By Matthew Balan | April 14, 2008 - 12:28 ET
Bill Maher, true to form on his "Real Time" program on HBO on Friday, went on a tirade against Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church, only days before the Pope
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By Matthew Balan | April 14, 2008 - 12:28 ET
Bill Maher, true to form on his "Real Time" program on HBO on Friday, went on a tirade against Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church, only days before the Pope
We all know he won't get reprimanded for this.
With Imus (he came out LARGELY ahead in the end) what should have happened is you let capitalism take it's course. If he's an ass, then you let the audience decide and carry out their boycotts.
This is the same with Bill Mahr. Some people are yelling for the "fairness doctrine" but we should just let good old capitalism take it's course, and let the ratings fall on their own.
If HBO steps in and repremands him or whoever, he just becomes a martyr, and his ratings increase, just like Imus.
Though a bit twisted, I do like his argument (excluding the nazi comment of course)
:roflol: :roflol: :roflol:
Thanks for the point-out. I always like a good comedy bit, but don't really watch TV.
Maher is great. He doesn't sugar coat anything and he tends to have very valid points, from what I've seen.
I don't have HBO and spend more time on the internet than television, but a friend of mine watches religiously and I end up catching an episode from time to time.
I kind of wish he was running for office, but I doubt that's going to happen any time soon.
Majer's not stupid but he can be a babbling idiot. There is intelligent humorous criticism and there's being a dum ass. He falls into the later.
Coming from the Catholic-saturated East Coast, I believe Maher was right on target. Not only was the Pope a Hitler Youth (a Nazi), but his so-called "church" didn't offer shit in terms of comfort to the Jews during WWII. The silence of the Vatican was tantamount to complicity.
On the subject of pedophilia, the Catholic "church" has soft-pedaled the issue, opting to reassign child-molesting priests to other parishes if they only attacked one or two little boys. The "church" took no hard line on the issues, but moved to protect its perverted clergy. After that, the whole operation deserves nothing less that loud public ridicule for being the sick joke of global religious organizations.
(And this is all before looking at the church's history involving, oh, the Inquisition. And promoting overpopulation and the spread of AIDS in developing nations with the condoms=trip to Hell myth. Etc. Etc.) Oh, and every friend I had in Catholic schools around Richmond was at least once beaten by a penguin (nun). And those bitter old bitches can really dish out a whipping.
I liked this quote from Maher: "In fact, whenever a cult leader sets himself up as God
no.
bill says all types of comments that are offensive to some group of people everyday. insensitive? yes. shouold he lose his job for it? no. calling the pope a nazi, or preists pedophile homosexuals is no worse than is comment comparing retarded children with dogs.
one thing we have in this country that some other countries don't, is freedom of speech. just because some people are uncomfortable with what he said doesn't mean he can't say it.
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Originally Posted by denaliguide
Well, freedom of speech AS LONG AS you're not speaking ill of minority ethnic groups......right Imus?
In America, we enjoy freedom of speech, but we must also be willing to accept the consequences that result from that, which in some cases can be severe.
Its an interesting concept. If you openly and harshly slander a religion -- some people may get their feathers ruffled but overall, no big deal. On the other hand, if you even hint at a racist comment, you could get yourself killed.
Hey, you can talk about Christians, Crackers, and Conservatives all you want. But anybody else, you're up for some prosecution.
I think Bills use of "Nazi" is simply inflammatory.
Being a member of the Hitler Youth did not make you a member of the Nazi party. There is no record of Ratzinger
Remember, most of the people who deny the Holocaust are Liberals, so you've gotta think: Why do they compare bad people to Nazis?Quote:
Originally Posted by RedMan
Amen.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sombeech
Maher did it just because he knows calling the Pope a Nazi will get him a headline.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sombeech
please expound on this comment, beech. whom are you referring to? or is this more of the 'beech blather that we pleasure of enjoying on this forum?
I don't think Imus should have lost his job in the first place. Maher is just an @$$hole.
The difference is, religion is a choice, and therefore open to scrutiny. Race is not a choice.Quote:
Originally Posted by rockgremlin
Bingo. "The things you believe are ridiculous and utterly unsupportable, and you do stupid things (and do/hide criminal things) in the name of that belief." As opposed to, "You have skin of a certain color, and bone structure of a certain shape, and your parents came from a country I don't understand, therefore you do stupid things which offend me, and are not capable of the same high level of comportment as me and my ilk."Quote:
Originally Posted by Rev. Coyote
It's unfortunate that religion is afforded the high level of no-questions-asked respect that it is. Until we start to question the incredible (literally "that cannot be believed") claims of religion, and simply defer to the foolish, mutually incompatible and inconsistent beliefs, those beliefs will continue to inspire fear, hatred, warfare and bloodshed.
The thing is, that those of one belief will disparage the views of another, not realizing that their beliefs are just as crazy as the others. "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" Ah, the irony.
Dang it, I have to stop venting about religion on here. People will think I'm obsessed.
:haha:
You can download audio podcasts of the show for free. That's what I do.Quote:
Originally Posted by LOAH
James
Religios beliefs can also inspire courage, love and peace. Lots of bad has been done in the name of religion, but there's also been a lot of good done in the name of religion. I think it largely comes down to individuals. You can find a**holes in every religion and you can find good decent people trying to make a better world in every sound religion.Quote:
Until we start to question the incredible (literally "that cannot be believed") claims of religion, and simply defer to the foolish, mutually incompatible and inconsistent beliefs, those beliefs will continue to inspire fear, hatred, warfare and bloodshed.