that's it for us today. "the factor" continues 24-7 on billoreilly.com. check it out. all the proceeds i get from billoreilly.com go to charity. and we'll see you premium members on the factor postgame show coming up shortly. i'm bill o'reilly. hope to seep you next time. remember, the spin stops here because we're definitely looking out for you. sean: and this is a fox news alert. the eyes of the nation were fixed on the air above colorado this afternoon where a 6-year-old boy was believed to be onboard this runaway balloon. after a two hour and 50-mile journey the balloon landed. however, the 6-year-old boy was not found onboard. that sparked concerns i may have fallen out of the balloon causing a frantic search to begin on the ground. but a few short years ago the larimer county sheriff's office announced that the boy was found in his home and he's fine. the boy was not onboard the balloon and was actually hiding in a box in the attic of the family's garage. this is great news out of colorado. he is safe. and he is sound. now, moving on to other news as we reported last night, rush almost baugh has been dropped by a group -- rush limbaugh has been dropped by a group attempting to buy the st. louis rams and rush broke his silence on the situation. and that is our headline tonight. rush fires back. for days, he has been unable to comment on his involvement in the bid due to a confidentiality clause but now the reins are off. take a look at what he had to say this afternoon on his nationally syndicated radio show. >> what i'm going to be known as is the mirror. i am the man who showed the country what america is becoming. i still love professional football. i'll still love love the people that play it and admire them. but those people who enable this event for their own racial reasons, for their own ratings, their own fundraising, their own face time, their own business reasons, they're going to be just as unhappy as they were before this happened. it's a collection of unhappy, angry, agitated people and that's not going to change. and i tell you with absolute sincerity i am more sad for our country than i am for myself. sean: rush also explained that he was the one who was approached by david checketts to be a part of the group bidding on the rams. and from the very beginning, checketts assured him that he would stand by rush through any controversy that may arise. but today, we know that was not a promise that was kept. and joining me now with more is the author of "guilty" ann coulter and ann, welcome aboard. thanks for being with us. >> any time, sean. good to see you. sean: you know, i thought about this. there's no bigger football fan than rush limbaugh. we're both friends of his. we're fans of his. he loves football. no bigger fan in the world. he's -- this is bad for this country that this kind of character assassination can go on, lies can be told by people that just don't like him because of his political beliefs. what would you do if you were rush and -- in terms. lees that were told about him? -- in terms of the lies that were told about him? >> i have faced similar circumstances. unlike rush, i don't have $100 million. and i don't have a radio show. so thank you, sean hannity. what i do is i go on your show. and tell my side of the story. you're a true and loyal friend in that regard. one thing i think i have to point out because no one else has pointed this out, the nfl is very easily spooked by crazy left wing hoaxings. you'll remember a few years ago the loopiest hoax of all claimed that men beat up their wives more on super bowl sunday. the nfl not only believed it and it was completely a fraud, and completely insane, the safest people in the world by the way as i describe in "guilty" are married women. they can -- actual husbands and wives, husbands rarely beat up their wives. single women get beaten up more. but in any event, the nfl was spooked into running back in 1993 a public service announcement before the super bowl with a man sitting in a tie and a jail cell saying i didn't know it was wrong to beat your wife. they would have been better off warning americans about the danger of falling meteors. so they're very easily spooked by ridiculous left wing hoaxes. and i would also like to point out, this happens to me all the time, if what right-wingers say is so outrageous, then why don't they quote us accurately? the day i am quoted accurately -- >> there were things that were just made up in this particular case. here's what i don't understand and maybe you can shed some light on this for me. this effort has -- is led by the reverend al sharpton. and brian maloney reports later this afternoon, he's bragging that he successful in his effort to stop rush from getting this team. but this is a guy, look at his past comments and associates. louis farrakhan is an associate. white interloper comments. we have a series -- he called the african american mayor of new york the n word repeatedly. jaime town, jesse jackson. he's leading the effort. how is it that these two men lead this effort and are successful? what does that say about america now? >> i know you're right. al sharp thon is on a lot of -- al sharpton is on a lot of fox news. he's a charming fellow. but the idea that he's going to be the arbiter of appropriate speech in america after the things you just mentioned, after tiwana brawly, it's crazy. like having michael vick be the dog catcher. it's very crazy. and i think a lot of people are upset by what happened. and by the way, throw in -- go ahead. sean: how is it that -- for example, i am a huge dog lover. i love dogs. i found michael vick did to be despicable. but after he did his time, i said, all right, let's see what happens. he's allowed back in the nfl. there are a lot of other players that have had enormous problems that are allowed back in the nfl. there wasn't even a shot based on the comments of the nfl commissioner that rush would get in here. >> right. no. and this has nothing to do with reality. most of the things -- it's not a matter of another giving rush for saying them. he never said them. but one thing that i think -- i don't know, in my book unforgivable would be being a nazi collaborator. and part of the consortium trying to buy the st. louis rams is still george soros who admitted on tv to having collaborated with the nazis. but he's fine. because he owns the democratic party. sean: we got that double standard. we got sharpton and we got the reverend jackson. we got their controversial statements. even the president. typical white person. those are words that came out of his mouth. the -- he supports the black values system of jeremiah wright. he's on tape repeating the speech of jeremiah wright. white folks greed, runs the world of need. that's in barack obama's voice. i don't know what to make of this. what does this say about america today as it relates to the issue of race relations? what does it say? what does it mean? >> well, it says the theme of my book, everybody wants fob a victim -- wants to be a victim. at least in the case of racism, rather than the johnny-come-latelyisms, there is a history in this country that a genuine racist shouldn't be shunned and banned from polite society but you get so many goodies and that everybody wants fob a victim and even when there's no victimization you have people rushing out claiming that there is victimization but it waters down the charge of real racism and that's unfortunate. sean: look, i don't know if i could be as gracious as rush. and i know he has a passion for football. because i listen to his program. he loves it. he goes to the games. it's a big part of his life. he loves it. he even said he gives up his sundays, devotes it to football. it's a passion. i don't know if i could -- i don't know if i were him if i could watch it the same way again. knowing that this institutionalized prejudice against conservatives exists at this high level. could you be as forgiving? >> well, for one thing, we don't know that the consortium that he was a part of is going to end up getting the st. louis rams. maybe the most shocking part of the story. that anyone wants to spend money to buy the st. louis rams. but in any event, i will -- i would wager that a fair number of the players would agree more with rush limbaugh's politics than with george soros' politics. i mean, not for nothing. a lot of them are christians. point one. point two, and i mean real christians, christ christians. and point two, they make a lot of money. i don't know that they leak all these tax-and-spend -- they like all these tax-and-spend plans of the democrats. i wouldn't hold it against the players. the woosy owners. sean: i wonder if dave checketts will tell george soros to take a hike. maybe somebody should ask the nfl if they want george soros to be an owner. if this is the world we live in. >> an admitted -- sean: go ahead. >> and an admitted nazi collaborator and pointed out who the jews were in hungary when he was 15 years old. he admitted that to steve croft on teach. the transcrents are all over the internet. and that is the man who owns the democratic party. sean: an coulter, thank you for being with me. we appreciate it. >> thank you. sean: we got a lot more coming up tonight. and here is what's coming your way. >> let's see. sean: and coming up -- >> over here. i got some bottled water. we have some food. a change of clothes. sleeping bag. sean: it's political correctness run amok. an eagle scout is suspended for a pocket knife in his car? house republicans call for kevin jennings to get the boot. and the president's new pastor is making waves. >> and exactly what kind of business are you running? >> south park mocks acorn. tucker carlson, tanya tucker and more. >> you notice i wasn't kidding. i don't quit. sean: "hannity" straight ahead. (announcer) we understand. you need to save money. express each one more with downy simple pleasures feel more calm with new downy lavender serenity feel more daring with spice blossom dare feel more elegant with orchid allure now all have renewing scent pearls that help you express every side of you downy simple pleasures. feel more maybe we can ship all these detainees to nancy pelosi's district. district. just an idea. sean: we told you about a delaware school that suspended a 6-year-old for prig a fork to school. although that school reversed its decision others are taking its lead. matthew whalen, a 17-year-old eagle scout from upstate new york, was suspended for four weeks by his high school and you won't believe why. whalen kept a knife. similar to this one. in the trunk of his car as part of a survival kit. the knife whalen says was a gift from his grandfather. halen's fate rests in the hands of the school board which has the power to reverse this decision. and the school district superintendent, george goodwin, maintains that the district has a zero tolerance policy with regard to all weapons. we reached out to members of the school board for comment today. and we're going to put the members' names on the screen for you to see and want to report to you that seven of the nine members did not return our telephone calls. board member p.j. higet referred us back to the superintendent and bobby lance's husband told us she supports the school's course of action 100%. but here is the good news. whalen hopes to attend west point and he did receive word from the school earlier today that they will not hold this suspension against him. and joining plea to discuss this is matthew whalen and his father, brian. welcome to the program. thanks for being here. we're really appreciative of your time. thanks. >> thank you for having me, mr. hannity. >> great pleasure. sean: matthew, it was odd to me, i think it's really smart to have a survival kit in your car. this was in your car, it was locked up. and the school comes up to you and says do you have a knife on you, walk us through what happened. >> i was called to the vice principal's office. and asked if i had a knife on my person. and i told him i didn't. and they asked me if i own a knife. and i told them yes, i'm a soldier, and i'm an eagle scout. i own a knife. they asked me is it in my car or anything like that? i told them yes, it's located in my car right now. and from there, they told me to bring it down to the car, open it up and show them. and at that point, i thought it was just -- they thought i had a big knife and a little two inch thing and figured it's not a weapon under new york state law and no problem with it so i brought it down and showed them the car and the knife. and they told me i had a weapon on school property and had to be suspended. sean: the principal even admitted from what i had read that in fact you had no intent to use the knife and you had -- the knife was not accessible to you, correct? >> yes. the principal said that in a recorded superintendent's hearing. sean: they brought in a police officer and the police officer said you aren't breaking any laws. >> yes. the little pocket knife because of the size and everything with it, it wasn't a weapon under new york state law and said there's nothing illegal about the situation. sean: i find this amazing. now, i also found more amazing