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Joy Behar Page
Pastor Plans to Burn Korans on 9/11; A Predator`s Guide to Kids; Celebrities in Trouble
Aired September 08, 2010 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOY BEHAR, HOST: Despite pressure from religious leaders, the White House and the public, Pastor Terry Jones of Florida says he still plans to hold an international "Burn the Koran" day.
I have so many questions. Does he have the right to do that? If so, should he exercise that right? Most importantly, why would I ever take the advice of a man who looks just like Jed Clampett?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up on The Joy Behar Show. A grotesque 170- page manual explaining how to get away with molesting children is discovered in Florida. Who`s the sicko behind this and why are cops saying it`s legal?
Then, even more madness as a Florida pastor says he still plans to burn copies of the Koran, despite warnings that doing so will put our troops in danger. So who`s coming to the preacher`s defense?
Plus, actress Jamie Lee Curtis talks about growing up in Hollywood and the pressures facing Lindsay Lohan and other young stars.
That and more starting right now.
BEHAR: If I told you there is a 170-page manual circulating in central Florida explaining how to molest children, you would probably think I was crazy. Oh, I`m not, and there is. What`s even more insane is that apparently this manual is perfectly legal.
Listen to how a detective from orange County, Florida, describes what`s in the manual.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DET. PHILIP GRAVES, ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: It describes everything. Literally, it`s a step-by-step manual. It describes to people how they can find victims, different locations, churches, schools, day care centers, family, friends, anything. Any type of situation you can come across. It details how those offenders or those predators can prey on those children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Here now with more on this horrible subject is the host of HLN`s "PRIME NEWS" and former prosecutor, Vinnie Politan.
Hey Vinnie, you know, we just heard a brief description of what`s in this manual. Can you tell me more about it?
VINNIE POLITAN, HLN HOST, "PRIME NEWS": Well, there`s not a lot of details available because police aren`t telling us a lot about it. Because probably they don`t want us to know what`s exactly in this manual.
But here`s basically the way it breaks down; 170 pages and what`s in it is how to find kids, how to molest them, and then how to keep the kids quiet; how to keep the kids from telling anybody about it. So it`s really, you know, start to finish, turnkey guide to how to molest children and never get caught doing it, Joy.
Obviously they don`t want to give us too many details and they`re not handing out copies of the manual to the public because they don`t want this thing distributed. But there`s nothing they can do right now because there`s nothing illegal about possessing it at this point.
BEHAR: It`s unbelievable that this thing is out there. Do you know if there are pictures in the manual?
POLITAN: Here`s what I know. As a former prosecutor, I know that if there are pictures of children being molested in that manual and you possessed it that would be illegal. That would be very illegal.
BEHAR: I see.
POLITAN: So, just from basic legal knowledge, I would say, no, there aren`t pictures or photographs in it. Are there sketches in it? Possibly. Again, we don`t know because this is a document that`s not posted on the Internet. This was distributed by e-mail, Joy. So you had to be --
BEHAR: To whom?
POLITAN: -- on the list to get it.
BEHAR: Oh, so you had to be a molester in the first place to get this manual? I see.
POLITAN: Either that or an undercover police officer. And I guess they got on the list as well and that`s how Orange County got their hands on this thing.
But it`s really quite troubling that someone would take the time, Joy, to outline how to do this knowing how destructive this behavior is. It`s absolutely brazen.
BEHAR: Well, molesters are destructive people. They`re terrible, evil people. It doesn`t surprise me to tell you the truth that it`s there having read so much stuff on this topic. It`s just horrendous.
Police don`t know where this came from. But they are looking for the person that put it out there, right?
POLITAN: They`re looking for the author and he calls himself in this manual "The Mule". Now, here`s the thing. You know possessing it, writing it, not illegal. But they suspect, if this guy took the time to write 170 pages -- and I`m presuming it`s a guy -- 170 pages and he`s probably done this in the past and there are victims out there, so they`re very interested in finding out who this guy is.
And once they found out who he is I`m sure they`ll fully investigate it to see if in fact, he has committed any of the crimes that he describes how to do in this 170-page manual.
BEHAR: It`s unbelievable that they can`t find people like this, though. They seem to be able to -- they found Saddam Hussein in a hole how many miles out of this country. They were able to find him, they were able to find -- they can Google where you live. Why can`t they find this guy?
POLITAN: Well, I think eventually they will. But there are ways where if you are sophisticated in the use of computers and technology, and you`re someone who has spent so much time figuring out how to elude police, you probably took the time to figure out how to distribute this thing and still elude police.
So I think eventually they`re going to find the author of this whole thing but it`s an ongoing investigation. And police have been very tight- lipped about the whole thing. And they`re not handing out the manual and they`re not giving us too many details on where they`re looking.
BEHAR: Ok. Thanks very much Vinnie for bringing us up to date on this topic.
Now I`d like to bring --
POLITAN: Great to see you Joy.
