Guests: Kirsten Powers and Jeanine Pirro

"Thousands of folks lined up Wednesday at Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country because some liberal politicians want to keep Chick-fil-A out of their cities. The controversy began when Dan Cathy, the chain's boss, said God would punish America for embracing gay marriage; Mr. Cathy also donates money to protect traditional marriage, which has angered his ideological opponents. The beliefs of both sides should be respected, so when politicians attack a business because they don't like the politics of its management, that's flat-out un-American. And the argument that anti-gay marriage people are violating somebody's rights is flat-out false; marriage is not a constitutional right. Also noteworthy is that liberal politicians are not attacking the many African-American pastors who are publicly against gay marriage. You don't hear calls to boycott those churches, do you? The hallmark of totalitarian regimes is to shut down the opposition, which is what the mayors of Chicago, Boston and San Francisco want to do. Talking Points believes the vast majority of Americans condemn that stance. There are good people on both sides, and it is not bigoted to believe American society is stronger when marriage is between a man and a woman. It is also not wrong for homosexual Americans to want to get as much parity as they can. Robust debate is a good thing; threats and intimidation are un-American."

The Factor invited Fox News analysts Kirsten Powers and Jeanine Pirro to join the debate. "This is not a marriage issue," Pirro declared, "this is about hypocrites using gay marriage as an excuse to come after the religious right. Chick-fil-A is an American business that has never had a problem with gays and openly employs gays, and they don't like it because the owner believes in traditional marriage. Are we going to destroy an American company because people don't like what this guy thinks?" Powers elaborated on the Talking Points observation that gay activists are engaged in selective outrage. "They're not going after African American pastors who are not part of the religious right, but who have the exact same Christian views on these issues. And don't forget that until about a month ago Barack Obama would have been one of the people who didn't share 'Chicago's values,' according to Rahm Emanuel." The Factor portrayed the episode as a clear victory for free speech and tradition: "Chick-fil-A had its biggest day in history and you haven't heard a word out of Mayors Menino, Emanuel, and Lee in three days. The traditional forces won!"

Guests: Laura Ingraham

President Obama leads Mitt Romney in many national polls, but Gallup pollsters report that the President's approval rating is north of 50% in just 13 states. Radio talk show Laura Ingraham predicted that Mitt Romney will probably win in November because so many Americans are eager for a change. "I believe Romney's strength is playing out in this Chick-fil-A controversy," she averred. "He wasn't at Chick-fil-A, but what you're beginning to see is the silent majority coming forward and saying, 'This demonization of people has gotten out of hand.' I think that enthusiasm you saw has some political meaning, and I think you'll see that on Election Day with a huge enthusiastic turnout against this redefining of mainstream American institutions."

Guests: Megyn Kelly

President Obama has quietly issued an executive order giving black students greater access to a "complete and competitive education." Fox News anchor and attorney Megyn Kelly tried to decipher the order's meaning. "There's a crisis for African Americans in many of our schools," she said, "in terms of the discipline they face, the lack of graduation, and the fact that they're two years behind whites in the same grade. The President said he wants to create a commission that will look into this problem in our schools. The most controversial part of this commission is that it wants to 'eliminate methods that lead to the disparate use of disciplinary tools.' It means they think black students are getting expelled and suspended more than white students." The Factor blamed the problem largely on the disintegrating family structure: "71% of black babies are born out of wedlock, so by the time they get to school they don't know anything. There's not a book in the house and there's no supervision."

The "strangest moments" series with the wild and wooly 2008 confrontation with Congressman Barney Frank. A few excerpts from the notorious interrogation:

Oâ??Reilly: You said everything was great at Fannie Mae and a lot of people went out and bought stock and lost everything they had.
Frank: Oh no. I said it wasnâ??t a good investment.
Oâ??Reilly. Stop the BS here! Stop the crap! Câ??mon, you coward! Say the truth. You're a coward! You blame everybody else.
Frank: Hereâ??s the problem with coming on your show â?" you start ranting and the only way to respond is to almost look as boorish as you.

Former Senator Chris Dodd also got a tad testy when he was criticized for attending a convention run by the far-left DailyKos website. "You've suggested that we ought to not participate in the convention," Dodd said, "because a few people have said something on the site." Bill was having none of it, declaring, "There are thousands of vile postings on that website, thousands."

Guests: Lou Dobbs

With gasoline prices again heading up, The Factor asked Fox Business host Lou Dobbs to explain. "Back in February we were talking about high prices," Dobbs pointed out, "and the President was calling for a fraud investigation. Then the prices dropped and now they're moving up a little bit. We have the worst drought and corn ethanol, which is required to be 10% of gasoline, is much more expensive. There's also rising tension in the Middle East." The Factor just wasn't buying what Dobbs was trying to sell: "My theory is that the speculators drive the price up, they drive it down, they make money and it's all a big con."

Guests: Uma Pemmaraju and Steve Doocy

Fox News anchor Uma Pemmaraju put her perfect record on the line against Steve Doocy in the Great American News Quiz. Among the questions: "Where did General George Patton go to college?" ... "As many as 5,000 Nazi war criminals fled to what country after the war?" Doocy won this battle of the bulging brains, ending Pemmaraju's run of perfection.

Kevin Ford, Englewood, CO: "O'Reilly, could you have been any softer on New Jersey Senator Sweeney? He wouldn't answer your question about why Jessica's Law took so long to be passed."

Rosemary Schultz, Porterville, CA: "Steve Sweeney's excuses were pathetic. But thanks for your gallant fight, Bill."

T.J. Sands, Little Rock, AR: "Freedom, it seems, is something the left reserves for themselves while denying it to others with whom they disagree."

Susan Hale, Waynesboro, VA: "I don't like fast food and I am pro-gay marriage. But I waited in line at Chick-fil-A to stand up for freedom of speech."

Thursday's Tip: For $30 a year you can subscribe to ConsumerReports.org and have access to all the magazine's prior research.