By
Catherine Giordano
Real
Time with Bill Maher, episode 292, aired on August 2, 2013 began with the
Monologue as usual taking shots at the usual suspects.
·
Congress
repealed Obama care for the 40th time. Bill wanted to know if you can file a
restraining order against Congress.
·
Russia
is hosting the next winter Olympics and Putin is so anti-gay that figure
skating has been cancelled.
· The
Pope said that gay Catholics shouldn’t be marginalized. “Who am I to judge?, the Pope said. Bill said
that it show that when people get to know gays as friends and co-workers,
prejudice against them falls away. And who has more gay friends and co-workers
than the pope.
·
Ariel
Castro was sentences to life in prison for the kidnapping of the three young
women in Cleveland. Bill joked that
Castro said, “It’s a personal matter and should not influence my candidacy for mayor.”
There were more Anthony Weiner jokes throughout the hour. I’m getting tired of Anthony Weiner
jokes. Anthony Weiner needs to go away.
The
interview was with Larry Miller, a
comedian who recently cracked his head open in an accident. He was in a coma
for 10 days. It was a close call. He told the story about how his wife lost it
one night, and went out on the balcony to yell at God. She said, “Take him or
cure him, but I can’t go on this way any longer.” The next morning she went to
the hospital and found out that her husband had come out of his coma at just
the moment that she yelled those words. Here Bill, so anxious to put down any supernatural
claims, stepped on Miller’s joke. Finally, Miller was able to conclude, “The
doctor said that the wives always yell at God. But this is the first time that
it worked.”
The
guests were Josh Barlow, a
contributor to The Nation magazine, Alexis Goldstein, from Occupy Network
and Barney Frank, former Congressman
from Massachusetts. I titled this review
“Frankly Speaking” in honor of Barney Frank who can always be counted on to
speak frankly. (Also because comments and
jokes about “Pope Frank, the atheist,” as Bill calls him, were plentiful.)
The
conversation began with a discussion of the Rand Paul and Chris Christie verbal
“slap fight”. Barney Frank said he was taking Christie’s side because he has “a
soft spot for rude fat guys.” (Frank is
hefty, but nowhere near the size of Christie and Frank’s barbs are done with
wit, Christie is just a bully.)
The
question came up about Christie’s potential race for president. Would his
governance match his rhetoric?. Barlow looked to be on Christie’s side saying
that you don’t know what he will do. For instance, Bush promised us a humble
foreign policy, and look what he did. This not exactly a good way to defend
Christie—it implies that, like Bush, he will be worse that he promised.
Bill
took issue with Goldstein about the Occupy movement for not becoming a political
force, a voting block, like the Tea party. Goldstein said the movement wasn’t
about running for political office it was about calling attention to issues.
And besides the tea party hasn’t accomplished anything—all they do is obstruct.
This riled Frank, “Yes,” he said, “and all Cain did was murder Abel.” Frank had
to fight that obstructionism everyday while in Congress—she hit a sore spot.
For
the remainder of the show Frank “schooled” Goldstein. He lectured her and demolished her arguments.
Goldstein was out of her depth.
The
comedy segment dealt with predictions for newspaper headlines over the next
five weeks while “Real Time” is on hiatus. Some of the headlines were
·
Huma
Abedin files for divorce citing irreconcilable douchebaggery
·
Bloomberg
bans dirty limericks in bars
·
Bugler
jury shot to death. Police suspect mass suicide
·
Cleveland
police find teen kidnapped ten years ago chained in front yard under a giant spotlight
·
Pope
Francis moves to Massachusetts; marries long-time companion
The
special guest was Jay Z. His new album is Magna Carta, Holy Grail. What a
class act. A soft-spoken self-effacing man, billed as an entrepreneur who raps
a little. Bill noted that one of the songs in his new album said to question
religion.
The
conversation moved to police and the plight of the poor especially Arican
American poor. Jay Z said that the
middle class was disappearing and this would bring trouble down on
America.
Goldstein
complained about the police (as might be expected given the police brutality in
Zocatti Park during its “occupation.” She
said the police should stop and frisk young white men in the Wall Street area—they
are all carrying tons of cocaine. Frank
said, African Americans don’t’ want to reduce the police presence; they need protection,
they just want better a behaved police force.
Bill
said that the pope was doing a better job moving his party into the future than
Republicans. Frank quipped, “he doesn’t have a primary.” Bill and Frank agreed
that we seem to have government by temper tantrum, and that the general
electorate that votes in November has to punish “the crazies” who win the
Republican primaries.
The
new Rules final segment was about Citizen’s United. Sheldon Adelmen allowing rich guys to have extreme
power. Sheldon Adelman spent a total of $150 million dollars trying to defeat
Obama. North Carolina has taken a hard turn to the right because Art Pope (who
is a “Koch brother by another mother” who earned his money by inheriting it
from his father) has outsized influence.
He said it was time for the liberals to pony up because it is no longer
our ideas against their ideas and our base against their base. He made a show of trying to think of someone,
but it was clear he had Jay Z in mind. This
was the “you-talking-to-me” moment of the week.
Bill
suggested that Spielberg could take over Wyoming and put E.T. on the state flag;
Tyler Perry could take over Montana and be both of the senators from the state
and make Madea governor; and how about gay marriage in Oprahoma.
Frankly
speaking, I’m going to really miss this show while it is on hiatus for five
weeks.
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