Real Time with Bill Maher #366 10/2/2015 “Politicizing”

Neil deGrasse Tyson shows off his awesome vest.

by Catherine Giordano

Is politicizing a bad thing? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. When Bill Maher politicizes on Real Time with Bill Maher, as in did on episode 366, which aired on October 2, 2015, he combines news with comedy and politics both for our elucidation and entertainment.

Science should not be politicized

What a rare treat! There were two renowned scientists on the show. Richard Dawkins was the first interview and Neil deGrasse Tyson was the mid-show interview. They spoke about the wonders f science.

Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist, founder of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (which works to promote scientific literacy and a secular worldview), and author of several books. His most recent book is Brief Candle in the Dark, My Life in Science, is a follow-up to his 2013 autobiography. He said that the wonder of science is that life came into being without being designed.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist, Director of the Hayden Planetarium, host of Star Talk Radio, and author of several books including Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries. He also talked about the wonders of science. He loves the cosmos so much that he often wears outrageous ties and vests that depict the cosmos.)

 For Tyson, the wonder is that science can change the world. He explained how Einstein published an obscure paper many years ago, and it was considered to be a waste of time—but that discovery led to lasers and bar codes. Quantum physics gave us the technology for the internet.

Did the microscopic "water bear"
come from Mars?

Neil deGrasse Tyson is excited about the discovery of water on Mars. He thinks life may have evolved on Mars and Mars seeded the Earth. He spoke about the microscopic organism known as the “water Bear.” He said you can’t kill the thing. If it dries out, you can just add water, and it comes back to life. He said there was no reason for this to evolve on Earth; it might have evolved on Mars and arrived on Earth embedded in some space debris.

On Overtime, Richard Dawkins and Neil deGrasse Tyson revealed their two different approaches to the problem of religion. Richard Dawkins advocates engaging with religionists about the falsity of religious beliefs. Tyson, who describes himself as an educator, wants to offer religionists the scientist’s way of seeing the world and they can come to it on their own.”

Read more about Neil deGrasse Tyson’s views on life, the universe, and everything, including religion.  Neil deGrassse Tyson: The People’s Astrophysicist

Benghazi was politicized by Republicans

In the monolog, Maher said that Republicans are fond of saying that we shouldn’t politicize tragedies like school shootings. And then they immediately follow-up with “Now back to Benghazi.” Now that Kevin McCarthy boasted in an interview with Fox News TV host Sean Hannity about how the ninth and most recent Benghazi hearing took down Hillary’s poll numbers, we have the proof of how Republicans politicize tragedy when it suits their purposes. Maher quipped “Fox News is furious with McCarthy because he broke with the format of Fox News by saying something true.”

Hillary seized the opportunity to attack the Republicans for this. I hear the commentators on TV saying, “Why didn’t she go on the offensive before this?” The answer is obvious. If she had said it was a Republican witch hunt before Kevin McCarthy let the cat out of the bag, Republicans would have scoffed saying she was having “vast right-wing conspiracy” delusions. Now that McCarthy has admitted it, Hillary is finally free to speak up.

Maher said that this latest investigation has lasted longer than Watergate. Panelist Adam Gopnik, staff writer for The New Yorker and author of several books including the best-seller Paris to the Moon, said it was a “tragedy in search of a scandal.” He added that McCarthy blurted out the truth because he was making a campaign promise—he would use his position as speaker for political purposes.

Planned Parenthood was politicized by Republicans

Another wholly political Congressional investigation is the one on Planned Parenthood and the donation of fetal tissue for medical research. Maher said, “It was not a hearing, it was a yelling.” The video has been totally discredited, plus seven states have already conducted their own investigations and none of them found any wrongdoing. Panelist Angela Rye, a Democratic strategist and CEO of Impact Strategies (a government relations and political strategy firm based in D.C.) called it “a witch hunt.” She added, “They do not talk about the benefits to medicine that is derived from research using fetal tissue. Maher had the last word, saying, “The opponents of fetal tissue research should pledge to forgo any personal use of treatments that arise from this research.”

