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'Pinhead' 16-Year-Old Schools O'Reilly



Bill O'Reilly is in his element when it comes to badgering the children of 9/11 victims, accusing kidnapping victims of enjoying their captivity, and anything involving loofahs or falafels. But put him in front of an affable and articulate 16-year-old, and he turns to mush.

Last week, O'Reilly imploded during an interview with Jesse Lange, a rising junior at Boulder High School in Colorado (video above). He was on the program to address O'Reilly's criticism of the Boulder High sex-education program. Lange tells Radar that he knew he was brought on for an opposing view, but his main concern before the show was how to address O'Reilly. "I wasn't sure whether or not I should call him Bill or Mr. O'Reilly," Lange tells Radar. "In the end, I decided to call him Bill, because if I called him Mr. O'Reilly, it would imply that I viewed him as some sort of expert or authority figure." Lange also says that in a brief pre-show interview, O'Reilly asked him not to quote the incendiary parts from The O'Reilly Factor For Kids. "Bill expressly asked me not to talk about it on the air," he says, but the book was the perfect counterpoint to O'Reilly's thinly constructed premise.

When Lange did quote from the book, the hotheaded host got so defensive that he labeled Lange a "pinhead" and cut him off when he tried to read the kiddie propaganda book's inflammatory passages.

As for what it's like being the kid who put a hurting on Bill O'Reilly, Lange says he is getting "a couple hundred Facebook requests a day" and letters from college professors, "just asking me to consider their schools when I apply to college." (He's also single, ladies.) As for any fallout with O'Reilly, Lange says Bill isn't so tough when he's not on the air, "He didn't say anything to me when the segment ended ... he just had his producers cut off my feed."

UPDATE: Fox reps say the "pinhead" statement remained in rebroadcasts of the O'Reilly-Lange segment (a sentence stating otherwise was removed from this item).

Gee, I saw that interview and Jesse (I won't say Mr. Lange because that means he deserves my respect) looked like an incompetent moron, defending the sex and drug education presenters who said condoms are unnecessary and drugs can be fun. Jesse need to get a haircut and come out of the 1990s with those glasses. He looked like a cross between Dee Snider of Twisted Sister and a pre-pubescent Howard Stern. The cartoon buzzards on Bugs Bunny comes to mind too. I thought O'Reilly wiped the floor with him but still gave him credit for trying.

Posted by: dbeesh on June 25, 2007 3:46 PM

Come on, dbeesh, you know that kid's getting more play than you ever did in high school. You're just jealous.

Posted by: Moon Over My Hammy on June 25, 2007 4:11 PM

Dbeesh: You wrote that the young man was "defending the sex and drug education presenters who said condoms are unnecessary and drugs can be fun." I assume that, just like Bill O'Reilly, have not actually read the transcripts of what was said and are simply regurgitating something the Bill told you was the truth. None of the speakers said "condoms are unnecessary." As for saying "drugs can be fun" while they did not say that either, I would assume any respectable person of this day and age would understand that drugs ARE fun - in the short term - and that is why they can be such a problem. However, back to the point: You should know of what you speak before you deride the speaker by using straw man arguments.

I think the stabilitiy of your position is belied by the rest of what you wrote. "Jesse need to get a haircut and come out of the 1990s with those glasses. He looked like a cross between Dee Snider of Twisted Sister and a pre-pubescent Howard Stern. The cartoon buzzards on Bugs Bunny comes to mind too."

Such ad hominem attacks are irrelevent and merely display your own childish mentality towards public discourse. Like O'Reilley, who called the young man a "pinhead" the moment he sense that he was going to get a well articulated rebuke from him, you resort to name calling. One must assume it is because you have nothing of value to add to the diuscussion. If you truley think that "O'Reilly wiped the floor with him" I think you should go back and watch the clip again and listen very carefully to what was said and ask yourself why O'Reilly, a person who should be open to the free flow of ideas and arguments, is so eager to cut the kid off as soon as he tries to quote O'Reilley's own book. the answer? because while Bill is eager to use misquotes (as corrected by the 'kid') and out-of-context statements, he can't stand it when his own words are used against him.

