I'm not going to call Bill O'Reilly a liar... yet, but...

[Jim Robinson]

I'm not going to call Bill O'Reilly a liar... yet, but... on his TV show today, he read off a laundry list of ridiculous "hate" statements like "I hate blacks," "Hillary should be assassinated" and "homosexuals are dogs" that he said he personally found on Free Republic and claims that they were posted here today. I do not believe that. I doubt that he personally logged on to FR and I doubt he found any such thing posted here today.

Who knows what we may have missed and is buried deep in our archives of millions of posts, but our readers do a pretty good job of alerting us to anything out of bounds that is posted and we pull it. Also, one of our readers found a couple of the quotes he alleges, and if they are the ones O'Reilly is complaining about, he took them way out of context. They were simply quotes in the articles posted not statements posted by FReepers.

As soon as he provides me a list of the alleged posts and their URLs, I'll believe him. If he doesn't... then... well, guess he'll deserve to be known as what he is.

[Enchante]

Here, we go, response from FoxNews producer with links:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1874938/posts

Turns out to be much ado about almost nothing.

[joesbucks]

That you've had to pull posts and comments kind of points to the accusation. Now, I understand if it's someone who's just logged on to create a little havoc. That shouldn't count.

But, when it's a post that's by a long time member and pulled due to content, then he does have a point. And those do occur.

There are times when offensive posts get mocked later in the thread or in other threads.

I've long advocated letting offensive posts stand, but have the software develop some sort of disclaimer flag that can be used by the mods, or even have it automated, that clearly says the post does not represent the management of FR.

[rodeo-mamma]

I think I just found the perfect new time to go to the Gym to workout in the evening, during O'Reilly's show. I'm so glad that the time delima has now been solved.

[Delphinium]

Tell me was it found to be an untruth? I thought so.

[mad_as_he$$]

Probably the mid 70’s. That was the first time I lived in SoCal. The next time was mid-80’s and he had moved on to New York by then. BTW he will insist that it is a lie. One of the LA TV stations.

[mad_as_he$$]

it was early and I forgot Alex spells his last name Bennett. He is on Sirius but I did not see an email address. Warning - he is very liberal in many areas but he hates Geraldo. His web site is here:

http://www.radiofreejack.com/index.htm

[bcsco]

Does it seem strange to you that the visual is blurry and that BOR doesn't allow the viewer to read the offensive statements he says were there?

Sorry for the late reply. I've been busy this afternoon.

I downloaded the video of the interview from YouTube. It was the one linked on JR's post last evening. The video clearly shows a full screenshot of an FR posts page with someone using the cursor to scroll down, then link to a thread. Then the thread is shown. It's that which tells me that the screenshots posted are only a portion of the threads that were visible before scrolldown (or after).

I saved the video as an mpg, then transformed it to DVD quality to preserve what quality video was there to begin with.

In capturing still screen images from my saved video, I found that the picture quality was actually less than that of the original screenshots posted last night. Thus, I've been unable to come up with anything further. Yet, this shows that the screen image being blurry is not an abnormal situation. This is very common when screen images are captured then blown up. This is NOT unusual when capturing video.

In doing this, I reviewed the entire segment again. Actually, I found BOR to be somewhat fair, believe it or not. He made an effort to appear as though he was toning down his initial hit to FR, then made it clear that he saw KOs as being far more hateful than FR. I came away from the second viewing with a slightly different view, although I still felt it was an effort at using FR to his advantage('free and balanced' maybe?).

In any event, what we'll have to go on, should anyone else not be able to provide clearer copies of the on-screen snapshots, is the data that BOR provides. That's likely the best scenario anyway, because it then gives FR material provided by the source, not some questionable screenshot that may have questionable provenance.

[Saundra Duffy]

Principled: Thanks for the link to the homosexual/dog piece. The poster wanted to alert FReepers to disgusting antics. If that’s where Bill O’Reilly got his info, that is REALLY creepy and wrong.

[SeaHawkFan]

You might have a defamation case against O’Reilly and FNC.

[Admin Moderator]

It is getting close to the time to call O’Reilly a liar.

[rockrr]

Thanks! Here’s my contribution to BOR:

Yep, another Freeper, daring to speak out.
I won’t try to point out how wrong you are - it would do no good. I won’t try to convince you how offensive your characterization of us is - your mind is made up and clamped firmly shut.
Instead I’ll tell you what you’ve lost.
One little voice.
For years I’ve defended you when you’ve insulted right-minded folks with your (anything but) fair & balanced schtick. I’ve pleaded with people to overlook all the gratuitous insults and slights you make against the right in your zeal to make us all “equal”. I’ve pointed out that despite your many flaws you do manage to take democrats down a peg or two and to enjoy it when that happens.
No more.
Since I am firmly affiliated with FreeRepublic.com, I must be a “hater” and therefore repugnant in your eyes. Consequently there is no way that we can continue to associate without further diminution to your sensibilities. So I won’t sully your program any longer with my participation. You are free to proclaim to the world that you have freed yourself, your show, your website, and your trinket showroom of yet another “hater”.
You should be feeeeeeeling better right about now - I know I am!
Regards,

~rockrr~

[Titan Magroyne]

In any event, what we'll have to go on, should anyone else not be able to provide clearer copies of the on-screen snapshots, is the data that BOR provides. That's likely the best scenario anyway, because it then gives FR material provided by the source, not some questionable screenshot that may have questionable provenance.
Goodness, thanks for all the trouble you went to to check the video and then distill it in a post to me!

