Bill OReilly Attacks Kidnap Victim Shawn Hornbeck

O’Reilly Should Apologize or Resign

Republican Party Spokesman Bill O’Reilly Attacks Missouri Kidnapping victim Shawn Hornbeck. Just when you think this scumbag could not go any lower, he outdoes himself.

Bill O’Reilly stated on his program that Shawn’s “experience in captivity was fun"….and that "he liked it”. According to O’Reilly, Shawn Hornbeck enjoyed being victimized by his captor…. A man who will go down in history as one of the worst child predators of all time.
O'Reilly was asserting that since Hornbeck did not try to get away.... he must have liked it.

I have seen a lot of outrageous things from Bill O’Reilly, but this just goes over the top. This goes way beyond anything that I have seen from this guy before.

Fox News should get rid of this creep or, at the very least, they should make him apologize. However, Fox News is unlikely to take this step because O’Reilly generates high ratings for the company…. and Fox has no moral character whatsoever. By keeping O’Reilly on the network after this, Fox will show a lot of people what they are all about (those who didn’t already know).
This guy is the face of the Republican Party.

I take this one a little personal because the snake has slithered his way into my neck of the woods where he doesn’t belong. It’s clear that he does not know what the hell he is talking about. His profound ignorance is clear in his statements.

I could not let this go without challenging it, and neither should anyone else.

Watch The Video of Bill O'Reilly Making His Sick Comments


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Media Matters Also Covers This Story

Watch The Documentary "Sir No Sir"

Watch The Documentary Sir No Sir, about the anti-war movement among U.S. troops in the Vietnam era. Learn more about the film here.

American Soldiers Oppose Troop Increase In Iraq

A group of Iraq vets went to Washington D.C. on Tuesday and presented over 1000 signatures of military personnel who oppose the "troop surge" plan.

This same group of soldiers was also involved in a documentary (posted above) entitled "Sir No Sir".

Barack Obama Moving Forward With Presidential Bid

He has announced the formation of his exploratory Committee. This was basically an announcement that he is running. He will reportedly make an official announcement on February 10th.... that's just a few days away... Not much time for his committee to really gather much information. Also, he is planning to make a big announcement at the Illinois State Capital. So it is not hard to conclude from this that he has already made the decision to run.

Here is his announcement regarding filing papers for the exploratory committee.



I liked his message here

However, I stand behind my earlier statement about his chances. He will not win the Democratic nomination for President. And for the sake of the Democratic Party and for the sake of stopping Republicans from getting 4 more years in the White House in 2008, I hope that he does not win the nomination. An Obama win (or a win by Hillary Clinton) would hand the White House to Republicans in 2008.

Obama is not electable in a national election, for all the reasons that I have mentioned before. I don't care what the feel good reporters are saying. Although Republicans are probably secretly rooting for him to win or to do well, so that their candidate can slide into the White House almost unopposed. Race will loom large in this campaign, whether Obama likes it or not. Racial prejudice remains an unfortunate reality in this country. I'm just being a realist about Obama's chances.

And I am afraid that this will be an ugly situation to watch. This campaign is going to cause the worst of America to come out for the whole world to see. It will expose the underside of America... the racism that is usually lurking below the surface.
The untested Obama will be eaten alive by the American political machine.... first by White Democrats, a few White independents, and by disgruntled racist Conservatives who do not want to see him win. Then if he wins, racist Republicans will absolutely destroy this mans campaign. The character assasins are already sizing him up....

The political destruction of Obama will be even more brutal & messy than the job Republicans did on John Kerry in 2004 (and that was pretty brutal). The Swiftboating of John Kerry was the ugliest and most ruthless character assasination that I have ever seen. It was a media war like none other.

Obama, being fairly new, will not stand much of a chance against the Republican media war machine. He won't be prepared for what he will get from fellow Democrats in the Primaries either.

This is especially the case when Obama will no longer be the sole center of attention. He will have to share the spotlight with 6 or 7 other people. He also does not have many media allies. He is the darling now, but when the media dogs are unleashed, all bets will be off. That's another weakness that a Black candidate has to face. So called "Black America" has no effective or legitimate media. BET certainly does not come close to being a legitimate, professional, respected media organization of any kind. Therefore, Obama will have to compete to get his message out and to keep the record straight once he does take a stand on an issue.

