HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher

[AngelV]

The new season begins tonight at 11pm (Eastern). Yes, this is a TV show, but it's a politcal one and the issues raised would be best posted in CE/P.


This week, Bill Maher welcomes filmmaker Michael Moore, Ralph Nader, Gov. Bill Owens, Rep. David Dreir, and former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell. Plus, Andre 3000 from Outkast.

As the Campaign of 2004 heats up, Bill Maher and his guests analyze the Democratic convention; and the minds and motives of George Bush and John Kerry.

[akip]

just caught it -- great show! especially moore and maher down on their knees pleading, "ralph, please! don't run!"

[shivvy]

Ack! I wish I had known this was starting back up!!! I would have resubscribed to HBO. Maybe I'll do that this week.

[postfeminist]

i MUST get HBO! dammit!!!!!

[akip]

hbo is the only reason to own a tv -- well, also c-span.

[AngelV]

Originally posted by akip
just caught it -- great show! especially moore and maher down on their knees pleading, "ralph, please! don't run!"

That was a great scene...but while they were begging, Nader was sitting there holding up his book for the camera. Tells you what he's all about, doesn't it?

I think the former Canadian PM made some really great points to Nader. Specifically when she said that if Bush wins, Nader will be pushed aside (again), but if he helps Kerry-Edwards get elected, he can hold their feet to the flames since he helped deliver additional votes their way.

I really hoped he heard that. Or, at least, maybe someone working on his campaign did and will think about it.

Rep. Dreir should have kept his mouth shut about Fahrenheit 9/11 as soon as he admitted he hadn't seen the film, only clips shown on TV. To sit there, four feet from Michael Moore, and admit that took some balls. Gov. Owens did a good job standing up to Maher's criticisms about President Bush and what he could have/should have done on the morning of 9/11.

[Marlowe]

I absolutely cannot stand Bill Maher. I would be hard-pressed to find someone more in love with himself than this guy. All of his pronouncements are made with this self-satisfied preciousness that makes me ill. He's at least as bad as Bill O'Reilly -- another guy I won't watch -- and maybe worse.

[akip]

Originally posted by AngelV


while they were begging, Nader was sitting there holding up his book for the camera. Tells you what he's all about, doesn't it?



about ole ralph --
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/naders_grassroots_campaign.php

[onest2.0]

C'mon, Maher is 10 times better than O'Reilly. Maher's arguments tend to be well thought out and he actually conducts interviews.

[frizgolf]

I like Maher. Leans left, steps right occasionally. He's capable of Bush- bashing without sounding like he has some hidden agenda.

[DaysWithoutEnd]

I finally got to see an episode of this at a friends house.
Reminded me how much i miss Politically Incorrect

[bluewilco]

Maher, as liberal as he leans, gives shit to both parties and (almost) every guest. He may be a bit full of himself, but at least he cares enough about the US to take some kind of objective stand.

O'Reilly just spouts pro-Republican jargon, as does many other Fox and Conservative "analysts" (Chris Matthews, I'm looking at you). I wish hosts of political shows would just come out and say "I'm here to bach liberals and prop up conservatives," or "I'm liberal and I'm trying to sell you on why you should be too."

[mike]

Originally posted by bluewilco
Maher, as liberal as he leans, gives shit to both parties and (almost) every guest. He may be a bit full of himself, but at least he cares enough about the US to take some kind of objective stand.

O'Reilly just spouts pro-Republican jargon, as does many other Fox and Conservative "analysts" (Chris Matthews, I'm looking at you). I wish hosts of political shows would just come out and say "I'm here to bach liberals and prop up conservatives," or "I'm liberal and I'm trying to sell you on why you should be too."

Bill Maher is great. We watched him on Larry King a few weeks ago & damn near agreed with everything he had to say. I received a nice surprise a week or so later when the lady re-upped for HBO solely because his show was resuming. I wish he'd take the show on the road, I'd pay to see it.

I kind of like Chris Matthews. He, like Tim Russert, used to work for Democratic pols eons ago so I don't think he's a GOP at heart but rather *gasp* actually tries to be, ahem, fair and balanced.

