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Joy Behar Page
Our Time with Bill Maher; Connecticut Murder Trial; Dancing Drama; Teaching Tony
Aired September 28, 2010 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOY BEHAR, HLN HOST: The star of TLC`s "Sister Wives" Kody Brown, who has four wives, is being investigated by the Utah state police for possible bigamy charges. Kody, my friend, look at the bright side. If you go to jail, you can legally have four husbands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW the outspoken host of "Real Time" Bill Maher stops by with his incisive take on everything from the ascent of Christine O`Donnell to a shocking new poll about the state of religion in America and the rising tide of voter anger.
Then Joy rates the best and worst performances from last night`s "Dancing with the Stars". And were those boos that greeted Sarah Palin?
Plus, we`ll tell you why justice may be delayed for the man charged with the Petit family murders.
That and more starting right now.
BEHAR: He hates hypocrisy. He hates religion. But, most importantly, he hates stupidity. And we love to listen to him.
He`s Bill Maher. He`s got something to say about everything. Good thing because there is a lot of news today I want to ask him about.
So welcome to the show, Bill Maher, host of HBO`s "Real Time with Bill Maher". Hey, Bill. How are you?
BILL MAHER, HOST, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": Joy, how are you?
BEHAR: I`m good. You know, let me start with a little politics. Vice President Biden said yesterday that Democrats need to stop whining and he is not the only one who said that. Obama said Democrats should stop seeing the glass half empty. President Clinton said the DEMs need to stop their whimpering? Is this a way to fire up the base or is it going to drive the base away?
MAHER: Well, if it drives the base away, then who`s going to suffer, you know, if they don`t go to the polls? Oh, they`ll show that Obama.
BEHAR: Right.
MAHER: But who`ll suffer. They do. I think they`re all right, you know. There is a place for criticizing the president. I do it all the time. It is our job as journalists, quasi-journalists as we are, comedians.
BEHAR: Pundits.
MAHER: But we have a microphone and we like the president but we want more. It`s our job to hold his feet to the fire. But when it comes time to vote, ok, that is the time when you say, look, the talk is over. Talk is cheap. Now we have to make a choice.
We only have two parties in this country. So we have to grow up and realize there is a difference between a disappointing friend and a deadly enemy.
BEHAR: Right.
MAHER: And when you look at the accomplishments, you know, of the administration, they`re actually pretty impressive. It`s really been a better year or two for liberals since the `60s.
I mean, they did get health care through. It`s not the perfect bill. But it is a start. It`s about as much as I guess we could do in this climate.
I mean, they got banks from -- to stop being the middle men in student loans. They got a credit card bill of rights, they pulled out of Iraq. They had a flat lining economy that they at least have up and running again.
There`s been a lot of stuff to be happy about and the Democrats are just awful at bragging about their own accomplishments. The Republicans run on their screw-ups and the Democrats stay quiet about their accomplishments.
BEHAR: That`s true. That`s true.
What do you make of Rahm Emanuel stepping down? You think, I mean, you often talk about the wussy behavior in the Democratic Party which is -- but Rahm was hardly wussy. And are we losing one of the tougher guys in the administration here?
MAHER: I guess so. But our loss is Chicago`s gain.
BEHAR: Right.
All right. Well, who is going to be the tough guy in the White House now, Hillary? I mean, who have they got?
BEHAR: Well, I don`t know if you need a tough guy. I think you would need a guy like Bill Clinton who can make the argument. That is what they`re so bad about doing is making the counterargument.
Jimmy Carter, you know, who was always portrayed as this weak, ineffectual president, you know -- he`s out plugging that book so I see him all around. You know, he was a better proponent of what Democrats actually believed in.
He was saying the other day, I heard him on "60 Minutes" say that during his administration they never fired a shot, not a bullet, not a missile. He said, you know what? I thought as the world`s super power we had the obligation to be the peacemaker.
I think that`s fantastic. What a choice that would be for a voter because we don`t have that kind of choice. People say there`s not enough bipartisanship. There`s too much bipartisanship. If both parties are for using the army in Afghanistan, to fight terrorism, that`s not too much bipartisanship. That`s not enough.
BEHAR: Well, and the tragedy is that Jimmy Carter has been vilified as the worst president in the United States history, practically, besides George W. Bush, of course, and it`s really not very nice for people to say that.
But, you know, let`s talk about Christine O`Donnell for a second. First of all, there is something new, apparently, that I just learned besides the fact that she doesn`t believe in evolution and she did some witchcraft which I think she was kidding about that. Do you? The witchcraft?
MAHER: No, she wasn`t -- no, no. She wasn`t kidding. But she was young and it should not be held against her. I think she said she was in high school. I think what`s indicative about her is that she`s always dabbling in something and, to my view, when someone is very devout it means in some sense they`re lost. They`re looking for something.
I mean, she dabbled in witchcraft and then by her own admission she became kind of wanton and she dabbled in sex and booze. And then she became a Catholic and then she went to the Evangelicals and then she went back to the Catholics. You get the feeling if the Mormons knocked on the door, you know, in two minutes she`d be out there wearing the magic underwear.
