A word about Rosie (I attended "The View" taping yesterday)

[npincus]

Ia friend invited me, and we went yesterday (airs today, 11AM EST).

I want to say (briefly) that Rosie impressed me; she took questions from the audience during every commercial break, joked and conversed continuously not in a condescending "I'm a celebrity and you're not" fashion, but as equals. When someone asked about her (former) foster child she spoke eloquently and passionately about the sorry state of foster care and lack of foster homes... she impressed me as a very decent, loving person. On the other hand, the other hosts did not address the audience at all during breaks- except Barbara Walters came up once and thanked us, and was nice.

As for the "feud", I came away with the impression it was not fake.... Rosie made a few remarks off-air... OK gotta tape the show!

Here are pics showing Rosie schmoozing with us during breaks.

[jeff30997]

1. Don't like her...NT

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

22. Me Either. n/t

[Lucky Luciano]

2. I know a lot of Asian people are

steamed at her for making some "Ching Chong" remarks recently.

[Zavulon]

10. I'm not Asian and I'm steamed, too.

That was absolutely inexcuseable.

[Lucky Luciano]

32. I'm not Asian either, but it is funny

how nobody responded to this but you. Is racism against Asian people acceptable?

[Zavulon]

33. ?

I said what she did was inexcuseable. How could you possibly interpret that to mean that I think racism against Asian people is acceptable?

[Lucky Luciano]

34. not you.

You were the only person to be irritated at Rosie for her "Ching Chong" remarks - everyone else gave her a free pass by making no mention of this.

[Zavulon]

35. I understand now.

Sorry. I've had a bad week of people putting words into my mouth and / or asking me to fall on my sword for their mistakes, so I'm a bit jumpy today. Mea culpa.

[philosophie_en_rose]

45. I'm Asian. I thought her comments were stupid, but not malicious.

:shrug:

Her comments were not okay, but I think she know knows better.

[Lucky Luciano]

46. Fair enough...I met a few people that were very upset by it.

I was not annoyed by it until I saw how upset it made some other people. When I put myself in their shoes and thought about how some Asian kids were made fun of by otehr kids, I had to empathize. Those mean kids would say "Ching Chong" and pull their eyes back to make them look more Asian as a way to make fun of the Asian kids. I did see people do this when I was in elementary school. For some people, I guess this sticks. For others, like yourself I guess, it does not. It probably would not annoy me if I were Asian because I actually have some of the thickest skin around, but if I know something makes a fair number of other people upset I refrain - even if it does not upset me. Maybe Rosie didn't know. There was also a big backlash against Shaquille Oneal when he made similar remarks about Yao Ming. Ming was not upset, but those Asian-Americans that grew up in the US with other kids teasing them with Ching Chong talk were upset. Shaq apologized.

[Lex]

3. I like her.

I read her blog regularly. Interesting piece she has on her blog right now (political):

http://www.rosie.com/


Glad you got to go to a taping of the show!


___________

[npincus]

14. it was a fun experience

very strange to see the mechanics and theatre of what's supposed to be an intimate coffee-klatch!

great swag, too. We all got a free canvas knapsack (announcer mentioned that Rosie bought them for every audience out-of-pocket so that people would always come away with a gift), $100 Sears gift card, $100 HSN gift certificate and one dozen Joy Mangano hangers!

Oh yeah... another note... on the way back, I was having trouble with my Metro card at a turnstile at the 72nd Street/Broaway subway station, and a woman came up behind me and said "Can I help you?". I replied, "No thanks- it says insufficient funds". She just went on her way.d It was Cynthia Nixon ("Sex in The City"- Amanda). Myy friend recognized her- I just caught her profile; I was too busy struggling with my Metro card! But she dropped a lot of weight, was quite petite, and dressed-down! She blended right in with all the commuters.

[WiseButAngrySara]

50. Allright! Go Rosie and Go Ted Kennedy....

http://www.tedkennedy.com/ourdecision
"I hope you’ll take a moment to learn a little more about this legislation and then spread the word"

[seabeyond]

4. i like rosie. always have. even in her missteps. she is authentic, not perfect n/t

[Lex]

8. Exactly.

I think some people just think women should be soft-spoken and never bigger than a size 8, and certainly have no strong opinions!

