Not a question of faith

On the subject of God, I have always believed in Him.  I was brought up to believe in God.  Our family went to church sometimes when I was little.  I went to Sunday school and religion classes. Then, for a while, we didn’t go anymore.  We moved around to a few different places over the course of a year when I was 10.  When my parents bought a house and a business in a small village, we started going to church again.  It is an Episcopal church and very, very beautiful.  I was in the children’s choir for a while.  My dad was in the adult choir for a while (I think).  Then he became a lay reader.  Then he and Mom got divorced and he moved to a different town four hours away.

In the meantime, when I was a teenager, I became an acolyte, as did my brother and sister.  That was a lot of fun!  It really made it enjoyable to go to church.  Not that I didn’t like church anyway, but let’s face it, an Episcopal service isn’t a barrel of monkeys.  Not that it should be.  As an acolyte, I was right up there at the altar with Father Bob.  I felt so important.  I was his helper and had a very important job.  I was pretty good at it, not that it was difficult by any means, but when the entire congregation is watching, it’s better not to mess up too often.  I made a lot of friends as an acolyte.  I loved it, it was an important time in my life, and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.

After I graduated from highschool, I went away to college.  There wasn’t an Episcopal church within walking distance.  I didn’t have a car so the times I went to church during that time, I decided to go to the church on campus.  It was Roman Catholic.  I liked a couple of things about that church.  The service (or as they say “Mass”) itself was very similar to the one I was used to.  So that made it nice.  But there were a few differences and that made me a little uncomfortable.  I didn’t go very often during college, unless I was home at my own church.

After college was over, I lived in my hometown for a short time and worked on the Altar Guild.  Then, we moved about 45 minutes away.  I would go to church if I could go to my hometown church, but it was never the same anywhere else.  I think most people would say that it shouldn’t matter which church you go to, as long as you go.  I disagree with that, for the most part.  I believe in God.  I also believe that you don’t have to be in church to be near Him or to talk to Him or for Him to hear you.  Church is a place to be with other people and God at the same time.  I think they call that fellowship.  You all celebrate God together and at the same time, you pray together, ask for forgiveness together, take communion together.  It’s a wonderful thing.  I just don’t think it’s a requirement for someone to attend church just because they believe in God (and Jesus, for that matter).  For me, it’s about the experience and that changed as people changed over the years.

I think I can have that kind of experience again.  I have to give it a try, but I’m pretty lazy about it now.  As long as I keep my beliefs and raise my boys with the same values, I think God will understand. 

The whole reason I started writing this post has to do with something someone wrote in to Rosie.com.  A woman had had a biopsy and the results were benign.  She was so relieved and said, “There is a God”.  Then, Rosie’s question back to her was, “And if it was positive, would there be no God?”  I thought that was a very cold thing to say.  And I understand what she’s asking… don’t get me wrong, but I found it quite upsetting.  Rosie is asking if the woman is saying God wouldn’t exist if He would allow her to have cancer.  All the woman was saying was that He answered her prayers and she was so happy.  People who do have cancer still believe in God, mostly, I think.  But, I think also that when you pray and pray for something and don’t get it, there’s no confirmation.  When He answers your prayers, you get that secure feeling that He is there watching over you.  It’s a tremendous feeling!

There IS a God AND people get cancer. It doesn’t happen only to people who don’t believe in God.  This woman knows that and so does Rosie.  Why did she have to stomp on her happiness that way?  I think she made her feel bad and I don’t think Rosie would have said something like that to her they were sitting in Rosie’s living room having a conversation.  She should have said something like, “You’re very blessed. I’m happy for you.  Remember to pray for those who do have cancer.”  Everyone has to die. And not everyone is going to die when they’re old.  If everyone did, the world would be total and complete Chaos.  What I don’t know is why many deaths have to be painful.  We have enough pain throughout life: loved ones die, hearts are broken, natural disasters occur.  Some day we all die. When that day comes for each of us, I’m sure we will get the answers.  Until then, keep praying and thanking God for every day… especially those without pain.

