HBO’s Bill Maher complained that comparing climate change skepticism to vaccine skepticism was unfair to vaccine skeptics before attacking GMOs on Friday’s “Real Time.”
“The analogy that I see all the time is that if you ask any questions [about vaccines], you are the same thing as a global warming denier. I think this is a very bad analogy, because I don’t think all science is alike. I think climate science is rather straightforward because you’re dealing with the earth, it’s a rock…climate scientists, from the very beginning, have pretty much said the same thing, and their predictions have pretty much come true. It’s atmospherics, and it’s geology, and chemistry. That’s not true of the medical industry. I mean, they’ve had to retract a million things because the human body is infinitely more mysterious” he stated.
Weekly Standard Senior Writer John McCormack then pointed out that there are legitimate scientists, such as Dr. Richard Lindzen, who are skeptical of man-made climate change theories, but that there were no serious vaccine-skeptic professors, to which Maher rebutted “the ones who are skeptics [on climate change], usually are paid off by the oil industry.” Maher then complained about “this era we live in, where we can’t ask any questions.” He argued that while vaccines were safe and effective, it was possible that they could be “too much of a good thing” in a similar manner to the overuse of antibiotics.
Maher and the panel then discussed whether there could be overuse of vaccines, which went into a larger discussion of whether people weakened their immune system through overuse of antibiotics and sanitizers. Author Marianne Williamson said that the vaccine debate was a matter of “degree” and the fact that vaccines are usually done all at once and that “it is an upside of the American mind that we don’t buy everything we’re told necessarily, it’s a downside when we think nothing we’re told could possibly be true.” Although she added that the facts were in on the measles vaccination. The Blaze “Hot List” anchor Amy Holmes agreed with Williamson that “the science is in when it comes to measles vaccinations,” there were concerns over the overuse of household sanitizers causing weaker immune systems. Holmes added that while “skepticism” was good, “we also have to look at the public health, look at the research, and make responsible decisions.”
Maher then turned to things where he thought the “medical establishment” were wrong, one of which was GMOs [genetically modified organisms], at the end of the list, when Maher was talking about shifting opinions on fat and carbohydrates, Holmes said “there’s a lot we don’t know,” to which Maher agreed, but added “unlike global warming, which we do know.” McCormack then jumped in, pointing out that GMOs could help reduce world hunger, to which Maher responded “I’m not a starving child in Africa, OK? Yes, if I was starving, I would eat a GMO food.”
McCormack then asked Maher which studies proved GMOs were harmful, Maher then dismissively groaned and stated “we don’t know, and we don’t trust Monsanto.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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