In general, I hate The View. I guess because it's goal is to entertain, not to educate, but I really hate how the hosts can't discuss political issues without being all screechy and horrible. I only ever watched it for Rosie. I disagree with her conspiracy theories but I was happy that someone was finally standing up to Elizabeth.
Way to go, Barry! Makes me appreciate "Mandy," and the hilarity of Angel singing it.

That's cool. Who ever thought Barry Manilow would take an outright political position?

In looking up this Hasselback's info on Wikipedia, I found the following. I know I shouldn't, but I had to do a laugh at someone's mad editing skillz after reading about her on here and on Wikipedia:

She graduated from St. Mary Academy - Bay View in Riverside, Rhode Island in 1995. At Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, she was a 1997 and 1998 Orientation Leader and the biggest whore in Boston.

Never thought I'd say this, but I love Manilow!

After reading three stories about "The View" in a row at three different sites, would someone please explain to me why this show is in the media so much? I thought it was a talk show. Apparently it has some sort of...cultural relevance? I know this post was actually about Manilow, and I'm really impressed with his actions and glad to read this, but still. Am I supposed to care about "The View" at all?

Oh my gosh I have a new love and his name is Manilow! Wow, he can join my team of Hasselbitch haters. I can't stand that woman, I hope this gets talked about on the news.

If all of the guests invited on the view had their sensibilities defiled such as Manilow and refuse to talk to Elizabeth, they would sure have a really boring show.

I absolutely cannot stand Elisabeth Hasselbeck... She claims her conservative values were fostered by the Hasselbeck clan (husband Tim, and his brother, current Seattle QB Matt). My enlightened boyfriend says this just gives him one more reason to hate the Seahawks.

Go Barry! Glad there's an entertainer who chooses principle over promotion.

I KNEW I liked Barry! Her Holierthantho attitude is forcing me to mute her when she speaks. I shudder when she starts her rhetoric given to her in the "talking points" every morning.

Well, Dorion, I think it's pretty damn important when shows like The View spread misinformation about repro rights issues -- which is why we posted about it back when Elizabeth Hasselbeck went on her tirade about EC being the same as abortion. It might only be an entertainment show, but lots of women saw her say that over and over. It does have an impact.

One issue: He donated money to Ron Paul's campaign (I read about this story 3 days ago and they mentioned this). Ron Paul spoke at the National Right to Life's annual conference and said some pretty fucked up shit.

Regardless, the stand 'ol Barry took was great.

Yeah, I saw this and thought that it was pretty fucking bad ass. Barry Manilow: reproductive rights activist? Who knew?

But seriously, if that stuff about him giving money to Ron Paul is true . . . wtf?

Go Manilow!

Though I do want to say that describing argumentative women as "screeching" makes me uncomfortable. She may be obnoxious, but it's a bad direction to dismiss arguments we don't agree with as meaningless, animalistic noise. I'm not trying to say that's what Ann meant, but I'm really wary of the women as hens/harpies/cackling stereotype.

Also, mad props to there being Buffyverse references in two consecutive comment threads.

Going on a talk show with someone whose views you disagree with is "compromising your beliefs?"

Mannilow! Okay, I think I'm beginning to like him.

SoyMilk- Yeah, Ron Paul is very pro-life. I find it funny that he claims to be all about liberty and yet he introduced a bill that would define life as beginning at conception.

I'm guessing Barry buys into the North American Union and 9/11 conspiracies and that's why he supports Ron Paul, who panders to them like crazy. :-\ Bleh.

Though I do want to say that describing argumentative women as "screeching" makes me uncomfortable. She may be obnoxious, but it's a bad direction to dismiss arguments we don't agree with as meaningless, animalistic noise.
I was being literal, actually--they talk over each other so much that you can't understand anything.

Barry have been a fan of Barry for a long time. He is pro-choice, and pro-gay rights, and very much the New York liberal.

He is close to Rosie, and I am not surprised he skipped The View.

But could you have found a newer picture of him?

Ha wow, I never would have guessed this would come from Barry Manilow. What bothers me most about people like Hasselbeck is that so many people watch her, and just automatically accept the falsehoods she spreads (for ex, the EC as abortion lie).

On a side note, isn't it ironic that Ron Paul claims to be so libertarian that he thinks there pretty much shouldn't BE a government, but yet he still thinks that women can't have control over medical decisions?

