Bill Maher on Da Debil...

[jAZ]

http://www.hbo.com/billmaher/new_rules/?ntrack_para1=insidehbo6_text

And finally, New Rule: For Christ's sake, no more devil movies. "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" opened huge last week, and it surprised a lot of people, mostly because Owen Wilson wasn't in it. But exorcism, or as the Catholics call it, "elective surgery," is a popular theme nowadays because it reinforces the comforting notion that evil resides outside of us.

Well, I'm sorry, but it doesn't. And whenever I hear someone blame a bombing in Baghdad or a levee breaking in New Orleans on the forces of evil, it makes me so mad I just want to grab my pitchfork and stick it right through my cloven hoof!

Now, Americans have always loved devil movies: "The Exorcist," "The Omen," "Rosemary's Baby," "The Devil's Advocate." The list goes on forever because Americans love the devil. Why? Because he's simple and he provides a simple answer. He did it.

But evil is not a demon with a tail and horns. That's a Jew. And evil - evil isn't some spectral goblin with red eyes and the voice of Anthony Hopkins. That's Anthony Hopkins.

Is George Bush purely evil? Of course not. And that's what's so evil about him. He doesn't twirl a mustache and smirk and cackle. Well, he doesn't twirl a mustache. He's like the Peanuts character Pigpen. Wherever he goes, he stirs up such a humongous mess it can only be cleaned up by Halliburton. But he is not pure evil.

Because evil is a chain. Did any one person doom New Orleans? No, it's a chain. People vote for a corrupt leader; a corrupt leader puts unqualified cronies in high places, and when those cronies **** up, evil gets done. The devil didn't fly up from hell and knock a hole in that levee. The levee just didn't get built because the money for it went to rich people's tax cuts and pork projects and corporate welfare.

Evil isn't "Salem's Lot." It's Trent Lott. This week, an ailing American bald eagle was found to be dying from mercury poisoning. Republicans immediately tried to blame it on the eagle's lifestyle choices. But it's worth noting that also this week, the White House threatened to veto limits on mercury pollution. Now, pure evil would be if George Bush sat around the White House saying, "Let's poison eagles!" And even I don't believe George Bush would do that.

Cheney would do that. And even he is not pure evil. Dick Cheney doesn't hate poor children and caribou. They're just in the way.

Bottom line: some people think Satan is real and some people think global warming is real. If you think stopping gays from doing it is more important than the ice caps melting, the boogeyman is you...

[Taco John]

That was brilliant.

[Duck Dog]

But evil is not a demon with a tail and horns. That's a Jew.

Where's the outrage? Or is it OK to be racist as long as you leave Mexicans and Blacks alone?

[Mi_chief_fan]

Where's the outrage? Or is it OK to be racist as long as you leave Mexicans and Blacks alone?
I was watching when he said it, jokingly, to panelist Joy Behar (The View), who's also Jewish. It didn't appear to be anything serious.

But I suppose some will complain.

[Bowser]

ROFL

[Duck Dog]

I was watching when he said it, jokingly, to panelist Joy Behar (The View), who's also Jewish. It didn't appear to be anything serious.

But I suppose some will complain.

The joke doesn't offend me, I am merely pointing out the hypocricy that looms around this place. I know the liberal crowd here and I know that whenever they get a chance to flash the race card they pull it.

I guess they must think Jews don't deserve the same respect.

[Baby Lee]

The joke doesn't offend me, I am merely pointing out the hypocricy that looms around this place. I know the liberal crowd here and I know that whenever they get a chance to flash the race card they pull it.

I guess they must think Jews don't deserve the same respect.
Of some relevance might be the fact that Maher is 1/2 Irish, 1/2 Jewish.

[Brock]

Of some relevance might be the fact that Maher is 1/2 Irish, 1/2 Jewish.

So he drinks a lot of Old Milwaukee?

[jAZ]

Of some relevance might be the fact that Maher is 1/2 Irish, 1/2 Jewish.
He's also the creator of a show called Politically Incorrect.

[vailpass]

Where's the outrage? Or is it OK to be racist as long as you leave Mexicans and Blacks alone?

Hang on Duck. I'll wait a few days then post the same thing as if I said it. Every bleeding heart on the board will trip over each other to earn their PC merit badge.

Chris Rock. Funny.
Larry David. Funny.
That Hispanic comedian. Funny.
White Catholic Guy. Not Funny.

[Mi_chief_fan]

The joke doesn't offend me, I am merely pointing out the hypocricy that looms around this place. I know the liberal crowd here and I know that whenever they get a chance to flash the race card they pull it.