(Just watch on this thread to see what I mean.)


_____________________

[seabeyond]

never bigger than a size 8

oh... and that will piss me off even more. dont think i will watch the thread, lol. wink

[npincus]

18. Rosie said she was a size 16 and 18

when a member of the audience complimented her to say she looked thinner than on tv.

[seabeyond]

21. the woman is just fine. i feel no need to beat up what seems to be only women, in appearance

be it getting old, being fat, or flat chested or ugly. has nothing to do with the person. i much more prefer the inner person... than judging the shell

[Lucky Luciano]

36. That said, one should go out of their way to avoid being fat

Men and women both. Self-respect is a good thing to have. Good health is...well....good. Better shape implies better sex -everything else being equal. It is a principle of yoga, for example, that one cannot get in touch with their true self without first optimizing their body. Take care of it. There is no downside to being fit. None.

[seabeyond]

37. not my place to say. not my place to judge. i will take care of me and

leave it at that with the understanding there isnt a chance in hell i know what is in anothers heart, and what is for another. i will graciously leave it alone and allow another to make their decisions for themselves.

[Lucky Luciano]

39. How about this misstep?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qINiw6ub5U&eurl=

Sorry about the Michelle Malkin thing, but she is actually correct here (a broken clock is right twice a day too). The worst part was not apologizing.

[seabeyond]

41. sorry

my son came in and listened with the malkin woman about this. he says she is angry because someone was putting down her culture. i asked my son, and when you and your brother try to talk japanese, or chinese, or german, or spanish..... (they love diversity and like to pretend to talk other language) are you being a bigot? he is VERY conscious of others and their feelings and bigotry. he is also honest with himself. no he said. of course not. she was talking another country with another language having a news story on devito. she obviously doesnt know the language and used sound. no i do not think she was being offensive. i think this is working real hard to be offended. but i will be sure to let my boys know,... playing with sound of other language offends people of other cultures

[trumad]

47. The same Malkin who thought detention camps were great during WW2 for Japanese Americans?

Now that's rich.

[Lucky Luciano]

48. yea - she is a dumbass - no doubt - never said she was

a good and righteous person

[JitterbugPerfume]

5. sometimes her mouth overloads her brain

but I still like her


The DONALD is a rich arrogant jerk

[npincus]

23. she ended a sentence with "..like some obnoxious billionaire"

when she was chatting w/the audience during the break (forgot the cotext). She also did another hair-fip-- during the break. SHe had a few quips, but said none on-air.

I got the impression she really hates him-- that it's not a stunt.

[MistressOverdone]

6. I used to like her

then not so much, then I couldn't stand her. But now, lately, she has seemed to get over herself a bit and is settling down to be more of a solid voice for the progressive point of view. She isn't the guru on the mountain yet, but it has been interesting watching her growth.

[Bill McBlueState]

7. wow, I'm surprised they let you bring a camera

(Or did you sneak one in? :))

Anyway, this is a great example of what we've always known -- liberals like Rosie genuinely care about people. Conservatives are only nice to people because either their god told them to, or they see a money-making opportunity.

[npincus]

25. photography was permitted during breaks

but NO cell phone photgraphy--ZERO. They said something about it interfering with the hosts' wireless mics. ALso no video photography.

Yeah- the conservative one- Elizabeth something-or-other was a snit: she never said a word to us or thanked us at the end. Joy Behar had to leave early- she was flying out to tape Leno- she said goodbye before she rushed off, but that was it.

[patrice]

9. I like Rosie!

Trump = 0. He's cheap. Rosie has real "class".

[partylessinOhio]

11. Did you get a giveaway?

Trump was on Imus this morning.

[npincus]

16. see post #14

they give great swag-- but I think not every time. At least you're guaranteed a knapsack!

If you're in the area and would be interested, you can get free tickets-- only one application per year. It's very popular, apparantly, and there's a 9-month wait.

My friend invited me-- so i just applied for tickets to invite her back!

[Neecy]

12. she's, um, interesting...

Back in the mid 1990's, when Rosie was still in the closet, she had a message board that promoted her television show.

My girlfriend at the time had seen Rosie at the NYC clubs with her girlfriend and posted on her board something to the effect of, come on, we all know you're gay....come out and say it.

