VoteVets, a leading progressive veterans advocacy group, is calling on Fox News to take Bill O'Reilly off the air following revelations from Mother Jones that the Fox News host may have repeatedly misrepresented his experiences reporting on the 1982 Falklands War.
"NBC acted completely appropriately in taking Brian Williams off the air and looking into claims he's made over the years. Fox News has to do the same thing," Jon Soltz, chairman of VoteVets.org, a 400,000-member organization that advocates for vets and military families, said in a statement. "The issue, for me, isn't that Fox has been caught off guard, and didn't realize O'Reilly was telling possibly false tales. That I can accept. It's what do they do about it now? That will tell us a lot about how seriously they take their news organization."
"Men and women have fought, died, been wounded, and scarred by war. There are many journalists who actually were in the crossfire, who died, trying to bring the story to the American people," Soltz added. "What Bill O'Reilly has done is steal their valor, and it is wrong."
Soltz, a combat veteran of the Iraq War, said O'Reilly's misleading efforts are also an insult to veteran war correspondents.
"It makes it seem like anyone can head on over to a war zone," he said via email. "But honestly it is more insulting to the war reporters who never bragged about their war experience, but just kept their head down and did their job. Some of them died doing that job. In my mind, those reporters were heroes."
Nicely put.
However since VoteVets is a progressive group they are undoubtedly classified as not REAL veterans, much like non-Fox News viewers are classified as not REAL Americans.
Still you have to know that this will get under O'Reilly's paper thin skin and drive him out of his little tiny pea sized mind.
Speaking of getting under his skin, yesterday David Corn responded point by point (Much like I did yesterday.) to O'Reilly's Talking Points Memo rant last night:
O'Reilly responded to the story by launching a slew of personal invective. He did not respond to the details of the story. Instead, he called me a "liar," a "left-wing assassin," and a "despicable guttersnipe." He said that I deserve "to be in the kill zone." (You can read one of my responses here.) And in his show-opening "Talking Points memo" monologue on Friday evening, he continued the name-calling.
In a way, it's impossible to win a debate with O'Reilly because he is not bound by reality. In response to the article, he told Fox News' media reporter, Howard Kurtz, "Nobody was on the Falklands and I never said I was on the island, ever." Yet our article included video of O'Reilly saying in 2013, "I was in a situation one time, in a war zone in Argentina, in the Falklands, where my photographer got run down and then hit his head and was bleeding from the ear on the concrete. And the army was chasing us." Note the words "war zone" and "in the Falklands."
If you read the article, and I suggest that you do, you will see that Corn addresses virtually all of O'Reilly's claims that the Mother Jones article was a hit piece, and once again points out the many discrepancies with O'Reilly's version of events around the Falkland war reporting, and the actual news reports that emerged from there during that time.
I have to admit that I kind of thought this story would really only be interesting for one or two days, but with O'Reilly's over the top attacks against Corn and his obvious inability to let anything go, this might actually become as big of a story as the Brian Williams Iraq exaggerations.
Here let me get the popcorn started.
Was funny how Billo the Clown marched out Bernard Goldberg, ex CBS news guy and Jerry Rivera aka Geraldo as his defense witnesses. Never once did the Clown answer the questions.
ReplyDeleteRivera had his own "untruth" years ago when he concocted his Afghanistan encounter that wasn't. Then the Fox News spokesman described it as "an honest mistake."
DeleteG, this might be worth an update to your post
DeleteA reporter that was in Buenos Aires at the time comments on Bill O'Reilly's account
https://www.facebook.com/eric.j.engberg/posts/10204873374051471
The comments on Eric Engberg's facebook post about the situation in Buenos Aires are great. Top pick (George Lewis NBC News retired):
DeleteGeorge Lewis Cushiest war I ever covered.
Thanks Anonymous 11:52 for the Eric Engberg Facebook post. Very informative and again illustrates Bill O'Reilly's easy willingness to twist the truth (and outright lie) to promote himself at the expense of others.