BEHAR: She`s there. She`s there. You know, today we just found out that on her linked-in page -- is that it -- she says that she went to Oxford. Now, this is new.
We found out that she actually was taking a course at Oxford from another school so she was actually in the building so when she says I went Oxford --
MAHER: Yes. That`s the Oxford Tailoring School. It`s right next to Yale, the Yale Locksmith Company.
Yes. Actually, well, she`s -- she`s played a little fast and loose with the facts about her education before. So, you know, for someone who is so adamant that lying is never ok; she has a little problem with mendacity.
BEHAR: Yes. Now, I`ve been very interested in the fact that you`ve been releasing these clips like a contact time release capsule. I love it. Tell me what`s coming up. Do you have more?
MAHER: I definitely have more. She was on "Politically Incorrect" 22 times. I`m apparently the only one who has every episode of "Politically Incorrect". It`s good to be a hoarder. You know, we released the witch one the first week and last week the one where she says that, you know, come on. Why don`t monkeys evolve right before our eyes, like you could sit at the zoo and watch the chimp become a human?
You know, whether -- I have more, you know, we could put together a montage. It`s funny stuff. But I don`t want to make my show the Christine O`Donnell show.
BEHAR: Right.
MAHER: So I don`t know what we`re going to do this week. We might show one. We might not. I just think it`s important for people to assess that this person could be in the Senate. You know, there are only 100 senators.
BEHAR: Right.
MAHER: Those votes count. And I need someone in the Senate who believes that global warming is real and the earth is not 6,000 years old.
BEHAR: I know. It`s true. Maybe they should be given an IQ test before they can even run. Now this other guy, Carl Paladino, what do you know about him? He sent some really racist e-mails ahead. He forwarded these hideous, hideous -- I read Bob Herbert today. It`s unbelievable stuff.
What do you think -- where do they come up with these people? Go ahead.
MAHER: Joy, he was in the construction business. That`s his excuse. I was in the construction business.
BEHAR: Yes.
MAHER: Of course we`re going to send racist e-mail. As a woman have you ever walked by a construction site? Of course you`re going to be accosted with all sorts of horrible things coming out of the mouths of construction people.
And his other thing is, yes -- I admit it -- bad judgment. So here you have a guy running in New York State, which is supposed to be one of the most sophisticated states in the nation saying, "I`m in the construction business and I use bad judgment. Vote for me. These are my qualifications to be the governor of the second largest, most populist state in the country." It`s just insane.
BEHAR: I mean, you know, I got into a big tiff with him the other day because I said he could if all of his illegitimate children voted for him and I got this really nasty response. This is what -- from his people. "That`s catty. It`s pissy and strikes of something that someone would say when suffering from a sudden hot flash. Joy is off Carl Paladino`s Christmas card list."
Can you believe these idiots are actually turning on me, a comedian, for a comment like that?
MAHER: And to play the hot flash card, Joy.
BEHAR: So wrong.
MAHER: Low.
BEHAR: It`s so wrong.
MAHER: Oh, I -- it is so wrong. But, also, you know, it`s fair game. For one reason, he`s running for office. This guy isn`t in a beauty contest. This is serious stuff and this is fair play. And also, he`s one of those politicians who says things like, yes, I support judges who, you know, back my idea of what are traditional values -- I guess it depends on what your meaning of tradition is.
BEHAR: Now you have him, he is opposing abortion even in the cases of incest and rape. You have this other one who doesn`t believe in evolution. This guy`s sending racist e-mails, has an illegitimate kid, the whole thing. And yet they could win. They could actually win.
MAHER: He also said something about how we can`t build a mosque in New York anywhere within the radius of where the dust cloud of human remains went, which is -- which -- that`s what I call owning it as far as an issue goes.
BEHAR: Ok, Bill. Sit tight.
We have more on the way with Bill Maher.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with the star of HBO`s "Real Time with Bill Maher". I am a huge fan Bill, I watch you every week. And I`ve been on your show. Maybe I`ll come back --
MAHER: As I am of you.
BEHAR: Ok, darling.
But you the other night you were talking about millionaires and how annoying they all are. You took on Ben Stein and -- and the Forbes, right? What is your beef with Ben Stein specifically?
MAHER: Well, these rich people --
BEHAR: Go ahead. I`m sorry.
MAHER: Well, it`s -- it`s that rich people are whining --
BEHAR: Right.
MAHER: -- about Obama`s plan to merely raise the tax rate on the richest one percent, basically, three percent. I mean, it`s -- it`s insane how -- how they react -- how they over react. We`re talking about a three percent raise from 36 percent to 39 percent just for the richest people.
Now, under Eisenhower the richest people paid 90 percent tax rate. Under Nixon it was 70 percent. Obama just wants to go from what it is now, 36 percent, to what it was under Clinton, 39 percent. And I was saying it`s a win-win because people with that much money don`t even feel that three percent tax raise over $250,000. And it heals the economy. It happened in the `90s when Clinton did it.
BEHAR: Well, what about this rap that they keep giving on the right about how you have to give tax breaks to these rich corporations and people so that it`ll trickle down in jobs? It didn`t during the Bush years so why would it happen now?
