Real Time with Bill Maher #352 5/1/15 "Do Bee"

by Catherine Giordano

Remember Romper Room? You may, if you were a kid at some point in the 1950’s through the 1990’s.  There were “Do-Bees” and “Don’t Bees” to teach children good behavior. Bill Maher used this as the basis for his New Rules segment on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, episode #352 which aired on May 1, 2015. 

Maher joked that he always tries to be a Do-Bee, and that is why he has earned the nick named “Mr. Doobie.”  

Do Bee and Don’t Bee

GWB is the “Don’t Bee.” Maher said, “He baited us into war against Saddam Hussein in Iraq and what did it get us besides an Oscar nomination for Bradley Cooper. Obama is the Do-Bee. He shot the real attacker, Osama bin Laden, in the face.  Some other examples of Bush’s bad “Don’t- Bee behavior and Obama’s “Do-Bee” behavior. 

GWB told us Iraq had nukes; Obama negotiated with Iran so therewould be no nukes.

GWB got actionable intelligence from Jesus; Obama got it from tapping your phone.

GWB dodged a shoe; Obama reduced our soldiers’ casualty rate by 60%. 

 

Bill added, “We now have the same empty tough guy talk that we had back in 2003.  They don’t hate us for our prosperity; they hate us because we are in their land.” Maher said, “Look at it this way. You don’t want Mexicans in your country, and all they want to do is mow you lawn."  

 

The interview

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The interview was with Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel winning economist, former Senior Vice President of the World Bank, former economic advisor to President Clinton, and author of The Great Divide: Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them.  

He was a Do-Bee when he explained how the recent events in Baltimore illustrate the great divide. Freddie Gray hadn’t even done anything wrong. He should never have been arrested. At least the six officers involved in his death have been indicted. Maybe it is a beginning of the end to allowing cops to get away with murder.  

He was a Do-Bee when he talked about the costs of the Iraq war. Bush said that the war would cost a total of $60 billion. We spent that much in the first two months. The actual cost was $3 to $4 trillion and counting. Close to 50% of our soldiers are coming home with disabilities. Those costs will continue for decades.  

Stiglitz is a Don’t Be when he blames Obama for the fact that 91% of the gains in the economy have gone to the top 1%. Maher pointed out that Obama has tried, but is stymied by Republicans. Stiglitz blamed it on campaign contributions saying that “they are really investments.” He calls it “cognitive capture.”   

I say, “Yes, campaign contributions will get you attention, but they won’t necessarily get you what you want “Not all donors want personal gain, some don’t want anything more than to help the candidate that shares their goals for the country. Furthermore, the money may get the politician to listen to you, but he or she won’t necessarily do what you want. Not if the politician has integrity.

An unctuous Don’t Bee

Panel member Dan Senor was a great example of a Don’t Bee. If I could have reached through the TV and slapped him, l would have. Like the Baltimore Mom who slapped her son, I would have done it for his own good, to keep him out of trouble.  He reminded me of the saying, “Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.” He twisted everything to make his points.  

What were those points? The problems of Baltimore are not due to poverty and lack of funding. The leaders of Baltimore are black, so the problems of Baltimore have nothing to do with racism. Obama is responsible the rise in black unemployment. The man reminded me of a snack with its head a foot off the ground darting and weaving.  

An intelligent Do-Bee

D.L. Hughley

Fortunately we had D.L.  Hughley, actor, comedian, host of a nationally syndicated radio show, The D.L. Hughley Show, and author of I Want You to Shut the F#ck Up: How the Audacity of Dopes Is Ruining America on the panel. Hughley is well known for his performance in The Original Kings of Comedy and the ABC sit-com, The Hughleys.  

He cut the snakes head off over and over with wit and intelligence. Hughley said that what happened in Baltimore happens across America. He said, “You will never see a Black-Lives- Matter poster at a Republican Convention.”  

 

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Hughley spoke out against the Republican canard that all the problems that African-Americans face is due to the breakdown of the family. He said, “In the 60’s, black families were intact, and we still had riots.”  The riots are a reaction to lack of opportunities.



Maher pointed out that if black families have broken down it is because “all the black fathers are in prison.” [One third of all black males in this country will spend some time in prison.]   

 

Zagat’s Black Man’s Guide to Police Departments

This was a great segue into the mid-show comedy segment. What if Zagat’s did a guide to police departments? Maher read some excerpts from this guide. 

In Arizona: It’s a dry hate.

In New York City: Brutality with personality.

 In San Francisco: Where the elite meet to get beat.

 In Pensacola Florida: The police are Redneck Divas. The South will rise again, but you won’t. 

Don’t Be Garry Kasparov 

Garry Kasparov was the mid show guest. He is chairman of the Human Rights Foundation, a former world chess champion for 20 years, and the author of several books including  How Life Imitates Chess: Making the Right Moves, from the Board to the Boardroom.

His newest book will be out in October, 2015. It is titled Winter is Coming: Why Vladimir and the Enemies of Free World Must be Stopped. 

Do all grand master chess champions eventually go crazy? I gather Kasparov doesn’t like Putin very much and with good reason, but he was just ranting. I think he wants America to take Putin out. This led Maher to one of his favorite themes. Maher said, “Why does America always have t be Guardian of the Galaxy? 

 

 Bruce Jenner and LGBT issues

Maher said that Jenner revealed his big secret. “He’s a secret Republican." 

Jane Harman is a former Congressional Representative (D, DA) and currently Director of The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She was a bit of a Dumb-Bee throughout the show.  

I don’t mean she was stupid, just quiet. Come to think of it, maybe she was a bit dumb-stupid also. She said, “Some Republicans have been very courageous. Cheney and Rob Portman support gay marriage because they have gay kids.”   

OK, Jane, during Cheney’s last campaign, he said he loved his gay daughter, but I don’t think he ever said he favored gay marriage, not even now that his daughter is gay married. And I don’t think it is all that courageous to support gay marriage only because you have gay children. It’s just self-interest.  

Maher said he didn’t understand why “G” and “T” were lumped together into LGBT (LGBT stands for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender.”  Maher said it meant “Lesbian, Gay, Bacon, and Tomato.”) Maher said transgender is not a sexual orientation. Harman was a Do-Bee when she explained that it was all about issues related to sexual tolerance.   

Funny Bee

Maher was a funny bee this week. And now I have been a good little Do-Bee and finished my recap and review. 

 

 

Bill Maher’s Guests for May 1, 2015

The interview:  

Joseph Stiglitz:  Nobel winning economist, former Senior Vice President of the World Bank, former economic advisor to President Clinton, author of The Great Divide: Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them 

 

The mid-show guest: 

Garry Kasparov: Chairman of the Human Rights Foundation, former world chess champion for 20 years, author of How Life Imitates Chess: Making the Right Moves, from the Board to the Boardroom

 

The panel: 

 

CLICK HERE

D.L.  Hughley:Actor, comedian, host of a nationally syndicated radio show, The D.L. Hughley Show, author of I Want You to Shut the F#ck Up: How the Audacity of Dopes Is Ruining America, Hughley is well known for his performances in The Original Kings of Comedy and the ABC sit-com,The Hughleys.

 

Jane Harman: Former Congressional Representative (D, DA) and currently Director of The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

 

Dan Senor: Cofounder of The Foreign Policy Initiative, adviser to Mitt Romney during his 2012 presidential campaign, author (with Saul Singer) of  Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle

 

 

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE