Bill Maher on Jay Leno: Religion, Islam, Ground Zero Mosque, Palin, Obama, Tea Party, Illegal Aliens

[democracy1st]

Run time: 10:50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdgZ8KHoIGM   Posted on YouTube: September 14, 2010 By YouTube Member: insightbites Views on YouTube: 1541   Posted on DU: September 15, 2010 By DU Member: democracy1st Views on DU: 5426

 
Clip of September 13, 2010, Bill Maher appearance on Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Bill discusses religion, Islam, New York "Ground Zero" (9/11) Mosque, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama, Tea Party, Guns, BP Oil Spill, Illegal Aliens with his unique, irreverent humor.

[tomm2thumbs]

1. right on the money, Bill

on all counts

thanks for posting!

[Ramulux]

2. This was great

You can just feel the tension, when he starts making atheistic remarks. I have so much respect for this guy, hes the only person I am aware of who can go on a major talk show and basically tell every christian in this country that they are ridiculous. I love that he just doesn't care who he pisses off and is willing to make very unpopular statements on live TV, that takes guts. I was really surprised by how strong he came out against the islamophobes and the teabaggers, he really doesn't pull any punches.

[wookie72]

29. "he really doesn't pull any punches."

Oh, he pulls a few. Ask him to criticize PETA and see how far you get.

[aquart]

3. That was a treat.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

4. Bill Maher always delivers

He's maybe the most brutally honest guy on TV and he doesn't care who he pisses off.

[mwb970]

10. Unlike, say, Jay Leno. /nt

[pattmarty]

15. Leno and Letterman are basically apolitical. They have to be in...........

..........their national, major network talk show hosting. Letterman is pretty much a liberal and has shown it in various (small) ways, Leno is pretty much apolitical. I respect both of these guys, they are what they are.

[Rhiannon12866]

24. You're forgetting O'Reilly's appearance on Letterman, LOL.

I'm noticing that Dave is getting more and more open about his views, like when he took on The Donald about his views on the "mosque" at "Ground Zero" a couple of weeks ago... As for Jay, Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy on Leno's show and Jay later appeared with him... :(

Bill O'Reilly Gets Owned By David Letterman - Part 1 of 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkDjz_eRoaw

Bill O'Reilly Gets Owned By David Letterman - Part 2 of 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uYUNWpeB0g&feature=related

[BlancheSplanchnik]

39. I thought Letterman kind of gave O'LIElly a free pass

or that's how it felt to me.

That ass was sickening, and Letterman was very soft on him, I thought.

[Rhiannon12866]

49. Take another look at the videos...

I don't think that O'Reilly is ever coming back... Dave is never outright rude to anybody who comes on his show, but he came the closest with O'Reilly... :)

[BlancheSplanchnik]

51. really?? Hrrmmmm.....

:)

I'll have to have another look (not now--hope I remember to do that later when I'm taking a break. Hopefully not too long a break...... heh heh, that damn procrastination.... )

Well good; maybe I was wishing too hard that Dave would take that dickweed and swab the toilets with him.

blechhh, I hate that guy!!!

[Rhiannon12866]

53. IMHO, Dave was as contentious with O'Reilly as I've ever seen him with anyone.

I actually think he was all fired up well before O'Reilly even appeared. Dave had several bones to pick with him and he did. I'll have to watch again, too, but I remembering enjoying the exchange - a lot. :D

I hate the guy, too, but it was pretty cool because he was the guest, so he could hardly cut Dave's mike... ;)

[Turborama]

46. Guess who Greta Van Shizenhousen shows clips of at the end of her show?

Yep, Jay Leno.

Apparently, she always likes him to have "The Last Word". :crazy:

:hi:

[Rhiannon12866]

50. That's very telling...

I rarely even bother anymore looking to see who Jay's guests are. I missed Bill Maher the other night because I turned on a repeat of Dave. :( :hi:

[loudsue]

31. Jay Leno is so bad. I can't stand to watch him.

I don't see any redeeming qualities there.

