There are far more intellectual voices on the left than Maher. He's as unimaginative as he is predictable.
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He's a complete Charlatan. He once hosted a show called politically incorrect, which was one of the most politically correct shows on TV.
Agree with you calling him predictable. Reason I don't like him, I think, despite being a lefty myself. He never really contributes anything interesting. Just the same general stuff in a rather unfriendly/unhelpful manner.
Agree. The worst bit is I find myself in vague agreement with some of his views, but his delivery is just insufferably tedious.
Yes. You've seemed rather unsure in the past. A confidence that Dave being gone is positive is about as certain as I think I've read from you.
Quit dogging my footsteps, Nobs! Isn't there a lamppost you could do that against?
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The real draw of Maher's show though is the differing viewpoints when they go to the panel and the bits that are done. The interviews done after the monologue are meh generally and are just about whatever he wants to promote that week.
That's from his Brexit POV. Nick has a Johnson-Gove badge shined and ready for the summer.
Of course there are more intellectual voices on the left. You can say that about most anyone. I think being disliked by both liberals and conservatives is a pretty good sign you´re not that predictable. And how does a guy be so unimaginative last so many years on a channel know for its cutting edge TV. He´s one of their biggest hits. The same channel that has positively changed TV. You must have the bar raised massively if this guy is so shit and has done so well for so long on HBO.
So give us an example of imaginative political punditry on TV or a show of his ilk, that´s less predictable and funnier.
Do you even regularly watch his show, and if so, why?
Its the general shallowness of his delivery. For example, I agree with his views on religion, but am embarrassed by how poorly he makes his points, as opposed to the likes of Hitchens and Harris, who do a pretty good job. The problem with Maher is he glosses over topics with shallow aphorisms that elicit applause from the intellectual titans in his audience, but rarely does he delve into the depth that the topics he raises often require.
I'll give you the daily Show with Jon Stewart. He did a show every day for 20 years, and was much more cutting-edge, funny and intellectually honest than Bill Maher.
Did you watch Religulous? I am an atheist, so I should have liked that movie, but there was absolutely no depth there.
Great article on corporations not paying their fair share of taxes. I think it just scratches the surface. And how easy it is for these corporations to get out of it.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/05/apple-taxes-cupertino-mayor-infrastructure-plan
Cupertino´s Mayor: Apple Abuses Us By Not Paying Taxes
Barry Chang is stuck between Apple on one side not paying for his infrastructure proposal and frustrated citizens on the other who see their roads too crowded.
The last time the mayor of Cupertino walked into Apple – the largest company in his small Californian town and, it so happens, the most valuable company in the world – he hoped to have a meeting to talk about traffic congestion.
Barry Chang barely made it into the lobby when Apple’s security team surrounded and escorted him off the property.
“They said ‘you cannot come in, you’re not invited’. After that I left and have not gone back,” said an exasperated Chang, who’s been mayor since December 2015 and had approached the computing firm when he was serving on the city council three years ago.
Many in Cupertino, a 60,000-person town in the heart of Silicon Valley, are beginning to organize around their overburdened city. They claim the region is struggling with aging infrastructure and booming companies whose effective tax rate is often quite low. Frustrated by traffic and noise,some in Cupertino are trying to put a stop to more development, which they argue brings more congestion on the roads, parking and train system. But Chang says limiting new development would damage the regional economy and that the real solution should be higher taxes on the wealthy and companies such as Apple.
In response to Chang’s pro-development efforts, a group called Cupertino Citizens for Sensible Growth is working to recall him for failing “to fulfill his fiduciary duty to Cupertino citizens”. He says he’s “not afraid” and is running for California’s state assembly.
Getting local politicians to battle Apple is hard, Chang said. He recently proposed that Apple – which is building a massive new campus its own employees nicknamed the Death Star, or more favorably, The Spaceship – should give $100m to improve city infrastructure. To move on the proposal, Chang only needed to get a single vote ‘yes’ among the three other eligible council members. He failed to get that vote.
“This American politics. This so-called democracy,” Chang said, recalling the unanimous ‘no’ vote. “Apple is such a big company here. The council members don’t want to offend them. Apple talks to them, and they won’t vote against Apple. This is the fact.”
Apple pays a 2.3% effective tax rate on its $181bn in cash held offshore, according to Citizens for Tax Justice, a not-for-profit research group focusing on tax policy. Through a series of well-documented offshore manipulations with saucy-sounding names such as the Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich, the industry giants shield themselves off from the theoretically 35% federal corporate tax rate. Citizens for Tax Justice estimates that Apple would owe $59.2bn in US taxes if the money weren’t funneled into offshore shell accounts.
