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| Naomi Klein |
There was some lively debate on Real Time with Bill Maher,
episode 330, on Friday September 26, 2014. The big issue seemed to be safety—how
to be safe, who is not safe, and who wants to be safe.
To bomb ISIS or not
to bomb ISIS
Bill Maher apparently
disagrees with Obama’s decision to bomb ISIS.
“You can’t destroy an idea,” he says. He says Obama is getting his full
George Bush on because he is ordering airstrikes of ISIS. As a liberal I am
anti-war, but I also think that thre is a time for military action. I feel that
if ISIS and other groups like Khourson (Bill said it sounded like a new restaurant)
are not stopped now, they will eventually become too big and strong to
stop.
One of the penelists, General
Anthony Zinni, a retired United States Marine Corps General and author of
several books, including his latest book,
Before the First Shots Are Fired: How
America Can Win Or Lose Off The Battlefield (with Tony Koltz) somewhat agrees with me. Zinni supports the bombing, but he seems to be
saying its about morality because of ISIS’s acts of barbarism and
genocide.
This is
a weak argument because it leaves Zinni open to questions: Why here and not
there? Why now and not then? There are
plenty of morally corrupt regimes committing geneocide and we are not attacking
all of them. Why should the U.S. the world’s policeman.
I agree
with the arguments about going not going after ISIS for moral reasons. However,
I do think we have to go after ISIS is a matter of national defense.
Maher
thinks that the threat of ISIS is limited and attacking them over there so they
won’t attack us over here is nonsense—they could still attack us. Maher seems
to be taking both sides of the argument. They are not a threat and they could
attack us. No one mentioned that if ISIS is not stopped they will take over the
entire Middle East. That is their goal. If they do that, they will be a threat.
Maybe there wouldn’t have been a WW II if Hitler had been stopped early on.
Another panelist, John Feehery, Republican
political commentator, President of Quinn Gillespie
Communications, Director of QGA Government Affairs and former aide to former Republican
Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, approves of Obama’s military action. He said, “Keeping those guys on the run,
keeps us safe.” Maher said Republicans are
conflicted on the issue because oil refineries that ISIS has seized are being
bombed--Republicans love bombing, but they also love oil. He said it was like “John
Boehner fighting his bartender.”
Ebola
ISIS may or may not be a threat, but there are some big
threats to our safety are looming. One is Ebola. It could become a global
pandemic. Maher said the United States has spent trillions on wars, and the U.N
is trying to stop Ebola with only $1 million. Here’s a thought: maybe Ebola
could wipe out ISIS for us. Of course, if it did, it could very well wipe out
most of the world’s population at the same time. That’s the problem—there is
always a downside.
Capitalism vs. the Climate
Another major threat to safety that not too many are taking
seriously is climate change. The
interview was with Naomi Klein, a critic
of corporate globalization and author of several books, including The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster
Capitalism and
her newest book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The
Climate. She says that
capitalism, because it is based on short-term growth and profit, is
destabilizing the planet’s life-support system.
She says we are not going to be able to fix it by changing our light
bulbs. However, she sees the threat as “a
great once-in-a-century opportunity to build a better society.” It is giving us
the chance to address raging inequality, create jobs, and rebuild the public
infrastructure. I think she is right
about that, but I also think that it is not going to happen. Klein points out there is no leadership on
this issue at the top. The leadership is coming from below, from the people. She
cites the big protest march in New York City this weekend as an example of that
bottom-up leadership. Can a protest march really make a difference? Maybe, but
it will take lots of protests and lots of time, and we don’t have that kind of
time on this. (I also remember a lot of peace marches before George Bush took
us into the Iraq war and it didn’t stop the war.)
Out-of-control Police
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| Charles M. Blow |
There is a large group of Americans who are definitely not
safe—black people, especially black males. There are more reports this week of
policemen shooting totally innocent black men. The third a panelist was Charles
M. Blow. He’s a journalist, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, and
author of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, a
memoir. He’s also a black man. He said that we made some racial progress, but
we are drifting back—blacks are being disenfranchised and incarcerated in
record numbers. And blacks are being
shot by the police in record numbers.
