Bill O’Reilly Whining About Reactions To Him About Dr. George Tiller

Bill O’Reillyis setting the stage for crying and complaining about the negative reactions to his demonizing of Dr. George Tiller, an abortion doctor who performed legal and private procedures for women. O’Reilly repeatedly cited that some people refer to Dr. Tiller as “Tiller the baby killer.” O’Reilly did slip up and call him “Dr. Killer” once and at least one other time referred to him director as “Tiller the baby killer.” He had a teaser on his show highlighting his attention to cry more about others in the media who have and continue to be critical of him as O’Reilly continues to bash the dead Dr. Tiller.

News Hounds Makes A Great Point About More Bill O’Reilly Hypocrisy

Conservative Fox News (I know, it’s kind of redundant) commentator Bill O’Reilly viciously smeared the assassinated Dr. George Tiller so often over the years you nearly need a calculator to keep track of the attacks. News Hounds makes a good point: Now that Dr. Tiller has been murdered by an anti-abortion nut, Bill O’Reilly is crying that there is too much coverage of the man’s death.

Here is an excerpt of the News Hounds blog:

On last night’s (6/10/09) O’Reilly Factor­, in the Factor Follow-up, Bill O’Reilly’s leap in logic once again vaulted over the cliff. He whined about the media blitz on the Dr. George Tiller murder, as compared, in his view, with the weak coverage of the murder of Private William Long at the hands of the “American Muslim assassin” (uh, alleged assassinmight work here). Although, as many of you know, O’Reilly was recently, well, forced to publicly apologizeto CNN for misstating the facts surrounding CNN’s coverage of Long, O’Reilly struck out at CNN again, complaining about its three hours worth of Tiller coverage, and half hour given to Long. Given O’Reilly’s track record, though, I think I won’t take those numbers as gospel.

News Hounds:
http://www.newshounds.us/2009/06/11/after_years_of_smears_on_dr_tillers_life_oreilly_complains_theres_too_much_media_coverage_of_his_death.php

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Greg Gutfeld Joins The Party In Bashing The Assassinated Dr. George Tiller

Right-wing commentator Greg Gutfeld has joined the party of people smearing the assassinated Dr. George Tiller. Dr. Tiller, who performed LEGAL procedures, was gunned down in church by a low-life anti-abortion domestic terrorist. It seems as though those extremists on the right wing are only concerned about domestic terrorism when it involves a Muslim.

Here is an excerpt from a blog written by Gutfeld:

So, as usual this morning, I’m on the stairclimber at the gym, watching CNN devote what seems like an entire morning on the death of George Tiller (no wonder their ratings are in the toilet). Remember, this isn’t just any abortion doctor – he’s like a hall-of-famer, late-term baby disposal unit – popping them off just as they cross the finish line.

But no matter, as I watch CNN’s in depth coverage – the kind you’d never see them give to the murder of a soldier by a Muslim convert – I kept obsessing over one thing.

Am I wrong for not caring?

I mean, I know that soon there will be a movie about Tiller (not about William Long, of course), probably starring walking hairpiece Ted Danson. But I still don’t care. I mean, I know that killing Tiller is wrong. It’s murder. And if you’re against the killing of unborn children, you can’t just go out and kill a man, even if he kills unborn children.

But that still doesn’t explain why I don’t care. And I’m willing to bet that the rest of America – save the media – don’t care much either.

Why is that? It’s not about Tiller’s murder being wrong. I get that. That’s not the issue. This issue is, when you make priorities of “stuff that’s wrong” – is it more wrong to kill a dumpster full of viable babies, than to kill the doc who fills that dumpster?

Yes, you are wrong for not caring about a man’s murder and the domestic terrorism that has, for so long, been intimately associated with the anti-abortion movement. Gutfeld may have the same research team that helped Bill O’Reilly lie about CNN’s coverage of the murder of Pvt. Long. O’Reilly was exposed as being dishonest about CNN’s in-depth coverage. Strangely enough, Gutfeld does actually make a good point: “And if you’re against the killing of unborn children, you can’t just go out and kill a man, even if he kills unborn children.” On the other hand, Gutfeld returns to right-wing extremism by the end. That is sad.

