Bill Maher Outs Ken Mehlman on Larry King Live

[Homoaffectional]

I'm not discussing political or religious closet cases who use their position to hurt other gays.
I'm referring to the average joe, who needs his job and being out might jeopardize him.

Funny... what 'average joe' has been outed on this board, which is the only way this conversation could have begun? Please stay relevant and don't use something that you said you claim you're 'not discussing' to exploit your anti-outing crusade like mentality...

 

[cAndId]

If they lose their jobs because of the "outing" and can't support themselves or their families, can I assume you will start the drive to put a roof over their heads or food on their tables?
It's survival, and we all have to decide what's right for us.
A couple of months ago there ws a poster here from Russia who wanted to come out, but his very life would be in danger if he did. It's pretty easy to sit in certain parts of America or Western Europe and wave the rainbow flag, but there are areas of the world where it would be much more dangerous. There are areas of progressive countries where that applies also.
To each his own.

I said "If they are gay and they are fighting against gay rights, they deserve to be outed."

If they lose thier job (please oh please) I will NOT help him/her out financially. FUCK THEM.

 

[Homoaffectional]

I said "If they are gay and they are fighting against gay rights, they deserve to be outed."

If they lose thier job (please oh please) I will NOT help him/her out financially. FUCK THEM.

Yeah, and it makes no sense for this 'unclaimed blessing' to be discussing the kinds of people he apparently has modified his statement to cover. No one has outed any 'ordinary joes' on this board that I know of... it has always been *EXACTLY* the people who he claims he's not even talking about. Why go on about it, then?

Posting icon - what I'm describing, not my posting. Again, more delineation would help...

 

[iman]

^Spydog, there is nothing wrong with being gay. There is something wrong with being gay and in the closet, but there is a whole lot wrong with being closeted and anti-gay.

 

[OtterJoq]

Outing people is just plain wrong.
Let folks make their own decision if/when they want to come out.
Everyone has their own reasons for their preferences.
I just think that is way uncool.

Not when the closeted person is infringing on the rights of others by his/her actions.

Self-loathing behavior is about as "uncool" as it gets...especially when it also brings harm to others.

 

[chance1]

Pathetic really that a good man like Ken Mehlman, who speaks intelligently and respectfully on behalf of his party - gets outed by a piece of shit like Bill Maher. And instead of condemning him, most JUBBERs applaud. Disgraceful.

If you don't agree with us, you're against us - NICE

 

[cAndId]

Pathetic really that a good man like Ken Mehlman, who speaks intelligently and respectfully on behalf of his party - gets outed by a piece of shit like Bill Maher. And instead of condemning him, most JUBBERs applaud. Disgraceful.

If you don't agree with us, you're against us - NICE

Supporting the fight against gay rights is neither intelligent or respectful. It isnt disgraceful to stand up against our enemies. Those who would fight for an atmosphere where gays cannot be open about who they are, where gays cannot have equal rights are our enemies.

 

[kevin7620]

Dispute Over 'Gay' Outing on CNN Reveals Promise, Perils of Web Video

By E&P Staff

Published: November 09, 2006 3:40 PM ET updated 4:35 PM ET

NEW YORK Last night, on his CNN program during its live airing at 9 p.m. ET, Larry King pressed Bill Maher for names when the comedian suggested -- after ripping anti-gay attitudes among Republicans -- that several top GOP insiders were gay. Maher seemed reluctant, but eventually coughed up the name of a prominent GOP party leader. He said he wasn't worried about getting sued because others had done the same before him.

End of story? Not quite. That portion of the interview was quickly remarked on, at various blogs, and John Aravosis of the popular liberal blog AmericaBlog put up a video of same on YouTube. The name of the outed Republican appeared in CNN's transcript of the King show.

Then, this morning, someone tipped Aravosis to the fact that the exchange between King and Maher had been edited to delete the outing in the re-broadcast of the King show, and also in CNN's online video. But the original was still airing at YouTube, so he put the two videos up together for comparison. This drew much traffic and chatter at other sites.

At mid-afternoon, however, Aravosis reported that YouTube, responding to CNN's demand, had pulled the original video and sent him, and presumably others, what he regarded as a "cease and desist order," citing "copyright infringement." Aravosis, a lawyer, said he would defy it and pointed out that the video was still running at the popular Huffington Post blog.

He added that he intended to cut back his excerpt to about 10 seconds. "I have a law degree from Georgetown and I know intellectual property law as it concerns journalism," he wrote. "You can post an 8 to 10 second video clip as fair use for news purposes, and that is what I plan to do. And if CNN and Google try to close down my YouTube account for using an 8-10 second snippet for news purposes, they're going to have serious problems."

To be continued...

http://editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003380261&imw=Y



I say HELL YAH! The whole rewriting of history is very very scary, in my humble opinion. Editing a transcript and video without indicating that the change has been made (such as with an ellipsis ...) is bordering on lies. CNN should get the message that blatantly making something disappear is not tolerated by its viewers.

