November 11, 2023

Jordan Peterson overwhelms the NYT columnist Pamela Paul and Cruz crushes Bill Maher.

Bill does stand down amusingly.

Watch "Overtime: Sen. Ted Cruz, Jordan Peterson, Pamela Paul | Real Time with Bill Maher":

64 comments:

Aggie said...

Holy smokes, they've got Jordan Peterson all tarted up like a cheap gigolo. What the heck!

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Bill Maher and the entire collective hive-mind democrat loyalist LEFT refuse to admit we have an open border - with massive illegal entrants abusing our asylum system. (on purpose - set forth and created by the corrupt left) (go back and watch Biden promising to do this)

AGAIN - Illegal entrants are pouring in on purpose - and human trafficking and child abuse are off the charts.
The left do not care. They lie and say "oh no - you don't have any proof!" - which is the left's go-to cookie cutter mindless response to anything that places their holy democratic gods in power in a bad light.
The left refuse to believe it.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Here is the biden administration, opening up the border in Texas.

Oligonicella said...

It's entertaining watching Maher mewl and collapse when he gets answers his brain won't parse.

Quaestor said...

It's more complicated than that... All too often this is a tactic used by the weaker advocate to shift the forensic exchange onto a different topic, in military terms a diversionary tactic. Cruz knows this when he hears it because it's used all the time in legislative committee meetings, therefore he refutes Maher's every silly evasion and diversion.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Josh Hawley(R) is superior to white-boi Bill Maher(D-pot smoker) every day of the week.

eat s*** - Bill Maher

Michael K said...

Good discussion. Maher has no excuse for Obama and Biden with Iran.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ice Nine said...

Maher elides the point just made by Cruz in his responses to what Cruz says. Eg, the "I'm against killing Americans" feint. That is of course what the facile do when there is nothing available to say to refute a point. Even when, after unsuccessfully trying to counter Cruz's point, he simply said "OK" it was with the Maher smirk which is to suggest, "You are just hopeless, Ted, for not seeing it the correct way so I'm just not going to carry this on." Yeah, crushed indeed.

Pamela Paul had no original thought to offer other than, "I have a different view of women from Jordan - what did you say again?" and thus was exceedingly summarily overwhelmable.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

btw- to Bill's credit - he has a panel of people who would never appear on any leftist CNN, MSNBC, PBS, NPR of the horrid Joy Behar show.

tim maguire said...

Pamela Paul hardly got a word in. I would have liked more back-and-forth with Peterson over the gender stuff but all she got to say was she disagreed, and then it was back to Peterson and the topic moved on.

John Public said...

Two complaints.

Peterson was about to answer the question: "Are women happier," Maher takes it over, makes that claim you can't quantify it, and moves on to the next topic to avoid the Peterson's answer, which may well have been: "Women are less happy in egalitarian societies." (Note, I think Hillary was right in that it takes a village to raise a family, but wrong of her to think the government is a village). This is important. What if we got it all wrong? Obligatory disclaimer: all US citizens past the age of majority ought to have a right to follow the life path they select provided it is legal.


Second issue. Cruz asserts Obama and Biden each gave $100B to the Ayatollah. He points out the Ayatollah wants to wipe out the US and Israel. He thinks he got Maher to agree It was catastrophically foolish to give the Ayatollah $100B, saying "We got agreement!" Maher quips: "No (pause) I'm against killing Americans." So instructive.

You get laughter and some applause, but unwrapping this joke, he takes away a powerful point. Obama and Obama's suit "gave" money to a regime that is intent on killing Jews and Christians (oh, me too as an atheist).

Maher suppressed two powerful points, including Peterson's very powerful point, using tricks. Disgusting is the adjective that comes to mind.

rcocean said...

The dicussion on Iran was moronic. that Cruz thinks blaming Biden for negotiating a deal with Iran is a winning issue, just shows how out-of-touch he is. Nobody except some Jewish donors, and foreign policy wonks care.

I find it creepy that Bill the dog-faced Boy is snearing about Americans and their concern over "age apporpriate". I'd bet Maher would love to have the age of consent dropped to 13 years, so he could engage in some Lolita action. Right now, every grown women will only have sex with him if he puts a paper bag over his head.