I guess they must think Jews don't deserve the same respect.
Yeah, I see your point, I'm just saying that I saw it, and in the context in which it was said, it was just a joke.

[Mi_chief_fan]

White Catholic Guy. Not Funny.

Dennis Miller is. So is Ray Romano, if he counts as white.

[Duck Dog]

Of some relevance might be the fact that Maher is 1/2 Irish, 1/2 Jewish.

He said on one of his shows that he was Dutch.

[jAZ]

He said on one of his shows that he was Dutch.
Stop trying so hard.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/falsani/cst-nws-god24.html

Losing his religion

Maher, 48, grew up Roman Catholic, attending weekend catechism classes, and weekly Sunday mass with his father and sister. His father was Catholic, his mother Jewish.

When he was 13, his father pulled everybody out of church.

"It was like V-J Day in my room," Maher says, laughing. "I couldn't have been more thrilled.

"My father, God bless him, became very disillusioned with the pope at the time, which was Pope Paul [VI]. He loved Pope John [XXIII]. He was the liberal pope, 1958 to 1963. So my father, as an Irish-Catholic American, was in his glory in the early 1960s. He had an Irish president. He had a liberal pope, whom he loved. But Pope Paul obviously rubbed him the wrong way."

This explains, at least in part, why today Maher has no religion. And no middle name.

When his family left the Catholic Church, he was preparing for the sacrament of confirmation.

"I was dreading it because that's where you get your middle name, and mine would have been Aloysius," he says. "It's actually a very common, Irish, Catholic, horrible name. So that's why to this day I don't have a middle name. I got off the hook right at that moment."

Aloysius is the patron saint of teens.

Maher's memories of the Catholic portion of his childhood are hardly fond.

"They tried to scare me," he says. "I remember vividly once when I was preparing for my first communion . . . I remember I was sitting, my arms were on the pew in front of me. I was slumped over. And I remember a nun said to me, 'The boy who is slumped over is going to go to hell.' For slouching."

He uses words like "poison" and "stupid" to describe his early religious indoctrination.

And then there are the jokes.

"I believed all this stuff when I was young," Maher begins, smiling wryly. "I believed there was a virgin birth, I believed a man lived inside of a whale, and I believed that the Earth was 5,000 years old. But then something very important happened to me -- I graduated sixth grade."

"It's kind of cruel, I realize," he says of that last punch line, momentarily cringing. "It kind of sticks the knife in and makes people feel. ... But you know what? At a certain point, I just lost patience with the faithful and pretending, pretending that this was something that was OK, to retain childish thought patterns into adulthood."

Religion is like mercury fillings, Maher says.

"That was something else that was drilled into my head when I was a child that I had no control over, into my teeth -- literally. They would fill our cavities up with [mercury]. Five years ago, or whenever it was, I had it drilled out. And I say the same thing about religion.

"As a child, you cannot be held responsible for the dumb things adults do to you. But you do have to take responsibility, I think, when you become an adult, to drill them out, to undo the damage."

[Duck Dog]

Stop trying so hard.

It doesn't take much point out the hypocricy.

[gblowfish]

Dennis Miller is. So is Ray Romano, if he counts as white.George Carlin is white and was raised Catholic.
Last time I checked, he was pretty damn funny...

[Taco John]

It doesn't take much point out the hypocricy.


How again is it hypocrisy?

[Mi_chief_fan]

He said on one of his shows that he was Dutch.
I don't remember that one; but he did say he was Swiss in one of his HBO specials.

[Duck Dog]

I don't remember that one; but he did say he was Swiss in one of his HBO specials.

That was it. Thank you.

[tiptap]

I don't remember that one; but he did say he was Swiss in one of his HBO specials.


Ok guys, Maher had a special: "I'm Swiss." In the stand up routine, he made fun of the Bush leadership and said he is embarrassed to call himself an American when talking to other nationalilties. So his stick was to say he is Swiss, or Dutch anything but American. Because he (and I too) think this administration has made earnest BAD choices for America. DUMB, BAD choices. Ones which, with the exception of GB ON IRAQ, we have had tempered and differing advice from other countries. Maher actual heritage is Irish and Jewish. OK.

[Clint in Wichita]

Where's the outrage? Or is it OK to be racist as long as you leave Mexicans and Blacks alone?


"Jews" are not a race. They are a religion.

[Eye Patch]

I don't remember that one; but he did say he was Swiss in one of his HBO specials.

He also claims he’s libertarian… just like Taco… but by their comments they ring hollow.

[Reaper16]

I don't know about any other liberals here, but race humor has never offended me, unless it was coming from someone who means it. Then...even still....