The Pope was politicized by Kim Davis

Kim Dais is the story that will not die. She is politicizing her religious beliefs. She claimed to have had a private audience with the Pope when he was in DC at which time the Pope told her she had his support. It turns out that is not at all true. It is true that she met the Pope, but it was a brief “drive-thru” type of meeting--Or as Maher described it. “Wham! Bam! Bless you ma’am! The spokesmen for the Pope have made it clear that they did not discuss her actions.

The Pope gave only one private audience on that day and that was to his former student, a gay man, who brought his partner of 19 years to the meeting.

Kim Davis lied about her meeting with the Pope.

See more funny Kim Davis memes: The Kim Davis Satirical Memes Photo Album

The shooting victims were politicized by Ben Carson

Maher said, “Ben Carson can separate conjoined twins, but he can’t separate fact from fiction. Maher has talked before about the “smart stupid person,” and Carson is a prime example of the type. He’s a highly skilled neurosurgeon, but he doesn’t believe in the Big Bang and he thinks evolution is a theory from the devil.

Maybe Carson knows how to perform neurosurgery, but he apparently is an ignoramus on everything else. Nonetheless, he is rising in the polls. Rye said that his tax plan was a 10% tithe. Tyson added, “It’s like the government is God.”

Carson was thoroughly ridiculed and he had not yet even said his stupidest thing. He blamed the victims in the Oklahoma shooting for not rushing the gunman. [By the way, one student did rush the gunman, but I guess Carson didn’t know anything about the subject he was talking about. The student was shot, but survived. He may have helped to keep the death toll down.]

Carson said he would have rushed the gunman. I doubt it. First of all, Carson is so slow- thinking that the gunman would have shot 50 people before Carson even figured out what was going on. Second, Carson is so slow-moving, that the idea of his “rushing” anyone is ludicrous. Third, he’d be too busy praying to do anything. And fourth, he doesn’t strike me as the hero type.

Note: I wasn’t sure if Trevor Noah would be able to fill Jon Stewart's shoes. Then I saw this bit about Ben Carson blaming the Oregon victims for not "rushing the shooter," and Noah has won me over. Watch this amazing bit from The Daily Show on 10/7/2015.  It’s as good as anything Stewart has ever done.

 

The mid-show comedy segment

Bill Maher turned Putin’s speech at the UN into the mid-show comedy segment. He literally put words into Putin’s mouth as he pretended to translate Putin’s speech. Some examples are: 

• Your so-called “Russian dressing” is just ketchup and mayonnaise.
• You are a nation of fat people in workout clothes. The irony amuses me.
• The food here is poison, and believe me I know poison.

Donald Trump is getting better at politicizing

Maher opened his monologue with a reference to Trump. He remarked that he was already seeing Jack-O-Lanterns everywhere. Then pretending to correct himself, he said that it was only Donald Trump.

Donald Trump revealed his tax plan--and, guess what?--it was the same as all the others from Republicans He would reduce the top rate, cut the corporate rate, and eliminate the estate tax—all of which he would personally benefit from. Maher said, “We need more tax rates—another bracket for the obscenely rich.”

Panelist Matt Welch, Editor-In-Chief of Reason Magazine and co-author (with Nick Gillespie) of The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong With America faulted Trump’s plan, saying, “He is not talking about cutting the size of government. Cutting taxes without cutting spending is just raising the deficit.”

New Rules: Il Papa Don’t Preach

Republicans and Conservatives don’t like the Pope talking about economic justice—you know, the things that Jesus said. Maher said, “There are two Jesuses—liberals have the traditional Jesus and conservatives have a small business man from Galilee, the Supply-Side Jesus, whose main gripe is big government and who wants to make Nazareth great again. He is the Jesus who gave all the loaves and fishes to the top 1% so they could trickle down onto everyone else.”

Supply Side Jesus

Maher concluded, “This is why Donald Trump is the perfect candidate for the Republican Party. He has he two favorite books. One is about a perfect God who teaches humanity the right way to live and the other is the Bible.”

Read more about Donald Trump's "two most favorite books:" Donald Trump: I Love the Bible and Other Panders

Republicans are great at politicizing. So is Bill Maher. Only, with the Republicans, the humor is unintentional. 

Bill Maher’s Guests October 2, 2015

Interview

Richard Dawkins: Evolutionary biologist, founder of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (which works to promote scientific literacy and a secular worldview), author of several books. His most recent book is Brief Candle in the Dark, My Life in Science, a follow-up to his 2013 autobiography.

