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NEWS ABOUT: Bill Maher Grid

Stories 141 - 160 | << Prev   Next >>

White Comics Lack Nuance Needed to Mine Obama

President-elect not lacking in comic fodder; it's mainstream comedians who are lacking

(Newser) - Bill Maher recently said Barack Obama “needs to give comedians something to work with.” The President-elect is “too perfect,” he groused, and worse, liberals are afraid to laugh at black people. If only Dave Chappelle were working, laments Salamishah Tillet for the Root. He’d quickly... More »

Prop. 8 Backers Declare Victory; Foes Won't Concede

States shoot down abortion limits, ban gay marriage, back assisted death

(Newser) - Backers of a gay marriage ban have declared victory after a tight race in California but opponents refuse to concede until all the ballots are counted, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The Prop. 8 measure was one of several divisive social issues put to a vote yesterday. Measures that would... More »

Bookie Drops Odds on God's Existence to 4-1

(Newser) - The odds are getting better that Nietzsche was not only crazy, but wrong, the Telegraph reports. An Irish bookmaker has lowered the odds on finding proof of God's existence to 4-1, after atheist ads on London buses sparked a flurry of pro-God betting. The bookie, Paddy Power, began taking the... More »

Maddow's Success Defies TV's Formula

MSNBC's unlikely hit powered by brains, drive

(Newser) - Rachel Maddow is an unlikely cable-news pundit: butch lesbian, holder of a doctorate from Oxford, erstwhile drive-time radio sidekick. But her MSNBC show, launched in September, has been wildly successful, not least because of her good humor and outsider credentials. She plays well with Pat Buchanan, and still snags a... More »

Dawkins to Battle the Harry Potter 'Delusion'

Atheist author will write children's book to wean kids from magic

(Newser) - Evengelical atheist Richard Dawkins will take on Harry Potter in his next book, the Daily Telegraph reports. The God Delusion author is working on a book aimed at teaching children not to put their faith in "anti-scientific" fairytales. The professor plans to examine what effect raising children on stories... More »

UK Group Raises $80K for Atheist Bus Ads

Fundraising target far surpassed, campaign may expand nationwide

(Newser) - A campaign to plaster London buses with agnostic advertising has far exceeded its fundraising goal, the Guardian reports. The ads, aimed to counter what one writer sees as overbearing Christian messages, will say, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Organizers have raised... More »

Maddow Sends MSNBC Ratings Rocketing

Execs thrilled as new host grabs for Larry King's crown

(Newser) - Rachel Maddow has made MSNBC a prime-time contender with dizzying speed, the New York Times reports. The liberal pundit's Rachel Maddow Show more than doubled the network's ratings in the 9 pm slot within days of its debut six weeks ago, and has beaten CNN's Larry King Live among viewers... More »

GOP Intellectuals Jump Mac's Ship, Leaving Wingnuts

Columnist's schadenfreude turns to dread over the new face of the party

(Newser) - It’s been a fun time for liberals, writes Rosa Brooks in the LA Times. Though initially worried about the boost Sarah Palin gave to John McCain’s polling numbers, Dems were then treated to the defections of some of the GOP’s brightest thinkers. Columnists David Brooks, Charles Krauthammer,... More »

Hitchens: We're Now a Banana Republic

Accountability is nil, the president useless

(Newser) - The credit crisis has laid bare the failings of US government, writes Christopher Hitchens in Vanity Fair, putting us on par with other banana republics such as Zimbabwe and Venezuela. How else to describe this "collusion between the overweening state and certain favored monopolistic concerns, whereby the profits can... More »

Sarah Silverman, You Don't Get Jewish Voters

Bubbie is uneasy over Obama's stance on Israel

(Newser) - Sarah Silverman may be urging young Jews to persuade their bubbies in Florida to vote for Barack Obama, but older Jews are right to be uneasy with the Democrat, writes Anat Hakim in the Los Angeles Times. Much of Obama’s history has Jews feeling that “something is just... More »