Posted by: grahamers on June 25, 2007 4:27 PM

dbeesh darling, time for a panty shields change. your heidi-ho whore stink hole smells like a dumpster behind a miami beach seafood restaurant, but that doesn't mean i don't love you. its just that my dog is so tired of having to wear lipstick and the blond wig when you come over to walk him.

Posted by: supergranny on June 25, 2007 4:34 PM

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Come on, dbeesh, you know that kid's getting more play than you ever did in high school. You're just jealous.

Posted by: Moon Over My Hammy on June 25, 2007 5:07 PM

O'Reilly may be the dumbest man working for nationalist socialist Rupert Murdoch.

Keith Olbermann has done more to expose screamer O'Reilly and his polarization machine than any other American, and his show's growing popularity reflects it.

The agenda of O'Reilly includes lying, dishonesty, and provocation without allowing reasoned discourse-a favorite strategy of those who tend to polarize America. The fact is, with so much negative attention lately, O'Reilly's hand has been getting called, and the result is his apparent mental meltdown.

http://www.light-to-dark.com/coulter_limbaugh_oreilly.html

This extension of Murdochian pet, Roger Ailes, appeals to the emotive aspect of viewers rather than elements of higher thinking, much the same way as Ann Coulter whose greatest enemy beyond Liberals is the First Amendment, operates. These extremist simply cannot tolerate people who actually think.

http://www.light-to-dark.com/ann_coulter_republican.html

Beck and Savage round out the caveman-level mentalities offered by the farthest right's provocateurs. Fox's Ailes, O'Reilly's boss, has proven to be the perfect reflection of his bosses' sensibilities and intent.

http://www.light-to-dark.com/ruperts_brains.html

The reason this nation survived so long is due to reasoned discourse, honesty, choice, liberty, and the courage to face all views-particularly dissenting ones. What we get from Shrill Bill is anything but fairness and integrity. He is the quintessential Foxian and will cut the mic from any voice that dares to threaten his argument.

The antedote for this destructive, divisive mindset is the restoration of the Fairness Doctrine, so that Fox and it's agents would have to offer more than a one-sided, continuous flow of nationalist socialist spewage. They would have to provide equal time to genuine dissenting views so that viewers could draw logical conclusions based on weighing choices, which our country and it's Constitution were founded upon.

I applaud Mr. Olbermann for shining a light on O'Reilly's circus of raucous imbalance and dishonesty.

Posted by: lthuedk on June 25, 2007 5:09 PM

Omigod. I can hardly believe that the old "jumped out the window thinking he could fly" LSD story is still making the rounds after all these decades. Who is the moron who told the kids that BS, apparently claiming that he personally knew people who died from LSD, including the apochyphal flier? Any kid who does LSD will immediately realize the stupidity of these stories and will distrust anything anybody ever says about it again. Lying is NOT the way to deal with drug use, though admittedly such stories might scare some kids away. More likely, though, it will undermine the credibility of the alarmists.
What really shocks me is that Jesse, who seems pretty sharp, seems to believe the lies about all these people who died from doing LSD. This is the kind of BS we're feeding our kids in school?

Posted by: President LIndsay on June 25, 2007 5:18 PM

wow... debeetch
you're a regular listener of fox and i'm high on freakin oxy and i got shit on them treehuggin liberal feminazis leftwingradical mfers.
btw, usuckdieinhell.

Posted by: exile on June 25, 2007 6:34 PM

I saw most of the segments where O'Reilly blasted the Boulder, the High School and its administration for holding the seminar. He edited and used statements out of context to try to paint the participants' statements to suit his agenda.

It was blatantly dishonest; he smeared the professionals, mischaracterized the purposes and outcomes of the seminar, and in general exercised deceitful reportage to insult Boulder and its inhabitants.

Jesse Lange was the second Boulder H.S. student to appear; despite the unfair playing field, Jesse exposed O'Reilly's hypocrisy and lies. O'Reilly's loss of composure was in stark contrast to Jesse's reasoned and prepared comments. O'Reilly really should pick on someone with his own IQ; perhaps he needs to go after an elementary school next.

