"There are reports that many entertainers are frightened to perform in the Inaugural on January 20. The roster of performers today is scant. Some of the Rockettes will be there, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir out of Utah is scheduled to perform, and Jackie Evancho of America's Got Talent is also set to sing. The Beach Boys and the country group Alabama may be appearing, but that has not been confirmed. Also not confirmed are some entertainers who reportedly believe if they show up it will hurt their careers. The tenor Andrea Bocelli has been mentioned, along with Garth Brooks, but we cannot confirm that. It is obvious that there is a problem, and there should not be. The inauguration of a president celebrates a peaceful transition of power engineered by American voters. That's what the ceremony is - not a political gesture. So all Americans should respect the process even if you don't like the incoming president. There should never be intimidation about attending or performing. That is un-American. The election of George W. Bush in 2000 was perhaps the most controversial vote in the nation's history, but a variety of entertainers showed up at the Inauguration, including Ricky Martin, Wayne Newton, Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Rockettes. So even though there was bitterness over the Bush-Gore race, the nation came together at the inauguration. But now that cohesive spirit seems to have changed. In the 1950s Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy started accusing people in Hollywood of being Communists, which led to a blacklist where people were not hired because McCarthy smeared them. Today it seems anti-Trump zealots may be doing the same thing - if you are a Trump supporter, you are a bad person. And a number of entertainers believe their careers will be harmed should they associate with the new administration. That is an awful state of affairs. Talking Points believes that enough is enough with the anti-Trump movement. The man won the election. Give him a chance, respect the process, stop the nonsense."

The Factor gave a hearty New Year's welcome to Charles Krauthammer, who promptly disagreed with the notion that entertainers are afraid to perform. "Thus far you have presented no evidence," he declared. "Hollywood is overwhelmingly liberal and it could be that these people do not want to perform at a Republican Inauguration. This is deplorable, but it's nothing new - conservative intellectuals have not been able to get jobs at elite universities for decades, so they had to create their own institutions in Washington. I find it hard to get exercised over the fact that we may be short by a Rockette." But The Factor maintained, "These groups are afraid that if they perform they will lose bookings and they will be attacked."

President-elect Trump continues to criticize U.S. companies by name, most recently complaining that General Motors is producing some models in Mexico and selling them in the U.S. Former Bush aide Karl Rove criticized Trump's Twitter strategy. "We have to be careful about this," he warned. "The implication is that General Motors is building a bunch of cars in Mexico and shipping them into the U.S., but that is fundamentally untrue. The facility in Mexico sells cars primarily to the foreign market." Rove also denounced Senate Democrats who are vowing to slow down the confirmation process. "The Democrats have announced that there are eight appointees they will oppose and delay. This is pure obstructionism, an attempt to make it difficult to put together a government. Within two days of being sworn in, seven of President Obama's cabinet nominees were approved." The Factor groused, "It looks like Senator Schumer and his crew are going to sabotage Trump, but they can't stop these appointments."

Some on the far left continue to declare that Donald Trump is a bigot, even denouncing the phrase 'make America great again' as racist. The Factor invited Juan Williams and Lisa Boothe to opine. "I guess if you want to make the case," Williams said, "you could say that Trump has a history of discrimination in some housing that he built. But these are people who constantly bring up race rather than argue about his policies." Boothe scorned the malcontents who seem to relish being offended. "The left is ridiculous and it's never going to stop. The reality is that the majority of American feel like this country is on the wrong track and feel like their children and grandchildren will inherit a nation that is less well off."

Greg Gutfeld and Bernard McGuirk kicked off the new year by taking aim at America's racial arsonists. "It used to be that if you didn't like Obama you were a racist," Gutfeld pointed out, "and now you're a racist if you like Trump. There is a left-wing superhero called 'Raceman,' and the only power it has is to throw accusations of bigotry at you. But 2016 is the Kryptonite that took away the power from Raceman." McGuirk lamented that calling your political opponents 'racist' is way beyond tiresome. "Leveling this accusation is so overused, it's the last refuge of a skunk with no argument. They want to level this against Donald Trump because he won and they're frustrated, but I don't think it will stick because he fights back."

A Gallup survey indicates that 36% of Americans describe themselves as conservative, which is down a few points from a few years ago. 25% say they are liberal and 34% self-identify as moderate. Conservative talk show host Michael Medved put a positive spin on the slight increase in liberal Americans. "Let's be clear," he began, "75% of the American electorate are not liberal. The solid base of conservatism has not been dented or damaged and liberals can't win without winning overwhelming percentages of moderates. But the more the Democratic Party moves to the far left, the harder time they have winning moderates." The Factor added, "The media, which is unrelentingly liberal, is promoting the left's point of view."

Jesse Watters headed to Times Square on New Year's Eve and asked some people what they expect in the coming year. Most expressed unbridled optimism: "There will be world peace" ... "It's going to be a beautiful year filled with love and acceptance" ... "There will be good vibes and happiness" ... "I'm going to meet the love of my life." One exception was a young man who confidently predicted, "There will be an alien invasion." He was presumably not referring to being ambushed by one Jesse Watters.

Mark Campbell, Mason, OH: "Bill, I have to call you out for failing to point out issues with Common Core and the avalanche of lies used to support global warming."

Greg Russell, Bullhead City, AZ: "Someone needs to tell Donald Trump to stop being a battologist."

Larry LaFever, Bellevue, WA: "As a retired military officer who knew many of the players in Killing the Rising Sun, I was impressed by the accuracy of the book."

Because Social Security will inevitably need to be altered, you would be wise to immediately start saving as much money for retirement as you possibly can.