John Edwards was on the David Letterman show last night. Some of you may be familiar with O'Reilly's attacks on John Edwards for giving voice to the needs of 200,000 homeless veterans. On the Letterman show, both Dave and John Edwards perfectly described O'Reilly:
Dave: "Well, you what I’ve noticed about Bill O’Reilly, and he’s a marvelous communicator, but he doesn’t really care much about telling the truth." (audience laughs)
Edwards: "Yeah, I’ve noticed the same thing."
Dave: "Very entertaining, and I like when he’s on the show, but if you say one thing – "
Edwards: "But most of what he says is crap."
Got to agree with John Edwards on that one. More, after the fold.
Last week, I wrote a diary about O"Reilly's vicious and false attacks on John Edwards for telling people about 200,000 homeless vets: O’Reilly "Has No Idea What He’s Talking About" Re Homeless Vets
Like with much of the reality of the Two Americas, FoxNews wants to keep the truth hidden. "There is no poverty; there are no homeless. And if there is, then they had it coming" is their mantra. They exist to mislead people and obfuscate reality. So, while it can be fun to criticize O'Reilly, there is a real and important point to this. The first step to making real change is showing the truth of the Two Americas, to lifting the false fog that the media perpetuates. FoxNews is the most obvious, but don't think that the rest of media is innocent. This diary has some fun parts and some sad parts, but the subject is serious: one of many, many aspects of the Two Americas and how the media obscures reality in support of the current power relationships in this nation.
I'll briefly recap the story and then add some new details since my last diary on this. Then, I have the video of John Edwards on Letterman. The video is about six minutes long, and quite funny for the most part. I also have a link to a transcript for those who cannot watch the video at work or for other reasons.
For at least a month, John Edwards has been giving voice to the 200,000 homeless vets as he campaigns. (For examples, see O’Reilly "Has No Idea What He’s Talking About" Re Homeless Vets).
O'Reilly claimed that John Edwards was lying about the number of homeless vets, but, as usual, it was O'Reilly who was wrong:
Media Matters, the Washington Post, and others, including the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, showed that Edwards is right. There are as many as 200,000 homeless vets.
On the January 15 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly again baselessly challenged Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards' January 3 claim that "tonight, 200,000 men and women who wore our uniform proudly and served this country courageously as veterans will go to sleep under bridges and on grates."
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In fact, Edwards' claim that there are 200,000 homeless U.S. veterans is supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
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The Washington Post reported that it had confirmed the veracity of Edwards' claim, noting on January 7:
the figure is an official one, from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Media Matters
John Edwards called out O'Reilly while speakng to room full of homeless veterans in Nevada last week:
[S]peaking in front of a roomful of homeless vets, Edwards responded, "I heard that, last night, Bill O'Reilly, who's a talk show host, who's heard that I have said this about hundreds of thousands of veterans who don't have a place to live, and were homeless. And he challenged me about whether that's true or not, whether, in fact, we have that many veterans who don't have a place to live, and some of them are sleeping under bridges. Well, he ought to start by coming to Las Vegas, if he wants to know what's going on.
"America has the responsibility to do something about this. We do. And the fact that this talk show host, Bill O’Reilly, is willing to speak out that blatantly, when he has no idea what he’s talking about, is an example of how America doesn’t understand the problem, doesn’t understand how serious this issue is."
ABCNews blog
Fox Attacks did some quick research and found many homeless vets, adding some powerful anecdotal evidence to the rebuttal of O'Reilly.
I went to U.S. Vets in Inglewood, California. US Vets is the largest non-profit organization in the US dedicated to helping homeless and at-risk veterans with temporary housing, counseling, and employment assistance. The facility currently houses up to 500 homeless veterans.
I talked to over a dozen homeless vets, some who had served as far back as the Korean War, and showed them the clips of BOR denying or dismissing their existence. The reactions to the clips were quite similar — a shaking of the head in disbelief, a derisive chuckle or snort, and a deep sigh when the videos were over. Some of the veterans couldn’t believe that anyone could be so clueless and naïve, while others wondered why BOR hadn’t bothered to do any research before making such a dubious claim. Twice.
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Let me be very clear: the veterans in this video are homeless. Soldiers are trained to adapt and survive, and many have adapted so they can survive being homeless.
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Through the work of U.S. Vets and the US Department of Veterans Affairs, these men have roofs over their heads, food, counseling, and a support system, but they are homeless. They have a temporary place to stay, but they do not have homes.
These veterans are homeless, they exist, and no matter what BOR says, there are way too many of them.
FOX ATTACKS! "Non-Existent" Veterans
Here's the Fox Attacks video of interviews with some homeless vets.
After being rebutted, O'Reilly shifted his attack.
In his zeal to undermine Democrat John Edwards Bill O'Reilly ignores the facts - again - and denies homelessness among vets. He changes his tune quickly to argue that addiction and mental illness are the problem, not poverty, ignoring that the two frequently go hand-in-hand.
It is hard to watch O'Reilly, because he is full of crap. There is a good clip of Edwards in this that O'Reilly uses.
From newshounds.com (We watch FoxNews so you don't have to)
Here's video of John Edwards on the David Letterman show last night. It's a fun interview and not always serious, as one might expect with Letterman. He speaks about O'Reilly late in the interview:
Dave: "Well, you what I’ve noticed about Bill O’Reilly, and he’s a marvelous communicator, but he doesn’t really care much about telling the truth." (audience laughs)
Edwards: "Yeah, I’ve noticed the same thing."
Dave: "Very entertaining, and I like when he’s on the show, but if you say one thing – "
Edwards: "But most of what he says is crap."
Like with many things, Edwards is right on that.
Some other highlights on Letterman:
Dave: "What was about that melee like last night? What was that like? You were right there."
Edwards: "It was easy being the – what I was trying to do was represent the grown-up wing of the Democratic Party last night." (audience, Edwards laugh; audience applauds)
Edwards: "I think this is a long haul. I mean, I think that there are three of us, it’s very hard for anybody to get to 50% when there are three of us taking a sizable chunk of the votes. I think it’s going to last a while."
You can read the entire transcript here if you can't watch the video.
Transcript of John Edwards on Letterman
John Edwards is continuing to speak out for the voiceless, including homeless vets.
"Tonight, 200,000 brave veterans will be homeless, and they will sleep in shelters, on the streets, under bridges, and on grates – and Bill O’Reilly doesn’t think there is a problem. For someone who spends a lot of time shouting about patriotism, you would think he would be outraged by the treatment of our homeless veterans. How many more will it take before we wake up and solve this crisis?
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"While George Bush and Bill O’Reilly continue to ignore our homeless veterans, the American people, whether we are Democrats, Republicans, or Independents, must speak out and stand up for those who have stood up for us. We must do everything we can to solve this terrible problem – and we must begin by reaching out to these men and women who are suffering – not pretending they do not exist. After our veterans have served our country honorably, isn’t one homeless veteran one too many?"
Edwards Stands Up To Bill O'Reilly On Behalf Of Homeless Veterans
Much of what O'Reilly says is crap. Indeed, Bill O'Reilly is full of crap. So is the Republican Party and the corrupt system he shills for.
If you want John Edwards to continue to give voice to the voiceless and to stand up For the grown-up wing of the Democratic Party, then go to johnedwards.com and hit Contribute
Update I: The AFL-CIO shows O'Reilly about patriotism:
Tell Bill O’Reilly: Hundreds of Thousands of Vets are Homeless
by Mike Hall, Jan 22, 2008
Bill O’Reilly, the obnoxious, belligerent, ranting loudmouth of Fox News, is at it again.
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This time, O’Reilly is going after homeless veterans—men and women who served in the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines. He claims the homeless group is "nonexistent."
Earlier this year, O’Reilly mocked former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) for pointing out that nearly 200,000 veterans are homeless, "sleeping on grates...and under bridges."
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In fact, the Department of Veterans Affairs says that in 2006 there were 195,827 homeless vets on any given night. That figure could be higher. In November, we reported on a study by the National Alliance to End Homelessness that estimated more than 336,000 vets were homeless sometime in 2006.
There are a lot of people who would like to say a thing or two to O’Reilly, and the folks at FoxAttacks are giving you an opportunity. You can click here and join the more than 15,000 people who have e-mailed a letter to O’Reilly demanding that he apologize for his remarks.
AFL-CIO