BEHAR: Ok. I`d like to bring in my panel: Robin Sax, former prosecutor and author of "Predators and Child Molesters"; Ed Smart, father of Elizabeth Smart. Ed is joining us from Colorado where he is doing Ride for their Lives -- a bike ride to promote child safety awareness. And Marc Klaas, father of Polly Klaas, and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. Welcome to the show.
Robin, let me start with you. I`m so outraged about this manual and that it`s not illegal. Child pornography is illegal as we just heard and we all know that. Why wouldn`t something like this qualify as illegal as well?
ROBIN SAX, AUTHOR, "PREDATORS AND CHILD MOLESTERS": Well, as sick and twisted as it is, I`d like to look at this as a fantastic blessing in disguise. So often in sexual assault cases, you don`t have any corroboration. So all of a sudden, someone gets picked up and a search warrant comes up, and on the computer you have this -- you have some sort of corroboration.
But the reason why that this is not illegal --
BEHAR: Wait, wait, wait. Stop there for a second. Tell me some more about that. You mean -- in other words, parents can see the information and protect their children now that they know exactly what they`re going to do, these people? Is that what you`re saying?
SAX: That`s one element. Even better, let`s say a kid makes a report against a perpetrator. Normally, that would be a he said/she said case. But let`s say that the cops go out and issue a search warrant. All of a sudden they go on the computer and they find this manual.
By having it -- downloading the manual and taking the child`s words, now you have corroboration on a crime that may not have been prosecutable before.
BEHAR: I see, ok.
Ed, police apparently knew about this for six months. And this manual may not be illegal. But morally, shouldn`t authorities have told the community about it?
ED SMART, FATHER OF ELIZABETH SMART: You know, I think it would be a very good idea to have the community know about it. You know, the most important thing, I think, that we can do is have parents understand what is happening in their communities and what they can do to change what`s happening to their children. I think there are so many out there that don`t have a clue what`s happening, what`s happening in their own communities.
I mean this manual is horrible. When you see what else is out there, there`s a video out there, how-to, called "Toy Story" and it`s totally, totally out outrageous.
But what`s happening in our community is that we have got to empower our children and help them to understand, not the explicit, but help them to understand what is right and what is wrong.
That`s what we`re riding across the country trying to do. It`s to tell parents what you need to be aware of, and how we can help our children. Until we take the point that we`re empowering them, helping them to understand how they can fight back.
On Sunday, there was an article in "The Washington Post" from the national center talking about how when children fight back they have a fighting chance.
BEHAR: Right.
SMART: And we need to help them understand those points.
BEHAR: Yes, but it`s tricky, isn`t it, Marc? Another topic covered in this manual is how to convince a child not to tell his or her parents, you know.
MARC KLAAS, FATHER OF POLLY KLAAS: Sure.
BEHAR: So sometimes it`s somebody the parents know. Sometimes it`s a member of the family. It`s very difficult for the child to deal with that.
KLAAS: There`s no question about that. And I think, first, to get back to a little bit about what Robin said about this being a blessing in disguise. This should also act as a wake-up call to legislators around the country to take action to ensure that this kind of activity is illegal and that law enforcement has the tools necessary to be able to go after the individuals that are engaging in this kind of activity on the Internet because there`s been really not a lot done about that thus far.
And I also think that it`s wrong to put the burden of these issues on the shoulders of the kids.
BEHAR: Right.
KLAAS: I mean we can talk to the kids until they`re blue in the face. But it`s not going to be able to protect them from a determined predator. A determined predator is going to be able to overwhelm a child at any time, day or night, under almost any circumstance.
This needs to be a collaborative effort that starts at the President`s cabinet table and extends all the way down to the family kitchen table.
BEHAR: But, you know, shouldn`t our laws be changing? The laws need to be changed is what you`re saying, Marc, I think. How should the laws be changed?
KLAAS: Certainly I think what we need in this country is the political leadership and the legislative will to tackle crimes against children on the Internet. There have been certain things done. There`s been a whole body of legislation that`s been passed to protect kids over the course of the last couple of decades.
But a lot of these efforts are not even funded to the point they become viable. I think what we need to do is have a politician who`s willing to stand up and say, "Listen. These kids have to be our priority. We know they don`t vote, we know that they don`t make political contributions, but it`s in all of our best interest to do something about this."
For instance Joy, we could fully fund the Adam Walsh Act which would take care of a lot of issues. We could fully fund the ICACT community so that they would be able to have the tools and go out and find these guys, arrest these guys, prosecute these guys and imprison these guys.
You know, the Internet Crimes against Children Taskforces know about half a million child purveyors of child Internet porn. They know who these individuals are but they don`t have the resources to go after them --
SMART: It`s over a million.
KLAAS: -- we need to give them those resources.
BEHAR: It`s a very intractable situation right now. I think. And you`re right, we need to go right to the top.
SAX: Yes.
BEHAR: And deal with this. I have to go. I`m sorry, Robin. We`re out of time. I know -- very important subject. Thank you very, very much for joining me on this topic.
