Bill Maher takes on the Truthers
[Guest post by DRJ]
Bill Maher, comedian, political activist, and star of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher took on a 9/11 protester during Friday night’s episode.
From the AP:
“Bill Maher can add “security guard” to his job description alongside comedian and political commentator. Maher on Friday night helped security remove a rowdy protester from the studio during his weekly HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher, and it was all captured on live television.
Maher was talking science during one of his weekly panel discussions when a protester in his audience stood up, held up a smuggled-in sign reading “9/11 is a cover up fraud” and shouted comments to the same effect. The host tried to shout down the audience member, who only became more agitated.
“Do we have some (expletive) security in this building,” Maher yelled, “or do I have to come down there and kick his (expletive)?” When security reached the man’s aisle and the man resisted leaving, Maher ran into the seats and helped them push him out the door, shouting “Out! Out! Out!”
Maher later admitted to his panel that, when it comes to the 9/11 Truth Movement, he’s a Bush man:
“After the instigators were ejected, Maher told his panelists — MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Los Angeles Times columnist Joel Stein and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson — that they often linger outside his studio to share 9/11 conspiracy theories with him and try to get into the show.
“It’s the only time I defend Bush,” he said.”
Video here.
That’s not a balanced panel but I never watch Maher so this may be normal for him.
— DRJ
UPDATE BY PATTERICO: Jim Treacher e-mails to point out that the article quotes Eliot Stein:
“We picked a very exciting night to be here,” Eliot Stein, a 54-year-old high school teacher, said via cell phone. “There’s few live TV shows anymore, and here you got to see, it was like a movie. it was great.”
Stein is, of course, the contemptible lowlife who created a nasty parody site about Cathy Seipp, and mocked her bitterly as she lay on her deathbed.
Is Stein the new Greg Packer — minus the lovable charm?
Oh my gosh, I actually had the show on in the background last night but didn’t see this. Busy on the computer, of course.
I usually tune in, but find myself coming and going during the thing, and Tivo-rerunning the parts that looked interesting.
Maher is interesting and opinionated, and wrong plenty of the time. His sexism gets old too, and I don’t mean that in an oversensitive feminista kind of way. He’s pretty blatant.
Itsme (871b28) — 10/20/2007 @ 11:51 amI have to admit he handled it well. Stein’s comments were pretty funny too.
Itsme (871b28) — 10/20/2007 @ 11:57 amItsme, you’ve gone over to the dark side when you miss a favorite TV program for blogging. I’m already there and Welcome aboard!
DRJ (67ced6) — 10/20/2007 @ 12:05 pmHeh, it’s been true for a long time.
As I said, I can take or leave Maher, depending on who’s on.
Now if I were missing “Mad Men” or “Dexter” or … oh wait, I do.
TiVo has only fueled my addiction.
Itsme (871b28) — 10/20/2007 @ 12:17 pmWhen Bill Maher was on Comedy Central quite a few years ago, I thought he was funny. Not very smart, but funny.
On ABC, he utterly left me cold. In order to get his big-name celebrity guests he had to slather-on the unctious smarminess and consequently became much less funny, much more annoying, and ultimately unwatchable. I was also left with the feeling that (in a manner similar to Bill O’Reilly) he believes he is smarter than any objective assessment would warrant.
If he has jettisoned the ingratiating glad-handing of guests and has actually demonstrated that he poesesses a pair, maybe I’ll try watching the HBO thing. I haven’t tried his HBO offering to date because so much of what passes for political humor is so unfunny that I haven’t bothered to try.
JSinAZ (5fbdba) — 10/20/2007 @ 12:19 pmI give him credit for trying to have at least one “conservative” or at least GOP panelist per show. Usually someone pretty well-spoken, which can lead to really interesting discussion, not just a Hannity-style shout-fest.
I give the conservative guests credit too, because the audience is usually pretty unsympathetic. Maher, on the other hand, has tried to recruit more “diverse” audiences.