But I thought it was universally accepted joke behavior to make fun of yourself. No one gets upset when people make fun of themselves, right?

[vailpass]

Dennis Miller is. So is Ray Romano, if he counts as white.

sorry I wasn't clear. When I said "white catholic guy" I was referring to myself and the fact that if I told some of the exact same jokes, in the exact same way as the people I listed, there would be a rush of PCers telling me how not funny those jokes were.

[vailpass]

George Carlin is white and was raised Catholic.
Last time I checked, he was pretty damn funny...

Then you haven't checked lately. I love(d) George Carlin but in the last few years that dude has gone off the deep end IMO. Whether real or fabricated in his search for new material his views are other-worldly.

[mlyonsd]

George Carlin is white and was raised Catholic.
Last time I checked, he was pretty damn funny...

I paid about $36 about a year or so ago to listen to his bit. Maybe I just don't like dark humor but I wished I hadn't laid down a dime to see him.

[jAZ]

sorry I wasn't clear. When I said "white catholic guy" I was referring to myself and the fact that if I told some of the exact same jokes, in the exact same way as the people I listed, there would be a rush of PCers telling me how not funny those jokes were.
Pay attention.

You can more easily get away with Catholic jokes if you are a Catholic. I can get away with geek jokes because I'm a geek.

Comedy is about knowing your audience, and those who do can get away with lots of jokes that others couldn't.

BTW, has anyone seen "Guess Who?" (the Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac remake of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner)? Good movie and touches on this whole subject in a pretty good way.

Check it out.

[vailpass]

Pay attention.

You can more easily get away with Catholic jokes if you are a Catholic. I can get away with geek jokes because I'm a geek.

Comedy is about knowing your audience, and those who do can get away with lots of jokes that others couldn't.

BTW, has anyone seen "Guess Who?" (the Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac remake of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner)? Good movie and touches on this whole subject in a pretty good way.

Check it out.

Pay attention: no shit sherlock. It's that very status quo that I question.
I understand why black people are the only one's who can say tigger, they paid for that one with flesh and blood.

Anything else should be free game, open to anyone who finds humor in it. We all have our oddities, our tendencies and traits, and some of them can be damned funny.

IMO the world would be a much easier place to live if we could all laugh at each other without malice; if we could drop the PC cloak that some of you must hide under for fear of seeing that there really are differences between cultures, races, religions, etc. and that those differences are not a bad thing. In fact they make us who we are.

BTW did you hear the one about the engineer and the talking frog?
You probably have. How about the engineer and his new bicycle?

[Pitt Gorilla]

The joke doesn't offend me, I am merely pointing out the hypocricy that looms around this place. I know the liberal crowd here and I know that whenever they get a chance to flash the race card they pull it.

I guess they must think Jews don't deserve the same respect.
And yet, you're the one who pulled the race card. I guess now we can say the conservative crowd pulls the card just about as well... :)

[Duck Dog]

"Jews" are not a race. They are a religion.

Hey look another antisemite.

Mr. John Ross (Chief Executive of the "Christian Witness to Israel") wrote in a 1992 letter that,"Though Jewish parents can biologically reproduce Jewish children, they cannot reproduce children that believe in Jesus. Racial origins are fixed by parentage but religious convictions are not a matter of heredity".


Mr. Derek White (Director of the "Christian Friends of Israel"), wrote in a 1995 letter, "The Jews certainly are a distinct biological race, and one of the amazing things concerning them is that their racial characteristics have not been lost over the past 1900 years of their dispersion".


Mr. Tony Pearce (Director of "Messianic Testimony" wrote in a 1992 letter,"If Jewish believers have children their racial identity as Jews will automatically be transferred to them 'biologically' - i.e. because of their relation to their parents. The same would apply to English or Africans!"

Mr. Jonathan Fiddy ("Emmanuel Christian Fellowship") wrote in a 1995 letter,"A Jew is Jewish by race - as a British person is British by race, whatever their religious standing."

Link (http://www.messianic-racism.mcmail.com/mr/rac/racist.htm)

[Pitt Gorilla]

So he drinks a lot of Old Milwaukee?
Ok, that was awesome. ROFL

[Duck Dog]

And yet, you're the one who pulled the race card. I guess now we can say the conservative crowd pulls the card just about as well... :)

Mine started out more of a smart ass comment. But you see what happens when someone calls them out on it.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Mine started out more of a smart ass comment. But you see what happens when someone calls them out on it.
I thought Maher was a Jew, or at least, a part-Jew (if that is possible). I think that gives him license to poke fun at Jews, to some extent. Seinfeld did it and even had an episode where a dentist became a Jew just for the jokes. Foxworthy et al. make fun of "rednecks." Does this help?

