Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis - The O'Reilly Update, September 21, 2023

Episode Date: September 21, 2023

AG Garland grilled by the House Judiciary Committee, government relaunches free COVID test program, the Federal Reserve holds interest rates, and a public service announcement from a Michigan fire department. Plus, Bill’s Message of the Day, the mixed legacy of Mitt Romney. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bill O'Reilly here. You are listening to the O'Reilly update. Coming up next, the news with Mike Slater. Thank you, Bill. It is Thursday, September 21st, 2023. Here's what's happening today in America. Garland in front of the house. Free COVID test for everybody.

Interest rates stay the same. And a very important public service announcement from a Michigan fire department that's all coming up. And then Bill will be here with. your message of the day, but first the Attorney General Merrick Garland went in front of the House Judiciary Committee. Many questions from Republicans about the Justice Department's role in the investigation of Hunter Biden. And Garland said he did not interfere with the investigation. He said, I'm going to say it again and again if necessary. I did not interfere with, did not investigate, did not make determinations. Congressman Mike Johnson asked,

have you had personal contact with anyone at the FBI headquarters about the Hunter Biden investigation? And Merrick Garland said, I don't recollect the answer to that question. The federal government has relaunched the free COVID tests sent to any American home who wants it. If you want it, you can get it. Starting September 25th, each household can request four tests. These are the rapid tests. Last winter, Biden promised one billion tests. Then the website shut down.

It was back up a month later. But then they shut it back down in June. And now it's back up again. This will cost $600 million. Sort of good news the Federal Reserve did not move the interest rates. It is expected that they will increase the rates one more time by the end of the year. But they say that there are enough signs that the economy is slowing that they could keep it where it is for now. It's been complicated this last year or so because good economic news is bad news and bad

economic news is good news. Like bad job numbers, for instance, well, that's good news for the feds because they want the economy to slow down because that's one way that inflation will go down. Bad economic growth. Well, that's good news because, again, they want the economy to slow down. So it's been very confusing. Public service announcement from a Michigan fire department. A woman in Michigan was at a boat launch at a lake.

She had to go to the bathroom, went to that. the nearby outhouse while on the toilet she somehow dropped her apple watch into the pole she couldn't reach it so naturally she decided to climb into the toilet to retrieve it where she got stuck police and fire were called they pulled her out with a rope so this is a good time to remind everyone as the michigan state police and fire wrote in their press release if you lose an item in an outhouse toilet do not attempt to venture inside serious injury may occur. I'm Mike Slater, Bill O'Reilly with your message of the day.

Next. 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. Time now for the O'Reilly Update, message of the day. On this Thursday, Senator Mitt Romney has announced he will not seek re-election in Utah, bringing out rabid partisans on both sides to malign him. So what does that say about Mr. Romney himself? Not much. I have known to senator for more than 20 years and believe his legacy is mixed. As governor, he ran the very liberal Commonwealth of Massachusetts pretty well. As senator, he lost his way feuding with

Donald Trump. As a presidential candidate running against Barack Obama in 2012, Mitt Romney totally blew it. In fact, one of the few arguments I had with Roger Ayles, the boss at Fox News, news was over Romney. I was reporting that although President Obama had some major weaknesses in his quest for re-election, Romney was far too timid in pointing them out. It was almost as if he feared Obama. Therefore, I analyzed Mitt was likely to lose. Well, Mr. Ells did not like my take. Fine, but I wasn't going to modify it because that was true. And Romney did lose. I took no pleasure in that, but my job is to call him as I see them, which I did right up till election day. The Trump thing was stupid. The former president

called Romney a loser. The senator despised him for doing that. So Romney voted to convict Trump in both Pelosi trumped up impeachments. Foolish. On balance, Mitt Romney is a flawed patriot, as many of us are. I'm Bill O'Reilly. I approve the the message by writing it, you can reach me. Bill at Bill O'Reilly.com, Bill at Bill O'Reilly.com, name in town if you wish to opine. Okay, let's go into the mailbag. Alan Hinks, Manchester, Vermont, beautiful town, Manchester, particularly in the autumn. Vibak Ramaswamy was very refreshing. Appeals to me, as I have a distrust of both parties, as a legal immigrant, I value my USA citizenship dearly at which the country remains the best spot on the planet.

Vivek may be a bit young, but his enthusiasm and bold thoughts are what our country needs. All right. So we had Mr. Ramoswami on yesterday. Got a lot of reaction to that. Sally Musselman, Trinity, Florida. Vivek was a great guest. Your interview was excellent, as always, O'Reilly, very insightful. But not everybody.

Robert, message board, Vivek, Ramoswame, reminds me of a fast-talking used car salesman. Oh, come on now. Pre-owned car salesman, that's a cliche. I know a lot of them and some of them are good guys. He has no chance of getting a Republican nomination. I agree with that. Tanya, concierge member, which means Tanya has direct access to me, it's an insurance policy for Tanya's life.

Bill Vovac is extremely naive about Ukraine. The Ukrainians are never going to surrender their Russian-speaking territory. I don't think either side is going to give a lot there, but eventually something will have to break. David, concierge member, Trump will keep on with his non-participation in the debates to his own detriment. Meanwhile, those debate participants will slowly gain ground.

Hasn't happened yet. Could, but Trump's way ahead right now. Neil Harrison, Arlington, Texas, how do you expect to reorganize the FBI without congressional approval? Neil, Congress doesn't have any to do with the FBI. He falls under the executive branch, the president. The president controls the Justice Department.

He appoints the Attorney General. He appoints the FBI director. I don't have anything to do with it. It just funds it. If a president wants to do away with the FBI, the president can do that by executive order. In a moment, something you might not know. 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, lawmakers, 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. Now the O'Reilly Update brings you something you might not know.

27 years ago today, President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation that blocked same-sex unions. The law lasted until the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage two decades later. Here is a story behind defense of marriage. Gay rights became a national issue during the 1980s because of AIDS. The disease caused court-battle. battles over inheritance, death benefits, visitation rights. To stop the legal confusion, same-sex marriage was first proposed in the early 1990s. In opposition, stood a bipartisan

group of Republicans and Democrats in Congress. The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, passed with a supermajority of 342 members of the House and 84 senators out of 100. President Clinton opposed the legislation, calling it, quote, unnecessary and divisive. But he signed the bill on September 21st, 1996, anyway. The law simply states, quote, the word marriage means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. And the word spouse refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband. or a wife. Years later, Clinton said he signed DOM to prevent a constitutional amendment that would forever ban gay weddings. Despite the legislation, many states soon recognized

same-sex marriage. Massachusetts authorized the unions in 2004, followed by California, New York, and Vermont. The discord between state and federal law ended on June 26, 2015. In a five to fore decision the Supreme Court rule that same-sex marriage is protected by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requiring all states to recognize gay nuptials. The case rendered the Defense of Marriage Act, quote, superseded and unenforceable. And here's something else you might not know. Today, there are about 180,000 married same-sex couples living in the the USA. That 0.3% of all marriages back after this. Hey, it's Sean Spicer from the Sean Spicer Show podcast, reminding you to turn into my show

every day to get your daily dose inside the world of politics. President Trump and his team are shaking up Washington like never before, and we're here to cover it from all sides, especially on the topics the mainstream media won't. So if you're a political junk, on a late lunch or getting ready for the drive home. New episodes of the Sean Spicer Show podcast drop at 2 p.m. East Coast every day. Make sure you tune in. You can find us at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Thank you for listening to the O'Reilly Update.

I am Bill O'Reilly. No Spin, Just Facts, and always looking out for you. Thank you.