Freedom of speech is awesome. Freedom of religion is awesome. The ability that we have in this country to speak our minds and worship as we please is, in my humble opinion, the greatest asset we have.
We should note, however, that we do not have the freedom to libel. We do not have the moral right to speak blatant lies in support of our opinions.
The Catholic League’s response to Bill Maher’s latest attack upon the Catholic Church.
MAHER LIES ABOUT THE POPE
April 14, 2008
On his April 11 HBO show, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the comedian went into an extended assault on Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church. For a transcript, click here.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded as follows:
“Maher’s obsession with the Catholic Church continues, only this time there isn’t enough material for him to use as a club, so he literally makes things up. His lies include the following statement: ‘When the—when the current pope was in his previous Vatican job as John Paul’s Dick Cheney—he wrote a letter instructing every Catholic bishop to keep the sex abuse of minors secret until the statute of limitations ran out.’
“A similar lie was floated by an angry ex-Catholic bigot, Rosie O’Donnell. The fact is that before he was named pope, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger had absolutely nothing to do with policing allegations of sexual abuse until 2002, after the scandal erupted that January. And he certainly never counseled bishops to keep sexual abuse secret—this is a bald face lie. Indeed, a week before Pope John Paul II died, he addressed the scandal by saying, ‘How much filth there is in the church, even among those who, in the priesthood, should belong entirely’ to God.
“Maher also lied when he said the pope ‘used to be a Nazi.’ Like all young men in Germany at the time, he was conscripted into a German Youth organization (from which he fled as soon as he could). Every responsible Jewish leader has acknowledged this reality and has never sought to brand the pope a Nazi. That job falls to Maher.
“In 2005, after complaining about another bigoted outburst, I was told by Richard Plepler of HBO that ‘it’s a free country, and people are free to say silly things—even on HBO.’ Last year, after another assault, I was told by Jeff Cusson (replying for Time Warner’s CEO Richard Parsons), that Maher’s anti-Catholic remarks were a matter of ‘creative freedom.’ Well, folks, no one has the freedom to libel someone.”
Contact HBO CEO Bill Nelson at bill.nelson@hbo.com
This isn’t about bashing religion. This is pure hatred and HBO should not be enabling it. Neither should sane people be spreading this trash as truth around various internet forums.
Bill Maher: Pope ‘Used to be a Nazi’; Compares Church to Cult, Bear Stearns
Filed Under Front Page ·
Comments
73 Responses to “Bill Maher Is A Lying Idiot”Search
Our Sponsors
Poll
Loading ...LST Book Club
-
Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy
by Natan Sharansky -
Fear No Evil
by Natan Sharansky -
The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror
by Anatoly Shcharansky -
The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul
by Yoram Hazony -
Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There
by David Brooks -
Snobbery: The American Version
by Joseph Epstein -
A Conflict of Visions: Idealogical Origins of Political Struggles
by Thomas Sowell
“Bill Maher Is A Lying Idiot”
Well duh…
and in other news it turns out that the Pope really is Catholic.
Words haven’t been created to properly express the contempt I have for this POS weasel.
My email to Mr. Nelson:
“The continued religious bigotry espoused by HBO’s Bill Maher – particularly with respect to the Catholic Church – is something no responsible institution should tolerate, much less promote. Those of us in the real world can only assume that Maher’s superiors at HBO share his bigotry and small-minded hatred of people who choose to worship.
I am fairly confident that HBO would not tolerate a talent who hurled racial slurs to a nationwide audience. I guess only some bigotry is wrong in HBO’s eyes.”
What’s HBO and who is Bill Maher?
This is NEWS?
Typical liberal approach to this kind of thing, it’s alright if a liberal does it but all h*ll will break loose if a conservative does it. It’s nice to see “double standards” are alive and doing well at HBO where you’re free to be as dumb and stupid as you want to be and even get paid for it.
I would love to cancel my subscription but I never subscribed to that rat hole of a station in the first place.
If Dennis Miller were to go on HBO and say Bill Maher is a pedophile, would HBO consider that “creative freedom”?
My email to Mr. Nelson:
Two Week Notice
HBO dumps Bill Maher and his religious bigotry, or we will dump HBO. You decide what is more important to you keeping your hate filled “Comedy” show or your customers.
HBO, consider this notice…
Robert,
It really isn’t a liberal thing or a conservative thing. It is a freedom loving Democratic.
I find Mr Maher’s comments to be disgusting and vile on the best of days, but I would defend his right to be the biggest jerk he can be. We either buy into this democracy thing whole hog or we do not.
