O'Reilly Factor Provides Free Republic Offending Comments Links

Tuesday, August 1, 2007 | Kristinn

[kristinn]

I received an e-mail today from the Fox News producer who booked me for the O'Reilly Factor last night. The links have been forwarded to Jim Robinson for review.

Jim asked me to start a thread with the links so that Freepers, and everyone else, could see for themselves what the fuss is about.

The Hillary Clinton stray bullet assassination comment was a very bad joke comment that someone posted two days ago. It was flagged last night after the O'Reilly Factor broadcast and was removed by a moderator. It is available for the time being in Google cache:

To: Virginia Ridgerunner I like my scenario better:

After eight years of the economy faltering, interest rates are 19%, 900,000 people are dead in Iraq since we left, taxes have gone up by 60% and Chile, Bolivia and Columbia are now Communist regimes, a stray bullet at a NARAL rally catches President Clinton and kills her.

As they take away Cindy Sheehan she screams why did she have to remove the troops? We were winning.

The next day the dow goes up 2000 points and closes at 2150.

4 posted on 07/30/2007 11:00:43 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (The Democrat Party: "Everyone is equal, but some are more equal then others.")

[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies ]

Don't even bother trying to defend that one. Assassination jokes have no place on Free Republic. Yes, Cindy Sheehan has written of her fantasizies about killing President Bush--and she's not joking, but that's her problem. We're better than that.

The "homosexuals are dogs" comment is taken out of context. The actual quote is "Homosexuals are the modern day dogs in the manger." That was in reference to an article about proprieters in the U.K. not being allowed to deny hotel accomodations to homosexual couples on account of religious belief.

The American Heritage online dictionary gives this description for the phrase: dog in the manger, NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. dogs in the manger. One who prevents others from enjoying what one has no use for oneself. ETYMOLOGY: From a fable in which a dog prevented an ox from eating hay he did not want himself.

That comment was posted two days ago and has also been removed by the moderators. It is available for now in Google cache.

The "I hate blacks" comment was nowhere to be found in the other threads referenced.

The threads are about crime in the black community, gangsta culture and Jesse Jackson. Two of the threads are in the Smoky Backroom.

Homosexuals+are+the+modern-day+dogs+in+the+manger

Time for the Truth About Black Crime Rates

Jesse Jackson interview about Imus

Sagging Pants May Have Contributed To Fatal Shooting

stray+bullet+at+a+NARAL+rally+catches+President

[Psycho_Bunny]

And by the way, the poster I considered the biggest jerk at FR was A Pole.

And as much a jerk as I thought he was, I had more respect for him than I do Bill O'Reilly because A Pole had conviction without being a big-mouthed braggart.

To me, O'Reilly defines the words "cretin" and "prat".

Guess what Bill, you might be making bucks, but you're no thinker and you have no class.

I don't consider you half the Thinking Man that Thomas Sowell is.....Or Victor Davis Hanson.....or Dennis Prager.  Or even Mike Reagan.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

We are not a politically correct site, however the posting guidelines need to be adhered to. The comments cited by O'Reilly are literally drops in the bucket of the millions of comments posted on FR and do not represent what FR is about.

Nor is Democratic Underground a politically correct site...all their protestations to the contrary notwithstanding.

I'd like to see O'Reilly do a segment on that sewer hole of a website. The comments there make the worst ever poster on FR look tame by comparison.

[Bogtrotter52]

I saw the segment on last nights show. Anything truly offensive does indeed get deleted from FR as quick as the moderators come across it. The comparison to Daily Kos was not really a good one. Notice, the offensive photo on Daily Kos, if the info was accurate, was not a random posting comment, it was done by the owner and was on the site for 8 months. The language you see used here is nothing like you will see at a site like Daily Kos. If a comparison was to be made it would be better to compare FR with DU. If you have not see the language used by posters there, and the vitriol and venom....take my word for it, it’s beyond belief.

[TigersEye]

FWIW I was speaking tongue-in-cheek before intimating that you knew his MO.

I unfortunately was not watching last night. I watch out of morbid curiosity. Someday the veins in his head are going to explode all over the set and I've never seen that. It's not that I want it to happen I just figure it's inevitable. He might also beat the snot out of Geraldo Rivera too and that's something I do want to happen. ; )

[Bogtrotter52]

“Most extreme posts are probably trolls anyway.”

Which is exactly what you will hear the other side say. I have no doubt that is true in some cases. But we just have to concede that we have our own share of idiots as well.

[The_Reader_David]

Okay, same challenge we collectively set for Bore O’Rielly: links. If ‘obscene comments that should never have been made are in almost every thread’, it should be easy to find some. Pony up, show us links to even two comments that fit your description posted within the past day.

Given that any time I’ve seen an obscene comment posted (a rare event), the next time I visited the thread it had been replaced with a “Comment # has been removed by the moderator” notice, and the vast majority of threads I have ever visited have no “Comment # has been removed by the moderator” notices.

Have you perhaps set your account to read only threads in the “Smokey Backroom”? Even there, where the rhetoric gets fairly rough, I can’t recall obscenity.

Of course, perhaps, as some other posters have suggested, you are a leftist troll, and posts that uphold the superiority of capitalism over socialism; that object to any plan to impose state control of health insurance; consider the possibility that natural or cultural variation in human aptitudes and inclinations, rather than invideous discrimination might account for disparities of demographic groups in various professions; or satirize some favorite leftist politician might all strike you as obscene or hate-filled.

