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Media Matters catches Bill O'Reilly in another lie, this time about Dr. George Tiller, who performed abortions for "women diagnosed with cancer who needed abortions to qualify for chemotherapy, women who learned late in their pregnancies that their wanted babies had fatal illnesses, and rape victims so young they didn't realize they were pregnant for months," as reported by Susan Hill, President of the National Women's Health Foundation. (See Xeni's post.)
From The Daily Beast:
Finding the truth uncomfortable, Bill O’Reilly has apparently decided just to lie about it: On his show last night, O’Reilly claimed that he could be sure that he did not incite Dr. George Tiller’s assassin because he never called him “Tiller the Baby Killer”; he only “reported what groups were calling him.”
Here's what Media Matters has dug up:
* On the May 15 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly stated that Kathleen Sebelius, who was then the governor of Kansas and is now secretary of health and human services, "is the most pro-abortion governor in the United States. Based upon Dr. Tiller, the baby killer in her state, and all of that. All right? So there's no doubt."* On the May 11 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly said Sebelius "is pro-abortion. She wants the babies done for. This is -- she supported Tiller the baby killer out there."
* On the April 27 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly said that Sebelius "recently vetoed a bill that placed restrictions on late-term abortions in Kansas. The bill was introduced because of the notorious Tiller the baby killer case, where Dr. George Tiller destroys fetuses for just about any reason right up until the birth date for $5,000."
* On the April 3 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly said, "Tiller got acquitted in Kansas, Tiller the baby killer."
* On the March 27 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly stated: "Now, we have bad news to report, that Tiller the baby killer out in Kansas -- acquitted. Acquitted today of murdering babies. I wasn't in the courtroom. I didn't sit on the jury. But there's got to be a special place in hell for this guy."
O'Reilly falsely claimed he only "reported what groups" were calling Tiller
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"Bill O'Reilly" is my new favorite insult. Try it out, next time you see a closed-minded douchebag call them "Bill O'Reilly." It's very satisfying.
TEH LOOFAH!!!!!
#1: Sir, please don't insult douchbags. They are, after all, intended to get things clean.
Mr. O'Reilly is a turd. A boil. Fungal toe-jam.
And the people who watch his show greedily lick him up.
I really hope that Mr. O'Reilly fully realizes the part he indirectly played in this man's MURDER. There's a special place in hell for people like *him.*
Okay. But, what does this tell me that I don't already know? O'Reilly isn't a reporter, he's a political commentator and talk show host. These are his opinions. I've seen his show. They aren't nice. I don't think they are right. He's not respectful of anything. He's openly hypocritical. But, that's personal politics for you. And, so what? He gets to say whatever he wants.
Or, do we think it's against the law to say hateful things that we don't agree with? It's been really interesting to watch people argue loudly that more needs to be done before these people act out. But, the same people argue just as loudly that we shouldn't be apprehending people who only say horrible things about Americans.
Yeah, these people are bad. And if we can prove in a court of law that Tiller's killer acted as a part of group in a coordinated plan to assassinate the doctor, then we should arrest and prosecute those people. But, if he hung out on a message board saying hateful things with his friends and then went off one day on his own to commit a murder, should the message board friends be arrested then simply because we don't like what they say?
Another thing that has been interesting is that I think the killer is going to be charged with murder. But, the fellow that killed the off-duty private at a recruitment center is being charged with murder and 16 counts of terrorism. I'm not sure what the terrorism charges are, but it's interesting to me that we all agree both are acts of terrorism and they are being charged differently.
Enough with the O'Reilly. The guy is a dick. He's been a dick for a long time. It isn't news. And he isn't culpable in the murder of Dr. Tiller. He's guilty of being a dick. That's it.
Faux News is, in general, a big fan of the "some people say" cop-out - it allows them to make wild accusations and spout rumor and conjecture as if it were fact.... of course they never specify who "some people are" or when they said it, but obviously that's not the point...