Butkus51 said...

Interesting he didnt have the BBC in his mouth.

I meant cigar. Shame on you.

Sebastian said...

It's easy to "crush" ordinary lefties: they know nothing, and they have no experience in arguing their case, such as it is.

Peterson reads the research literature and while he draws some speculative inferences, his basic points on sex differences are hardly novel. Cruz knows his stuff and is an experienced debater; until the day before yesterday, his position on border control would have been obvious. But to many nice women, control of their bodies and the life within it is more important than control of the border and the country's future. So there we are.

It is striking though, isn't it, that progs have so little to say for open borders and Iran coddling.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

what was the point of the dumb NYT columnist? She had nothing to say of offer except - "I disagree with Jordan" -(who happens to know his stuff and is a genius) Nope - she had nothing to offer except boiler plate 'It's a threat if a democrat does not win Joe Manchin's seat.' (thus adding more proof to the fact that just about everyone at the NYT is a partisan hack)

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Ted Cruz is superb.

Ann Althouse said...

"Pamela Paul hardly got a word in. I would have liked more back-and-forth with Peterson over the gender stuff but all she got to say was she disagreed, and then it was back to Peterson and the topic moved on."

Maybe that's why women are unhappier. Men keep doing that.

She opened the door. He leapt in. She let him.

RideSpaceMountain said...

That's like punching toddlers.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Obama and Biden love giving billions of our tax dollars to the Death-to-America / Death-to-The Jews - keep the people of Iran down - Ayatollahs.

check. and They love our open Southern Border. American democrats kept stupid and gullible by the NYT and the hack-D press.


Rusty said...

Aggie said...
"Holy smokes, they've got Jordan Peterson all tarted up like a cheap gigolo. What the heck!"
He brought this up on Joe Eogan awhile back. He likes suits. He makes a lot of money. He did a deal with his tailor so many suits for so much etc.

n.n said...

Iran-ISIS Affair... disastrous withdrawal from Iraq, billions of dollars in disputed funds, ethnic Spring(s), CAIR. Biden is like Obama.

Duel of the... dual sexes and rhetoric. It's a gender (e.g. sexual orientation) thing.

rcocean said...

I didn't get the whole discussion on genders and age. Its like Jordan Petersen was just saying what is true and has been true forever. Women want to marry up, and when they're younger they want a man who's older and more experienced.

How may 24 y/o women want to go out with 18 y/o boys? Not many. How many 24 y/o Men would like to go out 20 y/o women - a lot.

And women are more emotional and conformist. Which is why giving single women under 30 the vote is a bad idea. The British had the right idea when they gave they initially gave the vote to married women and those over 30. Girls under 30 should be out finding a husband, getting their careers going, and having fun. Not worrying about the Iran Nuclear deal.

traditionalguy said...

Loved the mixture of points of view. Maybe add a pinch of Joe Rogan in to season the brew.

John Public said...

Ann wonders:
"Maybe that's why women are unhappier. Men keep doing that
She opened the door. He leapt in. She let him."

I agree women are often shut down in debates, but not always. Ann Coulter is great at getting her share of time.

Peterson pointed out that the most egalitarian stats are those in which the disparity of negative emotions between men and women is greatest. I hope those countries that seek egalitarianism seek to provide equality in debates too (else what was achieved?)

A point Peterson has made is that women are more agreeable (a term of art in psychology), statistically, which explains the effect. Or, if you prefer, men don't care as much if they offend.

Joe Smith said...

First thing that strikes me is Maher has no intellectual interest in the border.

Things are much different if you're just sitting in a TV studio with your rich friends vs slogging through the mud and the shit and the dead bodies. But that is typical lefty thought...keep it all on an intellectual level so you'll never be smacked in the face by the truth.

You might not agree with Peterson on a lot of things but he is often the smartest guy in the room, so credit where due.

Also, Peterson is wearing an awesome suit/tie that I could never pull off : )

Ice Nine said...

