 On Point Vincent Carroll, editor of the editorial pages, writes his On Point column most weekdays. He is also an author and freelance writer. Reach Vincent Carroll at carrollv@RockyMountainNews.com. |
Carroll: Know your opponent
Unburdened by anything so trivial as facts, Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly wrapped up his on-air sparring with Dave Kopel on Monday night by dubbing our Rocky media critic a “secular progressive.”
He didn’t mean it as a compliment, needless to say.
O’Reilly’s book Culture Warrior chronicles, in his own words, “the intense war between my side (traditionalists) and the secular-progressive corps.” And O’Reilly can spot an S-P almost before the fellow opens his mouth. It’s a clairvoyant gift of some kind. Or so he seems to believe.
Which brings us to the point of this little tale: Even a psychic like O’Reilly really should try to learn more than a single fact about a man before announcing to the nation that he’s in league with the enemy.
The single fact O’Reilly knows about Kopel is that he has defended a panel at Boulder High School that condoned teen sex and drug use — hence the reason for Kopel’s appearance on O’Reilly’s show.
To tell the truth, I can’t fathom why Kopel defends that panel, either. I’ve read his column on the topic (“Talk-show hosts amok,” June 2), discussed it with him in private, and watched him butt heads with O’Reilly. But I’ve also listened to a tape of the panel and read the transcript. It was beyond the pale, no matter what Kopel says.
But since when does one opinion qualify anyone for a comprehensive label? As I watched O’Reilly pull out the S-P tag, it occurred to me that even I didn’t know to what extent it fit Kopel — and I’ve known him for years. “Progressive”? On a few issues, absolutely, but clearly not on others. Secular? I had no idea.
Turns out Kopel is a “Catholic fellow traveler,” he says, who attends church with his Catholic wife and children. What might shock O’Reilly even more, Kopel is responsible for the Web page marylinks.org, a compilation of what he describes as the world’s best links about the Virgin Mary.
“I hope this page helps you consider, create or strengthen your own spiritual or intellectual links with Mary,” Kopel states in his introduction.
Can you imagine an ardent secularist spending his time on such a labor of love? O’Reilly may have succeeded in slipping in his culture warrior sound bite, but it was, in this instance, recklessly, boorishly wrong.
Bill Gates’ enduring legacy
More than 200 years after Adam Smith, some people still can’t concede that commerce qualifies as one of life’s noble pursuits. So they ask questions like this one recently put to Bill Gates:
“Bill, even your harshest critics would have to admit that your philanthropy work is planet-shaking, incredible and could be, if you make it, a second act so amazing that it would dwarf what you’ve actually done at Microsoft. If you had to choose a legacy, what would it be?”
Some business icons might take the bait and wax fatuously about how their true passion was finding worthy subjects for charity — but not Gates, fortunately.
“The most important work I got a chance to be involved in, no matter what I do,” he said, “is the personal computer. That’s what I grew up with, in my teens, my 20s, my 30s. I even knew not to get married until later because I was so obsessed with it. That’s my life’s work.”
Yes, that’s his life’s work: Being one of the major players in a technological revolution that helped transform the economy while improving the lives of untold millions. How could Gates’ philanthropy, as marvelous as it may turn out to be, possibly “dwarf” that?
Vincent Carroll is editor of the editorial pages. Reach him at Carrollv@RockyMountain
News.com.
O'Reilly is an idiot. The sooner you figure that out the better off you will be.
Posted by It's True on June 6, 2007 12:42 PMIt's funny that Vinnie should bring up that show...Colorado Media Matters did a delightful piece on it here:
http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200706060001
No doubt Vinnie will no doubt make another dubious appearance on their site tomorrow for this column.
Posted by jay on June 6, 2007 05:52 PMAnd we should be surprised that O'Reilly labeled (and mis-labeled) Kopel? We thought facts were relevant to his show? Let's face it, like most talk radio guys, his primary interest is in stirring up negative emotions in his target demographic (generally older white men). Niche marketing (of ideas).
Posted by anderson on June 7, 2007 02:16 PMLife Imitates Art. O'Reilly is the real-life incarnation of Paddy Chayefsky's character Howard Beale in the movie "Network" (1976) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0074958/). O'Reilly is "mad as hell and isn't going to take it anymore!"
Posted by Jack Woehr on June 7, 2007 04:32 PMVince Carroll provides some of the best insight and clearest thinking on a subject as I read anywhere. Usually I cannot disagree with him and it may be fair that Kopel does not deserve O'Reilly's label but the BHS panel was too much in character for the leftist-liberals from Boulder.
Posted by R Jones on June 8, 2007 08:30 AMO'Reilly lost a liable suit yesterday for making up lies about a judge in New England. He had numerous death threats and now has a $2 Million judgement against O'Reilly. Hard for me to believe that anyone takes O'Reilly seriously. Check out the lawsuit that he settled with his former employee and he is exposed as a scumbag.
Posted by just sayin' on June 8, 2007 10:49 AMOReilly wants you to think he's Howard Beale. Actually, I think he and his fellow provocateurs take their inspiration from Lonesome Rhoades (Andy Griffith) in "A Face in the Crowd" (1957)
"Lonesome Rhodes: This whole country's just like my flock of sheep!
Marcia Jeffries: Sheep?
Lonesome Rhodes: Rednecks, crackers, hillbillies, hausfraus, shut-ins, pea-pickers - everybody that's got to jump when somebody else blows the whistle. They don't know it yet, but they're all gonna be 'Fighters for Fuller'. They're mine! I own 'em! They think like I do. Only they're even more stupid than I am, so I gotta think for 'em. Marcia, you just wait and see. I'm gonna be the power behind the president - and you'll be the power behind me!"
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