NationStates Jolt Archive


Bill Maher fires back

The Nazz
26-05-2005, 06:35
Sorry if this has already been posted here, but I've been at work all day and would have missed it.

On Tuesday, Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-Idiot) said that Bill Maher's commentary on his show Real Time bordered on treason and that he wanted him off the air. You can read the entire ludicrous tale here. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0505240052may24,1,4673702.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed)

So today, on The Huffington Post, Bill Maher fired back (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/bill-maher/fruit_1561.html) Here's part of his reply:
I could go on and on, but this is too ridiculous, so I'll just say this: I'm not a congressman, I'm a comedian. There's nothing I can really do to help or hurt our troops (although anyone who's watched my shows or read my books in the last twelve years knows I'm a pretty ardent supporter of the military).

But a congressman, there's someone who can actually DO SOMETHING to help our troops. In fact, a case could be made that it's a lot more treasonous for someone in his position to be wasting his time yelling at a comedian. Shouldn't he be training his outrage at such problems as troops not having enough armor? Wouldn't that ACTUALLY support our troops more? And citizens of this country who claim to support our troops should write this man and tell him GET BACK TO WORK! DO SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO SOLDIERS IN IRAQ!

And by the way, these "comments" were part of a longer, scripted comedy piece in the modest proposal tradition. I can see why administration supporters would want to deflect attention away from the gist of the piece, which was this: now that we can't meet our recruiting goals, maybe it's the people who were so gung ho for this war to begin with who should step up and go fight it. But of course it's always easier to distract people.

Finally, I would direct the Congressman to chapter 3 of my book "When You Ride Alone, You Ride with bin Laden." The accompanying poster shows a soldier, a cop, a fireman, and a teacher, and says, "We Say They're Our Heroes...But We Pay Them Like Chumps."

Maybe that's something else he could look into when he gets done with me.
Maher gets on my nerves occasionally, but damn, I like it when he does stuff like this.

And I also find it hysterically sad just how little our elected representantives understand the very Constitution they take oaths to uphold and defend. If I recall correctly, there's a pretty simple definition of treason written into the Constitution, and Maher isn't even in the same galaxy.
Cannot think of a name
26-05-2005, 06:48
This seems like part of a larger pattern. The media, the social critics, they are constantly put back on thier heals to the point where they find themselves apologizing or answering for things that are true, then they can never really be able to hold the leadership accountable-they are too busy defending themselves. And this has seemed the pattern for a while. It's depressing, as I don't see a way out. If a source straps on its balls, The White Noise Machine just drowns them out as an extremist wacko source. I guess if a whole lot of them strap on their balls it might become clearer whats going on, but I don't see that happening unfortunately...
Santa Barbara
26-05-2005, 06:56
There is entirely too much throwing around of the term "treason" these days. Most likely, again, the result of people not having knowledge of what treason actually means, other than "something bad which I'd love for my political opponents to be smeared as."
The Nazz
26-05-2005, 07:01
There is entirely too much throwing around of the term "treason" these days. Most likely, again, the result of people not having knowledge of what treason actually means, other than "something bad which I'd love for my political opponents to be smeared as."
Well, she certainly wasn't the first to misuse the term, but you can thank Ann Coulter for a lot of the current misunderstanding. I swear, she's got to have pictures of her publisher having sex with a goat or something to get the drivel she writes published.
Gauthier
26-05-2005, 07:03
Bill Maher's biggest flaw is that he's an unapologetic mouthpiece whore for PETA. Other than that, he does make points at time which nobody in power wants to hear or admit to.
Anarchic Conceptions
26-05-2005, 12:43
Which episode did he make the "treasonous" comments on?

And more importantly, anyone know where I can get it?
Tekania
26-05-2005, 13:47
Sorry if this has already been posted here, but I've been at work all day and would have missed it.

On Tuesday, Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-Idiot) said that Bill Maher's commentary on his show Real Time bordered on treason and that he wanted him off the air. You can read the entire ludicrous tale here. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0505240052may24,1,4673702.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed)

So today, on The Huffington Post, Bill Maher fired back (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/bill-maher/fruit_1561.html) Here's part of his reply:

Maher gets on my nerves occasionally, but damn, I like it when he does stuff like this.

And I also find it hysterically sad just how little our elected representantives understand the very Constitution they take oaths to uphold and defend. If I recall correctly, there's a pretty simple definition of treason written into the Constitution, and Maher isn't even in the same galaxy.

Remember, when you're talking about these "elected" neo-cons in office; they don't give a damn about the constitution. What they want is King George type treason (where questioning the king is tantamount to a capital offense).

His definition of treason, isn't even in the Supreme Law of the land, which limits the application of treason to "levying war against [the United States], or in adhering to [those who are] enemies [of the United States], giving them aid and comfort." And not expanded past that. "Aid and comfort" as supplied by Supreme Court case law, in the Cramer, Haupt, and Kawakita cases, required actual "overt" and "physical" acts of intent in the presence of two (or more, but not less) witnesses... The actual enlistment in, transfer of goods to, or housing of, enemies of the state....
Straughn
27-05-2005, 03:35
Palpatine used the term innocently enough in Episode III ...