Chihuahua Marks Box Office Territory

Religulous has surprisingly successful showing

(Newser) - Beverly Hills Chihuahua hotdogged to the top of the box office heap for a $29 million treat this weekend, Variety reports. Bill Maher's Religulous doc banked a surprising $3.5 million on only 502 screens, while bigger flicks rounded out the top five: Eagle Eye took second with $17.... More »

Young Jews Lobby Vital Fla. Voters: Nana and Bubbeh

Silverman urges 'Great Schlep' for Obama

(Newser) - The 2008 election is so important that some Jewish kids may actually visit their grandparents voluntarily. That's the theory behind “The Great Schlep,” an initiative urging young Jews to fly to Florida over Columbus Day weekend and lobby their relatives for Barack Obama. The sponsor is a pro-Obama... More »

DEA Nabs 175 Mexican Drug Cartel Suspects

Nationwide initiative a key step in border drug war, authorities say

(Newser) - US officials arrested 175 suspected Mexican drug traffickers this week in raids in a dozen states, the LA Times reports. Prosecutors believe the suspects are part of the violent Gulf cartel, considered to be a driving force in Mexico’s escalating drug wars. The raids were part of a 15-month... More »

Maddow, Set for MSNBC Debut, Aims to Avoid 'Homogenized'

Lefty has own ideas for mainstream medium

(Newser) - Rachel Maddow’s own show debuts at 9 EDT tonight on MSNBC, but the liberal pundit doesn’t sound so much excited as worried. TV has “homogenizing tendencies,” she tells the Boston Globe. “It’s like being put through a meat grinder.” But worried or not,... More »

Mexican Drug Wars Spread to Touristy Yucatan

(Newser) - As drug violence soars in Mexico, casualties are spreading to the Yucatan peninsula, a major tourist destination and spring break hot spot. Twelve decapitated bodies were found near the popular ruins of Chichen Itza this week, the Los Angeles Times reports. That's because a government crackdown has heightened “a... More »

Maddow Helps MSNBC Make Left Turn

Network hopes new anchor will translate into ratings, ad revenue

(Newser) - Rachel Maddow's promotion to prime-time at MSNBC more clearly draws the partisan lines among the cable networks, writes Brian Stelter of the New York Times: MSNBC on the left, Fox on the right, and CNN claiming middle ground. Now the big question: Will the Maddow move translate into more ads?... More »

Kevorkian's Congressional Bid Advances

'Dr Death' gets enough signatures to be on Michigan ballot

(AP) - Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian has collected enough signatures to be on the November ballot as a congressional candidate in Michigan. The Oakland County elections director says Kevorkian had about 3,200 valid signatures—about 200 more than needed. More »

Atheist Soldier Sues Army for Harassment

Says superior threatened charges over meeting in Iraq

(Newser) - An atheist soldier is suing the US military for harassment after commanders pressured him to find faith, the Topeka Capital-Journal reports. One officer broke into Jeremy Hall's atheist meeting in Iraq last year and said, “People like you are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted... More »

Pundit's Pontificating Draws Fire

Maher sorry for Nazi jibe, but Catholics want scalp over cult remarks

(Newser) - Not for the first time, people are calling for Bill Maher's head—in this case for taking pot shots at Pope Benedict XVI on his HBO show. "If you have a few hundred followers and you let some of them molest children, they call you a cult leader,"... More »

'Gay Last Supper' Sparks Rage

Catholics upset over Vienna museum's painting of apostle orgy

(Newser) - A tiny Vienna museum with ties to the Catholic Church has became the target of worldwide outrage after displaying a homoerotic mural depicting the Last Supper, ABC News reports. The painting, by one of Austria's most cherished artists, shows naked apostles drinking and having an orgy. It has now been... More »

Stories 141 - 160 | << Prev   Next >>

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