>Maybe that's why women are unhappier. Men keep doing that.
She opened the door. He leapt in. She let him.<

Maybe that's why men keep doing that (sic). Women keep doing that.

Political Junkie said...

Ted needs to smile more.

Gusty Winds said...

Pamela Paul, criticizing anyone's entry into the Presidential race that might "steal" votes from Biden or Newsome is typical left wing "pretend to love democracy" bullshit. Problem is they'll have to up their voter fraud game. She knows this.

The gender discussion is uninteresting to me. Everyone is fucking miserable these days.

I did like Cruz on the border. It is the exploitation of the migrants which is inhumane. That was his main point. Women have to give themselves sexually to the coyotes. American Feminists don't care. Hundreds if not thousands die on the way. Then when they get here, they work shit jobs, get taxes and Social Security taken out of their checks...no health insurance....etc... Zero labor protection. They are the key to the construction, harvesting, and manufacturing industries.

In the Automotive supply chain, at the tier two and three level, the low wage undocumented immigrants are what keeps the Tier One OEM Unions fat and happy. It's a "secret" everyone in the automotive industry completely understands.

Gusty Winds said...

what was the point of the dumb NYT columnist?

That, in itself, is the point. We're supposed to pretend she has some type of qualification or informed perspective because she's a "journalist" at the NYTs. In reality she is just a left-wing, liberal Stepford Wife programed to say and write what she is assigned to say and write.

Butkus51 said...

His studio audience is whiter than a Taylr Swift concert.

Political Junkie said...

I started watching, and stopped. Ted is my senator, but there is something grating about the fellow. Especially on a quiet Saturday morning. Liked his jacket, however.

Mason G said...

"Maybe that's why women are unhappier. Men keep doing that.

She opened the door. He leapt in. She let him."


Women never get a chance to say what they think and it's the fault of men. Everybody knows this.

Mary Beth said...

They lie and say "oh no - you don't have any proof!"

And it's a hard pass when Cruz offers to show Maher the border at night.

***
That was enough time for Maher to talk to one person. Having three guests only made it so no one, other than Maher, could have time to say much. Perhaps that's the goal. It would be a lot more informative if it had been Maher and one guest.

Original Mike said...

I'm so tired of "the people of X are different than the regime". As if everybody doesn't know that.

Temujin said...

She could have kept talking. She could have forced her point. Other women would have. Maybe she just didn't have the ammo to keep going. Maybe she was in over her head on that particular topic. She knows how she feels. He knows general numbers from multiple studies. Honestly, I've never heard of her so I don't know what her area of 'expertise' is. And given she's a NYT employee, it may just be that she has a vagina. They do count those over there.

Women are unhappier because they watch "The Golden Bachelor" instead of "Zero Zero Zero", and they tend to be more of the gluten-free and eat less meat population, less of the 'I feel like a great steak and a baked potato' population. At least thats my working theory this week. It could change as soon as my wife reads Althouse today.

wild chicken said...

"US citizens past the age of majority ought to have a right to follow the life path they select provided it is legal."

A bit circular, no? If it's legal of course they have the right.

Breezy said...

One takeaway that resonated with me was the discussion about talking, reading, and writing at the end of the clip. The gist was you need to write in order to hone your critical thinking skills. There was a recent article about how poorly college students are at writing these days. So, so many not being able to write well is not good if we want/need an informed, critically thinking voting population.

Steve from Wyo said...

"Holy smokes, they've got Jordan Peterson all tarted up like a cheap gigolo. What the heck!"

Is this in reference to the poppy in his lapel? He wears a poppy in honor of Veteran's Day (Remembrance Day in Canada). I can remember a time when everyone wore poppies on Veteran's Day (originally Armistice Day) in remembrance of the millions who died in WWI which was once called ‘The War to End All Wars’.

Iman said...

When Maher gets that smarmy, head-tippy, weird middle-schoolgirl snark going he’s realized that he’s way in over his head.

Howard said...

Don't you just love to see people with widely differing opinions sit down and have an adult conversation in which we discover that they are in agreement on about 90% of their corps beliefs.

Original Mike said...