Up next, we all know stars get special treatment. But wait until you hear this next story about Mel Gibson.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going through life rude, profane, obnoxious and self indulgent is not the way you want to live your life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: So Snooki was sentenced today for drunkenness and being generally annoying. She got two days of community service. I`m guessing it`s not reading to the blind or anybody else for that matter.
But she`s not the only celebrity being annoying. No. Mel Gibson -- surprise, surprise -- is at the center of yet another lawsuit. Remember when he went on an anti-Semitic rant after being busted for DUI? Well, the officer who arrested him is suing L.A. County. He claims he`s a victim of retaliation.
Officer James Mead says he was passed over for a promotion because he was the one to report Gibson`s anti-Semitic remarks. Well, Mel just happens to be a close friend of L.A. County Sheriff, Lee Baca.
So is Officer Mead being passed over just a coincidence or is this just another example of celebrities getting away with bad behavior?
With me now to discuss this and other celebrity injustices are Debra Opri, a family law attorney; Jim Moret, attorney and chief correspondent for "Inside Edition"; and Danny Bonaduce, actor and radio talk show host on 94.1 WYSP in Philadelphia.
At the time of his DUI arrest, guys, Gibson was a spokesperson for the L.A. County sheriff`s STAR program and had even filmed PSAs like this one.
Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEL GIBSON, ACTOR: Actually I stopped you because I noticed your LASSO sticker. I just wanted to stop you and thank you for your support. Have a nice day, Chachi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew you recognized me.
GIBSON: Please join me in supporting the L.A. sheriff`s STAR Organization. Your gifts provide educational opportunities for the children of our fallen deputies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Interesting, isn`t it, Jim? I mean, Could Mel`s relationship with the police have benefited him following his arrest?
JIM MORET, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, "INSIDE EDITION": Well, first of all, what a difference a couple of few years makes. And so I don`t think he would be asked to do that today.
BEHAR: I don`t think so.
MORET: Look, I mean and this to be clear, this isn`t a situation of a star being annoying in this particular instance. This is the deputy suing the sheriff`s department basically saying that he was asked to change the report that he originally wrote about Mel Gibson`s alleged anti -- anti- Semitic remarks.
And that a video tape taken of Mel Gibson involved in this rant was somehow mysteriously erased. Do celebrities get special treatment? Yes of course they do. I hate to say otherwise it is ridiculous.
However, the question is, is the treatment that Mel Gibson was given was illegal? Was there something wrong or -- or -- or was this deputy treated unfairly and passed over for promotions because he put something in a report that he was told to take out? That`s the issue here.
BEHAR: Well that`s -- that`s the thing, Danny. I mean, first of all, this officer happens to be Jewish. So he has a little bit of a stake in wanting to report anti-Semitic remarks. Even though if he wasn`t Jewish, he should -- he could do it and should do it anyway, right?
But do you think his -- his -- his claim that he`s being punished for not protecting Mel valid or is it sour grapes, at all?
DANNY BONADUCE, ACTOR: I`m going to have to lean toward sour grapes on this one because I do not believe for a moment that Sheriff Lee Baca -- I had the great pleasure of opening several boxing gyms for street kids to get kids off the street with Sheriff Vacca. And he couldn`t be a finer man. And I don`t believe for one second you would get to Sheriff Baca`s position by telling street patrol cops to alter reports.
You`re going to get caught. And everybody knows you`re going to get caught in L.A. They give -- I think there are suing celebrity summer camps. There are symposiums given in Los Angeles on how to sue people.
And that officer would have known in a minute. And Sheriff Vacca would have known it and you`re going to get caught. I don`t believe that he was asked to alter a police report.
BEHAR: You don`t believe it. How about you Debra? What do you think?
DEBRA OPRI, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Well, Joy, today is your lucky day because I`ve done employment cases, where I`ve represented individuals with the sheriff`s department and it`s a high standard to prove. You have to prove that something was erased, you have to prove that something --
BEHAR: Right.
OPRI: -- was intentionally changed.
What you don`t realize is that just because this officer filed a lawsuit it`s the start of the game. I mean, he`s -- he`s not in Oz anymore. He`s in Malibu. This is a close community. Mel gibbon is loved. He looked terrific in that uniform and while I do not support his antics --
BEHAR: Mel Gibson is loved, by whom?
OPRI: He is loved in the community of Malibu. His friends and supporters there, they haven`t changed their tune.
What Mel Gibson --
BONADUCE: Really Barbara Streisand --
BEHAR: Have they heard the tapes. Haven`t they heard the tapes in Malibu?
(CROSSTALK)
BONADUCE: I know -- I know Debra.
OPRI: Mel has had some bad boy conduct, but in the end, when push comes to shove, that officer is going to have to have hard evidence: memos, videotapes, witnesses to testify and that close community I can assure you they`re going to close ranks at that sheriff`s office. And if it`s true or not true, it doesn`t matter. It`s what he can prove.
BEHAR: Ok Jim you have the last word and then I`ve got to go. This is a short segment, sorry.
MORET: Look. Debra`s right. You`ve got to prove it. But that doesn`t mean there isn`t evidence to suggest that he was asked by a superior to make an additional report. That`s going to be at the heart of this particular lawsuit.
