Real Time with Bill Maher #362 08/28/2015 "Shame"

by Catherine Giordano

Wendy Davis

It’s a crying shame! Bill Maher and his guests talked about a lot about things certain people should be, or not be, ashamed of during episode #362 of Real Time with Bill Maher which aired on August 28, 2015.

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Katrina

Let’s start with Katrina. The showed on the tenth anniversary of Katrina, and there is a lot for a lot of people to be ashamed of there. Starting with George W. Bush who was president of the time and who handled the situation badly before, after, and during. He had the nerve to visit New Orleans this week. Maher quipped, “See, I told you Bush would get there eventually.”   

Ashley Madison and Hypocrisy

People who subscribed to Ashley Madison, the website for married people who want to cheat on their spouses, have been publically shamed because a hacker released their names.  Josh Duggar, one of the 19 Duggar kids, who became a spokesperson for Christian values had two accounts. He was exposed as a hypocrite. He blamed it on porn and went into hiding—I mean rehab—which is what all the celebrities seem to do these days when their misconduct is exposed.

However, here is the biggest reason to be ashamed. If you are a man who subscribed to Ashley Madison you can be ashamed of being a sucker. There were 37 million male subscribers, but only 12,000 women. (Many of the accounts for women were fake accounts.) Maher said, “Horny housewives looking for anonymous stranger sex are like moderate Republicans—they only exist in theory.

All those men who are explaining to their wives how nothing happened are probably telling their wives the truth. There was no one for it to happen with.

Rick Santorum--Interview

The interview was with Rick Santorum, one of the 17 Republican candidates for Republican nomination for president, former U.S. Senator (R, PA), author of Blue Collar Conservatives: Recommitting to an America That Works, and a co-author – with his wife and daughter – of Bella’sGift: How One Little Girl Transformed Our Family and Inspired a Nation. He was also busy trying to explain Things away. For instance, there are shameful remarks he made during his last campaign for president—the man-on-dog thing (about homosexuals) and the anti-contraception thing. Now he says he wishes he had never said those things. Now he says, “There are a lot of things that are immoral--like Ashley Madison--that should not be illegal.”

Maher brought up climate change and the Pope’s support for it. Santorum denied that too much CO2 in the atmosphere is the cause and besides taking action would cost jobs. Maher pointed out that there were twice as many jobs in solar right now than in coal. [And I will add, the solar industry is still in its infancy.]

Maher said, “I’m an atheist, but I like the Pope better than you [do].” Santorum professes to be a Catholic, but he won’t follow the teachings of the Pope on issues of climate change and social justice since it conflicts with his deeply held political convictions. Maher shamed Santorum over this when he said “Religion is just arrogance masquerading as humility.”

Rick is only at about 1% of the polls. He said that during his last campaign, he was at the back of the pack and ended up in second place. Maher said “If you rise in the polls…” Santorum cut him off, shouting, “When! When!" It’s a shame to see a grown man so desperate. Maher took pity and said his appearance on Real Time would send his numbers soaring.  

End gun violence

Gun violence

We had murders on live TV this week. Maher said that nothing ever changes. One of the panelists, Wendy Davis, former State Senator (D, TX),former candidate for Governor in 2014,and  author of the book Forgetting to Be Afraid: A Memoir, argued for better background checks.

Panelist Robert Costa, National Political Reporter for The Washington Post, former Washington Editor for National Review said the Republicans won’t stand up to the NRA. Maher responded, “Both sides love guns, Democrats just slightly less.”

Hillary Clinton and Women’s Issues

This week Clinton compared the Republican’s views on women to those of the terrorists. Maher agreed that they were “kind of terroristy.”  For instance, threatening to shut down the government over Planned Parenthood or opposing abortion even to save the life of the mother (Huckabee, Walker, and Rubio),

Panelist Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Congressman (R, CA) currently serving his 14th term in office quickly shouted that Planned Parenthood was “selling body parts.” This is the typical Republican strategy—when they can’t defend their position they attempt to one up the opposition by falsely claiming that the other side is doing something even worse.  

Rohrabacher should be ashamed of the way he tried to sensationalize the issue. Maher fought back against the lies. “It is not body parts; it is fetal tissue which has been useful in finding cures and treatment for many diseases. And it is not selling—they only get a couple of hundred dollars to cover shipping and handling.   When Rohrabacher continued to insist that body parts were being sold, Maher really got angry. He shouted, “They are not Frankenstein! “

During the conversation, Ben Carson’s comment was brought up. This week Ben Carson, the Republican candidate who is second in the polls behind Trump, said, “There is no war on women. There is a war on what is inside of women.”  This doesn’t even make sense—what is talking about. What part of my insides is he at war with?  And, this is coming from the brain surgeon, the man who is supposed to be the genius. He may be a retired neurosurgeon, but I think he ought to have his own head examined.   