I do respect Rosie.  I have fun going to her blog everyday.  I don’t consider her the most annoying celebrity, in fact I would have to say Donald Trump is waaaaaay more annoying than she is.  She has a huge heart. But, I think that sometimes in her haste to answer the many questions she gets daily, she might forget that feelings can get hurt; that there are human beings that look up to her; that although they are strangers to her, she is not a stranger to them.  It must be hard to do that, but it’s the position she’s put herself in. She may not be the kind of person who sugar coats what she has to say, and everyone makes mistakes, of course, but I think she could have been kinder in her response this time.

Peace & Luv

Elle.com Article on Rosie O’Donnell

http://www.elle.com/featurefullstory/11455/rosie-odonnell.html

That’s what I’ve been saying.

Bush Order

Another little piece of information from Rosie’s blog.

http://www.rosie.com/blog/2007/07/24/scary-plus/

She quoted an article from Sorcha Faal, whoever that is, who it seems has taken this executive order out of context, or simply misunderstood it.  Now, I don’t claim to understand this kind of legalese completely either, but when reading Rosie’s post the first thing that came to mind was that if Bush was saying that ALL war protests in the US were outlawed, that would be unconstitutional.  I knew as a former high school Social Studies student, that we all have the right to protest as per the First Amendment (Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.). Knowing this, I felt that I should research this order to see if it was really true.

www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070717-3.html

In researching, I found the article by Sorcha Faal and some other websites quoting it.  Then I found the actual order on www.whitehouse.gov.  I began to read the order.  It does not say that ALL war protests in the US are outlawed.  It says that it is unlawful to undermine by violence or threat of violence the efforts of the US in Iraq and the nation of Iraq itself.  It details more the ways in which this would be done, which I won’t take the time to type here, but in reading it all, have determined for myself that there is nothing wrong with this order itself. 

I don’t agree with the war, however this executive order was issued to protect our troops, the citizens of Iraq, and what has been done and is being done in Iraq.  Furthermore, if the order did state what Sorcha Faal says it does, I would be outraged myself.  But, as much as I can’t stand W, and as stupid as he comes off, I know that he is not so, completely.

I guess I can see why Rosie would post this article on her blog, being that she is against the war and Bush, and someone probably emailed it to her without verifying the source.  But, it’s hard to believe that she completely believed it herself.  I mean there is so much wrong with it.  This is how rumors get started and she knows from experience that people get misquoted.  She should know better.

Little Vivi O

I don’t watch the “entertainment” shows like ET and Access Hollywood too much, maybe once a month I catch one.  I haven’t seen what they’re saying about the latest controversy regarding Rosie posting the picture of her daughter in her soldier costume.  But, I’ve read all the comments on the blog… there are many.  For as many as I’ve read, there has to be at least ten times as many that she has received.  Some people are completely appalled.  Some people are saying: It’s no big deal, she’s a little kid playing.

I have to say, I’m not appalled and the fact that she’s playing soldier does not bother me at all.  However (you knew there’d be a “however,” right?) I wonder why Rosie would post that picture.  She’s not stupid, so she’d have to know that there would be controversy.  She’s been hearing from these idiots for nearly a year who don’t listen to what she really says, but listen to other sources’ twists on what she says. But, here we’ve been for the last how many months, listening to her talk about how the war is wrong.  She’s told us how badly the Columbine incident had affected her.  She’s very vocal regarding gun control. She doesn’t let her kids watch TV or use the internet.  That’s her business and it’s her blog so she can do whatever the heck she wants, but why ask for trouble? 

Personally, I don’t let my kids play with toy guns.  I make an exception for squirt guns because they’re usually brightly colored and don’t ever look like real guns.  My husband is a hunter and my kids have both been taught gun safety recently.  I don’t want my kids thinking that guns are toys.  I don’t want them to see a gun and think that it might be OK to play with, like maybe it’s a toy.  If they want to take a stick, sandwich, or crutch and pretend it’s a gun and play war, NO PROBLEM. 

