Legitimate Dissent or Hurting America?

Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly.  Thank you for watching us tonight.

Legitimate dissent or hurting America? That's the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."  Over the weekend, President Bush visited Ireland (search) and Turkey (search).  In both places, anti-American demonstrators turned out spouting the usual blather about the USA being bad, evil, dangerous, that kind of thing.

But let's examine the record and pinpoint just who those demonstrators really are.  The United States removed a dictator who slaughtered hundreds of thousands of people.  Is that a bad action?  We attacked Saddam (search) because he violated the Gulf War cease-fire and 17 United Nations resolutions.  So, America had a perfect legal right to do what it did; thus, vis-a-vis Saddam, America did the right thing both morally and legally.

But the U.N. didn't help in the removal of Saddam because countries like France, Russia, and Germany were making billions of dollars dealing with the dictator.  That's bad, isn't it?  Allowing a killer to violate U.N. resolutions because you're profiting.  Isn't that bad?

But no. Millions of people have come to the conclusion that's not bad. America's the problem, for eliminating a killer without approval from corrupt individuals. The issue gets foggier because the weapons of mass destruction that Saddam allegedly possessed have not shown up and the post-war situation has been mismanaged by the USA to some extent.  The handover today may correct that situation, and all loyal Americans should pray it does.

There's no question the USA has made mistakes in Iraq, but the mistakes are not moral failings.  And no sane person can still believe the Bush administration lied when Bill Clinton (search) and Vladimir Putin (search) both say they agree with President Bush: WMD's did exist in Iraq.  But these protesters, they don't care about truth; they care about hating America.

Take a look at this full page ad in "The New York Times" today, some far-Left outfit called "Unbrand America," backed by money from the infamous Tides Foundation (search) -- another far-Left, behind the scenes deal -- puts forth, quote, "This July 4th, because my country has sold its soul to corporate power, because consumerism has become our new religion, because a small group of neocons has hijacked our national agenda -- I pledge to do my duty and take my country back."  Very inspirational, don't you think?

But that ad is instructional.  That dopey group thinks the USA is a bad place, just like the demonstrators abroad.  And domestic bomb throwers like Michael Moore (search), he definitely thinks America is a bad place and has said so on a number of occasions.  So, there's no question the anti-American protests are grounded in a very simple point of view. The USA is villainous, and those who oppose us are virtuous. Incredible, but absolutely true.

And that's "The Memo."

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Time now for "The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day"...

If you can't beat him, slime him.  I hope you read the "Parade" magazine item on me and Stuart Smalley yesterday.  It simply blows the defamation king away.  It's available on billoreilly.com if you missed it.

But that will not stop the madness because the new far left tactic is to distort the record of anyone who challenges.  Every week day we do three hours of commentary, two on the radio, and an hour on TV.  The bomb-throwers are now recording all of that with an eye on finding so-called lies.

Now anybody can find something in three hours to challenge.  But it is the straight press who is enabling the propaganda.  Today in "The New York Daily News (search)," for example, writer Jack Mathews (search) quotes a far-Left Web site in questioning my honesty.  It's all a bunch of baloney.

Mathews is mad at us because he says we ambushed him after he gave that Larry Flynt (search) movie a few years ago a good review.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM THE O'REILLY FACTOR, JANUARY 13, 1997)

O'REILLY:  I really resent the portrayal here because there are a lot of people the world over who are going to think Larry Flynt is Woody Harrelson.

JACK MATHEWS:  I don't think so.

O'REILLY:  I do, I do.

MATHEWS:  I think that the -- they were having a good time.  That's the story.  The guy was having a good time.  We've seen people have good times doing -- killing people.  We've seen gangsters in "Pulp Fiction," those guys were having a good time.  It doesn't mean we like what they do.  And it doesn't mean that it's any less dramatic or ruins the story.

O'REILLY:  You know, Jack, I disagree.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY:  Well, that was some ambush, wasn't it?  That Mathews isn't really worth the time.  But the overall dishonesty of the far left is very important.  They are giving all liberals a very, very bad name.  And that's ridiculous.

--You can watch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com