:: Podcast #79 Is UP!! Lying Or Just Plain Ignorant? Bill O'Reilly Misleads His Audience, Part I: Iraq / Bush Health Care Plan Is Typical Right-Wing Scam

Podcast #79 Is UP!! Lying Or Just Plain Ignorant? Bill O'Reilly Misleads His Audience, Part I: Iraq / Bush Health Care Plan Is Typical Right-Wing Scam

Today we're going to start a series entitled "Lying Or Just Plain Ignorant? Bill O'Reilly Misleads His Audience." Part I will be about Iraq. Included will be, some effective responses when you hear misinformation like that disseminated by O'Reilly.

Did you know, for example, that 72% of US troops in Iraq said last February they should be withdrawn within one year, whether or not the mission is complete?

Also: Bush's new health care proposal will be put under the Blast The Right microscope and come out much the worse for the wear.

Bush's plan won't help 9 out of 10 Americans without health care insurance. But it will give another tax break to upper income Americans.

(PS: Right-wingers, if you want to write in to me, fine, but at least do me the courtesy of listening to the podcast first. Please don't respond just on the basis of the brief written summary above. Thanks!)

For those who aren't familiar with podcasts, podcasts are a series of mp3 audio files that you download to your computer or portable music device (iPod or other) and then can listen to whenever you want.

You don't need an iPod to listen to podcasts.

Podcast software like iTunes will automatically check a podcast at intervals you specify, and download any new installments.

iTunes is free and very easy to use. http://www.apple.com/itunes/

In iTunes, if you want to subscribe to my podcast, just click on Advanced at the top right, then choose Subscribe to Podcast, and paste in the URL http://feeds.feedburner.com/blasttheright

That's the URL to use for other podcast-friendly software programs as well.

Alternatively, you can just manually download new episodes from my podcast home page as they become available. Here is a link to my podcast's home page: http://www.therationalradical.com/podcast.html

Enjoy!!

Jack Clark 9:48 PM [+]
Post #117039538222438117

Comments:

Hey Jack,

I'm currently about halfway through your most recent hit-piece on O'Reilly.

In your piece you play a soundbite where O'Reilly very clearly states that during his most recent trip to Iraq, he asked American soldiers, "Do you believe in this cause? Should we be doing this? Is it worth one last try?" O'Reilly went on to state he had a 90% rate of agreement from those soldiers defending Iraqi freedom.

Your jab back followed predictably.

You went on to site a Zogby poll conducted early last year. EARLY last year Jack? The poll was conducted before General Petraeus' new counter-insurgency plan for Iraq was announced (a long, long time before) -- furthermore, the particulars of that poll (regarding what the troops saw as a desirable timetable for withdrawal) bear no relation to the question's that O'Reilly asked. Even if the Zogby poll was conducted yesterday, it is still possible for an American soldier to be in favor of the cause and believe it is worth one last try and also want to be out of Iraq and home early.

I believe you are aware of the leap you made and are doing precisely what you accuse the President and the "Right Wing Propaganda Machine" of doing -- lying.

If you truly believe in what you are doing, you needn't twist polls and soundbites, doing so only hurts your credibility.

Is it any wonder you've been slipping on podcastalley.com?

In the future, wouldn't you rather look back on the body of your work with the understanding that it was entirely forthright?

Your humble servant,

geoffludt

posted by geoffludt 5:57 PM [+]

Post a Comment