Maher's reaction to the idea of seeing the border for himself is the Left in a nutshell. Head in the sand. Willfully.

Iman said...

“Maybe that's why women are unhappier. Men keep doing that.”

Perhaps The View would be a more comfortable venue for you?

rcocean said...

"Maybe that's why women are unhappier. Men keep doing that."

Yeah, poor little wimmen. The big bad men keep shouting them down. LOL.

If a man mewed about "they ignored me and i felt intimidated and kept quiet" they would be told to "man up" and speak up. By everyone - including women.

People like Ms. Paul are paid to be informed and have opinions. And speak in public. If she couldn't say anything other than, "I disagree", its probably because that's all she had. Look at Michelle Goldberg or Tom Friedman, you don't have to be smart to work for the NYT's, you just have to know the right people and squawk out the party line. Who did Ms. Paul know?

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

"Steak and baked potato."

with all the fixins' on that potato? ooo man.

Add corn on the cob... with butter... for my favorite meal.

Narr said...

I've seen Maher with single guests, and I have to say I prefer the panel concept.

As a lefty, Maher is convinced that he's smarter than anyone to his right, but when he dares to have actual smart people on he highlights the limitations of his own ideology brilliantly.

I've been a studio guest on TV, and unless you have your own makeup artist or do it yourself, you're going to look the way they want you to look. JP can choose his wardrobe--he's way too fancypants for me--but not much else.

As for the sex talk, break out the smelling salts. Guy wants young partners, and showbiz has always been a place to find them. BFD.

Narr said...

I've seen Maher with single guests, and I have to say I prefer the panel concept.

As a lefty, Maher is convinced that he's smarter than anyone to his right, but when he dares to have actual smart people on he highlights the limitations of his own ideology brilliantly.

I've been a studio guest on TV, and unless you have your own makeup artist or do it yourself, you're going to look the way they want you to look. JP can choose his wardrobe--he's way too fancypants for me--but not much else.

As for the sex talk, break out the smelling salts. Guy wants young partners, and showbiz has always been a place to find them. BFD.

Original Mike said...

"Maybe that's why women are unhappier. Men keep doing that.
She opened the door. He leapt in. She let him."


Over generalization. In our relationship, I have a hard time getting a word in edgewise. Which is usually fine, I don't have a compulsion to talk.

Stick said...

There's a reason Ted Cruz was national debate champ in 1992 and there's a reason Princeton stripped him of that honor. there is also a reason Rush said during the 2016 primaries that Trump was not an ideologue and if you wanted a conservative, Cruz was the modern embodiment of Ronald Reagan.

He's played the game as Senator, but he beats the shit out of Eyepatch McCain.

William said...

Props to Maher for allowing a format that enables guests to make their points and for inviting guests that are so formidable....From what I've read, women and children who entrust themselves to coyotes frequently suffer horrible consequences. The crimes against them, however, are not the sort of crimes that attract much attention or coverage. Some forms of oppression are more oppressive than others. Wanton abuse of horse reins is so much worse than rape or sex trafficking....I take Maher's point regarding the age differences. I think a fair number of women would like to marry a rich, older guy who treats them like his favorite daughter and, who then, shuffles off the mortal coil in a timely manner. Win win for everybody. Oona O'Neil married Charlie Chaplin when she was eighteen and he was fifty three. It wasn't the worst marriage in history. ....Maher used to be a frequent guest at the Playboy Mansion. From what I understand younger women over the age of eighteen would join the contingent there in order to connect with rich, influential men. The hook ups probably didn't end up the way the women hoped, but neither were they tragic. The Playboy Mansion wasn't quite Lolita Island, but they shared a common understanding of how the male libido functions. I like to think that I would turn down an invitation to Lolita Island, but I would have certainly liked to have gone to the Playboy Mansion to understand better the nuances of this important moral question.

Joe Bar said...

At the end of this video, I see Dr. Peterson leaning over to engage Ms. Paul. i have spoken to him before, and I would think that this was to offer to engage more on the topic. I wonder what happened next?

@Temujin. Thanks for the referral. "Zero Zero Zero" looks awesome.

