3-3-11 - Rosie Speaks with Donahue at NYU and an Interview with Andrea Mitchell

In case you missed it...

ROSIE AND PHIL DONAHUE TALK AT NYU
Rosie started today's broadcast discussing her talk she gave yesterday at NYU with Phil Donahue! Rosie really enjoyed the afternoon. She and Phil talked about many things including corporate owned media and how media has changed over the years. Rosie said it was a very interesting class and if she had had a class like that when she was in college she might have stayed. Shoshana assured her that not all college courses were that interesting. Shoshana went to NYU and Mark Crispin Miller, the professor of the class Rosie spoke to, is one of Shoshana's favorite professors! Shoshana highly recommended his books to the listeners. Rosie said they also talked about what's happening to collective bargaining in Wisconsin and Ohio. During the talk Phil and Rosie discussed how Donahue's MSNBC show was cancelled in 2003. The reason MSNBC gave for the firing was ratings but later a memo was leaked and it was revealed that he was actually the highest rated show at the time. Internal memos later revealed that the reason MSNBC actually fired Donahue was because they believed he was too "delighted" in his anti-war stance. Rosie was the last guest on Donahue's show. She went on his show with "No War" painted on the back of her jacket the day it was cancelled. The professor believes that the dismantling of the unions is the beginning of class warfare and Rosie agrees. They also discussed the draft, war and privileges that wealthy people get.

Rosie then took a call from a listener in Ohio who is a retired state employee. She said they worked hard under collective bargaining and is horrified by the sham of the vote that happened in Ohio yesterday. Rosie said it's a scary situation for the country and feels they were able to pass the bill in Ohio because everyone is paying attention to what's happening in Wisconsin. She hopes the people of Ohio will come out in protest as the people of Wisconsin have.

Rosie said she enjoyed the talk yesterday but felt very old in comparison to the people they were talking to. One student asked Rosie what they can do about the "radical Muslims" in Palestine. Rosie spoke about the documentary To Die In Jerusalem and what a beautiful story it was and recommended it to the audience. The student she was talking to was Jewish and had been to Jerusalem and Rosie spoke to him about demonizing and removing our perceived enemies humanity in order to justify our thoughts about them. She said he really didn't get her point however. They also talked about White House correspondent Helen Thomas and the huge price she paid for saying what she did and supporting who she chose to support.

And Rosie recognized one kid in the audience last night who was on her television show 14 years ago!

Rosie talked about her own disappointment with Obama as President and how social media has changed the way the younger generation feels they can participate in politics. Janette spoke about her own frustration with America's politics and how it really hit a boiling point when exit polls, which have traditionally been 100% accurate with the exception of one time in Florida, showed 49 states saying John Kerry won the Presidential election and then Bush ended up winning. Because of this, Janette was totally disillusioned with politics and didn't vote in the last Presidential election.

Rosie said overall it was a very interesting afternoon!

TWITTER AND CHARLIE SHEEN
Rosie talked again about how much she loves her Twitter. She mentioned a student who tweeted about her during her talk with Donahue who she's now following! It also seems Charlie Sheen has set a world record for the fastest time to reach 1 million Twitter followers! Rosie wondered why Charlie's rants have taken hold of the public the way that they have. Shoshana thinks it's because some of what Sheen has to say is pretty funny! Janette said Sheen's situation has become a titillation to some people watching him go down the crapper. She also said people are interested in the thought that he's actually living a "rock-star life." Rosie asked Pete if every man's dream is to have two porn stars at their beck and call.  Pete admitted that it kinda is (especially because he was up with screaming little girls last night at 3am.) Lou said it sounded like a fun life for a weekend but not for forever. Janette thinks it's a double-standard because no one is saying, "Way to go, Lindsay Lohan!" when she acts crazy. She said if you're a woman, there's something terribly wrong with acting crazy like that. The staff talked about "trending topics" on Twitter and how many of Sheen's phrases have been trending topics lately. Janette and Rosie recalled the odd-colored drink Charlie has been seen drinking in his latest interviews and Janette thinks it could be a drink called Omni that detoxifies the body of illegal substances during a drug test. She said it's exactly the same color. When Rosie heard Charlie say he's "found a spot in his brain where he doesn't need sleep" she thought, "Please someone help him." She worries for his family too. Janette said there's very little a family can do if a person is unwilling to participate in their own sobriety.

Rosie went to a Rosie's Theater Kids fundraiser following her talk with Phil Donahue last night. Rosie's Theater Kids "is an arts education organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children through the arts. Using professional teaching artists, Rosie's Theater Kids provides instruction in dance and music and a professional theater experience for children who might otherwise not have the opportunity." [source: www.rosiestheaterkids.org] Rosie said it was a lovely evening and she was happy she got to see the kids perform again. Because she was at the dinner she missed American Idol.

