Progressive Privilege: Walz Calls Elon Musk 'That Gay Guy'

HBO’s Bill Maher scolded the media on Friday’s edition of Real Time Overtime for their claims that Donald Trump called for former Rep. Liz Cheney to be shot. Maher’s rebuke was not out of any love for Trump, but a demand that the media not “lie to me” because the real context of Trump’s actual remarks was something that “hippies used to say.” Maher asked his assembled panel, “What do you make of the statement, I woke up today to the headline that Trump had called for a firing squad for Liz Cheney, and this is what I really don't like about the media: no, he didn't, he didn't, you don't, you don't have to move me to not like Donald Trump more than I—”     The Fifth Column podcast co-host Michael Moynihan interrupted to concur, “He says so many shitty things, why do you have to do that?”  Maher then continued: By the way, what if people don't realize it, he's criticizing her for being a warhawk. I mean, she is Dick Cheney's daughter. He said, ‘She's a radical warhawk. Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, okay, let's see how she feels about it. You know, they're all warhawks when they're sitting in Washington in a nice building saying, ‘Oh gee, we'll send tens of thousands of troops right into the mouth of the enemy.’ Now, of course, he expresses himself horribly. He has to add, ‘she's a stupid person’ because he's a moron. Rep. Jamie Raskin couldn’t contain himself and chimed in with, “Well, Trump knows what it's really like from Vietnam.” Maher rolled on, “Just to be clear, this is exactly what hippies always said. This is exactly what peaceniks always said. This is Fortunate Son, the song. It's like, you know what, it's very easy to sit in your building and send young men to die.” He then reiterated, “Just don't lie to me. I don't like Donald Trump, don't lie to me and tell me she was in, he wants -- in front of a firing squad. He was saying something that, by the way, if it came out of the mouth, some of it, not the stupid part, again, sounds like what hippies used to say about not sending people to—” Raskin then interrupted again to argue Trump can’t credibly make the claim, “I agree with you on the lying. I mean, that’s ridiculous and absurd and counterproductive. But when did Donald Trump ever criticize a warhawk the way a hippie did? I mean, was it during Vietnam? He got out of going to Vietnam, but he didn't criticize the war or the Iraq War.” Maher accused Raskin of missing the point, “Jamie, I’m not defending Trump. I’m just saying don’t lie to me.” Moynihan agreed, “the number of Trump people you talk to who talk about the media and giving them any ammunition like this. I mean, I saw headlines, chyrons on television this morning saying that Donald Trump had said that Kamala Harris should be executed. I mean, at the beginning of that kind of rambling, incoherent thing said, ‘Give her a weapon,’ which is not typically something you do to someone getting executed.” Maher wrapped up by observing “the spirit of it is something that if someone with a blue hat said it, people would nod along on the left.“ People can have their own opinions on the merits of Trump’s and Cheney's respective foreign policy views, but it is the media’s job to tell the truth about what Trump said and let the voters decide for themselves. Here is a transcript for the November 1 show: HBO Real Time with Bill Maher Overtime 11/1/2024 11:04 PM ET BILL MAHER: What do you make of the statement, I woke up today to the headline that Trump had called for a firing squad for Liz Cheney, and this is what I really don't like about the media: no, he didn't, he didn't, you don't, you don't have to move me to not like Donald Trump more than I—. MICHAEL MOYNIHAN: He says so many shitty things, why do you have to do that. MAHER: And by the way, what if people don't realize it, he's criticizing her for being a war hawk. I mean, she is Dick Cheney's daughter. He said, “She's a radical warhawk. Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, okay, let's see how she feels about it. You know, they're all warhawks when they're sitting in Washington in a nice building saying, ‘Oh gee, we'll send tens of thousands of troops right into the mouth of the enemy.’” Now, of course, he expresses himself horribly. He has to add, "she's a stupid person" because he's a moron. JAMIE RASKIN: Well, Trump knows what it's really like from Vietnam. MAHER: Okay, just to be clear, this is exactly what hippies always said. This is exactly what peaceniks always said. This is Fortunate Son, the song. It's like, you know what, it's very easy to sit in your building and send young men to die, apropos of Ukraine, because, I don't know, that war doesn't look like it's going in the right direction. But just so, you know, just, just don't lie to me. I don't like Donald Trump, don't lie to me and tell me she was in, he wants -- in front of a firing squad. He was saying something that, by the way, if it came out of the mouth, some of it, not the stupid part, again, sounds like what hippies used to say about not sending people to. Yes? RASKIN: But, Bill, can I, agree with you on the lying. I mean, that’s ridiculous and absurd and counterproductive. But when did Donald Trump ever criticize a war hawk the way a hippie did? I mean, was it during Vietnam? He got out of going to Vietnam, but he didn't criticize the war or the Iraq War. MAHER: Jamie, I’m not defending Trump.  RASKIN: Yeah. MAHER: I'm just saying, don't lie to me.  RASKIN: I agree with that, I mean, that's just a distortion, but read what he really said though. MOYNIHAN: It’s counterproductive, I mean, the number of Trump people you talk to who talk about the media and giving them any ammunition like this. I mean, I saw headlines, chyrons on television this morning saying that Donald Trump had said that Kamala Harris should be executed. I mean, at the beginning of that kind of rambling incoherent thing-- MAHER: Right. MOYNIHAN: -- said, “Give her a weapon,” which is not typically something you do to someone getting executed. MAHER: And the spirit of it – MOYNIHAN: Right. MAHER: Is something that if someone with a blue hat said it, people would nod along on the left.  MOYNIHAN: There’s plenty of things he says. You don’t have to invent them.

