Rosie O’Donnell: U.S. Under Patriot Act Similar to Apartheid

Rosie O’Donnell took another vicious swipe at the Bush administration and its efforts to combat terrorism during Tuesday’s ‘The View.’ Liberal actor Tim Robbins appeared on the program to promote his latest film ‘Catch a Fire,’ set in apartheid-era South Africa. In the film, Robbins portrays a white police officer who tortures a black South African man, wrongfully accused of sabotage of an oil refinery. While discussing the film and his character, co-host Rosie O’Donnell equated the brutal tactics used against the people of South Africa by its own government with the Bush administration’s Patriot Act.:

Rosie O’Donnell: "They were seeking out terrorists, which is what they called the people in South Africa who actually lived there, who were the majority. The blacks in South Africa, who were trying to fight for their own civil rights, were called terrorists and the government was allowed to arrest them at will and interrogate them, no matter what they did, just on the suspicion. Very similar today to what we have in the United States, thanks to the Patriot Act."

Elisabeth Hasselbeck briefly defended the anti-terror legislation, before being cut off by Robbins and O’Donnell, who went on to compare further "similarities" between South Africa under apartheid and President Bush’s America:

Elisabeth Hasselbeck: "Well, and the Patriot Act, I’m sorry, protects us. But that's a whole different story, but this–"
Robbins: "What they did–what they did that was similar was, they threw out due process. They threw out the right to attorney."
O’Donnell: "Habeas corpus."

Robbins: "And they allowed the, the government and actually required people like this guy I play to torture people. And I’m, so, so what it does to the individual is it, it puts an incredible moral burden on the agent of the government, the, the soldier or the policeman–"
O’Donnell: "Lynndie England."

While I am not a viewer of the View, or really much TV at all, I can say one thing with certainty.

The View will spiral downward and not stop until it's hit ratings bedrock. They will then do one of two things;

A. See the truth for what it is, that Rosie's addition to the show was what brought about the collapse of the ratings and fire her. This will cause Rosie to complain that Walters and the network hate Gays.... etc..

B. They deny the fact that Rosie is the problem with ratings and try to add more liberal madness in an effort to boost ratings, which ultimately fails, causing Walters to "retire" and Rosie to take over the show completely. Ratings flatline and the show is canceled with the usual, "it ran it's course" comments post mortem.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.