Who Cares About America?

Who cares about America? That's the subject of this evening's Talking Points memo.

Taliban John Walker arrived at a Virginia federal court today, and as Talking Points predicted a couple of weeks ago, the proceedings are already turning into a circus. Points believes a military tribunal is a proper forum for Walker, because civilian defense attorneys will try every sleazy trick in the book to get him off.

His lawyer, James Brosnahan, has begun by attacking the United States, no surprise, saying that military authorities have violated Walker's rights. Then Brosnahan trotted out Walker's mom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARILYN WALKER, JOHN WALKER'S MOTHER: It's been two years since I last saw my son. It was wonderful to see him this morning. My love for him is unconditional and absolute, and I'm grateful to God that he's been brought home to his family, me, his home, his country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

After Mrs. Walker's impassioned plea, Brosnahan said to the media, "America, don't miss this trial."

Now, put yourself in the place of the people who lost loved ones in the terror attack. They're going to have to watch this legal zoo play out for months. Brosnahan will most likely mount a defense that says Walker was being held captive by the Taliban, that he wanted to leave but couldn't, that his intentions were not evil, that he was simply a misguided youth who made a mistake and got in over his head. That will be the strategy.

Along the way, Brosnahan, will say that the U.S. military brutalized Walker and coerced a confession out of him.

The truth is that Walker voluntarily got himself involved with the terrorists. Bin Laden's thugs aren't subtle. They've been screaming "Death to America" for more than a decade. There's no way any person could not know that al Qaeda wants to destroy the USA.

Yet American John Walker found his way onto the battlefield. This situation is insulting to all Americans. Walker is a traitor, whether he wanted to be one or not. He was captured along with hundreds of other terrorists overseas on a battlefield. He is not entitled to civilian rights. He is a terrorist combatant. What is he doing in a federal courtroom?

The military should be dealing with Walker and all of the other holy warriors. America does not need a show trial that will diminish our spirit. We don't need lawyers spinning and, in some cases, lying, and that is what many defense lawyers do, they lie and try to destroy their opposition in very personal ways.

In the end, Walker will be found guilty and probably get between 10 and 20 years in prison, but before that day comes, counselor Brosnahan and his gang of law manipulators, will try their best to damage America. It'll be a revolting scene and the 9/11 families are the ones it will insult the most.

And that's the memo.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Time now for the Most Ridiculous Item of the Day.

Our pal Alan Keyes' new program on MSNBC. And we noticed that Alan is changing from a suit jacket to a nifty sweater right in the middle of the broadcast. So why is that happening?

Well, we believe Alan is trying to become a bit warmer and fuzzier and is taking a cue from Mister Rogers, the champion of humidity and fuzzy business. But my question to you is this, should I, your humble correspondent, follow Alan's lead and change into a sweater sometime during The Factor?

This is what it might look like. This is what it might look like. And you can feel the warmness enveloping your TV screen. Oh, I see. You've got the little thing on. What a cheap way to do that. I thought we were going to have an actual sweater on me. No. Anyway, let me know if you think I should wear a sweater, because I wouldn't want to do it and just be ridiculous.

— You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com