Stuff and 7 words: Rest in Peace George Carlin

I turned the news on this morning to the sad news that comedian George Carlin (1937-2008) passed away. He became known early on for his Seven Words routine (the seven words you can't say on TV. By the way, you still can't say them). Since this is not TV, and in rememberance of a man who made us laugh as well as think, here they are, the seven words you cannot say on tv:

1. Shit
2. Piss
3. Fuck
4. Cunt
5. Cocksucker
6. Motherfucker
7. Tits

There ya go. There are also some auxiliary words. Hear the routine here: He did cover a variety of other topics as well. So, go find one of his books, recordings, or do what I did, go to YouTube and spend some time laughing and remembering. We'll miss ya George. Update note (same day): You can find a transcript of the seven words routine, which was part of the review the U.S. Supreme Court did here. The Nation has a pretty good article on Carlin here. Carlin's take on politicians is pretty much everything I could wish and more because it is true: for all the complaining about the bad politicians (and they all suck), in the end, it's the American people who go on electing the same bunch. Here's how he put it (quoting from The Nation piece):

"Now, there's one thing you might have noticed I don't complain about: politicians," he explained in a routine that challenged all the premises of today's half-a-loaf reformers. "Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain't going to do any good; you're just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it's not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here… like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There's a nice campaign slogan for somebody: 'The Public Sucks. Fuck Hope.'"

If people want to change the way things are run in this country, then it is about time they stop being selfish, ignorant (often willingly ignorant) people, get informed, get educated, get back to a sense of the common good, to for once thinking about your neighbor instead of about yourself, and then vote accordingly. Hey, just a thought. But don't take my word for it. Mr. Carlin said it so much better. A hat tip to the OIF blog.