20-07-2003 12:56									#1
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Anyone see his recent HBO special? I only caught the tail end of it, but it looked pretty good. Hopefully they repeat it tomorrow. I'll watch the whole thing.

I also like Dennis Miller. Between him and Bill Maher I get a good balanced view of the news . One conservative, one liberal.

As for his HBO weekly show. Well I don't care for that as much as politically incorrect. His guests are annoying. Who was that woman with the accent? Who in the hell was she? She was clueless.

	20-07-2003 13:30									#2
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Ariana Huffington?

Yeah, she was such an idiot she didn't realize her husband was gay. Or perhaps she knew, but was with him for the money.

	20-07-2003 14:32									#3
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Arianna Huffington is actually one of the more adept political commentators around, although it appears her conservatism is influenced by a populism (of sorts). She was behind the SUV = Terrorism ad campaign but many of her Republican and conservative critics weren't bright enough (or feigned ignorance) to see the irony and hypocrisy exposed in those ads. She seems rather balanced as pundits go, I don't care for people who criticise the other side while brown nosing their own.


Her accent is annoying though, especially when she gets into a monotone rant.

	20-07-2003 14:35									#4
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quote: Or perhaps she knew, but was with him for the money.

Or for their kids.

	20-07-2003 22:36									#5
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yeah I think that was her. I didn't think she layed out her ideas well enough. She had little to back them up.

	20-07-2003 23:29									#6
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Bill Maher is good. I read his book, "When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden". Dennis Miller is a no-talent hack. He should go away instead of continuing his weak comedic act that consists of making fun of the elderly and other people who can't defend themselves.

	20-07-2003 23:34									#7
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His special was pretentious crap filled with half-truths and oft-repeated blather. If you want left-wing complaining you can get a much higher quality version on it here on the OT.

	20-07-2003 23:38									#8
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Huffington has become a reasonably serious person. Quite surprising really.

	20-07-2003 23:41									#9
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quote: His special was pretentious crap filled with half-truths and oft-repeated blather. If you want left-wing complaining you can get a much higher quality version on it here on the OT.

dismissing Maher as left-wing = ignorant... read his book.

	20-07-2003 23:49									#10
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well he's funnier than the left-wing whiners here . I don't care if he's right or wrong, I want funny jokes dammit!.

and why can't you make fun of the elderly? why can't they defend themselves? They can talk can't they? bah! Silly liberals want to take away all humour.

	21-07-2003 00:10									#11
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quote: Originally posted by Sava dismissing Maher as left-wing = ignorant... read his book.

I don't know if he has changed his views recently. Back in his days on POlitically Incorrect, he was someone who pretended to be a libertarian but was little more then a leftist pretending to be one, and I think there was generally consensus on that one on this board. Most notoriously he has backed China's one-child policy, something no self respecting libertarian could ever bring themselves to support. His most recent special was basically the same type of anti-Bush we got on Apolyton, only of far lower quality.

	21-07-2003 00:48									#12
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As for him being a libertarian, I think he bases his opinions more on actual real-world practicality, rather than blind-ideology. I don't want to threadjack into China's one-child policy... but it appears to be a necessary thing. I've never been to China... I suspect you haven't... nor has Bill Maher. So I doubt our opinions on the matter are even worth the data bits these words take up. Conversely, if China allows it's people to **** like rabbits, they would have an enormous humanitarian crisis. So you can't really hold that against his so-called libertarian views. I consider myself to be a social libertarian, but I wouldn't support something in line with that ideology if it were so obviously stupid... i.e. objection to China's population controls.

For someone such as yourself, a person whose political stances are motivated by ideals rather than pragmatic thought, Maher may seem hypocritical. But rather... he allows common sense to dictate his views.

Again calling him a leftist goes back to the whole ignorant notion that there are only two political ideologies in the world.

	21-07-2003 01:06									#13
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quote: Originally posted by Shi Huangdi His special was pretentious crap filled with half-truths and oft-repeated blather.

That's true of all political comedians.

	21-07-2003 01:45									#14
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I don;t find most of his political commnets funny, if only becuase of his style: too blunt and sermonizing, just like Dennis MIller, who seems to, as large as his vocabulary is, forgetten subtlety.

I prefer John Steward and the Daily Show: best political satire and commentary on TV.

	21-07-2003 01:56									#15
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Bill's pretty annoying. His Policitally Incorrect show sucked because it was all based on one liners. Whoever could come up with the best one-liner always got the best audience reaction.

