Maher's brilliant recap on the '08 campaign

On Friday night, Bill Maher's final show before the '08 election was a very good one. For me, the highlight of the entire show (as is often the case) was his New Rules, which, as usual, was a good mix of political opinion and humor. However, his last Rule was a spot-on assessment of the entire '08 election.

From the stupid, deranged girl carving a "B" in her face to flag pins to all of the lies spread about Obama, it's been one, long, remarkable soap opera. We don't have much longer to wait until the end of this episode, and as much as I love the political season, I'm happy the next episode will be four years from now. And I'm even happier that Bush will be out of office in under 80 days. It can't get here soon enough.

Latest must-see: Donahue's Body of War

Phil Donahue was on Real Time With Bill Maher last night to talk about his new film, Body of War, which he executive produced. In short, it's an absolute must-see; this one just vaulted to the top of my movie list. By all accounts I've heard and read, it's an extremely moving movie - last night, even Maher said, without humor, that he teared up watching the movie. A brief description of the film:

Body of War is a 2007 documentary following Tomas Young, an Iraq War veteran paralyzed from a bullet to the spine, on a physical and emotional journey as he adapts to his new body and begins to question the decision to go to war in Iraq. From soldier to anti-war activist, the film takes an unflinching view of the physical and emotional aftermath of war through the eyes of an American soldier.

A pretty poignant description of the movie comes from Donahue himself, who last night was speaking about the fallacy of the GOP Supporting the Troops and about the war in general:

...[Young] is paralyzed from the chest down, and he wants his fellow soldiers to come home; he is a full-time anti-war voice, you can't take your eyes off him when he speaks, he's out there with his mom, and he thinks that one more death in this war is morally indefensible.

[Snip]

[On Democrats and the GOP regarding the Iraq War] Thomas Frank, who wrote the book What's the Matter With Kansas, offers us an explanation as to why the core of the Democratic Party has rushed to the Republicans - because the Republicans have convinced [Democrats] that they are the party of values. They've got God, and no one else does. The party of values has been a trojan horse that has concealed an economic agenda that has allowed wealthy people to become more wealthy, reduce taxes during war time, which doesn't oblige us to pay it, but will give the bill to our children.

Those last few sentences just about had me jumping out of my chair in agreement.

By the way, Donahue knows just a little bit about getting screwed in a time of war, too. Mind you, not nearly on par with the subject of his movie, Tomas Young, but Donahue knows the cost of war in a different way. His former political program, Donahue, was canceled in 2003, despite being MSNBC's highest rated show. The reason? The New York Times revealed an internal NBC memo that stated Donahue should be fired because he would be a "difficult public face for NBC in a time of war."

Example 8,955,411 of how our so-called media has morphed into a talking piece for this administration; it's also turned into a virtual cheerleading squad for John McSame. Yes, I know, there are exceptions, but far too few dissenting voices are being heard today, about the war, the economy, and the disgraces and outrages that have become so commonplace in the federal government under Bush that they've almost become cliché. Abuses of power by a rogue administration should never become cliché, they should become impeachable offenses for all the world to see.

Democratically controlled Congress, you incomplete me.

Anyway, see Body of War - support Tomas Young, one of many Ron Kovics from our latest military disaster, and also support Donahue, who certainly deserves it after being railroaded by a network for having the temerity to stand up to a government that had lost its mind in 2002-2003. Sadly, things are worse than ever. I really do wish MSNBC would give him another shot - a time slot right after Olbermann would be just about right.

Maher's New Rules, the coarse edition

Warning: This clip is for mature audiences and it not safe to play at work!

Bill Maher's New Rules last night were some of his funniest yet. He certainly took plenty of swipes at Hillary last night, from his humor piece on her Bosnia gaffe lie (see below) to his making fun of her not becoming president (with a beard), he made good sport of roughing her up last night. I'm sure it was mostly in good fun, and if, by some slim chance, she becomes the nominee, Maher will support her. As irritated as I am with the Clintons and their borderline despicable behavior (more on that in a bit in a separate post), I too will support her if she gets the nod to go up against McCain.

