SIRIUS XM Radio announced on June 25 that Rosie O’Donnell will host a daily talk show beginning this fall. Rosie Radio “will blend her many passions and interests - an eclectic mix of humor, pop culture and serious conversation.” The talk show will be featured on XM 155 “SIRIUS XM Stars.” Given her history of making outlandish statements it’s quite hard to believe anyone gave O’Donnell a talk show.

During her time as a co-host on “The View” O’Donnell said some controversial and downright weird things. In 2006 she stated that “radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America.” The same year she also proclaimed, “Don't fear the terrorists. They’re mothers and fathers.”  

Now in its 26th year, today the 5,000 edition of the syndicated Wheel of Fortune game show will air around the nation – which reminded me (always looking for a hook to plug our upcoming “DisHonors Awards”) -- that just under two years ago Wheel host Pat Sajak took part in our 2007 event. At the MRC’s “2007 DisHonors Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporters of 2006,” the showcase of the MRC's 20th Anniversary Gala on March 29, 2007, Sajak accepted, on behalf of Rosie O'Donnell, the “I’m Not a Political Genius But I Play One on TV Award.” O'Donnell won for spouting:

As a result of the [9/11] attack and the killing of nearly 3,000 innocent people, we invaded two countries and killed innocent people in their countries....Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America.

Video is of Herman Cain introducing Sajak and then Sajak's humorous remarks as he accepted the award in jest for O'Donnell.

Which all goes to remind everyone that this year's “DisHonors Awards for the Worst Reporting of the Year” with the annual “William F. Buckley Award for Media Excellence” to be presented to Brit Hume, are just 20 days away. Every year, we sell out. So don't procrastinate on getting a ticket.

“Access Hollywood,” NBC’s nightly entertainment show, reports salacious celebrity gossip as “news.” It gets ratings and ad dollars for dishing about sex, drugs, violence, rehab and any other misbehavior by people in the public eye. But when it comes to the mother of the octuplets, well, Access Hollywood is suddenly above reporting that story.

Entertainment reporter Billy Bush told viewers on the February 24 broadcast that Access Hollywood would no longer report on the octo-mom Here is what Bush said in the last seconds of the show:

From today's "You've Got To Be Kidding Me" department, hatemonger Rosie O'Donnell believes that conservative author Ann Coulter is angry and full of rage.

"When you see someone like that, you have to go back to what happened in their childhood... You don't know what went on in their household."

So said O'Donnell during a recent interview on Sirius/XM's "Whatever with Alexis and Jennifer" show (audio available at Perez Hilton, partial transcript from PopEater, h/t NBer Gothampc):

Rosie O'Donnell's days of polluting television screens from coast to coast may be numbered, at least that's what the controversial comedienne told readers of her blog in recent days.

Her variety show Wednesday evening was such a flop that she not only believes it won't be picked up for additional installments, but she is also thinking "maybe just me on tv is done."

Could it be all those prayers NewsBusters readers made on Thanksgiving Day?

According to People.com, maybe (h/t NBer Rush Fan):

Here's something to be thankful for: Rosie O'Donnell's variety show flopped BIG TIME Wednesday night.

All together now: Awwwwwww!

As James Hibberd of The Hollywood Reporter wrote Thursday morning, "Rosie O'Donnell gave NBC a real turkey."

According to the numbers, that's an understatement:

Rosie O'Donnell pledged her NBC variety show on Wednesday night wouldn't get political -- but it did, with gooey praise for Barack Obama at the beginning and then halfway into the show there were lame jokes against Bill O'Reilly and Sarah Palin.

She began by saying there's wouldn't be politics, but had to say "just two words: Barack Obama." She looked up to God and mouthed "Thank you" while the audience cheered. "I can't get over it, really," Rosie claimed. "It's been 22 days since the election and I just yesterday stopped hugging every black person I see."

More than 30 minutes into the show, Rosie played some sort of police officer and a woman playing a pig-tailed little girl (carrying a stuffed animal) cracked jokes with her. After making fun that Rosie wasn't on the diet show Celebrity Fit Club, the pig-tailed one said "I have problems of my own. Bill O'Reilly just Friended me on Facebook." (Andrea Mackris sex-harassment suit humor, no doubt.)

That joke was harsher than the Palin joke. The girl next wondered if Alanis Morrisette was ready to sing yet, since "this sketch is dying faster than a moose at a Sarah Palin picnic."