"Some people say you're a baby-killer"
"Some people say Obama is a secret Muslim"
"Some people say murdering this abortionist would be justifiable"
---
Some people say that if you watch enough Fox News, you will eventually become such a massive dickhead that a pair of balls will sprout on your chin... not me of course, I'm fair and balanced... but some people say that, and I just report the facts...
@futbol
Yes, he's commentator and yes these are his opinions, but in this case he's saying he was reporting facts rather than being truthful because he's afraid to take responsibility for his actions.
He has an exponentially larger forum than some crank on a message board and the crap he spews is believed by a lot of people, that's power.
He has to take responsibility for helping, on a massive scale, make this guy a target.
Bill O'Reilly. Oblivious to the existence of recording technology since 1996.
@#4 futbol-
O'Reilly's not being accused of inciting the murder of Tiller, he's being accused of lying. And, as boxbrown points out, there is a SIGNIFICANT difference between a crank on a message board and a crank with a $10MM salary and the world's biggest megaphone.
With power comes responsibility, and O'Reilly and his masters should recognize this and choose their words wisely.
@boxbrown: i disagree. i don't think he has to take responsibility for making the guy a target at all. the crime committed was murder. there was one murderer. we can 'for shame' all we want about o'reilly's personal politics. and that's fine too. that's part of the back and forth. one side against the other.
but to suggest he is in anyway responsible for the murder is ridiculous. i saw some folks mention the noble idea that olberman has declared that all conscientious people should object to public businesses airing the show of his primary competition. yeah, noble. and i'm a fan of olberman's and maddow's by the way.
either of them can say anything they want. it's a political discussion. and i like that people are reminding the guy that he didn't actually do what he said. i think that's great. but, people jumped on the hate-on-o'reilly-it's-his-fault bandwagon like 3 hours after the murder was reported.
that's ridiculous. stupid or angry people consumed by hate speech and turning it into violent actions are solely responsible for their actions.
Sometimes, when pondering Bill O'Reilly's impressive feats of cognitive dissonance, I picture a tensor sculpture with all those brittle tubes and strained, thrumming wires, just waiting to pop.
Sometimes, when pondering Bill O'Reilly's impressive feats of cognitive dissonance, I picture a tensor sculpture with all those brittle tubes and strained, thrumming wires, just waiting to pop.
You think of Bill Kristol? (check out the vein on Kristols forehead sometime, it doubles in size when he strains to filter out the truth)
O'Reilly? Lied? Nooo....
really? I think of a bubbling sewage lagoon that emits the occasional loud fart of toxic gas.
For me, this isn't so much an "O'Reilly sucks" post as it is a "Media Matters is awesome" post.
As far as I can tell,, what OReilly is saying is that he didn't originate the term baby killer, but was using a term already being used by Tiller's opponents. That's probably an accurate statement, not a lie. Quoting him using this term doesn't disprove his point, if others used it first.
oreilly is a lying bastard.
once again i am suprised that anyone is surprised
One can be morally culpable without being legally culpable. Free speech rights often bar legal culpability when moral culpability is clear. O'Reilly is not legally culpable, but he must bear some moral culpability for painting a bull's eye on Tiller's back.
This has me seething.
O'Really has gone too far this time. He deserves to be prosecuted as an accessory to murder -- the public must demand that he face charges. Faux News should also face prosecution, unless they disown him completely, and fire him.
This notion needs to be spread far and wide. Bill O'Really incited vigilante violence, and one of the wingnut-o-sphere followed through for him.
He can't be allowed to foment any more murders.
O'Reilly calls Tiller the Baby Killer...now Tiller's dead. Is O'Reilly really responsible? The debate has fueled much commentary in the media and journalists are weighing in on who is ultimately responsible for Tiller's death.
http://www.newsy.com/videos/free_speech_or_sparking_violence
O'Reilly, possibly the biggest a#hole on the planet.
Humanitarian Dr. George Tiller. was vilified for the sake of network profits. The monster is not the reactionary sheeple serf that pulled the trigger but the well oil machine that reinforces these incitements.
