Have too many Americans become gullible, ill-informed idiots who have elevated feelings over facts and replaced critical thinking with a blind sense of trust for authority? I'm not trying to be insulting here; I'm just trying to figure out Rudy Giuliani's poll numbers.
Four years ago Tucker Carlson asked Britney Spears on CNN, "A lot of entertainers have come out against the war in Iraq. Have you?" And Britney, who was chewing gum throughout the entire interview, answered, "Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision he makes and should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens."
It's this kind of head-in-the-sand, free rein granted to those believed to be in a position of moral authority that has led to warrantless wiretapping, torture, and a $6.1 million judgment for a Kentucky McDonald's employee named Louise Ogborn. In 2004, Louise was 18 and working at McDonald's when her assistant manager Donna called her into the back office, said a police officer on the phone had identified her as a thief, and then forced Louise, under the "cop's" orders, to strip naked, do nude jumping jacks, submit to a spanking and finally perform oral sex on Donna's 43-year-old exterminator fiancé. The whole ordeal, ordered by a prankster over the phone, lasted three hours. But you know what they say about fast-food work -- the time flies when you're busy.
A Kentucky jury listened to testimony, watched a videotape of the entire incident and awarded Louise $6.1 million dollars from the obviously culpable party in this matter -- the McDonald's Corporation. That's right, two adults pressure a third adult into stripping, a spanking and a blowjob based on the word of a stranger on the phone and the fault lies not with the gullible idiots who blindly obeyed some perceived voice of authority, but with the company that happens to have its name on the sign out front. McDonald's has a written policy in their training manual against any type of strip searches and even sent out a voicemail warning franchises about such phone hoaxes but the jury found that the company was liable because, after all, the perv on the phone did say he was a cop and what choice did Donna the assistant manager have but to, as Britney says, "just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens"?
Bill Maher is the host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" which airs every Friday at 11PM.
"Confusopoly." That's the rhetorical/propaganda game he's playing. The act of confusing someone rather than actually debating them. An excellent term coined by the "Dilbert" comic creator Scott Adams. (Sourcewatch.org, Wikipedia, et. al.).
Tactically, Carlson changes his positions like a chameleon to throw his opponents off balance and break their momentum, kind of like Christopher Hitchens. He will detract from something five different ways, and then when you call him on something, he says, "I agree with you," and then forcefully goes on to bring up something totally unrelated. When it's all over, meaningful debate has been sabotaged. Confusopoly.
He is smug in the way that someone who's never dealt with real hardship in life has no patience for anyone who has. This is not to say he hasn't suffered hardship, only that he was embittered by it or failed to learn compassion from it. His brilliant verbal gifts are totally wasted on him. He could do so much good with that mind of his if he actually grew a conscience. I could easily imagine him waking up one day and realizing this tragic misuse of his talent, to his profound regret.
But at this point, Tucker doesn't contribute anything of value, and he should not be invited back. Your show Bill, has real potential to get at truth, since people are disarmed to some degree with your format and with the HBO freedom of speech thing. Please save those precious guest spots for truthseekers...people who are earnest in their beliefs, rather than partisan or self-promoting hacks like Hitchens and Carlson.
I look forward to Friday nights when your show happily pops up on my DVR.
Also, I have to disagree with you on the Armenian resolution. I would agree if the present government of Turkey would simply acknowledge that indeed, it was a genocide and it was sanctioned by the government at that time. If you can read Robert Fisk's "The Great War for Civilisation"--the chapter on "The First Holocaust"--and not weep...well, these people at least deserve to have thier trajedy officially acknowledged, even if it makes the Turks "uncomfortable."
I don't see the resolution as "mistimed: or "misdirected" but as "misphrased."
The target of the resolution is not the Turkish Republic founded by Kemal Ataturk but rather Enver Pasha's pre-republican fascist movement known as Ittihad or "The Young Turks." It was the Young Turks regime that explicitly ordered the police and armed forces to exterminate Turkey's Armenian community.
There was never any doubt about the Young Turks' guilt. The governments of Britain, France and the United States all accused the Young Turks of systematic genocide, although they used different terms and did nothing to actually halt the slaughter. But the Young Turks never spoke for all of Turkey and, in fact, were overthrown and disgraced following WW1.
It's unfair to name the Turkish nation as perpetrator of those crimes. Many Turks did their best to protect Armenian neighbours. If the Armenian resolution were re-worded to indict Enver Pasha and the disgraced Ittihad regime, but not the entire Turkish nation, today's Turks could accept and even support it.
expects wisdom from her but Melissa Gilbert, I expect her to be at least human!
the mainstream media never does. JUST THE FACTS MAM
I don't need to rehash them, from Marsha
Clark's fabricated lies, violent Beatings with photos exposed as makeup from a stage play. Blood samples exposed as false and planted by two of the most
renowned forensic scientist in the world.
The defense expert and the prosecution's
were in agreement! And the Mark Furman gloves that did'nt fit, one found at the scene
and one at Simpson's house. The most jaded
racist wouldn't buy that!
Furman, Detrctive Vanarken and the whole
LAPD were exposed as an organization incompetent in the investigation of crime scenes, because they had never practiced it.
No need to to plant material. They were so ignorant of the science from not having practiced it they thought they could go to the
evidence room, retreive blood pour it around
and fool chemist, scientist and electron microscopes. They exposed a special police unit for torturing and framing people that had to be disbanded and prosecuted.
NBA star Jason William mowed down his poor whited chaufeur like a rabid dog in front
of witnesses. Compare the facts against
Robert Blake, Joan Benay Ramsey, Phil Spector.
Doesn't prove O J didn't do it, Jason William enjoyed a race reversal but it proves
that a black person today in the justice system
is not much better off than the SCOTTSBORO BOYS
The thing that set me off was when Bill had
a racist write in and ask about an apology
from Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson for the
Duke Lacross Players. For demanding an investigation? Kobe was in his hotel room
with a billion reason for a hustler to hustle
and they prosecuted. A true liberal would
have straightened the caller out.
PHIL DONOHUE, RALPH NADER, MICHAEL MOORE
in 1950s america blacks were executed for a white rape charge and white on black not even investigated.
Then it becomes an issue of trust. However as we have seen with Bush he has used that trust to the point of wearing it out. Hence his abysmal poll ratings. I think in a small way this had beneficial effects. It shook people up and made them "reassess" their trust in our leaders. It forced them to take time to look more deeply than before. The trust has worn out now they want some proof. I think this is a good thing and why in general the public is looking for alternatives to the republicans in general in the next election.
The fact that so many are looking at Rudy tells me people have had it with the social conservative stranglehold on the republican party. The "blind faith" of the religious right is about all that is supporting Bush now. Thankfully the rest of the country is not so blind.
Exactly right Bill... so, snap out of it!
Keith Olberman & Bill Maher!
We all need to grow up and leave Mommy and Daddy.