Anyway, enjoy, but again, be careful at work and who you play this one around - it's probably one of his rawest version yet. The upside: this version of New Rules would not have been nearly as funny on regular, network TV.

Bill Maher's take on race via Hardball

I'm glad that Bill Maher appeared on Chris Matthews' show Hardball the other night, because it's been almost two weeks since Maher's been on TV - he was off last week from his show, Real Time With Bill Maher. Forget the nakit adulation, though - Maher is spot on about McSame, considering his multiple gaffes this week in Iraq, about Iraq.

My favorite bit from this piece: when Matthews opines that McSame will be a problem for the Democrats "because he's a war hero," Maher fires right back:

We're one terrorist attack away from John McCain I'm sure rising in the polls 10 points because people say, 'Oh yea, he's tougher.' Of course, he's not tougher about the war, he's dumber about the war. [Emphasis Maher's] He's dumb about the war because he thinks that by keeping troops in the heart of the Muslim world, that's going to help the War on Terror. That's exactly what started the War on Terror, that's why Osama bin Laden was so angry with the US, because we had troops in Saudi Arabia. And we pulled them out after 9-11 by the way. Of course, we go right back in and plant them in the Muslim world and build Pizza Huts. That's why young Muslim men want to come here and blow themselves up and kill us. And until we solve that mental problem, we're never going to win the War on Terror. It's not about what happens in Iraq - we need to get out of Iraq, not build bases there.

Maher has the balls to say what no politician running for higher office will - the true, root causes of 9-11 and the War on Terror.

It's not the trite witticisms that that the likes of Bush and Rudy 9iu11iani like to use because they are the so-called "experts." (By the way, I'm probably the first to ever call Our National Embarrassment an expert on anything, other than running businesses [and now our government] straight into the ground, but I digress.)

I can almost hear Giuliani now, saying in his Sylvester J. Pussycat voice, "They hate us for our freedoms," which is total bullshit.

Of all the things that bin Laden and Al-Qaeda hate us for, our freedoms are probably pretty far down on the list. But hey, I'm not a Republican, so I don't know foreign affairs, I'm a peacenik pussy, and I must hate America.

I think Bill O'Lielly just channeled himself through me. Ugh.

h/t Crooks & Liars for the video

Bill Maher's take on Obama lapel pin b.s.

I'm a big fan of Bill Maher, and I make no apology for it. His Friday night show on HBO, Real Time With Bill Maher, is always can't-miss TV, but on Friday, Maher was at his best when talking about one of the dumbest news stories to ever come out of a presidential campaign - that Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) stopped wearing a lapel pin.

It never ceases to amaze me (and I'll never tire of pointing out) the moronic news stories that gain "mainstream media" traction, when the real news stories go under-reported, or not reported at all. So Obama ceasing to wear a lapel pin makes him less patriotic than our windshield cowboy, President Bush? Boy, thank God Bush wears his American flag pin every day, but he routinely under funds the troops, cuts taxes on the rich in dozens of ways, gives the finger to the constitution whenever inconvenient laws clash with his political agenda, to say nothing of the fact that he started a war on a mountain of lies, which has tragically taken the lives of thousands of Americans (3,827 as of this morning) and tens of thousands of Iraqis.

But Barack Obama may not fit to be president because he stopped wearing a pin of an American flag? You've got to be kidding me. This is typical Republican pseudo-outrage though - when times get tough, wrap yourself in the American flag and question your opponents' patriotism. It's a song that's been sung far too many times in recent years - this is the first example from the '08 election, but it sure won't be the last. And nothing is more pathetic than that.