Maher said that he can understand these trigger-happy cops.They
feel that every encounter could be the encounter that ends their life. I have
had the same thought. I’ve heard about a cop getting shot when he makes a
routine traffic stop. Maher says the job
of a policeman is dangerous, but that is what they signed up for. The police are putting too much emphasis on
protecting themselves instead of protecting the public. They seem to be far to quick to shoot and
taser. I’ll just quote former President Truman:
If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Also, I’d advise black people to buy their
guns mail order because if they have a gun in a store, they will be shot dead. On
the other hand, the white guys from the NRA do their open carry strut armed to
the teeth, and nobody shoots them.
For more about Blow's new book, see my "Bill Maher Rules" blog for: Charles M. Blow Talks with Lawrence O'Donnell
For more about Blow's new book, see my "Bill Maher Rules" blog for: Charles M. Blow Talks with Lawrence O'Donnell
Mid-Show Comedy
Segment
Remember George
Zimmerman. He was the wannabe cop who shot a black teenaged boy because he
looked suspicious. The mid-show comedy segment was about hiring Zimmerman to
keep intruders out of the White House.
He has “a 6th sense” about who is dangerous and is skilled at
noticing, following, stalking, etc. “With Zimmerman, our president will be
truly safe, unless he wears a hoodie.“
[By the way, Maher had two jokes on the subject of intruders
in the White House. 1) That is how Fox News describes Obama, and 2) it wil embolden
the Jehovah Witnesses.]
Vote!
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| Alexandra Pelosi |
The mid-show guest was Alexandra
Pelosi, a journalist, documentary filmmaker,
and author of several books including Sneaking Into the Flying Circus: How the
Media Turn Our Presidential Campaigns into Freak Shows and Citizen U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip (Citizen USA is also available on dvd). She said it was her job to stand around parking lots all over America
talking to people. What she is hearing is not making her feel safe. People don’t even know there is an election
this November. She says, never mind
about Republicans who vote against their own interests, what about liberals who
don’t vote for their own interests because
they don’t vote.
New Rules
Maher began
New Rules with a bit about this woman who supposedly had a third breast
implanted in her chest. Maher said men would find three boobs fascinating. How
else can we explain the popularity of Fox and Friends.
The
final New Rules segment began with a mention of the teenaged boy who faces two
years in jail for disrespecting Jesus. (He took a picture with a statue of
Jesus that made it look like Jesus was blowing him.) He says his heart swells
with pride when he sees that picture because in America a kid can pull a
tasteless stunt like that without being killed for it. (Maher doesn’t believe the
kid will go to jail. I don’t even understand why he was arrested. What law did
he break?)
(Read more about this and see a video clip: Blasphemy is Not a Crime.)
(Read more about this and see a video clip: Blasphemy is Not a Crime.)
Maher said
we need to stand up for American values of free speech, separation of church
and state, and respect for minorities. He spoke about Saudi woman who can’t
vote, or drive, or even leave their house without being accompanied by a male relative.
He spoke about genital mutilation. He castigated those who claim multi-culturalism
as an excuse to overlook this violation. He said toleration of this behavior in
the name of cultural diversity was the real problem and not Jonah Hall calling
a paparazzi a faggot or Mel Gibson calling women “sugar tits.”
Once
again Maher used New Rules to address a serious subject. Freedom means we
tolerate stupidity, and we stand up against those who violate human rights. Freedom is what makes us safe.
BILL MAHER'S GUESTS FOR 09/26/14
General Anthony Zinni:
Retired United States Marine Corps
General, author of several books, including his latest book, Before the
First Shots Are Fired: How America Can Win Or Lose Off The Battlefield (with Tony Koltz)
Naomi Klein: Critic
of corporate globalization and author of several books, including
The Shock
Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Her newest book is This Changes
Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate
John Feehery: Former aide to former Republican speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, President of Quinn Gillespie Communications, and Director
of QGA Government Affairs.
Charles M. Blow: Journalist, op-ed columnist
for The New York Times, and author of Fire Shut Up
in My Bones
Alexandra Pelosi: Journalist, documentary filmmaker, and author of several books including Sneaking Into
the Flying Circus: How the Media Turn Our Presidential Campaigns into Freak
Shows
and Citizen
U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip (Citizen USA is also
available on dvd)
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