O'Reilly is a disgrace to journalism. I mean, if you really dislike the guy, read Al Franken's Lying Liars book for a few yuks. It really takes hacks like O'Reilly & Sean Hannity down a few notches. Journalistic ambulance chasers, them.

MST

[akip]

Originally posted by mike


Bill Maher is great. We watched him on Larry King a few weeks ago & damn near agreed with everything he had to say. I received a nice surprise a week or so later when the lady re-upped for HBO solely because his show was resuming. I wish he'd take the show on the road, I'd pay to see it.

I kind of like Chris Matthews. He, like Tim Russert, used to work for Democratic pols eons ago so I don't think he's a GOP at heart but rather *gasp* actually tries to be, ahem, fair and balanced.

O'Reilly is a disgrace to journalism. I mean, if you really dislike the guy, read Al Franken's Lying Liars book for a few yuks. It really takes hacks like O'Reilly & Sean Hannity down a few notches. Journalistic ambulance chasers, them.

MST

i agree with all of the above, with only some additional thoughts about matthews. he's pretty cagey. strikes me as more of a libertarian than a conservative or a liberal, likes to rout out the bullsh*t on either side. gives both sides a chance to make their best quick pitch and then moves in for the kill when they open themselves up.

matthews doles out bits of his own opinion, while making it fairly clear what's opinion. sometimes i wanna hit him but i watch him.

he had a good show on the kerry medals "controversy" last night.

[jeffvankirk]

Originally posted by mike
O'Reilly is a disgrace to journalism. I mean, if you really dislike the guy, read Al Franken's Lying Liars book for a few yuks. It really takes hacks like O'Reilly & Sean Hannity down a few notches. Journalistic ambulance chasers, them.

MST

That book is awesome. The chapters debunking Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity alone are worth the price of the book.

Sorry to get off track from the thread topic, but I just had to pipe up on Franken. His radio show is one of the few things that will take me away from streaming 97X...

[akip]

i went back to find this thread cos tonight i saw chris matthews on real time with bill maher. in a very sly way, matthews came out of the closet as a democrat.

roughly, he said, "i can't fathom why anyone hasn't made up his mind whether to vote for bush or kerry. their agendas are radically different. what do you want for the next 10, 20 years? do you want to see the rich continue to get huge tax breaks and the middle class disappear? then it's clear which party to vote for. do you want to see the united states go it completely alone in the world---considering that blair will be gone..." (names a couple other allies, maybe mubarak, but i forget exactly) "and then we really be completely alone? then you know which party to vote for."

i've never heard him come out so strongly.

[AngelV]

Originally posted by akip


i've never heard him come out so strongly.

He worked in the Carter Administration and was an aide for Tip O'Neill. It's not really a secret.

[akip]

Originally posted by AngelV


He worked in the Carter Administration and was an aide for Tip O'Neill. It's not really a secret.

i know he worked for o'neill, but from what i've seen on hardball he's generally tried to be pretty even-handed. he didn't cut kerry much slack during the democratic convention coverage.

but i haven't watched him for very long, so maybe i'm the only one who's surprised.

a great thing about real time is to see journalists come out directly with their positions.

[AngelV]

Hmm, not really, though. Chris Matthews is paid for his opinion, so him leaning to the left during the Maher show wasn't too much of a revelation. Now, if it were someone like Tom Brokaw or even Tim Russert (registered Independent, btw), that would be a different story.

Maher doesn't get a lot of so-called balanced journalists on his show, that may be intentional, or it could be that no one wants to risk losing their multi-million dollar position. Ashleigh Banfield can say whatever she wants now as well, since she was dropped from NBC.

Anyhoo, Chris Matthews does come across as even-handed for the most part, but it does become obvious which side of the fence he's on when he begins down a certain line of questions. :)

[motorcitysonics]

Bill O'Reilly is as much a journalist as Tom Leykis is.

[akip]

Originally posted by AngelV
Ashleigh Banfield can say whatever she wants now as well, since she was dropped from NBC.



ha! you watched this one too!

[AngelV]

Anyone else watch last night's show? I think it was Maher's best show yet. All of the guests were great, even Jason Alexander got in some really great points.