 

[cAndId]

I say HELL YAH! The whole rewriting of history is very very scary, in my humble opinion. Editing a transcript and video without indicating that the change has been made (such as with an ellipsis ...) is bordering on lies. CNN should get the message that blatantly making something disappear is not tolerated by its viewers.

The work of the Ministry of Truth no doubt...

 

[IH8SAMSON]

Pathetic really that a good man like Ken Mehlman, who speaks intelligently and respectfully on behalf of his party - gets outed by a piece of shit like Bill Maher. And instead of condemning him, most JUBBERs applaud. Disgraceful.

If you don't agree with us, you're against us - NICE

What is disgraceful is defending a mouthpiece for a political organization that not only believes gays are not worthy of the same protection and privileges afforded non-gays, but treats gays as sub-human. For decades many republicans (and democrats) supported laws that made the simple act of gay sex, in the privacy of one's home, illegal. It took action by the highest court in the land (sad when you think about it) to declare these laws unconstitutional. Bad enough very few politicians have supported equal rights for gays; many have supported laws that would prevent equal rights for gays forever.

This man is sad, a liar, a coward, a fake, a phony, a human. To claim he is a "good man" in the context of this conversation is disgraceful.

While I am biased, as I am a big fan of Bill Maher, I don't think being politically incorrect and expressing exactly what you feel without filters makes one a piece of shit. Whether you agree with what is being said or not, it takes courage to say what everybody knows but is too afraid to say. What is it that makes you say Bill Maher is a "piece of shit" and Ken Mehlman is a "good man"?

 

[opinterph]

Prior to Maher’s so-called “outing” of Ken Mehlman on Larry King Live, he remarked about an Op-Ed article published “a couple weeks ago” by Frank Rich, (author of a new book titled The Greatest Story Ever Sold). Here's an excerpt from a recent interview between Mr. Rich and Charles Kaiser:

CHARLES KAISER: You wrote a column on October 15 called, “The Gay Old Party Comes Out”. Given the Republicans' addiction to gay baiting, which you have frequently described, if you could prove that a closeted senior Republican was gay, would that be a story?

FRANK RICH: If people holding positions of power, who make an issue of people's sexuality in their politics, are discovered to be hypocrites, I see no reason why it shouldn't be reported, as long as it's reported in a legitimate fashion. As long as it's something that's sourced—not gossip, and not anonymous. And I think these are basically the rules the press are following now. Don't you think?

The Op-Ed included the following statement:

If anything good has come out of the Foley scandal, it is surely this: The revelation that the political party fond of demonizing homosexuals each election year is as well-stocked with trusted and accomplished gay leaders as virtually every other power center in America.

BILL MAHER: … The people who really run the underpinnings of the Republican Party are gay. I don’t wanna mention names, but I will Friday night. But there-

LARRY KING: You will? Friday night?

BILL MAHER: Well, there’s a couple of big people, who I think everyone in Washington knows, who run the Republican–

LARRY KING: You will name them?

BILL MAHER: Well, I wouldn’t be the first. I’d get sued if I was the first. But, you know – Ken Mehlman, okay? There’s one I think people have talked about. I don’t think he’s denied it when he’s been – people have suggested it. He doesn’t say “I’m not.”

LARRY KING: I’m walking around in a fog. I never – Ken Mehlman – I never heard that.

BILL MAHER: Maybe you don’t go to the same bathhouse I do, Larry.

LARRY KING: Why would someone who is gay take public anti-gay positions? Why would you – why would you do that?

BILL MAHER: Because Larry; hating yourself is the greatest love of all.

LARRY KING: <LOL>

BILL MAHER: Self loathing.

LARRY KING: What a great way to close out this segment, you know? It’s poignant.

 

[NickCole]

I only believe in outing someone who personally has been supportive of measures or expressed attitudes and beliefs harmful to gays.We should hold ourselves to a better standard than those we disagree with,or we're in the end no better.The cat's "out" of the bag,however,in this case.....Cnn should not have edited the clip and removed the outing part.

I agree with you.

Mehlman fit that category by heading up the RNC. His entire job was helping to elect people who push through anti-gay legislation that's harmful to gays.

 

[NickCole]

I'd really enjoy seeing some person outing someone else for malicious reasons being sued and convicted of libel or slander.

If they've outed someone who really is gay, it it's true, it's not slander or libel.

 

[NickCole]

LARRY KING: I’m walking around in a fog. I never – Ken Mehlman – I never heard that.

I was watching the show and laughed when King said that -- because it's true. He's an elderly white man with a lot of money and a lot of power and he's walking around in a fog.

From my perspective there are two reasons to out people like Mehlman. One, he's supporting an anti-gay agenda and he should have to live with the ramifications of that along with us. Two, he's a very successful gay man and people like him being out helps dismantle the stereotype that homophobics advance.

 

[OtterJoq]

Pathetic really that a good man like Ken Mehlman, who speaks intelligently and respectfully on behalf of his party - gets outed by a piece of shit like Bill Maher. And instead of condemning him, most JUBBERs applaud. Disgraceful.

