Guests:Tamara Draut & Nile Gardner
"Today in Frankfurt, Germany, thousands of protesters caused havoc as violence broke out because the European Central Bank's new headquarters is in that city. The protesters call themselves 'Blockupy,' and obviously this is a blatant anti-free market play. They are communists or socialists, they want governments to run the economic show and they want to punish wealthy people. Greece is bankrupt because of their socialistic policies, while Spain and Italy are both in trouble. It all comes back to private enterprise being strangled by government spending - entitlements, free stuff, giving people the means to live rather than having them earn their way. Here in America, President Obama is sympathetic to government intrusion, but the crazy left-wing economic stuff has really not taken deep root. We do have a quasi-socialistic senator in Elizabeth Warren, who could compete for the Democratic nomination for president, and we also have Senator Bernie Sanders, a socialist who Vermont voters have elected ten times. But the most frightening of all is George Soros, a billionaire who made huge money trading currencies and rooting for countries to fail. He is the puppet master behind corrupt far-left groups like Media Matters and has his tentacles into the Center for American Progress, which has provided operatives for the Obama administration. Few Americans even know who Soros is, but the 84-year-old uber-leftist is behind much of the political strife in this country. When a bank opening in Germany causes injury to nearly 100 police officers and millions of dollars worth of damage, there is a problem. We Americans have to wake up and counter this problem."

For more on the anti-capitalist displays, The Factor welcomed Tamara Draut of the left-wing Demos think tank and Nile Gardner of the right-wing Heritage Foundation. "You made the claim that people want a handout," Draut objected, "but people in Europe are really protesting the fact that they can't get a job. These countries really doubled down on austerity and there is a lot of frustration. The countries that have strong economies like Germany do a lot more to help workers than we do in America." But Gardiner argued that statist policies in Europe have failed. "The European socialist project has been a huge big-government disaster and you certainly don't want that here in the United States. What you're seeing in Europe is the destruction of the entrepreneurial spirit and you have entire countries on the verge of bankruptcy."

Guests:Andrea Tantaros & Jessica Ehrlich
Dick Cheney has called President Obama the worst president in his lifetime, which stretches back to the FDR administration. The Factor invited Republican Andrea Tantaros and Democrat Jessica Ehrlich to react. "I agree with Cheney," Tantaros said, "in that Barack Obama is one of the worst presidents. Our friends no longer trust us, our adversaries no longer fear us, and Cheney points to how Obama weakened our military and put us in a precarious position." Ehrlich, of course, wasn't buying that notion. "President Obama withdrew troops from Iraq and Obama bin Laden was killed under his watch. I think he's been remarkably consistent in what he said he was going to do and what he has done." The Factor concluded that the president and the former VP have incongruent worldviews: "Cheney is a tough guy who wants to wield U.S. power, while Obama feels U.S. power is part of the problem."

Guest:Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer
Military analyst Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, who has been tracking the Bowe Bergdahl story, entered the No Spin Zone with the latest. "The five Taliban traded for Bowe Bergdahl will be totally released by Qatar on or about May 1st," he reported, "which plays into the thinking of the Pentagon and the White House. If they charge Bergdahl now, you'll see a long legal process that will go beyond May 1st, which will again link these two issues. I'm hearing that the administration is putting pressure on the Bergdahl team to cop a plea, which would avoid the embarrassment of the legal process." The Factor lamented, "The Army is supposed to be non-political, it's not supposed to be stonewalling investigations because it might hurt the occupant of the White House."

Guest:Shannon Bream
The State Department says Hillary Clinton never signed the exit document required of departing employees. The Factor asked FNC's Shannon Bream to administer some truth serum to that claim. "Jen Psaki of the State Department said secretaries of state often do not sign the form," Bream reported, "because it is a step on the way to revoking their security clearances. But if this is an easy explanation, why didn't we get it fourteen days ago?" Bream then turned to Starbucks and the company's stated wish to engage in a "conversation about race" with its customers. "The backlash has been incredible. Even Gwen Ifill, the PBS anchor, said that if you try to engage me in a race conversation before I've had my morning coffee, it won't go well." The Factor wrapped up the segment with a jab at $5 frappuccinos: "I want sensitivity to all races and I think the way to get that is to drop the prices at Starbucks."

Guest:Dennis Miller
The State Department says Hillary Clinton never signed the exit document required of departing employees. The Factor asked FNC's Shannon Bream to administer some truth serum to that claim. "Jen Psaki of the State Department said secretaries of state often do not sign the form," Bream reported, "because it is a step on the way to revoking their security clearances. But if this is an easy explanation, why didn't we get it fourteen days ago?" Bream then turned to Starbucks and the company's stated wish to engage in a "conversation about race" with its customers. "The backlash has been incredible. Even Gwen Ifill, the PBS anchor, said that if you try to engage me in a race conversation before I've had my morning coffee, it won't go well." The Factor wrapped up the segment with a jab at $5 frappuccinos: "I want sensitivity to all races and I think the way to get that is to drop the prices at Starbucks."

Guest:Martha MacCallum
Some college students in Florida on spring break got into a brutal beach brawl with a police officer. Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum watched the tape and elaborated. "One kid spit in the cop's face," she reported, "so the cop took the guy down. Both of the guys on tape are no strangers to this, they both have spent time in prison for assault and armed robbery. They're thugs, they're not college kids. They're both out on bail, but they both may be going back to the slammer. The cop did a really did good job."

Judy and Steve Kirby, Indianola, IA: "Bill, great job with Barney Frank! You let him have his say which resulted in him showing the weakness of his positions."

John Frock, San Angelo, TX: "Being quite frank, that segment was the worst I've seen in months."

Bud Bordelon, Florence, KY: "Bill, the interview with Frank was one of your best. You out-blarneyed Barney."

Donna Brucato, Irvine, CA: "Bill, you were disrespectful to Barney Frank, and I felt bad for him. Sometimes you need to be humble."

If you ever find yourself in a totally new arena, something outside your regular realm, do everything you possibly can to take advantage and learn from it.