Concerning Guns, Bill O’Reilly Is An Idiot
BY Herschel Smith
12 years, 4 months ago
From Fox News:
BILL O’REILLY, HOST: “Impact Segment” tonight as we reported last night the far- left is trying to use the Colorado movie massacre to promote gun control. The brother of a young woman murdered by James Holmes was confronted by that last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MSNBC HOST: Do you feel compelled to push for tighter gun laws?
JORDAN GHAWI, BROTHER OF JESSICA GHAWI: Well, here’s the thing. We can try to politicize this and make some sort of polarizing debate and make this a tenet of the election. But that’s not what we are here to do right now. We are here to celebrate the lives of the victims that have been lost. If somebody’s to do harm to somebody they are going to find a way to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O’REILLY: Then of course that’s true. But it also makes sense for Congress to pass a new law that requires the sale of all heavy weapons to be reported to the FBI. In this age of terrorism, that law is badly needed.
Joining us now from Washington, Congressman Jason Chaffetz who disagrees. Where am I going wrong here, Congressman?
REP. JASON CHAFFETZ, (R) UTAH: Bill, giving the FBI a master list of everybody who owns weapons in this country is not the right direction.
O’REILLY: Now do you think you just categorize what I said accurately everybody who owns weapons. That’s not what I said and you know it?
I said, heavy weapons, all right. Mortars, howitzer’s machine guns. In this age of terrorism, if you do a flight school, the FBI is alerted. But you can buy a machine gun and the FBI doesn’t know. And you think that’s responsible?
CHAFFETZ: No that — well, first of all, I don’t think that’s absolutely not true. If you buy a fully automatic weapon, you have to go get a tax certificate from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in order to do that. You have to pass a fingerprint background check.
O’REILLY: Have you ever been to a gun show, Congressman? Have you ever been in a gun show?
CHAFFETZ: Yes, I have.
O’REILLY: You know, you can buy any weapon you want there and there’s no reporting anyway; you can walk right out there.
[ … ]
O’REILLY: You can buy an AK-47 in this country and no federal agency will know you by it. And as the guy in Colorado proved, you can buy a mass amount of ammunition on the net, ok, and nobody is reported.
Good grief. The ignorance is astounding, but idoicy is brazen ignorance, and that’s what is on display here. We’ve covered this before, but the Firearm Owner’s Protection Act of 1986 banned the sale of machine guns manufactured after the date of enactment to civilians, inflating the cost of fully automatic weapons then in circulation to $10,000 or more (far beyond their actual worth). For most people, it is cost prohibitive to own a fully automatic weapon, and purchase of one requires registration and approval with the ATF and local law enforcement (oftentimes not granted).
You cannot own a fully automatic weapon without ATF approval, a tax stamp and registration (as well as local LEO approval). A fully automatic weapon has not been used in an illegal shooting in the U.S. in nearly a century. Even purchase of a semi-automatic weapon requires a background check and completion of ATF form 4473. This applies as well to gun shows.
To be sure, individuals can sell weapons to other individuals without going through a Federal Firearms License in many states, but this is true regardless of whether the circumstances of the sale include being at a gun show. And selling to individuals who cannot otherwise own a weapon is still illegal, regardless of whether you are an FFL or a non-licensed individual. To say that people can have illegal things because they can break the law is a tautology, and doesn’t advance the discussion. It only makes people more ignorant.
O’Reilly goes on to mention howitzers. Yes, howitzers. I’m not sure what color the sky is in O’Reilly’s world, but he has the same knee jerk reaction to guns that most Northeastern elites do (e.g., Chris Christie). The offensive part in this case is his transmission of ignorance to his viewers. Be aware – concerning guns, Bill O’Reilly is an idiot.
UPDATE: Thanks to Glenn for the attention!
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On July 26, 2012 at 5:04 pm, Chuck Pelto said:
TO: All
RE: Bill O’Reilly
I gave up on paying heed to anything this character had to say after he called for the murder of Matt Drudge.
This business only re-affirms my earlier opinion.
Indeed….this man is on a par with that Ross buffoon at ABC.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[The Truth will out….there are idiots all over the news spectrum.]
On July 26, 2012 at 5:06 pm, Chuck Pelto said:
P.S. I’ve been to a numerous gun-shows and I’ve yet to see a howitzer or mortar or anti-tank gun or fragmentation hand-grenades for sale. Let alone a bunker-buster or nerve-agent rounds or nukes.
