T
The420Guy
Guest
MAHER: But why does that, of all things in the budget, get a big
increase?
KING: Abstinence. You mean, programs to influence it?
MAHER: Right. Because it's been proven, the facts are in, that
abstinence alone does not stop teen pregnancy. You have to have the
condoms available, too. But that's where they read science so
selectively. Global warming, we're not sure. You know, that's a myth,
that needs more science.
But the missile shield, that one we know, which never had worked, that
one we know we can go forward on. Marijuana, another thing that they've
done tests on, you know, every administration does the test. It always
comes back the same thing. It makes you eat cookie dough. OK, that one
needs more testing. We can't go ahead on legalization there because, as
you know, we fight terrorism by fighting drugs, Larry. You heard that
in the State of the Union speech and in the commercials on the Super
Bowl.
KING: You didn't buy that, huh?
MAHER: I think that is such a cynical effort to piggyback their former
agenda onto the fears of 9/11. That to me is really a low blow. Yes,
because first of all, it is not all drugs. I don't think the people who
are smoking a joint to relieve their bone cancer pain are really the
people we want to be targeting on the war on terror. It is mostly
heroin. But if the theory is that terrorists get some of their money
from drugs, well, let's go to where they get their real money from,
oil. They get a lot more money from oil and diamonds than they do from
drugs.
KING: A comic last night, it may have been Drew Carey at the Love Rocks
Concert, said, if that's the case, then why don't you legalize it? And
we won't go to Paris anymore.
MAHER: Oh, God. We could probably solve a lot of problems if we had
that kind of money just from Woody Harrelson's house.
KING: OK. Before we get back to the calls, every time people think they
read you a certain way, they find there's another side to Bill Maher.
You are against the anti-smoking campaign.
MAHER: Oh, horribly, yes. I think it is just -- I thought among the
things that would go away after 9/11 would be this silly obsession with
smoking.
KING: Silly obsession with a killer?
MAHER: A killer. Yes, well, there's lots of killers out there, Larry.
It is someone's choice to put that killer in their mouth.
KING: That's your position?
MAHER: That's a fact. Is there anyone in America who does not know that
smoking is bad for you? Anyone?
KING: No.
MAHER: OK. They even awarded someone money last year -- I think it was
last year maybe, or a couple of years ago, who started smoking after
they put the warning on the pack. Before it had only been before. I
could understand that. But after the warning was on the pack?
Apparently, they didn't mention her by name.
So, you know, I saw these Super Bowl ads. I thought it was incredibly
ironic that there was two Super Bowl ads.
KING: The American...
MAHER: Well, whatever it is. You know, there's people on a beach and
they look up and there's a sky-writing plane that says something about
how bad smoking is. The fact that they chose the beach, that they are
so blind to the fact that the beach itself is...
KING: Cancer.
MAHER: Cancer. They're in the rays of the sun while they're gorging
themselves on nitrate-laden hot dogs, OK. I think it's, you know,
breathing next to an SUV or in Houston is probably...
KING: Do you agree that if cigarettes had never been heard of and were
proposed to be legalized, they wouldn't have a prayer?
MAHER: Right. Well, cigarettes kill how many people?
KING: They think 400,000.
MAHER: 400,000. What about alcohol? That kills about 150,000, 200,000.
KING: Easy.
MAHER: Those are legal. But marijuana has so far killed none that I've
ever known. So I keep saying if we want to legalize marijuana, we have
got to start having people drop dead from it.
(LAUGHTER)
I also think it is interesting on the Super Bowl, the beer ads. Now,
have you noticed that in beer ads, in the last couple of years, they're
all the same. The guy chooses beer over a hot girl. Have you noticed
that? It used to be that the guy drank the beer and then he'd get the
hot girl. You went into the suburb, you ordered the right beer, that
got you the supermodel.
KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
MAHER: Right, that was stupid. But at least the idea behind that was if
I use this product, it will get me sex. Sex is something natural which
you have an urge for. When someone prefers the beer over the woman,
that is the definition of addiction, Larry. When you choose the drug
over the girl -- so they're advertising addiction. In the same breath
they're saying, but don't do it too much.
