O'Reilly Ambushes Journalist and Gets Ambushed Back

Everything below was taken from the Nation. I have included a link back to their blog site but I wanted to have this material on my web site. By golly there is some justice after all.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/422072/o_reilly_ambushes_journalist_and_gets_ambushed_back?rel=hp_currently

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/422072 "After ThinkProgress.org's managing editor Amanda Terkel wrote a blog entry critical of Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly, the bloviator-in-chief sent a producer, Jesse Watters, to stalk Terkel.

It was a standard O'Reilly stunt, referred to as "ambush journalism." The TV tough guy's gone after dozens of targets using this technique.

But Terkel pushed back. She wrote about the incident in an article headlined "I Was Followed, Harassed, And Ambushed By Bill O'Reilly's Producer."

Then the Center for American Progress (CAP) used their Action Fund to launched a "Stop Supporting The O'Reilly Harassment Machine" campaign that urged Americans to: "Tell O'Reilly's advertisers that you want them to issue a clear statement explaining their opposition to O'Reilly's 'ambush journalism.'" The response has been overwhelming, from viewers and others who were sick of ambush "journalism."

And the campaign seems to be working. On Friday afternoon, the CAP Action Fund announced that UPS would stop advertising on O'Reilly's show. Here's the CAP statement:

In response to our Stop Supporting The O'Reilly Harassment Machine campaign, UPS told us yesterday that it was investigating whether to continue supporting O'Reilly's show. "We are sensitive to the type of television programming where our messages and presence are associated and continually review choices to affect future decisions," spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg told us.

Today UPS announced it will stop advertising on O'Reilly's show. Here is the statement UPS emailed out just moments ago:

Thank you for sending an e-mail expressing concern about UPS advertising during the Bill O'Reilly show on FOX News. We do consider such comments as we review ad placement decisions which involve a variety of news, entertainment and sports programming. At this time, we have no plans to continue advertising during this show."

Rush Limbaugh Rumored to Pay AIG Bonuses

Rush Limbaugh, leader of the Republican Party, and one of the few people supporting the payment of the AIG bonuses, is rumored to be willing to pay those bonuses out of his own huge salary. My inside source at Rush Limbaugh's radio station, Mary Rockefeller Swyne, alleges that Rush has been pacing the halls muttering, "Those Poor Bastards at AIG."

During the March 17 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh -defended American International Group (AIG) from criticism of the company's controversial employee retention bonuses. Limbaugh declared, "A lynch mob is expanding: the peasants with their pitchforks surrounding the corporate headquarters of AIG, demanding heads. Death threats are pouring in. All of this being ginned up by the Obama administration." It's hard to imagine where the people of New York City would get pitchforks but it's been said that anything is for sale in Manhattan. Perhaps Rush himself brought them into incite a potential riot.

Limbaugh later said, "This $500,000 limit on executive pay -- let me tell you why it won't work. New York City will die. New York City needs a whole bunch of people being paid a whole lot of money, so they can tax their butts off, so that the city can maintain its stupid streets, potholes, and welfare state. Without the super wealthy in New York, it's over." It's uncertain whether New York City needs to super rich, but certainly Manhattan does. With its high cost of living, and posh eateries and galleries only the super rich can truly enjoy living in Manhattan. But it's darn decent of Rush to worry about the super rich. Especially now that he's one of them.

Republican Goal: 30 Senators in 2012

Thus far the Republicans continue to distinguish themselves during the economic crisis by constantly criticizing anything produced by the Obama administration and offering up tax cuts as a solution to complex financial problems. The leader of the GOP, Rush Limbaugh, has openly stated that his goal is for Obama to fail. That is a logical goal for the Republicans because if Obama succeeds in any measure this society will undergo changes in the near future that will be totally unacceptable to Republicans and conservatives of all breeds and strains.