I don’t really know that the controversy has anything to do with guns since there is not a gun in the picture.  Maybe the O’Donnell children have toy guns and maybe they don’t.  When Rosie posts something that starts a debate about an important issue, I view that as a gift to me.  I get to think about something that I maybe never did before. This picture doesn’t seem to be doing that, exactly.  It’s more like she’s doing it for attention or to deliberately start a fight, and that confuses me.  She knows how stupid people can be.

I do understand that it isn’t hurting anyone.  The picture is art. And it’s beautiful.

It reminds me a little of the big scandalous photo of Prince Harry in the Nazi uniform on Halloween (it might not have been Halloween, but it was a costume party.)  OK, I realize that the Nazi’s were evil.. the evilest scum of the earth ever.  But what about the devil himself?  Would anyone have given two shits if he dressed up like the devil? NO!!! It was a freaking COSTUME at a COSTUME party!

So, who cares if Vivi dresses up like a soldier? Not me! But obviously a lot of people do and I just don’t know why Rosie would want to open the door to those attacks. That’s all.

Peace.

“Find Me”

I love Ro’s blog, but when you have more to say than what will fit within 200 characters, including punctuation and spaces,  it can get a little frustrating.  I’m pretty long-winded so I have to get creative with almost every question or comment I send her.

After finishing her book today, I had a lot I wanted to share with her.  I can’t help it… maybe I’m a wacko, stalker-like fan, but the more I learn about her, the more I find we have in common.  Mind you, there are also many, many differences.  But you know how someone tells you a story about something that happened to them and you had a similar experience.  How often can you shut up and say nothing when all you want to do is say, “Me, too!”?  That’s so funny that I said that though, because my parents used to call me “MeToo” when I was little.  Maybe I just identify with everyone, but I don’t think so.

 Anyway, if you haven’t read “Find Me,” and you don’t like to know details about a book you’re planning on reading, especially stuff about the end, then don’t read this post any further.  You probably wouldn’t find it too interesting anyway.  Just skip to the next one and have a nice day. 

But, I listened to “Find Me” on a book on tape, read by Rosie herself.  If you’ve read my blog before, and I know that no one has, you would have already known that I had borrowed the book on tape from my local library (see post “The Library”).  I’ve wanted to read the book for a couple years, but never did.  People started mentioning it on Rosie’s blog and she had it for sale there, too.  When I found out the taped version was read by Rosie, I decided that it was the best way to go for that type of book.  I’m glad I did.

I was quite surprised to find that it was not in the least comedic.  It was two stories that blended together.  I like when writers do that.  The story about Stacie was interesting, yet strange, and as Rosie put it, creepy.  But it was the memoir, the things that happened in Ro’s childhood, that captivated me.  As everyone knows, her mother died of breast cancer at a young age, leaving her five young children alone with a father who, well, it seems almost died along with her.  I will never know what that’s like.  That isn’t something she and I have in common. Not really.  My mother died, too.  But she was there to tell me about my period, she was at my graduation, she dropped me off on my first day of college, helped me buy my first car, she was there for my wedding, when I bought my house, the day I had my first son, the day I had my second son, she baby-sat frequently.  I can’t compare Rosie’s loss to mine.  But, it doesn’t matter how old you are when you lose your mother, you still need her.

I also lost my brother. He was 35, I was 33.  He was a good friend. He was my only brother.  No one can replace him. Not my step-brothers, who I did not grow up with, and hardly see. Not my brothers-in-law, of which I have five, if you count husbands of sisters-in-law.  Not my friends who are men, not my husband, not my father, not my step-father.  There is no one.  

There are similarities in the feeling of loss of my brother to the loss of my mother, but more differences.  I can’t really discribe it.  The only thing I can say is that losing your mother is something expected when you reach a certain age… not that she was old enough to die, but a few of my friends had already had parents that passed away from whatever.  So, unlike Rosie, when my mother died, I didn’t feel like I was different than most people.  That happened when my brother died. 

He left us, by choice in a way, before my mother got sick.  That’s what suicide is, I guess. A choice, right?  I don’t really think he had much of one, but I wasn’t there… I really don’t know.  The days after we found out he was gone are very much a blur.  I remember talking to Father Ralph about suicide and whatever it was that he said, helped me to deal with it at the time, but I don’t recall what he said.  My father described it with an analogy that seemed to explain it quite well.  He told us that if you’re in a lot of pain with a toothache and you don’t go to the dentist and get it taken care of, eventually you will rip the tooth out yourself to stop the pain. Kind of a mild comparison, but it was up the right alley, I think.