The people that had well thought out presentations always got the least respect.

Plus I don't really care what Jillian Barbarie has to say about the Federal Defecit.

	21-07-2003 06:10									#16
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I love Bill Maher almost as much as I love Dennis Miller. I don't know what it says about our society when two of the best political and social commentators are comedians, but that's where we're at.

	21-07-2003 06:21									#17
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quote: I prefer John Stewart and the Daily Show: best political satire and commentary on TV.

Truer words have never been spoken.

	21-07-2003 06:21									#18
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quote: Originally posted by Drake Tungsten I love Bill Maher almost as much as I love Dennis Miller. I don't know what it says about our society when two of the best political and social commentators are comedians, but that's where we're at.

What it says about our society is that most people don't have the attention span to listen to anything but sound bites and punch lines.

	21-07-2003 06:23									#19
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By the way, wheren't there more posts in this thread before? I seem to remember Sava taking a little hissy fit over ted's post. Maybe I'm just seeing into the future...

	21-07-2003 06:25									#20
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quote: By the way, wheren't there more posts in this thread before? I seem to remember Sava taking a little hissy fit over ted's post. Maybe I'm just seeing into the future...

different thread genius

and that's not much of a prediction, either... there's almost a 100% chance I'll throw another hissy fit at Ted.

	21-07-2003 06:35									#21
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It's not just that one issue though Sava, although I think ever supporting forced abortions makes calling yourself a liberatarian impossible. But he hasn't really been an economic libertarian as far as I can recall- except for maybe cutting corporate welfare. For that matter I don't really remember anything he has said on PI that would be inconsistent with a leftist ideology- except the one time he criticized the Socialist candidate for Pres but with him he was definitely treating him with kid gloves. I'd probably 95% if not more of what he has said on his show would fit in with a liberal or leftist ideology.

	21-07-2003 06:38									#22
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quote: I'd probably 95% if not more of what he has said on his show would fit in with a liberal or leftist ideology.

I never watched the show much... I maybe saw it once. My knowledge of him comes from his most recent book and appearances on other shows. Some of his plans for the war of terrorism are very uhmmm... not in line with stereotypical left views. Maher is a lot like me... most people hear a lot of his views that are considered "left" and then paint him with that broad brush.

	21-07-2003 06:41									#23
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Maher was very much in favor of blowing the **** out of Afghanistan after 9/11. He's also an outspoken proponent of profiling as a necessary part of airport security. Not the most liberal of views to be taking.

	21-07-2003 06:43									#24
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quote: Maher was very much in favor of blowing the **** out of Afghanistan after 9/11. He's also an outspoken proponent of profiling as a necessary part of airport security. Not the most liberal of views to be taking.

	21-07-2003 06:57									#26
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bill maher's funny. i like him.

	21-07-2003 08:27									#27
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quote: Originally posted by Q Cubed bill maher's funny. i like him.

Bill Maher isn't funny. I don't like him. Dennis Miller is funnier, but I don't turn to comedians to help me decide where I stand on the issues regardless of whether they are funny or not. Comedy makes great propoganda and lousy policy, and Maher's show (or the "guerilla theatre" groups seen at demontrations) is an excellent example of this principle in action. And I agree with Shi regarding his complete lack of Libertarian cred.

	21-07-2003 08:36									#28
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quote: I don;t find most of his political commnets funny, if only becuase of his style: too blunt and sermonizing, just like Dennis MIller, who seems to, as large as his vocabulary is, forgetten subtlety. I prefer John Steward and the Daily Show: best political satire and commentary on TV.

Once again GePap is right on the money. Maher isn't that great. Politically Incorrect was good fun just to see some of the people on it, but not Maher, really. Like others have said, he just tries for one-liners, and tends to sermonize a lot. Miller, as well, tries more for one-liners and tends to try to show off his vocabulary a lot (which is impressive, I must admit).

Jon Stewart is pure gold in the Daily Show... BUT I credit the writers of the show itself. It had great subtle humor when Craig Kilborn was running things as well .

	21-07-2003 08:41									#29
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I like Kilborn a lot more. More humor, less political stuff.

	21-07-2003 09:47									#30
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I'm actually glad to hear Bill Maher doesn't have "libertarian cred". I don't like it when people involved in politics follow blind ideologies. I like pragmatic people.