Guests: James Rosen & Carl Cameron
"Some Americans are upset that President Obama shook the hand of Cuban leader Raul Castro at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela. For more than 50 years the Castro brothers have terrorized Cuba, causing many to flee to the USA, and many of them are not happy about President Obama's engagement with Castro. But the goal of any American president should be to alleviate the suffering of people, those in Cuba included. President Obama has not lessened sanctions against Cuba, and by treating Castro with a measure of respect he leaves the door open for future negotiations. In 1972 President Nixon flew to Beijing at a time when the Chinese were even more brutal than today. He did what was right for America and reduced tensions with China. In 1985 President Reagan began developing a relationship with Soviet leader Gorbachev, and that ended very well for the USA. Spitting in the eye of dictators and tyrants is a good photo-op, but it doesn't get us anywhere. Raul Castro is a thug, his country is a disaster, and when the Castro brothers die Cuba will throw off communism and return to sanity. In the meantime, the only thing any president can do is try to reason with the oppressors while keeping the pressure on."

Fox News correspondent James Rosen reported on Washington's general reaction to the Castro handshake. "This didn't get the attention that a similar gesture might have gotten ten years ago," Rosen said, "perhaps because Raul Castro keeps a lower profile than Fidel Castro did. But if you're active and outspoken on this issue, it hit like a thunderbolt. Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida said the leader of the free world shook the bloody hand of a ruthless dictator." FNC's Carl Cameron turned to the tentative budget deal reached between Republican Congressman Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray. "This was a deal cut by two people, but now you have 535 members of Congress who have two days to study this, vote on it, and then race out of town for the holidays. The left and the right, on the extremes, are angry about this."

MSNBC's Al Sharpton has been deceitfully editing Bill's comments, most recently taking a statement about Nelson Mandela out of context. Bill responded with this exposition: "We once again ask NBC News, what are you going to do about Sharpton, who is obviously a dishonest person. It's insane what this guy is doing on NBC's air. So far NBC News has not answered the question, and there is no question they have their hands full. MSNBC commentator Martin Bashir was forced to resign last week and personal attacks lodged by that far-left network are causing controversy all over the place. NBC News has a long history of distinguished reporting, but it's now employing people who are bringing disgrace to the operation."

Guests: Bernie Goldberg & Howard Kurtz
Media analysts Bernie Goldberg and Howard Kurtz took up the issue of Al Sharpton's serial dishonesty. "I'd fire him," Goldberg declared, "but that doesn't mean that the people who run NBC or its parent company Comcast are going to do that. Every important Democratic politician running for high office has to go to Harlem and kiss Al Sharpton's ring. So if powerful politicians are doing that, are we supposed to believe that Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, or the people who run Comcast aren't equally afraid of him? Because who knows what he's going to say or do the day after he gets fired?" Kurtz agreed that Sharpton seems to receive kid gloves treatment at MSNBC. "I would fire the producer who made those kind of editing mistakes, which are malicious attempts to deceive viewers. Al Sharpton was intimately involved in the Trayvon Martin case and took one side on MSNBC, clearly he is treated very differently than most talk show hosts." The Factor concluded, "I'm outraged that NBC News and NBC Universal, as powerful as they are, allow Sharpton and this stuff to go on."

Guest: Douglas Napier
The sports network ESPN is refusing to air a hospital's TV commercial that mentions "the birth of Jesus" and "God's healing presence." ESPN declined to send a spokesman, so The Factor explored the controversy with Douglas Napier, head of a conservative watchdog group. "If I were to talk to ESPN," Napier said, "I'd point out that to say there is too much Jesus in this Christmas message of hope is like saying there's too much sports on ESPN. Why does ESPN would want to marginalize a holiday that a majority of Americans celebrate? This is another example of how a handful of people would take the meaning of Christmas and cast it aside." The Factor ridiculed ESPN's decision to reject the spot: "This ad is for a Catholic hospital that is trying to raise money for kids who are severely ill. So the spot is noble and the words in it are in the context of the Christmas season. ESPN is basically saying they do not recognize the right of a Catholic hospital to say 'God's healing presence.'"

Guest: Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller opened both verbal barrels on Ezekiel Emanuel, one of Obamacare's chief architects and the program's most vocal defender. "This guy somehow manages to make Willy Loman look like Ron Popiel," Miller quipped, "and he's got quite a saliva flume going. You could run the log ride at Disney in that spittle, for God's sake! The simple fact is that when you're the architect for a house of cards you go down in the records with the architect who built the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. All I'm asking of Ezekiel Emanuel is this: 'Where is the disappointment?' 6-million people have lost their health care, 365 people have signed up, so take a couple of days and be disappointed. And I'm going to continue to call this Obamacare, although they call it the Affordable Health Care Act now. I'll stop calling it Obamacare when the President legally changes his name to 'Barack Affordable.'"

Guest: Martha MacCallum
When Tallahassee, Florida placed a Nativity scene in the capital rotunda, an atheist demanded that he be allowed to erect his own display. FNC anchor Martha MacCallum elaborated on the story. "When the Nativity scene went up," she reported, "this guy Chaz Stevens built a six-foot tall stack of beer cans and called it a 'Festivus Pole.' Florida authorities say their hands are tied and that they have to allow all cultures and denominations, but this is a made up joke from Seinfeld! In my mind, they have no obligation to put this next to the Nativity scene."

'Tis the season to tip some of those folks who provide you with services through the year, and don't forget your house of worship and other worthy charities.