George Carlin RIP

I remember the first time I saw George Carlin. It was his cable special with the green sweater, that opened with this lovely family line:

"Have you ever noticed that most of the women who are against abortion are women you wouldn't want to fuck in the first place?"

I was hooked. Here was a guy that dealt with the profane and the profound wkith equal ease. His contrast of baseball and football, and the subsequent translation of football into technical war terms remain relevant classics. His later material delved much more into religion, with his Ten Commandments routine being among the best.

He wasn't without his flaws. His dismissal of voting and general participation in government was a paranoid copout. The reason is simple enough: government problems have to be dealt with, they do not go away, like say the NFL would, if we just stopped caring. In the end his cynicism got to him. But at his best, and even not at his best, Carlin was a person with rare and valuable insights, and the equally rare balls to express them unapologetically. He will be missed, and we shall not look upon his like again.