Criticism over the company’s offshore tax schemes has become more pointed in recent months, both locally in Cupertino and from Apple’s own staff. Steve Wozniak, Apple’s co-founder, said the company should pay a 50% tax: “Jobs started Apple Computers for money, that was his big thing and that was extremely important and critical and good. ... [But] we didn’t think we’d be figuring out how to go off to the Bahamas and have special accounts like people do to try to hide their money.”
“They’re all just as good at engineering their own tax rates as they are at engineering new technology,” said Ron Eckstein from advocacy group Americans for Tax Fairness.
It’s doubly upsetting for activists in Silicon Valley, who say that Apple and Google’s tax arrangements conflict with the way they present themselves as companies that are doing good.
(cont)
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/05/apple-taxes-cupertino-mayor-infrastructure-plan
Cupertino´s Mayor: Apple Abuses Us By Not Paying Taxes
Barry Chang is stuck between Apple on one side not paying for his infrastructure proposal and frustrated citizens on the other who see their roads too crowded.
The last time the mayor of Cupertino walked into Apple – the largest company in his small Californian town and, it so happens, the most valuable company in the world – he hoped to have a meeting to talk about traffic congestion.
Barry Chang barely made it into the lobby when Apple’s security team surrounded and escorted him off the property.
“They said ‘you cannot come in, you’re not invited’. After that I left and have not gone back,” said an exasperated Chang, who’s been mayor since December 2015 and had approached the computing firm when he was serving on the city council three years ago.
Many in Cupertino, a 60,000-person town in the heart of Silicon Valley, are beginning to organize around their overburdened city. They claim the region is struggling with aging infrastructure and booming companies whose effective tax rate is often quite low. Frustrated by traffic and noise,some in Cupertino are trying to put a stop to more development, which they argue brings more congestion on the roads, parking and train system. But Chang says limiting new development would damage the regional economy and that the real solution should be higher taxes on the wealthy and companies such as Apple.
In response to Chang’s pro-development efforts, a group called Cupertino Citizens for Sensible Growth is working to recall him for failing “to fulfill his fiduciary duty to Cupertino citizens”. He says he’s “not afraid” and is running for California’s state assembly.
Getting local politicians to battle Apple is hard, Chang said. He recently proposed that Apple – which is building a massive new campus its own employees nicknamed the Death Star, or more favorably, The Spaceship – should give $100m to improve city infrastructure. To move on the proposal, Chang only needed to get a single vote ‘yes’ among the three other eligible council members. He failed to get that vote.
“This American politics. This so-called democracy,” Chang said, recalling the unanimous ‘no’ vote. “Apple is such a big company here. The council members don’t want to offend them. Apple talks to them, and they won’t vote against Apple. This is the fact.”
Apple pays a 2.3% effective tax rate on its $181bn in cash held offshore, according to Citizens for Tax Justice, a not-for-profit research group focusing on tax policy. Through a series of well-documented offshore manipulations with saucy-sounding names such as the Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich, the industry giants shield themselves off from the theoretically 35% federal corporate tax rate. Citizens for Tax Justice estimates that Apple would owe $59.2bn in US taxes if the money weren’t funneled into offshore shell accounts.
Criticism over the company’s offshore tax schemes has become more pointed in recent months, both locally in Cupertino and from Apple’s own staff. Steve Wozniak, Apple’s co-founder, said the company should pay a 50% tax: “Jobs started Apple Computers for money, that was his big thing and that was extremely important and critical and good. ... [But] we didn’t think we’d be figuring out how to go off to the Bahamas and have special accounts like people do to try to hide their money.”
“They’re all just as good at engineering their own tax rates as they are at engineering new technology,” said Ron Eckstein from advocacy group Americans for Tax Fairness.
It’s doubly upsetting for activists in Silicon Valley, who say that Apple and Google’s tax arrangements conflict with the way they present themselves as companies that are doing good.
(cont)
I judge him as a comedian and TV commentator, which are shallow by definition. He's given me some laughs, so he gets an Ok by me and occasional viewership via his youtube channel.
Never heard of Guido. He sounds like an intelligent person..
When I was in the Newbs I once described Feedingseagulls, probably unfairly, as 'pretentious'.
This is quite a blow.
I think he is, though I'd prefer he didn't use it for evil.
Unlike yourself, doesn't seem to have a sense of humour, which makes him less fun.