[chervilant]

41. hmm...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who avoids watching Leno. I am glad he gave Maher a venue, though. I hope Maher continues to courageously voice his astute observations about Palin, Arizona, religions, and conservatives.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

44. I'm glad to see people on DU appreciate Bill Maher these days...

Two years ago I posted of vid where he called Sarah Palin a stewardess who should be bringing him a bag of peanuts on his flight, and lots of people here were panning him as a bitter misogynist asshole. Glad to see more people are getting him now.

[LaPera]

5. Bill Maher is great - Finally his show is back - Real Time on HBO!!

[sheldon]

6. Awesome

Leno looked flabbergasted! Looking for a transcript right now.

Edit: found one with rightwing critique added here: http://freedomeden.blogspot.com/2010/09/bill-maher-and-jay-leno-september-13.html

[CrawlingChaos]

7. I stopped watching when he got to his usual Muslim-bashing

Islam is more violent than other religions? Really Bill?

The Great American Christian War Machine has slaughtered millions of innocent Muslims, and he has the nerve to spew this crap. Meanwhile Israel can do no wrong, according to Maher. I've washed my hands of this hypocrite.

[iamforobama]

8. He bashes all religions and rightly so..

He simply said that, in this century, fanatic Islam is more violent than the extreme right wing Christian nuts. I believe all religions should be flushed down the craper. These crazy extremists will do anything if they think (God) is on there side, even destroy themselves.

[BigD_95]

11. face up to the truth CrawlingChaos

it is way more violent. When was the last time Christians stoned anyone for getting raped?

[sabrina 1]

14. Are you serious? Two million dead Iraqis

not to mention those tortured and maimed over two decades, done by this Christian/Judeo country.

Sometimes I cannot believe the blindness to the crimes committed by this country right here on DU.

Let me ask you something. I mean this sincerely. But do you consider the lives of Muslims to be less valuable than those of Americans? I'm asking because you appear to be completely in denial about the atrocities committed by this country, not only in the ME, but in South and Central America.

There would be NO Muslim terrorists if this country had not been meddling in the ME for decades. Is that too hard for Americans to understand?

If American children were slaughtered by an invading nation, what would Americans do?

I can post the photos if you like. Or the eyewitness accounts by war journalists who witnessed the on-going slaughter.

Of course we use Orwellian terminology in order to dehumanize the victims, like 'collateral damage'. I just thought that at least on a Democratic board that propaganda would not work and some humanity would be retained.

[ThomasQED]

17. I think Maher is talking about individuals

not about the state.

I have heard him talk about our wars as well, but this clip is about stonings and things like that, not war.

[sabrina 1]

25. And it is the highlighting of these incidents that has created

the impression that all Muslims support this kind of brutality. We have horrendous crimes committed in this country. We have had murders in our prisons that if we were to be judged by these individual incidents, we would look pretty bad to the rest of the rest of the world.

There literally millions of Muslims who are as outraged over these practices as we are. People who are no different to Americans who just want to live their lives in peace.

There have been murders of gays, and killings of people simply because of their ethnicities such as dragging a Black man behind a truck until he was dead eg. Should all AMericans be judged by these horrific acts? Our prison system where women AND men are routinely raped and mistreated and sometimes murdered, are allowed to function without much interference from the government. We, and that includes Maher, are in no position to be outraged over other nations' crimes until we do something about our own.

He should have pointed out that all nations have their criminals and brutal leaders. We are alone among civilized nations who practice the barbaric and medieval Government sanctioned death penalty. To other civilized countries this is simply abhorrent and if you ever talk to anyone from Europe, they find it hard to believe that is still going on here.

This country has a propensity for torture and other brutality which makes is more than hypocritical for us to criticize it anywhere else. And when you read the foreign press, this fact is pointed out often. Only here do we appear to be so blinded by the crimes committed in our name that we can happily act outraged over other countries.