Mid-show Special Guest

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Astrophysicist, Director of the Hayden Planetarium, host of Star Talk Radio, author of several books including Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries

Panel 

Adam Gopnik: Staff writer for The New Yorker, where he covers American politics and culture. He has written several books including the best-seller Paris to the Moon.

Angela Rye: Democratic strategist, CEO of Impact Strategies, a government relations and political strategy firm based in D.C. She was the Executive Director and General Counsel to the Congressional Black Caucus for the 112th Congress. 

Matt Welch: Editor-In-Chief of Reason Magazine, co-author of The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong With America. He was the host of Fox Business Channel’s The Independents, which aired from December 2013 until January 2015.

2015 Bill Maher #365 09/25/15 "Screwed Up"

From the mouths of babes

by Catherine Giordano

It was a very screwy week and it gave rise to lots of jokes and discussion on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, episode 365, which aired on Friday, September 25, 2015. Here is the review and recap.

Pope Francis comes to town:

Pope Francis has come to town and he has been just terrific. He shows himself to be a wise and humble man who will use his influence to help create a better world for all mankind. I’m no fan of religion (and Bill Maher certainly isn’t one either), but if we have to have religion, all our religious leaders should be like Pope Francis.

Maher said “The Pope came to Washington and cast out John Boehner."  He was referencing the fact the John Boehner announced that he would resign from Congress at the end of October. Maher warned the audience not to be so happy because “This is the Republican Party and it always gets worse.” Boehner screwed this up real bad, but the new leadership will be worse. “The Tea Party hated John Boehner. They said he was slowly destroying Washington and they wanted him to pick up the pace.” With Boehner out of their way, expect things to get worse.

Maher said, “It was all Pope all the time. The last time a man in a dress got this much attention, it was Caitlyn Jenner. “

The Pope gets a lot of criticism from Republicans. He has spoken out against everything they stand for--their economic agenda, their stance on immigration, their oppression of minorities, their denial of climate change, etc. But at least the Pope agrees with them on the so-called “social issues”—gay marriage, abortion, etc. Except the Pope has not mentioned those issues during his visit.

During his speech to Congress, he mentioned the words, “sanctity of all life.” The Republicans rose to their feet with a giant cheer. But the Pope never mentioned abortion as they obviously thought he would—instead he told them that the death penalty was immoral and must be abolished. (The United States is one of the few countries that still has capital punishment.) Maher said that the Pope gave Congress a “master class in reality.”

Maher pointed out that six of the Supreme Court Justices are Catholic, but only three of those Catholics attended the speech. They were Roberts, Kennedy, and Sotomayor. (The other three—Alito, Scalia, and Thomas decided to forgo the opportunity to meet the Pope.) Even Jewish Ruth Bader Ginsberg was there. (The other two who chose not to attend were Breyer and Kagan who are Jewish.) I don’t know why those three Catholics did not attend—they each speak of their religious faith often—but it looks like it was intended as an insult to the Pope.

John Cleese, comedian, writer, actor, author of several books including his autobiography So, Anyway… (now available in paperback) was part of the famous sketch comedy troupe, Monty Python. Cleese pointed out that Jesus said nothing about abortion.

Maher joked that the Pope met with other religious leaders and said that we all have something in common—“The belief in some form of utter nonsense.” Later Maher said, “The Life of Brian-- here is not a thing to be said about religion that has not been better said in that movie.” (This reference to the Monty Python movie was a nod to panel member John Cleese.) When Maher said that this Pope has said that even atheists can go to heaven, Cleese quipped, “Will they have to become Catholic after they die?”

  

Ron Reagan, MSNBC political analyst, contributor to the nationally syndicated radio program Both Sides Now, well-known atheist, author, and son of President Ronald Reagan. (His book is My Father at 100: A Memoir.) Reagan said that “Catholics are terrified of women. Cleese said, “They hate sex.” Reagan referred to a Bible story: If angels come to your house and people want to rape them, offer them your daughters instead.”

Maher said, “Religion is dangerous and screwed up.” [I’m using a euphemism here.]

