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Mike Huckabee fills in tonight. |
| On The O'Reilly Factor...
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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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| Mike was joined by former Speaker Newt Gingrich, who began with the severe budget crunch in California. "I am encouraged by the fact that Governor Schwarzenegger is telling the truth to the people in California," Gingrich said. "The truth is that the public employee unions and the bureaucracies are holding the state hostage. The government is too big, too expensive, and it is driving successful people and jobs out of California." Mike pointed out that California is ignoring a revenue source that could generate billions of dollars: "There is plenty of money waiting for California if they were willing to drill for oil offshore, but that's not going to happen." Gingrich shifted to the federal government and the bleak unemployment figures released Thursday: "It is amazing to that the Democrats in the House have passed the largest tax increase in American history at a time when our economy is continuing to slide. The president and his friends had better wake up and realize that this economy can not take higher taxes, bigger government and more spending without getting in worse shape." |
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| At a White House press briefing, correspondents Chip Reid and Helen Thomas lambasted the administration for pre-selecting the participants and questions at the president's health care town hall meeting. Mike asked political strategist Dick Morris about that rare outburst of media hostility. "The media works like a pendulum," Morris said. "They may have felt like they were too nice to Obama and the pendulum may be swinging back." Morris, whose new book deals with health care, also issued a challenge to President Obama: "Let's expand the number of doctors, and then you can expand the coverage all you like. But if you don't expand the number of doctors and you cut their income, you are compromising our medical care. I believe that every week President Obama's support on health care drops four or five points, and he is going to run out of time and run out of votes." |
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| Mike welcomed author and retired Army General Anthony Tata, who explained the U.S. offensive in Afghanistan. "We are trying to eliminate the strategic threat to our nation that emanated from there and caused 9/11," Tata said. "If we can eliminate Al Qaeda from their Pakistan sanctuary and also defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan, it will go a long way toward achieving the strategic aim of our nation. We have to build the Afghan governance and military capacity, and we have to eliminate the threat with a counter-insurgency strategy. This Marine action is one step toward doing that. We are also trying to get rid of the poppy crops and put in alternative crops so we get the economy going and get them competitive in the international marketplace." |
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| The Jackson family has announced plans for a memorial service to celebrate Michael's life and talent. Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating whether drugs found in Jackson's home were obtained illegally. "Agents walked out of that house with a bag full of prescription drugs," said former DEA agent Robert Strang, "so there's obviously a connection here between the drugs and his death. The DEA wants to find out what drugs were prescribed, what doctors prescribed them, and what pharmacies were involved." Mike implied that rogue physicians or pharmacists were obviously involved: "There was a lot of talk that he was addicted to prescription painkillers, which someone has to write a prescription for. You can't just get them over the counter." |
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| Mike introduced excerpts from previous 'Is It Legal?' segments with FNC's Lis Wiehl and Megyn Kelly. The duo had a heated argument over a school in Tennessee that blocked student access to gay-themed web sites. Kelly sided with the ACLU, which claimed the block is discriminatory. "Parents who have gay and lesbian children," Kelly explained, "are asking why they are being blocked. They don't want porn, they want information and they can't get it. It would be the same as if they said there was no access to sites about black people or Jews." But Wiehl argued that the school is absolutely correct. "I don't want sex in the schoolroom at all, it is not appropriate. These computers are on school grounds and they're just saying don't use public property for this." Wiehl and Kelly also disagreed about rapper Chris Brown, who pleaded guilty to beating his girlfriend Rihanna but will serve no jail time. "This is absolutely disgusting," Wiehl declared. "He was punching her, her face was completely swollen. Other first offenders in assault cases got three to six months." Kelly's rebuttal: "I looked at those cases, and in all of them there were multiple victims and the injuries were much worse." |
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| A pet python got out of its cage and strangled a 2-year-old infant in Florida. Mike asked defense attorney Michelle Suskauer whether the snake's owner will face criminal charges. "This guy also had another snake," Suskauer reported, "so why would he keep two big snakes in the house with three children? The least serious charge would be a misdemeanor, but he could face a charge of aggravated manslaughter, which is up to 25 years in prison." Mike posed a Solomonic question about the wisest sentence: "There's a side of me that says this man will be punished for the rest of his life by the haunting memories of what happened. So what is the value of prosecuting him? Is there a public benefit to going after this guy?" |
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| Finally, Mike asked Billboard's Bill Werde about Michael Jackson's future earning power. "The estate certainly has some huge assets," Werde explained. "There is a lot of unreleased music, so you'll see one or two more albums and some repackaged albums of some of his hits. But all that will pale in comparison to the 'image and likeness' possibilities for income." Werde added that Michael Jackson's future earnings and image will be controlled by capable guardians. "The will named three individuals to manage the estate, and they are well respected. The estate is going to be in pretty good hands." |
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