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| All content taken from The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. Each weeknight by 6 PM EST a preview of that evening's show will be posted and then updated with additional information the following weekday by noon EST.
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Guests: Scott Brown
"On paper, the biggest problem is the national debt, which is approaching $17 billion with no end in sight. But in reality, the biggest problems the nation has is us, the folks. After World War II millions of military people returned home to start families and the prevailing wisdom was simple - work hard, respect your country, and provide a good education for your kids. The USA was not a fair society back then as blacks and other minorities were still denied equal rights, but most Americans regarded their country as noble. Today we have a society where the President, who sets the tone, believes his country is not a fair place, and also believes that his mandate is to change the capitalistic system so that Washington can provide. That philosophy saps personal motivation and creates a mindset of victimization. Add to that the rise of the machines, where you and I can create our own little world and spend most of our leisure time playing mindless games or texting about trivia. What is society doing to encourage achievement these days? Nothing! If you are prosperous, you are a bad person in many people's minds. The biggest problem this country has is the way we the people are now behaving."
The Factor asked former Senator and newly-minted Fox News contributor Scott Brown what he sees as America's biggest problems. "It's a combination of things," Brown said, "including debt, deficit, taxes, jobs, spending national security, and energy. All of this makes it so that individuals and businesses are uncertain as to what the tax policy is and what the regulatory policy is, so they're just standing idle. Then you throw in the amazing amount of debt that we have and it adds up to gridlock and indecision." The Factor reiterated that America's general attitude and ethos have changed: "Your state of Massachusetts is off-the-chart for big government, they want all the things the President says he will provide. So yes, the government is riding us into bankruptcy, but we the people are allowing it." |
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Guests: Herman Cain
Another new Fox News analyst, former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, also weighed in on America's quandary. "The biggest problem this country has," he declared, "is a deficiency of leadership. We do not have a leader in the White House; we have a politician who is continuing his campaign even though he has been reelected. This deficiency of leadership is why the debt is out of control, the economy is shrinking, and the unemployment rate is not going down." Reminded that more than half the electorate approves of the President's job performance, Cain cast blame on the folks: "We have a severe ignorance problem with people who are so mesmerized by his popularity that they are not looking at the facts. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, there is nothing more dangerous than 'serious ignorance,' and that's what we have. We're going to have four years of economic suffering and then maybe people will wake up." |
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Guests: James Carville
For still another perspective, The Factor turned to lifelong Democrat and former Clinton adviser James Carville. "The long term problem," he said, "in that since the '70's we have not been able to grow incomes in this country. Since around 1975 there has not been a raise for most people in this country and we're having a hard time figuring out how to deal with that. And the biggest problem right now is that we have too many people unemployed for too long, which is a human tragedy of the first order." Carville also pointed out a few reasons for optimism, saying, "The economic numbers are looking better, health care costs are starting to flatten, and it looks like we'll have a source of abundant and cheap source of energy coming on line." |
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Guests: John Stossel
Fox Business host John Stossel has been looking into information that has been emerging about 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who gunned down schoolchildren in Newtown in December. "He was nowhere near the line where the state had any business intervening," Stossel told The Factor. "You can't stop the crazies, there will always be some, and there's nothing government can do without imprisoning lots of innocent people." Stossel also ridiculed the suggestion that violent video games, which Lanza played repeatedly, should be banned. "It won't help any more than gun control. The Hartford Courant said there was $1,000 worth of games in his basement, but there are just as many violent games in my basement. They watch the most violent games in Japan and they have the least crime." |
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Guests: Lis Wiehl and Kimberly Guilfoyle
As passengers who were stranded at sea begin to sue the Carnival Cruise Line, attorneys Lis Wiehl and Kimberly Guilfoyle analyzed the legal situation. "People are saying Carnival was negligent," Wiehl said, "and that they knew this ship had problems before it went out to sea. There had been engine problems previously, and these people will have to show that Carnival should have known." Guilfoyle added that all passengers sign a contract before boarding any cruise ship. "It says you can not sue for emotional or physical distress. If you have been physically injured on board one of these cruise lines, you are supposed to go to binding arbitration." The Factor summarized that passengers will have to conclusively prove negligence on the part of Carnival: "They're going to have to show that this ship had a history of this kind of thing and they put it out anyway." |
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Guests: Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes
Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who was embroiled in an extra-marital and extra-continental love affair in 2009, is now running for the House of Representatives. Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes analyzed Sanford's campaign ad, in which he admits fallibility. "I say give him a second chance," Crowley said. "He did lie to his constituents but this was largely a personal scandal, which is different than a public scandal where you abscond with public money or rip off the taxpayer. This guy has made amends to his family and he has apologized to the people of South Carolina." Colmes agreed that Sanford deserves an electoral Mulligan. "I agree with the forgiveness part and we all need second chances. But he was censured for using taxpayer dollars to fund some of his Argentina trips and he has to explain that to the people." The Factor concluded that Mark Sanford is hardly an isolated case, saying, "Throughout history almost all of our presidents did things in their personal lives, yet we Americans have forgiven our icons." |
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Delila Bertelsen, Logan, IA: "As a kindergarten teacher, I can tell you why Head Start is not working. The teacher does paperwork rather than teaching."
Ashley Simpson, Chesapeake, VA: "I worked for a Head Start program and all I did was paperwork. The kids got fed but they learned little."
Macrena Sailor, Prescott, AZ: "Bill, regarding your discussion with Juan Williams, it's not that white America doesn't care about black on black crime, it's that we can't talk about it without being branded racist."
Alex Landi, Mt. Shasta, CA: "Many black leaders use racism as an excuse for failures in black communities. This is a self inflicted wound because things don't improve." |
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