I actually wish he had gone on the show and talked about his beliefs. The more stars that publicly disagree with Ms. Hasselbeck, the more her opinions will seem on the fringe. Surprisingly, Hasselbeck may not even be the most ignorant co-host on The View. On a recent show, . *Boggles*

Oops, I hit post instead of preview. What I meant to say was that on a recent show, host Sherri Shepherd actually said that she didn't "believe" in evolution and wasn't sure if the Earth was flat. Link.

It's ok he missed out on The View... He ended up on Colbert instead.

http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=103007

I don't watch The View, but since the media pounds me with the goings-on on the show, I am vaguely familiar with Hasselbeck, and can't say I like her much.

However, I also take issue with referring to her passionate speaking as "screeching," and with calling her Hasselbitch. I find both of these terms anti-feminist and unworthy of this site.

We shouldn't turn misogyny on any woman, including those we disagree with.

I hate that bitch Hasselbeck. I wish she had resigned instead of O'Donnell. Hasselbeck has poisoned The View.

Sorry, DrkEyedCain, but I detest Mrs. Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck promotes misogyny. Someone needs to take her off that high horse.

Maybe Tyra Banks would be a better fit for Manilow.

DrkEyedCajn, scroll up. I was being literal when I referred to them screeching. That's what their arguments devolve into--people screaming over each other. I don't think that describing a sound is unfeminist, so I'll keep my feminist card, kplzthx.

Well then excuuuse me. If I can't call her Hasselbitch can I call her little miss Republicunt?

"If I can't call her Hasselbitch can I call her little miss Republicunt?"

No, you can't, feminists are reclaiming cunt, including me, I think that it is too good to be wasted on Mrs. Hasselcrack.

Kinda makes me want to be a Fanilow.

Between Hasselbeck's general idiocy and Whoopi's support of Michael Vick, I have no reason whatsoever to watch that show.

Call me cynical, but I have a feeling that he did this as a strategy for better publicity. He'll get media attention from a much broader demographic (no pun intended) than from a measly appearance on The View.

By the way, "bitch" and "cunt" are misogynist terms, period. If you are using them to insult women, you are a misogynist, period. You don't see blacks calling each other niggers as an insult, do you? If there was any reason for a sexist to find validation in his delusions that women are stupid, observing you, Lindsay, might just do the trick.

-Kim

I NEVER REAAAALIIIIZED
HOW HAPPY YOU MADE ME
OH BARRYYYYYYY

heh.

I think Hasslebeck is annoying as hell - actually I think all of the hosts on The View are equally obnoxious and self-important. That being said, I think it is quite childish of Manilow to not be willing to go on a talk show because 1 of 5 (or is it 6 now?) hosts holds views he does not share. Is he just too immature to conduct a civil conversation with someone whose opinions he finds objectionable? Or is he too afraid that if he gets into a debate with Hasslebeck, that he won't come out looking the way he wants? Or is this an attempt to gain some publicity? Maybe he's just so damn arrogant that he thinks he should be able to have control over the show. Either way, regardles of whether or not I agree with his politics, I think he's kind of a jackass now. And I never really liked his music anyway.

I was never a fan of Manilow's music, but I started to like him after an LA Times interview a couple of years ago. He was surprisingly modest and self-deprecating and very funny.

BTW, the Times reported about his donations that, "Barry Manilow gave $2,300 recently to GOP Texas Congressman Ron Paul s campaign. Yet federal records show that Paul was not the only presidential candidate to receive a donation from the singer. He also gave to Obama, Clinton, Edwards and Biden."

Sounds like he's more of an equal-opportunity donor.

Seamus-

What about calling men cunts? It's big in England.

Me again, the super Manilow fan. BTW- he hates the term 'fanilow'

He and Rosie are very good friends, and go back a long way. I have a feeling he backed out of the show because of what EH has said about Rosie.

He did not ask Trump, or anyone else to get into the middle of it. He did not expect all the tv news shows to jump on it. People drop out of doing those shows all the time, and usually nothing happens.

He was scheduled to be on Colbert that day to do that bit anyway. He mentioned it on the site over two weeks ago.

He never said what beliefs he could not compromise. Never, we are just assuming it is about his pro-choice pro-gay stance. It could be that Rosie asked him to skip the show, we will never really know.

Time to crash, I have the new cd in my alarm clock, I look forward to getting up in the morning.

How about a newer picture, not something from the 70's
http://www.barrynet.com/images/barrynet3.jpg

Oh Margie, you came and you found me a turkey, on my vacation away from work-ey...

