Does anyone like Bill Maher?

Originally Posted by blairh

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His views on religion turn me off. Look, no one really knows if God exists or not, so please drop the ******* smug attitude that you do know Bill.

But...it's chic to be cynical!

On a related note, doesn't this Blobfish (yes, real name for it) look just like him?

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I personally think Bill Maher is hilarious--though, i can see where he could rub some the wrong way. If you agree with him politically, the odds of you appreciating his sense of humor probably increases exponentially. Most partisan pundits, however, are extremely polarizing--SHOCKER!

Maher is an idiot, but he's somewhat amusing. I guess he's alright.

I have every reason to dislike Maher, but I will say this in his defense:

He gives everyone, even people he disagrees with, the opportunity to express their opinions fully, quite unlike many hosts of cable news shows who try to railroad their guests or corner them into a "gotcha!" moment. I think of the interview with the professor who made the "little Eichmanns" comment; Bill gave the man the chance to speak his mind beyond the sound bites, even if- as it turns out- it was only to give him enough rope to hang himself once again.

And yes, he is a smug condescending **** when it comes to religion, but he wasn't always so bad. A few years ago, he wasn't even a self-identified atheist, but I suppose the temptation to jump onboard the Noowatheist bandwagon was too great for him to resist, seeing as how they're the only group to legitimize haughty, glib dismissiveness as a valid intellectual position.

(And please, can we leave the "flying spaghetti monster" crap to the culturally illiterate gamer geek neckbeards who want to convince themselves that they're smarter than Thomas Aquinas, Isaac Newton, and 90% of the world's population simply by virtue of the mental exertions they don't make?)

Bill Maher can be funny. I remember him talking about the Time magazine cover with Michael Phelps wearing a speedo; "I haven't had something this gay in my house since Jim J. Bullock crashed my Christmas party. The last time a package this big arrived at my doorstep, I had to sign for it."

Originally Posted by tagutcow

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Bill Maher can be funny. I remember him talking about the Time magazine cover with Michael Phelps wearing a speedo; "I haven't had something this gay in my house since Jim J. Bullock crashed my Christmas party. The last time a package this big arrived at my doorstep, I had to sign for it."

Great post and one I strongly agree with.

Non sequitir though - Jim J. Bullock is one of those miracle-types - has had HIV for decades but never developed AIDS.

Never miss the show or his standup specials. Lately, his standup has gone a bit downhill but the show is usually pretty damn good.

Originally Posted by uhurit

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Never liked this unfunny bastard

+1

Originally Posted by blairh

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His views on religion turn me off. Look, no one really knows if God exists or not, so please drop the ******* smug attitude that you do know Bill.

Sometimes he gets called out on his own show by a guest and I enjoy those moments because he's clearly too full of himself.

For the most part I do like him when he sticks to politics. But he did an episode of Real Time once where he interviewed actors and he was rimming them and it was gross and lame.

On a related note, doesn't this Blobfish (yes, real name for it) look just like him?

While I don't find him that funny as a comedian - I personally agree with most of his opinions and think he is entertaining as hell. I LIKE that he is full of himself and will get in someone's face, because more often than not - he is absolutely right.

As for God - I think you are missing his point. He never said that he knows for sure that God doesn't exist, but quite simply using the most basic form of logic - God, religion and any bible are man-made fairy tales to make people feel better about their ****** lives. Maher has said that he may be proven wrong on the day that he dies, but while he is living - he simply can't believe in such stupidity. He is right.

I think he's amusing given a short dose ... but he's not someone I'd want around (assuming that his personality off camera is the same as his personality on camera).

Can't ******* stand him. Not because of his politics, but because he is just so ******* closed-minded and smug about it. He starts off every show with an agenda in mind, and some talking points around that agenda. Then he'll freely interject whenever a guest contradicts one of his talking points or compromises his agenda. If he doesn't win the war of words that ensues, then he'll resort to cheap TV tricks like snappy one-liners that don't mean anything in particular, but that rile up a huge applause from the audience.

Also getting pretty sick of his anti-religion schtick. I'm an atheist myself, and in the spirit of full disclosure, I find many seriously religious people to be some of the duller tools in the shed. But Bill Maher's "religion is the cause of all the wars in history!!!1111!1" line is not only incorrect, but just stupid. Wars are, at their core, nearly always fought over competition for scarce resources and land. They're about X's decision that Y is occupying something he wants. To the extent religion comes into play, it's usually as an excuse or post-facto justification for the conflict. Guests have pointed this out on Bill's show, but he'll hear none of it.

Funny that all this comes from a guy who shouts from the rooftops about how open-minded and intellectually curious he is.

Originally Posted by Hey Man

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While I don't find him that funny as a comedian - I personally agree with most of his opinions and think he is entertaining as hell. I LIKE that he is full of himself and will get in someone's face, because more often than not - he is absolutely right.

As for God - I think you are missing his point. He never said that he knows for sure that God doesn't exist, but quite simply using the most basic form of logic - God, religion and any bible are man-made fairy tales to make people feel better about their ****** lives. Maher has said that he may be proven wrong on the day that he dies, but while he is living - he simply can't believe in such stupidity. He is right.

...said the dittohead.

