# Bill Maher: STFU about food, health, and ESPECIALLY vaccines! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2009, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274 "2009-10-10T04:01:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/21 "2009-10-10T14:24:21Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > I like Bill Maher but he has some stupid views I disagree with. I’m happy he is willing to voice and stand by his views even if they are stupid or unpopular. Unpopular, sure. But I don’t think people should be particularly proud of stubbornly and loudly proclaiming very stupid views that they hold. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/22 "2009-10-10T14:31:16Z")
Bill Maher is really like the Ann Coulter of the left - an unapologetically smug bastard who makes a living saying outrageous, sometimes hurtful, stuff and pissing people off. With that said, I don’t plan on getting the vaccine. That has nothing to do with the anti-vaccination nutters. I’m just too lazy and cheap to get to the doctor’s office. But if I had a kid, I would most definitely want them to get one. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/23 "2009-10-10T15:13:36Z")
Always get the flu vaccine. Why? Because when I don’t, I get the flu every season since I was five and can pretty much write the next three weeks off in terms of fever, muscle aches, coughing, snot shooting out of my nose, sore throat, etc., etc., etc. Since starting the vaccine in 1990, I’ve been sick with the flu twice as opposed to spending a composite year of feeling crap without the shots. And more importantly, didn’t take the illness to work because I only have so many sick days to spare. And yes, I am getting a flu shot this year. ---
**Author:** ![Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ass_For_A_Hat)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/24 "2009-10-10T15:27:05Z")
This saddens me. I’ve been a fan of Maher’s for quite a while now. I really enjoy his views on atheism, and his treatment of 9/11 truthers has been superb. But his views on science have gotten increasingly loony over the last couple years. Last night’s anti-vaccination screed was completely beyond the pale. Absolutely unconscionable. [QUOTE=Bill Maher] “I would never get this swine flu vaccine, or any vaccine.” [/QUOTE] He also went on to recommend that pregnant women not get the swine flu vaccine. I wish Frist would have smacked him down a little harder on this particular point. Other than that though, I think he did a pretty good job of telling him how wrong he was. He continually told Maher that the science clearly says that he is wrong. Maher didn’t care. He knows better. What an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/25 "2009-10-10T16:09:36Z")
Maher has been [spewing nonsense](http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/07/bill_maher_and_anti-science.php) on health issues for years now, not just anti-vaccination claptrap. Here’s a selection of just a few of his [dimwitted comments](http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2005/12/drinking_the_an.html): _"1.“I’m not into western medicine. That to me is a complete scare tactic.” 2.“A flu shot is the worst thing you can do.” 3.“Well, I hate to tell you…but if you have a flu shot for more than five years in a ow, there’s ten times the likelihood that you’ll get Alzheimer’s disease.” 4.“A flu shot just compromises your immune system.”_ Maher has also dismissed “Western medicine” as “poison”, denied the germ theory of medicine, claims that we are full of “toxins” and shown sympathy for HIV/AIDS denialists (people who argue that HIV doesn’t cause AIDS and denounce lifesaving anti-retroviral medications). He’s an ass, and one in a position to cause harm. Maher has gotten some love from atheists because of his anti-religion views, but the recognition he’s received is an embarassment to the atheist cause. Aren’t those guys supposed to honor rational thinking? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/26 "2009-10-10T16:34:59Z")
He is more like an opposite to Dennis Miller. Colter is not funny except when she presents ideas she is deadly serious about ,or at least pretends to be. But even Miller has become so nasty the humor is gone. Maher actually does political commentary. He is not a joke teller. I do wish he would quit harping about food. It is true we are not getting any inspections and the food can not be traced back to its origin. There is a basis in fact to his rants. The flu shots are different. I don’t usually bother with them ,but my wife gets them every year. She is so full of mercury the top of her head turns red when the temperature is over 90. ---