  

The Interview:

The interview was with Dr. Jane Goodall, primatologist, ethnologist, anthropologist, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, UN Messenger of Peace and author. She recently wrote the foreword to Steven Druker’s book, Altered Genes, Twisted Truth about the FDA’s compliance with the GMO industry. She has written several books, including My Life with the Chimpanzees. Her most recent book is Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants.. She began her pioneering studies of chimpanzees in the wild in 1960 and has since become one of the world’s most prominent advocates for endangered species and the environment.

The Pope would have approved of Jane Goodall’s message about protecting the environment. The extinction of species, the polluting of the oceans and the destruction of the forests and GMO are all serious issues, but Goodall managed to bring humor to the situation. She brought a small stuffed toy cow to the interview to illustrate the point about “cow farts” and how the methane they release is contributing to excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

Goodall also spoke about big game hunting and Cecil the Lion. This is not culling the herd because they don’t hunt the weak and the old; they kill the biggest strongest animals in their prime. She agreed with Maher that these killers are compensating for their “small penis.”

Presidential politics:

S. E. Cupp, CNN commentator, nationally syndicated columnist and author of several books, including Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media's Attack on Christianity. She choose to be the voice of the moderate Republicans, although I have heard her spout many of the crazier Republican talking points sounding like she has a screw loose.

Cupp defended Scott Walker who dropped out of the Republican race this week. She said, “In this Republican party if your hair is not on fire, you are not conservative enough. Walker who vowed not to engage in personal attacks clearly could not survive in the environment of Donald Trump and Ben Carson.” She singled out Ben Carson, saying, “Carson fails to sound like a scientist or a doctor.” I can’t argue with her on that one.  

Cleese said, “You need an intelligent electorate.” Maher added that “When people don’t know anything, you can say anything. They are a tabula rosa.” Cleese lamented “with what we have now, it is the end of democracy.”

Mid-Show comedy: Volkswagen

Volkswagen screws up.

The big scandal of the week was Volkswagen lying about meeting EPA emission standards. Cleese has become quite the cynic. He said “Everyone lies all the time. It’s hopeless.”

Maher said, “Even by the standards of Corporate malfeasance, this is shocking.” He then gave us some parodies of old Volkswagen ads. 

• The first name in clouds of poison gas.
• Touareg—It’s German for asthma.
• We call it the rabbit because we can’t stop screwing you.
• We made a green car that pollutes… and people say Germans aren’t funny.

Mid-Show special guest:

Spike Feresten is a comedian, car collector, and host of Esquire Network's Car Matchmaker with Spike Feresten. He said that Volkswagen owners are really screwed. because their cars will not pass the emissions tests in California (an elsewhere). They won’t be able to drive them. They won’t be able to sell them.

Feresten said the Volkswagen cars “emit nitrous oxide and that is really bad stuff. It affects the lungs; it causes asthma.” Maher said that Republicans hate regulations, but “if it wasn’t for the EPA we wouldn’t know about this.” This happened because the EPA didn’t have the resources to do the emissions test themselves. They told the car manufacturers, “You do them and let us know the results.”

Maher asked him about driverless cars. He likes driving and doesn’t want to be made to use a driverless car. Feresten told him it was about safety. Car accidents are the number four cause of death in the United States.

Ahmed and the clock bomb:

It appears that Ahmed Mohamed did not invent anything. He took the guts out of a clock and claimed he had invented it. Maher said, “It is like pouring Cheerios into a bowl and saying that you invented cereal.”

What did Cleese say? Everyone lies.

New Rules: Crush to Judgment:

What do Kim Davis, Joe the Plumber, and Cliven Bundy all have in common? The right rushes to call them “a real American.” And then “they turn out to be a creep.” 

• Kim Davis is "Joan of Arc for the deep fried Twinkie crowd. Her answer to 'what would Jesus do?' Everybody."

For more about Kim Davis, read: Kim Davis Satirical Memes Photo Album

• Cliven Bundy, “the not so jolly rancher, said ‘one thing I know about the Negro …” and “that was the end of open mic night at the OK corral.” He was just a guy who didn’t want to pay for grazing his cattle on government land as other ranchers did. Maher summed it up “If you get your grass free from the government, I want my grass free from the government too."  
•  Joe the Plumber who didn’t want to pay high taxes on his business did not own a business, was not a plumber, and his name was not Joe. Bill added “I’m not kidding.”
•  Maher even threw in George Zimmerman, “The free lance defender of the cul de sac.” Since his acquittal for the murder of Trayvon Martin “has had more contact with the police than Dunkin' Donuts.” 

