So I'm making a sympathy plea here, are you ready? Over the past 10 days, I've gotten amazing amount of criticism from both the left and the right. The Kool-Aid people are going nuts. Feel bad for me yet? I didn't think so.
But it's interesting to demonstrate what a certain segment of America is like. The absolute bottom of the barrel are the crazy Web sites.
One far left blog says, "Desperate to take the heat off Bush, O'Reilly blames the poor in Hurricane Katrina" (search). This after my Talking Points saying the government can't protect you, and you better have enough assets to protect yourself. If you'd like to read my entire position on the matter, my new column just posted on billoreilly.com deals with it.
Now the right one after me, after I criticized the price gouging by the oil companies. "Bill O'Reilly is an Economic Fool," headlined one blog. Well, take out the word "economic" and you'd be more accurate.
By the way, we are urging all Americans to cut back on gas purchases. Let's stick it to them.
The newspapers, of course, always a joy. Writing in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Melanie McFarland says, "O'Reilly flat-out denied that race and class had played a role in the hurricane." That, of course, a flat-out lie by Ms. McFarland. I did two Talking Points Memos this week alone explaining how the poor got hosed in the ordeal.
But the best was far left loon Nickie Think writing in The L.A. Weekly: "Bill O'Reilly, who spent last month verbally abusing the grieving mother of a dead Iraqi war soldier, then whiled away the early days of Katrina's aftermath giving lip to New Orleans looters and shooters and then basically blamed the hurricane's poorest victims for expecting any government help at all."
Feeling sorry for me yet? Look, all this dishonest nonsense is ideologically driven. And it appears all day every day in this country, there are no standards anymore in the media.
But the good news is that folks are seeing through the propaganda and coming into venues that tell the truth and deliver opinion backed up by fact.
Once again, The Factor and FOX News have dominated the hurricane coverage on cable. And we appreciate your making that happen. Of course, the Kool-Aid people are just beside themselves, but we continue to roll along. So really, there isn't any sympathy needed.
And that's the Memo.
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
We continue to believe that the five major American oil companies are taking advantage of Hurricane Katrina and the war on terror to compile record profits by raising gas prices through the roof.
I suggested perhaps they might want to voluntarily lower prices, taking 20 percent fewer profits in the short run. That suggestion was ignored.
So we're asking all Americans to fight back and buy no gas on Sundays for the rest of the year and to cut back energy consumption 10 percent. That will get their attention.
Our new billoreilly.com poll question asks you, "Do you believe U.S. oil companies are price gouging?" Yes or no? We'll give you the results of that BillOReilly.com poll on Monday. It is free. Anybody can vote. We hope you do.
And one more thing. Some corporations are giving back. Emigrant Savings Bank, headed by Howard Milstein, has deposited $1,000 directly into the bank accounts of all of their customers — all of them — in the hurricane zone. Of course, that's going to cut into Emigrant's profits. But the bank is stepping up. That's why we do business with them.
And that's not ridiculous.
—You can watch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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