**Author:** ![Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ass_For_A_Hat)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/27 "2009-10-10T16:40:03Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > The flu shots are different. I don’t usually bother with them ,but my wife gets them every year. She is so full of mercury the top of her head turns red when the temperature is over 90. She’ll be coming down with autism any day now. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/28 "2009-10-10T17:42:39Z")
I have to stop watching the show whenever he starts talking about food or anything related to it. Not because it annoys me, but because I get too embarrassed for him. Celebrities can opine about politics all they want (wish they wouldn’t), but when they start having opinions about science it’s time for them to go away. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/29 "2009-10-10T18:04:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Bill, you’re a funny guy, and you’ve said a lot of things that needed saying over the years. **You’re relatively balanced politically** I had to stop here. Bill Maher is the closest thing the left have to a Rush Limbaugh. Sorry, but if you think that Bill Maher is balanced politically then I just can’t go any further lest I choke to death from my own derisive laughter. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/30 "2009-10-10T18:16:16Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > I had to stop here. Bill Maher is the closest thing the left have to a Rush Limbaugh. Sorry, but if you think that Bill Maher is balanced politically then I just can’t go any further lest I choke to death from my own derisive laughter. Maher is left-leaning, but not 100% liberal. He holds some conservative views, and unlike many pundits on both the left and the right, he respects many people who hold views other than his own, often invites them on his show, and has reasonable and respectful conversations, even while disagreeing with them. When’s the last time Olbermann or Limbaugh did that? (I’m a pinko-commie-liberal, and this is one of the main reasons I’ve stopped watching Olbermann regularly. His guests, without exception, are yes-men, there simply to agree with his editorializing. It’s tiresome and cowardly. Rachel has bigger balls. But I digress.) ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/31 "2009-10-10T18:19:32Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > I had to stop here. Bill Maher is the closest thing the left have to a Rush Limbaugh. Sorry, but if you think that Bill Maher is balanced politically then I just can’t go any further lest I choke to death from my own derisive laughter. Yeah he probably is one of the closest the left has to a Rush Limbaugh. Kinda sad really as one of the furthest left leaning personalities on the air he comes nowhere close to the level of lies hatred and bigotry spread by his opponents on the left. He has views and can back them up with information. Something Rush never bothers to do. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/32 "2009-10-10T18:47:31Z")
I read part of his interview in Playboy a few years ago. The only thing I can recall from it was coming away thinking: _batshit crazy_. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/33 "2009-10-10T19:02:15Z")
Last night, I completely tore apart a link a friend posted on Facebook. I wonder if she was inspired by Maher to post it. Can I blame him? Because I really like the friend. [Do NOT Let Your Child Get Flu Vaccine.](http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/06/Why-You-Should-NOT-Vaccinate-Your-Children-Against-the-Flu-This-Season.aspx) With the extra tin-foil-hattery “This year it is more important that you protect your children and loved ones from the flu vaccines than influenza itself.” That’s right, folks, the flu vaccine is more likely to injure or kill your child than the flu! I went into full SDMB mode and posted the following as a comment: > [@phouka](#): > > Friend, I adore you, but the info in this article is, at best, incomplete. At worst, it is maliciously misleading and will cost lives. > > 1. Incomplete. The current swine flu is not more deadly, but it is significantly more communicable. The more communicable, the more likely it is to mutate, and it’s one mutation away from a horrific death rate like the Spanish Flu. > > 2. Incomplete. The CDC states that only those children under 9 getting the flu vaccine for the first time should get a double dose. Everybody else gets one dose… Read More > > 3. Outright lie. Thimerosol has been proven safe in multiple studies. Does it contain mercury? Yes. Does it contain enough mercury to do harm? No. There is no substance in the universe that can’t be toxic in large enough doses. I’d rather, for instance, get the dose of thimerosol in a flu vaccine than an equivalent dose or uranium or botulinum. > > 4. Maliciously misleading. The “mock up” vaccine refers to the approved procedure used to create an influenza vaccine under the time constraints of a pandemic. Everything is there except the specific genetic component of the new flu virus - which can’t be added until the virus is lose in the wild. Therefore, the FDA tests every component except the genetic portion and it tests the procedure for adding the genetic portion to the vaccine. This allows the vaccine to be distributed as early as possible and prevents people from dying. > > 5. Outright lie. The United States vaccination policy is no more or less than any other industrialized nation. While the number of vaccinations may seem high, I promise you, the number of dead children would be much higher without them. > > 6. Outright lie. There are multiple