OPRI: Not necessarily.
BEHAR: Ok guys. Stay there because we`re going continue with this a little bit more on celebrity injustices. Paris Hilton, oh, we have a few more. This is just the beginning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with my panel. We`re talking about celebrity bad behavior and special treatment. Mel, now Paris, ok? They all seem to get special treatment.
Here`s a photo from TMZ showing Paris being arrested in Vegas on cocaine charges. And the police -- Debra, the police admitted they processed her as quickly as possible to avoid any disruptions at the jail. Does that argument hold any weight, or are they really just -- come on.
OPRI: It does because we`re at a point in time where the bottom line is money. What does it cost law enforcement and the court system for the pleasure of their company?
Paris Hilton is expensive. Every time she goes into that police department, into a court house, they have to have extra people with the paparazzi taking care of her. Same thing with Lindsay Lohan being in a jail cell -- it costs money. So if it takes three hours versus six to process her, God bless them. They`re doing a good job for their system.
BEHAR: But should they admit that? Shouldn`t they keep their mouths shut about that sort of thing?
OPRI: Yes.
BEHAR: About giving her special treatment?
MORET: I think they`re being honest. The fact is that having Paris Hilton in a jail will cause disruption. There`s no question about it. Look at when Lindsay Lohan was in jail and actually Paris was in jail here in Los Angeles. They were put in solitary at additional expense because the sheriff`s department had to ensure their safety. Because they`re also looking at liability if anything happens to them.
BEHAR: Danny, doesn`t this treatment reinforce that celebrities are getting special treatment, even if it is for convenience or for the fact that they don`t want any more of a hassle than they`re going to get.
BONADUCE: Well, in this case -- in this case, I agree with Debra and Jim that having them in custody is expensive and is a hassle. But on this kind of special treatment, there`s a part we`re leaving out and that is you are arrested at the scene of a crime. You don`t leave the scene of the crime with the alleged evidence.
A police officer taking the purse with the cocaine in it from the scene of the crime into a public arena -- if both the counselors will agree with me -- that`s called the chain of custody. Once they`ve taken the evidence away from the scene of the crime, they`ve lost that chain of custody. So the police actually did some shoddy police work on this one.
And a really good defense attorney might get Paris off. And that -- that is unconscionable because the girl did it and the girl belongs in jail.
BEHAR: It looks also like she has a history of cocaine. Because a former "Girls Gone Wild" employee claims in a new book -- ok, she`s not the greatest person to say this but still -- she says that Paris has smuggled the drug in her vagina.
This is what she wrote. "She held the box in her" -- listen to this - - "She held the box in her right hand and then with an underhand swoop, like a lower case J, she demonstrated exactly how she intended to beat airport security. She even whistled as she did it.
You know, Danny, Paris may not have talent but her vagina sure does.
BONADUCE: I mean, I don`t even want to get into the subject matter of that woman has smuggled in there. But the fact of the matter is, it just shows how stupid Paris is. She only has to walk through a metal detector. You don`t have to insert it into a cavity. You can just put it in your pocket just don`t wrap it in tin foil.
The woman is -- she should be arrested and kept incarcerated just for our safety.
OPRI: Is that how it`s done, Danny?
BONADUCE: That is, in fact, how it`s done. Listen, you may both be lawyers but I`m an actual defendant.
OPRI: I`m not laughing at you, I`m laughing with you.
BEHAR: Jim, your last words there.
BONADUCE: I`m watching -- Joy, I`m watching my career flash before my eyes right now. So, I`m just --
BEHAR: And mine too and everybody else`s.
OPRI: I do it every day Jim. Don`t worry about it.
BEHAR: Stay with me. We`ll all go down together.
Ok. Thank you guys very much.
Up next, you won`t believe who`s coming to the defense of the Koran- burning pastor and no, it`s not Mel Gibson.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: The White House, Hillary Clinton and General David Petraeus have all told Florida Pastor Terry Jones that burning Korans is a bad idea and will jeopardize our troops. But apparently pastor pyromaniac knows better. Here`s what he said on the "CBS EARLY SHOW" this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PASTOR TERRY JONES, DOVE OUTREACH WORLD CENTER: As of right now, we feel that this message is that important. We are still determined it to do it. I believe this approach is not the normal approach. But I believe this approach is at this particular time in history a very necessary --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Someone needs a time-out. With me now is Norah O`Donnell, chief Washington correspondent for MSNBC and Hilary Rosen, CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist. Ladies, this story is on my last nerve. OK but Mayor Bloomberg said the pastor has the right to do it. Maybe it`s in the constitution to burn, you know, the bible, to burn the Koran, to burn everything. But it`s very distasteful. Do you agree with me?
HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: It`s ridiculous.
NORAH O`DONNELL, CHIEF D.C. CORRESPONDENT, MSNBC: Joy, I absolutely agree with you. I think what the mayor was trying to say, he may have the right to do it, but it`s not the right thing to do.
BEHAR: Yes.