The comedic brilliance of Bill Maher

What I love about Bill Maher is that he can make you laugh, but between the lines, he really does have some coherent political points. I especially enjoyed Maher's comments about Bush and religion. I'll never forget Bush's comment when asked if he ever asked his father for advice. He answered, with a straight face, "I have a higher father I ask for advice." Example number 9,084,911,390 of why evangelical Christians in high office are frightening.

Bill Maher gives the AccuWrath

Bill Maher is simply brilliant. He's better than he's ever been. His firing from ABC was a blessing in disguise, because Real Time With Bill Maher would not be nearly as funny on network television.

At times, Maher does go over the edge, and I've said so, and I wish he wouldn't, because that merely distracts from his spot on political analysis, satire and humor (like the piece above).

As I was uploading the top video on YouTube today, I found this video, circa 2004, when Maher went head-to-head with BOR. Still the same old same old - he's obsessing over people who call him out on his lies and b.s. - George Soros, Al Franken, etc.

Notice how BOR calls Franken Stuart Smalley - he can't even call him by name. Hilarious.

My two favorite TV commentators together

I love this interview - two of my favorite political personalities on television. In addition to The Daily Show & The Colbert Report, if you're missing Bill Maher Friday nights on HBO and Keith Olbermann every weeknight on MSNBC, you're missing some ot the best political commentary on TV.

And Maher has a point about Bush's reaction upon hearing the news the morning of 9-11. I've often what went through this mind at htat moment. Obviously, we'll never know, but I've always thought it was something like, "Wow, the presidency isn't going to be a cakewalk after all."

Bill Maher is truly on a roll

I've been a critic of Bill Maher on a few occasions, but this is most definitely not one of them.

He seems to be gaining steam as his show's new season rolls on, and his diatribe last night against President Bush is as spot on as I've heard in Bush's second term, and probably during his entire presidency.

There's really not a whole lot more I can add to Maher's words here - just roll the footage, laugh, and ponder, because Maher slammed this one out of the park.

And for those of you who think that he's a bit vulgar, he is. I'm vulgar, too, at times, so the guy resonates. Anyone who can be vulgar in a funny way, and slam home a political point like he so succinctly does here is damn fine by me.

I particularly like two things about this clip:

1. He questions not only the president's judgment, but also his patriotism. Bravo. And for those of you who think that's outrageous, go back and watch this video clip again, and listen to Maher's words about what these people did to Valerie Plame. And they did it because she's married to Joseph C. Wilson IV, who dared to stand up and say "No!" to the administration's well-documented bogus claims about the Niger "sale" of yellowcake to Iraq.

2. His quote about Mark Twain: "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

I love how Maher finishes up, too: Hillary Clinton should run for president in 2008 with the slogan "Restoring honor and integrity to the Oval Office." That's the exact slogan that Bush used when running for president in 2000. Anyone think he's succeeded?

"Hey, at least there isn't SEX going on in the Oval Office anymore!" all the Clinton haters love to say.

Hogwash - Bush, Dick and Rove conjure up ways to sodomize their opponents each and every day. Okay, not every day - sometimes they spend the weekend in Camp David.

Keep 'em straight, Maher. You have no bigger fan right now than me.

Maher gets it right this time

This is a clip from Bill Maher's HBO show, Real Time With Bill Maher. The comedian and political commentator is pretty far out there, a little too left for me on some issues. A few weeks ago, he insinuated that it's too bad that Dick Cheney didn't get killed in Afghanistan, which I found outrageous.

However, sometimes Maher gets it right. In the clip above, I loved his line about e-mailing himself a copy of the Constitution, hoping the Bush Administration will read it. Hey, the truth hurts, Mr. President.

Maher has some great points about sacrifice, too. The only people who are really sacrificing are the soldiers and their families. You know who else is sacrificing? Future generations who are going to have to pay off the debt this war is ringing up. (Count me and the rest of my fellow Generation Xers among them.) When you take into account the requests for expenditures, right now the tab is at about $500 billion. Who's thrilled with have a trill? I know I'm not, especially considering what it's accomplished, which thus far, is killing 3,200+ Americans, and little else.