The Fact is that oreily is a, Representative, Employee and Agent Rasputin (REAR) of the rubert murdock’s Global Media Propaganda Machine. The bloodthirsty Media Emperor boost that he is engaged intimately with editorial dissections/direction of his minion.
This organizations trademarks are cheer leading for mass murder/war in Iraq and use of weapons of mass deception to lull us in irrelevancies of manufactured news.
Best approach is a collective non relenting push back of these old age fascist with reason, dialog and love. The crucial fact is that in (our some are more equal) democracy we are side tracked by the same negative forces about who is who.
Civil society requires vigilance against these menacing forces. The dark side needs a constant balancing act. The men and women who were saved/healed by the late Dr. George Tiller need to be reminded and to come forward. The uproar is about an assault to our mothers and sisters by these goons.
I wouldn't say that Oreily is legally responsible for Tiller's murder, but I pray that Tiller's family goes after him and all of Faux News for slander. I'm pretty sure that there would be a strong case for it...
not quite as satisfying as seeing him behind bars, but I'd be fine with seeing him pennyless in the streets.
Personally, I think this witch hunt should be suspended until we actually know who killed him. I'm not saying what he did was right, but until we know more about the actual assassin can we say if he was an inciter. If the assassin killed because of some other motive, or if he was declared insane, I'd let this lying jerk off with a warning, or better yet, a Massive slander civil suit with the fine paid to his next of kin.
If the assassin watched his show, and chose to take 'justice' into his own hands, O'reilly should be put on trial for incitement to violence.
Hopefully he'll repeat this claim under oath.
That man's family ought to sue those jerks out of existence.
The radio announcers calling for Tutsis to be slaughtered in Rwanda were just commentators and had a right to their opinion too. Right?
...the news media played a crucial role in the genocide: local print and radio media fueled the killings, while the international media either ignored or seriously misconstrued events on the ground. The print media in Rwanda is believed to have started hate speech against Tutsis which was later continued by radio stations. According to commentators anti-Tutsi hate speech “became so systemic as to seem the norm.”
There's a misconception, mostly among loudmouths, that free speech means speech with no consequences.
He's claiming "I didn't come up with the phrase, I just reported it", when clearly he means "I didn't come up with the phrase, I just repeated it (over and over.)"
The O'Reillys and Limbaughs and Hannitys of the world are fueled by ego (note Limbaugh's tagline "With Talent on Loan From God")-- it goes against their nature to admit they were wrong. I am no great fan of Olbermann, but to his credit he can poke fun at himself and is always willing to correct himself.
If O'Reilly and others had not been identifying Tiller by name, he would not have been shot like this, and if O'Reilly is opposed to the law he should be naming congressman who can change the law and telling his fans to write congress, not demonizing someone who was completely within the law.
@21 STUIETHEGOD, I wonder if they can bring a civil suit against O'Reilly, like O.J. Simpson got for the murder of his wife.
If O'Reilly is responsible, then it's quite likely that a fairly large part of the anti-abortion movement is too.
I don't think there's a chance of getting him for slander though... "baby-killer" is a reasonably accurate description of the job of a late-term abortion.
@futbol:
To me the point is more to bring his lies, hypocrisy, and hate to light, and hopefully convince more people not to tune in when he's on, all while putting the truth out there for people to see. The importance of the principles of free speech make me very leery of the idea of making him legally responsible for the things he says, but that shouldn't give him a free pass in the court of public opinion. His words may have helped indirectly fuel a man's murder and an act of terrorism. People should be outraged by that, and should find something better to watch.
@21 - Yeah. I'd say they'd probably have a fair chance in civil court. From the eHow library on defamation of character:
"Defamation of character can include slander (spoken derogatory statements), libel (written derogatory statements) or both. To constitute actionable defamation, the statements must be false and expose a person to hatred, ridicule or contempt. You also can sue if the defamation harms you in your occupation."