I thought Andrew Sullivan was going to break down when they started talking about the exclusion of Mary Cheney from the GOP convention.

Patrick Buchanan and Howard Dean had great points as well.

Maher made a great analogy comparing OBL to Ray Croc of McDonald's saying something like, "the franchises are already in business, you don't need the founder around anymore."

[The Ugly Thief]

best line of last night's episode :

when he was reading the "rejected jokes for Bush's daughters"

"We're twins, so of course we always get some pervert asking us if we'd be interested in a threesome.....but enough about Dick Cheney's daughter."

v

[Crispin]

If Chris Matthews can take down Fox News airhead spokesmodel Michelle Malkin so harshly and publicly, I'm all for him.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5765243/

[AngelV]

Originally posted by Crispin
If Chris Matthews can take down Fox News airhead spokesmodel Michelle Malkin so harshly and publicly, I'm all for him.



I actually was watching that particular Hardball when she dug herself into a hole. It was great live TV.

[AngelV]

Last night's show was great. Julie Delpy was about to break out into a French tirade. :D

[Seattle93]

Originally posted by AngelV
Last night's show was great. Julie Delpy was about to break out into a French tirade. :D

I thought last night's show was the best of the season so far.

They should have Cornel West & PJ O'Rourke on the show as full-time panelists.

[akip]

gotta check the guide for the rerun.

[AngelV]

Originally posted by Seattle93

They should have Cornel West & PJ O'Rourke on the show as full-time panelists.

Yeah, that would be great. Though with all their other commitments, probably not likely. They are regulars on NPR programs that I love, the Tavis Smiley show and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, respectively.

[akip]

matthews talked to cornel a few minutes last week after interviewing seymour hersh. good show.

[Seattle93]

I think that what I liked most about the show was that PJ O'Rourke, who was the token Republican, never got angry or defensive about anything.

He took all of Bill's ribbing in stride and never once took offense at anything Cornel brought up, whereas Rep. Dana Rohrbacher, Michelle Malkin & Rep. David Drier found it necessary to become angry & belligerent.

I wonder if Aaron McGruder will ever be back on the show...I've always thought he was one of the best panelists

[AngelV]

Very true about O'Rourke keeping his cool. Maybe it's because he deals with the NPR set instead of the "Hardball" set most of the time. :) He does write for a variety of publications, some left-leaning, others not, so I think he has a better perspective on the liberal/conservative mindset than others.

There are definitely some great panelists that I love to see. Even D.L. Hughley is great. When he was first on the show, I thought, "Oh great, a comedian," but he added some great insight to the discussions.

[AngelV]

This week's episode wasn't very good. The show is at its best when both the left and right are represented, not one-sided.

[Seattle93]

Originally posted by AngelV
This week's episode wasn't very good. The show is at its best when both the left and right are represented, not one-sided.

Yeah, it was pretty blah. Someone's ears must've been burning though, 'cause Aaron McGruder was a guest this week

I wonder if Aaron McGruder will ever be back on the show...I've always thought he was one of the best panelists

[AngelV]

Tonight's show should be really good since it's almost-immediately following the presidential debate. And yay for my state's Lt. Governor going on the show...a black Republican at that.

Bill Maher returns with a new edition Friday, October 8 at 11 pm. Bill's guests will include: filmmaker Michael Moore, columnist Frank Rich, comedian David Cross, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, and commentator Tony Snow.

[akip]

thanks so much, angelv, for the advance notice. i keep missing maher cos i've always got too many other balls in the air.

[AngelV]

Originally posted by akip
cos i've always got too many other balls in the air.

*sigh* Sometimes I wish I had that problem. ;) :D

[AngelV]

Tonight's show was so great. Both Tony Snow and Michael Steele held their ground (though I didn't agree with all they said) and got Maher to pin down his thoughts. Though I thought it was pretty funny when Lt. Gov. Steele asked Maher "Do you pray?" He must not have seen much of Maher's previous stand-up acts or other shows because that answer is pretty obvious.

