"One of the most fundamental rights we have in this country is to speak freely without fear of reprisal, but that right is being violated every day by zealots - some on the right, but most intensely on the left. Two words: 'Miss California.' She spoke her mind, she was punished by the left. Right now gay marriage and illegal immigration are two areas where rights violations are most apparent. Writing in the Denver Post, columnist Joanne Ostrow said I 'spewed racist bile' because I want a secure border and the deportation of illegal aliens who commit violent crimes. She obviously violated my rights as an American by libeling me, but she's just one of many. Last week Los Angeles Times critic Ann Powers wrote that I tried to denigrate Adam Lambert's sexuality, which is a total lie. I'm a big boy with a big megaphone and I can defend myself, but many of you can't. If you're labeled a bigot for holding a non-liberal opinion, you can't right the wrong. This far-left fascism is very wrong and must be called out. Fair-minded Americans can disagree on issues, but our freedoms must be protected."

The Factor invited two liberal lawyers, Tonya Acker and Jami Floyd, to react to the Talking Points Memo. "You haven't been libeled," Floyd declared. "Libel is very specifically defined in our law, and calling someone a 'bigot' is not libel. You don't have a constitutional right to not be criticized." Acker specifically defended gay marriage advocates who malign their opponents. "What they're doing is saying we are going to stand up for the rights of gay and lesbian Americans. I'm not interested in name-calling, but I do not think that people who are victimized by discrimination have to sit down silently and take it." The Factor challenged both attorneys to condemn personal attacks by their colleagues on the left: "There's a time to be a decent American and stop this nonsense, but both of you are enabling it by making excuses for it!"

Attorney General Eric Holder has dropped charges against "New Black Panther" members who stood at a Philadelphia polling place with nightsticks. Civil rights attorney Bartle Bull argued that the Panthers should have been prosecuted. "I saw two armed, uniformed, threatening men blocking the door to a polling place," Bull said. "One of them screamed, 'Now you will see what it is like to be ruled by the black man, cracker.' They wore black berets, combat boots, and paramilitary uniforms." Bull accused the Obama administration of naked political calculation: "This is 100% politically motivated, the administration wants to maximize their vote by not challenging this kind of thing, and President Obama owes the country an apology. Martin Luther King did not die to have people in jackboots with billy clubs blocking the door to polling places." The Factor reported that Eric Holder has been tight-lipped about his decision to drop the charges: "We called Attorney General Holder's office, and they basically said this case is not big enough for us, it's not that important."

The Factor was joined by Geraldo Rivera, who began with Oklahoma City pharmacist Jerome Ersland, who was charged with murder after killing a 16-year-old robber. "The video doesn't lie," Rivera said. "The two robbers came in brandishing a gun so the pharmacist used his own gun, it was self defense. The problem is that he went back and got another weapon and shot the kid five times. But it's hard to judge his actions from the safety of this TV studio and I'm shocked at the charge of first degree murder. Why not manslaughter or reckless homicide?" Rivera also criticized the deal that allowed Oklahoma child rapist David Earls to get a one-year sentence for raping a five-year-old girl. "Earls has two felony convictions, he is a total creep, but the judge insisted that the girl had to go into open court to testify, so the prosecution negotiated a plea bargain instead." The Factor condemned Judge Thomas Bartheld as the villain in this case: "You don't put a five-year-old in the court with the person who raped them. This judge should be thrown off the bench immediately. Judge, you should resign right now!"

Not surprisingly, NBC News blames the Bush administration for North Korea's test launches and saber rattling. NBC's Andrea Mitchell asserted that "the Obama White House has inherited this conundrum." The Factor was joined by former UN Ambassador John Bolton, who offered this rejoinder: "Andrea Mitchell is demonstrating that she is part of the 'blame America first' school of diplomacy. The fact is that North Korea has been after a nuclear capability for some time, and administration after administration has allowed them to use belligerence and bluster to get what they want." Bolton offered four specific recommendations for dealing with Kim Jong Il: "I would put North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, I would cut off their access to international financial markets, I would go to China and insist that they apply leverage, and I would try for very sweeping economic sanctions against North Korea."

On Thursday night's program, ACORN boss Bertha Lewis defended her organization's integrity, but refused The Factor's request to examine ACORN's financial records. Glenn Beck, who has also been on the ACORN case, predicted the organizations' demise. "ACORN is going to collapse under its own weight," Beck said. "It's a shell game and once it is exposed it will collapse. ACORN will be discredited and all the people will move someplace else." The Factor urged Louisiana authorities to examine ACORN's New Orleans office, to which much of the group's money is funneled. "We're going to ask Governor Jindal to investigate and we're going to ask him to call in the FBI to assist."

Finally, The Factor revealed the results of a BillOReilly.com poll in which viewers were invited to name the worst TV programs in history. The runners-up in the race to the bottom: "Cop Rock," which featured singing police officers ... "The Gong Show," which unearthed some of the least talented people in America ... the mega-hit "Friends," which made the list because of its reliance on sexual humor ... "The Jerry Springer Show," which took the talk show format to new lows. And the worst TV show of all time: "My Mother the Car," the 1965 situation comedy about an attorney and his dead mother, who returned to Earth as an automobile.

Friday's Patriot: 13-year-old spelling bee champ Kavya Shivashankar, who appeared on Fox and Friends and correctly spelled some of The Factor's favorite words, including "troglodyte" and "persnickety." And the Pinhead: Diva Barbra Streisand, who is writing a book about designing and building her latest mansion.

Joe Sophy, Atlantic City, NJ: "Bill, excellent give and take with the ladies from ACORN. Funny no other news organization will take them on."

Bernard Helinsky, Baltimore, MD: "O'Reilly, your pre-interview hype didn't match your softball questions."

Dorothy Schrage, St. Petersburg, FL: "Mr. O, until your interview, I was willing to give ACORN the benefit of the doubt that they were an honest organization marred by a few bad apples. However, you exposed them as a taxpayer-funded Mafia."

Jeffrey Weingarten, Clifton, NJ: "O'Reilly, the ACORN ladies held their own - until you asked to see their books. Sunlight is the best cleanser."

Ron Carpenter, Coolidge, AZ: "Hey, Bill, you cut and ran from ACORN."