I also loved Maher's point about "who watches the watchers." The most troubling thing to me about the PATRIOT ACT isn't that it's (arguably) a great tool to catch terrorists. Hey, we need tools to catch these scumbags. My chief concern is that there are bound to be abuses without strict Congressional oversight, and we're seeing evidence of that now. There are no perfect systems in place to keep us safe and to catch every person, individual or country who wishes us harm, but we can sure as hell try to get the best system(s) in place. This administration and the Republican-controlled Congress over the past six years has failed to do that. Let's see if the Democrats can deliver.

Well done, Mr. Maher.

More Coulter with a side of Maher...

...then I'm taking it off the menu. I'm so tired of hearing about all of this. With all of the serious things we have happening in Washington right now, people are focusing on Ann Coulter and Bill Maher? ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Hey, I'm guilty, too; I weighed in with my thoughts following Coulter's remarks, but the media, after a slow start in reporting on this story, has gone all Anna Nicole on this story.

For starters, I'm not against Coulter having the ability to be a bigot. Our Constitution makes provisions for hateful, lonely people like Ann. We may not like it, but we have to live with it.

But, Coulter's "faggot" comment about Democratic presidential candidate is only her greatest example of hate, intolerance and downright stupidity.

Following the September 11 attacks, Coulter wrote in a column for the National Review that "we should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."

A public outcry ensued, but Richard Lowry, her editor at National Review, stuck by her, but not for long. The following week, she pressed ahead with her attack, as outlined in a recent story in The Washington Monthly: "Congress could pass a law tomorrow requiring that all aliens from Arabic countries leave...We should require passports to fly domestically. Passports can be forged, but they can also be checked with the home country in case of any suspicious-looking swarthy males."

Lowry refused to run her column, and Coulter responded as only Coulter knows how when confronted with calm reasoning: she called Lowry and his editorial staff "girly boys" for refusing to run her column. National Review gave her the gate.

What annoys me most about Coulter is that whenever she makes one of her well-publicized idiotic remarks, many Republicans run for cover, hiding behind the well-worn curtain of "She's not mainstream; not many people listen to her."

Funny then, how all of her books have made The New York Times Best Seller List. In short, she's become a millionaire author by people's appetite for her hatred, intolerance and slander. Hardly the makings of a marginalized radical.

Even more damning - she wins awards and is treated with fawning enthusiasm by Republican politicians and organizations. According to The Washington Monthly, last year, the Media Research Center bestowed Coulter with its "Conservative Journalist of the Year" award, and the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute conferred upon her its Conservative Leadership Award "for her unfailing dedication to truth, freedom and conservative values and for being an exemplar, in word and deed, of what a true leader is."

Again, marginalized or out-of-the-mainstream she surely is not.

Coulter has a long history of making hateful, jingoistic remarks. Take a quick read of this list, compiled by The Washington Monthly:

"[Clinton] masturbates in the sinks."--Rivera Live, 8/2/99

"God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God
said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.'"--Hannity & Colmes, 6/20/01

The "backbone of the Democratic Party" is a "typical fat, implacable welfare recipient"--syndicated column, 10/29/99

To a disabled Vietnam vet: "People like you caused us to lose that war."--MSNBC

"Women like Pamela Harriman and Patricia Duff are basically Anna Nicole Smith from the waist down. Let's just call it for what it is. They're whores."--Salon.com, 11/16/00

On Princess Diana's death: "Her children knew she's sleeping with all these men. That just seems to me, it's the definition of 'not a good mother.' ... Is everyone just saying here that it's okay to ostentatiously have premarital sex in front of your children?"..."[Diana is] an ordinary and pathetic and confessional - I've never had bulimia! I've never had an affair! I've never had a divorce! So I don't think she's better than I am."--MSNBC, 9/12/97

That last comment bears closer scrutiny - at 45 years old, time's running out, sweetheart. While I have no problem with women remaining single until whatever age (life doesn't come with a script), it wouldn't be much of a stretch to think that maybe she has a problem attracting anyone with so much hate and bitterness. And as a single mother, Coulter has little ground to stand on to criticize Princess Diana. If there are any princes chasing you down, Ann, produce one of them.