Rosie O’Donnell always seems to concoct some wild conspiracy theory. Interviewing Rosie on her upcoming variety show on the November 24 edition of "Today," Meredith Vieira asked about what lead up to her departure from "The View." Rosie then brought up her famous fight with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and suggested the fight was a setup because she did not think the director thinks fast enough on his feet to create a splitscreen.

On the subject of her upcoming show, Rosie O’Donnell promised it will be "just an hour of fun, no controversy, no politics." A cynical Meredith Vieira stated "I don’t believe that." Rosie did concede she has a "little valve that doesn’t let me edit sometimes," but insisted "I’m trying to engage that edit valve now."

Rosie O’Donnell can not seem to let go her bitterness over her brief and tumultuous tenure with "The View." According to "The Washington Post’s" November 20 "TV Column," Rosie, in promoting her upcoming variety show on NBC, diverted to "The View" stating "I’m not say we loathed each other, but there wasn’t a lot of off-camera camaraderie." Rosie also compared Barbara Walters to a grandmother trying to put a happy face on a severely dysfunctional family. Rosie also promised her show will be free of political discussion.

Later in the morning on "The View," Barbara Walters responded to her former subordinate’s comments, without mentioning her name. Perhaps in reference to Star Jones as well, Barbara demanded "ladies get on with your lives." As Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck claimed they do in fact get along off camera, Elisabeth, to some audience and panel chuckles, and in reference to her notorious fight with Rosie, claimed "we’ve had incredible years, maybe one more difficult in the past." Barbara Walters responded, to more audience laughter, "we will now move on."

It appears Rosie O'Donnell has changed her tune about Sarah Palin being "Harriet Miers with a better ass" for the controversial comedienne now wants to have a beer with the Alaska governor.

Such news comes coincident with the release of some of the guests scheduled to appear on Rosie's upcoming program to be aired November 26 by NBC. 

After all, what could possibly make your Thanksgiving better than watching a variety show hosted by a hate-mongering 9/11 Truther (promo embedded right with another below the fold)?

But before we get there, here's what the New York Daily News reported Friday concerning Rosie's new-found affection for John McCain's running mate:

And now, ladies and gentleman, purely for entertainment value, the one and only Rosie O'Donnell, the lovable, unofficial poet laureate of NewsBusters (h/t NewsBusters "The View" embed Justin McCarthy):

the republicans
have been n power for so long
mccain actually thought
he could take letterman

oh it gets better and better
as america finally wakes
sarah p - harriet miers
with a better ass

On the October 1 edition of "The View" Barbara Walters chastised Elisabeth Hasselbeck for allegedly never conceding a point, but never offered such a criticism for left-wing ideologue Joy Behar or even looney conspiracy theorist Rosie O’Donnell. This occurred just as rumors abound that Elisabeth is clashing with her fellow co-hosts.

Responding to more Sarah Palin bashing and Joy Behar labeling the Alaska governor "dumb" (talk about the pot calling the kettle black) Hasselbeck once again rose up as the lone voice on the panel, and even a hostile studio audience, in defending Governor Palin. Apparently taking issue with disputing some co-hosts’ assertion that Palin lacks the intellectual capacity to be vice president, Barbara Walters exclaimed "every single day you never ever say ‘maybe this is another point.’"

New York Times media reporter Jacques Steinberg watched the popular ABC morning chat fest "The View" and actually found a liberal slant. His Tuesday Arts section lead story, "'The View' Has Its Eye on Politics This Year," basically contradicts what the paper claimed on September 13, when it said the show was "generally friendly territory for politicians." As a bonus, veteran journalist Barbara Walters claimed that "I don't think anyone knows my political opinions." Really now?

In a reversal from usual media denials of liberal media bias, the Times's Steinberg actually noticed a pro-Obama slant on the part of the show's co-hosts.

Barbara Walters said she left the set of "The View" on Sept. 12 believing that she and her fellow panelists had conducted a fair on-the-couch interview with Senator John McCain, and later in the episode one with him and his wife, Cindy. That was the live conversation in which Whoopi Goldberg asked Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, if she should fear "being returned to slavery" if he won, and Joy Behar complained to him about the untruths she saw in his campaign advertisements.

But soon after it was broadcast, Ms. Walters recalled in an interview at her ABC office on a recent afternoon, she received an e-mail message from Rosie O'Donnell, a former "View" co-host whose on-air monologues were often far left of center.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello reported Friday that NBC is talking to Rosie O'Donnell again, but this time about putting her in prime time with a variety show, as if she was Carol Burnett:

Multiple sources confirm to me exclusively that Hasselbeck's former View nemesis, Rosie O'Donnell, is in active talks with NBC to return to television with her own weekly primetime variety show....

