Blotchy man threatens radio audience

In December, I wrote about Bill O'Reilly's imaginary "War on Christmas," which seems to me just another thing to whip up outrage among middle-aged, angry white men and distract them from the problems that are actually deserving of their outrage. Of course, to those of us who don't buy into O'Reilly's on-air pant-hoot calls, all this makes him look rather paranoid.

This week, something interesting happened on his radio show that helps to reinforce my opinion of the man. Here is a transcript of him threatening a caller:

Bill O'Reilly: Orlando Florida -- Mike, go.

Mike: Hey, Bill. I appreciate you taking my call. Uh, I like to listen to you during the day. I think Olbermann--

O'Reilly: There you go, Mike. He's a gone guy. You know, we have his... we have your phone numbers, by the way. So if you're listening, Mike, we have your phone number, and we're going to turn it over to Fox security, and you'll be getting a little visit.

Lis Wiehl(?) Edith Hill: Maybe Mike is from the mother ship. [Mark M: WTF???]

O'Reilly: No, maybe Mike is gonna get in big trouble. Because we're not gonna play around. When you call us, ladies and gentlemen, just so you know, we do have your phone number. And, if you say anything untoward, obscene, or anything like that, Fox security then will contact your local authorities, and you will be held accountable. Fair?

... And unbalanced, as usual. I hate giving the guy free publicity, but I think the above transcript does a good job of exposing him as the bully that he is. I imagine a number of listeners must have been scratching their heads, asking, "What did 'Mike' do?" It seems he said the magic word: Olbermann.

[06 March 2006 17:32:00] Correction: According to mediamatters.org, O'Reilly's radio sidekick on Thursday was E.D. Hill.