On O'Reilly, Newsmax's Kessler misrepresented Obama and Clinton vote on FISA, Edwards statement on "global war on terror"
SUMMARY: On The O'Reilly Factor, Newsmax.com chief Washington correspondent Ronald Kessler falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton "voted to give Osama bin Laden the same rights that Americans have when it comes to intercepting his calls, even if he made calls within Pakistan, to Pakistan. They voted in August to not revise the FISA act." In fact, Obama and Clinton both voted for legislation sponsored by Sen. Carl Levin that would have amended FISA to allow warrantless wiretapping of foreign-to-foreign calls, regardless of whether they are transmitted through the United States.
During the November 12 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, author and Newsmax.com chief Washington correspondent Ronald Kessler falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) "voted to give Osama bin Laden the same rights that Americans have when it comes to intercepting his calls, even if he made calls within Pakistan, to Pakistan. They voted in August to not revise the FISA act" -- the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. In fact, while Obama and Clinton both voted against legislation on FISA sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), both voted for legislation sponsored by Sen. Carl Levin that would have amended FISA to extend the government's authority to wiretap foreign-to-foreign calls, regardless of whether they are transmitted through the United States, as Media Matters for America documented. Levin's bill would have reversed a reported ruling that the government needs to comply with FISA warrant requirements for foreign-to-foreign communications that happen to go through the United States.
From the bill Obama and Clinton voted for:
Sec. 105A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a court order is not required for the electronic surveillance of the contents of any communication between persons that are not located within the United States for the purpose of collecting foreign intelligence information, without respect to whether the communication passes through the United States or the surveillance device is located within the United States.
Like the Levin bill, the McConnell-sponsored legislation had the effect of extending the administration's authority to intercept foreign-to-foreign calls without a warrant. However, according to an August 6 New York Times article, the bill also, in effect, authorized the monitoring of domestic-to-foreign communications without a warrant, "as long as the target of the government's surveillance is 'reasonably believed' to be overseas." As the Times reported, McConnell's version of the bill "broadly expanded the government's authority to eavesdrop on the international telephone calls and e-mail messages of American citizens without warrants."
Later in the segment, Kessler misrepresented former Sen. John Edwards' (D-NC) comments about the war on terror. In an apparent reference to Edwards' comments during the June 3 Democratic presidential debate:
KESSLER: Well, you know, I just think it's a recipe for suicide. We see the war on terror being attacked by the liberal media, by the liberal politicians as a figment of someone's imagination. Edwards says it's a bumper sticker. And yet, you know, Al Qaeda wants to detonate nuclear devices in this country, as [FBI Director] Bob Mueller told me.
During the debate, Edwards stated, "But what this global war on terror bumper sticker -- political slogan, that's all it is, all it's ever been -- was intended to do was for George Bush to use it to justify everything he does: the ongoing war in Iraq, Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib, spying on Americans, torture." However, Kessler left out the remarks Edwards made immediately before that statement: "As president of the United States, I will do absolutely everything to find terrorists where they are, to stop them before they can do harm to us, before they can do harm to America or to its allies. Every tool available -- military alliances, intelligence -- I will use." Host Bill O'Reilly has previously distorted the same comments, cropping Edwards' quote to exclude what Edwards said he would do to address the terrorist threat and claiming "John Edwards looks dopey" on the June 4 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, as Media Matters documented.
From the November 12 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:
O'REILLY: "Impact" segment tonight. There's a growing movement in the USA to ignore Iran's nuclear capabilities. Writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer today, Tad Daley, a doctor, puts forth that Iran should be left alone at this point.
With us now, Ronald Kessler, author of the brand new book The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack [Crown Forum, November 2007]. We're hearing this more and more that Iran has a right to nuclear weapons, can do what it wants to do, whatever. And you say?
KESSLER: Well, this is the same mentality that Barack Obama and Hillary had when they voted to give Osama bin Laden the same rights that Americans have when it comes to intercepting his calls, even if he made calls within Pakistan, to Pakistan. They voted in August to not revise the FISA act. So it's the same mentality that, you know, these people who say they want to kill us, who say they want to wipe out America, wipe out Israel, should be given the same rights as Americans.
O'REILLY: Well, a lot of people say it's hyperbole. I mean, they say this is the play for the home crowd, the home team. And why should we be worried about Iran when President Bush sold a -- weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? That didn't happen. And the administration -- and this is what the left is saying. It's just pumping up another violent conflict. And you answer how?
[...]
KESSLER: Right. So it would have been literally impossible to get behind that. Impossible. On the other hand, Saddam admitted to this agent that he did intend to resume his WMD program, which he thought he could do within a year when sanctions were lifted, in part because he was paying off U.N. inspectors. And he said he intended to get a nuclear device. Now, these are things that we simply can't take a chance on.
