To watch "The Talking Points Memo" in the Screening Room click here.
Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly. Thank you for watching us tonight.
Chicago's Mayor Daley is mad at me. That is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo. I'm on the record as saying that some politicians aren't tough enough on crime, especially in poor neighborhoods. I believe in "flooding the zone." If you have an out of control crime situation, you bring in force to quell it, legal force, but you put major pressure on the bad guys and take the inevitable heat that follows.
By all accounts, the Englewood neighbor in Chicago is under siege by drug gangs. Last year in a five-month period, 30 murders, 72 sexual assaults, more than 1,000 aggravated assaults. Clearly, this area is in deep trouble. And the 40,000 people who live there are obviously not secure.
So while I was in Chicago last week, I compared Englewood to Iraq and said, the way to combat vicious criminals is to use force. You must confront the bad guys where they live. Well, they ran that sound bite on the FOX affiliate WFLD.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: It's a war zone. And if I'm mayor, I'm going no, I'm not going to sit for that. I'm going to go in there with heavy artillery, just like you did in Iraq and I'm going to get those people out of there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: All right. So of course, Mayor Daley of Chicago saw that. He skirted the actual issue and went after me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RICHARD DALEY, CHICAGO: It's kind of a sad comment. I know you're into a lot of money. You know, one thing, I wish everybody at his studio earned the same amount of money. And I know he has, you know, books, the gimmicks that he writes all the books. And it's too bad. I don't -- I really don't know the man. And I don't know why he would be here anyway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Hey, Mr. Mayor, I was there and interested in Englewood because Americans live there, Americans who are not being protected by you. Instead of talking about my earning power, you might address the out of control crime situation in Englewood.
Now I don't know Mayor Daley, just as he doesn't know me. He might be a fair man, but his reaction is typical of politicians who don't want to solve problems. The terror in Englewood has nothing to do with me or my salary. It has to do with the breakdown in law enforcement in that area. The people who live there are entitled to live in peace, not fear. Englewood is happening in Los Angeles and most every other big city in the country. While most of us live in secure areas, millions of poor Americans don't. Excuses walk. The authorities must clean up these crime ridden neighborhoods and stop all the nonsense. All right?
And that's The Memo.
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
Time now for "The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day"...
An insurance study just out has found that many small SUVs are unsafe. If you're in there and you get hit from the side, you're going to get crunched. Yet another in a long line of questions about these vehicles, some of which eat gas, pollute the environment, and have terrible safety records.
While there are most definitely some efficient and safe SUVs, the controversy rages on so we have put this poll question on billoreilly.com: Are SUVs in general good or bad for America? That's a simple question, and we're anxious to see how this poll plays out. Are SUVs good or bad for America?
Very emotional issue. We'll keep the poll open until Thursday and announce the results then. Of course, they might be ridiculous, but that's the chance we all have to take.
--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
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