Here is another Gutfeld comment I found interesting (in the last paragraph of the above excerpt):

This issue is, when you make priorities of “stuff that’s wrong” – is it more wrong to kill a dumpster full of viable babies, than to kill the doc who fills that dumpster?

Whether you like it or not, abortion is a LEGAL procedure. MURDERING A HUMAN BEING IS ILLEGAL.

Big Hollywood:
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggutfeld/2009/06/09/daily-gut-i-don%e2%80%99t-care-about-tiller%e2%80%99s-murder/#more-155478

Bill O’Reilly Lives Up To His Pattern Of Abuse

On June 6, 2009 I wrote the following in a blog:

Fox News conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly clearly has not mastered the art of the sincere apology. After O’Reilly lied about the coverage of the murdered Pvt. Long, he issued an apology. But, during his apology he took a cheap shot at CNN’s Rick Sanchez (who called O’Reilly out for his lies on the air). In other words, Bill O’Reilly(the hypocritical man who whines all the time about being smeared and about having his rights violated by critics) blamed the victim.

But, CNN should not feel too good about the apology. At the end of the clip, O’Reilly sets the stage for a Monday attack on CNN after he has a chance to regroup and dig up something else to use against the Fox News competitor.

O’Reilly lived up to that by going on a weak attack against CNN after being embarassed by being caught lying about CNN’s coverage of the murder of Pvt. William Long.

Like a child, O’Reilly came back after CNN this way:

“Let’s go back to Private William Long, assassinated last week in Arkansas by an American Muslim terrorist,” O’Reilly said near the end of the Talking Points segment seen below. “Now I criticized the network news and CNN for basically ignoring the story while ginning up the Tiller murder. As I reported last Friday, I did misspeak about CNN. They did cover the story day side, but their prime-time coverage was scant. In fact, up to the point where I mentioned the long Tiller comparison, CNN had devoted approximately 190 minutes almost three hours, more than three hours to Tiller while giving about 36 minutes to Private Long. That’s about a six to one margin. So there you go.”

Weak, weak, weak.

Once again, Bill O’Reilly exploits being busted for his lies about CNN to take another cheap shot at the assassinated Dr. George Tiller.

He’s still trying to cover up for his lies about CNN by re-framing the issue to try and make himself look like less of a liar.

Media Matters Documents Some Of Bill O’Reilly’s Hateful, Dangerous Words About The Murdered Dr. George Tiller

Assassinated Dr. George Tiller’s blood may indeed be on the hands of conservative commentators like Bill O’Reilly of Fox News.

Media Matters for America has been out in front of this issue reminding O’Reilly and others of how his words were so dangerous.

Here are some of O’Reilly’s words (prior to the vicious assassination of Dr. Tiller by what appears to be a right-wing anti-abortion extremist).

• “In the state of Kansas, there is a doctor, George Tiller, who will execute babies for $5,000.”
• “For $5,000, ‘Tiller the Baby Killer’ – as some call him – will perform a late-term abortion for just about any reason.”
• “Tiller has killed thousands, thousands of late-term fetuses without explanation.”
• “No question, Dr. Tiller has blood on his hands.”
• ” ‘Tiller the Baby Killer’ out in Kansas, acquitted, acquitted today of murdering babies.”
• “This guy will kill your baby for $5,000, any reason. Any reason.”
• “If we allow Dr. George Tiller and his acolytes to continue, we can no longer pass judgment on any behavior by anybody.”
• “If we allow this, America will no longer be a noble nation.”

Hateful words can inspire unstable people to commit violent acts. What O’Reilly did and said, over and over again, went beyond just being an anti-abortion person who opposed Dr. Tiller’s work.

