Thanks
to John DeMatteo
The
Series of Five Episodes of " Politically Incorrect -Takes on the Mob",
begins
Tomorrow Night -- Monday July 30.
This
follows on "Mob Sunday", July 29, on the USA Channel from 9am-10pm.
Politically
Incorrect'' is seen on ABC weeknights at 12:05 a.m. EDT.
Check
your local listings.
A 1/2
page Ad appeared in Sunday version of the Los Angeles Times,
With
a Photo of Bill Maher in Cement Shoes at the bottom of a river,
That
states : "Was it Something I Said"
"A
Week with Bill 'The Mouth' Maher and anyone who ever offered protection,
fulfilled
a contract or made someone an offer that couldn't be refused."
I am
very apprehensive.
=======================================================
'POLITICALLY
INCORRECT' TAKES ON THE MOB
By Frazier Moore
The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - Just moments
into taping ``Politically Incorrect,'' one of
the cameras conks out.
``We got the monologue -
that's the best part of the show,'' quips Bill
Maher, the notably un-PC
host of this serious-issues-with-laughs discussion
show, as technicians scurry
to fix the problem.
``Can I help?'' Maher asks.
``Did you push 'power'?''
Then he shares with the audience
a mock suspicious look. ``This is a little
suspicious, isn't it?''
Hmmmm. He's just begun the
first of five shows probing organized crime, which
is famous, of course, for
its retaliatory gestures. And rather than the usual
studio setting back in comfy
Los Angeles, Maher is presiding from an open-air
stage on Brooklyn's rotting
waterfront.
But despite the requisite
sinister tone, no bodies are observed floating in
the inky East River, and
the technical glitch is quickly straightened out.
``When was it we started
rooting for the bad guys?'' Maher asks his four
guests once the tape is
rolling again.
For this edition, airing
Tuesday, Maher has convened Steven R. Schirripa
(Bobby Baccalieri on ``The
Sopranos''), Ganglandnews.com's Jerry Capeci,
Cindy DiBernardo (whose
mobster dad was whacked by Sammy ``the Bull''
Gravano) and mob lawyer
Murray Richman. (``Politically Incorrect'' is seen on
ABC weeknights at 12:05
a.m. EDT.)
Soon the talk turns to gender
issues and Maher complains that mobsters have
to do all the killing while
their women stay at home.
But DiBernardo begs to differ.
``We kill youse, but you
just don't realize it!'' she says. ``Every day, we
chip away at youse.''
At mention of ``The Sopranos,''
Richman declares that ``what ruined the mob
was emulating things that
didn't exist. It's life copying art.''
Then someone voices a counterargument:
No, drugs are what ruined the mob.
``I don't think the Mafia
should be selling ecstasy,'' Maher chimes in. ``I
don't want to hear a techno
version of `That's Amore.'''
A few minutes later, taping
wraps. Though a hot, steamy evening, the weather
has spared the gathering
from expected rain. The audience in the temporary
grandstand will soon be
bused back to Manhattan. The star repairs to his
trailer.
Asked how the ``Mob Week''
idea came about, Maher (pronounced marr) says he
isn't sure, even as he marvels
at the fascination with organized crime the
public continues to display.
Himself included. ``I see
the Mafia now like the Westerns of the late 19th
century: outlaws in an era
that has passed them by. With this vulnerability,
even though they're outlaws.''
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