For The Moment - Establishment Signals Its Grudging Rejection Of Hot Civil War

realclearpolitics |  Bill Maher argued against masks, vaccine mandates at work, firing people with immunity, and more on Friday's edition of 'Real Time' on HBO. Maher declared the pandemic was over and it is time for everyone to give up and "resume living," telling viewers there will always be a variant.

"Just resume living," Maher said. "I know some people seem to not want to give up on the wonderful pandemic, but you know what? It's over. There's always going to be a variant. You shouldn't have to wear masks... I haven't had a meeting with my staff since March of 2020. Why?"

"Also, vaccines, masks. Pick one! You've got to pick. You can't make me mask if I've had the vaccine," he said. "I saw it today, people outside alone, walking with a mask. It's so stupid. It's an amulet. A charm people wear to ward away evil spirits. It means nothing."


"Can't we get people to understand the facts more?" Maher asked.

Atlantic writer Caitlin Flanagan told Maher she has "broken up" with COVID and has had enough.

"I have broken up with COVID. It's not working for me anymore," she said.

"I can't keep up," Flanagan later said. "And you know what? I've had cancer. I'm triple vax'd. If it gets me, fair play to it because it will put up a fight against me. But I'm not staying in my house again."

Sen. Chris Coons (D-CT), Maher's other guest, argued pandemic mitigation efforts are still needed because the entire world has not recovered.

"So in the United States, in most of the western world, we're ready to be done with this, but we're not done until the world is safe and we're not safe as a world until the world's vaccinated," Coons said.

"Except the world recognizes natural immunity, we don't," Maher responded. "Because everything in this country has to go through the pharmaceutical companies. Natural immunity is the best kind of immunity. We shouldn't fire people who have natural immunity because they don’t get the vaccine."

"If someone is willing to be a fireman, if someone is willing to be a policeman, if someone is willing to go into a burning building and says, 'I'm just not that afraid of COVID and I don't want to take the vaccine,' that should be enough," Flanagan said.

"You shouldn't be losing a job, you shouldn't be furloughed without pay, the guy that saves lives because he doesn't want to take the vaccine. It's ridiculous," she added.

"For unvaccinated hospitalization risk - unvaccinated. 41% of Democrats thought it was over 50%... Hospitalization rate for the vaccinated is actually 0.01% and the rate for the unvaccinated is 0.89%. So in both cases, the correct answer is less than 1%. They thought it was over 50%. How do people, especially of one party, get such a bad idea? Where did that come from?" Maher asked.