Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) - 10/1/21

[Rhiannon12866]

Monologue: Til Debt Do Us Part

Bill recaps the top stories of the week, including the debt ceiling showdown and juicy gossip from Trump's former press secretary.




Stevie Van Zandt: Unrequited Infatuations

The "E Street Band" guitarist and "Sopranos" actor joins Bill for a conversation about finding his identity in political activism.




I Don't Know It For a Fact... I Just Know It's True

Sometimes you don't know something for a fact – you just know it's true.




New Rule: Almost InstaFamous

Getting paid to do nothing has become this generation's highest goal.




Here's a "bootleg" version of the show which includes the entire interview with Stevie Van Zandt (6:16), entire panel discussion with Matt Taibbi and Katherine Mangu-Ward (16:55), and includes the opening part of New Rules (46:10). It won't last long, as usual:

[RedArkGuy]

1. I was glad that . . .

. . . Bill took on Matt Taibbi regarding Taibbi's contention there was no relationship between Trump and Russia. But Maher just wasn't as knowledgable as he needed to be. He failed to ask Taibbi why so many Trump cronies lied under oath (and were indicted for it) about an arrangement with Russia that was harmless.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. I was very glad to see that, too.

And here I thought that Matt Taibbi would be a good guest, but I liked him least on this show. I agree that Bill should have gone farther, but at least he corrected him - who wouldn't?? Yikes!

[2naSalit]

3. I now recall...

Just why I don't like Matt Taibi. He wasn't like that years ago when he first made a name for himself, or was he?

I like that Stevie Van Zandt mentions his interactions with the late, great Danny Schechter. He was a fixture in the Boston area back in the day. I credit him with transforming the way news, especially on radio, is presented. I think he may have been the first to apply musical interludes within the news that was relative to the story, contemporary music including protest music. It was in the early 70s.

I lost track of Schechter over the years until I heard of his work in S. Africa. It's quite a tale. I'll have to read the book and see what Van Zandt's perspective is on that.

[Rhiannon12866]

4. I agree that Van Zandt was clearly the best guest, intelligent, informative and entertaining

He had a lot to offer, I think Bill would have been happy to devote the whole hour to him. And I did remember seeing Matt Taibbi before, but he sure was a disappointment on this show. I was glad that Bill stepped in and challenged him, but I wish that he'd gone much farther - Matt should not have been able to get away with spouting such obvious falsehoods on the show. I'm hoping he won't be back.

[empedocles]

5. TY again

[Rhiannon12866]

7. You're more than welcome...

[tetedur]

6. I wonder what Taibbi thought Manafort's giving polling data to the Russians was,

if not collusion, conspiracy etc.

[Rhiannon12866]

8. I also found his statements quite baffling, it's not like there's any question at this point

At least Bill corrected him, but I wish that he'd said a lot more. Too bad that Malcolm Nance wasn't on the panel again this week...

[WHITT]

9. Yeesh

What planet was Taibi beaming in from?

I agree, Bill should have done the whole hour with Van Zandt. Quite interesting and leaving you wanting more.

[The Fifty Stateman]

10. From Matt Taibbi's Wikipedia Page:

Taibbi moved to Russia in 1992. He lived and worked in Russia and the former USSR for more than six years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Taibbi

And the other panelist sucked too. Bill's monologue and New Rule were good, plus. . .

[Auggie]

11. Inconsistencies?

Questioning the need for higher education then laughing at people who don't know the location of Venice, Italy.

"Credentialism," or the college degree, perhaps are overrated. But not the process necessary to achieve them. Critical thinking, creative thinking, researching, receptivity, debate, competition, success, failure, socialization, teamwork ... all these things make you a better human. College is a great way to experience it all. And ... you might just learn something you didn't know.

Thanks for posting Rhiannon12866!

[Rhiannon12866]

13. I agree with you on both points

Though this has become a popular comedy bit. Jay Leno called it "Jay Walking" and Jimmy Kimmel has a new version - questioning people on the street and seeing how much they don't know (like who they recently voted for for president) and the ridiculous things that they're willing to do on camera...

And I certainly agree about the value of a college degree, and it's not just learning facts and figures, but the entire learning experience. I'm wondering if the proliferation of on-line degrees is contributing to the problem.

[Blecht]

12. Thanks!

I haven't been watching much Maher lately -- he seems to be getting worse and worse.

The interview with Van Zandt was pretty good, but after that, I found myself skipping most of the show.
Some observations:

* His audience seems to be filled will paid "guffawers" -- loud males laughing strongly at things that were not remotely funny. Kind of like what Dennis Miller had in his audience right after his conversion.
* He has more right-wing takes than progressive ones
* He is doing more and more "Get off my lawn"
* He is comparing what he had to do in his youth to what young people have to deal with today -- totally tone deaf

I will go back to not watching. If he has somebody like Malcolm Nance on again, I'll just catch the clips.