O`DONNELL: I think what is striking the very strong condemnation, worldwide, whether it is from the Vatican, the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton to General Petraeus all that this guy is a crackpot. I mean there is 310 million Americans and there is this one guy who commands maybe 50 people at his church and he is getting all of this attention.
BEHAR: Right.
O`DONNELL: And hopefully more people will speak out and the rest of the world won`t think that the rest of Americans are like him.
BEHAR: I hope not. Hilary, he said that Jesus will burn the Koran. I happen to know that Jesus loved books on tapes. So I don`t think -
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Do you think Jesus would burn the Koran? Isn`t Christianity supposed to be a loving, all-encompassing religion and forgive your enemies, et cetera?
HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Jesus would definitely not burn the Koran. And but you know this guy is kind of this known crackpot. And I don`t know why he`s getting all of this attention. Of course, he must have four members of his church. And they must all be related to him. But last year, he went off on this sort of no promo homo with the local mayor, who was gay.
BEHAR: Why don`t we burn all Madonna tapes in that case? Because the homosexual community loves Madonna, get it?
ROSEN: Absolutely.
BEHAR: Whatever.
ROSEN: You know, what are we doing with him? Let him go, Joy. Let it go.
BEHAR: No, it`s irritating. It`s the inflammatory behavior that I don`t like it is harmful. I mean Petraeus is saying it`s going to harm our troops. This guy doesn`t care about any of it, you know?
O`DONNELL: how did it he get so famous about it?
BEHAR: Well you tell me.
O`DONNELL: That`s the thing that is so puzzling.
BEHAR: I think it`s something about the -- once it goes on the internet, it goes viral. And then it`s all around the world. And then a lot of people pick up on it. That`s what happens. Hillary Clinton said, this is a quote, "we are hoping that the pastor decides not to do this. We are hoping against hope that if he does, it won`t be covered as an act of patriotism." I mean even Hillary Clinton has to worry about this nut job. What do you think about that Norah? I mean it`s a little bit dangerous, I think.
O`DONNELL: It is dangerous. I think it was striking that General Petraeus spoke out and said that the images of burning the Koran could be just as powerful as images from Abu Ghraib. Something that would put our U.S. Troops in danger.
BEHAR: My god.
O`DONNELL: And so that is scary, you know, he is an aberration in this country. Quite frankly, I felt conflict today about why we`re giving this man attention, why we`re covering him live on television if he`s a total weirdo.
BEHAR: Well why are we covering -
O`DONNELL: I think we`re giving him attention because --
BEHAR: Go ahead, I`m sorry.
O`DONNELL: Because wear those collars and say they`re men of god. And we give them extra influence.
BEHAR: And they don`t pay taxes. Why is it they don`t pay taxes?
O`DONNELL: And we have to remember - they don`t pay taxes -- that people have done really horrible things over the years you know, under - you know, using the guise of religion.
BEHAR: That`s right, exactly.
O`DONNELL: That`s not what religion is for.
BEHAR: OK let`s move on to something else. Campaign ad season has been giving -- guess who`s missing from the Democrats ads? The president. If I recall, Al Gore left President Clinton out of his ads in 2000 and we all remember how that worked out. So what is going on here? Should they leave President Obama out, Norah?
O`DONNELL: I think that if the local candidates want to win locally, they`ll do that on national issues. But here`s what`s interesting in our own NBC news "Wall Street Journal" poll that we had just this week, Democrats are getting the taint of the president. But they actually need the president to campaign with them in order to turn out these very uninterested voters out there. Among the least likely voters, Obama has a 75 percent approval rating. So that`s why he can go into some -
BEHAR: Wow.
O`DONNELL: Of these states and turn out the vote. African-Americans, younger voters, just people that don`t feel like they have to turn out. I think that`s something that`s been underreported and sort of a fascinating thing. I think Democrats probably say they want to run away from the president. But a lot need him to sort of rev up voters.
BEHAR: That`s isn`t it, isn`t it, Hillary? Seventy five percent of the likely voters will vote for him if they would get them out of their houses.
ROSEN: And I think you`re going to see the White House really pay a lot of attention to that. They`re working very closely with Nancy Pelosi and the speaker want house, and Harry Reid, the senate to target those members and those states where there is a lot of leftover Obama support. And don`t forget, there is a strong Democratic organization on the grounds. I think sort of all of this doom and gloom predictions about Democratic losses, frankly, are overblown. When you look at a lot of individual races, it comes down to a choice. You`ve got to like one person better than the other person. And you know people don`t necessarily the Republicans offering any solutions that are working for them.
BEHAR: Right.
ROSEN: I do think these next couple of weeks are pretty crucial for the president and the Democrats to stay in this fight, not to give it up.
BEHAR: Well President Obama went on the attack against Boehner today. I like to call him that. And maybe he`s starting to fight back, you know? I mean it sounded pretty good today. We like to hear him say all these things against him. They`ve been the party of no for all this time now. It`s only going to be worse if they win the congress, am I right? I`m scared for the country if the Republicans get in there. Nothing will get done. Am I right?
