if elected, he would pull some U.S. forces away from training Iraqi forces. I mean, how dumb is that?

For the first time in almost five years, the military situation is improving in Iraq. And Al Qaeda there is being badly damaged. And you retreat from that? Dangerously irresponsible."

Even better is this.

"Now we expect John Edwards to be finished in the race shortly. We hope he is, because the USA needs smart leadership in the White House, not a crazed ideologue."

Guess again, Bill. Edwards' stature in the race has picked up significantly in the last couple of months. Did anyone tell you he's in a dead heat with Clinton and Obama?
Even more laughable was this conclusion.

"The point is that the media, generally left-leaning, really isn't much interested in you or what's good for you. They're interested in ideologues who promote a liberal cause, or in some cases conservative point of view. That is a complete waste of time. Again, this country needs creative smart leadership. In the next few months, we'll see if that emerges."

Straight out of today's right-wing talking points. No spin, right?

The biggest idiots of 2007

Yeah, I know, everybody usually comes out with their lists before the year is over. We like to wait until the year is done so we don't miss anything.
Anyway, here's our top five in descending order:

5) The top brass at the San Francisco Zoo:
Whether those three guys provoked that tiger or not, you have some 'splaining to do for the wall that you admitted was too short. Doesn't a zoo patron have the right to think he'll be safe from animals who happen to wander out of their enclosures? Especially from things like tigers?

4. Brittany Spears: If I hear one more radio announcer say, "Oh, oh, wanna hear the latest about Brittany Spears?" No thanks. Her stupidity apparently knows no bounds. And the people around here seem to be enjoying it. After all they're not stopping her. And how come Ryan Seacrest puts up with her? Actually, how come Ryan Seacrest is everywhere? It's bad enough he's on the lame "American Idol". But "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve," too?

3. Paris Hilton: Notice how Ms. Hilton began doing her part to reform the world after her jail time?
(Long pause.)

2. Bill O'Reilly: Bill-O made the world (unintentionally) funnier though his blustering stupidity. Our favorite was the Stephen Colbert episode. You notice he hasn't appeared on Letterman's show lately? I guess two humiliations were enough.

1. Larry Craig: There's really no other choice. No, he's not gay. No, he didn't do anything in the restroom. Yes, he pled guilty. Yes, he'll resign. No, he won't. Yes, he will. Hey, Larry, be sure and make a big splash at the Republican Convention.

Happy New Year, everyone.

"COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" NOTABLE QUOTES FOR DECEMBER 10-14, 2007

"COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" NOTABLE QUOTES FOR DECEMBER 10-14, 2007

NEW YORK – December 19, 2007 – Following are quotes from "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" for the week of December 10-14. "Countdown," a unique newscast that counts down the day's top stories, telecasts weeknights, 8-9 p.m. ET on MSNBC. Complete program transcripts are available at www.tv.msnbc.com.

Olbermann, on thousands turning out for a Barack Obama rally where Oprah Winfrey was appearing: "What happens when they find out that Oprah is not the one running for president?"

Olbermann: "Dr. Torkel Klingberg, leading a Swedish team that has discovered what appears to be a filter in a brain that blocks out irrelevant information. The irrelevance filter that might explain why some people can focus better or remember better or have an attention deficit disorder or – what was I saying?"

Olbermann: "An unnamed firefighter in England helped free two men trapped in an elevator. They kept going from floor to floor but the doors wouldn't open. The men were Elvis impersonators so, thus said our comic fireman, 'There were two of them so they weren't exactly lonesome tonight.'"

[Referring to Michael Schumacher, retired Formula One auto racing champion, and his family running late for a flight in Bavaria.]
Olbermann: "When [the] cab picked the Schumachers up… Schumacher introduced himself, told the cabbie to sit in the passenger seat, and Schumacher drove to the airport himself. The family made the flight, but out of habit, Schumacher got out of the cab, sprayed everybody with champagne, and wore a series of 42 different baseball caps with different advertisers' names on it while giving interviews to astonished passers-by."

Olbermann on the New York Knicks' woes: "[Knicks Coach Isiah] Thomas [said] it's the fans' fault because they 'don't have a good sixth man' – the basketball term for the positive influence fans can have. Firstly, among their players, the Knicks don't even have a good third man."

[Referring to Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) saying that waterboarding is 'like swimming, freestyle, backstroke.]
Olbermann: "Waterboarding is to the backstroke, as Kit Bond is to an actual leader."

Michael Musto, Village Voice: "Britney [Spears] is the new Liz Taylor, minus the two Oscars and the charity work."

Olbermann: "Us Weekly is reporting that Ms. [Britney] Spears has been tapped to play Mary in a modern film version of the nativity. Mother of God, indeed!"

[Referring to Katie Holmes telling InStyle magazine that husband Tom Cruise compliments her by saying, 'you look good. I hope security is going with you.']
Paul F. Tompkins, VH-1's "Best Week Ever": "Compliments like this are so awkward… not helping to squash the gay rumor about Tom Cruise."
Olbermann: "She also says they fell in love in an instant. Does Mr. Cruise impress you as the impulsive type?"
Tompkins: "Well, Keith, it's easy to be cynical. But, it only takes an instant to sign a secret marriage contract."

[Referring to Russian winter enthusiasts who do ballet in cold temperatures]
Olbermann: "Nothing says happy holidays like a bunch of fat 50-something-year-old Russians wearing tutus and shaking their stuff. That's why they call it 'Nutcracker.''

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