Attn: Letterman's on; Bill Hicks footage soon

[EastTennesseeDem]

Just a friendly reminder.

[blogslut]

1. His mother is a hoot!

And I KNOW who Eric Johnson is. He's an amazing guitarist. Thanks for reminding me to watch this. :hi:

[EastTennesseeDem]

2. That was a wonderful routine

"Christians wear crosses on their chests. It's a nice sentiment, but do you really think Jesus wants to look at a cross? Maybe that's why he hasn't come back yet."

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. wo0t

:bounce:

[blogslut]

4. I am so impressed with David Letterman

He took full responsibility for cutting that appearance and apologized with such grace.

Mr. Hicks. What a loss. What a senseless loss.

[EastTennesseeDem]

5. His class was so genuine

Granted, he shouldn't have done it in the first place, but his apologies were as sincere as they got.

[Robeson]

7. A lot of bad blood flowed under that bridge...

...it's hard to lay all the blame at Letterman's feet. Our Overlords weren't - in any way - ready to let Hicks give a full frontal to this country at that time.

[pokerfan]

9. Except that it wasn't his decision

Maybe he could have fought harder for it to have been left in but make no mistake, it was the sticky-beaks at CBS Standards and Practices who actually cut it.

Still, nice of Letterman to take the blame.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

11. stand up ...one way to put it...classiest fall guy EVER

is the way I see it. meh. a matter of semantics, is all.

[pokerfan]

12. He is the face of CBS, at least for late night

But back in 1993, maybe not so much.

What pisses me off about the Bill Hicks censorship is that it wasn't about obscenity; it was a censoring of the content, i.e. free speech and I have big problem with corporations or the government deciding what's obscene and should therefore not be seen by anyone. Remember that Larry Flynt, no matter what you think of him or his publication, was shot for publishing a portrayal of interracial sex (according to the purported shooter) and not for dirty pictures in general.

Whether or not one agrees with Hicks ideas is beside the point. I don't agree with most of the stuff I hear one the airwaves. The point is that no thought should be excluded in a marketplace of ideas. Throw it at the wall and see if it sticks is what I say.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

16. I agree with you.

Now, that Dave has the power, he tried to right a wrong...

[sasquatch]

6. That was a very touching moment

[pokerfan]

8. Maybe for you right coasters

Here it's only 9:30.

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. George Bush (and all Republican/Freeps) could learn a lot about being a man from Letterman

I think what we saw tonight (and part of me hates that I'm politicizing this; but then, Bill was all about the politics) is what Obama's presidency is going to be about: owning up to mistakes, being honest, seeking reconciliation, and trying to make amends.

I have waited many years for tonight. How truly wonderful!

[MilesColtrane]

13. What was Letterman thinking?

It's not like Bill did his "New Kids On The Block sucking Satan's cock" routine.

I guess his exposure of Pro-Lifers was deemed too edgy back then.

Props to Dave for finally making things right.

[underpants]

15. Truth be told-I thought it was one of the weaker Hicks routines I have ever seen

not that it was toned down for network it just wasn't a great Hicks set

:shrug:

[abq e streeter]

18. I agree; relatively weak routine compared to other stuff of his I've seen ,but

I disagree about it not being toned down; seemed very mild compared to stuff I've seen on DVD etc; and can't think of any other reason than being on network TV.

[suninvited]

19. He was very ill at the time.

I thought it was a little weak, too, but I enjoyed watching it.

[hippywife]

14. I dunno.

I watched it. I thought his mom was funny, Dave was great, but I still haven't heard anything of Hicks' routine that makes me even giggle a little. I just don't care for in-your-face-mean in comedy, I guess. :shrug:

[abq e streeter]

17. To each their own, but Hicks was far from being "mean" all the time ( sometimes, yes)

just one example: ( not exact quote but close) "couldn't we use the same technology from our "smart bombs" and use it to shoot bananas at starving people?" ( and wasn't spoken sarcastically either, but with sincerity) . And I agree with you and the poster above you, this was not an especially funny routine compared to stuff I've seen on you tube and DVD, and seemed definitely toned down for network TV.

[suninvited]

20. I don't know why David took the blame for it being cut

it had to do with the pro life part, and a pro life sponser they had at the time, if you ask me. At least that was my interpretation of everything I read about it.

Nothing in that routine was offensive, really, compared to some of the stuff that was being shown even in 1992.