DeleteIn the printed evidence he presented from 1982, he, himself, called it a "riot" and a "protest," and they were taking place, after the war had ended, in Buenos Aires.
ReplyDeleteThere may have been shooting and there may have been danger, but tell that to Bob Simon (RIP) who actually reported from live war zones all over the world for 40 years.
O'Reilly, like Williams, wants the glamour without actually being in danger. And now he lies about it.
What a "real American."
I smell blood in the water.
ReplyDeleteDZ
I think its hilarious O'Reilly is being shown to be a lying slug. But people who have basic active brain cells already knew that. The difference, as Soltz says, is what Fox will do about it.
ReplyDeleteThe answer---absolutely nothing. And that is the difference between an actual news agency and a propaganda arm of the GOP whose talking empty heads regularly lie and regurgitate crap out of Roger Ailes's disturbing fantasies.
Soooooooo. Where is saggy Sarah to pillory Bill O'liar?
Anywhere, anybody heard from the rabid, rancid rat woman who couldn't get enough of going after Williams? She is such
an obvious hypocrite I'm almost embarrassed for her. But not quite.
I think $arah is either:
Delete1. Working her phone-a-friend list to score an invite to the upcoming Oscars so $he can once again be on the "right" side of the velvet rope. Or
2. After already exhausting her meager list of "friends" with no luck, she is drowning her sorrows while lobbing cans of creamed corn at that poor 'fridge!
NO VELVET ROPE this time, bitch.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Sarah has more important things to do, pursuing her junior league celebritard dreams.
DeleteFor gawds same, you don't think she can multitask, do you? :)
No clearing out the gift suites, either!! The troll claims Bristles is still friends with lots of Hollywood people, I wonder why SHE is not invited? Too busy working at the dermatologist office? (yeah, right!)
DeleteBillo has no use for one $arah Palin and she knows it. She speaks up, he has no problem in taking her to the mat.
DeleteIt was no coincidence that she took Fox News to task in her supposed "teleprompter broke" Iowa speech. Has anyone seen her on there since? Nope!
Run, $arah, RUN.
11:02 AM, yeah, they're all still friends with everyone they've come in contact with "all these years."
DeleteI can't wait until she announces she's not running yet again. Because she's not.
She's probably standing in the rain right now watching Todd race his sno-go.
DeleteBill and Sarah would make a great team reuniting over the big bad librul press that is out to get them. Poor little victims. I don't see Bill going for it. Todd may have propositioned him and Bill thought the loofa scandal was enough for him. Can you imagine being snared in a mess with the Palins?
DeleteSarah was kissing GVS ass again with the child trafficking post. Did GVS invite her back on for an interview?
They both have mutual concerns about children, sex, labor trafficking. Cindy McCain, also, too. They all know the more people involved with a cause the better. What better name recognition for anything to do with children and parenting than the Palins. All the Mama Bear cred and family values. the whole family. I can see her and GVS hooking up again on Fox. GVS loves Todd, he is such a great dad.
He is such a legend in his own mind.
ReplyDelete"a riot in a city 1180 miles from a war zone at the end of the war" is to "combat"
ReplyDeleteas
a) "Bill O'Reilly" is to "no spin"
b) "bluster" is to "intelligent discourse"
c) both of the above
Bill O'Reilly could just say he has no combat experience, or give details (dates, locations) where he was near active fighting. Everyone I know with combat experience has really, really clear recall about where/when.
ReplyDeleteBut, no, Bill O'Reilly would rather declare his critic is in the "kill zone".
Kind of like Sarah's tales of Trig's birth, first Mat-Su then Anchorage. You can always tell when a person is lying because they forget their own lies.
DeleteSoltz is a gawdamn hypocrite who has no effing problem with the blood-thirsty lunatic Obama killing Muslims and starting wars, revolutions and mayhem across the globe, including a possible nuclear war with Russia over Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteWas it a combat zone? Was it a war zone? Was it a protest?