I see him as more of a social commentator than a comedian, which sort of infers he should come up with a slightly wittier approach if he wants his political views to be taken seriously. George Carlin is a great example of someone who did it successfully. Maher is definitely no George Carlin.
Yeah, a decent example, but talk about predictability. His faces, his voices, his dramatic reactions . . . I just could´t bring myself to watch him anymore. I think he knew it as well.
I didn´t think Religulous was that great either, but like pot legalization, I massively admire the cojones Bill Maher has in taking on the stupid drug war and laws and the idiocy, hypocrisy, danger and growing irrelevancy of religion, and bringing it to prime time with no apologies. He is very much a pioneer in that sense.
And considering to what´s happened with others who have taken on the ugly side of Islam, the guy is putting his neck on the line.
Whereas I would see Stewart as a more clever, and a more subtle, intellectual voice, I see Maher having much bigger balls in taking on the aforementioned taboos and political correctness.
Really? Just watch some of Jon Stewart's videos on cnn crossfire or on foxnews
He´s nowhere near the the level of Maher in taking on the illegality of pot (definitely with much foresight as we´re seeing now), and taking on religious bs. Two things I really love about Maher.
I did love Stewart calling Tucky Carlson a dick to his face. That was massive.
Stewart is a genius, mainly because he has a special ability to mix humor with social commentary. Maher is light years below him in that regard.
I think Maher would be the first to say he´s no Carlin. Nobody is Carlin.
So what political views of Maher´s can you not take seriously because of his lack of wittiness?
So we´re talking about Carlin and Stewart over Maher . . . who else? Maybe Colbert´s schtick.
Personally, I like his show, you don't get to do that many HBO Shows if it ain't funny. But HBO really gives him a platform where he can test the limits. Maybe I'm biased because of my political stance I like most of these stand up guys ripping into Republicans 
He has doubts about vaccination though
He has doubts about vaccination though
I find him a bit cringey on religion... but then I find most left wingers cringey when they're going after religion. I suppose it's different in the US, where it genuinely does play a significant and negative role in politics. In the UK, we debate whether bishops should be in the lords, in the states, they have arguments about abortion and gay rights, citing the bible.
Maher has been mixing humor and political/social commentary for a long time on a channel of HBO´s caliber. He has a special ability, face it. Maybe no genius, but there are very very few.
Well I find religion totally cringey. So I love the fact Maher takes it on in such a blunt, no holds barred manner. It´s about fecking time someone did like that with an HBO soapbox.
He's not a good advocate for any of his views because he gets too serious about them, which in a comedy context doesn't work. He's not very talented at striking an appropriate balance between commentary and humor, whereas the likes of Stewart and Carlin were very good at it. Even the likes of Oliver and Colbert are better at it than Maher.
Apparently, Vicente Fox has apologized to Trump. Trumpians are going to play this clip multiple times over and call the Orange one 'the man' for eternity.
Just because he's been on TV for ages doesn't make him good. Politically Incorrect was a farce of a show back in the day - promoting itself as being un-PC while proceeding as a platform for Maher to promote his anti-right views. His current show is little more than yet another unfunny version of his last.
In your opinion.
He´s often funny as hell with his pot and religious commentary. Watch the show. He lit up a joint the other day, with his medical certificate in hand
It would be quite breathtaking if he gets elected and they do wind up paying for it.
You don´t last on HBO for so long unless you are really good. Lower your bar.
Well of course its my opinion, who else's would it be ? What an utterly fatuous thing to say. (Copyright Hitchens).
I do watch the show from time to time, which is how i've formed my view.
Conversely, you don't wind up on HBO unless the big three national networks won't touch you.
I don't. I had a religious upbringing and I got all the good hippy Jesus love thy neighbour stuff from it, without the fecking insane bits, so I have an affection for it.
When people like Maher go after it, so strongly and so decidedly, I find myself put off because their words don't leave room for experiences like mine, where it was positive. They speak in completely negative terms. It's too black and white. I'm fine with 'there is no god' (I agree) but 'religion is bad' is too simplistic for me.
Maher has already lowered the bar. I prefer mine at a level with a bit more wit and intellectual verve rather than the groupthink sheep talk Maher flogs.
Well that´s too bad. Deal with it. We´ve all had to deal with so much religious bullshit for so long it´s about time.
Don't be an arse, Nobby. I've no time for religion but I've got none for this kind of attitude, either.
I don't know if it's true Doc. I don't really want to get caught up in this 'Is Bill Maher a comic genius' thing, but clearly HBO is not discard option for the national networks.