But all of the above was just a warm up for his main target, Josh Duggar, one of the stars from the reality show, 19 Kids and Counting. “His mother’s womb is called ‘Old Faithful.’”

Duggar became a lobbyist for the Family Research Council, the sanctimonious group who wants to promote their version of “family values.” It turns out that Josh had two Ashley Madison accounts, had paid a porn star for rough sex, and has molested his sisters. Maher concluded, “or was that just family research?’

I can’t blame Cleese for being cynical. It is a screwed up world that we live in.

Bill Maher’s Guests: September 25, 2015

  

The Interview:

 Dr. Jane Goodall: Primatologist, ethnologist, anthropologist, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, UN Messenger of Peace and author. She recently wrote the foreword to Steven Druker’s book, Altered Genes, Twisted Truth: How the Venture to Genetically Engineer Our Food Has Subverted Science, Corrupted Government, and Systematically Deceived the Public. She has written several books, including My Life with the Chimpanzees. Her most recent book is Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants. She began her pioneering studies of chimpanzees in the wild in 1960 and has since become one of the world’s most prominent advocates for endangered species and the environment.

Mid-Show special guest:

Spike Feresten: Comedian, car collector, and host of Esquire Network's Car Matchmaker with Spike Feresten.

The Panel:

John Cleese: Comedian, writer, actor, author of several books including his autobiography So, Anyway… (now available in paperback). He was part of the famous TV show Monty Python and the Flying Circus. Cleese and Monty Python co-founder Eric Idle will spend October on tour with their new show, John Cleese & Eric Idle: Together Again At Last…For The Very First Time.

Ron Reagan: Author, MSNBC political analyst, contributor to the nationally syndicated radio program Both Sides Now, well-known atheist, and son of President Ronald Reagan. His book is My Father at 100: A Memoir. Reagan recently appeared in a television commercial for the Freedom From Religion Foundation that was banned by several networks.

S. E. Cupp: CNN commentator, nationally syndicated columnist and author of several books, including Losing Our Religion:The Liberal Media's Attack on Christianity

Real Time with Bill Maher #364 09/18/15 High Energy

Mark Cuban

by Catherine Giordano

There was no interview on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, episode 364, airing on Friday September 18, 2015. The guests were all so high-energy high-wattage superstars--we never missed the interview.  

It was a great show with a very lively debate among the panelists. What did they discuss-- Donald Trump, of course. Can any show that touches upon news in any way go more than 10 minutes without mentioning Trump? They discussed the Republican debate that occurred on CNN on Wednesday. They discussed the Muslim boy who was arrested because someone thought his science project electronic clock was a bomb.They discussed religion, politics, immigration, and the improving economy.

Republican Debate

Bill Maher had a few quips about the debate in his monolog. He said, “There was a clear winner at the Republican debate, and it was a woman, Hillary Clinton.”

Maher described Trump and Carson as the old couple—Trump has manic energy and Carson acts like Bill Cosby had given him a little something.

The answers the candidates gave to what woman should go on the dollar bill were absolutely crazy. Jeb Bush said Margaret Thatcher. Err, Jeb, it is supposed to be an American woman. Others wanted to put their wives/mothers/daughters on the bill. Err, excuse me, the president’s family is not royalty—they don’t get put on our currency. Bill Maher said the answer was oblivious—Nancy Reagan. (The debate was taking place in the Reagan library.)

During the debate, Jeb Bush said that his brother George Bush kept us safe. Errr, not quite. The worst terrorist attack in American history took place during his watch. Jeb went on to say what a great moment it was when GWB stood on the rubble with a fireman and a bullhorn. Bill Maher scoffed. “He was standing on rubble. That shows how safe he kept us.”

He kept us safe!? I don't think he kept the 4000+ soldiers who died in the useless mismanaged Iraq war safe. I don't think he kept the hundreds of thousands of maimed soldiers very safe. It seems like Bush is taking a lot of heat for that ridiculous comment acorss the spectrum of media commentators.  