Here's the problem with Maher and anybody like him: he pretends to have a dialog when in fact he's preaching. A dialog attempts to reach as many people as possible. This is not what he does. The only people who nod their heads at him are those who already agree with him. His arrogant smugness and his rudeness are turnoffs to anybody else. If he were honest about this, fine, but he isn't.

Originally Posted by Arrogant Bastard

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Can't ******* stand him. Not because of his politics, but because he is just so ******* closed-minded and smug about it. He starts off every show with an agenda in mind, and some talking points around that agenda. Then he'll freely interject whenever a guest contradicts one of his talking points or compromises his agenda. If he doesn't win the war of words that ensues, then he'll resort to cheap TV tricks like snappy one-liners that don't mean anything in particular, but that rile up a huge applause from the audience.

Also getting pretty sick of his anti-religion schtick. I'm an atheist myself, and in the spirit of full disclosure, I find many seriously religious people to be some of the duller tools in the shed. But Bill Maher's "religion is the cause of all the wars in history!!!1111!1" line is not only incorrect, but just stupid. Wars are, at their core, nearly always fought over competition for scarce resources and land. They're about X's decision that Y is occupying something he wants. To the extent religion comes into play, it's usually as an excuse or post-facto justification for the conflict. Guests have pointed this out on Bill's show, but he'll hear none of it.

Funny that all this comes from a guy who shouts from the rooftops about how open-minded and intellectually curious he is.

The part I've bolded is pretty much half of Maher's routine and why I generally dislike him, he lacks substance because he relies too heavily on catchy phrases.

Originally Posted by Teacher

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...said the dittohead.

Here's the problem with Maher and anybody like him: he pretends to have a dialog when in fact he's preaching. A dialog attempts to reach as many people as possible. This is not what he does. The only people who nod their heads at him are those who already agree with him. His arrogant smugness and his rudeness are turnoffs to anybody else. If he were honest about this, fine, but he isn't.

This is where I blow holes in your "theory". The people that have a problem with Bill Maher are those that completely disagree with his view points even before he has stated them. He is not for conservatives who pretend it's still 1955 and who want to keep America away from any sort of get with the times forward movement like other countries have already done....10 years ago.

Politically Incorrect and Real Time are forms of ENTERTAINMENT - not news programs. So having said that, of course Maher needs to be "on" when providing his brand of entertainment for people that like him. But if you do see him on any news program or read any of his books, he is not as "on" as he is on his show and clearly shows that he knows what he is talking about even if you don't agree with his opinion.

I think the problem with you is that you don't get that his arrogance, smugness and his supposed rudeness is his schtick as an entertainer and comedian, which is what he calls himself. I mean he had a show called Politically Incorrect for **** sake - conveying that this show is going to have an opposing view to popular opinion. It's really no different any other comedian ranting about society and problems in the world - just that Maher is afforded a weekly TV show to do it.

You must want to kill Seth Macfarlane and Janeane Garofalo too.

Originally Posted by Hey Man

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This is where I blow holes in your "theory". The people that have a problem with Bill Maher are those that completely disagree with his view points even before he has stated them. He is not for conservatives who pretend it's still 1955 and who want to keep America away from any sort of get with the times forward movement like other countries have already done....10 years ago.

Politically Incorrect and Real Time are forms of ENTERTAINMENT - not news programs. So having said that, of course Maher needs to be "on" when providing his brand of entertainment for people that like him. But if you do see him on any news program or read any of his books, he is not as "on" as he is on his show and clearly shows that he knows what he is talking about even if you don't agree with his opinion.

I think the problem with you is that you don't get that his arrogance, smugness and his supposed rudeness is his schtick as an entertainer and comedian, which is what he calls himself. I mean he had a show called Politically Incorrect for **** sake - conveying that this show is going to have an opposing view to popular opinion. It's really no different any other comedian ranting about society and problems in the world - just that Maher is afforded a weekly TV show to do it.

You must want to kill Seth Macfarlane and Janeane Garofalo too.

Ah, you showed me. Well, actually you didn't, but you did show that you get upset really easily. You also showed that you haven't read this entire thread.

I understand perfectly well that he's an entertainer, young one. However, he has gone on the record more than once stating that he believes everything he says. So yes, he's trying to get an audience, but at the same time, he really is trying to put out the gospel according to Bill.

And here's how I know you haven't read the thread: I'm in no fashion a conservative, and I've stated that I even agree with a lot of the things he's said.* I just don't like the way he says things. In fact, to make it easy for you to comprehend, I'll make a list of what I think are his unlikable traits:

-extreme arrogance

-refusal to acknowledge good points that aren't his (thus my comment that his "dialogs" are not, in fact, dialogs)

-rigged panels (but Politically Incorrect was less rigged)

-extreme contempt for those who don't think exactly the same way he does

So you see, I find him to be an irritating, grating person with whom I would never want to have dinner. There are a great many people who don't think the way I do that I would still love to meet, and many of my friends are somewhere in the conservative spectrum. On the other hand, he's one person with whom I have some things in common but would never want to meet. So, put that in your pipe and smoke it, little shaver.

*Hey, look at that! I blew your theory out of the water. I just sank your battleship!

Originally Posted by Teacher

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*Hey, look at that! I blew your theory out of the water. I just sank your battleship!
I could see this one coming from miles away!