Free Levi! : Dispatches from the Culture Wars

Profile

Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of Michigan Citizens for Science and co-founder of The Panda's Thumb. He has written for such publications as The Bard, Skeptic and Reports of the National Center for Science Education, spoken in front of many organizations and conferences, and appeared on nationally syndicated radio shows and on C-SPAN. Ed is also a Fellow with the Center for Independent Media and the host of Declaring Independence, a one hour weekly political talk show on WPRR in Grand Rapids, Michigan.(static)

Search

Other Information

Ed Brayton also blogs at Positive Liberty and The Panda's Thumb

Ed Brayton is a participant in the Center for Independent Media New Journalism Program. However, all of the statements, opinions, policies, and views expressed on this site are solely Ed Brayton's. This web site is not a production of the Center, and the Center does not support or endorse any of the contents on this site.

Ed's Audio and Video

Declaring Independence podcast feed

YearlyKos 2007

Video of speech on Dover and the Future of the Anti-Evolution Movement

Audio of Greg Raymer Interview

E-mail Policy

Any and all emails that I receive may be reprinted, in part or in full, on this blog with attribution. If this is not acceptable to you, do not send me e-mail - especially if you're going to end up being embarrassed when it's printed publicly for all to see.

My Ecosystem Details

« Kuznicki on the War on Drugs | Main | Blacks Against Obama »

Free Levi!

Posted on: September 20, 2008 9:30 AM, by Ed Brayton

If you missed Bill Maher last night, you have to see this. The new rules had me howling with laughter. Video below the fold:

Share this: Facebook Twitter Stumbleupon Reddit Email + More

Comments

I was looking forward to this show because Andrew Sullivan was going to be on it. It's my perspective that Sullivan has become the most effective clearing house of legitimate raw data and perspectives on both Palin and the mutation of John McCain on his blog, the man is working his butt off on these issues.

Unfortunately, Sullivan's overly strident approach on TV can be off-putting in terms of getting people who do not share his views to consider well-thought out views that are based on very solid premises. He was the same way on the Clintons, his opposition becomes as emotional sometimes as social conservative arguments, even when the facts are on his side.

Maher could have used Sullivan on last week's show when conservative John Fund destroyed all three liberals regarding last week's central issue, Palin's ignorance regarding the Bush Doctrine. Fund created a red herring about how unfair it was that Gibson didn't pre-emptively define the doctrine, which the liberals bit on hook, line, and sinker. The liberals should instead have moved the argument to the central point; which was that after Gibson twice defined the argument for Palin, she was still unable to present a coherent argument within the context of the debate whether preventive wars are justified. In fact she actually presented a position that countered what Bush and McCain have argued since 2002, I think out of ignorance. Sullivan would never have allowed that, he is extremely up to speed on the central arguments regarding Palin, as are his loyal readers.

I also liked how Sullivan better framed the credit melt down. As a Developer/Realtor, but also a strong proponent of the FairTax, something my industry abhors, I'm unfortunately a dues-paying member of an extremely powerful lobbying effort that I believe counters the national interest with its socialistic objectives.

It was refreshing to hear Sullivan criticize tax subsidies for homeowner debt which encourages people to buy homes when a more rational option might be to rent. Every year I get in a fight with the Realtor Board because I need to be a Realtor to do my job, but hate paying my dues since that money is spent lobbying government to encroach on the market for social engineering objectives that have now backfired - money both parties willingly accept and do our bidding, to our collective detriment (I pay the admin cost portion of the dues, but not the lobbying portion, which by law I think they must honor).

Posted by: Michael Heath | September 20, 2008 10:22 AM

Heath--Apparently, I need a better internet connection. You certainly got a lot more from that video than I did.

Posted by: David C. Brayton | September 20, 2008 10:58 AM

I actually didn't see the whole show, I tuned in just at the end a couple minutes before new rules began.

