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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCatholic League Wants Time Warner To Have ‘A Serious Talk’ With Bill Maher
The Catholic League has had enough of Bill Maher's shtick.
Maher on Friday closed his weekly HBO program, "Real Time," with a monologue that was sharply critical of the Catholic Church and the newly elected Pope Francis. It was a pretty typical rant from the anti-religion satirist but William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, believes Maher went too far.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Glenn A. Britt, chairman of HBO's parent company Time Warner, Donohue said that "Maher's bigotry" must not go unpunished. Donohue attached a report titled "Bill Maher's History of Anti-Catholicism, 1998-2013," which documents 39 jokes made by the comedian that were directed at the Church.
"From the enclosed report, it is evident that Maher's bigotry is not merely visceral, it is relentless," Donohue wrote. "The time has come for someone in a position of responsibility to sit down and have a serious talk with this man."
more + video:
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/catholic-league-wants-time-warner-to-have-serious
Not Me
(3,398 posts)I dislike Mr. Donohue's statements just as much, but he has a right to them, and I can turn him off.
onenote
(42,700 posts)unless its the government doing the muzzling.
Kurovski
(34,655 posts)I think it would make for a smashing broadcast!
(A talk between the league and Maher)
I doubt they are brave enough for it, look at the passive-aggressive way they are approaching their grievance.
libodem
(19,288 posts)And narcing to things to joke about. Dicks.
CurtEastPoint
(18,643 posts)1 man making jokes is nothing compared to 10 Thousand religious idiots bashing gays
truebrit71
(20,805 posts)...perhaps Mr Donohue has forgotten that thing called the First Amendment, and that the US follows the Constitution (theoretically), and not the dictates of that cult of child-buggerers he defends...
longship
(40,416 posts)I didn't remember that it was Maher who said that, but I believe that the Catholic League is just the bloviating Donohue himself.
Paladin
(28,255 posts)Donohue has wielded way too much influence for way too long. And Maher is an equal-opportunity offender: any organized religion is fair game, as far as he's concerned.
formercia
(18,479 posts)He's just a bully with a big agenda.
backscatter712
(26,355 posts)He's one guy with a fax machine.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)Oh yeah, because you would just embarrass yourself again loser-
Volaris
(10,270 posts)What a douchebag this guy is (apologies to any actual douchebags who may be reading, as it can be argued that you serve a legitimate purpose).
backscatter712
(26,355 posts)I miss Christopher Hitchens.
bluedigger
(17,086 posts)They aren't so special - just topical.
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)authority on any matter and their opinion is merely relative to the influence and power they currently hold.
If they find that threatening, then the burden of proof is on them to establish on what grounds they have any actual authority. If the substantiation rests on a god then tangible evidence does not seem to exist, unless they can provide it. Hearsay and anecdotal evidence are not admissible.
It they rest on ad populum arguments, then their authority is merely a logical fallacy and as convincing as the opinions about which baseball team is best. Popularity is no actual proof of authority, no matter how many people agree on an issue. If everyone agreed that gravity does not exist, they might start walking and acting funny, but that's not going to end gravity.
Most authority and many institutions rest on swampy ground. If popular opinion or beliefs change around them, they tend to hold no concrete and factual relevance or power. That is powerful and yes, it is anarchistic.
When you go by the argument of burden of proof, it is not so much about ending or eliminating various, influential institutions, (that tend to have ulterior motives and self-serving agendas) it is about relegating them to their proper place and delimiting their control of the rest of us. That is doable if we push the issue past the curtain.
Initech
(100,068 posts)Squinch
(50,949 posts)Shouldn't we rename it the League of One Guy? Or the League of Who the Hell Cares What Donahue Says?
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)Why he still gets airtime is beyond me.
backscatter712
(26,355 posts)It's shitkicker inflation! One man with a fax machine.
City Lights
(25,171 posts)I've never seen him speak calmly. He needs to chill.
AngryOldDem
(14,061 posts)Keep up the good work!
Happy now, Mr. Donohue?
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)The funniest thing about that is that the "League" is just one guy.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)Besides, what matters is whether Maher treated any other religion better.
BainsBane
(53,032 posts)one guy with a fax machine, as Maher says.