One of my great heros and inspirations died yesterday

[Hydra]

But it's not my custom to mourn. It's my custom to celebrate the life that was. George Carlin spoke truth to power, and he was funny while doing it to boot!

"It's a big club, and you ain't in it. You and I are not in the big club."

I think in many ways, he made it easier for people like me to make fun of the system, to call attention to the sheer absurdity that is our political system and the people in it. Really, this stuff writes itself- this is the nation where the VP(unelected) shot someone in the face during a canned hunt, and the victim was the one who apologized!

I've also admired how he slaughtered sacred cows- religions often use the excuse that they are speaking for god when they tell us what we can and cannot do, and who we have to torture and kill.

"Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!

But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, you talk about a good bullshit story. Holy Shit!"

I say goodbye to my Hero, but I do so knowing that I wasn't the only one inspired by his incautious comments and penetrating insight. If we're lucky, more than one of those people will pick up where he left off.

O8)

Enjoy the afterlife, George!

[Mythsaje]

1. I just heard... and came here

George deserves at least as much from us as Russert got. He was one of us, even if he never came here.

[Hydra]

2. Good Morning, Mythsage!

George is getting a good wake from us here. He really was one of us :D

[Mythsaje]

3. I knew that DU would be giving him a good send-off.

It's the first place I came when I heard. I've been reading all about it and bawling like a baby. A hungry, angry baby.

[truedelphi]

4. What a funny inspiring and totally RIGHT ON celebrity.

He leaves all his many 90 minute recordings, which he churned out faster than most of the other comedians we have out there.

And oddly we now live in a culture that thinks nothing of using most of those seven words - you only need to be able to get a free six months of HBO to see how often those words are used.

So why wasn't Carlin on the main broadcast stations more often? Because as the years went by it was less important tobe a potty mouth and more important to offer us a clear vision of the real HAPS in the USA.

His take on the current two party system:

"So the Republicans get in power and they look around and they realize: SOmething needs to be done! SO they take a step forward and all take one BIG SHIT!

Then the Democrats get in power and they look around and they say, This doesn't look good. SO THEY spend the next four years re-aranging the Big Pile of Shit."

[easttexaslefty]

5. He was a funny guy

and will be missed