On with the list...

"I think there should be a literacy test and a poll tax for people to vote."--Hannity & Colmes, 8/17/99

"I think [women] should be armed but should not [be allowed to] vote."--Politically Incorrect, 2/26/01

"If you don't hate Clinton and the people who labored to keep him in office, you don't love your country."--George, 7/99

"We're now at the point that it's beyond whether or not this guy is a horny hick. I really think it's a question of his mental stability. He really could be a lunatic. I think it is a rational question for Americans to ask whether their president is insane."--Equal Time

"It's enough [to be impeached] for the president to be a pervert."--The Case Against Bill Clinton, Coulter's 1998 book.

"I think we had enough laws about the turn-of-the-century. We don't need any more." Asked how far back would she go to repeal laws, she replied, "Well, before the New Deal...[The Emancipation Proclamation] would be a good start."--Politically Incorrect, 5/7/97

"I am emboldened by my looks to say things Republican men wouldn't."--TV Guide, 8/97

"Anorexics never have boyfriends. ... That's one way to know you don't have anorexia, if you have a boyfriend."--Politically Incorrect, 7/21/97

"I think [Whitewater]'s going to prevent the First Lady from running for Senate."--Rivera Live, 3/12/99

"My track record is pretty good on predictions."--Rivera Live, 12/8/98

"The thing I like about Bush is I think he hates liberals."--Washington Post, 8/1/00

"The swing voters---I like to refer to them as the idiot voters because they don't have set philosophical principles. You're either a liberal or you're a conservative if you have an IQ above a toaster. "--Beyond the News, Fox News Channel, 6/4/00

"You want to be careful not to become just a blowhard."--Washington Post, 10/16/98

Honestly, I don't really know why, but I've been doing a fair amount of writing on the Coulter dust up, and I don't think I can put it any better than a March 2 column by Jeff Greenwald from Salon.com:

The Conference attendees who will say that they do not approve of Coulter's "joke" will act as though they found her behavior unexpected or surprising -- just as they did last year and every other time she has made similar comments. But three weeks ago, Coulter was on Fox and made virtually identical remarks -- not about Edwards specifically, just the hilarious complaint that people who say the word "faggot" have to enter rehab.

No right-wing supporter (that I know of) complained when they learned that Coulter would be a featured speaker at this event. No prominent "conservative" (that I know of) refused to be a part of the event because Coulter was a featured speaker. Thus, any claims to find what she said so deeply offensive should be weighed against their much more meaningful actions in attending.

Andrew Sullivan [former editor of The New Republic] was (I believe) present at this event, and said this about Coulter's speech:

When you see her in such a context, you realize that she truly represents the heart and soul of contemporary conservative activism, especially among the young. The standing ovation for Romney was nothing like the eruption of enthusiasm that greeted her....

Her endorsement of Romney today - "probably the best candidate" - is a big deal, it seems to me. McCain is a non-starter. He is as loathed as Clinton in these parts. Giuliani is, in her words, "very, very liberal." One of his sins? He opposed the impeachment of Bill Clinton. That's the new standard. She is the new Republicanism. The sooner people recognize this, the better.

She is the face of what the hard-core Republican Party has become, particularly during the Bush presidency. That is why she holds the position she holds in that movement. That's why Mitt Romney was giddy with glee when her name passed his lips. He knows that her endorsement is valuable precisely because she holds great sway within the party, and she holds great sway because the hard-core party faithful consider her a hero for expressing the thoughts which they themselves believe but which other, less courageous Republican figures are afraid to express.