[go bowe]

I thought Maher was a Jew, or at least, a part-Jew (if that is possible). I think that gives him license to poke fun at Jews, to some extent. Seinfeld did it and even had an episode where a dentist became a Jew just for the jokes. Foxworthy et al. make fun of "rednecks." Does this help?many of my friends at yale were jews and we used to have a great time poking fun at them, as you put it...

but the fact of the matter was that they were the ones that knew all the really great jew jokes and they were much funnier than the ones that i had heard before that...

and yes, they poked fun at me too, for being a large hippy type with long coils of hair and tye dyed t-shirts, for being an unsophisticated midwesterner and for being a male wasp, etc.

and, yes mahr's mother is jewish (was? i don't know if she's still alive or not)...

[Duck Dog]

I thought Maher was a Jew, or at least, a part-Jew (if that is possible). I think that gives him license to poke fun at Jews, to some extent. Seinfeld did it and even had an episode where a dentist became a Jew just for the jokes. Foxworthy et al. make fun of "rednecks." Does this help?

So why did Bill Cosby catch so much crap for his comments about poor blacks?

Anyway, like I said, my comments on this subject were meant to be smart ass in nature and not to be to taken too seriously. I can see how you all could give Maher a free pass on this one.

[Pitt Gorilla]

So why did Bill Cosby catch so much crap for his comments about poor blacks? I don't recall giving him any crap.

[Duck Dog]

I don't recall giving him any crap.


LOL. I didn't mean you.

[jAZ]

IMO the world would be a much easier place to live if we could all laugh at each other without malice
Well it looks like we finally agree on something.

Anyone can make a joke about anything. And if you deliver it right, its actually funny and you know your audience... you can "get away with it", even in an age of PC.

Throwing out a joke to an audience you don't know (public message board like this where you don't really know people and you certainly don't know everyone who's watching) makes it almost impossible to know your audience. Non-PC jokes here are divisive, because of the diversity.

Another MAJOR problem is that there are a shit-load of people in this world who carry around a lot of "malice" based on these differences and for those people, when they make a joke based on some cultural difference, it's not entirely a joke. These same people aren't necessarily neo-nazi about their beliefs (loud and proud). They would deny it if they were called on it. But they exist. And identifying who is in this group and who (instead) is just making a joke without malice is really hard.

[vailpass]

Well it looks like we finally agree on something.

Anyone can make a joke about anything. And if you deliver it right, its actually funny and you know your audience... you can "get away with it", even in an age of PC.

Throwing out a joke to an audience you don't know (public message board like this where you don't really know people and you certainly don't know everyone who's watching) makes it almost impossible to know your audience. Non-PC jokes here are divisive, because of the diversity.

Another MAJOR problem is that there are a shit-load of people in this world who carry around a lot of "malice" based on these differences and for those people, when they make a joke based on some cultural difference, it's not entirely a joke. These same people aren't necessarily neo-nazi about their beliefs (loud and proud). They would deny it if they were called on it. But they exist. And identifying who is in this group and who (instead) is just making a joke without malice is really hard.


Everything you say is true. My fight comes from not believing that it should be true. Someone has to take the lumps anytime change occurs, and if you are the person that wants that change then you should be willing to take the lumps.
I am the person, and I am willing to take the lumps. People need to remember how to get along, how to accept themselves for who they are and recognize that there are differences in people but these differences aren't bad, only different.
There is no greater equalizer, no better tonic for the soul, than to be able to laugh together.

[jAZ]

People need to remember how to get along, how to accept themselves for who they are and recognize that there are differences in people but these differences aren't bad, only different.
There is no greater equalizer, no better tonic for the soul, than to be able to laugh together.
I couldn't agree more.

Great post.

And after talking to you, I (your audience) understand where you are coming from more. With me, you could get away with more non-PC jokes now. It's part of the game that must be played in a world like what we live in. I'm just illustrating how I think it works (for now).

I'd love to live in a world where none of this was necessary, but thanks to a whole bunch of hateful pricks in this country who abuse humor to spread their hate... I don't think we are anymore likely to see your ideal world than we are to have world peace. In fact, I think the two are kinda related in some sense.

[gblowfish]

Everything you say is true. My fight comes from not believing that it should be true. Someone has to take the lumps anytime change occurs, and if you are the person that wants that change then you should be willing to take the lumps.
I am the person, and I am willing to take the lumps. People need to remember how to get along, how to accept themselves for who they are and recognize that there are differences in people but these differences aren't bad, only different.
There is no greater equalizer, no better tonic for the soul, than to be able to laugh together.VP: What happened to your evil twin? Are you bi-polar?
Just curious, because when I read this post I was shocked to see who authored it.