The Vault Dweller said...

Blogger Original Mike said...
Maher's reaction to the idea of seeing the border for himself is the Left in a nutshell. Head in the sand. Willfully.


I don't know if I buy that. I think Maher knows it is a problem. He has had Lefty guests on before and he has made comments to the effect of "Haven't the Republicans won this battle by rubbing it in Democrats face who insist illegal immigration isn't a problem?" with regards to Abbott and DeSantis shipping illegal immigrants to blue states and blue cities. Also Maher's point about attacking it from both ends was about enforcing penalties against employers here in America who employ illegal immigrants. Normally when the left talks about combating illegal immigration it is with some sort of suggestion like giving poorer countries more of our money so they can develop or just blanket amnesty for illegal immigrants here.

Plus it is worth noting the panel composition. He had both Ted Cruz and Jordan Peterson on to represent the right. Both of them are very effective at arguing their positions convincingly. I don't really know much about Pamela Paul to weigh in on her effectiveness, but Maher can be persuasive when he wants to be and he seemed to very weakly argue the lefty position. Also as a general note the terms "illegal immigrant' and 'illegal immigration', seem to be used much more frequently now on the more center part of the left. A few years ago we would have been much more likely to see emotionally manipulative and obfuscating terms like "undocumented worker", or "migrant".

Aggie said...

"Is this in reference to the poppy in his lapel?

No, I knew that the poppy was representative of Flanders and I applaud him for that. From my experience, Peterson is more of a corduroy / elbow patches kind of guy. But it wasn't just the Joker threads - it was the coiffed hairdo and the unusually thick stage makeup. Really, it made me double-take, because his style is normally quite pedestrian, I'm guessing so as not to distract from his message. If you compare him here to another video, say one of his public addresses, you'll notice.

The Crack Emcee said...

Tom's Famous Neighbor

BTW - This is where the word "motherfucker" came from.

The Crack Emcee said...

Aggie said...

"Holy smokes, they've got Jordan Peterson all tarted up like a cheap gigolo. What the heck!"

He and Willy Wonka share the same tailor.

Mason G said...

"In our relationship, I have a hard time getting a word in edgewise."

Henry Phillips- She's Talking Again

Freeman Hunt said...

"Maybe that's why women are unhappier. Men keep doing that."

Heh. My experience is that most men don't get ruffled if you push back just as hard and steamroll their interruptions, but I encountered one who did not long ago. The memory of his face is still amusing me. After pulling a face, he literally turned away from me and remained that way for an hour in the middle of a group discussion. Ha ha ha.

Richard said...

The poppy is considerably more of a universal in the Commonwealth than in the US. After all, the Brits lost about eight times the men we did in WW I. From a smaller population. Terrible hit to their society.

That said, pro-palestinian mobs are assaulting poppy sellers, to let you know which side they're on.

Tank said...

Cruz does a great job and has actual facts at hand while coming off as surprisingly likeable.

rcocean said...


"He and Willy Wonka share the same tailor."

Good one.

H said...

They win because their ideas are better and their facts support their ideas.

Mason G said...

"Cruz does a great job and has actual facts at hand while coming off as surprisingly likeable."

While Maher realizes the talking points he wants to use will just bounce off, so he refuses to engage in a discussion.

Lucien said...

Credit to Pamela Paul for realizing that she shouldn’t go mano a mano with a psychology professor on a matter of results of studies in psychology.

Tom said...

You might have missed Pamela Paul’s slight on WV. She slides in there that Manchin took Robert C Bird’s seat. Bird was a lot of things - he was prolific in getting money for WV. He was a Democrat Senator for a very long time. He was, as she points pitchers Hillary Clinton’s mentor in the senate. But, he was also head of the KKK in WV before all of that. So, she attempted to smear Manchin before he’s able to launch his third party campaign.

Btw, Gov Jim Justice and Baby Dog were going to win that senate race long before Manchin decided to drop out. There’s no way Manchin could beat Justice and Baby Dog - they’re simply too beloved in the state. Plus, Manchin and Justice are very good friends.