make fun of the kid with Down's Syndrome, nicely done Bill, we've come to expect nothing less from your pathetic attempts at humor

*election08
*comedy
*latenight

Adding video to channels (Comedy, Election08, Latenight) - requested by NetRunner.

Yeah that was pretty bad taste, even by Maher standards.

>> ^BillOreilly:
make fun of the kid with Down's Syndrome, nicely done Bill, we've come to expect nothing less from your pathetic attempts at humor


I think he was hinting at her parental irresponsibility--having kids past the age of 30 greatly increases the risk of birth defects.

"At age 25, a woman has about a 1-in-1,250 chance of having a baby with Down syndrome; at age 30, a 1-in-1,000 chance; at age 35, a 1-in-400 chance; at age 40, a 1-in-100 chance; and at 45, a 1-in-30 chance."

>> ^imstellar28:
>> ^BillOreilly:
make fun of the kid with Down's Syndrome, nicely done Bill, we've come to expect nothing less from your pathetic attempts at humor

I think he was hinting at her parental irresponsibility--having kids past the age of 30 greatly increases the risk of birth defects.
"At age 25, a woman has about a 1-in-1,250 chance of having a baby with Down syndrome; at age 30, a 1-in-1,000 chance; at age 35, a 1-in-400 chance; at age 40, a 1-in-100 chance; and at 45, a 1-in-30 chance."

source?

"...a heartbeat^attack away from being the most powerful person in the free world."

there ya go.

>> ^BillOreilly:
make fun of the kid with Down's Syndrome, nicely done Bill, we've come to expect nothing less from your pathetic attempts at humor


He didn't make fun of the kid; he just mentioned him and returned to making fun of Palin.

Maybe didn't make fun of him, but sure marginalized him as a political ploy.

.

>> ^Payback:
Maybe didn't make fun of him, but sure marginalized him as a political ploy.


wasn't he talking about the kids in the context of their roll as a political ploy for the Mccain Ticket? i think uve mixed urself up a little, payback.

She really does look like a stewardess.

>> ^BillOreilly:
make fun of the kid with Down's Syndrome, nicely done Bill, we've come to expect nothing less from your pathetic attempts at humor

>> ^RedSky:
Yeah that was pretty bad taste, even by Maher standards.

>> ^xxovercastxx:
He didn't make fun of the kid; he just mentioned him and returned to making fun of Palin.

I have to agree with overcast on this one, if anything it was a jab at Edwards and/or the wisdom of having a child at 43 years old (regardless of whether the child has any problems). He wasn't making a joke ABOUT down syndrome, he just mentioned a fact.

I agree that the joke was poorly crafted and could have been phrased in a way that didn't open Maher to misinterpretation, but the truth behind his message is more important in my view: Palin is a gimmick VP pick.

>> ^fizziks:
I agree that the joke was poorly crafted and could have been phrased in a way that didn't open Maher to misinterpretation, but the truth behind his message is more important in my view: Palin is a gimmick VP pick.


Not actually true. It might seem like it from a quick survey of her biographical details on paper, but she's actually been under serious consideration for the VP spot for months. I remember having a discussion with some well-informed Republicans who were crossing their fingers for Palin's nomination.

While her tenure as Alaskan governor has been short, she's actually managed something very impressive in such a short time: keeping her basic campaign promises. She ran on a clean government ticket, and she's worked hard to excise corruption from the Alaskan government, even up to firing entire boards and replacing them with new members. Electability does not seem to be the whole concern. Nomination of Palin seems to indicate a good faith dedication to cleaning up the corruption of the last eight years.

Which is not to say that she doesn't help his electability. She's very much a maverick with her own ideas about the way to do things, which works very well with McCain's reputation up until the last few years. She's extremely anti-abortion, which helps him shore up the religious conservative vote. I'm sure Hillary supporters are a major concern as well, but they can't be the main one. Once her sentiments regarding abortion are more widely disseminated, she'll cause McCain to lose a significant portion of their votes.

This is not to say I'm endorsing her, of course. A suspicious independent like myself has much to dislike about her. She has a government-from-the-top attitude, which can only translate to further support for legislation like the Patriot Act. Her position on abortion, again, causes real concern. If she becomes President, she'll almost certainly have many of the same blind spots as Bush the Younger.

She's an inspired choice from McCain's perspective, but I don't believe she's the best choice for America.

So vote for Obama. 'Cause he sucks less than McCain.

>> ^HadouKen24:
>> ^fizziks:
I agree that the joke was poorly crafted and could have been phrased in a way that didn't open Maher to misinterpretation, but the truth behind his message is more important in my view: Palin is a gimmick VP pick.