A number of years ago the Chicago branch of the ACLU defended a local group of Nazi-Skinheads in their quest to get a parade permit for a march in Skokie, Ill. Is is fair to say that a goodly number of the members of that branch of the ACLU were Jewish as are the folks living in Skokie.
Sometimes we have to put up with jerks to maintain a democracy, but it does not mean you have to maintain your subscription to HBO and its related cable outlets if you are sufficently offended.
I am a lapsed Catholic, a fiscal conservative, and a social moderate; yet I cannot stand to watch Mr Maher’s program and find it fairly simple to change the channel.
Simple
Simple,
I don’t really care if Bill Maher makes fun of religion. That isn’t what he is doing here.
He is LYING.
And I’ve got a problem with that. And I have a problem with HBO, producer of some pretty good stuff, paying him for these lies.
#1 said it all
Yes he is lying and he’s a coward. He would never speak of a Moslem the way he chooses to lye about a Christian. Letter is written. Maher is a coward, lying punk. I don’t have HBO but we cannot let go of this. Write another letter tomarrow.
Freedom of speech grants each individual the right to say most anything in terms of opinion. That right does not extend to true defamation and libel, the representation of falsehoods as facts rather than opinion. Nor does it protect the liar from legal action, public refutation and all manner of ridicule and humiliation. In fact, those are called for when someone abuses that precious right. Letting Bill Maher, or any other asinine fool, off the hook unchallenged, on the grounds free speech unlimited by the test of truthfulness is simply okay, is a corruption of that right.
Let me also say, if this were an Imam of Iran, a hater of George Bush and America, HBO and Maher would be singing his praises.
Reply to No. 9: There is a difference in the two, when a liberal says or does something offensive, the liberal media defends it and says it is okay but let a conservative say or do the same thing and all h*ll breaks loose, hence the double standard. What would the liberal media do if Pat Robertson had made those comments?????
He can say what he wants. I can listen or turn it off. What’s the big deal?
As Texpat rightly pointed out, freedom of speech is subject to certain legal limits that we can all agree on: you can’t threaten to kill someone, for instance, or or make bogus 911 calls, or lie to investigators.
Similarly, you can’t knowingly make false statements with the intent to damage someone’s reputation, and that’s exactly what Maher did.
14 Robert,
Don’t worry…I will defend your right to be just as big a jerk with equal fervor.
Simple
16 Matt,
Regrettably…that false statement rule does not completely apply to public figures. Look how difficult it is for public figures to win libel and slander lawsuits.
Want to have some impact?…Start a movement that encourages folks to cancel their subscriptions to HBO. It can work if you can make your case. I doubt it will work in this case as Mr Maher is a polarizing figure and his show is the equivalent of a very bloody train wreck and sadly folks will pay to see a train wreck, especially if it is gory.
Simple
I agree, and it’d be a very tough case. But the difficulty of the case is just the sort of protection I think you’d like. It maintains a pretty good balance — it allows a wide variety of legitimate commentary, while guarding against egregious abuses.
I’m not much for boycotts. As a rule I don’t think they’re particularly effective. In this case it was a very personal decision for me. I never watch Maher simply because he’s a Christian-hating scumbag and I know that. But after watching this video an LST commenter jokingly posted this past Sunday afternoon my HBO subscription was canceled immediately. Too bad. I was enjoying the “John Adams” series but I’ll be missing the final episode. If you’re going to cancel your subscription note that HBO also owns Cinemax.
There are limits to what one can say without consequences. Funny how the media was all over Don Imus but they’re strangely silent in this case.
Thanks for posting this, Bigjolly.
Reply to No. 17: What comment did I make that would lead you to label me a “big jerk”, you….
#9 simple
I would defend The idiots right to be a jerk and to say stupid things. However the Idiot has NO RIGHT to lie about others.
Maher is dispicable and should be removed from HBO. I have cancelled HBO and so informed the CEO.
I’m with Hamous. Of course, I’m not sacrificing anything because I don’t have cable. But, it seems to me we have to stop the erosion. Good for you Hamous. Know what? There is life without cable
I agree…making fun of people/having hideous humor is one thing but outright lies is a completely different thing altogether.
If there were a viable case for legal action, I would say to go for it. However, the next best thing is to use what we have at our disposal. I did not advocate proscribing Maher’s right of free speech. What I do advocate is using commercial pressure, as Simple pointed out, and using public forums, such as this and other websites, letters to publications and any other venue to refute the lies and impugn Bill Maher’s integrity. My main point was to not allow the abuse of that right, the lies and falsehoods, to go unchallenged, period.
I think his integrity ship set sail a long time ago.