MAHER: It -- that is the biggest canard ever that it trickles down. Give me a break. Rich people don`t do that. They put it in the bank or they buy a boat --
BEHAR: Right.
MAHER: -- or a bigger boat.
This idea that we have to give the money to the rich people because then they`ll create jobs with it. No, they`re much more likely to cut jobs, mergers, and outsourcing. These are all -- hiring immigrant labor -- these are all ways to squeeze the middle class and make more money for them.
And that`s why we have this unbalanced economy that we have now where we have the -- the very rich, just a few people who have more money than they could ever do anything with and the rest of the people trying to find a second job at a yogurt shop.
BEHAR: Right. You know, on another topic, there is a survey that you probably read in today`s paper that -- that says that atheists and agnostics actually know more about religion --
MAHER: Yes.
BEHAR: -- than people who believe.
A majority of Protestants couldn`t identify Martin Luther as the driving force behind the Protestant Reformation unless they`re Lutherans. Maybe the Lutherans got it. And the Catholics -- didn`t realize that the bread and wine is actually literally considered the body and blood of Christ. I was raised with that -- with that story.
Why do you think atheists --
MAHER: I was, too.
BEHAR: -- are more knowledgeable than -- than people who actually believe?
MAHER: Yes.
BEHAR: Uninformed --
MAHER: -- well, this is not news to me, because this is exactly what I found out when I was on the road for a few months in 2007 making my documentary "Religulous." What we found out talking to endless numbers of religious person that they know absolutely nothing about religion, because they don`t want to know.
Religion is all about sticking in fingers in your ears and humming. They don`t want to hear what the reality is. They want to believe what they believe. It`s -- it`s not about critical thinking. I mean, faith is the purposeful suspension of critical thinking.
I always ask the question, why is that good? Why is it good when people brag about, I have faith, I`m guided by my faith? Every president says I`m guided by my faith. If there was a crisis, what would you do? Pray.
Oh, good. I`m so reassured. That if there was a crisis the first thing you would do would be to try to telepathically communicate with your imaginary friend. That`s what we need in a crisis.
BEHAR: You know, the tragedy of that, also, as you point out here a little bit is that we`ll never have an atheist as a president. They`ve -- even running for the Congress you cannot say that you don`t believe. They won`t vote for you. I mean, that -- there`s a --
MAHER: Right.
BEHAR: -- a new prime minister who is a female in Australia and she`s an avowed atheist. She was elected. This country is way behind on that particular topic.
MAHER: Way behind. And as I also tried to point out in "Religulous", the biggest minority that gets absolutely no respect in this country is atheists and agnostics. They are at least 15 percent of the country. They are a bigger minority than blacks, Hispanics, Jews, national rifle people, teachers, you know, you -- gays, you name the minority, it doesn`t -- it`s not quite 15 percent. And yet they have absolutely no voice.
They -- they -- they talk about how there`s no Protestants on the Supreme Court. Who cares if there`s no Protestants on the Supreme Court? What they are, all are believers in something.
So when you`re having a case of -- you know the First Amendment, church and state, yes, they have a -- they have a stake in this because they believe in some sort of a church or a temple.
BEHAR: But, you know, you were saying that the religious -- the religious people that you interviewed for "Religulous" -- is it "Religulous" or "Religulous" I never get that right.
MAHER: "Religulous".
BEHAR: "Religulous".
MAHER: Like ridiculous and religion.
BEHAR: Ok. But they`re uninformed and yet they can quote chapter and verse of the Bible a lot of times and give you some kind of like story about Noah and -- and owninism (ph) they love that one and also things about gay people. You know, they seem to be well versed on that. How come?
MAHER: Well, they`re well versed in what -- you know, they cherry- pick little things that they probably read in a pamphlet, but trust me they have -- they have never read the bible cover to cover. It`s a -- I don`t know if anybody could read the bible and still want to be a religious person. It is a book that is filled with immorality, wickedness, and then just plain silliness.
BEHAR: Well, the other day I was having a conversation --
MAHER: But it is a lot of wickedness, there`s a lot of --
BEHAR: Yes.
MAHER: -- God acting like a psychopath and just ethnically cleansing people and wiping people out and --
BEHAR: Yes.
MAHER: -- just, you know, that -- I was pointing out on the show Friday night the Ten Commandments. You know, this is the ultimate list of the ten things right from God and it doesn`t include rape, incest, or genocide. That`s ok. That`s not on the top ten. But apparently swearing, working on Sunday and building statutes to other Gods those are the things that are important.
BEHAR: Ok. Thank you, Bill, always a pleasure to hear from you. Keep up the good work.
MAHER: Ok, Joy. Thank you.
BEHAR: All right. His HBO comedy special "Bill Maher, but I`m not Wrong" is out now on DVD. And be sure to catch "Real Time" Fridays at 10:00 p.m. on HBO.
We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Testimony resumed today in the trial of Steven Hayes one of the men accused of brutally murdering three members of the Petit family in a 2007 Connecticut home invasion. Here now to discuss the latest in this horrific case is the host of HLN`s "ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL".
Jane, you know, let`s talk about the attorney for Hayes` co- defendant, this guy Komisarjevsky.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST, "ISSUES": Yes.