Maher added that if 9-11 had happened on the Democrats watch the country would not have been so forgiving of its president. Republicans go on and on about Benghazi, but the tally of the dead is 3000 vs. 4.

Bill Maher said that Republicans demonstrated an amazing conspiracy of delusions: “Obama has ruined the country and the only debate is whether he did it on purpose of by accident.”

Donald Trump

The panel discussion began with a discussion of--who else?—Donald Trump. One panel member—Mark Cuban likes Donald Trump. Maher said, "you're not a birther, your' not a cist, yu're not a climate change denier, why do you like Trump?" Cuban said “I want change.” [Mark Cuban is an entrepreneur, owner of the Dallas Maverick’s basketball team, and one of the “sharks” on the TV show Shark Team. (The 7th season begins on September 25th.) He is also the author of How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It Maybe Cuban like Trump because he is a fellow billionaire.

George Pataki, former governor of New York and a candidate for the Republican nomination for president, president of The Pataki-Cahill Group and author of an autobiography (with Daniel Paisner) Pataki: An Autobiography, said that Trump was unfit to be president. “He may be changing politics, but not for the better.”

Bill Maher gave a long list of things that have changed for the better in America since Obama took office. “Do we want to go back to the old numbers?” he asked. Maher suggested that we look at facts. “I know facts aren’t in the Bible, but can we use them now?.” Here are just a few of the long list of facts he gave. 

• Unemployment down from 7.2% to 5.1%
• Gas prices down from $3.24gallon to $2.31/gallon
• The number of people without health insurance down from 15% to 7.2%
• Dow Jones from 10,365 to 16,384 [Note: It was in the 18,000s for a while, but has slipped lately.]

Pataki tried to counterpunch with a list of things that were less than perfect, saying that there are not enough jobs. Maher countered that he didn’t say Obama made America perfect, just better. Cuban added, "No one ever left America because he couldn’t find a job." 

Trump did a Town Hall with Q and A in New Hampshire last week. Maher said the questions sounded like what yu would hear at a “Klan rally.”  He followed up with this advice: “Never give the mic to a man who thinks Trump should be president.  Maher said that the xenophobic hate reminded him of a Hitler rally.

The mid-show comedy bit was titled the King Trump Bible. Maher said Trump hadn't actually read the Bible because he is not in it. Trump doesn't read the King James Bible because he has his own Bible, The King Trump Bible. It's brilliant parody capturing the style and content of Trumps speeches. Here's the video. 

Jorge Ramos and Immigration

Jorge Ramos was the mid-show interview guest. He said, “I take Donald Trump very seriously. He is dangerous.” He also added that the people Trump wants to deport are people that he (Ramos) knows.

When Bill Maher used the term “illegals,” Ramos interrupted him. “Don’t call them illegals,” He said. He pointed out that we don’t call the companies that hire the immigrants “illegals.”

Ramos complained that Obama has not worked hard enough to make good on his promises to the Latino community. Maher told him that the Latino community shares blame for that. They did not come out to vote in 2014 and that gave the Republicans control of the House of Representatives. Maher added, “Obama also promised to come on my show. Let it go.”

Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews and author of six best-selling books--his most recent book is Tip and The Gipper: When Politics Worked—told Ramos that he should blame the Republicans because they are the ones blocking the bill.

The clock bomb

Mark Cuban said that he talked to Ahmed Mohamed and that he is a great kid who is very interested in science. H said that the student had carried the clock into six classes and showed it to each of his teachers before anything happened.

Bill Maher said, “You can’t blame the school. Lots of young people are blowing things up. They have to err on the side of caution.”

Up to a point I agree. Question the boy. Take a look at the device. Even call the police. The school did those things and quickly determined that it was not a bomb. The Bomb Squad was never called. Once they knew it was not a bomb, they should have apologized and sent the boy back to his class. Instead they interrogated this very polite and soft-spoken 14 year-old boy for 90 minutes, refused to allow him to contact his parents, and arrested him for bringing a science project to school.

The Pope

The Pope will be visiting the United States from September 22 to 27. He will even be addressing a joint session of Congress. Maher pointed out that in the United States over half of the Catholics have left the church.

