Americans are Being Let Down by Certain People...

To watch "The Memo" click here.

Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly, reporting tonight from Indianapolis.  Thank you for watching us.

I'm here to give a speech to the Library Association of Indiana about how Americans are being let down by certain people in the federal government. And that is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo .

Thousands of you wrote to The Factor after last night's report where we told you that an INS supervisor in Seattle changed the arrest designation of accused sniper John Lee Malvo, allowing him to stay in the country unsupervised over the objections of the Border Patrol.

Of course, Malvo is part of the sniper tandem that allegedly shot 13 Americans.

Today, another controversy. "The New York Times" is reporting that Maryland authorities are accusing federal agents of interfering with their interrogation of suspected sniper John Muhammad. Yesterday, Attorney General Ashcroft told the nation that the federal government would charge Muhammad with a series of firearm violations tied to extortion.

But these charges are far less serious than the murder charges he faces in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. "The Times" reports that Maryland authorities claim the Justice Department removed Muhammad from their custody right in the middle of a crucial interview.

The Justice Department told Fox News producer Ian McCaleb that is not true, and that Justice followed proper procedure. The Times told The Factor they stand by their story.

Talking Points believes that Attorney General Ashcroft needs to now explain the situation himself, especially after the INS Malvo story. For two years, the attorney general has been silent on vital situations like the anthrax investigation, the Marc Rich pardon investigation, and the corruption investigation of Senator Robert Torricelli.

Like Janet Reno before him, Ashcroft apparently believes he can keep quiet about important issues. Talking Points believes this is unfair to the American people. Ashcroft's thinking -- and many other politicians do this as well -- is that if he ignores the questions, they will go away, and he is partially right, as most of the establishment press will not aggressively investigate problems within the Justice Department.

The New York Times and The Washington Post are exceptions. But certainly the network news doesn't go near these kinds of stories.

The end result is that vital investigations go unanswered, and the American people are not being protected from corruption or danger. There is no question the INS is a disaster, and now there's actually a civil war between the INS and the Border Patrol.

Again, only pressure from you, the American people, will force the government to take action and protect us.

And that's The Memo.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Time now for "The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day"

Congratulations to Hannity & Colmes for beating Larry King in the October ratings. So now the Fox News Channel wins the 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00 p.m. slots.

Hannity says he's the reason he beat Larry. Colmes says he's the reason they beat Larry. Larry isn't talking....about the ratings, anyway.

One thing is certain. Good ratings are never 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