On The O'Reilly Factor...

• Talking Points Memo
  Hillary Clinton and the Benghazi Report
• Personal Story
  Craziness on Campus
• Factor Followup
  Examining Domestic Terrorism
• Is It Legal?
  NYPD Beard Lawsuit
• Back of the Book
  Bathroom Change at National Parks
• Factor Mail
  Viewers Sound Off
• Tip of the Day
  Some Breezy Summer Reads
  
  

All content taken from The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. Each weeknight by 6 PM EST a preview of that evening's show will be posted and then updated with additional information the following weekday by noon EST.

"The terror attack that killed four Americans in Libya on September 11th, 2012 was an act of war. Yet the Obama administration does not see it that way and only one person is under arrest. The attack was marginalized, first described as a spontaneous uprising, then spun as partisan politics. Talking Points would like to lay out the truth. The Republican House report has concluded the following: Almost immediately after Ambassador Chris Stevens came under attack, State Department officials in Washington knew exactly what was happening. Greg Hicks, a State Department official in Libya, was talking to D.C. and says there was no discussion about any video prompting the attack. It was quickly apparent that the terrorists were organized and those Libyans hired to protect the ambassador had run away. Then, hours after Stevens was murdered, there was a big meeting in the White House. Approximately half of it was spent on politics, not trying to get American assets into Libya to protect the remaining Americans there. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered the military to go to Libya, but that did not happen. It is unclear why the military did not carry out Panetta's mandate, and President Obama did not order an investigation to find out. Here's the worst part: Even though President Obama did not himself say videos caused the terror attack, his ambassador to the UN Susan Rice did say that and her statement was not corrected by the White House. The Republican report says the government failed to protect Ambassador Stevens and the three other Americans who were murdered and that the Obama administration misled the world after the fact. Now, the Democratic side of the committee. Congressman Elijah Cummings, about as partisan a man as there is in the House, led the response. Democrats on the committee still do not know what motivated the attack and will not concede the video thing was a ruse. They say administration officials did not make intentionally misleading statements, even though Ambassador Rice obviously did not put forth the truth. Finally, even though the State Department's security was 'woefully inadequate,' Secretary Clinton had nothing to do with that. Talking Points is not blaming Hillary Clinton for Benghazi, but any fair-minded person knows the administration has consistently downplayed terror attacks. Fort Hood, Orlando, and Benghazi. Explanations: workplace violence, gun-driven domestic terrorism, and a video. Come on. The question is whether this will hurt Hillary Clinton in her run for the presidency. Those who support her are not going to turn against her. Those who despise the secretary already believe she mismanaged Libya. In the middle are aimless Americans who kind of wander around not really knowing anything. Are they likely to pay attention to the report? No. So, will Benghazi hurt Hillary Clinton? Most likely not."

If you haven't heard of 'micro-aggressions,' you haven't been following some of the nuttiness on American campuses. One professor at the University of North Carolina actually claims it is inappropriate to discuss playing golf or to celebrate any religious holidays. Also taboo, in her opinion, are words like husband, wife, boyfriend, and girlfriend. The Factor invited Juan Williams and Lisa Boothe to opine. "This is not the official policy of the University of North Carolina," Williams pointed out, "it's a blog of one professor. This is an open discussion and I'm all for intellectual freedom." Boothe lamented that the North Carolina controversy is merely the tip of the iceberg. "This is happening on college campuses across the country. Students are being coddled, they are not being exposed to a diversity of opinion and free-flowing information. There is left-wing indoctrination on campuses." The Factor blasted the insanity that rules on so many campuses: "It takes a lot to offend me, but I'm offended by this. This PC madness is sweeping the country, it's fascism on campuses."

The Factor welcomed William Braniff, who has spent much of his academic career studying domestic terrorism, some of which is perpetrated by radical left-wing organizations. "Groups like the Animal Liberation Front and the Environmental Liberation Front," Braniff explained, "typically use arson or sabotage to destroy facilities. They attack businesses to make their points. Both those groups are tightly networked and often recruit one another into the movements, they tend to be highly active." Braniff added that far-right anti-abortion extremists have also engaged in "a number of attacks against Planned Parenthood facilities."

A Pakistani-American named Masood Syed, a veteran New York City police officer, is suing the city because he wants to grow a longer beard. Legal analysts Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl scrutinized his case. "He's suing in federal court," Wiehl reported, "citing freedom of religion and expression. He's been wearing a one-inch beard, but then he ran across a boss who said he is not in compliance with the rules. I think the officer is right!" But Guilfoyle argued that Syed and his beard are both out of line. "He signed an agreement saying he would comply with the department policy, but he is now saying his rights are being violated. It's not that the department is saying he can't have a beard, they're just limiting it to one millimeter."

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has decreed that visitors to national parks can use the bathroom of their choice, whatever their biological gender. Greg Gutfeld and Bernard McGuirk were, as always, not reticent to opine. "I don't identify as a human being," Gutfeld declared, "I identify as an animal. So in a national park I should be able to use a tree, why use a bathroom? If our identities are fluid we should be able to go wherever we want." McGuirk ridiculed the bathroom dustup as an exercise in pure silliness. "This is a solution in search of a problem, there was no problem. The feds are bending over backwards for a tiny minority at the expense of women and children. This can be abused by perverts."

Sean May, Cardiff, Wales: "The European Union allows an open immigration policy for its 28 countries. Last year 180,000 came into the UK on their own. But another 150,000 entered because of the open border EU policy."

Tom McManus, Basile, LA: "Bill, I just moved back to the USA after living for 23 years in the UK. You are correct. The main driver for leaving the EU was uncontrolled immigration from Muslim nations."

Tom Young, Dallas, TX: "Bill, please tell Kirsten Powers there are kids coming across the Texas border without families here. We house them in largely unsupervised homes, and they often disappear."

A few books that may interest you include 'Valiant Ambition' by Nathaniel Philbrick, 'To Hell and Back' by Ian Kershaw, 'Foreign Agent' by Brad Thor, and '1964' by Thomas Brennan.