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Bill Maher

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I am curious to know what your opinions are on Bill Maher. I find that, the more I watch him, the more I like him. In some ways, he is a typical American liberal, and has numerous positions that I disagree with...he supports the health care bill, for instance. But I find that, when I agree with him, I agree with him whole-heartedly...and that happens more than I thought it would. He constantly lampoons religion, 9/11 conspiracy theorists, and (as I recently discovered) is prone to launching passionate defenses of Israel. Not something I would have expected. I just saw an interview he did with Netanyahu that was quite well-done. Even though I disagree with a lot of his views, I find myself agreeing with what he spends the most time talking about.

Apart from being hilarious, I find his best feature is that he tells is like it is. When Jerry Falwell died, for instance, he came right out and said "death is not always sad." Not what you heard from most people (even ones who disagreed with his politics), when he died. I also like his very candid take on the American people, in general. They're stupid. I think he's largely right.

I was not a fan of Religiulous, however. It was funny for about 15 minutes, but making fun of religion is not difficult, and it's not really material for a full-length movie.

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I am curious to know what your opinions are on Bill Maher. I find that, the more I watch him, the more I like him.

I find that I agree with him where I agree with him (religion, 9/11), but the more I watch him the more his pompous nonsense eats away at my nerves. He's a very odious character.

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His good opinions barely exist. His delivery is condescending, while he maintains very little solid knowledge on any subject. He comes off like a dope. Sometimes the show is funny, usually thanks to somebody stupid

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I could really care less about the things I agree with him on: privatizing social security, legalizing marijuana, getting rid of DADT, and condemning religious people.

Bill Maher is not funny. I wouldn't consider him a good comedian, nor would I consider him a good person. Why listen to Bill Maher's stand-up when you can just go look up George Carlin, who was one of his influences and is much funnier than him?

Bill Maher is a complete and utter douchebag. All I need to confirm this is him dressing up like Steve Irwin getting stung by a stingray.

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Bill Maher is a complete and utter douchebag. All I need to confirm this is him dressing up like Steve Irwin getting stung by a stingray.

That wasn't even the worst of him, either. Have you seen Religulous? I came out of that movie a Christian sympathizer, that's how much of an ass Bill Maher made of himself.

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That wasn't even the worst of him, either. Have you seen Religulous? I came out of that movie a Christian sympathizer, that's how much of an ass Bill Maher made of himself.

Believe it or not, Maher himself is a Christian sympathizer. In an interview with Oreilly he actually said that Christianity is a "beautiful philosophy".

This is not surprising considering the fact that he shares many of the basic tenets:

1. He has faith in a higher power (government)

2. He believes in Original Sin (America is responsible for past sins like slavery).

3. He believes in an apocalypse (global warming).

4. And last, but not least, he is a rabid altruist.

His attacks on the religious/mystic element of the right wing are merely strawman attacks that serve no other purpose than to create the illusion of intellectual superiority.

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No, I'm saying that Bill Maher is working in his self-interest. He's just not being rational about it. Ie: He's a self-serving asshole

I guess I should retract that statement though. Bill Maher is not an altruist in the sense that he wants to forbid himself happiness, but he wants others to be altruist.

Edited by Black Wolf
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I guess I should retract that statement though. Bill Maher is not an altruist in the sense that he wants to forbid himself happiness, but he wants others to be altruist.

That's the worst kind, too. I'd take Mother Teresa over Hitler any day.

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  • 7 months later...

I prefer Stephen Colbert.

To what? Stephen Colbert is not a stand up comic.

Not really. George Carlin made a funnier skit about feminism.

Bill Maher is of average comedic value.

Carlin is probably the greatest comic ever. Declaring that everyone who falls short in a comparison with him is "average" is ridiculous.

What would make Bill Maher's skit average is a few hundred skits on feminism which are better than his, not just the one written by the greatest comic ever.

Edited by Jake_Ellison
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Carlin is probably the greatest comic ever. Declaring that everyone who falls short in a comparison with him is "average" is ridiculous.

I like Carlin's stuff on religion..but I was really disappointed by his "American Dream" rant/some of his other socialistic commentary. Similar to Chomsky, he uses himself as a conduit for hundreds of years of stored guilt, and if you dare say a word against him, you must be evil. It's dogmatic and dishonest to argue from intimidation.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Bill Maher is entertaining to listen to but only measured amounts.

He appears to want to advance his bias but cannot seem to resist the bouts of Tourette's which so often punctuate his act and make him just another "also ran" in the "poorly behaved entertainer with an opinion and a forum" class.

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