Monday, September 18, 2006

Free Speech, As Long as you Agree With Us

Every once in a while I do find myself on the side of Bill Maher. Probably because he is one of the few on the left that has enough brains to criticize the Democratic Party Line.

Two weeks ago the Perky One, Katie Couric debuted as the new anchor of the CBS Evening News with an interesting new segment called the "Free Speech" segment where they would have guest speakers to simply express their views on a topic for around 90 seconds. No interruptions, no questioning, no follow-up. A simple pulpit to spout whatever the guest wanted to say. One of the first, and most notable Free Speech guest was Rush Limbaugh.

However, it appears that this segment is only Free Speech to a point. One of the people originally talked about as being a guest in the Free Speech segment was Bill Maher. However, he has yet to appear. MediaBistro.com has learned why.

"On Friday's Real Time on HBO, Maher explained that CBS approached him to do a 'freeSpeech' segment on the new Evening News. He asked if he could talk about religion but was rejected and told that he would be provided with a list of 'approved' topics," an e-mailer says. A second e-mailer asks: "Was he 'free' to express his views as long as he did not touch religion?..." - MediaBistro.com Article
I have to admit I would not look forward to Maher's rant on religion since he would most likely equate Evangelical Christians with Islamic Terrorists. But that aside, CBS chose to call that segment the "Free Speech" segment. It sounds like it should be called "Selected Topics" instead.