Bill Maher still thinks Texas and Texans are uniformly stupid.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=219083881445180&oid=62507427296&comments

I don't always like everything Bill Maher says or does to get a laugh or (sometimes) a knee-jerk reaction from the audience and, as an ex-Texan, I winced at the "I'm-calling-all-of-you-STUPID" New Rule from last Friday's episode of REAL TIME.

Yes, Texas has fundamentalist Christians who are deeply intolerant of other faiths (Judaism and the LDS, to give just two examples)--and a history of pandering loudmouth Republicans (Bill Clements, George W. Bush, Rick Perry) who manage to outlast the more reasonable Democrats (center-to-left) in the governor's chair (Mark White, Ann Richards).

But the entire population of Texas shouldn't be subjected to "progressive" smirking and liberal derision.

Unfortunately, nuance and thoughtfulness don't go well with stand-up comedy--and it's useless to wish for Bill Maher to try for something that gets laughs, but also attempts to examine human hopes and fears instead of settling for the cheap sugar rush of easy button-pushing.