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For Ben Affleck, It's Ridicule Before Reason
Townhall.com ^ | October 11, 2014 | Tony Katz

Posted on 10/11/2014 6:15:22 AM PDT by Kaslin

Ben Affleck's recent turn on Real Time with Bill Maher - his ranting, nonsensical and history-altering tripe during a smart, reasoned and valuable conversation about Islam and the world - exposes a myriad of truths about the actor and director, and about Liberalism.

The conversation between Maher and author Sam Harris started off reasoned and clear; Liberals need to stand up for liberal principles, and Liberals need to be honest about these principles when speaking about the Muslim world. After just 60 seconds of conversation between the two, Affleck interjected with his first of many caustic statements. His demeanor was aggressive from that one minute mark, and only got more aggressive and dismissive as the conversation went on.

Was it this anger that made Affleck unable to properly quote the Declaration of Independence? After asking Harris if he was the only person who could "codify" the doctrine of Islam (a strange, odd, peculiar question meant to incite,) Affleck said:

You're saying, if you want to be liberals, believe in liberal principles. Like Freedom of speech. Like we are endowed by our cre... forefathers with inalienable rights. That all men are created equal.

Affleck couldn't say "Creator." Why? That's the phrase. "We are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

It wasn't our forefathers who gave us those rights; they come from Nature and Nature's Law. Getting away from a man, like a king, giving other men their rights is exactly the thing they were declaring independence from!

So why couldn't Affleck say it? Did he simply forget in the haze of his growing anger? Or, would the admission of the truth make him a traitor to his Ideological Obedience; to Liberalism.

Credit Evan Sayet for his work on the Unified Field Theory of Liberalism. Today's Liberal in America isn't just wrong. They are as Sayet posits, "As Wrong As Wrong Can Be," and they will, with all facts and truths at their disposal, side with evil over good, wrong over right, and the despot over a freely elected leader and people.

Everyone watching and listening understood that Maher and Harris were discussing radical Islam. If Affleck could have simply contained his disgust for Maher at that moment, he would have heard Harris try (and he tried multiple times) to "unpack" his thesis.

Harris explained clearly his view of concentric circles in Islam. He named three of them - Jihadists, Islamists and then the "conservative" Muslim. Harris repeatedly stated that it is these inner most circles (and not Muslims as a whole) that are the problem. It was Maher who interjected, rightly, that Muslims as a whole (and not just in the United States) seem far too indifferent to these inner circles. To back his claim, Maher pointed to a PEW poll in Egypt, where 90% of the population supported the death penalty for those who leave Islam.

CNN's Dean Obeidallah disagreed with this point, stating:

Maher then cited a Pew Research poll that he claimed found that 90% of Egyptians supported the death penalty for those who left Islam. I'm not sure where Maher got his numbers, but a 2013 Pew poll actually found only 64% of Egyptians supported this -- still alarmingly high, but not 90%

Oh. 64% see it as a positive. That's so much better.

Affleck would have none of Harris's facts and Maher's data. He called their comments "ugly," and accused them of both racism and anti-Semitism, trying to compare Harris' statements to someone who says Jews are "shifty" or saying something negative about black people. (Affleck didn't get too specific on what would be said about black people, but he made sure to bring it up to try and denigrate those he disagrees with.)

Even New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof joined the racism bandwagon, saying Harris and Maher's comments had a, "...tinge a little bit of the way white racists talk about African Americans."

There was no refuting of facts. No mention from Affleck or Kristof of other polling data or empirical evidence to counter what Maher and Harris stated. There were no anecdotes, other than not blaming all Muslims for the acts of the Jihadists and Extremists, which Maher and Harris repeatedly stated and agreed with.

Reason was not Affleck's mission. Ridicule was.

Back to the CNN article, Obeidallah wasn't done. He also stated what he saw as a huge problem with Maher's position on Islam:

Maher's remarks dismayed American Muslims across the country but won applause from all the hosts on Fox News' "The Five." When you're a progressive and a gaggle of Fox News hosts praises your views, you know something is seriously wrong.

And this is the problem with the American Liberal. As Obeidallah sees it, the issue with Maher's viewpoint is that conservatives agree with it! Why is Affleck so pissed in this segment? Not because he actually cares about Islam or Muslims, but because Bill Maher didn't stick with the Liberal/Progressive point of view!

For Affleck and Obeidallah, Maher committed a crime! The crime was he used his eyes, his ears and his mind to recognize a problem and then spoke out about the problem. The crime was honesty. Honesty is not allowed in progressive circles.

The punishment for such a crime? Ridicule, shame and - at times - outright abandonment. Whether that be a lifetime ban, or a specific time frame unknown to the victim. Just ask Juan Williams.

Affleck, Obeidallah and the Progressives lie - to us, themselves and each other - daily. Liberals/Progressives view honesty as a crime. Affleck couldn't be honest about the threat of radical Islam nor the words in the Declaration of Independence, because to do so would be hurtful to his Ideological Obedience to Liberalism.

That just isn't allowed. The ridicule will continue.


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: benaffleck; billmaher; islamicextremist
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1 posted on 10/11/2014 6:15:22 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Uh, I thought for AFF_LACK it was “Stand on 17, hit on 16”. He should probably just head back to the casino and spend his time there instead of trying to discuss world events.


2 posted on 10/11/2014 6:19:15 AM PDT by rktman ("The only thing dumber than a brood hen is a New York democrat." Mother Abagail.)
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To: Kaslin

Affleck makes his living pretending to be other people or mythological characters such as Batman. He is skilled at parroting the words of other people. Its not surprising that he has closely held politically correct delusions. The real problem is that there are too many vapid people (voters) who worship celebrities and take this fool seriously.