By now you've likely seen the thread in which Kristinn explains exactly what posts BOR cited. Just in case, here ya go:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1874938/posts

My concern over blurry picture quality was over the televised image itself, not the screens caps posted on this site. I still contend deliberate distortion on the part of BOR's ppl out of fear that indeed they would be refuted by viewers who could actually see what he was talking about.

BTW, one of his assertions was a bald-faced lie. One was a figure of speech, not a bigoted slur. The third was NOT a death threat, though some FReepers opine that it's tasteless. In its context I disgree with that characterisation, putting me in the minority of those who commented on it. *shrug*

Makes me wonder what other false statements BOR makes, but not enough to become a canstant viewer of his show.

Enjoyed discussing with you today. Thanks again for taking the time. G'night.

[SpongingBob]

If you put in “freerepublic homosexuals dogs” you’ll see a post in which maybe O’Reilly is speaking of yet it was posted on July 30th. Last night around 10:30PM (EST) or so I posted a direct URL to the page but my post never showed up but 7 minutes later the comment that I was referring to was deleted. It’s unreasonable to expect FreeRepublic mods to catch everything. O’Reilly is probably paraphrasing so if you are googling with exact quotes it won’t show.

[ellery]

He’s lied by omission, at the very least. It’s a big public forum — of course there are going to be a few bad apples who post deplorable things once in a while. EVERY public place will be visited by the occasional scumbag spewing vile things. However, unless that public place tolerates such behavior, or the behavior is widespread, it is outrageous to assign collective blame for the actions of one loser.

I believe Mr. O’Reilly’s pants are on fire.

[highlander_UW]

I’d guess he probably also doesn’t know the difference between a blog and a message board. He’s not even comparing apples to apples.

[Mrs.Nooseman]

Good morning aimee.

Thank you.

[FreedomNeocon]

Bill does what he always does.

He is psychotic... he literally thinks that to be “Fair” means he has to make nonsense arguments sometimes.

In this case... since he was just going after kos the past few days (got jetblue to drop sponsorship of debate), it was time to hit someone on the right.

You know... because thats what it means to be “fair”. Weather they deserve it, or if there is moral equivalence... as long as you attack in equal quantities... you are automatically “fair”

Such a shame, but not at all a surprise to me.

[FreedomNeocon]

Ok... so he lied about the “I hate blacks” comment (no person here made the comment, it was a news article posted here which contained the comment, for discussion, which we should add condemned the sentiment in the article)

The “homosexuals as dogs” was a misquote and out of context. The phrase used was “dogs in the manger” which is an literary reference (look it up Bill - HERE), and has nothing to do with homosexuals being animals, or lowly dogs or whatever he was trying to say. The phrase is proverbial, referring to people who prevent others from having something that they themselves have no use for.

And the comment that was some fantasy fiction where Hillary got shot and killed, was off base... (though the left has had several books, plays, and movies exactly about the same thing happening to GWB, not a random single post out of millions, but produced, public, and ‘reviewed’ works of “art).

Finally... I think we all should remember how when Bill’s radio show started, he was making comments like “Matt Drudge is on crack, he is doing crack right now. The only solution is for Matt Drudge to be killed.”

So I guess Bill is both a hypocrite and the owner of his own ‘hate site’, in addition to a ‘hate show’ on tv and a ‘hate show’ on the radio....

[bcsco]

It really wasn’t all that much trouble. I thought, however, I’d get a better quality screenshot than I did. Oh, well.

Seems to me, JR and Free Republic have a case against BOR. He was on very thin ice in that interview, failed to provide copies of what he claimed were the offending threads/posts (even after the event and only when requested), then performed a tepid comparison between FR and KOs in his conversation with Harold Ford Jr., someone who wouldn’t have a clue what this forum is about.

Anyway, I’m sure brighter minds than mine have covered this thing thoroughly, and will initiate an effective response. I hope that response is shared with us all.

[OESY]

>

Part of the 10% that never gets the word and, worse, is too lazy to find out
for himself so he makes up outrages as a gimmick to draw in viewers.


Let me come clean and confess all. A couple of years ago I did post some remarks that could be viewed as insulting to race-hustlers like Jackson and Sharpton because I thought they were bad for race relations and for the country in general.

I admit now that I was wrong. It is too easy for someone of deficient character, such as Markos Moulitsas or Bill O’Reilly, to spin the meaning of my words to embrace all blacks. That would be like saying that just because I dislike (or if you prefer “hate” or “loathe”) Bill O’Reilly’s puerile attention ploys, then I must hate all Irishmen. That’s nonsense.

Some of the best columnists out there are black: Sowell, Perkins, Elder, Williams, McWhorter, Blackwell and Cain, and that’s no jive. You can find them on Townhall.com. Every single of them has more wisdom and more integrity than Bill O’Reilly.

.