# Real Time with Bill Maher **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367 "2023-10-10T21:03:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/61 "2023-10-11T18:29:40Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Trump _will_ come across as a lot more _ **animated** _ So will a rabid raccoon. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/62 "2023-10-11T18:31:30Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Bottom line: _Real Time with Bill Maher_ is still worth watching, mostly for the guests who are often interesting and informative, but Maher himself has to be taken with more than a few grains of salt; he’s crazy wrong about some important things, right about many others, and smug about all of them. A stopped clock that’s right 20 times a day is still a stopped clock. For me it’s not enough that someone is correct on this or that issue. Or if they’re incorrect. What matters is that they’ve taken a reasoned approach that they’ve supported with evidence from reliable sources. That’s an approach you can respect and build on, even when it’s incorrect. If someone’s occasionally right just because they have a ton of opinions, and have smart people on their show that they can react to, that’s not worth anything to me, especially if they go out of their way to give equal time to the dumbest opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/63 "2023-10-11T18:44:31Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > A stopped clock that’s right 20 times a day is still a stopped clock. I feel like maybe you missed a lesson in school on how clocks work. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/64 "2023-10-11T18:53:53Z")
Id like to see Trump get on a bike. Or keep up with Joe Biden in any way. Actually scratch that, I wish I never had to see Trump do anything ever again. How anyone can assess Trump and think he is somehow physically and mentally more capable than Biden is beyond me. Just fucking look at him. Biden is a healthy weight, is active, hes old but Trump is only 3 years younger and has lived a much less healthy lifestyle. Fuck this shit is tiresome. Trump weighs a lot more and is better at bloviating. I guess thats what is really important in a leader to some people. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/65 "2023-10-11T19:02:09Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I feel like maybe you missed a lesson in school on how clocks work. I feel like maybe you got so excited about nitpicking a metaphor that you forgot to add any useful commentary. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/66 "2023-10-11T19:02:39Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I feel like maybe you got so excited about nitpicking a metaphor that you forgot to add any useful commentary. 100%. I’m just fuckin around. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/67 "2023-10-11T19:03:22Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I feel like maybe you got so excited about nitpicking a metaphor that you forgot to add any useful commentary. This lack of productive discussion in the BBQ Pit cannot be allowed to stand!!! ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/68 "2023-10-11T19:03:59Z")
Who wants a boxing match instead of a debate this time around? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/69 "2023-10-11T19:28:40Z")
That I’d see. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/70 "2023-10-11T19:33:19Z")
⬆ 👍 First fight can me Zuckerberg kicking Elon’s ass in the cage followed by the Trump cowering in the corner after spotting a pair of Aviators. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/71 "2023-10-11T21:12:47Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > Bottom line: _Real Time with Bill Maher_ is still worth watching, mostly for the guests who are often interesting and informative, but Maher himself has to be taken with more than a few grains of salt; he’s crazy wrong about some important things, right about many others, and smug about all of them. > > A stopped clock that’s right 20 times a day is still a stopped clock. > > For me it’s not enough that someone is correct on this or that issue. Or if they’re incorrect. What matters is that they’ve taken a reasoned approach that they’ve supported with evidence from reliable sources. That’s an approach you can respect and build on, even when it’s incorrect. > > If someone’s occasionally right just because they have a ton of opinions, and have smart people on their show that they can react to, that’s not worth anything to me, especially if they go out of their way to give equal time to the dumbest opinions. There’s no distinction between the second and third paragraphs, except that the third is phrased in a distinctly negative way to reinforce your notion that “I hate Bill Maher, and therefore I declare that he doesn’t take a reasoned approach to anything”. I stand by the things I said about him, both good and bad, and I reiterate my declining opinion of him. Like about a million other people, however, I still watch his show Friday nights for its informative value, by which I mean objective information that I might not otherwise have known, and which I can verify, whether it came from Maher or one of his guests. It’s certainly time better spent than watching “reality TV” or a stopped clock. And then I look forward to enjoying John Oliver even more two days later, though it’s a completely different kind of show, but even better in terms of informative content. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/72 "2023-10-11T22:13:30Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I look forward to enjoying John Oliver even more two days later, though it’s a completely different kind of show, but even better in terms of informative content. Agreed tho 20% too silly for me. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/73 "2023-10-11T22:16:19Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > OTOH, one of his biggest and most annoying faults is an ignorant attitude towards medical science in general, which includes “vaccine hesitancy” with respect to some other vaccines. AFAIC, “vaccine hesitancey” _is_ anti-vaccination. It’s still, at best, casting doubt on good medicine and, at worst, disregarding it. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/74 "2023-10-11T22:44:45Z")