When I woke up the morning after Trump’s 2016 victory, it was clear that the world was ending. I was a junior in college, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting. The theater department was housed within the humanities building. We shared space with the students studying women and gender studies.Another student, both gay and black, said, 'Anyone who voted for Donald Trump hates me.'I only knew one other person who, like me, had cast their vote for Donald Trump. We had both filled out our mail-in ballots in guilty silence.When I arrived on campus that morning, I collided with a good friend; she had filled a 7-Eleven Slurpee cup with booze and was drinking it somewhat discreetly in the hallways. She was not the only one, and she was not reprimanded. In the quad, my physical theater professor (yes, that was a real course) was handing out free, consolatory pancakes to students with swollen, red eyes.In my afternoon scene study class, a young woman sat in the corner and cried, “I really thought we would finally have a woman for president.”Another student, both gay and black, said, “Anyone who voted for Donald Trump hates me.”My professor nodded with the bravado of righteous indignation, like a wise elder at the gate watching as the city crumbled to pieces, pitying the young people who would have to go on living. As I ascended the staircase toward my bedroom that evening, my roommate, the one other person who was not utterly demoralized by Hillary Clinton’s defeat, popped his head out, surveyed the room to ensure we could not be overheard, and whispered, “I’m not sad that he won.”“Me, neither,” I breathed.That was all we said. Even in our own home, it was not safe to say more.I kept my vote for Donald Trump a secret for years. There were many days, listening to my friends bemoan the callous inhumanity of Republican voters and the inevitable rise of fascism because Donald Trump wanted to cut taxes, that I would wonder if — at my lowest points, fantasize that — my ballot had been lost in the mail. Maybe I was not culpable in his victory at all.The vigil for American democracy that had taken place in my humanities building had convinced me that if I were to be a conservative traversing among the creative society, I must be a quiet one.But times change, don’t they?Times change when men invade women’s locker rooms. When doctors sterilize children. When Big Pharma lies to us. When free speech is compromised.Today, the conservatives are more classically liberal than the liberals. And I, as someone with classically liberal tendencies, am living in my era. I’m fist-bumping RFK Jr. as he promises to “Make Frying Oil Tallow Again.” I’m vibing with JD Vance’s commitment to the hard-working blue-collar class of America. I’m getting behind Elon Musk’s defense of free speech on the internet. And yes, I am no longer ashamed to say that I really hope Trump can Make America Great Again.But regardless of which way this election goes, I refuse to behave like my humanities department did in 2016. I will not hold a vigil for the bygone American republic. I will not assume the worst of those who voted differently than I did or didn’t even vote at all.What matters to me most this election season is the way we treat one another. At the end of the day, most of us will never meet our president. He or she will not keep our keys for us when we leave for vacation. Our president will not gather with us for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s unlikely our elected officials will come together to pray for our sick mother or celebrate our new child. But our neighbors, our family, our community who may vote differently than us, they will be there.This is America.Go out and vote for the best candidate without shame. Put that campaign sign in your yard, if you want to, because we can handle a nation of people who don’t all vote the same way, and, in fact, we must.

With Ashes of Creation Alpha Two now in full swing, we’re finally getting a much more substantial look at the long-anticipated, ambitious new MMORPG. With the ongoing tests already scheduled to last into the middle of 2025, there’s still a long road ahead. It’s been really fun to see how it’s coming along however, and this weekend has been kicked off in style with the game’s creative director and Intrepid Studios founder Steven Sharif appearing in-game as a godlike figure to fight his own community in a large-scale PvP showdown. Continue reading Ashes of Creation director fights players as a PvP ‘raid boss’ in his own MMORPG MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best MMORPGs, Ashes of Creation interview, New MMOs

You Sweet Summer Child: Super Genius Alex Vindman Thinks Phishing Text Is Elon Musk 'Silencing' Him

Most of history's greatest games have come in franchises. After all, if you have one good game, why not make another one like it?

Mark Halperin Drops Some Damning News on Harris' Chances in Critical Swing States

Seinfeld Slams Elite NYC School for Coddling Kids ‘Distressed’ by Election, Allowing Them to Skip Class

TURMOIL: Kamala Harris Tells Joe Biden to Take a Hike, Cancels His Campaign Events

Let’s face it, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better location tracker if you’re tapped into the Apple ecosystem. | Photo: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Thanksgiving is just around the corner, meaning airports everywhere are about to get slammed. Thankfully, if you plan on flying out of town this holiday season, Apple’s AirTags can help you speed through the baggage claim with some extra piece of mind. A four-pack normally goes for $99, but right now, you can buy them for just under $74 at Walmart and Best Buy — a mere $1 shy of their best price to date. If you own an iPhone, Apple’s AirTags are the best Bluetooth trackers you can buy. They offer impressively precise tracking thanks to Apple’s ultra wideband chip and their ability to tap into Apple’s vast Find My system, which lets them cover a broader range than Bluetooth alone. You can also share them with up to five people — assuming... Continue reading…