That's what it is. He's an intrusion upon a space which has otherwise faithfully anesthisized me from the Moe Dammicks of my real life.

Uch, even the fucking name! And the way he was saying mashed potato/ meeash pitaydih. The character is just the naturall enemy of pleasant surprises and the mortal enemy of spontaneity.

They could've used Bigfoot/Sasquatch instead of UFOs. But then we're probably looking at a very different Souix Falls Massacre sequence.

Yeah, just loved everything about it. The 70s mafia in North Dakota, Carter-era malaise, the brown and burnt-orange hell and generally faded and dingy played-out feeling of the upper Midwest by '79.

Since you brought up the "faked" moon landing…can someone answer a logical question?

Which is kind of why I've got my fingers crossed for a Season 4. Even if S3 doesn't rally with a boffo finish, an S4 could come charging out of the gate, have an amazing year and finish the series on a high. Then this elevates S3 to that slightly off A-/B+ season of an overall A series.

You've just made me sit down to binge watch every single Stefon weekend update appearance. I now suddenly realize this is the only SNL character in 43 seasons I could do this with. Gilly too. And six other Kristin Whig creations who aren't Gilly but so totally are.

I can point to a society who literally believed in superman, AKA ubermensch. The Third Reich in Adolph Hitler's Germany. It wasn't that same guy in tights and a red cape, but there sure as hell was whimsy, storytelling, and elaborate costuming for superman. And oh did they believe in him. Cause worldwide problems?…

And this is my exact point. You can't have Superman…or Star Wars or even Seinfeld without having the Westboro Baptist Church, the Brandh Davidians, or Al Queda. It will always be the price we pay for having both imaginations and aspirations. Add freedom, add water, and stir.

First automatons. And then machines.

Dude, could I have brushed over the point with a lighter feather?

The numbers climb surprisingly quickly once you take it out of the proactively avoidant realm of atheism. When Americans are approached on the question of agnosticism — professing uncertainty or simply not giving a fuck either way — the numbers draw steadily higher. Even out and proud atheists are at like 12-16%.…

I wish I had more than one upvote. Though I am mindful and woke and all that in the general sense of everything you've said…I'd be lying if I said I didn't just learn a couple of illuminating nuances no light skinned European-based person is likely to have the subjectivity to teach to another white person. Once again…

Thank you! Since the Maher thing started I've been sitting here as a white guy who's felt queasy about something I couldn't put my finger on…except to possess a vague sense of treading lightly around whatever it was. There's something about white people organizing groups of white people and angrily demanding action on…

The flight from logic, empiricism, critical-thinking…aw fuck it, let's just call it Republicanism. Or magical-thinking. In a supposed world without religion maybe we can at least table the word faith and replace it with this somewhat infantilizing if accurate alternative.

One of the few remaining things you cannot be and still get elected in the U.S. is an atheist. Call it theist privilege, but there are underlying judgments and prohibitions against the non-religious so stifling as to amaze you once they are pointed out. Because we've just internalized most of them I think.

When did he say Muslims shouldn't be allowed to vote? That doesn't really sound like Maher. Even if just because it's more likely to be a vote for the Democrats.

As an artist myself and as someone who has watched Maher pretty routinely (he kept me sane during the Dubya years), my theory is that he has some stuff to work out there. And my greatest sense is that the origin for his…I'll judiciously term them biases…stem from resentment over the freedom of expression issue.…

I'm routinely disturbed by very hostile and unfair antiSemitic rhetoric on the far left and on a number of campuses. I know the subject is Maher, but I was curious about your own feelings on this.

Because first reasonable people need to agree he has a history of bigotry. As opposed to 24 televised years of speaking his truth to power about controversial topics. If he's guilty of violating boundaries existing as common sense only years later then latitude really needs to be granted. Lest we all start saving up…