I'm going to have to stop watching Bill Maher's show Real Time, because Maher is a fucking crackpot. He can be logical, reasonable and funny about a number of subjects, but when it gets around to healthcare, he starts spouting ridiculous and harmful bullshit.
He doesn't believe in vaccines and has been telling people not to take the H1N1 shot. He's doesn't believe in the germ theory of disease. He thinks there's been no progress in treating cancer in the last fifty years.
He had former Senator Bill Frist on his show the other night. There are lots of things I disagree with Frist about (and he should have given up his medical license in shame after his disgusting part in the Terri Schiavo farce), but he is an actual doctor. He tried (as others have) to explain to Maher how a vaccine works. No luck.
It didn't help that one of his guests was Richard Belzer -- another seemingly intelligent person who has a crackpot side that makes me discount anything he says. In his case, he's a JFK conspiracy nut.
Maher argues against things like religion and the 9/11 "Truthers" on a rationalist basis. How does that work in his head alongside his anti-vaxxer bullshit? Is there a mental firewall that prevents the rationalism from getting into that area?