The possible NBC-O'Donnell hook-up is particularly ironic in light of the fact that less than a year ago the network's cable news arm, MSNBC, was close to giving the Koosh Ball-lovin' funny lady her own one-hour showcase. But when word of the discussions leaked out before the ink was dry, O'Donnell claimed the network "panicked" and the deal went south.

O'Donnell's rep declined to comment, but an insider with knowledge of the Peacock negotiations tells me that NBC isn't the only major network making a play for the ex-View moderator. CBS is (or was) also said to be interested in giving the ratings magnet her own series, but at this point, NBC is said to have the upper hand.

Roger Friedman at Foxnews.com (a Rosie fan) offered more scuttlebutt:

Wow, that Rosie O'Donnell is one classy gal, isn't she?

On Wednesday, the "comedienne" did a guest stint at a Cyndi Lauper concert in Vancouver, Canada, during which she called Ann Coulter a bitch, and rather indelicately compared her experience on "The View" to the scene in the movie "Born Innocent" when Linda Blair was raped in the shower at a girls' reformatory.

I kid you not.

What follows is a partial transcript of this disgrace (video embedded right), along with a clip from Friday's "Red Eye" on Fox News featuring a response from guest Ann Coulter (readers are warned of strong language and sexual content):

Appearing on June 18's "Hannity and Colmes," "View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck opened up about her rocky relationship with former co-host Rosie O’Donnell. Hasselbeck discussed Michelle Obama’s guest co-host on "The View" before the conversation moved on to Rosie.

Elisabeth exclaimed how much fun "The View" panel is today and then noted that "it was [fun] then it wasn’t, then it is now." The daytime personality added regarding Rosie O'Donnell "we certainly aren’t friends. I’d be lying if I said that. And do I wake up in the morning feeling less stressed when I go to work? Yes, I do."

Hasselbeck claimed the worst moment in her relationship with Rosie involved the now famous on air fight.

Whoopi Goldberg apparently did not study hard enough for her role in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." On the May 29 edition of "The View," the ladies discussed the international space station’s broken toilet. Concerned about the cost of the repair, Whoopi offered a much cheaper solution: "Stick your butt out the window!"

GOLDBERG: But I just want y’all to see this NASA. You know, the next time you’re sending folks up because you know they’re going to spend a fortune now to send somebody up with a toilet. That was the part I forgot to tell you. They’re sending a toilet up, but, you know, somebody has to be on to go in there.

HASSELBECK: They just need somebody with a really good arm to just fling this saucer right at them.

GOLDBERG: It’s a million dollars. Stick your butt out the window!

Whoopi did not take into account that opening a window in space would kill all on board. No one on the panel noted that minor problem.

At the close of her interview on CNN’s "Larry King Live" on Monday evening, host Larry King asked ABC’s Barbara Walters "Have you had a major disappointing interview?... Someone you had looked forward to, didn't work out right." Walters named a few notables, and gave the following anecdote: "I have said, I'm very mellow. I'm not auditioning anymore. I'm not out to get the great get. And then one reporter said to me, and what if Osama bin Laden called? I said I'll pack." King, in agreement, replied, "You’re not kidding. Who wouldn't?" So, these two media celebrities would jump at the opportunity to interview the terrorist guru, despite any possible propaganda coup that may result, thus putting the advancement of their career over the national interest.

Almost immediately before this, a viewer asked Walters, "I was just wondering, who's your candidate for president this year?" Walters responded, "Well, you see, part of being in the news department, because I'm part of ABC News, is we do not give opinions. I don't mind writing in the book about my own life, but I don't give my opinions about political candidates." Walters must have forgotten about her colleague at ABC, David Wright, who is a well-known Obama cheerleader, as well as her own endorsement of Al Gore’s "An Inconvenient Truth" and Michael Moore’s "Sicko."

"I am not responsible" says Barbara Walters on Rosie O’Donnell’s extremist remarks on "The View." Appearing on the May 7 "O’Reilly Factor," host Bill O’Reilly brought up Rosie’s most controversial remarks, notably comparing "radical Christianity" to radical Islam and her famous 9-11 conspiracy theories editorializing it hurt Barbara as the founder and co-executive producer of the show.

