Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis - The O'Reilly Update, December 26, 2024

Episode Date: December 26, 2024

Manifest destiny 2.0, the Pope calls for peace on earth, Biden signs 50 bills, and the most intoxicated states in the country. Plus, the Message of the Day, Trump and the Panama Canal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bill O'Reilly here. You are listening to the O'Reilly Update, sponsored by Tax Network USA. America's number one choice for tax resolution. Please go to TNUSA.com slash bill or call 800-245-6-0-0. Coming up next, the news with Mike Slater. Thank you, Bill. It is Thursday, December 26th, 2024. You're listening to the O'Reilly update.

Here's what's happening today in America. Manifest Destiny 2.0. The Pope calls for peace on earth. Joe Biden signs 50 bills. A new survey ranks the most intoxicated states in the country. That is all coming up. Then I'm going to be here with your message of the day. We'll talk more about this first story here.

And also something you might not know about the man behind Rudolph the red nose reindeer. But first, Donald Trump publishing a series of posts on Trump. true social about expanding the United States, floating out, well, I would say floating out again the idea of taking over Greenland. He didn't really float it out as much to say it's an absolute necessity that we control Greenland. Obviously, the prime minister of Greenland and head of Denmark, not too thrilled about it, but I don't know if they heard the part where Trump said it's absolutely necessary and also stating that we need to take back the Panama Canal. That's what will be the theme of our message of the day coming up next.

Economists say that the island of Greenland is worth more than $1.5 trillion. The last time the United States added a new state to the union was back in the 1950s. Greenland is currently run by Denmark, and there's actually precedent for us taking territory from Denmark before. We gave them $25 million for the Virgin Islands back in 1917. Pope Francis delivered his Christmas address from the Vatican, leader of the Catholic Church, issued a somber warning, urging nations to find peace. He said to the politicians in Ukraine, Russia, the Middle East, quote,

think of the wars, think of the machine gun to children, think of the bombs being dropped on schools and hospitals. President Biden signed 50 pieces of legislation in these now just final few days in office. One piece of legislation designates the bald eagle as the official bird of the United States. How was that not already, I think? We'll go over the other pieces of legislation more next week. A report from the Alcohol Consumption Institute ranks the most intense, intoxicated states in the country, top five this year. Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota,

and number one, Wisconsin. Would you have guessed that? Thirty-one percent of adults in the Badger State consume 15 drinks between Friday and Sunday. More than a third of driving deaths in Wisconsin are alcohol-related. The most sober places in America, Utah, Maryland, Idaho, and Oklahoma. message of the day about the Panama Canal next let's face it the U.S. economy is under stress national debt rising trade war shaking the markets and meanwhile China is dumping the dollar and stockpiling gold that's why I protected my savings with physical gold and silver through the only dealer I trust American Hartford gold and you can do this get precious metals delivered to your door or place in a tax advantage, gold IRA.

They'll even help you roll over your existing IRA or 401K, tax and penalty-free. With billions in precious metals delivered thousands of five-star reviews and an A-plus from the Better Business Bureau, you can trust American Hartford Gold as I do. Please call 866-3-2-6, 55-76, or text Bill to 99, 9-9,000. 8-8-9-9. Again, that's 866-326-5576-5576 or text bill to 998899. This is Mike Slater, filling it for Bill O'Reilly. Now it's time for the O'Reilly update. Message of the day. Trump didn't so much declare war the other day as much as declare a desire to possess certain areas around the world. We'll talk about Greenland tomorrow. today, let's talk about Panama. Trump wrote on Truth Social yesterday, Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful

soldiers of China, who are lovingly but illegally operating the Panama Canal, always making sure that the United States puts in billions of dollars in repair money, but we will have absolutely nothing to say about anything. The reason why Trump wants the Panama Canal is because, first of all, it's ridiculous that Jimmy Carter ever gave it away in the first place. We built that canal. The French tried first. actually.

So the only way to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific or vice versa is to go all the way around the southernmost tip of South America. So the pandemic canal is a nice little shortcut. Saves about 9,000 miles and 22 days. And now you can make it through the canal in about 8 to 10 hours.

So you can imagine the economic significance but also the military significance and Jimmy Carter is giving it away. And now China has a greater presence there than ever before. They've built bridges and rail lines and commercial ports and they just opened up a cruise ship terminal. But we built it. Well, the French tribe from 1880 to 1889.

They were hot off the successful digging of the Suez Canal in 1869 to connect the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. And they said, well, let's keep building canals everywhere. Well, 22,000 people died building that canal. And they finally gave up. One Frenchman said, death was our constant companion. I shall never forget the trainloads of dead men being carted away daily as if they were just so much lumber. They gave up, and then we came in. We were planning on building a canal through Nicaragua, but when the French quit, we said, well, let's just do it there.

