"A U.N. report says that Iran is going full speed ahead with its nuke program, and its military is now involved. That prompted Israel to threaten Iran with military action, something that would light up the Middle East with violent flames. Any armed conflict involving Iran would send oil prices through the roof, and it is clear that the hateful mullahs believe they can hurt America and the West by creating havoc with oil. If the world united against Iran, the country would fall, but the world will not. In fact, two American companies actually continue to do business with the mullahs. Goodyear sells Iran about $300,000 worth of tractor tires a year, and by far the worst American company in this arena is GE. CEO Jeffrey Immelt does about $50 million worth of business with Iran each year, even though Immelt knows Iran is killing U.S. soldiers and Marines and wants to wipe Israel off the map. GE is in big trouble economically, and how Immelt keeps his job is one of the great corporate mysteries of our time. While Iran continues to threaten world peace, Congress has been asleep, doing little to get America off oil. Talking Points expects the Republicans to come up with a tough plan to protect Americans from predatory energy pricing. If the GOP does not, it will surely lose everything in November. Fair warning. We have the technology to limit our oil use. Congress must mandate that it be done."

Just how bad are things in America? The Factor posed that question to Democratic strategist Jane Fleming-Kleeb. "We need big changes," Fleming-Kleeb replied. "That's not to say we are in dire straits, but I used to spend $60 on groceries and now I'm spending $100. And there are bigger problems - we have a trade deficit with China and there's a health care crisis." But Republican John Avlon tried to put our current difficulties in perspective. "Of course we face challenges, but that's nothing new. We went through the Civil War, the Depression, World War II. We need to solve our problems through optimism and determination, not this liberal hand-wringing."

The Factor welcomed FNC analyst Bob Novak, who predicted that the media will do everything possible to help elect Barack Obama. "It's not a scoop to say the media is in the tank," Novak reported. "I've been covering campaigns since 1960, and the enchantment with Obama even beats JFK. Some of my colleagues love having a candidate who makes them feel so wonderful, and they have dropped John McCain like an old girlfriend." The Factor suggested that the media's infatuation is partly rooted in antipathy to George W. Bush. "I have watched Obama and the guy is tremendously charismatic. But I think it's just as much 'we hate Bush, we hate conservatives,' and this guy is the opposite of that, so we love him."

Some ninth-graders in New Jersey have been suspended for distributing topless photos of their female classmates. The Factor was joined by reporter Leslie Brody, who has been covering the incident. "In one case," Brody said, "a boy asked a girl to be part of his 'photo gallery.' In another instance a girl sent the picture to her boyfriend, thinking it was just for him. This is common these days - some kids may be looking for attention, some see Lindsay Lohan doing this kind of thing and want to do it themselves." Inger Kruegle, a mother of two teens at the school, explained why her children were not involved in the scandal. "I have talked to them, and I have taught them that would be wrong. They were shocked by this and said they can't understand why anyone would do this." The Factor laid part of the blame on our value-neutral society. "This is an affluent district and you'd think the kids would have some kind of a value system. It's so stupid, and I think it's lack of values education in public schools."

A California-based Internet site specializing in outrageous video has posted scenes of a crying baby being slapped. Former prosecutor Andrew DeVore outlined the possible legal remedies. "Under California law," DeVore said, "it looks like there's a crime here. The question is whether you can track back to the person who posted the content, so you might issue a subpoena to the web site and see what information they have about the person who put up that video." The Factor denounced the Vidmax web site and its owner Eric Barath. "These people are the lowest and they should be run out of town. I'm going to ask San Diego authorities to investigate this, and we're going to follow up on it."

Now that Vanity Fair magazine has published an article implying that President Clinton has engaged in serial womanizing, what are the former president's legal options? "It would not be worth it for him to sue," said FNC legal expert Megyn Kelly. "He would have to prove they published that article with actual malice, and they'll get to cross-examine Clinton and all of his associates about his personal life. It would be nuts for him to sue." The Factor turned to the case of a chaperone who accompanied three high school girls on a trip, where one of the girls got drunk and fell to her death off a balcony. FNC's Lis Wiehl agreed with the court that ordered the chaperone to pay $700,000 in damages. "This woman," Wiehl reported, "took three 18-year old girls, and had an implicit agreement with the parents that she would watch what they were doing. This girl was seen drinking in the hotel, and that chaperone had responsibility."

Steve Doocy and Martha MacCallum resumed their heated rivalry in the Great American Culture Quiz. The Factor posed five questions, including these: "In addition to 'Dr. Kildare,' what other major TV project starred Richard Chamberlain?" ... "In 1976 Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor teamed up in which hit movie?" After a tie in regulation, The Factor broke the deadlock by asking for the name of the lead singer in the band Herman's Hermits. MacCallum was crowned the winner when she quickly answered "Peter Noonan," close enough for government work or the Culture Quiz. If you want to test your wits against Doocy and MacCallum, the entire GACQ is posted here on BillOReilly.com under "Fun Stuff."

Tuesday's Patriot: BillOreilly.Com premium member Carmine Weber, who donated $3,000 to Operation Shoebox after the auction closed. And the Pinhead: Perpetually addled singer Amy Winehouse, whose obscene racial diatribe was captured on video. Nominate a Pinhead or a Patriot by sending an email to pnp@billoreilly.com.

A sampling of your recent e-mails:

Desmond Maxwell, New York, NY: "O'Reilly, both you and Spike Lee are wrong. Marines raised the flag on Iwo Jima, not soldiers."

Lee Langley, Valencia, CA: "Even though GE has the best prices on a washer/dryer, my wife wouldn't buy it because the company does business with Iran."

Kristin Decker, Allen, TX: "O'Reilly, you are dead on about OPEC. They hate us! Learned that living in the Gulf region."

Nicole Burrow, Spokane, WA: "Any intelligent person can see how much foreign oil is hurting Americans. Why is Congress doing nothing about it?"