George Carlin on consumption, the "owners", and the "American Dream"

April 08, 2008

George Carlin on consumption, the "owners", and the "American Dream"

Warning - a few F bombs (hey, it's Carlin, what do you expect?)

I'd say at this point, most of us know the problem. So what's the solution?

28 comments:

blogger said...: And this one for extra credit

do NOT play this at work with the speakers on - unless you want your masters to walk you out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNv-oDbBZQU; April 08, 2008 6:26 AM
Anonymous said...: How about Carlin for President with Ron Paul as his running mate?

I'm more than half serious.

-BC; April 08, 2008 7:03 AM
Anonymous said...: Sad, but true

-MB; April 08, 2008 7:16 AM
Anonymous said...: Carlin is righteous.; April 08, 2008 7:40 AM
Anonymous said...: Ya know I wish he didn't censor himself like that and tell us what he really thinks.; April 08, 2008 7:46 AM
Anonymous said...: Priceless.; April 08, 2008 8:25 AM
Anonymous said...: You cannot make dumb people smart.

Did you go to school, reader? Do you remember the kids you went to school with?

You cannot make dumb people smart.; April 08, 2008 8:27 AM
Anonymous said...: Keith, you are actually asking what the solution is?

Don't be stupid. You know as well as I do what the solution is.; April 08, 2008 8:38 AM
Frank R said...: He used to be a great comedian but I saw one of his recent HBO specials and there was no comedy at all. All he did was rant & rave about Bush like a loon.; April 08, 2008 8:53 AM
Ed said...: Cracks me up to hear these theories. It's all the fault of EVIL BUSINESS that kids graduate without the ability to read. Not the unions fault. Not the 50+ year control of the education system by Marxists who think teaching Johine has 2 Daddies is more important than teaching math. Not because of the lack of discipline in schools. Not because parents don't give a fuck about their kid's education. No,none of that is to blame. It's all because corporations want to keep Americans stupid.

Makes a lot of sense.; April 08, 2008 12:40 PM
Anonymous said...: That sums it up nicely.; April 08, 2008 12:58 PM
Anonymous said...: The extra credit was great Keith.

Got me to thinking when George Carlin brought up Bill Clinton at the end.

Slick Willie, Monika, Whitewater, Ken Starr, Newt screwing around on his wife that same time as he was leading the rest of the two-faced Repugs in calling the kettle black, now THAT was entertainment!

Even Johnny Carson, in an interview before he died, when asked what he regretted most in retirement, replied, "missing the Clinton years."

And we even had a nice budget surplus when Farm Boy left.

Go figure!; April 08, 2008 2:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Once when I was a kid he made me laugh so hard that I passed a half a cheese sandwich through my nose.; April 08, 2008 2:08 PM
Anonymous said...: And then, just like clockwork, as Schiff had forecast:

NYT -- The free ride for American consumers is ending. For two generations, Americans have imported goods produced ever more cheaply from a succession of low-wage countries — first Japan and Korea, then China, and now increasingly places like Vietnam and India.

But mounting inflation in the developing world, especially Asia, is threatening that arrangement, and not just in China, where rising energy and labor costs have already made exports to the United States more expensive, but in the lower-cost alternatives to China, too.

But two things make this time different, and together promise to send prices higher at Wal-Mart and supermarkets alike in the United States, just as the possibility of recession looms.

First, developing countries now produce nearly half of all American imports. Second, inflation in these countries is coming at the same time that many of their currencies are rising against the dollar.

That puts American consumers in a double bind, paying at least some of producers’ higher costs for making their goods, and higher prices on top of that because the dollar buys less in those countries.

http://tinyurl.com/563rpu

Enjoy the die-off. You voted for it TWICE, remember? Now to finish the job you're voting for the Messiah Obama. Do you ever get tired of being such a stupid voter?; April 08, 2008 3:41 PM
Anonymous said...: Hm. He sounds a lot like Bitterrenter.

Kill the republicans. Sterilize their women.

Keep voting republican Frank. Some people never learn.; April 08, 2008 4:02 PM
Anonymous said...: George Carlin: another guy that would be assassinated before Barak Obama.; April 08, 2008 4:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Third Grader at Center of Teacher Attack Plot Speaks

Look into her cold dead eyes, and tell me just WHAT you are going to teach her?; April 08, 2008 4:45 PM
Anonymous said...: He nailed it! He is doing the public a great service. Thank you Mr. Carlin for your honesty.; April 08, 2008 5:07 PM
Anonymous said...: .

How can you argue with that?