Bill Maher sucks. End of story.
27 carbon-credit
that has always been the story.
As hamous said, words do have consequences.
The same democracy and freedom of speech that gives Maher his rights also gives us the rights to complain to HBO, cancel subscriptions, or boycott advertisers. Those acts are neither anti-democratic nor anti-first amendment. In fact, they are in the finest traditions of both.
We’ve always known Maher is an ignorant punk. He’s every bit as ignorant as the mythical Pennsylvanians that Obama looks down his nose at.
#9 Simon, freedom and democracy are not the same thing. One can exist without the other — such as the UK, which has parliamentary democracy, but not full freedom of speech. A democracy can vote to end freedoms whenever it chooses (this includes the U.S.). Similarly, an unelected dictator can grant freedoms, although it is the rare dictator who allows the people the freedom to replace him.
#26 hamous
I know, I know. But there are few hundred thousand haven’t received the message. We have to repeat it until every man, woman and child understands completely.
21 Robert,
Just call it my form of the Fairness Doctrine. So feel free to be as offensive as Maher. You will have my support.
Simple
Maher and his ilk count on those who are angry to forget quickly. Let’s not. Let’s just not go away.
Here’s Bill O’Reilly on the Bill Mahr thing.
I’m trying to be fair and balanced, since my comment & link on the weekend OC thread seems to have ruffled some feathers.
Let us not forget this: The First Amendment stipulates the right to free speech; that is, the right to say what you wish on things of a political nature. It does NOT, however, guarantee someone a platform from which to exercise that right, be it a television show, radio show, or newspaper column.
As far as I’m concerned, I would suggest that everyone, Catholic or not, advise HBO that they are cancelling the HBO part of their cable subscription until such time as Maher is no longer shown in any time slot on any date. (Hey! That strategy worked well enough to get him kicked off ABC and back to the minor leagues. Let him take his million$ and go start his own cable network.)
– Ken
Mahr’s comments regarding a cover-up document are not new. They center around Crimen Sollicitationis and an investigative report by the BBC aired in Europe last year (Sex Crimes And The Vatican). The report covered a number of sexual abuse cases, including that of Joseph Henn, a man wanted on a dozen or so charges of sexual molestation in the USA, but at the time of the report living a block from the Vatican (I think he may have since went missing). The man behind the investigation had been raped by a priest in his youth, and his earlier documentary resulted in the Ferns Report by the Irish government.
We have to ask the question - is the enemy here Bill Mahr or people like Joseph Henn (and anyone that might enable them)?
http://www.regainnetwork.org/article.php?a=47245845
A story from the National Catholic Reporter in 2003 discusses the document in question.
“The document recently came to light because it was referenced in a footnote to a May 18, 2002, letter from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation, to the bishops of the world regarding new procedures for sex abuse cases.”
http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/update/bn080703.htm
Mike, Laura Ingraham touched on this today……. and I don’t believe Ratzinger was in charge when all this began, but inherited a mess. I think the history of this has proven the allegations against Ratzinger false.
Is it most important who was in charge or how the Church as an organization has responded?
As the current head of the Church (and someone that has been at a high level in the Vatican for some time) does he have any kind of responsibility to respond (or be sure that someone responds) to the allegations of long term abuse cover-up that were raised in the BBC report?
Mike he has said it won’t happen anymore. I’m not sure what you want him to do? He has stated the handling was bad, and there will be no more cover up. He has said there is no place for pedophilia inside the church. What do you want him to do? While we are at it……. how do we stop sexual abuse in the schools, in the day cares, and within families?
#41 -
So then what was the Pope’s response to the allegations brought forth in the BBC documentary last year?
And isn’t that far more important than Mahr’s (merely an entertainer) comments?
AW, for many this issue has nothing to do with wanting to correct the horrible abuses by a few priests so much as providing ammunition to paint Catholics in particular and Christians in general, as monsters. The Pope is the antichrist, you know.
BBC. Yeah, there’s an unbiased “news” agency.
Here is the number to call at HBO in New York. I actually got through this morning, was very respectful with the live person who answered the phone, and then I left a voice mail (that will probably be deleted without a listen, but at least the receptionist might mention how busy the phones were): 212-512-1000.
Cell phones with free long distance are a wonderful thing!
#44 -
The previous BBC documentary (by the same man)resulted in the Fern report. I think the reporting is quite reputable.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/1025/ferns.html
So how did the current Pope respond to the allegations brought forth in the BBC documentary? And is Joseph Henn or Mahr the more serious threat?
If you all get HBO to cancel Mahr, maybe they will add a spin-off of “Big Love”…..
