Bitter Bill O’Reilly

An example of The O'Reilly Factor's Talking Po...

An example of The O’Reilly Factor’s Talking Points Memo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Since Mitt lost the 2012 election and since Bill’s ratings have been dropping, I have noticed a certain bitterness in his comments on the O’Reilly Factor.

Bitter, bitter, bitter
Bitter, Bill, bitter
Bill, bitter, bitter
Bitter bitter, Bill
Bitter, bitter, bitter
Bitter, Bill O’Reilly
Bitter, bitter, Bill
Bill, bitter, bitter
Bitter, bitter, bitter
Bitter, Bill, bitter
Bitter, Bill O’Reilly
Bitter
Bill O’Reilly
Bill
Bitter
Bitter!

Of course, that is just my opinion. I could be wrong.

Real numbers

Pinheads and Patriots

Pinheads and Patriots (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Before he was elected president, Barack Obama appeared on The O’Reilly Factor in September, 2008.    That interview is reprinted in its entirety in Bill O’Reilly‘s book, Pinheads and Patriots, Where You Stand  in the Age of  Obama. In the interview, Bill made a big deal out of current and possible tax rates, all expressed in percentages. Percentages can be very misleading, sometimes at the will and purpose of the speaker. Rather than percentages, I would require that taxes and incomes be expressed in real numbers so that better conclusions can be drawn.

To determine a real tax burden, I would require the disclosure of gross income and the total taxes paid to the IRS and state government and payroll taxes. Adding all three numbers together and dividing by gross income would produce an accurate percentage of income paid in taxes, not some nominal tax rate before deductions are figured. Mitt Romney‘s tax rate is some number less than 15%. Bill O’Reilly implied that he pays 50% or more. I sincerely doubt that number even though his income is in the millions.

Missed prediction. Bill predicted in this book that the election of 2012 would be between Barack Obama and someone playing the part of Ronald Reagan. Today we know that Mitt Romney will be the GOP nominee. Sorry, Bill, you can’t always be right.

Please see Bill O’Reilly challenge | Bill O’Reilly and taxes | Bill O’Reilly

More semantics

Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham (Photo credit: Gage Skidmore)

Tonight on the O’Reilly Factor, Bill O’Reilly and Laura Ingraham are discussing the fact that the national debt increased more in Barack Obama’s 3.5 years in office than it did in GW Bush‘s 8 years in office. Big deal. Bush got off the down elevator as the economy began its plunge into the Great Recession. Barack inherited the mess that Bush created, and the GOP have opposed almost all his efforts to turn the tide. As that great economist Dick Cheney said, deficits don’t matter, at least in the short run. The ONLY time deficits and the debt matter is when the GOP is trying to scare the voters into turning a Democrat out of office and replacing him/her with a Republican.

Hunger in America

Ben Stein speaking at 2006 National Summit on ...

Ben Stein speaking at 2006 National Summit on Retirement Savings (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ben Stein was on the O’Reilly Factor tonight predicting rioting in America if government benefits are reduced. He may be correct if the affluent (the 1%) continue their present lifestyles while the poor and the jobless starve in the gutter. If austerity is a must, let those who can pay more, do so before we take the food from the mouths of the young and the elderly. Insufficient protein before age three leads to PERMANENT reductions in IQ. Permanent means from now until death, whenever that happens in 40, 50, 60 or 70 years. That is a permanent reduction in the quality of the US workforce. That may not be important to those who would offshore US jobs, but it is certainly important to me and to any child unfortunate enough to be denied food in his/her critical years.

Bill O’Reilly challenge

An example of The O'Reilly Factor's Talking Po...

An example of The O’Reilly Factor’s Talking Points Memo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Since Keith Olbermann is no longer available, I have started watching portions of Bill O’Reilly‘s program, the O’Reilly Factor. I have discovered that he is not as opinionated as Olbermann portrayed him. It is true that O’Reilly appears to have made up his mind on many subjects, but I think that he tries to be open-minded on some subjects. I commend him for that, especially since his show is on FOX.

I am going to challenge Bill to open his mind on any subject of his choosing. I will attempt to show Bill that there is merit in differing views. I may not change his mind, but I intend to shine some light into some dark corners of his thinking. Will Bill take up my challenge? We shall see and I will report on this as it happens.