Read between the lines of those comments to see the hate and anger.

I am not saying O’Reilly wanted Dr. Tiller murdered. I am not saying that at all. But, look at O’Reilly’s actions since the murder of Dr. Tiller. He hardly seems bothered by the fact that the man, who performed legal medical procedures for women, was murdered in cold blood by what appears to be an act of domestic terrorism. In fact, O’Reilly has spent even more time aggressively bashing the assassinated Dr. Tiller (albeit with far-less volatile language).

Bill O’Reilly is continuing to bash a dead man.

Why is he continuing to bash Dr. George Tiller?

Is he trying to shake himself off the hook of responsibility, or is he motivated by something else?

Media Matters:
http://mediamatters.org/columns/200906090004

Bill O'Reilly Tries To Justify His Hate Speech

Conservative Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly is on Townhall.com trying to justify to readers his hateful speech that helped create a hostile atmosphere surrounding the late Dr. George Tiller. Over and over again, O'Reilly repeated the line "Tiller the baby killer" as he attacked (repeatedly) Dr. Tiller, a man who bravely provided legal abortions to girls and women. Repeating that line is designed to reinforce in listeners and viewers how dangerous O'Reilly truly believed Dr. Tiller was. Read O'Reilly's entry (as much as you can stomach) on Townhall.com and see how he fakes outrage in the beginning of the blog before he spends the rest of it building a case of hate against Dr. George Tiller. It's a hit piece against a dead man. It's a reprehensible blog by O'Reilly who fakes feeling pained by Dr. Tiller's death, builds a case against the dead man and then takes another opportunity to attack liberals.

Townhall.com:
http://townhall.com/columnists/BillOReilly/2009/06/03/the_killing_of_george_tiller

Right-Winger Ken Blackwell Again Proves To Be Misguided

Right-wing commentator Ken Blackwell has made some strong comments once again attacking President Barack Obama. Now, Blackwell is entitled to his opinion, but his opinion is a misguided attempt to take a shot at President Obama through the exploitation of Pvt. William Long's brutal murder by a low-life thug (Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad) who attacked innocent individuals and viciously murdered a young man. It's a reprehensible act and the perpetrator must be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Blackwell, like so many fellow conservatives, has sought to exploit the murder of Pvt. Long to attack President Obama. It's beyond disgusting.

Wrote Blackwell:

The contrast between President Obama’s reaction to the murder of a late-term abortionist and the murder of a U.S. Army Recruiter could not be more stark. Obama raced to send U.S. Marshals into abortion facilities. He denounced the murder in the strongest terms in a statement which is posted on the White House website:

I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.

I agree that we cannot resolve our differences by acts of violence. I would like to have seen such a strong statement from the Obama administration when two U.S. Army Recruiters were shot in Arkansas, one of them fatally, by a recent convert to Islam.

Obama’s reaction to this heinous act of violence in Little Rock was, to be charitable, muted. He was busily preparing to fly off to Saudi Arabia to continue his apology tour.

President Obama could not have won in this case. Had he swooped in he would have been accused of exploiting Pvt. Long's death for good publicity. By choosing to be far more private in expressing his condolences, he has been attacked by conservative Republicans hungry for any excuse to attack him. By the way, do you want evidence this was a partisan hit piece by Blackwell? Take a look at his last sentence in this excerpt. It's an attack using tired and old Republican talking points designed to portray the president as some kind of hater of America.

Notice also how Blackwell makes sure to mention the man was a recent convert of Islam. That was not mentioned by accident.

Let us go back to one thing Blackwell said in the above excerpt:

The contrast between President Obama’s reaction to the murder of a late-term abortionist and the murder of a U.S. Army Recruiter could not be more stark. Obama raced to send U.S. Marshals into abortion facilities.