The "new rule" about Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was hilarious as was the opening "Excelsior" fake advert. :D

[Molson]

I agree, it was a great episode. Maher usually comes across as someone who tries to stack the deck with guests who will agree with him (that and being a little pompus). Tonight was completely the opposite with the two conservatives. Maher showed his own knowledge and intellect and did not just shout down their views.

[akip]

yeah, maher was on the defensive. the two conservatives were so damn BIG (the lt. gov's got shoulders a mile wide ---i loved the maroon suit---and snow looks and talks so much like my arch-conservative brother that it spooked me) and they were both so eloquently rational in their arguments that you got the distinct impression they were squeezing maher into a tight corner and that little bald actor between them like a vise.

but i was also thinking how infrequently conservatives come off so...mature anymore. 95% of the time you're getting the nasty, intolerant, greedy, anti-intellectual republican persona popularized by am radio and fox.

[spackler]

Bump for the new run

[The Sheck]

Bump for the new run

You can download the audio-only podcast on itunes. That's how I tune in. ;)

Plus, I think the new episode was on August 29th. :confused:

[ThomasC]

Plus, I think the new episode was on August 29th. :confused:
Nope. The official website says "Live! Fridays at 11PM." Also, the premiere was on August 25th.

[ThomasC]

New Rule: Stop telling me that vinyl records sound warmer than CDs. I was alive in the 70's, you dipshit hipsters. I know what vinyl sounds like: scratchy. And when your friend throws you the bong and it hits the tonearm, your Foghat record is ruined, man! Plus, when you've got a chick over and you're getting your groove on, every 20 minutes you've gotta get up out of the beanbag chair and flip over the Ray Stevens album.

:D

[ThomasC]

New Rule: Now that liberals have taken back the word "liberal," they also have to take back the word "elite." By now, you've heard the constant right-wing attacks on the elite media and the liberal elite, who may or may not be part of the Washington elite, a subset of the East Coast elite, which is overly influenced by the Hollywood elite. So basically, unless you're a shitkicker from Kansas, you're with the terrorists.

You know, if you played a drinking game where you did a shot every time Rush Limbaugh attacked someone for being elite, you'd almost be as wasted as Rush Limbaugh.

I don't get it. In other fields outside of government, elite is a good thing, like an elite fighting force. Tiger Woods is an elite golfer. If I need brain surgery, I'd like an elite doctor.

But in politics, elite is bad. The elite aren't down to earth and accessible like you and me and President Shit-For-Brains. Which is fine, except that whenever there's a Bush administration scandal, it always traces back to some incompetent political hack appointment. And you think to yourself, "Where are they getting these screwups from?"

Well, now we know: from Pat Robertson. I'm not kidding. Take Monica Goodling, who before she resigned last week because she's smack in the middle of the U.S. attorney scandal, was a 3rd-ranking official in the Justice Department of the United States. She's 33 years old, and though she never even worked as a prosecutor, she was tasked with overseeing the job performance of all 93 U.S. attorneys. How do you get to the top that fast? Harvard? Princeton? No. Goodling did her undergraduate work at Messiah College. You know, Messiah, home of the fighting Christies. And then went on to attend Pat Robertson's law school. Yes, Pat Robertson. The man who said that the presence of gay people at Disney World would cause earthquakes, tornados and possibly a meteor has a law school. And what kid wouldn't want to attend? It's three years, and you only have to read one book.

U.S. News and World Report, which does the definitive ranking of colleges, lists Regent as a tier-4 school, which is the lowest score it gives. It's not a hard school to get into. You have to renounce Satan and draw a pirate on a matchbook. This is for people who couldn't get into the University of Phoenix.

Now would you care to guess how many graduates of this televangelist diploma bill work in the Bush administration? One hundred and fifty. And you wonder why things are so messed up? We're talking about a top Justice Department official who went to a college funded by a TV host! Would you send your daughter to Maury Povich U? And if you did, would you expect her to get a job at the White House?

In two hundred years, we've gone from "We, the People" to "Up with people." From the best and the brightest to dumb and dumber. Where better to find people dumb enough to believe in George Bush than Pat Robertson's law school?

The problem here in America isn't that the country is being run by elites, it's that it's being run by a bunch of hayseeds. By the way, the lawyer that Monica Goodling just hired to keep her ass out of jail went to a real law school.

