I enjoy Rosie O'Donnell's talk show. I think it deserves every award it gets, and believe she can brighten up your day in just five minutes. She's always gracious and very giving, seen by the fact that she'll give away prizes to people that lose just as fast as someone that won a game.
But when she ambushed Tom Selleck about gun control and his ad supporting the National Rifle Association, she went too far. Rosie's reps and Selleck both agree that they did say the topic would be touched upon in "friendly debate" on the show. But it was anything but, with Rosie close to tears speaking about how she thinks gun control is necessary, and that Selleck was a bad person for being an NRA spokesperson, and never allowing Selleck a sentence to rebut her arguments.
Selleck actually handled himself quite well. He said he believed gun control legislation wouldn't have done anything to prevent the tragedy, that it was wrong to legislate against guns during a period of national mourning, and that it was "an act of moral vanity" for O'Donnell to assume that someone who disagrees with her cares any less about gun control.
"I didn't come on your show to have a debate," he said. "I came on your show to plug a movie. That's what I'm doing here. If you think it's proper to have a debate about the NRA, I'm trying to be fair with you. This is absurd."
What Rosie didn't say was what kind of gun control she wants. I'll tell you. She and others who are calling for stricter laws want to repeal the Second Amendment. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a gun owner, and would feel weird buying one. I feel some control measures are warranted, such as a waiting period and check at gun shows, as well as safety locks. But that's not what Rosie's referring to when she nearly breaks out in tears about the issue.
Law after law has already been implemented, and there were 20 laws broken by the Columbine seniors in their April rampage, but one of punk's girlfriends bought the guns legally. More gun laws wouldn't have prevented the massacre, but it makes a great opportunity for the knee-jerk responses to come flooding out. While these people espouse their love for the First Amendment, they would have no problem having police go door-to-door and take away everyone's guns, and have laws similar to European countries where guns are illegal for everyone.
I expect to hear politicians and advocates spouting their ideals to me on talk shows such as "Hardball with Chris Matthews", and I can choose to ignore them or take it to heart. But when I'm watching a good-spirited show such as Rosie's, I don't want to be preached to, I want to hear celebrities hawk their new movies, or singers their new albums, or strange little five-year-olds that know calculus. I know from other reports and keeping up with news that outside her show, Rosie attends many fundraisers and is a member, if not founder of several fantastic programs to help those less fortunate. Just keep it off your show, dear. I love watching YOU, not listening to your politics.
Although funny, I also wasn't entirely supportive of Howard Stern taking advantage of the situation to stage a phony protest of her show for his ratings. I'd rather the situation be forgotten, so I don't have to tune in now and listen to other celebrities come on and say a word or two about how they support Rosie, such as Natalie Portman. I woke up especially to see her on Rosie, because she's such a cutie and good actress, and especially because of her role in the new Star Wars film. But the first two minutes of the interview I was yelling "Get on with it!" because Natalie felt obligated to say a couple of sentences about how she agrees with Rosie, saying "I'm proud of you, your power, and talking about what you believe in. I'm in high school too and I know what you're talking about. I'm at public high school and this stuff is hitting my school now too.
Somebody's got to say something about it and not be afraid to do so. It's good."
I don't particularly care how celebrities think about hot topics. If Hollywood ran the country, we'd be in serious trouble. Just entertain me, make your millions and don't try to use your star power to advance your--many times--oddball causes.