This is not about a single comment or isolated remark. The more Ann Coulter says these things, the more popular she becomes in this movement. What this is about is that she reflects exactly what sort of political movement this is. She reflects its true impulses and core beliefs. If that were not the case, why would she continue to receive top billing at their most prestigious events, and why would she continue to be lavished with rock star-adoration by the party faithful?

Again, I can't put it better than that if I tried for days. Time and time again, Coulter makes these remarks, and the controversy blows over, and she's invited back to the next big GOP event, explicitly endorsed by the GOP faithful.

###

As with most political controversies, the right has an answer to Coulter's remarks. (Don't all of these things always happen in twos?) In this case, the answer is Bill Maher. Last Friday, on his HBO show, Maher had this to say about Dick Cheney's close call with terrorists in Afghanistan (I watched the show, and these are the words from the transcript on his Website):

But I have zero doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn’t be dying needlessly tomorrow. No, I’m just saying that if he did die—other people – more people would live. That’s a fact.

As I've written, it was a stupid, dumb thing to say, unequivocally.

Quite naturally, right wingers were quick to jump on Maher's comments, and more importantly, to wildly distort them.

Dr. Michael Alan Weiner, known to the world as Michael Savage, had this to say on his radio show about Maher's comments:

[Maher] called for Cheney's death, OK, and everyone knows that. Apparently it's OK to call for the death of the vice president, but it's not OK to say that you find lesbian marriage disgusting and nauseating and it makes you want to puke. This shows you why liberalism is a mental disorder.

Think Savage is some remote, ignored commentator? Wrong -- his radio show boasts an audience of about eight million listeners a week. (For those of you really curious, Click Here to listen to the audio of Savage's comments.) By the way, who elects to have himself called "Savage"?

And of course, Rush Limbaugh had to get in on the act, too. As Media Matters noted, Limbaugh weighed in on Maher's comments on his radio show (Click Here to listen to the audio):

Well, whatever it is, it is sick, and it resides exclusively on the left. And yet these people get away with this image of love and tolerance and compassion, humanitarianism, and all of this -- when they're just a bunch of sickies. When you read this, you're going to want to throw up. They're actually American citizens hoping for the assassination of the vice president of the United States.

When you go back to the '90s, I mean there was, on our side of the aisle, there was a tremendous amount of disgust with Bill Clinton over any number of things. I don't recall anybody actively wishing, and I don't recall any movies, nor do I recall any books devoted to the subject of assassinating Bill Clinton, or Hillary, or the Vice President Al Gore. It's a new phenomena, and it's not just related to the Florida 2000 imbroglio and the aftermath. There are some sick, sick people out there, and this is all happening, by the way, after they won the election.

Media Matters also notes, from Coulter's book High Crimes and Misdemeanors:

In this recurring nightmare of a presidency, we have a national debate about whether he "did it," even though all sentient people know he did. Otherwise there would be debates only about whether to impeach or assassinate.

This is PR 101 from the Republican playbook - keep repeating a lie or distortion until it's generally accepted as the truth. Anyone remember Al Gore "Inventing the Internet"?

Eh, enough of Coulter, Maher and the rest. There are many more important things to weigh and consider.

CNN disses Coulter, or is it the opposite?

Yesterday, CNN booked Ann Coulter to appear on Paula Zahn's show at 8 p.m. (The only reason I could ever think of to watch Zahn's show.) The network promoted the appearance in the afternoon, and I decided to TiVo it to see what Coulter had to say.

Of course, Coulter failed to appear, which probably was wise on her part, and the part of CNN. I would love to find out the real story there - did she actually cancel, or did CNN tell her "thanks but no thanks."

I'm already tired of hearing of the coverage about this. Yes, I know - two days ago I was complaining about a lack of coverage on her comment, and today I'm complaining about the huge amount of coverage. But, I didn't think there would be endless debate about it, and there has been.

