Bill Maher: What I Didn't Say (HuffPost)

[marmar]

Bill Maher



03.05.2007
What I Didn't Say (27 comments )

On Saturday, the website NewsBusters.org. posted a story under the headline "Bill Maher Sorry the Assassination Attempt on Dick Cheney Failed."

There's just one problem: As a fair reading of the show's transcript makes clear, I never said those words. Still, over the weekend, dozens of websites, mostly right wing, picked up the story (with headline intact) thus proliferating the myth that comic Maher somehow advocates the whacking of our Veep.

Don't get me wrong: I've never joined the Dick Cheney Fan Club. But what I said Friday -- and what I believe -- is that the Vice President has presided over a bungled execution of a war in which thousands of our bravest continue to die. And I believe that were he not in power, our troops would likely come home sooner. But I don't wish him dead.

Ironically, I made my comments during a discussion about Free Speech, which is one of the chief reasons that I love my country.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-maher/what-i-didnt-say_b_42687.html

[xchrom]

1. i didn't hear him wish cheney dead.

i listened to the dialogue four different times -- NEVER did he say he wished or that it would be better if cheney were dead.

just that if he weren't in power our soldiers probably wouldn't be dying.

[marmar]

2. Right-wingers don't let little things like truth stop them from spewing....

:think:

[xchrom]

4. lol -- no that's not a character trait of theirs.

[Bonobo]

3. Christ almighty. Is there a difference between bad taste and a death threat?

Look, is saying that you WISH Cheney had ben killed the same as a death threat or is it just not "nice"?

If I wish someone dead and state my opinion, but take no steps actual to incite anyone to do it, am I guilty of "inciting violence"? Or am I just statigng an opinion.

Everyone in this country is so scared of that visit by the SS, of the possibility of beind declared an enemy combatant, of being investigated, shut down (if you're a website), etc.

And yet, we're NOT China (in a repression-like, censorship-like way)? How do you figure?

Even here, on DU, IF I were to say that I wished Cheney had been killed, the comment would probably be pulled, deleted. Why? So DU doesn't look bad. But when does the line between self-censorship, such as what HP did by pulling those comments, become FORCED censorship because of the implied threat/punishment for ALLOWING such an OPINION to be stated? A threat of investigation, boycott, bad press or whatever is just as coercive as any government order. In fact, in the case of a boycott or media eye-blackening, its worse because that type of corporatist threat exists without any recourse against it on the part of the populace.

Do I wish Cheney dead? Mums the word on that until free speech, habeus corpus, and the Bush Junta are nothing but a bad dream.

[Crunchy Frog]

5. Unlike Ann Coulter,

who actually did say that she wished someone would poison a Supreme Court justice.:eyes:

[malaise]

6. Notice that while they're replaying Coulter

not one is replaying Bill - not fugging one. They can't for they will be exposed.