When internet techy kids calling themselves “Anonymous” hacked into Sarah Palin’s email account (which, apparently, was ludicrously easy and only really borderline hacking – someone clicked the “Forgot password” link, and answered her ‘secret question’ which apparently was a piece of personal trivia well published on the internet, then got her password mailed to them) Bill O’Reilly was all over it. Cyber Terrorists was what he described Anonymous as.
Anonymous responded by hacking Bill O’Reilly’s site and posting his subscriber list.
Now I’m not saying what Anonymous did there is right; clearly they abused lax security in both cases. But if Bill O’Reilly was as “fair and balanced” as he likes to pretend, he’d be all over this story.
Basically, a 14 year old brat bereft of proper morals and education gets his brother to videotape him beating up his cat, twice, and posting it on YouTube. Since Bill O’Reilly is too busy worrying about underage fathers and single mothers of lots of children, he let this one completely pass him by.
Anonymous didn’t.
Within 24 hours, hackers operating under the “Anonymous” moniker discovered the brat’s name, identity, facebook account and address. These details were posted publically, and called in by concerned citizens to the authorities, who obtained a warrant to search the premises for the cat in the video. On finding the cat, charges of animal abuse will now be brought against the brat and his brother. The cat, and a different cat which was also abused by the teenagers, was taken into shelter, and will be adopted out to a more loving family. With any luck the teenager will end up in indefinate youth detention and will end up feeling much like that poor cat by the time he’s finally released.
But what has “Culture Warrior” O’Reilly had to say about Anonymous finding and bringing to justice this brat and his brother?
Nada. Zip. Absolutely nothing. No congratulations, not even a mention. Anonymous may well have saved the life of that cat and possibly other animals if this little sadist had decided that beating up animals on camera was fun and gone on to abuse other animals – and Bill O’Reilly can’t even afford Anonymous 15 seconds to name them patriots in his “pinheads and patriots” segment.
People like O’Reilly make me sick. Full of bluster and “it really grins my gears” hot air, but when it comes to someone actually championing someone or something in need, not a word. Whichever “Anonymous” found that brats address did a public service. Time people like O’Reilly either shut the hell up about themselves being “culture warriors” or “champions of the common man” – or gave these guys the praise they so richly deserve for a job well done.