ROSEN: Well, Norah is a fantastic political analyst. And she won`t say -- and a smart, objective reporter. So she`s not going to tell you how bad it`s going to be if the republicans get in. But what she will -
BEHAR: Well then you tell me -
ROSNE: But what she will say is that if people - if people want to continue progress, that they really did vote for change, the Republicans -- you know, Democrats are going to spend the next three or four years, this base who was not happy that the president hasn`t gotten enough done. The Democratic base is going to spend, you know, years of Republican rule again in Siberia with nothing getting done.
BEHAR: Go ahead, Norah.
O`DONNELL: And Joy if the Republicans are elected in the house and win back the majority there, they are going to investigate, investigate, investigate. They are going to control the house government reform and oversight committee, Congressman Darrell. You bet they`re going to be calling many members of this administration up before them and subpoenaing documents. So there will be a lot of partisanship that goes on. And these next two months will be crucial before the election. Because also, this debate about the tax cuts, the expiring Bush tax cuts, that`s what the president -- you mentioned it, Joy, he was on fire about today. He said absolutely not to the Republicans. He`s going to keep the middle class tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans. But for those 2 percent of Americans that the president calls wealthy that make over $250,000 a year, the president wants those taxes to come up. I think that`s significant. Because if you see the people that are really excited about this election, they`re excited about fiscal issues.
BEHAR: Yes. Why is it that Americans have such amnesia? I mean are we actually going to go back? We know that the bush tax cuts did not help the economy. There was no trickle down. There was nothing. People didn`t hire more. I mean, so why would we go back to that? Why don`t people get that? Hillary, in ten seconds. Why don`t they get it?
O`DONNELL: Well I think that people are frustrated, that not actually not enough has changed. People are saying they`re overwhelmed with the pace of change. But I think not enough has changed. There are still too many people out of jobs. But things are getting better.
BEHAR: Well people have to have patience. These things do not get turned around overnight. Thanks very much, ladies. By the way, this is fun. Go check out Norah`s new book "Baby Love: Healthy, Easy, Delicious Meals for your Baby and Toddler." She`s a mommy and she`s a reporter.
The original scream queen, Jamie Lee Curtis joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: OK.
JAMIE LEE CURTIS, ACTRESS: That was it? You`re going to leave them hanging?
BEHAR: Yes. Let me introduce you.
CURTIS: What happened?
BEHAR: Hold on a second.
CURTIS: No.
BEHAR: Jamie Lee Curtis made a name for herself in the classic horror film "Halloween," many years and a lot of hard work later, she`s not only an accomplished actress but she also has a little side gig as a critically acclaimed children`s book author and her digestive system is intact. Here with me now is actress and author of "My Mommy Hung the Moon," a love story, Jamie Lee Curtis.
CURTIS: Hello, Joy.
BEHAR: Hello sweetie.
CURTIS: What happens at the end of that scene?
BEHAR: I don`t know. You tell me.
CURTIS: Something bad.
BEHAR: Something bad happens.
CURTIS: Something bad happens, yes, it breeds like eight more movies, you know. That`s what happened.
BEHAR: OK.
CURTIS: Hi, honey. Welcome back.
BEHAR: Thank you. I`ve been away for four weeks.
CURTIS: I know and it looks it.
BEHAR: I look rested or fatter?
CURTIS: You look chubby -
(LAUGHTER)
CURTIS: No, the way people do after vacation.
BEHAR: I look fatter.
CURTIS: You know I then would have to say I saw you before. That would be a lie because I don`t watch television.
BEHAR: No but I could look a little chubbier. It`s possible.
CURTIS: No, you look lovely, well rested.
BEHAR: Shut up - just leave it at that.
CURTIS: You look rested.
BEHAR: I look rested, now let`s talk about you.
CURTIS: OK, I`m ready.
BEHAR: I know your story. As I was saying to you on the break, I`ve read all of your father`s books.
CURTIS: Yes, you`re obsessed with my father.
BEHAR: I love Curtis, and he`s very funny, also.
CURTIS: He is and very, smart, very, very smart.
BEHAR: He`s very smart and he writes great books. I finished this summer, late last week, "Behind The Scenes" and "Some Like It Hot." And I just love all those behind the scenes.
CURTIS: People love "Behind The Scenes." that`s why the making of Michael Jackson`s "Thriller" was so successful. Because who did he like get the makeup. people like to know what happen behind the scenes.
BEHAR: Tell me about how you were raised by these two beautiful movie stars.
CURTIS: Well I wasn`t raised by him --
BEHAR: Oh you weren`t.
CURTIS: Flat out, wasn`t raised anywhere near by him because my parents divorced when I was three. And I`m assuming if I did a filmography search I would find that he made four movies all over the world between my birth and the time they divorced. So -
BEHAR: OK so you never saw him.
CURTIS: I never saw him and I never saw him after unfortunately. Now, that`s no slam on him. That`s just the way divorces happened back then. In my family, it was sort of a separation.
BEHAR: Yes.
