Maher waves bye bye to Falwell

There are a lot of things Jerry Falwell said, did, thought, and advocated in his life, but Bill Maher knows it's all about the gays. In a scathing little eulogy (do you still call it a euology when it begins "Death isn't always sad"?), he gets right to the heart of Falwell's legacy:

Now, I know that you're not supposed to speak ill of the dead but I think we can make an exception because speaking ill of the dead was kind of Jerry Falwell's hobby. He was the guy who said that AIDS was God's punishment for homosexuality and that 9/11 was brought on by pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and the ACLU, or as I like to call them – my studio audience (wild clapping and screaming).

But I found it surreal this week watching people on the news praise Falwell, followed by a clip package of what he actually said. Things like homosexuals are part of a vile and satanic system that will be utterly anahiliated. If ... you're not a born again Christian you're a failure as a human being. Feminists just need a man around the house. There is no separation of church and state. And of course, everyone's favorite - the purple Teletubby is gay.

Jerry Falwell found out that you could launder your hate through the cover of God's will. He didn't hate gays. God does. All Jerry Falwell's power came from name dropping God. And gay people should steal that trick. You know what? Don't say you want something because it's your right as a human being. Say you want it because it's your religion.

The whole beautiful nasty snappy thing is, of course, on YouTube.