Papantonio: Hey U.C. Berkeley, Bill Maher Is Entitled to Free Speech Too

[GoLeft TV]

I remember during the Bush years doing segment after segment on the way Republicans would support Bush no matter what he did. Whether it was sending troops to die in Iraq, or his plan to privatize Social Security, Republicans believed that it was their duty to agree with everything Bush did. They didn’t have the ability to disagree with him on a single issue. For Bush Republicans, it was all or nothing.

Sadly, Democrats today have fallen into the same mindset. To them, there are only two settings: Either someone is always right, or someone is always wrong. They can’t have an opinion that is different from someone without discounting everything that person has done for the entire Democratic movement.

Bill Maher is a great example. And the loudest criticism comes from UC Berkeley of all places as if they somehow have the high ground to criticize Bill Maher about controversial comments – while they are paying full professor salary to John Yoo, a vile murderous political Cheney thug who created the law that triggered the brutal murder and torture of Gitmo prisoners for a decade.

Full text at Ring of Fire.

[freshwest]

1. He makes some good points. I usually don't click his videos, but he made some sense here.

That part about John Yoo got me to watch. UC Berkeley had a reputation as being liberal that may not have always been deserved.

It may be that universities seek conservative donor dollars to keep going due to a lack of public funding to be more independent. I doubt that Yoo's tenure is directly related to the ruckus at Berkeley now.

Posted on another thread, saying that students should not have to boycott their own commencement that they paid for as part of their fee schedule to give Maher a venue. The students might not mind him being there, I don't really know.

Obviously, Maher has many more subjects to cover than just the one mentioned recently.

[zeemike]

2. And I am not sure that it is progressives that are objecting to him speaking.

I would not be surprised to see Koch money behind it or some other neo liberals who have a different agenda than what they say it is.

[Fred Sanders]

3. Maher can speak and others can speak and criticize, kind of the way free speech works, Papatonio.

Neat ad hominem attack using Yoo as the object of deflection...sad argument all around.

I love Mahers's comedy, although a bit off lately, but I side with Berkeley on this point.

Just as I forgive Warren for being blindly por-Israel during their slaughter of innocents in Gaz, she may come around, I can forgive Maher, may he come around also.

[sulphurdunn]

4. Your friends don't beat you up

as badly as your enemies, but they do beat you up.