Bill O'Reilly: The O'Reilly Factor - Friday, April 3, 2009
The O'Reilly Factor
A daily summary of segments aired on The O'Reilly Factor. A preview of the evening's rundown is posted before the show airs each weeknight.
Friday, April 3, 2009
The Factor Rundown
Hostage situation & mass murder in upstate New York
The Factor began Friday's program with the carnage in Binghamton, New York, where a Vietnamese immigrant killed thirteen people at an immigration center before turning the gun on himself. Geraldo Rivera entered the No Spin Zone with the latest on the horrific story. "There are fourteen dead," Rivera reported, "including the gunman, who is believed to be Jiverly Voong, a Vietnamese-born U.S. citizen. There is an American Civic Association in Binghamton to help immigrants, and this man was known to that facility. He burst in with a high-powered rifle, two handguns and a knife, then went from room to room killing wantonly. He was laid off from IBM and I believe in some perverted way he made a connection between IBM firing him, globalization, and these legal immigrants who only want to participate in the American dream."
The good and the bad of Obama's speech
"What was good and what was not so good about President Obama's speech today in France? The president tried to persuade Europeans to once again support America, saying 'in America, there is a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world ... and Europeans choose to blame America for much of what's bad.' That was the president's smartest move - he complimented the Europeans while gently scolding them for being foolishly anti-American. Then the president moved on to the lack of support in Europe for the war on terror, but I have no confidence that the president will be able to persuade Europeans to help us. They remain deeply afraid of conflict, no matter how justified. The president also gave Europeans credit for their environmental policies, which is smart. Now, the bad news. President Obama pandered to the crowd when he boasted of 'closing the detention center in Guantanamo Bay ... the United States of America does not and will not torture.' That just reinforces every piece of far left propaganda coming down the pike. After 9/11 the government had an obligation to prevent another attack on America. President Obama's Monday-morning quarterbacking may get him cred in the salons of Paris, but I believe he's dead wrong and insulting to the brave Americans in the field who have kept us safe. He should cut his country some slack and knock it off, especially overseas."
Pres. Obama's Europe tour continues
For more on President Obama's European visit, The Factor debriefed Fox News correspondent Major Garrett, who was with the president in France. "France and Germany agreed to support what the president is trying to accomplish in Afghanistan," Garrett reported. "They're not sending more ground troops, but they're going to send more development aid and they're going to put police and trainers on the ground to help the mission." The Factor admonished Germany and France for not doing more. "Here's why I could never be president - I would look at Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy and I would say 'what's the matter with you' in both German and French. You're not going to send troops to help us get the Taliban? What's the matter with you?"
Former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich indicted
Ousted Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been indicted by federal prosecutors on sixteen counts of racketeering, fraud and extortion. "I don't believe a conviction is a slam dunk," Geraldo Rivera told The Factor. "They indicted him for running the state of Illinois as a racket, they believe he came into office with the intent to enrich himself and that he hoped to make a couple of million dollars by appointing a Senate successor to President Obama. This is a perfect case for a lawyer who wants to cut his bones opposing the feds." But The Factor argued that Blagojevich seems destined for the state pen. "There are wiretaps that are incriminating and his chief of staff has turned. So c'mon, Geraldo."
Glenn Beck on 'American fascism'
The Factor was joined by Fox News host Glenn Beck, who cast a skeptical eye on President Obama's European trip. "Barack Obama is brilliant," Beck began, "and he is a great communicator. But the Europeans are socialists, they believe in 'can't we all just get along,' and they're not going to help us." Beck added that President Obama seems to greatly admire Europe's legal and economic systems. "He's appointing an awful lot of 'trans-nationalists,' people who believe the law is constantly evolving and we should look to foreign countries to see what they're doing." Finally, Beck explained his thesis that the U.S. government is heading in a 'fascist' direction. "Everybody argues left and right and they think that fascism is on the right, but it's not. Total government is on one side, no government or anarchy on the other side. The founders were way over toward the no-government side of the scale, and we have now moved to the other side. The government is gathering power." The Factor countered that the U.S. is still a remarkably free nation. "My personal freedoms have not been impinged upon at all. I can spout off, I can say what I want, and no government apparatus is bothering me."
American TV Icon: The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Factor paid homage to The Mary Tyler Moore show and spoke with one of the program's stars, Cloris Leachman, who admitted that she annoyed everyone on the set with her chronic tardiness. "I have been late all my life," the 83-year-old Leachman said, "and it's a terrible thing that I'm not proud of. But everyone was always nice to me, and Valerie Harper was tenacious in her support." Leachman revealed that Mary Tyler Moore herself was rarely seen when the cameras weren't rolling. "She wasn't with us much at all because she had to be protected from getting worn out. She had to do a lot of interviews and other things to sell the show." The Factor praised Cloris Leachman as a genuine TV Icon.
Kiera Knightley & Taliban fanatics
Friday's Patriot: Actress Kiera Knightley, who appears in a public service announcement meant to curtail domestic violence. And the Pinheads: The Taliban fanatics who beat a 17-year-old Pakistani woman for talking to a young man.
Viewers sound off
Factor Words of the Day
Carlos Schuster, Hawaii: "Code Pink seems to have forgotten that peacekeepers have not stopped atrocities in Darfur, the Congo, or Somalia. Stopping evil requires force."

Judith Dutcher, Lancaster, CA: "I was incredulous that Code Pink thinks we can have tea with the Taliban and everything will just work out."

Neil Wallace, Williamsburg, VA: "Bill, great job with Code Pink. My son is at Annapolis and when asked by an anti-war guy why we are in Afghanistan he replied: 'because we believe in equal rights for women.'"

Betty Darling, Georgetown, TX: "Bill, I know exactly how you feel about Sean Penn. As the wife of a Vietnam Vet, I will never watch Jane Fonda."