Topic category:  Religion & Philosophy in the News

In 2007 Bill O'Reilly was left in stunned silence when Laura Ingraham chided him for sexploitation.

On April 2, 2013 Ingraham chided O'Reilly for using the Bible thumping epithet while being interviewed by her and he angrily responded by talking over her.

Each time O'Reilly looked foolish.

How a fellow who calls himself a "T-Warrior" and a Catholic can rail against citing the Bible to support a public policy position is inexplicable.

The "separation between faith and life" was condemned by the Second Vatican Council as "among the more serious errors of our age."

As Father James Poumade stated in a homily delivered on May 30, 2004: "Being a practicing Catholic means following the will of God as revealed to us through Scripture and Tradition and the teaching authority of the Church."

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stressed that (1) "[t]here cannot be two parallel lives...the so-called 'spiritual life,' with its values and demands; and...the so-called 'secular' life, that is, life in a family, at work, in social responsibilities, in the responsibilities of public life and in culture" and (2) "the[] proper task [for lay Catholics is] infusing the temporal order with Christian values, all the while respecting the nature and rightful autonomy of that order, and cooperating with other citizens according to their particular competence and responsibility."

In 2006 O'Reilly boasted that he is a "T-Warrior." (Since then, Obama was elected and reelected President.)

See "Bill O'Reilly Calls Himself 'T-Warrior'" (http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2465303&page=1):

"In an interview with Barbara Walters at his waterfront home in Long Island, N.Y., O'Reilly explained the 'culture of war,' the crux of his new book.

"He said it was a war pitting traditional Americans -- those who believe the United States is noble -- against those who are secular progressives and believe the country is fundamentally flawed.

"'It's the traditionalists who really want to keep the country pretty much the way it is,' O'Reilly said. 'Against the secular progressives who want drastic change. … They control the media.'"

"O'Reilly comes from a blue-collar background and lives with his wife and two young children in an upscale community.

"Standing at 6 feet, 4 inches, he can resemble a formidable culture warrior at times.

"He even calls himself, 'T-Warrior,' short for 'traditional warrior.'"

O'Reilly should have learned in 2007 to avoid debating with Laura Ingraham on cultural issues. She stands up to him and either reduces him to stunned silence or silly shouting.

As I wrote in "'Cultured warrior' Laura Ingraham lambasts 'culture warrior' Bill O'Reilly" (www.renewamerica.com/columns/gaynor/070226):

"It is memorable for fans of television/radio personality and best-selling author Bill O'Reilly and his frequent guest and occasional substitute, Laura Ingraham, the television/radio personality and best-selling author whom he called 'the Czarina.'

"It is especially memorable for the many fans of both stars, articulate advocates of traditional family values and therefore top targets of secular extremists.

"What is memorable is that 'the Czarina' upbraided Mr. O'Reilly on 'The O'Reilly Factor' (and even Fox Cable), and rightfully so.

"'The Czarina' did what MSNBC competitor Keith Olbermann has tried so hard to do for years, without success: expose Mr. O'Reilly as part of the problem and reduce him to silence.

"Since 'the Czarina' has not been back on 'The Factor' since, there are questions as to how big a man Mr. O'Reilly really is and how long it will take for him to acknowledge, privately and publicly, that 'the Czarina' made use of 'the no spin zone' to tell him an important truth to which he apparently had been oblivious and thank her for doing it!

"Ironically, 'the Czarina' became a 'national figure' (and her legs became nationally known) when she appeared on a New York Times Magazine cover in a miniskirt in 195 to explode the myth (together with other beautiful conservative women) that liberal women are better looking.

"What happened on 'The Factor' on February 1, 2007?

"What did 'the Czarina' say that reduced Mr. O'Reilly to stunned silence?

"'The Czarina' confronted Mr. O'Reilly about all the sex laden videos played on 'The Factor' and elsewhere on Fox Cable, such as video of a woman bathing in the sun.