Mid-show comedy segment    

There are a few magazines published for terrorists Inspire from Al Qaeda and Dabiq from ISIS. What would be the cover blurbs if ISIS did a magazine for women, Un-Cosmopolitan?

--  I was mistaken for a voting booth—5 signs your burka may be too boxy.
--  7 sexy outfits guaranteed to get you beaten with a stick
--  5 moves that will make him forget about those 72 virgins.

ISIS

ISIS

The mid-show special guest, Michael Weiss (Senior Editor for The Daily Beast, contributor to ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror.
Foreign Policy and CNN, and editor of The Interpreter magazine) is an expert on ISIS. He literally wrote the book on ISIS:

It is such a good book that ISIS stole it and published it themselves.

Weiss pointed out that terrorist groups compete by conducting spectacular assaults. They are putting out videos with high production values.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump, who knows no shame, is always good for a laugh.

Billionaire Donald Trump has yet to spend a dime on advertising. He doesn’t have to—he is covered 24/7 on every news show on TV. Maher said that the networks defend this by saying “He’s at the top of the polls. We have to cover him.” Maher concluded, “Maybe he’s at the top of the polls because they covered him.

At a recent press conference, covered live, of course, an anchor from a news show carried by Univision, the Hispanic network was forced out of the room by Trump’s body guards. Maher joked, “See, he [Trump] does to know how to get rid of Mexicans.”

Maher also commented about the young woman who was brought onto the stage at a recent Trump appearance to pull on his hair to prove that it was his real hair.  Maher claimed that it was real hair all-right—“it was his ass hair, pulled up his back and over his head.” As I visualized that, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing.

For more about Donald Trump, see Donald Trump: "I Love the Bible" and Other Panders 

New Rules -- "Mood Awakening"

Caitlyn Jenner

The new “female Viagra” called Addyi, gave Maher an excuse to talk about one of his favorite topics—sex. Maher described it a pill to raise female libido, but it its side-effects are lowing blood pressure and putting you to sleep. He added, “It was invented by Bill Cosby.”

He then railed against a culture that says “your sex urges, as you feel them, need fixing.” This pill is to medicalizing a woman’s lack of interest in sex. He suggest a new pill, Pillify—“the pill to take to make you want to take the pill that makes you do what you don’t want to do.” 

He then urged everyone to stop feeling shame about their sexual desires or their lack of sexual desires.  We have moved to acceptance of homosexuals and transgenders, “so can’t we get the same deal for the other 95% of us. He then showed, am a picture of a stunning Caitlyn Jenner in a low-cut curve-hugging gown, and after commenting about what else besides breasts was under that gown, said, “Sexual freedom. I’ll have what she’s having.”      

Maher’s on a one-week vaycay

It’s a shame there is no new episode of Real Time for Friday September 4th, but at least you get a chance to catch up on any episodes that you might have missed as reruns are airing all week. Enjoy.  

Bill Maher’s Guests August 28, 2015

The interview is with Rick Santorum Republican candidate for president and former U.S. Senator (R, PA) He is the author of the 2014 book Blue Collar Conservatives: Recommitting to an America That Works, and the co-author – with his wife and daughter – of Bella’s Gift: How One Little Girl Transformed our Family and Inspired a Nation, which came out in February.

The mid-show special guest is Michael Weiss, Senior Editor for The Daily Beast, contributor to Foreign Policy and CNN, and editor of The Interpreter magazine. He reported from war-torn Aleppo, Syria in August 2012, and from Syrian refugee camps in southern Turkey in May 2012. He is the author (with Hassan Hassan) of ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror.

The Panel:

Wendy Davis: Former State Senator (D, TX) and former candidate for Governor in 2014. She is the author of the book Forgetting to Be Afraid: A Memoir.  

Robert Costa: National Political Reporter for The Washington Post, former Washington Editor for National Review. He covered Donald Trump’s recent rally in Alabama, which he wrote about in his article, “Trump’s audacious Southern spectacle is part of his strategy.”

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher: Congressman (R, CA) currently serving his 14th term in office; he is a senior member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, where he chairs the Subcommittee on Europe, Asia and Emerging Threats.

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