O'REILLY: Well, I'm sure a megalomaniac like that would have liked to. Now, that is being used against any action against Iran. See, this is how it goes around, comes around. Because the U.S. blew it on WMDs, now the skeptics all over the world are going, "Why should we believe you on Iran because you screwed up Iraq?" There you go.
KESSLER: Well, you know, I just think it's a recipe for suicide. We see the war on terror being attacked by the liberal media, by the liberal politicians as a figment of someone's imagination. Edwards says it's a bumper sticker. And yet, you know, Al Qaeda wants to detonate nuclear devices in this country --
O'REILLY: Oh, I think they do, too.
KESSLER: -- as Bob Mueller told me. And they're -- you know, and it's a miracle that it hasn't happened. And the fact is, the war on success has been -- the war on terror has been a tremendous success. We've rolled up 5,000 terrorists since 9-11.
O'REILLY: And you can tell --
KESSLER: You'll never see that headline in The Washington Post or The New York Times.
Newsmax, well that is a real non partisan voice (sarcastic).
Edwards says it's a bumper sticker. And yet, you know, Al Qaeda wants to detonate nuclear devices in this country --
Sure they do , you have proof they can do it?
I bet that Justicefortruth person calls it for Bill O'lielly and says that newsmax is a liberal source. That person is predictable. Bill O'Lielly claims to be fair and balanced but he is just a crazy person.
I have been waiting for a Bill O'Lielly thread to post this.
[link to rawstory.com] Mike Stark has a history of haranguing O'Reilly during his call-in radio show, and he once visited the Fox host's house to mock him over sexual harassment allegations. And now Stark, 39, has become the target of a network executive working on behalf of the combative Fox News pundit. Fox VP Dianne Brandi has written to the dean of the Univeristy of Virginia's law school, where Stark is in his second year, urging an investigation of his conduct.
Stark told RAW STORY his dean has shown him a copy of the letter but would not allow it to be distributed to others. The letter accuses Stark of violating the university's codes of conduct, and it warns that he would have trouble passing the fitness review required for admission to the bar.
The showdown began with Stark's calls to O'Reilly's radio show -- "telling the truth when he didn't want to talk about the truth," as Stark characterizes it -- and escalated to a videotaped confrontation in O'Reilly's driveway.
Brandi claimed the visit amounted to harassment, but Stark said he sees it as a reasonable response after O'Reilly sent a producer to the home of Jet Blue CEO David Neeleman when the airline sponsored this summer's YearlyKos conference of progressive bloggers and activists.It's unfortunate that O'Reilly can't take as well as he gives. But, that's always the way it is with school yard bullies, isn't it?
Wow, this Kessler guy is really giving out the koolaid. Same old ploy: "You didn't vote for our bill so you must be against everything in it and therefore you are for everything it's against" yada yada yada.
Yeah Kessler, recipe for suicide. FISA bill is not passed...and the USA completely obliterated in its entirety the next day. Keep drinking.
It has gotten to the point where they are making things up.
I wonder if any of these dimwits realize that one of the main goals of terrorism is to instill fear. The exact same fear that Tom Tancredo is mongering with his ridiculous ad.
"And why should we be worried about Iran when President Bush sold a -- weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? That didn't happen. And the administration -- and this is what the left is saying."
Interesting statement. It sounded like O'Reilly was about to acknowledge that we were all had by the administration in the run-up to the war, but, realizing he alienate his demographic, he caught himself and played it off like, "oh, I mean, that's what the LEFT is saying, not me!"
Sounds like Bill-O almost had a moment of what could be called 'accidental honesty.'
We have "rolled up" 5,000 somebodies. Maybe some were terrorists and others just people to up the numbers. Any way, if 5,000 were picked up 10,000 have taken their place.
Newsmax.com chief Washington correspondent Ronald Kessler...
Another term for "professional liar".
The war on success. I couldn't agree more, Ronald. The occupation of Iraq is one huge war on success. We are not safer for occupying Iraq.
We are not safer because we have had greater and greater unitary power usurped for the Executive.
We are not safer because we have and continue to torture human beings.
We are not safer because we have suspended many of our rights to privacy and to assemble and to a speedy and fair trial.
We are not safer because have war profiteering, private armies siphoning billions of dollars of the public's money.
We are not safer because our armed forces are being broken and abused by the Decider and a Congress too wedded to ideology in the one side and too timid on the other. We are not safer for forsaking the things that make us good in the pursuit of the things that make us feel safe.
High gas prices and low wages don't make us safe. The huge expense of for prifit health insurance doesn't make us safe. The concentration of wealth for the few and the spreading of crumbs for the many doesn't make us safe.
Yeah, war on success is right.
And Bill, you and all your invade Iraq cheerleading chums need to give it a rest. You have no credibility. You all lied about the danger Iraq posed to the world and you're telling lies about Iran. It's a damn shame that good people waste their time on so many liars.