S20.E09: Julia Ioffe; Sen. Jon Tester; John Heilemann

[PrincessPurrsALot]

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Bill kicks off this week's episode by interviewing journalist and Russian expert, Julia Ioffe. On the panel, he is joined by Sen. Jon Tester, the senior Democratic Senator from Montana, and John Heilemann, creator, host & executive producer of Showtime’s The Circus.

Original air date 2022.03.25

[revbfc]

Did someone slap Bill around until he listened to reason during the week?  This was actually a good episode with quality discussions.

 

 I’m not going to get into Bill’s comedy bits, because those have been consistently awful for 20 years.  Him not being funny is a constant I’ve learned to live with (and fast forward through.)

[arachne]

I'm glad John Heileman (?) and Senator Tester were there this week to keep Bill in check. For a moment, I thought Bill was heading for another of his "free speech vs. cancel culture" rants, but they interrupted him.

As for his final New Rule, Bill showed himself as clueless as ever about male/female relationships. President Zelensky is acting so bravely not because he's a man, but because he's the responsible leader his country needs right now. I have no doubt that if Zelensky were female, she'd act the same way. And yes, there are more men than women fighting in Ukraine -- because the men were ordered to stay there!

As for the reported drop in sexual activity Bill mentioned, I just didn't get the point. If it's true, the reasons are probably more complex than mere gender issues, as Bill suggests.

And this week's Overtime was, in a word, depressing. 😟 

[iMonrey]

This was a rare good episode, mostly because there were no right-wing blowhards on the panel spewing the usual nonsense, and the topics were mostly limited to Russia and the Supreme Court. Bill did try to cram cancel culture in there but fortunately it went nowhere.

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 I’m not going to get into Bill’s comedy bits, because those have been consistently awful for 20 years. 

The mid-show bit is terrible and I wish he would just drop it but I guess the writers need an excuse to earn a paycheck. I actually think his monologues are pretty good and this week's was good too. He should really just stick to stand-up and end the panel show.

I don't know that the statistic over who would stay and fight if Russia invaded us really means anything, least of which whatever Bill was trying to imply. Maybe 45% of Americans don't think this country is so great it's worth dying for.

Unfortunately things took a dark turn in the final New Rule. It boiled down to "men are turning into pussies and women want to bone tough guys." Way to over simplify things. That's taking toxic masculinity to new highs.

Clarence Thomas should be impeached. I'm pretty sure they can do that with SC justices.

[Starchild]

That final New Rule made me very uncomfortable.

There is a whole sea of options between toxic and wimp. I'm sure Zelensky actually swims somewhere in that sea.

Strong men are fine, as long as they respect others. When strong turns into dominating, well...

[Hedgehog2022]

Sounds like Bill's misogyny was on full blast this week. What a woman hater he is...this is one of the reasons I stopped watching him. When it was revealed that he and Bill Cosby were weekly regulars, when they were in town, of the Playboy Mansion and "good friends" with Hugh Hefner...who has been revealed to have been a pervert and creep...then you understand a lot about Bill's anger and animosity towards women....especially towards women who are strong and independant.

[StatisticalOutlier]

8 hours ago, revbfc said:

Him not being funny is a constant I’ve learned to live with (and fast forward through.)

I thought it was hilarious last week when the panelist said she was a Formula 1 fan, and Bill described it as "watching traffic."

[DXD526]

Wow, that last New Rule. How can Bill that badly have strength confused with toxicity? Zelensky is such a bad example to use. It's pretty simple to see why women would admire him, he's showing strength and character in an unbelievably tough situation. Why does Bill interpret that as 'toxic'? Seriously, sometimes his mindset is just a total mystery to me. A strong, moral man behaving honorably = Toxic. Huh??

And, yes, the fact that 45 and Thomas's nutty wife will most likely never be held accountable for their criminal actions does prove that power and money can allow a person to escape prosecution. No, it's not a surprise, but that doesn't mean it isn't crushingly depressing and demoralizing. 

[Poohbear617]

I hated Bill saying that women want to cherry pick the things about being a man that they want for themselves. During the  pademic lockdown and schools closing, i think Bill should be reminded that it was around 70%  of the parents who had to leave their job to stay with and educate their children were the women.  A lot of this was due to women being paid less, or they were single moms, etc..  think how in 2022 you will still hear fathers saying they have to "babysit" their kids.   Still a long way to go for equality bill, before they left their jobs these women were working then would come home to a  second job of having to care for their children.  Yes fathers are more involved nowadays..but therw is still a long way to go.

[aghst]

8 hours ago, Starchild said:

That final New Rule made me very uncomfortable.

There is a whole sea of options between toxic and wimp. I'm sure Zelensky actually swims somewhere in that sea.

