March 29, 2009 - Pensito

A few weeks ago, the Alexa Foundation, a group that offers support to rape victims, made the bizarre decision to invite right-wing propagandist Bill O’Reilly to speak at a fundraiser. O’Reilly, who is married, was famously sued by a Fox producer for making unwelcome sexual advances, has also made a statement on the air in which he suggested that a young woman who was raped and murdered had dressed in a way that invited attack:

O’REILLY: Now Moore, Jennifer Moore, 18, on her way to college. She was 5-foot-2, 105 pounds, wearing a miniskirt and a halter top with a bare midriff. Now, again, there you go. So every predator in the world is gonna pick that up at two in the morning.

On March 1, Think Progress reported the story that O’Reilly would be speaking at the Alexa Foundation fundraiser and published O’Reilly’s comment in which he said Jennifer Moore was complicit in her own rape and murder. A little over two weeks later, O’Reilly sent his goon squad out to ambush a Think Progress editor:

On Saturday, March 21, Fox Newsâ€™ Bill Oâ€™Reilly sent one of his producers to stalk, harass, and ambush ThinkProgress.orgâ€™s managing editor Amanda Terkel. Upset over a ThinkProgress report that noted Oâ€™Reillyâ€™s insensitivity to rape, Oâ€™Reilly sent two men to track Amanda in a car for two hours, and then confronted her with hostile questions while she was on vacation.

Since then, Think Progress has launched a campaign to notify O’Reilly’s advertisers about his thuggish tactics:

Sadly, Amanda is just one of at least 40 different victims of Oâ€™Reillyâ€™s Harassment Machine. Oâ€™Reilly has hired producers whose job is to track, harass, and intimidate anyone whom Oâ€™Reilly perceives as an opponent. Thatâ€™s not “journalism” — thatâ€™s a mafia-style operation. And we need to put an end to it.

On Friday, the first of these advertishers — UPS — agreed to cancel future ad campaigns on O’Reilly’s show:

In response to our Stop Supporting The Oâ€™Reilly Harassment Machine campaign, UPS told us yesterday that it was investigating whether to continue supporting Oâ€™Reillyâ€™s show. “We are sensitive to the type of television programming where our messages and presence are associated and continually review choices to affect future decisions,” spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg told us.

Today UPS announced it will stop advertising on Oâ€™Reillyâ€™s show. Here is the statement UPS emailed out just moments ago:

“Thank you for sending an e-mail expressing concern about UPS advertising during the Bill Oâ€™Reilly show on FOX News. We do consider such comments as we review ad placement decisions which involve a variety of news, entertainment and sports programming. At this time, we have no plans to continue advertising during this show.”

To find out what you can do to support Think Progress’ campaign to Stop Supporting The O’Reilly Harassment Machine, go here.

Day: March 29, 2009

UPS Cancels O’Reilly Ads In Response to Campaign Against Fox News Stalker Journalism

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.