No to Jesus, Yes to Gangster Rap

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

No to Jesus, yes to gangster rap, that's the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."  "The passion of the Christ" has been out for a week now and grossed nearly $150 million, an astounding amount of money in such a short period of time.  But the film continues to be savaged mostly by left-wing bomb throwers like Richard Cohen of "The Washington Post," (search) who wrote yesterday that  parts of the new testament are anti-Semitic in his opinion.  And Robert Scheer (search) of "The L.A. Times" who wrote that the film is "blood liable against the Jewish people."

Both men decried the violence of the film as well as its message.  But here's something interesting.  Cohen and Scheer seem to be concerned that "The Passion" (search) could have a negative effect, but both men have given gangster rap a complete pass.  We did a search.  Couldn't find any columns they wrote on the subject.  Apparently a culture that encourages criminal behavior, violence against women and general debauchery is not nearly as bad as a movie about   the death of Jesus.  And the violence of the crucifixion is far, far worse than the violence embraced by the gangsters.

For the far left, selective indignation is the name of the game.  And the reason people like Ludacris (search) are now socially acceptable is that the media don't care enough to scrutinize the man.  Plus, if you do criticize the likes of Ludacris, he and his enablers will call you a racist.  No self-respecting liberal bomb thrower  could tolerate that.

As for the Ludacris/Anheuser-Busch situation, here's the latest.  Apparently thousands of you have contacted that company, told them you're not going to buy their stuff anymore.  So today comes another statement.

"We are not a sponsor of Ludacris' concert tour, nor is he a spokesperson for our brands.he will host some private parties (for Anheuser Busch). Many adults who enjoy Bud Light are fans of Ludacris, who has a broad-based, multicultural following."

Well, that's just swell.  And many adults deplore Ludacris, who glamorizes violent crime.  So "Talking Points" is not going to do business with Anheuser-Busch (search), which has an obligation to this country not to reward entertainers who are doing harm.  As for the gangster himself, here's the latest from him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MTV)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  Give us your Oscar speech for "Too Fast Too  Furious" in that camera right there.  10 seconds on the clock.

LUDACRIS, RAPPER:  I want to thank John Singleton for putting me on, a  black man doing his thing.  Bill O'Reilly, you can kiss my [beep].  I'm a black man.  I love everybody.  Bill O'Reilly, kiss my [beep].

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY:  Nice, huh?  It is simply amazing that we're living in a country where the media will vilify a Mel Gibson and celebrate a Ludacris.  MTV can't get enough of him.

But this is where we are, ladies and gentlemen.  It is a troubling situation, to say the least.  And that's a memo.

And that's "The Memo."

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

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

Rapper Snoop Dogg (search) was supposed to appear on "The Factor" this week.  Apparently, he's a new movie.  But there is no truth to the rumor it's a remake of "Benji."

Anyway, we were surprised and skeptical when the Snoopmeister agreed to come on "The Factor" because he recently told a magazine he wanted to slap me.  He had a little word in front of "slap."  So when he predictably canceled, we tried to find out why.

But the Snoop guy is incommunicado, apparently hiding in his house, a no-slap zone.  We have lots of questions for Mr. Dogg, and we hope he reconsiders.  To not do so would be ridiculous.