CURTIS: A big, big separation. And you know obviously there was some fall-out from that. But we`ve repaired it. We`re good.
BEHAR: You`re good now?
CURTIS: Yes we`re great now.
BEHAR: Well he you know also talks about Marilyn Monroe and "Some Like It Hot," movie.
CURTIS: Yes.
BEHAR: And how crazy she was. She was crazy and annoying.
CURTIS: Well everybody`s crazy and annoying.
BEHAR: No, not like this. According to her father she did 60 takes on the line "where is that Bourbon?"
CURTIS: By the way, that`s because somebody allowed her too.
BEHAR: No, no, somebody would say cut. She`d go, where is the Bourbon? And then they would say cut.
CURTIS: But that`s because someone allowed her to.
BEHAR: That`s right.
CURTIS: Because someone was afraid to say, no-no more. We`re not going to do any more of that take, we are moving on. And move the camera. You can say "where is the Bourbon" all you want and if the camera is not pointed at you and the camera is not rolling, you know, she`s going to be sort of odd.
BEHAR: Well the thing was that -- and maybe this is true --
CURTIS: It`s the enabling of the --
BEHAR: Yes, of the actress.
CURTIS: Of the actress. We can trace that all the way through to today with people who have not been told no.
BEHAR: Like Lindsay Lohan.
CURTIS: You worked with her, right?
BEHAR: I did.
CURTIS: She was 15.
BEHAR: She`s a very beautiful girl. And talented girl, yes.
CURTIS: An incredible talent, incredible talent.
BEHAR: But she just got in talent again. There`s no end to this.
CURTIS: You know what? I actually don`t pay attention to the trouble because I`m not that much of a media watcher. And -- it`s her life. It`s none of my business. I feel badly for her. I certainly know that I made mistakes, Joy.
BEHAR: Really? Like that?
CURTIS: No, camera maybe not. But, really, do we have to equate what mistake is worse?
BEHAR: No.
CURTIS: Did anybody watching your show -- has anybody driven intoxicated who`s watching your show?
BEHAR: You mean out there now? Of course -
CURTIS: Right, we all have. And most of us don`t get caught. So you know you make mistakes. Every young person makes mistakes, in Hollywood, in any business. And in her case, and in many of these other cases, people get caught. And I didn`t get caught. So I`m not going to sit there in judgment of her. I don`t know her family.
BEHAR: So the timing is bad for her because the media is all over it.
CURTIS: The timing is bad. And somehow I think there was omnipotence. The omnipotence that somehow the rules didn`t imply to her got imparted. Now again, I don`t know --
BEHAR: Did you hear Jerry Lewis` quote?
CURTIS: You know what Jerry Lewis?
BEHAR: Let me say what it is, he said, I`d smack her in the mouth if I saw her. I would smack her in the mouth and would be arrested for abusing a woman. You deserve this and nothing else. Wack." He`s a pleasure.
CURTIS: You know what? He`s raised -- honestly, he`s, what, raised hundreds of millions of dollars for charity. He`s a great man.
BEHAR: I know.
CURTIS: From a charitable standpoint. He shouldn`t have run off his mouth. And my guess is at this point someone should turn off the camera when he starts going on. Do you know what I mean? I mean you have to look at the good he`s done, as well as, these mistakes that he spoke in the same way that you hope to look at the good she will continue to do, has been when she was younger and maybe in these middle years that we`ll look back fondly. I mean just look at Robert Downey Jr. -
BEHAR: He`s doing well.
CURTIS: And remember he did a year in prison.
BEHAR: That`s true.
CURTIS: He did a year in prison and he`s not only doing well, he`s the biggest movie star in the world.
BEHAR: Yes, he is a big -- he`s not the biggest.
CURTIS: Who is the biggest, Joy?
BEHAR: The biggest movie star in the world?
CURTIS: Would be whom?
BEHAR: The -
CURTIS: Who`s bigger than him?
BEHAR: Snooki and "The Situation," in my opinion.
CURTIS: But they`re not movie stars.
BEHAR: "The Situation" is bigger than Robert Downey.
CURTIS: I don`t think so, I don`t watch that.
BEHAR: You don`t watch television.
CURTIS: I don`t watch television.
BEHAR: What do you do all day?
CURTIS: I read books. I pick up my children from school, I cook three meals a day.
BEHAR: You do? Don`t you have maids or anything?
CURTIS: You know what, again, any successful actor that doesn`t say they have somebody helping them at home --
BEHAR: They do, they`re lying. Somebody cleans the house.
CURTIS: I mean I think Angelina Jolie walks on water. I think this woman -- I don`t know how she does the humanitarian work she does -
BEHAR: Yes.
CURTIS: And continues to raise a family. But somebody has to tell me she has a housekeeper somewhere.
BEHAR: She does, believe me. Somebody`s washing the kids` clothes. Of course, she`s always making movies.
CURTIS: Exactly. Somewhere there`s an infrastructure of support under actors. And it would be ridiculous of me to not mention that Rina Blanco (ph), who has worked for me for 15 years in my --
BEHAR: Oh my god, she used to work for me. I`m kidding.