BEHAR: Ok. He is in trouble for speaking to the press and he now faces contempt charges. What is happening with that?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Joy, this is so vile I don`t even know how to tell you about it on television. Essentially there`s a gag order so the lawyers are not supposed to talk and this attorney for the defendant who hasn`t gone on trial yet, Joshua Komisarjevsky, decides to speak on the courthouse steps to sort of set the record straight because there was testimony in court that the youngest girl, Michaela, who was raped and killed, was raped anally.
BEHAR: I know.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And he wanted to set the record straight that even though she was sexually assaulted, well, it didn`t involve that. And of course the Petit family is outraged -- absolutely outraged.
BEHAR: They should be.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: They should be because the point of these trials is not to victimize the family again by delving into these hideous details. It is supposedly -- supposed to be about finding justice.
BEHAR: Yes. Now could this -- first of all could this affect the start of the trial of this Komisarjevsky guy?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, hypothetically, if he`s held in contempt of court he could even be disbarred, so it could result in a new lawyer being assigned but I really don`t think so because neither of these men are contesting the essential facts of the case. They both admit to being there.
BEHAR: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: They both admit to participating. In fact, both of them offered to plead guilty if they could be spared the death penalty. It`s the prosecution that wants to try them because they want to put them to death.
BEHAR: Exactly. Exactly. Now, do you think that this lawyer wants to get out of the case? Is that why he did this? Stupidly did this?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: No, I think it`s a strategic move because the gag order did not cover the Petit family and they have been speaking out because they have gone through an unimaginable trauma -- I mean, imagine.
BEHAR: So what was he trying to do with that?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, he`s trying to say, well, if you got a gag order on me you`ve got to put it on the family, too. I`m going to violate the gag order so that we`re called into court and then I can make my argument that if the gag order is to occur it should apply to everybody involved in the case including the family.
BEHAR: Ok. He`s going to have to try and call witnesses for the defense. Who is he going to find as a witness?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, here`s the thing. The current suspect on trial, the Steven Hayes, his whole thing is, again, he`s not contesting he was there but he is trying to push all the bad stuff on the second defendant --
BEHAR: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- who hasn`t gone to trial yet, in the hopes that maybe they`ll fry the second guy but they`ll give him life in prison. So he`s trying to separate himself and say, well, he just wanted to go in there and rob the place and get out but it was the other guy, Joshua Komisarjevsky, who while he was at the bank with the wife raped the 11- year-old girl and then kind of pushed it over the edge by insisting that Steven Hayes the current defendant rape the mother. The mother who had gone -- it`s hard to keep up. There is so much violence and hideous, hideous just evil behavior in this case.
BEHAR: I know. I think they should get the death penalty. A lot of times the death penalty takes a long time to get to. You know, by the time they do it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
BEHAR: Do you think they might put this on the fast track because of the horribleness of the crime?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you know, Connecticut has only put to death one person in the last 50 years but this has so outraged the people of Connecticut that it`s actually brought the death penalty issue back to life and made it popular again in Connecticut.
BEHAR: Ok. Thanks very much, Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you.
BEHAR: For the latest on this story tune in to "ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL" every night at 7:00 p.m. on HLN.
We`ll be back in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up a little later on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW a Utah polygamist turned reality star is in hot water with the law as cops ask questions about his four wives. And actor Tony Danza drops by to talk about his latest gig as a real life tenth grade English teacher. Now back to Joy.
JOY BEHAR, HLN HOST: Michael Bolton received the lowest score of the evening for his dog centric jive on last night`s "DANCING WITH THE STARS." Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ain`t nothing but a hound dog, crying all the time. You ain`t nothing but a hound dog crying all the time. Well you ain`t no friend of mine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did it all very, very, very badly. I think this is probably the worst jive in 11 seasons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Ouch. With me now to talk about this and more are Countess Luann De Lesseps, the star of "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK" and author of "Class With The Countess," comedian Chuck Nice and Belinda Luscombe editor-at-large for "Time." Welcome, guys. It was the worst jive in 11 seasons, too harsh?
COUNTESS LUANN DE LESSEPS, STAR, "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK": Well, I mean, usually you end up in the dog house. You don`t start in the dog house. So I thought it was pretty strange that he would start off with the dog house. I think it just kind of didn`t look great.
CHUCK NICE, COMEDIAN: It looked like a fettish scene. I mean, seriously. I was waiting for him to pay out $200 to pay the woman. You know, extra for the bone.
BELINDA LUSCOMBE, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, TIME: Did I tell you the mischief of being so undignified. He has been undignified across several genres now. He wrote a children`s book that was totally undignified a few years back.
BEHAR: Are you talking about Bolton or the Italian guy?
LUSCOMBE: No, Bolton, Bolton. He wrote a children`s book.
NICE: What would he write children`s book about?
LUSCOMBE: It got low marks from the judges let me assure you.
BEHAR: No kidding. But didn`t he set himself up for ridicule when he came out of that dog house. Was he trying to be funny?
DE LESSEPS: I wonder whose idea was that? I mean, whose idea was that to start at the dog house?
NUCE: I think it was Nicollette Sheridan`s.