[Logical]

The joke doesn't offend me, I am merely pointing out the hypocricy that looms around this place. I know the liberal crowd here and I know that whenever they get a chance to flash the race card they pull it.

I guess they must think Jews don't deserve the same respect.I watched it as well and it was clearly humor, but I admit it does not come off well in print. I doubt he would have put it in a book for that very reason. I watch Maher faithfully because along with Dennis Miller they are two of the funniest political comediens of our time.

[Logical]

...
"As a child, you cannot be held responsible for the dumb things adults do to you. But you do have to take responsibility, I think, when you become an adult, to drill them out, to undo the damage."Beautifully expressed. Well done Bill. Thanks jAZ:clap:

[Logical]

I don't remember that one; but he did say he was Swiss in one of his HBO specials.I think he says I would rather be Swiss but I am not sure.

[Logical]

"Jews" are not a race. They are a religion.:clap::clap::clap: I have been trying to get people to recoginize this difference for years.

[Baby Lee]

"Jews" are not a race. They are a religion.
Judaism is a religion. Jewish is, at the very least, an ethnicity.

If the world recognizes Bill Maher, Howard Stern and Kathy Lee Gifford as Jewish, there is something other than a purely religious component to the appellation.

[Duck Dog]

Judaism is a religion. Jewish is, at the very least, an ethnicity.

If the world recognizes Bill Maher, Howard Stern and Kathy Lee Gifford as Jewish, there is something other than a purely religious component to the appellation.


Exactly. One can be Jewish and paractice Christianity. What makes a person Jewish is that they came from Jewish parents, who came from Jewish parents.

If I start practicing Judaism, I do not become Jewish.

[Mi_chief_fan]

sorry I wasn't clear. When I said "white catholic guy" I was referring to myself and the fact that if I told some of the exact same jokes, in the exact same way as the people I listed, there would be a rush of PCers telling me how not funny those jokes were.
Maybe your just not funny. ;)

[Mi_chief_fan]

I think he says I would rather be Swiss but I am not sure.
The title of the special is "I'm Swiss", but the context was explained earlier, about him telling his friends from other countries that he's Swiss out of embarassment.

[Taco John]

He also claims he’s libertarian… just like Taco… but by their comments they ring hollow.



How do you figure? I've been accused of not being a Libertarian before... But what I've never seen is anybody backing up that claim by providing an example of a position that I've taken that is not a Libertarian position.

It doesn't bother me any. I don't mind being mis-cast as a liberal when the so-called "conservatives" these days are protectors of big government. I'm not so much into the "my political affiliation is better than your political affiliation" crap. The affiliation isn't the important thing. It's the principles that count. If a person's political affiliation supercedes their principles, that person is a sheep.

Bush's answer for everything is throw more American taxpayer dollars at the problem and let the politicians of the future worry about the fall-out. If that's what passes as "conservative" these days, then color me Liberal and stick a daisy in my locks. I want no part of what is considered "conservative" by today's standards.

[Pitt Gorilla]

How do you figure? I've been accused of not being a Libertarian before... But what I've never seen is anybody backing up that claim by providing an example of a position that I've taken that is not a Libertarian position.

It doesn't bother me any. I don't mind being mis-cast as a liberal when the so-called "conservatives" these days are protectors of big government. I'm not so much into the "my political affiliation is better than your political affiliation" crap. The affiliation isn't the important thing. It's the principles that count. If a person's political affiliation supercedes their principles, that person is a sheep.

Bush's answer for everything is throw more American taxpayer dollars at the problem and let the politicians of the future worry about the fall-out. If that's what passes as "conservative" these days, then color me Liberal and stick a daisy in my locks. I want no part of what is considered "conservative" by today's standards.Excellent response.

[go bowe]

* * *.

If I start practicing Judaism, I do not become Jewish.well, you hypocrite... :p :p :p

[Duck Dog]

well, you hypocrite... :p :p :p

:spock:

Am I missing something?

[|Zach|]

:spock:

Am I missing something?
Usually...

Yes.

[Logical]

From Wikipedia

Races Australoid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australoid) Capoid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoid) Caucasoid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasoid), Caucasian race (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_race), Whites (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whites) Mongoloid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoloid) Negroid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negroid), Blacks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacks)

[go bowe]

From Wikipedia

Races Australoid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australoid) Capoid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoid) Caucasoid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasoid), Caucasian race (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_race), Whites (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whites) Mongoloid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoloid) Negroid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negroid), Blacks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacks)ok, but what about donkey fans?