Bill Maher: Western culture isn't just different, it's better.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

On "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart relatively soft-pedaled his defense of fellow Comedy Central employees, "South Park's" Matt Stone and Trey Parker, against a group of Muslim critics. Over at HBO this weekend, though, Bill Maher wasn't holding anything back. On his show "Real Time With Bill Maher," the show's every-incendiary host opined during his segment "New Rules:"

"When South Park got threatened last week by Islamists incensed at their depiction of Muhammad, it served -- or should serve -- as a reminder that our culture isn't just different than one that makes death threats to cartoonists. It's better." In his defense of the First Amendment and other Americal civil liberties, Maher -- who made the film "Religulous" -- continued: "The Western world needs to make it clear: Some things about our culture are not negotiable. And can't change. And one of them is freedom of speech, Separation of church and state is another."

Completely spot-on observation about real differences in cultures, one that will not play well with PC police. Bill Maher is certainly no friend of religious people; and gives grief equally to Christianity, Judaism, Scientology, and Mormons as you will see. But he specifically singles out Isalm with the recent actions in Afganistan and the Taliban's attack on an all girls school.

Comments

Re: Theo van Gogh says you're full of shit

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

Tolerance.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom would say underlankers is full of it. To wit: "ten Muslim countries were among the 13 designated by the USCIRF as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC): Eritrea, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Along with those, the worst violators of religious freedom around the world, six other Muslim countries were on the USCIRF's watch list: Afghanistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Somalia, Tajikistan and Turkey.

[futurebird.livejournal.com]

It dosen't matter if she is and ass or not it won't change the fact that Maher is a tactless, crude, unoriginal, infantile ass.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

oic

Re: I never know what is meant by free speech in this context?

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

If you do something ugly or inconsiderate expect to be called on it.

Being called on being ugly or inconsiderate is different than being threatened with violent death. I hope you can see the difference. If Revolution Muslim wanted to boycott Comedy Central or its advertisers, if they wanted to picket or march in opposition to the South Park episode I would support 110% of their right to do so, even if I do not agree with them.

[medea34.livejournal.com]

bill maher is on the LEFT!!!! a guy who is opposed to government doing anything but what people absolutely can't do for themselves" is considered to be on the LEFT??? a guy who wants to privatize social security is on the LRFT?

i don't think the left can claim someone like bill maher for their side of he fight. i don`t think the right can either. his view points don`t fall along party lines - hence the bizarro voting history (bob dole, ralph nader, john mccain - until sara palin got into the mix).

and i totally love his "tactless, crude, unoriginal, infantile" ass, even though i don't agree with about half of the positions he takes.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Given that New Testaments *are* handed out by soldiers......

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

The phenomenon of Blasphemy Laws disagrees with your statement....

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Given that in another thread I said these are theocratic in the sense that Communist China is Communist.....but do go on. But note that two of these are war zones invaded by countries where forcible conversion is an aspect of the war.

And Turkey's on the Islamist list? FAIL.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

In Saudi? I think not.

Re: If you are free to do something does that mean you SHOULD do it?

[medea34.livejournal.com]

meh...if you are free to do it, it is up to you to decide whether you SHOULD do it. who am i to say whether Trey and Matt and the Comedy Network SHOULD do something, they are in the best position to know that.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Saudi Arabia just so happens to be a US ally. The USA is a big supporter of Freedom For Me and Not For Thee.....

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Here, have a tree, because you can't see the forest.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Go ahead, hand out some New Testaments in Saudi, let's see what will happen to your ass.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Iraq and Afghanistan are war zones where the missionaries are exploiting the chaos. In the case of Nigeria, it's as much Christian as it is Muslim. Saudi Arabia is our ally anyway so we obviously didn't mind that 19 of those hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi. Turkmenistan. Tajikstan and Uzbekistan are ex-Soviet bloc societies which like Russia are experiencing religious craziness from almost a century of repressing it.

Turkey is protesting to actually allow Islam to be practiced, Egypt's been killing Islamists since the movement began, Somalia's a tribal hellhole where Indonesia's one of the most relaxed Muslim countries on the face of the Earth. The Sudan is in the mdiddle of a civil war, Eritrea's at war with a Christian society which has plenty of atrocities of its own....

Re: Bill Maher on America

[medea34.livejournal.com]

i think it is possible to say that the United States is better than an Islamic theocray without saying the the United States is a great country and while saying it is a stupid country.

Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried.

- Winston Churchill

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

So mind telling me how they are given that the Turkish state *began* as an irreligious semi-fascist state and has continued to be one to this day?

Re: If you are free to do something does that mean you SHOULD do it?

[futurebird.livejournal.com]

That would depend on if it is funny.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

My guess is that if I'm Catholic and the Church works out that Concordat they're working on that if anyone were to try to harm me the Saudis would drill holes in their heads....

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Which is funny because no European states that lecture the USA on how we obviously don't have it legally have it.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Go ahead, hand out some Bibles in that freedom loving, woman loving, gay loving, free press society known as Saudi Arabia!

Maybe you'll hear me now:

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

WHICH IS THE UNITED STATES' LITTLE BUDDY IN THE MIDDLE EAST AT THE SAME TIME AS WE'RE INVADING TWO OTHER MUSLIM COUNTRIES TALKING ABOUT PEACE AND DEMOCRACY AND LIBERTY.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

And funny, I didn't realize that keeping gays second-class citizens was how one loved them.

Re: I never know what is meant by free speech in this context?

[terminator44.livejournal.com]

It's sickening to listen to people who have the money and power to command the media's lens complain about free speech-- they have more free speech and ANYONE --so many people never have the chance to have their ideas or views thrust into public view so prominently. Well, they have every right to exercise their freedom and earn my contempt, but it's pathetic to complain about "Free speech" when you work in media.

Freedom of speech is hardly a given for those who work for media corporations. Just look at state-run media in countries like China and Venezuela. Without the 1st Amendment, Bill Maher would be reduced to spouting the party line. He has as much reason to be protective of it as anyone else.

Re: Theo van Gogh says you're full of shit

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

A fascist gets killed? My heart bleeds.

The early Caliphs tried to force a state version of Islam on Muslims 1,000 years ago and it failed. Where it was only in the last 200 years that the Western world has *started* to erase the power of the Church and it very obviously has not done so enough, given the number of people in countries where Separation of the two is non-existent that lecture our country where it's one of our oldest traditions.