.; April 08, 2008 5:08 PM
Anonymous said...: Carlin is talking the old lefty "Let's get the rich off our backs" argument. The only problem is that if we do, then a new class of rich take their place and do the same thing.
Man is not equal, cannot be made equal. We are unequal because one person is more intelligent than another and can apply that intelligence to a situation better than another to solve a problem.
Schools at one time had a set of courses designed to make everyone who graduated from them to enter the working world with a common set of values and knowledge of literature, etc.
Now in our "specialized" colleges, we gear to the "vocation" of choice. This results in a graduated "specialist" that has nothing in common with the rest of society outside of the small world to which they are accustomed, and as a result humanity is falling apart politically and socially.
We need to change our educational system to go back to "humanities". We don't need "Business Administration" degrees. They are and should be reserved for adults who return to college because their employer is seeking to improve their staff and the benefit that the company will receive from it.; April 08, 2008 6:09 PM
Anonymous said...: "the american dream, its called a dream because you have to be asleep to believe it"

classic.; April 08, 2008 6:35 PM
Anonymous said...: Well, that was the most unfunny 5 minutes of socialist rant I have heard in a while...; April 08, 2008 7:24 PM
Anonymous said...: I disagree with him completely. Its our fault. The average joe who knew better than to lie on the mortgage loan application. Knew better than to buy a house we couldn't afford. He starts out O.K. calling consumption the new American pastime, but saying powerful people are greedy doesn't explain the fallout from poor education. Welfare and entitlement programs have replaced the father in the home for poor people. As a result, dads are free to run off, and kids grow up with poor morals and no respect for education.

That is why I'm not supporting Obama. He's promising more of that.; April 08, 2008 11:04 PM
Anonymous said...: For those readers who are pissed that Carlin did not make them laugh, obviously you need to read up on the history of comedians and comedy. Back in the days of feudalism, the Royal Court often had a Court Jester who made everyone laugh. The jester was also the only person allowed to openly speak the truth without having their heads chopped off. Carlin may not be making you laugh, but he's still a damn good court jester.; April 08, 2008 11:11 PM
Anonymous said...: bla bla bla, conspiracy, conspiracy, hidden clubs, bla bla bla, what a bunch of crap.
The average person is stupid because they choose to be, not because of people who control them.
Its just a way to avoid responsibility, somebody elses fault not mine.
I love your site keith, I avoided this debacle by avoiding buying a house when everyone was pressing me to do so, I was able to reposition my stock portfolio to take advantage of the inflationary policy of the fed, however I believe we cause our own problems, just like home gamblers blaming everyone else but themselves.; April 09, 2008 4:35 AM
Anonymous said...: Good rant by Carlin. Not very funny, but all too true.

To deepcgi: Yes a lot of stupid and greedy people bought homes they couldn't afford. In some cases, such as an illegal that got a house with no money down using someone else's social security number, there was absolutely no downside. They get to live rent free in a nice house for 6 months to a year, perhaps collect rent from the people they share the house with...

Some Americans have double digit IQ's, and are incapable of understanding complex contracts. A good government would realize this and try to keep them out of needless trouble.

Some peole that bought over their heads had good credit had enough IQ that they should have known better. But the media is ALL on the spend, spend, spend side. Media has more power over us than me might like to admit.

It's pointless to lay blame on millions of decision makers, whose decisions -looked at individually - affected only them and - to a small extent - the owner of their mortgage and their neighbors. You can't change anything looking there.

Better to look at individual people and agencies that could have made a difference on the policy level.; April 09, 2008 11:00 AM
Anonymous said...: And the robots still believe its our fault! What masochist!; April 09, 2008 4:09 PM
Anonymous said...: "Marxists who think teaching Johine has 2 Daddies is more important than teaching math."

Ed, to be fair, the Marxists have a pretty good education record, especially with math.

I would bet that America's math and science skills are markedly better than our humanities skills. The Corporate Banana Barons want good math skills for their soulless worker bees. A critical populous makes no dough, and therefore gets no dough. All you have to do is peek into primary public education and you'll see the emphasis on math and science (how many books can you buy for the cost of one computer?) So long as they can read enough to differentiate Walmart and Starbucks--everybody's happy.

You need a skilled, clueless labor force for central control--whatever your political flavor.

And BTW--believe it our not-- sometimes, in real life Johnny actually does have two daddies and no matter what your opinion of homosexuality turns out to be--you should have the opportunity to form that opinion and articulate your stance to others. This is why we learn to communicate in the first place!

Without a proper humanities education you get a country with all of the right tools, but no idea where to use them. By reading something like JH2D you learn to think for yourself and ask tough questions. It's never too early (or too late!) for that.

--Anti-Freedom rant off; April 09, 2008 6:07 PM