(LAUGHTER)
DE LESSEPS: Good one, yes, and I think it kind of got worse after that. He kind of has two left feet, poor guy. For being a singer you would think he would have a little more rhythm.
BEHAR: Did you ever see Kate Gosselin?
DE LESSEPS: Oh god.
BEHAR: She was bad. Is he worse or better than Kate Gosselin?
NICE: Hmm that`s like saying what would you rather have, melanoma or prostate cancer.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Oh, my god. OK. All right. Never mind. Now, the situation was there. And he got an 18 out of 30, which is a very low score. Did you happen to catch him? There he is. We have him in the background there. How do you think de?
DE LESSEPS: He got an 18 out of 34. You know what?
BEHAR: Out of 30.
DE LESSEPS: Eighteen out of 30. He didn`t do too bad for the Situation. I think people are expecting the worst for him and I think with more practice he might be pretty good.
LUSCOMBE: It`s better than he did on the math test the other day.
(LAUGHTER)
DE LESSEPS: You got to comedians here.
NICE: Oh that was great. I`m not even going to say anything now.
BEHAR: OK let`s move on to Jennifer Gray. Now, she is a good dancer. She was in "Dirty Dancing." right.
DE LESSEPS: Patrick Swayze. I mean --
BEHAR: I know.
LUSCOMBE: She knows how to dance.
BEHAR: It`s unfair, a little unfair advantage to put her up against these other clods. Don`t you think?
DE LESSEPS: I think it`s very tough for them to compete against Jennifer Gray. But I`m rooting for her because, you know, we forgot about Jennifer Gray completely and al of a sudden she is making a big comeback.
BEHAR: I know I like her, too. I like her father. After Jennifer received her score something weird happened. The audience began booing. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don`t want to see them with the same shock, that ended David Hasselhof`s ball room dreams. Call, text or logon. There is booing in the ball room. We don`t know why.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why is there booing? Support them with your votes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right thank you Brooke, I`m here with guest ball room commentator Sarah Palin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: OK. So some people are saying that they were booing Sarah Palin. Do you think they were booing Sarah Palin?
LUSCOMBE: I don`t think they were booing Sarah Palin. First off, Tom Delay has been on that show. He was indicted. They didn`t boo Tom Delay. You`re not booing Tom Delay you`re not booing Sarah Palin.
BEHAR: That`s a good point. Do you agree Chuck?
NICE: Yes, I think so, I think they were booing the entire concept of "DANCING WITH THE STARS" like they just realized where they were. Where are they? This show sucks! Booh!
BEHAR: It`s the biggest show on television. Millions of people love that show.
NICE: That`s true. You`re right.
DE LESSEPS: I think that they thought she should have -- she had a high score but I think they thought it should have been higher and I think it`s just wishful thinking on the part of the viewer and the audience because a lot of people don`t like Sarah Palin so I think --
BEHAR: But a lot of people do like her.
DE LESSEPS: But a lot of people were thinking that they`re booing because of her but I don`t think that was true.
BEHAR: OK. Uh huh, you agree I think. All right, I sort of agree.
LUSCOMBE: I think "DANCING WITH THE STARS" would love it if they booed Sarah Palin because it makes all those, you know, the few people who are not tuning in watch.
NICE: Absolutely.
DE LESSEPS: I think she was very gracious. You know.
BEHAR: Bristol was good. Little Bristol.
NICE: Crystal the Pistol.
DE LESSEPS: She improved a lot from last week.
BEHAR: It`s all about guns with Sarah Palin.
NICE: Even her daughter is a gun.
BEHAR: Exactly. OK. Next up, Kody Brown and his four wives are the stars of TLC`s new show "SISTER WIVES" and they are all under investigation in Utah for felony bigamy. Here is what he had to say when they were on my show last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Polygamy is illegal so the first question is how come you can do this?
KODY BROWN: They`ve determined it`s more or less at this point a lifestyle choice.
BEHAR: It`s a lifestyle.
BROWN: Yes. And so it`s really tough to prosecute love on that issue I think.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: OK, hello. They`re prosecuting.
NICE: Yes, we`re not prosecuting love. We`re prosecuting your polygamy which is illegal.
BEHAR: But according to what -- did they push their luck by flaunting this so-called illegal lifestyle on TV?
LUSCOMBE: First it`s good to see Kato Kaelin back in the news. I always wondered what happen with her, don`t you think?
BEHAR: Whatever happened to him.
LUSCOMBE: Whatever happen to him. Secondly, you know -
BEHAR: He`s a polygamist. My god, a polygamist.
(LAUGHTER)
LUSCOMBE: It`s one thing to quietly throw trash out your window. OK? It`s another thing to get somebody in the car behind you to follow you with a camera and put it up on TV. It`s against the law.
DE LESSEPS: It`s against the law.
LUSCOMBE: It`s against the law.
BEHAR: But from what I understand, this is part of the interview, he was only married to one of them. So legally he was not really committing bigamy.
NICE: Right.
BEHAR: Or polygamy. So I don`t know --
DE LESSEPS: So why bring that out on television then?
BEHAR: Because he is sleeping with all of them.
DE LESSEPS: Right.