As heinous and senseless as the murder of Pvt. Long was, we have to understand the differences in the two situations. Dr. George Tiller (Scott Roeder is the man being detained for this wicked act that took a life), a man who has provided abortions to women in need, was viciously assassinated in a church. This nation has a history of domestic terrorism in regard to abortion clinics and toward abortion doctors. Doctors are not soldiers and are not as specially trained and armed to protect themselves. Also, any disturbed fool crazy enough to murder a doctor or bomb a clinic is a danger to many other private citizens seeking a legal medical procedure. When clinics are bombed, not only are innocent civilian doctors in danger, but so too are women, men, girls and boys who could find themselves in harm's way because of some domestic terrorist seeking to deny a woman's right to choose by what an individual feels are any means necessary.

It's a shame that Blackwell is exploiting the death of Pvt. William Long to try and score cheap and partisan political points against President Obama.

Sadly, however, Ken Blackwell is not alone.

Townhall.com:
http://townhall.com/Columnists/KenBlackwell/2009/06/04/arm_our_military_recruiters

Laura Ingraham And Bill O’Reilly Are Off Target Yet Again

The bitter backlash from conservative talking heads Bill O’Reilly and Laura Ingraham. O’Reilly has taken a lot of heat for some of his hateful comments toward Dr. George Tiller, a man who legally provided abortions to women in need. Dr. Tiller was assassinated this week by a man who appears to be an anti-abortion extremist who was willing to stop at nothing to stop a man like Dr. George Tiller. Also, recently in the news, is the story of a man (23-year-old Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad) who is being named as the killer of a soldier and a wounder of another due to his anger about the killing of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. Like the case of Dr. George Tiller, this is a tragic crime that can not and must not go unpunished.

Here is where the story gets interesting. As O’Reilly and others on the far right have been taking heat for their hateful rhetoric toward Dr. Tiller that may have lit the fuse for his murder, the conservative commentator appeared to be teaming with Ingraham (a fellow right winger) to exploit the tragedy of the soldier’s murder to again attack liberals, including NBC and MSNBC.

Consider these remarks from Ingraham and O’Reilly (as reported by Think Progress):

INGRAHAM: Are we now going to look at the websites that he frequented to see if he was on some of the crazy left-wing anti-war websites, Win Without War, George Soros-funded websites, DailyKos, all the crazies. … The way they are reporting on the George Tiller murder, all of talk radio was responsible for that. … Did he frequent MSNBC, did he like to watch it? [...]

O’REILLY: Since they have been unrelenting in describing their country as a torture nation, I’m sure that set this Muslim guy off to kill one and wound another of our military and I’m sure that’s NBC’s fault. Look, the absurdity of this is beyond the pale.

Whilere there is some tongue-in-cheek here (perhaps from O’Reilly), I suspect, but the thought behind the words is unmistakable. Whether Muhammad may or may not have watched liberal networks or read liberal blogs is irrelevant in this case. Muhammad has expressed (to the law enforcement officials) that he was angered by the deaths of Muslims in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Here is an article from the New York Times:

In a lengthy interview with the police, Mr. Muhammad said he was angry about the killing of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, Chief Thomas said. Previously known as Carlos Bledsoe, Mr. Muhammad told investigators that he had converted to Islam as a teenager, Chief Thomas said.

Chief Thomas said investigators believe that Mr. Muhammad acted alone. He seemed to be familiar with the Army recruiting office because it was not far from his home, the chief said, but might have been on the prowl for anyone in uniform.

“I would say he was looking for any and all targets of opportunity that happened to be military,” the chief said in a telephone interview. “That may have well been the first place he found.”

Mr. Muhammad will be charged with one count of capital murder and 15 counts of terroristic acts, one for each person who was hit or endangered by the shots he fired. Thirteen people were in the recruiting office at the time.

Muhammad’s reprehensible actions, based on police interrogation, were motivated by the results of the war … not by hate speech.

On the victims:

The dead soldier was identified as Pvt. William A. Long, 23, of Conway, about 30 miles north of Little Rock. The other victim, Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, was in stable condition at Baptist Medical Center, Chief Stuart Thomas of the Little Rock Police Department said.