On July 26, 2012 at 5:08 pm, Chuck Pelto said:
P.P.S. I HAVE seen books on how to built a trebuchet….
On July 26, 2012 at 5:15 pm, Steve said:
I gave up on O’Reilly a while ago when he would never let a guest answer a question, but did happen to catch the segment above. Bill is certainly an imposing force in his own mind. But there’s plenty of room for it there.
Now, I watch Cavuto instead. Better business news and intelligent discussions without yelling.
On July 26, 2012 at 5:19 pm, john gaines said:
You say that a fully automatic weapon has not been used in an illegal shooting in this country in over a century. That is not true. Machine guns were used in the North Hollywood bank heist. I do agree that O’Reilly is a boob and hasn’t got a clue on arms sales or gun rights in this country
On July 26, 2012 at 5:25 pm, Mike Jackson said:
“after he called for the murder of Matt Drudge.”
Wow. He did that? Can you provide a link?
I’ld rather be sure that he actually said that before I repeat it to others.
On July 26, 2012 at 5:26 pm, Herschel Smith said:
John, I accept the correction. I was thinking 1934, but it appears that there have been two homicides since then. Alrighty then. Two homicides since 1934.
On July 26, 2012 at 5:28 pm, john gaines said:
http://gawker.com/5572314/should-matt-drudge-set-himself-on-fire
Yeah, good to look things up before you post. I won’t be visiting Chuck Pelto’s blog anytime soon
On July 26, 2012 at 5:30 pm, Seth said:
I’ve occasionally watched O’Reilly for a number of years, and over those years noted that, for all of his talk about “lookin’ after the folks,” he has developed a decided and increasing list to the Left, and just happened to hear his rant on the Internet.
Not what I would call a real gun person, but i know a fair amount about guns, so I “fired off” a strong protest email to him.
He was, in the first place, especially rude to his guest, Congressman Chaffitz–he talked over him, shouted at him, interrupted him, and wouldn’t let him finish his sentences, and generally tried to bully and brow beat him, and to use him as a rhetorical punching bag; I’ve seen O’Reilly give much greater deference and respect to race hustlers like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.
Then O’Reilly–who has pretty obviously –from what he said–never had any military training and never held a gun or long arm in his hand, and doesn’t know the first thing about them–started off by talking about how civilians shouldn’t have “heavy weapons,” which he initially defined as bazookas and mortars, but then morphed such “heavy weapons” into AK-47s and other “automatic weapons,” despite the fact that AK47’s and all long arms routinely available to citizens are semi-automatic weapons that only shoot one bullet per pull of the trigger, and not a continuous stream of bullets like a machine gun.
Then O’Reilly–talking over and ignoring Chaffitz’ every effort to correct him with factual and correct informaiton –talked about how civilians shouldn’t have access to all of these heavy weapons, as if just anyone could just walk into a gun store and buy a .50 caliber machine gun off the shelf, when the reality is that only those who fill out a whole raft of ATF paperwork, pass a background check, and pay a several hundred dollar fee are allowed to buy actual automatic weapons-=about whose number and location and owner the government has very specific and precise information.
All in all, a depressing and dreadful exercise in discourtesy, demagoguery, and disinformation by O’Reily,
On July 26, 2012 at 5:31 pm, john gaines said:
And I think the actual fact is that LEGALLY owned machine guns are not used very often in crimes in this country. That actually could be used by pro-restriction forces to justify mandatory registration. I have fired full-auto at a Larry Vickers class and it was great fun. Just can’t afford it. Thanks
On July 26, 2012 at 5:35 pm, Pettifogger said:
Vendor tables at gun shows don’t come free. Anyone who sells enough to make renting a vendor table profitable will quickly need an FFL, unless he’s one of those primarily selling knives or jerky or jewelry. A person such as that might occasionally sell a gun, but that’s not a material problem.
I’ve bought several guns at gun shows, I’ve always bought from an FFL holder, and I’ve always had a background check. And the only automatic weapon I have seen was on display as a curiosity, an attempt to attract customers to the other merchandise.
On July 26, 2012 at 5:36 pm, DC Lovell said:
O’Reilly is best described by all the things he detests. He is the king of bloviating and yet he condemns it in others. Loud mouth with a splash metro-sexual intimidation for effect. Limbaugh says he is a “Ted Baxter” type of man, that is funny.
On July 26, 2012 at 5:37 pm, Pettifogger said:
And since I got out of the military, the only howitzers I’ve seen have been in public parks.
