"President Obama's new budget leaves Americans with a $2 trillion deficit and will run our debt up to nearly $13 trillion by the end of this fiscal year. We can't ever pay that off, and that means the country could go bankrupt. If that happens the U.S. dollar will collapse and we'll all be in big trouble. But that scenario may not happen - the American worker is so innovative and so effective that if the economy turns around and the feds cut spending we could get out of this. But the truth is we're all at great risk and few media outlets will tell you that. Instead, we have a partisan press which often lies, hoping to promote their vision of America. CNN and MSNBC are openly rooting for President Obama's big government vision; the New York Times and other far-left newspapers want the government to impose quasi-socialism, and the network news presentations are largely sympathetic to the liberal big-spending view. So guess what's happening? As Americans become more fearful about the economy, they're increasingly watching Fox News. The Factor is the dominant force in cable news because we have no partisan agenda. I do hope President Obama succeeds and the economy quickly improves, but I remain deeply skeptical of the emerging nanny state and the enormous costs of it. So we're going to watch the Obama administration and make sure that if the US does indeed face bankruptcy, you'll know it well ahead of time. And we're certainly on that road."

Political strategist Dick Morris entered the No Spin Zone and contrasted President Obama with his former boss Bill Clinton. "Obama sees rich people as the enemy," Morris alleged, "while Bill Clinton saw them as his deliverance. Clinton always understood that the way out of the budget deficit was to cut taxes on rich people and to cut the capital gains taxes. Obama sees them as one great big cookie jar and sees the government as an instrument to redistribute wealth. His primary goal is to expand government and pass his ideological agenda about health care and income distribution and helping the poor." Morris also explained why he feels Obama's tax-and-spend plans will fail. "If the top people stop spending money and stop hiring people and stop buying things, what are the other 90% going to get paid from? My bet is that none of this works and the economy will go from bad to worse."

News Link: Obama's bet on big gov

For another view, The Factor welcomed Democratic strategist Alicia Menendez. "We've been on the wrong path for the past eight years," Menendez said, "so people are happy to see that we're changing course. Right now I think of this as if we're giving an electric shock to America's heart, and once that is over we can talk about proper diet and exercise. Right now we have to do targeted spending to get America back on track." The Factor reminded Menendez that if foreigners stop buying American debt, this will turn into a catastrophe and "the pain will be ten times worse than it is now."

In the wake of the horrific chimp attack in Connecticut, Congress is considering a law that will make it illegal to sell or transport a pet chimp across state lines. The Factor spoke with Utah Congressman Rob Bishop, who opposes the legislation. "The law doesn't solve the problem," Bishop asserted. "The intelligent thing would be to say that no one can have a pet primate, but this law deals with interstate transportation and trade. If you're trying to stop monkeys from attacking people, then ban the concept of pet monkeys." The Factor urged Bishop and his colleagues to crack down on ownership of all exotic pets. "We have to protect the folks, and we have to have a law that is so sharply written that if somebody transports a chimpanzee the feds are on them. This would send a message."

News Link: House backs chimp bill

A Muslim man in Buffalo is accused of beheading his wife, a method of murder that is not uncommon in the Islamic world. The Factor explored the issue with Dawn Perlmutter, an expert in ritual murder. "A beheading is highly symbolic," Perlmutter pronounced, "it's all about restoring purity and honor. When somebody is disrespected, a Muslim man can 'restore his honor' through blood vengeance. In the Koran there are passages that require specific mutilations against your enemies, so the jihadists cut heads off because they are aligning themselves with an 'authentic' form of Islam." The Factor summarized that "the violence is used to control women and it's used to terrorize people and boost the status of the terrorists."

Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly analyzed the case of Sean Goldman, son of an American man and Brazilian mother. In 2004, when he was four years old, Sean's mom took him to Brazil, announced that she wanted a divorce, and declared that the boy would remain in Brazil. Sean is now the focus of an international dispute. "This poor father," Kelly reported, "filed a lawsuit and got a favorable ruling - a New Jersey court said this was kidnapping. But the Brazilian courts wouldn't enforce it, and in four years the father has only seen the boy one time. Even after the biological mother died, the court still won't give the boy to his father. Hillary Clinton met with Brazil's foreign minister, and they have to do the right thing. Everybody should be outraged over this." The Factor also asked Kelly why she broke out into a dance during her "America's Newsroom" morning show. "All this financial news we do is so depressing," Kelly explained, "so we've been looking for opportunities to laugh and we've been injecting our show with disco. I'm telling you, it's working."

News Link: Child caught between nations

Following President Obama's speech Tuesday night, NBC News White House correspondent Chuck Todd said he could not "find anything in that speech that nobody could really disagree with." Grammar aside, The Factor offered this Reality Check: "There were lots of things in the speech that folks could disagree with, just not NBC News folks." Meanwhile, would-be Senator Al Franken claimed he no longer "listens to Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly" since departing his low-rated radio program. The Factor's check: "Al, I don't think you stopped paying attention. I think you're still very jealous." Finally, The Factor mentioned that Thursday was the final broadcast of The Radio Factor after nearly seven years on the air: "Senator Fred Thompson will take my place on the Westwood One syndicated lineup, and good luck to him."

News Link: Video: Alan Keyes lashes out at Obama

Thursday's Patriot: Clint Eastwood, who received a lifetime achievement award from the Cannes Film Festival. And the Pinhead: Internet "star" Kim Kardashian, who posted photos of her pet chimp just days after the vicious chimp attack that left a Connecticut woman fighting for her life.

News Link: Clint Eastwood honored

Marjorie McCoy, Orange, CA: "O'Reilly, I am disappointed that you don't think there are earmarks in the stimulus bill. I get the truth from Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity."

Charlie Balter, Seattle, WA: "Bill, thanks for getting your facts straight with Laura Ingraham. ACORN will be competing for federal money, it is not being directly given to them. I appreciate your making that clear."

Ray Guile, Sacramento, CA: "Mr. O, by the time left-wing entities like ACORN actually get the stimulus money, it will be too late."

Clint Smith, West Jordan, UT: "O'Reilly, please remind Miller that President Obama said he opposes gay marriage and opposed Prop. 8 in California. Just one of the many examples of him playing it both ways."