3 posted on 10/11/2014 6:20:53 AM PDT by allendale
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To: Kaslin

Reasoning requires ability

Ridicule merely requires feeling


4 posted on 10/11/2014 6:21:26 AM PDT by bert ((K.E.; N.P.; GOPc.;+12 ..... Obama is public enemy #1)
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To: Kaslin

Ben Affleck is the poster child of the “why handsome/pretty Hollywood stars should shut up and just act” club.


5 posted on 10/11/2014 6:22:28 AM PDT by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - they want to die for islam and we want to kill them)
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To: Kaslin
smart, reasoned and valuable

None of those apply to Bill Maher

6 posted on 10/11/2014 6:23:10 AM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
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To: Kaslin

The stupid...it burns. Read this carefully...

“Harris explained clearly his view of concentric circles in Islam. He named three of them - Jihadists, Islamists and then the “conservative” Muslim. Harris repeatedly stated that it is these inner most circles (and not Muslims as a whole) that are the problem.”

Now read it again. And again. What this cones down to is that in order to be a ‘good Muslim’ by this whack job theory, A Muslim has to reject the very teachings of their faith.

This is nothing but White Liberals interpreting and re-defining Islam to better spin it for political gain.


7 posted on 10/11/2014 6:25:10 AM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: Kaslin

When you lose a debate with bill maher based on common sense...well, you suck.


8 posted on 10/11/2014 6:25:21 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: Kaslin

Most liberals live in echo chambers and can’t handle different opinions ... so they act like emotional babies when they don’t get their way


9 posted on 10/11/2014 6:26:28 AM PDT by BookmanTheJanitor
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To: Kaslin

Sam Harris has a blog (Google it) in which he describes the confrontation and his belief that Affleck et.al. came loaded for bear. Keep in mind that Harris is an atheist whose overarching thesis s that all the problems of the world can be traced back to humankind’s irrational belief in a Creator.


10 posted on 10/11/2014 6:28:56 AM PDT by yetidog
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To: Kaslin
Mr. Affleck would never dream of ridiculing someone's faith.

Oh, wait....



11 posted on 10/11/2014 6:32:05 AM PDT by Bratch
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To: Kaslin
Affleck would have none of Harris's facts and Maher's data. He called their comments "ugly,"

An inconvenient truth.

12 posted on 10/11/2014 6:33:35 AM PDT by stayathomemom (Beware of kittens modifying your posts.)
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To: Norm Lenhart
This is nothing but White Liberals interpreting and re-defining Islam to better spin it for political gain.

I agree. This whole debate was just propaganda for liberal consumption. It was the "see, we can disagree" demonstration that is easily staged in the presence of beheadings. The argument is not about Islam but about how to identify "good Muslims" and "bad Jihadists" as if that is the only problem to be resolved.

13 posted on 10/11/2014 6:35:10 AM PDT by trubolotta
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To: Bratch

He should actually frame that. It’s the closest to real wings he’ll ever get. Well, at least the angelic featherd kind. Now on the other hand, the more batlike or reptilian? Quite likely he’ll be fitted for those.


14 posted on 10/11/2014 6:35:18 AM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: Norm Lenhart

Be funny if Christian Bale bitch slapped him.


15 posted on 10/11/2014 6:39:36 AM PDT by Salamander (People will stare. Make it worth their while.)
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To: trubolotta

Any person debating this issue need only ask why it is that White Liberals know Islam better than the thousands of Islams own ‘clerics’, Mullahs and ‘scholars’ who are on record daily preaching the very things ISIS and co. are doing.

then ask the lib in question why they ‘feel’ they are smarter than those brown people.

Another point to discuss is why is it that the only voices of moderation in Islam come from political groups like CAIR when attempting to deflect criticzm and not from the average muslim on the street/in a mosque.

And make the lib answer. Never EVER let him divert or get off the subject until they answer or spin out and crash.


16 posted on 10/11/2014 6:40:10 AM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: Kaslin
For Affleck and Obeidallah, Maher committed a crime! The crime was he used his eyes, his ears and his mind to recognize a problem and then spoke out about the problem. The crime was honesty. Honesty is not allowed in progressive circles.

The punishment for such a crime? Ridicule, shame and - at times - outright abandonment. Whether that be a lifetime ban, or a specific time frame unknown to the victim. Just ask Juan Williams.

I'm not familiar with Tony Katz but this is pretty impressive stuff... Thanks for posting Kaslin.

17 posted on 10/11/2014 6:40:31 AM PDT by GOPJ (The beast roams the earth... there has been a seismic shift in our world. Rabbi Shalom Lewis)
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To: allendale

You’re right. The most important skill for an actor is the ability to lie so convincingly it’s believable. Maybe we should chip in and get Affleck the book mentioned in this piece..

KinderGarden Of Eden: How the Modern Liberal Thinks

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1480010421/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1480010421&linkCode=as2&tag=allpatmed-20&linkId=IJWC6AMPHC4UGH3T


18 posted on 10/11/2014 6:50:59 AM PDT by GOPJ (The beast roams the earth... there has been a seismic shift in our world. Rabbi Shalom Lewis)
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To: Kaslin

Rules For Radicals

•RULE 5: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions


19 posted on 10/11/2014 6:54:04 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: Norm Lenhart
And make the lib answer. Never EVER let him divert or get off the subject until they answer or spin out and crash.

That is why I say this was a staged event. Maher and Harris are supposed to represent the calm and reasoned liberal approach and Affleck represents the well intentioned but emotionally distraught liberal approach. Both sides are full of crap but the appearance of allowing dissent within liberal circles is maintained. Liberals are then given two wrong choices to create the illusion they have a choice.

20 posted on 10/11/2014 6:54:15 AM PDT by trubolotta
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