My Best Picture

My favorite movie of the year was the one about the heartless con man who's obsessed with finding oil. Its called No End In Sight.

Comments

[addicted2purchase]

The Bushman has always had AN END IN SITE. It's called Dick Cheney's ass and he kisses it on a regular basis.

[raker]

Hey Bill Maher. FYI, Obama isn't unpatriotic. He doesn't refuse to say the pledge of allegiance. Who knows if he does or doesn't wear a frikkin lapel pin.

Last week's show exemplifies the situation that has always been between conservatives and liberals. Republicans never, ever argue facts or reason because they lose on both counts on any issue you can name. That twit Kingston goes on your show to bitch about lapel pins, and you're apparently ok with that. Too bad. I like it better when you don't tolerate baloney from your panel.

[rationalthought1]

Bill. I'm a big fan of your show, but this last one was like a high dose of ambien. The previous week you had two, excellent, intelligent representatives of the right - it was a wonderful show. But this week with the slimy neo- con, Frum and Georgia's Gomer Pyle spouting ignorant right wing radio cliches it was not, let's say, food for thought -or even entertaining. It might have been better if there would have been anyone present to call them on their B.S., but there wasn't. Even the audience barely reacted, as if they had been coached before hand to be polite and not make it to hard for you to get some right wingers to come on your show. I do like it when you have strong voices on both sides to stimulate the conversation - otherwise, its not that much fun. If Belzer had been on he would have come up with some hilarious, pointed retorts.

[nancytheragingliberal]

I can't understand why my favorite liberal/progressive show has turned into something "fair and balanced." We can get that from all of the conservative media shows. I say, "Down with any more creepy repubs. on my one and only show." The repubs. must be putting the screws to Bill's bosses. I am sure Bill must be trying not to retch, when he has these nasties on his show.

[FDRbyGodDemocrat]

How do you let Kinston get by with that tired old bullshit about Obama refusing to say the pledge of allegiance???

How do you even allow a moron that that on the show? It that's the best level of political discourse you can dig up, you need to fire the clown who books your guests.

[ricardus]

well that was short and to the point.

at least mccain has virtually no chance of winning

[gonavy]

Think again, my friend.

[tiedtothewhippingpost]

it's not like the elections tomorrow.
plenty of time for the shine of Oh-bomb-us to wear down.

[Progress08]

Don't be delusional. Bush's aproval rating is 19%... McCain = Bush; blammo you lose and so does grandpa crankypants.

[NeverRepublican]

Bill...I go back and forth with you...you continue to rip apart Chatholics but you never seem to attack the Old Testament. Why? The Old Testament is a RATHER OLD "organized" religion. If you don't like organized religion why do you segragate who you choose to rip apart? I think ALL organized religion is terrible.

[iluvsam]

Fist of all it's spelled C-A-T-H-O-L-I-C.

Second of all, the Old Testament is not an "organized" religion. It is the first part of the Christian Biblican Canon.

Third of all, Catholics deserve to be ripped on (and I was raised Catholic), because anyone who believes that they are actually eating the body and blood of "Christ" (UGH..just calling him that term is annoying) cannot be right in the head. Anyone who believes in the virgin birth is clearly missing a few chromosomes somewhere.

[nunzia]

iluvsam - and remember when you could go to hell for eating meat on Friday?
The sheeple need their shepherd.

[Daniel8168]

"Second of all, the Old Testament is not an "organized" religion. It is the first part of the Christian Biblican Canon."

I think Jews might have something to say about that...

[gezapath]

Bill:

As always, succinct, provocative, and so brutally true.

Thanks.

