George Carlin has died at 71. Carlin represents one of the few entertainers to have a significant impact on the law with his showdown over profanity in his monologues. His famous stand up routine on “”Seven Dirty Words You Can’t Say on Television” is linked below. The Supreme Court case on his “filthy words” is linked below as well.
Carlin’s fight over the right to use the seven words led to the famous 5-4 decision before the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that while not obscene the language was indecent and upheld the FCC action against Carlin. Click here for the opinion. The decision allowed the government to place limitations on the time and place of certain language — “channeling” some language to protect audiences of children etc.
Justice Stevens wrote:
It is appropriate, in conclusion, to emphasize the narrowness of our holding. This case does not involve a two-way radio conversation between a cab driver and a dispatcher, or a telecast of an Elizabethan comedy. We have not decided that an occasional expletive in either setting would justify any sanction or, indeed, that this broadcast would justify a criminal prosecution. The Commission’s decision rested entirely on a nuisance rationale under which context is all-important. The concept requires consideration of a host of variables. The time of day was emphasized by the Commission. The content of the program in which the language is used will also affect the composition of the audience,[note 29] and differences between radio, television, and perhaps closed-circuit transmissions, may also be relevant. As Mr. Justice Sutherland wrote, a “nuisance may be merely a right thing in the wrong place,–like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard.” Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365, 388. We simply hold that when the Commission finds that a pig has entered the parlor, the exercise [751] of its regulatory power does not depend on proof that the pig is obscene.
For the full story, click here.
For the video of the seven words that you cannot use on television, click here. [WARNING BAD LANGUAGE]
kjfadlpue fvtsnzyw qavfwnju rums ulxrazm ghzq qevcgr
I am pleased to count George Carlin as one of my favorites, and will greatly miss him. Those who deliberately smear his memory, like “Russ,” for example, I won’t be missing when their time comes.
I woke up this morning and the sun looked brighter and the air felt cleaner and when I heard George Carlin had died the cleaner air and the brighter sun made sense.
whooliebacon:
Well, they really care about you before you’re born (but not your Mom), and then the hell with you until you’re eligible for the draft card.
Carlin on War:
“Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.”
“Conservatives don’t give a S@#! about you until you reach military age.” –George Carlin
Patty C:
Touche’. Oops sorry, meant to say good retort and pun. Pardon my French.
Scamp I am, and in honor of Carlin and those of his ilk,
I’ll ‘Stand Up’ any time!
Patty C:
You scamp.I was trying for a modest level of decorum. But right you are.
Every one I know cares and will mourn his passing.
They are: S***, p***, f***, c***, c*********, m*********** and t***.
They are, if I translate the above correctly – shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits… Really?
RIP Hippy Dippy Weatherman
You’re probably right Dunder. It’s mostly the American Patriots that care.
I don’t think too many care.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words…they can really hurt and get the government to try and squash you. To maintain decorum and respect for our host, but still honor Carlin, here’s the first letter to those words and your imagination can supply the rest. They are: S***, p***, f***, c***, c*********, m*********** and t***.
George Carlin & Lenny Bruce reminded us that our government is our servant, not our master. Lenny Bruce said it well: “if you can’t say f***, then you can’t say f*** the government”. Carlin would no doubt agree.
RIP Hippy Dippy Weatherman.