Hat-tip to Katia McGlynn of the Huffington Post for the article, and to Lordrag of Delphi Forums for the catch.

Oh, wow - Bill O'Reilly verbally slams the Birther conspiracy theorists as well as several other Internet-based memes, and Jon Stewart gives him a tip of the yarmulke for it.

Watch:

The Daily Show
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Thank you, Jon, and "Nicely Done!" to you, Bill.

That was fun.

Yes, folks, it's true: Bill O'Reilly is becoming an immortal. But don't fret -- it's not like he'll become a stalwart bastion of conservative ideology. He's instead gone the way of "stalwart bastion of ridicule" and created an immortal (and hilariously appropriate) new internet meme:

^{The animated ORLY? You Can't Explain That.}

A post over at GeekOSystem tells the story:

Last month, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly stepped into instant Internet infamy when, in a debate with American Atheists president David Silverman, O'Reilly attempted to prove the existence of God by citing the mystery of the tides: "I'll tell you why not a scam, in my opinion. Tide goes in, tide goes out. Never a miscommunication. You can't explain that. You can't explain why the tide goes in." Only one problem: There's this thing called the Moon which might have a little to do with tides.

Bill-O wasn't expecting to actually get an answer, never mind a complete - and polite - utter smackdown. And now, he's achieved the ultimate in unintended consequences: he has, in his arrogance, created a meme that will likely survive him and find its way into a myriad of modern day pop-culture expressions.

Amazingly, I'll bet he can't explain that, either.

h/t Opinions Unrestrained.

The video above is Wikileaks v Bill O'Reilly - the War on Journalism - Rap News 5 (ft. Julian Assange).

Hat-tip cotasm of DailyKos.

Enjoy. :)

Bumped and promoted. Originally posted 2010-11-27 15:56:25 -0500. -- GH

Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and other “news” anchors at Fox “news” have been reporting that Obama’s recent trip to Asia cost the American tax-payer $200 Million a day. This figure was total bullshit. The cost of the trip was far, far less than Bill O’Reilly had reported on Fox “news”

When called on it, Bill O'Reilly goes through some impressive linguistic gymnastics to try and make it sound like (even though the $200 million figure was total bullshit) that Fox "new" didn't tell any lies when they claimed Obama's trip was costing the American tax-payer $200 Million a day.

He claims that even though this $200 Million figure was reported repeatedly on Fox "news" that Fox "news" didn't report it!

Huh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn7_8QL2weQ

Despite the murkiness and evasiveness of Bill O’Reilly’s defense, he seems to be claiming that because the original figure of $200 Million a day came from some person in India (and not a Fox "news" employee) that Fox "news" can't be responsible for spreading bad information. It's that guy in India who’s responsible for spreading bad information.

So, Fox “news” never does any fact checking?

Ever?

Promoted by GH. Originally posted 2009-06-15 14:04:50 -0400.

Joseph Goebbels was Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister from 1933 to 1945. In that position, he perfected an understanding of the "Big Lie" technique of propaganda, which is based on the principle that a lie, if audacious enough and repeated enough times, will be believed by the masses.

Goebbels used modern propaganda techniques to psychologically prepare the German people for aggressive war and the annihilation of civilian populations. Among other propaganda devices, he accused many of Germany's ethnic and national minorities (such as the Poles, the Jews, the French) of trying to destroy Germany.

Is there really any significant difference between the propaganda of Joseph Goebbels in the 30s and 40s, and the propaganda of people like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh?

Posted without further comment.

This is an Open Thread.

Barry Nolan, a long-time broadcast journalist in the Boston area, was fired for his quiet, persistent protest against the selection of Bill O'Reilly for the Governor's Award by the Boston/New England Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS). The news brought to mind three quotes:

_____

"If only I could get Jim Briskin on my network, Hada thought gloomily. The ranking TV news clown, so popular, with his flaming scarlet wig and genial, informal patter."
          -- Philip K. Dick, "What'll We Do With Ragland Park?" (1963).

"The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason."
          -- Hunter S. Thompson, 1985

"There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil - remain detached from the great."
          -- Walter Lippmann, 1920

_____

Nolan might have been reading Lippman when he decided last week that standing for his profession was more important than protecting his career. The news clown, the power of his popularity, feted as a journalist by the thieves and pimps, was just too much for him.

Writing in the Boston Herald on May 22, 2008, Jessica Heslam gives the basic details of the story, Comcast fires Barry Nolan over Bill O’Reilly protest:

_____

Nolan tells MediaBiz he was fired Tuesday following a two-week, unpaid suspension.

A CN8 spokeswoman issued this statement: “Effective May 20, Barry Nolan is no longer employed by CN8, The Comcast Network. Backstage will continue to air weeknights at 8:00 p.m. with host, Sara Edwards, and its talented team of reporters and contributors.”

[...snip...]

Before the May 10 awards, Nolan sent e-mails to industry colleagues encouraging them to write to the Emmy governors - if they shared his opinion - and let them know “this is an appalling choice for an honor.” [...snip...] At the awards, Nolan said he quietly put fliers on tables that “simply had” quotes from O’Reilly as well as three pages from the sexual harassment lawsuit O’Reilly settled that was brought by his former producer.

Security approached Nolan and told him he couldn’t distribute information at the event.

Nolan says he has no regrets about speaking out against giving O’Reilly “the highest honor” that the local Emmy Awards can bestow. ²

_____

According to several accounts that I'd read, and what Nolan himself later told me, he understood there could -- and probably would -- be consequences for his actions. His sense of honor and integrity would not permit him to remain still and allow what he felt was an appalling event to take place unchallenged.

NOTE: Reposted with permission. This piece was originally posted on DailyKos by dorothyinchina, who was unable to crosspost it here. We received her permission to crosspost it on her behalf.

Respected journalist fired for opposing Bill O'Reilly
by dorothyinchina

Tue May 27, 2008 at 09:20:06 AM EDT

Over and over agin on DK, people ask the question, "Why doesn't the MSM stand up to the people who lie, who distort the truth, who bring their own twisted agendas to the news?"

Here is the answer, plain and simple: they're afraid. They have families and kids to put through college, mortgages and car payments. They simply can't afford to tell the truth.

If anyone doubts how risky it is to take a stand, here is a case in point: Boston's Barry Nolan.