Chew on this Friday...O'Donnell and Hasselbeck in a battle royal...

I decided that I would only write about this Hasselbeck/O'Donnell extravaganza ONCE, so here it is.

If you're a carbon-based, oxygen breathing biped that has access to newspapers, TV and/or radio, you couldn't have missed this. Yes, Rosie O'Donnell has OPENED her mouth once again, but this time she got the smackdown. The excerpt below is (basically) what was said when O'Donnell and Hasselbeck got into it:

A political discussion over the war in Iraq became heated when an angry O'Donnell decried Hasselbeck for not standing up for her when media outlets suggested that she'd called U.S. troops "terrorists" during a previous debate.

"What you did was not defend me. ... I asked you if you believed what the Republican pundits were saying -- you said nothing, and that's cowardly," O'Donnell said.

Responded a stern Hasselbeck: "Do not call me a coward, because No. 1, I sit here every single day, open my heart and tell people what I believe."

"Do you believe that I think our troops are terrorists? And you would not even look me in the face, Elisabeth, and say, 'No, Rosie,' " O'Donnell said.

Responded Hasselbeck: "Because you are an adult, and I am certainly not going to be the person for you to explain your thoughts. They're your thoughts! Defend your own insinuations!"

O'Donnell, who is leaving the ABC daytime talk show next month, said she wasn't going to fight anymore. "So for three weeks, you can say all the Republican crap you want."

Now, correct me if I'm wrong...I think Hasselbeck is right on target here, and it's not a political thing.

Elisabeth has basically taken the stand that Rosie needs to fight her own battles and "not write checks she can't cash" (a favorite phrase of mine). Period. The fact that the topic in question was about the Iraq/Al Qaeda wars is not the only issue here.

As we all know, Rosie has dabbled in all sorts of topics since her arrival on a show that I don't watch because I'm usually at work. She's been a busy little bee, though...

• She's commented on Donald Trump's personal solvency (or lack thereof).
• She's inadvertently outed Clay Aiken and accused Kelly Ripa of homophobia.
• She's offered Britney Spears (everyone's wayward, recently re-habbed yet still tasteless ho-bag) a place to live and raise her children.
• She's raged on and on about 9/11 conspiracy theories and the Bush administration (but who hasn't?)

But Elisabeth FINALLY took a stand after all these months with the best weapon...silence.

Rosie couldn't handle it when Elisabeth didn't defend her against the backlash...yep...the comment about "who are the real terrorists" with regard to our troops in Iraq. While the "real terrorists" comment has its own merit, the bigger issue is the definition of "friendship" and what friends should do for each other.

First of all, I think Rosie's got a skewed idea on what friendship is.

You don't always have to agree on things in order to be friends. I have many friends whose political views are different than mine. Unless they're uninformed on the other side of the fence's view, I usually just let them say what they want to say. Personally, I think that friendship should be a sanctuary where you can say what you think. The other party may not like it, but hey...there's worse things in life. As long as you're respectful when expressing your viewpoints and you know where you CAN'T tread, friends should be able to talk about most anything.

But when you're out of the boundaries of friendship, everyone knows the rules can - and do - change. And the biggest rule that doesn't change? "CYA"...cover your a$$. If you said something, duck and cover, or take your lumps.

With this latest tirade, Elisabeth has basically said, "Take responsiblity, Rosie."

And that's what a friend SHOULD say.

However, I think Rosie's idea of friendship is more like...oh...a party of sycophants. And haven't we seen THAT on the internet enough lately? I think so.

My friends have said the same things to me when I've been out of line, and I've done it for them too.

Sometimes, that's a better show of friendship than someone saying, "Oh yes, Rosie...all those Republican twits are so mean to you just because you're (insert qualifier here)". Click here to read about something childish one of Rosie's writers did at "The View" studios.

Your real friends will keep you in check and hope you do the same for them some day when they need it. It's a shame that Rosie can't or won't see that.

And with that, have a happy Memorial Day weekend...say a prayer for those we've lost in this and other wars, a prayer for those still there, and prayers for the families affected by this continuing tragedy.

Peace...