Strong men are fine, as long as they respect others. When strong turns into dominating, well...

 

3 hours ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

Sounds like Bill's misogyny was on full blast this week. What a woman hater he is...this is one of the reasons I stopped watching him. When it was revealed that he and Bill Cosby were weekly regulars, when they were in town, of the Playboy Mansion and "good friends" with Hugh Hefner...who has been revealed to have been a pervert and creep...then you understand a lot about Bill's anger and animosity towards women....especially towards women who are strong and independant.

There's a lot to admire about Zelensky, who's the inspirational figure of the moment.

But he's not doing any of the killing.  He's being defiant and brave, or more like trolling on social media -- "Vlad, I'm still here, fuck you!"

Comparing him to John Wick is ridiculous.  Never saw the movie but that clip shows him shooting wildly into a crowd.  That's not not being a bad ass, that's being a psychopath mass murderer.

What's next Bill, every woman gets wet for John Wayne Gacy?

He's been doing this "we've become such pussies" schtick for years.

In fact, I saw him riff on one of his stand ups and it was almost verbatim one of the things Bill Hicks used to do but his take wasn't quite the same or misogynistic.

Women who depend on men when they're scared, like hear a noise or see a spider by their bed, that says more about the woman, not all women needing a man around, a macho man that is, not a pussy.

 

[RealHousewife]

5 hours ago, DXD526 said:

Wow, that last New Rule. How can Bill that badly have strength confused with toxicity? Zelensky is such a bad example to use. It's pretty simple to see why women would admire him, he's showing strength and character in an unbelievably tough situation. Why does Bill interpret that as 'toxic'? Seriously, sometimes his mindset is just a total mystery to me. A strong, moral man behaving honorably = Toxic. Huh??

Lord knows I have criticisms of the feminist movement, but it drives me crazy when antifeminists twist their words and goals around. They will literally cite examples of heroic men and say, why are feminists so against this? They never have been. 

11 hours ago, Starchild said:

That final New Rule made me very uncomfortable.

There is a whole sea of options between toxic and wimp. I'm sure Zelensky actually swims somewhere in that sea.

Strong men are fine, as long as they respect others. When strong turns into dominating, well...

Exactly. 

I personally love strong men who have a sensitive side. 

Men who are aggressive, get a kick out of being violent, like to boss women around or just see us as pieces of meat, no thank you. 

Men who are chivalrous, look out for my safety, offer to help me with heavy things, and generally treat me like a lady? Yes please. 

My experience has been to be leery of men who hate feminists AND men who fancy themselves big-time feminists. 

4 hours ago, Poohbear617 said:

I hated Bill saying that women want to cherry pick the things about being a man that they want for themselves. 

Men are the same way. The same men who hate the phrase toxic masculinity and anything from feminists are all about equality when it comes to women paying on dates and having casual sex. 

[Tachi Rocinante]

17 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I thought it was hilarious last week when the panelist said she was a Formula 1 fan, and Bill described it as "watching traffic."

Formula 1 racing IS boring.  Nothing more than a high-speed parade. 

I liked the Russian expert's joke - it was similar to the joke told in Chernobyl about the apple cutting machine.

[aghst]

All motorsports is boring.

But at least F1 goes around real roads and tracks which require different skills and strategies.

 

Not like some of the US races in Nascar or Indy Car where they're going around the same oval a few hundred times.

 

Thing is, Europeans aren't as car-obsessed as Americans.  They are content to use public transportation, trains or low-cost flights.  They certainly have highly-admired car companies which attract fans from all over the world.

Yet they are really into F1 as a spectator sport.

[Hedgehog2022]

19 hours ago, aghst said:

 

There's a lot to admire about Zelensky, who's the inspirational figure of the moment.

But he's not doing any of the killing.  He's being defiant and brave, or more like trolling on social media -- "Vlad, I'm still here, fuck you!"

Comparing him to John Wick is ridiculous.  Never saw the movie but that clip shows him shooting wildly into a crowd.  That's not not being a bad ass, that's being a psychopath mass murderer.

What's next Bill, every woman gets wet for John Wayne Gacy?

He's been doing this "we've become such pussies" schtick for years.

In fact, I saw him riff on one of his stand ups and it was almost verbatim one of the things Bill Hicks used to do but his take wasn't quite the same or misogynistic.

Women who depend on men when they're scared, like hear a noise or see a spider by their bed, that says more about the woman, not all women needing a man around, a macho man that is, not a pussy.

 

I read that Bill said women are "horny" for Zelenskyy because of his machismo or something to that effect...OMG. He really is clueless. What make Zelenskyy a hero or someone women admire isn't his "machismo", which I don't really see, it's his love of country, it's citizens, his wife and kids and his total dedication to fighting for these things and being a true leader. Women can admire a man for things that aren't sexual...sadly this will never be the case for Bill. I can't see any woman being "horny" for Bill under any circumstance.