Maher said that Pope Francis is bringing some Catholics back to the church because he is a more humble and compassionate pope than his predecessors and because he takes a softer stance on issues like abortion, contraception, homosexuality, or divorce.

The New Rules finale was more genius. Maher compared Republicans to the victims of fortune tellers. In short, they are highly gullible--they will believe anything and continue to believe even after no of the predictions ever come true. Here's the video.

New Rules: Gypsy Hustle

The New Rules finale was more genius. Maher compared Republicans to the victims of fortune tellers. In short, they are highly gullible--they will believe anything and continue to believe even after none of the predictions ever come true.  Here's the video.

It was an hour of high-energy people debating high-energy topics. Every week Maher exposes Republican lies, but the lies just live on. It would be a waste of energy if it wasn't so funny. 


Bill Maher's Guests: September 18, 2015

There was no interview this week. The mid-show guest was Jorge Ramos, the anchor of Fusion’s America with Jorge Ramos Univision’s Noticiero Universidad. Everyone knows who Jorge is--he’s the one Donald Trump threw out of his press conference. Ramos has written several books about the immigrant experience, including A Country for All: An Immigrant Manifesto.

The Panel:

Mark Cuban: Entrepreneur, owner of the Dallas Maverick’s basketball team, one of the "sharks" on the TV show Shark Tank. (The 7th season begins on September 25th.) He is also the author of How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It.

Chris Matthews: Host of MSNBC’s  Hardball with Chris Matthews. He is the author of six best-selling books; his most recent book is Tip and The Gipper: When Politics Worked.

George Pataki: Former Governor of New York and a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. He is also the president of The Pataki-Cahill Group which works in energy, infrastructure, and clean-tech. In 1998, he wrote an autobiography (with Daniel Paisner) Pataki: An Autobiography.

CLICK HERE

Real Time with Bill Maher #363 09/11/15 "Crazy Mad"

by Catherine Giordano

The Wind in the Reeds

Bill Maher had an excellent lineup of guests for episode #363 of Real Time with Bill Maher which aired on September 11, 2015. Enjoy the recap and review.

  

Alexandra Pelosi:

The interview was with Alexandra Pelosi. She is an Emmy-winning documentarian film maker and writer. Her latest project, San Francisco 2.0--debuting on HBO on 9/28/15--

 explores the impact of Silicon Valley’s tech influx on the city. It has forced the middle class out of the city. The film is about the effect of income inequality in San Francisco, but it is happening all over the country. Bill Maher mentioned the problem with “ghost apartments” in New York City—about 40% of the apartments are occupied only a few weeks out of the year because the rich people who own or rent them do not use them as their primary residence.

It is a crazy mad world that forces middle class people out of its cities.

Alexandra Pelosi is also the 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).

Refugee crisis

The panel discussed the crisis caused in Europe by the Serbian refugees.

CLICK HERE

Panel member, Salman Rushdie is a well known author, and I always enjoy his appearances on Maher’s show. (Rushdie’s 12th novel, Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Days, was published on September 8. In this novel. Rushdie conjures up a whole universe of jinns, blending elements of One Thousand and One Nights, Homeric epics, and sci-fi and action/adventure comic books.) Rushdie said, “We have to fix the reason the refuges are fleeing.”

Panel member Linda Chavez, Chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, nationally syndicated radio talk show host, columnist, and author of An Unlikely Conservative: The Transformation of AnEx-liberal called the emigration of Syrians to Europe “a time bomb. She said “Europeans are not having babies anymore.” She said that Europe is having problems because, unlike the United States, they do not do a good job of assimilating immigrants. Rushdie said that there is some assimilation among the young, “the young immigrants in France feel French, Not Muslim.”

The whole mid–east has gone crazy mad when people are forced from their homes and countries.

Donald Trump

In the monologue, Maher said the Trump was talking about winning so much that he sounded like Charlie Sheen. “But Sheen had an excuse—he was on crack.” Next he called Trump “the insult comic dog.” He wrapped up saying “I’ve seen schizophrenics with Tourette’s with more control over their mouth.”  