Posted by: emerald on June 25, 2007 6:49 PM

Just wanted to add my 2 cents. Everybody knows O'reilly is a jackass and a windbag. He is a dirtbag and just one more sorry excuse for why all these conservative, fear and war-mongering neocons should all be lined up and shot. They are not Socialists as someone on this blog claims about mr. Murdoch. They are FASCISTS! Look up the terms. Neocons and conservatives like your president and vice-president are closer to HITLER than anyone else.

Posted by: nyyankee70 on June 25, 2007 10:05 PM

Anyone who still watches FOX Noise and still takes anything they say as news and FACT, should return back to the cave to finish evolving. You, Mr. dbeesh, are a moron and a typical conservative jackass. That's why all of you should be rounded up and put on Antartica together. You are too STUPID to be in a society that is supposed to be based on the ideals our country was founded on.

Posted by: nyyankee70 on June 25, 2007 10:08 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany

Nationalist Socialist Workers Party=Nazi Party.

I define fascism as militant corporatism.

Posted by: lthuedk on June 25, 2007 11:37 PM

Addenum:

My symbol for militant corporatism (fascism):

http://www.light-to-dark.com/dubya_who.html

Posted by: lthuedk on June 25, 2007 11:46 PM

grahamer, you need to preach tolerance to your hordes of haters and leave alone all of us who recognize reality. The reason O'Reilly cut off the kid was because he wasn't making a valid case in the time allotted even after several tries at the prompting of O'Reilly. The boy looked like a fool as he blubbered and that doesn't make for interesting TV. He need to go back to his gerri-curl hair stylist and talk about modernizing his look and find a rhinoplasty specialist.

And to supergranny, I thought that was YOU in the blond wig and lipstick. Guess I was walking the wrong b..er, dog.

Posted by: dbeesh on June 26, 2007 12:50 PM

Kudos to Jesse Lange--an extremely articulate and adept debater.

Man, this kid took names and kicked ass.

He knows that all you have to do to wipe the floor with Bill O'Reilly is keep your cool and let Bill O'Reilly be himself.

Bill does everything else.

Posted by: WTexan on June 27, 2007 9:46 AM

According to dbeesh: "Jesse need to get a haircut..." and "He need to go back to his gerri-curl hair stylist..." In addition to getting some help with his obsession with Jesse's locks, dbeesh "need" to go back to school and learn some grammar. Maybe he's just using caveman speak, which would actually make make a lot of sense being that he's a fan of O'Reilly. He might also consider borrowing those glasses he's making fun of from Jesse. Then he might be able to overcome his myopia, but I doubt it.

Posted by: pajmo on June 27, 2007 11:29 AM

According to dbeesh: "Jesse need to get a haircut..." and "He need to go back to his gerri-curl hair stylist..." In addition to getting some help with his obsession with Jesse's locks, dbeesh "need" to go back to school and learn some grammar. Maybe he's just using caveman speak, which would actually make make a lot of sense being that he's a fan of O'Reilly. He might also consider borrowing those glasses he's making fun of from Jesse. Then he might be able to overcome his myopia, but I doubt it.

Posted by: pajmo on June 27, 2007 1:26 PM

This kid managed to keep going whilst O'Reilly hectored him constantly. Good presentation, stuck to his guns and well spoken. Has a bright future; O'Reilly could learn something from him. Including manners.
Plus his grammer is better than Dbeesh's. Mind you he wasn't listening to what the kid said or he wouldn't be claiming the speakers advocated drugs. Obviously a Ditto-head; only hears what Bill tells him to.

Posted by: eddieb on June 28, 2007 7:25 AM

dbeesh... "The reason O'Reilly cut off the kid was because he wasn't making a valid case in the time allotted even after several tries at the prompting of O'Reilly."

When has O'Reilly ever made a valid case?

Posted by: iahawk44 on June 28, 2007 4:19 PM

This kid managed to keep going whilst O'Reilly hectored him constantly. Good presentation, stuck to his guns and well spoken. Has a bright future; O'Reilly could learn something from him. Including manners.
Plus his grammer is better than Dbeesh's. Mind you he wasn't listening to what the kid said or he wouldn't be claiming the speakers advocated drugs. Obviously a Ditto-head; only hears what Bill tells him to.

Posted by: eddieb on June 29, 2007 7:52 AM