[classicgrrl]

you're a funny man.

[ThomasC]

you're a funny man.
:confused: I'm just posting what he said on his latest show...

[epeolatry]

damn it! i always forget to watch and then try to catch a rerun...

[Smoker29]

New Rule: Stop telling me that vinyl records sound warmer than CDs. I was alive in the 70's, you dipshit hipsters. I know what vinyl sounds like: scratchy.

:D

I know he's trying to be funny, but I was alive in the 70's as well and I really do think Vinyl sounds warmer than CD's. They are much harder to maintain, but I do think they sound better. Fuck off Bill. :)

[frizgolf]

I know he's trying to be funny, but I was alive in the 70's as well and I really do think Vinyl sounds warmer than CD's. They are much harder to maintain, but I do think they sound better. Fuck off Bill. :)
Couldn't agree more.

[ThomasC]

Two articulate, fairly well-reasoned conservative authors and one lightweight Democrat elected official made for an interesting show last night. usually the other way around.

Refreshing.
Agreed, this was a terrific episode.

[-Sue-]

And what kid wouldn't want to attend? It's three years, and you only have to read one book.
Holy hilarity, I need to resubscribe to this podcast!

Maher was the guest on the Showbiz Show last night, and other than flubbing a punchline involving Spade (no one can dis David as masterfully as Jessi Klein), his New Rules Hollywood were pretty funny. Maher was also a guest on Scarborough Country this week, apparently to discuss faith. I didn't see it, but I'll never forget his Scarborough appearance a few years ago when he had the brass to call religiosity a "neurological disorder" - whoa.

[The_Deacon]

Awsome episode. :cool:

[Shlep]

New Rule: Stop telling me that vinyl records sound warmer than CDs. I was alive in the 70's, you dipshit hipsters. I know what vinyl sounds like: scratchy. And when your friend throws you the bong and it hits the tonearm, your Foghat record is ruined, man!

What kind of fool *throws* a bong? Even stoners are usually not that stupid; sounds like the dude had unresolved issues.

Plus, when you've got a chick over and you're getting your groove on, every 20 minutes you've gotta get up out of the beanbag chair and flip over the Ray Stevens album. :D

Ray Stevens? Good Lord, man! What were you thinking? Just about anything would have been preferable, though you should have known what the correct album for that was. Did you *not* have this explained? Okay, check it out:

http://www.netwalk.com/~truegger/ftrh/Mikey1.jpg

"When it comes down to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV."

Beyond that, did you not have that one doohickey that dropped successive records, removing the need to flip so often?

http://www.garage-a-records.com/jpgs/cps.jpg http://www.garage-a-records.com/jpgs/cps.jpg

Though I don't think anything produced the level of quality or fidelity of sound as my first record player did.

http://www.thisoldtoy.com/new-images/images-ok/2000s/FP2205-EB248938595-B.jpg

[ThomasC]

Beyond that, did you not have that one doohickey that dropped successive records, removing the need to flip so often?
It was either buy the doohickey and live without weed, or live without the doohickey and buy the weed.

[ThomasC]

I wish they could have let Lisa Schiffren complete her thoughts instead of cutting her off every time she said anything that set off Bill, Jamie, Richard or the audience.

...and NPR's Jamie Tarabay was smokin'.

http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/1039/jamietarabay01lc1.jpg

[ThomasC]

9/11 Conspiracy Theorists Disrupt Real Time (10/19/07) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08bE7L5yHrM)
Now THAT is what Kerry should have done with Mr. "Don't taze me, bro!" He should have run off the stage and helped security escort him out. :D

In case any of you didn't view any other YouTube videos while you were there, this was the New Rule from 9/14 that set off the conspiracy theorists:

"New Rule: Crazy people who still think the government brought down the Twin Towers in a controlled explosion have to stop pretending that I'm the one who's being naive. How big a lunatic do you have to be to watch two giant airliners packed with jet fuel slam into buildings on live TV, igniting a massive inferno that burned for two hours, and then think, 'Well, if you believe that was the cause...'