Larry King Live
Complete Interview with Bill Maher
CNN.com - Transcripts
increase?
KING: Abstinence. You mean, programs to influence it?
MAHER: Right. Because it's been proven, the facts are in, that
abstinence alone does not stop teen pregnancy. You have to have the
condoms available, too. But that's where they read science so
selectively. Global warming, we're not sure. You know, that's a myth,
that needs more science.
But the missile shield, that one we know, which never had worked, that
one we know we can go forward on. Marijuana, another thing that they've
done tests on, you know, every administration does the test. It always
comes back the same thing. It makes you eat cookie dough. OK, that one
needs more testing. We can't go ahead on legalization there because, as
you know, we fight terrorism by fighting drugs, Larry. You heard that
in the State of the Union speech and in the commercials on the Super
Bowl.
KING: You didn't buy that, huh?
MAHER: I think that is such a cynical effort to piggyback their former
agenda onto the fears of 9/11. That to me is really a low blow. Yes,
because first of all, it is not all drugs. I don't think the people who
are smoking a joint to relieve their bone cancer pain are really the
people we want to be targeting on the war on terror. It is mostly
heroin. But if the theory is that terrorists get some of their money
from drugs, well, let's go to where they get their real money from,
oil. They get a lot more money from oil and diamonds than they do from
drugs.
KING: A comic last night, it may have been Drew Carey at the Love Rocks
Concert, said, if that's the case, then why don't you legalize it? And
we won't go to Paris anymore.
MAHER: Oh, God. We could probably solve a lot of problems if we had
that kind of money just from Woody Harrelson's house.
KING: OK. Before we get back to the calls, every time people think they
read you a certain way, they find there's another side to Bill Maher.
You are against the anti-smoking campaign.
MAHER: Oh, horribly, yes. I think it is just -- I thought among the
things that would go away after 9/11 would be this silly obsession with
smoking.
KING: Silly obsession with a killer?
MAHER: A killer. Yes, well, there's lots of killers out there, Larry.
It is someone's choice to put that killer in their mouth.
KING: That's your position?
MAHER: That's a fact. Is there anyone in America who does not know that
smoking is bad for you? Anyone?
KING: No.
MAHER: OK. They even awarded someone money last year -- I think it was
last year maybe, or a couple of years ago, who started smoking after
they put the warning on the pack. Before it had only been before. I
could understand that. But after the warning was on the pack?
Apparently, they didn't mention her by name.
So, you know, I saw these Super Bowl ads. I thought it was incredibly
ironic that there was two Super Bowl ads.
KING: The American...
MAHER: Well, whatever it is. You know, there's people on a beach and
they look up and there's a sky-writing plane that says something about
how bad smoking is. The fact that they chose the beach, that they are
so blind to the fact that the beach itself is...
KING: Cancer.
MAHER: Cancer. They're in the rays of the sun while they're gorging
themselves on nitrate-laden hot dogs, OK. I think it's, you know,
breathing next to an SUV or in Houston is probably...
KING: Do you agree that if cigarettes had never been heard of and were
proposed to be legalized, they wouldn't have a prayer?
MAHER: Right. Well, cigarettes kill how many people?
KING: They think 400,000.
MAHER: 400,000. What about alcohol? That kills about 150,000, 200,000.
KING: Easy.
MAHER: Those are legal. But marijuana has so far killed none that I've
ever known. So I keep saying if we want to legalize marijuana, we have
got to start having people drop dead from it.
(LAUGHTER)
I also think it is interesting on the Super Bowl, the beer ads. Now,
have you noticed that in beer ads, in the last couple of years, they're
all the same. The guy chooses beer over a hot girl. Have you noticed
that? It used to be that the guy drank the beer and then he'd get the
hot girl. You went into the suburb, you ordered the right beer, that
got you the supermodel.
KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
MAHER: Right, that was stupid. But at least the idea behind that was if
I use this product, it will get me sex. Sex is something natural which
you have an urge for. When someone prefers the beer over the woman,
that is the definition of addiction, Larry. When you choose the drug
over the girl -- so they're advertising addiction. In the same breath
they're saying, but don't do it too much.
Larry King Live
Complete Interview with Bill Maher
CNN.com - Transcripts