On July 26, 2012 at 5:37 pm, Dobby said:
O’Reilly wanted to take guns away from people during violent storms, like after hurricane Katrina. That’s when people need protection the most. That’s just nuts.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/bill-o-reilly-supports-confiscating-guns-in-time-of-emergency
On July 26, 2012 at 5:38 pm, SteveS said:
O’Reilly has been something of a hand wringing idiot for a long time now. I’ve watched a couple of his shows over the years, and I never got him, and I’ve finally figured out why. He doesn’t live on the same planet I do.
Good grief..how does any rational adult in this country manage to live year after year assuming that anyone can just buy dump truck loads of fully automatic AK-47’s, all without the feds knowing anything about it. You have to be running guns to Mexican drug cartels to get away with something like that.
On July 26, 2012 at 5:40 pm, john gaines said:
Pettifogger: I have seen Class III dealers at numerous gun shows but no one walks out with one that day.
$18,000 for an MP5. Would have been a good investment years back.
On July 26, 2012 at 5:42 pm, Herschel Smith said:
I’ve shot a fully automatic weapone before.
Meh.
So what? Much ammunition wasted. Too expensive. Machine guns are like my son said about his (he was a SAW gunner in 2/6 Marines, Golf Company in Iraq in 2007). SAWs are area suppresion weapons.
On July 26, 2012 at 6:06 pm, Chuck Pelto said:
TO: Mike Jackson
RE: O’Reilly Wanted Matt Drudge Killed
There is only this that I saw reported on May 9, 2002, when Matt Drudge outed O’Reilly about what looks like payola. The article states that it cannot be reproduced without authorization from the author….Matt Drudge.
But here is a direct quote….
“There is no other cure than to kill Matt Drudge,” O’Reilly charged on the IMUS in the MORNING radio show on Wednesday.
Maybe some research on IUMS in the Morning might provide the full text.
Hope that helps….
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[The Truth will out….one way or another….]
On July 26, 2012 at 6:10 pm, StoneDome said:
I turned this dud off when he tried to characterize himself as a traditionalist, whatever that is. I like the Dennis Miller rants, but I can see them on YouTube.
On July 26, 2012 at 6:17 pm, Chuck Pelto said:
TO: John Gaines
RE: Exqueeze Me….
Yeah, good to look things up before you post. I won’t be visiting Chuck Pelto’s blog anytime soon. — John Gaines
[1] As if I gave a flip about your visits.
[2] What does the link you provided have to do with the relationship between Matt Drudge and Bill O’Reilly? The link is dated 2010. My report is dated 2002.
How ‘old’, i.e., mature, are you anyway? Absolutely nothing as far as I can tell.
Or are you some ‘progressive/liberal/democrat’ who hates Matt Drudge?
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[You can fool all of the people some of the time. And you can fool some of the people all of the time. But you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. — Abraham Lincoln]
On July 26, 2012 at 6:17 pm, David, infamous sockpuppet said:
This Groucho quote sums him up best. “Bill O’Reilly may talk like an idiot, and he may look like an idiot, but don’t be fooled, he really is an idiot.”
On July 26, 2012 at 6:18 pm, Charles Baylor said:
“Concerning Guns, Bill O’Reilly Is An Idiot”
Bill O’Reilly is a plain idiot. No modifying clause necessary. Just as blind hogs find the occasional acorn, idiots occasionally make a sensible utterance. But in the main you can count on them to spew bilge, as O’Reilly does in this case.
It is beyond me why so many people tune in to this simpleton. That fact isn’t the problem, but it is a symptom of the problem.
On July 26, 2012 at 6:20 pm, Chuck Pelto said:
On July 26, 2012 at 6:17 pm, Chuck Pelto said:
TO: John Gaines
RE: Exqueeze Me….
Yeah, good to look things up before you post. I won’t be visiting Chuck Pelto’s blog anytime soon. — John Gaines
[1] As if I gave a flip about your visits.
[2] What does the link you provided have to do with the relationship between Matt Drudge and Bill O’Reilly? The link is dated 2010. My report is dated 2002. Absolutely nothing as far as I can tell.
How ‘old’, i.e., mature, are you anyway?
Or are you some ‘progressive/liberal/democrat’ who hates Matt Drudge?
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[You can fool all of the people some of the time. And you can fool some of the people all of the time. But you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. — Abraham Lincoln]
P.S. My apologies for the foul-up….