The problem with a policy of "Lets hope the other guy fails" is that it doesn't put you in a position of offering constructive realistic solutions as alternatives. The Republicans have offered alternatives, and they are on the Internet, but they fail to address such issues as what to do with AIG and Citigroup, as well as the Detroit automakers, if any or all threatened to implode. So, if the recession abates before the 2010 election, then the Republicans can expect to lose more seats in the House and the Senate. If by 2012, the recession is either completely or largely over, then the Republicans face another massacre in the election and will be lucky to have 30 senators. Then they will be able to hold caucuses in the minority leader's office

Arriana Huffington in Need of Further Sedation

Once the Obama campaign against Senator McCain began to get underway, President Obama shifted his campaign to a more centrist focus. Arriana Huffington, the Liberal Democrat doyenne, wrote an all-knowing column advising then Senator Obama to get back to his liberal left roots. This column detailed everything Obama needed to do in order to win the presidency. Fortunately for President Obama, he continued with his centrist ways and ended up winning an historic election.

Now Ms. Huffington is taking on Secretary of Treasury Geithner, and, if she hasn't been paying attention, President Obama once again. In her words, "Take the Steering Wheel out of Geithner's Hands." Ms. Huffington got specific in her concerns about Geithner

"But the issue isn't Geithner's delivery, it's what he's delivering: an approach to the crisis that is as toxic as the assets that have hamstrung the economy. Geithner, brilliant and hardworking though he is, is trapped within a Wall Street-centric view of the world and seems incapable of escaping.

That's why every proposal he comes up with is déjà vu all over again -- a remixed variation on the same tried-and-failed let-the-bankers-work-it-out approach championed by his predecessor, Hank Paulson."

It should be noted that she is not alone in these concerns. However, Ms. Huffington's range of advice for President Obama continues to be extensive, and at times relentless. Well, if anything happens to Rahm Emanuel or David Axelrod, the president knows where to turn for his next chief adviser.

Mike Huckabee off the Rails on Abortion

In a torturous piece of logic former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee likened abortion to slavery in a Monday speech during a fundraiser for an anti-abortion group. Huckabee said that when it abolished slavery, the U.S. debated and decided it was immoral for one person to have complete, life-or-death power over another. He said that should not change whether the control involves racial bigotry or a pregnant woman making a decision for her unborn child. "What are we saying to the generation coming after us when we tell them that it is perfectly OK for one person to own another human being?" Huckabee said.

"I thought we dealt with that 150 years ago when the issue of slavery was finally settled in this country, and we decided that it no longer was a political issue, it wasn't an issue of geography, it was an issue of morality. That it was either right or it was immoral that one person could own another human being and have full control even to the point of life and death over that other human being."

Missouri NAACP President Mary Ratliff, said the comparison of abortion to slavery was "apples to oranges" and called it offensive to use the issue of slavery for an unrelated political point.

There is more insidious piece of logic here then most people are unaware of. The agenda is not the elimination of Roe V. Wade, but rather the elimination of all abortion entirely. If anti-abortion proponents can't get the Supreme Court to strike down Roe V. Wade, or get a ruling that life begins at conception, then fall back to a civil rights position regarding the issue of abortion.

Portia de Rossi Apologizes for Her Gay Marriage

In an effort to heal the tremendous harm that she has done to anti-gay rights people, Portia De Rossi issued a formal apology for her marriage to Ellen DeGeneres. The deeply heartfelt apology went out to all the anti-gay rights activists whose lives have been ruined by gay marriages such as Portia's. She specifically mentioned several anti-gay activists and singled them out for the harm she has done them. All of America applauds Portia for hire supreme act of Christian kindness. It's a shame that the anti-gay Christians couldn't have shown gay people a small fraction of such decency. Portia's act of contrition is shown below.

Bailed-out Banks Contributing to Campaign Funds

The federal bank bailouts may be giving new meaning to the term "kickback."Many of the banks rescued last year with taxpayer money have contributed to the campaign coffers of some politicians who approved the bailouts, according to recent filings with the Federal Election Commission.While some bailed-out banks, such as Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase, have reduced their campaign donations, others have discreetly made donations this year, Newsweek reported. Bank of America's political action committee (PAC) gave $24,500 in January and February, "including $1,500 to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and another $15,000 to members of the House and Senate banking panels," the weekly news magazine said."This certainly appears to be a case of TARP funds being recycled into campaign contributions," Newsweek quoted Brett Kappell, a D.C. lawyer who tracks donations, as saying. "TARP" refers to the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program, the $700 billion legislation passed in October.