If the “Big Love” spin-off stars Benzion and he has at least one inflatable RINO, I’ll watch.
BBC-Boring, Biased, Commentary
#47 - Biased in what ways?
In their current headlines the Pope puts part of the blame for the pedophile crisis on American’s lack of values.
“Pope attacks US sex abuse record”
“He laid part of the blame for the crisis, of which he feels “deeply ashamed”, on a breakdown in US values.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7351742.stm
#43 Hamous,
You’re exactly correct. These people don’t give a rat’s ass about the victims of sex abuse. They only want to damage a singular institution and religion. One only has to look at the links and comments provided here and Sunday to see that.
#49 -
So can you answer the question of which is the bigger threat - entertainer Mahr or Joseph Henn?
I’ll take the red herring with a side of Tu Quoque, please.
Neither of them are a threat to me, Mike S.
You?
#49 BigJolly, you’re exactly incorrect, and painting with a very broad brush, btw.
I don’t know who “these people” are, and hope that you might elaborate on that.
I don’t care if your Mormon, Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Islamic or an atheist. If you tolerate systematically supported sexual abuse you should be criticized for doing so.
Painting any criticism of Catholic Priest’s sexual abuse of minors as some kind of evil plot against Christianity as a whole is just plain silly, imho.
Now it’s my turn to not give a rat’s ass, bob42, because I don’t give a rat’s ass what you think. Fact is, you thought that it was appropriate to throw Bill Maher’s lies around as fact in an attempt to disparage the Pope. And you thought it was funny to boot.
Ha ha.
#52 - There is absolutely no question to me that a fugitive pedophile priest is a far more serious issue than a loudmouth arrogant (and relatively insignificant - to me anyway) entertainer (comedian).
And if he has been in anyway protected and aided from prosecution by the Church that is also far more serious.
I respect the fact that you feel the entertainer’s opinions are the bigger issue, but I disagree.
Speaking of broad brushes…
No one here has said any such thing. Maher did not just criticize a Catholic priest, he basically accused 1 billion Catholics of condoning or participating in pedophilia. And of course the anti-Christian bigots are more than willing to rally around his right to “free speech”.
#56 -
Maybe you missed #49, but I think Bob42’s synopsis was exactly accurate.
If you view the BBC documentary you will notice a number of former members of the Church clergy providing commentary about the abuse cover-up. I’d hardly call them anti-Christian.
http://freedocumentaries.org/film.php?id=126
#54 BigJolly, Fact of the matter is that you seemed to be offended by my weekend OC link long before you posted your (I think well done) research about Mahr’s lies. But I can understand that–Mahr is by nature, offensive!
#56 Hamous, I’m not going to defend Maher, but I don’t understand how anyone could interpret his rant as an accusation that a billion people “participating in pedophilia.” A billion people didn’t sexually abuse kids, but their Priests did.
And that’s a fact.
Mike S,
The truth is that the alleged and substantiated abuse by priests has cost the Catholic Church, and the entire Christian community, dearly.
The other truth is that most of those criticizing the Catholic Church do not care about the alleged victims, they simply regard the allegations as an opportunity to attack people of faith.
Why not just mock me for believing in a God that they say doesn’t exist? I don’t have a problem with that. At all. To each their own.
Why lie about things when the truth is more than enough to inflict the type of damage they wish to inflict?
Shocking as it may be, there are some atheists that are bad people. As well as some Christians that are bad people.
To continue to harp on the failings of a tiny number of bad people within an organization says more about the harpers than the organization.
Here’s what you’re not getting:
Reforms were put into place long before these scandals started breaking and have worked. Virtually all the abuses occurred in the 70s and 80s.
The leadership of the Church has repeatedly acknowledged the abuses.
The leadership of the Church has repeatedly acknowledged the gross mismanagement and cover up of the abuses.
At least twice a year the Bishop of every Diocese in the US has the parish priest spend the entire service discussing this matter with all parishioners.
All clergy, religious and laypeople that come in contact with children in any Church ministry goes through a rigorous screening and training program before they are allowed to have any contact with children.
It is abundantly clear there is nothing the Catholic Church can do to satisfy you and others.
I find the whole thing to be reminiscent of the way in which the Perfect is always the enemy of the Good. When a rogue member of the US military commits a crime, it is proof the entire American fighting forces are crazed, psychotic lunatics. When a CEO is found to have engaged in criminal behavior, it, of course, proves the capitalist system is corrupt and cannot be trusted. When one or even a few politicians are found to have taken kickbacks, democracy is a sham and a fraud. It is just the religious version of the same crap.