BEHAR: And he has children with them but he`s not legally married to all of them so what are they after him about? So what are they fetching about, I don`t really understand why they are after him.
LUSCOMBE: Because obviously people are really upset. I mean if women get the idea that you can have like other people as your sister wives, none of us will ever clean up again. I mean, somebody else.
BEHAR: Desperate sister wives, after that. That`ll be the next program. Maybe the police are just trying to make an example of them, like don`t do that. Don`t do that.
LUSCOMBE: They are kind of rubbing it in the face.
NICE: It`s not very smart to put it on television, you know, which is why I`ve decided not to go forward with my show on TLC which was called "Chuck Nice Is Selling Meth Out Of His Mom`s Basement."
BEHAR: That is a fabulous concept.
DE LESSEPS: I think -
(LAUGHTER)
LUSCOMBE: That`s more of a Bravo show anyway.
DE LESSEPS: Oh, come on. I think they`re playing off of "THE BIG LOVE" thing. This is not a scripted show though. This is a reality show. This is not --
BEHAR: I was riveted. I watched quite a few episodes. It was quite interesting just to see the dynamic. But anyway, they released a statement and said, we are disappointed in the announcement of an investigation but when we decided to do this show we knew there would be risks. Yet they did it anyway. But you know what? Shouldn`t they have the right to live their lives? If people want to have five wives and they`re happy doing it, what do I care?
DE LESSEPS: Exactly. I thought that he was married to all of them and I thought that was the real issue.
BEHAR: He is married to all of them in religious ceremonies -
DE LESSEPS: Right.
BEHAR: But not legally.
DE LESSEPS: Not legally.
BEHAR: OK.
LUSCOMBE: There have to be implications for the children. That`s the problem. A lot of children, should he lose his job or they get a divorce.
BEHAR: And if he died, I asked him who gets the money.
LUSCOMBE: Exactly.
BEHAR: He said they`ll work it out amongst themselves.
NICE: Sure.
LUSCOMBE: So well -
BEHAR: Finally the controversy surrounding Katy Perry`s ban from "Sesame Street" is still buzzing but there were no complaints when sex pot Raquel Welch and her big bosom appeared on the Muppet Show in the `70s. OK, there she is. See that? Now, do you think, Chuck, times are just more prudish? She was pretty --
NICE: Yes but here`s the thing. As you can see her declottage is pretty well covered. So, anyway,
DE LESSEPS: De coulte -
NICE: Oh excuse me.
BEHAR: De coulte - is the noun.
NICE: De coulte. So but, anyway, her (EXPLICATIVE DELETED) are covered up in this. And quite frankly --
DE LESSEPS: Oh, my gosh.
NICE: How`s that for you, Countess?
BEHAR: I know, I don`t really. This is a big story today but I don`t really see that Raquel`s tas tas are out.
NICE: No they weren`t out and the thing is with "Sesame Street" and it`s always been this way if the rack is made of felt, it`s OK. Ms. Piggy can be hanging out.
BEHAR: Yes.
NICE: They got a Dolly Parton character on the show.
BEHAR: Let`s show, called Polly Darton. There is a character, also. But I mean, don`t you think it was much ado about nothing, this story?
DE LESSEPS: I think it`s a parental thing. It doesn`t have anything to do with the kids. It`s the parents up in arms and kids don`t even notice this stuff. She is a character. You know, just like Elmo is a character.
BEHAR: But the fathers were getting turned on, I think.
LUSCOMBE: But I also think, to be fair -
DE LESSEPS: It`s a character.
LUSCOMBE: Once you`ve put on the bra, with the big cup cakes that spews cream, you know, people are going to have a higher standard of you wanting to not do that on their show.
BEHAR: You mean Katy Perry?
LUSCOMBE: Katy Perry, right.
DE LESSEPS: Call me Elmo.
BEHAR: So Lady Gaga is out I suppose.
LUSCOMBE: Yes.
BEHAR: OK. Speaking of that, there`s a story that a man dressed in an Elmo suit was attacked at a music store in Florida. Now, what`s going on in the country that they`re attacking people dressed up as Elmo?
LUSCOMBE: Well, the great thing about the story is Elmo ate that guy`s lunch.
NICE: Yes, he did.
LUSCOMBE: Like he turned around, gave that guy a beat down -- this is the kind of Elmo.
BEHAR: Who the guy dressed up as Elmo.
NICE: Yes that`s what people don`t be.
(CROSSTALK)
NICE: Probably. And people don`t know this about Elmo. He is like Mike Tyson. He may have a high voice but he`ll whip your natural behind. OK? Leave Elmo alone. I don`t understand messing with Elmo. I can see going after Bert because that guy is clearly a jerk. I`m sure the authorities have been called to Ernie`s house a few times.
LUSCOMBE: They`re fine.
BEHAR: They`re in a gay marriage anyway. OK thank you, guys, very much. The boss is back. Tony Danza stops by to talk about his new show, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: We know him from "TAXI" and "WHO`S THE BOSS" but now Tony Danza has taken on his most challenging role ever. A high school English teacher. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDE CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you nervous?