What about calling men cunts? It's big in England.

Um, what about not using women's genitalia to refer to anything and everything we don't like? I mean, how is calling a man a cunt to insult him any different than calling him a woman to insult him? The last time I checked, my vagina wasn't responsible for the hideous opinions of Hasselback, nor is my vagina comparable to her awfulness. Seriously, what about not giving us more reasons to hate our bodies? And why, if Hasselback is so horrible, do we have to resort to attacking her for being a woman rather than for her opinions? Every time you insult somebody based on their biological identity, as Lindsey did, you make it look like it's that aspect of the person that you have a problem with rather than their opinions, and it also makes you look like you're too much of a bleeding idiot to come up with any real reasons as to why you don't like them. Just, "Uh, duh, she's a bitch." Which translates to: "She is a woman who I don't like, and her being a woman is a part of what I have a problem with."

And if Lindsey or any other haters here want to argue, just remember that if you're a woman YOU are a bitch according to most people on this planet. They don't give a shit what you're like or whether you've devoted your life to saving the Untouchables or bringing Somali refugees to the US. Simply by being female, YOU ARE A BITCH, and calling another woman that is ensuring that you will forever remain a bitch in the eyes of the world. As an example, one of my friends was at a party a few months ago, and she and some other people were getting ready to play beer pong, and when the teams just happened to divide by gender, one of the guys said, "It's the guys against the hos!" When my friend objected to being called a ho, the guys got really pissed off and one said, "but you're a girl, and ALL girls are hos!" This met with strenuous agreement from all his friends. This same friend, by the way, has been called a bitch, a slut and a tease, all stemming from an incident where she was raped at a party by some fucker who thought it was totally hilarious when she found out later on the next day, via Instant Messenger, that she'd "had sex" with him. Oh, and she was also called a prude by some asshole when she only wanted to make out with him rather than fuck him.

By the way, I thought it was Talk Like A Pirate Day, not Opposite Day. Why the hell is shit like this OK on a feminist website? Will Feministing now be allowing racist epithets, and homophobic epithets? Lindsey, will you please begin referring to Larry Craig as a faggot from now on? And Alan Keyes as a nigger, etc?

Re: Ron Paul's supposed anti-abortion stance.

He may or may not be personally opposed to abortion, I don't know. But the reason he gives for repealing Roe v. Wade is because he claims to be a strict constructionist and thinks it should be either made into an amendment or left up to the states.

Could be hogwash, but I thought I'd point out that Manilow's support of both Ron Paul and freedom to choose does not necessarily make him a hypocrite.

You're right of course, ponies and rainbows. And it's certainly pretty telling that the powerful insult in the English language is another word for vagina.

*I meant to say "the most powerful insult".

Thanks, Daniel. I wish there were a list somewhere on the Internet of the many hideous words for women that are out there, but oddly enough, I couldn't find one. I know Dale Spender says there are over 200 epithets for a woman in the English language, which sounds high at first, but when I get going I realize that she's probably right: Bitch, whore, cunt, slut, skank, tease, harlot, harpy, hoochie, wench, shrew, bimbo, hooker, hussy, floozy, sow, tart, jezebel, trollop, broad, witch, nag, piece, biddy, ball-breaker, spinster, squaw, hag, and others that I'm sure I've forgotten. I also assume Spender includes a lot of much older terms that might not be in much use anymore but are still recent enough to be historically relevant.

I third that I'm stunned at people finding "bitch" and "cunt" acceptable on a feminist forum. I'm not a fan of "women = bad" as an insult. Call her an idiot, call her a conservative puppet, whatever, but go after her views not her being female.

I agree with Roni et al that it's harmful to use words like "cunt" to insult women. But maybe you all can help me out with this one: what do you say when you try to defend this position and you get the "but people use the word "dick" to insult men all the time. how is this different" argument?

I don't understand the praise. I don't think I could stand being around the View women for more than 40 seconds, but I wouldn't call it a violation of my beliefs to talk about pop music with them for 25 minutes. It sounds like Manilow is being a diva and intentionally searching for publicity. He didn't even specify WHY not doing a fluffy interview is a compromise of beliefs, so people are actually just praising him for saying "I don't like this person for no specific reason. Maybe it's her political views. Maybe it's her highlights...but I know y'all will agree with me!"
It's not as if he was being brought on the View to discuss politics. Even if the topic did come up it would provide him with an opportunity to debate Hasselbeck instead of cryptically insult her. Can't he actually stand up for his beliefs, as in defending them intelligently in conversation with someone who doesn't agree?

