Since Carlin has had substance abuse problems before the current administration came to power, you can't just assume that the November election and his current drug and alcohol problem are related. But combined with the tirade against the audience at the MGM Grand, it would be worth someone asking George if his problems have increased over the past seven weeks since the other George secured his victory.

It was supposed to be cute when saturday night live made fun of Rush Limbaugh's drug problems, but now we're supposed to adopt an attitude of somber concern for this unfunny chucklehead.

"Stop degrading us"

Just a little to plaintive, eh?

When I was 14, I thought Carlin was really funny. Then, I turned 15, and outgrew him.

If you go to a George Carlin concert, your intelligence should at least be subject to scrutiny.

Bart:

There's an important lesson for you there.

Carlin is funny as long as he doesn't lecture the audience, which he has done to great frequencies since the early '90's.

I was channel surfing a few days ago when I saw a documentary that followed Laura Bush on the fundraising/campaign trail. Wayne Newton introduced her at a Vegas fundraiser. For some reason that made me happy.

oj,

What could that be?

Bart:

As you grow up you'll realize, with no little embarrassment, the immaturity of most everythin g you've said here.

I'll plead guilty to egomania, arrogance, greed, brutality, self-centeredness, sadism, misanthropy, paranoia, alcoholism, obsessive-compulsiveness, a hygiene fetish(2 showers a day at least) and gluttony. However, I am nothing if not responsible, the keystone of maturity.

No, your immaturity is amply demonstrated by your belief that you are those other things when all you really are is foolish.

You're the guy who believes in imposing a narrow theocracy reflecting your idiosyncratic views, and the guy who would give everyone else a wide berth so long as they don't negatively impact on him is the immature one. That's some dictionary you have.

> No, your immaturity is amply demonstrated by your belief that you are those other things when all you really are is foolish.

I can't speak for Bart, but I sure feel a little better now.

I certainly have a clearer picture of my own deepening maturity and of the growing edges within myself as a result of this thread. Thank you.

bart:

Don't worry, libertarianism is like thinking Carlin funny--you outgrow it.

I was never a fan of his, but he did at least once say something I thought was brilliant: that when you're driving, everyone else is either an idiot or a moron. An idiot is someone driving faster than you, and a moron is someone driving slower than you.

No, your immaturity is amply demonstrated by your belief that you are those other things when all you really are is foolish.

You are really at your best when you avoid ad hominem attacks.

Jeff:

It's not ad hominem--it's simply an observation of fact.

For some reason this exchange reminds me of the story of a famous B.C. painter called Emily Carr. She had ropes tied to her chairs from the ceiling and whenever people came to visit her that she disliked she would pull the chairs up to the ceiling when they got up from them. Soon there were no chairs left to sit in and the unwanted guests would leave.

The internet has the benefit of muting personal prejudice based on visual clues, but eventually prejudice rules (as it should) and the mythology of people ever being persuaded or changing, from the day they are born to the day they die, is tossed out the window.