# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/61 "2009-10-12T14:51:37Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > Sadly the anti-vaccination, anti Western medicine (Germ Theory) is a huge movement very similar to creationism and gaining a lot of traction. The “alternative” medicine advocates, chiropractic, the rid your body of Toxins crap, magnets all feed into this nonsence and it is killing people. Some are fighting back like **Dr Steven Novella** who hosts the popular **Skeptics Guide to the Universe** podcast. > > [NeuroLogica Blog - Your Daily Fix of Neuroscience, Skepticism, and Critical Thinking](http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/) Slightly off-topic, but thanks for the link! I’m always looking for good podcasts to listen to while running. 😃 ---
**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 12, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/62 "2009-10-12T15:00:19Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I just recalled Dennis Miller has the same sort of stick, the smart ass comments that usually involves a gotcha/hypocritical angle. But he doesnt come off nearly as smug and smarmy. Whaaaa??? You think there’s a human being alive who is less smug and smarmy than Dennis Miller? I’ll admit that I haven’t watched Miller as much since he became an obnoxiously vociferous conservative, but even when he wasn’t spouting political glurge, his act consisted of rants loaded with obscure cultural references that screamed “I’m waaaayyyy more intelligent than any of you morons.” I got most of his allusions and was impressed by his intelligence, but always annoyed by his overpowering egomania. I don’t think Bill Maher can hold a candle to Miller in the smug-stakes. ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/63 "2009-10-12T15:06:33Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I don’t think Bill Maher can hold a candle to Miller in the smug-stakes. Have to disagree; I think he’s got a shot at the title. Miller’s material might be pretentious, but I don’t recall seeing him lay an egg and then chide the audience for being too dim to understand the joke. Maher does that all the freaking time, and looks like a smug jerk doing it. Dude, we get it, but sometimes your shit’s just not funny. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/64 "2009-10-12T15:15:51Z")
Miller reeks with smugness and pretension. Maher can actually hold conversations with his guests without taking over and showing off. Miller looks for every opportunity to show off . ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/65 "2009-10-12T15:24:29Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > . > > I don’t think Bill Maher can hold a candle to Miller in the smug-stakes. Oh I dont doubt Miller thinks he is smarter than the average bear and likes to show it off or at least does show it off. And probably more than Maher. But, again IMO, he doesnt seem to display hate or have strong contempt for the people the people he thinks he is smarter than. Its the difference between thinking your smarter than someone, and thinking because you are smarter you are better. So its a different kinda smug. Again, this is just my impression. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/66 "2009-10-12T15:27:07Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Liberal commentator decides to run with crazy conspiracy theory about the President secretly planning 9/11? About sixty left wingers decide it must be true; the rest of us shrug and talk about what a shame it was that Commentator X went crazy. Sixty? [You seriously understate the number of whackos in the Dem party.](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/bush_administration/22_believe_bush_knew_about_9_11_attacks_in_advance) One of the aforesaid crackpots almost made into Obama’s administration ([cite](http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9AHL8O80&show_article=1)). Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/67 "2009-10-12T15:47:00Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Sixty? [You seriously understate the number of whackos in the Dem party.](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/bush_administration/22_believe_bush_knew_about_9_11_attacks_in_advance) One of the aforesaid crackpots almost made into Obama’s administration ([cite](http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9AHL8O80&show_article=1)). “Did Bush know about the 9/11 attacks in advance” =/= “Was Bush behind 9/11”? In any case, anyone with any common sense at all recognizes that Bush was aware that Al Quaeda was planning a major attack on US soil. The phrasing of the question does not distinguish between whether he knew of the details of the attack in advance, which only the crazies believe. ---
**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 12, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/68 "2009-10-12T15:58:09Z")
The problem I have with Miller is that he just isn’t funny, although I haven’t watched him in quite a few years. I was very hopeful about his show on Fox, since I had always liked him before, but it was really, really, bad. Embarrassingly bad. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/69 "2009-10-12T16:00:33Z")
I find him a lot like Dennis Miller in that respect. No funny, no funny, no funny, and then he’ll say something earth shatteringly funny. Then no more funny for the rest of the season. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/70 "2009-10-12T16:35:10Z")
> [@2ply](#): > > I never have gotten a flu shot and never gotten the flu. Which makes you a prime candidate for an H1N1 fatality: strong immune system in strong healthy adult that has never see this critter = high likelihood of a [cytokine storm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine_storm). ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/71 "2009-10-12T16:39:14Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Just STFU, you ignorant asshole! When speaking of Bill Maher, the above sentence is all that needs to be said. ---
