Bill Maher’s Medical Meltdown Turns Off Guests, Confuses Audience


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maher_10-18Bill Maher took some shots at Fox News host Glenn Beck last month, but on Friday’s Real Time the HBO host sounded a lot like the FNC star he knocked.

Just as Beck has warned against the dangers of the vaccination, especially relating to Swine Flu, Maher continued his path of medical conspiracy theory, to the annoyance of his guests and confusion of his audience.

“They said I was crazy in the New York Times on Monday,” said Maher, mid-way through the show, referring to this from the Times (that didn’t exactly call him “crazy”). Still, Maher felt he had to “clear up a few things that people have been writing about me that are not true.” Among them: “I’m not a germ theory denier” and “I do understand the theory of inoculation.”

But with the air cleared, Maher wasn’t going to leave it there. He continued rambling on, about mercury and teeth and H1N1 and polio. It was a lecture, not a discussion. “What are you talking about?” asked guest Chris Matthews of MSNBC. “Why are you doing all this, why are you fighting this fight?”

While stumbling through an answer, Matthews continued pushing back – hitting Maher where he knew it would hurt. “This is like Tom Cruise arguing this,” said Matthews. “You’re like Tom Cruise saying I don’t believe in therapy.”

Another guest, Alec Baldwin, had an analogy:

Bill you having us on this show and rehashing all the problems you got yourself into on your last show is like going on a date and talking about your ex-wife. Come on, Let’s go! Let’s talk about what’s fresh.

At least I’m I’m also not f–king my interns,” was about all Maher could muster in defense of his rant.

His audience had mixed reaction – clapping periodically for Maher, but mostly just laughing at the jokes as his guests made fun of his ridiculous insistence there’s a major debate to be had, that isn’t happening, on the topic. Whatever your beliefs are on medicating children, flu vaccines and more, Maher’s personal crusade has hurt his show. And in his season finale, with so much in the news to talk about and some interesting guests to do it, he just wasted everyone’s time.

Here’s the Maher meltdown:

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23 comments

  • m m says:

    I watch his show ever week. I’ve done it for years. It’s a part of my weekend routine and I love it. Maher is a mixed bag – sometimes I strongly agree with him, sometimes not.

    It’s hard to deny that there is a bit of irony that Bill Maher, who’ve kept making the argument that Republicans are anti-intellectuals and believe that science is still out on science (something I agree with and is the primary reason I can’t vote Republican) – now believes that non-western, traditional medicine somehow is more accurate than modern scientific medicine? It just perplexes me, because he’s so pro-science on every other single issue.

    It is fine to be a skeptic, but sometimes you just go overboard – ignoring all existing evidence which overwhelmingly show in favor of the general scientific opinion, and this is an instance of that.

  • rmbltmbl rmbltmbl says:

    Maher wasting people’s time? Ahhh.. I can die now.

  • ChrisNH ChrisNH says:

    The Right can happily conserve their ammunition as long as this cabal of Lib media people go off on each other.

  • CaptainAmerica CaptainAmerica says:

    Bill’s “trained seals” audience didn’t get it??!

  • Jelperman Jelperman says:

    Gary the Retard has a better understanding of the flu than Bill Maher.

  • wiseguy wiseguy says:

    I use to like Maher when he was ABC. He made fun of everyone and was a lot less partisan than he is now. I really wish he would get back to that. He can still bash the Bushes and Republicans but needs to start making fun of everyone again.

    He was great back then!

  • Jim Treacher Jim Treacher says:

    “It just perplexes me, because he’s so pro-science on every other single issue.”

    He’s not pro-science, he’s pro-liberal. He only cares about science when repeating the word “science” can be used to raise other people’s taxes.

  • SDSurfer SDSurfer says:

    Seriously, how would we know what the jokes were, without the trained seals in the background?

  • Gordon Gordon says:

    From what I know about Bill Maher, I’d be wary of, and want to parse, his comment about his interns.

  • Sunnyr Sunnyr says:

    Maher has senile dementia and is becoming more obnoxious as he grows older. Mr. Know-It-All is actually an ignorant jerk.

  • m m says:

    >He’s not pro-science, he’s pro-liberal.

    Sorry, I forgot. Reality has a liberal bias.

  • locomotivebreath1901 locomotivebreath1901 says:

    Real Time is changing its name to “When Pseudo-Intellectual, Religious Bigots Obsessed with Their Own Self-Importance Need to go into Rehab.”

    .

  • libra blue libra blue says:

    @Sunnyr, I couldn’t agree more. I think Bill better cut back on his drug habit, it’s starting to show. .

  • Contrarian_Libertarian Contrarian_Libertarian says:

    I think the primary objection from the right on all this has nothing to do with any of the science….it has to do with the government mandating (or, at least, strongly encouraging) people to put substances into their bodies. It probably ought come as no surprise that many on the right would see that as government overstepping its bounds.

    I’m not sure I agree with that outlook — at least, not in this particular case. But that’s what’s driving the Becks and Limbaughs — not some kind of “anti-science” perspective.