WTF do you call it when US college student are gathered to make noise about a war and the US military kills 4 and permanently paralyses others?
How many times have reporters declared riots and other events resembling war zones?
This is simply a tit-for-tat game because liberal loonie Williams got busted for being a hypester. Huffington, Corn, Reich are all the same spin, just in a different direction.
OMG, wipe the spittle off your chin and change the channel, troll.
DeleteLots of frothing and ad hominem attacks here but no facts.
DeleteTo me there are VERY clear differences among war, riot, and protest. Maybe you need to use a dictionary.
DeleteIn the 40+ years since the Kent State killings, I have NEVER heard them called a war or a combat situation, and it sounds like they were actually more violent than the protests in BA, where no one but Billo is saying guns were even fired.
David Corn knows what a war zone is, how?
DeleteDavid Corn (and anyone else) can find the definition of a war zone in a dictionary. It is not hard. Bill O'Reilly could even do it. 1180 miles from a war zone (where hostilities had ended) is NOT a war zone.
Deletehttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/war%20zone
1: a zone in which belligerents are waging war; broadly : an area marked by extreme violence
2: a designated area especially on the high seas within which rights of neutrals are not respected by a belligerent nation in time of war
"WTF do you call it when US college student are gathered to make noise about a war and the US military kills 4 and permanently paralyses others?"
Delete-------
It was the Ohio National Guard not the US Military.
History is so tricky.
10:24 Whatever happened to the "support the troops, Support the Troops, SUPPORT THE TROOPS" meme? Soltz is an Iraq war veteran who served most honorably. Are you now saying you DON'T support our troops/veterans? That would make YOU the hypocrite. As 10:37 said, wipe the spittle off you chin and take your lies elsewhere.
Delete11:07, you need to read Corn's article. He doesn't insert himself into the discussion at all, nor should he or anyone else. Smearing the messenger is the weakest possible defense. Corn simply points out that BOR has repeatedly made claims that facts, other eyewitnesses, and Billo's own words and videos at the time contradict. Corn only asking that BOR explain.
DeleteIf he can't explain, then he is lying, which certainly looks like the case. The blowhard is trapped by his very own words.
11:07 Are you really that obtuse? _I_ have never been in a war zone but I'm reasonably sure that as an adult with competent reading comprehension skills I can figure it out. That and I'm a Marine Mom, whose son served in Iraq, also too. Semper Fi asshole.
DeleteWhy do you assume that just because we voted for Obama we agree with his war mongering? We only had two choices and the Republicans would have engaged in much more killing and a lot more conflicts. Still, I do not support these wars, but what are we to do?
Delete"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
DeleteHe points that finger like the Wasilla Witch does.
ReplyDeleteThree back at you, @sshats.
Anonymous 10:24 ... And you're a gawdamn idiot!
ReplyDeleteGive Bill a break ...he has won 17 Purple Hearts in the War on Christmas.
ReplyDeleteLol!
DeleteSnort! Good one!
DeleteComment of the day!
DeleteYou win the interwebs today!
DeleteSheesh
He's guilty as Hell and a now a very much proven liar! He is protesting too much and lying every step of the way!
ReplyDeletePlus, he deals in intimidation, bullying and death threats. He should be fired and kicked off the air forever! Why anyone would watch him amazes me!
The only positive thing I can say about him is the fact he figured Sarah Palin to be an idiot a long time ago and hasn't had her on his show in eons.
There are men who age, and become distinguished looking. Bull-O grew a couple of chins, large bags under his eyes, yellow teeth and a sneering attitude. He never was handsome, but now he is repulsive. He looks like Mr. Magoo in some photos, with no teeth. Faux proved they have no principles by keeping him after that sexual harassment lawsuit. They also have Dick Morris, the toe sucking ass.
ReplyDeleteYea, Dick Morris "The Dick" who recommended Sarah Palin to the McCain team!
DeleteWhat jokers the folks are on FOX, but the majority of us already knew it and don't watch them!
Bill O is a loudmouth who talks over people.There are many like him. Laughing stock to the intelligent.