Itsme (871b28) — 10/20/2007 @ 12:23 pmThe people in the audience probably just saw
zeitgeistmovie com
It has been known to make people act irrationally and have irritable bowl syndrome.
If you don’t make other people watch the movie within 7 days, you die.
I don't know (dfedd3) — 10/20/2007 @ 12:35 pmOkay, he threw out a protester. Fine. They were disrupting his show; he had a right to do that. BUT, and a very severe but, why does he refuse to interview someone who claims to have actual evidence that 9-11 was “an inside job” ? Why not? What’s the big deal if he feels confident that he can “blow them away” with his funny-man come-backs?
Well, here’s a link to a guy names Alex Jones. This clip was aired in July 2001, several months before the 9-11 attacks. He predicts 9-11 or something similar to it. Just watch and learn. Then research the findings of Alex Jones and learn for yourself.
Yes, Mr. Maher, that means you, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGtOFudmHG8 (or cut and paste here)
Anthony Wrifford (7cb382) — 10/20/2007 @ 8:11 pm
Those Gestapo tactics Maher used in front of Chris Matthews went unremarked on by Chris, who has tried to make such a big deal of the tasering incident in Florida and linking it to the “climate” of fear Bush has created in the country. Bush had no link to the Florida incident. Chris had the queen of passive/aggressive, Gore’s lesbian manliness coach, Naomi Wolf, to hype his theory, yet when a loony lib exhibits extreme behavior in front of his nose he ignores it.
Typical liberal. Do as I say not as I do.
He had more important things to worry about. Chris had a book to sell.
daleyrocks (906622) — 10/20/2007 @ 9:02 pmWell, here’s a link to a guy names Alex Jones. This clip was aired in July 2001, several months before the 9-11 attacks. He predicts 9-11 or something similar to it…..
You know, when I worked on a locked psych ward, I knew two patients who both thought they were Jesus Christ or something similar to it.
red (9e9332) — 10/21/2007 @ 9:29 amI knew you then?
You’ve put on weight.
steve (1c66cc) — 10/21/2007 @ 9:37 amI haven’t watched Maher’s program in ages, but watched this episode to see, umm, this episode. There’s been lots of commentary about Maher “defending Bush” (i.e., refusing to take seriously those who claim that Dubya planned and executed 9/11). But the Maher line I haven’t seen much commented upon came as the security folks off-camera were presumably escorting the third or fourth or fifth shouting Truther from the audience (my close paraphrase, not an exact quote): “If tonight’s audience were a representative sample of the country, I’d be backing Rudy Giuliani.” He said it, of course, intended it as a joke. But another time, he was urging the security forces to move more decisively and quickly, and said something like, “No, don’t be gentle with him! Kick his ass! Ass-kicking is what’s needed here.”
I thought these comments spoke unintended volumes, actually, about how thin his and many other privileged elite pundits’ commitment to “speaking truth to power,” etc., actually is. The attitude was certainly, “Step on my punch lines, will you? Dammit, get the Tasers out!”
Beldar (369293) — 10/21/2007 @ 12:03 pmCorrection: “He said it, of course, intended it as a joke.” —> “He intended it, of course, as a joke.”
Beldar (369293) — 10/21/2007 @ 12:04 pmThat’s interesting, Beldar. Thanks for posting.
DRJ (35ac59) — 10/21/2007 @ 12:13 pmMaher did NOT take on the truthers. He is a liberal willing to resort to violence rather than discussing what are obvious flaws in the government/media conspiracy theory. Bill Maher is funny, smart and a bought-and-paid-for whore.
American (35c7e2) — 10/25/2007 @ 4:20 pmAs the corrupt, cynical, curmudgeon that I’ve become in my old age (and of being disgusted with the antics of Maher since he originally came onto the scene), I can only believe that the whole thing was a set-up for ratings.
Nothing personal, but “American” in his concluding sentence is only one-for-three!
Another Drew (a28ef4) — 4/20/2008 @ 11:15 am