"Stop asking me to raise this ridiculous topic on the show and start asking your doctor if Paxil is right for you."

[Shlep]

Now THAT is what Kerry should have done with Mr. "Don't taze me, bro!" He should have run off the stage and helped security escort him out. :D

In the offing, he could have taken care to his knees or shins on something bad enough to cause a big ugly bruise. Hello, Purple Heart #4!

I used to think these clowns in the "9-11 Truth Movement" were amusing...then I found them sad and pathetic...now they make me want to fucking vomit.

Just watch the responses from these fucking clowns to Mahers "New Rule" bit.

"Buildings do not collapse into themselves at free-fall speed!"

I defy anyone to find a single adherent to, or advocate of, the "controlled demolition" bullshit who will explain *WHY* this supposedly plain and obvious and unimpeachable fact is true. Or let me save you the trouble: don't bother, because they can't and never do. Every one of these dumbasses talks about things like "buildings collapsing into neat little footprints" and "free-fall speed" and "thermite cutting charges" and 100 other things they claim are "obvious" even when they can't string three words together to explain *WHY* this canard that they copy and paste all over Internet is so darned obvious.

Before I forget: that "free-fall speed" shit is based on one of the leading 9-11 Truth twits using a simple application accessible via Web browser at some Mr. Wizard-type science website to see how fast a hunk of metal falls in a vacuum and applied it to eh WTC towers.

"So...in all of recorded history, *NO* steel-framed building *EVER* collapsed just by catching fire and burning! Then we have three...IN ONE MORNING! Isn't that just a little convenient, you neo-con nut-hugger?!"

Typically, pics of the steel-framed buildings whose burned husks are shown to be ruined (but not collapsed) will be depicted in various pictures that they will surely link to while chastising you for being a "sheep" who will not dare to question government.

Next time someone says this, ask them how many of the other fires in any of the other precedents were precipitated by a 200-ton object slamming them at speeds around 500 miles per hour or so. Then watch yourself get ignored.

"Look...ANYONE can tell it's a controlled demolition!! Look how it's falling! how can you look at that and *NOT* know it was demolished?!"

Ask this person to produce so much as a single name of someone with the requisite training and experience in the demolition industry who supports the controlled demolition theory. You'll be ignored again.

"Look...all I'm saying is that no matter what you and the other lemmings believe, I look at that building collapse, and it just DOES NOT look right to me!"

Ignorance and stupidity, it seems, are critical thinking skills.

"This guy questions the official explanation, and he has a PhD and teaches at Harvard! Why the hell should I believe you and not him?"

Maybe because having a PhD in Comparative Theology and teaching at Harvards' Divinity School doesn't make him more qualified to opine on this issue than me. Charlie Sheen doesn't even have a high school diploma, so I sure do hope you're not going to mention what a fan he is of Alex Jones and why I'm supposed to give a rats' ass what he thinks.

"A jet-fuel fire can't burn hot enough or long enough to melt steel girders!"

...which is why melting steel girders is not mentioned in the working hypothesis for any of the "official/government" explanations or given as a possible cause of the collapse except to dismiss it.

"Look...no high-rise building is gonna fall in a "pancaking" manner that fast!"

...this being another claim that nobody who deserves to be taken seriously is making this claim. Not that absence of official support for this claim nobody is making ever stops them from bringing it up.

"How can a few small fires make the WTC 7 collapse?!"

Actually, it was a series of fires which weakened the structure; when one part of the structure buttressing the tower yielded, the supports were overwhelmed and led to a progressive collapse. This was expedited by a huge gash torn into side of the building on one of its' main supoporting walls by falling debris as the other towers collapsed.

[jvk]

Best line from last night's show.

Re: The probable Obama vs. McCain General Election. "Obama is everywhere the youth are, myspace, facebook, etc. It will be 'YouTube' vs. feeding tube."

[Buzzstein]

Best line from last night's show.

Re: The probable Obama vs. McCain General Election. "Obama is everywhere the youth are, myspace, facebook, etc. It will be 'YouTube' vs. feeding tube."

Haha! As someone who has used both YouTube and a feeding tube, I find that quite amusing.