MEREDITH BAXTER ON OPRAH, THE AMERICAN IDOL GIRLS AND ICE CREAM TALK
Rosie then discussed yesterday's Oprah with Meredith Baxter. On yesterday's show, Baxter talked about how she was horribly abused by her ex-husband.  Meredith Baxter's new book entitled Untied: A Memoir of Family, Fame, and Floundering was just released on March 1st and she will be on Rosie Radio next Tuesday.  Overall, Rosie commented on how very touched she was by the interview and how sad it was to hear about Meredith's painful past. Rosie took some callers about the interview who agreed about how sad yesterday's show was. Rosie said she had an image that everything was fine with Baxter's life when in reality, it was the total opposite. One caller who is a grief counselor talked with Rosie about how grief and loss continues even after a divorce and how we all revisit the grief we experience in our lifetimes.

Rosie mentioned a woman who's selling her ex-boyfriend's belongings on Ebay. The woman's boyfriend cheated on her and then broke up with her and for revenge she's selling all his stuff on eBay. When they were dating he told her she shouldn't dress as sexy and she did so the woman is also posing half nude with everything she's selling! Rosie thought it was funny and Bobby said, "You go girl!"

Bobby caught Rosie up on last night's American Idol.  He said he was a little disappointed at the girls overall and didn't think any one particular girl stood out. His favorites were Lauren Turner,  Pia Toscano and Thia Megia.  They played the audio from these three performances for Rosie.  Rosie took some callers who shared their favorites.  Pete liked Rachel Zevita but thought most of the performances were boring.  Janette agreed and said she could barely handle an hour and a half of ballads!

Going back to Twitter, Rosie said her two favorite people she's following right now are Steve Martin and Jimmy Fallon. Except, today Jimmy tweeted about this new vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered potato chips in it!  Rosie said she immediately wanted to go out and get it and said that is exactly the kids of ice cream she loves!  Bobby suggested she not deprive herself and said it would be okay if she got a little taste of it.  Janette said that depends because sometimes a little taste of something can create you to go completely off track.  Then there was a big debate over which brand of ice cream was best. 

Rosie mentioned how Ashton Kutcher's Twitter got hacked at the TED conference.  She said she wanted to post a picture of her and Phil Donahue to her Twitter feed last night but she didn't know how.  So, Pete showed her how to do it and they posted a picture together during the show!  See below....

ANDREA MITCHELL

Rosie then introduced Andrea Mitchell to the program!  Rosie jumped right into it and asked Andrea why what's happening in Wisconsin is not being covered as much as what's happening in the Mideast.   Andrea said they're covering Wisconsin every day on NBC Nightly News and on her MSNBC show. Rosie remarked on how she can't find much mention of it on CNN.  Andrea talked about the importance of covering what's happening in the Midwest because it's where America's future lies.  

Rosie wondered if there was any correlation between the protests in Wisconsin and the protests that happened in Egypt.  She wondered if US citizens felt empowered to demonstrate again after seeing the change that occurred in the Mideast.  Andrea wasn't sure there was a correlation between the two but said they just recently took a very interesting poll about the way Americans feel about collective bargaining.  Andrea said in their latest poll 62% of people say they're against taking away the bargaining rights of public employees. Andrea also thought that the 14 Democrats who left the state of Wisconsin would possibly face a political backlash for leaving but said they're actually gaining strength as the days continue.  Andrea also said what they've seen so far is a very peaceful presence from the protesters.  Rosie told Andrea to check out the Fox news reports of the violent protests in Wisconsin that showed palm trees in the background!  It clearly wasn't Wisconsin!  Andrea said she hadn't seen that footage but she was going to check it out.  Here it is...

Rosie then asked Andrea about her recent interview with Donald Rumsfeld as he was on his book tour.  Rosie said Andrea was the only reporter who actually pinned him on some of the crap he was saying about the time he was in the White House.  Andrea said she was trying to be fair but she was asking him about known facts that he was outright denying.  She said that was very challenging because he wouldn't even acknowledge the facts.  They then discussed the decisions that Rumsfeld refuses to claim any responsibility for and how tough he was on Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice in his book.

Rosie specifically asked Andrea how she felt when Rumsfeld said he didn't know what stovepiping (the tendency of individual agencies to not share information) was.  Andrea said she was stunned!  It was in the 9/11 Commission Report and he presumably read it!