On July 26, 2012 at 6:22 pm, Chuck Pelto said:
P.S. Thanks for pointing out that Gawker has ‘issues’ with reality…..
On July 26, 2012 at 6:38 pm, Matt Longmire said:
In that same clip O’Reilly keeps shouting “60,000 rounds” when in fact the perp bought 6,000 rounds of 223 ammo. Sounds a lot worse when you say 60,000. Let’s keep the facts straight.
On July 26, 2012 at 6:55 pm, Frank Natoli said:
http://blogs.app.com/capitolquickies/2012/07/23/christie-says-politicians-grandstanding-on-gun-control/
Although my Governor Christie is on the wrong side of too many issues, this particular one isn’t it, see article at link above.
On July 26, 2012 at 6:57 pm, Too Old To Work said:
Bill O’Reilly is just an idiot. He demagogues issue after issue and his viewers treat him like he’s a genius. He’s a faux populist that is no better than any other demagogue.
On July 26, 2012 at 7:10 pm, JC said:
It would be nice if they asked him why he was pro-Democrat talking points (yes, it’s not all Democrat, but those are the usual suspects on this) on the show and if he was going to be changing his voter registration soon.
On July 26, 2012 at 7:16 pm, just jack said:
Has no one actually listened to Bill O’reilly before this. It’s all sound and fury, without any real introspection or thought, or even analysis. Whenever he has made sense, it only because of the blind squirrel thing.
On July 26, 2012 at 7:30 pm, richard40 said:
This is not the first occasion where O’Reilly has abandoned conservative beleifs. I remember his anti oil company rants, where he wanted some kind of gov price controls. I like his show, but he is definitely not a reliable conservative, especially on any conservative positions that libertarians support.
On July 26, 2012 at 7:50 pm, Mike Jackson said:
Chuck,
I was asking for a link, not a copyright protected reproduction. That is what Drudge does every day… provide links.
Anyway, everything I found links back to Drudge himself, who provided no link to the source (as he otherwise regularly provides, just an oversight I guess).
At the same time that Drudge provided us with that unsourced quote, he also quoted O’Reilly as stating “I just want to tell everybody that Matt Drudge is smoking crack – right now, in South Miami Beach on Washington Avenue….” Again unsourced.
I got on YouTube and could not find a copy of that Imus episode or that soundbite. Considering Imus is all over YouTube and the lefties were all over the Drudge claim I find that surprising.
On July 26, 2012 at 7:51 pm, teapartydoc said:
We quit watching him when it seemed like all he wanted to do was interview porn stars.
On July 26, 2012 at 8:33 pm, john gaines said:
So O’Reilly never called for the murder of Matt Drudge, right?
On July 26, 2012 at 8:45 pm, Anna Keppa said:
O’Reilly’s always been an a-hole, and not just about gun ownership.
He once called a “Promise Keeper” guest an extremist for stating, quite correctly, that the gummint has no legal authority to confiscate weapons during an emergency.
There’s actually a section of the U.S. Code saying exactly that. What use would the 2nd Amendment be if the gummint could override it by declaring an emergency?
O’Reilly is almost always a nincompoop when it comes to legal matters. He’s got at least three lawyers appearing on his show regularly who bitch-slap him over his lack of understanding of the issues AND the law.
On July 26, 2012 at 8:49 pm, Anna Keppa said:
On July 26, 2012 at 6:38 pm, Matt Longmire said:
In that same clip O’Reilly keeps shouting “60,000 rounds” when in fact the perp bought 6,000 rounds of 223 ammo. Sounds a lot worse when you say 60,000. Let’s keep the facts straight.
***************
I’m reminded of Peter Jennings on ABC, solemnly intoning that 66,000 people had died over the course of a few days during the Romanian revolution that brought down the dictator Ceaucescu.
The actual number was under 1,000.
On July 26, 2012 at 9:56 pm, Fred said:
Thanks for the tip on O’Reilly’s latest: Another Village Missing Its Idiot.
I hope someone from Fox is reading feedback here.
Outside of entertainment value which is over after the first time you see the lame schtick, and some nominal pity factor,
I dont see a reason to watch him, and I change the channel.
His ramblings demean Fox’ brand, but who knows what advertisers value.
On July 26, 2012 at 10:33 pm, Herschel Smith said:
Clarifications:
(1) Chris Christie is anti-gun. I should have linked this piece.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2012/05/christie_misses_the_target_wit.html
So it doesn’t matter to me that he thinks that the liberals are making hay of the Colorado shootings. As it regards firearms, he is like the liberals he bemoans.
