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Rosie O'Donnell Offers Advice To House Democrats

Last Week, Rosie O'Donnell Attacked Use Of "War On Terror" Phrase:
 Actress And Guest Co-Host Marcia Gay Harden Called The Phrase "Propaganda." "But even you worded a 'war on terror,' personally that is propaganda. ... Don't like the wording of it like that." (ABC's "The View," 3/29/07)

Rosie O'Donnell Agreed: "Exactly, Marcia Gay. Thank you. ... It makes people into evil and good." (ABC's "The View," 3/29/07)

• O'Donnell: "I'm saying that in America we're fed propaganda and if you want to know what's happening in the world go outside of the U.S. media because it's owned by four corporations. One of them is this one. And you know what; go outside of the country to find out what's going on in our own country because it's frightening. It's frightening." (ABC's "The View," 3/29/07)

Now House Armed Services Committee Democrats Ban Use Of "War On Terror":
House Armed Services Committee Memo Forbids Use Of "Global War On Terror" From Defense Bill Because "Democratic Leadership Doesn't Like The Phrase." "The House Armed Services Committee is banishing the global war on terror from the 2008 defense budget. This is not because the war has been won, lost or even called off, but because the committee's Democratic leadership doesn't like the phrase. A memo for the committee staff, circulated March 27, says the 2008 bill and its accompanying explanatory report that will set defense policy should be specific about military operations and 'avoid using colloquialisms.' The 'global war on terror,' a phrase first used by President Bush shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., should not be used, according to the memo." (Rick Maze, "No More GWOT, House Committee Decrees," Military Times, 4/3/07)
 

• "Committee Staff Members Are Told In The Memo To Use Specific References To Specific Operations Instead Of The Bush Administration's Catch Phrases."(Rick Maze, "No More GWOT, House Committee Decrees," Military Times, 4/3/07)
• "The Memo, Written By Staff Director Erin Conaton, Provides Examples Of Acceptable Phrases, Such As 'The War In Iraq,' The 'War In Afghanistan,' 'Operations In The Horn Of Africa' Or 'Ongoing Military Operations Throughout The World.'"(Rick Maze, "No More GWOT, House Committee Decrees," Military Times, 4/3/07)
  

Committee Aides Acknowledged The Ban Has "A Political Element." "Committee aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said dropping or reducing references to the global war on terror could have many purposes ... but also has a political element involving a disagreement over whether the war in Iraq is part of the effort to combat terrorism or is actually a distraction from fighting terrorists." (Rick Maze, "No More GWOT, House Committee Decrees," Military Times, 4/3/07)