Gendered insults are always demeaning. Consider what it's like if you're dating a guy who says, "You're in a bad mood" vs. "You're bitchy." He instantly turned your foul mood, which both men and women get, into an issue with your gender.

As for Katxyz, maybe Manilow didn't lead a rally, but I prefer to celebrate any public or prominent figure who is willing to come out and voice about women's rights. He doesn't have to be Joan of Arc.

"As for Katxyz, maybe Manilow didn't lead a rally, but I prefer to celebrate any public or prominent figure who is willing to come out and voice about women's rights. He doesn't have to be Joan of Arc."
My problems isn't that he didn't make a big enough sacrifice for his beliefs, it's that he didn't even state his beliefs. A lot of bloggers are doing the same thing Ann does with this post: projecting their political views onto Manilow.
"I don't like Hasselbeck because of X. Manilow doesn't like Hasselbeck. Manilow must dislike Hasselbeck because of X." Manilow doesn't mention Hasselbeck's anti choice rhetoric is the reason for not doing an interview, but Ann post implies that he does. Yours does the same thing,but Manilow didn't "come out and voice about women's rights", or anyone's rights except for his own right to choose what interviews to do. I wish he had come out and voiced about something, anything. He had the opportunity to state WHY Hasselbeck is wrong and WHY he won't support such dangerous views, but he didn't.

Here's the link to Ron Paul's website where he states "The right of an innocent, unborn child to life is at the heart of the American ideals of liberty."

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/life-and-liberty/

I think it's really interesting that you're calling me anti-feminist while defending the real anti-feminist Hasselbeck, but whatever. Make one little mistake that one person doesn't like and everyone throws the M word around. That's really ridiculous.

Either way, I hate Elizabeth Hasselbeck, I am a feminist and you telling me I'm not for saying one word doesn't change that.

Go cry a fucking river.

I don't care for Hasselbeck, but Barry's statement is a little too vague for me to go patting him on the back as some pro-choice hero. If he's really taking a stand here, he needs to be more specific.

Oh, and one last thing. I am sure that none of you are little angels that have never once called someone a bitch or a dick when they pissed you off. And I doubt if you did it means you totally hate and despise men/women.

LindsayPW, Moxie Hart, and others... sigh... I've said it before and I'll say it again.

I DO NOT PERSONALLY ATTACK PEOPLE IN COMMENTS, KPLZTHX. I am not asking you to "turn in your feminist card" or calling YOU "anti-feminist." I am calling your COMMENTS anti-feminist. I find the ideas you expressed anti-feminist. I think you may have made those comments because of the influence the patriarchy has on us all, in which the feminine is used to identify all things evil. I do not blame you for this, since it's been beaten into all of our heads since birth, that an opinionated woman is "cute" at best and "bitchy" at worst, both of which discredit her opinions. I find this stereotype applies equally to liberal and conservative women.

If you're going to be offended anyway, fine. But for heaven's sake, you're both regular posters here, so you should know better than to get personally offended when other posters disagree with your ARGUMENTS.

Nera, I'll second Tera K.'s post and say that all gendered insults are demeaning. The word "dick" is just as insulting as the other choice epithets used to describe a woman's anatomy. Hence, I don't use either.

And LindseyPW, in response to your "but everyone else does it" justification for gendered insults- that doesn't make it right. The fact that a problem is epidemic is all the more reason to fight it.

fibrowitch - it was really more a reference to the Will & Grace episode...

"betta him than me"

I wish there were a list somewhere on the Internet of the many hideous words for women that are out there, but oddly enough, I couldn't find one.

There's a whole book called Womanwords that provides histories of the words used to describe women over the years. It's quite awesome, actually, even if it's too depressing to read front to back.

In any event, I don't understand why people who want to participate in a discussion about feminism and claim to be feminists seem so defensive when their consciousness is raised. Have I called a woman a bitch before? Sure. Do I feel bad about it when I do? Yeah, I do -- because I know it's a shitty thing to do that perpetuates a bad use of language. Does it mean I'm not a feminist? Not at all. Does it mean I should be humbled if I need to be reminded of the shittiness of my words and actions? Sho nuff.