Trump is such an easy target even I could get my licks in. (Read my essay, Donald Trump: I Love the Bible and Other Panders.) However, most of the entire Republican field will likely be grist for the joke mill. It is getting hard to tell satire from reality with these candidates.

Maher referenced the finding of a formerly unknown species of early human. Maher said, “It had a tiny brain… and a hat saying “make America Great Again.’

Panel member Michael Moynihan is a columnist for The Daily Beast and host of The Business of Life on Vice News. (His documentary, Launching Balloons into North Korea: Propaganda Over Pyongyang, aired on Vice earlier this year.)  Moynihan didn’t mince words. “Trump is completely bat-shit crazy.” He’s attracting the mad-as-Hell crowd.

Even Linda Chavez said, “He is a vile human being.”

Kim Davis mugshot

Kim Davis

Maher called Kim Davis “the Rosa Parks of homophobia” and Mike Huckabee “the white Al Sharpton.” He mocked her for saying God’s law supersedes the courts by saying, Yeah, in Saudi Arabia.”

Kim Davis would have been an excellent premise for the mid show comedy segment, but Maher shoes another topic. I put together some of the jokes he could have used in

Kim Davis Satirical Meme Photo Album. If Maher had done it, they would have been raunchier. Still they are pretty funny.

Panel member, Salman Rushdie said, “In Europe religion is not a big public thing. They had to conceal Tony Blair’s religious beliefs to get him elected.

Maher mocked Huckabee for saying “Send me to jail instead. He said, “It’s like saying, ‘I will take your cancer.’”

Wendell Pierce

Wendell Pierce was the mid show guest. He‘s an actor, author, and chairman of the Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit dedicated to rebuilding the neighborhood where Pierce grew up, after it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. His recent book is The Wind in the Reeds: A Storm, A Play, and the City That Would Not be Broken.

Pierce talked about the rebuilding f New Orleans and how the poor have been pushed out of the city. Only about one-third of the low-income housing has been replaced.

It is a crazy mad world that forces poor people out of its cities.

Mid show comedy bit

The mid show comedy bit was about how the venerable National Geographic would change now that Rupert Murdoch has taken it over. He listed the titles of the stories we could expect to see.

Space: Our Hillary’s Emails Out There?

Aborigines and White Face—Where is the Outrage?

The Gay Penguin Agenda

New Rules: Migrant Headache

Maher said the real immigration problem was not Mexicans, but Australians. “You can’t swing a dead wallaby without hitting one,” Maher quipped. “They flawlessly mimic our American accent and take all the acting jobs.” WE can’t build a wall across the ocean to keep them out, but [mimicking Trump’s voice] “We will build a great barrier reef.”

He segued to Mexican immigrants. “No one takes a job, he said, someone has to hire them. We have to build a war to protect us from people so dangerous that we just can’t stop ourselves from hiring them to raise our children.”

He took a whack at Sarah Palin at the end with a reference to her mangled syntax. . “Why are the ones who demand we speak English always the ones who can’t speak English.”

It’s a crazy mad world. It’s a good thing we have Bill Maher to make us laugh each week.

Bill Maher’s Guests September 11, 2015

The Interview

Alexandra Pelosi: Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker and writer. Her latest project, San Francisco 2.0, explores the impact of Silicon Valley’s tech influx on the city.  (It debuts on HBO on 9/28/15) She is the 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).

Mid-show guest

Wendell Pierce: Actor, author, and chairman of the Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit dedicated to rebuilding the neighborhood where Pierce grew up, after it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.  His recent book is The Wind in the Reeds: A Storm, APlay, and the City That Would Not be Broken.

The Panel

Salman Rushdie: Author. His 12th novel, Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Days, was published on September 8, 2015. In this novel,Rushdie conjures up a whole universe of jinns, blending elements of One Thousand and One Nights, Homeric epics, and sci-fi and action/adventure comic books.

Linda Chavez: Chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, nationally syndicated radio talk show host, columnist, author of An Unlikely Conservative: The Transformation of An Ex-liberal

Michael Moynihan: Columnist for The Daily Beast and host of The Business of Life on Vice News. His documentary, Launching Balloons into North Korea: Propaganda Over Pyongyang, aired on Vice earlier this year.   

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.

[If you like this review and recap, please use the share button below to share it with others.]

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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