We had better machinery and better engineering and a better plan with locks, and we controlled disease better. And we had more money, and we needed it because we knew that this would cement America as a global superpower. It took us 10 years to build, and almost 6,000 Americans died when we built it. And then Jimmy Carter just gave it away. Absolute suicide if we lose control of that canal. So Trump wants it back. We are 75% of all the cargo that goes through the canal each year. Trump said the fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary

generosity that's been bestowed to Panama by the U.S. this complete rip-off of our country will immediately stop. Trump then said if the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving, are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in full and without question. We are by far the biggest users of the port, but China is the second biggest customer, and they control two of the five ports right next to the canal. One of the reasons why Teddy Roosevelt was in such support of the canal is that it would demonstrate to the world that we are a global superpower. They finished in 1914 and we're able to pull off this massive engineering fee and we can now project military power around the world and we're the top dog.

And then Jimmy Carter, his worldview, was that we shouldn't be the best. We shouldn't be the strongest. And we should demonstrate our national humility in handing this gem over to the people of Panama. Well, the Chinese have swooped in and have taken it for themselves. David McCullough wrote in his book about the Panic Canal. The 50 miles between the oceans were among the hardest ever won by human effort and ingenuity. And no statistics on tonnage or tolls can begin to convey the grandeur of what was accomplished. And I believe we have every right to demand it back.

Something you might not know coming up next. Power, politics, and the people behind the headlines. I'm Miranda Devine, New York Post columnist and the host of the brand new podcast, Podforce One. Every week I'll sit down for candid conversations with Washington's most powerful disruptors, lawmakers, newsmakers, and even the president of the United States. These are the leaders shaping the future of America and the world. Listen to Podforce One with me, Miranda Devine, every week on, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. You don't want to miss an episode.

I'm Mike Slater, filling it for Bill O'Reilly. Now, it's time for something you might not know. I have a story about Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. You think, at Slater, I don't need to hear. It's the day after Christmas. I already have the tree down. But listen, this story still works because it's about Christmas, sort of, but every day we're getting closer and closer to Doge. Department of Government Efficiency and I think we can tie him both here. Robert May was the writer of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

It was 1939 and he was working as a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward catalog. And the boss has asked him to come up with a new Christmas character and they said it make it sort of like Ferdinand the Bull, which Disney came out with the year before. And he was also a fan

of the story of the ugly duckling. So we combined the two and came up with this reindeer and he came up with it on a foggy night. The original rhyming in the book is way different than what we know today about the song And we'll get to the song in just a minute It's actually not that good His boss literally told him

Can you come up with anything better But he went to his friend in the art department To draw some sketches And that finally convinced the boss Montgomery Ward ended up printing Two million copies that year Now Robert May made no money off of this He was still a copywriter

His wife also died of cancer that year And he had a ton of medical bills That he couldn't pay And every year, Montgomery Ward printed more and more copies. In 1946, they printed 3.6 million copies. But then the board of directors decided to give Robert the full copyright to root off the red nose reindeer. That's when his brother-in-law put it into a song, and they shopped it around.

Bing Crosby said no. Perry Como said no. Gene Audrey said no. Until Gene Audrey's wife said, yes, put that in the album. Became a number one song, second highest selling Christmas song of all time behind White Christmas by Bing Crosby. Now, Robert left Montgomery Ward to focus on marketing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and he was super successful with it.

But, and this is the thing that makes it relevant to today, the top tax rate at the time was 91%. So he made almost no money off of it. Uncle Sam made plenty. Seven years later, he had to go back to working as a copywriter for Montgomery Ward. Can we make sure this never happens again? Can we live in a country where people can always take risks and make a killing? And not be punished for it.

Let's work on getting that income tax closer to what it's been for most of American history. Zero. Low taxes for all. And to all a good night. I'm Mike Slater. Phelan for Bill O'Reilly. We'll be right back. Hey, I'm Caitlin Becker, the host of the New York Postcast,

and I've got exactly what you need to start your weekdays. Every morning, I'll bring you the stories that matter, plus the news people actually talk about, the juicy details in the worlds of politics, business, pop culture, and everything in between. It's what you want from the New York Post wrapped up in one snappy show. Ask your smart speaker to play

the NY Postcast podcast. Listen and subscribe on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Mike Slater from the podcast, Politics by Faith. Thank you, Bill, for letting me fill in. Hope you have a wonderful rest of your day and we'll be back tomorrow.

Thank you.