So, anyway, I wanted to write about how my story is kinda like Rosie’s.  It really isn’t but she wrote about how Parker all of a sudden out of nowhere said a little something that her mother used to say all the time.  Of course, Parker never met his grandmother, so it was her saying hi to Ro through him.  Well, that is where we have a similar story.  Actually, I have a couple of them.

The first one was after my brother died.  He died a few weeks before my birthday in 1999.  The morning of my 34th birthday, I was on my way to work, listening to the morning team on WAAL.  The main DJ, Oz, was moving away and it was his last day.  My mind was wandering, I was thinking about my brother as usual, since it was my birthday and he never forgot my birthday (except one year when, in a very ”Sixteen Candles” type way, everyone in my family did).  So, I was thinking about just after he died.  We had a memorial service for him… I guess that’s what they call it when the body is cremated.  Not a funeral, a memorial service.  There were a lot of people there.  He had a lot of friends and so did everyone in our family.  One person who was there, was someone I didn’t think knew my brother.  He was the mayor of a nearby town… he still is, actually. His name is Harry Lewis.  I was thinking that morning of my 34th birthday, “Why in the world was Harry Lewis at my brother’s memorial service?”  I know the answer now and I’ll share it later, but I had no idea then.  Not even 20 seconds after that question went through my mind, over the radio I heard Oz say, “Guess who has just come into the studio on my last day…. Mayor Harry Lewis!”  Now, I got the spingles or tingles or however Rosie described it.  Harry Lewis is not the mayor of the city from where WAAL broadcasts.  He is the mayor of the next town over.  So, that was about the weirdest thing that could have happened at that moment and I knew, without a doubt, it was my big brother wishing me a happy birthday.

That was just the first one.  I used to work in a branch office of a bank.  We’ll call it Branch #1.  One of the services our bank provided to our business customers is to refer them to a payroll service representative.  From the time I started working there, our bank refered people to ADP.  Then, in the fall of 1999, we switched to Paychex.  My brother worked for Paychex in the Albany area right up until about two months before he died.  He had quit all of a sudden and took a trip “to get his head on straight.”  That’s a whole other story, though.  So, when he was working for Paychex, he was one of their most successful sales reps.  I think he was quite well-known throughout the company.  Anyway, one day probably around September after he died, the new rep for Paychex came into our branch to introduce himself.  He was a local guy, young, very nice.  I told him that my brother used to work for the company and when I mentioned his name, he knew who he was although he had never met him since it’s a completely different territory.  We talked about him for a while.  I told him that I had found some pictures of the Paychex racing team in my brother’s things and would try to get them to him.  So that was that. 

A few months later, I was transferred to branch#2 about ten miles away, in the next town over. I kinda forgot about the Paychex guy. We never saw him, we faxed referrals directly somewhere and didn’t really need him.  My birthday rolled around again in May.  I was standing behind the teller line that morning at work.  I looked up and out the window and who do you think I saw coming toward the door?  That’s right, Paychex guy.  Happy Birthday, again! 

That was the last time I was aware that my brother was sending me a birthday greeting, but who knows, he may have tried and I just didn’t get it.  It wasn’t the last sign from him though.

One day, at a different job where I worked alone in an office, I was having trouble with an email attachment.  One thing my brother was always good for was computer questions.  He helped me many times step-by-step to conquer some task I didn’t know how to do.  So, I tried and tried to figure out how to print this particular attachment that kept coming out a quarter of the size because it was so large that’s all that would fit in the screen.  I tried many things that seemed logical.  I called my sister. She asked someone in her office. No one seemed to know what to tell me.  She was going to ask someone else for me, but they were at lunch and she’d have to call me back.  I hung up and yelled up at the ceiling, “WHERE IS MY BROTHER?!?!”  I then turned back to my computer and forwarded the email to my AOL email address, opened AOL, then the email, printed it out, and guess what?  It worked.  I didn’t even think about what I was doing until it was all over.  It wasn’t me who figured it out.  There was absolutely no thought process going on in my mind.  My brother was guiding me, showing me what to do, step-by-step, without my knowledge.