[AlbertCat]

18. done by this Christian/Judeo country.

Which it is not. The Government that sent those troops is not Christian/Judeo. The people in them may be (and Muslim too) but it wasn't Christian/Judeo sentiments that sent the troops in there, it was the Capitalist/Imperialist country that did that. The wars were over oil and money. Islamic countries, most of the "trouble" ones ARE Islamic in government, and proudly so.

Also, Christians WERE just as bad as Islam today. But they had hundreds of years a war between Catholics and Protestants.... a lesson pretty well learned but not 100% so. I don't know that there is anything equivalent in Islam. And of course in the 15th- 18th centuries, there were no atomic bombs, so today's religious conflicts in Islam are much more dangerous globally than the Christian wars of the past.

Pointing this out is not anti-Islamic. Just history.

[sabrina 1]

20. This country was led on a Crusade into Iraq

by a Christian Fundie Leader. This country considers itself to be a Christian/Judeo country. That is how it is viewed throughout the world.

As I said, and you ignored, without our foreign adventures in the ME, there would be no Islamic terrorists.

These wars were fully supported and cheered on by the Christian Fundies in this country who hoped to either annihilate the unbelievers, or convert them.

Our military is riddled with Christian fundamentalism and today, this may be the most Christian Fundamentalist country in the Western world.

It doesn't matter how you view it, just as you won't listen to the way Muslims view it, this is how we are viewed in a significant part of the world and having Christian Presidents as CICs of these crusades makes it all the more believable.

A politician cannot even get close to the WH unless s/he is a Christian in this country. Not yet anyhow.

History is history. We are talking about today and today Christians are the aggressors. Tony Blair too, a 'good Christian man'. Muslims are the victims here, and Maher is wrong btw. On the list of worst terrorists, Islam is somewhere around third or fourth in this country. He should get his facts straight before demonstrating his biases.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

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[sabrina 1]

37. Lol, do you think anyone in their right mind should care what

the 'right' thinks of Liberals. They should worry what WE think of them. What is this fear of what the right thinks? They are insane, there is no reason to worry what they think.

And what is 'the unpatriotic bush'?

Your rightwing talking points (terrorists use there (sic) fellow Muslims as human shields) give you away as someone who maybe needs to turn off the Rightwing Noise Machine.

As to your first question, there is no dispute about the fact the U.S. is responsible for the deaths of over 2 million Iraqis. Turn off Fox, it pollutes the mind.

[BlueJazz]

35. You speak the truth. I'll go further and say: We (USA) caused 95% of 9/11.

People get sick and tired of being fucked with...

[sheldon]

36. I think there's a crucial difference...

Maher was referring to the religions on a more personal level.
The Iraq invasion wasn't based on religion. Yes, on some levels it was for SOME people, but it would be a stretch to call it a religious crusade. It was about $$$ and oil.
We do get the occasional christian nutjob that flies off the handle and kills people, but most religions are not nearly as oppressive and brutal as those that some muslims practice. They still treat women like animals.

[Bullet1987]

12. I agree with CrawlingChaos. I like Maher when he's talking purely about politics...but

this is hate as well. Anyone who can't see that is blind. It's amazing how people like him try to rationalize their hatred for religion and religious people as if they're all the same. That's where Maher is flat out wrong and will always be. Generalizations are a major argumentative flaw, no matter what side you're on. Maher's perceptions of Islam are typical of a Westerner who has never taken the time to acknowledge the good in a religion that very few Westerners truly understand. Let's face it, our understanding of Islam comes almost entirely from the MSM which perpetuates violent Muslims all the time. Then people wonder where the anti-Islamic anger comes from? It comes from people like Maher who are just as dogmatic and ignorant as the religious radicals he hates so much. Same shit, different can.

