How the Far Left is Handling the U.S. Military

The Houston Chronicle is a committed left newspaper. Its editorial page — liberal down the line. Yesterday that paper said this about U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq:

"The Bush administration still refuses to allow coverage of returning flag- draped coffins. Certainly no family should have media coverage forced upon them, but many would consider it more respectful to see their soldier's final homecoming honored rather than hidden. And other Americans could see that image and stop for a moment in their own safe living rooms to offer their silent respect and gratitude to particular soldiers in particular coffins, real people, not just numbers in the latest tally of casualties."

So The Houston Chronicle believes that showing coffins on TV and in the papers will lead to more "respect" for our valiant troops. Now a cynic might say this is a ruse, that The Chronicle wants to show coffins to add more emotion to the Iraq debate. A cynic might say that and point to the fact that The Houston Chronicle has consistently opposed the Iraq War.

An honest reporter might then ask The Chronicle: What it has done to respect the U.S. armed forces? According to Naomi Angle, a public affairs coordinator at The Chronicle, not much. While The Chronicle contributes to charities like the March of Dimes and the Houston Public Library, among others, it has not given one penny to any veteran's organizations.

Now that might just be an oversight. "Talking Points" can't read minds. I have no idea if The Houston Chronicle wants more respect for the troops killed in action, or wants to use their deaths to hammer the war. I just don't know. But a healthy skepticism is in context here.

But there is no doubt about the intention of NBC News/Washington Post analyst William Arkin. As we've been reporting, and most left-wing media ignoring, Arkin believes U.S. forces are mercenaries and are lucky Americans don't spit upon them.

That point of view has brought immense pressure on Arkin, NBC News, and The Washington Post. In his latest writing for The Post, Arkin says this: "The torrents of other nail-biting, fanatical, threatening, represent the worst of polarized and hate-filled America. I'm not complaining about being criticized of being made the latest punching bag for those who subsist off high volume conquest. Nor am I apologizing for being critical of the military."

Now “The Factor” called The Washington Post and NBC News and asked how much they're paying Arkin, we're just curious. The Post and NBC would not give up that information. And both news agencies still will not publicly distance themselves from Arkin's comments.

It's funny, he objects to a quote, "hate-filled America," yet apparently doesn't understand that his anti-military screed is off-the-chart hateful and hurtful to our warriors and their families. But that is the far left for you. Ideology over everything else.

And that's "The Memo."

Most Ridiculous Item

I've gotten some letters from folks asking about my new wardrobe. Most think it's spiffy. — That's not pithy; that's spiffy.

Skip Gambert makes the shirts, John Daniel Company the suits. Info on billoreilly.com.

And here are the results of our BillOReilly.com poll question. We asked you, is 8 years old is too young for a public school student to hear about homosexuality? More than 40,000 of you voted. Ninety-two percent say too young. Just 8 percent are OK with it.

Ridiculous? Not at all. Just common sense. Something "Factor" viewers and listeners on the radio are known for.