Oh please Mr. Jon Stewart, take him up on his challenge.

[sufrommich]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rLdN98d9Kw


I would watch Bill O'Reilly to see this.

[JohnnyRingo]

1. Therein lies the rub.

That people on both sides would tune in to "The Factor" is the only reason O'Reilly wants to debate Stewart. I believe as many do, that Fox show hosts really care little about Common and much about moving on after a series of Obama victories and retraining media coverage of the White House to faux outrage over petty issues. Throwing one hurdle of nonsense after another at this president is a Fox tactic that goes back to when Rev Wright was "the single most important issue facing America" during the campaign.

Having said that, I'm not sure I want Stewart to take the bait and give O'Reilly the ratings and satisfaction that he changed the nation's conversation from Obama's recent accomplishments to a deep discussion of who's reading age appropriate poetry to schoolchildren in the West Wing. I'm sure O'Reilly would like to throw some dry tinder on a not so fiery issue that was starved for fuel to begin with, and will no doubt be abandoned as soon as a new shiny object moves into their field of vision.

[sufrommich]

2. I don't think Stewart would allow the debate to be strictly

about Common, he would no doubt debate the issue of Fox creating daily faux right wing outrage against the president.

[JohnnyRingo]

16. That's a good point

Though it's on O'Reilly's dime and he can set the tone of the debate, it'd be interesting to hear Stewart reveal the Fox News agenda of dropping a tired B-side on the turntable and spinning it at 78rpm.

[jillan]

3. How could anyone debate O'Reilly? All O'Reilly will do is shout over Jon and

interrupt Jon.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

15. And Then Have His Mic Shut Off

That's how EVERYONE on Faux "debates" with ANYONE who disagrees with them. Remember when O'Really? agreed to "debate" Michael Moore back in 2004? If a boxer dodged punches as well as O'Lielly evaded Michael Moore's question, he'd be undefeated.

In short, it SOUNDS like a good idea when you're discussing it beforehand, but the reality of the situation is that a right-wing screamer will NEVER allow a debate to be a "fair fight." You'll always end up disappointed.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. This is what I don't understand about cop reasoning.

I always wondered why the cops were more protective of their own clique, than the people who they have sworn to protect. The response I received when I asked, was that if someone killed a cop, they would kill anyone.

Okay. That sort of makes sense.

But, then, when Stewart points out Johnny Cash and Ted Nugent lyrics that espouse death to ordinary people, that's not equivalent? Why isn't the reasoning going the other way?

[jberryhill]

5. Well, you don't often see football players tackle the referees either

Actual cop killers are particularly dangerous criminals.

Song lyricists... not so much.

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. You know, I'm having trouble with your metaphor.

Why are cop killers any more dangerous than a serial killer that targets women, for instance?

[jberryhill]

10. Because....

When there are serial killers that target women, for example, we send cops to find them.

It's not that they are any more "dangerous" in terms of lethality, but it is the same kind of thing that makes HIV - a virus that goes after the body's ability to fight diseases - a high-priority concern.

Put another way... Meningitis is a virus that kills people. HIV is a virus that kills people by going after the mechanism by which the body fights viruses and other infections.

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. I'll chew on that for a while.

Though I think the imbalance in perception results in an imbalance in justice.

[jberryhill]

14. In what sense?

Someone arrested for murder is going to get the option of pleading or going to trial.

If you are talking about "justice" in the sense of resources or priority of investigation, the perspective of the police is that if someone is out running around killing cops, then that certainly is an impediment to their safety in responding and investigating any other crime at all.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. Anyone who kills a cop, becomes a cop killer.

Even if the killing wasn't premeditated. That's where the imbalance begins. Take a 7/11 hold up. Why would a robber who shoots the store manager, not be as much of a priority to the police force, as someone who shoots a cop while he's shooting over his shoulder while he's running away?

[jberryhill]

20. Because that's one less cop to respond to the next ten 7/11 robberies

I guess the cops operate on the assumption that having cops on the street is one way to prevent or respond to crime. So, taking a cop off the street tends to affect that, unless they have an infinite supply.

[The Backlash Cometh]

21. That's probably the best explanation I've heard.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

[hfojvt]

19. the Cash lyrics did not espouse death to ordinary people

that's why I speculated that they may have been taken out of context. The Cash song was about a guy singing the blues because he had done cocaine and killed somebody and now was in prison for life. It was a song of regret, not a song saying "hurrah for the murderer!".

As for cop killing, it's a little bit like any other authority. In basketball, you get called for a foul if you slam another player to the ground. If you slam a referee into the ground, that would be a much more serious penalty - ejection from the game and multi-game suspension. Same in football. Unsportsmanlike conduct, late hits, hitting another player is a fifteen yard penalty. Striking a ref would be ejection, suspension, etc. Same thing in school. Get into a fight with a fellow student and get suspended. Get into a fight with a teacher and get expelled.

[maxsolomon]

6. O'Reilly doesn't "debate"

He harangues, he shouts over you, he bullies, he cuts off your mike. Stewart and he are collegial enough that there's no fucking point to discussing this absurd invented controversy.

Fucking Sister Souljah redux.

[Yavin4]

8. Fox News Is Getting Desperate

The Common "controversy" has no legs at all. No one is paying attention to it. They're doing everything they can to slow down Obama's momentum heading into 2012.

If the economy improves and gas prices stabilize, then the Republican party is dead in 2012.

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. Bill says

The debate would have to be on neutral grounds BTW

otherwise he'd cut the mic.

[KansDem]

13. If you're a Stewie Griffin fan...

Stewie Griffin, reporter

[buddysmellgood]

12. What is it, exactly, that Common has said that is so offensive?

[JohnnyRingo]

18. "I support Barack Obama"

While that's the obvious reason he's drawing fire from the anti-Obama channel, they dug into his catalogue looking for vague references to violence. If it was The Beatles, Fox would highlight two or three phrases of "Revolution" to accuse them of touting unAmerican values to schoolchildren.

It's much ado over nothing to draw attention away from a string of Obama victories from the birther issue to bin Laden.

[jberryhill]

22. It's the way he says it - in that dark skin and all /nt

[ChoppinBroccoli]

23. This Just In: Jon Stewart Has Accepted The Challenge

He will be on The O'Really? Factor Monday night, if you can stand to watch it.

This bit of news is the very last line of the following report: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/how-fox-news-fueled-this-weeks-common-non-controversy

Las Vegas oddsmakers are now hard at work trying to set the line on how many minutes into Stewart's appearance it will be before Bill O'Lielly orders his flunkies to shut Jon Stewart's microphone off.