"It is getting worse in Vermont, as some in the Green Mountain State have mounted a counter-attack to defend Judge Edward Cashman, who sentenced 34-year old Mark Hulett to 60 days in prison for raping a 6-year old girl over a four-year period. Now we learn that Hulett's best friend is also accused of abusing the little girl. So not only did Hulett rape the girl himself, but he may have set up another man to do the same thing. And Hulett gets 60 days! Cashman should have been gone last week, but so far no Vermont official has moved against him. The Vermont media continues to prop up Judge Cashman, and the legislature is dithering. In Vermont there are no mandatory sentencing laws for child rapists and there are no public demonstrations against Judge Cashman. Where are activists Ben and Jerry, the ice cream guys who constantly scream about human rights? Where is former Governor Howard Dean, or Senators Jeffords and Leahy? It might take action by the rest of the country to wake the state up."

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Vermont State Representative Michael Kainen joined The Factor with another view of the controversy. He accused the media of distorting the case and misrepresenting Judge Cashman. "The sentence was 60 days to 10 years, followed by a suspended sentence with Mr. Hulett out on very strict conditions on where he could live and a program of treatment. Judge Cashman believed the public would be best served if Hulett entered treatment right away." When Kainen suggested that three years behind bars would be an appropriate sentence, The Factor vehemently disagreed. "It's hard for me to understand how a learned legislator like you would not understand there has to be appropriate punishment for the crime. He destroyed a little girl's life and you're going to sit there and tell me that three years is punishment enough? Think about that little girl, sir. This was the most vulnerable girl in your state - mentally challenged parents, raped by a brutal guy. And you say three years?"

Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, has issued a threat - it will withhold oil if nations enact economic sanctions to protest the nation's nuclear program. Author and energy expert Patrick Clawson downplayed the significance of the Iranian blackmail. "We all pay attention when the price goes up, but most of the time the price of gulf oil is pretty cheap. Iran's threat is a hollow threat because we have a strategic petroleum reserve. And we haven't bought oil from Iran for ten years." Nevertheless, The Factor urged the administration and Congress to promote alternative energy sources. "What I don't get is why presidents from Carter onward didn't protect us by developing alternative fuels. I don't want this country dependent on Saudi Arabia or any oil sheikdom."

Fox News analyst Dick Morris has suggested that the American people are gradually becoming more liberal. "It's a fact," Morris declared. "When you ask people which party is better equipped to handle the problems facing the country, it's 51 - 40 Democrats. If you ask people which party is more corrupt in Congress, they say it's the Republicans." Morris claimed part of the problem is that President Bush has largely succeeded in the areas that were his priorities. "He has nothing left as an agenda. All the things we want done now - energy independence, bringing down the price of gasoline, dealing with the border - that's all stuff Bush doesn't have an agenda for. George Bush had better come up with something to do over the next three years that captures the American people."

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, author John McWhorter and former King speechwriter Clarence Jones debated the state of black America. McWhorter asserted that today's generation of black leaders has gotten far off track. "King was agitating in order to create change. But since he has been gone we have seen people who seem to think that agitation alone is activism. Acting up is not activism. We have to get beyond the idea that rage for its own sake is something that pushes us forward." Jones defended today's black leadership, but denounced the corrosive effects of gangsta' rap. "When I hear lyrics that talk about a woman who's a whore and a bitch, that's what I call the cesspoolization of the black American experience." The Factor cited specific examples of so-called black leaders and their shortcomings. "Louis Farrakhan is a hater, Jesse Jackson is a hustler, Al Sharpton is controversial because of his past. All of these guys have baggage. The two big issues are out-of-wedlock births and gangsta' rap culture, which is decimating the children. The 70% out-of-wedlock birthrate among black Americans is the genesis of poverty, and I don't hear the leadership addressing that very much."

Have you had an overwhelming urge to debate Bill on the subject of your choice? You now have that chance - six viewers will be selected to appear on Factor, where each will go one-on-one with Bill. There's only one catch - the chosen few will have to convince producers that they belong in the ring with the heavyweight champ of cable news. Communications specialist Mike Paul provided some advice to would-be guests. "One thing they certainly have to do is watch the show. They have to understand the show that they're going on - the types of topics and the way you interview. They have to be prepared and do their homework, and anticipate the kinds of questions you may be asking." The Factor pledged to be on his best behavior. "I'm not going to be mean to the folks. If we bring in some lady from Iowa and I let her have it, I'm going to look bad. So I'm going to be charming."

Information on the contest is available at FoxNews.com, and you can enter by sending an e-mail to oreillycontest@foxnews.com. Include your age, phone number, and address, and explain why you would be effective in a toe-to-toe, no-holds-barred matchup with Bill.

Charles Kostuck, Sandgate, VT: "Hey, O'Reilly, stop dragging Vermont down! Judge Cashman does not represent Vermont."

Patricia Beauvais, Colchester, VT: "I want the child rapist to do the maximum amount of time in prison, not 60 days. We need Jessica's Law in this state."

Dave Barry, Chelmsford, MA: "I applaud Judge Cashman's decision. Sending this low risk offender to prison would do nothing to treat his problem."

James Morfey, St. Albans, England: "He who does not punish evil, commands that it be done. Leonardo da Vinci."