Within minutes she'd gotten an email from Rosie demanding our phone number. She laughed and gave it, never imagining she'd actually call. Almost immediately the phone rang, I picked it up, and it was Rosie (can't miss the voice) demanding to talk to her. She then spent half an hour upbraiding her for posting and I could hear the screaming from several feet away. She must have been glued to her board just looking to root out any suggestion that she was gay.

Hell, I could have warned Trump about making her an enemy.

[WI_DEM]

15. well she came out when she was ready to come out and I don't know

if it was right for somebody to post on her website to the effect, "cm'on your gay and just say it."

[Neecy]

19. she was very out in New York

When you're openly cavorting in the clubs with your girlfriend, that's pretty "out". You can't have it both ways.

[Bill McBlueState]

28. that's not really the issue, though

The issue is that it's sketchy internet etiquette to demand someone's phone number and give them a harrassing phone call because you don't like what they said on your website.

I sure wouldn't want Skinner calling me on the (rare :)) occasion I get a post deleted!

[Neecy]

30. exactly right

And I'm sure we weren't the only ones abused via telephone by Rosie. This was in the period when she was pretending to have a crush on Tom Cruise to appear straight (it was after viewing one of these gushing episodes that prompted my girlfriend to post there in the first place) and there were always a smattering of posts on her board from people who knew her girlfriend, etc. No doubt they all got a similar tirade.

[crappyjazz]

52. I'm not buying this story

If Rosie was that concerned about what was posted on a website, she'd just have it deleted in my opinion. I don't believe she would phone people at home to yell at them.

Geez

[Jeanette in FL]

13. Wow, that is very cool.

I like Rosie. I like anyone who has strong convictions and is able to articulate them even when I don't agree with them.

There was a time when she was advocating standing behind our president right after the attacks on Sept. 11th. I didn't agree with her then but understood where she was coming from.

[buff2]

17. I got a whole different impression of her after she

appeared on Fox (I think it was O'Lielly's show) after 9-11. She was supposedly a Democrat,but she was swooning over Bu$h and what a great "leader" he was and how she was soooo impressed with him. She even teared up talking about him. It was a sickening display of hypocrisy. Everyone knows that moron stole the election from Al Gore and how she could sit there and give praise to Bu$h devastated me. I haven't liked her since.

BTW.....I was scanning the channels and came upon her on O'lielly.....I never watch that show but that time I did watch her,because I thought she was a true Democrat. Never again. O'Lielly is a very mentally disturbed SOB and I can't stomach him either.

[WI_DEM]

20. unfortunately alot of people were like that at the time

I wasn't and most of us on DU weren't, but the guy had a 91% approval rating--and that includes alot of democrats.

[npincus]

24. I can forgive her, she's donated much

time and money to children's charities, including her own:

BTW, I wouldn't hold anything anyone said immediately after 9-11 against them-- we were all traumatized and mentally off in some way or other. That's unfair.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,238418,00.html

But between these two prominent New Yorkers, I wondered: now that it’s Christmas time, who’s more charitable? Donald the self-proclaimed billionaire, or Rosie the talk show host and comic?

The answer: Rosie, as it turns out. Her For All the Kids Foundation gave away $1.9 million in 2004-2005 to children’s charities all over the United States. This is pretty remarkable, and something I didn’t know about it until I looked it up. The foundation benefits groups that help at risk kids, and even put a big chunk of change toward rebuilding a Head Start center in New York.

Rosie also has a second charity, called Rosie’s Broadway Kids. Last year she earmarked $375,000 for arts education in New York City public schools.

[AZBlue]

44. You know, I clicked on the link above to her blog and that's what immediately impressed me -

she's got links and information all over the page about the different charities she supports. And, they are front and center, not in small type at the bottom of the page. I have to admire that!!

[WiseButAngrySara]

53. And look at this! I thought Barb's links on her site were for Walters

Should have guessed that they were for Striesand. Read this post by Striesand on her blog:
http://www.barbrastreisand.com/statements.html#costofiraqwar

This section contains statements and speeches by Ms. Streisand.

