"The Factor is the only news program in the country holding judges responsible for their behavior. That means judges often get away with outrageous sentences because we can't be everywhere. Maryland Judge Joseph Manck is a perfect example. Earlier this year Manck sentenced a brutal child molester who sexually abused his 8-year old daughter to just four months. Now Manck has made another irresponsible decision that may have led to the death of a young woman. 23-year old Matthew Dieterle was convicted of assault and illegally carrying a handgun in 2002. Judge Manck gave him just 18 months and released him four months short of that on probation. Almost immediately Dieterle got into trouble - another judge ordered him to stay away from a woman he was bothering, and authorities charged him with assault. Judge Manck did nothing, and even allowed Dieterle to move to Florida. Last week Dieterle allegedly murdered 19-year old Samantha MacQuilliam - police say he stabbed and strangled her to death. So what should be done about Judge Manck? He is a appointed, but he can be removed by the state of Maryland. Giving a child molester four months and allowing an obviously violent individual out on the street is incompetent behavior for any judge. Manck must go."

For another view of Judge Manck, The Factor welcomed defense attorney Allison Gilman. "Judges make judgments," Gilman began, "and he made a judgment in this case. Hindsight is 20/20, but this kid did 14 months in prison, he did house arrest, and he did probation. You are sitting on the sidelines, you're not in the court room." But FNC's Andrew Napolitano argued that Judge Manck should be removed from the bench. "This guy has something that always makes him side with the defendant, not with the public that he is supposed to be protecting. We looked at some of his cases, and with one exception he always took the side of leniency. He should not be a criminal court judge." To buttress the case against Judge Manck, The Factor brought up another egregious case. "Two men were putting sexually explicit pictures of infants and toddlers on the Internet, and Manck sentenced them to four months in jail. He is an irresponsible judge."

Newark, New Jersey is reeling from the execution-style murder of three college students. One of the alleged killers is just 15 years old, raising the question of what creates violent children. The Factor pointed to dysfunctional families. "They're not releasing the name of the boy, but I'll guarantee you he comes from a chaotic family with no father and no supervision." Professor James Peterson suggested that schools and other institutions can do more. "Schools have to step up and teach kids how to deal with the media, with police, with drugs. We need more resources and we need to pay our teachers better. Poverty is different than when you were growing up, Bill." The Factor argued that poverty is the same, but culture has changed. "When I was growing up drug dealing was a horrendous crime, now it's not. And we had 60 kids in a class, we had no resources, but we weren't shooting people in the back of the head."

Carl Fisher, a registered sex offender, was arrested for exposing himself in New York City, but Judge Tanya Kennedy let him go free without bail. Former detective and Fox News contributor Bo Dietl expressed his outrage at the crime and lack of punishment. "This was a block away from a schoolyard. I looked at what this same guy did in Connecticut, where he abused an 11-year old girl. He has a history, and he even says in his statement that 'I am a sick person, I'm a sexual deviant.' But Judge Kennedy says he doesn't need to be in jail." The Factor questioned why this kind of story seems to be repeated time and again, particularly in certain places. "The bottom line is that both the Connecticut and New York City systems are allowing this man to walk around. And they know the guy could harm a child."

Some Democratic candidates, including front-runner Hillary Clinton, have made a conscious decision to attack Fox News and The O'Reilly Factor. According to political strategist Dick Morris, Clinton desperately wants to impress the far left. "Hillary can't attack drug companies or insurance companies because she is awash in their campaign contributions, but she can attack you and Fox News. There is a new left emerging, and to them Hillary Clinton is not all that far from George Bush. They have a lot of power, and you are a great rallying point for them." The Factor again questioned the wisdom of the strategy. "I understand what they're doing, trying to get the far left to like them. But why do they want to make enemies with the top-rated cable news organization? This may come back to bite them in the you-know-where."

Michelle next introduced a segment that was scheduled to run Thursday, but was pre-empted when Fox News covered a live press conference from the Utah mining disaster. FNC media gurus Bernie Goldberg and Jane Hall analyzed why a Democratic presidential debate earlier this week attracted a miniscule audience on MSNBC. "MSNBC is the broadcast equivalent of the witness protection program," Goldberg quipped. "That's why not too many people watched. The second reason is, by last count, that is the 7,000,000th debate of the campaign season." Hall blamed the turnout on the dog days of August. "This is the whole front-loaded primary system. Nobody's watching in August and people are not paying attention." The Factor facetiously added another reason. "They have taken those debates to Guantanamo and they're forcing those people to watch. These things are boring and they're worse than water boarding." Goldberg also ridiculed Democratic candidates' obsession with Fox News. "Do you realize, Bill, that these Democrats spend more time attacking you, Fox News and Rupert Murdoch than they do attacking Osama Bin Laden. Attacking Bin Laden may make them look too hawkish to the left wing of their party, which thinks the war on terror is a Republican plot."

Texas plastic surgeon Gerald Wayne Johnson is allegedly trying to peddle a video showing Anna Nicole Smith's breast enhancement surgery in 1994. Asked for her opinion of Dr. Johnson, FNC's Greta Van Susteren minced no words. "What a jerk! I don't think taping it is so unusual, it's sometimes done to advance medicine. But the idea that it would be sold as memorabilia is outrageous, and he probably thought he wouldn't get caught." The Factor predicted that "there's a good chance he'll be able to sell this material if Anna Nicole Smith signed a waiver."

Many of you wrote about the segment with Iraq vet and anti-war activist Jeff Millard. Some excerpts:

Sgt. Richard Giddens, Suisum City, CA: "O'Reilly you sounded like a hypocrite when you questioned Jeff Millard when you have never served one day in the military."

Maj. Delbert David, San Marcos, TX: "Bill, I watched Millard with disgust. I am a Vietnam Vet and many of us agree with your stand on the military. We are proud you stand up for us."

Kathy Johnson, York, PA: "Does Mr. Millard believe our military is better served by not training new recruits? Who would relieve our people in the field?"

Jared Allardyce, Lafayette, LA: "Mr. O'Reilly, if you're going to have guests, let them speak. I wanted to hear what Mr. Millard had to say."

Paul Wilson, Austin, TX: "Millard's attempt to dodge the question about winning in Iraq shows he's no patriot."