(2) If I had the money I would have an automatic weapon. But then again, if I had the money to purchase an automatic weapon I wouldn’t have trouble paying for the $20 worth of ammunition blown every 3 seconds. That’s what I was saying above.
More to the point, my son was a SAW gunner and yet carried an ACOG on his SAW. He was precision with it because he scored at the top of his Battalion every year in rifle quals (using an M-16). Me … I struggle to challenge the MOA accuracy of my gun. It is better than I am. So is my son, but every father wants for his sons to be better than him, right?
On July 26, 2012 at 11:07 pm, Donald Sensing said:
Wait! I can get a howitzer at a gun show? Yowza! As a retired artillery officer, I want an 8-inch self propelled one! You betcha!
Ammo is kind of expensive, though.
On July 27, 2012 at 12:23 am, currently said:
Let’s not forget his idiotic rants about big oil and all the conspiracies to drive up the price of gas. That’s when I realized he was too stupid to listen to.
On July 27, 2012 at 1:26 am, Californio said:
What? You can’t!?! (I slowly slouch and sit down. My dream of buying a Bofors 40mm twin barrelled anti-aircraft gun is now shattered. As shattered as the image I had of those damn squirrels getting their just deserves. ‘yeah, you devilish rodents! how you like me NOW!’ I had dreamed of saying as I racked the first 40mm HE round in and blazed away at the chattering rodent devils mocking me from the tree tops…..)
So I guess he is none too bright! “oh really?” NO! O’Reilly!
On July 27, 2012 at 7:55 am, Chuck Pelto said:
TO: Mike Jackson
RE: Drudge Links
Have you ever tried to get a link from a DRUDGE EXCLUSIVE?
Try it sometime and you might understand why I have no link I can provide you….
Regards,
Chuck(le)
P.S. We might want to e-mail Drudge about that sort of behavior on his site….
On July 27, 2012 at 7:57 am, Chuck Pelto said:
TO: john gaines
RE: Try….
So O’Reilly never called for the murder of Matt Drudge, right? — john gaines
….not to be so obtuse.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[Stupid, adj., Ignorant and proud of it.]
On July 27, 2012 at 8:22 am, Chuck Pelto said:
TO: Mike Jackson & john gaines
RE: Ack Tso!
Doing a search on “O’Reilly kill Drudge IMUS 2002”, I found THIS ITEM at WND….
Enjoy,
Chuck(le)
[The Truth will out….but sometimes you have to lead the whore to culture….]
P.S. But you can’t make her think….in john’s case…..
On July 27, 2012 at 8:31 am, Herschel Smith said:
Stop the debate Chuck.
On July 27, 2012 at 8:56 am, Chuck Pelto said:
TO: Herschel Smith
RE: I Do Believe….
….that I just did.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
On July 27, 2012 at 11:37 am, Fen said:
O’Reilly is a blowhard.
We even have a catch-phrase: “Pulling an O’Reilly”. It means throwing your people under the bus to bolster your “moderate” creds.
But the worst thing about his show is how he talks over guests just as they are saying something interesting.
On July 27, 2012 at 2:19 pm, Mike Jackson said:
Chuck,
I followed your link directly…nothing. Just a WND page with a “O’Reilly’s tragic flaw” heading and various social link reminders. No story, no tape, nothing.
This is getting old. Oh, and a respectful nod to you for calling fellow commenters “whore”. That fills in your background well enough for me.
Thanks for wasting my time.
On July 27, 2012 at 3:32 pm, Chuck Pelto said:
TO: Mike Jackson
RE: WND Item
What browser are you using? Works fine for me with Firefox.
Hope that helps. But then again, if you think I wasted your time, I suspect something else.
Try using the search criteria I used. That is if you REALLY want to know what happened. Otherwise….three guesses…first two don’t count.
Out here. I’m through trying to lead a horticulture….
Chuck(le)
On July 27, 2012 at 3:34 pm, Chuck Pelto said:
P.S. My ‘background’?
27 years in the infantry. Airborne. Ranger. Retired LTC.
On July 27, 2012 at 4:47 pm, Mike Jackson said:
“27 years in the infantry. Airborne. Ranger. Retired LTC.”
Don’t believe it, sorry. My experience is that military officers, both active & retired have too much class to be calling people whores, ya know?
I guess claiming a MOH is just too obvious.