Real Time with Bill Maher #333 10/24/14 "Prophets and Wingnuts"

by Catherine Giordano


Dr. Cornel West

Where were the prophets? Where were the Wingnuts? When a guest (Dr. Cornel West) has a book titled Black Prophetic Fire and another gust (John Avlon) has a book titled Wingnuts: Extremism in the Age of Obama I expect prophecy and wingnuttery.  It was nowhere to be found on Real Time with bill Maher episode 333 which aired on HBO on October 24, 2014. Maybe I was just tired, but I found the show dull.

Even Mary Matalin who usually personifies a cross between a biker chick and Thor hurling thunderbolts was just as sweet as could be. She looked like a staid middle class matron, a PTA member in wearing a softly tailored suit jacket and a pastel scarf.  Her voice and comments matched her look. Mary Matalin, a Republican political consultant and author of several books, has evidently been tamed by domestic life. Her newest book, co-authored with husband James Carville titled, Love & War: Twenty Years, Three Presidents, Two Daughters and One Louisiana Home, may explain the whole thing.

 
Bill Maher’s Monolog
Maher’s monolog opened with the biggest thing in the news—ebola. He remarked that that ebola was in New York now and if “ebola can make it there, it can make it anywhere.” Then he sang “Start spreading the plague.”  He told us he had to stop the song there or else it would cost big money.

Maher commented on the terrorist shooting in Canada by saying that the worst terrorism in Canada had previously been “Vanilla Isis.”

Maher also noted that there was another White House fence jumper—this one was fortunately sopped. Maher quipped that Obama said, “At least there is one person in America is not trying to run away from me.”

Did you see the funny incident about Obama voting in Illinois on TV?  This very nice young black woman was allowed to stand in the next booth next to Obama. Her boyfriend walks by and says “Don’t touch my girlfriend.”  Maher quipped, “If you like the girl friend you have, you can keep the girl friend you have.” 

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The interview with James Risen



The interview was with James Risen, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist at the New York Times, and author of a new book, Pay Any Price: Greed Power and Endless War. It appears that he is being threatened with prison because he has been a little too aggressive in whistle blowing.  It seems there are plenty of wingnuts in the CIA hatching hare-brained schemes and Risen is exposing them. Risen says everyone is so afraid of being called “soft on terror’ that counter terrorism projects have gotten out of hand—“There are no rules anymore.”

 

Terrorism

Maher said he was tired of the whole flap from an earlier show concerning the argument he and Sam Harris had with Ben Affleck had about Islam and terrorism. (See “Wake Up, America".) Fortunately, Maher did not lose his show over this like he did back in 2011 when he said the 9/11 hijackers were not cowards. (BTW, Maher was right. You can call them a lot of things, but people who will kill themselves for their belief are not cowards.)

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Dr. Cornel West is a professor at Union Theological Seminary, philosopher, activist, socialist and author of several books about the black experience and race in America. (His most recent book is Black Prophetic Fire.)

West said, “Islam is not monolithic,” again making Affleck’s point that only a small minority of Mulsims are terrorists. This forced Maher to once again repeat his point which is that everyone is missing his points.  The large majority of Muslims share the views of the terrorists. For instance, they believe apostates deserve death. 




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Mary Matalin, a Republican political consultant and author of a new book co-authored with her husband James Carville, Love and War: Twenty Years, Three Presidents, Two Daughters and One Louisiana Home made a good point. (I never thought I’d be saying that Matalin made a good point.) “It is not about religion. It is about power and politics.” 

Politics is the art of the possible.

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Maher pointed out that Obama is suffering low ratings in the polls because people are disappointed that he has not lived up to the o of the people who elected him. Maher mentioned that “politics is the art of the possible meaning that a president can only do so much. When Maher referred to John Avlon, a journalist, political commentator, the editor in chief of The Daily Beast, and author of several books including his newest book is Wingnuts: Extremism in the Age of Obama, as a conservative Avlon argued that he was a centrist. Then he proved it by listing all the ways that the country is today than when Obama took office in 2008. Bravo. People have to stop complaining about what has not been done and look at how much has been done.

This was Matalin’s cue to revert to her true colors and start a tirade about ObamaCare.  Maher finally had to interrupt her because most of what she was saying was not true.  Matalin then tried another tack, saying that she personally was hurt., Maher pointed out that she was rich. He said “If ObamaCare helps 98% of Americans and huts only  2%, it is a good program.” Again, the art of the possible—nothing is perfect.

  

Harvard Divestiture

The mid-show guest was Chloe Maxmin, identified as a Harvard activist. Her issue was the Harvard Endowment fund and its investments in big oil companies. She argued that Harvard shoud be involved in education, not profit. Oil companies are polluting the plant and thus Harvard should divest itself of oil companies.  

Halloween Treats--comedy segment

The mid-show comedy segment was about Halloween.  Maher said that some people did not want to give candy out because candy is not good for kids. Here is part of Maher’s list about what some people are doing:

Kirk Cameron: Bible verses

Paula Dean:     Deep-fried sticks of butter

Donald Trump: Cotton candy the same color as his hair

Kansas wingnuts—New Rules

The final New Rules segment of the show began with a question: Was it easier to distract a cat with a laser pointer or the American voter?

Maher proved it was the American voter with a discussion of the race for governor in Kansas. The current Republican governor has bankrupted the state because he refuses to give up on the Zombie Lies of trickle down economics. The state has lost jobs, had its credit down-rated and drastically cut public services such as education.

Even Dorothy doesn't want to
go home to Kansas anymore.

Polls showed him losing big to his Democratic opponent.  Then the Republicans came up with an old incident abut his opponent Paul Davis.  When Davis was a 26 year-old single man he once went to a strip club with a group of co-workers and had a lap dance. This has turned the race is for Brownback????!!!!. Davis is not moral enough to be governor???!!!!  Because as a young single man he went to a strip club???!!! Once???!!! 

Maher said that “Even Dorothy doesn’t want to go home to Kansas.”

See a video clip "Sam's Flubs" at Bill Maher: Meet Roy Zimmerman

Perhaps I was wrong in my first paragraph. There was some wingnuttery on the show after all.

 



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