Laundering Money Is Legal If Done by Check in Texas

An Editorial in the Austin American Statesman cites a recent Texas Court of Appeals decision that if you live in Travis County Texas laundering money is legal if done by check. Of course, it took three Republican judges, cited below, to come up with such a ruling. And it might come as a surprise to no one, that one of the defendants was formerly United States Representative Tom DeLay. Once again, justice is being mugged, this time apparently along party lines. The three Republican justices were careful to limit their finding to the law as it stood in 2002. That's a relief. One wouldn't want to think that was permanently legal to illegally launder money in Texas.

"The 3rd Court of Appeals, split 3-2 along partisan lines, has refused to reconsider its ruling last year that, at least until 2005, it was OK to take otherwise illegal corporate campaign contributions as long as the money came in the form of a check, not cash. The court thus reaffirmed a decision tainted by politics.

The case involves defendants with Texans for a Republican Majority political action committee, which worked to raise money and support to elect a Republican majority to the Texas House in 2002. They were successful.

Last year, the 3rd Court's Justice Alan Waldrop, joined by then-Chief Justice Ken Law and Justice Robert Pemberton, upheld the law. But, they added, under the law as it stood in 2002, it was not illegal to launder campaign money if it were in the form of a check. And the $190,000 in campaign donations in question was handled by check."

Dick Cheney: No One Was Tortured at Guantánamo

In a surprise news conference, former Vice President Cheney asserted that not one single person was tortured or harmed in any way at Guantánamo. To support his contentions the former vice president presented a slideshow of the accommodations and activities that existed at Guantánamo for the detainees. First, the former vice president showed pictures of luxurious condominiums, all with hot tubs and air-conditioning. Inside the condominiums were dark skinned, black haired Arabic looking persons watching television and smiling broadly. When a member of the press question whether these were actual detainees, the former vice president had him arrested and removed from the room.

Next, Mr. Cheney showed pictures of a large swimming pool surrounded by Arabic looking men and women in scanty bikinis. Again, a member of the press questioned the veracity of this picture, pointing out that devout Muslims would never be seen in public with women who were practically undressed. Mr. Cheney asserted that once these men were removed from their native inhibiting cultures they loosened up and adopted Western ways. When a reporter from Al Jazeera protested this assertion the former vice president had him arrested and removed from the room.

The last set of photos showed Arabic looking men shooting pool and playing cards in a large recreation room. Many of them had several empty bottles of beer by them. All of these men seem to be having a very good time. When several reporters rose to their feet saying this was a terrible sham, the former vice president pulled out a shotgun and ordered him to leave the room.

At the end of the press conference the former vice president asked if there were any further questions. In as much as no member of the press was left in the room, there were no questions.

Cheney: Bush not to blame for economy

When Dick Cheney was vice president of the United States what came out of his mouth was frequently scary. He appeared to have little or no regard for the Constitution, and saw it as a hindrance the implementation of policies to "Make America safe." The question asked by many people was who was going to protect us from Dick Cheney. Now, when he speaks there is a far greater comedic aspect to what he is says. Is he really saying that the Bush administration wasn't to blame for the economy? President Bush ran up the biggest deficit in history and left President Obama with an economic crisis unparalleled since the Great Depression. And President Bush wasn't responsible?

Cheney actually said the following on CNN. "The U.S. economy faltered along with the deterioration of the global marketplace. This isn't something that happened just in the Bush administration or just in the United States, Cheney said. We are in the midst of a worldwide economic period of considerable difficulty here." The United States was at the epicenter of the worldwide economic crisis. Please note that the former vice president used the words period of considerable difficulty. Much of the world to use on the brink of depression and the form up Vice President uses words to describe a six-month tip in the economy.

As the former vice president say what he means war means what he says? It appears that the former vice president knows as much about economics as he did about running the war. Can't we send him back home to Wyoming? Surely this city of Casper needs a new town councilman.