No, its not a fact. My priest, and the priest for the 1200 people in my parish, didn’t. There are thousands of other parishes around the country whose priests didn’t.
#59 -
If the highest levels of leadership of the Church tried to help those that sexually abuse children evade prosecution in any official manner (such as relocation to another diocese), then that “tiny number” suddenly has a significant impact on the organization’s reputation. And the organization has far more to account for than the harpers.
And you are simply wrong. The vast majority of those critizizing the Catholic Church around this issue are Catholics - that were either abused, or had family members or friends abused. To try and blame this on “anti-Christians” is uninformed and misleading.
#60 -
The Church has always said that homosexuality was against God’s word (ref the Bible). That did not prevent decades of abuse. It is arrogant to think that the Church does not have to prove itself in this issue. And it has so far failed to do so, as the documentry (and numerous other stories)indicates.
So why then was Joseph Henn not forced to return to the US to stand trial? And was he supported in anyway by the Church in the interim, while he was a wanted pedophile (after the year 2000)? And this is only one of a number of cases.
If the official Church only helped one pedophile evade prosecution, it already has a serious issue to account for. And the evidence is that it assisted many evade that fate.
I applaud the leadership of the Church for repeatedly acknowledging the gross mismanagement and cover up of the sexual abuse of numerous minors over several decades, and truly hope that their efforts to eliminate those crimes are effective.
Emphasis mine…
I don’t buy that for a minute, dude. This isn’t about attacking people of faith, and I’m more than a little concerned that my careful comments here could lead to such a belief.
Suggestion: Google HYPERSENSITIVITY…
Once again, no one has suggested such a ridiculous thing. And like I said, it is abundantly clear there is nothing the Church could do to “prove itself” to some.
Are you Catholic?
Mike S. - Enough with the generalities, if you have specific accusations (and please cite a source more trustworthy that the BBC) then fine, we need to call specific people to task and prosecute them if possible. Otherwise, your accusations and innuendo are no better than those of Bill Mahr.
The data I have read indicate that 3 - 4 percent of Catholic Priests have been accused (not convicted) of sexual abuse. That’s roughly equivalent to the number of public school teachers that are accused of the same thing. And, amazingly enough, school administrators do the same thing for their teachers that church administrators did for their priests.
The Church has repeatedly apologised for what happened. They have paid out over 2 Billion dollars in restitution. Many priests have gone to jail many more have been fired. So, specifically, what would you like to see happen? What do you think that the Pope should do, since you obviously don’t think that he’s done enough.
#66 -
Let the Church answer the questions about moving and protecting priests like Henn. It is sad that a comedian attracts more activism than abused children. Perhaps the Pope was correct yesterday when he partially blamed American’s lack of values for this problem.
http://www.maricopacountyattorney.org/Press/PDF/sexual_predator_eng_20060806.pdf
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news/2004_09_12_Dunklin_InThe.htm
It requries only a simple answer - did the Church assist this guy or not while he was a fugitive?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,132135,00.html
Maybe we should have the cable company take FOX news of the air as well?
Atheists/agnostics are never content to just live their lives without faith. They feel it necessary to justify their choice by attempting to tear down the belief system of those who are faithful. Sometimes their passion to destroy God rivals that of the most zealous missionary trying to bring people to God.
#69 That is so much better said by you than me! Exactly. Maher tried to be funny, but managed to show the world his lack of faith, makes him fear the faithful. However, we still don’t have to tolerate him. If Imus can get fired…. Maher should be given a job washing dishes in the cafeteria. He would learn about serving.
#68 I believe I read in one of your links yesterday that Henn was in Rome awaiting a decision in his case to fight extradition. He lost that fight then disappeared before he could be extradited. What exactly can the Church do?
#71 -
And for almost two years - while he was a wanted pedophile in Arizonia - he was allowed to continue in the order in Rome. And he was relocated there by the church as result of his troubles in the states.
That is the whole issue - did the church support a fugitive pedophile. It appears that they did. Why did the Church not command him to return and face the charges or be excummunicated? And if he did not, why was he allowed to remain in the order?
The Ferns report made it clear that there was an orchestrated effort by the Church that placed the welfare of priests above those of victims.
What did you think about the Arizonia DA’s comments on the Vatican’s behavior in the documentary (or stories)? Is he an “anti-Christian” or a rightly concerned agent of the law?
There is a big difference between God and an organized religion. To paraphrase one of the former FLDS victims a while back - God did not do this to them, the church did.
Nothing written here changes the FACT that maher is a low life piece of dung and does not belong on the airwaves, cable or what ever. He is a liar and as long as he is on HBO I will not be paying for HBO.