Not actually true. It might seem like it from a quick survey of her biographical details on paper, but she's actually been under serious consideration for the VP spot for months. I remember having a discussion with some well-informed Republicans who were crossing their fingers for Palin's nomination.




That being said, I find it highly suspicious that McCain's second meeting with Palin happened to be the morning before he introduced her to the public as his VP. If she was so high up on their short list, it may have been a good idea to figure out whether these two can actually work together or not. That in itself makes this whole decision seem like more of a last minute afterthought.

McCain's trying to appeal to the kind of women who said they would switch parties and vote for McCain if Hillary Clinton lost the primary. You know, the kind of people who are swayed by the 80% of the content of the debates that had nothing to do with policy.

Not his best work. I usually find him funny but this was mostly lame and I'm generally a Dem so that ain't the politics talking.

... yeah, i don't see why this is top ten

>> ^CaptainPlanet:
>> ^Payback:
Maybe didn't make fun of him, but sure marginalized him as a political ploy.

wasn't he talking about the kids in the context of their roll as a political ploy for the Mccain Ticket? i think uve mixed urself up a little, payback.


I wasn't saying the marginalization was a political ploy. I said Maher wasn't making fun of the child, he was marginalizing him as JUST a political ploy. I apologize for not being more obvious.

...Like Maher.


ps. When I first saw the tag line for this, I saw "Maher on Pain" and was duly disappointed.

>> ^HadouKen24:
>> ^fizziks:
I agree that the joke was poorly crafted and could have been phrased in a way that didn't open Maher to misinterpretation, but the truth behind his message is more important in my view: Palin is a gimmick VP pick.

Not actually true. It might seem like it from a quick survey of her biographical details on paper, but she's actually been under serious consideration for the VP spot for months.

I appreciate your thoughtful reply however I still disagree. You bring up valid points as to why Palin may bring McCain some votes, but by 'gimmick' I didn't mean ineffective at bringing votes. She may have been McCain's best option, but that doesn't mean she's not a gimmick either. In fact, she could have been the best choice BECAUSE she was a gimmick. He had many qualified candidates (including another women) who had more experience, yet he went with the new kid on the block. Why? Gimmick power!

The fact remains that despite some good short term work in Alaska, she lacks experience in pretty much EVERY area a VP (and potential President should the worst happen to McCain) requires to be effective.

Furthermore, just because Palin was under consideration for many months doesn't make her selection any less of a gimmick. At best it makes her a well contemplated gimmick.

I understand you're not endorsing her (or McCain, or anyone), but to me, McCain is being a big hypocrite by simultaneously criticizing Obama over "lack of experience" and then turning around and picking a VP who is the least qualified of anyone.

It's a blatant attempt at trying to bring a younger, "change-esk" image to the Frankenstein-Robot-Dance-Party that is the McCain campaign, and hence my belief she is a gimmick. Palin shamelessly went for the Hillary vote which should offend Hillary supporters as Palin is further from Hillary than McCain. She even contradicts some of McCain's viewpoints!!

She is a pretty face that McCain is using as a trojan horse to inject energy and interest in his campaign. And it's working, look at all the attention he has received simply by PICKING her. Obviously McCain is hoping she will help him get into the good books of those studying "the good book" without raising as much of a stink as some of the other choices would have. In many ways, McCain took Huckabee, gave him an awesome sex change operation, a pretty face, erased his job experience, and danced him-her out on stage as the VP.

She ran on a clean government ticket, and she's worked hard to excise corruption from the Alaskan government, even up to firing entire boards and replacing them with new members.

It should be pointed out that many of her decisions to fire government employees have also been criticized as being unfair. There are many sides to these stories.

At the end of the day however, I don't think we actually disagree on that much. You point out good reasons McCain asked her to join the ticket, and I agree with most of them. However, I don't think those reasons contradict the fact that she is a gimmick.

All said and done, Maher's opening monologue is almost uniformly shitty, on par with Jay Leno. That said, the actual meat of the show and (most times) the 'New Rules' segment are reliably funny and informative.

And Palin really is a joke. Creationism in public schools ? Say no more. I'm already running away.

>> ^BillOreilly:
make fun of the kid with Down's Syndrome


Hmmm, obviously you and I watched different videos.

He made a snide remark about John Edwards, not the DS baby. But, why let little things like that get in the way of your awesome rants?

from fizziks:
" He had many qualified candidates (including another women) who had more experience, yet he went with the new kid on the block. Why? Gimmick power! "


Not true.

If you look at the list of who vetted her, it's all far-right christian fundies.

Dobson, Focus On The Family, and a whole host of other crazy wackjob christianists.

Palin was picked to shore up the religious-right vote, who previously hated him, and many of whom said would never vote for him.