Christmas Enthusiast Bill Maher Shares Some Basic Truths About the Holiday

Presented for the moment without additional comment, the following excerpt from last night's "New Rules" feature from HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher puts a few important items in their proper perspective:

Comedian Bill Maher Says He'll Lead the Fight to "Save Christmas"

I'm a big fan of Bill Maher, and while I don't always agree with him on everything, I respect his ability to cut to the heart of the tough issues. I also admire his courage in calling out so many of the selfish idiots who currently hold positions of authority in this country. Maher is a staunch defender of the Bill of Rights, which I appreciate, even when those important principles are threatened from the left. Of course, Maher is also one of the nation's most prominent atheists, so when I heard he volunteered to lead the fight to "save Christmas" on last night's episode of Real Time with Bill Maher (Fridays at 10 pm on HBO), I felt obliged to figure out what was up. Maher quickly admitted that many people will probably consider him an odd choice to defend Christmas, but, in fact, he's always had a deep and genuine affection for the holidays -- provided you don't take the story literally. "For me," he says, "Christmas has always been about families, and memories . . . and the looks on the carolers faces when I set the dogs on them." Maher has some interesting suggestions about how to make the holidays easier on all of us, and you can hear the whole sordid story below: