Tonight's guests are Bill O'Reilly on The Daily Show and Justin Simien on The Colbert Report.
Copypasta from last Tuesday:
Bill O'Reilly is a television host, political commentator and an author. His latest book is Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General
Readers around the world have thrilled to Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, and Killing Jesus--riveting works of nonfiction that journey into the heart of the most famous murders in history. Now from Bill O’Reilly, anchor of The O’Reilly Factor, comes the most epic book of all in this multimillion-selling series: Killing Patton.
General George S. Patton, Jr. died under mysterious circumstances in the months following the end of World War II. For almost seventy years, there has been suspicion that his death was not an accident--and may very well have been an act of assassination. Killing Patton takes readers inside the final year of the war and recounts the events surrounding Patton’s tragic demise, naming names of the many powerful individuals who wanted him silenced.
Bill O’Reilly’s lame excuse for his awful ‘Killing Patton’ blunder
To be as charitable about this as possible, I now have to wonder if O’Reilly read his own book.
“Killing Patton” lacks almost any narrative at all. It is a Great Dismal Swamp of a book, with themes suddenly arising from the mist of some researcher’s industrious endeavors. As Lawrence O’Donnell illustrated the other night on his MSNBC show, you can open the book anywhere and find some transparent diversion from the essential Patton story. “Killing Patton” is as padded as a puffy winter coat.
I flip open the book one more time. Now I am at a chapter that begins with the Potsdam Conference of 1945. “President Truman wants a word with Joseph Stalin,” it begins –and then meanders all over the place. We learn that the “tablecloth and chairs at the negotiating table are bright Russian red.” We learn that Truman is offended when an army officer offers “anything you like while you’re here – anything in the way of wine and women.” We learn a bit about Robert Oppenheimer, who directed the development of the atomic bomb. All of this is mildly interesting, although hardly new, and has almost nothing to do with Patton. He was neither in FDR’s bedroom nor at Potsdam.
But how is it possible to write over 300 pages on Patton and not once mention his rancid Jew-hatred? How is it possible to mention the flower beds at the Potsdam Conference and not pause to cite Patton’s mistreatment of people who, just a short time before, had been in Auschwitz? How is it possible not to mention that Patton ran his camps in such a manner that President Harry Truman, in a letter to Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, said, “As matters now stand, we appear to be treating the Jews as the Nazis treated them except that we do not exterminate them.” Golly, gee, Bill, isn’t that colorful enough for you?
Beyond his book, I assume they will also be discussing O’Reilly’s plan to save the world by creating an actual Team America: World Police
In an interview with “CBS This Morning" on Tuesday, O’Reilly doubled down on the idea he proposed on his show the night before: the creation of a force of 25,000 soldiers deployed by a coalition and serving under U.S. authority.
“That would be a permanent force, and it would take the politics out of it,” O’Reilly said. “What’s killing the West now in this fight on terror, and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin as well, is the politics of it. Can’t get anything done quickly, can’t mobilize fast. So, it’s going to happen. This anti-terror army is going to happen.”Bill O'Reilly wants to create a global mercenary force to combat ISIL
I went digging into my Youtube favorites to find some alternative viewing in case people need to bail on the BillO interview. First up is Icehouse Great Southern land which should be Australia's official national anthem.
The second selection is Slowdive Shine, beautiful visuals and perfect hazy shoegaze.
Justin Simien is a writer producer and director known for his movie
Dear White People
The lives of four black students at an Ivy League college converge after controversy breaks out due to the ill-conceived theme of the campus humor magazine's annual Halloween party.
He also has a book out with the same name Dear White People
In the satirical tradition of the New York Times bestseller Stuff White People Like comes this witty companion book to the “incredibly entertaining” (Indiewire) film of the same name, which “heralds a fresh and funny new voice” (Variety).
Right out of college, Justin Simien wrote a screenplay about the nuanced experiences of four black students on a predominantly white college campus. The film, Dear White People, garnered a Sundance Award for “Breakthrough Talent” and has been hailed by critics everywhere. Channeling the sensibility of the film into this book, Simien will keep you laughing with his humorous observations, even if you haven’t seen the satiric film.
News Flash—the minimum number of black friends needed to not seem racist has just been raised to two. Rather than panic, readers are advised to purchase a copy of Dear White People. Whether you are a dear white person wondering why your black office mate is avoiding eye contact with you after you ran your fingers through her hair, or you’re a black nerd who has to break it to your white friends that you’ve never seen The Wire, this myth-busting, stereotype-diffusing guide to a post-Obama world has something for you!
With decision-making trees to help you decide when it’s the right time to wear Blackface (hint: probably never) and quizzes to determine whether you’ve become the Token Black Friend™, Dear White People is the ultimate silly-yet-authoritative handbook to help the curious and confused navigate racial microaggressions in their daily lives.
Based on the eponymous, award-winning film, which has been lauded as “a smart, hilarious satire,” this tongue-in-cheek guide is a must-have that anybody who is in semi-regular contact with black people can’t afford to miss!
Dear White People combines comedy and hard-to-swallow truth in a way that is forcing many viewers to take a second look at the country they have already deemed as “post-racial.”
The setting is the fictional Winchester University, where the Black population is miniscule and the acceptance of those students on campus seems relatively nonexistent.
It’s a story that is all too common in many universities in America, however, Dear White People director Justin Simien is one of the first filmmakers to tackle the subject head on.
“I always felt like this conversation had a very pop sensibility to it,” Simien told SF Gate. “I think Dave Chappelle set us up. I think Spike Lee set a path back in the ’80s and ’90s. I was like, why hasn’t anyone done a movie like this? I was surprised that I’m one of the first to sort of head-on take on that issue.”
‘Dear White People’ Schools America on Modern-Day Racism
It sounds both interesting and entertaining and I'm sure it will also be controversial, especially over at Fox News.
This Week's Guests
THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART
Th 10/16: Bryan Stevenson
THE COLBERT REPORT
Th 10/16: Bill Deresiewicz
Next week is still up for grabs.