Bill Maher Calls Out John Avlon for the False Equivalencies in His 'Wingnuts' Book
As I said in the New Rules post, the Overtime segment of Real Time was the best part of the show. It's too bad they spent so much time arguing about religion during the panel segment that most people missed this if they didn't go watch it on line.
I was really happy to hear someone finally call John Avalon out for that "Wingnuts" book of his that CNN has been allowing him to push for the better part of a year or so. Actually, this isn't the first time someone's said this to him. An audience member on his book tour called him out as well and he wasn't too happy about it. He couldn't just blow off Bill Maher the way he did that audience member. For more of Avlon's hackery, you can see past posts here.
As I wrote in my post about one of his appearances on AC360 with David Gergen:
This John Avlon, who continually looks like he's trying to prove the points he made in his "Wingnuts" book rather than talk about the reality of our political situation in this country, is particularly annoying. Given this guy was the Chief Speechwriter and Deputy Policy Director for Rudy Giuliani's 2008 Presidential Campaign, I guess nothing that comes out of his mouth should be too surprising.
Avlon pretends to be an independent but anyone who worked for Mr. Noun-a-Verb-and-9-11 is no impartial political pundit.
h/t Amato for the vid.
avalon and the faux-atheist bimbette. Excellent post-script to the show.
Some stuff you can't make up!
"Avlon pretends to be an independent"
There are many "independents" who are just GOPhers ashamed of themselves because of two terms of abject failure by the guy THEY supported.
What can they do go on the TeeVee machine and admit they are Bushies?
They make me lol
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
Don't forget the Tea Bagger Party that does not really exist either.
The whole Rethuglican culture is composed of lies within lies. They wouldn't last a week in politics if they were honest about their objectives and motives. Instead they lie about it.
That kind of lying politics will no longer be possible in the information age, as FOX Theatre has discovered.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
If what your saying is true, and I hope and believe it is, I just wish it would materialize quicker, so we could see the destruction and rejection of corporate fascism (conservatism).
Bill really missed an opportunity to knock it out of the park when the idiot Issa said "we should have a bi-partisan committee on bringing back fiscal responsibility." Maher should have responded "as long as it doesn't contain any republicans. They are the ones who always give us deficits. We don't need any stinkin' republican when it comes to fixing our economy. All they know is making the top 1% richer at everyone else's expense! Guess that 95% of wealth they control just isn't enough!"
And I love the way the other idiot compares union workers making $50,000 a year as teachers, or nurses, or engineers to militia cooks. WTF? I mean really, WTF??
When I was growing up, people who said shit like this on t.v., and spent their time trashing middle class workers and unions, would have gotten their a**es kicked!
If I were a psychopath, I would join the republican party, and get in on the gravy train taking the Teabircher morons to the cleaners.
Hic Iacet Sepvltvs Inclitvs Rex Artvrvs In Insvla Avalonia...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Great minds think alike. I told my son the same thing just last night.
I disagree!!!
I think it's great they spent so much time arguing religion. But to be fair Maher was being a prick....can you blame him with some of the inanity he has to deal with on his show? The one mayor guy saying that churches do charity...as if religion is ONLY about charity or that religion is the ONLY way to perform charity. Or the right wing pretty lady who claims to be an atheist yet seems to know nothing about anything except for bogus religious right talking points. Or Mr. Equivalence guy talking shit.
I think talking about religion on a national and personal level is VERY important.
>
Many of us need to improve our speaking voices. The faux athiest bimbette sounds a lot like Kathy Griffin. Usually it is what the conservatives say that puts me on edge. With her it is an much how she says it.
Why do so many left wingers kick their own?
whereas lefties are loyal to principles.
So many Dems signed on and sold out to?
does not equal lefty.
Because we are better than them.
We are always willing to stay honest to be honest even if it is in an honest disagreement.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
Ya know, it's nice to say the us liberals can have honest disagreement but if you just look at the comments here...well if someone disagrees they get ganged up on and called names. If you aren't in lock-step then you are painted as the enemy. But yeah, the internet can be really silly.
"if someone disagrees they get ganged up on and called names."
I disagree you poo-poo head!
(jk)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
cooties!
*giggle*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Je1CEPkUM
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
thank you. case in point as comments to my post has proven.
is not synonymous with polite; nitwit.
but honest disagreement does mean reading what people have to say, thinking about it, then possibly come back with a proper response...not tossing around ad hominems and straw men.
John Avlon is a leftie? Wow...who knew!
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
why do so many left-wingers kick their own?
Umm . . . one thought is that left-wingers generally know how to think for themselves. In case you haven't noticed (despite the millions of examples), right-wingers seem almost completely incapable of independent reasoning.
Seriously - did that question even have to be asked?
since he's not kicking his own.