If you don't agree with us, you're against us - NICE

Oh, please...Ken is the mouthpiece for a party led by people who would rather we didn't exist.

Exposing his innate hypocrisy by outing him is something to be lauded, not condemned.

 

[chance1]

Oh, please...Ken is the mouthpiece for a party led by people who would rather we didn't exist.

Exposing his innate hypocrisy by outing him is something to be lauded, not condemned.

Ken is chairman of the RNC. I have watched him on TV dozens of times. He is respectful and thoughtful. He does not demean those on the other side - have never seen him do that. His job is to represent the Republican position and he does it very well. Howard Dean, on the other hand does not treat people with respect, instead he screams at the top of his lungs, yells at people, and demeans the other side, fill in the blanks.

And for this, doing his job, Ken Mehlman deserves to be outed? WTF is that? you don't like his politics? Is he running for office? Is he a politician looking for your vote? No, he's doing his job.

I think it stinks

I think it's typical character assassination by the left and in this case the GAY left

If the guy is gay, bi, whatever, it doesn't matter. Everyone on this board should know that

 

[bike10]

What is the world cuming to Gay Republicans are cuming out of closet now the election is over who is next Karl Rove and Rush?

 

[turtle]

Pathetic really that a good man like Ken Mehlman, who speaks intelligently and respectfully on behalf of his party - gets outed by a piece of shit like Bill Maher. And instead of condemning him, most JUBBERs applaud. Disgraceful.

If you don't agree with us, you're against us - NICE

Ken Mehlman is one of the worst liars the Republicans have put forward in recent years.

He specializes in obfuscation, which could be called "Lie by blizzard".

His technique is to rattle off a bunch of likely-sounding but irrelevant or even outright false factoids too fast to assess at the moment, sprinkling the blizzard with the keywords intended to convey the desired impression, which is often quite false.

If you think he speaks intelligently, then you need to take a few of his appearances on the talk shows, print them out, and analyze them. They are usually little more than nothing at all.

-D

 

[turtle]

Point taken. There are circumstances that make it difficult to be out for other folks. This a-hole is an exception and a hypocrite. Nevertheless, I still think it is not cool to out anyone. You say "There is something wrong with being gay and in the closet, but there is a whole lot wrong with being closeted and anti-gay". I find it a bit offensive that you'd say that there is something wrong with being gay and in the closet. Sounds to me that you'd have no problem outing someone whether they were anti-gay or not. I could be wrong. I just think it's a personal choice as far as the "big picture" (notwithstanding Mehlman) to come out or not. It's not in my best interest to be out at work, and I see no reason to be out to my family or friends until/unless I have a life partner. My step brother and his lover come to Holidays at my parents house, so approval is not what it's about with me, it just isn't anyone's business but mine, unless I want to share it.. (I do live in Texas, where they'll kick your ass if your look at theirs!) After all, most people I know don't tell me about their sex lives (thank God!), so what business is it what mine is like? I am who I am, and prefer to live without the labels and stereotypes. (not to mention the prejudice...)

You know all sorts of things about all sorts of people's sex lives.

You take for granted that married people are screwing each other.

In my case, I don't have sex at all.

I'm still gay.

My telling people that I am gay has nothing to do with talking about my sex life, since I have no sex life to talk about.

I don't believe that it is just a matter of personal privacy to you. I believe you are afraid of the social and perhaps financial price that might have to be paid.
You want to avoid the prejudice, as you said.

I don't blame you, I just wish you would be more honest about it, it is no parenthesis.

-D

 

[NickCole]

Ken is chairman of the RNC. I have watched him on TV dozens of times. He is respectful and thoughtful. He does not demean those on the other side - have never seen him do that.

He lies about those on the other side and that's worse.

His job is to represent the Republican position and he does it very well.

He's not honest about "the Republican position," and he lies about the Democratic position.

Howard Dean, on the other hand does not treat people with respect, instead he screams at the top of his lungs, yells at people, and demeans the other side, fill in the blanks.

You're being fooled by studied presentation, which is a tool of manipulation, as opposed to what they're saying. Do you investigate what Mehlman says or what Dean says, or do you take it at face value, believing Mehlman because his presentation appeals to you, and dismissing Dean because his style seems to you disrespectful?

This is politics, government, our laws and our taxdollars and our national security we're talking about here -- look deeper than the presented facade.

And for this, doing his job, Ken Mehlman deserves to be outed? WTF is that? you don't like his politics? Is he running for office? Is he a politician looking for your vote? No, he's doing his job.

He deserves to be outed because he's advancing an anti-gay bigotry, not only through rhetoric but through legislation. He's helping get people elected who write laws against gays. Unless you're a self-loathing gay, that ought to bother you.

I think it stinks

I think it's typical character assassination by the left and in this case the GAY left

It's not character assassination unless you believe there's something wrong with being gay.

If the guy is gay, bi, whatever, it doesn't matter. Everyone on this board should know that

Of course it matters. If it didn't matter, he wouldn't be in the closet.