TONY DANZA: Terrified.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am actually like very concerned he is not qualified to be an English teacher.
DANZA: You`re right. How about that, Monty? You are 100 percent right. You know you think you know so much and you find out you don`t know nothing. The end of the semester there has to have been some learning -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If this doesn`t work, you`re out of here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: OK. Here now to talk about his year as a teacher, which is documented in the new series "Teach" Tony Danza is Tony Danza, himself.
DANZA: Hi, Joy.
BEHAR: Hey Tony, you know why did do you this?
DANZA: I think, well, first of all, I don`t know about you but they`re talking about a kid dropping out of high school every 11 seconds.
BEHAR: Terrible.
DANZA: It`s crazy and it`s unsustainable. And, you know, I just think about it a lot. It`s something I went to school for. I had a good teacher. I think also there`s a bit of regret in that I didn`t take it as seriously as I should have.
BEHAR: What, school or teaching?
DANZA: School.
BEHAR: School.
DANZA: And my own high school and college.
BEHAR: But you got a degree.
DANZA: I got through but I did what I had to do. I charmed the teacher and did as much as I had to and I was trying to explain to these kids, don`t do it that way. Get smart early and make the most of this. And understand that, you know, you come from a neighborhood where if you get grades most of the colleges will be after you because they need that.
BEHAR: That`s true.
DANZA: They need private school kids, they need a little flavor.
BEHAR: Yes, well they have to work harder now because the system is worse.
DANZA: Well, you know, the problem is, too, Joy, we got a culture pushing down on them. You know, remember when we were kids the cartoons used to teach us stuff. Cartoons. Now the cartoons sell the kids stuff. So they`re the target for marketing. You have that. Then you have -- no doubt about it -- bad teachers but I think there`s more discouraged teachers.
BEHAR: It`s a very hard job.
DANZA: It is a hard job. I know you did it.
BEHAR: Almost an impossible job. My theory is you have two teachers in each classroom. That way you don`t have any discipline problems that way so you can actually teach.
DANZA: You know, I had a teacher with me and at least the first year teacher should have somebody watching them all the time.
BEHAR: Exactly.
DANZA: At first my ego was like I don`t want this guy in the room. Then the third week I was struggling and I went over and I went, what do you think, Mr. Coen? I just used him as a resource.
BEHAR: Well they have student teachers sometimes and that helps a little bit.
DANZA: No but I`m talking about a teacher who can mentor you, say to you, wait a minute. This guy told me one day, you got to do more with less. It`s a play on that less is more stuff but it made a lot of sense because I was jamming up my lesson plans with all this stuff and trying to be everything and wasn`t learning anything.
BEHAR: Experience.
DANZA: you have to find a way to get them to, you know, kids are so conditioned. The teacher is going to do everything for them.
BEHAR: Exactly.
DANZA: A big sign on the front, take part in your own education. You know, I really tried to send that message.
BEHAR: But there were cameras following you around. Didn`t that upset the cart by having, you know, like cameras?
DANZA: Interesting. First of all the crew was unbelievable. I haven`t mentioned the crew. You know, somebody ought to shoot this thing and they did a great job in the company and everything else but they were instructed not to interact with the kids and they stayed back. And I didn`t play the cameras. In fact, I know they did get mad at me a little bit. The show was second. I really wasn`t that interested in the show. I wanted the show to be good but I had to be the, you know, be the teacher. I didn`t want to let the kids down. And let me tell you, Joy, I thought for sure I had made a big mistake.
BEHAR: Really? Why?
DANZA: Because I thought I`d bit of more than I could chew. I was going to let these kids down, my intellect would be on display which might not be too pretty, and I was going to make a fool of myself and disappoint, you know, somebody said, the same thing as performing. You know, in front of an audience. Yes, but you have the audience`s future in your hands in this case.
BEHAR: That`s true.
DANZA: So it`s really different.
BEHAR: But I`m curious about the fact that you`re an actor on television and here you are teaching these kids, first of all, did they ask for autographs?
DANZA: Joy, they`re born three years after my show.
BEHAR: So what, they have no --
DANZA: I`ve been actually enjoying a level of anonymity.
BEHAR: You like it?
DANZA: I love it. I love it. Don`t get me wrong. It helps sometimes but for the kids, for the young kids, a level of anonymity that you can`t believe. I mean, it`s incredible.
BEHAR: They questioned your ability to do it.
DANZA: You know I think I heard one of the kids, by the way one of the kids in the proof of concept said, I think my mother was a fan. You know they sort of knew who I was.
BEHAR: Did you mark papers?
DANZA: Yes.
BEHAR: So they might sell them on Ebay these kids. You ever think of that?
DANZA: No. I think the class was really about trying to get through the tenth grade curriculum and the way I tried to do it was tried to relate this great literature "Of Mice And Men" and "Julius Caesar."
BEHAR: Tough to teach those subjects, very hard.
DANZA: But you know what if you can tie it to some kind of relatable experience that they get that - that`s part of their lives all of sudden it becomes real for them, you know what I mean?
BEHAR: Yes, the real tragedy I found when I was - I taught English for a few years. Then I taught reading. The tragedy is, when they cannot read.
DANZA: Yes.