New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/us/02recruit.html?_r=1

Rememebr When Janet Napolitano Was Criticized For Homeland Security Report On Right-Wing Extremism

It was not all that long ago that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was being strongly criticized by right-wing politicians and pundits.

Here is a sample from the Washington Post:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano responded yesterday to widespread criticism of a leaked domestic intelligence report warning local law enforcement agencies to be on guard for right-wing extremist groups seeking new recruits amid the nation’s economic troubles.

“Let me be very clear: we monitor the risks of violent extremism taking root here in the United States,” Napolitano said in a written statement issued by her department. “We don’t have the luxury of focusing our efforts on one group; we must protect the country from terrorism whether foreign or homegrown, and regardless of the ideology that motivates its violence.”

With the heinous assassination of Dr. George Tiller (a doctor who provided abortions), maybe there was a lot more merit to the report (not that it did not have some flaws) than people wanted to believe at the time.

Extremism (to this extent) is wrong … whether it comes from the left or the right.

Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/15/AR2009041503390.html

Field Negro:
http://field-negro.blogspot.com/2009/06/domestic-terrorist-and-people-who.html

To Not Condemn The Assassination Of Dr. George Tiller Says A Lot About Bill O’Reilly

Washington Post media writer Howard Kurtz, who also serves as host of CNN’s Reliable Sources, had this comment in a column he wrote for the Post regarding media reactions to the brutal assassination of Dr. George Tiller:

O’Reilly is entitled to defend himself, and he in no way condoned what happened. But the man was murdered in church.I was surprised that, along with his reminder that Tiller had been called a baby killer, O’Reilly didn’t issue a ringing denunciation of the shooting and anyone who thought it was justified. The occasion, in my view, called for it; he chose a different approach.

It’s difficult to tell if Kurtz is legitimately surprised by O’Reilly’s reactions (I don’t know how he could be) or if he is trying to remain somewhat neutral in his analysis (to play it safe). How Bill O’Reilly could not come out on his Fox News television program and strongly (in the strongest terms possible) condemn the assassination of Dr. Tiller is beyond comprehension.

So, where is Bill O’Reilly’s conscience and his respect for humanity?

Where is his moral courage to stand up to the far-right bigots (some who go beyond mere bigotry to destructive action) who are not bothered by the murder of a human being?

Not only did he not condemn the murder and all who think it was justified, he even repeated the line that refers to Tiller as a baby killer.

That is disgusting stuff from a man who seems to have no conscience.

It’s amazing how horrified anti-abortion people are by abortion, yet how matter-of-fact some are about the cold-blooded assassination of Dr. John Tiller, a human being.

Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/02/AR2009060200889_2.html?hpid=topnews

Bill O’Reilly Is On The Air Smearing The Dead Dr. George Tiller

Showing no shame, Fox News far-right hater Bill O’Reilly is on the air in his 8 p.m. The O’Reilly Factor show smearing a dead man. Showing virtually no sympathy for the death of Dr. George Tiller, who appears to have been murdered in an act of domestic terrorism in church by a far-right, anti-abortion nut. It’s a horrific crime. At this very hour, Bill O’Reilly is on the air covering his own rear end and exploiting the heinous assassination of Dr. Tiller to smear liberals, liberal bloggers and all those who differ with him. He is slamming Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post and all others who disagree with him. Once again, O’Reilly reveals himself as a flat-out bigot. He is radically hostile to all those who disagree with him. That would not be so bad. But to exploit the murder of Dr. Tiller (while also smearing a dead man calling him, among other things, “Tiller the baby killer”) to attack liberals is shameful.

Are Pro-Lifers Callously Exploiting Dr. George Tiller’s Murder For Political Gain?

Fox News has a story on its Web site with a headline that reads: “Pro-Life Leaders Denounce Murder Of Abortion Doctor George Tiller.”

