Duck Season

Telephone shenanigans are a pet peeve of mine. From today's episode of Crossfire:

CARLSON: OK.

Well, on yesterday's program on telemarketing, some of you may have seen it. I jokingly gave out what I said was my home phone number. In fact, it was the main number of the Washington bureau of the Fox News Channel.

(LAUGHTER)

CARLSON: I thought it was funny. Fox did not think it was funny.

(LAUGHTER)

CARLSON: Apparently, many of our viewers called that number, hoping to speak to me. Instead, they reached a grouchy Fox switchboard operator.

Well, to our viewers, I'm sorry I gave you that bad information, even in jest. Last night, Fox responded by posting on its Web site my unlisted home phone number, the phone number where my wife and four small children often answer the phone, as they did last night, during dinner, when the first of several hundred Fox viewers called to scream obscenities at them into the phone.

Fox had every right to be annoyed by what I did, amusing as I thought it was. They had no right to invade my privacy or to enable their followers to threaten my family.

(APPLAUSE)

CARLSON: And you know what, James?

(APPLAUSE)

CARVILLE: I say this seriously. You have four children. One of your child is in the third grade, the same classroom as my child. And you know what my definition of an operation that would scare the dickens out of little children and a mother living at home and a lot of times you being out of town?

This is a pond scum operation that would do that, that would terrify children, that would put something like that up there for the bunch of nuts that watch that thing to call and harass you.

(APPLAUSE)

CARVILLE: You pulled a joke. If they want to go adult-to-adult, person-to-person, that's fine. You're big enough to take it. They have no right to be scaring the dickens out of children, out of little children, when their daddy's out of town. And they ought to be ashamed of themselves.

CARLSON: OK.

CARVILLE: Ashamed of themselves for doing that.

(APPLAUSE)

CARLSON: Well, thank you, James.

Incidentally, we have Roger Ailes' home phone number, but we're not going to give it to you.

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: No, I wouldn't do that, because Roger Ailes has a small child. He showed me the picture of it. I think Roger Ailes is a good man.

CARLSON: OK.

CARVILLE: I don't think he was behind this.

"It." Heh.