Rosie also asked Andrea what she thought about the firing of White House correspondent Helen Thomas.  Andrea said she feels Helen is an icon and made it possible for women reporters to do what they do.  She said it was Helen Thomas and others of her generation who finally got women to be admitted into The Press Club.  Andrea said if Helen crossed some lines and offended people they should remember what a hard working person she was and what she did for women in the press.  Rosie said what happened to Helen Thomas broke her heart.  Andrea hopes Helen will be remembered for all she did and the passion she brought to her career. 

Rosie also asked Andrea about the times she's been forcibly removed from interviews.  Andrea said she asked a question to President Assad and she was lifted and carried out of the room!  Another time she was with Condoleeza Rice in Khartoum and she asked a question and she was grabbed from behind and dragged out of the room.  Condeleeza Rice went after the men and demanded an apology of them. 

Rosie asked Andrea about the time the press was told during the Bush administration that they weren't allowed to take pictures of the coffins coming home from the war.  Rosie couldn't believe the press went silent over it and accepted it.  Andrea said they were constantly told it was at the request of the families that they later learned was not true.  That, in fact, the families wanted the coverage of what was happening.

Rosie asked Andrea if when she sees a situation like what's happening in Libya, if she has the urge to go and report on it.  Andrea said she does.  Rosie also asked her if she's ever feared for her safety when reporting.  Andrea said she has.  She said she's been in some dangerous situations in Iraq and Afghanistan before where they came under some fire though she's never been in combat.  She said she's been in large crowds where she's been worried before too.  She said there have also been times where she was reporting on heated political issues in other countries where she worried she might be arrested or detained for her reporting.  Rosie thanked Andrea for calling in and said MSNBC has become the place she goes to find out what's happening in our country.  Rosie said between Andrea, Lawrence O'Donnell, Rachel Maddow, and Ed Schultz she has found they are the reporters she most likes to watch and the ones she trusts.  Rosie also commented on how much she loved Andrea's book entitled Talking Back: ....to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels.  Rosie thanked Andrea for calling in and recommended her show Andrea Mitchell Reports that airs weekdays at 1pm est on MSNBC.    

NUMBERS RIDDLE GAME
During the first round the player gets a clue and has to guess a thing that comes in a group of four, the second round is things that come in groups of five and the third round is things that come in groups of six.

ROUND ONE (GROUPS OF FOUR)
Bobby (right here!): The nickname of the group that changed the world of pop music and brought the British invasion to America. He guessed The Fabulous Four which was correct. 1 point.
Shoshana: If you've been to church at all you know all about Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. She didn't know it was The Four Gospels. 0 points.
Rosie: A legendary singing group known for hits I Can't Help Myself and Baby I Need Your Loving. She guessed The Four Tops and was correct. 1 point
Pete: You don't want to see one of them because if you do it signifies the end of the world. He guessed The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which was correct. 1 point
Janette: This controversial caffeine induced malt liquor has been banned in many states. She didn't know it was Four Loco for 0 points.

ROUND TWO (GROUPS OF FIVE)
Bobby: Without them it would be impossible to experience the world around you. He guessed The Five Senses and was correct. 1 point.
Shoshana: The word "gypsy" doesn't have much use for these. She guessed The Five Vowels and was correct for 1 point.
Rosie: You usually see this symbol every two years alternating between the summer and the winter. Blue, Yellow, Black, Green and Red is a hint. She guessed The Five Olympic Rings which was correct for 1 point.
Pete: You've been working really hard and you need a break or a Hershey's candy bar. He guessed Take Five for 1 point.
Janette: One of the world's most favorite perfumes created in 1920. She guessed Channel Number Five for 1 point.

ROUND THREE (GROUPS OF SIX)
Bobby: In the 12 days of Christmas, they were a-laying. He guessed Geese for 1 point.
Shoshana: The lead singer of this group that he featured as his (James) worst song a few weeks back, also known for their hit "Nasty Girls." She couldn't guess it. It was Vanity Six. 0 points
Rosie: Philadelphia's own NBA team. She guessed the 76ers for 1 point.
Pete: Their popular advertising campaign mascot features a guy in a tuxedo with thick black-framed glasses. He guessed Six Flags for 1 point.
Janette: The co-founder and bassist of heavy metal group Motley Crue. She didn't know it. It was Nikki Sixx. She got 0 points.

TIE-BREAKER: THINGS THAT COME IN SEVEN TRUE OR FALSE
Bobby: Cotton is the gift traditionally associated with the 7th wedding anniversary. He said True! That was False it's wool. 0 points
Rosie: The heptagram, or seven-point star, is the traditional symbol for fighting off evil. Also the symbol of most of America's sheriff's badges. She said False. It was True. 0 points.
Pete: Churchill described the Seven Years War which took place from 1756-1763 as the first world war. He said True which was correct! 1 point.

PETE WAS THE WINNER!!!!!

Rosie closed the show.

and that's what you missed - kw