President Chuck Norris to the Rescue

Chuck Norris: President of Texas. It gives me Goosebumps just to write these words. Think of the Alamo. Think of John Wayne. Better yet, think of Chuck as president of the United States. I hope the Liberals aren't laughing because this is not a man to be taken lightly. When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris isn't going to let Obommunism take over the country. Chuck will fight for the free market system no matter how corrupt it gets.

Chuck's résumé for running for president of the United States is impressive. His years of training as a kick boxer will help him kick butt in Washington. And if anybody's been to Washington, they know that there's more butt to be kicked there then any place else. No one can question his foreign policy experience as evidenced by his many movies rescuing American POWs from the Vietnamese 35 years after the war was over. Ya don't quit the job until it's done. President Bush may have looked Vladimir Putin in the eye and come away thinking he was a friend, but Chuck Norris would never make that mistake. In fact, if Chuck looked old Vladimir in the eye that commie would be lucky if he still had an eye. As for China, remember this. The Great Wall of China was originally created to keep Chuck Norris out. It failed miserably.

What's that you say? The next presidential election is 44 months away. Chuck won't have to wait that long. The word is spreading rapidly. It won't be long before millions of Americans are demanding a new election before the end of the year. Constitution be damned. The country needs rescuing and Chuck is coming to the rescue.

In honor of the savior of Texas and the United States the "Yllow Rose of Texas" is presented below.

Justice for Wall Street and other Crooks and Bandits

Clint Eastwood is saddling up for the last time and that he has warrants for every crook, slime ball and miscreant on Wall Street and throughout the nation who contributed to the current financial disaster. He is also under instructions to bring back the worst offenders dead or alive. Along with him are Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, and Samuel Jackson. None of them have shaved recently, and they look like they have ridden from Silver City Nevada without a bath. They are the modern day four Horsemen of the apocalypse for financial felons. Don't be afraid, be very afraid.

They ride across the Brooklyn Bridge, through lower Manhattan to the Goldman Sachs Building. Clint, Morgan, and Samuel dismount while Gene proceeds up Broadway with a mule following behind him. Clint reaches into a leather pouch and pulls out a large handful of warrants. He distributes them to Morgan and Samuel, and the three of them walk up to the front door. They are immediately confronted by security guards, but when Clint squints at them the guards all melt away. The three men draw their weapons, enter the building, and then ride up the elevator and make their arrests. A half an hour later, 50 men are marched out of the building onto a waiting bus. This is no ordinary bus, it's a black bus with the words "Bound for Hell" written on the side of it.

After leaving the Goldman Sachs Building, the four horsemen proceed to Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and on to Citigroup. By the time they are finished at Citigroup six busloads of prisoners have been collected. While Clint, Morgan and Samuel have been rounding up their felons, Gene Hackman rode to Bernie Madoff's apartment. Gene rides up the elevator and knocks on Bernie's apartment door. When Bernie opens the door Gene sticks the warrant in front of his face and grabs him by the collar. Gene proceeds to drag Bernie down each and every step and out the front door. He puts Bernie on the mule facing backwards, ties his feet together, and his hands behind him to the pommel.

Clint is chewing on a cigar when Gene rides up towing Bernie behind him. The four men slowly ride to the Holland Tunnel. The six buses follow behind them. A half hour later the four horsemen emerge towing Bernie behind them. But the buses are nowhere to be seen. Even as Clint, Morgan, Samuel, and Gene ride south towards Washington, and eventually Charlotte, with an even larger bundle of warrants, the buses still don't emerge from the tunnel. In fact, the buses are never seen again. Perhaps the "Bound for Hell" on the side of the buses wasn't a metaphor. On to Washington.

Little Jail Time for Maddoff ?: No Justice Here

The statue of justice has often been portrayed as blind. Now the statue it should be portrayed as deaf, dumb, and blind. Martha Stewart served months in jail for lying to federal authorities. Charles Barkley went to jail for drunken driving. But now it appears that Bernie Madoff, the architect of the $50 billion Ponzi scheme, will be serving very little jail time. This is a man that should be the last prisoner at Guantánamo. I would let all the people that he cheated determined his punishment.

