I'm not a very big fan of his stand-up comedy, but Bill Maher is solid gold behind a desk. American should vote him into office... might cut down on the bullshit. Just a bit.

Mike Malloy demonstrates how to deal with the Bush voting monkeys in your life:

brutusworks.com/malloy-vs-monkey.mp3

Europe is such a nice place, and I probably will move back someday.

Great post Kali! I love Mike Malloy! He is so dead on! “These Republicans have crapped all over this country and all over this planet and people are mad at Democrats because we ran out of buckets and mops”!

Wow! By 1989, approaching my late 20s, I moved to Europe - not because it's better but because, as a foreigner, I could live in obscurity. I miss “home” very much. Maher is right about moving to Europe and I can say, firsthand, living poor in Europe is better than US. Maher is good but Thoreau said it better: “The opportunities of living are diminished in proportion as what are called the ‘means’ are increased.”

Anyone know the name of the study?

Thanks for Malloy's link Kali Yuga

Well, Maher's right about the hollowness of the American dream. But it sounds a bit strange coming from him. After all, he's bloody rich.

Was he born that way? If he wasn't, he g o t rich. If he was, it sounds a tad bit condescending. And that tsktsking against egotistical dreams of an eternal weekend – isn't this Bill Maher's whole life? I mean, I love him, but I don't think he should get preachy...

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. (In this particular case, I wish it was true)

Well, Maher's right about the hollowness of the American dream. But it sounds a bit strange coming from him. After all, he's bloody rich.

Was he born that way? If he wasn't, he g o t rich. If he was, it sounds a tad bit condescending. And that tsktsking against egotistical dreams of an eternal weekend – isn't this Bill Maher's whole life? I mean, I love him, but I don't think he should get preachy...

Frenchfries, the "You don't have the moral authority to say X", is a perfect example of the argumentum ad hominem or personal attack fallacy (The abusive form). If you refuse to accept a statement, and justify your refusal by criticizing the person who made the statement, then you are guilty of abusive argumentum ad hominem. For example:

"You claim that atheists can be moral -- yet I happen to know that you abandoned your wife and children."

This is a fallacy because the truth of an assertion doesn't depend on the virtues of the person asserting it.

I missed the joke at the end. Who's "this bastard"?

He's a retired Exxon Mobil CEO Lee R. Raymond. Google or Yahoo! the bastard and see how much he retired with. He's the architype of scum lets just say.

Former Exxon Mobil CEO Lee R. Raymond who retired with a shit load of money:

Read this and weep...I know I did.

I was not born poor in this country. I emigrated poor. I was probably worse off when I got here at 10 y.o. than most poor people born here, because I didn't even know English at all. Me and my father -- my only family in the country -- were living in a slum for 4 years before we even knew we could receive welfare. We spent 2 years on welfare.

I went through school college and my own education. No, I was not a straight A student, but I persevered, I got off welfare, I got off medicaid (great as that program was to me), and currently I am an IT consultant with my own billable hours and clients on Wall St., and I don't have to budget for a $1.50 knish or a $4.00 metrocard every day. To me that's making it. And to me, that makes the United States great.

Peace and chicken grease.

Good for you Phil. Just cross your fingers that you never get cancer, or some other terminal disease. Your views will change, should that happen. Good luck Peace Jo Ann

I'm an immigrant from Russia, came to the USA when I was 9 with my mother. She raised me single handedly, and got fairly rich in real estate. I went on to college and am currently in law school. I don't know much about whether it would be possible to have such things happen in the rest of Europe, but I do know that it would have been impossible for me to live the life I live now if my mother had no chosen to immigrate to the US.

Bottom line I think is this, if you work hard here in the US, you will make it, and if your goal is to be rich and you have a good head on your shoulders and are willing to work hard, you will make it. The problem is that a lot of americans are lazy and self-rightous. They think that just being born here and having a dream is enough to get what they want. But thats not the way it works. If you want a good life, you have to work hard at it, and so long as irrational obsicles (like government beaurocracy and corruption in the case of russia) don't stand in your way, you will make it. The same would be true for most of Europe. If you want to live on welfare your entire life, then France is a great place to be because they are more generous in spending on the unemployed and the unemployable, but if you have a goal and work hard to achieve it, then it does not matter whether you are in France, the UK or the US.

Why do you have to go to "Law School" to get a decent job and make a living? I cannot afford to get student loans and go to 6+ years of schooling and put myself in horrible debt, besides I need to worry about gas at $3+ a gallon. I just want to make a decent living, you know, EAT, Pay Rent, maybe a movie once in awhile.

Every story I have heard is …. I finally got 10 years of schooling and now I can go to the store and buy food and pay rent.... what a joke.

I worked in a government job at 22 and made about 800 a month and my rent and utilities were 650+ (+100 utilities) that lasted a year, and then I had to move BACK in with my parents because I could barely eat.... What are my options in America? What if I cannot afford 6 years of college or I do not want to put myself in debt for the rest of my life with the American Student Loan Nightmare? Not to mention if God Forbid I get some kind of illness and need medical care!!

Forgive me for my honesty, but anton you are the epitome of self righteousness and smugness. “blahblahblahblahblah…..and now I am in law school” (hooray for anton….) how is law school paying the rent?