I clicked on this link because RealClearPolitics has it headlined “Jane Harman Calls Out Bill Maher’s Sexism.” Unfortunately, it’s more effective as an object lesson in how so-called “progressive” men like Maher and Moore maneuver to shut down feminist viewpoints and conversations. Former Congresswoman Jane Harman gives up on her challenge to Maher’s sexist description of a “blonde twink” on Fox News Channel, and her observation that she’s one of one women invited to last week’s show. She does this even after noting that the dynamic is identical to that described in “the book of the month” by Ron Suskind, with its description of the gender politics in the Obama White House! Check it out, with permission to shut down the conversation about sexism granted by Bill Maher and an assist by John Avlon.
Be sure to play it through to the end, where Moore accuses Maher of being “secretly attracted to” the “blonde twink” referenced earlier in the conversation, and the two joke around about Maher’s horndoggery with conservative women. Awesome!!! Of course, sex bias isn’t operative here, because Moore loves his wife, and Maher loves him his “blonde twinks.” Move along, sweeties, nothing to see here. . .
Historiann 
I wonder if Maher is aware that “twink” is a term generally used to describe something other than a young woman…
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Notorious, that was totally my first thought.
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This is the part I just can’t fathom. That sexism has gone *back* to being taken for granted, invisible.
When did that happen? How did it happen? Why did it happen? How do we smash the comfort zone of every jerk who does it?
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I had to look it up in the Urban Dictionary! *I* didn’t know that. I think Maher was using it as short for “Twinkie,” but who knows?
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Because when well-off, well-connected, media-supported white guys do something, it’s good clean fun. When anyone else does something, it’s wrong!
Of course, in my opinion, both men are insufferable asses (a description which can be used to characterize about 90% of the politicians and media types).
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These, and many others, American “progressives” are reactionaries in quite a few ways. Maher is a comedian, but Moore is, supposedly, a “to the point” person. Moore acted questionably in other areas before.
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i second quixote on this one… what the hell is happening? did we fall into the “way back machine” ??? the Playboy Club??? Pan Am? Really? Really? these are the values of America’s media elite circa 2011?
I think Michael Moore peaked with “Roger and Me.” The movie was great because he had sympathetic interlocutors to follow around. Even the GM PR guy came off as more than just a mouth piece. Every movie Moore has directed since then has been become increasingly shrill, especially Fahrenheit 9/11. He is a parody of himself now.
Its a good thing I don’t watch television and do all my time wasting on the internets…
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excuse the atrocious grammar. Besides, I should have quit with the first paragraph.
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One word: Blackwater. (this excerpt doesn’t mention their name, but the one I read a while back did)
Once his Overton Window got pushed by right-wing death threats, he was driven to the side of might and right… and that has some soul damages, to it:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/sep/07/michael-moore-hated-man-america
“We met with the head of the top security agency in the country, an elite outfit that did not hire ex-cops, nor any “tough guys” or bouncer-types. They preferred to use only Navy Seals and other ex–Special Forces. Guys who had a cool head and who could take you out with a piece of dental floss in a matter of nanoseconds. By the end of the year, due to the alarming increase of threats and attempts on me, I had nine ex-Seals surrounding me, round-the-clock.
(…)
The ex–Navy Seals moved in with us. When I walked down a public sidewalk they would have to form a circle around me. At night they wore night-vision goggles and other special equipment that I’m convinced few people outside CIA headquarters have ever seen.
The agency protecting me had a threat assessment division. Their job was to investigate anyone who had made a credible threat against me. One day, I asked to see the file. The man in charge began reading me the list of names and the threats they had made and the level of threat that the agency believed each one posed. After he went through the first dozen, he stopped and asked: “Do you really want to keep going? There are 429 more.”
(…)
I chose not to give up. I wanted to give up, badly. Instead I got fit. If you take a punch at me now, I can assure you three things will happen: 1) You will break your hand. That’s the beauty of spending just a half hour a day on your muscular-skeletal structure – it turns into kryptonite; 2) I will fall on you. I’m still working on my core and balance issues, so after you slug me I will tip over and crush you; 3) My Seals will spray mace or their own homemade concoction of jalapeño spider spray directly into your eye sockets while you are on the ground. As a pacifist, please accept my apologies in advance – and never, ever use violence against me or anyone else again.”
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I’ve got to say, I’ve never liked either, even Moore in “Roger and Me.” I think Moore’s mean-spirited and patronizing.
There’s an outside possibility that Maher was referring to a common practice suiting out low-level players in MMORPGs, but I kind of (meaning really, seriously) doubt it.
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