@26 the radio broadcasters in rwanda were part of a group, coordinating a deliberate effort to organize a 'spontaneous' genocide. They actively encouraged the murder of tutsi neighbors by way of machete. o'reilly has neither encouraged violence or worked as part of a coordinated effort to ensure that violence happened.
Also, comparing the anti-abortionist movement, even it's violent hateful extremes, to the slaughter of 800,000 people in about 7 months is way out of control.
@30 yaruki, i agree that it's an important part of the general conversation with our news media to make use of our ability to fact check what they say. if they're found wanting, we should hold them accountable by finding another show to watch and/or spreading the word.
but the articles that started appearing about 3 hours after news of the dr. tiller's murder were not 'hey, this guy might not be the most honest political commentator'. all of this is more akin to a witch hunt.
the guy is a dick. i don't think anyone needs a playback of his quotes to figure out that he's dishonest, or i think more accurately, manipulative in his deliberate choice of loaded terminology.
@23 not to nitpick but it would be libel, not slander and defamation more broadly. Unfortunately O'Reilly's speech is almost certainly protected by the First Amendment (which doesn't make it any more palatable). See the Brandenburg case. MediaMatters rules.
Free speech means distasteful (as an understatement) people like O'Reilly can say a lot of things, and everything he said above is legally protected and should be legally protected. We may not like it, and it may have helped inspire a murderer, but unless Bill-O said "Go out and murder this guy" his speech is rightfully protected.
That said, the legal system in this country is only one route to justice, and often the least powerful. People should continue to call out O'Reilly for this disgusting speech, and to ostracize him until he can no longer get a job. Just because he shouldn't be prosecuted, that does not mean he should not be forced to lose all of his money and that his network should not face extensive financial damage in the face of outrage at the consequences of his speech.
Boycotts should be organized for all Fox News advertisers, and everyone boycotting should send a letter explaining their reasons to each company that advertises on Fox News. Fox News can very quickly be put out of business, if enough people care.
Mr. O'Reilly should be held accountable for his actions. He went beyond just reporting news or facts and actually inserted his opinions into prominent public media. Given the fact that he did this on national television, he should be held to a higher set of standards. His position carries influence and this influence may have helped to incite murder.
He should not be exempt from liability if it is determined that his comments influenced events.
O'Reilly just does as he's told. Not that he doesn't enjoy himself.
Extremist Christian terrorists even have presidential candidates scared to cross them:
How mainstream are "pro-life" extremists?
And oh look, there's even a manual for anti-choicers on how to lie to everyone else:
JUST BE NORMAL AGAIN
It's like Bill O'Reilly: The Home Game!
I don't see how Bill could possibly be inserted somehow into the murder case. Inspiration is impossible to discern -- because at the same time, it could just as easily inspire someone instead to defy Bill's preaching and promote abortion.
In order for slander and libel charges to even be considered, the statements must be proven false. If Tiller is not a baby killer, then there is a case. If Tiller is a baby killer, then slander and libel charges cannot be brought.
The article posted here to BB seems to be dancing around the real issue: the article doesn't even make sense unless it's proven that the anti-ab groups against Tiller _weren't_ calling him Tiller the baby killer.
The necessary proof is not to find mentions of when Bill said that particular phrase, but to find evidence where none of the opposing groups called him that FIRST. If Bill came up with the nickname first, _then_ anti groups chimed in with it, then you've got something. Otherwise, this is just malicious use of quotation marks -- more commonly found in the likes of a pre-election anti-Obama e-mail forward.
Bill has also broadcast a photo of Markos (Daily Kos) on Fox, for some reason I cannot fathom.
http://images2.dailykos.com/images/user/3/markosoreilly.JPG
In some jurisdictions, O'Reilly could be charged with a hate crime. There are exceptions where the First Amendment should not apply.
OK, Bill lied, defamed, and made Dr Tiller out to be someone he is not. He convinced this guy that he is an evil man who should be killed. Now the killer knows that he had be had. Bill got him to kill a nice guy. I think he should go get Bill next. If the killer reads this, and goes and gets Bill, am I guilty for inciting him?