"She asked the older Mr. O'Reilly whether there was a 'rampant mid-life crisis' going on with the male anchors on FOX.

" 'Czarina': 'What's the purpose?' 'We don't care about coffee shop babes' (a bland, but clear, reference to a segment about a drive through coffee shop with hooter type cashiers in very short skirts that Fox Cable had been running regularly.

"With Mr. O'Reilly taken aback, 'Czarina' pressed her point, by inquiring why Mr. O'Reilly had done a segment on naked parties at Brown University and whether he thought the parties were a cultural phenomenon.

"'Czarina''s point: we don't need to see the naked bodies at the party or a bikini clad babe for a plastic surgery segment?

"Mr. O'Reilly was speechless.

"'Czarina' took advantage of that to scold Fox Cable's Neil Cavuto for the 'Girls Gone Wild' segments on his show.

"Mr. O'Reilly joked, 'He's demented,' but 'Czarina' was serious and the champion of severe punishment for child abusers was mortified by his guest's sharp, but sound, criticism.

"With Mr. O'Reilly stunned, 'Czarina' administered the coup de grace: she asked if he was a 'T-Warrior' and when he eagerly affirmed that he was, she responded, 'Then act like it!'

"Enough said (hopefully)."

Alas, enough was not said. O'Reilly even claimed on his April 2, 2014 show that he was "disappointed in" Ingraham (for calling him on the Bible thumping slur instead of reflexively providing support for him in his dispute with Rush Limbaugh). It is O'Reilly who is disappointing, crude and cranky and Ingraham who is "bold" and "fresh" (and not crude).

Jay Leno, who is a bit younger than O'Reilly, is scheduled to leave "The Tonight Show" next and be replaced by Jimmy Fallon next year. Fox News should retire O'Reilly and replace him with Ingraham.

Michael J. Gaynor

Biography - Michael J. Gaynor

Michael J. Gaynor has been practicing law in New York since 1973. A former partner at Fulton, Duncombe & Rowe and Gaynor & Bass, he is a solo practitioner admitted to practice in New York state and federal courts and an Association of the Bar of the City of New York member.

Gaynor graduated magna cum laude, with Honors in Social Science, from Hofstra University's New College, and received his J.D. degree from St. John's Law School, where he won the American Jurisprudence Award in Evidence and served as an editor of the Law Review and the St. Thomas More Institute for Legal Research. He wrote on the Pentagon Papers case for the Review and obscenity law for The Catholic Lawyer and edited the Law Review's commentary on significant developments in New York law.

The day after graduating, Gaynor joined the Fulton firm, where he focused on litigation and corporate law. In 1997 Gaynor and Emily Bass formed Gaynor & Bass and then conducted a general legal practice, emphasizing litigation, and represented corporations, individuals and a New York City labor union. Notably, Gaynor & Bass prevailed in the Second Circuit in a seminal copyright infringement case, Tasini v. New York Times, against newspaper and magazine publishers and Lexis-Nexis. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed, 7 to 2, holding that the copyrights of freelance writers had been infringed when their work was put online without permission or compensation.

Gaynor currently contributes regularly to www.MichNews.com, www.RenewAmerica.com, www.WebCommentary.com, www.PostChronicle.com and www.therealitycheck.org and has contributed to many other websites. He has written extensively on political and religious issues, notably the Terry Schiavo case, the Duke "no rape" case, ACORN and canon law, and appeared as a guest on television and radio. He was acknowledged in Until Proven Innocent, by Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson, and Culture of Corruption, by Michelle Malkin. He appeared on "Your World With Cavuto" to promote an eBay boycott that he initiated and "The World Over With Raymond Arroyo" (EWTN) to discuss the legal implications of the Schiavo case. On October 22, 2008, Gaynor was the first to report that The New York Times had killed an Obama/ACORN expose on which a Times reporter had been working with ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief.

Gaynor's email address is gaynormike@aol.com.