Bill Maher's openly offensive rant against the Catholic Pope on national television...

From Maher's show transcript...

"And, finally, New Rule: Whenever you combine a secretive compound, religion and weirdos in pioneer outfits, there’s going to be some child-fucking going on. [laughter] [applause] [cheers] In fact, whenever a cult leader sets himself up as 'God’s infallible wing man' here on earth, lock away the kids."

"Which is why I’d like to tip off law enforcement to an even larger child-abusing religious cult. Its leader also has a compound. And this guy not only operates outside the bounds of the law, but he used to be a Nazi and he wears funny hats. [photo of the Pope shown] [mixture of laughter, shock, scattered applause]"

"That’s right. The Pope is coming to America this week, and, ladies, he’s single! [laughter] Now, I know what you’re thinking: 'Bill, you can’t be saying that the Catholic Church is no better than this creepy Texas cult! For one thing, altar boys can’t even get pregnant.' [mixture of laughter and other reactions]"

"But, really, what tripped up the 'little cult on the prairie'—[laughter]—was that they only abused hundreds of kids, not thousands all over the world. Cults get raided. Religions get parades. How does the Catholic Church get away with all of their buggery? VOLUME, VOLUME, VOLUME! [laughter] [applause]"

"If you have a few hundred followers and you let some of them molest children, they call you a cult leader. If you have a billion, they call you 'Pope.'”

"It’s like if you can’t pay your mortgage, you’re a deadbeat, but if you can’t pay a million mortgages, you’re Bear Stearns, and we bail you out. [laughter] [applause] [cheers] And that’s who the Catholic Church is, the Bear Stearns of organized pedophilia. [laughter] Too big to fail."

"When the – when the current Pope was in his previous Vatican job as John Paul’s Dick Cheney—[laughter]—he wrote a letter instructing every Catholic bishop to keep the sex abuse of minors secret until the statute of limitations ran out. And that’s the Church’s attitude: 'We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it.' [applause]"

"Which is fine. Far be it from me to criticize religion. [laughter] But, just remember one thing: if the Pope was, instead of a religious figure, merely the CEO of a nationwide chain of daycare centers where thousands of employees had been caught molesting kids and then covering it up, he’d be arrested faster than you can say, 'Who wants to touch Mister Wiggle?' [laughter]"

"Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, panel. [applause] [cheers] That’s our show."

This appears to be far worse than a published cartoon which offended the Muslim community and yet you do not see the Catholics rioting in the streets, the Cardinals calling for Bill Maher's death or the wanton destruction of property. It is being openly discussed in private and in the media -- and not one person has been killed or car burned over the remarks.

Meanwhile, in France...

According to Reuters...

"Brigitte Bardot on trial for Muslim slur"

"French former film star Brigitte Bardot went on trial on Tuesday for insulting Muslims, the fifth time she has faced the charge of 'inciting racial hatred' over her controversial remarks about Islam and its followers."

"Prosecutors asked that the Paris court hand the 73-year-old former sex symbol a two-month suspended prison sentence and fine her 15,000 euros ($23,760) for saying the Muslim community was 'destroying our country and imposing its acts.'"

"Since retiring from the film industry in the 1970s, Bardot has become a prominent animal rights activist but she has also courted controversy by denouncing Muslim traditions and immigration from predominantly Muslim countries."

"French anti-racist groups complained last year about comments Bardot made about the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha in a letter to President Nicolas Sarkozy that was later published by her foundation."

"Muslims traditionally mark Eid al-Adha by slaughtering a sheep or another animal to commemorate the prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son on God's orders."

"France is home to 5 million Muslims, Europe's largest Muslim community, making up 8 percent of France's population."

"'I am fed up with being under the thumb of this population which is destroying us, destroying our country and imposing its acts,' the star of 'And God created woman' and 'Contempt' said."

"Bardot has previously said France is being invaded by sheep-slaughtering Muslims and published a book attacking gays, immigrants and the unemployed, in which she also lamented the 'Islamisation of France.'"

Looks like free speech is dead in France!

It's a matter of free speech...

It may be offensive to some, but they, both Maher and Bardot, should have the unalienable right to say whatever is on their minds. And you should have a similar right to criticize them -- up to the point where you physically threaten the property and/or lives of others.

What can YOU do?

Uphold all of your unalienable rights by supporting freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly. One of the reasons that the United States is superior to most of the world is that we are a freedom-loving people who widely tolerate the views of others.

However, when any segment of society tries to limit your rights, you must then seek redress. That's the lesson that the Muslims have failed to learn: they are free to practice their own religion as long as they do not interfere with the rights of others to practice (or ignore) their own religion.

Feel sorry for France, it seems that two major World Wars on their doorstep has taught them precious little about true freedom.

Do not vote for any candidate or current politician who is willing to subvert the safety, security, sovereignty and economic strength of the United States or limit an individual's right of self-defense for their personal philosophy, power, prestige or profits.

-- steve

Quote of the day: "

It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important." -- Martin Luther King Jr.

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

[ Bill Maher ] » Realtime ~ 11/04/08

Brigitte Bardot on trial for Muslim slur | Entertainment | Reuters