O'Reilly on the Pirates

Bill O'Reilly and his kind (Rush, Hannity, Beck...) are narrow thinkers. They don't realize bigger problems and solutions. They only see what they see and the only react to what they see. They have small vision and kneejerk responses.
O'Reilly predictably pokes fun at the "loons" on the left who are looking at the bigger problem: Why are there Somali pirates? Realistically and pragmatically, if we can address that question, we can find better solutions. Poverty is often the bigger picture problem, even here in the U.S. No one is saying that excuses criminal activity. They're just looking at the problem from a higher level of thinking, finding the root of the problem. People aren't pirates just to be pirates. People don't cross the border of Mexico just to break the law. 
Everyone is trying to make a living and if they can't, sometimes that leads to criminal action. It's amazing what happens to morality when you're faced with the threat of extinction. But folks on the right like to view these things in the simplistic Us vs. Them, right vs. wrong, good vs. evil, because of small thinking. 
This kind of thinking holds us back from progress.
O'Reilly also calls the right's criticism that Obama is encouraging piracy "absurd." He happens to be right about that.

Obama Silences His Critics?

I don't think so.
It's like the birth certificate issue. No one on the right will be silenced. They have a personal disdain for Obama that's deeper than they would ever acknowledge. The right, including Newt Gingrich politicized the hostage situation and you could almost sense that they hoped it would end in disaster, so they could call Obama a failure. It was quite shameful on their part. They are nothing short of pathetic on this one. I'm wondering when the moderate republicans are going to start speaking up.  
Another thing, Obama was underestimated yet again, just as he was during the campaign. Did the right really think Obama wouldn't take any action? Or did they just feel compelled to criticize when they had no clue what they were talking about. I'm sure they won't be letting up any time soon. 

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Obama Quiet on Pirate Attack

Newt Gingrich Twitters that the U.S. shouldn't negotiate with the pirates, as if he knows anything that's going on.

The correct answer to piracy is to destroy it not negotiate with it Seals can retake the lifeboat Track every boat leaving somalia

I believe, Newt, that the Obama administration is trying to save the life of the captain and I'm sure there's a plan underway.

On Thursday, the second day of the incident, the White House portrayed Obama's role as an attentive listener who was getting frequent progress reports — but not getting directly involved in the decision-making of any operations.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs put the focus on an interagency group on maritime safety that includes representatives from the departments of State, Homeland Security, Commerce, Energy, Defense and Transportation, as well as the FBI and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
.....
Since taking office in January, the president has proved willing in many cases to field off-the-cuff questions from reporters at the close of events at the White House, even on matters differing from his focus that day.

But not in this case.

When reporters asked the president directly about the incident on Thursday, he demurred. Instead, he stayed on his message of the day, saying: "Guys, we're talking about housing right now." MSNBC
Apparently, the media has contacted the pirates: