Many of you may not know you can buy a Bill O'Reilly
paper weight for only $35 US, but you should be warned, it appears he's being dishonest about where the profits go. Or atleast where he has said they've gone in the past.
Bill O'Reilly took an e-mail from a viewer today that read:
"Mr. O'Reilly, you tell viewers that a portion of the proceeds from the Factor Gear go to charities. In the interest of full disclosure and because of your demands on celebrities, why don't you tell us the percentage."
O'Reilly responded, in way not lacking in snideness, saying "Well I have many times Mr. Chapelle, you must be a 'new' viewer. ALL of the money I derive from factor gear goes to charity."
I force myself to watch the show quite often, so I was wondering if that was true, since I remember him saying that "some of the" money would go to charity on various occasions. In a Lexis search of his show I came up with 5 instances in which he said that "a portion" or "some of" factor proceeds go to charity. They are:
July 18, 2002
How about that Web site where you can get the FACTOR gear. The windbreakers are sharp and any signed books you want for birthdays, upcoming celebratory occasions, www.foxnews.com/oreilly. Remember, some of the Gear proceeds go to charity.
October 1, 2002
And we've got THE FACTOR gear. And, remember, some of the proceeds go to charity. It's getting a little chilly out there. A little October deal. You know, get that windbreaker. Sharp-looking windbreaker, OK. Your friends will be envious.
November 22, 2002
Most importantly, a substantial portion of the gear proceeds to help poor Americans who want to improve themselves. Details on the Web site. But I am telling you now because we want you to get your orders in time for Santa's ride, if you know what I mean. If you don't, it could be ridiculous.
June 5, 2003
Well, you're welcome, George. Wear them in good health. Know that some of the proceeds go to charity, and have a great Father's Day.
November 25, 2003
For all your holiday shopping needs, billoreilly.com where you can get signed copies of Bill's book "Who's Looking Out For You?" and the latest edition to THE FACTOR Web site, baby gear, "The Spit Stops Here" bibs. I'm not kidding. Get them for baby's first holiday on billoreilly.com. When my girls were that young, they weren't available. I would have bought them. And as always, a portion of the proceeds goes to charity.
Now in Bill's defense, he was correct that he has noted before that "all of the money" goes to charity. But has he told us "many times" as he condescendingly stated today?
I found two instances of him mentioning that all of the proceeds from factor gear going to charity. Both of them in response to e-mails. They are:
October 3, 2003 Friday
Bob Wood, Pomfret Center, Connecticut: "Bill, my spin meter goes into overdrive every time I hear you say that some of THE FACTOR gear proceeds go to charity. How about a bit more specificity?"
Well, just this once, Mr. Wood, because I don't answer personal questions and charitable donations are personal. All of the money that I get from FACTOR gear goes to charity. And it is a substantial amount.
December 2, 2002
Matthew Ryan, Bronx, New York, "Bill, I've heard you mention that some of the proceeds from THE FACTOR gear go to charity. In the interest of full disclosure, which you expect from Jesse Jackson and the Red Cross, what is the exact percentage that is donated?"
Well, Mr. Ryan, because I don't take public money or donations, the full disclosure deal does not apply. I would not, for example, tell anyone my salary, but, in the interest of charity, I will tell you that all the money I receive from FACTOR gear is given to charity. All of it.
Now maybe 2 times is "many times" to him, but it still seems suspicious to me that he would consistently say that only some of the proceeds are going to charity if they all are. Especially since he demands so much of other celebrities that deal with charities, insisting that they detail how they are helping out.