So far, that was the last “sign” I got from him.  That’s OK.  I know he’s there to help me when I really need it. 

The following March, my mother died of lung cancer.  Unlike Rosie, I knew a week ahead of time that she would die. I was there, holding her hand when it happened.  She did not suffer much, thank God.  My mom was pretty much always there for me.  I remember as a child, a teen, even an adult, if I couldn’t find something in the house, she would always have a suggestion where to look and it was nearly always there.

On the Friday before Easter, which was maybe two weeks after Mom died, we were on our way to Buffalo to spend the weekend with my father and step-mother.  I had to buy food coloring because we planned on coloring the eggs Saturday morning.  We stopped at a Walmart half-way to Dad’s.  My husband and kids stayed in the car and I went in alone.  The Walmart had a small food section, unlike the Super Walmart near our house, maybe about four or five short aisles.  I went up and down the aisles, looking and looking for the food coloring.  They HAD to have it! I did not give up. They seemed to have everything else.  After about ten minutes (maybe five, but it seemed like ten), and going down every aisle at least five times, I turned down this one aisle I had been down a few times already.  I was looking at the products on the shelves and I got to the end and there, smack dab in the middle of the aisle, so that I couldn’t go any further, was a kid’s bicycle.  I said outloud to myself, “What the heck is that doing there?”  Then I turned my head to the left and guess what I found…. yup! The food coloring.  Thanks Mom!!!

I never ever ever had any kind of communication with people who had passed on before these things happened.  I did go to see a so-called medium a few months after my brother died.  It must have been after the first birthday thing.  But, so much like Rosie’s experience, she was so obviously not in communication with him.  Saying things like he was right there with me and telling me how my children were handling his death.  My younger son was only a year old!  She knew nothing!  I threw the money at her and ran out crying.  I’d love to have a real reading from someone reputable, but I don’t want to go through that again.  And if I don’t ever find someone who can talk to my brother and mother, that’s OK.  I have heard from both of them directly.

The Library

Today I went to the library.  The LIBRARY!  One of my favorite places to go is Barnes & Noble because I love to browse the books, read a little, and I usually end up buying at least one book or maybe a magazine.  I was looking around there for a couple of books, one in particular that they didn’t happen to carry, and instead of ordering it, I thought I’d check the library.  If the library has all of them, I can read them for free and take them back when I’m done.  What a concept!!

So, off I went to the library.  It’s only like 3 minutes from my house.  It’s small and cluttered and the shelves are lined up in a haphazard diagonal way that makes it look messy to me.  But, I found the books I wanted right away.  I took them up to the young, intelligent looking man at the front desk, wrote my name, address, and driver’s license number on a sheet of paper, received my new library card, and out the door I strode with my newly borrowed books.

Al Franken’s Lies And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.  This is the first book I found.  I wasn’t looking for this one specifically, but when I saw it, I knew this was one I wanted to read.  The cover is a picture of Al Franken, who, in my naivete until my first political conversation with my dad last weekend, I thought was  just a funny guy from SNL. Behind him on the cover are four TV screens showing the faces of Ann Coulter, President George W. Bush, Bill O’Reilly, and Vice President Dick Cheney.  I’ve heard of this book.  I can’t remember who told me about it.  Possibly my father last weekend, or more probably I heard about it watching The View or reading Rosie’s blog…no, I think it was from Dad.

The second book I found, in the same area of the library, was Bill O’Reilly’s Who’s Looking Out for You?  I figured I had better get both sides.  The reason I picked this one over his other books is that it was written the same year as Al Franken’s book (2003). Might as well compare apples to apples, so to speak.  Although, I expect one apple to be pleasingly tart and the other to be sickeningly sour.  We’ll see.  I have a prejudiced opinion of Bill O’Reilly because I know that he isn’t honest in respect to Rosie O’Donnell.  I’ve witnessed everything Rosie has said on the air and on her blog, so I know.  He has edited and twisted certain statements and led his viewers, including my own father, to believe that she has said things that she absolutely did not say.  But, I’d like to read a book of his to see if I can figure out why he would lie.

The whole reason I got interested in politics at all at this quite late time in my life was that lately (since September) I’ve been watching The View with Rosie as co-host. I started reading her blog shortly after that.  Politics was a subject I never really got into.  When a  conversation  turned to politics I would, more often than not, tune out. Not that I wasn’t interested, I wanted to be, but I wasn’t informed enough to have a strong opinion either way.  Growing up, I never paid attention.  It didn’t seem interesting enough to pay attention.  Lately, it’s more than interesting.  It’s crucial.  Something Rosie said over the past months woke me right up.  I’m being lied to.  I don’t know to what extent, but I know I’m not being told the truth and I don’t like it!  I always just accepted what I heard on the news.  Usually, for me, out of the mouth of Julie Chen, because the only news I bothered to watch was the morning show on CBS.  I’m not saying Julie Chen told me any deliberate lies or blaming CBS in particular. I blame my ignorance on myself.  But what I’ve learned is that the media as a whole, may not be such a reliable source for the truth.

So, to get back to the books.  The other book I took out was the one they didn’t have in stock at Barnes & Noble.  It is “Find Me” by Rosie O’Donnell.  I found it in the library in the Books On Tape section.  I saw that it was read by the author and decided that I wanted it in that form.  No guessing on how she meant that to read.  Straight from the horse’s mouth (just an expression… absolutely no reflection on Rosie’s appearance.) I’m about half-way through it.  It’s not political at all, as I expect her next book to be.  I can identify with her in so many ways…  And I don’t in so many ways.  But, it’s a wonderful, compelling story, full of a lot of sadness and a little regret.  It’s not funny, like you might expect. 

Rosie’s book, so far, doesn’t seem to be related in any way to the other books.  Published around the same time as the other two, maybe she didn’t get political until a year or two ago.  Maybe she didn’t think about it until she was asked to co-host The View.  Whatever.  She definitely has an opinion now.  I’m not saying I always agree with her, but I thank her for waking me up… that’s all.  I don’t want to be in one of those conversations with my father and my sister (or anyone else for that matter) and keep saying, “Well, Rosie said…”  That’s why I went to the library.  I need to figure this stuff out on my own, for once.   I’m too old to accept being lied to… not that there’s any age you should, but I’m old enough for people to listen to what I have to say. I don’t want to be the one who walks away when the important subjects come up.  I started to get into a conversation with my father last weekend and he seemed to accept what I was saying.  Then after he went home I found out from my husband that he stopped arguing because he thought I was going to cry or something.  That sucks!  I was nowhere near tears, but he’s not used to me having a strong opinion, so he didn’t know what was going on, I guess.

I’m going to read these books over the next few days and hopefully will have learned something.  Then, I’m going back to the library and I’m going to borrow books written by other people, probably more currently published, and read them.  Sooner or later I’ll have it all figured out, right?

Luv & Peace

More on Rosie…

Since I can’t seem to comment on a comment on the Amanda Guinzburg article, I thought I’d vent on my own blog, although those I’m venting about will never see it.  It might seem cowardly, but it really isn’t.  If anyone knows how to respond directly to TJIrish and SusanR, please either let me know or forward this to them.

I’ll begin by saying that I saw the article on Rosie O’Donnell’s blog, of course.  I tried to add the link to both blogs on the side like Rosie does on hers, but I can’t figure it out, sorry. Anyway, I thought the article was terrific, albeit full of words I never used or heard before.  Amanda gets it.  I hope lots and lots of people read it (and look up the words they don’t know like I did) because I think so many people do NOT get it, yet.

