My Fox Trot With Bill O'Reilly (A Canadian waxes superciliously morally-superior)

The Globe and Mail ^ | May 1, 2004 | Heather Mallick

[quidnunc]

It's someone's fault I appeared on The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Tuesday night to discuss a column I wrote welcoming the presence of American deserters in Canada.

So who's responsible? Either Globe and Mail TV critic John Doyle, the Dalai Lama or me.

Eeny meeny miney mo, Doyle.

Mr. Doyle, a dear friend — together we have plucked the gowans fine — has long campaigned for Fox News to run in Canada. I think he regards it as a second Comedy Network. It's all staged, so we can all laugh at its Bush-licking rendition of the news, its ridiculous "fair and balanced" slogan and this man Bill O'Reilly, whose talk show is really more of a spitting contest gone off track.

Al Franken calls Mr. O'Reilly a "lying, splotchy bully," and proves it in his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, but Mr. Doyle thinks he's a great comic creation, I guess, like Britain's The Pub Landlord, this guy who's always ranting about how Great Britain used to be called Fookin' Fantastic Britain until all the immigrants arrived.

But Mr. Doyle is Irish and he likes his comedy blacker than a raven's eyeball. I should have remembered this, more fool me.

Eeny meeny miney mo, Dalai Lama.

-snip-

[quidnunc]

Quote:

It was like talking to a manic child who had eaten 800 cherry Pop Tarts for breakfast. He kept interrupting, so that no point could be made that could win a reply, much less a reasoned response — not so much a gabble of sound bites as a howling from Bedlam.

O'Reilly may be an insufferable blowhard at times, but he covers important issues which other media outlets simply won't touch.

[LisaFab]

Hate is a strong word, but as soon as this woman's smirking mug appeared on my TV I loathed her. Can't believe I read the whole article.

[hershey]

She's a wretched writer, so didn't read the whole thing. Supercilious, smug, arrogant, and stupid. Have I left anything out?

[headsonpikes]

Of the Mope & Wail's smarmy columnists, this woman ranks as top Smarmstress.

Her odious columns have a horrible, gray, soviet feel to them. One has the sense she would support neighbourhood self-criticism meetings a la Maoist communes - she makes my skin crawl.

One more reason not to read the G&M.

[TheConservator]

Pathetic Goebels wannabe.

[cwb]

"Al Franken calls Mr. O'Reilly a "lying, splotchy bully," and proves it in his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right..."

And we're suppose to take anything she has to say, seriously? Oreilly hasn't been making a lot of freinds lately...but to put Franken foward as the arbiter of truth is an even further stretch on the "fair and balanced" mantra.

[Don W]

I quit reading "TORONTO'S" national newspaper years ago.

The arrogant, self-serving tone of the editorials, coupled with the strongly skewed-left reporting was just too much to take, and I was somewhat left-leaning at the time.

That, plus the fact that everything west of the Manitoba border didn't exist except as colonies was enough to start my journey to conservatism and thought.

It's like TSN (Canada's first sports network): Who cares about beer-league bowling in Kapuskasing?

[Paul Atreides]

The left simply cannot take receiving the same treatment that they have dished out, to conservative talk show guests, for decades.

[GoLightly]

I saw the interview. She's a typical far lefty, all voices should be heard, free open society, blah, blah, blah... But we really need to silence everyone who disagrees with us.

[LisaFab]

Only condescending and unfunny.

[longtermmemmory]

She is just frustrated as shecame across as a complete idiot. She obviously opposes fox new because fox would wipe out the competition in the ratings.

She is simply using eftist tacticts of tring to margialize opposition views. She must know she is not the majority she believes.

[longtermmemmory]

Notice how she conveniently omits the fact that frankin is a nobody except to the very far left. She arrogantly assumes she is in the majority. I submit that Canadians exposed to real news would make her as obsolete as the USSR.

[catpuppy]

Regarding her hero, Al Franken, didn't he used to be a future radio star?

[MN_Mike]

Bingo! O'Reilly can come off self-righteous and full of himself. That said, these traits seem strikingly similar to those of the Canadian guest.

Canadians by and large share one thing in common: A serious inferority complex. Not surprising then is the attempt to increase their self-image but tearing down American figures. Many thought Reagan was an idiot, consider GWB the same.

[Canadian Volunteer]

Said Minnesota_Mike,

"Canadians by and large share one thing in common: A serious inferority complex."

Oh please. That's like saying every Freeper is a self-agrandising blowhard. True is some cases but not universal.

Said Minnesota_Mike,
"Many thought Reagan was an idiot, consider GWB the same."

Funny thing; so do an awful lot of Americans.

And as far as O'Really's concerned, bring 'im on! Having watched him inaction, he's a buffoon. He isn't interested in discussion; he's there to make sure you know what your opinion's supposed to be!

[GeorgiaYankee]

She's a wretched writer, so didn't read the whole thing.

Then maybe you missed this gem!

I always say yes to American TV because how else are Americans going to hear about radical notions like feeding the poor and sheltering the gentle, or letting black people vote in Florida?

One part Socialism mixed with one part Conspiracy Theory, shake well, then FLUSH!

[vandykelastone]

Who cares? She is a canadian, and thus is irrelevant. When she finally figures that out, she can go home and shut up. She probably has draft dodgers somewhere in her family. Shame on O'Reilly for having her on. Must have been a slow day. It certainly was when SHE showed up, wasn't it. canada has an ex-prime minister now living with a piano player in Los Angeles while she pretends to be a canadian representative to the entertainment industry. No kidding.

[vandykelastone]

canadian volunteer? Volunteer for what? I just bet you are a candy striper. Feh.

[Canadian Volunteer]

Scintilating come-back, Vandyke. My poor Canadian ego is shattered irrepairably.

Sheesh! Some people's children!

[Canadian Volunteer]

Said Vandyke,

"I just bet you are a candy striper."

No, but I've bagged a couple. :)