[mad_as_he$$]

bahblahbah you have never offended me. BOR offends me on a regular basis.

[Jean S]

What a surprise. He didn’t reply to either of our comments.

[JerseyDvl]

Was this tonight that BOR offered more evidence of our hatred or a reference to Kristinn’s appearance?

[elizabetty]

Did Bill even attempt to figure the PERCENTAGE of offensive comments on Free Republic versus KOS?

We have lots of threads that are completely respectable and KOS the opposite.

[stephenjohnbanker]

“O’Reilly’s entire report was a deliberate act of malignant dishonesty. It is a defamatory and nasty hatchet job.”

You nailed it! Pure and simple!

[JerseyDvl]

Did he attack us for a second night?

[Admin Moderator]

All that is on FoxNews tonight is the Bridge Collapse story.

[Brimack34]

What about what he(O’) said to his buddy Imas about Matt Drudge doing crack. That was hate radio and disgusting.

[do the dhue]

We are not a politically correct site

Pheeeeweee, I feel better.

I was figuring on bowing out because I am politically uncorrect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHd7Glj_Osc

And I am not into ice skatin' but I do like Gretchen Wilson.

I would be lying to you if I said I was sorry for being politically uncorrect, so that is why I was figuring that I would have to bow out. I am glad you said that we are not a politically correct site. I am happy now.

I also think that I have learned something out of all this. I see how important it is to follow the rules. Bad people will take you out of context. But I am gathering that we can still say how we feel, but we must do it within the rules. It is not my reputation that I have to worry about. It is our reputation that I have to worry about.

And BOR does not have to say he is sorry and I don't have to watch his show.

Go Glenn Beck!

[TheBattman]

The problem is - all it takes is for the DB Media to plant someone to post some troll postings, take a screen shot, then claim that FR is Satan’s Den.

I do not argue with the fact that we FReepers need to adhere to some sort of code of conduct - and hate-filled speech about asasinating public figures is reckless, stupid, and really damages our cause.

But notice - DU does not get aired out in the media - and the hate and vitriol spread there is some of the worst I have read in my entire life. Discussions of asasination, murder, and other forms of physical harm are portrayed there on a regular basis. In fact, I would venture to say that there have been threads there that should by all standards draw Secret Service attention. Yet the media (including “Bill O’Really?” chooses to ignore that...

I wonder how hard Bill’s people had to dig to find those three “offensive” posts. Obviously they are not regular readers, as they would have seen the context. Taking context into consideration, only the one was really off-base (and even then, only to those who cannot see the sarcasm). It was probably in bad taste.

So - note to Bill - if you are going to go out of your way to dig up the very tiny little bit of dirt on FR, then you need to get off your lazy butt and check out DU and other leftist web sites that spout incredible and disgusting hate on a daily basis. Otherwise, you come across as a shill for the DNC.

[Titan Magroyne]

Hostage stated my opinion more eloquently than I could, so I'm going to C&P his/her comments right here:

If you follow O’Reilly’s orders to you from last night, you will need to have each and every poster submit comments to a ‘professional’ reviewer before they are posted on the site.

That would end FreeRepublic and that’s no stretch.

Each of the comments you posted were twisted out of context by O’Reilly. The comment about Hillary catching a stray bullet is not an assassination ideation but an accident ideation. Any candidate or President can have an accident and it is fair game to discuss what might happen in the aftermath.

I still think Jim Robinson needs to retain a lawyer and write a letter to Foxnews accusing them of slander, demanding an on-air retraction of Mr. O’Reilly’s comments.

Also it is not a stretch to say that Mr. O’Reilly has threatened FreeRepublic members with their right of free speech. Last night’s episode showed that he is for ending free exchange on interent forums unless they are ‘professionally’ moderated. That is clearly a threat to censor internet discussions.

I haven’t watched O’Reilly in years and only caught the You Tube broadcast or your interview linked here in FR. His ratings are declining and it is obvious why that is happening.

On the other hand FreeRepublic’s reputation is still growing. His tirade leveled at you last night gave the site a lot of free publicity. People that are curious after listening to him last night will wander into FR and see that it is a great source of information and debate.

BTW you did great at keeping calm and poised.

But now he needs to be slapped with a letter that lays out the slanderous elements of his comments last night and then he needs to retract his comments and apologize on-air to FR and all its members.

...except that as far as threatening to censor FR, that is only BOR's opinion. He has no power to censor, though I believe he should be taken to task for demanding censorship along with his lies and taking remarks out of context.

Aside to whoever would know: Just what the heck is ole BOR's opinion on CFR, anyway?

I also believe that it is a bad move on FR's part to remove the 2 posts that BOR misquoted and twisted out of context. He was wrong. We (to include the FReepers who posted those remarks) have nothing to correct.

And thank you Kristinn for reprensenting as you do. We owe you a debt of gratitude.

[jbstrick]

Thank you Kristinn.

I will say that I have not participated in this forum much recently because I was chastised for hitting the abuse button too much. Admin Moderator sent me a private email warning me to lay off the abuse button, or else.

Comments like the ones that started this controversy should be eliminated as soon as we catch them. Likewise the moderators should not discourage us from any attempt at self-moderation.

Thank you!

[Impeach98]

Nice job last night, Kristinn. Bill O’Reilly didn’t seem to want to hear you speak much, because what you said was perfectly appropriate and responsive.

[mad_as_he$$]

No, reference to an early post. Actually I don’t watch BOR at all and haven’t for many years. To me he is just a gasbag and the world has enough of those already.