So, I clicked on the link to the Huffington Post.  I wanted to make a comment to Amanda that it seemed she used the word “anathema” improperly (it’s listed in the dictionary as a noun, not an adjective.)  When I started to read some of the comments already made, I thought I’d check to see what other people said (expecting more relevant comments than mine, of course.) Comments 1 through 7 were all “Thank you.”  I thought, Wow! Nothing negative until #8! It’s usually the opposite when regarding Rosie.  Anyway, my whole reason for posting is just to respond to those negative comments whether or not anyone will ever read it, it will make me feel better.

tjirish Rosie might mean well but she has gone overboard giving facts that are wrong as well as well as misleading such as her claim that our govt bombed out one of the buildings on 9/11. her proof was fire wont melt steel. She should visit a steel mill and see it done. Also the terrorist comment was rediculous

Well, TJ, first of all, Rosie never claimed to have proof of anything. She never accused anyone, including our government of bombing WTC7. Check your facts before speaking,  and furthermore, do a little research on the subject of WTC7. It’s all over the internet. The small fires in the building were NOT hot enough to melt all the steel in the building to cause it to fall, all at once, straight down in a matter of seconds.  Secondly, I’m quite certain you don’t even know what her “terrorist comment” was, because if you did, you would not think it “rediculous”, which by the way is spelled “ridiculous.”  Dummy.

Susan R “And I never hear any speculations or vicious attacks about the sexual practices of Elisabeth.”Probably because Elizabeth is married to a man prividing a loving home for children that she concieved via heterosexual practices. Be is God or nature, it is THE ONLY NORMAL sexual practice.Homosexuality doesn’t automatically make someone incapable of being criticized. Rosie is a bully.
She attacked Trump making fun of his hair, picked at Kelly Ripa and made fun of Asians without provocation.I respect her right to disagree with Bush and do not think she is just spouting liberal Democrat talking points. Why is it EH must be spouting talking points? Both Rosie and Joy have said things that they could have only gotten from Soros.As far as the 9/11 theory, if Rosie would read research other that what feeds her delusions about this event, she might get a truer picture.She made the statement about terrorists. I would have asked her to clarify what she meant. After all Vietnam Vets were called baby killers by many including a U.S.Senator.

I won’t argue that sometimes Rosie comes off as somewhat of a bully.  I think, though, that through reading many comments daily on her own blog, she realizes most of her own faults.  However, the three examples you gave as her being a bully don’t qualify.  First, EVERYONE makes fun of Trump’s hair.  It’s completely ridiculous! He even made fun of it himself on the first or second season of The Apprentice. Why he continues to wear it the way he does when he must know how bad it looks is beyond me.  The only reason I can come up with is that he feels it’s his good luck charm. Let’s face it, he is kinda lucky.  Now, Rosie may have started this little “feud” with DT, but he’s the one who won’t let it go.  She expressed an opinion about him and he had a right to respond to that, but it very well could have ended there. Fault him for keeping that going. He’s being even more bully-ish by not letting go.

Next, the Kelly Ripa thing.  Again, not being a bully.  She thought that Kelly was acting homophobic when Clay Aiken put his hand over her mouth and she said, “I don’t know where that’s been”  Now, I don’t agree at all that Kelly was acting homophobic. It’s just not nice to put your hand over someone else’s mouth. Period.  Clay Aiken, who most people believe to be gay, has not even come out publicly, so to say it was homophobic doesn’t wash with me. (is that a pun? not intended).  Anyway, Rosie somehow took it that way, but I don’t see how pointing out her opinion is being a bully. It just isn’t.

And your third item, about making fun of Asians, you’re all wrong there, too.  If she was making fun of Asians, that might constitute bully-ishness (my own word, I think). But, her point this time was that the “news” of Danny Devito being drunk on The View was being talked about all around the world.  She was trying to be funny and not knowing how to speak Chinese, made up what she thought sounded like Chinese words.  Unfortunately, they turned out to be insulting to the Chinese.  She had no intention whatsoever of offending anyone.  Who she was making fun of was the media in that something so unnewsworthy as Danny Devito having a hangover was being talked about everywhere instead of some more important current events.  And maybe you’re not aware, but she apologized at least three times.

I’m not going to comment on your own homophobia.  I found that there’s not much use. You have to live with yourself and your closed mind.

