Let’s begin with an observation about HBO’s “Real Time” host Bill Maher, who we continue to cover when he nails the bigotry of the Left and/or defends someone on “our side.” Early on, I wrote headlines like “Blind Squirrel Finds Acorn” in reference to something sane and sensible Maher said on his show.

Those days are gone.

Second observation: While it’s true that Maher has opened his eyes more and more in the last couple of years, the acerbic “Real Time” host hasn’t changed nearly as much as has the lunatic, radical Left. As is the case with all sane, sensible, and intelligent people, Maher sees, in most or many cases, what the rest of us see: the existential threat — ironically a favorite term of the Left — to America as we know it.

Now, let’s get to it.

During his opening monologue Friday night, as reported by Fox News, Maher staunchly defended fellow comedian Dave Chappelle, who continues to take incoming from the intolerant Left — who knew? — over his latest Netflix special, “The Closer.”

The press hyped a Netflix walkout of “at least a thousand” workers over Dave Chappelle’s special, then it was “hundreds,” then finally it was “dozens,” quietly and below the headlines: https://t.co/tFEt4MFi8b

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) October 22, 2021

Maher began by acknowledging Chappelle was in “hot water,” drawing groans from his audience.

“What the f**k was that reaction? Dave’s special is offensive but not the show where the Koreans murder each other for money?

“I think people jump to conclusions, people haven’t seen it. Just because people call Dave ‘transphobic’ doesn’t mean that he is. Also, Larry? Not a real cable guy.

“Well, get used to this because we’re going to be talking about it a lot here. We can’t be afraid to speak in America.”

Later in the panel discussion, Maher tore into what he described as — and we all know what he was talking about — the “one true opinion” pushed by the ‘woke’ mob. “It doesn’t exist,” he said.

“I’m a free-speech guy. Now, I’m Team Dave but that doesn’t mean I’m anti-trans. We can have two thoughts in our head at the same time.”

The radical Left and their useful idiots — the Democrat Party and their slaphappy sock puppets in the pretend-“mainstream” media — beg to differ.

“I’m Team Dave, but that doesn’t mean I’m anti-trans. We can have two thoughts in our head at the same time.”

Watch @BillMaher, @JohnHMcWhorter and @AndrewYang discuss the uproar over Dave Chappelle’s comedy special on #RealTime: https://t.co/2VZL61qtsG pic.twitter.com/HH8UGsQEeB

— Real Time with Bill Maher (@RealTimers) October 23, 2021

How many times have we been told or told others in our lives that words have meaning? “Words [used to] have meanings,” Maher said, “but not anymore.”

“When I hear ‘transphobic,’ ‘phobic’ has a meaning. Fear. I’m not transphobic if I merely disagree with you. It’s not hate. One of the reactions from someone who worked at Netflix said, ‘This is not an argument with two sides.’

“Well, right away you lost me. ‘It is an argument with trans people who want to be alive and people who don’t want us to be.’ Well, that’s just ridiculous. Dave Chappelle does not want you to not be alive.”

Maher even “gently” admonished the trans community.

“You know, you’re not automatically right if you’re trans. You’re completely equal; you’re just not automatically right and it doesn’t behoove everybody to get their mind around very new changes, I mean, we were boys and girls for a very long time.

“It’s only been ten years since — how long have we had gay marriage, you know? I mean, talk about the Democratic voter, I’m sure there’s a guy in Ohio going, ‘I just got on board with gay marriage, could you give me a minute?’”

Maher continued to do what few conservatives, not all that long ago, didn’t think he had the ability to do — make sense. Again, Bill Maher hasn’t changed nearly as much as have his pals on the lunatic Left.

Podcaster Joe Rogan also defended Chappelle on Tuesday’s episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience”:

“If you get down to Dave Chappelle’s real feelings, he a lovely person. He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life. He loves everybody, He’s not a hateful soul.”

Rogan slammed the “mainstream” media for creating what he called a “Streisand Effect.”

“[Dave’s] not a homophobic or transphobic person. He makes fun of himself. It’s fun, it’s just making jokes, that doesn’t mean hate. This is the problem with today. If you don’t have an enemy, you make an enemy […] We look for things.

Like if people really hated you and they were the enemy, people that just joked around about stuff wouldn’t be thought of as the enemy. Just pay attention to the overall message. It is in no way transphobic. It’s just not.”

“Just pay attention to the overall message.” As is the case with words no longer meaning things, paying attention to any message from “the other side” is now a rare commodity. On the contrary, many of us have reduced ourselves to looking for views and pretend-facts that support or validate what we already believe.

Joe Rogan defends Dave Chappelle over Netflix special outrage, slams media for creating a ‘Streisand Effect’ https://t.co/7G6vR27qOb

— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) October 22, 2021

The once-blind squirrel now sees far more people than many of us —on both sides of most issues.

Oh, how Maher must irritate the living hell out of his Hollywood pals.

I wrote an article on Friday titled ‘I’m Tired of This Sh*t!’ Artist Who Inks Superman Comics Quits: Any Guesses? about former DC Comics colorist Gabe Eltaeb, one of the artists who created Superman for the popular comic series.

One of Eltaeb’s quotes bears repeating, here.

“They call us bigots and racist and sh-t, I would ask them, find me in the f–king mainstream, not on the fringes, one f–king book, one f–king t-shirt, one movie that says that leftism is bad, and conservatism is good, find it for me, they f–king won’t they’re not letting people have a voice, they’re the f–king bigots.”
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Amen to Gabe Eltaeb and his courage to stand up for what he believes.

The same may be said about Bill Maher, Joe Rogan, and Dave Chappelle. Words — and freedom of speech — still matter. It is up to all of us to keep it that way.