[reggiejax]

On 3/26/2022 at 7:58 PM, aghst said:

He's been doing this "we've become such pussies" schtick for years.

In fairness, if anyone knows about being a pussy, it's Bill Maher.

[deirdra]

56 minutes ago, reggiejax said:

In fairness, if anyone knows about being a pussy, it's Bill Maher.

He was probably an incel until he started selling weed in college.

[MsTree]

On 3/26/2022 at 2:40 PM, Hedgehog2022 said:

Sounds like Bill's misogyny was on full blast this week. What a woman hater he is...this is one of the reasons I stopped watching him. ..then you understand a lot about Bill's anger and animosity towards women....especially towards women who are strong and independant.

If he hates women so much, how do you explain his relationship with Ann Culter? Or Arianna Huffington?

[iMonrey]

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I can't see any woman being "horny" for Bill under any circumstance.

I can. $$$$ 

And that's most likely the only kind of women that Bill interacts with. The ones that will sleep with him because he's rich and he's on TV. And that probably has a lot to do with his attitude about women.

He's right to make fun of the "incels" but I really don't understand his obsession with the idea that people are having less sex nowadays. He seems to think everything would be right in the world if everyone were just boning all the time. Like that's the answer to everything.

[Hanahope]

10 hours ago, MsTree said:

If he hates women so much, how do you explain his relationship with Ann Culter? Or Arianna Huffington?

its probably partly physical.  and i'm not sure he really likes them so much as finds them useful to him at times.

[Victor the Crab]

19 hours ago, reggiejax said:

In fairness, if anyone knows about being a pussy, it's Bill Maher.

He's more of a Whinny Little Bitch!

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I can. $$$$ 

And that's most likely the only kind of women that Bill interacts with. The ones that will sleep with him because he's rich and he's on TV. And that probably has a lot to do with his attitude about women.

He's right to make fun of the "incels" but I really don't understand his obsession with the idea that people are having less sex nowadays. He seems to think everything would be right in the world if everyone were just boning all the time. Like that's the answer to everything.

If Bill hadn't lucked out in becoming a celebrity, he'd be the world's oldest incel.

And for good reason. That new rule of his was dripping and stuffed with misogyny and contempt towards women, Good luck forever letting one allow you to touch them, Billy! They all consider you gross and disgusting now. And I don't need an overgrown crybaby like Bunghole Bill lecturing me about how men are becoming wusses, when he's the prime example of a toxic male that would easily get beaten into a fucking bloody pulp if he shot his ignorant mouth up and said something offensive!

That asshole is definitely ready to move to Fox News!

[aghst]

Misogynous, asshole behavior is an aphrodisiac to some women.

[MsTree]

11 hours ago, aghst said:

Misogynous, asshole behavior is an aphrodisiac to some women.

Well, then that says more about the women than the asshole.

[RealHousewife]

23 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I can. $$$$ 

And that's most likely the only kind of women that Bill interacts with. The ones that will sleep with him because he's rich and he's on TV. And that probably has a lot to do with his attitude about women.

He's right to make fun of the "incels" but I really don't understand his obsession with the idea that people are having less sex nowadays. He seems to think everything would be right in the world if everyone were just boning all the time. Like that's the answer to everything.

Agree. There are lots of happy people who aren't regularly getting laid. I also know quite a few who have a decent amount of sex but talk like the stereotype of an incel (very hateful). People get a lot of joy from the love of their family, from friends, sometimes their work or hobbies. Life's not all about sex. 

I think things that lead to people having more sex are probably where we'd need to start if we want to get everything right with the world. Is everyone healthy? Have enough food to eat? Money to pay the rent? Able to get therapy if they need it? I'd start with all of that instead of "why are people having less sex these days?"

[sistermagpie]

1 hour ago, RealHousewife said:

Agree. There are lots of happy people who aren't regularly getting laid. I also know quite a few who have a decent amount of sex but talk like the stereotype of an incel (very hateful). People get a lot of joy from the love of their family, from friends, sometimes their work or hobbies. Life's not all about sex. 

I think things that lead to people having more sex are probably where we'd need to start if we want to get everything right with the world. Is everyone healthy? Have enough food to eat? Money to pay the rent? Able to get therapy if they need it? I'd start with all of that instead of "why are people having less sex these days?"

He loves those simplistic explanations. I remember when he had that anti-trans woman on who insisted she was being cancelled because she was following the science. Then Bill threw out some poll that showed younger people said they were having sex less than kids the same age in the 80s and she said obviously this was a result of boys being scared off by all this consent stuff.