And as I mentioned, the character assasins are already sizing Obama up, deciding what method they will use. I am already hearing about the racists using his middle name "Hussein" as a way to demonize him.....they want to associate him with the evil "terrorists" from the Middle East. A lot of uneducated Americans, especially the reactionary Republicans, will fall for that tactic. And his opponents will define him, taking advantage of the fact that a lot of Americans are not very familiar with him. They will also delve into his personal and professional life to expose any dirt or skeletons that they can find.

I just want to make clear that I am not against Obama because I don't think he is capable. He is very capable. The problem is, he is not electable. I want to see a Democrat nominated who will be electable when put head to head with the Republican candidate.

One thing is for sure- it will be a lively campaign cycle. But like I stated above, I am afraid it will be an ugly experience for Obama, despite his happy go lucky, unifying, positive approach. The political waters in this country are so poisoned, that the atmosphere is not very condusive to the kind of positive approach that Obama plans to use. We already saw that approach fail with the John Kerry campaign in 04.

If Democrats want to win they have to learn how to put together more aggressive campaigns. That doesn't necessarily mean ugly no holds barred politics... but it means using tools (like the media) more effectively and knowing how to exploit weaknesses in opponents. Most importantly, Democrats must learn how to fight back. Democrats cannot afford a repeat of the dismal performance by the Kerry team a few years ago. Although it will be hard for Democrats to deal with the Republican machine since the Democratic Party has not made much progress in building a media infrastructure. In other words, Republicans will control the debate. Even after losing the Congress (after 12 years), and having a President with low ratings, Republicans still control the media landscape...and they will take full advantage of it in the upcoming election
cycle.

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Hear a Public Radio Discussion About Obama's Run For The Presidency

The War In Iraq Vs. Popular American Culture - Priorities Are Out of Order

Farai Chideya and the African American Roundtable

Hear a great African American Roundtable discussion from NPR.

Summary- from January 18, 2007

Guests discuss Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) plan to assemble a presidential exploratory committee; and single women outnumber married women in the United States. Joining the panel: John McWhorter, Manhattan Institute senior fellow in Public Policy; E.R. Shipp, professor in journalism at Hofstra University; and Jeff Carr, host of the radio show Freestyle.

Listen Here

The Message Of Dr. King

There was much more to Dr. King than I Have A Dream. Americans will be bombarded today (and in February) with loops of the famous I Have A Dream speech being played 10,000 times. But you won't see or hear the speech here. The U.S. uses that speech as a way to disarm Kings message. It has been ironic to watch the U.S. government "honor" King over the last few years, particularly while the U.S. has been at war, yet they avoid mentioning anything about his well known moral and political position on War....and the War in Vietnam in particular. Just take out the word Vietnam and replace it with Iraq, and it sounds like King is talking in the year 2007.

It's a shame that his Holiday is not truly celebrated in this country. Most people see it as just another day. Most White Americans barely recognize the day. It's a shame and very ironic that a man who spoke against segregation has a national Holiday that is segregated in terms of how people recognize it.

Below, I have included 5 great speeches from Dr King, some of them dealing with his feelings about war.

What Would MLK Say About The World Today?

What Would Dr. King Think About What Was Going On In The World Today?

He basically told us 4 decades ago.... we were just a little late arriving to the show.
If we would just listen to these Prophets when they are here sounding the alarm, maybe we could avoid more disasters. Many of the things that King spoke of 4 decades ago, we see today. It is a combination of things not changing, and King being way ahead of his time, foretelling issues and threats decades ago that we are now seeing develop today in our lifetimes.

Listen to the speech The Drum Major Instinct, given in February of 1968. This is one of my favorite speeches, and one that never gets old. It is so relevant for today. It's also one of Kings great messages. However, his greatest & most powerful speech, in my opinion, has to be a speech titled "A Knock At Midnight". Scary speech. Unfortunately I don’t have A Knock At Midnight in a digital format. But Drum Major Instinct is also one of his great messages….one of my top 3 favorites.