[gdarrowood]

You know, I usually consider myself a liberal, but what I can't stand about most of my "compatriots," as it were, is how goddamned hypocritical they are. They mud-sling conservatives, then get angry when their own get called on whatever they do wrong. And they accuse conservatives of being close-minded, yet aren't willing to listen when the speaker isn't saying what they want to hear. John Stuart Mill said in "On Liberty," one of the core texts of modern liberalism, that even if what someone else is saying is wrong, they should still be allowed to say it, if only because of the intellectual exercise it gives those that are "right." It's called free speech. Our Bill of Rights has a little something called the First Amendment. And if you go by what the Supreme Court calls "privelaged position," it's the most important Amendment we have. So what if you don't think what he was saying was true? Refute him, don't criticize Bill. Bill's show was just the forum for the kind of debate the Founding Fathers (Madison and Jefferson, most of all) wanted.
And as a sidenote, I think Obama needs that kind of criticism, or at least SOME kind of criticism, or else he's going to lose the general election. The media never calls him on anything he does, and Hillary gets bashed for the same things. It's uneven. The sun does NOT shine out of Obama's ass. He is NOT the Messiah. He is NOT the next JFK. He is a politician just like any other. And I genuinely believe that once he has secured the Democratic nomination, then and ONLY then will the media start going after him-- and in order to sabotage him the way Kerry was sabotaged. He will be Swift-Boated by a highly concentrated shit-slinging campaign against him wherein all of the faults that have been glossed over or ignored will be made to turn this "Messiah" into the Anti-Christ; and that, along with the votes he'll lose because that nutjob of a narcissist Nader is running, will lose him an election that he a) should easily win, and b) the country can't afford to give to a Republican. I'd rather have Hillary, but I'd rather have Obama than McCain. So all of the Obama worshipers need to get some thicker skin and keep from crying when he gets remontely, minutely criticized-- and steel themselves for a massive onslaught come September-October.

[gonavy]

Finally someone figured out the republican plan. Obama will not be that hard to beat in the general because of all the things you just pointed out. All his garbage will be aired after he wins the nomination, and with that, he will not win.

[JoDeeVa]

Thanks gdarrowood, for succinctly expressing the discourse I have been having with Obama supporters. Not that it will persuade any of them of the reality that will hit them come the general election, if he is the nominee. I understand the passion they feel, but I don't understand how most are blinded by that passion. Obama doesn't help by his teflon aloofness to issues that do arise. He's like a snake-char­mer..in that, until the snake bites, he is charming away, ignoring the fact that the snake can bite..only to die from the bite of the snake he was charming! No antidote for that seems to be in his words. I agree that Bill Maher's show provokes debate from both sides and as long as disparate opinions are being voiced by participants, as well as those watching, the Founding Fathers would most likely approve..b­ut I have to admit that sometimes Bill can get going on a more personal "rant and rave" diatribe that brokers very little discussion on said issue. Often funny, but not very accommodating to differing opinions.

One issue..the Supreme Court and "privileged position" on the First Amendment? I wouldn't trust them with that reverence for it, given the 2000 election and their willingness to silence the free expression/voice of voters; the conservative majority rulings on religious matters, right to assemble or redressing grievances on a myriad of issues, from womens' rights' of equity to workers' rights' in the workplace. As all courts wrestle daily with other First Amendment controversies /constitutional clashes, as evidenced by the free-press vs. fair-trial debate and the continuing dilemma of First Amendment liberty principles vs. the equality values of the 14th Amendment.­.left up to this Supreme Court, I fear their further rulings on such issues.

[FedupinMiami]

BRAVO!!!! Finally someone says it like it is. Thank you. I also see it as completely unfair and it will come a nd bite us all in the back come the genral election. Just wait and see

[CarsonM]

Was that the same film that was originally titled OIL (Operation Iraqi Liberation) until focus groups decided a more audience friendly title would be OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom).

Watch for the sequel now in development, "Struggle for the Soul of Islam"

(just google McCain transcript Wisconsin win for more detail)

[Arguman]

Silly Maher. There IS an end in sight! In a few decades.

[rich3324]

I thought it was in a 100 years.

[gennifer6]

Does the film cover the Project? Everybody talks about the oil/money issue as a greedy little thought the Bush admin pulled out of its ass as a way to make themselves more money. IT HAS A NAME!! The Project For The New American Century. Folks, PNAC's plan was to secure America as the only world superpower and control the world's oil for the next 100 years and they wrote it down in a manifesto called "Rebuilding America's Defenses", and the people who belonged to PNAC ended up holding the most powerful positions in the Bush White House: Cheney, Rumsfeld, Libby, even Jeb Bush were/are part of this group. The PNAC foreign policy is what put us in Iraq, in part for the oil, in part to create military bases in the Middle East to control the region and the oil.
So I can take it on your word because you're Bill Maher that "No End In Sight" is a great film and I probably will eventually see it just because I like watching those kinds of films, but unless the movie discusses the Project, it is just blowing smoke and second-guessing someone else's thought patterns.

