Guests: Fox News analysts Bernard Goldberg & Jane Hall

"You may remember New York Times TV critic Alessandra Stanley, a committed liberal, attacking Geraldo Rivera during the Hurricane Katrina coverage. Ms. Stanley accused Geraldo of pushing aside a rescue worker in order to put himself in front of the camera. That was not true and videotape proved it, but Stanley refused to correct the record. Stanley uses her column to push her secular-progressive agenda, and Thursday she proved that once again. In a blatant attempt to prop up the fading NBC Nightly News, Stanley attacked ABC anchor Charles Gibson, calling him lazy and saying he got his anchor job by default. Stanley is denigrating Gibson because he is beating Williams and the New York Times and NBC News are ideological soul mates - sympathetic to the far left and hostile to people with whom they disagree. The alliance between the Times and NBC becomes even more troubling with the announcement that CBS News has hired a committed liberal to run the Katie Couric newscast. Producer Richard Kaplan is a close friend of the Clintons and has a long history of left wing activism. If CBS allows Kaplan to imitate NBC News, the nation will have two networks actively rooting for the Democrats to win the White House in 2008. America needs tough, honest reporting, not slanted and unfair presentations. There are some very disturbing things going on in American journalism these days. My thanks to Alessandra Stanley for making that quite obvious."

News Link: Allesandra Stanley props up NBC News

News Link: CBS News hires Rick Kaplan

Fox News analysts Bernard Goldberg and Jane Hall offered their opinions on the media controversies. "I thought Alessandra Stanley's piece was absurd," Hall said, "She wanted to praise Brian Williams for going to Iraq, but felt she could made snide remarks about Charles Gibson." As for CBS hiring Richard Kaplan, Hall predicted "he will try to be fair." But Goldberg questioned CBS' judgment and impartiality. "Kaplan is a well-known liberal Democrat who slept in the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House while the Clintons were there, and who said Dan Rather was the gold standard of journalism even after the memo-gate scandal. The perception of hiring a guy who was so tied to the Clintons and such a well-known liberal Democrat doesn't register on their radar screens. They're clueless."

Returning for a second segment, Hall and Goldberg moved to Ann Coulter, who infamously referred to John Edwards as a "faggot." "Coulter is just getting tiresome," Goldberg pronounced. "She isn't doing conservatives any good - it gives liberals a baseball bat to hit us over the head with and say, 'see how nasty they are.' I defended her for too long and I'm tired of it." Hall agreed that Coulter has crossed a line. "She's addicted to the attention and she tries to be a flame thrower. She thinks it's funny, but what she said is like the 'n' word to the gay community." Turning to the Scooter Libby trial, Hall suggested that no one emerged unscathed. "It pulls back the curtain on the incredibly cozy relationship between the White House press corps and this administration. And it may endanger whistle blowers in the future. The whole thing has been terrible for the media, not good for the public, and certainly not good for Scooter Libby."

Guest: Mike Colbrese, Washington Interscholastic Activities Association

In Washington State, officials are considering a ban on booing at high school sporting events. Mike Colbrese told The Factor the goal is to promote civility. "We're letting our students know what is expected of them and make sure that all of our fans are respectful. We don't want fans challenging each other so that it could escalate into something else." The Factor questioned whether a "boo ban" is enforceable or even desirable. "It's a laudable goal to promote civility, but I don't happen to think booing is bad, it's part of the game, and it's fun. To say to a high school kid you can't boo the other team, you're setting up a society of zombies. If I want to boo at a game, I'm going to boo, and you're not going to tell me I can't."

News Link: Officials want to ban "booing"

Guest: Author Peter Greenberg

The airline industry is beset with delays and other problems. This week an Iraqi man was apprehended in Los Angeles with a magnet and wires in his rectum, yet the plane took off with his luggage on board. Travel author Peter Greenberg explained the magnitude of this security lapse. "The airlines promised there would always be positive matching of bags with passengers. Common sense would dictate that you pull this guy's bags off the flight, but this happens all the time. The sheer number of bags carried by an airline these days makes it almost a physical impossibility to do all the matching." The Factor portrayed the entire industry as one in chaos. "It looks like the airlines have just lost control of the process. The FAA has to come in and start to impose drastic fines on these airlines if they continue to behave irresponsibly."

News Link: Airline Chaos

Featured Book: Travel Detective: How to Get the Best Service and the Best Deals from Airlines, Hotels, Cruiseships, and Car Rental Agencies by Peter Greenberg

Guest: Attorney Susan Church & Rosemary Jenks, Numbers USA

More than 300 illegal immigrants were detained in Massachusetts this week - some were released because their children needed supervision. Rosemary Jenks, who wants to limit immigration, accused pro-immigration forces of using children as ideological weapons. "The press is really playing up this child angle and not getting the other side of the story. These parents made a decision to break the law and come to the United States with their children. The children unfortunately suffer the consequences." Lawyer Susan Church, a proponent of unfettered immigration, seemed to argue that no illegal should ever be arrested. "I support comprehensive reform so that we stop locking up mothers, grandmothers and seamstresses. These are people working for $7 an hour, doing jobs Americans won't do." The Factor questioned the logic of Church's argument. "You're saying we should not stop anyone from coming. Therefore, it is an unlimited amnesty program for anyone who can get here."

News Link: Boston Globe immigration article

News Link: Boston Globe "pro-illegal" editorial

Guest: Abdul Hakim-Shabazz, WXNT-AM

Two 6th graders in Indianapolis engaged in sexual intercourse while other students were in the room. Radio host Abdul Hakim-Shabazz elaborated on the incredible story. "We wondered how two kids could have sex in the classroom and the teacher not know. One radio caller told us the room is shaped like an 'L' and the teacher doesn't have a full line of sight. This school district has been notorious for controversy, and the attitude at the school is basically 'we don't see what the big deal is.'" The Factor called for wholesale personnel changes. "You have a classroom where the teacher can't see the kids, which is insane, you have 6th graders having sexual intercourse, and the school is stonewalling. The superintendent has to go, the principal has to go, everyone has to go."

News Link: "Real" sex-ed

Many of you wrote about the conviction of John Couey, who kidnapped and killed Jessica Lunsford in Florida. Some excerpts:

John Franciscus, Coral Springs, FL: "Bill, the three other people who were in the trailer with Couey when he killed Jessica must be brought to justice."

David Schwartz, Long Island, NY: "Bill, I want you to look directly into the camera and tell your viewers that you are still against the death penalty for Couey. There's no shame in admitting you're wrong."

Capt. Allen Baker, Baltimore, MD: "I wish Mark Lunsford could testify here. There is no excuse for Maryland not passing Jessica's Law."

Other viewers commented on adults who consume drugs in front of their children.

Karyn Olson, New Hampton, NH: "I am 40 years old and can attest to the fact that there is an epidemic of parents in my age group who smoke pot with their kids."