  • JR JR says:

    It is exactly like Global Warming and it’s not. It’s both.

    Yes, it’s fine to question additives in vaccinations, demand adequate testing, etc. But to act like they’re not necessary and that nutrition will solve your ills really is a flat earth mentality. It’s about being judicious. I don’t need to worry about cholera in the US, but if I’m traveling to a place that has it, I should be prepared. With the swine flu, if you are in one of the high risk groups, you should absolutely seriously weigh your ‘belief system’ with the risk of morbidity/mortality from getting the disease itself.

    The science of a subject is never ‘over’ but it can be generically conclusive on a micro level at a particular place and time. He should more likely apply his skepticism to the subject of GW, becuase there is still much to know about this subject. The area of meterology is skimpy, let alone the study over long term climate and it’s implication over many years. It has to be looked at in order to keep the subject on course, so that you don’t miss something important. Example, if you kneejerk CO2 you may be ignoring other factors that could be important, more important or could subjegate CO2 entirely. And long term implications are speculative at best.

    The jury is never out, but on the subject of a new contagious disease that kills the young and one that few have any natural or partial immunity to, should be scrutinized much more quickly and a decision made on the basis of immediate risk not some generic kneejerk ‘ Ah dont do no vaccinations’. Btw, there is about the same amount of ‘mercury’ in a dose of vaccine as there is if you ate a piece of tuna.

    Would Bill freak if he knew that heavy metals existed naturally in the soil? Like if all technology were to suddenly disappear, and he was living back in the cave days, t hat he would still be exposed to lead in common dirt?

    One thing to mention is that when you have a lot of people vaccinated, there are a bunch of people who can now run around more safely who are unvaccinated because of herd immunity. The herd is protective of the individual. But all you need is a number of people not doing it, and you reach a tipping point where there will be an outbreak of something. See things like measles outbreaks on college campuses for reference.

    But with H1N1, it’s everywhere now. It’s battle stations and you have to quickly make a choice. This is a bigger issue than seasonal flu. The bulk of the population barring the very old, is vulnerable. Just found out that it’s a cousin of the 1918 flu that was so virulent. The good thing about that, is that older folks were exposed to it partially in the 30’s and 40’s. The bad thing, the rest of us wasn’t. Complications are the key thing, here.

    Bill used to be good but Matthews hit it on the head, he is acting like Cruise with Scientology. It’s more than just ‘I’m questioning’, it’s more flat earth thinking from someone who ironically condemns flat earth thinking.

    Btw, I was a science major and worked in healthcare for many years. I’m also a Republican. The idea that we don’t believe in science is a perjorative stereotype.

  • Jim Treacher Jim Treacher says:

    “Sorry, I forgot. Reality has a liberal bias.”

    No, liberals are arrogant and closed-minded.

  • m m says:

    >No, liberals are arrogant and closed-minded.

    That makes no sense. It’s in the Republican party platform to ban gay marriage and that’s basically what Bush ran on in 2004. Conservatives are against the scientific truth on evolution and climate change just because it conflicts with religious ideological views and other ideas.

    Conservatism, by its very essence, is about taking society and traveling back in time – back to a period where we didn’t have this much progress. Regressivism in a nutshell IS close-mindedness.

    Liberalism is about the future, the ultimate belief that we can progress and become a better society as we learn new things and when we face new challenges.

    >The idea that we don’t believe in science is a perjorative stereotype.

    Unfortunately it is. I wish we had two parties who were as pro-science. It honestly would make voting a much more difficult choice.

  • Jim Treacher Jim Treacher says:

    “That makes no sense. It’s in the Republican party platform to ban gay marriage and that’s basically what Bush ran on in 2004. Conservatives are against the scientific truth on evolution and climate change just because it conflicts with religious ideological views and other ideas.”

    Thank you for reminding me what I forgot: Liberals are arrogant, closed-minded, AND prone to spewing disconnected talking points when contradicted.

  • sadltramp sadltramp says:

    Great analysis of Friday night’s finale show. Maher went off on a tangent for wayyyyyyy too long. I agree with what the author of this article had to say.

  • BradleyF BradleyF says:

    “Reality has a liberal bias”, writes an individual who uses a Star Trek icon. Too funny!

    Thanks for the chuckle, Chuck-O.

  • BradleyF BradleyF says:

    The only thing funny about Bill Maher is the confused look he sports every time he looks at the camera. A face only a Mother Teresa could love.

  • ingenieux ingenieux says:

    IT’s very simple: when his audience doesn’t find one of his jokes all that funny in the monologue, or if his first guest upstages him a bit, Bill gets pissy. For the rest of his show he has a very odd attitude, goes off on out-there tangents, and gets testy with his panel. I love his show, but this isn’t the first time I’ve noticed this pattern. When he lost his show on ABC, he did a REALLY bad stand-up show that a full on hissy fit.

  • Subdivisions2112 Subdivisions2112 says:

    What an echo-chamber of stupidity. Not one person on that set is qualified to even talk about this…not ONE.

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