What I specifically meant by bemoaning the lack of coverage was that it seemed like news organizations were burying the story. The proof is in the pudding - many did. This is news for two reasons: 1. She called John Edwards a "faggot", and 2. Moments before, she was introduced by Mitt Romney. So yes, this is news more than some bigot on the street yelling at two men walking arm-in-arm down the street.

Of course I support Coulter's First Amendment right to be a bigot (the downside of our Constitution, but I'm not for censorship), but this is a woman that Republicans routinely get behind because she has a legion of sheep who follow her and believe her every word. Oh, and she sells lots of books. And she's better looking (arguably) than Rush Limbaugh. So, this is a person who rubs elbows with top Republicans. And that is why her comments are news.

I was happy to see several Republican presidential candidates condemn her remarks.

What annoys me is that the media plays right into her hands - she does this to sell books. And she's probably laughing all the way to the bank.

The best defense against Coulter's screeds are to ignore her. Nothing would devastate her more than irrelevance. As much as I despise her, she's relevant because when she says something, the morons with microphones run up to her and hang on her every word.

I wonder when she'll next be on the Today Show? We've got an election coming up - no way she's on the sidelines, unless she chooses to be. (Could we ever get that lucky?) Hey, there's always Faux News Channel, and there's always room for one more purveyor of hate on that staff.

Almost equally damning were Bill Maher's comments on his HBO show last Friday evening. Bill's a radical liberal who makes me look conservative. I listen to him, but I always take his comments at face value. He can be funny, witty and offensive all in one sentence.

Maher had this to say about Vice President Cheney's brush with terrorism in Afghanistan, when a suicide bomber unsuccessfully tried to drive a car bomb into the military base where he was staying. Cheney came away from the incident unharmed, to the relief of... most. Maher wasn't one of them.

On his show, this is what Maher said:

"I have no doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn't be dying needlessly tomorrow." (The audience applauds this line). He then went on to say: "I'm just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live, That's a fact." [Emphasis Maher's]

Stupid and inexcusable, without equivocation.

I've said this many times, including to people who have sent me stupid e-mail forwards about the death of President Bush. NOT funny, under any circumstances. As much as I despise Bush and Cheney, jokes like this are not only inappropriate, they are outrageous and if someone is not careful when making them, they're illegal. (And they should be.)

It's high time that Maher and Coulter are treated like the people they are - far left and far right ideologues, respectively, who aren't worthy of our attention.

Although, I don't put Maher in the same category as Coulter, offensive as his remark about Cheney was.

If you look back on the history of what Coulter has said, her reputation is far worse. But, in the end, who cares? As if a scorecard of Maher vs. Coulter would accomplish anything. But, Coulter's comments about the 9-11 widows enshrines her in the Hate Hall of Fame, if there is one, somewhere. (Far, faaaarrrrr south, maybe?)

I will add one other thought, though. If I had come up with a reason as to why Coulter seems to be getting most of the negative press between the two, I'd say it's because she used an offensive term against a whole group of people; millions of people, in fact.

One more thought - is it obvious to anyone else that homosexuals are the last major group that it's socially acceptable (in some circles, that is, to the right of center) to discriminate against? The Republican Party has and is doing all it can to deny homosexuals the rights they deserve - civil unions my ass. They deserve the right to marry just as heterosexuals do. Period.

Can you imagine how much worse this outcry would have been had Coulter gotten up on stage and called Barack Obama a "nigger"? Um, she may not have gotten out of D.C. alive. Or, what if she called Joe Lieberman a "kike"? Both of those scenarios would have resulted in Coulter being much more ostracized than she is now. And rightfully so. (And can anyone honestly believe she wouldn't utter such remarks? Really, it's only a matter of time with this bigot. Okay, wait - Lieberman supports the War in Iraq - he's safe.)

But, she deserves much more scorn than she's getting for using a hate word toward someone she disagrees with politically. Censorship? No. Ridicule? I'll take two orders, with a side of laughter that people even pay attention to her at all.

How about we just all ignore her?

Fat chance.