"Presidential homeland security adviser Frances Townsend answered questions Tuesday about a report that says Al Qaeda is getting stronger. The threat from Al Qaeda is a strong Republican issue, and President Bush knows it. So if Americans are dialed into that threat, they are more likely to cut the president some slack in Iraq and the terror war in general. It's interesting to note that Stratfor, a private intelligence outfit, disputes that analysis and writes that 'al Qaeda likely lacks the ability to strike in any strategically meaningful way.' On the other side, the left understands that if Al Qaeda does strike America, liberal stands against anti-terror measures will come back to haunt the left. If terrorists hit us again, the left will say Bush failed to neutralize Al Qaeda and wasted American resources in Iraq. Talking Points believes both the right and the left are playing games to some extent. Certainly Al Qaeda remains dangerous, but the only way to hit them is to invade Pakistan. Do the Democrats want to do that? Americans should be united in fighting these savages, but we're not. Ideology has poisoned a reasoned approach to defeating the jihadists. America's great strength, diversity of thought, can also be a weakness, and Al Qaeda knows it. As the old saying goes, united we stand, divided we fall. Well, we're divided."

Georgia officials say pro wrestler Chris Benoit had steroids in his system when he murdered his wife and son. The Factor was joined by former pro wrestlers Billy Graham and Steve Blackman, who defended their sport and its officials. "I don't think we can blame Vince McMahon or the WWE," Graham declared, "for the horrible homicide-suicide. Vince is not a baby-sitter, he is not a psychiatrist, and wrestlers make adult choices." Blackman minimized the role steroids may have played. "I have seen guys use astronomical amounts of steroids, and they never committed acts like this. I think it's a multitude of factors - depression, pressure to perform, pain-killers, maybe a minute bit of steroids." But The Factor refused to let pro wrestling executives off the hook. "This is a big money business, and the big superstars are going to use every method. You want to make money, McMahon wants to make money, and the WWE permits this. It's just money that is driving this crazy thing and it has to stop."

After NBC's "Dateline" accused Louis Conradt Jr. of trying to procure sex with a 13-year old boy, the former Texas prosecutor killed himself. His sister Patricia is now suing NBC, and her lawyer Bruce Baron elaborated on the complaint. "You have amateurs getting involved in police work, and NBC has no right to become the judge, the jury, and sentence Mr. Conradt to death. The intent of NBC is not to stop child predators - it's to boost ratings and inflame situations." The Factor countered that Conradt gave every appearance of being guilty. "We don't have any use for NBC News, so I'm not going to argue for them. But it looks to me like Louis Conradt said 'I don't want to be humiliated in this way and I'm going to kill myself.' So you're going to have a problem telling a courtroom that this man wasn't responsible for his actions."

Five young women were killed in New York State when their car smashed into a tractor trailer. Radio host Bill Nojay reported that reckless cell phone use may have been the primary cause. "The driver inexplicably veered into the oncoming lane into the path of a tractor-trailer. The cell phones incinerated, but from phone records it appears there was text messaging just seconds before the crash. The sheriff doesn't know if the messages were sent by the driver or by another girl in the car." The Factor advised everyone to avoid making a similar mistake. "The sheriff confirmed to us that the driver was talking on her cell phone during the trip. The bottom line is a cautionary tale for every American - if you're going to fiddle with the phone, you are dramatically increasing your risk of death."

Some gay activists argue that homosexuals should be allowed to bring in their non-citizen partners from abroad. Rachel Tiven of "Immigration Equality" explained why her organization wants legislation to that effect. "This would give gay and lesbian couples the same opportunity as straight couples to prove that their relationship is bona fide. They would have to show financial entanglements, joint bank accounts, and both names on the lease." The Factor pointed out that legislation could be an invitation to fraud. "You could set up a scam and charge a lot of money to bring people in. With all due respect, I don't think you're going to get this through any time soon with the immigration chaos the way it is."

Legal experts Sonny Hostin and Megyn Kelly analyzed the case of 25-year old Lara Madden, who makes hard-core porn movies under the name Syvette Wimberly, which is the name of one of her high school's classmates. "This is pure and simple identity theft," Hostin pronounced. "It is no different than someone stealing your name, getting credit cards, and ruining your credit, and she should be sued for identity fraud." But Kelly argued that a lawsuit is without merit. "This is a bunch of baloney. Should the real Syvette be awfully mad? Yes, she should. But you don't have copyright on your name." Acting as judge and jury, The Factor objected to Kelly's argument. "You're saying that if some porn actress takes the name Megyn Kelly, you have no redress at all? This is emotional distress, and it is extreme."

Finally, body language translator Tonya Reiman provided her weekly analysis of people in the news. She watched tape of Republican Senator David Vitter's wife, who stood at her husband's side as he apologized for using the services of a prostitute. "She kept her emotions in her lower lip, and she looked down a lot, which tells me she is very emotional. That was a tough place for her to be standing." Reiman also scrutinized CBS's Katie Couric and NBC's Brian Williams, whose evening news program are both hemorrhaging viewers. "Typically people blink anywhere from 7 to 20 times a minute. Katie Couric was blinking 40 times a minute, which tells she's uncomfortable, maybe unhappy. Brian Williams was blinking 96 times a minute, more than once per second. That's a huge difference from what you would normally see."

Many of you wrote about JetBlue and its sponsorship of the DailyKos annual convention. Some excerpts:

Ed Ficarra, Red Bank, NJ: "I am outraged JetBlue would support such a website. I'll drive before I fly that airline."

David Reinstein, Buffalo Grove, IL: "O'Reilly, you owe me and thousands of others an apology. You should not compare anything to the Nazis. The Daily Kos keeps me informed."

Rich McDonough, Flushing, NY: "I work with the military and three years ago I asked JetBlue to sponsor a Fleet Week event. They declined."

Michele Demeri, Garden City, NY: "I was disgusted that the JetBlue CEO said his customers wouldn't care about the sponsorship. I'm flying Delta."

Jamie Howarth, Nantucket, MA: "O'Reilly, you just made me a JetBlue customer for life. Nothing you say has any credence."