Maybe it’s just me but a person’s shitty delivery, no matter how much I might agree with his points, are a total turn off. And I doubt I agree with Bill Maher about much. The one time I sorta respected him was when he got called out for saying he was a “house n\*\*\*\*r” and later had a Black scholar on his show basically to tell him how wrong he was. At that point I didn’t think he was capable of honest self-reflection. I remember a long time ago watching _Religulous_ and it was just nonsense god-bashing, but not with any sort of thoughtful points, just “religion is dumb, amirite?” I mean… I’m an atheist but I couldn’t really see any substance in it, just pointless antagonism. And Bill spends a lot of time antagonizing people. And I think it’s just a shitty way to get your message across. That and his stupid smug asshole face of his makes me cringe every time I see it. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/75 "2023-10-11T22:57:15Z")
Just wanted to chime in for the hate-Bill-Maher side. He was punching down even in the _Politically Incorrect_ days. Ugh, the smugness. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/76 "2023-10-11T23:31:35Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > A stopped clock that’s right 20 times a day is still a stopped clock. Or, to use a metaphor suited to Maher’s tendency to be contrary just for the hell of it, a clock running backwards is correct four times a day. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2023, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/77 "2023-10-12T03:55:13Z")
I feel he has sucked for most of a decade now. He was mildly entertaining ages ago, but since at least 2015 or so I’ve felt that he was a soft damn interviewer, not a great host, had lame monologues, and bitched about his easy life not being easy enough far too often. If I had still found him funny, there might have been something left for me. But since only 1/10th of the jokes he has ever pitched landed for me, there really wasn’t anything left. I started finding something else to do on Friday nights while my darling watched it. She’s even grown tired of him, and probably will watch one show a month these days. . ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2023, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/78 "2023-10-12T03:56:03Z")
Another to add to the rants: one of his main tenets nowadays is: “The right is crazy, but it’s just a reaction to the extreme left” (paraphrased). And by means of evidence of the extreme left, he’ll mention some anecdote, that’s either an outright myth, or based on one thing one random person on Twitter said once, but imply it’s something everyone, or a significant proportion on the left, is saying. This “both sides” crap is one of the biggest problems in America today and has enabled much of the most egregious behavior. Maher’s far from the only person doing this, but he’s definitely on the front lines of the both siders. > [@SwissMan](#): > > If a joke doesn’t get the laughs he feels it deserves, he openly castigates his own audience on the air. Good call, I’d forgotten about this tendency. It’s probably the time where he most looks like a jerk. I wonder if the poster earlier that used to attend his shows (I can’t seem to find the post now) felt this came across at the time. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2023, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/79 "2023-10-12T04:55:25Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Another to add to the rants: one of his main tenets nowadays is: “The right is crazy, but it’s just a reaction to the extreme left” (paraphrased). Has he actually said this? Because what I specifically remember him saying – and which I fully agree with – is with regard to the rightward shift in American politics in recent decades, was “Democrats have moved to the right and the Right has moved into a mental hospital”. Has he criticized the left? Sure he has, as in the video below, and I mostly don’t have a problem with it … [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/OdJOLMgY4p0/maxresdefault.jpg "New Rule: How the Left Was Lost | Real Time (HBO)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdJOLMgY4p0) ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2023, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/80 "2023-10-12T06:04:08Z")
I can’t search and quote so easy as I’m just posting from my phone while on holiday, but take his words in [this article](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/01/29/bill_maher_its_not_me_whos_changed_its_the_left_theyve_gone_mental_and_made_me_a_hero_to_fox_news.html) for example. Note that the only specific example he gives of the loony left – that San Francisco has legalized shoplifting – is [a myth](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/prop-47-theft-california/#:~:text=The%20judicial%20branch%20of%20California%20explains%20on%20its,misdemeanors%2C%20not%20felonies%2C%20but%20they%20are%20still%20prosecuted.). This is far from the worst of it, like I say, the thing that grinds my gears is when he’s being asked about something specific that Republican _politicians_ are doing, and immediately pivots to “But the Left tho” with an anecdote that ordinary person said once on Twitter, or at most, perhaps something a celebrity has said. I’ll have to come back later with examples, when I’m using something with a keyboard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367.md?page=5)