CURTIS: You know Rina?
BEHAR: I`m kidding.
CURTIS: But you know what I`m saying, it would be wrong, it would be crazy for me to acknowledge her or my sister, Kelly, who`s run my company for --
BEHAR: Kelly, is she your older or younger --
CURTIS: She`s my assisturant.
BEHAR: She`s your assisturant? That`s funny.
(LAUGHTER)
CURTIS: And she`s run my company for 15 years. So I couldn`t go off and do what I`m doing here if I didn`t have support.
BEHAR: Yes, all right, when we come back, I want to talk about your - -
CURTIS: Fine.
BEHAR: Finally.
CURTIS: OK.
BEHAR: We`ll be back with more from the outspoken Jamie Lee Curtis.
CURTIS: Whatever -- me?
BEHAR: and Jerry Lewis.
CURTIS: And by the way -
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And this is Will`s mom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gail.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ramona.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: whoa, you guys know each other?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ramona!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long has it been?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: OK. That was a look at Jamie Lee Curtis in her new movie "You Again." And Jamie is back with me. Jamie --
CURTIS: What, Joy?
BEHAR: You do movies, you write children`s books and are married to a very funny man.
CURTIS: Very funny man.
BEHAR: Tell his name.
CURTIS: Sell his name?
BEHAR: Tell his name.
CURTIS: I`m like sell -
BEHAR: Tell it -
CURTIS: Christopher Guest.
BEHAR: Who does those wonderful, hilarious movies, "The Mighty Wind," and -
CURTIS: "Waiting for Guffman"
BEHAR: "Best In Show."
CURTIS: "Best In Show"
BEHAR: Which is my favorite.
CURTIS: "For Your Consideration."
BEHAR: He`s hilarious. You two have been married for a long time.
CURTIS: Twenty - twenty six -
BEHAR: Is he funny -
CURTIS: Twenty seven -
BEHAR: Around the house? Is he funny.
CURTIS: He can be funny. Any great comedian can be funny when they want to be and can`t be when they don`t want to be.
BEHAR: Yes.
CURTIS: And then you know, you can`t really ever argue with somebody who`s super funny because they`ll make you laugh no matter what.
BEHAR: That`s true.
CURTIS: And yet you can`t reverse it. Like if you`re really mad at them and you`re like getting in their face and they make you laugh, you`re like, that`s not fair. But if he`s mad at me and I try to make him laugh, I can`t make him laugh.
BEHAR: You can`t do it.
CURTIS: No because then it`s just pathetic.
BEHAR: Because he`s a professional.
CURTIS: Then you just feel worse than you could ever imagine. Trying to make somebody laugh who`s mad at you and then they`re like --
BEHAR: So this movie, "My Mommy Hung The Moon."
CURTIS: It`s OK. It`s your first day back.
BEHAR: It`s my second day back. But it`s -
CURTIS: OK, you`ll get better in a week.
BEHAR: I know, it`s starting to warm up again. But this is an interesting -- I read it. I read it. It took me two minutes. It`s a children`s book.
CURTIS: Books for children.
BEHAR: That`s my kind of book. The kind you can read in two minutes. And it`s all about how great mommies are at everything. I mean I was reading it and thinking, I don`t know if I can do that. As if I did that as a mother. All of that, make a batch of cookies and then talk to the birds and teach me how to do this and this and this.
CURTIS: Are you a mother?
BEHAR: I am, yes.
CURTIS: How old are your children?
BEHAR: Thirty nine.
CURTIS: OK. Do you have -- can you remember 39 years ago?
BEHAR: Yes, I can.
CURTIS: I guarantee you, the way you looked at that child and that child looked up at you, even if you were making that funny faces and made that child laugh. Somehow that child knew that no matter what for the rest of their life, you had their back.
BEHAR: I know it`s true.
CURTIS: That you can -- we can joke, we can be sarcastic, we can be funny women. Ultimately that moment where a mother looks at a child and basically says, I will take care of you -
BEHAR: Yes.
CURTIS: Is so powerful. That it`s really a book about mother love.
BEHAR: It is.
CURTIS: It is nothing more than a book about a child`s fantasy that his mother created everything. What made me laugh is that, like my son, when he was a baby, probably thought I created the Iphone and all the food he eats and the clothes he wears.
BEHAR: Oh I know, that`s why they put so much trust. And when you betray that trust and put them up for adoption, it`s so wrong.
CURTIS: Or on when you betray that trust and talk about them on national television.
BEHAR: I don`t ever do that.
CURTIS: Neither do I.
BEHAR: No, no, I was told, do not put me in your act. Do not discuss me, so I don`t.
CURTIS: I don`t. I - I -- you know - we have to go.
BEHAR: We have to go.
CURTIS: We I know. See, we got in there.
BEHAR: We got in there. You can catch Jamie Lee Curtis in "You Again" opening September 24th. And her children`s book "My Mommy Hung The Moon" is out now. Goodnight, everybody. Goodnight, moon, isn`t that a book?
END