Posted by: Ed Brayton | September 20, 2008 12:23 PM

David - I record and watch all Maher's shows, most of the show is Maher with a three-person panel discussing politics, usually two libs and one con. Sometimes they are an agonizing display of standard shallow liberal rhetoric (his guests, not Maher), other times they are insightful. Last night was a pretty good one.

Posted by: Michael Heath | September 20, 2008 1:31 PM

These are hysterical. Thanks for that, Ed. I hadn't seen this installment from the show yet, since I don't get HBO, but I do like watching him on the internet.

Posted by: JStein | September 20, 2008 1:33 PM

Heath, you sure saw a different show than I did. Fund was bland, evasive, and obviously full of shit, which is why by the end of the show the rest of the cast was laughing at him and calling him a liar to his face. I go into more detail here. I seriously doubt most of the viewers saw it as him destroying them.

Personally, I think this is the route we need to go when these partisans trot out this dung. Call them liars to their face and mock them. They deserve it, and its far more effective on an audience than pretending the crapola they spew is worthy of serious response. This isn't a football game or a high school debate where you can be excused for rooting for your team no matter what.

Posted by: Science Avenger | September 20, 2008 5:35 PM

I've already got money down. My dollar says that if Levi is not married by election day, he's not getting married. I.e. they're just pretending that he will while they run out the clock.

Posted by: ivy privy | September 20, 2008 7:37 PM

Somebody should have taught Bristol how to use a condom. But, I guess that would have caused her to have sex.

Posted by: steve s | September 20, 2008 7:58 PM

You do *not* know how hard it was holding a large gulp of tea in my mouth in the middle of this without spraying it all over the keyboard, screen and everything else on my desk.

Soooo close to an oil-spill level cleanup it isn't funny....

No - it *was* funny... seriously.

(Now to finish the tea so I can play it again!)

Posted by: marc buhler | September 20, 2008 8:13 PM

Heath, you sure saw a different show than I did. Fund was bland, evasive, and obviously full of shit, which is why by the end of the show the rest of the cast was laughing at him and calling him a liar to his face. I go into more detail here. I seriously doubt most of the viewers saw it as him destroying them.

On the matters that followed the Bush Doctrine debate you are right, that portion of their debate was not referenced by me in my comment because it was irrelevant to my point.

On the Bush Doctrine portion of the debate the liberals had a knock-out punch and failed to deliver it out of what appeared to be ignorance on their part of the actual interview transcripts. Fund prevailed at keeping the argument focused on Palin merely not knowing what the Bush Doctrine was by that name, rather than the central point - she didn't know such a debate even existed and provided an answer that contradicts the argument used by Bush and McCain to sell the Iraq War.

In the portion I described, Fund calmly kicked their ass while they shrilly countered with meaningless babble even though their side of this debate has a far superior argument. I'm a big fan of Maher, however on this point he let us down, most likely because he either forgot or didn't study the transcripts carefully enough.

After they moved on, Garafalo and Maher were devastating to Fund's arguments for the same reason they should have nailed him earlier, there is no real argument to be made about Palin and in this case they no longer argued out of ignorance like they did about the Bush Doctrine.

Posted by: Michael Heath | September 20, 2008 10:08 PM

I don't think trashing Levi or Bristol is funny.

Posted by: Adam | September 21, 2008 7:29 PM

I don't think trashing Levi or Bristol is funny.

Trashing Levi? I think Bill was looking out for his best interests.

Posted by: Shygetz | September 21, 2008 8:44 PM

I don't think trashing Levi or Bristol is funny.

I think they already took care of that....

Posted by: kehrsam | September 21, 2008 9:57 PM

I don't think trashing Levi or Bristol is funny.

I respect your right not to laugh.

Posted by: Herod the Freemason | September 22, 2008 9:15 AM

Levi did his own trashing. He had unprotected sex. Bristol let him. She got preggers. Result: Trash. Having sex with pro-lifers has it's rewards I guess. Or not.

Use a condom or find a smarter girlfriend.

Posted by: Mike | September 22, 2008 1:09 PM