O'Reilly's Glass House Shattered...Again. USO to Send Al Franken, Tim Robbins and Ludacris To Entertain His Combat Riddled, Tortured Logic?

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Once again, Bill O'Reilly used his weekly column to skewer Hollywood for not visiting our troops nor making the kind of movies the folks want.

"...[M]ost [stars] whom will not even visit our troops in the field even though the USO will pay for the trip. Scarlett Johansson and Robin Williams are exceptions, but many movie people are roughing it in Malibu, happy not to think about Islamic fascism."

Oh, Bill-O's played this gambit before. Last year, preening that he visited the troops in Afghanistan, he felt it necessary to demean the USO .

"In the past year only a few people like Toby Keith, Tom Arnold and myself have showed up," said the modest and fact devoid reporter.

'Course, he was wrong. Among others, those who have participated in recent USO sanctioned tours and events include Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Tom Hanks, Cher, Dave Attell, Jaimie Kennedy, David Allen Grier, Aerosmith, Carrie Underwood, Henry Rollins, David Letterman, Kid Rock, Jessica Simpson, Ludacris, James Gandolfini and Morgan Freeman. The late unofficial Mayor of Hollywood, Johnny Grant, made 50 USO tours. And Bill-O always seems to forget mentioning that his best bud, Al Franken, has been on six USO tours, including stops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bill goes on to write of how these Hollywood types of today haven't signed up to defend this country.

"Perhaps, Hollywood people, you might want to examine some stars of the past. Did you know that James Stewart earned a chest full of medals for bombing the Germans? And Clark Gable flew B-17's in World War II as well. Charles Durning actually won a Silver Star at Normandy. Also, Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson both fought the Japanese in the vicious Saipan campaign. Contrast those men with the stars of today."

Perhaps, Bill O'Reilly person, you might want to examine some talk show hosts and anchors. Did you know Air America's Randi Rhodes served in the Air Force? Walter Conkite served in the U.S. Coast Guard and flew bombing raids over Germany. Jim Lehrer served three years in the Marines. These veterans, among other talk show hosts and anchors you've degraded in the past have served. Contrast those servicemen with, say, YOU, Bill, who didn't serve a day in your life (not including the combat you may have mentioned two or three thousand times that you faced as a journalist in South America).

Then Bill-O closes with another lecture on how Free Speech works: "There is a difference between loyal dissent, a good thing, and trying to make your country look bad. You, Hollywood people, often do the latter. And the Folks know it. So, please stop."

So, Bill, allow me to close on how people in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks.

There is a difference between honest reporting, a good thing, and trying to make people look bad by demeaning to make you look better. You, Bill, often do the latter. And the folks know it. So, please stop.

Award-winning television writer and author of "Great Failures of the Extremely Successful," Steve Young' s "All The News That's Fit To Spoof" appears in L.A. Daily News opeds every Sunday on the same page with Bill O'Reilly's...really.

Comments

[ChicagoMolly]

Why didn't BillO mention John Wayne? When the war started (that's WWII -- The Big One!) he was getting to be a big star at Republic Pictures and didn't want his career disrupted. And besides, he found out the Army wouldn't let him bring Yakima Canutt along to do his stunts. So Wayne got a studio doc to send a note to the draft board about his bad knee and they let him off so he could win the war in front of a rear-projection screen.

[Boris]

Most of us(proto-baby boomers) despised John Wayne for his fake bravado. He was as disconnected from reality as Reagan (who was sure he actually was in combat, not blue screened into it.) Wayne's fake military prowess makes him just another big, soft, bully like O Reilly.(for an ex football player, Wayne was remarkably out of shape for most his films.)

Yakima Canutt was the greatest cowboy of all time: a modest, real life, bigger than life cowboy who was everything John Wayne wanted to be and everything than John Wayne never could be. Every horse stunt, stage coach stunt....everything we loved about cowboy movies was either refined or invented by Yakima.

Sorry, off topic but damn, that Canutt could ride a horse!

[Durango]

And what did you do in the (Viet Nam) War Daddy Bill-O?

Dodged the draft with what kind of deferment?

[PerryWhite]

Do you awake every morning to "We Got You Babe" on the clock radio?

[Dunnage]

Please get a life. Begin by not writing about Bill O'Reilly, and then forget about him.

[kfdan]

Ol'Billo doesn't have it in him to sing, dance, tell a good joke or do anything but run his mouth doing terrible interpretations of an intelligent person!

[CraigR]

"In the past year only a few people like Toby Keith, Tom Arnold and myself have showed up.."

Whaa? So O'PastyFace is comparing himself to Toby Keith? Did he sing for the troops while he was there? Do a little dancing, maybe? A strip-tease? Ohmigod....sorry, everyone, for THAT image...

[WandaBooneshaft]

Bill has no talent(s), I believe he gave out free copies of his latest book. Not sure, but I think that's right.

[Shaddup]

Any of BillO's books would prove he has no talent. Although, I did find a fiction book of his (yeah, I know, they're all fiction bu this one was meant to be) and I almost checked it out. It was frickin' hilarious! Seriously, I pulled it off the shelf and read part of it to somebody else, it so G*ddamn funny! Billo, Bush are the kings of comedy of the absurd. And you have to laugh because, well, it's tragic really.

[protagonia]

Bill is a hero - to mean, ignorant people.

[desmirl]

Are you surprised that O'Reilly didn't get the facts before running off at the mouth? Seriously? When has Bill-O ever had the facts?

[Bluedog12]

Lets face it you SP' in the MSM don't take Islamic Falafalism seriously. You've conspired with and rooted for those extremeists that want to force Americans troops to bathe with loofahs. It's un-American and the Flactor will continue to monitor this situation.

[Hallucinocynic]

Falafalism...brilliant!

[SonnyBono]

Sir, are you implying that Mr. Bill O'Reilly, that great American, is a chickenhawk? Why that's an outrage, that can't be - You do realize that Bill O'Reilly always wears a US flag lapel pin. He supports the war in Iraq and George Bush - those facts alone are proof positive that Mr. O'Reilly is a great American.

I ask you, Sir, do you wear a US flag lapel pin? I very much doubt it - otherwise you would not be questioning the loyalty of Mr. O'Reilly. I'm sure that Mr. O'Reilly has more than one lapel pin - in the event that he should misplace one - not that he would, being a loyal God-fearing American.

Mr. O'Reilly would have served in the military except for his back problem - a yellow streak, a mile wide, but there is still that spiffy lapel pin.

[oncethere]

Bill-o is a school-yard Bully. Bush and Rove are "punks" (Garrison Keillor said that). If we assume that the Personal is the Political, then we must conclude that the last 8 years America has practiced the politics, on a domestic and international level, of punks and bullies.

Last week, Limbaugh gave us a glimpse of how their reign will end. They will be alone, half-mad, lashing out at every one of their too numerous to mention enemies and Blaming their stalwarts for their failure. This will be the Raw and Uncut O'Reilly, Limbaugh, etc.----Absent a Power Base.