It’s that time of year – schools aren’t open, people are on vacation, the weather is kind of humid and downright terrible in some locations. It’s almost the end of the so-called “dog days of summer,”A sleepy moment on the calendar is Bill Maher’s excuse for wandering a bit. Real Time last night.
Actor-director-author David Duchovny came on early to talk about his writing process in his new book, The Reservoir: a Novella. He acknowledged that the book was a very thinly disguised version of his life. The former was more interesting “X Files” star’s take on UFOs, which was then topped by Maher.
Duchovny compared UFOs with the old “Ship of Fools”Strategy in which a society will cast off its criminals, and other undesirables, on ships sent to sea.
Because most of earth’s alien encounters involve teeth drilling and anal probing, Duchovny posited that maybe, “Some alien civilization was fed up with their sex offenders and their dentists, and put them on an intergalactic ship, and sometimes they come around us.”
Maher’s view was more alarming. He was worried that UFOs were most commonly seen by Navy pilots. His theory? “Because that’s who they are casing to attack. They are seeing what they can do.”
Matt Taibbi, the author ofTK NewsSubstack is the podcast’s host. “Useful Idiots with Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper,” and Lis Smith, political strategist and author of the new book, Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story.
The conversation turned to California Gov.’s recent ads. Gavin Newsom ran in Florida, pointing out the threats to freedom posed by the state’s conservative policies.
Maher asked which political party won the fight for freedom now.
“I don’t think either party has a stranglehold on freedom,”Taibbi said.
Smith blamed the GOP for the restrictions. She said that Democrats stood up for women and decisions about who they should marry. She said that this would cause Democrats to lose the midterm elections.
Maher was firm in his rebuttal. He pointed out the administration’s dictates to get vaccinated during the pandemic, which cost many people their jobs. “I do not want to be dictated to,”Maher stated. “I must insist they don’t insist how I handle my health.”
Taibbi also agreed, noting the fact that Democrats are “really, really weak”Freedom of Speech “There are a lot of people who associate Democrats with being taken off the internet.”He continued, “It’s the complete opposite of what I remember liberalism being about.”
Smith, a former advisor to Pete Buttigieg, talked about alleged GOP activism to keep transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. She claimed that the GOP was “finding a problem and trying to do this to divide people. There is no big threat of men taking over women’s sports.”
Maher scoffed.”Men have won in women’s sports. There are many examples of this.”
Dave Chappelle’s recent problems with a venue in Minneapolis was next on the agenda.
Maher claimed “Democrats have lost their sense of humor,”The same can be said “Dave Chapelle getting kicked out pissed me off. Then people say cancel culture isn’t a real thing?”
Smith claimed to be on Chappelle’s side, but then added that he was punching down by taking on the transgender community. “There’s no one more powerless than the transgender community,”She stated.
Maher was direct. “I reject (that),”He said it, but also noted “You’re allowed to have that point of view and Dave is still allowed to appear in Minneapolis.”