Maher on Limbaugh's oil remarks: 'You know what, you dipsh*t? Mercury's natural too'

HBO's liberal talk show Bill Maher has never been one to mince words. Last Friday night was no exception.

In the midst of a panel discussion on the massive BP oil spill that's contaminated the Gulf of Mexico in recent weeks, Maher took aim at Republican radio personality Rush Limbaugh, who only days prior whipped up a firestorm of rhetorical controversy by claiming that such pollution is "natural" and will simply go away.

"That's right, a petrochemical stew is very natural to wetlands," Maher scowled. "You know what, you dipshit? Mercury's natural too, but you don't put it in your Cheerios."

Another of Limbaugh's recent and patently untrue statements on the BP oil spill -- that "environmentalist wackos" were to blame for the Deepwater Horizon rig's destruction -- was also met with similar disdain by Maher, who scoffed: "Every asshole who ever chanted 'Drill baby drill' should have to report to the Gulf coast today for cleanup duty."

During his Friday broadcast, the liberal host also took aim at Republican Texas Governor Rick Perry, who suggested in a recent speech to the global warming denying Chamber of Commerce that the disaster was "just an act of God that happened."

Said Maher: "I know, Rick Perry says it was an act of God -- I think it was an act of Dick Cheney."

Crews working in the Gulf of Mexico began on Friday to lower a 70-ton containment dome over the pollution's source. Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael De Nyse told AFP that the dome was designed to contain oil leaking from the still-jetting undersea well.

"It's on its way down," he said "It takes roughly 10 hours to get to the bottom."

The operation to place the dome over the pipe along the seabed is the best hope for the biggest U.S. Environmental disaster since the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.

The containment chamber is designed to cap the oil discharged from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that has been operating by BP.

BP officials say they hope the dome becomes "operational" by Monday. If successful, a large part of the oil could be safely funneled up for storage and processing.

This video is from HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, broadcast Friday, May 7, 2010, as snipped by Mediaite.

With AFP.