Although Walters did not defend Rosie’s ravings, she refused to take responsibility asserting Rosie did not hurt her, "The View," or ABC. Additionally, the veteran journalist felt Rosie regrets some of those remarks. O’Reilly sharply disagreed and alluded to Rosie’s comments this week praising Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

The relevant portion of the transcript is below.

Absent from "The View" on May 6, Barbara Walters opted for "Oprah" to promote her new book "Audition." Inevitably the conversation included the tumultuous Rosie O’Donnell 2006-07 season. Barbara very carefully critiqued Rosie seeking to balance her criticisms with a compliments.

In describing Rosie’s sometimes obvious dominance, Barbara claimed Rosie "from day one took over the show" comparing Rosie to Diana Ross and the other co-hosts to the Supremes. Barbara also added Rosie "made some wonderful changes, but it was also very, very difficult."

Of course the famous on air fight between Rosie and Elisabeth Hasselbeck surfaced. The fight stemmed from those accusing Rosie of calling troops terrorists and Elisabeth refusing to defend Rosie. Barbara and Oprah agreed "she never said that." Although Rosie did not explicitly say "the troops are terrorists," her question "who are the terrorists?" certainly suggested it.

The conversation did not involve Rosie raising the possibility that 9-11 was in inside job and "fire can’t melt steel."

The transcript minus some discussion of Rosie O’Donnell’s feud with Donald Trump is below (video available here courtesy our friend Ms Underestimated):

Rosie O'Donnell appeared on the May 5 "Today" show in its fourth hour, claiming that many have confused her "passion for rage" much in the same way as they've misunderstood Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Indeed, claimed the former "The View" co-host, Obama's former pastor "made sense to me." [Audio available here.]

O'Donnell also defended Wright's conspiracy theory view on AIDS, chalking that up to Wright's "genetic memory" of the Tuskegee Institute. O'Donnell incorrectly asserted the U.S. government infected the patients in that syphilis study.

Below is the transcript, taken down by NewsBusters resident O'Donnellogist Justin McCarthy (emphasis ours):

"Good Morning America's" Diane Sawyer featured noted 9/11 conspiracy theorist Rosie O'Donnell for over 15 minutes on Tuesday and failed to ask about any of her numerous controversial statements. Despite this, Sawyer did find the time to laud the former talk show host's "singular take on the world" and to make crafts with the hard core leftist who once asserted that "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America."

Sawyer glossed over the controversial statements O'Donnell made during her tenure as a co-host of the ABC program "The View." At one point, the GMA co-anchor even admitted, "So, I don't want to go back and rehash all of 'The View' stuff again." Some of the "stuff" Sawyer might have been referring to, included telling the lone conservative voice on "The View," Elisabeth Hasselbeck, on November 9, 2006, "Don't fear the terrorists. They’re mothers and fathers." During her GMA appearance to promote a new book on crafts, O'Donnell stated that one factor in her quitting "The View" was control. For her earlier program, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," "...There was no one with a conflicting point of view." In her role as an interviewer, Sawyer certainly offered no conflicting point of view and failed to ask tough questions.

Rosie O’Donnell, who once said it is "physically impossible" for fire to melt steel, shockingly revealed she did not make it through college. Promoting her new book "Crafty U" on the April 8 edition of "Martha," Rosie admitted she was not able to get through a real university. Rosie also recounted bitter memories from "The View."

Fawning over Martha Stewart’s intellect, Rosie implied she does not match up as she confessed to dropping out of Boston University with a 1.62 grade point average. She claimed she was too busy working at the local comedy club to focus on her classes. [Audio available here.]

Later in the same segment, Rosie discussed her experience on "The View" noting "it’s hard for me when I’m not the boss." This is stating the obvious for the viewers that witness her bully another co-host and nearly mistakenly referred to "The View" as "The Rosie O’Donnell Show." Rosie added "there was a little Republican who scared me," referring to Elisabeth Hasselbeck who stood up to Rosie in the end.

Greg Pollowitz of NRO's Media Blog already beat me to the punch, but it bears repeating on NewsBusters. The only fresh angle I can bring to this is that, to my recollection, this is the first time Rosie O'Donnell has attempted an original blog post in prose. For the occasion she blamed President Bush for a nasty staph infection back in 2000.

I'm sure given enough time and inspiration from Joni Mitchell's greatest hits she can re-work her post into her groundbreaking poetry.