Maher will kick any idiot, left or right.
i concur.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
Cupp just throws out nonsense. I think she's trying to be the godless version of Ann Coulter. She got called on her BS by Cenk who debunked the lies she spewed on his show.
Damn lefties trying to get us out of Vietnam. We could have stayed and won if it wasn't for them.
I can't believe how many people still buy this crap. I always point to the fact that MacNamara, the architect of the war, admitted it was completely misguided.
he stuck to his gun while surrounded though I don't agree that Kieth is obnoxious. Kieth may be a little sanctimonious at times- perhaps- but how could he not be when dealing with the like of fookin idiots like Isa
Ms Cupp seems so disengenous.. like she's figured out a way to make money and no one's gonna shake her faith in how to make money because she knows she will make money by saying what she's saying to make money because making money is what making money is about.. that's why she's an athiest bcause making money is something you do, making money won't do you, you make money.. like Sarah, her model of making money and looking and acting so that you can make money
.. when faced with the illogic of your making money, just smile and look pretty and you can make money too
I remember about a year or two ago when i first started hearing about her and then heard her speak and found her completely full of shiite. Trying to pass herself off as some hot neo libertarian with such a unique take on the issues of the day. She is a conservative wearing various disguises to dodge the pigeonhole. I can certainly understand why you wouldn't want to be labeled as a strict right winger when you're young,good looking and wanting to connect to that oh so important 18-35 market. Conservatives are as appealing as an enema to this demographic. I don't think she expresses anything particularly novel or even presents it in a way that I would find interesting and I hope that 18-35 market doesn't either. "YOu're not taking my guns away, I'll tell you that..." Oh ok Ms. Cupp, I get it, you're a tough bitch with a mind of her own. Ooooh. I'm so unimpressed with your circus act.
I agree. She seems like she tries to be the hot, edgy conservative girl who tells it like it is. Fail. I have a hard time believing that she is a staunch Atheist when she has a masters in religious stuides and wrote a book claiming the "liberal media" attacks religion and religious people. That seems like an odd premise of a book for an Atheist. She seems like a phony who knows that the attractive girl, right wing conservative shtick is a money-maker. I don't believe she even believes that shit she says honestly.
She seemed like a throwback a la Palin--with the unattractive retro sixties hair and glasses, and grating speaking voice. We had to turn the show OFF--Maher is going to have to do better than the buffoons he had on this show.
I suppose every asshole with a masters in whatever should write an up-is-down book for profit. Atheist? That's when we changed the channel.
Maybe time to check it out.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Indeed!
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Probably Newark's greatest asset...
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Every time Mayor Booker spoke, he spoke as a politician. His choice of nuance and walking that very fine line that a politician who knows that if he says something even remotely liberal, he will be lambasted for it.
Election 2012: Be Educated! Be Active! Vote!
www.PhoenixJustice.com
... but Avlon dominated that discussion. Maher made a point re: false equivalencies and the lack of a radical left today, but it didn't stick. Issa's assertion that the problem is not the radical fringes, but the lack of a rational 'middle', was the key take-away from this exchange.
Why does "rational" have to be in the "middle"?
Rational is voting the lying Republicans out.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsmC1zrpwfQ
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Atheist don't accuse other Atheist of being angry at god.
I thought that exchange was weird too.
We needed another FDR, instead we got another clinton.
One of these atheists is not like the other...
This Issa character is a complete idiot at least with respect to the British government. The queen appoints who she is told to appoint. Avlon too is an idiot. The American political process is controlled by corporate money.
He was decent on the regular show.
...cute. Stupid book whore will say and do anything to make a name for herself.
An atheist who sides with one particular religion...bullshit.
Bullshit indeed.
My non-God is better than your non-God.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Yep. And I like it when Bill asks her to defend her position of defending religious people. He makes a pretty funny comment about her next book being called 'Defending my religion' and all she has is some high school comment about Bill being paranoid. Oh! a touch I do declare! and then when Bill presses her further about why she would defend religion as an atheist she says "yeah I think it's nice, why are you so mad at god?!" What?! Nice dodge there Cupp. Can't come up with a real grounded response to your belief so you turn it into an accusation at Bill.....hmmm...smells just like that fragrant scent of conservative bullshit.
Those two assholes claimed a equivalency of Beck and Palin to Olbermann while calling Keith "crazy".
This is the exact same bullshit that gets spewed by the righties claiming that Fox News is nothing more than their equavilent to MSNBC on the right. The left consistantly allows the right to define what is left.
I really want to see a far lefist on a network. I want everyone to see exactly what that would be like. Someone calling for real socialism and communism to allow it to be defined and put into perspective instead of allowing these douchebags define it.
What's Fox's 'Morning Joe'?
I think they call it "Clusterfox and Friends."