But, it’s the sub-headline that interests me: “Opponents of abortion condemned the murder of abortion provider George Tiller but used a platform outside the Supreme Court Monday to blast President Obama’s abortion policies and strongly question the beliefs of his high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.”

First, how about the lack of respect to not refer to him as Dr. George Tiller, but instead refer to him as “abortion provider George Tiller.” I know it was used in the headline, but I find it a little interesting that label him as “abortion provider” rather than “doctor” or along with “doctor.” So, the pr0-lifers are exploiting the death of Dr. George Tiller to take cheap shots at President Barack Obama and U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor. That is plain disgusting.

Here are a couple of head-scratching quotes from the story:

“It is immoral and it is unchristian,” Rev. Rob Schenck of the National Clergy Council said of Tiller’s murder. He said the reaction to it “becomes a greater setback to the pro-life movement than anything the so-called pro-choice movement could do.”

“We call on President Obama and the [congressional leaders] not to use this tragedy for political gain,” added Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalitions.

That takes a lot of nerve for a man to speak to the media and call on someone else not to use the tragedy for political gain. Talk about a hypocrite.

Here is another excerpt and quote from the Fox News story:

The group’s former president, Randall Terry, said that, despite Tiller’s murder, abortion opponents must not retreat from calling him a “mass murderer.”

“The pro-life movement must not be browbeaten by Obama or the child-killers into surrendering our best rhetoric, actions and images. We hold absolutely no responsibility for his death,” Terry said in a written statement.

Again, Terry exploits this heinous murder of Dr. George Tiller for his own selfish and radical political agenda by attacking President Obama. It just goes to show how nutty some of these individuals are when you get right down to it.

Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/01/abortion-opponents-discouraged-doctors-murder/

SIDE NOTE: The story, which in the eyes of many casts a negative light on far-right conservatives, is no longer getting as high a positioning on the Fox News Web site.

Does True Hate Speech Lead To Violence?

Certainly, there are reasonable disagreements about regarding what constitutes hate speech in America. Media Matters has compiled the following:

Anonymous: Over the past few years, Bill O’Reilly has made the following comments about Dr. Tiller:

- He “destroys fetuses for just about any reason right up until the birth date for $5,000.”

- He’s guilty of “Nazi stuff,”

- a moral equivalent to NAMBLA and al-Qaida

- “This is the kind of stuff that happened in Mao’s China, Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union”

- “operating a death mill”

- “has blood on his hands”

- “executing babies about to be born

Tucker, I’m not saying Billo wanted some kook to kill him, but isn’t this playing with fire? Is there some quote by (Keith) Olbermann or any other liberal commentator that even comes close? Who has the craziest of the liberal left murdered lately?

TUCKER CARLSON: Every one of those descriptions of Tiller is objectively true. I sincerely think it’s appalling that he was murdered. But Tiller was a monster, no doubt.

Referring to Dr. Tiller as “a monster” may ease the conscience of people like Tucker Carlson, but there is no justification for murder. Surely, real pro-life people would agree. This is the kind of hate speech that leads some people to commit horrifying crimes.

Media Matters:
http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906010013

How Will Conservative Fox News Commentator Bill O’Reilly Address Dr. George Tiller’s Murder?

The shocking murder of Dr. George Tiller of Kansas is making headlines in newspapers and on the Internet – all over the country. Dr. Tiller has come under heavy attack from hardcore extremists, including conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly of Fox News.

Consider this entry from the the Daily Kos that documents O’Reilly’s attacks on Dr. Tiller:

Since 2005, Bill O’Reilly has waged jihad against Dr. George Tiller, dedicating 29 segments of his show to demonizing and dehumanizing Tiller, who he invariably called “Tiller the baby killer.”

As you can see from these video clip samplings of O’Reilly’s holy war, you don’t have to actually pull the trigger to help sponsor terrorism.

Check out the Daily Kos page (video from Daily Kos is below) for documentation of O’Reilly’s war against Dr. Tiller.

Daily Kos:
http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001803/