Posted November 16, 2006 ...Barbra Streisand
The Cost of the War-And What That Money Could Have Accomplished

The Iraq war has cost more in American lives and resources than the Bush Administration originally advertised. I recently read that we have now spent upwards of $340 billion dollars on this failed war, with much of the money going into the hands of private companies that were handpicked by this administration to rebuild Iraq with no bid contracts. Before the war, White House economic adviser Lawrence Lindsay estimated the cost of the war to be $100 to $200 billion and he was fired. The cost has vastly surpassed that estimation, and the number is still rising. This administration went into Iraq with a complete lack of foresight and realism. Not only did they assure Americans that the Iraqis would welcome Americans with open arms and the war would likely end quickly, but they persuaded much of our country that Iraq's oil would pay for the war and finance its own reconstruction. None of these notions have turned out to be true.

Instead, the Bush Administration has slashed or completely eliminated more than 150 federal programs in order to fund the Iraq war. According to The National Priorities Project, the $340 billion plus dollars appropriated thus far for the Iraq war could have:


Paid for over 45 million children to attend a full year of Head Start
Insured over 205 million children for one year
Hired over 6 million additional public school teachers for one year
Built over 3 million additional housing units
Provided over 16 million students four year scholarships at public universities

By continuing to aggressively cut taxes for the wealthy during a wartime economy, Bush has paid for this war entirely by borrowing money. Many have estimated that Iraq will cost nearly a staggering $1.2 trillion dollars before all is said and done. Americans have suffered as the Bush Administration has fallen short in providing quality education, healthcare and housing for the neediest. Thank God the American voters have changed the direction of this country.

[skypilot]

26. That was what started turning me against her.

I don't think we are talking about the same O'Reilly show appearance but I saw her interviewed by him once and she was practically bonding with him. He was doing a show about the money raised for 9/11 families and where it went. He was clearly insinuating that the "Hollywood liberals" who went on TV to help raise money for the Red Cross were somehow responsible for the money not reaching the families. Rosie went on this whole kick about how people didn't like her and O'Reilly because they are loud, outspoken Irishmen. Yeah, that's the reason we don't like O'Reilly.:eyes: It has nothing to do with the fact that he's a lying, rightwing partisan piece of shit.

[npincus]

27. she's given millions to kid's charities... (post #24)

so post-traumatic stress from 9-11 that we all suffered from after that horrible day threw her off-track. I wasn't myself for quite a long time.

She does a hell of a lot of good in this world, and sticks up for the weak and vulnerable among us.

She is not perfect, nobody is.

[skypilot]

29. This particular O'Reilly appearance...

...was close to two years after 9/11 and it was also after O'Reilly had mouthed off about her adopting a child. I know that 9/11 threw alot of people off but Bill O'Reilly has always been a scumbag and would be among the LAST people I'd go easy on--even after 9/11. It's one of the reasons this whole Rosie vs. Donald feud annoys me. If she'd have blasted O'Reilly--when she had him right there in her sights--half as bad as she's blasted Trump I probably wouldn't be posting this.

[ronnykmarshall]

51. THAT is when Rosie lost major points with me.

She went on that show and acted like an ass. And her "I'll never forgive Bill Clinton for lying to ME".

Uh Rosie, it was none of your of the nations fucking business. That was between Bill and Hillary.

[soleft]

31. Days after 9/11 I said I'd vote for Guiliani for Pres

PTS can cause momentary lapses of judgement.

[mondo joe]

38. I sincerely think Rosie a borderline personality disorder.

Her politics are sometimes in the right place.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

43. She does some weird things, doesn't she?

I was watching the documentary about her gay cruise thing. She seemed like a perfectly decent person. Then they showed her getting in an argument with her 10(?) year old son, whom she wouldn't let into the men's room. Because she "knows what those people do in there."

WTF?

[Cha]

40. Sounds cool for you..

I keep wondering what ever happened to the "Queen Of Nice"? That's what she was called back when she had her Rosie O'Donnell show in the PM afternoon. It's hard for some to be Nice all the time but Geeze.

[WinkyDink]

42. I attended the show a couple months ago. I have the exact same opinion and

comments as the OP. Rosie was all about the audience, posing for photos with some, talking like a regular person to us, even scolding some! LOL!
The rest? NADA.

[WiseButAngrySara]

49. Interesting. Thanks for the photos! ....n/t