This evening, Glenn Beck was on Bill O'Reilly's show, "The O'Reilly Factor." In the segment, Glenn Beck tells Bill that the American people don't have monetary or economic freedom and that one of the reasons we don't is because the U.S. government controls the monetary system. Bill's reply was, "all governments, big or small, always controls money and the monetary system."
Even though I would expect someone like Bill O'Reilly to say this, it really bothers me because his show is so widely viewed by conservatives, whom I believe are most likely to be in support of free money if only they were educated on the issue. I sent Bill an email, though I doubt he will ever actually read it, let alone post a public correction on his show.
We have a long, uphill battle ahead of us.
Depends on how he meant it, I suppose. While I don't like Bill-O, he could have simply meant it in a historical context, i.e. that governments have traditionally controlled the money.
Judging by his tone, facial expression and body language, he meant that he believes the government has the universal right to control the money and that arguing against such an idea is absurd.
jdcoffey: Judging by his tone, facial expression and body language, he meant that he believes the government has the universal right to control the money and that arguing against such an idea is absurd.
Well if O'Reily is still in favor of the Ponzi Scheme called fiat money in the federal reserve system, then he sure ain't goin'a wake up one day and go on air and say we need to rid the State. I can't believe we excepted otherwise. This is the largest Empire the world has ever seen, so, the people providing it legitimacy to grow to such enormity are going to have such Empire ambitions. Need more troops where Obama, oh, there... sure go ahead...lol
I sometimes watch the Factor and can enjoy it. He's not so bad at times. However, sometimes he can really get my goat. For example, the time when Cavuto was trying to educate him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1f7ICTAdVw
Speaking of Neil Cavuto, he is one of the talking heads closest to being Austrian, in my opinion.
Le Master: I sometimes watch the Factor and can enjoy it. He's not so bad at times. However, sometimes he can really get my goat. For example, the time when Cavuto was trying to educate him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1f7ICTAdVw Speaking of Neil Cavuto, he is one of the talking heads closest to being Austrian, in my opinion.
That's an interesting clip. Bill definitely jumped on the populist, anti-corporate bandwagon about gas prices and the oil company. Neil had a good position except when he agreed with Bill that the government should be regulating private business.
I also sometimes watch the Factor when American Idol isn't on (insert joke here) and I also can enjoy watching it. I always get frustrated when he goes on an anti-free market tirade like this, though.
Perhaps O'Reily should take a look at the history of government run currencies. Look at the Continental. Look at paper money throughout history. Then look at the purchasing power of pure, unadulterated by the government, gold. Once a paper currency can equal or exceed the stability of gold, then I would perhaps consider government paper as money.
I don't think Neil really agreed; he must've just given up with Bill, because I've heard him preach many a time against government regulation.
I don't mean to hijack this thread, but Neil freaked me out the other day at the end of his show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txc4yIxWPz0
You'll get a kick out of it.
Le Master: I don't think Neil really agreed; he must've just given up with Bill, because I've heard him preach many a time against government regulation. I don't mean to hijack this thread, but Neil freaked me out the other day at the end of his show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-iC5UkU0Y4 You'll get a kick out of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-iC5UkU0Y4
It's a good thing the topic of the video said that this was an April Fool's joke or I really would have been blown away! I did get a kick out of that.
O'Reilly likes to straddle the fence so much his balls are probably little pancakes by now. Thats how you get to be number one, I suppose.
I watch Bill and Glen sometimes but I don't like them very much. First, Bill does not now anything about the economy, and he is a bigot who supports things like Patriot Act and other anti-libertarian and anti-democratic means. Glen has some good moments, but he tends to be repetitive and sometimes very pathetic in this attacks on democratic spending while he turned blind eye much too often on republican spending until the last Bush days.
All these so called "conservatives" like O'Reilly, Hanity and Beck are discovering free market now ... it took them quite some time. In the meantime they were attacking people like Ron Paul who did not change his views like other chameleons. Warmongering fools.
Btw. Fox News has terrible panelists and guests. Every now and then Bill and Glen invite each other on their show.
But the very worst thing is not the ways in which they are anti-capitalists, but the ways in which they are, because Bill et al. offer absolutely the WORST arguments for capitalism. Hannity especially.
"Looks like turbo-tax cheat Tim wants to turn us into socialists. Socialism is un-American. Is that what you want? You want to be France? blah blah blah."
I hate to think that someone out there is watching these guys and thinks that this attitude captures the essence of free market ideology. There is an awful dearth of intelligent libertarians in the media, though I'm glad to see Hannan on from time to time.
Bill clearly knows a lot about libertarianism...
http://www.billoreilly.com/video?chartID=558&vid=-162406836469238550