[swilton]

16. + 1

Although he bashes all religions - he is more harsh in his criticism about Muslims. You're right that he like most Americans knows nothing other than generalizations perpetuated by MSM. There are extremists and fundamentalist pseudo scientific and ignorant views in all religions. However, unlike the violence perpetuated by Muslims which occurs and is perpetuated by individuals - the Judeo-Christian sponsored violence is largely organized by the state(s) and appears to the ignorant to somehow be more rational and legal.

[AlbertCat]

21. religion and religious people as if they're all the same.

They ARE all the same is the one respect he criticizes .... blind adherence to stone age ideas. Acceptance of "wise" people who didn't know the earth was spherical or that the sun was the center of the Solar System. The willfully ignorant who think sticking with totally debunked ideas, and even killing for them, is somehow a badge of honor. Anyone who can't see that has the age old Religious chip on their shoulder....as usual. Religionists LIVE to be insulted and put upon. They LOVE it!

[iandhr]

27. When is our goal to kill innocents

Terrorist use human shields hide behind innocent civilians. On the subject of Israel when Hamas fires 5,000 rockets on Israeli towns no one says a word when Israel tries to defend itself outrage.

[vaberella]

32. Nah, he bashed them all. n/t

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[CrawlingChaos]

42. ridiculous

At this particular moment in history...

Fundamentalist Christians are so bloodthirsty, they want to nuke the entire ME so that Jesus can come back. Israel keeps Palestinians in a concentration camp and doesn't hesitate to use their sophisticated military machine to slaughter a trapped, unarmed population. Religion is used shamelessly by right-wing scum in this country to convince dimwits they're in some kind of holy war with Islam. I have looked around. You have to look past the corporate media bullshit.

[sabrina 1]

45. You're kidding, right?

Do I have to point out again, the number Muslims slaughtered by this 'Christian/Judeo' nation over the past two decades? Did you just forget, or are dead Muslims no problem for you so you can just ignore those deaths?

Look around? Clearly you need to take your own advice.

[big lu]

9. K&R

[Ccarmona]

13. Bill M is

the only reason I re-subscribed to HBO yesterday.

[ThomasQED]

19. Welcome to DU

wish I had HBO!

[DeSwiss]

22. It is truly ironic.....

...that the likes of Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and the late, great George Carlin -- all comedians -- speak more truth today than any of our so-called elected leaders.

- And frankly, I shudder to think where we'd be without them......

K&R

[davidwparker]

23. Bill is why I am keeping HBO while True Blood is off.

I disagree with him on religion, but generally agree with everything else.

[Uncle Joe]

26. I could agree with Maher on part of it, particularly the First Amendment, but I also noticed

he attacked the Internet twice for disinformation, while giving a free pass to the traditional corporate media of which he and Leno belong to.

Not once did he mention FOX, Limbaugh, Beck, radio, newspaper or television's disinformation propaganda role when it came to the rising number of people; that either believed Obama was Muslim or were at least confused about the issue.

There are many more examples on this link.

http://mediamatters.org/research/201008190061

(snip)

Quinn on Obama: "I think he's a Muslim." Seizing on reports that Obama had gone golfing on Christmas Day 2009, Jim Quinn said on his radio show: "I know that it's very impolitic to bring this up but I think he's a Muslim. Sorry, I do." Quinn, who has also repeatedly suggested Obama is Muslim, said of Obama on his February 26 radio show, "You've got a nexus here of angry black nationalism" and "whose entire family is Muslim."

(snip)

Limbaugh: "Obama says he's a Christian but where's the evidence?" On his August 19 radio show, Limbaugh used Pew's findings to repeat the claim that NASA administrator Charles Bolden's recent comments on Muslim outreach show Obama "turned NASA over to a Muslim outreach program." Limbaugh went on to say: "The guy holds an Easter egg roll -- the White House website promoting the Easter egg roll does not mention Jesus or Christ. It talks about environmentalism. Obama says he's a Christian but where's the evidence?" Limbaugh also brought up Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church to cast doubt on Obama's Christian faith, saying, "Reverend Wright's church is a weird brand of Christianity. The Reverend Wright's church -- black theology is what comes out of that pulpit, which is not exactly mainstream Christianity."