competing theories for the cause of autism. One which has been disproven multiple times is that vaccines cause autism. They don’t. Also, the Amish do vaccinate their children. Community pediatricians hold weekly vaccination clinics. They also treat Amish children who show autistic behavior. Correlation does not equal causation. > > 7. True, but not like he says. Overuse of antivirals will cause any virus to become resistant as they select in favor of resistant strains. This is all the more reason to get vaccinated. > > 8. Misleading. Tamiflu-resistant strains of the flu are on the rise. That does not then mean that Tamiflu is useless. It certainly doesn’t mean you should skip getting vaccinated. > > 9. Complete bulls\*\*\*. The CDC offers multiple ways to prevent flu infection, including hygiene, nutrition, and proper sleep. > > In short, the “doctor” who wrote that article is a moronic hack. There are reasons not to get vaccinated - compromised immune system, under the appropriate age - but they are far outweighed by the costs of illness and death any flu brings with it. > > Refusing vaccination means you put not just yourself. You everyone else around you at risk. That includes the babies, the grandpas, the people on chemo, the people who’ve had bone marrow transplants, and everyone else with a compromised immune system. One other friend posted a comment thanking me for the additional information. I wonder, though, if the original friend will ever speak to me again. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/34 "2009-10-10T19:45:06Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Seriously? > > Um… just how much shit does he have lying around his house by now? More than what comes out of his mouth? I doubt it. I’m going to get the vaccine soon, probably some time this week, hopefully. ---
**Author:** ![2ply](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/b2d939/32.png) [@2ply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ply)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/35 "2009-10-10T19:51:00Z")
> [@Tamara+](#): > > My pharmacist told me unless you are unhealthy or work around children, its not a neccesity. I am one who is not around a lot of others, so don’t feel i need it. I haven’t considered getting the vaccine since there was that shortage in 2004 and every year they run out of vaccines in my area. I’m in my twenties and hopefully will have another twenty years of pretty kickass health so would rather the limited supply of vaccines go to those with more vulnerable immune systems. Nothing to do with conspiracy theories. > [@Michael\_Ellis](#): > > I agree with everything in the OP except the assertion that Bill Maher is or has ever been funny. This is wrong. Bill Maher is an incredibly smarmy jackass and I’m pretty sure this has always been the case. I agree. To me, Maher is one of those comedians whose routine is just saying “Bush/Republicans are wrong” over and over again, which gets (mostly forced) laughs from angry liberals who want to all agree with each other. I hate Bush as much as the next sane person, but I find that humor unfunny, not at all clever, and repetitive. The Daily Show and Colbert are the only group I thought did anti-Bush humor well at all over that long fucking 8 years. I really enjoyed Mr. Show but don’t find Dave Cross to be a funny stand up comic for the same reason I dislike Maher. That’s just my personal taste. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/36 "2009-10-10T20:15:40Z")
Hell, Bill Maher was unfunny even before Bush was elected. During the Clinton years he was mildly sort of amusing at the best of times, which weren’t often. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/37 "2009-10-10T20:40:49Z")
Bill Maher is not doing stand up on his show. His opening and the New Rules ending are comedy. The rest of the show is political debate with many repubs and right wingers stating their views among a couple liberals. That is not meant to be funny. It has its moments though. Do not compare the show with stand up or sitcoms. That would be dishonest. It allows pols to be open , honest or crude if they choose. He also does stand up. Judge that if you want to be snarky. He has a very successful stand up career. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/38 "2009-10-10T20:41:45Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > He has a very successful stand up career. So does Carrot Top. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/39 "2009-10-10T20:53:48Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > … The rest of the show is political debate with many repubs and right wingers stating their views among a couple liberals… If you think conservatives outnumber liberals on his show, you are mistaken. It’s usually several liberals and one conservative. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/40 "2009-10-10T22:29:07Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > If you think conservatives outnumber liberals on his show, you are mistaken. It’s usually several liberals and one conservative. There are 3 guests every week. I said a couple liberals. A couple is 2. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274.md?page=3)