is your story that you were -- you had received from the scouts a medal and a distinction and an honor because you had saved somebody's life. and i want to know if you can share the context of how that happened with our audience. >> yes, when i was 13, i was on a trip down to virginia. with some family members. and while there at a hotel, my cousin had -- allergic reaction to some medication. and she is unconscious. and unresponsive. and she wasn't breathing. so i performed c.p.r. on her until medical officials arrived on the scene. sean: which could probably explain -- and i'm just assuming here, tell me if i'm wrong, why you might have a survival kit with you at all times. always be prepared, right? >> yes, i feel being prepared and any circumstances a good idea and better to have something and not need it then need something and not have it. sean: let's talk about first of all, you originally were suspended for five days. and then they tacked on another 15 days. can you explain those circumstances? >> i was told that i had to go to a superintendent's hearing because the principal can only suspend a student legally for five days. so i had to go to a superintendent's hearing to see if they could suspend me for further. and that the superintendent wasn't at and neither the vice principal who originally suspended me. it was just the athletic director and the principal. and from there, i received notice that i would be told of -- this is my fate. and i received a phone call from the principal later that day and i was told that i had another 15 days of suspension. sean: what's amazing to me, i thought you had a pretty interesting line and i thought it was very clever. you made the argument, ifness a weapon, well, -- if this is a weapon, well, if somebody has a baseball bat on a baseball team, they could use that as a weapon. >> yes. under their blanket definition of a weapon, it's anything that can be reasonably considered a weapon. and a bat in my eyes is a much better weapon than a two inch pocket knife locked in someone's car. let alone that or a tire iron. sean: anything could be used as a weapon based on the attempt but you didn't have any access to it and locked up safely in a car. explain to me -- i love the fact that you're a young man. and you have this ambition. west point is one of the greatest colleges that i think anybody can go to. and you got word today from west point that they will not hold this against you. how did it come to their attention that they responded that way to you? >> some news stations called them and also some people told me that they wrote to us about the issue. just so that i wouldn't be negatively affected by this when they saw it and they pay closer attention to the issue rather than just passing me over seeing that i had a weapon on school property charge. and that wasn't really the case. sean: brian, as the dad, what's your reaction to this? i understand that you aren't considering any type of lawsuit. but there is a potential that your son is going to be suspended for 20 days. your reaction. >> initially, it was just the first five days, it was -- we were really concerned and just surprised by it. after the hearing, we thought based on the attitudes of the principal and the appointee of the superintendent that ran the hearing that it was just going to be dismissed and he would be allowed right back in school. so, you know, we were irritated by it. but it was something that we thought we could get through. but when they -- a couple of days later when they tacked on the additional days that have ultimately brought it up to be a month out of school, that was outrageous. and very infuriated. so we contacted the media at that point. and i actually have our -- retained an attorney. and we'll be exploring that measure to try and get his record expunged. sean: matthew, you did nothing wrong. good luck at west point. and we'll be looking forward to seeing great things from you in your future. thank you nor being with us. >> thank you, mr. hannity. i appreciate it. sean: when we come back, we have big news on barack obama's brand new pastor. also more on the rush limbaugh controversy. and governor palin has big plans on the horizon. it looks like her political career is far from over. we're going to tell you about the former gotch's next move. that's -- about the former governor's next move. that's coming up straight ahead. sean: tonight in "hannity's america" for weeks we have called on president obama to fire his safe school czar ken jennings. house republicans are demanding that jennings be ousted from his motion at the department of education. leading the effort in the house is iowa congressman steve king who on this very program has called for jennings' removal. the letter signed by king and his colleagues was sent to president obama earlier today. it says "kevin jennings cannot gain the approval of parents who want their children safe and their schools drug free. you should replace him with someone who has a record of educating children in a safe and moral environment." congratulations to congressman king and the 52 other house republicans who are paying attention to this very important issue. and i just wish the mainstream media and the president would do the same. when she stepped down as governor of alaska, sarah palin vowed to continue to champion the causes that she believes in and we're now just beginning to hear what may be next for the former v.p. nominee. according to the "new york post," governor palin is set to announce the formation of a new political group called "stand up for our nation." specific details about the group remain unclear and the governor's spokeswoman has refused to comment on this matter. but the post does quote a palin associate as saying an announcement about the group is coming up. well, folks, we have not heard the last from governor sarah palin. her book is coming out as well. and one member of the president's faith advisory council saw it appropriate to appear on a television network called the islam channel and it's run by convicted terrorist mohammed ali hara. the obama advisor, delia mogaed appeared on "muslim dilemma" and talked about spreading sharia law. >> i'm sure there are people out there who in fact -- they're not all muslim -- who believe that this is something that the united states and britain and other countries should be open to. the conflict of integrating sharia into laws in muslim majority societies. and of course most muslim majority societies do have sharia as a part of their laws already. sean: but there's a lot of americans who think muslim c