Madoff didn't just steal from people; he took their lives away from them. He also bankrupted charities and foundations. People who thought they were his friends found themselves selling their houses because all of their money was gone. He looked everyone in the eye, smiled, and shook their hand. Then he took their money and made it vanish. Broken lives, broken dreams, broken hearts and a long detritus of the psyches and souls other people are Madoff's final investment return. What else can we expect from the judicial system that let Wall Street portray high-risk products as AAA investments with a minimal number of convictions? Shame. Shame. Shame.

Maybe it's time for Clint Eastwood to saddle up one last time and take a slow ride down Wall Street before he arrives at Madoff's apartment.

Rush Limbaugh Head of the GOP

It's now official. Rush Limbaugh is the head of the Republican Party. When Republican Party chairman Michael Steele genuflected to Rush Limbaugh the coronation was official. Abraham Lincoln just turned face down in his grave. Teddy Roosevelt gave up San Juan Hill. The party that once ushered in the end of slavery now ushers in slavery to narrow-mindedness, perpetual anger, shortsightedness, hate, and everything you shouldn't take with you to church on Sunday or synagogue on Saturday.

Rush Limbaugh's conservatism has no room for tolerance of the other person's opinion. For that matter, Rush Limbaugh's conservatism has no tolerance for the other person period. He is a narcissistic man full of anger, hatred, and self-doubt who has risen to a position of power which should make all Americans shudder, not just Republicans. Why would anyone be surprised that this man would wish Obama's policies to fail? It is easy for him to stand and say what ever he wants because he has never been in a position of accepting responsibility for other people. No doubt, if he were elected to Congress this spiel coming out of his mouth would still be the same. But at least then, he would have to face the voters.

Limbaughism is a new brand of McCarthyism. Censorship, meanness, condemning people without trials, and spreading fear wherever he can will be the hallmarks of this man's reign of terror. It was far easier to make a joke of him before the Republicans handed him the reins to power in their party. The Republicans have made many mistakes in their history, as have the Democrats, but this one will haunt them for many decades to come. Rush Limbaugh's flawed nature was clearly evident in the whole OxyContin incident. He committed several crimes and got away with them. Now he is about to commit murder on the body politic. Hopefully someone will hold him accountable.

Super Rush Limbaugh Saving America

While President Obama does everything he thinks will prevent the American financial system, as well as the automobile industry, from falling apart, Rush Limbaugh tries to save us by telling America that Obama and the Democrats are going to ruin the country. According to Rush, his ear shattering and mind bending voice is all that stands between us and doom. Like the Minutemen of yore, who shouted the British are coming, Rush Limbaugh keeps shouting socialism is coming. If he keeps shouting long enough there's no doubt he'll be right.

Rush keeps reminding us that the American way of life and everything it stands for is going over the cliff in a sea of Democratic Socialism. The word liberalism has long since been abandoned and Rush has cut to the heart of the matter. Rush's vast experience in implementing legislation in economic crises marks him as a single person to lead us out of the economic wilderness. Like Moses before him, Rush only has tap his staff are on the rock and credit will be gushing forth. If he raises his hands to the heavens, AAA bonds and preferred stocks will rain upon the people until they are buried with the paper.

After decades of advising men such as Paul Volker and Alan Greenspan, Rush is in the best possible position to know what monetary policies to implement. After inking a $400 million contract for himself, it should be no problem for Roche to come up with several trillion dollars for the rest of America. Wait a minute. That's not the American way. Americans don't accept handouts and give-outs, Americans do it on their own, without any help from anyone else. Haven't you ever seen a John Wayne movie before? But Rush is there for us. No job? No problem. Rush will help you out. No money? No problem. The Rush will help you out. No hope? No problem. Rush will help you out. No OxyContin? Oops! Wrong subject.

Look! Up in the sky! It's a Bird! It's Superman! No! It's Super Rush Limbaugh flying high forever.