I Have a Dream is a great speech but it is not his greatest work. But America often uses I Have a Dream to try to sanitize King, and box him into being a Civil Rights/Racial Equality leader. The fact is, between 1965 & 1968, King was the leading anti-war voice and leading voice for economic equality in the country. I think that is part of the reason that he was gunned down. This is the part of Kings history that is hardly ever told. It's the part of his history that America tries to smother every year when the nation goes through its so called "remembrance". If they really wanted to honor King they would rewrite the school books to tell the true story about his efforts. He was not just a civil rights leader. If they wanted to honor him, they would try to live up to his vision....a vision that went beyond race and civil rights. Peace was at the heart of his struggle. He was just as passionate as an anti-war advocate as he was as a civil rights advocate....and perhaps maybe even more so as a Peace advocate.



Song 3M's

Other Great Speeches

Sticking Together

Beyond Vietnam (Speaking Out Against The Vietnam War in front of a national group of Clergy in New York, April 4, 1967; exactly one year before he died. )

See Text of Beyond Vietnam Speech

Related Article

Why I Oppose The War In Vietnam RIGHT CLICK AND SAVE FOR EASIER PLAYBACK (similar speech given in front of his own congregation at the Ebenezer Baptist Church)

But If Not

I've Been To The Mountain Top - His Final Speech, April 3, 1968, given in Memphis Tennessee. Under an unusually high number of death threats, and feeling ill, King went to speak anyway, braving the assassins and the bad weather.

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Longtime King Secretary/Assistant, Ms. Dora McDonald, Dies At 81

Story from the Washington Post

Great Audio Story From NPR

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Rev. Joseph Lowery Speaks on January, 14th, 2007 at the St. Sabina Church in Chicago, as part of a King Remembrance. Listen Here.

A video Interview with Rev. Lowery from a couple of years ago.

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Isaac Hayes Talks About Working and Living During the 60's Civil Rights Struggle
Listen Here

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Democracy Now Covers MLK

Great Story About Kings Last Hours In Memphis Helping the Sanitation Workers

King Is Also Covered By NPR Program News and Notes

Keith Olbermann Responds To Bush Iraq Plan

Another Great Commentary From Keith Olbermann. Olbermann Has Been One Of The Few American Commentators Brave Enough And Willing To Question Bush Administration Policies. Most Other Reporters and Commentators Lack The Courage To Do So.

This Is A Big Reason Why The U.S. Ends Up In These Wars So Easily In The First Place-- There Is Usually No Dissent, No Skepticism, No Scrutiny, No Questioning, No Meaningful Journalistic Curiosity, And No Debate. And That's On Top Of No Shared Sacrifice, And No Vote or Input From The People Whatsoever.

THE MISSOURI MIRACLE

Well, Some Call It A Miracle, But It Really Comes Down to Good Old Fashion Police Work

Two Abducted Boys Found Alive
Report Here

One Boy, Ben Ownby (pictured on left), had been missing for 4 days. The other victim, Shawn Hornbeck (pictured on right), had been missing for more than 4 years. Many had given up hope for Hornbeck.

Shawn Hornbeck had been the subject of several National News stories over the past few years.

The boys were found in a suburban St. Louis apartment, rented by their captor. My hometown has once again been plunged into the international spotlight.... unfortunately for the wrong reason....although this particular part of the story was obviously good news.

And on a side note.... I got an extra dose of happiness from this story because I got to see a Black man do his thing. You should have seen it. Roland Corvington, F.B.I. Special Agent In Charge of the St. Louis region, was all over this case. This is the kind of thing that brings me joy and hope. And it was just the icing on the cake in this case.

With all the negative images of black men out there, on TV, radio, the newspaper...EVERYWHERE... It is good to see real Black men like Chief Special Agent Corvington. BTW, I happen to be a member (supporting membership) of the same professional organization that he is a member of.... an organization called NOBLE. (look it up :) ). Corvington is one of the organizations brightest lights.

Although I think my membership may have expired again... (I need to do the lifetime thing if they offer it). I first joined the organization as a student about 10 years ago...thanks to my Black Criminal Justice Professor.

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Watch Video Of the News Conference Announcing that the Victims Were Located

Additional Report From KSDK TV, With Clips from the Ben Ownby News Conference.

CNN Reports that The FBI Is Likely to Pursue a Federal Case Against The Suspect.