[speak2ar]

Bill, Gennifer6 makes the point that the media is missing or avoiding. No End in Sight was my choice for best documentary and it fleshes out the stunning expose Imperial Life in the Emerald City. The documentary and the book both tell us that the invasion and occupation of Iraq served to transfer billions of dollars to a project with long term goals. Experience, skill,& cultural knowledge were not required of those hired to "work" from Baghdad's "green zone", just party loyalty. Hundreds of billions have been shifted from our treasury. They have their own militia. Who will demand impeachment?

[pizzmoe]

Bill,
Your show is one of my favorite shows on TV, so please explain why you have Jack Kingston on your show? He has nothing to offer, has no alternative point of view. He is a walking RNC talking point machine, and you don't dispute anything he says! I refuse to believe that you are that desparate for guests! Other than that, keep up the good work.

[pacificoceanpark]

I agree 100%. Kingston came on the show and spread the Rove lines around like butter on Maher's white bread.

[robiform]

At the risk of sounding like an echo chamber, I totally agree with pizzmoe and pacificoceanpark. Bill, didn't you notice all the booing from the audience whenever Kingston opened his mouth and spewed talking points right out of Rove and Coultergeist?? If you MUST have someone like Kingston on the show, at least respond to his bullcrap, or designate one of the other guests to do the responding!!

[Annisee]

Bill - you upset Senator Obama's fans (who do not include me) - how dare you! How dare you show your face here?

I noticed the omission on Friday, too, but everyone knows Michelle Obama explained her remark, everyone knows the story about the hand over heart debacle, and everyone knows, and doesn't care about the flag pin.

Why did it need to be re-explained when everyone obviously already knew Kingston was wrong - otherwise this thread would not be yards long.

It almost seemed as thought he show had been recorded ages ago. It seemsed quite surreal to me.

[jhamm1]

Couldn't have put it better, myself.

[SethBLiNK]

Gotta go with the bloggers on this one Bill. Sometimes you can cover a subject in a line or two and sometimes you need to do your homework.

It's great that Jack Kingston will do your show (when Al Franken won't) and it's also great that you switched it up with two conservatives this week (and a hottie!), but if you're going to have two conservatives, you've really gotta be doing the bs-detector work and you let Kingston slip by a couple of whoppers that you should have known were lies and that he definitely knew were lies.

We expect rumors on the internet, but when crap like that go unanswered on your show, undecideds starts to believe it.

I know that last week was an Obama love fest, but that doesn't excuse the undisputed lies of this week.

Tighten up your game, bro.

[jinjinpinti]

Yep. We po' folks have been pinchin' our pennies and eatin' white bread (ugh) just to afford to keep our HBO hookup to see your show. That show with Kingston spouting the old neoCON humdrum has us eyeballin' the high priced bread and reaching for the phone to call Comcast for an HBO DISCONNECT. Bush IS still in the whitehouse, we're still in Iraq, times are still real bad, so don't defect to the other side yet, please.

[unityman]

As with much of your humor, Mr. Maher, I don't get it. If you're referring to the seemingly endless primary season, then I don't see the oil man connection. If you're referring to the Bush-Cheney oilmen, there IS (thank God!) an end in sight. So I'm sorry - I can't yuk at this one.

[JoyIsGwenNYC]

He's referring to the war. The oil-obsessed con man is bush and there is no end in sight to the war.

[lovethesinner]

Totally agree, Bill. If anybody hasn't seen it, here it is:

http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/no_end_in_sight.php

Wouldn't it be nice to have somebody sane in the White House... AND the State Department?

Meet Obama's senior foreign policy advisor, Samantha Powers in an interview with Amy Goodman at Democracy Now:

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/2/25/barack_obamas_senior_foreign_policy_adviser