BEHAR: If the child can read, they will like school. DANZA: Yes.
BEHAR: If they have trouble reading, or if they have real trouble doing math, they can`t - then they turn on the whole thing.
DANZA: Yes well, in school you know we have illiterate right? People who can`t read.
BEHAR: Yes.
DANZA: Then you have alliterate, which is you can but you don`t want to. And so you have to, I would tell them. You know, I would tell them, how much did you practice football, or soccer, or basketball? that`s the same thing with reading, you have to practice a little bit and once you get it. It`ll get easier. And one of my greatest things is I had a kid. What`s your greatest, I gave an 11 page final. But they don`t even give finals. I gave an 11 page final. last question was what was the most important lesson. And then I say three paragraphs. And a kid wrote, I learned that books were more than books that they were stories too and they were beautiful.
BEHAR: That`s nice.
DANZA: Amazing.
BEHAR: That`s great, OK, stay right there.
DANZA: Sure.
BEHAR: Well have more with Tony Danza, the teacher, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Danza.
DANZA: Yes. I really -- I was here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your day begins at 7:30.
DANZA: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you have to sign in. Do you notice that there are no other registers, that they`ve all been picked up?
DANZA: -- that I had to sign in, 7:38.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why don`t you? You went to orientation. We had new teachers come in. We explained everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: That was a clip from the new show "TEACH" Tony Danza and I`m back with Tony.
DANZA: I forgot to sign in. I forgot - Ms. Spinaples (ph) --
BEHAR: What did you feel was your weakness as a teacher?
DANZA: Well at first you are performing. You got to understand that -- and you come from a place where the teacher used to stand at the board and took notes.
BEHAR: Right.
DANZA: It`s not like that anymore.
BEHAR: Thank god it`s not like that.
DANZA: But you need a little bit of that. You need a little bit of the kids` understanding that there is part of the deal, there are times when they have to listen and take notes and learn. So much of collaborative learning and graphic organizers and all these things we use now and we should use them because they show student achievement percentagewise. They show it. But it goes back to motivating students.
BEHAR: There is something wrong with the fact that I learned more about John Adams from a miniseries on HBO than I ever learned in school.
DANZA: But you were in a different place though. You were in a different place.
BEHAR: No, no. The teachers never taught it. I remember them.
DANZA: Well, I still think it has to do with youth and how you are taking it and your consciousness now as opposed to what it was then. You were 15 years old. You watched John Adams, you wouldn`t get that much out of it. I promise. The problem is, I was saying, I think you`re on to something in a crazy way. You know? I think, you know, I was listening to an interview Letter, Ken Letter and he was talking about Zuckerberg, you know, the guy who just gave a hundred million and I`m glad he did, whatever the reason, but Zuckerberg says, supposedly Zukerberg is not in it just to make a buck. He wants to change the world.
BEHAR: Yes.
DANZA: He said that the only way to social revolution is through software now. Software. Some kind of connectedness. Well where`s that software for education? Where is it? I don`t care if the kids think it`s noble or not. I just want them to go, wow. That`s fun. Let me study. Let me try that again. Why aren`t we finding a way to do that?
BEHAR: Some schools are doing a very good job. That school up in Harlem, the charter school, is really doing great.
DANZA: Why though, Joy.
BEHAR: Well they have smaller classes, they pay attention. They go from when they are very, very young, take them all the way.
DANZA: Yes, that`s right, you get them early.
BEHAR: Teach them to read.
DANZA: And then what else do they have? What`s the difference between a private school and a public school?
BEHAR: You tell me. You`re the teacher.
DANZA: Ok so private school, I asked somebody this the other day. They said, well, you`ve got smaller classes, you got better teachers.
BEHAR: Not better teachers. Just smaller classes.
DANZA: Wait a minute, this is what she said.
BEHAR: Yes.
DANZA: Better teachers, better facility.
BEHAR: Right.
DANZA: I said, that`s not what you pay for. You get all that stuff but that`s not what you pay for. You pay for the like minded parents.
BEHAR: That`s true. DANZA: You pay for the parents that all have skin in the game and have motivated kids because of that. I`m telling you, that`s -- we need the kids, the families, and everybody that can get involved in this. You know ee got to look at ourselves a little. We can`t just keep blaming everybody else all the time.
BEHAR: When I was teaching the kids who were doing badly in school, those are the kids whose parents did not show up on open school night. The kids who were kicking butt, all their parents were there to get all of the flowers thrown.
DANZA: That`s the bottom line.
BEHAR: I know.
DANZA: This waiting for superman everybody is talking about, great movie and breaks your heart.
BEHAR: Yes.
DANZA: Breaks your heart and the statistics are there but with all the parents in the country, if they did what those parents are doing I`m not sure.
BEHAR: Well maybe there`s -
DANZA: And not to say all of them aren`t. There are a lot of great parents.
BEHAR: Yes, I`m thrilled you did this. It is a terrific idea and I see that you fulfilled a lifelong dream. So thank you, Tony for coming on.
DANZA: Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.
BEHAR: "Teach" Tony Danza premieres Friday at 10:00 p.m. on A&E. Good night everybody. Stay in school!
END
