O’Reilly resorts to threatening callers

March 4, 2006

There’s usually no point in paying too close attention to Bill O’Reilly and his various personal feuds/vendettas, but this week, O’Reilly seemed to cross the sanity line just a little bit when he threatened a caller of his radio show with “a little visit” from “Fox security” for mentioning MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann’s name on the air

On the March 2 broadcast of Westwood One’s The Radio Factor, host Bill O’Reilly threatened to turn over the personal information of a caller to “Fox security” because the caller mentioned MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann. As Media Matters for America has noted, in recent weeks, Olbermann has repeatedly awarded O’Reilly the “Worst Person in the World” designation during his show, MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann. O’Reilly has responded, on several occasions, by asserting that MSNBC “is a true ratings disaster.”

The caller began by telling O’Reilly, “I like to listen to you during the day.” Continuing, the caller stated, “I think Keith Olbermann’s show,” at which point O’Reilly disconnected the call, proclaiming: “Mike is — he’s a gone guy. You know, we have his — we have your phone numbers, by the way. So, if you’re listening, Mike, we have your phone number, and we’re going to turn it over to Fox security, and you’ll be getting a little visit.”

O’Reilly added that the caller was “going to get into big trouble, because we’re not going to play around.” Warning his listeners, O’Reilly continued, “When you call us, ladies and gentleman, just so you know, we do have your phone number, and if you say anything untoward, obscene, or anything like that, Fox security will then contact your local authorities, and you will be held accountable.”

So, let’s summarize. O’Reilly invites listeners to call his show. When a listener, Mike Stark of the Calling All Wingnuts blog, calls in and mentions Keith Olberman, O’Reilly not only ends the call, but threatens the listener. What’s more, the Stark was actually contacted by someone representing Fox News “security.”

Wow.

For what it’s worth, Olberman had a truly hilarious segment on his show about all of this, in which he brought on a former prosecutor to talk about the legality of O’Reilly’s threats. Her conclusion: that if anyone crossed the line here, it’s O’Reilly.

Nazi thinking all the way. Not quite legal here … yet.

  • Maybe Biohazard Oreilly has a contract with Haliburton too to put Americans in pop-up prison camps. When Bush has finally been dealt with, and he will be dealt with, then we need to address his enablers, the ones who spread Bush’s fertilizer for profit and Biohazard Oreilly should be near the top of that list.

  • O’Reilly is really bad, not so much nuts as so self-involved nd greedy as to be pathetic.

    But his on air crappola, awful though it is, is nothing compared to “Fox security” actually following up on his threat. If I were at the other end of that phone conversation, I’d cover my entire community’s healthcare costs for the next twenty years with the suit I’d bring against Fox. Fox as single-payer. Now, that would be nice!

  • I heard O’Reilly doing this little number on the Internet, and it was side-splittingly hysterical, except for that there are so many people like O’Reilly out there, and that they take themselves seriously. They’re just really childish. Fox Security??????? Give me a break. Grow up, O’Reilly.

  • Someone should have asked Bio Bill if the Fux security people will be in DHS uniforms.

  • Does Fux security dress like NBC studio ushers? or like Nixon’s operetta-costumed White House guards?

    I think the less the reich-wing whackos talk about “security” the better.

  • Here’s the problem where I live: The three stations that have talk radio formats are owned by Clear Channel, NRG, and Salem Communications. So you have nothing but right wing blather all day. Aren’t I lucky? Lately, they’ve been going off on some geology or geography teacher who was recorded by a student as he ranted about Bush’s SOTU, and I’m thinking, “who gives a fuck?” As if teachers have a more profound affect on what a child’s political leanings then, say, their parents or friends.
    And why does every caller to Hannity have to say, “You’re a great American, Sean”? Poor guy can’t get through the day unless he gets a dozen verbal blowjobs from his callers.

  • Fox security may someday evolve into our national secret party police.
    Black military SS style uniforms with shiny black boots, and a silver fox head logo on the front of the cap and the Fox twin searchlights in the sky logo on the armband.
    Oh, and above the cap visor, in silver on black, the words “Fair and Balanced”.
    Thought crimes against talk show hosts would result in immediate disappearance.. but it will be legal under Deputry Furher Gonzales as extraordinary rendition.
    But worst of all would be the torture…. sanity deprivation with unending exposure to fox news 24-7.

  • Hey Jim B. I’ve learned the hard way that some bully’s can actually kick your ass. 🙂

    “reich-wing”, that’s classic Ed Stephan.

    Either a police-state mentality is spreading in America or some of us are becoming hyper-sensitive toward signs of it. I fear that the Homeland Security agents are the makings of home-grown, “reich-wing” enforcers. I noticed they gave a ticket to a guy giving away a t-shirt criticizing FEMA in a New Orleans Wal-mart parking lot, declaring he was on Federal property. That with the incident in Utah and their possible appearance at a Ferrari crash in Malibu makes them seem ubiquitous. And in that case there may be a small transit authority based at Homer’s Car Repair that has its own police department. It’s starting to seem like Snow Crash, the novel.

    Seems to be a convergence of the state police functions being directed toward corporation protection.

  • FalafelMan knows how to stroke the masses for publicity.

    Publicity = $$$

    $$$ = that’s what loofaBoy cares about.

  • this story is not funny if you think about the situation we find ourselves in.
    Who would have thought that the president of the uS would brazenly tell the american people that he has no problem breakig laws “because he can”?
    Where does bill get the feeling that he can have fox news security call and threaten to send local police?
    That is what scares me.
    why does he feel so entitled?

  • Media Matters has up a video of O’Reilly having a debate with the Rev. Barry Lynn whose radio show you have been on. In it he simultaneously says Lynn is one of his “favorite guests” and then notes that he is a “paranoid crazy” for claiming that Alito had basically written a thank you note to James Dobson to signal that he’s in Jimbo’s pocket. You had that Dobson story long before anybody else and you and Lynn are dead on.

  • Where does bill get the feeling that he can have fox news security call and threaten to send local police? – Diane

    Maybe because he’s on the far-right side of this:

    White House Hunting Down Truthtellers

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/4/195915/9513

    “Plugging up the pinpoint rays of light that shine through this administration’s black shroud of secrecy is the lastest step in Bush’s war against truth.”

    O’Lielly’s got nothing to worry about. The truth isn’t something he traffics in. But he’d be glad to see a truthteller denounced and renditioned the hell out of his warped mirror freakshow.

  • Big frickin’ deal! Fox security is pretend police. About the only thing they can do is call you on the phone and say, “Hiya, howya doin’?” The funny bit here is that O’Reilly thinks they represent some kind of real power at his disposal. Next he’ll be sicing his Barbie Doll collection on us.

  • Don’t laugh, Fox goons beat me senseless when I protested the Dubai royals buying my town’s fire station.

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