Lastly, if there is some explanation out there that people know of why WTC7 fell the way it did, I would hope that by now, someone would have sent the link to Rosie.  She doesn’t know why, which is all that she is saying. Why? Why? Why?  Something’s not right and I dont’ know why!!!  I think she would be relieved to know if, indeed, there is a logical explanation…. It’s definitely NOT the little fires in the building, or the planes that hit the largest two of the complex.

That’s as far as I’m going.  The next two pages were more Thank Yous. That’s awesome. I wonder why AOL polls are the opposite.  As Rosie would say, hmmmmmmm.

God Bless Rosie O’Donnell

I’ve watched it so many times I can repeat it verbatim.  Wednesday’s fight between RO & EH.  How completely frustrating for Rosie! I could hear in her voice trying not to break down crying.  I’ve felt that so many times myself when arguing with someone I respect.  The frustration.  Trying to explain why you’re upset.  Hoping for understanding and not getting it. And thinking this can never be the same again… ruined forever.  So sad. So frustrating.

I know what Elisabeth was trying to say, that Rosie asked a rhetorical question, but would not answer it herself.  I get that. But, that was irrelevant to Rosie’s side of the argument.  It’s hard to put myself in Elisabeth’s shoes since I’m so unlike her, but I can’t fathom why she didn’t get what Rosie was asking.  And why she would not freaking answer her “yes” or “no”.  Unless, the honest answer was yes, which unless Elizabeth is the most ignorant person on the face of the earth, which she isn’t, can’t be true.  I mean,  how can someone who sits there every day and (I assume) listens to Rosie say over and over how she supports the troops and visited and supports the army hospital in Texas and how she wants the troops home safe and alive, think for a minute that Rosie was saying the TROOPS are terrorists?… that’s insane!!!

It makes me very sad. Although Rosie was leaving anyway, if she was staying till her contract was up, we’d have three weeks of JaHeRo, three weeks of an interesting View show, and probably a great send off with confetti and the works.  We might possibly have finally had the show we’ve been waiting for: Experts on the World Trade Center Building #7 demolition. We’d have the knowledge that she’d be back to guest host from time to time. Not anymore.

I just now checked rosie.com and saw a new JaHeRo video (sans Ja).  Could still hear the sadness in Ro’s voice.  But, I’m happy and relieved to hear from her.  I really appreciate that she seems to understand how much her “stranger friends” need to know how she’s doing, not to mention our daily rblog fix.

I will not watch the show after Tuesday.  I emailed EH & BW and complained.  I wasn’t looking forward to the show post-Rosie anyway, but would have been willing to give it a chance.  I like Joy, but not enough to watch her next to EH everyday.  It’s too bad on Wednesday’s show that particular segment turned into what it did, because I thought Joy’s list was great.  I love Sherry Shepard, too. One thing good I can say about the View is that they have really had some spectacular guest co-hosts this season.  This show was the only daytime show I watched every single day, actually the only show I TiVoed every episode since Rosie’s been on. I never watched it pre-Rosie, so I would say if there are many others like me, EH and ABC really blew it! 

There are one or two things I can say about EH that aren’t negative, but I don’t really feel like it right now.  OK, one: the dress she wore on Wednesday was gorgeous. But I’m not saying anything else.  The way she treated RO last week, the two-faced little jerk, negates any good thoughts I ever had about her.  If I ever see her picture in any magazine I buy in the future, it’s getting a big black mustache!

I write a little something to Rosie everyday. Sometimes a question, sometimes a comment, once a complaint. I feel like she’s my friend even though she doesn’t know me from the thousands of others who do the same thing. I miss her (and Janette and Helene) already.  Some would say, “Lynda, get a life!” but this is just one small part of my life and it makes me happy. 

My husband asked me tonight, “What are you doing, honey?”

I said, “Reading Rosie’s blog”

He said, “You really like Rosie? What do you like about her?”

I said, “She makes me think about things that I never thought about before. I feel more informed than I ever have before. I question instead of simply accepting. That’s so important and I never realized it before.”  Thanks to Rosie.  “…AND she plays POGO, just like me!!!”

God Bless Rosie.

Love and Peace to All