The Factor Rundown
Unresolved Problems Segment
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The return of the Dixie Chicks
"Three years ago the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, Natalie Maines, told a concert crowd in London, 'We're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.' Many Americans saw the quote as unpatriotic, especially in a time of war. Now the Dixie Chicks have a new CD, but some stations will not play the lead single from it, a song that says the Chicks are not ready to back down from anything. Monday night I ran into Natalie Maines, who is not exactly my # 1 fan. During the course of our conversation, I told her the primary mistake she made was that she used a foreign venue to insult an American president, and that how she arrived at her conclusion about Mr. Bush is largely a mystery. It is those nasty personal attacks that Americans generally reject - calling President Bush a 'liar' or a 'killer' for the way he wages a war on terror is not only irresponsible, it's cheap. Natalie Maines has paid a price for her remarks - her life has been threatened and she remains under siege. That is wrong as well. The woman has a right to believe what she wants to believe, and you have a right to reject her beliefs and to not buy her stuff. But to punish her further is not in the spirit of America." Fox News Video: FoxNews.com
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Border Patrol and the Minutemen
Guest: Author Juan Hernandez
The US Border Patrol is reportedly informing Mexican authorities about the movements of the Minutemen, the private group that is trying to curtail illegal immigration. Author Juan Hernandez applauded the cooperation. "I think it's wonderful that the United States and Mexico are working together. If we want a secure border, we should be thinking of how we can work better with Mexico. The Minutemen are vigilantes, a group taking the law into their own hands." The Factor objected to that description. "There isn't any evidence the Minutemen have broken any laws. All they are doing is protesting the lax border by sitting there and telling the country that anyone can cross over any time they want. The big issue here is that the America government is telling the Mexican government where the Minutemen are. The government should be ashamed of itself."
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Calif. exit exams ruled unconstitutional
Guest: Prof. John Rogers, UCLA
California requires graduating high school students to pass an exit exam. The Factor explained just how easy that is to achieve. "It's almost impossible to flunk. You get to take it five times, and all you have to get is a score of 50. You have to be a total dunce not to be able to get this." But the exam has been ruled unconstitutional because a California judge declared that not all students have equal access to education. UCLA professor John Rogers applauded the ruling. "For the most part, the students who fail the exam are attending sub-standard schools. The California Constitution makes it clear that students deserve to have an equal education. They deserve to have a quality teacher and textbooks in front of them." The Factor tried asking Rogers numerous times whether the professor would simply hand the failing students a high school diploma, but was unable to elicit an answer.
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Tossing out virginity pledges?
Guest: Dr. Janet Crouse, Concerned Women for America
Some students have taken "virginity pledges," vowing to remain chaste until marriage. Some research indicates that girls who take the pledge are just as likely to have sex as others, but Dr. Janice Crouse argued that abstinence programs are clearly working. "The data is that teen pregnancies are down, abortions are down. Contraception doesn't work, even with married couples, and so you have to say something has changed, and it has to be the behavior of the teens." The Factor acknowledged that there is good news, whatever the cause. "Your argument on the conservative side is that abortion and pregnancies are down because of abstinence. The argument on the liberal side is abortions are down because there is more birth control. We can't prove the debate either way."
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Deciding Brandon Lacy's fate
Guest: Attorney Abel Reyna
29-year old Texan Brandon Earl Lacy has fathered thirteen children by seven different women, and has now pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a 14-year old girl. Nevertheless, Lacy's court-appointed lawyer Abel Reyna declared that his client should not be imprisoned. "The alleged victim misrepresented her age to Mr. Lacy, and she didn't want to prosecute this case at all. He has a job and he is supporting his children. As part of a plea bargain, the prosecution said they would consider probation if Mr. Lacy gets a vasectomy." The Factor countered that probation and a vasectomy are not enough. "This guy has been irresponsible ever since he hit puberty. Do you really believe he should be out on some kind of probation? This guy's a low-level slug and he has to do some time."
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More taxes for the rich?
Guests: Investor Wayne Rogers & author Ben Stein
Investor Wayne Rogers and author Ben Stein debated whether the wealthiest Americans should pay more taxes. Stein argued for a supplemental tax on the extremely wealthy. "It's just not right that people in the military are getting by on starvation wages and the rich are so very rich. Let's administer a surcharge on their income and have that money earmarked for salaries in the military." Rogers compared the idea to thievery. "I have a moral problem with this. You're taking a position that you're going to take from the rich and give to the poor, like Robin Hood, just because it's popular." The Factor argued that lower taxes have generally benefited the economy. "The result of tax cuts has been investment and business expansion. That has led to more jobs, thus the low unemployment rate. Half of all American wage-earners pay nothing to the feds, but the drumbeat of 'tax-the-rich' continues."
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A look back at Hurricane Katrina
Guest: Historian & author Doug Brinkley
Historian and New Orleans resident Doug Brinkley has written a book about Katrina and its aftermath. He is tough on President Bush and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, but reserves his harshest judgment for New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. "He was incompetent," Brinkley told The Factor. "The bottom line is that he was not a first responder, never once went out and spoke with people. When it counted to have leadership, he was a zero. He was afraid, and he was putting his personal safety ahead of getting out there and being a leader." The Factor added that Nagin's performance should not have been a surprise. "He's not a politician, not a trained public servant. When it hit the fan, he wasn't equipped."
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Viewers sound off
Many of you sent e-mails about the change of leadership at the CIA. Some excerpts:
Bob, Texas: "As a former CIA employee, I can tell you that John Negroponte (the Intelligence Czar) wants the CIA under his control. That's what this change is all about."
Jim La Polla, Colton, CA: "The new CIA chief needs to get rid of the ideologues who are compromising the country's security."
Pat Wilson, Khartoum, Sudan: "I haven't seen any risk taking by the CIA since before the Clinton administration. All I see is carping and political posturing."
Carol Baligush, Cleveland, OH: "Bill, you don't care that Ray McGovern was telling the truth to Rumsfeld; all you care about is that the media didn't call him a left-wing kook. By the way, he is not."
Dr. Stan Mize, Sevierville, TN: "With people like McGovern working at the CIA, it is no wonder they have trouble."
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Check out the books mentioned during this show.
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The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast
by Douglas Brinkley
Read more...
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How Successful People Win: Using "Bunkhouse Logic" to Get What You Want in Life
by Ben Stein
Read more...
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The New American Pioneers: Why Are We Afraid of Mexican Immigrants?
by Juan Hernandez
Read more...
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