Without further ado, the relevant portion of her blog, unedited (lousy formatting left intact), with portions in bold reflecting my emphasis. Oh, by the way, what Rosie really wants you to get out of this anecdote is the importance of voting:

At the top of Thursday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Harry Smith questioned the authenticity of an audio tape of the confrontation between U.S. and Iranian ships on January 6:

We're going to try to re -- to deconstruct the Pentagon tapes just released of that hostile incident in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian speedboats taunting a U.S. ship. A tape the Iranians are calling a hoax. There's something strange about the audio.

In the later segment on the issue, Smith talked to international security expert, Jeff McCausland, and again wondered if the Iranian hoax accusation had merit:

Iranian officials are calling this video a hoax, saying those voices sounded like they were recorded someplace else...As you have looked at this tape, listened to -- especially the English coming from the Iranians, does it ring authentic to you? Does it seem real?

Former "The View" co-host, 9/11 conspiracy theorist and left-wing warrior-poet Rosie O'Donnell set to verse her thoughts on Hillary's now-infamous tearing-up incident:

Rosie O'Donnell may have been one of Time's 100 Most Influential People, but now she is 2007's Most Annoying Celebrity. The woman who surprised blacksmiths everywhere when she claimed that fire can't melt steel trounced her competition in the Parade.com poll, getting 44% of the vote, nearly double the amount of second place winner Paris Hilton. Ann Coulter was third.

The woman who admitted that she's so gullible, she's “five seconds away” from joining a cult, also outed herself as a 9/11 Truther and floated several conspiracies. She doesn't think Al Qaeda is a threat--hey, they're mommies and daddies, too! 

But she knows who the real bad guys are. She called the US a state sponsor of terror and equated the military with terrorists. She claimed the captured British sailors were really part of a “false flag” operation (“Google it!”), and Ahmadinejad isn't all that bad. Don't worry, she is concerned about terrorists. She thinks the US is robbing 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed of his humanity by labeling him a “terrorist.” (Her sneer quotes, not mine.)

Here are some of the quotes that helped Rosie win her new title (bold mine):

Don't fear the terrorists. They’re mothers and fathers-11-09-07

Before we ring in 2008, it's worth taking a look back at some of the liberal media's goofiest or most outrageous moments, courtesy of the Media Research Center's Best Notable Quotables of 2007: The Twentieth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting. The awards were determined by a panel of 53 distinguished media observers, including radio talk show hosts, magazine editors, editorial writers and informed media observers.

MSNBC's Chris Matthews was a big "winner" this year, taking the top slot in three categories -- the "Blue State Brigade Award for Campaign Reporting," the “Channeling the Nut Roots Award,” and the "Dynamic Duo Award for Idolizing Bill and Hillary," for (in order) gushing over Barack Obama, suggesting Bush and Cheney be tried for Nuremberg-style war crimes, and equating Bill Clinton with Jesus Christ. Oh, what a busy year he had.

The end of 2007 doesn’t seem half as depressing to the conservative faithful as it was in the beginning. Democrats captured the Congress, sure. But now it’s their approval ratings that are in the toilet, and worst still, their rabid leftist base has turned on them for not being rabidly leftist enough. The presidential front-runners are no longer inevitable, not even Hillary Clinton’s buy one-get-one-free ticket. The economy is fairly strong, regardless of the pessimistic media coverage. We’ve had another year without America being successfully attacked by terrorists. The surge is working.

All this good news is driving the Left nuts, and nowhere is this more evident than in the national media, which is making no attempt to shake off their collective gloom-and-doom tone. As the good news began emanating from Iraq this fall, the McClatchy News Service, lauded by media leftists like Bill Moyers as having the smart reporters who always thought the Iraq War was a fight without a point, ran this headline:

"As Violence Falls in Iraq, Cemetery Workers Feel the Pinch."

Barbara Walters did not defend Rosie O’Donnell against Bill O’Reilly’s "Wicked Witch of the East" comment, but laughed and diverted to complimenting Whoopi Goldberg. "Not defending" usually fires up the former "View" moderator as was best exemplified on Rosie’s last live "View."

The veteran journalist and "View" creator appeared on the December 5 edition of "The O’Reilly Factor" to promote her upcoming special "The Ten Most Fascinating People of 2007." After discussing the special, Bill O’Reilly moved on to "The View" and noted that the ratings are up from the "Wicked Witch of the East" era last season. It led to this exchange between Walters and O’Reilly.