QUOTE OF THE DAY…. As you may have heard, Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly appeared on “The View” yesterday, and the discussion didn’t go well. As part of an argument over converting a closed clothing store into a community center — oh good, we’re still talking about that — O’Reilly blasted Muslims, and two of the co-hosts were disgusted enough to walk off the set.
On “Fox & Friends” this morning, Brian Kilmeade, not surprisingly, criticized Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, saying they “couldn’t handle” the debate.
Kilmeade added, “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” He was, by all appearances, serious.
It’s more than a little upsetting that this kind of nonsense is deemed acceptable. Ideally, “all terrorists are Muslims” would be a “Rick Sanchez moment” for Brian Kilmeade, but that’s probably unlikely, since it’s Fox News and this kind of talk is painfully common.
I hesitate to treat this kind of ugliness with a substantive response, but given what we’ve seen of late, it’s hard to believe even someone of Brian Kilmeade’s abilities could overlook all of the recent domestic terrorism committed by non-Muslims.
Byron Williams recently plotted a terrorist scheme in California, and he’s not a Muslim. John Patrick Bedell opened fire at the Pentagon; Joe Stack flew an airplane into a building; Jerry Kane Jr. and his son killed two police officers in Arkansas; and none of them is Muslim. A Hutaree Militia terrorist plot was uncovered, and none of its members is Muslim.
Last year, James von Brunn opened fire at the Holocaust memorial museum; Richard Poplawski gunned down three police officers in Pittsburgh, in part because he feared the non-existent “Obama gun ban”; and Dr. George Tiller was assassinated. No Muslims here, either.
In 2008, Jim David Adkisson opened fire in a Unitarian church in Tennessee, in part because of his “hatred of the liberal movement.” And let’s also not forget the Oklahoma City Bombing. All brutal acts of terrorism, with no Muslim perpetrators.
If Kilmeade had said, “Not all Jews run media organizations, but all media organizations are run by Jews,” wouldn’t that be problematic? If he said, “Not all Roman Catholic priests are caught up in abuse scandals, but everyone caught up in abuse scandals is a Roman Catholic priest,” might there be some kind of pushback?