Lastly, WRT Manilow, I have heard that he's given the maximum donation allowed to all of the major Democratic presidential candidates, as well as Ron Paul. It's entirely possible that he's helping fuel Paul's campaign because Paul is a thorn in the GOP's side and gets in the way of the GOP having nice, tidy "debates" where they all say the same corrupt shit without any real rebuttal. Doesn't necessarily mean that Manilow supports the idea of a Ron Paul presidency.

I don't give Manilow too much political credit for this stunt, even if I love him for being a generally good guy, generous artist to younger folk, and a performer with a wonderful sense of humor about himself. He's never officially left the closet, as far as I can tell, and that sucks. He may not want to compromise his principles by talking to a right wing nutbar on The View, but he's compromised his principles for decades by not being open about being gay.

DarkEydCajn, I have explained TWICE that I was being literal. Twice. This is the third time, hopefully the last. The arguments on The View literally sound like screeching. I wasn't saying, "Oh, they're opinionated women, they're just screeching." I'm sorry (Actually, I'm not), but using an adverb does not make me unfeminist. I guess I just don't dig the feminist Newspeak, but I never believed in 13 o'clock either.

And Moxie, you are determined to take my comments personally.

"...but using an adverb does not make me unfeminist."

If you see above, I am not questioning whether or not you are a feminist. I know you are, or you wouldn't be here. Neither would I.

"I guess I just don't dig the feminist Newspeak, but I never believed in 13 o'clock either."

If you don't think language can be harmful, then let's just say I disagree with you. And I don't know what your issues with military time have to do with anything.

Oh dear, I thought the discussion would stay about Manilow, because -- if anyone still cares now that it's been derailed -- I wanted to remind the young'uns that Manilow has been of a very obvious liberal bent for his entire career, which began with him and Bette Midler playing in gay bathhouses. Not a real surprise he shows up on Colbert and refuses to be interviewed by Madame Flat-Earth (yeah, I know that was Hasselback's friend, not her, but still)...

Ok so I understand that yes saying bitch or calling someone a cunt is really offensive and I will listen to you and try not to use it. For me it's the same as saying God damnit and I know that pisses people off, too.

I just have a problem with some holier than thou, I'm more feminist than you feminists out there that call us all anti-feminist woman haters for saying something they find offensive. We're on the same side, trust me, so there's no need to be so rude.

You know, now that I think about it, shouldn't Barry Manilow go on and address these issues rather than hide from them? I mean, I'm glad he's against Hasselbeck but he could go on there and have a real discussion with her and let people know she's wrong. That would seem more productive.

13 o'clock and Newspeak=references to 1984. The novel opens with the line, "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen..."
I absolutely believe in the power of language. That's why I'm such a huge fan of George Orwell and Anthony Burgess. But there's a point when you can go too far in trying to protect sensibilites. I would never call Elizabeth Hasselback a cunt or bitch, because I've reclaimed those words and consider them to be generally positive when used in my in-group.
What I was doing was describing a group of women screaming. The sound was high-pitched and hurt my ears and sounded like screeching. I really don't see the harm in that. If they spoke in a lower register, I probably would have said bellowing or if they were raspy I'd say gravelly. The idea, that some have pointed out on this thread and others, that I'm calling out woman for being powerful and opinionated is beyond absurd. I'm powerful, opinionated, and bound to get into arguments. If I'm insulting Elizabeth for that then I'm insulting myself.
I'm a writer and I love the english language. I will not curtail my use of non-offensive (i.e. not bitch, cunt, pussy, dick...) adjectives and adverbs. That is beyond fucked up.

For me it's the same as saying God damnit

Well, I love to use that word too, but as far as I know God hasn't ever gotten raped or beaten or paid less or fired for being God, so I don't think the two are really comparable. You're not directly insulting a group of people who have a long history of being enslaved and treated as property when you say "Goddamnit," which is why I find it quite different. Now, I do make sure not to use that phrase around devout Christians because I know it offends them, but I don't have a problem with using it otherwise because it's not a direct attack on an entire group of people. (And I'll admit I don't really get why some find it offensive to God -- my understanding is that you're asking God to damn something, which isn't nice but isn't the same as actually damning God.) I also still don't understand why anti-female epithets are okay while racist and homophobic epithets aren't, but I suppose that's what 5,000+ years of patriarchy does to our reasoning.

But anyhow. Back to Barry now. :)

I think that banning the use of "bitch", "cunt", "dickhead", "dick", "cocksucker", "cock", and other terms out of our language and print sounds like a swell idea. And that is exactly what NYC is proposing.