As for Olbermann being the left's version of Beck and/or Palin, COME ON! Unlike Glennie or The Funniest Palin, Keith actually tries to work with the facts.
mr. grin is NOT as cool as he thinks he is. I'm glad Bill had him on the show, as I didn't realize what a turd he is. When you just see these stuffed shirts for 10 second sound bites...you give them a lot more respect...via position. In person, he's a total clown....but "he thinks" he's some gift.
using the names McVeigh, Roeder, Adkisson and the plot of the right-wing militia to kill police officers and their families. Please name anyone on the left associated with such a heinous act. The equation used is not equal in terms of right and left.
Giuliani's 2008 Presidential Campaign.
Haha! Nice resume.
During the campaign the more Rudy spoke the lower his popularity went.
Maybe this incompetent dunce should find another line of work besides writing, but alas he'll probably find wingnut welfare employment on the teevee where all the no talent losers end up.
Unfortunately I get frustrated very quickly by the shoutfests on this show. I never last more than a couple of minutes when they all start dogpiling on each other. Why do hosts allow this shit?
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
It started out with Bill pointing out the obvious - SE Cupp comes out as an atheist to support the false belief that the "liberal media" is out to get religion and she is an atheist that supports religion. She will soon "find Jesus" and write a book about how she found him. Even after getting called out on it right here and she flatly denies it and say it's a crazy conspiracy theory, I bet she still pulls the stunt in about a year because modern, crazy conservatives tend to forget that those boxes with round glass on the front are video cameras and are recording.
When they got into Avlon's false comparisons, it was great. The Truthers? Really? So there are Democrats that attended Truther gatherings to join with them in their batshit insanity? I must've missed that. Then Cupp says "PETA". Yeah, I see Democrats standing up to promote the ideas of PETA all the time and the "liberal media" out there actively promoting them as much as FOX promoted the teabaggers.
And why is it that every time Darrell Issa comes onto Bill's show, he's reasonable, but if he gets among other Republicans, he turns into a crazy person? Yeah he was slightly wrong about the British system, but he just seemed so reasonable here and it sickens me that Republicans like him don't want to pressure their party to have civil, honest debate about issues.
Bill was right about the UK too - their politicians all start from reality and debate policy differences from there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuOzte9Ugck&fe...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
looks like a badly curved penis--
and speaking of Darryl Issa...he spins, lies, distorts, over-simplifies, casts aspersions and simpers. Then he jumps aboard a departing train, smiling and flipping you the bird as it pulls away.
There is a vote among the members of parliament that appoints the PM, not the queen. Issa's understanding of english authority is several hundred years out of date. What a surprise.
being on a par with the teabaggers? Please. They don't carry weapons, they don't call people ethnic slurs, they don't claim to victimhood over being given back some of their tax money or getting health insurance. Issa says they protested over a war. If a war that you feel is unjust, isn't a big enough deal for you to protest over, WHAT THE HELL IS?
Peaceful protests are quite different from gun-totting and noose-totting protests.
to find a Code Pink-er who collects Social Security, too.
exactly, maybe you dissagree with their TACTICS, but was the "extremists" on the left right or wrong about the Iraq War? Thank god we ignored them. How about NAFTA and similar deals? Surely they have been just wonderful for the country. The environment? Man, was the left wrong on that one too. Single payer and other "leftist" health care systems have tons better outcomes and are more effecient than our "centrist" or whatever the hell health care system.
It's interesting, bascially they are saying that when a right winger gets up and spouts off some nonsense about a socialist takeover because we're thinking of extending health care coverage to needy Americans, it somehow reflects on me as a leftist and shows how irrational I am. Does that make any freaking logical sense?
For the mindless "centrist" logic to have ANY validity you'd have to assume a few things. 1. That both sides at all times have an equally valid or invalid point on an issue. Maybe they do, maybe they don't, usually you'd hear someone's logic, see if it is factually correct and well reasoned and make a decision. However, using centrist logic, whatever the far right does makes our viewpoints on the left invalid. 2. That it is impossible that the polls could EVER be entirely correct about something. They are basically arguing that the "center" is alway the most sensible position. What can the "center" point to in recent years as proof of this? Can the left not point to countless things over the years that they wear entirely right about?
What is "center" since popular opinion is so different than government policy, the opinions of the media and both political parties. IF we live in a democracy is the "center" what popular opinion is on the issue or is it the center of elite opinion? Cause there is a large and growign difference between the two.
Spend every waking minute trying to find a way to get over or rob someone. Therefore they think everyone else is doing the same. It is a never ending cycle. The only way to stop it is put them out of government!
You heard an atheist say "Why are you mad at God?"
And Code Pink was protesting an illegal war.
It's hard to get heard when they stick you in a "protest zone" a few blocks away.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
Ronald Reagan also forgot his own first name. There is a book from Donald Trump with a signed photograph in it, signend Reagan Reagan.
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