Beck on Obama: "I think he is a Christian that Christians don't recognize." On his August 19 radio show, Glenn Beck addressed the findings of the Time poll, saying, "Here's the problem with this. I find that a disturbing poll because I don't think -- I think that is the easy answer for people who are like, 'Well, it doesn't make sense. Nothing makes sense.' And I think the easy thing is to say, 'I think he's a Muslim.' I don't -- I really don't. I think he is a Christian that Christians don't recognize." Beck went on to claim that because "social justice activists" in the media have so distorted Christianity, "no one is explaining why Barack Obama doesn't feel right." Beck also used the fact that Obama attended Wright's church to further confuse the issue, saying of Obama: "When he did get Jesus, he got it from Jeremiah Wright. This is liberation theology. ... So the story of Jesus takes on a whole different light."

<snip>

Gaffney in Wash. Times: "t increasingly appears" Obama "will be embracing the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood." In a Washington Times column, Frank Gaffney criticized Obama's "Respect Islam" campaign, writing: "President Obama on Friday reiterated for the umpteenth time his determination to develop a 'new relationship' with the Muslim world. On this occasion, the audience were the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Unfortunately, it increasingly appears that, in so doing, he will be embracing the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood -- an organization dedicated to promoting the theo-political-legal program authoritative Islam calls Shariah and that has the self-described mission of 'destroying Western civilization from within.' "

Thanks for the thread, democracy1st.

[wookie72]

30. To say nothing of his own tweets

in which he called anyone who got a swine flu shot a "moron" because of one person who had complications. I'm not saying swine flu was as bad as we first thought, but to believe the fringers about vaccination and to spread that is irresponsible.

I remember when Maher started out. He was essentially a sub-Seinfeld observational humour comic who decided he was the second coming of George Carlin. Seriously. His early standup (I saw him on a Letterman rerun from 1985) was painful.

His comments on Buddhism during the Tiger Woods scandal were pathetic, and he has a very superficial grasp of other religions as well.

[underpants]

34. Funny stuff

he good with the funny

[jennied]

40. Silly audience claps at anything - First they clapped when he said he was against the mosque

then they clapped when he was for the mosque. Silly applause signs.

[Bullet1987]

47. That's because they're being told to applause

[Divine Discontent]

43. he's one funny a-hole!

Leno on the other hand, not so much...

It's good he can still get on TV saying the things he does, it shows we're not controlled completely. I believe there's a God, Bill's view don't have any effect on that, of course, if your faith is strong, you don't lash out at the 'fairy tale' taunts and ridiculing that people who are just looking to argue say. I love that Maher actually wasn't stopped by Jay from saying some topics. I was let down he said "pussy" dems. But, again, Maher's an a-hole, and he offends most everyone, so why's it any surprise he starts off his segment by first mentioning a "gay dance" Leno performed.

[Bullet1987]

48. I agree...he's like a shock jock in that regard

He says things specifically to get attention I believe. But this just shows that we should understand what he is and what he isn't. People who build their success not on reason, but extremities and shock should be held at a certain distance. Their words should not be taken literally...and I fear many people do take him literally. Why does he appear on Leno, Anderson 360, and Larry King as if he's a serious intellectual? I mean, I understand he has a very popular show...but I feel we give waaay too much credibility to media personalities like Maher, Beck, Limbaugh, etc.

[HarveyDarkey]

52. This video contains content from NBC Universal, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.

Sorry I missed it

[StarryNite]

54. Awww shit!

I hate it when they do that! I missed it too!

[Enthusiast]

55. Me too.

I always want to hear what Bill has to say. And I enjoy listening to the audience reaction. I understand he is sometimes wrong. But often Bill brings us a different perspective otherwise NEVER heard on TV.