As for Manilow, I saw posts from neocon Nazis on Topix.net talking about destroying his discs because he tore up his invitation to the View b/c of Mrs. Matt Hasselbeck.

I think that banning the use of "bitch", "cunt", "dickhead", "dick", "cocksucker", "cock", and other terms out of our language and print sounds like a swell idea. And that is exactly what NYC is proposing.
That's fucked up. Banning words aren't going to change people's attitudes. In fact, people are probably going to just resent having their language controlled. I do.

Damn,man,you made a fan.

Way to go, Manilow! I don't know why he wouldn't agree to be interviewed by that asshole, but I'd do the same. In my case, it's not because I wouldn't want to argue with her, but that I would like it if *no one* would speak to her. Then she and her kind would have to slink away into the night like the worms that they are.

Now, as for words like bitch, cunt, etc., I'm of two minds about them. On one hand, they're clearly sexist by nature, though not always by intent. e.g. My last boss was Pure Evil. It didn't matter that she was a woman, 'bitch' fit. If a man had acted like her, I'd have used the same term. It's the behaviour, not the gender/sex. There doesn't seem to be another term that fit like 'bitch'. Maybe that's my crappy imagination. But I challenge you to find a word that means the same as 'bitch' but isn't sexist. I've taken to 'asshole', but it isn't nearly as neatly monosyllabic and shoutable. :)

"I think that banning the use of "bitch", "cunt", "dickhead", "dick", "cocksucker", "cock", and other terms out of our language and print sounds like a swell idea. And that is exactly what NYC is proposing."

Actually, as I understand it in the case of NYC that's really more of a symbolic thing. That reminds me of the recent spectacle people made out of holding a public funeral for the word nigger.

You can't ban the public from using words, even if they can be hurtful. What you can do is educate them as to why it's wrong to go around using them against people.

But what's especially troubling to me is the notion of banning certain words from being used in print. That's just completely wrong.

I'm reading Chester Himes' "End of a Primitive" right now, a great book which the author struggled to have released in an unedited form for decades due to racial and sexual politics, and it troubles me to think what it would be like if writers like him had been completely restricted from using the language they used.

I find it highly unlikely that The View would allow Manilow to debate politics with Hasslebeck, then everyone would want to do it. If they did want a political debate, they can get better suited guests than Barry Manilow.

As for gender based insults, no one is banning them. One commenter saying to another that they find the words inappropriate and offensive, particularly in a feminist forum is not a ban. There's no need to exaggerate. Which is notably not banning anyone from exaggerating, merely suggesting it is not conducive to productive conversation.

Roni, I was respond to Jovan's assertion that banning such words would be good, which was based on NYC's attempt to ban the word "bitch," I think.

My last boss was Pure Evil. It didn't matter that she was a woman, 'bitch' fit. If a man had acted like her, I'd have used the same term. It's the behaviour, not the gender/sex. There doesn't seem to be another term that fit like 'bitch'.

Exactly why it's so specifically offensive. It doesn't make it not sexist if you call a man a bitch or a cunt. Nothing stings like bitch or cunt because being female is the worst there is.

Ok, this is my first time posting, but I've been lurking on this site for a bit. I just read the comments on the PETA ad and Alicia Silverstone. I remember a few months ago she was on The View and blatantly ignored Elizabeth for the whole interview. I was just wondering if she had received the same outpouring of support for her anti-Elizabeth stance as Barry has, given her support of PETA?

I am not a fan of Elizabeth on the View, and think it's great that Barry voiced his concern about compromising his beliefs. However, I find it hard to believe that the potential discourse that could arise because of their differences of opinion on unknown issues would compromise his beliefs. I agree with some previous posters and think that, although he probably does have a difference of opinion with Elizabeth, he is using this opportunity to gain publicity.

Luna, "bitch" is clearly a gender-specific insult. I have heard many people defend the word by saying that they often use it to describe men as well, but it has an undeniably different connotation when applied to a man. It is feminizing, and for men therein lies the insult. This is just as hurtful to women if not more. You can say whatever you want, but I personally try to avoid using it because I find "asshole" works just fine and doesn't suggest male or female.

And about this NYC word ban, all politics aside, I live in NYC and I haven't heard anything about this.

And about this NYC word ban, all politics aside, I live in NYC and I haven't heard anything about this.
I saw something about it on the news a couple of months ago. It's mentioned here in the Gotham Gazette, scroll down a bit to "Banning the B-Word."