**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 12, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/72 "2009-10-12T17:03:19Z")
[An excellent antidote for antivax stupidity](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/opinion/12offit.html) appears in today’s N.Y. Times (or if you prefer, an immunization against antivax nuttery). Paul Offit M.D., infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (and developer of an effective antirotavirus vaccine) talks about the safety of the H1N1 vaccine and debunks the myths being spread about it. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/73 "2009-10-12T20:34:51Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > [An excellent antidote for antivax stupidity](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/opinion/12offit.html) appears in today’s N.Y. Times (or if you prefer, an immunization against antivax nuttery). > > Paul Offit M.D., infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (and developer of an effective antirotavirus vaccine) talks about the safety of the H1N1 vaccine and debunks the myths being spread about it. The man is one of my heroes. It says something truly awful about the state of our country that Offit doesn’t dare do a book tour because he’s actually afraid of being killed by the nuts: > [@](#): > > [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/health/13auti.html?scp=1&sq=PAUL%20OFFIT&st=cse](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/health/13auti.html?scp=1&sq=PAUL%20OFFIT&st=cse) > > But there will be no book tour for the doctor, Paul A. Offit, author of “Autism’s False Prophets.” He has had too many death threats. > > “I’ll speak at a conference, say, to nurses,” he said. “But I wouldn’t go into a bookstore and sign books. It can get nasty. There are parents who really believe that vaccines hurt their children, and to them, I’m incredibly evil. They hate me.” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/74 "2009-10-12T20:56:53Z")
I haven’t got my flu shot yet but I’m looking forward to it. In regard to Maher’s antivaccine nuttery, it is a relatively mild case. If you want to see an extreme one, google Jane Burgermeister. According to her, Big Pharma, the WHO, the UN and the Illuminati are planning to kill 5/6 of the world’s population through the flu immunization program. ---
**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 13, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/75 "2009-10-13T04:51:45Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > Sadly the anti-vaccination, anti Western medicine (Germ Theory) is a huge movement very similar to creationism and gaining a lot of traction. The “alternative” medicine advocates, chiropractic, the rid your body of Toxins crap, magnets all feed into this nonsence and it is killing people. Some are fighting back like **Dr Steven Novella** who hosts the popular **Skeptics Guide to the Universe** podcast. > > [NeuroLogica Blog - Your Daily Fix of Neuroscience, Skepticism, and Critical Thinking](http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/) Honestly, these people piss me even more than Creationists. I think it has to do with being a lefty who actually paid attention in High School science. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/76 "2009-10-13T09:06:24Z")
> [@](#): > > **billfish678** : And with Maher you can often almost feel the intense personal hate and contempt for the person he is making fun of. Exactly. And he seems to be all about hate and contempt which is why I can’t really think of him as a liberal. He often paints with too broad a brush, stereotyping Southerners and women, for example. I can understand his stereotyping Southerners out of ignorance, much as Chris Matthews does. But he really doesn’t seem to have very much that’s pleasant to say about women other than on an almost adolescent level. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/77 "2009-10-13T09:13:19Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > \*\*strong immune system in strong healthy adult \*\*that has never see this critter = high likelihood of a [cytokine storm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine_storm). I knew my advancing age, poor diet, and lack of exercise would save my ass some day 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/78 "2009-10-13T10:02:50Z")
Now even Limbaugh has jumped on the Anti-Vax band wagon, because the government says you should get a flu shot means it’s nonsense. > [@](#): > > Limbaugh: “Screw you, Ms. Sebelius! I am not going to take it, precisely because you’re now telling me I must.” Limbaugh stated in response to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ call for widespread use of the vaccination, “Screw you, Ms. Sebelius! I am not going to take it, precisely because you’re now telling me I must. It’s not your role, it’s not your responsibility, and you do not have that power. I don’t want to take your vaccine. I don’t get flu shots.” Limbaugh later added, “I’m just like – I’m a contrarian, I’m a non-conformist – you have some idiot government official demanding, telling me I must take this vaccine. I’ll never take it.” [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 10/7/09] [http://mediamatters.org/print/research/200910070043](http://mediamatters.org/print/research/200910070043) Now the right wing is attacking scientific medicine because liberals support it. Limbaugh also shills for Homeopathic “treatments” like Zicam. Are all conservatives that divorced from reality? ---
**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 13, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/79 "2009-10-13T13:12:50Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > Now even Limbaugh has jumped on the Anti-Vax band wagon, because the government says you should get a flu shot means it’s nonsense. Well that’s our Fascist government for you, demanding that everyone get a flu shot or you’ll be put in FEMA detention camps. :rolleyes: There does seem to be a correlation between antivaxery and antigovernment/libertarian views. Ron Paul, for instance (an embarassment to the medical profession) thinks the effort to combat H1N1 is a “hoax” designed to get us to pass a healthcare bill and enrich Big Pharma. His loopier followers see far darker designs afoot. [Here’s the startling evidence for](http://ancavge.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/canadian-doctor-h1n1-vaccination-a-eugenics-weapon-for-mass-extermination)flu-vaccine-as-weapon-of-mass-destruction, as alluded to by a previous poster\*. \*who hasn’t posted since warning us of the Bilderberger threat, which probably means he’s been “disappeared”, a fate that threatens anyone who reveals ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274/80 "2009-10-13T13:29:49Z")
Any truth to the rumour that Limbaugh is refusing to eat his broccoli, too? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stfu-about-food-health-and-especially-vaccines/513274.md?page=5)