ReplyDeleteI am a veteran and despise this phony.
Sarah is competition,that's why he didn't want her on his show.
Wake up people!
"Inability to let anything go", now does that remind me of?
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm......fingers drumming on the table.....a God sent rescuer of people? Angel in white? Devil with a blue dress?
DeleteI can't believe this ass clown actually used the phrase "kill zone" referring to the author of the article.
ReplyDeleteRemember what happened to Dr. Teller ???
He's also mimicking Sarah Palin in her death threats! What is wrong with these fucking assholes?
DeleteBOR has Dr.Tillers blood All Over his hands.He was screaming he was being framed about the sexual harassment until he found out he'd been recorded,Then silence. He lied about getting a Peabody award.He is despicable.
DeleteI just bought a subscription to Mother Jones as a thank you! They deserve our support!
ReplyDeleteMe thinks that Bill O'reilly doth protest too much. And then some.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
Bill O'Reilly has a completely different memory of the "expense account zone" than Eric Engberg.
ReplyDeleteHere's Bill O'Reilly in an interview with Lemma, Ingrid (September 26, 2009) (extracted from wiki)
... And I was out there, pretty much by myself because the other CBS News Correspondents were hiding in the Hotel. And I said "why you guys.. you gotta get out and cover the story"..which I did.
...
. They were doing real bullets. They were just gunning these people down. Shoot them down on the streets. LEMMA: So you could have gotten killed. O'REILLY: I was there watching this from about 15 feet away from where the army was shooting.
Can always tell when Rethugs lie, they attack the person because they can't address the issue.
ReplyDeleteBill O'Reilly's CBS Colleague Says Buenos Aires Was Not A 'Combat Situation' After Falklands War
ReplyDelete...Buenos Aires was neither a “war zone” nor a “combat situation” after Argentina surrendered to Britain in the Falklands War, says one of Bill O’Reilly’s former colleagues at CBS who was with him in the capital at the time.
“It was an ‘expense account zone,’” writes Eric Jon Engberg, a retired CBS correspondent, in a Facebook post. “We -- meaning the American networks -- were all in the same, modern hotel and we never saw any troops, casualties or weapons.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/21/oreilly-combat-cbs_n_6727988.html
Bill O'Reilly's CBS Colleague Says Buenos Aires Was Not A 'Combat Situation' After Falklands War
ReplyDelete...Buenos Aires was neither a “war zone” nor a “combat situation” after Argentina surrendered to Britain in the Falklands War, says one of Bill O’Reilly’s former colleagues at CBS who was with him in the capital at the time.
“It was an ‘expense account zone,’” writes Eric Jon Engberg, a retired CBS correspondent, in a Facebook post. “We -- meaning the American networks -- were all in the same, modern hotel and we never saw any troops, casualties or weapons.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/21/oreilly-combat-cbs_n_6727988.html
Ex-CBS Colleague Disputes O’Reilly’s ‘War Zone’ Story: He ‘Should Be Ashamed’ (UPDATED)
...By referring to the events he witnessed in Buenos Aires as a “combat situation,” even in his defense of the Mother Jones piece, Engberg wrote that O’Reilly is “misrepresenting the situation he covered, and he is obviously doing so to burnish his credentials as a ‘war correspondent,’ which is not the work he was performing during the Falklands war.”
“I don’t think it’s as big a lie as Brian Williams told because O’Reilly hasn’t falsely claimed to be the target of an enemy attack, but he has displayed a willingness to twist the truth in a way that seeks to invent a battlefield that did not exist,” Engberg added. “And he ought to be subject to the same scrutiny Williams faced. He also ought to be ashamed of himself.”
http://www.mediaite.com/online/ex-cbs-colleague-disputes-oreillys-war-zone-story-he-should-be-ashamed/
Someone posted that one of Bill's coworkers at the time as come out said he made false claims. I will always think he paid off the woman that accused him of sexual harassment years ago.
ReplyDelete